-Lizzy Rain and Zaria had a strong opening match this week. Good action and the match leaned into both of their strengths. Plenty of energetic spots for Rain and all sorts of power spots for Zaria. Bravo on the clean finish. Both Zaria and Rain are going to be key talents for NXT and Rain lost. Big deal. It was to another threat in Zaria and hey, good teams lose. All good.
Zaria time
-Next week, it’s Zaria vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. This has been simmering for a while and I’m looking forward to the match. Zaria holding that title makes a lot of sense right now. They can get a few matches out of this feud if they want it.
-Saquon Shugars got some revenge on his DarkState brethren this week. Yay? Here’s the thing. Watching the segment this week, I couldn’t help but notice that part of the disinterest that I have is that there doesn’t appear to be a guy involved that will have a real impact on the main roster. Obviously, that can change, but at this point nobody has stood out. That reality keeps this entire angle cold.
-OTM with the win! Over The Culling no less. It appears that these guys are in for a legit push. Looking at the tag division landscape, if they continue to build momentum, there is some business to be had with them and Vanity Project with the tag titles on the line.
-Speaking of Vanity Project, another strong showing for Jackson Drake this week. Drake has the heel arrogance down and is now starting to develop the heel aggression. He’ll be a player if he elevates that part of his act.
What competition?
-Oh look! WWE is not going to compete with AEW by accidentally running the first-ever NXT PLE on broadcast TV with Great American Bash against the Forbidden Door PPV. Total accident. Yes, the sarcasm you sense is real.
-Lola Vice, Kelani Jordan, and Kendal Grey? Take a bow. They had an excellent promo segment. Each woman made their case for being the top woman in NXT and the Jordan and Grey mini-feud now gets a little extra heat on it because the match will determine the number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. You don’t always get sound logic in NXT, but all of this made sense and was performed well.
-One of the better weeks for Shiloh Hill. Hill was odd as he prepped for the Mr. NXT pageant, but not goofy and silly. That’s the line he has to walk. As long as he stays on the odd side of things, his charisma has a chance to shine through.
-As for Mr. NXT … … I hate it here.
-Lexis King is still the Speed Champion … blah blah blah … this was a slowwwwwwww point of the show.
Incoming squash
-It hasn’t been announced for next week yet, but Keanu Carver is going to destroy EK Prosper soon. Their backstage encounter wasn’t an accident and Prosper just kinda seems like a jobber act on the show right now.
-Myles Borne and Tavion Heights lost clean to DarkState and the feud between Borne and Heights seems to be on. Unfortunately, it appears as if we’re headed for a couple weeks of “can they coexist” before we actually get to see them have a match. This is an underutilization of Borne. He’s a really likable babyface on the show, but isn’t working with any of the top heels right now. He’s got enough talent to carry a middle of the card feud with a legit opponent like a Carver or …. exactly. The show is in need of top tier heels.
-Kind of an awkward segment between Jaida Parker and Natalya. I know Parker is the developmental talent, but I blame Nattie for the awkwardness. The pauses in her cadence made their conversation come across overly scripted.
-Kam Hendrix held his own with Tony D’Angelo in the main event for the NXT Championship. Look, D’Angelo isn’t the second coming of Bret Hart at this point, but he’s the top star in the promotion. That’s a good night at the office for Hendrix.
Heel Naraku
-They are putting the Naraku vs. D’Angelo match on the slow burn track and it needs more pace and urgency. Something about this rivalry feels like it would work better and contain more drama if Naraku was a straight heel. That could be the long putt the booking team is trying to sink here.
What did you think of this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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