-The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is back and was framed up as tremendously important as soon as the show started this week. How did they do it? Cody Rhodes. Cody talking about his Dad and the wonder that is tag team wrestling did a nice job of conveying the legacy of the tournament. It set a strong tone for what should be an enjoyable run of matches throughout the next few weeks.
They Dusty Classic starts with a bang
-Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. Los Americanos opened the show and the tournament and furthered the strong tone set by Cody Rhodes. The match had high-flying, near-falls, timely selling, and a really good pace. It was a match worthy of the intro that Rhodes gave it. That said, Dar and Moreno won, but I wouldn’t bet on them having a long run in the tournament. A Cinderella team, but the clock will strike midnight soon enough.
-One of the better Kendal Grey backstage segments this week. She was in the sports psychiatrist office and got to show some emotional range with how she talked about her vertigo and not being able to compete. This did a nice job of painting Grey as likable and relatable. At the same time, her obsession with competition was on display too and that’s right in line with her character.
-Good see Reina Volcan again. A strong debut was followed up with almost zero impact anywhere else on the show. Volcan getting involved here says that she is not going to be positioned as a top title challenger at this time. She’ll have every chance to get up there, though. She’s got an incredibly unique look and demeanor.
-As for Kali Armstrong and Skylar Raye? They had a fine little match while it lasted. Raye doesn’t really have a gimmick right now and she’ll need that if she’s going to make any noise in NXT or on the main roster eventually.
Silly Shiloh
-We got silly Shiloh Hill again this week. Booooooooooooo. C’mon. His material has to be better than yammering on about raccoons.
-And another clean win for Thea Hail over Zaria. This time in a tag match. Obviously, the move here was to give Hail a strong argument for an NXT Women’s North American title match. Hail vs. Zaria incoming.
-Kelani Jordan and La Catalina had some nice chemistry together this week during their Money in the Bank qualifying match on Raw. That continued in this tag match. Catalina vs. Jordan isn’t a PLE title match, but it’s certainly something that could air on NXT TV. Fingers crossed on that one. A secretly strong match just waiting in the wings.
-A very interesting promo segment this week between Dion Lennox and Cruz Montana. Montana is very much in tune with his character and personality. He speaks about his wrestling and life journey transparently and it’s easy for fans to attach to it. He shined out there as a babyface and had the audience with him. Lennox held his own nicely. Without DarkState around him, he was able to ditch the weirdness of that faction and just be himself with the volume turned up. This version of Lennox has some potential upside.
The dominant Creeds
-Hell yeah. Glad to see The Creed Brothers get a definitive Dusty Rhodes Classic victory and not simply have a great match because they could. Of course they can, but establishing them as a dominant team was more important. Mission accomplished. They’ll have plenty of time to show-off during matches later in tournament action.
-No. Just no. An unacceptable finish to the main event match featuring Birthright against team Zilla Fatu. Fatu can’t be on the losing side of much right now, but certainly not opposite a faction like Birthright. Fatu didn’t take the fall, so he’s protected there, but the booking still hurts his overall aura. For what? Birthright isn’t a priority right now and they won the match by obvious referee distraction. Nobody gained anything because of this match and it was mid-level from an in-ring perspective. Bad and a misunderstanding of what Zilla Fatu brings to the NXT table.
Rook’s got a voice
-There ya go, Mason Rook! Rook held his own in the main event promo segment opposite Grayson Waller. He had a bit of swagger to him and his delivery mirrored that body language. Waller was strong heel foil for Rook and sold nicely for the big lines that dug at him.
What was your favorite match on this week’s episode of WWE NXT? Let us know in the comments!
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If the rest of the Dusty Classic can live up to Dar/Moreno v Americanos, I'm a happy camper. That match ripped. I see Dar/Moreno going all the way. Swipe Right and Wagner Bros aren't winning it. A babyface team should get the nod.
The closing promo had the flow of battle rap. Grayson's rage-bait punchlines set up Mason for a helluva rebuttal and he came back twice as hard.