AUSTIN ARIES vs. “THE CURSE OF GREATNESS” ANGELO DAWKINS- 4/10
Dawkins has been in developmental for years at this point and he’s still not much more than a jobber. Dawkins got in a bunch of offense for the purposes of letting Aries make a comeback. He won with the rolling elbow, which was disappointing.
NO WAY JOSE WILL DEBUT NEXT WEEK- fine, I guess.
ALEXA BLISS! vs.
With all of the focus they put on Tessa, I was amazed that she didn’t at least get an entrance.
I went nuts when Alexa goozled Tessa. The thought of Alexa Bliss using a chokeslam… that just might break the BRM fanboy-o-meter.
In other news, Alexa is no longer using the Sparkle Splash as a finisher (she used the Glitz Flip) instead, which is better for a heel. Most importantly, though, Alexa Bliss! won!
DASHA FUENTES INTERVIEWS FINN BALOR- Balor was good. Dasha sounded like she was recited rehearsed lines instead of asking a natural question. The issue in this case wasn’t the writing, but rather Dasha’s poor delivery.
TOMMASO CIAMPA & JOHNNY GARGANO vs. THE VAUDEVILLAINS- 6.5/10
Good win for Ciampa and Gargano. I like how the announcers put over the idea that this loss could derail the Vaudevillains main roster momentum, already setting up a feud for when the Vaudevillains return to NXT after their inevitable failure on the main roster.
ALEX REYES INTERVIEWS TYE DILLENGER- good
TUCKER KNIGHT vs. BARON CORBIN- 4.5/10
GABLE, JORDAN, ENZO, & CASS SEGMENT- fine.
BAYLEY vs. LIV MORGAN- 4/10
Morgan has new music. It’s meh. She also got new gear. I’m saying her old gear was good, but this gear isn’t good, either.
Okay, can we not sing the “will you be my girl” song and just go back to cheering for Bayley now please? You know… something that promotes her as an athlete rather than a romantic partner?
BAYLEY PROMO- great. “A true champion isn’t measured by how many times you get knocked down. A true champion is measured by how many times you get back up.” Stuff like that.
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA vs. TYE DILLENGER- 6.25/10
“HE’S ELEVEN!” chants for Nakamura. Awesome! The match was fun. A good introduction to Nakamura for anyone who hasn’t seen him before.
A good first post-PPV show from NXT. These right here are the new building blocks.