BRM Reviews the 7/10/2019 NXT

[Big Red Machine]

IO SHIRAI PROMO- Now that Io is a heel she has started to dress entirely in black and has stolen Emil Sitoci’s extremely annoying strobe light entrance, so we’re off to a solid start. She tell us that she doesn’t need friends, and she doesn’t need any of us, either. The she leaves.

THE VELVETEEN DREAM HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENCE- not good.
He was very much his character here but somehow managed to be dull. It didn’t help that he also came across like a heel dodging questions about challengers. The one person who was specifically brought up was Roderick Strong, who TVD said “got lucky” but wasn’t anywhere near earning a title shot, making Roddy seem like he’s the babyface in this story.

DAMIAN PRIEST vs. BLANCO LOCO- no rating, good squash

KILLIAN DAIN VIDEO PACKAGE- AWESOME!

NXT BREAKOUT TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINAL MATCH: Jordan Myles vs. Boa- 6/10
ACH carries Boa to a solid match in his debut.

SHAYNA BASZLER PROMO- awesome... although I will point out that she said “the story always ends the same” and then listed three different possible endings (“tap, nap, or snap”).

KEITH LEE VIDEO PACKAGE- AWESOME!

WILLIAM REGAL ANNOUNCES THAT KUSHIDA WILL FACE SMACKDOWN LIVE’S APOLLO CREWS NEXT WEEK- cool!
Regal pushed the idea that wrestlers from other brands have been coming to NXT just for the chance to face KUHSIDA (Ohno from NXT UK, Gulak from 205 Live, and no Crews from Smackdown).
Also, we’ll see Adam Cole’s first title defense.

NXT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: The Street Profits(c) vs. Danny Burch & Oney Lorcan- 7.5/10
This was very good for the time it got, but a title match main event should not be getting less than ten minutes.

A great episode of NXT, despite the matches not getting enough time.

[Bob-O]

IO SHIRAI PROMO- Now that Io is a heel she has started to dress entirely in black

Guys... I think I might be in love with new Murder Io. No offense and all credit due to those before her, but I think this is the hottest woman to ever step foot in a wrestling ring.

She's got new shit-kickin' music, too.

[Serujuunin]

IO SHIRAI PROMO- Now that Io is a heel she has started to dress entirely in black

Guys... I think I might be in love with new Murder Io. No offense and all credit due to those before her, but I think this is the hottest woman to ever step foot in a wrestling ring.

She's got new shit-kickin' music, too.

Sometimes all it takes is a personality shift. I was never into Drew in his first run, but when he came back, it was like he was a completely different person, and suddenly I'm into him.

I'm kind of glad Io's gone heel, it feels like the only real big heel in the division is Shayna, and we kind of need another one. I'm kind of hoping this leads into a feud with Candice, that kind of seems like the logical direction.

[Bob-O]

I was never into Drew in his first run, but when he came back, it was like he was a completely different person, and suddenly I'm into him.

Hear me out now...
At the end of that run, yes - 3 Man Band, I thought Drew was going to make it work. Everything they did was cheesy comedy, but in the back of my mind I was always left thinking how Drew didn't look like an idiot like Jinder and Heath. Call it fantasy booking or whatever, but I was waiting for Drew to snap on the other two and take that rockstar vibe all the way to the main event in a serious role that could crack a joke here and there.. like the next Edge...

I think he's better off now with the decisions he made, but Rockstar Drew looked so cool... they could've done something with that...

I'm kind of glad Io's gone heel, it feels like the only real big heel in the division is Shayna, and we kind of need another one. I'm kind of hoping this leads into a feud with Candice, that kind of seems like the logical direction.

My gut says Murder Io feuds with Candice while Mia feuds with Shayna. Mia takes the title from Shayna, Shayna get's called up, we now know what a ruthless selfish amazingly hot piece of shit Io is when she wins title from Mia because Triple H likes his heel champions.

[Bob-O]

WILLIAM REGAL ANNOUNCES THAT KUSHIDA WILL FACE SMACKDOWN LIVE’S APOLLO CREWS NEXT WEEK- cool!
Regal pushed the idea that wrestlers from other brands have been coming to NXT just for the chance to face KUHSIDA (Ohno from NXT UK, Gulak from 205 Live, and no Crews from Smackdown).

WWE is doing right here, but also kind of leaves an elephant in the room in "If all these guys want the chance to wrestle KUSHIDA, what is KUSHIDA doing in NXT?"

I don't mind the crossover, I think it's a great idea, but I don't care for the way they're going about it. It should be KUSHIDA calling these guys out. It'd be weird if Brock Lesnar put Matt Riddle over by saying "I heard he was pretty good in UFC! Forget my briefcase, I'd like a shot at THAT dude!"... whereas Brock showing up at Full Sail wondering where "that punk that thinks he's going to retire me" is while people scramble... because holy shit, Brock wants a piece of Riddle... seems much more natural.

[KILLdozer]

I'd almost say Io Shirai's drastic shift in character could lead to a shift elsewhere...Shayna Bazsler's promo felt very much different compared to every other one so far. Almost, calm, relaxed, humble and composed. Literally no traces of the arrogant heel. There were no horsewomen either...

[Big Red Machine]

I'd almost say Io Shirai's drastic shift in character could lead to a shift elsewhere...Shayna Bazsler's promo felt very much different compared to every other one so far. Almost, calm, relaxed, humble and composed. Literally no traces of the arrogant heel. There were no horsewomen either...

I totally disagree. She was very arrogant here.

[Serujuunin]

I was never into Drew in his first run, but when he came back, it was like he was a completely different person, and suddenly I'm into him.

Hear me out now...
At the end of that run, yes - 3 Man Band, I thought Drew was going to make it work. Everything they did was cheesy comedy, but in the back of my mind I was always left thinking how Drew didn't look like an idiot like Jinder and Heath. Call it fantasy booking or whatever, but I was waiting for Drew to snap on the other two and take that rockstar vibe all the way to the main event in a serious role that could crack a joke here and there.. like the next Edge...

I think he's better off now with the decisions he made, but Rockstar Drew looked so cool... they could've done something with that...

I'm going to speak frankly, as a woman, Drew is far more attractive now than he was then lol. I didn't think he looked cool at all, just... less dorky.

I'm kind of glad Io's gone heel, it feels like the only real big heel in the division is Shayna, and we kind of need another one. I'm kind of hoping this leads into a feud with Candice, that kind of seems like the logical direction.

My gut says Murder Io feuds with Candice while Mia feuds with Shayna. Mia takes the title from Shayna, Shayna get's called up, we now know what a ruthless selfish amazingly hot piece of shit Io is when she wins title from Mia because Triple H likes his heel champions.

I like that setup with the ladies. It feels natural, and Shayna has really done all that she can in NXT so the only thing left that feels organic is a move to the main roster, and I think they would benefit from a heel like her.

[Bob-O]

I like that setup with the ladies. It feels natural, and Shayna has really done all that she can in NXT so the only thing left that feels organic is a move to the main roster, and I think they would benefit from a heel like her.

Absolutely, especially if they brought her in similarly to her NXT run. Raw has a star in Becky while nobody else comes close, I think Shayna could absolutely fix that right away.

Have her just calmly show up and start breaking arms.

"Becky Lynch... Rhonda's a good friend of mine, but you need to know, I'm not Rhonda. I'm not a super model, we're not going to do this thing on social media... I am going to beat you up and I am going to take your title because I can, and you need to know that I can do it whenever I want.

I don't care about Main Eventing Wrestlemania... I don't care about your boyfriend, or your heritage, or anything you went through to get to where you are. The Man, woman, whatever the hell you are it doesn't matter, you're still the same as everyone else I've got in the ring with... 206 bones, and I'm going to break them one by one until I'm holding my title."

[Serujuunin]

I like that setup with the ladies. It feels natural, and Shayna has really done all that she can in NXT so the only thing left that feels organic is a move to the main roster, and I think they would benefit from a heel like her.

Absolutely, especially if they brought her in similarly to her NXT run. Raw has a star in Becky while nobody else comes close, I think Shayna could absolutely fix that right away.

Have her just calmly show up and start breaking arms.

"Becky Lynch... Rhonda's a good friend of mine, but you need to know, I'm not Rhonda. I'm not a super model, we're not going to do this thing on social media... I am going to beat you up and I am going to take your title because I can, and you need to know that I can do it whenever I want.

I don't care about Main Eventing Wrestlemania... I don't care about your boyfriend, or your heritage, or anything you went through to get to where you are. The Man, woman, whatever the hell you are it doesn't matter, you're still the same as everyone else I've got in the ring with... 206 bones, and I'm going to break them one by one until I'm holding my title."

I’m not sure I could have written it any better. I still just have so much fear for NXT callups. I want Aleister and Ricochet to be the ones that buck the trend, but I can absolutely see Shayna being in a Sonya Deville situation before long.

[Bob-O]

I can absolutely see Shayna being in a Sonya Deville situation before long.

The fear is real, but for what it's worth, but my hope rests on the fact that nobody in NXT has been booked as dominantly as Shayna except Charlotte. An argument could be made for Asuke, and while we can all agree that call-up has been aggravating at best, she didn't run the yard as long as Charlotte or as long as Shayna has. Sonya was in that whole slew of ladies that got plucked too soon so they could have their Revolution... I don't think ANYONE from that crew has had much success. Asuke aside, Ember is the one that blows my mind.

They both started wrestling at the same time but, I think the real difference between Sonya and Shayna is that Sonya has "MMA Training" with 3 fights under her belt. Shayna Baszler was ranked in the Top Ten in the world before she started pro wrestling. Take that pedigree, combined with the amount of time she's been in developmental, how stagnant the division has been, and most importantly her ties to Rhonda Rousey... I don't know sister... if they screw that up there's really no hope for anyone.

[Serujuunin]

I can absolutely see Shayna being in a Sonya Deville situation before long.

The fear is real, but for what it's worth, but my hope rests on the fact that nobody in NXT has been booked as dominantly as Shayna except Charlotte. An argument could be made for Asuke, and while we can all agree that call-up has been aggravating at best, she didn't run the yard as long as Charlotte or as long as Shayna has. Sonya was in that whole slew of ladies that got plucked too soon so they could have their Revolution... I don't think ANYONE from that crew has had much success. Asuke aside, Ember is the one that blows my mind.

They both started wrestling at the same time but, I think the real difference between Sonya and Shayna is that Sonya has "MMA Training" with 3 fights under her belt. Shayna Baszler was ranked in the Top Ten in the world before she started pro wrestling. Take that pedigree, combined with the amount of time she's been in developmental, how stagnant the division has been, and most importantly her ties to Rhonda Rousey... I don't know sister... if they screw that up there's really no hope for anyone.

Oh I 100% believe that Shayna would WRECK the women's division on the main roster. I love her as a heel (though I prefer her without having cronies), and if she's handled the right way she could be a superstar.

[Big Red Machine]

Shayna will ne pushed fine, if for no other reason than it will give them an excuse to mention "WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey" every time Shayna is on screen.