Milk It
NXT’s made mediocrity its resting place for quite some time. The biggest indicator of this? Johnny Gargano is the number one contender for the Men’s North American Championship.
This isn’t a diss to Johnny—I’ll save that for Geno—but definitely a slight against NXT. They spent weeks building up everyone in this match to some degree: Shiloh Hill, Charlie Dempsey, Dion Lennox, and Jackson Drake. They all had a moment in the
sun or multiple moments. Charlie is part of a new stable that for some reason is spelled “Birth Right” instead of “Birthright.” Shiloh is…well, Shiloh. Dion leads DarkState, which is spelled that way instead of “Dark State.” Jackson is the former Evolve champ and leader of Vanity Project. Jackson also looked like a former champ in this match where he and Shiloh made the ring their own.
And yet, NXT decided to give the spot to a guy who doesn’t even go here anymore. Story wise, Candice LaRae forced Johnny into the match, he was in over his head most of the time, barely did anything, and literally fell into a victory. And that guy after that performance is going into the biggest show of the year with a title shot in his back pocket?
The decision felt like a slap in the face but also unimaginative. Like I said, indicative of NXT as a whole right now.
B-Sides
- Like I said, this was a very newsworthy show despite me not liking the quality. Let’s start with Tatum Paxley using Shiloh Hill’s creepiness to her advantage. The Women’s North American champ found Blake Monroe at a hotel and interrupted her bubble bath. I had a little fun with this despite feeling like it was obvious where it was going.
- The NXT faithful shocked me. Sol Ruca cut a promo putting her soul out there in a purely babyface fashion only for them to loudly reject it. It didn’t read false to me. It really just looked like the crowd picked a side and that side starts with a Z. For her part, Zaria met Sol’s emotion. Their promos truly felt like two friends hurt by each other and sorting their way through it. It was different than what we’re accustomed to getting from the territory and I dug it. It was messy and both women expressed their perspectives clearly. It wasn’t the smoothest segment but I think that worked to its advantage. Something like this shouldn’t feel scripted; it needs to look real. I don’t know about you but I’m rarely calculated when exposing raw nerves and letting my emotions fly. They get each other at Stand & Deliver and I hope it’s not just a normal match.
- From a bubbling feud to a brewing one. Remember last week when Thea Hail yelled she’d make Kelani Jordan tap? Yeah, she didn’t get close in the actual match. This was all about setting up Kelani vs. Jaida Parker as the latter came to Thea’s aide when Kelani instituted the post match beatdown. Meh. Just give me Kelani and Jaida without further establishing Jaida’s face bonafides. I get my wish next week as these two face off in NYC.
- More MSG in NYC news: Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey for a shot at Jacy Jayne’s title. This should actually be a really fun match considering their styles. How did we get here? Wren Sinclair & Kendal shockingly—tongue firmly in cheek—defeated Lainey Reid & Fallon Henley. Fatal Influence really has no juice outside of the champ.
- After Ricky Saints vs. Tony D’Angelo ended in a DQ after Ethan Page interfered on Ricky’s behalf, the two frenemies tried to permanently take Tony D out of the picture. This is the same Tony D’Angelo who Joe Hendry isn’t fond of either. Yet the Men’s NXT Champion came down to make the save? I know, I know. He’s the babyface and should do babyface things. But lay the groundwork so it makes sense when he does something like that because on its face, it doesn’t work. Anyway, Stone made the inevitable official: Joe defends his championship against all three of these men at Stand & Deliver.
This was a rough show. There were a few things I liked but overall, it just felt like they were doing all they could to get to next week and then get to Stand & Deliver in two weeks. The logic was off, the pacing was lacking, the commercial breaks do not help at all, and there’s no heft to anything outside of Zaria and Sol Ruca’s story. They’re really suffering without the roster that carried them into last year’s Stand & Deliver.
What say you, Cagesiders? Are you looking forward to NXT in MSG?
