If I Get Locked Up
I designed this space for updates on the NXT Championship qualifiers. That’s a big deal, right?! But the story from both matches
wasn’t the matches or even the winners; it was Tony D’Angelo. Ava stated at the top of the show that Tony is a problem that needed solving. Okay, she didn’t say it that way but you get the gist. After Shiloh Hill defeated Josh Briggs in a solid big man match, out came Tony to wreck Shiloh while Ricky Saints sat ringside. Ava saw the chaos, called the cops (snitch!), and gave orders to arrest Tony on sight if he showed up again. The wild part is the Performance Center isn’t exactly the O2; finding him anywhere in the building shouldn’t be difficult. Alas, Tony destroyed Sean Legacy after the latter defeated Eli Knight in my pick for match of the night.
I thought I’d spin a few words about that match but out came the former Don. While there’s been little rhyme or reason to anything Tony’s done prior to this point, this path makes sense. He wants the NXT Championship so he’s taking out anyone close to it. I’d love if we got some insight from the guy but it’s obvious what he’s doing. The cops arrested him and carried him off in an unmarked van. Is that the last we’ll see of Tony? Of course not. But how do we get from point A to B?
One of NXT’s weaknesses is logical progression and follow-up. For instance, Ava bans people from the building and then they’re back the next week with no explanation from her as to why. She mentioned she suspended Tatum Paxley this week for how the former champ acted last week. She didn’t clarify the duration of said suspension nor did she establish under what parameters can Tatum come back. When someone is arrested and hauled off in cuffs, they can’t just show up the next week. Remember back in the day when Tony was “behind bars”? It was silly but it at least made sense within the world NXT created. And they followed through with visits from Stax and an explanation for how Tony got back on the streets.
They presented NXT as anarchy this week. Too much drama and too many combustible elements that Ava needed to wrangle. There’s a big ladder match next week to determine the next male qualifier for the vacated NXT Championship, so Tony can’t be there. There’s potential here with this guy head hunting on his way to a championship and striking fear in Ricky’s heart. But taking big swings demands attention to details and sticktoitiveness (real word).
B-Sides
- Elio Lafleur made his NXT debut against Mr. All Ego himself, Ethan Page. This was a good showing from Elio that set up a rematch. Hopefully. Yes, he took the L, but he pushed Ethan to the brink and the champ had a handful of tights when the ref counted to three. That’s a great way to introduce a guy after building him up with video packages. He took the North American champ to the limit and only loss through chicanery.
- A victory over Chase U isn’t the biggest deal in the world considering their standing within NXT, but Vanity Project got the win. I still have no idea what they’re doing with Chase U 2.0 but I guess this is it: Enhancement talent for teams with a direction.
- I always worry about heels transitioning to faces. The things that made them cool and made fans cheer them can easily go away. Shawn Michaels’ face turn in the mid-90s is a perfect example of what happens when someone shaves off a character’s edges to make them a palatable face. Steve Austin is the perfect example of it done correctly. Jaida Parker looks like she’s teetering toward the latter. She remained the same Jaida who didn’t care about the fans. Same attitude, same confidence, and same bravado. She added some vulnerability to make herself sympathetic but not simple while giving us a little backstory on what makes her tick these days. All of that came out more when Blake Monroe entered the scene. Blake interrupted her in a way that only Blake can, and became the perfect foil for Jaida. Blake knows how to make faces look good and she did that here with her reactions to Jaida’s disrespect. Jaida looked like the coolest woman in territory.
- They clearly have big plans for Keanu Carver. He “got into it” with Shawn Michaels and did a sit-down interview under duress. During said sit-down, he showed his personality and what makes him a dangerous livelier. He didn’t even finish the interview since he thought the whole idea was stupid. And he sounds like people I know rather than sounding like generic create-a-wrestler. One thing NXT always did well was let wrestlers find their voices as characters. That’s evident with Keanu. I’m looking forward to seeing him next week.
- Last but certainly not least, ZaRuca survived a triple threat tag to become the number one contenders for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. Well, they survived. Sol Ruca & Zaria came into this match with the most drama. Zaria took a bit of umbrage with Sol not being by her side at Genesis, despite Sol saying she spent her time fending off the Elegance Brand to give her friend a fair shot at the Knockouts Championship. Oh, and there was Zaria’s bum shoulder. That shoulder came into play early in the matchup when they went for one of their signature tandem moves and Zaria just couldn’t hold her partner. And we still got a little tension when Zaria tagged herself in when Sol had all the momentum. Ultimately, it didn’t matter…for now. I’ve predicted this breakup for so long that I’m done looking silly. Maybe this is it if they don’t defeat the Elegance Brand for the titles. Maybe. Or maybe they win and this is just another bump in the road in the closest thing NXT has to a real friendship, including the ups and downs that come with the territory. Oh, as an aside, Kendal Grey is unreal. I look forward to seeing her every week and she never disappoints. Even in a tag match of this size with everyone trying to shine, she remains the brightest star.
- OTM vs. DarkState next week for the tag titles! But we now have The Culling looming as they stated their desire for tag gold.
I dug this episode a lot. Running storyline of chaos that showed itself in almost every aspect of the show, and progression. Plus several matches impressed. We’re in the midst of another NXT reboot so this is all promising for the future.
What say you, Cagesiders? Does Tony D’Angelo show up next week to wreck Ava’s plans?
