Dancing in the Dark
This episode opened with Ricky Saints declaring himself number one contender. That tracks based on how Heatwave faded to black. But he also knew Josh Briggs wanted that same spot. I liked them filling in some blanks for Josh’s distaste for Ricky (he’s an outsider, he gets shots he doesn’t deserve, lots of flash no fire, etc.) because all of those reasons
go back to the same insecurities plaguing Josh since he went solo. But this is where the segment went off the rails for me, which became a troubling omen for the men’s championship picture as a whole.
Ava hit the ring and said since no one’s heard from Je’Von Evans since Heatwave, she needs a new number one contender, so she booked Josh vs. Ricky. Okay, what? Because you haven’t heard from the guy who lost the match fair and square, now you need a new number one contender? Does that mean if Je’Von was around he’d get the shot? That sounded like the most illogical reasoning for booking a match. But fine, I’ll take the match.
And you know what? It was solid. Josh looked good against Ricky. Part of that is Ricky’s selling ability and the other is him just becoming a better big man in the ring. All of his moves look powerful and he’s not wasting any energy.
A hard fought match worthy of the stakes, which always goes a long way with me. Ricky got the W, and out came Oba. That’s when that bad omen from earlier showed itself again.
Oba vs. Ricky is enough. They’re fighting for a championship that Oba’s held for umpteen weeks. We’ve got the story about Oba wearing thin after said weeks, which is a tried and true storyline for seemingly anyone who holds a championship for a long time in this division. Then there’s the story of another interloper taking on an NXT homegrown talent. A guy who paid his dues vs. a young pup taking the world by storm. But for some reason, the territory saw fit to throw in DarkState.
Why? Why overbook the championship picture with No Mercy about a month away? DarkState says they want more than just the tag team championships. Okay, cool, but no one in that crew is a believable challenge for Ricky, much less Oba. But here we are. And where DarkState is, Hank & Tank followed because they want their rematch. Based on how they lost the championships, they deserve one. I have no issue with that. But I don’t like these streams crossing because there’s no need.
Next week, we’re getting an eight-man tag between DarkState, Hank, Tank, Ricky, and the Ruler. Why? Because that’s what DarkState wants, according to Ava. Since when does Ava listen to DarkState? Well, when the GM is looking for a new men’s championship contender because the guy the champ just defeated isn’t around anymore, I guess she’s listening to everyone.
Album Cuts
- I should’ve known Kelani Jordan vs. Blake Monroe would end in shenanigans. Blake cheated for her W over Jordynne Grace, something that put the Juggernaut rightly in her feelings. Kelani got the win but partially due to Jordynne showing up mid match and clearly getting in Blake’s head. She chased her around the ring and into the crowd. Blake even tried leaving! I thought that was hilarious and a fun character moment. Jordynne made sure her arch nemesis finished the match, but the writing was on the wall. Now, the reason for the match? Blake wanted a title shot (despite the fact Lola Vice is number one contender) and Kelani told Blake’s entitled behind to get to the back of the line. Of course she can’t get even get to the back of that line with Jordynne in her way. But Kelani also felt she should get a shot because she didn’t get pinned. I mean, I guess. But that sounds like she wants a participation trophy.
- The Culling challenged Wren Sinclair to a tag match assuming she couldn’t find a partner. And considering the No Quarter Catch Crew repels people like a skunk, I get it. Charlie Dempsey found her a partner in Kendal Grey. He did it in the most backhanded way, but it was still someone willing to help. So the story going into the match was how would this makeshift team work when put against two “friends” in Tatum Paxley & Izzi Dame? They certainly had their hiccups but the biggest one that needed a paper bag came in the end. Kendal took out Tatum and slapped her in an arm bar while Tatum, the legal woman, finished off Wren with a Liger Bomb. Kendal was so focused on showing off the arm bar, the same one Charlie criticized earlier, that she lost sight of the bigger goal. It’s a wrinkle that caught my attention and hopefully leads to something happening with what’s left of the No Quarter Catch Crew. Will it rebuild itself as stable with mostly women with Charlie as the coach? I could get with that.
- Tyra Mae Steele defeated Alba Fyre for some get back from losing at Heatwave. But Chelsea Green wasn’t leaving the arena with an L. She attacked Tyra after the match, Ethan Page got the drop on Tavion Heights, and then the North American champ draped Tavion in the Canadian flag. Think of it as Shawn Michaels repaying Canada for sticking their flag up his nose many, many moons ago.
- As Claire pointed out in the CSS offices, adding the Speed championship will only make NXT even more consistent in keeping stories on the show every week. Claire, of course, had her entire tongue in her cheek when she said that.
- Speaking of stories, WHERE IS TONY D’ANGELO?!
- As it relates to the Speed championship, the main event served to spotlight the Speed champ, Sol Ruca, and put Jacy Jayne in even more jeopardy. For starters, can we just break up Fatal Influence? The more they’re together, the less believable it is that these three women want to be around each other. What’s worse, they’re not giving a reason for them to stick together even though they’re terrible towards each other. Jazmyn Nyx wants the Speed championship because she’s the only one in the crew to never hold a title. Jacy immediately struck that down, then implied there’s a reason she’s never held a title. There’s no reason to fear Jacy, so why do Jazmyn & Fallon Henley take this abuse? I know why Jacy keeps them around, but what’s in it for them?
- The six-woman tag itself was fun, and I liked seeing Lola with Sol & Zaria. This is the proper way to make her a face because she’s not doing the white meat baby thing; she’s just a tough woman who likes to fight whenever the time is right. Putting her with two women who have the same attitude helps. The crowd eventually tuned out and started doing the wave. I enjoyed it a bit more than they did, clearly. Zaria & Sol are a really dope team and I like them together. Shrug.
- Sol snatched a soul, and Lola hit a back fist on Fallon for the win. Like I said, this was about positioning the Speed champ and the number contender.
There were a few bright spots but this show didn’t work for me. It just didn’t feel well constructed or paced, and its internal logic is all over the place. Thankfully, it felt more like a NXT show than an NXT/TNA show, but who knows how long that will last? NXT is usually a chaotic show. Sometimes that chaos works to its advantage but other times, like the past few weeks, it does more harm than good.
What say you, Cage Siders? Will Lola Vice dethrone Jacy Jayne or is she just another challenger?
