New WU
Welcome to another NXT soft reboot.
After losing a ton of top
tier talent all at once in what felt like the end of a zombie movie where it’s just desolate land, NXT is truly a whole new world. Particularly on the men’s side. Trick Williams, Je’Von Evans, and Oba Femi all waved bye-bye to developmental, leaving a huge vacuum. If there’s one thing nature abhors, it’s pollution. If it’s two things it abhors, it’s pollution and a vacuum. The show opened with the vacant NXT Championship front and center, indicating just how large said void is. Who fills it?
That was the show’s main question this week. They didn’t answer it but they proposed a few options, starting with Ricky Saints and Keanu Carver:
Ava announced a ladder match for February 3 to crown a new champ. She also told the world that qualifiers for this momentous occasion begin next week. Ricky came down and stated his case for being the man. Thankfully, they presented Ricky in a way that made him feel special. He wasn’t lined up ringside with everyone else but got his full entrance, along with some mic time. He argument to just hand him the championship went nowhere with Ava but he still stood out. But not as much as Keanu. When the carnage erupted, this guy did most of the damage. They made him look like a monster truly capable of filling Oba’s ginormous shoes.
Next up? Well, we’ll get to that person a bit later, but right after him was Myles Borne. Myles was present in the opening skirmish and demanded that Stone put him in the qualifiers. Again, good presentation of a guy truly expected to step up now. Also showed how much it meant to him when he got a little physical with Ava’s assistant just to make his point.
But the guy who made his mark later in the show, and who lurked in the background in the opening hour, was Tony D’Angelo.
During the war between Joe Hendry and Dion Lennox, another battle broke out between OTM and the rest of DarkState. Which, of course it did. With both men finally dolo, Tony struck. He flattened Dion with a Spinebuster…then did the same to Joe. The former Don then put Joe on top of Dion for the pin. That brought Ava and security ringside, which didn’t go well for security.
What’s Tony’s deal? What does he want? There’s a lot of questions and NXT better answer hem soon because Tony’s been back for more than a month now without any explanation from him.
For a telecast built around the territory looking for the next man to rule, this wasn’t half bad.
B-Sides
- Lola Vice made it clear she’s got one woman on her mind: Izzi Dame. Of course that came after she defeated Kelani Jordan in a grudge match that came about after Kelani threw a shoe at Lola last week. If only she connected. Alas. I actually want more matches between these two. But I’d appreciate an alignment switch. I appreciate Kelani’s heel work and like this face version of Lola a whole lot more than the version we got a few years ago, but it’s still not quite right. At least when facing each other. Kelani is the obvious face when paired with Lola, and vice versa. Pun very much intended. Kelani is still awesome in the ring and Lola did looked her best when utilizing submissions and strikes, but something just felt off. Even Kelani cheating for a win looked like meh cosplay. She went for a rollup and grabbed a handful of rope only for the ref to see her. While she argued with the official, Lola wound up that back fist. After getting the W because cheaters only proper sometimes, Lola told Izzi she wants that North American Championship.
- Props to NXT on that opening transition that highlighted Oba Femi vacating the championship and segued into that same title sitting in the middle of the ring where Oba left it. WWE’s production remains top notch.
- JAIDA PARKER IS BACK! On the real, I ask about her once a week in the Cageside Offices. I’m sure they’re all sick of me by this point. Probably for a lot of reasons but definitely for that. She interrupted Blake Monroe, who explained to the world why she blew up her chances at regaining the North American Championship. I don’t particularly like her explanation, which amounted to “so what?!”Either way, this segued into Jaida’s return, which Cleary excited the crowd and Jaida looked like a true face for the first time. I hope they don’t ruin her character and take away all the reasons Orlando went crazy for her. Blake threw a punch after interrupting Jaida, Jaida blocked it and got the upper hand on her new rival. Is this Blake’s last feud at the Performance Center? Time will tell.
- Jasper Troy is still the Speed Champion. I liked how Tavion Heights tried ending this match as quickly as possible as soon as the bell rang. Showed the desperation but and the urgency. With a cat like Jasper, he gets better the longer the match goes, so ending it early was sound strategy and good character work. But yeah, no cigar on any of that. Tavion’s loss gave way to Alexa King attacking him. I just lamented Lexis’ current positioning in NXT and wondered what they’re doing with the guy who was such a big deal when he debuted. He not only attacked Tavion for some revenge but stated he wants to be the guy who does the whole carpe de diem thing and answers Ava’s call for someone in the men’s locker room to step up. Will he step up or get stepped on?
- I really dug Shiloh Hill vs. Stacks. This was a really fun wrestling match for the TNA International Championship. Shiloh has some promise. I still can’t wrap my head around his gimmick but I enjoy him in the ring. He and Stacks are good dance partners as well, and Arianna Grace adds to that. She helped her man get the win, which probably means this isn’t over yet. Hopefully not. There’s some fun here with the three of them.
- I liked Izzi Dame more on the mic than the last time she took the solo spotlight. The crowd did her no favors at all, especially when they yelled to turn off her mic. But she kept her composure and kept going. I don’t know if she’s at the point where she can engage with them sporadically but she’ll get there. She just seemed more confident telling her story of winning the championship and why she’s better than Tatum. Which brings us to Tatum. Now, it’s always weird to me when wrestlers take so long to interrupt a promo when they’re visibly livid and swinging at security guards, but that bit aside, it was a nice bit of TV from Tatum. She even got tossed out of the building for putting her hand on an official.
NXT needed to shoot out of a canon this week after everything that happened last week, including the exits. They did just that with a lot of chaos, a few new names, and some intrigue at the end of the show. Not a complete home run but a well-done effort to start this new era for a brand that felt stripped for parts.
What say you, Cagesiders? Who should be the new NXT Champ?
