NXT was all about InVasion Showdown this week. This is a big deal and the territory treated it as such immediately.
Ricky Saints kicked off the show celebrating his championship only for Jacy Jayne to interrupt. No, she wasn’t hunting for a new championship; she had business on her mind. I liked this moment because quickly established the stakes and made Jacy the catalyst for setting the tone for the rest of the episode. It also segued quickly into Ava and Santino Marella picking their team captains, which meant dedicating the rest of the show to filling out those teams rather than watching Ava and Santino agonize over team captains. Ava picked Jacy and Ricky, naturally. Santino picked Mike Santana and…Kelani Jordan. Kelani makes sense as the Knockouts champ but it’s still an odd pick, right? She’s a homegrown NXT wrestler who is still an NXT Superstar, not a TNA wrestler. I thought they picked Kelani to sow some dissent and provide extra drama, but they didn’t go that route. Fair enough, NXT/TNA. Fair enough.
The big story for the first and second half of the show was jockeying for team positions. The women’s locker room made their case to Jacy, and the men made their case to Ricky…and Trick. Rather than pick to solidify the final spots, both Ricky and Jacy made matches with the winner getting the nod. That gave us Lola Vice vs. Fallon Henley, and Myles Borne vs. Josh Briggs.
We got some development between Fallon and Jacy, too! After Lola defeated Fallon, Jacy apologized for putting Fallon in that position. That’s really good to see because the acrimony between them can be a lot and tiresome. NXT also revealed their worst-kept secret: Lainey Reid was the masked assailant! She attacked Lola at No Mercy and took out Jazmyn Nyx. Lainey said Jazmyn was never “Fatal Influence material.” I like seeing her with Fallon & Jacy. She has presence and strength that could help this group finally look like less of a Toxic Attraction cover band and find its own sound. But I digress.
Trick backed Josh while Ricky backed Myles. Myles got the nod thanks for Matt Cardona making sure the heel didn’t use that gigantic chain wrapped around his neck.
But this is all prelude. I know why you’re here. You want to talk about the brawl, right? Well let’s get to it!
The “summit,” as Santino dubbed it, started with aggression and ended that way. First, the teams:
Ricky, Trick, Myles, and Je’Von Evans.
Mike, Frankie Kazarian, Moose, and Leon Slater.
Jacy, Sol Ruca, Jaida Parker, and Lola Vice
Kelani, The Inspiration, and Mara Sade (who Kelani almost called Jakara but I think that was purposeful).
Notably absent from any of this? Jordynne Grace and Joe Hendry (he did not just appear in my living room). Neither TNA captain trusts them and believes they play both sides. This is another reason I understand why they’re not doing the “trust” angle with Kelani since they bestowed that honor to these two. Will they be a part of the show? If Jordynne has her way. I smell a mixed tag in the works.
But I digress again.
After the captains announced their teams, all hell broke loose. Props to both companies for making all of this work and make sense for the most part in such a short time. I love a good brawl and this one delivered on the chaos. No, it’s not an invasion anymore but it’s still a showdown. If I can add one critique, it’s that the survivor series-style matches need something more on the line than bragging rights. But that’s a minor quibble for what already feels like an important night.
Oh and Santino is 100 percent correct in his reasoning for not picking Trick as team captain: How can you trust a man named Tricky?
Album Cuts
- I love that Jaida and Lash Legend go to war when they’re in the ring together. I don’t know what it’s like behind the scenes but these two wrestle like they really hate each other. At the least they’re extremely competitive. The pump kick Lash nailed Jaida with following Jaida’s patented turnbuckle attack and high step said it all. This was a woman who refused to back down, much like her opponent. I want more of these two together because it’s so physical and passionate. Jaida got the W here, which makes them 1-1. Showdown might put that on pause for a bit but I’m willing to wait.
- Lyra Valkyria attracts some very interesting friends. There’s everything going on with Bayley on Raw, and she pops in at NXT to check in on Tatum Paxley. She made Tatum a doll this week, which was very sweet of her. I have no idea what the ultimate goal here is though. Is she trying to pry her friend away from The Culling? Is this a way to smoothly move Tatum from NXT to Raw? It’s weird but has my attention.
- Mustafa Ali is fantastic. His promo tonight encapsulated everything that makes him compelling. He mixes reality with wrestling reality with just the right amount of emotion and efficient storytelling. He doesn’t waste a word. I’m looking forward to him facing Ethan Page in the championship match he never got two years ago despite the promises made.
- Speaking of fantastic, the main event tag match between The Culling and Je’Von & Leon might make me buy Bound for Glory. This was an incredible tag match that not only primed the pump for their X Division Championship match, but narratively explained why they got spots on their respective teams. Niko Vance & Shawn Spears kept up though. They matched the young cats beat for beat in a match about power and smarts vs. speed and cunning. This week, the latter won resoundingly.
NXT rocked this week. The show’s sense of urgency kicked in early and never slowed down. The matches all contributed to the larger narrative and it smartly built towards the final eruption. Seeing people who despise each other band together only emphasized next week’s importance. And, again, Santino is right that you can’t trust a man named Tricky.
What say you, Cage Siders? Who gets the W next week?
