NXT Power Rankings: Getting’ Ready to TakeOver

January 25, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling 0

Surprise wins, heel turns, a Number 1 contender tournament, this week’s episode of NXT had a little bit of everything. With another NXT Takeover event just two weeks away, there was plenty to talk about once the show was over.

Check out this week’s NXT Power Rankings to see who surprised us the most in another episode of Triple H’s brainchild promotion.

Whoa Moment: Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy’s win over Simon Gotch and Aiden English may not have been sexy, but it is their first win in NXT, after way too many losses. Polished in-ring competitors, this guys are ready to begin their hunt in the cramped NXT Tag Team division.

Honorable Mention: Bailey: Although it wasn’t exactly a heel turn, Bailey showed more marbles this week on NXT than she ever has before. Hitting the NXT Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair with the Belly-to-Bailey Suplex, Bailey has let the world know she’s not all about hugs and pandering to fans.

5: The Vaudevillians: This guys are one of the best tag teams in NXT, but continue to come up short in title matches. Their loss to Wesley Bake and Buddy Murphy wasn’t proof that their fortunes are about to change, but it is an ironic step in the right direction. In need of a more vicious edge, this loss will be a lesson learned for them.

4: Hideo Itami: A big win over Tyler Breeze is nothing to scoff at. Now set to take on Finn Balor in the second round of the Number One contenders tournament, we’ll see just how much NXT Creative thinks of Itami.

3: Finn Balor: His win over Curtis Axel this week on NXT is easily his biggest win in the WWE to date. One of the most charismatic stars in the promotion, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the NXT brass book him in this tournament. Not quite ready to be NXT Champion, but polished enough for a big role, he’s in a spot where he needs something special to happen.

2: Kevin Owens: Intense as ever, Owens shrugged off an interview during this week’s show and let the world know he’s ready for Sami Zayn.

1: Sami Zayn: Holy smokes is Zayn pissed. All set to take on Kevin Owens at the next NXT Takeover event, Zayn told William Regal he wouldn’t fight until he got Owens in the ring. Setting up one of the most controversial and “special” encounters in NXT history, Zayn has taken his game to a completely new level, both in the ring and on the mic. Despite the fact that it’ll be a non-title match, it’ll still be a grudge match fans will talk about.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14262 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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