NXT Power Rankings: NXT Ready for Japan

June 30, 2015 Patrick Hickey Jr. Professional Wrestling 0

A handful of matches and a decent main event ensured that NXT wasn’t a waste of time, but with no title matches and only a few teases towards future encounters, there was little to get extremely excited about.

Check out this week’s NXT Power Rankings to see who else Kevin Owens will have his hands full with soon, as well as how the uncrowned NXT Tag Team Champions are progressing in their quest for gold.

Honorable Mention: Hideo Itami: Out for another eight to 12 weeks, Itami’s return will definitely spice up the NXT title scene. Until then, he’ll be the poster boy in Japan to get the promotion’s first big show in the country over. The drama between Kevin Owens and Itami will definitely build up in the meantime and expect a match between these two at one point.

5: Dana Brooke: Sure, her win over Cassie wasn’t “magical,” but she’s still undefeated and continues to get better. In terms of a look and music and the whole package, Brooke has it, she just has to continue to refine. If a match with Charlotte Flair doesn’t aid in that process, nothing will.

4: Colin Cassady and Enzo Amore: The classic, big-man, little-man, hot valet tag team, these guys are something special. Even with their deficiencies in the ring and Cassady’s learning curve on the mic, these guys are the most “over” tag team in NXT. The only question is, when are they finally going to get the NXT Tag Team titles?

3: Samoa Joe: He still wants a shot at Kevin Owens, but may have to wait a few weeks. One of this generation’s most dominant performers on both the indie circuit and in TNA, Joe continues to make an impact in NXT.

2: Finn Balor: He has guts to attack Kevin Owens from behind, but he may have his hands full with Rhino a bit longer than anyone else expected. At the same time, it’s impossible to ignore how polished Balor is in the ring and how badly the NXT universe wants to see him thrive. He may not have what it takes to dethrone Owens, but he will, eventually, win the NXT title.

1: Kevin Owens: He’s such a bastard. As a dominant heel, he’s impossible not to love. He’s got all the answers to every face’s questions and is more than happy to back it up in the ring. Regardless of if he loses the NXT title to Finn Balor in Japan or not, expect Owens to carry a ton of momentum with him in his next match with John Cena, this one for the United States title.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14316 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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