Away from the crowing of a new NXT Champion, this week’s show featured way too many green young performers. NXT was once the darling of the WWE promotion, with excellent in-ring work and just enough promo. That, is gone and now, with its new look, the days of the Black and Gold are obviously over. While the InDex Wedding was fun, it was clearly a last bit of old NXT we’ll never see again.
With Carmelo Hayes’ fumbling of his promo as a microcosm of the direction the promotion is headed in, NXT is absolutely a development brand again. Are you happy now, Mr. McMahon?
Matches:
Bron Breakker vs. LA Knight: This was an impromptu match-up that saw Knight thumbed by a Gorilla Press/Powerslam variation
Imperium: Fabian Eichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs: Jensen and Briggs hung in there longer than expected (Briggs is a far more polished indie guy that Jensen and it showed) and Eichner got the win with the Modified Butterfly Suplex.
B-Fab vs. Katrina Cortez: B-Fab squashed Cortez with a NEckbreaker variation.After the match, Electra Lopez and B-Fab went at after the bell, but Santos Escobar made sure everyone knew it wasn’t happening.
Kacy Catanzaro, Kayden Carter and Sarray vs. Gigo Dolin, Jacy Jayne and Mandy Rose: Definitely a statement win for the new-look Rose who win with her Knee Strike on Carter.
Ridge Holland vs. Drake Maverick w/Grayson Waller: Holland got the squash win with Northern Grit.
Brutus and Julius Creed vs. Local Competitors: The Creeds decimated these poor souls with the Fireman’s Carry Uppercut combo. After the match, Malcom Bivens introduced Ivy Nile and made sure the world new Roderick Strong was getting his NXT Cruiserweight Title shot next week.
NXT Championship: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Pete Dunne vs. LA Knight vs. Von Wagner: The best match on the card and aside from the Women’s Tag Team match, the only contest that had a decent flow. Every athlete here had some time to shine, but it was Ciampa who won with the Fairy Tale Ending on Knight.
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