WWE NXT Review - April 20, 2016

Apollo Crews goes to war with Samoa Joe.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Tag Team Champions American Alpha def. Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (Non-title)

I liked how Enzo and Cass pointed out in their encounter with American Alpha last week and in their pre-match promo here how they had never before faced off with them, making this match more meaningful in the process. They worked very well together and the crowd ate up everything they did because they're both babyfaces. Enzo and Cass doing the honors for the champs wasn't surprising since they're on their way out, and they've always been a lot like Sami Zayn where they'll be over regardless of whether they win or lose. Beyond a rematch with The Revival, which tandem will step up to challenge American Alpha for the twin titles?


No Way Jose def. Alexander Wolfe

The recent vignettes for No Way Jose brought back memories of Adam Rose from two years ago, and his catchy entrance didn't do anything to dispel that comparison for me. That said, he plays the character to perfection and the crowd was into his shtick by the time the match ended. I can see it having a longer shelf life than Rose as long as they flesh out the character and his motivations more, something they didn't do for Rose and look what happened to him.

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Enzo Amore takes control of Chad Gable.

Nia Jax def. Deonna Purrazzo

I probably would have been ten times more sour on this match had it occurred on last week's show (which was filled with enhancement matches), but I was happy this was a simple squash match kept short and sweet. I've been a major advocate of Purrazzo's since she arrived in NXT and I hope it isn't long before she's signed to an official contract because she certainly has the look. I assume Nia will be going after the NXT Women's Championship again once Bayley gets her rematch.


Samoa Joe def. Apollo Crews

Much like Enzo and Cass, Crews has since been called up to the main roster, so you had to know Joe was emerging victorious against him. Nevertheless, they produced a solid, hard-hitting affair and both guys looked good coming out of it. It was a fun clash of similar styles and the right man went over. It will be interesting to see what Joe does next now that he has fallen short of winning the NXT Championship twice.


​Overall Show

I didn't mind last week's squash-filled show, but it made me worried that's all this set of tapings from NXT were going to be. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with this edition of NXT as we were treated to an entertaining tag team matchup, a quick squash from the women, a successful debut and a good main event. A very enjoyable hour on the whole. I'll actually be in Lowell, MA for an NXT live event tomorrow night, and after seeing this show, I can't wait!

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