WWE NXT Review - April 5, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Peyton Royce def. Aliyah

Royce has really come into her own as a character these last few months and I could definitely see her as a future NXT Women's Champion with more seasoning down the line. As for Aliyah, she has improved immensely over the last year, but she still has a long way to go. She's fine in the ring, but she doesn't have an established character yet, hence why the lack of a reaction she received when she made her entrance was unsurprising. This was a good win for Royce, though.

Heavy Machinery def. The Bollywood Boyz

As I noted in last week's review, Heavy Machinery have quickly grown on me and this was another nice showing from them. Beating a more established tag team in The Bollywood Boyz helped them build a bit of credibility and although the matchup didn't last long, it was short and sweet and a solid showcase for the duo. The finish is damn impressive looking, too. Could they be the ones to eventually dethrone Authors of Pain as NXT Tag Team Champions down the line?

Oney Lorcan def. El Vagabundo

I was shocked Elias Sampson... er, El Vagabundo was beloved by the crowd in Orlando. Based off how this played out, I honestly don't think officials expected fans to get behind the character. And as you could tell from watching this, he was audibly cheered over Lorcan, who was booed for unmasking Sampson at the end. I don't know why they did, but it was pretty damn funny. This beats the hell out of him going to the main roster any time soon. The match itself was pretty basic, but I'm actually interested in seeing where Sampson goes from here. I wonder if this mask shtick will stick around because it has a longer shelf life than whatever he was doing before, which was nothing.

Overall Show

Although three matches were taped before TakeOver: Orlando, none of them were given a ton of time, and instead most of this hour was devoted to video packages, highlights and interviews from the show. I was in attendance for the entire taping and thoroughly enjoyed myself, and although the Vagabundo stuff was surprisingly fun, this recap show was nothing noteworthy, and the real fallout from the event airs next week. I'd recommend checking out TakeOver from Saturday night in place of this edition of NXT.