WWE NXT Review - April 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Champion Bron Breakker Accepted Gunther's Challenge

This was a good first promo from Breakker since he regained the NXT Championship from Dolph Ziggler on Monday's Raw. It's nice to see that he's getting more comfortable on the mic. I noticed it during WrestleMania weekend, but I'm only now starting to notice that he's getting mixed reactions, which is weird. I can't say I was expecting Gunther to emerge as his next challenger so soon, but it did effectively set the stage for the night's NXT Championship main event.

The Creed Brothers def. Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner)

This started during the commercial break and stemmed from their interaction in the Triple Threat tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at Stand & Deliver. Creed Brothers weren't pinned in that bout, so this allowed them to get their heat back. It was a hard-hitting affair with the right result, but Aichner walking out on Barthel seemingly for no reason was beyond random. This likely means they're getting up either together or individually, but if that is the case, it must have been a last-minute decision because it came completely out of nowhere. We also found out that NXT UK's Pretty Deadly were the ones who have been targeting Creed Brothers as of late. Most of the crowd didn't seem to know who they were, but they've grown on me over the last year and should be a nice addition to NXT's tag team ranks.

NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes Accepted Solo Sikoa's Challenge

Grimes going from being a comedy character to showing a more serious side was a bit of a sudden shift, but I'm all for it because it was overdue. His first promo as champ was very good and it was great that we got to hear from Sikoa as well seeing as how he hasn't had a ton of mic time so far. I'd like Sikoa to be more protected (since I don't see him beating Grimes for the title this early), but it should be a quality contest. This was basically a carbon copy of the opening segment, but at least 

Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson Ended in a Double Count-Out

I've mostly enjoyed the Lumis and Indi Hartwell stuff, but this angle they've had going with Hudson and Persia Pirotta has been awful. I wish we would get to the inevitable mixed tag team match to avoid this being dragged out any further. This was a middling match with a lame non-finish. The worst part was all four of them rolling over each other on the floor afterward. Please, end this.

Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jane) def. Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai to Win the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship

Having Gonzalez and Kai win the tag titles only for them to lose the belts two days later is such a strange booking decision. I assume one of them is getting called up imminently and maybe they wanted Gonzalez to win a title in her home state of Texas at Stand & Deliver, but I wouldn't have interrupted Toxic Attraction's reign. Nonetheless, this match was actually better than their first one and having a livelier crowd helped.

AJ Galante Deemed Tony D'Angelo the New "Don of NXT"

I thought Galante's appearance at Stand & Deliver would be a one-off, and maybe it will end up being short-lived, but it looks like he's here to stay for now. I have no issue with him being added to D'Angelo's act, though. Galante giving D'Angelo the moniker of NXT's new don is cool considering he just beat Tommaso Ciampa in Ciampa's swan song at Stand & Deliver. I don't know who he feuds with next, but this was fine follow-up to his feud with Ciampa.

Nikkita Lyons def. Lash Legend

I feared the worst when this match was announced because both women are still very inexperienced. I haven't been a fan of the feud at all, but truth be told, I thought they exceeded expectations here. It was far from smooth, but keeping it short and sweet was a smart call. Lyons had a better showing than Legend and it's clear officials are high on her. Her in-ring work is improving, but hopefully she can tweak the character eventually.

NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Gunther

I hate how this was thrown away on television with zero prior hype. Okay, so they announced it at the start of the show, but that isn't nearly enough time considering this was one of the biggest bouts NXT could have done. That said, it must be because Gunther is on his way up to Raw or SmackDown. I think the only other time Gunther lost one-on-one was last year against Ilja Dragunov, so this was easily Breakker's biggest win to date. The match itself was entertaining and they had strong chemistry together. Hopefully we get a rematch somewhere down the road. Oh, and Joe Gacy and Harland apparently kidnapped Rick Steiner, so there was that.

Overall Show

I feel like we don't get "post-WrestleMania" kind of shows with NXT after their live specials, but that's pretty much what this was and I'm not complaining. I hardly agreed with everything that happened, but you can't say this wasn't an eventful episode between the women's tag titles changing hands and multiple matches being set up for next week. The crowd was rowdier than usual, so that was appreciated as well. This week's show having less of a "developmental" feel to it was a welcome change of pace.

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