WWE NXT Review - August 16, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's Champion Asuka and Ember Moon Signed Their TakeOver: Brooklyn Match Contract

As much as I loved the back-and-forth these two had on the mic last week, this wasn't nearly as strong and exposed Moon's weaknesses on the mic. She's incredibly popular and is an excellent athlete, but this poor promo will have fans questioning whether she's really the right one to dethrone the dominant Asuka as champion. I suppose we'll see on Saturday, but it might not be time to take the title off Asuka just yet.

The Street Profits def. Lars Sullivan and Chris Silvio

For the second straight week, The Street Profits were in action on NXT TV and once again, they had a solid showing. They have already shown plenty of promise as a unit, especially when it comes to their charisma, so I'm looking forward to seeing what else they bring to the table going forward. As for Sullivan, he's had a gimmick for months where he'll destroy his partner after they lose, so instead of beating him up in the middle of the ring this time, he tossed him into the garbage outside the arena. He has "star" written all over him.

Ruby Riot def. Billie Kay

Riot is definitely one of the stronger workers in NXT's women's division, but the "iconic" duo of Kay and Peyton Royce are merely stepping stones at this point and virtually have no chance of holding the title. They would be better off on the main roster, perhaps on SmackDown Live, where they wouldn't be losing so often. At any rate, this match was fine for what it was, but served no purpose considering none of them will be a part of TakeOver this weekend.

Drew McIntyre vs. Roderick Strong Ended in a No Contest

McIntyre and Strong are surely capable of contesting a superb match, and while this was enjoyable while it lasted, they couldn't quite reach that next gear needed to make this memorable. The interference from Bobby Roode cut the bout short before it could get great, but at least it protected both men and put over Roode as a vicious champion. According to WWE.com, the official ruling of this matchup was that it ended in a "no contest," so I would assume that means Strong won't get another shot at Roode's (or McIntyre's) NXT Championship post-TakeOver after all.

Overall Show

I was and still am extremely excited for TakeOver: Brooklyn (which is much more than I can say for SummerSlam), but this wasn't the best go-home show they could have produced. The hype for the NXT Championship and the NXT Women's Championship matches was well done, but the rest of this edition of NXT left a lot to be desired and was largely skippable. I'd suggest skipping out on it and simply watching TakeOver this Saturday night. The live specials never disappoint and I doubt this upcoming installment will be any different.