WWE NXT Review - August 23, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lars Sullivan Attacked No Way Jose

Jose doesn't make a ton of televised appearances these days, but crowds love him, nevertheless, especially Brooklyn, where he wrestled Austin Aries last year. He wasn't even able to make his full entrance before Sullivan attacked him from behind on the ramp. It was totally unexpected and I like the angle because it finally moves the physically impressive Sullivan into a full-fledged feud where we can see what he's capable of.

Peyton Royce def. Sarah Logan

Royce and Billie Kay have been spinning their wheels in NXT for so long that I honestly think it's time they're brought up to the main roster. It's obvious they won't be dethroning Asuka as NXT Women's Champion, so they might as well go to Raw or SmackDown Live. At any rate, this was a decent match while it lasted, though nothing memorable. Logan had a fine outing, but she'll need more opportunities to showcase her skills and develop her character before she can become a player in NXT's women's division. Hopefully she'll get that opportunity in the Mae Young Classic airing next week.

WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne and Wolfgang def. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven

Brooklyn was the perfect place to bring the United Kingdom competitors in for a match in NXT because of course the fans there are very familiar with them. Each of them received loud reactions from the audience, particularly Dunne. That guy has all the makings of a main event star. This was a super fun tag team match, and although it wasn't terribly long, the crowd enjoyed the action. We really should be seeing more of these four on NXT TV and not every few months.

Overall Show

As is usually the case with these post-TakeOver editions of NXT, almost the entire episode consisted of footage from the event as well as interviews and recaps. That show was sensational on Saturday night, but you would be better off watching the whole thing and not just bits and pieces. As a result, we were left with two matches and an angle on this show, and only the tag team main event is worth watching.