WWE NXT Review - August 24, 2016

Authors of Pain dominate their competition.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

​Tye Dillinger def. Wesley Blake

As expected, Dillinger was mega over with the audience in Brooklyn, and I was hoping he would be included on the pre-TakeOver TV taping when I was there. In fact, his immense popularity was what saved the match from being a total bore because no one could care less about Blake, and why should they? It's amazing to think he was defending the NXT Tag Team Championship at last year's Brooklyn special. Oh, what a difference a year can make. The match overstayed its welcome by a few minutes, but thankfully, Dillinger was so over that he held the crowd's attention.


The Authors of Pain def. TM-61

This marked my first time seeing either tandem in person, so that was a treat. TM-61 are a ton of fun to watch in the ring, and The Authors of Pain have plenty of potential to be a better version of what The Ascension once were. They sold quite well for TM-61 and this was the most vulnerable they have ever looked, producing their best bout in NXT to date. I figured this would be a full-fledged feud, and maybe it might be, but there was a decisive finish, so I suppose we'll see.

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Overall Show

This was hardly the hot follow-up to TakeOver: Brooklyn I'm sure some fans were expecting, but this episode was never designed to be anything more than a glorified recap of the amazing event. I'm usually one to skip replays and video packages, but I loved that show so much that I enjoyed re-watching the TakeOver highlights. I did witness the other two matches in person while there as well, and each of them were serviceable yet not must-see. Next week's show should be exciting with Shinsuke Nakamura's first official appearance as NXT Champion.