WWE NXT Review - June 15, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Champion Karrion Kross Interrupted NXT General Manager William Regal Before Being Confronted by Samoa Joe

This was one of the hottest opening segments I've seen on NXT in some time. Regal was emotional discussing his involvement with NXT since the beginning and all signs to him giving up his role as the on-air authority figure. He even said as much to Joe, who was rumored to return following his release from two months ago today. It looks like we'll be getting the best of both worlds with Regal remaining in power and Joe serving as his enforcer. Brilliant! I loved the tease for a future Joe vs. Kross match even if that wasn't the intention. This was strong stuff all around.

Breezango def. Imperium (Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner)

Imperium was scolded by WALTER a few weeks ago for their recent shortcomings and told them to target Breezango, who he cited as the reason for their downfall last year when they lost the NXT Tag Team Championship to them. It made sense for them to avenge the loss and move forward, but instead, Breezango pulled out the win. Yes, Imperium laid out Breezango afterward, but all that means is that the feud will continue and I couldn't care less. Imperium need to be built back up and Breezango overstayed their welcome a while ago.

NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida def. Trey Baxter

Baxter is the rechristened Blake Christian, whose work I only got familiar with right before NXT snatched him up earlier this year. He's a nice pickup for them and this was a good debut for him. I love that this open challenge is being used to introduce fresh faces to NXT. The follow-up is key, of course, but he had a solid showing here and it was a fun match. Before their rematch at The Great American Bash next month, Regal gave Kyle O'Reilly and Adam Cole the chance to choose their opponents for next week. Thus, O'Reilly confronted Kushida afterward and made that match official for next week, which should be terrific.

Cameron Grimes Saved Ted DiBiase From Million Dollar Champion LA Knight

This started out as a coronation for Knight as the new Million Dollar Champion and that heartfelt promo he cut talking about how he grew up a fan of DiBiase felt genuine. It made his attack on DiBiase immediately after mean that much more, leading to Grimes coming out to make the save and seemingly cement his babyface turn. Everything about this angle was excellently executed, and props to DiBiase for taking a bump. The build to Grimes vs. Knight felt rushed going into TakeOver, but now they have a chance to have a real feud coming out of it.

NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai def. Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter

I know we haven't seen Catanzaro and Carter for a while, but I assumed this would be a fairly straightforward squash for Gonzalez and Kai given that they're much more dominant than Catanzaro and Carter are. Not only was I pleasantly surprised that wasn't the case, this turned into an awesome match. Catanzaro and Carter work wonderfully together as partners and are always coming up with exciting, innovative offense. Gonzalez and Kai are a terrific team as well, so the dynamic here was spot-on. This was one of my favorite NXT TV matches in recent months. Gonazlez and Kai are apparently going ahead in their pursuit of the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. Will Kai turn on Gonzalez somewhere along the way?

Zoey Stark Saved Io Shirai From NXT Women's Tag Team Champions The Way

Shriai was in the ring to address her future and declare her next target when she was interrupted by Candice LeRae, which was expected considering Shirai attacked her last week. Those two really are destined to fight forever. That brought out Stark to make the save because of the respect she and Shirai established for each other a few months ago. It looks like Shirai and Stark may be next in line for a shot at the tag titles. It wasn't the direction I was expecting Shirai to go in upon her return, but I'm interested to see where it goes.

Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher def. Grizzled Young Veterans in a Tornado Tag Team Match

I feel like we don't see Tornado tag team matches in WWE often enough, so this was a blast. They made effective use of the stipulation by brawling all around ringside, beating the holy hell out of each other, and working with a sense of urgency. It was a wild main event and a fitting way to cap off the evening. This was basically a number one contender's match as I expect Ciampa and Thatcher to get the next shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship coming out of this. I would've loved to have seen another round between MSK and Grizzled Young Veterans, but Ciampa and Thatcher vs. MSK is a fresh match and should be a blast. Personally, I'd save it for The Great American Bash.

Overall Show

I don't think it's a stretch to say that this was the best edition of NXT in many months. It was clear that the black-and-gold brand needed a shot in the arm of some sort and this hot show provided that. The Samoa Joe return kicked things off nicely, we were treated to a handful of meaningful matchups and angle advancement, and there was a general sense of excitement in the air that isn't ordinarily there on the NXT television shows for whatever reason. I hope they'll be able to keep up this momentum moving forward and it wasn't just a one-off to make viewers think that change is coming to a brand that needs buzz when there really isn't.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews