WWE NXT Review - June 28, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Velveteen Dream def. HoHo Lun

We're over a month removed from the arrival of The Velveteen Dream in NXT and we still know nothing about the character, which already appears to have a short shelf life. As I've said before, the guy is an impressive athlete, but the gimmick does very little for me at this point, and the crowd doesn't seem to be giving him much of a reaction. That isn't good news for Dream, but here's hoping he turns it around in the near future for his sake.

Hideo Itami def. Oney Lorcan

I would have been so disappointed if Itami had his nose legitimately busted open and the match was never restarted. Itami can't seem to catch a break (not literally, of course). Thankfully, Itami resurfaced after the break and the matchup went on as planned. It was fun while it lasted as Itami continues to come across as more and more aggressive by the week. Meanwhile, I assume SAnitY attacking Itami and Kassius Ohno afterward will lead to Itami officially turning on Ohno in next week's tag team match.

NXT Women's Champion Asuka def. Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing Match

It's almost unbelievable to think we had never seen a Last Woman Standing match in WWE prior to this point. Nevertheless, Asuka and Cross made the most of the stipulation and the ample amount of time they were allotted by battering each other with chairs and executing several sweet spots, including that awesome suplex through the commentary table at the end. It was fairly obvious Asuka wouldn't drop the title on NXT TV, but Cross certainly came close and gave her a hell of a fight, looking very strong in defeat. All in all, this was an outstanding outing from both women and one of the best NXT TV matches this year.

Overall Show

It wasn't until this episode was over that it dawned on me that Raw, SmackDown Live and NXT this week all featured women's matches in the main event. That's an absolutely incredible stat. As for this show, it was made noteworthy by the above-average championship main event. The rest of this edition of NXT was entertaining as well with Dream picking up another victory, Itami and Ohno furthering their angle, and Bobby Roode and Roderick Strong hyping up their NXT Championship match for next week's historic 400th episode. On a side note, it's excellent to have Mauro Ranallo back in WWE and calling the action on NXT, as he undoubtedly brings a ton of energy and knowledge to the commentary table.