WWE NXT Review - March 18, 2015

Kevin Owens and Alex Riley go to war.

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tyler Breeze def. Kalisto

It was refreshing to see Kalisto on his own for once, as I've expressed in the past, he has potential to be a breakout star in singles competition once his tandem with Sin Cara runs its course. Breeze had a very good outing here as well and the styles of both competitors meshed nicely. They developed fun chemistry down the stretch and put together a nice matchup with a fantastic looking finish. I also love how Breeze continues to gain credibility with the clean victories, first with Itami last week and and now Kalisto this week.


NXT Tag Team Champion Blake def. Colin Cassady

Blake and Murphy still need some character development in order to establish an identity for themselves, but they took a step in the right direction by cheating toward the end. Other than that, the crowd didn't care much for the match, but Cassady and Amore were insanely over with their pre-match promo, though. The tag champs needed to get one over the challengers and get heat on themselves, but hopefully Amore and Cassady can build momentum before the eventual tag title match.

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Tyler Breeze nails Kalisto with the Beauty Shot.

Alexa Bliss def. NXT Women's Champion Sasha Banks by Count-out (Non-title)

Bliss is still a work in progress in the ring, but she has come a long way since her debut last year. She had an impressive outing against Banks here and the two made the most of the small time window they were allotted. NXT rarely does non-finishes, but when they do, they execute them effectively. Banks was protected in not getting pinned while Bliss was able to get the hometown victory and earn herself a future title shot.


NXT Champion Kevin Owens def. Alex Riley (Non-title)

Most of the match consisted of Owens dismantling Riley, but considering Owens is the champ and Riley just returned to the ring after two years away, it was understandable. It was a solid bout with Riley getting some hope spots in only for Owens to look strong going into his title defense next week by going over in dominant, clean fashion. The brief brawl between him and Finn Balor was also well done that heightened my anticipation for their pending clash even more.


Overall Show

Although I must admit I was expecting a slightly hotter show with this being NXT's first time on the road, it was still incredibly cool to see the NXT brand expand and it had a sweet aurora about it. I was hoping to see only the final two matches so they'd get more time, but they were enjoyable while they lasted and feuds were furthered, so it was a successful effort, regardless. Next week's two title matches have major promise, and as for NXT going on the road more often, I'm very much looking forward to it.

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