WWE NXT Review - March 8, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tye Dillinger vs. Eric Young Went to a No Contest

While I like everyone involved in this feud, it just hasn't been doing anything for me since TakeOver: San Antonio. And it doesn't look like I'm the only one based off how the crowd sat on their hands for this. It just dragged on a little longer than it should have, but on the bright side, heat was put on Sanity, so there was that. Moreover, I'm not sure what the endgame is supposed to be given we already saw these six stars face off in a six-man tag team match not too long ago.

Andre "Cien" Almas def. Ho Ho Lun

Almas has been conspicuous by his absence since TakeOver: San Antonio, so it was good to see him back in action. Sadly, he's apparently back to being directionless, and I hoped they would have continued the feud he had going with Roderick Strong, but he's currently tied up with SAnitY. It's a shame because Almas is an excellent heel and shouldn't be wasting away right now. As for the match, it was fine for what it was, and Lun was better than he was during the Cruiserweight Classic. Then again, that isn't saying much because he was pretty bad at that point.

Ember Moon def. Billie KAy

This was a much more competitive contest than we saw from Moon and Kay during Moon's in-ring debut at TakeOver: Brooklyn 2 last August. I applaud NXT for attempting to make Kay and Peyton Royce in-ring threats because now their matches aren't as one-sided. This was a good enough affair from Moon and Kay with the right outcome as Moon continues to build momentum toward TakeOver: Orlando. Kay was legitimately hurt and the medical staff tending to her afterward was not a work, so here's wishing her a speedy recovery.

The Revival vs. The Ealy Brothers Went to a No Contest

The Ealy Brothers just can't seem to catch a break. They were originally scheduled to face The Revival on an episode of NXT in the fall, but they were attacked by Samoa Joe. Here, before they could finally have their match with Revival, Authors of Pain dismantled them. I can't say I'm distraught over that, though, because Authors of Pain destroying them instead was much more entertaining. Revival running out of harm's way was in line with what their characters would do and prevented Authors of Pain from getting their hands on them.

Tom Phillips Interviewed Kassius Ohno and NXT Champion Bobby Roode

The NXT Championship match set for next week between Roode and Ohno really came together at the last minute, so these interviews with the champion and challenger hyped up the match nicely. Ohno offered more comments regarding his return to NXT in an article for WWE.com last week while Roode was just perfect in his role. I'm interested to see what will go down in that match and how it leads into TakeOver: Orlando.

Shinsuke Nakamura def. TJ Perkins

I honestly would not be opposed to Perkins becoming more of a regular on NXT going forward. The Cruiserweight division has a plethora of talent and Perkins might be needed more on NXT, especially as a heel. He was able to work a bit of that style here against the ultra popular Nakamura. They produced a very fun matchup with both men having solid showings. The crowd was also awake more for this matchup than they were at any other point during the show.

Overall Show

It looks like all of the episodes heading into TakeOver: Orlando will emanate from the UCF Arena, and although it's always appreciated whenever NXT goes on the road, they weren't the most lively audience here. Nakamura's return provided this show with a bit of a boost, yet everything else was decent. Nothing overly exciting happened, but the important thing is that several feuds were furthered I expect to culminate come TakeOver next month.