WWE NXT Review - May 18, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Toni Storm def. Zoey Stark

Although I'm still waiting to see more from Stark as a character, at least she's been killing it in the ring every chance she's had. I enjoyed their match on the TakeOver: Stand & Deliver: Night 1 pre-show, but this was even better and I liked how they worked with a sense of urgency. Storm felt like she was on her game here as well and it made for a very enjoyable encounter. Franky Monet coming out afterward was odd considering her and Storm are both heels, but I assume it was just to tease her official in-ring debut for next week.

Jake Atlas def. Cameron Grimes

It was already advertised that Ted DiBiase was going to be appearing on this show, though I would have kept it a surprise and made that moment cooler when his music hit and he came out. Grimes vs. Atlas was basically a backdrop for the DiBiase distraction, but what we got from them was good. I doubt there will be any follow-up with Atlas' win, but at least he won on NXT for a change. Wherever this Grimes and DiBiase stuff is leading, I've been thoroughly enjoying it so far.

Arash Markezi Hosted a Sit-Down Interview with Pete Dunne

Markezi is the same guy who interviewed Adam Cole by his pool last month. He's come across well in his recent interviews, so I assume he sticks around in the role. If nothing else, it's cool to see a different type of in-depth interview on the show outside of what we normally get. Interestingly, Dunne didn't seem to be in character here whatsoever. He didn't cut your typical wrestling promo, but that was what I liked about it. He basically repeated what he's been saying for weeks by putting all of NXT's champions on notice and that his next goal is to win gold. It was short, sweet and effective.

Killian Dain def. Alexander Wolfe

For weeks, Wolfe was hesitant to attack Dain because of their history in SAnitY. They finally went one-on-on-one here, but there wasn't much to it because it was so short. Not only did Wolfe's hesitation cost him the victory, he was subsequently booted from Imperium. I honestly didn't see that coming as there was no reason to get rid of him, but as of this writing, he has since been released from the company, which is a shame. I was looking forward to getting all of Imperium vs. Dain, Drake Maverick and Wolfe at some point.

Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde) def. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher

This was basically a number one contenders' match for the NXT Tag Team Championship without officially being referred to as one. Legado del Fantasma already challenged MSK a few weeks ago, so I figured they would win here. That said, this was still a very fun match with Ciampa and Thatcher being protected in defeat via the interference from Grizzled Young Veterans. It's cool that the tag team division in NXT is back on the ascent. We found out later in the show that Legado del Fantasma will get their title shot in two weeks on the show.

Hit Row (Top Dolla and Ashante "Thee" Adonis) def. Tony Nese and Ariya Daivari

I'm not going to lie, I thought Nese and Daivari were your average local athletes/Performance Center recruits. Maybe it was because I wasn't paying close attention early on, but it wasn't until halfway through that I realized it was them. That pretty much tells you the Cruiserweight division is their ceiling. At any rate, this was a solid showcase for the new faction. Isiah "Swerve" Scott's mic skills have improved a lot, but everyone else in the group still has some work to do.

Bronson Reed def. Johnny Gargano in a Steel Cage Match to Win the NXT North American Championship

The Steel Cage stipulation doesn't have the same luster it once did because for a long time, it has welcomed interference as opposed to prevent it. That was once again evident here with Austin Theory attempting to interfere on multiple occasions. I wish they had toned that back a bit, but otherwise, this was an entertaining main event that told a story of Reed having to overcome the odds and win the title that has always alluded him. As soon as he said earlier in the evening that May 18th marked 14 years to the day of when he started wrestling, it was all but confirmed he was winning and I'm happy he did.

Overall Show

As I've said before, NXT has been putting out some strong television over the last month since its move to Tuesday nights. I'm glad they're finally focusing on their own product because I've been digging a lot of what's been going on. NXT needed to do a better job of making the weekly shows more must-see and I feel like they've managed to do that in recent weeks. This was another above-average episode with storyline progression, quality wrestling, build for the next few weeks (that Prime Target video for Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross was outstanding) and a notable title change to end the evening.