WrestleRant
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact
Picture

WWE NXT Review - May 22, 2019

5/22/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Champion Johnny Gargano and Matt Riddle Attacked Undisputed Era

Undisputed Era are officially back on the same page, at least according to Adam Cole. I thought it was the wrong call to have them tease tension in the first place. We'll see if it leads anywhere or if it was just a red herring. At any rate, this was an entertaining segment with some strong back-and-forth between Cole and Gargano. I figured Riddle was being written off NXT TV with the Undisputed Era attack until after TakeOver: XXV, but he'll instead be facing Roderick Strong one-on-one at the event, which should be stellar. This also set up the night's tag team main event.

Mansoor def. Sean Maluta

Maluta looked liked the third Uso brother here. In all seriousness, the guy is talented but has always been brought in to make others look good. Mansoor had an impressive outing against Dominik Dijakovic a few weeks ago and it appears he'll be getting a bit of a push going forward. He's an exciting high-flier and will be one to watch in the weeks to come. This was short, sweet, and exactly what it needed to be.
Picture

Tyler Breeze Confronted NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream

Dream was likely supposed to face Dijakovic originally at TakeOver, but Dijakovic's injury caused those plans to change. Breeze is a last-minute replacement I can get behind. After all, people were saying years ago when Breeze was in NXT that a secondary championship should've been made just for him, and now he'll get that opportunity at TakeOver. Yes, it's random, but they showed here that they have chemistry together and that Breeze is motivated to remind the world how skilled he is. They managed to make me care about their upcoming contest with one segment, so props to them for that.

Candice LeRae def. Reina Gonzalez

LeRae has slowly but surely been building momentum in recent months with wins over Aliyah and Vanessa Borne, so I'm glad she's finally on the right track. Io Shirai is amazing, but at this point, I'd love for LeRae to be the one to ultimately dethrone Shayna Baszler as NXT Women's Champion. Meanwhile, Gonzalez has potential, but LeRae had to carry her through a majority of the match. Also, Shirai's post-match attack on Baszler, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke with the kendo stick was beyond badass.

Undisputed Era def. NXT Champion Johnny Gargano and Matt Riddle

With Gargano vs. Cole and Riddle vs. Strong confirmed for TakeOver, it made sense for Gargano and Cole to team up and clash with Undisputed Era's Kyle O'Reilly and Bobby Fish (who will be vying for the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver) on this show. When you put four exceptional athletes together in one match, it's guaranteed to be great, and this did not disappoint. These guys beat the holy hell out of each other and I enjoyed every second of it. The babyfaces winning would have been fine, but it was even better for Undisputed Era to pick up the victory with help from Cole and Strong at ringside.

Overall Show

From an in-ring standpoint, only the main event really stood as being memorable, but this whole show was a home run in my eyes. I've been wondering for weeks what NXT had on tap for their historic 25th TakeOver, and we found out on this episode with Riddle vs. Strong, Dream vs. Breeze, and the NXT Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Ladder match being added to the card. Every bout was built up effectively and everything served a purpose. Plus, Mansoor's showcase was fun, so this was a top-notch show.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Categories

    All
    #AskGSM
    Battle Of The Belts
    Cruiserweight Classic
    Halftime Heat
    Hidden Gems
    Interviews
    Lists/Rankings
    Mae Young Classic
    Mixed Match Challenge
    News
    NJPW
    NWA Shockwave
    NXT PLEs
    Opinion
    Previews
    Retro Reviews
    Reviews
    RJ's Two Cents
    Satire
    Slammy Awards
    SNME
    SummerSlam Recall
    The Deadly Draw
    The World Is A Vampire
    Tribute To The Troops
    Women's Eliminator
    Worlds Collide
    WrestleMania Recall
    WWE Draft
    WWE Network Specials
    WWE PLEs
    WWE Starrcade


    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010

    RSS Feed

©2025 WrestleRant. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Columnist Corner
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Audio
  • Videos
  • Store
  • About
  • Contact