Roxanne Perez def. Indi HartwellHartwell has been teasing a heel turn for weeks now, so Perez was the clear babyface here. Some of Hartwell's last few matches haven't been the best, but I don't fully blame Hartwell for that because she hasn't been working with the most experienced women. However, Perez is obviously great and these two had terrific chemistry. Perez will be a part of the women's Iron Survivor Challenge match at Deadline, whereas Hartwell will have to earn her spot in a Wild Card Triple Threat match next week. Dijak def. Dante ChenFor those curious, Dijak has a different entrance and theme from the last time we saw him in NXT, which is a shame because that theme he used in NXT was fantastic. I'm not a big fan of this "justice" shtick he seems to be doing, but hey, it's better than T-Bar, so already it's an improvement. This was a standard showcase for him in his first bout back. Him challenging Wes Lee for the NXT North American Championship at Deadline (possibly with Tony D'Angelo involved as well) would be cool. Grayson Waller def. Duke HudsonI hate to admit that I'm actually digging what they're doing with Hudson in Chase U (and I say I hate to admit it because I've largely found the Chase U stuff to be silly crap so far). It's also the most interesting Hudson has been so far in NXT, and I also like the idea that Waller sees right through Hudson. There wasn't much to the match, but it was well wrestled while it lasted and they progressed their storyline. Kiana James def. Fallon HenleyThe powers that be at NXT really seem to be high on James. She's been all over the show lately and has gotten a few matches on WWE Main Event as well. She's still very green, but to her credit, she has improved in the ring. I'm not sold on her character yet, though. This was decent and Henley is a good person for James to be working with because of her experience from the independent scene. Axiom def. Javier BernalAxiom's been out "injured" for a few weeks after JD McDonagh put him on the shelf. As for Bernal, he's been calling out Axiom in his absence (knowing he was hurt) and has been making the most of his mic time in backstage interviews. He's developed into quite the character and a fun undercard heel. I was surprised he scored as much offense as he did, but it made sense with Axiom going off an injury in storyline. Julius Creed def. JD McDonagh by DisqualificationMcDonagh is still in the hunt for the NXT Championship despite falling short twice against Bron Breakker, as he'll be a part of the men's Iron Survivor Challenge match at Deadline. Hopefully, he won't win, but I'm curious what he'll do afterward. This was a quality contest that received an ample amount of time. Indus Sher attacking The Creed Brothers furthered that feud, and I assume they'll do battle at Deadline. Von Wagner def. Malik BladeVon Wagner previously ripped up a sweater Blade's father gave to him before he passed, so Blade showed more intensity here than usual. That gave the match slightly more meaning, but this was a standard squash for Von Wagner otherwise. Von Wagner will take part in a Wild Card Triple Threat match next week to determine the final entrant in the men's Iron Survivor Challenge matchup, but I assume he'll lose so he can take on Odyssey Jones at Deadline instead. Toxic Attraction (NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jane) def. Nikkita Lyons and NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden CarterThis nearly happened earlier in the episode, but Stark attacking Lyons from behind postponed the bout until the main event so Lyons had an out for losing. There was one "sell" from Lyons that made the rounds on social media for looking exceptionally bad, but for most part, this was adequate and did its job of putting more heat on the heels. Toxic Attraction will obviously earn another shot at the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship by virtue of this victory, while NXT continues to attempt to make Lyons look like a sympathetic figure. We'll see if it works because as of now, I'm not convinced. Overall ShowPer usual, there was a ton going on throughout this show and it was too much at times. With it being a developmental show, you're bound to get plenty of squash matches, but at least the competitive matches this week were worthwhile. We also found out most of the entrants in the Iron Survivor Challenge matches at Deadline and I thought the backstage segments with Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly discussing potential entrants were well done. There isn't anything worth seeking out from this show, but it was solid enough by NXT standards.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2024
|