WWE NXT Review - November 4, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dakota Kai def. Ember Moon

Moon previously called Kai a "stepping stone" in the NXT women's division, so I was worried that would be proven right here with Moon beating Kai decisively. It wouldn't have killed Kai's credibility, but Kai had more to gain here than Moon did despite Moon recently returning to NXT. Kai winning was a pleasant surprise and I don't think Moon loses much in defeat whatsoever. This was an excellent opening match and I was happy they received as much time as they did. I can't praise NXT's stacked women's division enough at the moment.

Kushida def. Cameron Grimes

These two had a pair of matches against each other last year and both of them were top-notch. Thus, I was expecting more of the same here and they didn't disappoint. This was another fun match given an ample amount of time. Grimes acting afraid of the referee because he was the "zombie ref" in last week's Haunted House of Terror matchup was certainly silly, but I didn't mind it. It was the right call for Kushida to keep his momentum going, but Grimes needs to bounce back one of these weeks with a notable win.

Drake Maverick and Killian Dain vs. Ever-Rise Ended in a No Contest; Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Addressed Undisputed Era

Maverick and Dain vs. Ever-Rise was a rematch from two weeks ago when Ever-Rise won by disqualification after Maverick got himself intentionally disqualified. What we got from them was fun, but it wasn't long before it got interrupted by McAfee, Dunne, Lorcan and Burch. The promo that followed from the heels was very good and explained their actions and reason for aligning perfectly. I especially loved that Dunne brought up how Roderick Strong turned on him two years ago and he felt like returning the favor. The only thing I didn't like about it was all the insider terms McAfee used, from "over" to "push" to whatever else. It just wasn't necessary.

Toni Storm def. Shotzi Blackheart

The fact we got not one but two quality women's matches on this show should back up what I said earlier about NXT women's division being the best anywhere right now. Storm and Blackheart worked well together, though the babyface vs. babyface was strange because both women are likable and thus it was difficult to cheer for one of them over the other. I wasn't fond of the distraction finish, but it further the feud between Blackheart and Candice LeRae with LeRae destroying Blackheart's signature tank at an undisclosed location. LeRae blamed Blackheart for costing her the NXT Women's Championship last week.

August Grey Attacked Timothy Thatcher

These weekly training segments that Thatcher does have made for terrific TV and have given Thatcher something to do. It fits his character perfectly and they're actually helpful if you're into that style of fighting/wrestling. August Grey is the new name of Anthony Greene, who made his NXT TV debut two weeks ago in a similar segment with Thatcher. It looks like the feud is continuing and it's cool that NXT is doing something somewhat meaningful with Grey right off the bat.

Tommaso Ciampa def. Velveteen Dream

It's crazy to think that it was two years ago this month that Ciampa and Dream had their hot match for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: WarGames II. Both guys simply don't mean as much nowadays, especially Dream. Ciampa is directionless, and although this win should help him get back on track, I have no clue whether he's supposed to be a babyface or a heel. This was a well-worked main event in that watching Ciampa absolutely destroy Dream was a treat. There's no point in bringing back Dream any time soon after the beating he endured here, but I assume NXT will anyway because why wouldn't they. His stock is so low that he adds nothing to the show at this point.

Overall Show

Ciampa and Dream are two notable names by NXT standards, but because their feud hasn't been anything significant, I question the move to put that match on last. However, that's merely nitpicking as I thought this was an above-average edition of NXT all things considered. The stuff with the women was especially strong as in addition to the two superb women's matches we got on this show, we got confirmation we're getting Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley for the NXT Women's Championship at some point. Finally! It was also announced two titles will be defended next week: the NXT North American Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship. The focus on McAfee's new group was well done and Kushida vs. Grimes was great. This episode was no Halloween Havoc, but for a non-themed episode, the two hours were still quite efficient and entertaining.