WWE NXT Review - November 9, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Toxic Attraction (NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose and NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jane) def. Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter

Although it's a bummer that Zoey Stark will be out injured for the foreseeable future, it may actually be a blessing in disguise for Shirai. I didn't think her team with Stark was working and she should have moved on from the tag title picture a while ago. Thankfully, her rivalry with Toxic Attraction allows her to seamlessly transition into a feud with Rose for the NXT Women's Championship if they wanted to go in that direction. This was a well-wrestled opener and putting the heels over was the right call. They should be booked strong at this point.

Kay Lee Ray def. Sarray

Both of these women have felt completely lost in the new NXT, which is why we haven't seen too much of them on TV lately. Sarray is a total stepping stone at this point, but I'm glad this was competitive and not a complete squash for KLR. At the very least, I'm glad they're interested in pushing one of them. KLR vs. Rose teased facing off when KLR made her way to the ring, but I don't know if that's a match I'd do any time soon. This was well wrestled while it lasted.

Joe Gacy def. Boa by Disqualification

Oh great, two of my least favorite acts in NXT. Ugh. As I've said before, Gacy is at least skilled in the ring and he can have pretty good matches with the right opponent. Unfortunately, Boa was not that guy. I will say that Boa's new face paint makes him look infinitely cooler, but the whole gimmick sucks and he's still mediocre in the ring. There didn't seem to be a point seeing as how it was short-lived and ended in a non-finish.

The Creed Brothers def. Jacket Time

I was already a fan of Jacket Time, but I'm even more sold now than I was before coming off that entrance of theirs. It's awesome! The more I think about it, the more I'm into the idea of Kushida entering the tag team ranks with Ikemen Jiro. I'd like to see them built up at some point, but obviously it's all about The Creed Brothers at the moment, so I was fine with the outcome. This was a solid match with Jacket Time making the impressive Creed Brothers look even better.

Dakota Kai Interrupted Raquel Gonzalez Before Being Attacked by Cora Jade

This marked Gonzalez' first appearance on NXT TV since losing the NXT Women's Championship to Rose at Halloween Havoc. She rode into the arena on a motorcycle and even told Rose that they had unfinished business. However, her first order of business was addressing Kai, who cost her the title. This was a lot shorter than I thought it would be because Jade went after Kai for what happened last week and then Jade and Gonzalez shared a hesitant fist bump. It was a logical development, but it was too brief to be anything notable. The jury is still out on Kai's new crazy character as well.

Cameron Grimes def. Ru Feng

Grimes is another one of those guys that feels out of place in NXT 2.0 and has lost a lot of momentum since beating LA Knight for the Million Dollar Championship back in August. He's got a gimmick that people are into, but NXT has done nothing with it aside from put him in backstage segments with Grayson Waller and Duke Hudson. This was a quick and easy win for him and we found out afterward he and Hudson will have a "power showdown" next week. I have no idea what that's going to entail exactly, but I'm mildly intrigued.

Solo Sikoa def. Grayson Waller and LA Knight in a Triple Threat Match

This stemmed from Sikoa debuting during a segment with Waller and Knight at Halloween Havoc two weeks ago and attacking Waller. It was a fairly formulaic three-way, but everyone played their roles well and they kept the pace moving. Sikoa looked good again and having him beat two regulars on the roster in Waller and Knight already is a nice feather in the cap for him. I maintain that Knight should be on either Raw or SmackDown right now, but I digress.

Elektra Lopez def. Erica Yan; Xyon Quinn Attacked Legado del Fantasma

Anyone else find it weird that Santos Escobar has been absent from NXT TV lately and Lopez has been leading Legado instead? I really hope the plan isn't for her to take over that role because she's far from ready. The same can be said about her in-ring work. She's passable, but she needs more seasoning. Hell, this was brief and still a little rough. We know Vince McMahon loves his love angles, so I have to assume it was his idea to have Lopez and Quinn start showing interest in each other. I loved the Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis storyline, but this feels like it came out of nowhere.

Pete Dunne def. NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes (Non-Title)

This felt like a match you'd see on the old NXT. I don't know who fans were supposed to cheer for considering both guys are heels, but the in-ring action was entertaining enough that it didn't really matter. I was curious who would go over because both guys have been protected lately, and ultimately, it was Dunne who emerged victorious with some help from Hayes' rivals Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis. Hopefully Dunne gets a title shot out of this and it isn't forgotten about. Maybe a Triple Threat at WarGames between Hayes, Gargano and Dunne?

Overall Show

Maybe it's the traditionalist in me, but less is more. This wasn't a bad edition of NXT by any means, but they continue to throw a lot at viewers all at once and some of it gets forgotten about or lost in the shuffle. Granted, AEW is guilty of that as well with Dynamite, but at least most of the people on their show are established by now. With NXT 2.0, there's a ton of new acts and some repackaging going on as well. It was also announced that WarGames will be returning on December 5th, and while I'd normally be excited about that, it feels forced this year because nothing feels important enough to justify culminating in WarGames, aside from maybe something with Toxic Attraction. Let the record show that the "TakeOver" title has been removed, so it looks like that era of NXT is officially over (as if it wasn't already apparent).

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews