WWE NXT Review - October 3, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lacey Evand def. Candice LeRae

Not only is Evans making strides in the ring, her character work is also top-notch and it has helped her stand out from everyone else on the roster. Of course, LeRae is an excellent wrestler and Evans can learn a lot from working with her. This turned into a quality contest where Evans taunting LeRae was what cost LeRae the win. LeRae is slowly starting to lose her mind the same way her husband Johnny Gargano did, but I hope she can break away and establish her own identity eventually.

The Forgotten Sons def. Vinny Mixon, Cesar Rise and Torrey Kirsh

The Forgotten Sons have been featured more prominently on NXT TV lately, so are they even "forgotten" anymore? In all seriousness, they feel like a second-rate version of SANitY. This was a perfectly fine showcase for them, but nothing about it screamed special. I'm willing to give them more time to see if they wow me, but so far they've come across as average and not much more.

Johnny Gargano def. Tony Nese

Win, lose or draw, Gargano can always be counted on for a standout performance. This was a fantastic match that was all action from start to finish. It's been a while since we last saw Nese in NXT and it was cool he was able to showcase his skills against someone the caliber of Gargano. I can't even say the outcome was never in doubt because Gargano has been losing a lot lately and there was the chance Nese would pull out the upset. The commentators teased Gargano getting back on track with this win and returning to his roots as Johnny Wrestling, but time will tell.

Lars Sullivan def. EC3

I liked that EC3 completely skipped over his signature entrance simply because he couldn't wait any longer to get his hands on Sullivan for what he did to him last month. That was a nice touch. As a match, this was solid and the sense of urgency made it more enjoyable for me. Sullivan winning clean was certainly a surprise, but I suppose it keeps the program alive. EC3 is out of his element as a babyface, but at least he's trying to make it work to the best of his ability.

Overall Show

Gargano vs. Nese was easily the best thing on this entire edition of NXT and you should go out of your way to check it out, but the rest of the episode was entertaining as well. EC3 and Sullivan produced a decent main event that furthered their feud, The Forgotten Sons were spotlighted again, Evans impressed against LeRae, Tommaso Ciampa denied attacking Aleister Black (again) in a pre-taped promo, and the video package for next week's Triple Threat NXT North American Championship match was terrific. Keith Lee will be battling Kona Reeves on that show as well, but I don't think many people are as excited for that.