WWE NXT Review - September 12, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch def. Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude

Lorcan has been out injured since TakeOver: Chicago II back in June, so it's cool to see him and Burch back in action together in the tag team ranks. They have such strong chemistry as partners and their matches are always exciting. This was a simple squash for them got them back on track. With Undisputed Era still in possession of the NXT Tag Team Championship, I don't see them going after the titles again any time soon.

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa Denied Taking Out Aleister Black

First and foremost, I'm really digging Ciampa's new entrance music. The chorus of boos he came out to every week was unique, but the song he has now is badass. Meanwhile, he did a tremendous job with his promo, denying having any involvement with the Black attack. That to me means he will be ultimately be revealed as the one behind it, which makes sense if they clash for the NXT Championship at TakeOver: WarGames II. It can't be stressed enough how exceptional of a heel Ciampa is and how there isn't a better heel in the business than him right now.

Shayna Baszler def. Violet Payne

Baszler is even more ruthless now than she was before after losing her NXT Women's Championship to Kairi Sane at TakeOver: Brooklyn IV. Thus, it was safe to assume that she would make quick work of her unknown opponent here and that was exactly what happened. She added insult to injury by ambushing Payne again afterward as well, making it clear she wants the belt back in her possession.

Lars Sullivan def. Raul Mendoza

Sullivan is a blast to watch whenever he's up against wrestlers smaller than him and thus this was a fun little outing. Mendoza took the fight to Sullivan the best he could to avenge the beating he endured at the hands of Sullivan a few weeks ago, but to no avail. Sullivan received a bit of a momentum boost with the victory and I'd assume his next rival will be EC3 once he's cleared to compete.

Nikki Cross vs. Bianca Belair Ended in a Double Count-out

Belair has been dominating the competition left and right since she arrived in NXT at the onset of the year, but it looks like she has finally met her match in Cross. This was a well-wrestled matchup while it lasted, but it wasn't meant to be anything special. Rather, it was designed to kick off a program between the two, and the post-match angle definitely got me looking forward to their future matches.

Overall Show

While this wasn't the most riveting edition of NXT TV in recent memory, everything seemed to serve a purpose. Cross and Belair took center stage in the main event, Sullivan and Baszler are wrecking fools again, Lorcan and Burch have reunited in tag team division, and Ciampa once again proved why he is the quintessential heel. On a side note, I like how Black isn't being forgotten though his attack angle and that more people are being investigated each week.