Hello, friends! Welcome to another Friday Eve and another review of NXT from yours truly. We’re plugging right along as we have about a month and a half away from WrestleMania and NXT Takeover: New York. We had a title change last night as well so let’s see exactly what went down on the yellow brand.
Aleister Black vs Roderick Strong
This match came about from the end of last week’s episode as Strong had attacked Black. In this bout, Strong was throwing those backbreakers like nobody’s business. There were a couple of near falls and a startling near-tumble off the top ropes from a superplex attempt, but thankfully they held on. A reverse Angle Slam almost handed the match to Strong, but Black hit the Black Mass and got himself the win.
Afterwards, the rest of Undisputed Era showed up but they were quickly dispatched by Ricochet.
Winner: Aleister Black
Thoughts: It was a little bit of a sprint, but still a pretty good match. I’ve enjoyed seeing Black on all three shows this week. I need Undisputed Era to step it up though. They keep getting their butts handed to them and it’s starting to weaken the faction’s clout.
Grade: B+
Backstage: Shayna Baszler and her friends caused drama in the women’s locker room. Bianca Belair said that Io Shirai has to wait her turn before getting a title shot. We’re getting the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic again.
Thoughts: I’m glad to see they’ve finally got the 3 MMA girls together on television regularly. I could see a rivalry forming between Shirai and Belair, with either of them holding the gold. I like tournaments; should be fun even though most of us will know all the results before it airs on the Network.
Grade: B
Mia Yim vs Xia Li
The two Mae Young Classic competitors started off with some basic mat wrestling. Li gave a flurry of kicks and had several roll-up attempts but Yim pulled off the win with a spinning backfist into a Protect Ya Neck.
Afterwards, Shayna Baszler and crew attack Mia, whom some of the trainees try to help. Yim still ends up getting kneed in the face.
Winner: Mia Yim
Thoughts: Li is improving so much as she gets more and more experience. She can only go up from here. I’d like to see what she’s able to do around next year’s Royal Rumble.
Grade: C
Backstage: Johnny Gargano tells Tommaso Ciampa that he doesn’t need him and he’ll defend his belt by himself. We see part of Matt Riddle’s sit-down interview with Jeremy Borash, the whole of which is on YouTube. Mia Yim is getting a non-title match against Shayna Baszler next week.
Thoughts: Evil DIY is so cute. Also yes, this is their new tag team name and you can’t tell me otherwise. I like Riddle, nothing new there. Aren’t there easier ways to go about getting a match than taking a knee to the face? It’s not even for the title!
Grade: Not Graded
Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream-NXT North American Championship
The two started with some very nice mat grappling and then Dream slapped the absolute mess out of Gargano. Buckle up, fam! Dream got in some fantastic taunting even though he paid for it. Gargano’s style started to turn more aggressive and he locked in an abdominal stretch that looked and sounded painful. A spinning DDT got a near fall for Dream, but he missed the Purple Rainmaker and ate a superkick instead. Dream hit the Dream Valley Driver from the turnbuckle but Gargano wisely rolled out of the way and superkicked Dream again when he tried to dive on him. The two got back in the ring and Dream hit two Dream Valley Drivers, followed up by the Purple Rainmaker and won the match. New NXT North American Champion!
Winner: Velveteen Dream
Thoughts: That match was a little on the long side, but it was definitely worth it. I’m so proud of Velveteen Dream, especially after watching him be so passionate about the business on Tough Enough. My only fault is with the booking of the North American Championships. It’s still new and no one has really done anything significant with the belt yet. Hopefully Dream gets a well-booked title reign.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts: We’re still over a month from the next Takeover event, but I see we’re planting the seeds now. I expect the Black/Ricochet partnership to still have some tousles with the Undisputed Era, something to happen with the Sky Pirates and Bianca Belair, and even a continued feud between Velveteen Dream and Johnny Gargano.
Overall Grade: B+
-Wynter
