It’s Thursday…you know what that means! It’s time to go over the highs and lows of the power hour known as NXT. We’ve just had an absolutely stellar Takeover so a new wrestling season is underway. Let’s take a look at what happened this week on the black and gold brand!
Candice LeRae vs Aliyah
This match was set up last week after Aliyah and her partner Vanessa Borne, who was ringside, mocked LeRae and called her a failure. The match itself was fair, nothing to really write home about. A lionsault won it for LeRae and it looks like she might be getting a push into the title soon. It would be cool to see LeRae challenge Shayna Baszler for the title, considering their history from the inaugural May Young Classic.
Winner: Candice LeRae
Grade: C
Highlight Reel
We got some actual footage, as opposed to still photos, from Takeover showing Matt Riddle vs Velveteen Dream and the War Raiders vs Aleister Black and Ricochet. We also got the video of the little altercation between Buddy Murphy and Dream, which set up a match for next week, and Kushida signing with NXT. I liked having the actual video for once; we got to relive some of the matches. Dream vs Murphy should be a lit match. And I hope Kushida does well here in NXT.
Grade: Not Graded
Jaxson Ryker vs Danny Burch
After defeating his partner last week, Ryker set his sights on Danny Burch. Once again, they really showcased Ryker’s designation as the muscle of the Forgotten Sons. Ryker hit his signature sitout spinebuster to win the match. Afterwards, the Forgotten Sons laid out Burch and Lorcan. I’m wondering if this is being done to build up the Forgotten Sons as possible tag team title contenders since they did not win the Dusty Tag Team Classic and the actual winners have already had their match.
Winner: Jaxson Ryker
Grade: B-
Another Highlight Reel
We got to see Shayna Baszler retaining her title at Takeover and saying she’ll beat anyone put in front of her. After losing his United Kingdom Championship to Walter, Pete Dunne said there will be a rematch. The members of Undisputed Era were arguing amongst each other after Adam Cole’s loss to Johnny Gargano. I’m all for having Baszler as another unstoppable champion akin to Asuka. I’ve stated before that I’m a huge fan of long title reigns. I thought we weren’t doing any more automatic rematch clauses, but I have no problem seeing Dunne and Walter again. And…alas, are cracks starting to form in the Undisputed Era?
Grade: Not Graded
The Street Profits vs Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel
This was a nicely paced match that never slowed down. It was action from bell to bell. The Street Profits were victorious with a doomsday blockbuster. I would definitely like to see Barthel and Aichner get a tag team title shot, whether it be on NXT or NXT UK. I think they would do well as they are good workers and a solid team. The Street Profits have also improved a lot as a team. They’re still the fun-loving, swag having Street Profits, but with added ring skills. This makes them a very competitive team.
Winner: Street Profits
Grade: B+
Final Thoughts
We spent a lot of time on highlights from Takeover, which is about what I expected. We did learn that there’s going to be a rematch between Pete Dunne and Walter for the United Kingdom Championship. And I may be getting too invested too quickly but I would really like to see Candice LeRae in the title picture sometime soon.
Overall Grade: B
