{"id":13894,"date":"2020-02-14T02:49:10","date_gmt":"2020-02-14T02:49:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=13894"},"modified":"2020-02-14T02:49:20","modified_gmt":"2020-02-14T02:49:20","slug":"nxt-report-card-2-13-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2020\/02\/14\/nxt-report-card-2-13-20\/","title":{"rendered":"NXT Report Card 2\/13\/20"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Roderick Strong vs Bronson Reed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reed was an acceptable interruption in Strong\u2019s\nopening promo on Velveteen Dream. The match was okay but it definitely felt\nlike an unimportant blip in the true feud between Strong and Dream, especially\nwith the purple light distraction. Also I wasn\u2019t feeling the jumping knee\nstrike as the finisher here. It probably wouldn\u2019t work against more\nhigh-profile opponents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Roderick Strong<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Dream\u2019s Tights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Velveteen Dream\u2019s countering promo, complete with\nmore tights airbrushed with Roderick Strong\u2019s family, was amazing. This feud is\ngetting personal and I love it. I\u2019m also just glad to have Dream back from\ninjury as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: A<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Angel and Lio<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think the key for right now is giving Angel Garza shorter interview answers because his English isn\u2019t the strongest. That\u2019s not a knock against him, just something to work around because let\u2019s face it, English is tough! Lio Rush interrupting him was perfect for this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Not Graded <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Candice LeRae vs Dakota Kai<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I had mixed feelings about this match. On one hand,\nit was good and perhaps in the frustration showed by LeRae, seeds have been\nplanted for her next story or turn. On the other hand, this was meant to get\nsome momentum behind Kai for the upcoming street fight between her and Tegan\nNox and I feel that the post-match brawl did that more than this match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Dakota Kai<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B-<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Johnny Gargano vs Cameron Grimes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Honestly this just felt like a good old fashioned\nwrestling match and it was pretty fun to watch. It was a well-paced match that\ndidn\u2019t feel rushed or go on for too long like some of Gargano\u2019s matches tend to\ndo. I also liked the emphasis on Gargano\u2019s interactions with the fans of Full\nSail. It\u2019s a great juxtaposition to the heel gimmick that Finn Balor is\ncurrently portraying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Johnny Gargano<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Backstage Stuff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Adam Cole is big mad about everyone reminding him\nthat Ciampa never lost the title (which is true!). Roderick Strong is going to\ndefend his wife\u2019s honor next week against Velveteen Dream (and surely some more\nfabulous tights). And Robert Stone and Chelsea Green are going to re-launch\ntheir brand (cool, I guess).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B+<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Angel Garza vs Lio Rush-Cruiserweight Championship #1 Contendership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garza gets an extra point for immediately taking off\nhis pants at the beginning of the match and giving the people what they want.\nThis was another well-paced match, even if the pace was a little faster. How\ncool was that spinout facebuster bomb thing? The post-match&nbsp; confrontation was simple as well, keeping the\nmood perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Lio Rush<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Bianca Belair vs Santana Garrett<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was an absolute squash match. I\u2019m pretty sure\ntheir entrances were longer than the actual match. Rhea Ripley getting dropped\nby an irate Belair after answering her call-out was icing on the cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Bianca Belair<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Not Graded<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Nothing to lose<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tommaso Ciampa\u2019s quest to bring Goldie back is one\nof the most captivating stories going on right now. Many of us were devastated\nwhen he had to relinquish the title due to injury and this is basically writing\nitself. Kudos to Ciampa on having a very dramatic air about him as well!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B+<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Broserweights\u2019 Excellent Adventure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I thoroughly enjoyed Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne\ntrying to get to Portland with their trophy. I would watch an entire series\nabout these two. Make it happen, WWE Network!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: A<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Adam Cole vs Kushida<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This was a pretty good match, though I have seen\nbetter main events and certainly better performances from both Cole and\nKushida. But Cole got a nice win and some more momentum going into Takeover on\nSunday. Ciampa\u2019s appearance after the match and their staredown was a fantastic\nway to end the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Winner: Adam Cole<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Grade: B-<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Final Thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">All around, this was a solid go-home show for the\nupcoming Takeover with good builds for most of the matches on the card. I\u2019m\ndefinitely wondering about the Ripley\/Belair match. I feel that Charlotte Flair\nis somehow going to get involved and possibly create a triple threat match at\nWrestleMania. I also feel like the Nox\/Kai street fight really has to bring it\nbecause the feud has fallen a little flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><em>Overall Grade: B+<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roderick Strong vs Bronson Reed Reed was an acceptable interruption in Strong\u2019s opening promo on Velveteen Dream. The match was okay but it definitely felt like an unimportant blip in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":12623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,186,185,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-nxt","category-wwe","category-wwe-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-3C6","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/nxt-logo-4.jpg?fit=960%2C540&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13894"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13894\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13899,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13894\/revisions\/13899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}