27th Mar2020

‘WWE NXT’ Review (March 25th 2020)

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s NXT review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a bunch of matches this time. I do want to say that I appreciate the wrestlers coming out and still competing during this whole coronavirus craze. I’ve seen far too many wrestling fans obnoxiously insult the wrestlers online for having the audacity to want to put on a good show during this time. People can be real pricks sometimes. As someone who is still intends on getting in the ring one day (I’m nowhere near as out of shape as I let on), it’s always great to hear that the fans will piss all over you for wanting to do your job under any circumstances. Okay, enough sappy s—, we’ve got a bunch of matches to get to and lots of fans want to give the roster Hell for even bothering to show-up, let alone wrestle. Ain’t it grand?

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Match #1: Tyler Breeze def. Austin Theory

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Austin Theory has been humbled — at least for one night. Looking to follow through on his brash words during a run-in with Tyler Breeze two weeks ago, the man who calls himself “All Day” carried his usual cockiness into the ring. But it cost him dearly. Theory got carried away with his mockery and Prince Pretty used his veteran savvy to capitalize. Commandeering Breeze’s cell phone in the middle of the match to add insult to injury, Theory’s complacency gave Breeze an opportunity to hit the Beauty Shot for the victory.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – Breeze won a match? Holy s—! I know! Whose balls did Breeze suck to finally get a win?! Does the name rhyme with Pulverine? Any-way, Theory shouldn’t have lost here, as he’s the top prospect that’s supposed to be taken seriously, not Breeze. I like Breeze, but he can take another loss. Besides, it would have meant more for Breeze to have to work for the big victory against the arrogant upstart, rather than just getting a random fall on the young guy while he f—– around with a cell phone. Still, I get what they were going for, but it would have been nice if they didn’t try to set-up another round of 50/50 booking with this decision. As for the quality, the wrestling was a bit slow and a bit sloppy from time to time, but it was always entertaining and I liked it.

Match #2: Killian Dain def. Tehuti Miles

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Killian Dain’s path of destruction continues. This time, the latest victim was Tehuti Miles. Though Miles showed promise, he had little chance at stopping Dain, who decimated his foe with barbaric strength, finishing him off with a massive Vader Bomb.

My Opinion: 2.5 out of 5 – Dain smash Miles. Miles dead. Dain like grape. Grape taste good. Dain pork pig. Pig pork good. Dain dancin’…yeah! Carey Mulligan not Dain. Dain invented sneeze-farting. Snarting good! Moral of story: Dain squash Miles.

Match #3: Cameron Grimes def. Tony Nese

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

If being unable to dethrone NXT North American Champion Keith Lee was a setback for Cameron Grimes, he’s not showing it. Grimes returned to the ring and quickly got back on track with a win against Tony Nese, a former champion himself. The Cave-In continued to serve The Technical Savage well, allowing him to put away Nese.

My Opinion: 3.3 out of 5 – This was a good match. Hell, this was fine, fine like a cat with a hand grenade. I wouldn’t go lookin’ for a match filled with enough personality to snuff out a moose (only Emperor Gwyneth Paltrow has that power), but this was pure skill and technique. I will say that this was a more conservative bout than you might expect from these two, but that didn’t bother me one bit. My only gripe was that they didn’t get another ten minutes. Still, this was another good one, all things considered.

Match #4: Io Shirai def. Aliyah – Placement In The NXT Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender’s Ladder Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Aliyah thought she’d have a chance to gain retribution against Xia Li for the broken nose she suffered last November. But what she got instead was a date with the always-dangerous Io Shirai. Taking advantage of the surprise factor, The Evil Genius of The Sky overwhelmed Aliyah, pinning her after a moonsault to earn a spot in the NXT Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender’s Ladder Match in two weeks. And after a performance like this, Shirai has to be considered among the favorites to win.

My Opinion: 2.3 out of 5 – Io killed poor ol’ Aliyah. A squash in front of no one is not the ideal setting for a Io return, but it had to happen at some point, so at least it went over well.

Match #5: Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch def. Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

A match with Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch is never a fun experience for the opposition — a fact that Shane Thorne & Brendan Vink are now intimately familiar with. The hard-hitting duo brought their typical intensity to the ring for this bout, battering Thorne & Vink with high-impact offense before making them tap out simultaneously with submissions in stereo.

My Opinion: 2.4 out of 5 – This went about as long as fat stripper does on the pole. Hey, at least Lorcan got a win.

Match #6: Candice LeRae def. Kayden Carter – Placement In The NXT Women’s Championship No. 1 Contender’s Ladder Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

As two of the NXT Women’s division’s most agile Superstars, both Candice LeRae and Kayden Carter would make equally exciting additions to the Women’s Title No. 1 Contender’s Ladder Match. But it’s Tenacious C who will join four other women — along with one more yet to be determined — vying to challenge either reigning champion Rhea Ripley or Charlotte Flair. Taking a page out of her husband Johnny Gargano’s book, LeRae slapped on the Gargano Escape to force Carter to submit.

My Opinion: 2.8 out of 5 – For so short a match, this was not too shabby, not too shabby at all. LeRae is still one of the best, male or female, and it’s a real thrill to see her start to get some attention beyond who she’s married too. Carter did well herself, but this was LeRae’s match, through and through.

Match #7: (Main Event) Matt Riddle def. Roderick Strong

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne’s unforeseen journey as NXT Tag Team Champions has impressed many, but threats to their reign are emerging. The Original Bro was in singles action this time, going toe-to-toe with The Undisputed ERA’s Roderick Strong in a highly physical encounter. Riddle used a counter to hit Strong with the Bro Derek to claim victory.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was an abridged version of the kind of match you’d expect from this pairing. Strong was the ring general (as he should be), while Riddle licked his feet for five minutes while looking for some pot in his shorts. Okay, the stuff with Riddle didn’t happen, but he did put in a good performance. Paul Dano once said “Boobs are scary!” and he was right, just as I was right to enjoy this match. Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these!

News Of The Night:

  1. Keith Lee brawled with Damian Priest and Dominik Dijakovic to sell the feud over the NXT North American Championship.
  2. Triple H announced that Tommaso Ciampa would face Johnny Gargano in two weeks in what is being billed as “The Final Encounter”.
  3. Malcom Bivens, along with Saurav Gurjar and Rinku Singh, attacked Matt Riddle to set-up a tag title feud.
  4. Velveteen Dream fights Bobby Fish, next week.
  5. There’s a Second Chance Gauntlet to give the losers a last shot at the Women’s Ladder Match, next week.
  6. Keith Lee fights Dominik Dijakovic and Damian Priest for the North American Title, next week.

Final Verdict: 3.3/5

The wrestling was, usually, too short for its own good, but it was good, so a 3.3 works.

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