‘WWE NXT’ Review (March 6th 2019)

Welcome to this week’s NXT review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Tournament all the way through this show. You’d think they would have wanted to have a WarGames tournament or something a bit more associated with his wrestling career, but at least this gives tag team wrestling an extra ledge to hang on to in the WWE.

Match #1: Aleister Black & Ricochet def. Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The too fast-and-furious combination of Aleister Black & Ricochet outlasted double-trouble maulers Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel to advance to the Semifinals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Through the duration of the match, Aichner & Marcel’s gridiron-style offense played like a Venus flytrap to Black & Ricochet’s high-flying attacks, which forced the momentum to shift back and forth. An air traffic controller was indeed necessary for the head-spinning aerial exchanges between Aichner and Ricochet. After a springboard tornado DDT from Aichner on Ricochet failed to secure a three-count, The One and Only recovered to his feet to fend off a double-team attack and tag in The Striking Man from Amsterdam, who withstood Aichner’s sticky defensive maneuvers before dropping him with a jaw-rattling Black Mass for the victory and entry into the Dusty Classic’s Semifinals.

My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a brisk, crisp match that had some great back and forth. This felt like a great match that got cut off before it could get to the good part. Every move that came and went felt like it was all leading to some-thing fantastic, but the length of the bout prevented it from becoming a classic. The wrestling was excellent stuff, but the match just couldn’t reach the heights set by the action.

Match #2: The Forgotten Sons def. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The Forgotten Sons’ Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake put a hurting on the rough-and-tough Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch in an intense duel to move on to the next round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The lower back of Lorcan was a bull’s-eye for Cutler & Blake, who hindered the usually torpedoing bruiser with an array of hard-hitting strikes and brutal tandem offense. At one point, Cutler hip-tossed Blake onto Lorcan’s lower back in the corner. Although Burch picked up the pace for his wounded tag partner by downing his opposition with a barrage of attacks, Cutler & Blake continued to rally. As a charged-up Lorcan hopped on the top turnbuckle, Blake rained on the Brit-Am alliance’s parade by catching him mid-air with a running powerbomb into Cutler’s knees, which was followed up with the heavy hitters’ vicious inverted DDT/stomp combo to land the pinfall. The hard-fought victory brings the “Savages of NXT” a step closer toward NXT tag team supremacy.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – This was a good, but not great, match that served as more of a piss break to give you a chance to process the previous match.

Match #3: Moustache Mountain def. Street Profits

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Moustache Mountain put a stop to Street Profits’ Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic plans by punching a ticket to the Semifinals. From the jump, Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins showed off their signature unparalleled athleticism, forcing Trent Seven & Tyler Bate into defensive mode. But trying to make short work of the former NXT Tag Team Champions would ultimately leave the Profits prone to an upset. After Bate kicked out of a pin attempt following a pop-up spinebuster and frog splash combination by Dawkins & Ford, the Profits’ teeming frustration exposed an opening for Seven to knock Ford to the floor with a Dragon Suplex on the apron. At that point, Seven met Bate inside the ring to hit Dawkins with an emphatic Torture Rack/flying knee drop combo for the win and a spot in the Semifinals, where they will face The Forgotten Sons.

My Take: 2.5 out of 5 – There were a few nice spots here and there, but this match survived on fumes rather than a full tank of gas. I thought the chemistry of the two teams was what kept this thing afloat, if only for the character work, rather than the actual wrestling part of the match. Overall, this was a fun little thing, but it could have done more if the booking had allowed it.

Match #4: (Main Event) #DIY def. Undisputed ERA

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

#DIY delivered a shock to the system, not only bringing the band back together for the first time in almost two years on NXT TV, but also by defeating Undisputed ERA’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish to advance into the Dusty Classic Semifinals. To get there, NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano had to go through a rough and rugged storm at the hands of The Undisputed ERA. In this perilous battle, O’Reilly & Fish took the newly reunited Ciampa & Gargano to work, proving they’re just as dangerous with a chip on their shoulder as they were when they protected the titles that were once around their waists. The desire for championship gold translated into an array of dominative attacks by the devious pair, as they pounded Gargano with excruciating submission holds and devastating tandem attacks. At one point, O’Reilly flattened Johnny Wrestling with a butterfly DDT that was followed by a wheelbarrow suplex by Fish. Still, Undisputed ERA’s offense couldn’t match #DIY’s willpower.

Late in the match, the self-professed “Greatest Sports-Entertainer of All-Time” struck O’Reilly with a blue thunder bomb while Gargano simultaneously surprised Fish outside the ring with a somersault off the apron. The action grew more intense during the final moments of the epic collision. After Fish squashed Ciampa with a jaw-dropping avalanche Michinoku Driver from the top rope that was followed by a diving knee by O’Reilly, a failed pinfall led to a fateful tag from Gargano. O’Reilly found himself on the receiving end of a slingshot DDT from Gargano, which then set up a well-timed Meeting in the Middle to pencil in a dance with Aleister Black & Ricochet in the Semifinals. The victory now has the former foes singing a brand-new tune: Reunited, and it feels so good.

My Take: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a really strong match that did what a good main event should do, which is to kick ass. Don’t worry about me saying bad-ass. That word has been beaten to death by just about all of us. Kick-ass isn’t too bad, but saying you’d like to kick some-one’s ass is a lot better. As a matter of fact, if you watch any part of this match, you’ll feel like you’re getting your ass kicked all over the place. I’ve had this theory for a little while that there are certain matches that would be even more impressive if they were shown in IMAX 3D. This match would be one of those matches that would do really well if it had been shot in 3D, because it’s so visceral. All of that being said, the match could have been a bit smarter and timed a little better, but that doesn’t detract from the fun you’ll have…probably. Overall, this was a good one.

News Of The Night:

1. Matt Riddle and Velveteen Dream seem to be the next feud for the NXT North American Title.
2. #DIY look to be teased for a feud with The War Raiders.
3. Io Shirai will fight Bianca Belair to determine which one challenges Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women’s Title at TakeOver: New York.
4. Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic will fight on an episode of NXT in two weeks.

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This turned out well and took lots of good wrestling and made it the point of the show, for the most part. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic filled this hour very nicely and that’s the good news. The bad news is that NXT goes back to normal, next week.