‘WWE NXT’ Review (March 13th 2019)
Welcome to this week’s NXT review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and there’s a little surprise to come near the end of the show…unless you read the spoilers that have been around for a while.
Match #1: Forgotten Sons def. Moustache Mountain in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The slick teamwork of Moustache Mountain pushed Tyler Bate & Trent Seven to the brink of victory against Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake, but it wasn’t enough to nullify the ferocious presence of Jaxson Ryker. The Forgotten Sons’ “heavy hitter” disrupted the Semifinal Match as the back-and-forth battle entered the home stretch. By that point, Seven had already survived a prolonged attack on his knee and tagged in “Textbook” Tyler, whose insane power and athleticism turned the tide in Moustache Mountain’s favor. Bate & Seven felled Wesley Blake with their trusty rebound punch/Dragon suplex combination and went for the pin, but Ryker sneakily draped Blake’s foot over the bottom rope, forcing a rope break. Moments later, “The Big Strong Bois” set up Cutler for another one of their signature double-team moves — the Burning Hammer/knee drop combo — but Blake shoved Bate to the floor, where Ryker walloped him with a vicious blow. The menacing Superstar then rolled Bate into the ring, leaving him easy prey for Blake & Cutler, who devoured him with a tandem inverted DDT/stomp for the three-count and passage into the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Final.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a good match that had enough action to shake a stick at. What the hell did I just say? If I could delete it, I would. Both teams looked excellent here and had a natural ebb and flow to work with here. The holds and locks transitioned into each other smoothly and…I feel like I’m describing a turtle crawling on wet sand. Hey, Stoopid. This was a good match and one that did well in a certain amount of time.
Match #2: Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair went to a no contest
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler saw to it that neither Io Shirai nor Bianca Belair had her hand raised when The Genius of the Sky and The EST of NXT fought each other for the right to challenge Baszler at TakeOver: New York. With a golden opportunity at stake, Shirai and Belair went full bore before The Queen of Spades, who sat in on commentary for the match, imposed her will. Shirai soared around the ring with speed and precision, while Belair used her clear power advantage to out-muscle the Japanese Superstar. After Belair cut down Shirai with a vicious spear, however, Baszler stormed the ring. The callous NXT Women’s Champion ripped Shirai from the squared circle before forcing Belair into unconsciousness with the Kirifuda Clutch. Longtime Baszler rival Kairi Sane entered the fray next, but Baszler quickly put her to sleep with another Kirifuda Clutch. Shirai then re-entered the ring to try to save her best friend Sane, but it only gave The Submission Magician the chance to complete the trifecta and turn out the lights of another would-be contender with her debilitating hold.
My Take: 3 out of 5 – This was a very nice match that got cut off at the legs before it could hit overdrive and get to its climax.
Match #3: (Main Event) Ricochet & Aleister Black def. #DIY in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
If Johnny Gargano’s decision to reunite with NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic caused the NXT Universe to question whether Gargano had fallen under The Blackheart’s spell, tonight’s shocking turn of events — in which Gargano carried out a premeditated attack on Ciampa — revealed that Johnny Wrestling knew what he was doing all along. Ricochet & Aleister Black toppled Ciampa & Gargano in the semifinal round of this year’s tournament, but that feat, as notable as it was, was overshadowed almost immediately by #DIY’s implosion at Gargano’s hands. Gargano carried out his plan to perfection. Bell to bell, there were no clues to his true motive, as #DIY operated cohesively while going toe-to-toe with Ricochet & Black. But when Gargano seemed to injure his leg late in the match after a nasty pileup in the ring, the NXT Champion was left to go it alone against The One and Only and The Dutch Destroyer. Outnumbered, it wasn’t long before Ciampa fell to the Black Mass and Ricochet’s 630 Splash.
My Take: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent main event that fits these four guys like an old glove. The pairing if these two teams worked really well and, with an established team like #DIY there to usher them in, Ricochet and Aleister Black were able to really work out a lot of the kinks that might have been there in their tag work before wrestling this match. There were thrills, chills and a sort of tense suspense that made for a worthy main event/makes you think I wrote all of that just to sound competent. I thought this was a wild ride that delivered what it promised and then some.
News Of The Night:
- Tommaso Ciampa tried to attack Johnny Gargano after they both lost the main event, but Johnny attacked first and revealed that he always intended to betray his partner, which turned Johnny into a face again.
- Matt Riddle wants to fight Adam Cole.
- Shayna Baszler attacked three women who would become her opponents for NXT: Take-Over (Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Kairi Sane).
- Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic will fight, next week.
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
If it wasn’t for the main event, then this would have been a bit lower. NXT still feels like a commercial for itself, rather than the actual product, if that reference makes any sense. There are far too many promos and angles that get in the way of the limited amount of time to fit in some wrestling.
