Nerdly » ‘WWE NXT’ Review (April 17th 2019)

19th Apr2019

‘WWE NXT’ Review (April 17th 2019)

by Nathan Favel

Welcome to this week’s NXT review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have some weird, wild stuff. Also, Solo was a pretty good movie, even though Mario Van Peebles looks nothing like Harrison Ford. All right, let’s get to NXT before Adrian Brody puts on the Chewbacca costume.

Match #1: NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream def. Buddy Murphy – NXT North American Championship Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

A challenge was made, and a statement got laid inside the squared circle. After taking a potshot at Buddy Murphy for suffering the “biggest L of WrestleMania Weekend,” Velveteen Dream was given a run for his money in an all-out rip-roaring showdown against the new SmackDown LIVE Superstar. Taking umbrage to the taunts, Murphy mixed his appetite for championship gold with redemption, sapping Dream’s power early in their North American Title clash. But Dream lived out the age-old mantra “anything you can do, I can do better,” keeping up with Murphy in this battle of one-upmanship. Fending off Dream’s effective advances, Murphy connected with a hurricanrana that sent the champion scrambling to the outside before getting clobbered with a thundering knee upon his return inside the ring. Unable to keep this opponent down for a pinfall, Murphy dropped Dream outside for a second time, struck him with an incredible senton dive and then tossed him back inside where he followed up with a Diving Double Knee Attack. Again, a three-count eluded the former Cruiserweight Champion.

With his frustration teeming, Murphy pressed on the gas and drained Dream, once again, with a devastating sleeper hold. Thinking quickly, Dream drove Murphy into the turnbuckle to break out of the submission and then dropped The Unstoppable with a flying double axe handle to the floor. Exhausted, both Superstars battled back inside the ring – after barely escaping a Double Count-out – to continue their grueling stalemate. After a superplex facebuster by Murphy failed to slow down Dream, who responded with a Dream Valley Driver after his opponent’s attempted diving roll-up pin, the Australian Superstar dropped him with a vicious powerbomb. When that didn’t reach a pinfall, Murphy grew frustrated and Dream took advantage, flattening his challenger with a leg drop between the gold ropes and mustering the energy to spike him with another Dream Valley Driver. Finding strength from the “Vel-ve-teen” chants inside Full Sail Live, he landed the Purple Rainmaker to retain the title.

My Opinion: 4 out of 5 – This was a mean, nasty, brutal match that went for blood from the start. Dream had another great night here and he is really starting to get consistent. Buddy was excellent here as a hard-hitting jock with no remorse. There are some intense action sequences in this rough, tough fight to the finish that did more for both men than most of what has happened in their WWE careers so far. These two ended up having a lot of chemistry together that made this whole thing a real blast the whole way through.

Match #2: Dominik Dijakovic def. Aaron Frye

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

As is typically the case once the bell rings, Dominik Dijakovic gave the NXT Universe a sight to behold this week. Like a Category 5 storm, the destructive force came crashing down on Aaron Frye, with Dijakovic unleashing a discus big boot to snare the three-count. The flash win was a warning for Dijakovic’s next target: NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream. After his match, the towering Superstar called out the reigning champion by name and asserted that his eyes are fixated on Dream’s coveted championship.

My Opinion: 0 out of 5 – This was about five or six seconds, give or take a few either way. What do you think?

Match #3: (Main Event) NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler def. Kairi Sane via Disqualification

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Give Shayna Baszler credit, she really is The Queen of Spades. Like a card shark, The NXT Women’s Champion has proven herself to be a master strategist in recent championship bouts by entrapping her opponents with cerebral mind games that force her rivals to play into her hand. That much was proven in bouts against Bianca Belair at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix and her recent Fatal 4-Way battle against Belair, Io Shirai and Kairi Sane at TakeOver: New York. After poking fun at Sane last summer for not having “killer instinct,” Baszler continued her play this week in a controversial fashion against The Pirate Princess. With the crucial caveat being that Sane will be barred from challenging for the NXT Women’s Title if she loses, the reigning champion once again exposed her opponent’s hand.

Fiery as ever, Sane dumped on Baszler from the opening bell, unloading a fury of strikes before taking flight with a diving cross body from the ring apron. As the NXT Universe’s chants became the wind in her sails, The Pirate Princess made her longtime nemesis pay for all the insults thrown her way on the road to TakeOver: New York. She drove The Submission Magician to claw toward the ropes after locking in her signature cross-legged Boston Crab that she calls The Anchor, and even dropped an Insane Elbow as Baszler lay face-down on the canvas.

However, that “killer instinct” would end up as Sane’s Achilles’ heel after a second Insane Elbow attempt went off course as a result of Baszler knocking her down with a stunning enzuigiri. Baszler then avoided a flying kabuki elbow, causing Sane to crash into the barricade. From there, The Submission Magician preyed on the challenger’s right elbow, twisting it like a monkey wrench. After she continued to tenderize Sane’s limb, Io Shirai rushed in to stop the punishment inflicted on her best friend, which prompted the referee to call for the Disqualification. The onslaught continued as Baszler’s comrades Jessamyn Duke & Marina Shafir held Shirai down and forced her to watch as The Queen of Spades viciously stomped on her Sane’s wounded arm. In the game of strategy, the NXT Women’s Champion has once again outplayed her opponent, solidifying what looks to be her most dominant reign yet.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was shorter than it should have been but it worked out quite well for both of them. This was a lot like the first match of the card, in that it was a hard-hitting fight to the finish. Sane looked just fine here and Baszler was as vicious as ever. Baszler feels more and more like Arn Anderson all the time. I could ramble on, but I think you get my point. This was good stuff all the way through, even with the lame finish.

News Of The Night:

The Street Profits will fight The War Raiders, next week.
Johnny Gargano will fight Roderick Strong, next week.
Dominick Dijakovic is pursuing the NXT North American Title.
Aliyah & Borne will fight Candice LeRae and a mystery partner in a tag team match, next week.
KUSHIDA debuts in two weeks.