‘WWE NXT’ Review (Aug 5th 2020)

Welcome to this week’s NXT review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and kaiko naika notai kotana aiko tana kaiota natako…BAZUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!! Daiku naka voi saikoda miachi manda viko! Moika sanda haido con maiku kalaida harau! BANSAI TYCO ASA HOLA TI TEE SMAKA HAKUNA MATADA… MADA FAKA!!!!!!!!!! NXT…BEGINNO!!!!!!!!!

Match #1: Dakota Kai def. Rhea Ripley – No. 1 Contender’s Match For The NXT Women’s Title Shot

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Rhea Ripley pummeled Dakota Kai for much of the bout, though The Captain of Team Kick displayed impressive resilience. However, it was the presence of Mercedes Martinez — who blasted Ripley with a drive-by kick when the referee was checking on Kai — who decided the match in a big way. Kai took advantage, hitting the Go-To Kick to earn a date with NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai at NXT TakeOver XXX.

My Opinion: 3.8 out of 5 – This was a hell of a way to kick off the card. Holy moly! I can use what-ever cheesy phrases I want! Screw you! Anyway, Kai and Ripley beat the sh*t out of each other for a long stretch of time. There are some very creative grapples and transitions here that will make your heiny feel like a steel-pressed pretzel in Malaysia. What the hell did that even mean? Kai had her best performance in some time and felt like a real threat to Rhea, who looks like all the best parts of Mad Max 2 and then some. There’s just so much good sh*t in here, from bell to bell. You’re gonna go wet-on-wet for this technique, which is just my way to Bob Ross to you how happy this tree will be when…I got side-tracked. This match kicked ass. There…very nice.

Match #2: Bronson Reed def. Shane Thorne

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Bronson Reed is looking more and more like a strong favorite heading into the North American Title Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver XXX. The Aus-zilla took care of business against Shane Thorne, putting him away with a massive top-rope splash.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – The only thing that kept this slobber-knocker from hit a home run through all our asses is the limited time this match got to begin with. Reed and Thorne went balls-to-the-wall, like a ballet dancer in a Texas three-way wattoosie. I want some more from these two…OR I’LL HOLD MY BREATH UNTIL MY FACE TURNS BLUE!!!!!!!!

Match #3: Damian Priest def. Oney Lorcan and Ridge Holland – Triple Threat Match For Entrance In The North American Title Ladder Match At NXT TakeOver XXX

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Damian Priest is one step closer to infamy. He prevailed in the latest in the North American Championship Triple Threat Match Series, this one a high-octane encounter with the hard-hitting Oney Lorcan and the debuting Ridge Holland. Though Lorcan brought his trademark intensity and Holland impressed mightily, Priest claimed victory after flattening Lorcan with The Reckoning.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was a very well organized three-way that only got messy after the climax, but they wiped it down after that with Priest’s finisher. Oney and Ridge were great here, making the excellent Priest look even better than usual. There’s so much hurtin’ goin’ on here that it might feel like S&M night at Denny’s (Here’s your frickin’ nachos…THWAP!!!!!). Ridge left a great impression on me here, like Lars Sullivan if he could wrestle. This may not be the most memorable match in wrestling history, but it was effective in being intense and important…weird description. Priest won and needed a big victory, so that makes this a success, because he won and did so soundly…but not at eleven.

Match #4: Keith Lee def. Cameron Grimes

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

Cameron Grimes picked an especially inopportune time to mess with Keith Lee. The NXT Champion seemed to channel his rage for Karrion Kross into this bout against The Technical Savage with a steely focus. Grimes dug deep into his bag of tricks in one of his most impressive showings since joining the black-and-gold brand, but Lee was too much, dropping Grimes with a Spirit Bomb for the win.

My Opinion: 3.4 out of 5 – This was fine stuff, but it was a bit slow in parts and had too much stalling at the beginning from Grimes (it was effective heel heat though). Lee did solid job at looking like he could smash ol’ Grimes at any time, which helps since Grimes did his best to look like he deserved to be smashed. If you wanna see a major singles champion not defend their belt against one of the best wrestlers today, then get your ass over here and watch ‘er down to the nub, dude!

Match #5: Tegan Nox def. Indi Hartwell

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

If Tegan Nox was discouraged by not knocking off Io Shirai last month in her bid for the NXT Women’s Title, it didn’t show. Nox took down Indi Hartwell, pinning her after hitting The Shiniest Wizard.

My Opinion: 2.7 out of 5 – Time was the enemy of this bout and nothing else. These two were getting somewhere, but it all ended just as things were getting good. Tegan worked hard to look tough and Indi was no slouch either. The right person won a solid match that was set to do great things, but had to settle for just decent ones instead.

Match #6: (Main Event) Imperium def. The Undisputed ERA – NXT Tag Team Championship Match

The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

The tension between Adam Cole and Pat McAfee took center stage, and it cost The Undisputed ERA dearly. Cole left Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly’s corner to ultimately confront McAfee, who had been disparaging Cole within earshot on commentary throughout the bout. The situation was enough to distract O’Reilly’s attention away from the ring, allowing Imperium to drop Fish with the European Bomb to retain their titles.

My Opinion: 3.5 out of 5 – This was an excellent way to end the card, with both teams knocking the Tom Tucker out of each and every phucker. There was too much talk from Pat McAfee here, but he’s always needed Bob & Tom to buffer his comments in order to be funny anyway, so how can I be surprised he’d be overbearing with only a few people to prop him up? These guys went all over the place to sell this fight as worthy of being fought for the tag prize. A lot happens in this match, so even a simple re-cap of move for move would be a pain in the ass. Trust me when I say that you’ll likely enjoy this whole thing…except for Adam Cole/Pat McAfee blahoogala…and not even cut finely enough to put over braised pork and beans.

News Of The Night:

1. Mercedes Martinez attacked Rhea Ripley.
2. Pat McAfee attacked Adam Cole.
3. Legado Del Fantasma attacked Breezango.
4. Karrion Kross attacked a Performance Center trainee as recompense for Keith Lee rescinding his invitation of a title match at William Regal’s request to allow him to make those decisions instead.
5. William Regal announced that Dexter Lumis is out of the Ladder match at TakeOver due to injury.
6. Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano, Ridge Holland and one name to be determined will meet in two singles matches, with the winners getting the last two spots in the TakeOver Ladder match.

Final Verdict: 3.5 /5

This was an excellent show with some fine wrestling, but too much use of the assault angle diluted what was supposed to be the big Cole/McAfee angle at the end, but was just another case of sports-entertainment interfering with professional wrestling.