Welcome to the first ever Kwinn Pop! Review of the WWE Network’s flagship brand, NXT. Starting with this week’s episode, and every forthcoming episode of NXT, NXT UK, and NXT Takeover event we will be reviewing every match with our own 5-star rating system. General rating system standards apply, 1 being the worst we match we have witnessed and 5 being an instant classic. We will then give the overall show an average rating based upon that scale. Simple enough? Alright, let’s dive right in to this week’s episode of NXT!
Ciampa puts Black in his targets.
NXT kicks off with the NXT Champion Aleister Black coming to the ring to talk about the adversity he went through defending his championship at NXT Takeover: Chicago. Black went on to put over Lars Sullivan for being a tough challenger to beat, but before Black could finish, Tommaso Ciampa came out to lay out a challenge. Ciampa, declaring the Gargano Fairytale over, said his sights are now focused on the NXT Championship, and Ciampa looks to make Aleister’s reign “Fade-To-Black”. Ciampa then sarcastically mocked Black with his signature goodbye wave at the top of the ramp as the segment ended.
While not exactly worthy of a rating due to this being a promo, Ciampa calling out Black is exactly what both men need to push each other to the next level in the NXT Brand. This rivalry is what Aleister needs to get over more as NXT Champion, and it solidifies Ciampa as a main event level threat to the championship. With the right build, one could see these two men putting on one amazing match once they do enter the ring against each other.
Kona Reeves makes quick work of Max Humberto.
Kona Reeves made his way out to the ring where Max Humberto was already waiting, which is usually a good sign that the fans are about to witness a squash match. This was definitely a squash match to help get Reeves over as a heel who enjoys the “Finest” things. The match didn’t have much offense to it, other than a falling elbow drop from Reeves, followed up by his finisher, a modified Samoan Drop. The contest was over before it could get started, and Kona added another win to his record.
Far from a work-rate oriented match that would have all the smart marks in wrestling going crazy, this match came within inches of what it wanted to do, which was to get Kona over as a heel. The problem with the match, like most squash matches, it lacked offense to get the crowd invest. This type of match usually works best to build “Monsters” like a Braun Strowman or Kane, not so much a Kona Reeves character. From a physical stand point, it didn’t make much sense for Humberto not to get a decent amount of offense in on Kona, and for Kona to use other heel-ish tactics to get the victory.
Overall this match was below average at best.
2 out of 5 stars.
Candice LeRae gets the arm up over Lacey Evans.
Candice LeRae and Lacey Evans are some of the up and coming prospects to keep your eye on in the future as far as WWE goes. LeRae has the babyface style down and it was on show tonight, as she set herself apart from fans thinking she was just Gargano’s wife and proved she is pretty great in the ring as well. Lacey Evans spent most of the match being the dastardly heel and working over Candice’s arm for a majority of the match. This tactic worked for LeRae as it rallied the NXT Universe behind her as she fought her way back to a victory. The finish would see LeRae hit an Unprettier and Lionsault that would make Christian and Chris Jericho proud. After the match, we see Johnny Gargano who is still upset with his loss to Tommaso Ciampa, planting the seeds that the feud is far from resolved.
It’s hard to not like this match for Candice LeRae alone. She is a perfect example of a babyface done right, which is something NXT seems to be doing a bit better than the flagship brands of Raw and Smackdown. Lacey Evans did a fantastic job singling out the arm of LeRae and really imposing her strength over the smaller LeRae. These two ladies are destined for more matches together as they seem to be one of NXT’s favorite pairings from a booking standpoint. Tonight, they certainly showed us why.
Overall this match was more enjoyable than your average bout.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
Undisputed Era prove that it’s their era, and everyone else is just living in it.
The main event saw the new NXT Tag Team Champions, Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate, team up with the One and Only Ricochet to take on the Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly). The match was originally supposed to be Moustache Mountains facing Dave Dixon and Carl Axelro, but after an impromptu mugging from the Undisputed Era, it looked like Trent and Tyler were in trouble. Enter Ricochet, who hit the ring with grace and agility to even the odds and set up our 3 on 3 main event.
Bate and O’Reilly started the contest together with some strong chain wrestling which lead to some great tag wrestling from Ricochet and Seven. From there each team would take turns tagging in each member and hitting some great spots. Moustache Mountain and Ricochet worked very fluid with their offense, especially hitting sentons and moonsaults on Cole and Strong. Eventually, Undisputed Era would get the upper hand on Tyler Bate and began working tactics to keep Bate beat down. This would lead to a showdown between Strong and Bate in the middle of the ring, where Bate would hit an amazing exploder suplex and make the tag to Ricochet.
Ricochet would then build up a level of momentum over Undisputed Era, attacking them with unique offense that only Ricochet could do. Ricochet came inches away from putting away O’Reilly and even hit the 630 senton on Adam Cole, who was barely saved by O’Reilly. Ricochet clearly upset, went after O’Reilly but was caught on the outside of the ring by Roderick Strong, who hit Ricochet with a nasty suplex on to the apron that allowed Adam Cole to pin Ricochet and get the victory for Undisputed Era.
When NXT is firing on all cylinders, there isn’t a promotion out there that the wrestlers from the NXT brand cannot compete with. This 6-man tag was a prime example of NXT firing at all cylinders. Matches like these show that NXT isn’t so much a “developmental” for WWE, but an alternative to Raw/Smackdown. If you were to combine NXT/NXT UK with the 205 Live roster, you would have wrestlers that no one could compete with inside of the ring. Undisputed Era continue to impress in their tag matches, with a stand out this week being O’Reilly. Kyle O’Reilly has some of the best reaction timing faces in the WWE today, maybe only out done by The Miz.
Ricochet was another top standout in this match, even from how he ran out to make the save. The intensity that Ricochet shows on his face during the entrance was captivating, and after watching his matches it’s easy to see championship gold in his future. Tyler Bate and Trent Seven also gave us a sample of what to look forward to with the British Strong Style in NXT UK, as their tag wrestling shines brightest right now, even among WWE’s elite. Not to be left out, Adam Cole was as good as only Adam Cole can be this week, and the popularity of Undisputed Era in general continues to be growing in fans eyes.
Overall, the 6 men in the main event showed up and tore the house down.
4.25 out of 5 stars.
Show total: 3.25 out of 5 stars.
That concludes this week’s review of NXT and we look forwards to the future in watching the Ciampa/Black feud take off, and to what the NXT UK Brand will bring. What were your favorite moments from last night’s episode? Feel free to leave them in the comment section below, and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram and Twitter @KwinnPop