Every week, the WWE Network airs the latest episode of NXT. Of course, if you are reading this site you know what WWE NXT is. However I know many WWE Network subscribers don’t follow the show. Much like Superstars, I watch NXT religiously every week. So why not share some of my thoughts while also giving some information to those who may not keep up with it?
This week’s episode of NXT, on paper, doesn’t look extremely strong. However the main event sounds interesting and of course American Alpha are always fun. Tom Phillips is back again alongside Corey Graves calling the action. They make for a fun pairing and it is good to see Tom getting commentary work somewhere since being demoted. Let’s see how the show went!
American Alpha (Chad Gable and Jason Jordan) vs. BAMF (Blake and Murphy, with Alexa Bliss)
First things first: I love American Alpha. I love the name, I love the attires, I love the towel. Most of all, I love Jason Jordan and Chad Gable. Chad Gable is tremendous in every way and thankfully he has brought a lot out of Jordan, or at the very least the pairing has allowed us to see the potential he’s had for awhile. They have funny promos, personality, and excellent in ring work.
BAMF on the other hand never really lived up to their expectations. I thought the promo they had last week was fun, but they seemed to have stalled out as talents and are pretty stale. This isn’t including Bliss, of course, who holds the act together. As for the match itself, it was solid wrestling. Nothing was out of this world but with a really exciting hot tag by Jordan and the right team going over, everything went as you’d expect. Maybe not as good of a match as these teams could have, but still fun!
Winners: American Alpha
After the match we had a Dana Brooke and Emma promo. I am a huge fan of Emma so needless to say I found this entertaining. My own personal fondness aside, I genuinely feel like Dana and Emma compliment each other well and the two mean girls of NXT just work as a duo. Emma taking on Carmella in the future should be a solid enough match, as well.
Liv Morgan vs. Nia Jax (with Eva Marie)
There isn’t much to say about this match. Nia Jax has been very unimpressive since coming to the WWE. Although it should be pointed out that her match with Bayley was good. Still, she needs a lot of work. As for Liv Morgan, she definitely shows early signs of potential but she is also in the position where a push isn’t something that would likely work. All in all, this was unoffensive but certainly not something I would recommend.
Winner: Nia Jax
After the match we had a Vaudevillains vignette indicating their upcoming heel turn. How many turns is this for them now? They’re like NXT’s version of Big Show. Beyond that, we have a promo with Carmella, Enzo Amore, and Big Cass. This left me pretty conflicted. On one hand, I love Enzo and Cass on the mic and a fiery promo like this, especially by them is always good. With that said, they felt a little too heelish here. Making fat jokes and calling them irrelevant doesn’t really scream likability. Of course, Dash and Dawson injured Cass and the team aren’t exactly traditional babyfaces anyway, so its probably a moot point.
Bull Dempsey vs. Alex Riley
Yeesh. Alex Riley being back isn’t exactly something I’m excited for. The guy as an in-ring talent is far from interesting. With that said, the angle of him being mad at what NXT has become could be an interesting one. Chances are, however, it won’t go very far nor last very long.
The match itself was what it was. Neither Bull nor Riley are stand out in ring talents, but it wasn’t something abysmal either. The highlight of the match was definitely Alex Riley’s entrance. Even now I don’t get tired of his theme or the green lighting. That is pretty much all this was, though. Riley wins. Yay? I saw another review where someone made some Triple H and A-Ri comparisons. I question how much somebody saw Triple H if they see comparisons between the two.
Winner: Alex Riley
After the match we would have a backstage promo with Riley. While Riley isn’t a good in ring guy, at times he is quite good on the mic. I liked this. The idea that he was hurt and nobody cared is an easy story to work with and one he can definitely tap into with some very real animosity. Not bad at all.
Elias Samson vs. John Skylar
I know it is early, but Elias certainly appears to be flopping. I don’t blame him. Unfortunately, he is a casualty of modern day NXT. The brand suffers from being a supposed developmental show, but unless you’re a very special talent like Chad Gable, talent set to develop aren’t given much time or in this case much of a chance to really work. He just isn’t going to compare to such a strong roster.
So yeah, this wasn’t anything good. Elias certainly isn’t living up to his fun vignettes. I won’t say he is a lost cause by any means, but I don’t know if this will work. They may need to shake things up or go a different route.
Winner: Elias Samson
The final backstage segment before the main event features the Hype Bros. I enjoy Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley together. They have personality and seeing Ryder as the straight guy is pretty absurd and as a result, very enjoyable. I don’t know if I care about them with the Vaudevillains, but I don’t hate it either.
Number One Contender
Baron Corbin vs. Sami Zayn vs. Samoa Joe
This was good. Quite good. I’m a fan of all three talents. Samoa Joe is completely rejuvenated. His NXT run thus far has had a ton of good matches. In particular his stuff with Finn, Corbin, and Tommaso Ciampa have all stood out in my eyes. Needless to say, Sami Zayn is an incredible talent as well and trying to list the good he’s done since being on NXT would make this article far too long. Then there is Baron Corbin, who had issues at first but he is rapidly turning into a very entertaining heel. His hate for indy stars is really entertaining. Who can forget him telling former Dragon Gate star Apollo Crews to “go back to Ring of Honor”?
So yeah, this was really good. The match didn’t go particularly long, but as a result the action was consistent. A nice pace and an exciting finish made this stand out quite a bit. The double submission also raised a lot of eyebrows. Some hate these kind of finishes, and I get it, but I enjoy them if they are done rarely enough.
Winner: To be determined.
After the match, both Joe and Zayn plead their case. Regal comes out and says he needs to watch it back and he will come to a decision soon. This ends the show.
Closing Thoughts
So NXT this week wasn’t an amazing show, but it was perfectly fine. Maybe even better than fine, but still a little weak by modern day NXT standards. The triple threat main event was definitely fun but knowing the spoilers for future episodes, bigger and better things are on the horizon. A lot of short matches showcasing talent I’m not crazy about make the middle of the show pretty uninteresting. Harmless at worst, however. Always check NXT out.
What did you think of the show? Make sure to leave your thoughts and feedback. As always, stick to the WWE Network Chronicle for the latest WWE Network news, polls, reviews, and rumors! Bookmark us, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter: @WWENetworkChron!