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| Credit: WWE |
What's up everyone? Since I was able to find some extra time, I am going to go ahead and review this week's NXT (US) show. (Later, I will focus another post on the Daniel Bryan vs. AJ Styles match from SmackDown Live.)
NXT (October 31, 2018)
- We see a recap of the events that led to the reveal that Johnny Gargano was the one who attacked Aleister Black, this giving us the birth of Johnny Villain. (Well, that's my name for him anyways.)
- We start with one of my favorite women in any wrestling brand/promotion: Nikki Cross. (I may be in the minority here, but I think her being separated from Sanity has actually helped her career. She's become one of the more featured women talents on NXT in recent weeks.) She faced Mercedes Martinez in a really solid opening contest. I did not see the Mae Young Classic, but Martinez looked good for a majority of the match. Nikki Cross got the win after a hard-fought match by both women. They definitely made Martinez look good in defeat as I bought that she could win at any moment. In her own unique way, Nikki showed Mercedes respect after the match by getting in her face and smiling. Lol.
After the match, Candace LaRae gets in Nikki's face and asks why she didn't tell her about Johnny's attack. She walks to the back, but she is stopped by Aleister Black! Nikki backs up and disappears. Meanwhile, Aleister Black goes to the ring to confront Candace. He asks her where Johnny is. She says he's not there. Then, Aleister simply tells her "He's gone." This means that basically he's dead whenever he decides to show up in NXT again. Great opening segment here with the match and aftermath.
- We then get a rematch between The Mighty and The Street Profits. Ford (Profits) has a lot of great aerial ability and would fit in nicely in a Cruiserweight division as a singles wrestler. The Street Profits get the win after an impressive Frog Splash off the top rope by Ford. A really solid tag match.
- Regal announces that The Velveteen Dream will get the shot at Tomasso Ciampa and the NXT Championship. And it will be Aleister Black getting his shot at revenge against Johnny Gargano. Already this show is can't miss, and we haven't even gotten to the WarGames match yet.
- Matt Riddle makes his debut next facing Luke Menzies. "BRO" just gets this crowd going nuts. Riddle puts Menzies away after a good debut match. Riddle's offense is very impressive and could be something that propels him to the main event scene sooner rather than later.
- They show an interview after the Women's Championship match at Evolution, basically setting up that Kairi Sane is not finished with Shayna Baszler after that finish.
- Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan are in tag team action next. They face Carrillo and and Mendoza. (At this point, we only have 12 minutes left and another match to go. So, this can't be too long.) A lot of high-flying and British Strong Style wrestling in this match. This is a rushed, "blink and you'll miss it" type of match. But it was entertaining while it lasted. I just wish it had time to actually do something more substantive.
- The War Raiders attack THe Undisputed Era in the backstage era while they are cutting their promo. They are fighting all over the backstage area to the point where Adam Cole does his best "Rey Mysterio nWo long dart sell." They are brawling all over the area and now Ricochet goes after Adam Cole (Bay Bay). It's just a massive brawl at this point. Strong gets absolutely launched by Rowe over the barricade back to ringside. (I don't know who the face is though since really it was The War Raiders who jumped The Undisputed Era to start this.) Here comes Pete Dunne with a steel chair. And he clobbers The Undisputed Era with a steel chair. William Regal comes out and makes the match: War Raiders, Ricochet, and Pete Dunne vs. The Undisputed Era at WarGames.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT. Every match delivered in a unique way, even if the last match felt rushed to get to the angle. Speaking of which, that was a fun way to end the show to set up the WarGames match. Between that match, the NXT Championship match, and Black vs. Gargano (plus a possible Sane-Baszler rematch and an Ohno-Riddle match), this could be the greatest NXT Takeover ever. The fact that we say that a lot is proof that NXT is the best brand in wrestling.
Thanks for reading everyone. Check out the other posts on UnWrest by clicking on the Table of Contents tab above.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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