Last Time on WWE NXT…
We said so long to The Man that Limits Forgot, the local theater kid had to give up his title, Rhea Ripley got sonned, and Daddy came home.
This week, we get a brand new NXT Champion! Right? RIGHT? *checks notes* (Hey, what the fu-)
POP: They Belong To The Streets
Right off the bat on NXT Super Tuesday™, we get a 6 man Street Fight between Legado del Fantasma and the team of Breezango & Swerve. Bonus points to LDF for actually wearing street clothes and half a point to Swerve for at least wearing a shirt. LDF don’t even hesitate as they begin the match jumping at everyone. This match has one gear, “GO”, and it doesn’t stop until it ends (save for maybe one moment).
My favorite moment of the match, because I obviously have the maturity level of a child, is when Fan “Dirty Curty” Dango launches his BFF into Mendoza’s “Brovaries” (h/t to Beth Pheonix). Unfortunately there was also a spot with a fire extinguisher where Dango kinda took a while to actually give it to Breeze so LDF kinda had to wait in one spot until they could get sprayed. It didn’t ruin the match or anything, but it was pretty noticeable to me.
No spots with the loaded Lucha mask this week, but we did get an appearance from Imperium who were then taken out by FANDANGO AND SWERVE DIVING FROM A FORKLIFT. We need more forklifts in pro wrestling (vote AddMayne 2020 if you want more forklifts in Pro Graps). Match ends when Swerve once again pins the Cruiserweight Champion. Just a fun ass match man. Really good for getting you in a good mood. Boy, sure hope this feeling lasts the whole show.
POP: That Girl Is Poison
In furthering the Tegan Nox/Candice LeRae story, this week we get 2 segments dedicated to this. First off, just a heartwarming package from Nox talking about the history of how they bonded on the indies and became even closer in NXT and how she doesn’t even recognize her these days. She really wants to hash it out “over a glass of wine” though (this is leading to Candice bashing her over the head with a wine bottle isn’t it).
Then after a very fine match between Candice and Kacy Catenzaro (do I even have to say who won), Candice cuts a promo about how she TOTALLY looks at the friendship between Kacy and Kayden Carter and is SO jealous of it and DEFINITELY wants to make up with Tegan and become friends again. So the woman whose nickname is currently “The Poison Pixie” invites Tegan to her house for dinner so they can hash things out. If Tegan actually goes, she might as well start wearing Crow facepaint. (Oh my god, is Candice gonna poison her? Is she gonna get tips from Zelina?)
So Metal
Rhea challenges Mercedes to a steel cage match and Mercedes accepts, so next week on another NXT Super Tuesday™, there’s a what’s sure to be hossarific steel cage match to look forward to.
BOTCH: The Big Bad Theory
So, easily the worst match of the night is Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed. I really don’t know what they’re trying to do with Thatcher right now. I kinda feel like the guy who beat Matt Riddle in not only Riddle’s last NXT match, but also the NXT Fight Pit™ (*Now sold exclusively at Wal-Mart! Get yours today!) should be dominating people on this show.
Match started out ok, but once Reed got a (worked) arm injury, it slowed down (which isn’t always bad, but it was here) and nearly ground to a halt. Then Austin Theory (who I guess according to WWE brass is fine but I have to imagine people watching feel pretty uncomfortable as his situation is less acknowledged than Dream’s) interferes and Thatcher takes advantage to get a tap out win.
So yeah, we’re getting Reed vs. Theory, hope you wanted that. I really feel like Thatcher looked super weak here. Ugh.
*This is a joke, idk if they actually have them at Wal-Mart. Also now is no time to be going to Wal-Mart, good lord.
POPBOTCH: …Sigh
Ok. So, the main event was the 60 Minute Fatal 4-Way Ironman match between Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Finn Bálor and Tommaso Ciampa. These men are four of the best wrestlers not just in NXT, but in WWE period. All of these men also have an extensive history with each other. All of these men are former NXT Champions. This match had the potential to be spoken of for years to come. I myself called it a possible Match of the Year candidate.
Now, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself so just to begin, I will say the stuff that happened in-between the beginning and the end of the match was dope as hell. 60 minutes is a very long time to not only have a wrestling match, but to also keep the audience interested in the match and I think these 4 guys achieved that (the “crowd” chanting “Fight Forever” like 2 minutes in was a bit much). Speaking for myself, I love the long epic matches that tell a story (as long as the match is actually engaging *ahem* *ahem* Hunter).
Arguably, no four men in NXT knows these four men in the ring, like these four men do. And because this is NXT, they very much show this in the way they’re wrestling each other. Johnny’s being a shithead, yelling at Balor while he’s stomping him and doing the taunts of his opponents (and possibly chips a tooth, he should ask Cole for his girl’s number, Cole at least owes him that much).
There’s a glimpse of DIY when both members hit submissions on Cole and Finn at the same time (in PIP, natch), then have a staredown before former Bullet Club members toss them out and Cole (foolishly) tries to have an alliance before immediately getting tossed out. Hell, even Gargano stealing a pin from Ciampa. Lots of great little moments like this.
The first pinfall (Finn) doesn’t even happen until about 32 minutes into the match and they still found a way to keep you interested, because of course they did, these guys are really good at what they do. But the problem comes with the end of the match.
With 21 seconds left on the clock, Finn hits Ciampa with the Coup de Gras and gets a second pinfall, but then Cole immediately hits Finn with a Last Shot and gets a pinfall within the last 3 seconds. So we go through all of that awesome wrestling, just to end up with no NXT Champion, because of a tie. Man, I did not like that at all. The night of, I was almost pissed off because it just felt like so much for nothing. But hey, on the upside, at least Finn vs. Cole is gonna slap (a thigh).
Next Week:
Rhea Ripley vs. Mercedes Martinez – Steel Cage Match
Adam Cole vs. Finn Bálor – NXT Championship Match
