PWP Nation’s Eron Ramadanov talks about five things we learned from this week’s episode of NXT.
This week, we debuted our “Weekly Wrap-Up” series, starting with Zack Heydorn with Monday Night Raw. Every week, several members of our staff will be covering the hottest shows on the professional wrestling scene.
While Heydorn will cover Raw, I’ll be covering NXT on a weekly basis. In the process, each and every week, I’ll take 5 things that we learned from WWE’s “developmental” brand.
So, with that being said, let’s begin:
#5. American Alpha are the best tag team in NXT
Chad Gable and Jason Jordan are easily the most “over” tag team in NXT. Both being incredibly skilled technicians, American Alpha have captured the hearts and love from the NXT fans in Orlando and all over the world. After finally adding a team name, this duo has all the tools and abilities to go very far in not only NXT, but on the WWE main roster one day.
Finding chemistry and getting the fans on their side, there is no question that Gable and Jordan are the best team in NXT right now.
#4. “The Drifter” character is awful
Listen, I’m always willing to give things a chance and I think Elias Samson is a talented guy, but this gimmick is not good. It doesn’t make any sense, and the idea that I’m suppose to care about this idiot who plays guitar, but somehow became a wrestler just doesn’t make sense.
This character isn’t the worst thing ever, but it’s pretty bad. I’m not a fan of “the Drifter,” but I’m a huge fan of Elias Samson.
#3. Alex Riley is becoming a 2002 version of Triple H
On this episode of NXT, Alex Riley made his “long awaited” return. But something that was odd was he returned with a completely new look. Not only did he have shoulder length hair, but his physique has transformed into an almost exact replica of Triple H when he returned from injury in 2002.
I’ve always like Alex Riley and thought he was a somewhat talented worker, but I don’t know if he has much of future with the company. This will be attempt number 3, 4 or 5 to get this guy over in NXT and WWE. I guess we’ll have to play the waiting game and see if the Full Sail fans will get behind him this time.
#2. William Regal is the perfect authority figure
Recently, I wrote a piece right here on PWP Nation, where I talked about the overbearing and unnecessary reign of the Authority on WWE television. Well, if you want to see the exact opposite of what we see on Raw and SmackDown, look no further than William Regal and NXT.
In NXT, the only times you see William Regal is when he’s there to give the fans good news or something to look forward too and when he’s needed, which is what we saw tonight after the screwy finish to tonight’s show. Regal comes out to settle this dispute, and is physically angry by the outcome because he knows that fans want to see a decisive winner. That’s what a good TV general manager would act like; s/he would be upset if the fans get screwed.
Kudos to William Regal and NXT officials for booking such a fantastic show, which leads me to my final point of the night.
#1. NXT’s booking is second to none
Week after week, I tune into NXT and find myself baffled at how easily booked and well-paced this show is. Now, obviously, I’m a huge fan of NXT and more importantly, a huge “mark” for Triple H, but you can’t say that he hasn’t been consistently great at booking this show on a weekly basis.
And not only is the show booked well, but it’s so simple and makes sense. Tonight, leading up to the main event between Sami Zayn, Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin, we saw hype videos that legitimized all parties involved even more. Triple H and company are able to always pepper in some squash matches, along with some great tag team action and leave us with an interesting and exciting main event.
As for this show’s main event, the finish was fantastic; complex but simple. In this finish, everyone comes out smelling like roses. Corbin, even though he tapped out, comes out looking fine because he tapped out to not one, but two submissions (but for us to buy that as an excuse, Graves and Phillips have to sell us on it next week.) For Joe and Zayn, they both have legitimate cases for why they believe they won the match.
Simple booking, but it left me wanting to know what happens next; what will William Regal decide to do? That’s exactly what a wrestling show is suppose to do; keep you wanting more.
If I had to say which wrestling television show has the best booking out, NXT is second to none when it comes to consistency and logical thinking. Yes, some episodes are sometimes not the most exciting, but as a fan, you know that episode is a piece to a bigger puzzle. You have faith in the booking, which is why you sit through some weeks that aren’t filled with crazy, spot-fest matches.
In Hunter we trust. In NXT we trust.
Thanks for reading, everyone! See you next week for another review of NXT.