NXT and Main Event Reax - 4/22/15

Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT and Main Event.

NXT:
If Tye Dillinger can show what he's got against anyone, it will be Balor.

Another scientific decimation by Balor. He needs to be working with some experienced names to finish his development as a future main roster guy.

Breeze vs. Balor should be good. There's a natural feud there with Balor using face paint while Breeze already feels pretty enough. This is exactly whom Balor needs to work with to get more ready for the big time. Then maybe Rhyno or Goldust or another veteran?

Dana's still rough around the edges. It's always kind of frustrating when we see someone who has tools to succeed but isn't there yet. But she's here to learn. I hope she does.

Owens has such a natural douchebag mentality about him. I'm ready for him to succeed.

Charlotte can GO. I'm really impressed with her athleticism.

That was a really good match. I think all three of these athletes have some real potential for the main roster down the line. I thought the finish was GENIUS. I'm looking forward to Becky vs. Sasha.

I remain somewhat frustrated with Itami. He's obviously technically sound with "educated feet." He's just still seemingly finding his way in the WWE way of doing things. If he could just show up and kick the crap out of people, that'd be one thing. But I think he'd be eaten alive on the main roster without something more from a personality and character perspective. Hopefully he keeps growing down in NXT.

That was good to re-establish Rhyno. Where does he go from here? I definitely want to see Rhyno vs. Owens at some point. It'd also be cool to see Baron Corbin or Bull Dempsey challenging him to try to take his place, but I don't think either of them are ready for that.

Jesus Wesley and Blake are bland. They remind me of the FCW days. So-so segment, but there's not much to do with the tag team champions.

Becky vs. Sasha should be pretty good. Sasha's really got a future.

What I like about this angle is even though we know Riley's going to get his ass kicked, he's got a fire in him we don't always see from faces in peril.

The start of this match is good to fit how personal it is. They're not trading armdrags and hip tosses for a reason.

As an aside here, props to Owens for dropping some weight. I think it adds to his legitimacy to be fit.

Good main event. I hope we see more from Riley, given his drive to be a wrestler now.


Owens is such a great bully. He's just outright rude.

Nice ending to the show. I like how Zayn was so determined to get to Owens, he took out security on the way.

Main Event:
Why did it take so long to get this Curtis Axel? He's always been a solid technical wrestler, but we haven't seen this much personality until lately.

Fandango vs. Axel was fine for where it was. I'm just ready for the two of them to get something more substantial going on. Can we get Fandango teaming with Emma now to replace Rosa Mendes?

I liked Brie vs. Alicia. It's a shame Alicia's just kind of "there" at this point because we've seen her character do just about everything.

What's there really left for Alicia to do? I'd like to see her take on the veteran role in NXT and work with Charlotte, Sasha Banks, etc. to get them closer to being called up.

Stardust vs. R-Truth was fine. I like both of them a good deal.

The Ascension were as they usually are. I'm mostly OK with them having this gimmick now, since obviously it's not going to be changed at this point.

No complaints about that main event. I'm glad to see the Lucha Dragons get more accustomed to the main roster. The Ascension are clearly just kind of "there" at this point.

More wrestling coming up.