Read on for my thoughts on last night's NXT and ROH.
NXT:
This was taped before Roddy's passing, so they may or may not have edited in the larger tribute to what was already a full show.
I hope Bayley has the success Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Sasha could be seeing soon. I understand why they didn't want to bring up all four of their top Divas at once though.
- Charlotte vs. Bayley:
As much as I really like the recent callups, I'm excited to see what the next generation of NXT Divas will bring. I wouldn't mind another veteran coming down to work with the less-experienced names.
Bayley's still a notch below Charlotte, but I think she's going places. I liked the Bayleycanrana.
I would have been disappointed if Bayley tapped. She should be positioned as the top face Diva of NXT with Charlotte and Becky graduating.
Really good ending sequence. Now we just need Bayley to win the title at Takeover and the torch will officially be passed.
Nice post-match, too. Bayley definitely works quite well as a face.
Owens is a very smooth talker, and not just because he made a reference to Regal's really old gimmick.
I'd think Owens makes more on Raw and Smackdown than being NXT Champion, so that logic kind of falls flat.
I think this is only the second time there's been a ladder match in NXT. The other was between Bo Dallas and Neville for the NXT Championship.
Good ending to the interview.
There was something kind of fun about the second Bull-Fit video. Nice to see some cameos from other NXT hopefuls.
I'm debating whether pointless 20-second squash matches are as bad as pointless spotfests.
- Corbin vs. Cutler:
At least Cutler got in some offense! I'm definitely ready for someone to pull a 1-2-3 Kid.
So Bayley's going to face all three of the Diva callups in August? Great! I look forward to her being at the top of the division against others trying to make their marks.
- Breeze vs. Solo:
I love Breeze not wanting to be touched by the referee.
Breeze vs. Corbin would make sense after they both just won squashes. But Liger's an awesome choice, too.
Cool to see a big video on Liger. He can still go, so it should be pretty good.
I'm already psyched to see the former Uhaa Nation in action. His reputation proceeds him.
I think Owens/Balor II has more or less sold itself. But it's good to see how big of a deal it's being treated as.
I'm really interested to see the final attendance figures for Takeover in Brooklyn. They've blown away expectations.
Why aren't they calling Dawson and Wilder "The Mechanics?" I think that was a pretty good name for them, somewhat reminiscent of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew.
- Dawson/Wilder vs. Hype Bros:
That wasn't a bad match at all, even if it kind of negated the big win last week. Mojo's still pretty wet behind the ears, but I appreciate his high-octane offense.
Nice post-match to establish Dawson and Wilder as a threat. They're two rough, but efficient dudes. I like where they're headed.
Glad we're getting a rematch for the NXT Tag Team Championships, although I wonder where that leaves Enzo and Cass. I think they either need a new Diva in their corner to shake things up or have a surprise appearance by someone for the role.
They finally sold Bull as a babyface for me with that package. I can get behind him.
- Joe vs. Rhyno:
Talk about two big beasts colliding.
I hope we see some more former TNA names make their way to NXT. Austin Aries and James Storm specifically. I think Storm would be a good mentor for Dawson and Wilder.
Joe's an efficient workhorse. It's all about seek and destroy.
If this was ROH, Joe would have kicked out of three Gores and the Muscle Buster would just be a transition move.
Pretty good match overall, but I think the focus of the show needs to be the people training in the WWEPC.
ROH:
That was a pretty good promo from Strong. He's vanilla as hell, but I guess he's one of the more high-quality varieties of it.
- War Machine vs. Young Bucks:
Oh, boy. I sure missed these try-hard dipshits.
Oh God this is awful. Way too cutesy and choreographed. Just go ahead and say it's all fake and they're just there to entertain through elaborate moves. Don't pretend it's the "sport of wrestling" when it's so obviously put together move by move.
This is the type of match that should have a big monster heel come out and lay out everyone involved. It'd pop me, at least.
That's at least some good selling by Nick. Good to actually see some psychology from the Bucks instead of just spamming moves.
Again, if you're going to change the lineup of the match midway through without an authority figure authorizing it, just throw the rulebook out the window. Just have people do moves until they get bored or whatever and ring the bell to let the next guys come out and do their moves in their timeslot.
There was good action in the match. The wrestlers involved are innovative and athletic. But it was mediocre at best because it never really looked like an actual match.
So many ROH wrestlers are evocative of Bo Dallas or The New Day, but as a shoot. It's all "golly gee let's just go out and have a good match and see who the better wrestler is." I couldn't care much less about Cole vs. O'Reilly unless it leads to Taven and Bennett kicking their asses to get heat (which is what the business is supposed to be based on).
- Alexander vs. Romantic Touch:
At least Cedric looks like he means business and is actually out to kick some ass. Good for him.
Touch being a goof takes away from Alexander's "serious heel turn." Obviously he's not too concerned with Cedric kicking his ass if he's messing around with fans at ringside.
No wrench to further wreck Touch? Missed opportunity.
Not a bad post-match to continue Cedric vs. Moose. I wish Moose was a bigger part of the show. Or, better yet, there was at least one other guy who filled a similar role.
I'm enjoying heel Lethal more as we see more of him. I'm not a huge fan by any means, but he's growing some personality.
Nice little segment to set up O'Reilly as a threat to the title. I'm sure the match already has two and a half stars before they lock up.
- O'Reilly vs. Cole:
Nice to see Kyle sell the superkick as something that hurts. How many were hit in the opening match like it was nothing?
Lame ending. Where the heck were the rest of The Kingdom? The story should be about them, considering the question is where Cole's loyalty lies.
Wait, really? They're doing that match now? It would have meant more to set it up for next week. Maybe it will make more sense at the end of the show.
- Future Shock vs. Addiction:
This is OK, as far as it looking like two teams actually trying to beat each other. Cole's superkick being portrayed as a kill move is good.
Goofy double-team move from The Addiction. Innovative and complex doesn't automatically mean good.
OK ending to presumably set up a tag team title match (?).
Not a bad ending to the show. It sets up some interesting (by ROH standards) stories to follow.
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