NXT has had a beautiful opportunity over the past two weeks to establish it itself as the premier wrestling show on cable TV before AEW’s deal when TNT starts on October 2 – and they absolutely nailed it.
What I think people love about NXT, and the reason it is able to separate it itself and create a distinct feel as opposed to the main roster, is that the superstars are given more than enough time for each individual match. Therefore, they have the opportunity to turn what would normally be a very good story into a great one. The key word in that sentence is time.
NXT definitely has no shortage of performers, but they don’t have quite as many as the main roster does. This might actually be an advantage because the performers Triple H is able to sign are all viewed very highly, and they are given the opportunity to reach their highest potential. That might be the key reason why NXT is growing so quickly and why every performer who is there wants to be there and would not rather be anywhere else.
Matt Riddle finally cashed in after almost a year with NXT and armed himself with the No. 1 Contendership for Adam Cole’s NXT Championship. It should be a great episode next week. It will provide significant competition for AEW with this NXT Title match, the NXT Tag Team Championships being defended by Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly against the Street Profits, and Shayna Baszler defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Candice LeRae. The match between Cole and Riddle will be excellent and either man could win. The Street Profits will probably lose, because they would probably just skip over their rematch and go straight to the main roster if NXT had suitable contenders right now for the Undisputed Era.
Candice LeRae also most likely does not stand a chance against Shayna Baszler. While I love Candice, Triple H has put an awful lot of time and effort into establishing Baszler as a dominant Women’s Champion. It would only be believable at this point if she were to lose the title to a bad-ass woman, and LeRae doesn’t bring quite enough of that.
Side Note: Keith Lee has an incredibly bright future as a serious title contender in NXT, with his ridiculous athleticism for a man that size.