NXT

Gargano does the one thing he has not done in NXT; LeRae’s time to become champion is quickly approaching

Johnny Gargano kicked off the first Halloween Havoc in 20 years by becoming the first two-time NXT North American Champion. Johnny Wrestling has done just about everything in NXT except for becoming a champion as a heel. Damian Priest has also become an absolute star since winning the five-man ladder match at Takeover: XXX. The key for him has been the simple fact that he has been allowed the freedom to express his currently authentic self. Priest has found his niche in the professional wrestling business over the last two years in NXT, and there are big things in his future over the next two or three years.

Candice LeRae was not as fortunate on this night, but the writing is seemingly written on the wall for The Gargano Way to prove effective at least in the short-term. Io Shirai is not the most compelling character from a storyline standpoint, but she is one of the most talented performers in the world. Candice took about five bumps in this match that were absolutely horrific.

Pat McAfee will benefit Pete Dunne, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan perhaps more than anyone else on the NXT roster by giving them all an injection of charisma to make whatever segment they are involved in each week must-see TV

It was an extremely intelligent decision by Shawn Michaels and Triple H on who they elected to align with Pat McAfee because they chose three performers who most likely needed a little bit of assistance in the charisma department. Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, and Pete Dunne are incredibly gifted physically, but all three men need a slight injection of another layer in their particular storyline that will give fans a reason to care about them and get legitimately invested in their characters. Pat McAfee will provide them with that extra layer because he is extremely active on other platforms aside from WWE.

McAfee had his breakout performance in his debut match at Takeover: XXX in a losing effort to Adam Cole of The Undisputed Era. He then paid Ridge Holland to attack Adam Cole, and subsequently bring his lifeless carcass out to the ringside area during Kyle O’Reilly’s NXT Championship match. Unfortunately, this plan was derailed when Holland was injured not too long ago. McAfee then approached Lorcan and Burch with the same offer, and they originally said no, but after losing a number one contender’s match for the NXT Tag Team Titles to The Undisputed Era they really thought through the offer and said yes.

The Prince Reclaims his Kingdom

Finn Balor became the third two-time NXT Champion in the 10-year history of the brand. One of the primary reasons Triple H decided to put the title on The Prince after the unexpected and unfortunate shoulder injury sustained by Karrion Kross was that the black and yellow brand experienced its most intensive period of growth (arguably) with Balor as its primary champion in 2015 – 2016.

Once upon a time, Balor spent three years on the main roster from 2016 – 2019. His greatest accomplishment occurred shortly after he first arrived, becoming the first-ever Universal Champion in a match with Seth Rollins at SummerSlam 2016 (Finn defeated Roman Reigns on the road to earning an opportunity at the first Universal Championship). Unfortunately, this title reign was short-lived because Balor was forced to relinquish the championship the very next night due to a torn labrum.

After returning from injury about eight months later after WrestleMania 33, The Prince was never able to accumulate as much momentum behind his character as he had when he first arrived on the main roster. The 39-year-old became Intercontinental Champion on two occasions and lost his final match on the main roster at SummerSlam 2019 – beginning The Fiend Bray Wyatt’s reign of terror (somehow The Fiend is currently set to be booked as the top babyface on SmackDown since Roman Reigns is now obviously the top heel, but that’s a different story for a different day).

Balor returned to NXT in October 2019, and after nearly a year back he has reclaimed his throne for a second time. Most fans could have guessed that The Prince would become NXT Champion again because he has done about everything else there is to do on the brand, so this experiment would be a little pointless if he didn’t become champion (this time with a little more edge and heel elements to his character).

Adam Cole meanwhile has made an extremely smooth transition from being a cocky heel to a very natural babyface. Personally, I think it works best when a character starts his or her career as a heel and gradually makes the transition to a face – and Adam Cole has executed this process beautifully. Despite not becoming champion and leader of the brand, he has a very believable and mature outlook.

Another Breakout Performance from Rhea Ripley

The steel cage match in which Rhea Ripley defeated Mercedes Martinez was perhaps Ripley’s best performance to date under the WWE umbrella, although it was not the most high-profile; that distinction would go to the ‘Mania 36 encounter with Charlotte Flair (Flair is currently taking an incubation from some overexposure she received earlier in 2020).

NXT is absolutely loaded with talent on the women’s side. The men’s division has been booked better in recent times, but the women’s division has always been ridiculously consistent for the past five years. Martinez and Ripley are absolute superstars who are cultivating their personas right now.

All Day

Austin Theory is somewhat reminiscent of a young Seth Rollins both in terms of body type and personality. It’s understandable why WWE looked earlier in the year to make him a disciple of The Monday Night Messiah (albeit not for very long) because Theory is essentially a clone of Rollins. There is potential there for major rivalries down the road between these two.

It should prove to be a massive upgrade for Theory’s resume that he was afforded the opportunity to perform at WrestleMania 36 while his career is still in its embryonic stages. This kid has huge potential, however, already having become a double champion at the Evolve 131 special which aired on the WWE Network in July 2019. He may have taken a loss this week to Bronson Reed, but Theory is still paying his dues; there is a bright future there for him, however, if he wants it.

Wade Barrett simply works on commentary with his deep, authoritative voice. He might become a permanent member of the commentary team for NXT so Tom Phillips can just do Monday Night Raw and no longer need to work double duty. I’m still waiting for the first piece of Bad News.

The events Keith Lee engaged in are a prime example of why you have to love the business (that’s why I fell in love with it). Superstars who rise to prominence in WWE typically reciprocate back to their peers who helped them evolve as performers along their journey (Lee did this on July 15 by giving Dominik Dijakovic a match for both of his titles. The matches between Lee and Dijakovic in the latter part of 2019 made both men stand out in the eyes of fans – both men made each other better by reciprocating between one another). This is a very unselfish attitude and illustrates a very simple concept – you help people who have helped you in the past.

This can also be a basic metaphor for life. People generally have a reciprocal relationship with life – essentially you get out of life as much as you put into it. Think about it, life is nothing but an energetic exchange between people/objects. The more energy a person is willing to give (in an ideal world without receiving) towards anything, it only makes sense that they would get more energy for themselves out of the interaction which they can use for creative outlets or to be able to give that energy to other people. I try to be mindful of this in my own life by having the intention to make the lives of each person I come into contact with every day at least a little better because they came into contact with me.

First, we need to rewind back five weeks to Takeover: In Your House on June 7 when Io Shirai dethroned Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women’s Championship. Flair is doing some of the best work of her career both in the ring and on the microphone across all three brands. Charlotte is reportedly not done in NXT for now – she is merely taking a break; most likely to let that particular storyline breathe. Perhaps she will once again challenge for the NXT Women’s Title at the next Takeover – which will presumably be on the same weekend as SummerSlam in August.

Moving on to the North American Championship match that took place on June 24 between Keith Lee, Johnny Gargano, and Finn Balor. It was a smart decision on HHH’s part to have Lee retain the title. He has been such a great North American Champion over the past five months. It also needs to be considered that Lee has never held the NXT Championship (since he earned a title for title match with Adam Cole), while Gargano and Balor have.

Gargano has been a triple crown champion in NXT (the only one), so he has done about everything there is to do over the course of his five years. Gargano might be about ready to move on to the main roster. Balor on the other hand simply came back to NXT to go back to his roots that originally made him a star in the wrestling business and arguably the best performer in the world; Balor already has a great reputation and list of accolades so he doesn’t need anymore but rather just needed to find himself once again. Keith Lee is fresh, a good human being and there is really no feat he can’t perform physically – agility-wise or in terms of strength.

On the first night of The Great American Bash on July 1 Dexter Lumis is by far the man who stood out the most. Lumis has acquainted himself with the NXT universe very quickly. Having just debuted after WrestleMania, no one is quite sure what to make of him when they look into his eyes. Roderick Strong earned some praise as well because he has been so consistent over the past 3 ½ years throughout his NXT tenure. To round it out, Io Shirai looked utterly fantastic as always in her match with Sasha Banks.

On Night 2 of The Great American Bash a brand-new NXT Champion was crowned in Keith Lee. Lee also has become the first ever double Champion in NXT – and the first double Champion in WWE in five years. The last one was Seth Rollins when he beat John Cena for the United States Championship at SummerSlam 2015. This was in a title-for-title match with his WWE World Heavyweight Championship also up for grabs. It makes perfect sense that Keith Lee got the victory because not only is his momentum skyrocketing, but it was time for a change of pace for the NXT Title. Adam Cole has held the title for about 400 days; he was a fantastic champion who lasted longer than most – but it is time to let other stars shine.

Keith Lee will not hold the NXT Championship and the North American Championship for more than – say two months. One would have to think he might hold the NXT Title for quite a while and be the face of the brand, but he will probably lose the North American Championship within a month or two. It’s hard for anyone to have the physical endurance to be a double Champion for a long time. It also supports the unselfish mentality in professional wrestling to allow others to shine in the spotlight and it betters the company so they can build new stars for the future.

This match is being orchestrated to create excitement surrounding WWE’s third brand so they can hopefully get the edge in the Wednesday Night Wars with AEW (which NXT is consistently losing). This is probably why nearly all the build for this match is taking place on NXT TV as opposed to Monday Night Raw where The Queen resides. Flair even had a match with Bianca Belair on February 26 as a special attraction to get a pop in ratings.

As far as the match itself goes, Charlotte Flair will probably put Rhea over, because, at this point in her career, a victory for Charlotte would not do much to further her status. It goes without saying that it’s already cemented. The best way she can have an impact is by putting over young talent that will be around for at least the next decade. The 23-year-old Ripley is an excellent candidate.

The 2020 Women’s Royal Rumble winner has picked up all the marquee victories she needs to cement her legacy as one of the greatest of all time; now the way she can be of most service to WWE is by elevating younger talent to that level.

Matt Riddle suggestion

Matt Riddle may want to start taking his opponents slightly more seriously if he ever intends to get over as a major star in WWE – the kind who is worthy of facing Brock Lesnar and potentially retiring The Beast, as he has said he wants to do one day. He creates a jokester vibe and provides some comedic relief, not exactly the feel of a champion. Pete Dunne also makes the whole situation delightfully awkward because he intends to create a mood so The Broserweights are still taken seriously as intimidating competitors.

Angel Garza has serious potential to become the next major Latino superstar in WWE because he naturally permeates an Eddie Guerrero-type feel throughout every arena he enters

A pretty easy decision by Triple H to book Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee for Takeover: Portland.

Jordan Devlin’s bright future performing on multiple brands

Jordan Dublin is by far versatile enough as a performer to compete on NXT UK, NXT, and 205 Live. WWE will surely recognize this and take full advantage of it, because he is a once-in-a-generation talent. He made his debut on NXT in the states this week and got a victory in a fantastic match with the always reliable “Prince Pretty” Tyler Breeze.

Velveteen Is Back

The return of The Velveteen Dream totally made up for the non-finish to the six-man tag main event. Perhaps WWE considers booking a dream match between John Cena (not that it’s guaranteed that John will even be at The Show of Shows and Velveteen) since Cena has spoken publicly before about how much he likes what Dream brings to the table.

Triple H and Shawn without a doubt made the right decision in booking The Broserweights to win the Dusty Cup. Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne were clearly the most over team getting strong reactions, but this was not the only highlight of the tournament.

The tournament was so well-executed as it established yet another young tag team in The Grizzled Young Veterans. The heels will be able to brag about this accomplishment in the months to come. For now, The Broserweights will be getting an opportunity to garner the NXT Tag Team Championships against The Undisputed Era at Takeover: Portland on February 16.

It was also interesting to see Tommaso Ciampa wipe his own blood on the contract for his NXT Championship match with Adam Cole at Takeover: Portland. You have to wonder if Triple H planned this or if it was purely improvisation by Ciampa; either way, the segment went over well.

Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai finally had their one-on-one encounter after the storyline with them really accelerated at Takeover: WarGames with Kai’s heel turn. Dakota is doing unexpectedly convincing work as a heel; it’s great to see.

What might be the booking strategy is for The Broserweights to win the NXT Tag Team Championships from Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly at Takeover: Portland along with Tommaso Ciampa taking the NXT Title from Adam Cole. This will nicely wrap up the short-term story of The Undisputed Era all losing their respective titles kind of all at once; this began on January 22 when Keith Lee won the North American Championship from Roderick Strong. I must say that I am sad to see The UE’s run possibly coming to an end after 2 ½ years together.

Jan 22 was a good night for Mauro Ranalllo calling the action, giving The Grizzled Young Veterans the name GYV (which sounds similar to JYD, the name for The Junkyard Dog back in the 80s). Ranallo also compared Keith Lee falling off the top rope to an elephant falling off the Empire State building, two hilarious touches.

Bask in His Glory. Keith Lee more than deserves at this point to be NXT North American Champion. He has gotten over with fans rather quickly and it’s impressive to see, not to mention his ridiculous athleticism in the ring. The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic also couldn’t be going much better than it is right now. It’s always great to see new people being established: I’m referring to The Grizzled Young Veterans in advancing to the finals along with Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne –The Broserweights, whose performance styles mesh surprisingly well.

Vince McMahon could always decide to do something completely unprecedented by booking an NXT superstar to win either the men’s or women’s Royal Rumble match. It has become a trend over the last several years for WWE to place people from NXT in top positions in these matches. The top candidates from NXT to win the men’s Royal Rumble would be people like Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Matt Riddle, Finn Balor, or Johnny Gargano.

If Gargano wins, he could choose to go after the NXT Championship, since he has adamantly stated that he is an NXT guy through and through. The least surprising of these options would be Finn Balor given that he was on the main roster for a few years.

Honestly, it may almost be a better option for WWE to have a woman from NXT win the women’s Royal Rumble match and go on to challenge either Becky Lynch or Bayley at WrestleMania. The women’s division is currently the most gripping and interchanging aspect of NXT each week. Barring a return from Ronda Rousey, the top candidates would be Bianca Belair, Shayna Baszler, or even Candice Lerae.

Some NXT superstar will probably win one of the Royal Rumble matches. It was Vince McMahon’s idea to include NXT at Survivor Series in such a big way. Someone from NXT will most likely not get the nod in both Royal Rumble matches simply to foster more unpredictability in these matches, but Vince McMahon can clearly see the value NXT can provide the company.

Mr. McMahon also has to be aware that WWE as a whole will be run much like NXT when Triple H takes over, which may be sooner rather than later, especially with the reemergence of the XFL coming in just a few weeks. Mr. McMahon will obviously have less time to devote solely to WWE matters.

NXT UK Takeover: Blackpool II had a great ending that perfectly set out the Worlds Collide event airing January 25 on the WWE Network. The Undisputed Era invaded after the WWE United Kingdom Championship match.

NXT has now graduated to being considered WWE’s third brand. NXT UK also appears to have graduated to being considered as WWE’s developmental brand. Many of the company’s younger superstars have been assigned to NXT UK. Superstars from all over the world – not just the UK – are coming to this brand. This may indeed be Triple H’s grander vision for NXT UK, and it’s starting to take shape.

Superstars from the United Kingdom were put over superstars from the United States for probably the first time as The Grizzled Young Veterans went over The Time Splitters to advance in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. The better match of the night was between the team of Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne going over on Mark Andrews and Flash Morgan Webster (who have shown serious potential to connect with fans).

Bianca Belair more than deserved a second opportunity at the NXT Women’s Championship at this stage in her career. There is no reason she shouldn’t be able to put on an instant classic with someone like Rhea Ripley at Takeover: Portland on February 16.

In other news, Tommaso Ciampa should be getting his life back, because he never lost it.