NXT

Keith Lee more than deserved to be put over by Triple H and earn an NXT North American Championship match against Roderick Strong on January 22. Another side note from this match was the fact that Cameron Grimes is being elevated into the upper echelon of NXT.

The Johnny Gargano injury only serves to provide more back story to his rivalry with Finn Balor. This should be an epic confrontation at Takeover: Portland.

Triple H is in the process of adding yet another layer to NXT by incorporating the men and women of NXT UK. Perhaps this is one of his goals for 2020. I would imagine his ultimate vision is to establish NXT UK on the same footing as NXT currently is here in the States.

Austin Theory is undoubtedly the future of NXT. He is so young – barely into his 20s. And if you didn’t see the Evolve special on the WWE Network in July, you missed out, because Theory became the undisputed Evolve champion unifying two separate titles.

NXT’S product mirrored that of AEW Dynamite during the first segment of the night, however, NXT did it a little better. It’s not that the quality of these two matches was drastically different, it’s just that the opening match on NXT felt like it carried a little more weight since the NXT Championship was on the line. The limited commercial interruptions also made it feel like a Takeover match.

Adam Cole is more than worthy at this point to be champion. The return of Johnny Gargano is much appreciated as NXT is clearly a lesser product without its heart and soul.

Rhea Ripley winning the NXT Women’s Championship and ending Shayna Baszler’s oppressive 14- month-long reign as champion was clearly the highlight of the night. Baszler has been women’s champion for most of the past two years, so it was time for a change. The 23-year-old Ripley will be a welcome change of pace to the women’s division in NXT. Baszler may get a call sooner rather than later to move over to the main roster because she’s done about everything there is for her to do on this brand.

Damian Priest clearly has a higher ceiling than Killian Dain and was hampered in the scenario by 50/50 booking.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be very surprising to see both the NXT Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship change hands next week in addition to the Cruiserweight Championship changing hands. Angel Garza has a bright future ahead of him, both in WWE and in the form of a marriage.

It was a very smart business move for Triple H to give Finn Balor an NXT Title match this early into his second run in NXT. If he didn’t bring Balor back to win the Title and give him another chance to be the top guy in NXT and carry the brand once again, then I quite frankly don’t know what Finn’s doing back here.

Rhea Ripley definitely deserves an opportunity to see what she can do with the gold. She provides a very believable challenge to Shayna Baszler. Baszler is kind of what Brock Lesnar would be if he were a full-time superstar. The point is that both of these major titles could very well change hands on December 18.

There will be an NXT Championship match on December 18 to compete with AEW and Chris Jericho’s title defense (maybe WWE came up with it first). I could see this turning into a fatal four-way match between Adam Cole, Keith Lee, Tommaso Ciampa, and Finn Balor at Takeover: Portland in February 2020, which is a fantastic idea.

I want more Keith Lee – bottom line. He possesses the two most important qualities any superstar could possess.

1. His is physical in-ring abilities are outstanding and,
2. He has developed a special connection with the WWE universe in a relatively short time.

He has all the makings of the next Roman Reigns, and I don’t throw that moniker around lightly!

Rhea Ripley’s impending NXT Women’s Championship match is all but set; it just doesn’t have an official date yet. She’s another superstar who has major star power.

Everyone in the WWE universe could’ve foreseen that a second NXT Title victory for Finn Balor was in the works when he returned October 2. A superstar with that much star power is perfect to carry the third brand of WWE into the future. By the time the next Takeover rolls around, Adam Cole will have been champion for almost a year. He will have not necessarily become stale, but he has run his course as champion. It will be about time for a change in the Title’s natural evolution.

Dakota Kai will obviously be a major driving force going forward in the ratings for NXT. It also has to feel very uplifting for Akira Tozawa to be given a spotlight and a title match on NXT TV after being treated as an overqualified enhancement talent on the main roster in recent weeks.

Boy did Tozawa and Lio Rush ever deliver too; they were moving so fast I couldn’t keep up with who was doing what.

It looks like Finn Balor will begin a rivalry in place of the one he was supposed to have with Johnny Gargano until Gargano’s injury heals. This was very much expected, and the rivalry will be with Matt Riddle. Riddle will be taken out of the WarGames match at Takeover and be replaced by Dominick Dijakovic. The feud between Gargano and Balor is still expected to happen; it’s just been delayed a little.

Congratulations to Isaiah Scott for picking up a victory over Bronson Reed. I love what “Swerve” brings to the table, but I was anticipating that Reed would pick up his second straight victory. This is a prime example of one of WWE’s issues (and the sports entertainment industry at large) that they constantly face. Every superstar now receives 50/50 booking because fans are so quick to turn on any superstar who received any hint of a major push.

You don’t believe me; look at Kofi Kingston, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns being the most extreme examples. I’m not even sure if superstars like The Rock or Steve Austin would be able to get over – they probably would, just not super easily in today’s era. My theory on this is that it is directly caused by the short attention span that millennials have. A great deal of this, although not all of it, can be attributed to the advent of social media.

The Cruiserweight Championship match delivered precisely what the WWE universe anticipated. It was a highflying, incredible match in which the champion Lio Rush, who appears to have found his niche in WWE, walked out on top. Angel Garza gave a great showing, but he’s simply not quite ready for a title.

Side Note: I don’t see Aliyah getting over in WWE so long as Carmella is with the company simply because they look too much alike.

This episode of NXT (in my humble opinion) went down a bit just a few weeks before Takeover: War Games. The aspect of the show that stuck out most was the fact two young superstars: Taynara and Angel Garza, proved their worth in NXT by picking up victories which typically are signs of good things to come on the black and gold brand. Garza even earned a title opportunity against Lio Rush. Never mind the obvious fact that he won’t win – it just means a lot at this point that his push is starting even a little.

Garza is reminiscent of an Eddie Guerrero type (Sasha Banks has to be a fan of that). On the other hand, while I have never personally been a big fan of Taynara, I can’t deny that she is improving in the ring in a major way. She doesn’t do a whole lot to “wow” the NXT universe; rather, she is just there.

I must say that this was the first week where even I have to admit that the episode of AEW on TNT was clearly better than NXT. Particularly the main event of AEW stuck out, with two major matches for AEW Full Gear on November 9 in Baltimore, Maryland being promoted. Chris Jericho and Cody built up their title match as well as Kenny Omega and Jon Moxley brawling a little.

The three judges being present at ringside for the AEW World Championship match between Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho will take fans back to the match back in the 80s between Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat and “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair in WCW.

Side Note: Triple H may want to recruit someone like Tyler Bate or Velveteen Dream, who may return somewhat soon after dealing with a lumbar injury, to put over Damian Priest in the coming weeks/ months.

I think it’s safe to say most members of the WWE universe saw the announcement of the men’s WarGames match coming. However, it’s a huge announcement that the women of NXT will get the opportunity to make history in the first-ever Women’s WarGames match. This segment definitely could have been the main event, but it’s not a huge deal that it wasn’t. Fortunately, it was still featured at the top of the 9 o’clock hour, which is usually the time slot of the second biggest segment of the night.

Finn Balor just carries himself in a way that creates the aura of a top superstar. His clash with Johnny Gargano will surely draw a lot of eyeballs. As he claimed on WWE Backstage this past week, the Prince is back (referring to his name several years ago in Japan).

Bronson Reed, “NXT’s Resident Thick Boy,” is starting to make a name for himself and develop his in-ring persona. His push, which I believe is imminent, has been spring-boarded with the first in what should be in a long line of victories. He has the natural ability to connect with fans, and this is obviously one of the most important characteristics a superstar can have.

It is rather unfortunate that Shane Thorne is not getting TV time, but with as deep as NXT’s roster is, I don’t know if there is a way to work him in. I could definitely see in the future Thorne leaving and seeking a brighter spotlight in AEW.

Everyone should absolutely meditate like Mauro Ranallo mentioned Tyler Bate does. I want to double down on this because I myself meditate daily and am experiencing surprisingly profound realizations during meditation myself.

So, this is what Finn Balor meant when he said that his future in WWE would not be like his past. I have to say it’s a refreshing character change for him because he’s never been a heel during his WWE tenure. It seems WWE set up two matches for Takeover:

• Wargames in the main event of NXT TV this week: Tommaso Ciampa challenging Adam Cole for the NXT Championship, most likely in a Wargames match, and
• The newly heel Finn Balor taking on Johnny Gargano in a separate match.

I have one word to describe the main event this week … WOW. The best part about it was the fact that Triple H made the smartest decision he could’ve made from a booking perspective by having Roderick Strong retain the North American Championship; keeping The Undisputed Era draped in gold. The undisputed Era is way more over than either Keith Lee or Dominik Dijakovic (but both of these guys are definitely on the rise).

It was also nice to see Triple H showcase the ability of the Women’s Tag Team Championships to cross brands by orchestrating for Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai to challenge The Kabuki Warriors. One has to assume this match will take place at Survivor Series since women are not allowed to compete at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia. It’s a very distinct possibility that Nox and Kai could win the titles considering that WWE wants both Asuka and Kairi Sane to work singles programs with Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship.

Cameron Grimes is a great athlete and had a fantastic match with Matt Riddle, that cannot be ignored. But GOOD LORD IS HIS HAIRY BODY DISGUSTING! I almost died choking on my dinner when I heard my mom’s reaction to seeing him for the first time. And for Breezango, a change of scenery hasn’t done them any favors in terms of getting over, as they are still viewed as a gimmicky comedy act.

It’s quite clear why Tommaso Ciampa returned to NXT: To wrap up his rivalry with Johnny Gargano which has lasted for years.

Gargano and Ciampa are both skilled and experienced enough to go to the main roster, but Triple H has built NXT so that it puts particular emphasis on long-standing storylines. He feels that the Ciampa-Gargano story deserves a proper ending after being told so well.

This story was nearly able to finish before Ciampa had to have another neck surgery back in March. He and Johnny Wrestling were beginning to make waves on the main roster as a tag team and it seemed their NXT Championship match at Takeover: New York would be their last. All this was postponed, though, when Ciampa sustained another neck injury. A story for Ciampa’s return had reportedly already been written when he sustained his injury. All Triple H and the other NXT producers had to do was await Ciampa’s return.

Here is my new hypothetical plan for the NXT Title and the Ciampa-Gargano feud. A championship match will occur at Takeover: Wargames in which Tommaso Ciampa wins it from Adam Cole. Maybe to add to the intrigue of the match Finn Balor and maybe even Matt Riddle are inserted. This could begin the build for a Takeover match in Tampa Bay to kick off WrestleMania weekend for the NXT Championship between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa for the final time in NXT.

Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic impressed yet again and will both get an opportunity at the North American Championship in place of the injured Velveteen Dream. It wasn’t as great as their first meeting, but it was still very good.

It’s also great to see Tegan Nox in an NXT ring where she belongs, and Damian Priest, The Archer of Infamy, will for sure be someone to watch for in the future. The booking of Imperium as a dominant force bodes well for the NXT tag team division as well.