Mia Yim is working her way toward the NXT Women’s Championship, and she deserves it as well. You gotta love it (credit to Booker T for that catchphrase).
Kushida is also displaying just how technically sound and adaptable he is to any in-ring style. I also cannot wait to see what Killian Dain and the creative team have in store for us. He will most likely be a heel because of his size. The biggest surprise from this week was what appears to have been Bianca Belair’s subtle heel turn.
This has been subtly foreshadowed for weeks, but it was evidenced again that Roddy (Roderick Strong) will be the first member of The Undisputed Era to sever his ties to the group and end their dominance. This makes total sense as he was the last member to join the group. This imminent breakup was further brought out this past week by the fact that it was Strong who got the pin on Velveteen Dream to clinch the victory for his team.
Damian Priest, formerly known as Punishment Martinez, looks to have officially found his niche.
One other superstar who impressed the NXT universe is Xia Lee, so that is something to keep an eye on. Another superstar who looks to be getting a major push in the near future is Mia Yim.
Ali made some public comments last week pertaining to 205 Live and the general lack of respect it gets from WWE management, which is a damn shame because there are some incredibly talented performers. Ali referred to 205 Live as the “redheaded stepchild” of WWE, citing that the performers on the brand work incredibly hard and are extremely precise with their every movement in the ring, but are never appreciated as much for their efforts for whatever reason, and he’s not wrong at all.
This was a little bit of a down episode of NXT this week, but that can be excused as the first couple of episodes right after a Takeover event are always a little bit quiet.
One thing that is exciting, however, is that Matt Riddle is reportedly set for a very sizable push in the coming months (most likely because of his MMA background, because WWE tends to gravitate towards superstars with MMA backgrounds). It would be silly to argue whether he deserves it, because he obviously does. He is very good in the ring and he has a certain level of magnetism about his personality that cannot be taught and is exactly what WWE wants.
Hopefully, the return of Tyler Breeze to NXT on a seemingly full-time basis will be the start of Triple H sending some people who have fizzled out on the main roster back to NXT. It could be a big help to a brand that is already doing very well.
It’s also important for superstars to not necessarily view this as a demotion, even though that would be a natural thought process since they would have already competed in NXT previously. But it’s not a case of WWE completely giving up on them but instead pressing the reset button and taking some extra time in the character development process.
This was a light week for NXT, but a couple of notable things still happened. The Street Profits will get an NXT Tag Team Championship match after an amount of time that was more than sufficient. In all honesty, they probably have a very good chance to win to allow the Viking Raiders to devote their full tension towards ensuring their success on the main roster. And it is shocking that Percy Watson has elected to leave the NXT commentary table and bet on himself by starting a brand-new endeavor in the acting industry. Even now I am sad to see him go, I wish him all the best.
It may not be a bad idea for Vince McMahon to give consideration to the idea of giving Triple H more control of the main roster in response to the recent drop, and I mean over the last couple of years rather than just a week or two. Look at what he has done with NXT over the last few years because it is thriving (It just aired its 500th episode a few weeks ago). WWE is likely in need of a complete overhaul when it comes to creative formatting rather than a few minor tweaks, and Triple H may be the man to enact these changes.
NXT TV had another unbelievable main event this week featuring Adam Cole and Matt Riddle. The end of The Undisputed Era appears inevitable with tension between its members at an all-time high, specifically Cole and Roderick Strong. Matt Riddle’s stock is quickly rising. WWE should look to capitalize on this, perhaps by putting him in a big match at WrestleMania next year. An interesting match for him would be against Brock Lesnar, considering they are both former UFC fighters. Riddle could retire Lesnar to get his career on the main roster off to a start, which would solidify him as a main eventer right from the start.
Congrats to Raul Mendoza, but the real story is that Riddick Moss has finally found a character that works for him. If he stays the course with this character, great things are sure to come for him.
Side Note: It’s amazing that WWE was able to re-sign Mauro Ranallo, who may be one of the greatest play-by-play announcers out there today. The energy he brings to any NXT event is unparalleled. This will surely be a huge signing for WWE from a business perspective, specifically NXT.
Hopefully, WWE can make it work with Kushida. I would like to be very optimistic about this but I just can’t be given the history of what has happened with performers such as Shinsuke Nakamura (who is in the midst of a fairly forgettable run on the main roster) and Hideo Itami (who was released from the company earlier this year and will be returning to the independent scene this summer).
Velveteen Dream’s takeoff on the national anthem was wildly emerging. He should be able to have a decent rivalry with Dominik Dijakovic (there is some real potential in him).
Also, look out for a potential match in the future of John Cena vs. Velveteen Dream. The reason I say this is because Cena has publicly stated in the past that Dream is the future and will have a very successful run on the main roster.
Side Note: The first seeds may have been planted for the dissolution of The Undisputed Era since Adam Cole offended Rodrick Strong by pointing out that he dropped the ball last week by losing to Johnny Gargano.
Buddy Murphy will almost certainly do great things on the SmackDown Live roster because he is an extremely talented superstar. I won’t say he’s once-in-a-lifetime, but nonetheless he is special, as was demonstrated this week on NXT TV in a stellar performance Murphy put on in a match against Velveteen Dream.
Another wrinkle Triple H could add to the Johnny Gargano – Adam Cole rivalry that would garner major attention is the possibility of Roderick Strong pinning Gargano next week, causing dissension in The Undisputed Era over who should be awarded a shot at the NXT Championship.
It’s incredibly impressive that Takeover: New York was able to go on as if nothing happened after losing their champion and one of the main characters who the entire show was built around.
I also think it’s safe to say that the entire NXT universe is fully behind the Street Profits.
The way the fans react to them reminds me of the reaction that The Rock used to get back in the day.
Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins are so charismatic that it’s nearly impossible not to like them.
A championship match with War Raiders down the line could be in store.
On NXT, one additional element that makes the Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole rivalry so intriguing is that the two men have never had a match on NXT TV.
Ricochet and Aleister Black could also be in for two matches on WrestleMania weekend, facing the War Raiders at Takeover: New York (presumably losing) and possibly winning the Raw Tag Team Championships from The Revival and immediately being called up to the main roster.
On a supplemental note, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if, in about a year, Kacy Catanzaro is regarded as a huge babyface, given the way crowds are already responding to her based on what they’ve seen from her in her American Ninja Warrior days. She still needs to prove herself with WWE, however.