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.