5 Biggest Takeaways from NXT (29th June, 2021)

With the go home show to the Great American Bash, we got one of the lesser quality shows from NXT.  Whereas there was a lot of things that happened, not a lot of significant things happened.  Some matches got finalized and some stories got moved forward but the show just seemed to be lacking something.  But with that said, it still wasn’t a bad show and here is the 5 biggest takeaways I got from the June 29th edition of NXT.

5.  MSK need to turn heel.

Since they have started bringing in fans to the Capital Wrestling Center, MSK has not quite gotten the fan reaction that I think Hunter was expecting.  These guys came in red hot, tore through the Dusty Classic and won the Tag Titles very quickly upon their arrival.  Did that rub the fans the wrong way?  Not really sure what the deal is, but after the segment with Ciampa and Thatcher last night it is very clear now.  MSK need to be heels.  Don’t fight with the fans about it, just pull the trigger on it.  And what better time to do so than at the Great American Bash.  They can cheat to screw Thatcher and Ciampa so that they retain the titles and then move forward with the plan from there.  Very simple booking to accomodate the fans reactions with this one.

4.  Cameron Grimes a face?

I know everyone loves Cameron Grimes, myself included.  He is a character that grabs your attention and he is as entertaining as anybody else.  The fans are behind him and he deserves it, he is great.  On top of that, it only makes sense to have him playing the face in this program against LA Knight.  However, I am going to miss the character he was playing prior to the turn.  It won’t work as a good guy and we can already see some tweaks made, and it just is not clicking for me.  Maybe I’m the minority here, but it’s not translating for me. 

With the upcomming angle with him potentially becoming LA Knight’s butler, some sympathy will be built up for him and maybe that will help even the transitional curve here(hopefully).  Here is to hoping he changes my mind during the angle, comes out on top and takes himself TO THE MOOOOOOON!

3. Zoey Stark is the future of the NXT Women’s Division

Zoey Stark has grown on me as an overall performer since her debut.  It was very clear that she can wrestle from the get go.  She can hang with literally anybody that she is put in the ring with as this has been seen in every match she’s had on the show.  She goes from bell to bell at a quick speed and makes it all look good in the process.  My reservation at first was, “boring character.”  A bad quick judgement on my behalf, I’ll admit it.  After this past week, winning the Number one contendership for the Tag Titles with Io, I am sold on the fact that she is the future face of the program.  Raquel seemed to be getting that rub after the Rhea victory, but since then has fallen a little flat with her delivery. 

The NXT Title win over Io was a great moment and really had fans hyped, but she’s off and on with her performances and people are already clamoring for her to drop the title.  Zoey is hitting every chance given to her out of the park.  If I had to guess how Zoey gets to the top from here, her and Io lose to The Way which sets up a program between Zoey and Io with Stark coming out on top, sending Io to the main roster and becoming a star in the process.  Put the title on her after that and watch her reign over the absolutely stacked NXT Women’s divison for the forseeable future. 

2. Adam Cole needs to stay.

Less than a week after stating I think Adam Cole needs to move up to Raw(or smackdown), last nights NXT changed my mind.  He needs to stick around and have a program with Samoa Joe.  Of all the teases, this is the one that has me the most excited.  Sure, the staredowns with Dunne and Kross are very strong but we are getting so much more with Cole.  The first week he choked him out and last night just sat back and watched Adam have his leg get torqued by Kyle O’Reilly while screaming for Joe to help him, “do your job!”  Add in the little shots Adam has thrown at Samoa and we have the ground work for a feud that NEEDS to happen. 

Of course, all of this depends on the quickness of Joe getting cleared but he has stated that he is working towards that.  Both are great promos.  Both are great in the ring and both are important parts of NXT’s history.  Adam Cole, the cocky “best thing that ever happened to NXT” versus Samao Joe, one of the building blocks that turned NXT in to what it eventually became.  So with that, expect an Adam Cole victory over Kyle at Great American Bash to stretch this feud out in to a trilogy so that we can buy some more time to get Samoa Joe cleared so he can choke out Adam in a loser leaves NXT match because it’s very clear that there is not enough room there for both of them.

1.  NXT Breakout Tournament…Finally!!! 

The last one was a huge success, with a lot of the prime time players in NXT now are people who performed in that tournament with names like Cameron Grimes, Dexter Lumis, Bronson Reed and Angel Garza to name a few.  It’s unfortunate what happened with the last winner Jordan Myles, but even with that, the tournament was a huge success.  I’m seeing a lot of people already excited to see what kind of talent we will be getting here.  The big name I am expecting to see in this is Parker Boudreaux. 

Since Paul Heyman name dropped Parker, he’s been on everyone’s watch list.  He has the look and is clearly an athlete, but is he ready?  It could be a star making moment to have him run through the competition on his way to the NXT Title shot that the winner receives.  Another name I’m excited/hoping to see, Bronson Rechsteiner, Rick Steiner’s son.  He has been given plenty of praise from the people who has seen his progress.  I can see a few other names of guys we have seen recently on the past few shows being thrust in to this tournament and if history repeats itself, it will give us a glimpse in to the near future of NXT.

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