5 Biggest Takeaways from NXT (July 20th, 2021)
I like to keep things as positive as possible.
I like WWE.
I like AEW.
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So we have made it through another week and another fantastic episode of NXT. Last nights episode was one where we didn’t get a lot of variety with the story telling, but the in ring action was top notch and they focused on the NXT Title picture throughout the evening, making it the on going story being told through several segments.
There was a lot of chatter about NXT being buried and made to look like a joke on Raw, but if you tuned in last night you know that is definitely not the case and NXT is still very well rolling on all cylinders. On top of all the action from last night, we also now have a date for the next Takeover. They are going a different route this time as they will be having their show the day after Summerslam. Having NXT come after is a move I’ve always thought should be done, as Takeovers have had a tendency to outperform WWE’s big shows. So with that, lets look at the biggest takeaways from Tuesday night.
5. When Franky Met Mandy
Mandy Rose is still surrounding herself in mystery as to what her motives in NXT are but it seems we have at least narrowed in on who those plans revolve around. Last week she passed by Franky Monet backstage and this week she came and got an up close look during Franky’s match. Franky is now accompanying herself with Jessi Kame, as she was ringside during Franky’s match. Once the bell ring, we also saw Robert Stone stumble down to the ring and force his allegiance to the two girls as he cheered Monet throughout the match. That didn’t play in to a distraction for Franky though. What did seem to have an effect though? Mandy Rose coming through the crowd and laying across the commentary table, watching along. Never saying a word, Mandy just observed and when the match was over she was gone as fast as she arrived. This angle is working to perfection as it surrounds itself around talent that isn’t in the title picture and also is clouded with mystery. Is Mandy friend or foe? What are the motives? Is Mandy going to wrestle or is she looking for a managerial position? We’ll have to keep tuning in to see where this goes, but I can imagine we will have some kind of idea come Takeover time.
4. Cameron Grimes and LA Knight are Money… Literally
These two guys have taken a gimmick that has been used in the past that is based around a title that is only a prop and managed to become one of, if not the best thing going in wrestling right now. In a time where most storylines revolve around title’s, NXT has done a great job of avoiding that stigma and giving all their talent something to work towards with stories. Cameron Grimes was a fantastic heel and I thought it might hurt his character when they turned him face. Wrong again Jimmy! With LA Knight playing a dasturdly heel to perfection, he has given the fans reason to feel sympathy for Grimes to go with the love they already have for him. This whole angle has turned LA Knight in to one of the best heels on the brand and when it is all said and done, Cameron Grimes will be the biggest babyface on NXT.
Last week we got some vignettes that showed the dirty work Knight was gonna force on Grimes and this week we got to see something a little different as Knight forced Grimes to join in on the heel tactics by attacking a smaller downed foe in Drake Maverick. This is where you see the hesitation from Cameron that we hadn’t got yet, as he has seemingly enjoyed most of the jobs given to him, with a fun story to go along with each task. The roles are being played brilliantly by both sides and the tension is slowly building as Cameron Grimes is forced in to doing the things he’s not very fond of. I would like to see this evolve in to Knight forcing Grimes to be his tag partner, but I doubt we go that deep with this angle. The payoff will more than likely come at Takeover in which we can expect another great match between the two with an ending that will leave both talents better off moving forward.
3. Where in the World are the Women’s Tag Team Titles?
I noticed a trend over a month ago, and I was hoping it would have changed by now. That obviously hasn’t happened because here we are two weeks removed from Io Shirai and Zoey Stark winning the titles and we have yet to see them since. Why? Because they have shifted focus over to the Women’s Championship with Raquel taking on a quick challenge in Xia Li. That is NXT’s one fault. With the most stacked womens division in all of wrestling, they have the personnel to have a succesful and meaningful tag division to go with the singles division, yet they have not been able to find any kind of balance. No contenders match, no video package or backstage interview… nothing. If they had no long term plan with these titles, they should have never been introduced and this is why. Io is arguably the best female wrestler in the world and Zoey is one of the most promising. Now they are stuck with titles that are no more important than the 24/7 Title because they just don’t use them. You can expect to see them next week though as Raquel has already dispatched of Xia Li, which means they will more than likely shift focus back over to the tag division while Raquel waits for the next challenger to come knocking.
2. This is Not The Way
The problem with factions in NXT is that you never know when someone is going to get the call to move on from NXT. We were very lucky with Undisputed Era. I think that is one of the many reasons we hated to see them go. We will never get that kind of longevity with a group in NXT again. The Way has been very entertaining, and one of the things that made it different was having two men and two women. Realistically, The Way could have held numerous titles with several different variations. Both Tag Titles. Top singles titles. One tag, one singles title. The Way covered all bases and we had youth to go along with the veteran leadership. You could always depend on a fun segment whenever these guys and gals showed up on the screen. For awhile now, it has looked like Indi might branch off and chase love with Dexter. That is still a possibilty, but now we have Austin Theory moving on and that is a big blow to this group.
Austin Theory is one of those talents that you can look at in the ring and outside of it and tell, he’s gonna be a star. He’s young, good looking and can absolutely go in the squared circle. If you question that, just watch his work from last night with Kyle O’Reilly. He has stolen many of the segments he has been involved in with his quarky character and over the top selling moments. Friday night he had a dark match, teaming up with Harry Smith as a tag team. On last nights episode of NXT, he walked off while the “grown ups” where arguing. This appears to be the beginning of his end with The Way. And with Indi and Dexter heating back up, it is only a matter of time before she leaves the nest as well. A group that was refreshing and had so much potential appears to be dying far too soon, and that is a bummer. Luckily for Johnny, he was able to turn face again before this came to an end so he might be able to find himself back in the main event scene in the near future once Kross is gone.
1. Kross-roads
Can’t believe they let Jeff Hardy beat Kross in less than 3 minutes on Raw! Karrion Kross is buried! NXT doesn’t even matter anymore! Was I a fan of them announcing Kross would be making his debut Monday, during the show, instead of having it be a surprise? No. Do I like him showing up without Scarlett at his side? Nope. Do I think it was smart to have him lose his first match on the main roster to a guy who has been booked as a jobber this year? Not at all. Am I smart enough to know that sometimes these things happen for a reason and serve a purpose to push story and character development though? Absolutely. I’ll leave the Raw incident at that for now, because speculation can really piss a fan off.
On NXT, Kross still came across as the monster they have booked him to be. Making the fans wait for his presence all night made him feel like the big deal he is on the show. Having him exit the show after leaving Regal out cold made him come across as the monster he has been booked to be. The mind games he played with Samoa Joe all night makes him appear to be a true, evil villain that knows when to strike. One night on another show under a completely different booker does not de-value what Kross is on Tuesday Nights.
With every passing week, the match that seems to be headlining Takeover 36 is Samoa Joe vs Karrion Kross. The tension these two are building for this match is unlike any we have seen in quite some time. Cole and O’Reilly have come close, but Kross and Joe haven’t gone toe to toe yet and they already hate each other. This is on a whole other. Kross seems to actually enjoy toying with Joe and Joe gives you the feeling that he truly hates this man for it. These two big men are going to absolutely destory each other and give us a big man brawl that we don’t get to see very often on the gold brand. Will this be Kross’ exit match from NXT? Or will he conquer yet another face on the mount rushmore of NXT? Things have taken an interesting turn since Samoa Joe came back, so I can imagine this will continue to grow and captivate us until the time to tell arrives.
Agree? Disagree? As always, hit me up. I am always open to conversing/debating NXT or wrestling in general. Until next time…
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