Reviews

A Collective Review of WWE NXT 3/11/2020 by Lance Augustine (Two Title Matches)

TJR Wrestling

Welcome back to the weekly TJRwrestling review of WWE NXT. Last week, we had a unique episode that featured two separate Steel Cage Matches, both of which were above average. Personally, I preferred the opener between Dakota Kai and Tegan Nox, but the main event between The Velveteen Dream and Roderick Strong had its moments as well. They also had some buildup between Finn Balor and Walter and set up some other matches as we march closer to NXT Takeover: Tampa Bay. As always, you can read my complete thoughts on last week’s show and every show covered at the site in the archives here. Let’s continue the road to Takeover: Tampa Bay.

WWE NXT from The WWE Performance Center 3/11/2020

The show opens with a recap of what happened on last week’s episode of NXT. It featured the two Steel Cage Matches as I mentioned above, along with setting up some storylines as they inch closer to NXT Takeover: Tampa Bay. Recent media reports have speculated about the fate of Wrestlemania and all the festivities that come with it, but for now, they are still on. This week’s episode takes place from the WWE Performance Center.

Mauro Ranallo starts the show off by running down the matches for the night and getting us ready for the first match of the night. Mauro is joined by Nigel McGuinness and a returning Beth Phoenix on commentary.

NXT North American Championship Match
Keith Lee (c) vs. Cameron Grimes

Cameron Grimes earned this opportunity by picking up a victory against Dominik Dijakovic a few weeks ago with some assistance from Damian Priest. They get the championship entrances and the match is underway.

Grimes starts by pacing around Lee in the middle of the ring. Grimes goes for a kick but Lee catches the leg and pushes him away. Grimes goes for the leg, but Lee fights him off and tosses him to the side. Grimes goes for the leg again and goes behind with a waist lock. Lee fights him off again, and take Grimes down with a chop to the chest. Grimes hits a forearm, but Lee grabs him by the throat and tosses him through the second rope. Lee follows him out and throws him back in the ring, but Grimes kicks him in the head as he makes his way back in. Lee attempts a senton to the outside, but Lee catches him in a Powerbomb position with Grimes being able to fight out and stomp down on the fave of Lee. Grimes goes for another splash but Lee catches him again and powerbombs him on the apron. Lee gets back in the ring and smashes Grimes’s face into the turnbuckle, which knocks Grimes’s top hat off. Both men climb to the top, but Grimes gets down and hits a kick to the head. He climbs up and hits a Crossbody but doesn’t make the cover and they go to a split-screen commercial.

*Commercial Break* Grimes continues working on Lee on the mat. He hits a stomp to the back of Lee’s head. He brings him over to the ropes and starts choking him on the second rope. Lee fights out and hits a shot to the midsection. He tosses Grimes in the corner and continues to work him over with some punches and tosses him to the other side of the ring. He charges in but Grimes moves and he hits nothing but turnbuckle. Grimes puts him in a chin lock as Lee fights back to his feet. Lee gets up but Grimes takes him down quickly with a kick to the back of the head. He continues stomping down on him and hits some kicks to the chest. Grimes puts him in a stretch hold as the ref checks to see if Lee is going to give up as they come back to full screen.

Lee makes his way back to his feet as Grimes attempts a German Suplex but can’t get him up. Lee reverses it and tosses Grimes into the ropes and leapfrogs him before hitting a CrossBody Block. Lee with an elbow and he picks Grimes up in a Fireman’s Carry but Grimes fights out and hits some elbows and two superkicks. Grimes finally hits the Bridging German Suplex and gets a two count. That was an impressive move. Grimes goes for a moonsault but Lee catches him before Grimes turns it into a DDT and gets a near fall. Grimes stomps his feet and gets ready for the Cave In, but Lee scouts it’s and hits The Pounce and follows that up with The Big Bang Catastrophe and picks up the win. The match went for about 13 minutes.

Winner and STILL NXT North American Champion: Keith Lee
Match Rating: 3.25/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: it was a nice opening match that had a good big man/little man dynamic. Lee is different than most other big men and can move around well for his size although in this match he used more of his power. Cameron Grimes has come off really well the last couple of weeks and this match was no different. There was a lot of believable near falls but in the end, the right call was made to keep the belt on Lee. I think his match, whoever it is against, at Takeover will be one of the matches to keep your eyes on.

After the match, Lee poses in the ring with the title but is attacked from behind by Damian Priest. He hits Lee with a nightstick a few times before Dijakovic runs down to the ring and Priest retreats. Dijakovic picks up the title and looks at it and goes to hand it to Keith Lee. Lee thinks Dijakovic was the one who attacked him and hits him with a Spirit Bomb before leaving the ring.

The announcers talk about the NXT Women’s Championship match coming up at Wrestlemania. They mention that two more women will qualify for the Number One Contender Ladder Match for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT Takeover. They announce the first of the two matches is next between Mia Yim and Dakota Kai. They mention that Chelsea Green was the first to qualify before going to a commercial break.

They come back from break with Mia Yim making her way down to the ring for the next match.

Number One Contender Ladder Match Qualifier
Mia Yim vs. Dakota Kai (w/Raquel Gonzales)

The match starts off quickly with Yim taking Kai down to the mat quickly. She continues to work her over with some shots and chops. Yim hits a basement dropkick and gets a two count. Yim picks her up and works her over into the corner and hits a shot to the face. Yim hits a kick to the face and tosses her into the other corner. She charges in but Kai flips her over the top rope and she lands on the apron. Yim hits her from the apron but Gonzales gets involved and puts her on her shoulder and drops her on the apron as they go to a commercial break.

They come back from break with Kai on the offensive. She tosses Yim into the corner and hits a couple of knees. Yim is back to her feet and hits Kai with a series of clothesline. Kai goes to the corner but Yim is quick to come in with a rolling senton. She picks Kai up but Kai reverses course and chokes her on the ropes. Both women exchange clotheslines before Kai hits an elbow and The Chiropractor but only gets a near fall. Kai grabs her by the hair and starts to kick her in the side of the head. Kai goes for a boot, but Yim rebounds and rolls her up for a two count. Kai is tossed up to the second rope and Yim hits a Powerbomb and covers her but Gonzales pulls her off at two. Yim and Gonzales have a staredown and the referee looks out at Gonzales. In the ring, Kai rolls her up but the ref is still distracted. He turns around as Yim is hitting Kai with the Codebreaker and picks up the win in about 10 minutes.

Winner: Mia Yim
Match Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: The match was alright but never really got out of second gear. Gonzales has gotten involved in every Dakota Kai match as of late and has given her an advantage repeatedly. That’s the point of having a muscle by ringside I suppose. She caused a distraction in this match and that led to Yim hitting the Codebreaker and picking up the win. It’ll be interesting to see if the relationship fractures at all. I doubt it would be this soon but weirder things have happened. The match was pretty average all around.

After the match, Gonzales immediately gets in the ring and hits a Powerbomb on Yim. She stands over her as Kai looks on before they both leave the ring. Yim joins Green as the second competitor in the Ladder Match at Takeover: Tampa.

They go to the back and Ciampa who is just arriving at the building.

They show The Undisputed Era getting ready for their rematch against The Broserweights tonight and they go to a commercial break.

They come back from break and show an ominous package involving birds and a countdown timer. It’s time for the next match.

Kushida vs. Raul Mendoza

The match begins and both men exchange elbows. Mendoza comes off the ropes as both men continue to exchange counters before Mendoza takes him down with a Headscissors. He hits a chop in the corner and climbs to the top, but Kushida hits an elbow to the jaw. Mendoza rolls to the outside and Kushida comes out behind with a senton. Mendoza recovers as he is rolled back in the ring and hits a slam follows by a moonsault for a two count. He grounds Kushida with a chin lock in the ring. Kushida gets back to his feet and fights out and hits a springboard back elbow. Kushida goes for a DDT but Mendoza tosses him off before Kushida comes back with a Basement Dropkick. Kushida goes up top hit Mendoza hits an Enziguri that stuns him. Mendoza climbs up to the top and tries to put Kushida on his shoulders but Kushida fights out. Kushida hits a Spanish Fly from the top and immediately locks in the Armbreaker and Mendoza taps out. The match went for about 5 minutes.

Winner: Kushida
Match Rating: 2.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: This was a fast-paced back and forth match with both men getting time to shine. Kushida is coming off a match against Adam Cole in which he looked good in a loss, so picking up a win here only helps him further his momentum. The Spanish Fly into the armbar was an awesome visual and the match never really slowed down at all. Mendoza had his moments as well but Kushida picking up the win here was the right move. The cruiserweights can go, especially when they are given the time to get some work in.

Post-match, they show the replays of Rhea Ripley coming to Raw to confront Charlotte Flair. They mention that Rhea will be is coming out to address the NXT universe next and they go to a commercial break.

They are back from break and Mauro talks about the upcoming Takeover event and he sends it to a backstage interview with Tyler Breeze. Breeze talks about the performance center and how it made him who he is. He is interrupted by Austin Theory who says that he used to watch Tyler Breeze as he was coming up through the ranks. He says that it’s his turn now and wants to prove it to everyone. Breeze takes a picture of him and says that he looks good for a flash in the pain. Theory storms off and the segment is over.

Rhea Ripley makes her way down to the ring to a big ovation. She grabs a mic and it’s time for a promo. Ripley says that if Flair thinks she can phase her before Wrestlemania, then she better come with a better game plan. She says it’s time to knock the queen on her royal ass. She goes to say something else but is interrupted by the music of Charlotte Flair. Flair stays on the ramp and tells the crowd to quiet down. Flair says that Ripley has guts as the fans chant “Go back to Raw”. Flair says that come Wrestlemania, she will be too much for Ripley to handle. Flair gets in the ring and says she is going to take Ripley to deep waters and drown her. Ripley attacks Flair as she gets in the ring and both women take turns exchanging blows. Flair gets up and hits a kick to the face that takes Ripley down and goes for the figure eight but Ripley kicks her away. Flair gets out of the ring and pulls Ripley down by the leg and locks in figure four around the ring post. That was an old Bret Hart move that always looked cool. Flair showboats around the ring and grabs the NXT Women’s Championship. She poses with the belt and then tosses it down to the ground beside Ripley. Flair walks up the ramp as her music plays and the segment ends.

Collective Thoughts: That was the standard face-off between the two as they continue the build to their match at Wrestlemania. This is going to be a big moment for the NXT Women’s Division and Rhea Ripley should look good win or lose. Part of me thinks she wins because Charlotte coming back to NXT full time seems like a pipe dream, but part of me thinks that Charlotte may win and bring some legitimacy to the brand. It’s definitely one I am looking forward too and should be one of the better matches on the Wrestlemania card.

There is a package showing Walter running all over the stars of NXT. Finn Balor narrates over some of it before he is shown on the screen with a passport and tells Walter that payback travels. They go to a commercial break.

They come back from break showing off The Performance Center. They throw it backstage where Mia Yim is celebrating her win. Suddenly a car cuts her off and stops before two masked men get out and kidnap Raul Mendoza who is standing right down the street from Yim.

Number One Contender Ladder Match Qualifier
Tegan Nox vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Both women lock up in the ring with Purrazzo taking the early advantage. Nox hits some elbows but Purrazzo takes her down with an arm whip. He works on Nox in the corner and takes her down with a Gutwrench and gets a near fall. Purrazzo continues to work on the arm of Nox and stomps her in the corner. She hits chops in the corner before going to whip Nox into the corneR. Nox reverses and hits a running cannonball in the corner. Purrazzo locks in the Fujiwara Armbar, but Nox rolls her up for a two count. Nox takes her down and hits The Shiniest Wizard and picks up the win in about 3 minutes.

Winner: Tegan Nox
Match Rating: 1.5/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: A basic match to get one more woman into the ladder match. My early pick is for Nox to win it but we will have to see who else is added as the weeks go on. So far of all the qualifiers, she is the only one I feel like could realistically stand toe to toe with the NXT Women’s Champion and be a credible threat.

The Broserweights are shown backstage getting ready to defend the NXT Tag Team Titles and that match is after the break.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match
The Broserweights (Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne)(c) vs. The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish)(w/Adam Cole and Roderick Strong)

Before the match, The Velveteen Dreams music hits. He says that four little men stand in the ring but he has his eyes on one, Adam Cole. He says that if they thought he cared about Roderick Strong than they had it all wrong. He says that they are looking at the main event for NXT Takeover: Tampa. Cole cuts him off and says he hasn’t earned anything. He said he is looking at the greatest NXT Champion of all time. He said next week there will be a celebration for the Championship and asks Strong if he wants to end it once and for all. Dream says it’s not going down that way and The Broserweights music hits.

Dunne and O’Reilly start off the match for their teams. They lock up with Dunne gaining the advantage and taking O’Reilly down to the mat. Dunne grabs the leg but O’Reilly escapes and both men make a tag to their corner. Riddle gets Fish in a front choke and takes him down to the mat. Fish fights out and both men trade counters before Riddle takes him back down to the mat with a slam. Fish goes to his corner to regroup as Riddle and the NXT Universe taunt The UE. Fish comes back out and hits a kick to the midsection but Riddle comes back with a Gutwrench Powerbomb. He picks him back up for a second one as O’Reilly comes in to break it up but Dunne catches him and they hit double Gutwrench Powerbombs on The UE. O’Reilly and Fish roll to the outside as they go to a commercial break.

They come back from break with The Broserweights hitting some tandem offense and Riddle getting a near fall. Riddle kicks O’Reilly in the chest but he catches the last one and sends Riddle into the corner. Both men exchange elbows and Riddle goes out to the apron and takes out Bobby Fish. O’Reilly comes to take him out but Riddle evades and hits him with an elbow. Fish tries to sweep the legs but Riddle jumps over with O’Reilly finally getting the upper hand with a kick to the head that sends Riddle into the guardrail. O’Reilly makes the tag into Fish who continues the assault on the outside. He rolls Riddle back in and continues to work him over with knee strikes. Fish makes a tag and O’Reilly comes in and works Riddle over some more with some elbows and knees that take him down to the mat. He hits a running knee strike and pound on Riddle some more before covering him for a two count. O’Reilly makes another tag and Fish comes in with a strike to the midsection, followed by a Snap Suplex and he covers for a two count. Riddle fights back with elbows and chops of his own but Fish snuffs him out and takes him down with another kick. Fish hits a snap mare and follows that up with a senton and covers for a two count. He tags O’Reilly back in and they hit a double Snap Suplex and he covers Riddle for another near fall. O’Reilly takes Riddle down again and hits a sliding knee strike followed by some more punches and makes another tag to Fish. He comes in as Riddle tries to mount a comeback some kicks to the leg and stiff chops. Fish counters with some of his own and they go back and forth before Riddle hits a Peele Kick that takes Fish to the ground. Fish makes the tag to O’Reilly who grabs the ankle of Riddle to keep him from making the tag but he reaches out and Dunne is in. Dunne is a house of fire and hits both men with a series of clotheslines. Dunne stomps on the fingers of Fish and kicks him in the head before climbing up top and hitting a dropkick to the knee of O’Reilly. He picks O’Reilly up in a Suplex and drops him down into the armbar. O’Reilly fights out but Dunne gets him in a Triangle Choke. O’Reilly struggles to get the ropes before he finally gets there and Dunne is forced to break the hold. Dunne gets down to boost Riddle and Riddle hits a senton over the top and lands on all of the members of The Undisputed Era. He rolls Roderick Strong and Adam Cole in the ring. Dunne claps his hands as the referee is distracted and makes it seem like Adam Cole hit him with a superkick. Strong pleads their case and Riddle tells the referee they did it. They go back and forth before the referee makes the call and throws Cole and Strong out of the match. The UE converse on the outside as they go to a split-screen.

*Commercial Break* Cole and Strong make their way to the back as O’Reilly jumps back in the ring but is taken down by Dunne. He grabs the fingers and stomps down on the hand of O’Reilly. Dunne comes in to deal more punishment but O’Reilly grabs his tights and throws him to the outside. O’Reilly makes a quick tag and Fish goes to the outside but is met with a superkick. O’Reilly hits a kick of his own and Fish comes back with one to the head and rolls Dunne back in the ring. Fish works on Dunne in the corner before making another tag. O’Reilly is in and he continues to work on Dunne in the corner. Fish comes in and hits some high knees and throws Dunne into the corner and makes another tag to O’Reilly. Fish charges in but Dunne tosses him to the outside and tries to make the tag but O’Reilly cuts him off and pulls him away just as Dunne was going to make the tag. O’Reilly throws Dunne into the corner but he climbs up and flips over O’Reilly and goes to make the tag but Fish pulls Riddle off the apron. O’Reilly comes in and hits a splash in the corner followed by a Big Boot and a two count. O’Reilly works his way back to his feet as they go back to full screen.

Both men are back to their feet and trade chops to one another. O’Reilly takes full control with a kick to the chest and sweeps the legs out from under Dunne. He hits a snapmare on Dunne and makes the tag back to Fish. He comes in with a senton over the top but Dunne gets the knees up and attempts to make it over to his corner. Fish makes a tag and O’Reilly comes in to grab the leg of Dunne with Dunne attempting an Enziguri but O’Reilly ducks under. Dunne kicks him off and finally makes the tag to Riddle. Riddle is a house of fire and hits both men with elbows and knees before taking both men out with a high knee lift. He hits Fish with an elbow in the corner followed by an Exploder Suplex. He goes to the other corner and does the same to O’Reilly. Riddle hits sentons to both men before hitting O’Reilly with a Fisherman Buster and covers for a two count. Riddle makes the tag to Dunne and they go for their finisher on O’Reilly but he fights out. Both members of The UE go for a German Suplex on both Riddle and Dunne, but they Land in their feet and hit double kicks to the head. Dunne hits a Sitout Powerbomb on O’Reilly and picks up a two count. Dunne stomps on his chest and hits a big elbow as O’Reilly got back to his feet. O’Reilly comes back with some kicks of his own and hits a rebound clothesline on Dunne. Both men make a tag to their partners with Fish and Riddle going back and forth with shots in the middle of the ring. Riddle hits a Ripcord Knee that knocks Fish to the mat. Riddle attempts a German Suplex on Fish but O’Reilly grabs his hands and the referee counts it as a tag. Riddle hits a Bridging German Suplex but O’Reilly comes off the top and hits a knee to the midsection of Riddle. He covers Riddle and gets a two before Dunne breaks up the count. Dunne jumps over the ropes and goes to hit a moonsault on Fish on the outside but he moves and O’Reilly hits Dunne with a kick to the head that sends him over the guardrail. Fish tags back in and they hit The Collapse on Riddle but he only gets a two count. Riddle fights back with some chops and takes out both guys with a double spear. The Grizzled Young Veterans make their way down to the ring and have a staredown with the Broserweights. Fish kicks Dunne out of the ring as O’Reilly rolls up Riddle and gets a two count. Riddle hits a high knee and Dunne stops The GYV from getting in the ring before Riddle tosses Fish to the outside and he lands on all of them. Riddle makes the tag and they hit a double knee strike on O’Reilly. They follow that up with the Fireman’s Carry/Enziguri combo and picks up the win in about 20 minutes.

Winner(s) and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: The Broserweights
Match Rating: 3.75/5 Stars

Collective Thoughts: It was a long but very good tag team match. Both of these teams have good chemistry and have had a good bit of matches as of late. The Broserweights took the titles off The Undisputed Era and have been fighting champions since. Fish and O’Reilly worked over both members and tagged a lot in and out and used some old school tag team technique. It seems like they have a formula that works with both men using a series of quick tags and using MMA offense to isolate their opponents in their corner. I didn’t expect the titles to change hands but it was definitely a competitive match from start to finish. I feel like the match suffered slightly by going through two commercial breaks, but that’s just me nitpicking. I wouldn’t be surprised if The Grizzled Young Veterans challenge and beat The Broserweights at Takeover: Tampa. In my gut though, I feel like it’s going to be a triple threat match between these three teams.

After the match, The Broserweights celebrate the win in the ring and share another staredown with The Grizzled Young Veterans as they are walking up the ramp.

Mauro Ranallo puts over the celebration next week for Adam Cole and talks about him becoming the longest-reigning NXT Champion in history. They talk about another qualifying match for the Number One Contender Ladder Match next week between Candace LaRae and Mercedes Martinez as well as mentioning that Finn Balor will be on NXT UK this week.

Tommaso Ciampa’s music hits and he makes his way down to the ring as they go to a commercial break.

They come back from the break and Ciampa has a mic in the ring. He said he doesn’t know if Johnny Gargano can hear his voice but can hear the voice of the NXT Universe. He said he made all of them a promise last week that they would find out why he attacked Ciampa in the first place. Ciampa says that time is up and he knows why but the people don’t. Gargano cuts him off and is on the big screen in the arena. Gargano says that Ciampa doesn’t know anything about him but he knows everything about Ciampa. He says they aren’t going to play by Ciampa’s rules, but by the Johnny Wrestling rules. Gargano says that he hasn’t forgotten about the last three years and it’s time for Ciampa to be honest with everyone. He hasn’t forgotten everything Ciampa has done to him over the years. Gargano says that Ciampa is the worst person in NXT and Ciampa has heard enough and makes his way to the back. Gargano keeps talking about Ciampa leaving and then coming back will all being forgiven.

Ciampa finds Gargano in the back and the two start brawling in the back. Ciampa smashes him against a wall and tosses him over the conference table. He hits Gargano with an object in the back. Gargano tries to escape Ciampa and makes his way down a hallway. Ciampa catches up with him and kicks him in the midsection and hits him with a poster off the wall. They make their way into the medical area and Ciampa hits Gargano with a crutch as a referee begs him to stop. Someone comes out of nowhere and tries to stop Ciampa but he takes him out. He tosses a garbage can at Gargano as they make their way into the weight room. Gargano slams Ciampa’s head into one of the weight machines. Ciampa comes back and throws Gargano headfirst into a garage door. He goes to go some more damage but Johnny throws some liquid in his eyes. Officials come in to try and break it up and Gargano throws them to the side. He talks trash to Ciampa and tosses him over a tire and kicks him in the head. He throws Ciampa into another machine as the officials are pleading for them to stop. Gargano chokes Ciampa and picks up a single weight laying on the ground. Ciampa kicks him in the midsection as he went to hit him with it and he drops the weight. He continues working Gargano over and picks up two weights of his own and goes to throw them at Gargano but he moves and it shatters a mirror. Gargano retreats and they make their way out to the ringside area. They trade blows amongst the fans with Gargano getting the advantage for a second before Ciampa takes him out again with a right hand while the fans are chanting “Daddy’s Home”. He picks up a chair and rams it into the head of Gargano and takes both men down to the floor. Both men get to their feet and make their way to the announcer’s table. Ciampa attempts a Powerbomb but Gargano fights out and shoves him into the guardrail. Gargano tries to escape to an elevated platform but Ciampa follows him up. They trade blows with Gargano knocking him down and taking off the railing of the platform. He goes to hit Ciampa with a move but he fights out and takes Gargano down. Gargano comes back and locks Ciampa in the Gargano Escape. The ref tries to get Gargano off but he gets up and knocks the ref down to the ground. Gargano hits him with a superkick that knocks Ciampa down on the platform. He grabs Ciampa by the head but he awakens and picks Gargano up and hits an Air Raid Crash from the top of the platform through the announce table. That was a hell of a spot. The officials come to check on both men and they are assisting them as the show goes off the air.

Collective Thoughts: That was a wild brawl that went for a good bit of time. You can tell how much tension is built between these two and it comes through the screen at you. Going through the backstage area of the Performance Center was a cool visual and they did a lot of things that looked brutal. Ciampa hitting the Air Raid Crash off the platform through the table was absolutely insane. We have seen him do similar spots before, but that didn’t take away from the moment at all. I dreaded seeing these two have another match but they have done a great job at slowly changing my mind. This was a great way to end the show and one we don’t see very often where both men are laid out with no commentary. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.

Overall Show Grade: 7.25 out of 10

This was a solid episode of NXT with a lot of moving parts. Obviously, by having the show in The Performance Center, the crowd was smaller but it didn’t take away from the show much. Lee and Grimes had a good opening match in a show that had two titles on the line. Dakota Kai losing a qualifying match for the Number One Contenders Ladder Match was a bit surprising, but I could see her making her way back in the match, especially with Tegan Nox winning her match and the bad blood between the two. I will also say that so far the women that have qualified for the match, Chelsea Green, Mia Yim, and Tegan Nox, feel like a weak group of talent and it kind of exposes how thin the NXT Women’s Division is away from the main event scene. It’ll be the first time we have seen a couple of these women on a Takeover event, and while I am all for everyone getting a shot, it seems a little out of left field. We also got some more build towards the collision course between Finn Balor and Walter, with Balor coming to NXT UK this week for a confrontation. They had an NXT Tag Team Title rematch from Takeover: Portland between The Broserweights and The Undisputed Era. Both teams have great chemistry, but I think that has run its course. The brawl to end the show between Ciampa and Gargano was epic and it has me reinvested in the story they are trying to tell. All in all, it was a solid show, with some cool matches and more of a build to Takeover: Tampa Bay.

What did you think of WWE NXT this week? Loved it? Hated it? Still more interested in AEW Dynamite? Either way, follow me over @collectiveheel on twitter and let me know your thoughts. Support the site. Support each other. I’ll be back soon enough with some more Collective Thoughts.