NXT returned from the Capital Wrestling Center in Florland, Florida last night (October 21). You can find the results on the live blog.
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NXT’s ‘Who’s Donut?’ Angle had a big revelation this week, but hopefully it wasn’t the final revelation.
It felt like this part of the angle had run out. Probably because the main player in the story was injured when Ridge Holland suffered his unfortunate injury. Maybe it was a plan with all of them. Whatever it is, at the end of this week’s episode, Sara All ’Pet McAfee revealed herself to be at least involved, if not completely behind, the destruction of the undisputed era.
Throughout this week’s episode, they played the undisputed Ira vs. Team Gold for the next event. Announced the main event as Brizango. But all night, the backstage of the undisputed members was attacked. First Bobby Fish and then Roderick Strong. Kyle O’Reilly avoided fate, but he chose not to choose a new tag partner and instead traveled to the hospital with his boys.
This allowed Lorcan and Danny Birch of V One to take the steps and challenge Brizango instead. William Regal made the call because he was on the scene (favorable) and the team remained undisputed and defeated to become the # 1 contender.
It was during that major event that Lorcan and Birch were exposed as part of the conspiracy. They won gold for the first time in NXT with the help of McAfee (who was then masked) and won the match. After the match, McAfee made his official revelation.
That’s a good angle until it ends. I love a bunch of Brit-M wowlers and Pat McAfee really promised me when I quarreled with Adam Cole, but if this is all his brain baby, it will be a lot less. Because he still feels like a celebrity guest and no one is threatening to be a big bad.
I think there is still an undisputed member of Iran behind all this. And that’s Kyle or Cole. So there are more ‘potential’ angles. That’s great because guessing at mysterious angles like this is always an explosion. So let’s do that a little bit.
Kyle O’Reilly is the most meaningful. When he returned to NXT months ago, it felt like he was shooting some nasty looks towards Cole. Adam’s feud with McAfee led Kyle and Bobby to the tag title. If the K.O.R. If Cole had been fed up with the BS, he would have registered the services of a man capable of getting under the skin of the Panama City Playboy. This will also allow Kyle to play Heel and Adam Babyface, which I think is the best role for him in this corner.
Adam Cole will do more to explain. He wasn’t technically in the building this week, delivering promos via video. That could be the wrong direction. But the purpose is not there. Why would he attack a boy who had been on his back for so long? Why would he team up with a man who respected him and opposed him like McAfee? It will take them more effort to sell, but it is still an option.
Of course it can only be a fee. Or another major player. Maybe Wade Barrett is building a new side.
We should get more answers in the next few weeks. This could be a great angle, until tonight’s announcement is not the end of it.
Kushida rolls
Early confrontation this week was a triple threat between Kushida, Velvetin Dream and Tomaso Siampa.
It was a high octane, a match that never stopped for air. And while sometimes those matches are too much (some need a little breathing), this was a whole lot of fun.
All three men are strong in their roles. Kushida has been killing him completely since he became more aggressive with his character. He is still technically savvy but now he is angry about it. Tomaso Siampa mastered this version of it many years ago. And while I definitely understand people who have no interest in watching Velvet Dream on their TV, I think it’s doing pretty well with this heel version of theirs. Which was needed after he failed to win big as a bikeface. Sadly, a character change in which fans usually expect to see more of him can do a lot just because of the allegations against him.
Tomasson injured Kushida on Velvetin’s hand after Kushida pinned Kaimpa. It protects Sampa a little while allowing the right man to win. Because Kushida is running hard, she needs to keep winning to increase her credibility. If the new character loses too much, that character is dead in the water.
Now Kushida is in a position where she could soon enter the title picture, even the title of Top Men. It will take a little longer to get there.
The first quarrel
Amber Moon had her first singles match since returning from her Achilles injury.
He confronted Jesse Kamia, and Jesse had a chance to shine before taking the inevitable loss. The moon felt nice. It’s almost amazing how much ring rust she feels after missing so little time.
Chandra started the submission finish, which will allow him some changes at the end of his match. It will also save her talbon as she may not be the best for her stunning from the rope above. Also, submissions are just bad.
Post match angles involved Dakota Kai attacking the moon. This is a good program for Amber’s return struggle. Kai has a good heel but is not a person who is too high to take this loss. We have the top spot of the division are Ayo Shirai, Rhea Ripley, Amber Moon and Tony Storm. By staying away from the four pillars of the new division right now, it makes sense for Amber to struggle with established talent like Dakota.
Quitter
Austin Stein Theory has left NXT.
This was after he lost twice in a row to Big Thick Bronson Reed. The first time was just a scheduled match. There was another time when he demanded a match again and in seconds he lost. It’s not bright.
Even after all this, he was caught in his car with a camera. There he told them it was over. It leaves NXT.
This is the logical step of the story. After returning from a failed main roster run he noticed nothing was won. For a man who is so slanderous and self-absorbed, getting lost like that will push him to the edge. And because he is young and brave, instead of working on the issue, he is more likely to hit and leave.
We’ll see from there. It will come back with a new attitude or a change of manager or somehow.
All the rest:
– El Legado del Fantasma’s feud with Sweater Scott and friends never seems to end. My man Sean Ruiter also compared him to Hurt Business v. Apollo did with a friend on a cruise and a row, which seemed like a comparison to getting a continuous rematch with the progress of the short story. This week, Legado confronted and defeated Scott, Jack Atlas and Ashant “The” Adonis. However, Atlas knocked out cruiserweight champion Santos Escobar during the match, setting him as Escobar’s next challenger.
– Timothy Thatcher’s lesson was at CWC this week. When Thatcher performed so well and did not make a presentation, her student saw this in front of her. It turned out to be a chaotic match between Tim and Andrew (or it was Anthony) that Thatcher easily won. One of these weeks, the student will include himself in front of Thatcher, serve as a debutant, or come into a ring and challenge a catch wrestler.
– Johnny Gargano and Kais Ndis Lare had a very fun beat where they practiced spinning a wheel in preparation. Halloween Havoc Next week. Apparently Gargano, who has a known hatred of wheels (something anyone else hates from the first discovery), continued spinning matches like Buried Alive or Casket Match. He won’t have a good week next week.
– When taking off the Ever-Rise with the chair, Drake Maverick gained a little more respect than Killian Dine. It’s the kind of action that can happen behind the Beast Bf Belfast, even if it results in a DQ loss. It doesn’t feel like music though.
– Xia Li still can’t pick a win, lost to Casey Ketanzaro this week. And as always, she hits later. After that, Raquel Gonzalez ruined all the women involved before next week’s match against Rhea Ripley, reminding us that this Xia Story is still a low card angle.
This was another solid week. I wasn’t as stunned as McAfee’s revelation left me as much as I expected, but it could be a good part of the big story. The triple threat was very good and the rise of Kushida has been great. The show has seemed a bit unfocused in recent episodes, however;
I would also like to comment on the new presentation now that they are at the Capitol Wrestling Center. I still think video screens don’t fit on Vibe (especially now that we know those people don’t watch live) and now they’re adding to the fake crowd noise that can be really distracting when you watch it. There is a crowd. Just rely on them for sound.
Grade: B +
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