This was the year where Balor rose to the main eventThis week’s NXT was a look back at everything NXT did in 2015 and it was beautiful in retrospect, as it was when it was actually unravelling. What an year NXT has had!They sold out arenas in America and worldwide whenever and wherever they were given the opportunity. They first told the story of the NXT Championship and then the revolutionary NXT Women's Division and plugged their DVD.The promos, the matches were all so well done. It was a triumph all round. And even though we’ve seen it before, just go and watch this episode.Here are the 5 points to note from this weeks show-
#5 The Story that kicked off 2015
Owens debuted in the December of 2014 and immediately kicked off his feud with best friend Sami Zayn. Former best friend, is the right term now. Owens waited for a WWE call up for 14 years and finally when he did make it he did not want to wait at the back of the line for the NXT Championship.
He came with a plan and it worked out very well. Zayn was decimated but like the true babyface he is, he never gave up. Owens won the championship within two months of his arrival to NXT and took the wrestling world by storm.
This feud is extremely relevant to NXT gaining credibility and having better storytelling opportunities. This feud established why NXT should be followed more and more.
#4 The Veterans
This was also the year where many veterans came back or debuted exclusively for NXT. They were there to bring in more credibility, as if there wasn’t enough of it already. But their involvement surely mattered and gave them their moment to shine again in the WWE as well.
There was Rhyno, Jushin Thunder Liger and James Storm.
Most of all Samoa Joe made his NXT debut and it was quite awesome and influential, needless to say.
#3 The DVD
Well, since it’s the WWE, there will be plugs galore publicizing this or that. Most of those plug- ins you can give a miss, but not this one.
The new NXT DVD is coming out and it is Volume One of the greatest NXT matches, some of which you’ve never seen before. It may contain footage from FCW days as well.
They showcased a splendid match between Neville and Cesaro to give you the gist of the DVD. Since, it’s NXT and WWE’s production and post- production team, we can trust them to not disappoint with this DVD.
#2 The Four Horsewomen
Triple H succinctly put it- these four women changed the perception of females in the WWE.
The talk of that term began after they faced off in the fatal four-way match, which was Banks’s crowning moment, says Lynch. But Banks remembers this as a moment between all four of them were posing for a picture and they automatically brought their hands up to reveal the symbol.
The match at Takeover Respect between Banks and Bayley was shown in parts as it was the most monumental event in NXT as these two women earned their main event status. This was indeed long time coming.
#1 The biggest statement of all
Kevin Owens began his feud with John Cena while he was still the NXT Champion. That meant doing regular NXT shows and the main roster shows as well. This was like NXT taking over the main roster.
There was a clear demarcation presented between NXT and WWE. It was like NXT invaded Raw. The feud kicked off gloriously and it was awesome.
But the biggest statement of all came in the form of Kevin Owens returning some ‘Veteran Advice’ to John Cena by defeating the face that runs the place in Owens’ first match on the main roster.
This was huge. And it just goes on to prove how phenomenally influential Owens has been for NXT.
