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Every week, I know that even if RAW and SmackDown Live disappoint, NXT will still be a good show. Unfortunately, this week was a 'by the numbers' affair that I did not particularly care for. Much like RAW and SmackDown Live, much of the show felt like it was filler material. That said, I will still bring you this weekly '5 Points to Note' piece.
As always, I invite you to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and feelings. Did you think this week's show was any good? Whom do you see challenging Tommaso Ciampa next?
Honestly, I think this was just an off show before the action picks up again next week with Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne. With Hell in a Cell coming our way next week as well, I'm sure it will be a packed week of action overall.
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Here are 5 points to note from this week's show!
#5 Brawling after the match finished
So many wrestling pundits have said this in the past (or something to this effect). You can perform a million moves in the ring, but unless you have a well-defined character, none of them will actually mean anything. Therefore, it was such a treat to see two characters compete in the main event of NXT.
Nikki Cross was absolutely deranged in the early going of the match, and Bianca Belair seemed out of sorts. She fired back and got her stuff in, including a deadlift gorilla press that got the crowd very excited. Ultimately, the action spilled outside the ring, resulting in a double count out.
And yet, the brawl was not over as the two men kept dropping blows on each other thereafter. The action ended with Nikki Cross jumping off the announce table, to bring chaos and carnage. This was, by far, the best thing on the show, across the hour of action.
#4 No mercy for Violet Payne
Shayna Baszler is no longer the NXT Women's Champion, but she's very much in the hunt for the big gold prize. She reminded us just how good and how vicious she is, by taking on Violet Payne in a match this week. As one would expect, the enhancement talent had no chance but to tap to Miss Baszler.
Baszler would not let go, even after the bell rang, bringing the match to an unsurprising conclusion. Baszler would return shortly thereafter, to reapply her hold and make the NXT Universe take notice of her. Even though the crowd screamed for Kairi Sane, the champion was nowhere to be seen, this week.
Okay, that's not true, because we did see Kairi Sane in William Regal's office, this week. She even offered an alibi for Kassius Ohno!
#3 Massive return from injury
It was great to see Oney Lorcan come back and reunite with Danny Burch this week. The two men took on Cezar Bononi and Adrian Jaoude. Sadly, the brand new tag team did not have a chance at all. Lorcan and Burch stood tall, as they rightfully should.
Will they manage to rise about the mid-card? I have no way of telling yet, but the crowd was certainly hot for them.
#2 The investigations roll on
Kassius Ohno was cleared of all charges pertaining to the attack on Aleister Black. However, he was not a happy man when he met NXT GM William Regal. He alleged that Ohno was forgotten every time someone new stepped through the door in NXT.
Ohno has been on some kind of a winning streak of late. I wonder if this will lead to a match against NXT's newest recruit- Matt Riddle. It certainly seemed like that may be the direction that Ohno's career will go on, considering Ohno called Regal 'bro', this week.
That should be a match to watch out for. Both men could potentially steal the show and how!
#1 Sullivan mauls his opponent
Lars Sullivan took on Raul Mendoza this week in an exhibition match. It was an exhibition of brutality and strength. Yes, Mendoza did get some offense in. But ultimately, only Sullivan stood tall.
Sullivan is clearly in a feud with EC3 right now. I wonder if even EC3 will be booked to survive the streak that Sullivan is currently on. I can imagine Sullivan holding gold very soon indeed.
That said, nothing really important happened this week in the overall scheme of things. I did find myself a little disappointed with the show.
Do join us next week though, because that show should be something special!
