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NXT followed up from an eventful Great American Bash with another solid episode. Several big stories began across the card, as the black and gold brand continues to build from week to week.
The show was headlined by a big title match, with the post-match events setting up even more excitement. The NXT Breakout Tournament began, while the likes of HitRow, Pete Dunne, and Tommaso Ciampa all have programs to look forward to on the brand. The next few weeks should be great, following a fun episode.
Here are the main positives and negatives of this week's episode of WWE NXT.
#1 Best: Karrion Kross provokes Samoa Joe after retaining the NXT Championship
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Karrion Kross retained his NXT Championship in a solid match against Johnny Gargano, but what happened afterward has the fans talking.
Samoa Joe was the special guest referee and prevented Kross from crossing the line multiple times. This clearly got to the NXT Champion, who took out his frustration on the brand's enforcer after beating Gargano. Kross locked Joe in the Kross Jacket, his version of the Coquina Clutch, and put him to sleep.
Now that he has been provoked, Samoa Joe is set to go on a rampage on NXT next week. This could lead to several possibilities, the biggest of which is a match between Kross and Joe at the next NXT TakeOver event. Could Joe become the first-ever three-time NXT Champion?
But we don't know if Joe is actually cleared to wrestle yet, so this simply may have been a way to strip Karrion Kross of the NXT Championship. Hopefully, that is not the case as it is about time Samoa Joe properly gets physical on the black and gold brand. He also had staredowns with Pete Dunne and Adam Cole on the show.
From the match to the conclusion, this week's NXT main event has left a lot of intrigue. There are several questions left to be answered.
What happens next between Karrion Kross and Samoa Joe? Will Joe get back in the ring? What about Johnny Gargano and The Way? Next week will be a big one for the black and gold brand.
#1 Worst: WWE SmackDown call-ups have affected NXT's continuity
This isn't a slight on NXT at all, but rather an enforced negative due to the quick nature of the main roster call-ups on SmackDown. Shotzi Blackheart moved to the blue brand with a different tag team partner, which was explained in a half-decent way on NXT. While her original partner, Ember Moon, remains on the black and gold brand.
Shotzi is now teaming with Tegan Nox, who only just returned to NXT last week. She distracted Candice LeRae long enough for her and Indi Hartwell to lose the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. There is bad blood after LeRae put Nox on the shelf, or at least there was.
It is now probably forgotten now that Nox is on SmackDown, which is a shame. But it's no surprise that Vince McMahon has no regard for NXT's continuity, with evidence dating back to Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa's brief call-up in 2019, if not earlier.
Also moving to SmackDown is Toni Storm, who was last seen on NXT rejecting a challenge from Sarray. So those are two feuds that have abruptly ended as a result of last week's main roster call-ups.
It even seemed like Shotzi Blackheart might get a crack at NXT Women's Champion Raquel Gonzalez, but that is now out of the question.
#2 Best: Cameron Grimes excels as LA Knight's butler on NXT
It seemed like doom and gloom for NXT's understated MVP Cameron Grimes after he lost to LA Knight at The Great American Bash. However, becoming a butler has only raised his stock as one of the most entertaining Superstars on the black and gold brand.
Knight ordered a makeover for Grimes, which turned out to be great for him. He was constantly upbeat, much to the chagrin of the Million Dollar Champion. This was a fresh take on a previously used storyline, which has only added to the characters involved.
Cameron Grimes remained positive throughout the episode, not being fazed by being forced to mow a gigantic lawn among other things. LA Knight's butler paid off a boy to do the job for him, reminding everyone that he is still a "millionaire."
That was not it, though, as Grimes would "accidentally" knock Knight into his swimming pool. Hopefully, NXT continues these segments for a few weeks.
This feud has been excellent so far, with the preferred conclusion seeing Cameron Grimes become the Million Dollar Champion at the next NXT TakeOver event.
#2 Worst: No sight of the NXT Men's and Women's Tag Team Champions
Besides a package of their victory at NXT Great American Bash, Io Shirai and Zoey Stark were not on the show this week. This was a disappointing follow-up to their NXT Women's Tag Team Championship victory over The Way, although the female tag team division did get featured.
Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter defeated Aliyah and Jessi Kamea to climb up the ranks, possibly staking a claim for a title shot. But Shirai and Stark were not there, even for an interview. Similarly, we did not see MSK either.
The NXT Tag Team Champions successfully defended their titles against Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher last week, in what was a pretty big win. A follow-up to that would have been helpful for their momentum.
NXT is usually great at finding something for every prominent Superstar every week, so the absence of both sets of Tag Team Champions was noticeable. Hopefully, we see MSK, Io Shirai, and Zoey Stark back on TV next week. The Champions of the show should always be there.
#3 Best/Worst: What is Mandy Rose doing in NXT?
Mandy Rose's return to NXT certainly was a surprise. The WWE RAW Superstar showed up on the ramp during Sarray's match with Gigi Dolin, and was impressed with the performance by the Japanese star.
This seems like a good move for Rose, who was barely going anywhere significant on the red brand. The one criticism over her abrupt move to NXT would be the fact that she was in the middle of a Championship program on RAW.
NXT probably could have waited a week for Rose and Brooke to face Natalya and Tamina for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, before calling her up if that is the case. But it might be understandable, considering the exits from the black-and-gold brand. Anyway, Mandy Rose's appearance has sparked quite some intrigue.
This is the most interesting thing she has done since defeating Sonya Deville at last year's SummerSlam, right at the start of the ThunderDome Era. Proving herself as a strong character on WWE's main roster, Rose has every chance of being a success back on NXT.
However, this only further strengthens the notion that WWE and NXT should share the Women's Tag Team Titles. Both divisions do not have enough teams at all.
