Grading the 9/5/18 Episode of NXT

Kassius Ohno, Kona Reeves, the Forgotten Sons, the Street Profits, new NXT's women's champion Kairi Sane, Velveteen Dream, and Johnny Gargano were all in action on NXT. The likes of Shayna Baszler, The Mighty, Heavy Machinery, and Lars Sullivan were all involved in non-wrestling roles.

Lars Sullivan vs Raul Mendoza has been announced for next week and a huge title-for-title match between UK Champion Pete Dunne and NXT North American Champion Ricochet has been announced for the September 19th edition of NXT.

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Kassius Ohno vs Kona Reeves

Kassius Ohno looked to continue his winning streak when he faced Kona Reeves.

Result: Kassius Ohno defeated Kona Reeves via pinfall with the Rolling Elbow. He then cut a promo about how he will knock any newcomer to the back of the line.

Grade: B-

Analysis: It looks like Kona Reeves's push is now over. He has lost to both Kassius Ohno & EC3 in recent weeks. That is a good thing as NXT's 'Finest' has not been that impressive in the ring. His moves are unspectacular and most of his matches are bland and boring. When he was in control of this match, the quality of the match worsened. Thankfully, the right competitor won this match.

Kassius Ohno's recent performances on NXT have led many to believe that he will soon be turning heel. His promo after the match (which raised the grade of this segment) was excellent and teased a potential heel turn. He accepted the fact that he is NXT's gatekeeper but promised to halt the momentum of any newcomer in NXT. Hopefully, this will lead to a feud between Kassius Ohno & Keith Lee or Matt Riddle.

The Forgotten Sons vs The Street Profits

The Forgotten Sons made their NXT debut on this past episode of NXT.

Result: The Forgotten Sons defeated the Street Profits via pinfall with a reverse DDT/middle rope foot stomp combo after interference from The Mighty and their stablemate Jaxson Ryker.

Grade: C+

Analysis: The Street Profits looked great in this match. They continue to improve in the ring and when their in-ring skills catch up to their charisma levels, they will become stars. They were also protected when they lost due to the fact that they lost because of interference from current rivals The Mighty.

However, the ending of the match certainly did not benefit the Forgotten Sons. The Forgotten Sons only won this match because of interference from the Mighty. Although they did have some nice tandem offense such as a clothesline right into double knees, they were overshadowed by a rivalry between the Mighty & the Street Profits in their debut match.

It is nice that NXT is trying to make rivalries between tag teams not in the title picture but there are better ways to further a rivalry. The Forgotten Sons could have easily won clean and The Mighty could have attacked the Street Profits after the match.

Kairi Sane vs Trish Adora

Kairi Sane had her first match as NXT Women's Champion on this past episode of NXT.

Result: Kairi Sane defeated Trish Adora via pinfall with the Insane Elbow. Kairi Sane then cleared Shayna Baszler from the ring when Baszler tried to attack her after her match.

Grade: B-

Analysis: This is certainly a better option than having Kairi Sane deliver a promo. 'The Pirate Princess' was able to show that her strength lies in the ring, not on the mic. Kairi Sane was able to gain a dominant victory to show Shayna Baszler and all other potential challengers that beating her will not be an easy task.

Although the result of the match was never in doubt, Kairi Sane at least looked like a dominant champion. After the match, Shayna Baszler made a surprise return and was taken out by the NXT Women's Champion.

This is good as Kairi Sane arguably got lucky at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 and until last night she had yet to get the best of Shayna Baszler since the finals of the 1st Mae Young Classic. However, Kairi Sane laid out the former champ with her Interceptor spear. This will create more interest for when Shayna Baszler eventually invokes her rematch clause.

Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream

These 2 superstars easily had the match of the night.

Result: Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano via pinfall with the Dream Valley Driver.

Grade: A+

Analysis: This was an excellent match between 2 of NXT's best wrestlers. Both superstars hit each other with their best shots. Velveteen Dream hit Johnny Gargano with a Famouser that I was convinced would get Dream the win. Dream then hit the modified DDT that had me on the edge of my seat.

Johnny Gargano was the obvious favorite heading into this match so it seemed like he was on the cusp of getting the victory at many times in this match. It is interesting that Johnny Gargano stopped himself from hitting Velveteen Dream with a draped DDT on the floor and seemed to regain control of himself until Velveteen Dream called him Johnny Failure.

Johnny Gargano then lost control and Velveteen Dream was able to hit him with the Dream Valley Driver out of nowhere. Gargano lost because of this "identity crisis" that he's been going through on recent episodes of NXT. This match also served to establish Velveteen Dream's Dream Valley Driver as a dangerous move that can be hit out of nowhere.

There is now a bit of unpredictability in the NXT Title picture. It is unlikely that Johnny Gargano is leaving the NXT Title picture as there's no way that the Johnny Gargano vs Tommaso Ciampa feud is going to end after the controversial ending of their NXT Title match at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn 4 but Velveteen Dream has just been established as a potential NXT Title challenger with recent victories over EC3 & Johnny Gargano. Maybe we'll see a triple threat match at NXT Takeover: War Games 2 between all 3 competitors.