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NXT TakeOver: New York was a show for the ages, and I had a blast reviewing the said show. But now the show's in the past and we've commenced on a brand new season of sports entertainment. NXT began with a brand new theme song this week. It's a whole new beginning with Johnny Champion as the face of the Company.
Game of Thrones may have begun with a bang (don't worry, no spoilers here), and so has the black and yellow brand! In fact, I'd have to say that NXT put together a better show because of just how packed it was. You had 2 title matches on the same night.
It is also amply clear who the faces of the brand will be, now that there have been so many call-ups from NXT. Do not worry because the brand is in very safe and capable hands indeed.
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Here are 5 points to note from the hottest brand in sports entertainment today.
#5 Kairi Sane's last NXT match
If you watched the Superstar Shake-Up, you know that Kairi Sane was one of the women who was called up to Smackown Live, in a team introduced by Paige. Sane and Asuka will be teaming on the blue brand and will be a force to be recknoned with, in coming months.
So, her story ended where it began for her, in a clash with her toughest opponent yet- Shayna Baszler for the prized NXT Women's Championship. If you rememeber, Baszler and Sane clashed in the finals of the Mae Young Classic and have had several memorable bouts since. In this match, Sane sold a worked injury and the NXT Women's Champion was absolutely merciless.
Io Shirai would disrupt the proceedings and bring the match to a close, thereby saving her friend. One wonders if she's going after the prestigious title next.
#4 Dominik Dijakovic has his eyes on a big prize
One of the men from the current WWE NXT roster who's going to be stepping up to the plate for the new season is one Dominik Dijakovic. The Croatian Colossus was part of a non-descript squash match that I will not spend too much time talking about. Needless to say NXT has a lot of stock invested in the man.
What I found particularly interesting about Dijakovic is the fact that following the match he issued a big challenge. And this challenge went out to the NXT North American Champion- Velveteen Dream. Imagine how rugged and nail-biting a feud between these two big men can be.
I'm guessing that this feud will pan out over the coming weeks. I'm curious to see just how the storyline pans out, because there couldn't be two more different men than these two are!
#3 205 Live Superstar returns to NXT again
I love the fact that we can now see Superstars from one WWE brand compete on another, setting up dream clashes. Buddy Murphy and The Velveteen Dream had a match for the North American Championship this week, and if you haven't seen it yet, I strongly recommend you do so tonight.
The atmosphere was absolutely electric for this clash and the chants were just something else. The crowd was certainly divided with regard to their favourite in the match, although I must admit that it was skewed in favor of The Velveteen Dream.
The Dream emerged victorious in this match and I'm guessing that he'll be taking on Dominik Dijakovic next as I've mentioned in the previous page already. I guess it was Murphy's way of saying goodbye to NXT before he is called up to the main roster.
205 Live has suffered a big blow by losing Buddy Murphy!
#2 Trouble in paradise?
Johnny Champion returned to NXT this week, and the ovation was absolutely thunderous. I mean you had Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston realise their destinies at WrestleMania, and yet, Gargano's return to Full Sail just felt more special. It just goes to show you the level of storytelling that NXT gives to us.
Roderick Strong did not come out with the Undisputed ERA and Gargano took advantage of the opportunity to crack boy band jokes at Adam Cole and his company. But then Strong would blindside Gargano and the hyenas known as the Undisputed ERA would pick at him. This would lead to William Regal setting up a match between Strong and Johnny Champion.
Adam Cole did not seem all that happy with this decision, truth be told. Does this mean that we could potentially see a split in the ranks for the Undisputed ERA soon?
#1 Plans for Kushida's debut revealed
One of the questions that's been on everyone's mind is just when Kushida will make it to NXT television. I'm glad to report that the former NJPW Superstar will make his debut in 2 weeks. One of the more agile superstars in the division, I'm curious to see how he will fare against the existing NXT talent. Could he potentially even hold gold down the line?
Another match that you need to watch out for is Vanessa Borne teaming up with Aliyah to take on Candice LeRae and an yet unknown partner. These are the women that will be carrying NXT into the new era. Can you predict who her partner could potentially be?
Did you happen to catch this week's action at all, dear reader? What did you think of the show, if you did do so?
Tell me your thoughts in the comments.
