1. Kicking off NXT with an 8 man tag is not a great start. While a little better overall, the match has the same problem as the one on Raw – no chance for anyone to truly shine, token continuation of feuds, and way too much standing around for most of the competitors. On the upside, the hype bros seem to be getting over, and Enzo plays a good face in peril and continues to push the envelope of ridiculous haircuts
2. Mystery of the week: Who will Neville be tagging with in the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic? Could it possibly be his frenemy Stardust? Hopefully not Steven Amell…
3. Finn Balor is getting progressively better on the mic, but still manages sounds sincere, which is skill that escapes a lot of workers. Hopefully he has a decent NXT title run in line before making the jump to the main roster.
4. Lots of Divas action tonight, with good interviews, great video packages, and solid matches. NXT do all of these things better than Raw, with the clear exception of…
5. Eva Marie vs Carmella – what did we do to deserve this? Sloppy wrestling from both ladies, and Carmella’s constant screaming is pretty darn annoying (sorry, I just took a break to watch the new Fargo trailer)
6. Baron Corbin and Rhyno is actually a pretty good team, and I look forward to them kicking the crap out of former ‘most dominant tag team in NXT history’ and current joke The Ascension
7. So Elias Sampson is now The Drifter, which I guess is like a homeless Jeff Jarrett.
8. Sampson gets the dubious honor of facing the returning Bull Dempsey, still working the comedy face angle. Not a terrible match considering the talent, and Bull’s top rope butt drop looks like it could do some real damage if performed wrong. On the upside, this is probably better for his long term health than the diving headbutt that crippled Dynamite Kid…
9. The Divas fatal four way was entertaining, but showed how far Dana has to go to be on the same level Charlotte and Becky Lynch. I was surprised when Emma got the win, as she’s sort of been lost in the shuffle with the rise of the four horsewomen, but this could be the start of a new push for the plucky Australian. The face submission beat down on the heels afterwards was fun.
10. Pretty good episode of NXT overall, although I could see some people objecting to the Diva dominance. While I am in no way against this, I’d like to see more Becky/Charlotte/Sahsa and less Carmella/Eva/Dana. It’s talent, not gender, that counts.
