10 Thoughts on NXT – 27th April 2016 – Asuka, The Revival, Shinsuke Nakamura

10 Thoughts, Reviews, Top Story

JT on NXT logo

1. It’s NXT time and we start out with the shock news that Samoa Joe won the NXT title at a house show. Interesting decision…
2. It’s time for action as Asuka takes on Eva Marie in a non-championship match, and the crowd gives Eva Marie a ‘you can’t wrestle’ chant, countered by a few loyal Total Divas fans. Asuka sells generously for Eva Marie, making her look semi decent in the process. Now that is talent.
3. Nia Jax goes nose to nose with Asuka before helping Eva Marie out of the ring, and I’m interested to see what Jax and Asuka can do in the ring.
4. Next up we get a highlight package of Balor vs Joe in Lowell, Mass, and it’s great to see the crowd go mental when Joe picks up the win. Despite recent protestations, I can’t help thinking that Balor is about to head up to the main roster.
5. It’s time for some tag team squash match action, as the dynamic team of Matt Lee and Jett Parker take on the Revival. Zero offense from Team Jobber as the Revival go old school on their asses. Solid match for what it was.
6. Scott Dawson picks up the mic after the match and puts every tag team in the world on notice. Does that include Lucha Underground trios? Because that would be sort of awesome.
7. Oh great, it’s the Hype Bros vs Blake & Murphy, who used to be champions but now seem lucky to have a job. Sloppy match with the Bros picking up the win. After the match The Revival attack the Hype Bros, proving that they will take on any tag team in the world as long as they happen to be in the same building.
8. Carmella is out solo after the departure of Enzo & Cass, and the crowd are yet to get behind her. She is facing Aaliyah, who fans of Breaking Ground will probably remember as Nooph. Not a bad match from the rookies, but both women would benefit from working with someone with a little more experience.
9. Our main event tonight is the Drifter vs Shinsuke Nakamura, and this is literally the only Elias Sampson match I have ever been interested in. Nakamura was as entertaining as ever and even made Sampson look good, which just reinforces my point 2 – a talented wrestler can make a jobber look like a legitimate threat while still getting themselves over.
10. Last week, for the first time in forever, Raw was arguably better than NXT. It seems that balance in the force has been restored, as this episode of NXT was far more entertaining than the long-ass teaser for Payback that was Raw.

JT is a hot air balloonist, writer and tattoo aficionado. He writes about movies, science, music, video games, action figures and professional wrestling.