10 Thoughts on NXT – 2nd February 2016 – Finn Balor, Neville, Vaudvillains

10 Thoughts, Reviews, Top Story

JT on NXT logo

1. It’s NXT time and we’re kicking off with the Vaudvillains, who seem to have a slightly new look for their entrance gear. They’re facing Hugo Knox and Tucker Knight, or Muscle Guy and Fat Bloke as I prefer to call them.

2. Muscle Guy plays jobber in peril for a while, then gets the tag to Fat Bloke who looks good for ten seconds, then eats the whirling dervish and gets pinned. An inauspicious debut for Muscle Guy and Fat Bloke.

3. Interview with Dana and Emma, who call Deanna Parazzo a nobody. Them’s fighting words!

4. Next up we’ve got Emma facing Santana Garrett, who gets a nice chant from the crowd to start. Solid match from both women, with Emma showing a nice mean streak and Santana looking strong in defeat.

5. Back from the break we find Regal in the ring, and he’s here to introduce new NXT signee Austin Aries! Out of nowhere, Baron Corbin attacks Aries, then taunts Regal. Great, so one of the best indie workers in the world debuts and gets saddled with a feud against Baron Corbin? Good luck with that, Aries…

6. Oh, FFS, it’s The Drifter Elias Sampson vs Steve Cutler, who is a military veteran who hates dirty hippies like Sampson, because apparently it’s 1969 again. Cutler gets his ass handed to him by said hippie, which doesn’t say much for the fighting prowess whatever branch of the services he was in.

7. Hype Bros promo with frequent use of the word ‘bro’, followed by a creepy stalker-like reveal of the Vaudvillains lurking in the background. Okay then.

8. The main event is Neville vs NXT champion Finn Balor, and they’re giving these indie veterans a good amount of time to tell a story. Crowd starts a ‘this is awesome’ chant before the lockup, and there is certainly a big match feel to this bout.

9. Are you watching, Vince? This is why putting indie guys in the main event is a good idea. Both Balor and Neville worked their asses off, told a solid story and hit amazing high spots where and when the match demanded it.

10. Once again an excellent main event lifts an average episode of NXT to something better, although with stars like Asuka and Nakamura waiting in the wings I can’t help feel we are wasting time with the likes of Elias Sampson and Baron Corbin…

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