10 Thoughts on NXT – Killian Dane, No Way Jose, Hideo Itami

10 Thoughts, Reviews, Top Story

1. It’s NXT time and from the start they’re selling this as a double main event show. It’s Hideo Itami vs Oney Lorcan and No Way Jose vs Killian Dane, and at least one of those matches has the potential to be awesome.

2. Our first match of the show is Heavy Machinery taking on Victor Andrews and Lars Sullivan, the man with the big hands. Standard lumbering big man match from everyone but Andrews who is purely there to take punishment. Heavy Machinery pick up the win with the Compactor. Good for what it was.

3. Post match Lars gets in the ring and massacres Andrews with stiff strikes and a deadlift back breaker. So the big man now has a storyline; which sucker will be his next tag partner?

4. After a recap of last weeks action it’s time for Roderick Strong to address the NXT universe, which is not a sentence that fills me with anticipation. Roddy loves his family, has a hot wife, loves the fans etc. ‘Thank You Roddy’ chant as he declares his desire for the NXT Championship. Bobby Roode comes out to show us how a promo is really done, and pretends to be crying as he starts to speak. Roode tells Strong to ‘stay in his lane’ and warns him not to play the Bobby Roode lottery, which is apparently a thing now.

5. Unhinged rambling from Nikki Cross as she contemplates her rematch against Asuka and Ruby Riot next week. Then we get a cinematic Paul Ellering vignette which manages to disguise how much the Authors of Pain still suck in the ring.

6. Next up Sarah Logan (working a hot hillbilly gimmick) is facing Peyton Royce, accompanied to the ring by fellow Aussie Mean Girl Billie Kay. This was a decent if occasionally sloppy match, with Logan displaying a lot of potential and Royce breaking out a couple of new moves. Peyton wins with a bridging fisherman suplex.

7. Now it’s time for our co-main event as Hideo Itami takes on Oney Lorcan in what should be a hard hitting contest. Itami dominates for a long time until Lorcan comes back with a couple of running uppercuts, but this is all she wrote as Itami hits a kick combination followed by 3 consecutive GTS before Kassius Ohno comes out to make the save. Stare down ensues and Itami walks out, ending the match in a no contest.

8. After that vague disappointment it’s time for our other main event, pitting the recently returned No Way Jose against the man-bear Killian Dane. As this seems to be just another chapter in the Sanity vs three randoms, I’d be surprised if this ends in a clean finish. The Beast of Belfast is accompanied to the ring by Eric Young and Alexander Wolfe, while Jose is alone to make him seem more sympathetic.

9. While far from a technical classic this was an entertaining match with Dane looking monster strong and Jose playing the plucky underdog. The end comes when Dane hits the Ulster Plantation for the clean pinfall victory. Well, I am surprised.

10. Overall an above average episode of NXT despite an underwhelming Itami vs Lorcan bout. The Aussie Mean Girls continue their dominance of anyone not named Asuka, while the golem-like Lars Sullivan continues his losing streak push. Last but not least Killian Dane proved that he can carry a main event, and with a little seasoning could prove as dominant as Samoa Joe when he hits the big leagues.

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