NXT
mer Apr 15, 2022. 4 minute read
Natalya the BOAT Goes Back to Basics
NXT has undergone some very big changes recently — 2.0 may have launched back in the fall of 2021, but it remains a work in progress. MSK vacated the NXT tag titles this past weekend after the release of Nash Carter, leading to Pretty Deadly capturing the belts in a…
READ MORE >Ashley Naftule Apr 8, 2022. 5 minute read
Big Fishes at the PC: WWE Midcarders Living Their Best Life on NXT
This year’s WrestleMania weekend offered one of WWE’s strongest lineup of matches and sheer spectacle in years. As the kickoff show before WrestleMania, NXT’s don’t-call-it-a-TakeOver Stand & Deliver event started WWE’s in-ring offerings off on a high note with a series of fast-paced and chaotic matches. For all the grousing…
READ MORE >Miles Schneiderman Jan 27, 2022. 9 minute read
What Is the Legacy of NXT’s Black and Gold Era? (Part 2)
NXT WarGames, which took place on December 5th, 2021, was the first major NXT event to not carry the “TakeOver” name since NXT Arrival in 2014. That would have been significant in and of itself, but the main event of the show also saw “Team 2.0” defeat “Team Black and…
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Miles Schneiderman Jan 18, 2022. 8 minute read
What Is the Legacy of NXT’s Black and Gold Era? (Part 1)
June 20th, 2022, will mark the ten-year anniversary of NXT – the wrestling promotion, not the scripted reality show. NXT as we knew it, however, isn’t making it to that milestone. The first week of the new year made it abundantly clear that “NXT 2.0” wasn’t just a change in…
READ MORE >Oumar Saleh Jan 11, 2022. 4 minute read
William Regal Was a Key to WWE NXT’s Greatest Era
Like many, I was first drawn to NXT during the summer of 2015, a year that has since been derided as one of the WWE’s absolute worst. Lamenting yet another long Daniel Bryan layoff and the creative tomfoolery that plagued Raw and SmackDown at the time, I opted to check…
READ MORE >mer Dec 9, 2021. 6 minute read
One Final Bow: #DIY Dies with a Whimper
Everyone’s favorite pay-per-view to shout in a vaguely British accent, War Games, is solidly in the past. It was only NXT 2.0’s first TakeOver, but, personally, it feels like we’ve known Tony D’Angelo a lifetime. Like most gimmick matches, War Games tends to be pretty fun just by virtue of…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Dec 6, 2021. 1 minute read
Bron Breakker’s Use of Bolt Cutters at NXT Takeover War Games: A Review
So, the War Games cage got padlocked shut last night in an effort to keep the babyface team of Guys What Who Haven’t Been Drafted to Raw or SmackDown from interfering in the team of Literally Got Here Three Weeks Ago’s scheme to maintain advantage throughout the match. It didn’t…
READ MORE >mer Nov 16, 2021. 4 minute read
Something New, Something Bruised: Pete Dunne and Carmelo Hayes Fulfill NXT’s Good Match Quota
NXT 2.0 is rocking and rolling with a host of new talent and also Tommaso Ciampa, still, for some reason. Alongside Toxic Attraction running the women’s division, the neon lights seem to have pegged some new stars to brighten the path. Carmelo Hayes is one of those very shiny stars;…
READ MORE >mer Sep 22, 2021. 1 minute read
Roderick Strong Becoming Cruiserweight Champion: A Review
With the last dredges of the black and gold era in the rearview mirror, NXT 2.0 has been barreling forward at full speed. This week we were treated to the excellent Bron Brekker, née Steiner, carrying new champ Ciampa in a fun tag match against Dunne and Holland, along with…
READ MORE >Miles Schneiderman Sep 21, 2021. 8 minute read
Wild and Young: Ranking WWE NXT’s First Episodes
Everyone has their own opinions on NXT 2.0, and those opinions vary wildly depending on where you’re coming from as a wrestling fan. There’s one opinion, however, that most of us seem to share: The fact that WWE has chosen to call this latest NXT re-branding “NXT 2.0” is objectively…
READ MORE >mer Sep 21, 2021. 4 minute read
InDex’s Love Will Keep NXT Together
Few things go together like wrestling and weddings. And by that, I mean nothing makes more sense than a shirtless brawl breaking out during someone’s nuptials. Wrestling weddings don’t have the greatest track record, and WWE’s weddings have been uncomfortable to sit through even when the worst thing that happened…
READ MORE >Colette Arrand Sep 15, 2021. 1 minute read
NXT 2.0’s Set: A Review
Confusingly referred to as NXT 2.0 despite this being the fourth iteration of the concept, the all-new, all-different developmental show came out swinging immediately, doing away with Triple H’s Capital Wrestling Center mancave for something brighter, cleaner, and unlike anything else in wrestling right now. Reaction on the set and…
READ MORE >mer Sep 13, 2021. 1 minute read
Samoa Joe Relinquishes the NXT Championship: A Review
Over the summer, WWE has done their best to gut NXT of most anything that would make it an enjoyable show to watch. While I admire their balls to the wall business strategy here, I can’t call it very smart to fire 60% of your talent in the hopes of…
READ MORE >mer Aug 23, 2021. 6 minute read
It’s a Mad Russian World: NXT TakeOver 36 Recap and Review
SummerSlam has come and gone, which means it’s time for Pumpkin Cold Brew and your favorite fall craft beers. NXT sent the season off with TakeOver 36, an event that managed to be better than its main roster counterpart, although that wasn’t a very tall task. Headlined by Samoa Joe’s…
READ MORE >mer Aug 21, 2021. 8 minute read
WWE Recap: Bloody Mediocre Time
In case you’re spending your weekend under a rock, CM Punk was the leading news on Friday night. Personally, I wasn’t a huge fan of The Girl on the Third Floor, so I can’t say I was as psyched as others seemed to be, but I’m glad everyone had fun.…
READ MORE >mer Aug 14, 2021. 8 minute read
WWE Recap: On the D-List
I didn’t watch wrestling when John Cena was universally loathed and loved at the same time. In fact, I saw him in an episode of Psych before I ever saw him refuse to be seen. And yet even I can not deny the absolute joy I feel watching him sprint…
READ MORE >mer Aug 7, 2021. 9 minute read
WWE Recap: Who’s Left?
I don’t pretend to understand why WWE does the things they do; decisions seem to be made like a freshman year film major writing their first script. It’s whatever seems most shocking in the moment, regardless of how it will serve them in the long run. Last weekend, they released…
READ MORE >mer Jul 31, 2021. 9 minute read
WWE Recap: Boss is Back in Town
Covid numbers keep rising, rising, rising, and WWE keeps booking shows. While we can all agree wrestling with an audience is vastly superior to wrestling with a bunch of screens in the stands, lax mask mandates and close contact makes me just a bit anxious to watch Nikki celebrate in…
READ MORE >mer Jul 24, 2021. 8 minute read
WWE Recap: Missionary Problems
Fans have been back for 14 days, and it’s incredible to see how much the shows seemed to have improve. Quality wise, Raw is insistent on showing the same four matches every week, but at least now we get to hear real people shouting “What?” instead of piped in boos…
READ MORE >mer Jul 17, 2021. 9 minute read
WWE Recap: Ladies Love Moderately Unhinged Lashley
For the first time in 16 months, WWE talent performed in front of real people for a weekly show. What a time to be alive. While this crowd arguably would have clapped for anything, they got a pretty fun show on Friday night. A huge pop for Edge, a 30…
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