Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: May 4, 2021
Isaiah Scott defeated Leon Ruff
Swerve Scott beat Leon Ruff in what should be the blow-off to their feud, this time in a great falls-count-anywhere match. WWE gave this midcard feud time, and I think both guys came out of it better off. The sole knock was with production as they used the angle that showed Ruff diving onto AJ Francis’ arms, so it doesn’t look like Francis surprised him as it did live.
Cameron Grimes defeated Asher Hale
Cameron Grimes beat Asher Hale. Solid.
Funny Enough Segment
Funny enough segment with North American champ Johnny Gargano, Austin Theory, and Scarlett, all meeting with GM William Regal.
Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa defeated Grizzled Young Veterans
I usually like Grizzled Young Veterans–Zack Gibson and James Drake–doing their own intro and throwing in a hot promo but this one felt weak and unnecessary as they were set to face Timothy Thatcher (70s Mid Atlantic Wrestling in boots) and Tommasso Ciampa (no longer looking like his wife put him out and his barber quit). Good match. Tommy and Timmy ate GYV up pretty good to the point GYV probably should have won but they didn’t. I can’t believe they brought back the old “hit them with a dress shoe” finish like it’s 1995 WCW. Is JJ Dillon booking for them?
Some More Mid-Talking
NXT champion Karrion Kross’ state of the union address wasn’t really going anywhere then Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Finn Balor came out, doing some more mid-talking. It got good when dudes started sucker punching each other, capping off with Gargano and Theory laying Kross out. After Kross beats another champ for the brand, they need to move some of these long-time NXT guys.
Sarray defeated Zayda Ramier
Sarray defeated Zayda Ramier in a nice match that was mostly Sarray, as it should be. Ramier really is in the Ruff spot for the women: always looking for the “upset” and with some tremendous overly exaggerated facial expressions. Sarray won with an exploder suplex and made it clear no one at commentary knew what to call it.
LA Knight defeated Jake Atlas
LA Knight beat Jake Atlas. It was fine.
Should Have Been Good But…Eh
NXT Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez’s face-off with Mercedes Martinez should have been good but…eh. The title match next week should be good. The only other funny segment this week was with Grimes and Ted Dibiase.
Main Event: The Way defeated Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart (c)
for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
The Way–Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell–won the NXT Women’s tag titles over defending champs Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in a street fight. Some good work, some sloppy work, typical contrived, unnecessarily dangerous spots you see in these matches. Seen one, seen them all. I hope they break Blackheart and Moon up as it really seems like Shotzi is an anchor around Moon’s ankle.
Good finish with LeRae hitting her Wicked Stepsister move on a steel chair. I was glad they did no Dexter Lumis nonsense here. NXT is the last WWE show still doing overruns. Why? Good overall show with not nearly as many weaknesses as it often has. Finally getting on the right path after some really slow weeks.
Thanks for reading!
