Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: January 18, 2022
NXT 2.0 Episode 655 kicks off with LA Knight pulling up just as the show starts. Knight heads to the ring, being nice to everyone he passes and calls out Grayson Waller. Knight as a babyface is an interesting look. I’m interested. Knight vs Waller some more? Not interested at all. Waller comes out and shows he has a restraining order so I assume it applies to me too and hit fast forward.
Grayson Waller defeated Dexter Lumis
This leads right into Waller facing Dexter Lumis. It was okay. All the normal beats you get with a WWE TV match. Waller wins with some assistance from his new bodyguard, Saurav (who they didn’t name so I expect them to give him a new name this week). They’re really behind Waller to match him with vets like Lumis all the time. I miss Dexter Lumis being good TV.
The Creed Brothers defeated Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen
In the first round (or quarterfinal) of the Dusty Cup Tag Tournament, Julius and Brutus Creed of the Diamond Mine beat Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen.
This was pretty good. Four big young guys with a veteran like Briggs to keep it on course. No one trying to be too cute. I liked this one.
Commentary was as bad as they’ve ever been. Just yammering on and not really even calling the match.
Dante Chen vs Guru Raaj
Dante Chen is back and they scripted him to be boring and get beat up by Duke (ugh) Hudson in his return. Good luck to him.
Pretty basic backstage face-off with NXT champion Bron Breakker and Santos Escobar. A good way to get that started.
The Show Runs Off the Rails
The show runs completely off the rails with Tony D’Angelo and his funeral for Pete Dunne. North American champion Carmelo Hayes and the insufferable Trick Williams cutting him off and Cameron Grimes interrupting them. Fast forward.
Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon got a video package. Uh…okay. More terrible, awful, horrific scripting but good luck to them.
Ivy Nile defeated Kay Lee Ray
Ivy Nile vs Kay Lee Ray? Maybe we get back on track here. The match was pretty solid. Never got out of second gear but looks like something that could be good down the road. NXT Women’s champion Mandy Rose came down, Nile pinned Ray. The rest of Rose’s Toxic Attraction mates–tag champs Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne–came down for a three on one beatdown on Ray, who was saved by Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. Yawn. Nothing about this looks appealing.
I never disliked Sarray before. I did this week. That was bad bad.
Malik Blade and Edris Enofé defeated Legado del Fantasma
Huge upset as Malik Blade and Edris Enofé beat the Legado del Fantasma team of Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Short match. Nice to see the youngsters get a win even if it’s the second win that looks more like a fluke than them doing something. They got Leon Ruff’s gimmick.
Dakota Kai defeated Yulisa Leon
Dakota Kai, still letting My Little Pony do her hair, beat Leon in an okay match. Even with Feroz ringside (and helping her), Leon lost. She’s not quite ready for TV matches except one-sided squashes.
Main Event: WALTER defeated Roderick Strong
The main event saw WALTER face Roderick Strong of the Diamond Mine in easily the best thing on the show. As usual, when they want to do something legitimately good, they rely on their veterans. “The Ring General” pins Strong with an emphatic powerbomb. Very good match.
WALTER grabs the mic and announces his new name is GUNTHER and a brawl kicks off with WALT—GUNTHER’S Imperium and the Diamond Mine to close the show. GUNTHER. The show lasted 2 minutes too long.
A mediocre show at that but with a couple of good matches.
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Reviews by Dave is the best wrestling review on the internet! It’s written by David Houston II, who writes about WWE NXT 2.0, AEW Dynamite, and IMPACT Wrestling.
