Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: July 20, 2021
There was a lot to like about NXT on USA this week and a lot that made my head itch. Samoa Joe and William Regal, being the veteran pros they are, brought great intensity to the exchange that started the show but wtf were they talking about?
It’s okay for Karrion Kross to choke out Joe since Joe was a ref? Is that not the provocation Regal said when Joe became his “enforcer”? How is it not? He never explained that.
KUSHIDA and Bobby Fish defeated Diamond Mine
Cruiserweight champion KUSHIDA teamed with Bobby Fish to beat the Diamond Mine team of Roderick Strong and Tyler Rust. Good match, but the match was way too long for what is an underneath feud that just got started. KUSHIDA tapped Rust with a Hoverboard Lock. Is he done with open challenges since losing to Kyle O’Reilly a couple of weeks ago?
Welcome Back, Drake Maverick!
A funny segment with Drake Maverick (welcome back to TV) coming to the defense of Cameron Grimes, who seems to enjoy being LA Knight’s butler. They really love booking matches in the parking lot. Good thing a camera crew is always out there.
Franky Monet defeated Jacy Jayne
Franky Monet beat Jacy Jayne. Jayne got in too much offense. Mandy Rose showed up. Nothing says “Our women’s division is too good and we need to bring it down” more than adding Mandy Rose.
Kyle O’Reilly defeated Austin Theory
O’Reilly runs up on Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory and gets himself a match with Theory (TF is Regal’s job?). O’Reilly won in a very good match. This looks to be the start of a slow build face turn for Theory as well as continuing the build for O’Reilly as the top face of the brand.
The Best Slow Boil Thing in NXT
Solid promo from Women’s champion Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai. After that last little glance from Kai, Gonzalez vs Kai is definitely on the table and soon. This is the best slow-boil thing they have going.
Hit Row vs Legado Del Fantasma (on the mic)
I got nothing for the exchange between Hit Row and Legado del Fantasma. The top two heel factions in NXT against each other? Cool. But the actual execution this week? Nah.
Normally talent showing up during the show is one of the stupidest WWE cliches they do but hey, maybe Karrion Kross had a late flight from that loss on Raw back to Orlando. It could happen. They need to explain it though.
Odyssey Jones defeated Andre Chase
Odyssey Jones had matches on their 205 Live show? TF? Jones beats the veteran Andre Chase in their first-round Breakout Tournament match-up. Good TV match but we knew what it was since Jones got a video package earlier, Chase didn’t.
Drake Maverick defeated LA Knight
Knight was upset by Maverick in their match. Mostly shenanigans to keep Knight vs Grimes going with Knight wanting Grimes to beat Maverick down after the match and Grimes doing so begrudgingly. I might have been the only one but I was chanting “TNA! TNA!” during this one.
Main Event: Raquel González (c) defeated Xia Li
for the NXT Women’s Championship
A good main event that saw Gonzalez successfully defend her Women’s Championship against Li. The action was good but they made a mess of that ending. If Li was hurt legit, stop the match, Gonzalez wins by ref stoppage. If it’s a work, stop the match, Gonzalez wins by ref stoppage.
That long pause killed all the momentum of the match.
Joe then stepped all over Gonzalez moment, rushing out to challenge Kross again. Kross isn’t there but he is on the big screen, where for some reason, he’s choked out William Regal. Now, why TF would he do that?
It was a good show that petered out at the end.
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