Reviews by Dave
By David E Houston II
Show air date: August 3, 2021
NXT on Syfy (this week) had some good stuff but felt like a show that was just there, like the 4th and 5th hours of Raw.
Hit Row defeated Legado Del Fantasma via DQ
While it’s still functionally a heel vs heel feud, Capitol Wrestling Center fans have picked Hit Row as their favorites over Legado del Fantasma in their feud. Good tag match with Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza losing to Top Dolla and Ashante Thee Adonis by disqualification. Legado got some heat with an after-match beatdown but then Hit Row got it back. They should have just cut it before Hit Row got any payback.
Ridge Holland defeated Ikemen Jiro
Ridge Holland made his in-ring return after 10 months, destroying Ikemen Jiro. Still wrestling in that jacket, Jiro? You deserve an ass-whooping. He got it. Solid promo from Holland’s ally, Pete Dunne, afterward.
Roderick Strong defeated Bobby Fish
In the Undisputed Era undercard feud, Roderick Strong beat Bobby Fish. It was okay. Some good, physical work. Just never had much steam to it.
I do like the Diamond Mine gimmick. They’re doing a great job of emulating an MMA team/corner in every aspect of their ring walk and entrance. It’s a good look for Strong.
Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Knight and Grimes
LA Knight decided to sit out his tag match with his “butler” Cameron Grimes against Grizzled Young Veterans, leading to a relatively quick victory for James Drake and Zack Gibson, who should be talking about a title shot.
Kai is Right!
Great package on Dakota Kai and her rivalry with her former friend/tag partner, NXT champion Raquel González. We knew it was coming and it’s here and so far, it’s good. Dakota is right. She can’t dress worth a Bastdamn, but Raquel is a bad friend and Kai is no one’s sidekick.
Trey Baxter defeated Joe Gacy
Trey Baxter was the only one of the two men in the NXT Breakout Tournament match this week so of course, he beat Joe Gacy.
Cringeworthy Comedy
As per most of this episode, the comedy in the Zoey Stark/Io Shirai segment was cringeworthy. Why was Stark thrown by Shirai ordering in Japanese? Did she think she was Nigerian? Colombian? Alabaman?
Big Fight Feel!
Some good business giving the NXT: UK title match between WALTER and Dragunov some US tv time. It was intense. They made it feel like a big fight.
Cruiserweight champion KUSHIDA agrees to defend against Strong. Whenever they do that, new champion.
Main Event: Johnny Gargano defeated Dexter Lumis
With Indi Hartwell’s “heart” on the line, Johnny Gargano beat Dexter Lumis.
Are we sure they haven’t rehired Vince Russo? Really sure? This week in WWE TV has had some real Russo vibes and not in the slightest good way.
The match was okay at best, which is unfortunate considering the talent involved. They even made Beth Phoenix worse on commentary as she really leaned into trying to sell this ridiculous angle.
This episode started off promising and had some good wrestling in the first hour and some great video/promo packages but limped to the finish. They don’t have a choice but to be better next week.
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