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| The Champ of the Hour all photos courtesy of WWE.com |
If you're reading #IV of the BGS, there are two things that are certain: you're probably having a better week than Clayton Kershaw, and you know that so far the ratings scoreboard reads Dynamite 2, NXT 0.
The ratings may only be a metric for those of us concerned about the future Vinceification of the program to further worry over, but it should be noted that this new era of NXT is still pumping out high quality shows, just longer. L'horreur: instead of one really good wrestling show on Wednesday nights, there are two! Next thing you know, al pastor will cure cancer and catapult me into a richly deserved and delicious immortality.
But NXT didn't choke in the postseason or taste like French kissing god with the right salsa on top: it started hot with a title match, ended with a hard-hitting affair between two undefeated superstars, and in between advanced a lot of plots on a multitude of fronts, sometimes within the same segment.
Let's come to collect!
GOLD (literally): Lio Rush
Having successfully incorporated it under their banner, the first thing NXT did with the Cruiserweight championship was give it the prestigious show opening spot (thus making the second consecutive week they kicked off with a title match), had Rush and now former champ Gulak put on one hell of a match, and then not only gave Rush the title clean but had Gulak grumpily break up William Regal's attempted coronation only to put the big purp on Rush himself and offer up a handshake before stomping off to the back.
Wrestling! What a concept!
While the match itself took two segments, it was all encapsulated in the opening 20 seconds or so that featured Gulak whiffing on a surprise dropkick at the bell followed by Rush hitting a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. It wasn't like he got run out of the building - Gulak, a wrestler's wrestler, has probably been too good for that this entire millennium - but Rush started off with the momentum and maintained it through most of the match, even figuring out a Bret Hart style reversal to the GuLock and briefly putting one of his own on.
Whatever problems he had with management earlier this year, it's clear they're positioning Lio now as one of the highlights of the show. Not only will it be interesting to see who they have him mix it up with on their roster in future title defenses, it'll be interesting to see if Gulak's time at Full Sail leads into his own incorporation of feuds and dream matches. Who knows, with Matt Riddle and TAFKA Big Stoke running around, could 2020 be the year we see a version of Catch Point on prime time network TV? It'll be interesting to see how Gulak's evolution in NXT continues.
Hey, speaking of Evolve-ing...
GOLD: Swerve, finally
On the off chance any of you readers were out there wondering why I was getting all Old Man Yells Because He Can't Figure Out the Cloud about Swerve not getting on TV, *gestures at this match*.
For some reason when I think about what this archtype of match is supposed to be, I remember a Edge/John Morrison match from SmackDown over a decade ago that fully established the latter's babyface bonafides in a plucky but eventually losing clean effort. With all that FOX and Saudi money coming in, they somehow couldn't afford to get the Lucha Underground alumnus his signature theme "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan and he didn't even get the benefit of pre-match mic work before he fought Roderick Strong. But no matter - the Full Sailors loudly and proudly proclaimed it Swerve's House before the initial collar and elbow tie up had even gone down and he lived up to that hype by landing high elevation before impactful kicks (that step up enzui single leg back kick should be a signature called the Killshot going forward for a multitude of reasons), went strike for strike with Roddy in the stiffest portion of the match, and it could be argued that the match was only lost after the rest of the Era came out for a distraction. (They didn't actually interfere, but their presence alone muddied the waters enough to open the door for Strong's closing four-signature flurry.)
Nothing against Jordan Myles, or Bronson Reed, or Angel Garza - hell, I even have nice things to say about Cameron Grimes later on (seriously) - but if anybody should've won that tournament and used it to propel himself into NXT's firmament, ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Swerve.
When Adam Cole post-match sarcastically told the faithful for Isaiah "Swerve" Scott", the applause and cheering that followed were anything but two-faced.
In fact, let's chop that up...
GOLD: UE v. the (NXT) World
The Champ also noted that as good as Swerve is, he wasn't on Roddy's level and like the rest of NXT the best of the best show up to Full Sail to see if they can hang with the Era and fall victim to an unrealistic dream that they can stop the golden prophecy. This brought the Velveteenest of Dreams out to...sadly, do the main roster babyface staple Fun With Photoshop! but also announce in two weeks' time that he'd be getting a title rematch to actually strip Rod Strong of the North American title and show the world why he just doesn't measure up.
Dream, the day after their wedding his wife was in a wheelchair. He's not called Roderick Weak, is what I'm saying.
Roderick's yelling about breaking Dream's back was cut off by the greatest song that Marilyn Manson never wrote, followed by Tommy Sports Entertainment arming himself with a steel chair in addition to a familiar looking crutch that suddenly made the Undisputed Era realize that they had yet to get their parking validated. (And man, Dream going after Goldie feels like it happened in another lifetime instead of last year, doesn't it?) All he had to say was "Goldie? Daddy's home." But it was more than enough, and poor Angel Garza getting in his face in the backstage segment after this sets up on this week's show what is sure to be a filleting of a ridiculously handsome man with an aversion to pants. And there are so few of us left in this world as it is!
This was ECWian in the best possible ways - previous feuds were furthered, weaved seamlessly between players, and even added some new wrinkles ahead of a new match without clearing its throat between transitions.
Also, if we don't somehow get two of the Era against a Velveteen/Swerve tag team, then this world is even more bullshit than previously suspected. Their names are the tag team name! It writes itself! (Though I'm super into this theoretical dyad being named Young, Black and Infamous since the Inner City Machine Guns are already taken and probably won't fly on USA airwaves.)
GOLD: the MAIN EVENT
You can tell a show's good when a main event delivers in the upper echelon and somehow is still slightly relegated by other matters on the show. But no need to wonder if KUSHIDA/WALTER is WORTH YOUR TIME, because it is. It's just that in this reality, Goliath took a few shots on the chin and then still slayed David. Hell, technically Der Ring General won with a short lariat, which just goes to further underscore the point made since he gained the WWEUK title earlier this year: this man has finishers because he wants to have finishers. Even a basic move with a man of his size can be a match ender, let alone against someone he outweighs by 100+, so the end could be coming from anywhere and could be anything, theoretically. In a similar bracket to the Swerve/Strong match, there was always a threat of Imperium getting involved on their leader's behalf, but he didn't even utilize them
The Full Sailors may have been chanting "WALTER's gonna kill you!" at various points during the match, but that's only because...well, the possibility of an accidental homicide was in play for both segments no matter how talented KUSHIDA is. And he did everything from mocking pats on the head to outright slaps, submissions via the cross-armbreaker and the Hoverboard Lock (even a flying Hoverboard Lock off the top rope in a stunning display of athleticism from both men) but the biggest moment in the match may have been a botched KUSHIDA springboard - assuming it wasn't just planned to look exactly like a stumble - that saw him lose his balance, stagger into the ring but still managing to land safely on his feet, only to turn around and get m e r k e d by a big boot that saw the champion standing tall while Special K's body was in the ring and his head was fallen back over the apron like a broken Pez dispenser. They could've ended the match right there and no one would've blinked, yet it happened at the outside of the second segment and the match continued on to garner the borderline mandatory NXT! and This Is Awe some! Chants
In fact, the only downside to this is that KUSHIDA has suffered a legitimate injury (not due to the match, it's believed, but still). Hopefully, it doesn't keep the Time Splitter away from the ring too long, because any excuse they have to put these two against each other is a fine one by me. As for the champ, if he's looking for something to do and someone to fight, well...
(yes yes for the love of Io's leather pants YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)
GOLD: Cameron Grimes? Cameron Grimes!
It looked like he was taking advantage of BOA's greenness and the general stupidity of referees when needed in this business to cause a distraction at the bell to give him an opening for his 1-Up Stomp finisher. It turned out that Killian Dain was actually coming to the ring, and he got the Stomp and 3 count before bailing out, leaving BOA to get pancaked by the Beast of Belfast and incurring no damage to himself or his top hat while putting another sub 15 second win in the books. Nothing he's shown so far has lived up to the Technical Savage nickname they seem desperate to get over, but he's not a moron. You take your wins where you can get them.
GOLD: Rhea Ripley and Bianca BelAir
Rhea came out to put the second L in Aliyah, culminating in a Gorilla Clutch (!) into a giant swing (!!) into a facebuster (!!!), all while maintaining the hold that eventually secured the victory. She waved on Vanessa Borne, who wisely opted to live and not step to my Australian girlfriend who is super real. She got on the mic to say that while Shayna had made everyone else tap, snap or nap, she hadn't done it to the former UK Women's champion and she was still coming after her.
Later in the show, it took Bianca far longer against the superior competition provided by Dakota Kai, but the returning Kiwi found herself on the receiving end of the Kiss of Death. After that detente, Bianca got on the mic herself to UH uh! away any ideas that someone else, let alone Rhea, was going to get another chance to off the Queen before her.
It's a testament to how deep NXT's waters are that before she said that I hadn't ever thought of a Ripley/BelAir match, and the millisecond she foreshadowed it I wanted it yesterday. Hell, worse comes to worse, l'horreur deux, we could get a Ripley/BelAir/Baszler triple threat match for Mrs. Goldie between three of the most talented competitors NXT's women's division has ever had. It'd also be interesting to see play out for the crowd reactions, as BelAir seems to be in full-on tweener mode and Ripley is basically a heel who's becoming a face by facing a greater evil.
GOLD: Equal Time
We're getting Lee/Dijakovic IV this week (say hallelujah! say amen!), and both men got stingers of their victories over the other and promising victory come Wednesday; likewise, while we all suspected the reason behind Damien Priest jumping Pete Dunne last week, both men got time ahead of their upcoming match also this week to deliver their respective points of the former looking to make his name live forever at the expense of the latter. Not everything needs to be a 10-minute monologue, and not everyone can deliver them. Well done all around.
Also, Lee/Dijakovic IV, y'all. I promise to not give a BLACK for the ensuing double countout or DQ that ensures the real rubber match takes place at the upcoming Takeover: WarGames. But into every spring, a little rain must fall, and the guiltiest parties this week are…
BLACK: Forgotten Son
They laid out the Above Average French Canadians, took their spot in a match against Breezango and won it. The Sons - well, the tag team iteration of them - aren't subpar. Their various double team backbreakers should set up a double team backbreaker finisher but Blake and Cutler are the Mechanics before they became the Revial. Jaxson Ryker, on the other hand, should be flung at the sun in order to properly gauge its temperature. At least when Aliyah shows up, it's to get someone else over. The Sons have been in this weird limbo for the past 18 months seemingly where they get pushed to a ceiling's extent, failing in every big opportunity they have while also somehow completely dominating every opportunity in every non-title match. And with the Era on top, there's not even an opportunity for them to be the dominant heel faction on the show, let alone in the tag division.
They beat Breezango after Ryker interfered. You're shocked.
---
So, outside of that, NXT more or less delivered a flawless weekly TV wrestling show. That seems to be going around lately; can't imagine why.
The important thing is that we all get to watch it and revel. One might even say - given the marquee match on tap this week - that we can bask in their glories.
One thing is for sure: NXT's growing, and so far has managed to avoid most of the pains. It's going to be great to see what comes together for the fourth iteration of the black and yellow's WarGames, even if I won't be in attendance this year.
The ratings may only be a metric for those of us concerned about the future Vinceification of the program to further worry over, but it should be noted that this new era of NXT is still pumping out high quality shows, just longer. L'horreur: instead of one really good wrestling show on Wednesday nights, there are two! Next thing you know, al pastor will cure cancer and catapult me into a richly deserved and delicious immortality.
But NXT didn't choke in the postseason or taste like French kissing god with the right salsa on top: it started hot with a title match, ended with a hard-hitting affair between two undefeated superstars, and in between advanced a lot of plots on a multitude of fronts, sometimes within the same segment.
Let's come to collect!
GOLD (literally): Lio Rush
Having successfully incorporated it under their banner, the first thing NXT did with the Cruiserweight championship was give it the prestigious show opening spot (thus making the second consecutive week they kicked off with a title match), had Rush and now former champ Gulak put on one hell of a match, and then not only gave Rush the title clean but had Gulak grumpily break up William Regal's attempted coronation only to put the big purp on Rush himself and offer up a handshake before stomping off to the back.
Wrestling! What a concept!
While the match itself took two segments, it was all encapsulated in the opening 20 seconds or so that featured Gulak whiffing on a surprise dropkick at the bell followed by Rush hitting a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. It wasn't like he got run out of the building - Gulak, a wrestler's wrestler, has probably been too good for that this entire millennium - but Rush started off with the momentum and maintained it through most of the match, even figuring out a Bret Hart style reversal to the GuLock and briefly putting one of his own on.
Whatever problems he had with management earlier this year, it's clear they're positioning Lio now as one of the highlights of the show. Not only will it be interesting to see who they have him mix it up with on their roster in future title defenses, it'll be interesting to see if Gulak's time at Full Sail leads into his own incorporation of feuds and dream matches. Who knows, with Matt Riddle and TAFKA Big Stoke running around, could 2020 be the year we see a version of Catch Point on prime time network TV? It'll be interesting to see how Gulak's evolution in NXT continues.
Hey, speaking of Evolve-ing...
 |
| We have a whole lot of superstars on this stage here tonight... |
GOLD: Swerve, finally
On the off chance any of you readers were out there wondering why I was getting all Old Man Yells Because He Can't Figure Out the Cloud about Swerve not getting on TV, *gestures at this match*.
For some reason when I think about what this archtype of match is supposed to be, I remember a Edge/John Morrison match from SmackDown over a decade ago that fully established the latter's babyface bonafides in a plucky but eventually losing clean effort. With all that FOX and Saudi money coming in, they somehow couldn't afford to get the Lucha Underground alumnus his signature theme "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan and he didn't even get the benefit of pre-match mic work before he fought Roderick Strong. But no matter - the Full Sailors loudly and proudly proclaimed it Swerve's House before the initial collar and elbow tie up had even gone down and he lived up to that hype by landing high elevation before impactful kicks (that step up enzui single leg back kick should be a signature called the Killshot going forward for a multitude of reasons), went strike for strike with Roddy in the stiffest portion of the match, and it could be argued that the match was only lost after the rest of the Era came out for a distraction. (They didn't actually interfere, but their presence alone muddied the waters enough to open the door for Strong's closing four-signature flurry.)
Nothing against Jordan Myles, or Bronson Reed, or Angel Garza - hell, I even have nice things to say about Cameron Grimes later on (seriously) - but if anybody should've won that tournament and used it to propel himself into NXT's firmament, ladies and gentlemen, I give to you Swerve.
When Adam Cole post-match sarcastically told the faithful for Isaiah "Swerve" Scott", the applause and cheering that followed were anything but two-faced.
In fact, let's chop that up...
 |
| He didn't say much. He didn't need to, either. |
GOLD: UE v. the (NXT) World
The Champ also noted that as good as Swerve is, he wasn't on Roddy's level and like the rest of NXT the best of the best show up to Full Sail to see if they can hang with the Era and fall victim to an unrealistic dream that they can stop the golden prophecy. This brought the Velveteenest of Dreams out to...sadly, do the main roster babyface staple Fun With Photoshop! but also announce in two weeks' time that he'd be getting a title rematch to actually strip Rod Strong of the North American title and show the world why he just doesn't measure up.
Dream, the day after their wedding his wife was in a wheelchair. He's not called Roderick Weak, is what I'm saying.
Roderick's yelling about breaking Dream's back was cut off by the greatest song that Marilyn Manson never wrote, followed by Tommy Sports Entertainment arming himself with a steel chair in addition to a familiar looking crutch that suddenly made the Undisputed Era realize that they had yet to get their parking validated. (And man, Dream going after Goldie feels like it happened in another lifetime instead of last year, doesn't it?) All he had to say was "Goldie? Daddy's home." But it was more than enough, and poor Angel Garza getting in his face in the backstage segment after this sets up on this week's show what is sure to be a filleting of a ridiculously handsome man with an aversion to pants. And there are so few of us left in this world as it is!
This was ECWian in the best possible ways - previous feuds were furthered, weaved seamlessly between players, and even added some new wrinkles ahead of a new match without clearing its throat between transitions.
Also, if we don't somehow get two of the Era against a Velveteen/Swerve tag team, then this world is even more bullshit than previously suspected. Their names are the tag team name! It writes itself! (Though I'm super into this theoretical dyad being named Young, Black and Infamous since the Inner City Machine Guns are already taken and probably won't fly on USA airwaves.)
 |
| What's Austrian for thank u, next? |
GOLD: the MAIN EVENT
You can tell a show's good when a main event delivers in the upper echelon and somehow is still slightly relegated by other matters on the show. But no need to wonder if KUSHIDA/WALTER is WORTH YOUR TIME, because it is. It's just that in this reality, Goliath took a few shots on the chin and then still slayed David. Hell, technically Der Ring General won with a short lariat, which just goes to further underscore the point made since he gained the WWEUK title earlier this year: this man has finishers because he wants to have finishers. Even a basic move with a man of his size can be a match ender, let alone against someone he outweighs by 100+, so the end could be coming from anywhere and could be anything, theoretically. In a similar bracket to the Swerve/Strong match, there was always a threat of Imperium getting involved on their leader's behalf, but he didn't even utilize them
The Full Sailors may have been chanting "WALTER's gonna kill you!" at various points during the match, but that's only because...well, the possibility of an accidental homicide was in play for both segments no matter how talented KUSHIDA is. And he did everything from mocking pats on the head to outright slaps, submissions via the cross-armbreaker and the Hoverboard Lock (even a flying Hoverboard Lock off the top rope in a stunning display of athleticism from both men) but the biggest moment in the match may have been a botched KUSHIDA springboard - assuming it wasn't just planned to look exactly like a stumble - that saw him lose his balance, stagger into the ring but still managing to land safely on his feet, only to turn around and get m e r k e d by a big boot that saw the champion standing tall while Special K's body was in the ring and his head was fallen back over the apron like a broken Pez dispenser. They could've ended the match right there and no one would've blinked, yet it happened at the outside of the second segment and the match continued on to garner the borderline mandatory NXT! and This Is Awe some! Chants
In fact, the only downside to this is that KUSHIDA has suffered a legitimate injury (not due to the match, it's believed, but still). Hopefully, it doesn't keep the Time Splitter away from the ring too long, because any excuse they have to put these two against each other is a fine one by me. As for the champ, if he's looking for something to do and someone to fight, well...
(yes yes for the love of Io's leather pants YUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS)
GOLD: Cameron Grimes? Cameron Grimes!
It looked like he was taking advantage of BOA's greenness and the general stupidity of referees when needed in this business to cause a distraction at the bell to give him an opening for his 1-Up Stomp finisher. It turned out that Killian Dain was actually coming to the ring, and he got the Stomp and 3 count before bailing out, leaving BOA to get pancaked by the Beast of Belfast and incurring no damage to himself or his top hat while putting another sub 15 second win in the books. Nothing he's shown so far has lived up to the Technical Savage nickname they seem desperate to get over, but he's not a moron. You take your wins where you can get them.
 |
| HEART EYES, MOTHERFUCKER |
GOLD: Rhea Ripley and Bianca BelAir
Rhea came out to put the second L in Aliyah, culminating in a Gorilla Clutch (!) into a giant swing (!!) into a facebuster (!!!), all while maintaining the hold that eventually secured the victory. She waved on Vanessa Borne, who wisely opted to live and not step to my Australian girlfriend who is super real. She got on the mic to say that while Shayna had made everyone else tap, snap or nap, she hadn't done it to the former UK Women's champion and she was still coming after her.
Later in the show, it took Bianca far longer against the superior competition provided by Dakota Kai, but the returning Kiwi found herself on the receiving end of the Kiss of Death. After that detente, Bianca got on the mic herself to UH uh! away any ideas that someone else, let alone Rhea, was going to get another chance to off the Queen before her.
It's a testament to how deep NXT's waters are that before she said that I hadn't ever thought of a Ripley/BelAir match, and the millisecond she foreshadowed it I wanted it yesterday. Hell, worse comes to worse, l'horreur deux, we could get a Ripley/BelAir/Baszler triple threat match for Mrs. Goldie between three of the most talented competitors NXT's women's division has ever had. It'd also be interesting to see play out for the crowd reactions, as BelAir seems to be in full-on tweener mode and Ripley is basically a heel who's becoming a face by facing a greater evil.
GOLD: Equal Time
We're getting Lee/Dijakovic IV this week (say hallelujah! say amen!), and both men got stingers of their victories over the other and promising victory come Wednesday; likewise, while we all suspected the reason behind Damien Priest jumping Pete Dunne last week, both men got time ahead of their upcoming match also this week to deliver their respective points of the former looking to make his name live forever at the expense of the latter. Not everything needs to be a 10-minute monologue, and not everyone can deliver them. Well done all around.
Also, Lee/Dijakovic IV, y'all. I promise to not give a BLACK for the ensuing double countout or DQ that ensures the real rubber match takes place at the upcoming Takeover: WarGames. But into every spring, a little rain must fall, and the guiltiest parties this week are…
BLACK: Forgotten Son
They laid out the Above Average French Canadians, took their spot in a match against Breezango and won it. The Sons - well, the tag team iteration of them - aren't subpar. Their various double team backbreakers should set up a double team backbreaker finisher but Blake and Cutler are the Mechanics before they became the Revial. Jaxson Ryker, on the other hand, should be flung at the sun in order to properly gauge its temperature. At least when Aliyah shows up, it's to get someone else over. The Sons have been in this weird limbo for the past 18 months seemingly where they get pushed to a ceiling's extent, failing in every big opportunity they have while also somehow completely dominating every opportunity in every non-title match. And with the Era on top, there's not even an opportunity for them to be the dominant heel faction on the show, let alone in the tag division.
They beat Breezango after Ryker interfered. You're shocked.
---
So, outside of that, NXT more or less delivered a flawless weekly TV wrestling show. That seems to be going around lately; can't imagine why.
The important thing is that we all get to watch it and revel. One might even say - given the marquee match on tap this week - that we can bask in their glories.
One thing is for sure: NXT's growing, and so far has managed to avoid most of the pains. It's going to be great to see what comes together for the fourth iteration of the black and yellow's WarGames, even if I won't be in attendance this year.
