All Things NXT:
NXT Episode 256 from 12/25/14 Edition
This was a nice surprise the way this episode was structured. It was the Best of NXT 2014 Highlight Show hosted by Corey Graves and Renee Young in an empty NXT arena. With the main event being a rematch from NXT TakerOver: R Evolution, Charlotte vs Sasha Banks for the NXT Women’s Championship. So Lets get right down to it.
The highlight show included: A look back at former NXT Wrestlers and the impact they have made on the main roster. Like, Paige, Summer Rae, Bo Dallas, Emma, Adam Rose, and Rusev along with Lana. A recap of NXT special events: ArRival and R Evolution. Backstage promos by the team of Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor. Kevin Owens himself, also had one. An interview with Bayley, as well as an update from Tyler Breeze to all the “Wanna Breeze(s)”. As I said before, this was a nice surprise. I really enjoyed the video packages that featured former NXT stars and the video package showcasing the high flying Lucha Dragons vs the very manly Vaudevillians. This video package actually got me excited to see a match that I have already seen and know the winner of. That is no easy task.
We saw Adrian Neville’s trip back to his hometown of Newcastle, England on the WWE European tour earlier this year and all that that entailed. As a big fan of the gravity defying brit, I thought that it was really cool to see how he became the man he is today.
What I thought was the most unexpected segment of this episode was: Curtis Axel going into GM William Regal’s office attempting to join NXT. Now, Regal said that he would look into it and that Axel would have to make an appointment so they can discuss this further. I think that this would be great to see. It would help Curtis Axel by “recharging his career” as he put it. I do have a few questions though. Will Axel become a full time member of the NXT roster? Or, will he be in the same role as Justin Gabriel and Titus O’Neil were by just showing a few times on NXT tv and working hard at the Performance Center? O'Neil and Gabriel also use the time to give their characters more depth in terms of not just being know as “That guy who was part of a popular tag team or an rebellious faction”. Now, Assuming that Axel does join NXT in some capacity will he do the same? Only time and the internet will tell.
Moving on to the main event of the evening the rematch for the Women’s Championship between the champion Charlotte and the challenger Sasha Banks. The Bossy Bostonian came to the ring with her Irish counterpart. I thought this was interesting because in both of their most recent matches, both of them came out alone. Becky Lynch was also sporting yet another new ring attire. I’m not sure who had more ring attires in their first 4 months in the WWE, Ryback or Becky Lynch? nonetheless, I digress. The Genetically Superior diva came to the ring with her 16 time world champion father. I was not expecting it to be as good as their previous match, and it wasn’t. However, it was still a very good match that was better than 90% of the divas matches on the main roster. Especially since, this was a filler match. This match was fast paced and high impact from the start. From knees hitting ring posts minutes into the match to superplex off the top rope to submissions from both divas that made them think twice about tapping out. That is exactly what Banks had to do when Charlotte locked in the Figure-Four Leg Lock well bridging her body to add even more pressure. Now, as I mention before, this was a filler match. It didn't feel like one though. The two female combatants showed off previous unseen moves. I was shocked that neither Flair or Lynch got physically involved in this match. They just cheered on the person they accompanied to the ring.
Overall this was an episode that had a lot of segments. However, it did not seem that rushed. You could tell that the production team put in effort to what every well could have been a throw away show. That just leave me with one last question. How will the New Year’s Day episode of NXT be structured? We already know that Hideo Itami and Finn Bálor will face the Ascension in a rematch. This is most likely Konnor and Victor’s last match in developmental.
Credit to all the people who own the photos in this blog post.
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