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NXT returned last night (Apr. 10) with their filler post-TakeOver episode, taped prior to TakeOver: New York at the Barclays Center last Friday. You find the results at the live blog here.
Candice LeRae def. Aliyah
My biggest question regarding this match was who would win because that could give us a good indication of Candice LeRae’s plans. If Candice won, that would mean that she could finally be doing something more than playing a supporting character in her husband’s story. A loss could indicate that that she isn’t considered as an immediate major player in the women’s division.
She picked up the win in a perfectly fine, but ultimately forgettable, opening match. That doesn’t mean that she will be facing Shayna Baszler for the title next week. (Actually that honor goes to Kairi Sane.) But winning a match that has no ties to Johnny Gargano means she could be in that spot sometime soon.
Aliyah is definitely showing improvement now that she has found her new bougie heel character. Her ringwork is smoother, lacking the choppiness of her matches when she was just enhancement talent. Plus, she continues playing her character when the bell rings. Hopefully, this is the turn she needs to finally improve her game and move up the roster.
Velveteen Dream cuts a promo at WrestleMania where he talks some trash to Buddy Murphy when he walks by.
I will echo my man Sean’s opinion. Put this s*** in my veins.
Murphy is great and likely not getting the exposure he deserves on 205 Live. Dream is great as well. Let’s do it.
And we won’t have to wait long as it happens next week.
Jaxson Ryker def. Danny Burch
Ryker tries to attack Burch afterwards but Oney Lorcan intervenes. The numbers are still against them and they get beaten down by all the Forgotten Sons.
This match was pretty similar to the one Jaxson had with Lorcan the other week, and it was still pretty enjoyable. Ryker played his part again - look dominant, sell a bit at the end, pick up the win. It’s working so far. He’s better suited for shorter matches, which makes sense for a big power guy like him. He’s a man who takes care of his business quickly.
The post-match angle has me hopeful that despite Lorcan moving to 205 Live, he’s also going to stick around in NXT. Because this looks like it set up some tag action between the BritAm Brawlers and the Sons. That’s good because Oney Rules.
Shayna Baszler is interviewed post TakeOver and claims she’s never losing this title
There wasn’t much to this promo, but her “I’m never losing this title” has me wondering who is going to step up. She’s gone through much of the women’s division (though Io Shirai has never had a one on one match with her). Also, with Candice’s recent win, perhaps she’ll find herself in that title scene.
She has a match against Kairi Sane next week for the title, but it’s hard to imagine the Pirate Princess is winning it since they’ve told that story before.
Pete Dunne interviewed after his big loss at TakeOver. He claims there will be a rematch.
The most interesting thing about this promo wasn’t anything in the very short video but the fact they aired it on NXT TV. This was a UK feud that got a little spotlight on TakeOver, so we won’t see any fallout on this show. That being said, Pete had been a consistent character on this program for some time prior to the UK brand’s TV launch. And of course, it will get people to tune in to NXT UK to see said rematch if they are interested.
Adam Cole is frustrated after the loss and taking those frustrations out on the rest of the Undisputed ERA.
INTERESTING....
Usually these one minute fallout videos aren’t much of note. But seeing dissension within the ERA for the first time is not insignificant.
Sure, Cole just lost the biggest match of his NXT career and frustration is understandable. And sometimes people take their frustrations out on those around them. Maybe that’s just that and they’ll be fine the next time we see them.
But remember prior to the NXT title audible, the Undisputed ERA were on a bit of a losing streak. Perhaps we’re jumping back with that story, and this is a great hook for it.
The Street Profits def. the European Union
A good match between two good teams to close the filler show before the real business starts up again next week.
The Profits finally picked up a win, which has become a bit of a story with them. It’s story enough that commentary mentioned their recent skid. And while Mauro tries to put over the “more aggressive” Profits, it wasn’t obvious enough tonight that it felt like a satisfactory explanation for Ford and Dawkins finally picking up a win.
When a team loses enough, they usually have to change something to get it right. It was subtle and didn’t feel like rewarding enough of a change to explain stopping the skid. Of course, you can always argue that they’re always against good competition and finally won one. That’s how it is in real sports. So in the end, this is a nitpick.
What won’t be a nitpick is if they continue to book them the same way after this win. The Street Profits are full of charisma, and despite that, have seem to have been meandering in NXT. There was a comment in the preview that noted that their development also took place in EVOLVE, which is a good point. Now is it time to bring that to NXT?
This was your standard fallout show and in the end, a skippable show. But there was some enjoyable stuff for those who felt like they needed even more wrestling after last week. You know... masochists.
Grade: C+
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