WWE NXT preview (Sept. 28, 2021): Breakk on through

NXT 2.0 returns tonight (Sept. 28) live from the newly remodeled WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

Advertised for the show:

• Raquel González (c) vs. Franky Monet for the NXT Women’s championship
• Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne) vs. Io Shirai & Zoey Stark (c) for the NXT Women’s Tag titles
• B-Fab vs. Elektra Lopez in a No Disqualifications match
• Roderick Strong (c) vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT Cruiserweight championship
• Indi Hartwell & Dexter Lumis’ honeymoon

As usual, here are our five questions about NXT tonight:

1) How soon will Bron Breakker be NXT champ?

Follow up question... is now too soon? Yes and no.

There’s little question Breakker is the early breakkout star of NXT 2.0, and it seems WWE knew that would be the case. He’s been positioned as a main event player from the first episode of the reboot, and audiences have accepted him. Voices ranging from CM Punk to Jim Cornette are on-board with Rick Steiner’s boy.

I’m also not entirely ready to backtrack on my plea from last Tuesday that they not rush the wrestlers they just debuted on television. And Bron could definitely use more seasoning. I’m not sure he needs so much that they couldn’t let him gain experience while wearing a belt, though.

So why not strike while the iron is hot? That’s kind of the point of the new NXT, right? I’m not ready to have Breakker show up at Survivor Series and pin Roman Reigns or anything, but a run atop this show would be a great way to see if he can sustain his initial buzz under a brighter spotlight. In the process, it would probably reveal whatever holes he might have in his game that need to be fixed before he is promoted to Raw or SmackDown.

The storyline is already in motion, as Bron’s made it clear to Tommaso Ciampa that while he won’t stab him in the back, he does want the belt. Don’t be surprised if he has it in a month or so.

2) Who, if anyone, should make the jump to Raw or SmackDown in the upcoming draft?

There’s talk that NXT stars will be included in the Oct. 1 & 4 draft... so who’s it gonna be? Will we see longtime members of the Tuesday night roster move up? Or will they move some of the folks we’ve only just met since the black-and-gold brand went technicolor?

My guess is the latter, and someone like Bron or Von Wagner will get the Omos treatment. But I also wouldn’t be shocked if Kyle O’Reilly was in the 24/7 title scene next month. It’s also well past time Io Shirai showed up on the main roster to challenge a Charlotte Flair or Sasha Banks, and a Tag title loss tonight could signal that’s finally going to happen.

We’ll know by next week.

3) Is NXT 2.0 going to push the limits of the PG rating like this promo makes it seem they might?

It’s never a good idea to wade into YouTube comments, but I peaked under this commercial and there are a lot of people who seem to be hoping this means they’ll soon be seeing bra & panties matches on NXT 2.0.

That’s never going to happen, not in 2021 from a publicly traded company. But WWE seems to be trying to give those fans a little something-something with their presentation of “Ladies Night”, and maybe even with Mandy Rose’s new Toxic Attraction stable.

And there’s a lot of ground in between using a little sexiness to sell the product and straight-up objectifying the women’s roster. We’ll find out more from tonight’s episode than we will from a 30 second spot. My guess is that, aside from some flashier outfits and Rose, Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne reheating old Beautiful People material about deserving to be champs because they’re hot, NXT 2.0 will remain PG.

4) How violent will the No DQ match get?

A good way to signal we won’t be having lingerie pillow fights on Tuesday nights any time soon? Let the ladies of Legado Del Fantasma and Hit Row beat the crap out of each other tonight. Considering this will be the first time we’ve seen B-FAB work more than a few minutes on television, making liberal use of hardcore props is probably a good idea.

The stipulation also allows for both stables to get involved, which is good because as enjoyable as it’s been, it’s time to move Santos Escobar and Swerve Scott toward the end game of this program.

5) When will see Joe Gacy again?

Gacy’s “woke” character seems to have been cancelled by WWE after it was embraced too enthusiastically by those on the opposite side of the political spectrum from what Joe’s gimmick was satirizing.

While that may be for the best... NXT 2.0 can probably stand to sit out the culture wars... it sucks for Gacy. Does he have another idea ready to roll? Or does the way WWE scrubbed his segment off the internet after Fox News and others picked up on it mean he’s going to sitting on the shelf for a while?

Give us your questions and answers in the comments below. Then join us in our live blog, and we’ll see what Qs and As tonight’s show gives us.