Remember when Spring Break meant something? You know, before you became an adult with a job and bills to pay? Those were the days.
NXT wants to take you back in time with Spring Breakin’. Claire is doing what she does best, chronicling every punch, kick, and powerslam, while I’m using my noggin to tell you what it all means.
Let’s talk Spring Breakin’!
This the Year of the Grimey fella, Ragtime
Is Cameron Grimes a true champion or just a guy who got lucky? That was the question going into Spring Breakin’. The Grimey one, in an effort to prove himself, took on Solo Sikoa and former North American champ Carmelo Hayes in a triple threat match.
How could it not be dope, right?
As assumed by anyone with eyes, this match, unlike the post office lately, delivered. It started with Carmelo throwing shots at both men, as he usually likes to assert his dominance as soon as we hear the ding. Rather than team up against the A Champ—yup, still calling him that—Solo and Cameron quickly turned to fight each other the second Hayes was out of the picture. Melo’s insistence at beating everyone at their own game defined his run as champion. Grimes, at least so far, is focusing on doing everything on his own. His emotional motivation for obtaining NXT’s prettiest belt motivates him to prove to his deceased father that he really can carry his own. Admirable if maybe a tad foolish, but I get it. In fact, that very idea of doing it dolo played into the ending.
But we’ll get there.
While the first two acts of the match were good, the third act took it into greatness territory. Yes, we got false finishes and awesome counters, like Melo countering the Cave In with a Codebreaker or Sikoa just overpowering both men with ease, but it was the build to these moves that made a difference. Every gesture felt important and like a realistic ending. The actual ending, however, was indicative of the man Cameron Grimes wants to be as champion, and the fact a match of this caliber is still new-ish territory for Solo.
Sikoa lost track of Grimes and hoisted Hayes onto his shoulders for a Samoan Drop. Grimes, out of nowhere, hit Sikoa with a Cave In from the top rope, stunning the solo act and discombobulating the A champ.
1-2-3. Cameron Grimes retains in his first big test as North American champ. The crowd, and this writer—sorry, Sean—were incredibly satisfied.
Now, what does it all mean for the two losers? Solo took the pin, meaning Melo has an out for a one-on-one rematch IF they choose to go that direction. I think it’s time for him to move on to bigger and better things. Especially if it means giving Bron Breakker something good to do as an act of redemption for this travesty of an angle with Joe Gacy. Solo proved he can hang with the big boys, so look for him to stay in this title picture for the foreseeable future.
Extracurriculars
Diamonds Aren’t Forever
Malcolm Bivens is no more and the Diamond Mine continues coming a part at the seams. Before we get to that, the tag match between the Brothers Creed and the Viking Raiders was quite the slobberknocker. The main story was the Creeds looking for redemption after their loss in the tag gauntlet a couple weeks ago.
And they were on the verge of doing just that. They refused to give up or give in, taking every shot the Raiders threw their way. Ivar and Erik even isolated Brutus for several minutes and gave him the beating of a lifetime. Ivar power bombed Erik onto Brutus, followed by Ivar taking to the skies for a gigantic splash. Even with all that, Brutus refused to quit.
The Creeds eventually got the W but it was thanks to Roderick Strong’s interference. Neither the ref or the Creeds saw Strong, so Julius and Brutus were beside themselves when they saw the replay.
This is the way for Roddy to exit the Mine eventually. Who gets to beat him down or beat him in a match to send him on his way? I wish the answer was Ivy Nile but something tells me it won’t be her.
Frazer FTW
Nathan Frazer. That’s the guy who gave the crowd something to cheer about when he defeated Grayson Waller, public enemy #1. And it was quite the match as well. While the ending didn’t completely do it for me, as Andre Chase blew an air horn that threw Grayson off of his game, it was a great moment watching Frazer get the pin and the W.
Not Quite a Team
Nikkita Lyons and Lash Legend wrote another chapter in their feud this week. Nikkita teamed with Cora Jade while Lash hooked her wagon to the star that is Natalya. And it was a fun match with plenty of emotion from all women involved. At times, it seemed like both teams really disliked each other, which I always appreciate.
Two things here: Nikkita can really move in that ring and is incredibly agile. Two, the ending played perfectly into Nattie’s arrogance. While Lash had an upper hand, Nattie went the extra unnecessary mile and dropkicked her partner instead of her opponent. That was the start of the ending for Lash and Nattie, killing all of their momentum.
Cora Jade picked up the win for her team.
This is Stupid
Bron Breakker and Joe Gacy’s feud is, to quote the late great Big Punisher, “triznash.” That’s “trash” for you non rap fans. I hoped against hope their NXT Championship match might salvage their beef. Yeah, it didn’t. Not only was the match incredibly abrupt, but it had no pop. Nothing was sloppy, their timing was good, and they did what they needed to do. But the chemistry was barely existent and the story going into the match just made it even more of a dud.
I don’t blame either man for that. Their hands were tied going into this match. To say nothing of the fact they only had about 10 minutes to tell a story which really isn’t anything for a world title match.
Making matters worse, the ending! Besides the fact the match just ended on the flattest of flat notes, we got more people in hooded robes. Did they do anything? Who knows. The camera cut off before we got to see if they attacked Bron or if Bron attacked them or if they’re a part of Gacy’s spooky entourage.
The whole thing is a mess and it was an awful way to end a pretty good show.
Le boo.
Godfather Part IV
I’m always down for mafia stuff. Even if it’s silly mafia stuff with no defined stakes. What “business” are Santos Escobar and Tony D’Angelo warring over? Not entirely sure. Taking over NXT? Are they working on some importing/exporting business? It’s undefined but I love seeing it in action. Even if it went a tad too long and both guys started repeating themselves.
There was no truce, even though both parties agreed to one. LdF kidnapped—of course—AJ Galante in a...parking lot...after their meeting. Not even getting my hopes up there’s a resolution here.
High School High
Stella and I joke about NXT feeling like a high school movie or sitcom at times. We got that in full effect this week with anything involving Toxic Attraction and Wendy Choo. Wendy ruined Mandy’s visit to a tanning salon, and then Choo and Roxanne Perez ruined Jacy Jayne and GiGi Dolin’s beach trip.
Nope, not feeling it. The main storylines for the most important belts in NXT are barely written for children.
This was an uneven show. It started off incredibly, as NXT often does. But was inconsistent at best afterwards, with a terrible main event that, sadly, looks like one battle of a prolonged and agonizing war between Bron and Gacy.
Grade: C-
That’s my grade and I’m sticking to it. Your turn.
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