NXT Preview - May 16
NXT’s two day’s worth of taping begin to air, as the build to TakeOver: Chicago starts. Tonight’s episode is headlined by the 6 man tag between The Undisputed Era & Danny Burch, Oney Lorcan and Pete Dunne. How will NXT shape the card for their next major PPV? Let’s find out! I’m @Parkman15Love, here with your weekly NXT preview!
A recap of the May 9th episode:
- Ricochet promo is interrupted by Velveteen Dream.
- EC3 over Raul Mendozza
- Dakota Kai over Vanessa Bourne. Shayna Baszler comes out after and chokes out Bourne.
- War Raiders over Heavy Machinery
- Tommaso Ciampa over Kassius Ohno
Note: Spoilers are out there for tonight’s episode, including here! Coming soon to Win Column Sports.
The Main Event
Well, its not British Strong Style, but i’m definitely going to complain. Normally 6-man tags aren’t exciting, but rarely do they have the kind of talent involved in tonight’s main event. Pete Dunne teams with Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch to take on The Undisputed Era. Burch & Lorcan have long been an underused duo in NXT, and now with the freshly exclusive Danny Burch - is now the time they start to get their due? On the other end, it really seems the trio of Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong are coming into their own together.
They’re just such douchebags. I love it.
With a lack of viable challengers to the NXT Tag Team Champions, a win here could put Burch & Lorcan into the title conversation. Plus, any match featuring the Bruiserweight has my attention. This will be great, and I’m really into this storyline.
Other Segments
Tommaso Ciampa is still a dick. Water is still wet. After taking his loss to Johnny Gargano in a not-so positive way, he defeated Kassius Ohno last week in a stellar match. The bigger news was after the match though, as he choked out Ohno with his knee brace - just like how he lost to Johnny. WWE.com‘s official promo asks “What will Ciampa do next”? I love this feud. Not only has the wrestling - I mean, sports entertaining been fantastic - but they can develop their characters without the other there. It’s rare to see nowadays. Ciampa has come a long way from yelling at grandmothers, and moving onto bigger and better things like choking out your enemies with knee braces.
Shockingly, we’re going to see one of the (potentially) best feuds of the year - on free TV. Ricochet is scheduled to go one-on-one with Velveteen Dream. Even with little to no build, this should be extremely entertaining. Both are among the best workers in WWE today and will have a great match together, if what we saw in New Orleans is any indication. As well, they’ve been getting rave reviews from NXT house shows.
Mediocre at best, right?
My only hope is that this isn’t a one-off match for these two. I would love to see them build a feud with each other. If Velveteen can get a feud over by just wanting to hear his name be said, I’m very excited to see where they can go with each other here.
Also, Kona Reeves is still referring to himself as “The Finest”, and he’ll have a match tonight. His first match was… decent. Hopefully he continues to improve and get comfortable with his character.
The Championship Scene
Aleister Black officially doesn’t have a challenger, as Andrade “Cien” Almas made his Smackdown debut. I’m extremely intereste to see the direction they decide to go with this first challenger. There’s no shortage of options, but i am hoping they start the build semi quickly. The top title has been a bit too absent for my liking.
Shayna Baszler decided to continue to a bully last week and choked out Vanessa Bourne, while staring down Dakota Kai. Now, if i’ve learned anything from Alexa Bliss - bullies never win! The Baszler/Kai storyline has been good, and it’s good to see their slow burn finally come a bit more into fruition. People underestimate Dakota a little bit in-ring I think, but it may be a bit too early to have her carry a match between her and the inexperienced Baszler. However, I’m interested in this future program - and isn’t that the point?
My Thoughts
- If I do have one complaint about NXT, it’s that we’re STILL waiting on a real storyline for EC3. This guy is way too entertaining to keep off TV. Hell, why not stick him with Ohno, or even a lesser known talent like Fabien Aichner? Elevate both guys in the process?
- After an impressive win for Hanson and Rowe last week, what’s next for War Raiders?
- Staying in the Tag Division - TM61 is a whole lot more interesting after their semi-heel turn.
WWE Last 5:
- Smackdown Live Preview: May 15
- Monday Night Hayden: Preview of the 14/05/18 RAW
- Over the Top Rope: Colton Kelly Interview
- NXT Preview for May 9th
- Over the Top Rope: Episode V | The WrestleMania Extravaganza
