NXT: End of the Line - July 6, 2021
Alrighty, it’s been a long time but I’m going to start with where I believe I left off over on Wrestling Clique. The last edition of Black and Gold NXT - I’m very interested to see how we get going and deviate from the current status quo, to that of the 2.0 variety.
I’ve noted this previously, but I am a big fan of the layout and attention to detail. It helps tremendously as I’m sure you’ve noticed with the Pandemic Project, with providing additional context to the reader.
Starting off with the epic grudge match between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly is fascinating to me. Really nice touch with the Tale of the Tape-esque stats before the write-up. I imagine that the Three Strikes match is essentially a Best of Three Falls type deal? It’s interesting that you got things off with O’Reilly scoring the first fall via submission, as typically one would expect the heel to lead things off, particularly where Loser Leaves Town is the stipulation in question. It’s good to be different. And I understand now as I read - one must lose three times. I feel like I could have used a refresher of the rules for this before the match, to nitpick. Wonderful false finish with O’Reilly nearly succumbing to the superkick-trash can spot. I was expecting O’Reilly to win, if for no other reason, it’s probably by and large time for Cole to advance to the main roster. I’m a little unsure about how the match was booked, but if it was intended to propel Kyle into a headline act come the new era, it definitely worked. Great write-up, straight down to none of the lame handshake stuff you tend to expect from such an outcome.
Hah, I guess Bobby Fish is working on an intellectual gimmick of sorts. I think the jury’s still out on how this goes. I mean, he is Infamous after all. C’mon folks…where’s the lie?
I won’t lie, I was never too big a fan of the Way as a faction. I get what it was trying to accomplish, with a family of sort - but it never felt organic to me outside of Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. At least it was colorful, though. I wouldn’t mind seeing Austin Theory spend longer in NXT and potentially building up to leaving the new era inbound. Dexter Lumis and Oney Lorcan on the surface feels like a styles clash, but in Extreme Rules I’m sure there will be some purpose served.
Oh jeez, I do hope that we move past this bullshit with Mei Ying, Xia Li and Boa. It was too campy for me, and definitely didn’t fit in with what the rest of the product was doing at the time. It did however serve the purpose of providing Raquel Gonzalez with a defense of the NXT Women’s Championship. It also furthered the score with Mercedes Martinez and the Ancient Contingent. The tease of Raquel against Mercedes was the most interesting thing to come from this segment, personally speaking.
You got William Regal’s dialogue down to a tee with that promo, and I really like that his purpose here was to provide NXT with Nigel McGuinness as his replacement General Manager. I suspect it comes after the way NXT TakeOver: In Your House went off the air, which is good continuity. The only thing I didn’t like in Nigel’s speech was the Ring of Honor name drop. Good preview for NXT Evolve, as well. I wouldn’t additionally mind seeing the use of Nigel eventually lead to the merger with the NXT UK brand. I think that’s the only base you’re missing, it would be pretty cool to read what’s happening across the pond, even in passing. LA Knight’s interruption was a nice touch, craving power. It did feel like a simple way to get him on the card, considering he didn’t even get attacked by Finn Balor or Samoa Joe. I suspect the idea behind Finn and Joe is to pay homage to Sting and Ric Flair on the final WCW Monday Nitro.
I have and will always be a big fan of the Grizzled Young Veterans.They’re just fantastic. I can’t say I’m too shocked at MSK picking up the victory here, being the posterboys for the NXT Tag Team Championship division headed into the new era. I wonder what tag teams we’ll be seeing coming in to threaten their six month reign.
Mansoor is an interesting character, given he’s very likable, but I did get the feeling you portrayed him a little heelish here. Maybe we’ll see the Maximum Male Model a year early? Either way it sets up Kushida’s next NXT Cruiserweight Championship defense. Coming after Mustafa Ali, I’m intrigued as to whether there will be some sort of collusion between the challengers. Kushida is a natural in the fighting champion role.
The Hit Row and Legado del Fantasma match was everything it needed to be. The babyface stable establishing supremacy over NXT was fine, though I do feel like Isaiah Scott is above Top Dolla and Ashante Adonis. Maybe it comes after seeing what Scott can do in AEW, and seeing Hit Row flounder on the main roster in real life.
I like the sound of NXT Evolve’s line-up. A little research tells me Zayda Ramier is A.Q.A. Let’s hope she’s at least ready to be in a match with Toni Storm. Perhaps that’s what the purpose of this show is, to showcase the more perennial talents still developing. I bet Carmelo Hayes and Leon Ruff would be a fun match, actually. Next week’s NXT looks pretty good for a relaunch, though it feels like the same brand with a different lick of paint on the surface. Let’s hope to see a more organic insertion of new talents, as opposed to what NXT 2.0 ended up really doing, and ramming 20 randos through the door at a time. Transition is everything.
It simply makes sense to unify the two top singles prizes in NXT, the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championships. Brilliant write-up on this match, as Bronson Reed looks to lead the charge into the relaunch of the brand. It was truly time for Karrion Kross to lose the title, as it was time for his promotion to the main roster. I did like Mauro Ranallo’s one night return to the announce position, but if I could have changed one thing, it would have been to keep Finn Balor and Samoa Joe away from this closing segment. Enough was already going on, I thought. Great way to go off the year with a lot of respect for William Regal. Let’s hope there’s an inkling of a chance of him returning when young Charlie Dempsey rears his head.
As always, strong work in the write-up here. I’ve been waiting to review this show for a while, since Wrestling Clique last year. I realise this show is nearly a month old, but I felt simply starting by reviewing NXT Evolve would not do this piece of work justice. I’ll be reviewing NXT Evolve this weekend.
