Greetings all, and welcome to another Divafied edition of the NXT Redux!~
Last time we saw each other, Sasha Banks finally realized her dream when she became the new NXT Womens Champion by defeating Charlotte, Bayley and Becky Lynch in a fatal-4-way. It was a beautiful moment that will surely be up for many year-end awards come December, but as we all know, The Boss doesn’t just sit around and take in the moment… she gets to work on making sure she has that title for as long as possible.
Tonight, she gets her first chance to impress as champion when she goes one on one with ol….. Blue Pants!
We’ve also got some appearances by Bayley, Becky Lynch and the hottest chick in the ring, Carmella, so let’s get underway!
Out to the ring we head, as JoJo (Please let this perfect woman step in the ring… PLEASE) announces our new Womens Champion, Sasha Banks, to the ring. The best theme song in wrestling history continues to play as the legit boss steps inside and gets ready for competition.
And her opponent…
BLUE PANTS! She has a tron! She has a blue text nameplate! She has a Big Cass style intro and theme song! I love everything. Including the fact she also has a few spiffy dance moves to boot! The crowd immediately chants for her, but Sasha is not impressed. Oh god, the fans can’t decide who to love. It’s about 50/50 between the two in a situation that seems almost unheard of before. Banks tries to politely request the rookie to exit her ring, as Blue Pants walks up and kicks Sasha out of the ring!
Another Blue Pants chant erupts, as she nails a drop toe hold and flips into a roll up for a one count. Sasha now tackles her to the floor and beats her down, then taunting the woman in blue and locking in a submission. Blue Pants finally breaks through and scores with a backslide… just for a two. Sasha now backs her into the corner and explodes with a vicious set of knees to the abdomen! Cover… one… two… no. Sasha lifts Blue-y up and proceeds to hit the backstabber into the Bank Statement! And Blue must tap out.
After a few replays, new interviewer (/POTENTIAL FUTURE RING ANNOUNCER THUS ALLOWING JOJO TO WRESTLE?!), Greg Hamilton asks Sasha what it means for her to be champion. She snatches the mic from him and lets everyone know that it means everyone, including Becky, Bayley and Charlotte, are going to have to admit that SHE’S the baddest Diva in all of NXT. Mic drop.
Backstage, we see Bayley being interviewed by the cameraman, as she recounts Takeover not being her night. However, she promises her time is coming.
Becky Lynch now fades into the picture and states that the fatal-4-way was the biggest match of her career and she gave it everything she had. She was so close to winning… and she would have won if not for Bayley. She’s happy Sasha won, but she’s extra happy Charlotte was the one who lost.
Right as Enzo Amore and Big Cass emerge victorious, Carmella heads into the ring to celebrate with them. Suddenly, they’re interrupted on the tron by champions, Blake and Murphy aka BaM aka Bad Ass Mutha aka The Dubstep Cowboys, who recall shocking the world by defeating The Lucha Dragons for the tag titles just a few weeks ago. Suddenly, they turn their sights to Carmella and ask if she wants to leave the two sewer rats in the ring for some real champions, she should come over to their side!
Carmella looks disgusted… but could her views change in time? We’ll find out as the weeks ago by.
Thoughts: I love everything about this week! Sasha being put in a match and looking as strong as she did was exactly what needed to happen the first week from winning the title as it assures her dominance and new found confidence was no fluke. Putting her against Leva was the perfect situation to make sure the crowd was invested, and I absolutely loved the dueling chants for the two. As far as the ring work itself, it was fairly short and to the point, but I actually admired that this week because it told the perfect story. Sasha was fresh off her win, and Blue Pants is basically the rookie who scored an upset, so it’s only natural that she would underestimate her and feel she wasn’t worthy to be in the same ring as her at the start of it. As the match went on and Leva got some offense in, Sasha immediately went into serious mode and took her back down. The self-break up after the knee to the abdomen was the perfect moment for Sasha to display her superiority in status, and I thought her promo after was very much appreciated. It didn’t say anything groundbreaking, but I will never complain when a Diva gets to rock the mic.
Also getting the brief Bayley/Becky videos was like icing on top of the cake. Charlotte not being present makes sense since she was the one who was pinned and she might need time to gather her thoughts, but having Becky and Bayley on, even if just these promos, is so appreciated as it lets us know they’re not done fighting to get the prize Sasha now has. I just love how serious they all are. They didn’t win, but they’re not going to give up. It took Sasha about 3 or 4 different attempts to finally secure the title, and so just because it didn’t work out this time doesn’t mean it won’t happen down the line.
And finally, the tag title feud is going to be excellent if handled right. Wesley Blake and Buddy Murphy are so good in the ring, but they’re also brand new to TV and so they need opponents who are going to elicit a reaction so that whatever they do gets a ton of boo’s and it can, in turn, help them to become a top heel group. The perfect way to handle this feud is actually happening, by involving Carmella as the object of their affection. They’ve seen the mishaps that have been caused between the trio, so why not capitalize on it and present Carmella with a new option? They have the titles, so that already should persuade her a bit considering she’s all about success and doing whatever benefits her status. I absolutely cannot wait to see this unfold, and I’m so glad Carmella will have a new type of role so that she’s still present on TV despite not fully being in the division just yet.
NXT, you’ve got me hooked this week and I am so ready for more!
