‘ello everyone, and welcome to this week’s NXT Redux (aka the last time you’ll have to put up with me).
Last time we met, a triple threat stole the show and crowned Becky Lynch the number one contender to Sasha’s Women’s title. Will the former Baes come to blows tonight? And will Bayley/Emma see continuation? Let’s find out.
First up, we head to a video where Becky Lynch explains that winning the NXT Women’s Title is the proof that she needs to show everyone that she can back up her belief to being the best Diva in NXT. It’s everything for her, and it’s going to be the crowning moment to a ton of hard work that started in a small gym at the age of 15. She didn’t leave home at 17 to go to Canada or train in Japan to simply be second best or just another face in the crowd. She did it because she wants to be number one. That’s her title and this is her empire. The era of N-Bex-T is upon us.
Next, we find Devin Taylor speaking to Bayley ahead of her match against Dana Brooke. Bayley explains that she can’t find any of her extra gear for the night and heads off in a panic… just as Emma pops onto the scene with Bayley’s headbands. She puts one on Devin and explains that she’ll have to go give the goodies to Bayley. Hmm.
Time for some ring action as Bayley spins out and enters the venue. The crowd goes psychotic for Bayley (as they should), before being interrupted by her opponent, the one and only recently debuted Dana Brooke. This theme song is so beautiful. JoJo provides intros as Dana comes off much better with her entrance this week. The bell rings as Dana gets a wristlock early on. They exchange holds, looking for added pressure to attain momentum as Dana ultimately gets slammed in the corner. The fans continue getting behind Bayley, who drop toe holds Dana and spins around to a huge ovation. She misses a fist to the corner as Dana takes her down and gets feisty.
Brooke with her unique chokehold in the corner, rallying the fans behind Bayley. She starts choking Bayley on the rope to the sound of their chants, then lifting her up and dropping her with a huge slam. Yesss Dana. She locks in a great submission, but Bayley manages to fight out. Bayley throws Dana into the ropes and takes her down a few times. She now mounts a comeback and scores with her elbow shots to the corner. Following it up with a suplex, she caps it with… wha?
Bayley’s music hits as Emma struts out in Bayley’s missing gear. Bayley doesn’t know what to do, but Dana ends up attacking her from behind and nails her finisher for the upset win.
Emma looks a bit sarcastically upset as Dana poses over the downed Bayley and celebrates her undefeated streak. Ruh roh… Emma and Dana with the high-five as it looks to be that Emma has joined the dark side.
Backstage, Bayley screams for Emma, but the camera man begins asking what’s going on. She explains that they used to be friends but Emma has her items and she’s getting them back. This isn’t over.
Back to the ring we go as Becky Lynch makes her entrance to a great ovation from the crowd. Her opponent stands in the ring already, introduced by JoJo as being Sarah Dobson. The two lock up as Becky takes control with a beautiful roll up. Sarah with a takedown as Becky bridges out and hits a dropkick, followed by the leg drops. Lynch nails some kicks to the corner and chokes Sarah within the rope. Sarah gets a quick roll up after escaping a bodyslam, but Becky then locks in a nasty submission for the victory.
Backstage one last time we head as Greg promotes the NXT live tour a bit, before he’s interrupted by Enzo, Cass and Carmella. They’re bickering quite loudly, as she tells them to bounce and that she can handle herself. She then sits down alone as she’s approached by Blake and Murphy and Blake’s incredible hair. Murphy tries to put his number in her phone, but she cuts him off and tries to make them run off. They eventually abide, before Alexa Bliss pops into the scene.
Alexa tells Carmella that a so called “princess” should be a bit classier, but Carmella smacks her to the side and tells her to mind her business as she heads off. Blake and Murphy proceed to check on Alexa because they’re great and should be on as much as possible.
Thoughts: This was honestly a beyond perfect week for NXT. The segments… the feuds… everything. This hour long show incorporated three separate women’s stories into one episode, all while continuing to build another Diva up in the process. This is how you do it folks.
Dana Brooke looked so much better this week, and while there is still a bit of improvement needed in the ring (which will come with time as it has for everyone else), I thought she looked great out there this week. Working with Bayley was a great step because Bayley knows how to help matches in terms of keeping the flow and the pace going where other Divas might not be able to as much, and so having her work with the newer, less experienced Divas is what we need to see. The match was pretty good, and I love that we’re getting a continuing story between her and Emma.
Also, I love Dana’s silver hair. Plz keep. And kudos for doing something outside the norm.
Becky’s promo was great for how short it was, and it really helped to build her up as a legitimate person which is what I want them to do over the next few weeks. She is kind of like the dark horse of the division because she steps up in the ring and she’s over, but she’s the one we know the least about when it comes to the core group. All we’ve really been informed of is that she likes rock and took an offer by Sasha to get herself into the spotlight, but I want to know these very things she mentioned this week. I want to feel her passion and be told that she uprooted her life as a teenager because she wants to be the best Diva we’ve ever seen. These are what is going to help sell a Becky/Sasha match (in my opinion at least) even more than their past as a tag team. Through this feud, I want to see Becky Lynch blossom into the star she obviously is, and nights like this are moving in the right direction.
The Carmella/Alexa segment was also pretty great, and I love that they’re putting these two in their own side feud because it gives everyone something to do. I mean, honestly, every TV Diva is now involved in something and it’s the best feeling (in fact, it’s what we want to see the main roster do). Also, they remind me of Torrie Wilson and Dawn Marie. I hope to see this evolve into a six person feud that eventually culminates with Carmella ditching Enzo and Cass for Blake and Murphy, as they ditch Alexa when they see they have a shot with Carmella. I don’t need Alexa to join Cass/Enzo or anything like that, but I think it would work as the perfect way to spice up the tag division, capitalizing on all six parties because it gives Blake/Murphy an added mouthpiece, promotes Carmella as a super heel, brings Enzo and Cass even more into the supreme babyface role, and helps give Alexa an added spotlight and even more of a fan base because she does sympathy and facial expressions so well that I have no doubt she could sell the double turn to perfection. I’m ready for this feud and I hope it lives up to everything I’ve planned out because I’m weird.
