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Welcome to this week’s NXT Redux. What does this episode have in store for us? Unfortunately NXT continues it’s trend in the women’s division of minimal character building.
First up we have Sanity ruling the roost again in the men’s division. It looks like Sawyer Fulton is exiled from the group? While an interviewer tried to get a comment from them, they stormed off. However, Nikki Cross caught sight of Asuka and the NXT Women’s Championship. She liked what she saw, panting and licking her lips at the prospect of holding that title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8D4T8yA8Nc
Afterward Ember Moon was in action against Kimber Lee. Let’s watch:
https://youtu.be/y8D4T8yA8Nc
The match starts off with a test of strength as Kimber looks to break Ember down but is flipped over instead. Ember hits her with a few stiff kicks but Kimber catches her in a sideslam after Ember runs at her.
Kimber locks Ember up in a submission. They strike and chop each other before Ember rolls out of Kimber’s attempt at a powerbomb, reversing it into a hurricanrana. They continue to fight. Ember gets the win after performing a dropkick, back handspring elbow, and her signature eclipse finisher.
Thoughts: So the match, although too short for my liking, was really good despite how I’m just not enthused about seeing Ember, or anyone right now, participate in squash matches. Ember’s short bursts of showcased matches allow her opponent to also quickly show what they can do, this is a marked difference in how Asuka’s match ups are booked. Kimber looked like a star and if the rumors are true that she’s been signed, I can’t wait to see what she can do against the other women. While I enjoy watching Ember and her opponent have semi-competitive bouts, we need more already!
There’s nothing new I can say that I haven’t already said previously. NXT has lost sight of its women’s division. What made the previous era so special was the growth that happened between competitors in the division. Yeah, we had squash matches here and there but the girls interacted in backstage segments that created a shared universe for the division. Where are those? Where are promos? Why hasn’t anyone gotten mic time to stake their claim or explain who they are?
I am salivating at the prospect of seeing Nikki beat Asuka up. Nikki has benefited from being paired with an anarchist group that’s tearing the house down in the men’s division. She has a character. She’s a violent pitbull who gets off on hurting people. This build is what’s lacking for the rest of the women’s division.
I also cover Lucha Underground. One of the things I love about that show is the created backstory and mythos each of their performers get. Why is that so hard for NXT to create for its up and coming stars? I mean, the main roster sometimes changes things any way so what are they afraid of? For developmental, they’ve forgotten the formula on how to develop lately. It’s getting old and none of this is compelling right now.
What did you think of this week’s NXT? Are you excited for a possible Nikki/Asuka showdown? Sound off in the comments below.
