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Welcome to this week’s NXT review! We’re back after a week off without any women’s action last week.
Let’s dive into it. We start off with action between newcomer Sarah Logan, formally known as Crazy Mary Dobson, and one half of the Iconic Duo, Peyton Royce! Despite absolutely no matches last week, Billie Kay and Peyton are still ruffling feathers in the background, appearing to attempt to redecorate the Performance Center and annoy Ember Moon. They may be comedic heels but they still pose a threat.
As Sarah makes her entrance commentary puts over her rough and tumble, swamp family, background. She grew up on a farm, used to watch wrestling with her grandma, and would simulate matches with a goat. OK!
Peyton arrives and commentator Nigel McGuinness fawns over her. The two women tie up and Peyton slaps Sarah down. She celebrates after the hit. Sarah gets up and looks Peyton over. They tie up.
Peyton works Sarah over in the corners but Sarah reverses a second attempt at a mudhole stomp to flip Peyton over with a fireman’s carry slam and reverses into a rest hold. Peyton gets to her feet and creates space before hitting Sarah with a spinning kick. Billie hollers in satisfaction in the background.
Peyton continues to beat Sarah down by targeting her limbs. She then puts Sarah in a cross face like submission where Sarah’s knee is also is completely twisted.
Sarah reverses it into a cover attempt. No dice. Peyton then does the Three Amigos on Sarah to put her away. Sarah refuses to give up and this enrages Peyton. They trade blows, Sarah hitting a nasty headbutt to Peyton’s jaw. Sarah continues to fight back with a dropkick and other hits.
Sarah hits Peyton in the face with a low flying knee but Peyton doesn’t go down. They trade blows again, this time Peyton takes control with spinning back elbows and kicks. A fisherman suplex gets Peyton the win!
Next we have an insidious Nikki Cross who’s preparing for her match next week against Asuka and Ruby Riot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3l0nh3EJg74
Then interviewer Christy St. Cloud catches up with Ember to get her thoughts on next week’s Triple Threat Women’s Title match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP_MD5DM6wQ
She talks about her struggles with losing her first match with Asuka and then her injury prevented her participation in TakeOver: Chicago’s title match. She said after these set backs, she’s had to take some time to figure herself out. She says she needs to address the creeping threat of the Iconic Duo first. She will be watching next week’s match closely though.
Thea Trinidad also makes her brief debut by slapping Andrade Cien Almas!
.@AndradeCienWWE's night gets off to a bad start…. #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/64LQ3HXLWG
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 8, 2017
Thoughts: Before I get into my critique, I just wanted to point out that we are moving toward a different review format that only features official videos released by the wrestling promotions. I apologize for the altered voices in the other videos featured here as we move forward with the switch. Unfortunately WWE and Lucha Underground don’t always showcase snippets of their matches on YouTube so please bear with us with this change. Videos may not always accompany our reviews and we’re working hard to make sure everyone still gets to experience quality articles.
Now onto this week’s episode. The match between Peyton and Sarah was solid. Peyton continues to be one of the smoothest workers in the ring and she commands her character perfectly.
Sarah already holds much promise. I’m a little on the fence about her character though. Will her bayou life mirror Bray Wyatt’s, minus all the supernatural intrigue? She does have a unique look and a rough and tumble farm girl could go over well depending on what they do with it. In an era that lacks story telling depth though, I’m not sure what to think about it moving forward.
Nikki continues to be a delight in her role, nothing more needs to be said. Her ring work just needs some cleaning and she’d be the perfect blend of insane chaos and strong unpredictability in the ring.
Ember puzzles me a bit. They’ve toned down her look here and I’m not sure what to think. Again creative has done nothing with her mysterious background. There are so many avenues NXT could have taken that sets her apart, it would really be a shame if they just went the simple overcoming baby face route they may be setting her up for. Unfortunately, she has been the biggest disappointment to me character wise. I still support her strongly because she holds such promise and is an incredible worker. I want to see her succeed but NXT has completely stripped her of any uniqueness she could have had.
There’s still time in the lead up to Brooklyn so I hope NXT proves me wrong and starts separating her more fully from the pack. She is already established as an elite tier talent, but in a division that has punker Ruby Riot, powerhouse overpowered Asuka, fatales Billie and Peyton, sadistic Nikki Cross, army chic bad ass Lacey Evans, MMA bruiser Sonya Deville, and others we haven’t seen yet, I’m afraid her character bits are getting lost.
NXT still has so much more work to do in the character and story telling department. More time is needed to create a compelling narrative on the lead up to TakeOver: Brooklyn III.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Did Sara Logan impress you? What do you think about Ember’s remarks? Are you looking forward to next week’s Women’s Title match? Sound off in the comments below.
