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Heyo and welcome to this week’s NXT review! Peyton Royce and Billie Kay have aligned to make a mark on the division and this week they send a message to the rest of the women that they are not here to play, they are here to run the show.
A NXT interviewer stands by with Liv Morgan as they recap her defeat from last week at the hands of Billie, with Peyton’s assistance. Liv is asked how she feels about being targeted by the two Aussies. Liv begins by saying she doesn’t have to run her mouth, she makes moves, not excuses. But, before she can finish the rest of her thoughts, Billie and Peyton run in and beat her down with stiff kicks and punches.
They drag her from backstage to the entrance ramp where Peyton knocks Liv out with a stiff knee to the face. As Liv lays there, Billie takes the mic. Billie says Liv was just about to complain about getting beaten down before, guess what, getting beaten again! Peyton takes the mic and slays it, saying they’re here to put the rest of the division on notice, including Asuka. “The division belongs to us!” Peyton says.
After this segment Nikki Cross, with the rest of Sanity, takes on Danielle Kamela in a quick match.
Sanity makes their entrance while Danielle watches from the ring. The match begins and Nikki is aggressive and wild, throwing hard punches at her. While Danielle is able to suplex Nikki, it’s not enough as Nikki quickly puts her away with several maneuvers, as Nikki also bites and hits herself. After the match she continues to beat Danielle down so hard the referee reverses the decision, awarding Danielle the win. Nikki also slaps Eric Young for stopping the violence.
Thoughts: While Billie and Peyton are our obvious mean girls, Nikki is truly a wildcard here, which I’ll get to in a minute. I’ve seen some feedback criticizing the “mean girl” story line/characters, it’s a typical wrestling trope and though I do agree it is overused to an extent, it’s not Billie or Peyton’s fault they represent this.
It’s the writers relying on old hats. It’s a story as old as the super baby face over coming the mega heel or the David vs Golitah match ups. It’s a mechanism that’s not going anywhere soon.
I have faith and patience that Billie and Peyton’s roles will pay off. They are the new Emma and Dana gatekeepers of the division. The division needs strong heels next to our overpowered champion. This is a good way to start building up credible contenders for Asuka.
We can’t forget that some of the strongest characters came from “mean girl” tropes. We’ve had Summer Rae‘s first lady of NXT stint that eventually formed the BFF’s, Team Bae’s formation, Team BAD (to a degree, although I don’t blame Naomi for feeling overlooked and becoming a heel from it), of course EnD which then became Charlotte and Dana, The Bellas, and even to an older extent Laycool, Natalya and Beth Phoenix, Trish Stratus‘ heel reign, the list can go on.
I do agree that the writing needs to be stronger though and this has been a complaint of mine since we lost one of the old head writers, Ryan Ward, to SmackDown earlier this year.
I think the short segment was effective in putting Billie and Peyton in the spotlight. It’s also effective at sealing Liv as our primary underdog. I still think the girl needs to add depth to her character, but Liv has some time.
Nikki’s short match highlighted how unhinged she is and I liked the subtle character details she added. She craves violence and doesn’t care what she has to do to get it. I’m very curious about where this will lead. We have a team of anarchists at her side, we have two mean girls vying for the top prize in the division and who are willing to get their hands dirty for it, a baby face that’s constantly beaten down, and another who’s a warrior. Where does Nikki fit? I think that she’s going to be the one to watch as she creeps along in the shadows.
I would LOVE to see Nikki, accompanied by her team, face Asuka. This is something that she’s never faced before and her reign needs a shakeup. I’m also very happy to see them develop stories outside the title picture, it’s about time we get that ball rolling on a consistent basis.
What did you think of last night’s NXT? What do you want to see Nikki do? How would you book Billie and Peyton? Sound off in the comments below.
