Overview
NXT had a really solid show last night and was a lot of fun! The main event triple threat match for the North American Championship was the main focus, but it felt like everything else went really smoothly. Even storylines that feel weaker (I’m looking at you Cameron Grimes and Damian Priest and Robert Stone/Aliyah and Rhea Ripley) felt like they were doing the best with what they were given. The announcement of the “Great American Bash” themed episode next week answers the question “What will NXT do to go up against week 1 of AEW’s Fyter Fest?” Overall, I think that there was more good on our screens last night than bad or ugly!
So that being said, let’s break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of NXT 6/24/20!
The Good
- Rhea Ripley took the time to throw Robert Stone back in the trash. This feud is beneath her, but it will be fun to see Rhea destroy both Aliyah and Robert Stone in their handicap match next week.
- The second episode of Timothy Thatcher’s school vignettes was a lot of fun to watch. I am excited to see where this goes.
- The match between Santos Escobar and Jake Atlas. Escobar’s reign of terror over the NXT Cruiserweight Division is only beginning, but it is safe to say that he’s already meeting quite the resistance from rising star Jake Atlas. The Phantom Driver finish on this match was fantastic as well.
- Raquel Gonzalez’s one armed powerbomb on Kacy Catanzaro
- Bronson Reed actually putting up a fight against Karrion Kross. Seriously, Reed is the first person I think has really put up any kind of resistance to Kross’ dominant offense (even Tommaso Ciampa didn’t do much against him at TakeOver: In Your House)
- Adam Cole’s interview about who he hopes to face for the winner take all match on July 8th. Cole has spent the last few weeks really cementing himself as the cocky heel champion that NXT deserves. This should prove to make his eventual feud with Karrion Kross a lot of fun to watch.
- Lumis vs Strong. I originally had this match and it’s lame count out finish under the bad category, but when the strap match was announced for next week’s episode, I got behind this point in the story.
- The main event match between Finn Balor, Johnny Gargano, and Keith Lee! All of these men were working hard to make this match matter. Keith Lee took a beating, and still came out on top all while making Balor and Gargano look as strong as they ever have. Lee deserves to be a double champion in two weeks, but will likely see a wonk finish due to interference from Karrion Kross
The Bad
- Raquel Gonzalez is called “Big Mommy Cool”. Look, I love a Kevin Nash reference as much as the next guy, but this just sounds wrong. Gonzalez had that fantastic one armed powerbomb so that saves this moment from moving down to ugly.
- Despite what I said about Bronson Reed putting up a fight, we all knew there was no way that Reed was going to go over Kross. I’m ready to see Kross go into a match that doesn’t feel like a squash.
The Ugly
- This Robert Stone storyline…look I hope that this is going somewhere, but it feels like it isn’t. Rhea is above this feud. Chelsea Green has been missing from our televisions for a couple of weeks now, and losing her to see Robert Stone become a disheveled drunk doesn’t feel like a great trade off.
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