Last Month in NXT (February)
Standout Matches
Tyler Bate VS Velveteen Dream
Here we have the case of two young up and comers killing right now in the world of pro wrestling. On the one hand we have the first ever United Kingdom Champion in Tyler Bate and on the other hand, we have The Velveteen Dream who seems to be one of the biggest talking points and attractions in WWE right now as a whole. Both have been apart of some brilliant matches throughout the past year or so and I have to say I was super excited to see them collide last week on NXT. Sure I would have loved to have seen this match go on for much longer. Give these two a twenty plus minute slot and believe me you're getting a match of the year candidate, however, for the time they were given these guys killed it. Proving why they are the future of pro wrestling/WWE both Dream and Bate had fans completely invested in the match and the spots, brilliant wrestling, and character work was all enough to make this one of the best NXT matches of February.Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas
It was back in January that Andrade Cien Almas and Johnny Gargano competed in a five-star match that saw the two make history. Their collision at NXT Takeover has gone down as one of the best WWE matches of all time and rightfully so! Following that match, Cien Almas agreed to put his title on the line against Gargano one last time however things were going to be different this time around; if Johnny Wrestling failed to score the victory and Almas defeated him yet again then Gargano would be forced to leave NXT. Now, the two has a huge match to live up to and it was always going to be borderline impossible to top what they had previously done but they without a shadow of a doubt delivered what was yet another epic collision. The story was fantastic and everyone both in attendance and watching at home was left genuinely on the edge of their seats. Gargano is the perfect babyface and he put everything on the line in this matchup and everyone was left rooting for him. Almas however, also gave an amazing performance as to be expected. While Zelina does do all the talking (and what a brilliant job she does) but when it comes to the in-ring work Alams kills it every single time and is forever proving why he deserves that top spot. With Zelina and Candice LeRae at ringside, the match was made even more interesting with numbers now even. This was an intense and fun to watch encounter. Include the twist interference from Ciampa and the fact we had to wave an emotional goodbye to Gargano this was highlighted as yet another highlight match of the year so far.The Undisputed Era vs SAnity
And the last match I'm going to be talking about today is a six-man tag team match that took place right at the start of February between The undisputed Era vs SAnity. Now, we have of course seen these two teams collide plenty of times before and the standard has always been so high, this time around things were no different. This was yet another intense, barbaric contest that highlighted all six of these men as some of the best talents on the NXT roster. It was a fast-paced, clever, hardcore match where everyone had their standout moment. Killian Dane was for me the man of the match but we will be talking about him in more detail soon. Both teams still look strong and the next few months look very interesting for Sanity and The Undisputed era.Biggest Talking Points
Goodbye Johnny Gargano
As we already touched on today, last month Gargano and Cien Almas competed in one heck of a contest that saw Gargano forced to leave NXT following yet another loss to the champ, failing to pick up the NXT championship. The deciding factor occurred after Ciampa once again injected himself in the matchup. Now, the end result does indicate that Gargano's NXT career isn't quite over just yet and I'm confident he will be booked in a very strong program with Ciampa heading into the next Takeover event but how this episode of NXT was run simply was fantastic. The match was another highlight of the year so far, Candice's presence changed the feel of the match and the reaction from fans in attendance really gave the ending that emotional touch. Like I said, this isn't the end of Gargano's NXT career and things are about to get super interesting!New Contenders for the NXT Championship
February also saw two new faces step into the spotlight of the NXT Championship picture. With both Killian Dane and Aleister Black making a heck of an impact throughout the past year or so the two European stars have now stepped up and are looking to enter the NXT championship picture. Black, in particular, has confronted the NXT champion while Dane at the moment looks to be focusing on Aleister. Now, a feud between these two stars would work regardless but if the WWE can focus on the end game being the championship then this really does give fans a reason to tune in. Both have proven to be championship worthy and I'm excited to see where this goes in the coming month leading to the next Takeover event.Return of Tag Team Classic
And finally, we have the news that the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will kick start again with the Authors of Pain looking to make history and win the tournament for the second time! I will, of course, be talking about this in more detail but for now... know that the team I am back is one hundred and ten percent TM-61. It just has to be these guys' time!Standout Stars
Velveteen DreamOkay, I know that the Velveteen Dream has featured in this post pretty much every single month since October or so but believe me when I say I wouldn't include him unless he truly deserved the spot and he does! Dream remains one of the stars I cannot get enough of. Everything he does is so on point, so well done and so entertaining. From his direct in-ring promo that got everyone talking to standout matches against the likes of Tyler Bate, he is still one of the biggest talking points in NXT. Every single time I watch him on my screen I'm sat wishing the WWE would come up with another championship just so he could win it. Sure I and everyone else can wish to see him as NXT champion one day and I won't give up on that little dream but right now he is forever proving why he deserves just that. Every time we see him it's something new being presented and he remains one of the talents I am most excited about.
Tino Sabbatelli and Riddick Moss
Now, this is a tag team to really keep your eyes on! Personally, I can see both Tino and Riddick making as singles competitors one day, especially Tino and it does look as though that is exactly the direction the WWE is going in with these two. They have pretty damn good chemistry but their character work is just fantastic. Clearly, the pair have a long way to go but the gradual development has been really well done and these guys are coming across amazingly well. I do really hope that these guys are given the spotlight this year and the WWE gives them the push and attention they have proven to deserve.
Zelina Vega
So I could very easily have written about Gargano and/or Cien Almas but I really wanted to take a deeper look and switch things up a little and there is no denying that since the big change up in Almas' career, Zelina has been the center point of it all and none of what we have seen would have been half as good without her involvement. She really is fantastic at her job and her role within NXT right now and whats so exciting is there is still plenty to come from her. Apart of the industry for quite some time, Vega has the experience that shows in everything she does and the pairing between her and Alamas proven to be a huge success. This past month her mic work has been particularly brilliant and extremely key in the progress of Andrade Cien Almas.
And that was last month in NXT! Now, just like every other time I have uploaded, any recent blog posts will be linked bellow including this week's RAW and Smackdown LIVE highlights! Finally, you can get involved and tell me what you thought of last month in NXT by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me over at @TezangiVictoria.
Recent Blog Posts:
This Weeks RAW and Smackdown LIVE Highlights
5 Steps in Saving the Cruiserweight Division
Elimination Chamber 2018 Standouts
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