NXT on the USA Network: Why It Was a Success
Last night fans witnessed a historic evening when NXT went
LIVE for the first time debuting on the USA Network! With the stars of the
black and gold brand receiving a whole new platform, this was a massively
important night and the men and women of NXT did not disappoint! Raising the
bar and proving a huge point fans were left with plenty to talk about and today
its time to take a look back at what made the first LIVE episode such a success.
Opening with the Women’s Division
The Women’s Division is exactly what makes the black and
gold brand different to everything else on the wrestling scene today. It’s the one
advantage the WWE has over AEW and what continues to be the standout in the WWE
right now and last night they proved this point yet again. With four of the
biggest and best names on the scene today a fatal four-way was set to determine
the new number one contender to the NXT Women’s championship; Mia Yim, Candice
LeRae, Io Shiari and Bianca Belair took part in an epic opening encounter! With
expectations high for this bout they sure as hell did not disappoint! From the get-go the action was fast-paced and intense with nonstop epic spots and everyone
getting their standout moment! There wasn’t a single dull second here and with
the mix of styles, there were so many brilliant spots! Candice eventually got the
win she deserves but this match was about so much more than being number one
contender; this match was a brilliant way to show new fans tuning in what the
women’s division in NXT is all about and these superstars sure did raise the bar
for the rest of the night! A very exciting opening.
Character Development
What I like the most about NXT going to the USA network is
the extra hour the show is being given and this was already proven to be a good
and smart move! The first superstar to really benefit from this was Cameron
Grimes. The breakout star tournament finalist was able to show a little more
character this week when he picked up a very quick win in his contest against
Sean Maluta! His entrance showed more character, his quick and dominant
performance/ win saw him pick up a huge reaction from the live crowd and we can
hope to see more of him in the coming months. Moving forward we can also expect
to see other stars who have been on the roster for a while given the chance to
make an appearance. We also saw the likes of Aliya, Xia Li, and Arturo Ruas make an appearance and benefit from that extra hour.
The Little Details
There many little details that I and everyone else picked up
on during the first LIVE episode of NXT on the USA Network and they are what contributed
to making this such a standout and successful show this week. From the lighting
and arena changes that made the show feel like an even better quality to the
room and crowd appearing bigger due to the layout, it did feel as though we were
watching an even bigger and more important show. We also saw the announce team
in a different area as well as matches announced for certain hours of the show
that managed to make NXT feel like a bigger and more important show yet again
while also giving it a unique edge that separated it from main roster shows RAW
and Smackdown LIVE.
The Undisputed Era Take over NXT
While it was a predictable booking decision I have to say
that it didn’t take away the excitement that took place when Roderic Strong defeated
The Velveteen Dream to become the new North American Champion. The match itself
was excellent and yet another standout of the evening but those closing moments
really did usher in a new era for NXT, the Undisputed Era. All members now hold
gold, every bit of NXT gold is in the hands of the Undisputed Era and it really
did prove a point and send a message. These are new times for NXT and the Undisputed
Era really has taken over! Having a title match on the first show was a huge
deal and great decision and the title change was the icing on top of the cake.
Surprise Appearances
Another highlight of last night’s show came from the second half
over on the WWE Network when popular superstar Lio Rush made his return to the
ring and return to NXT taking on a personal favourite of mine in Oney Lorcan. Rush
is the first of quite a few stars we can expect to see make a return to action
in the black and gold brand with Dakota Kai set to make her own return next
week! This was one of the unexpected and exciting moments of the night that kept
the second hour alive and strong and making sure fans knew that second half
really was worth tuning into.
Keeping on the theme of epic moments in the second half of
this week's NXT we have the surprise appearance of NXT UK stars Imperium. This
was the moment of the night that really did give me chills. I wasn’t expecting
this at all but it was such a brilliant addition to the show. This was also
such a brilliant way to show exactly how much of an impact WALTER has made in
recent weeks. The reaction from fans in attendance was huge and the pop he received
further gave me chills. Now, it should be very very interesting to see what is
coming up for Imperium over in NXT In the weeks and months to follow but let's
be honest… we’re all just waiting for Imperium vs the Undisputed Era right?
The Layout of the Show
After last nights episode of NXT, the WWE really don’t have
any excuse as to why they cannot out on a great show every single week. The
Black and Gold brand showed the world exactly how it's done and how to use that two-hour
time slot perfectly! We had to matches that were the clear main event of each
hour, something we don’t see done over on the main roster that really was a
brilliant move! We got to see a real mixture of different things, we didn’t get
any wasted time filled with promos and segments fans didn’t have an interest
in, there were several brilliant matches with a couple of great moments for
newer faces to make an impact and several announcements made to excite fans for
next weeks show. This is exactly how you make the best of a two-hour show. We also have to touch on how fitting and exciting those last five minutes of the show were, now that is how you get me to tune in next week!
I have to say that overall, I really enjoyed last nights very
important and historic episode of NXT. I’ll also admit that the commercial
breaks were something I didn’t like at all and it did make it harder to enjoy
the matches on show but considering how good the booking was, use of time and
generally what we saw I can’t complain too much. The right changes were made,
we got three standout great matches, an
overall a great show. I do believe NXT will continue to present brilliant
quality shows like what we saw last night and I’m excited to see what will
happen next for the stars of the black and gold brand.
RECENT BLOG POSTS:
Comments
Post a Comment