NXT Highlights 4-8-20

Corporate ladder

Io Shirai– WINNER. Io was the clear MVP of the match, I’m just hoping Charlotte is good enough to let Io elevate her to a good match. I don’t see Io Shirai beating Charlotte, I think Charlotte will keep that title for a year or so.

Chelsea Green– had some decent spots.

Tegan Knox– I tried and tried to respect Knox’s Chokeslam but it’s too Indies, it’s really bad.

Mia Yim– was more concerned with Raquel Gonzalez.

Dakota Kai– had the strongest impact, taking out Tegan and nearly winning the match.

Candace Lerae– didn’t do much except interact with Io and wait for her spots with her.

Not gonna lie, that was a rough match.

Bivens Enterprises

Malcolm Bivens just might change the game if he can get adequate time to take things where he wants them creatively. Ever-Rise were just fodder for Riku& Saurav, it was over before it began. I’m not excited about these guys but I wasn’t excited about AOP either, AOP went on to have some of the best tag team matches in NXT history. Ever-Rise should be beating jobbers and getting a push to make them more credible and this match would have meant a lot more.

The final beat

Black Heart vs Rebel Heart

Pre taped glory, just like Wrestlemania weekend. Edge and Orton had a very similar match but it was a match worth doing again with Gargano and Ciampa. Ciampa seemed to have the upperhand no matter what, that is until Johnny’s wife showed up. I always knew Candace was a key component in this story and would turn on to the dark side.

This suits Candace so much more than that goodie two shoes act. Fairytale ending was the perfect finale to the last heartbeat. I don’t know how Candace and Johnny didn’t notice Scarlett and Killer though, I mean they were parked in a car right where they were.The ref looks so much like Finn Balor from a distance that it’s distracting at times, other than that I was happy with what we got out of this. A full hour to tell the last chapter in one of the best stories wrestling has ever seen.

Honorable mentions

1. Replay of Balor vs Wolfe in NXT UK. Balor won but he is not done with Imperium as he has trained his sights on Walter.

2. A word from Champion Cole to the Dream.

3. The “Must be Monday” commercial is great.

Final take

Very enjoyable episode, wasn’t sure what we were getting and it was very different but also interesting. NXT, Triple H, they just keep hitting homeruns despite what negatives come their way whether it be critics or global scale situations.

#NXTTakeOver #IoShirai #JohnnyGargano #NXT #TomassoCiampa #KillerKross