NXT Quick Takes 11/16/21

Lumis vs Tony D’Angelo

Distraction, thumb to the eye and a pin; not a bad way to protect both men. D’Angelo did hit his finisher so he came out looking stronger.

Trick and Melo beatdown Lumis, triggering Gargano to come out and make a statement.

Gargano wanted Melo, Pete Dunne wanted some of Gargano but it looks as if they will tag together to face Trick and Melo in some sort of War Games down the line. Melo is set to defend his North American title against both Gargano and Dunne.

Diamond Mine vs Jacket Time & Odyssey Jones

The Creed Brothers and Roderick are exactly the type of wrestlers I like to see, I’m so glad they have a stable to showcase every single one of their talents. Jones pins Strong so now we know who is getting the push. Diamond Mine needs to be on top, they are.

Andre Chase vs Zion Quinn

Chase controlled the match until Quinn was done playing, still, a good showing for Chase. Chase is a joke character that will trip and fall into a lower level championship at some point so he’s fine.

Legado attack Quinn after the match. This was all just a backdrop for Legado to show up.

Elektra Lopez ordered the hit and Santos Escobar returns to land the final blow on Quinn. I’d kinda like to see Quinn put together a crew of his own or take over Legado for a while. I can see Elektra Lopez going to the main roster early, kinda like Lacey Evans did; let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Poker showdown

No limit Texas hold em is the name of the game, Duke Hudson looked the part and played the part very well. Cameron Grimes is great in these segments as well. The bluff from Grimes proved too much for Hudson; it all ended in a powerbomb through the Poker table. I like segments like this to break up the show a bit, can’t always be too seriou. This wasn’t silly enough that it lost me so all is well.

KOR & Wagner vs Jensen & Briggs

Wagner is still in nxt and it was mentioned that he was on SmackDown; wooooow! I wish NXT was mentioned more on other brands. Wagner and KOR win however, I wish the new team got the win to further their story as well.

2 on 1

Persia Pirotta vs Gabby Stephen’s & Jenna Levy

Robert Stone looks on as Persia beats the hell out of too green jobbers. The jobbers had size to them though. NXT still has a diverse women’s division with a ton to offer, even the size of the jobbers is impressive. Persia could be what Tamina is supposed to be on the main roster.

Ciampa’s state of the union address

He vents on the new heels: he mentioned Carmel Hayes. Waller, I hate that they made Waller a heel, he just turned on a show, we didn’t get to see a transformation. Tony D’Angelo was next on his list but Bron Breakker cut him off. Breakker is sure to win the strap the very next time they meet.

Raquel vs Dakota Kai

We all knew there would be no real conclusion to this match. Toxic attraction get involved, costing Gonzalez the match. Cora Jade, Zoey Stark and Io all come to the rescue. It is absolute carnage and then Io shouts out “War Games!”, I love that she got to do that.

Honorable mentions

1. Msk searching for themselves while searching for some tag team guru/shaman.

2. GYV borrow the women’s tag titles for a scheme.

3. Lash legend Grayson Waller

4. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro vignette.

Final take

A bit predictable however, the show was still really good. A clear common theme with something to lose and something to gain; wrestling put in simple terms. The show is starting to show signs of slowing down just a tad, they may want to change the pacing somehow. It’s still good just doesn’t seem as sustainable as it did at first.

#BronBreakker #JohnnyGargano #wargames #CarmeloHayes #TomassoCiampa