King: NXT Has Drastically Changed

Chris King is recapping NXT’s debut episode on the USA Network, and explaining how the landscape has drastically changed.

The world was introduced to the phenomenon known as NXT in the best way possible. The WWE Universe was already familiar with fantastic wrestling but, we had no idea what was about to happen. The beginning of the episode started exactly as it should with Triple H giving his infamous Attitude Era-esque promo before walking out to the wild crowd.

What followed was a tremendous high-octane fatal-four-way match, where the lovable Candice LeRae defeated Mia Yim, Bianca Belair, and her nemesis Io Shirai the number-one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship. At this point, the world was given a tasty appetizer of what NXT brings to the table.

In the main event of the first hour, Roderick Strong and The Velveteen Dream produced a Takeover quality match for nearly thirty minutes battling for the prestigious North American Championship. This was a hell of a match, there were counters and near-falls galore. In the end, though, thanks to the help of The Undisputed Era Strong fulfilled the prophecy to end the USA Network debut on a high note.

We told you. Each and every single one of you. #UndisputedERAForever https://t.co/uUo4mu8DLG

— Adam Cole (@AdamColePro) September 19, 2019

Afterward, I turned off my cable and clicked onto the WWE Network to watch the second hour just like normal. What I wasn’t aware of was that everything about the black and gold brand wasn’t all about to change. Not only were we getting Killian Dain versus Matt Riddle in a street fight but, we were also getting a MONUMENTAL match to determine the number-one contender for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Before we get to that, a brand new audience was introduced to The Bruiserweight Pete Dunne and his painful joint manipulation. Xia Li defeated Alliyah in a quick squash match. What happened next gave me chills, while sitting in my chair with my mind Freaking blown away!

The Japanese sensation KUSHIDA was set for singles action against Denzel DeJournette instead, the WWE Universe witnessed the emergence of NXT/NXT UK as Imperium surrounded the ring minus WALTER. The WWE Universe myself included went nuts while waiting in anticipation for the United Kingdom Champion to make his entrance. KUSHIDA did not take kindly to their interruption and charged towards the ring taking them out one-by-one.

Take @KUSHIDA_0904's time???

Not on his watch, #Imperium. #WWENXT @WalterAUT @FabianAichner @Marcel_B_WWE @TheWWEWolfe pic.twitter.com/KNjkg2BmIl

— WWE (@WWE) September 19, 2019

After that was a hard-hitting and sprint of a match between The Fury of 205 Live Oney Lorcan versus The Man of the Hour Lio Rush for the number-one contender for the Cruiserweight Title. What’s completely odd about this, is that Rush vanished from tv after being the mouthpiece for Bobby Lashley and the NXT crowd deemed him as the babyface. Lorcan has been a fan-favorite for the past two years alongside his tag team partner Danny Burch yet, everyone was rooting for Rush who became the new number-one contender.

On September 11, 2019, Jeremy Lambert of Fightful caught up with Triple H prior to the live debut episode inquiring on the huge changes coming for NXT. When he was asked to clarify on the status of 205 Live this is what he said:

“You’ll start to see 205 begin to [sit under the NXT umbrella]. I think it always existed as an island onto itself, a little bit, and it’s become lost in this limbo. You’ll begin to see it move more towards the NXT banner and the talent there. We have a lot of talent. For them to begin to compete either open against anyone or in the cruiserweight division, but have that title sit under the NXT brand is more meaningful. It creates more opportunities for more people. As for RAW and SmackDown, it’s an open division for them. When you’re on both shows, everybody is competing against everybody.”

He also explained that NXT UK will sit under the umbrella of NXT also however, nobody knew exactly what he meant? Well rest assured we got our answer, and now all of the dream matches including superstars from all three brands have now become a reality.

Which brings me to the main event where The Beast of Belfast and The King of Bros Matt Riddle beat the holy hell out of each other in the most chaotic street fight in NXT history. When the two rivals fought in the backstage area all hell broke loose as all of the superstars engaged in an insane brawl. As Dain and Riddle brought the action back to the ring, they weren’t the only ones who came.

This is what LIVE #WWENXT chaos looks like! 😱😱😱😱 pic.twitter.com/XZP350PTvM

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) September 19, 2019

The show ended with nonstop chaos which is fitting because that is exactly what we found out from the debut episode. People around the world watching for the first time were introduced to the amazing matches and the insane highly-intense battles that NXT has to offer. Who knows, perhaps the Cruiserweight Championship will be defended on the black and gold brand for the first-time-ever. One last thing don’t forget about this man. The best is yet to come…WE ARE NXT!! 

pic.twitter.com/5B1h0oS0s7

— BLACKHEART (@NXTCiampa) September 18, 2019