NXT Minus 6: Was That Really The End?

Bradley Jay checks back in on NXT, where we have a new #1 Contender, the least-NXT NXT tag team ever, and an end that might not be an end?

Was the Ciampa-Gargano match the end of the feud or the end of something bigger?

6. My 8-year-old daughter and I talk wrestling at bedtime. This week, she asked me to name the 5 best women wrestlers right now. My top 2 were Charlotte & Io Shirai. I am seriously jacked for this match. Can’t wait to watch it with my Charlotte. 

5. Who kidnapped Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza? Rumor has it Al Snow, Scorpio and Bob Holly are resurrecting the J.O.B. Squad. It was either them or Ricochet and Cedric Alexander, for the same exact reason.

4. Because he was featured in the Finn Balor segment, I’ll take this opportunity to say Alexander Wolfe is one of the most unappreciated wrestlers in all of NXT. He always has a good match and makes his opponents look great. Guys like Wolfe are the offensive linemen of professional wrestling, overlooked and essential. 

3. Two grunting, foreign behemoths with an oddly-matched manager? Anybody else feel like they were teleported back to the 80’s? Indus Sher is the exact opposite of an NXT tag team. And we already have the Robert Stone Brand. Do we also need Bivens Enterprises? Apparently, the person who dreamed up the name Boss ‘N Hug Connection wasn’t fired.  

2. I liked the Tommaso Ciampa-Johnny Gargano match. I didn’t love it. Going back to the Cruiserweight Classic, it’s the fifth best match of their rivalry. First of all, it was very long. They could have eliminated wrestling on a truck. Pointless. If you’re going to climb up something, the payoff has to be more dramatic than simply climbing down. Secondly, they ruined what could have been an amazing ending. Candace Lerae screaming “I hate my husband” hit me as hard as it hit Ciampa. But then they had to gunk it up with a WWE finish…which leads me to my bigger point.

1. I heard this episode referred to as NXT’s “jump the shark” moment. I don’t know if it’s because of the quarantine or a sign of things to come, but this week’s show was deeply depressing. Guys getting hijacked? Not NXT. Big lumbering oafs who can’t wrestle? Not NXT. A completely fabricated and silly ending to an excessively long “epic” encounter? 100% not NXT. I’m not saying this is the end of the Black & Gold Standard. I hope it’s a blip instead of a new direction, but something doesn’t feel right. Too much non-NXT stuff. If this is where things are headed, I’ll drop my subscription without thinking twice about it. I don’t want Wednesday Night WWE. I love wrestling. I want wrestling. I want NXT.       

Now if you’ll indulge an extra point, I’m going to fantasy book Gargano-Ciampa.

It’s an empty arena. Gargano & Ciampa are in the ring, dressed for a street fight. HHH says, “You guys have beat the crap out of each other with every weapon imaginable. You destroyed the Performance Center. You have ruined your lives. None of it has gotten us anywhere. Four years ago, this started as a wrestling match. Tonight, we come full circle, and this ends as a wrestling match. I will ring that bell and when this is over, one of you will be the heart and soul of NXT. Now are you ready…”