NXT Minus 6: Anatomy of a Wrestling Match

Bradley Jay digs into the HISTORY MAKING night of WWE NXT. HISTORY! (And Timothy Thatcher is the only person to ever win in Fight Pit.)

Other than in-ring action, there are a lot of factors that can make or break a match.

6. I’m running a new feature for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: the History-O-Meter! How many times can lazy announcers reference making history in one show? This week, TWELVE!!! Every ten minutes that gaggle of human of microphone stands reminded us we are witnessing HISTORY MAKERS MAKING HISTORY EXCLAMATION POINT!!!

5. I have dubbed this year’s DRTTC “3.5 Live.” Most of the matches have been solid, nothing great. The best so far? The Way versus KUSHIDA and Leon Ruff. KUSHIDA gets an extra ½ star by himself. He hits an armbar suplex into a bridge for the 1-2-3. I’ve never seen that. It’s too much fun watching him figure out how to twist his opponent into a pretzel. 

4. Pete Dunne cut a scorching promo this week. Clearly the Bruiserweight didn’t spend all his time away getting shredded beyond belief. Finn Balor isn’t going to pass the torch so much as Dunne will break his fingers and rip it out of his hand. Speaking of Balor…

3. The Prince needs a tag team partner to face the Brit-Am Brawlers. Of course he calls in a favor from Kyle O’Reilly. Everybody’s favorite Canadian accepts but clearly isn’t excited about it. Are they letting bygones be bygones? Oh Hell no. I’ve never been so happy to see two guys not shake hands. Gonna be some tense teammates Wednesday night. The little details take it from good to great. Balor and O’Reilly are two of the best. 

2. First and foremost, wrestling is about the story being told in the ring. However, it takes more than that to create a great match. One of those elements is production. We’re having a nice Fight Pit match. Tommaso Ciampa is whomping Timothy Thatcher on the platform above the ring. Then we go to a commercial. When we get back, the two men are in the ring?!?! No explanation. No split screen with “Here’s what happened during the break.” The production crew could not have screwed that up any worse. It was like reading a 10-chapter book that’s missing chapters 3-6. Awful.

1. Announcing is another element that can make or break a match. I can almost forgive Wade Barrett for screaming like he’s watching his mom die in a house fire. Here’s what I won’t forgive. Did you know there’s only been one other Fight Pit in history? And Timothy Thatcher is undefeated in the Fight Pit?? Did I mention that this was only the second Fight Pit in history? The second one! In history! And Thatcher is undefeated in the Fight Pit? Because this is only the second one in history! AND THATCHER WON THE FIRST AND ONLY OTHER FIGHT PIT!!!  I spent half the match wishing Ciampa and Thatcher would join forces to kick the crap out of the announce team. Better announcing and better production could have made this the match it deserved to be.