Bodeen’s Top 5 Moments: WWE NXT (3/17/21)

With NXT having one of its best episodes in 2021 last week, there was a lot of pressure in keeping up the momentum this week. While this week’s edition of NXT didn’t reach the level of NXT last week, NXT was still amazing to watch as we sew the start of the build for TakeOver: Stand and Deliver and LA Knight made his in-ring debut against Bronson Reed. So without further ado let’s look at the top 5 moments that stood out on the black and yellow brand this week.

5. Legado Del Fantasma beat Breezango as Jordan Devlin appears on NXT  

After Legado Del Fantasma sent a message to the NXT tag-team division by attack Breezago a few weeks ago, Breezango would have a chance to get their revenge on Legado Del Fantasma as they had a great match, with the Cruiserweight Champion, Jordan Devlin appearing after the match to sent a message to the Interm Cruiserweight Champion, Santos Escobar.

Legado Del Fantasma and Breezango would trade high-speed offense in a great match, which showed off how great the NXT tag team division is. Despite Breezango pushing Legado Del Fantasma to their limit, Legado would get the win, pinning Tyler Breeze.

After the match, Cruiserweight Champion, Jordan Devlin would come out, calling out Santos Escobar. Escobar would then challenge Devlin to a match at TakeOver: Stand and Deliver to find out who was the real Cruiserweight Champion.

4. Zoey Stark pushes Dakota Kai to her limit as Io Shirai gets ready for Raqual Gonzalez 

In just a few weeks Zoey Stark has quickly risen to the NXT women’s division as she has scored several victories in her short time in NXT. Stark would once again get another chance to prove her worth in the NXT women’s division as she faced Dakota Kai with both women giving it their all inside the ring, with Dakota Kai eventually getting the win over Stark.

Stark and Kai would both put on a great performance, with Kai doing a great job of playing the role of the experienced heel well, with Stark also playing her role well being the underdog inexperienced babyface. Kai would eventually beat Stark, however, Stark put on a great performance and looked strong even after losing to Kai.

After the match, Dakota and Raquel Gonzalez would taunt Stark in the corner only for NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai to come out and give Raquel Gonzalez a match contract. Later in the night, Kai would ask Gonzalez not to sign the contract yet with both women facing Io Shirai and Zoey Stark in a tag match next week.

3.  Tommaso Ciampa beats Marcel Barthel as WALTER steps back on American soil 

While this match was originally built as a tag-team match with Imperium facing Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher, we instead sew Tommaso Ciampa take on Imperium member, Marcel Barthel after Timothy Thatcher never appeared on NXT this week in suspicious circumstances.

Tommaso Ciampa would beat Marcel Barthel in a relatively quick fashion, despite outside interference from Fabian Aichner, with Ciampa hitting Willow’s Bell on Barthel for the win. After the match the NXT UK Champion, WALTER would come out and attack Ciampa.

As TakeOver: Stand and Deliver grows closer, a match between WALTER and Tommaso Ciampa sounds amazing. Both men have a hard-hitting style with Ciampa’s knees and WALTER’s infamous chops. The only real downside I see is how NXT would handle WALTER’s title.

2. LA Knight makes his in-ring debut as Bronson Reed makes his intentions known

After weeks of build, it was finally time for LA Knight to make his in-ring debut on NXT this week. LA Knight would waste no time he was worth the hype, removing the style as he defeated his opponent, August Grey in a quick but brutal and simple fashion, with Bronson Reed interfering in the match, potentially setting up a feud between the two men as we head into NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver.

Before his match, LA Knight would once again prove his worth on the mic as he cut another great promo on how he stands out on the NXT roster. Knight would then dominate August Grey in the ring and was in control before Bronson Reed distracted Knight by ripping his custom jacket, Knight was able to quickly recover though, pinning Grey for the win.

Bronson Reed is a great first feud for LA Knight, as Bronson is an established name in NXT and is a great stepping stone for LA Knight. Reed’s huge size also helps as most heels work well and competing against bigger men such as Bronson Reed.

1. Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly get ready for their TakeOver match 

After Kyle O’Reilly interfered in Adam Cole’s NXT Championship match against Finn Balor last week, Cole would waste no time in calling out O’Reilly this week. Unfortunately for Cole, NXT General Manager, William Regal would come out telling Cole that O’Reilly was banned from the Capital Wrestling Centre due to the O’Reilly being further injured after his altercation with Adam Cole last week. Despite being banned from the Capital Wrestling Centre O’Reilly would still send a message to Adam through the Capital Wrestling Centre Screen, telling Adam that he knew where Adam lived and where Adam spends his time, telling Adam he would do anything to take him out.

O’Reilly would prove this later in the night, as William Regal was informed during an interview that there was an emergency with Cole and O’Reilly. It will later be revealed that O’Reilly tried to attack Adam in his car, with both men trading words as they were taken away by police.

Special Credit has to be given to William Regal, who is one of the best authority figures in wrestling. Despite being involved in both segments with Cole and O’Reilly, Regal never took the spotlight away from both men but still kept his power as the General Manager of NXT.

These were my top 5 moments from NXT this week. What were your top 5 moments and what did you think of the in-ring debut of LA Knight? Let us know in the comments below.