NXT Minus 6: The Future of NXT

With cuts and speculation being a larger talking point than the storylines, Brad takes at the last show and what the future could hold!

6. Johnny Gargano is untouchable. He’s an undersized heel poking the bear, taking major shots at the champ. He’s a paranoid, overprotective father. He’s an Italian waiter with a great mustache. Hell, I’m waiting for him to put on a tiny cowboy hat and do a duet with Kurt Angle. And now he’s going to be a daddy! Real life congratulations to Gargano & Candace Lerae. I hope Lerae returns and gets a shot at the NXT women’s title, but if she decides to hang it up she’s had a career any wrestler would be proud to have.  

5. Gigi Dolan turns an abdominal stretch into some kind of suplex? Kudos to whoever turned one of wrestling’s most basic holds into a killer finisher. Didn’t see that coming & could watch it over and over.  

4. Since I haven’t seen it in over a month, I can only assume Kyle O’Reilly’s hat was an unannounced victim in the latest round of cuts. I wish the hat well in its future endeavors. I hope it finds someplace that appreciates its true greatness. 

3. Andre Chase goes from Breakout Stars Tournament to squash in two weeks. Trey Baxter goes from battling KUSHIDA for the Cruiserweight title to getting squashed in the Breakout Stars Tournament in one month. The guy in the finals, Odyssey Jones, is as green as goose shit & not even one of the 6 best competitors in the 8-man tournament. It’s safe to say this group won’t have anywhere near the success of the first Breakout Stars Tournament. 

2. Pete Dunne versus Ilja Dragunov feels like a big middle finger to Vince. Give two guys of average size & heavy accents 15 minutes in the main event to remind everybody what is great about NXT. Despite the predictable ending (neither was taking a clean loss), it was still a great match, everything you’d expect from two of the best in-ring workers in the world. Good things happen when you let wrestlers wrestle. It might not be good enough for the suits & investors, but it’s good enough for me.   

1. I don’t know what the future holds for NXT. I try to avoid all the speculation stories. Instead of getting all hot and bothered over what may or may not happen, I will reserve judgement until whatever happens happens. NXT is the most fun I’ve had watching wrestling since the Attitude Era. I will enjoy it for as long as I can. And the day it’s not, I won’t hesitate to drop Peacock & delete the app.