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NXT Minus 6: The End of an Era, Part II

Brad continues to reminisce as we turn off the lights on the old NXT as NXT 2.0 takes over.

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The last three years of NXT have been the most fun I’ve had watching wrestling since the Attitude Era. Let’s look back and remember when NXT was the Black & Gold Standard of professional wrestling. Here is the best of the best.

WWE Cruiserweight Classic Results - 8/3/16 (Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa closes first round) -

6. Best Rivalry: Tommaso Ciampa versus Johnny Gargano      Years from now when colleges offer courses on professional wrestling, they will use this rivalry to illustrate how to tell a long term story. From their first match in the Cruiserweight Tournament to their reunion match against Mustache Mountain, everything was perfect. It produced three MOTY candidates and turned Tommaso Ciampa into one of the best heels of the last 20 years. It was all so good, I won’t even let the debacle of One Final Beat tarnish what they created.   

NXT TakeOver: WarGames II Results – Nov. 17, 2018 – Ricochet, Dunne, War Raiders vs. Undisputed Era – TPWW

5. Best Takeover: War Games II      The mantra of NXT was always “less is more.” It makes sense that the best Takeover only had four matches. I’m not counting Matt Riddle versus Kassius Ohno. Tommaso Ciampa versus Velveteen Dream and Aleister Black versus Johnny Gargano were both MOTY candidates. If not for the overbooked ending, Kairi Sane versus Shayna Baszler would have been a MOTY candidate. The War Games match itself was a glorious car crash with action from start to finish. Less is more, and War Games II is the most. 

Aleister Black def. Johnny Gargano | WWE

4. Best Match: Aleister Black versus Johnny Garagno, War Games II      People talk about being moved to tears by a piece of music or a painting. When this match was over, I had tears in my eyes. I couldn’t believe two wrestlers could tell a story so good with such flawless execution. There were at least four spots I thought someone legit lost their teeth or their consciousness. Black Mass is one of my favorite finishers, and the one to end this match might be the best that Black ever hit. I give this match 6 stars, and I stand by that.  

10 best matches of the Women's Evolution: photos | WWE

3. Best Female Match: Sasha Banks versus Bayley, Takeover Brooklyn I      This is the match that introduced me to NXT and rekindled my love of wrestling. There are other matches just as good in terms of physical execution. However, nothing can touch these characters, the story, the moment, the historical impact of this masterpiece. Its importance to wrestling, not just women’s wrestling, cannot be overstated. If you aren’t a fan of this match, you aren’t a wrestling fan.  

Shayna Baszler makes her NXT in-ring debut tonight on WWE Network - YouTube

2. Best Female Wrestler: Shayna Baszler      The easy answer is undefeated Asuka. In my opinion, Baszler is the pioneer. She brought a tough, gritty reality to the ring that previously wasn’t there. Her feud with Kairi Sane is one of the best in NXT history. Her feud with Io Shirai gave us arguably the best women’s cage match in WWE history. Even her lesser feuds with Ember Moon, Dakota Kai and Nikki Cross gave us great matches and moments. The Queen of Spades was pure evil. Long live the Queen.

WWE NXT TakeOver recap: Johnny Gargano finally reaches the top of the mountain

1. Best Male Wrestler: Johnny Gargano      Garagno is NXT. He went from unsigned walk-on in a random tag team to the main event. He was such a whitebread babyface we thought he couldn’t be anything else. He became the Chris Jericho of NXT. Everything he did got over. Weasel heel. Overprotective father. Cocky bastard. Wearing headbands. Snapping pencils. No look high fives. It all worked for the Wednesday Knight, the Heart and Soul of NXT, Johnny Takeover, Johnny Freaking Wrestling. Maybe he is destined to be Crash Davis. I don’t care. He is without question the best wrestler ever to come through NXT.   

Kevin Owens shocks WWE Universe with NXT return: TakeOver: WarGames (WWE Network Exclusive) - YouTube
Bonus: My Favorite NXT Moment, Kevin Owens at War Games III      I was at this show. After War Games ended, Owens left the ring without his team. I thought that was odd, so I kept my eye on him. He walked up the ramp and kissed the NXT logo on the stage backdrop, then took a bow with his team. This simple, almost unnoticed gesture says a lot about a man who could main event any promotion in the world. It says just as much about what the Black and Gold standard means to the wrestlers who made it the best wrestling on the planet. 

No matter what happens moving forward, we are lucky we had this NXT for as long as we did.

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Opinion

Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

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Wyatt Sicks WWE

Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.

It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions, 

The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight. 

This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail. 

The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions. 

After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama

gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania. 

It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company. 

We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!

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Opinion

Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns 

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WWE Jacob Fatu Roman Reigns Backlash

Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns

Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call. 

Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story. 

The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line. 

 In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years? 

Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus. 

I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?

Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!

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