10 Ways WWE Rebuilt NXT In 2017
A Spot Of D.I.Y
Under-appreciated at the time, the San Antonio and Orlando TakeOver NXT Title matches between Bobby Roode and Shinsuke Nakamura were a masterclass in nuanced pro wrestling storytelling of old.
San Antonio saw Nakamura's bombast undone by Roode's less-than-'Glorious' guile and a title change most assumed further down the line. 'The King Of Strong Style' recklessly met his end against the wily veteran. By the time Orlando arrived, 'The King Of Strong Style's imminent WWE call-up should have sapped the bout of tension. Instead, a wiser challenger tried not to expose his previously wounded body part to the champion. Only in attempting a match-winning Kinshasa did he drop the pretence - and eventually the match - allowing Roode a inch-wide route to glory that he fortuitously followed.
Roode's stewardship was as short-lived as his predecessors - he lasted only two TakeOvers with the title before dropping the gold en route to a post-SummerSlam SmackDown Live! reunion with the rechristened 'Artist'. Signs of NXT's accelerated exit velocity since the 2016 Brand Extension, both landed on the main roster within a year of their developmental debuts in comparison with the teeth-gnashing tenures of Bayley, Finn Bálor and Samoa Joe before them.
No longer afforded robust roster reassurances, NXT was forced to creatively rethink the model that had crafted a golden age from 2014, lest 2017 become the worst year for the brand so far. Its success further confirmed the solid foundation underneath the developmental that disastrously remains absent from its bigger brother's bright lights.
10. Unstoppable
Resisting an understandable temptation to insist she say wrestling's time-honoured farewell before making crossing the void to the main roster, the company stared into the eyes of Asuka's incredible undefeated streak and thankfully didn't blink.
Her dominance at the start of the year was such that any defeat would have been charitable to a fault, but feuds with Nikki Cross and Ember Moon pushed the 'Empress Of Tomorrow' to her limits in intriguing new ways, even after she'd seemingly played and won the numbers game in multi-woman matches on Takeovers and television.
A Falls Count Anywhere clash with the SAnitY lunatic was amongst Full Sail's finest moments in 2017 thanks to the Champion unlocking her frenzied side against her equally ferocious foe. Cross had never cowered from the imposing titleholder in the preceding months, and literally threw herself into what would prove to be her only solo crack at the prize.
Asuka's TakeOver: Orlando foul was perhaps what afforded Ember Moon two shots - the Champion avoided Moon's devastating Eclipse finisher via nefarious means in their April meeting. Ember still couldn't beat her on her very best day, and TakeOver: Brooklyn 3 was most definitely that...