I've been writing this weekly roundup of NXT for a few months now and, even to casual readers, it should be fairly obvious than I'm something of a fan. I've tried many ways to subtly try and entice people into watching NXT, but after last week's episode, I'm starting to prefer the direct approach. Do not watch Raw. Do not watch Smackdown. Watch NXT instead. If you're looking for a stacked card of fantastic wrestling, storylines told with patience and taste, and a perpetually charged crowd, last night's episode of NXT will make you happier than even the sassiest promo from New Day. Nia Jax clobbered Bayley in a marvellous backstage spot, Gable & Jordan once again taught a class in amateur wrestling, James Storm added star power, Samoa Joe and Tomasso Ciampa put on a thunderous main event. It was a good time...
Downs...
2. Elias Sampson Is Debuting Again
This appears to be a very small quibble but it's actually quite a rare and substantial head-scratcher from NXT. Elias Sampson is getting the vignette treatment at the moment, ahead of debuting on NXT TV. The clips are fine enough; grainy black-and-white footage of cryptic singing thats sits nicely between Wyatt Family films and Inside LLewyn Davis. The only problem is, Elias Sampson has already debuted, right? I didn't dream that? The drifter gimmick is cool and I've no doubt that Sampson is a good worker, but the gimmick isn't new. This isn't a repackaging, a grand unveiling. Sampson's been around for months as The Drifter and he's been a hapless jobber throughout. Look, here he is being crushed by Bull Dempsey:The fact that NXT is packaging him as a new commodity is really weird. This treatment is normally reserved for debuting stars or people undergoing a gimmick realignment. As a result, their plan - taking jobber Sampson and presenting him (essentially unchanged) as a new mysterious figure, is totally not working. I feel utterly cold about his debut, cool as the videos are. Here's hoping he gets over regardless.