6 Ups And 2 Downs From Last Night's NXT (April 7)
Downs
2. Pool Showing
This is the NXT Championship.
For months, we thought this would be the hottest thing in the entire company going into WrestleMania. Would it be Cole vs Gargano? vs Ciampa? vs Balor?? Would it be on the TakeOver card or would it slot in near the top of the Grandest Stage of Them All itself! The possibilities both were endless and endlessly arousing.
In the end, it's another (quite literally) phoned-in advancement of an already underwhelming angle. Acknowledging the circumstances only goes so far, and if this is honestly the best NXT can do to keep the plates of their top title spinning then there's a bigger question about why they're bothering to do this at all.
It's not doing anything for Adam Cole, it's not doing anything for the Velveteen Dream, it's not doing anything for the show itself, and it's absolutely not doing anything for the audience.