2 Ups And 4 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (23 Sept)

Last night's NXT was something of a hollow affair. Despite the next NXT TakeOver special, now revealed to be called TakeOver: Respect, being just a fortnight away, the company really took its foot off the gas in terms of build. Apollo Crews vs Tyler Breeze was announced, sure, and the two had a tiny encounter backstage, but it was strange, with Apollo acting like more of a jerk than Breeze. Very little of narrative purpose was accomplished tonight, except of course for the debut of Kana, aka Asuka, which was intriguing, if a little physically underwhelming. Bayley and Sasha Banks were only highlighted in the form of a video package, Crew and Breeze feels like a arbitrary matchup, not improved by an odd backstage segment and, most baffling of all, there wasn't a Dusty Rhodes classic quarter final match. Considering that the classic will take up the lion's share of the special in two weeks time, the decision to farm out 2 of 4 quarter final matches to live events rather than TV tapings is a bizarre and frustrating move on behalf of the company. Last night's card (w/finishes) Eva Marie vs Carmella Eva Marie wins via countout after Carmella lands badly on the outside. Tyler Breeze vs Bull Dempsey Breeze pins Bull using the ropes for leverage. The Vaudevillains vs Blake and Murphy (NXT Tag Team Championship match) Gotch pins Blake after the Whirling Dervish.