WWE inadvertently gave fans a perfect illustration of the problems with the main product this week by holding TLC and TakeOver: London just three days apart. Compare the main event title matches of both events, and youll see the difference in a matter of moments. But this column is focused on NXT, so lets just zero in on the Finn Balor/Samoa Joe bout, which lived up to lofty expectations. The two went toe-to-toe in a slugfest that saw Joe throw everything at Balor, only for Finn to come back with his entire arsenal. Joe still withstood it, only falling when Finn quickly capitalized on an opportunity for the win. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Slt5bXIgJTo Balor and Joe are experienced performers, not developmental guys learning their trade. But they havent been wrestling WWE style for years like guys on the main roster. The fact that they had 10,000 fans hanging on every move from beginning to end should be a sign that maybe WWE doesnt have exclusive rights to the best way to do everything. Regardless, if you missed this match, it should be on your must see list. Period.
Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.
