The Day WWE NXT Died
WWE NXT: as good once as it ever was, but Triple H and Shawn Michaels have been seen here before.
NXT remains a solid-to-very-good TV show, or at least a solid-to-very-good destination for pro wrestling.
The all-important episodic element all too often fails to ignite with buzz. Distraction finishes are commonplace. The best promos are often cut through the lens of a video package and are tacked onto basic builds at the finish. There's little in the way of crafted live energy. The booking is circular in a rather deadening way. How often has NXT arrived at Bronson Reed Vs. Austin Theory, for example? They are in a feud of sorts again already having worked together three times across September and October last year.
Too many talents on the show are miscast. Karrion Kross is a weird choice to front a show that once fused state-of-the-art workrate with a wholesome vibe of triumph. He's a Vince McMahon guy who, as an intense colossus lacking entirely in charm, is hard to root for. Meanwhile, Adam Cole is a phenomenal human being too good for pro wrestling, possesses an all-timer of a call-and-response bit, and can flat the f*ck out go at an elite level. He has played heel for all but a few months of his NXT run. Candice LeRae is a very good heel who is even better at playing babyface. There are at least two more women who warrant that exact same take.
The babyface/heel dynamic is wonky in the extreme, and there's a pathological laziness to the booking. Karrion Kross is currently staring down three opponents that the NXT main event scene has exhausted in recent months. A filler multi-man built via promo train is bad, myopic TV booking.
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