Welcome to NXT Future Five on Last Word On Sports, where each week we analyze the latest episode of World Wrestling Entertainment Network’s hottest program, NXT and rank the five performers who made the biggest impact.
Highlights of the Night:
- BFF Reunion: It looked like Sasha Banks wouldn’t have a leg to stand on, or a partner to tag in her match against Emma and Dana Brooke. To the surprise of only those not paying attention to the last few weeks, Charlotte made her return not only to face her current rival Dana Brooke, but also to team with Banks. She prefaced the match by saying that Sasha owed her one for this. Why? Sasha didn’t ask her for help. Regardless, this lead to the one night only reunion of the BFF’s, and both ladies were quite impressive. After Banks and Charlotte picked up the win Charlotte decided to cash in her favor on Banks by requesting a NXT Divas Championship Match next week, to which Sasha obliged.
- Balor vs Owens in Japan: While I will concede that the footage was already days old and everyone knew the results, this is still a pretty darn good match and watching it again was a real treat. What wasn’t so much of a treat was all of the footage cut out from the original. I understand the producers likely trimmed it for time, but it still did have a negative impact on the viewing. Despite all of that the match was still worthy of a highlight spot. Adding some balance to the cuts was some backstage footage of both a vicious Kevin Owens and a jubilant Finn Balor moments after their match at the Sumo Hall. Owens attacking the cameraman and John Cena endorsing Balor were both great demonstrations of the opposite spectrums the competitors were on.
- Enzo Amore & Big Cass w/ Carmella vs The Vaudevillians: A very well done tag team main event that not only felt important, but was entertaining as a baby face vs baby face match up. That is a hard thing to do well, but both teams managed to keep the crowd engaged without having to resort to heel tactics on either side. Even the finish was classic clean, with Aiden English using Enzo Amore’s momentum from the top rope to reverse his cross body block and win without even using so much as a handful of tights. Both teams looked amazing, and no one had to be protected. Following the Balor vs Owens match was likely no picnic either, but by the end of the show, I was convinced that was the right contest to put on last.
The Future Five
5. Marcus Louis: Even though he lost his match with Solomon Crowe, in my mind Marcus Louis was the more impressive of the two. I would say that Crowe looked really good in his role, but I’m not sure what his role is exactly, and that made him seem kind of melba toast. He’s great as an underdog character, but he didn’t do enough to make me believe it. Louis on the other hand, has the potential to be a character in the vein of Kane if he continues to develop and stick with his current incarnation. He was intimidating and bizarre, a great combination if you’re looking to get noticed. Now he just needs to win a few matches and we’re off to the races
4. Charlotte: Despite not even being advertised for the show this week, Charlotte made her presence known and put the spotlight squarely on herself by coming to the aide of her former BFF and NXT Divas Champion Sasha Banks. Her mic work was also short and sweet, getting big reactions from the crowd when she insulted Dana Brooke and when she requested her ominous favor from Banks in exchange for helping her out. Her trademark athleticism was fully on display and reminded me how much I’ve missed seeing her on NXT broadcasts. I’m not sure if she will be successful in her bid to become NXT Divas Champion next week, but this week there was no denying she came out looking good.
3. Sasha Banks: While I believe Charlotte did an outstanding job in the Divas tag team match, I couldn’t help but feel her partner, NXT Divas Champion Sasha Banks, came out looking just slightly better. While Charlotte showed off her flare, Banks was like a house of fire when in the ring. It was almost a game of who could top who with these two and for my money, Sasha was the clear cut victor. Her intensity was fierce, her technique was executed flawlessly, and she looked like a fighting champion by first offering to take on both Dana Brooke and Emma by herself, then accepting the challenge of her tag team partner Charlotte when realistically she had no reason to. It showed a fighting spirit that will only endear her more to the NXT Universe.
2. Enzo Amore & Big Cass: One of the participants in the main event, Enzo and Big Cass were all energy this episode, keeping things consistent with their usual appearances. As usual, Enzo played the Ricky Morton role, taking as much punishment as possible before making the tag to his big brute of a best friend. When Cass did see action, he filled out his role perfectly, that of a human wrecking ball and Speak N Spell for the crowd at Full Sail University. Like their opponents, they did a great job in making sure that everyone came out looking strong without needing to get the crowd to turn. On this episode they were the realist’ guys in the room.
1. The Vaudevillians: Sometimes winning is everything, and in the case of this week’s episode, that was the difference between a number one and number two position on the Future Five. Simon Gotch and Aiden English had a lot to prove in this contest. This was their first major test since coming back from injury, and they looked as though not a step had been lost. In fact their timing seemed to have improved and their shenanigans were less prominent, with double team maneuvers and technical prowess being the order of the day for the men from a forgotten era. I was also impressed with their commitment to securing their place as a baby face duo, rather than falling back on their former rule breaking ways, which would have been the easier choice.
Final Thoughts:
This was a decent episode of NXT, but it wasn’t without its flaws. Replaying the Balor vs Owens match from Beast In The East seemed redundant and aside from the tag team matches that opened and closed the shows, everything else was filler material. That can be forgiven if your showcase content is really compelling, but as good as those tag team matches were, they weren’t enough to offset the filler. It wasn’t a great show, but it wasn’t a bad show either. Next week we get a NXT Divas Championship Match and a medical update from Sami Zayn. Let’s hope it is good news.
