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.
With NXT superstars and divas now making an impact outside of just their weekly Wednesday battles, I have decided that the Future Five will now expand to a larger universe – the WWE Universe. Some weeks, that influence will be felt more than in others, but it will still play a part in deciding the weekly Future Five.
The Future Five
- Dash and Dawson – I’ve been tooting the horn of these two guys for a while now, so it came as no surprise to me that given their first opportunity at the NXT Tag Team Championship, Dash and Dawson defeated the Vaudevillians to take home the belts. Not only did they win the match, but they did so in dominant fashion, injuring Aiden English similar to the way they did Big Cass a few weeks ago. This is undoubtedly the biggest win in the career of these two and there is no spot more fitting than number one.
- Apollo Crews – Weeks ago I had warned that if Apollo Crews kept being just “happy to be here”, that he could end up getting left behind. This week, Apollo wasn’t happy, he was mad. That fire and passion towards Baron Corbin showed that when pushed too far, he pushes back hard. Sometimes as a fan you want your heroes to stand up for injustice, and that’s exactly what Apollo did. It made a statement, not only about the situation, but about him personally. It gives fans all the reason they need to get behind him completely.
- Samoa Joe – All eyes were on Samoa Joe this week as he closed the show talking about why he turned on former friend and partner, NXT Champion Finn Balor. His promo was everything you would expect from a villainous Joe. It was intense, it was concise, and it evoked emotion from both the crowd and Balor. Joe’s entitlement rang out like a church bell and hit a nerve with me, instantly making me anxious to see Finn kick his teeth down his throat. We almost got that too, if Joe hadn’t suckered in the champion and chocked him out, sending a bigger statement than any words ever could. At the end of the night Joe was walking up the ramp and Balor was still coming out of a state of unconsciousness.
- The Hype Bros – The most entertaining match of the week was undoubtably the six person tag team match featuring The Hype Bros and Bayley vs Blake, Murphy, and Alexa Bliss. While Bayley did her part to help with the victory (she even gave a Bayley to Belly Suplex to Murphy!), the Hype Bros kicked their game into another gear in this match, and not only contributed to the victory, but solidified it by pinning the former NXT Tag Team Champions. That’s a huge victory for Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder. With Dash and Dawson now holding the NXT Tag Team Championship, it could mean we see the new champs get hyped sooner rather than later.
- Nia Jax – Not only did Jax have another demonstration of her dominance during this week’s episode of NXT, but there was lots going on outside the ring as well. First, she was approached by Eva Marie before her match to discuss something. We don’t know what that something is just yet, but it’s obvious that in just a few short weeks, Nia has been turning heads of not only fans but her peers. That was clearly evident after NXT Women’s Champion Bayley ran into her after retrieving her belt back from Alexa Bliss and stood frozen in hesitation at the Amazonian threat in front of her. Bayley knows what everyone else knows. It’s only a matter of time before she has to face Jax, and when that time comes, all the high fives and fan love might not be able to stop her from taking the title.
Honorable Mentions & Final Thoughts
Are Carmella and Big Cass an item outside the ring? It sure seemed that way with how she was fawning over him during this week’s episode of Breaking Ground, though who can blame her? He’s seven feet tall and I’m told that’s something that can’t be taught…William Regal almost made the Future Five this week for demonstrating why you don’t want to make him mad on Breaking Ground…I like the idea of Eva Marie teaming up with Nia Jax. It could be a female twist on the Shawn Michaels/Diesel dynamic; and now some of you have thrown up because I compared Eva Marie to HBK…Next week’s tag team contest pitting Jason Jordan and Chad Gable against The Ascension could be an excellent contest, and really open up the doors of the tag team division.
Excellent episode of NXT this week. The show was engaging from start to finish, characters were developed, and most importantly, everything felt important. This was an A episode. More of this next week please.
