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.
Show Overview
- Opening Video Package: A recap of NXT Takeover: Unstoppable that does a very good job highlighting all the big moments from last Wednesday’s special event.
- Kevin Owens/William Regal/Solomon Crowe Promo: Sami Zayn’s music played throughout the arena, but instead of getting Zayn, we instead got NXT Champion Kevin Owens. On his way to the ring we got a recap of Owen’s attack on United States Champion John Cena. Once in the ring, the crowd cheered for Owens baiting until he shut them down by pointing out how stupid they were for doing so. It was refreshing. He then ran down Samoa Joe and claimed that he could’ve taken him out at any time. We then got William Regal, who first made a number of references to the superstars who have been hurt since Owen’s arrival. He mentioned a number of names including Hideo Itami. Owens seemed to take offense to the Itami accusation. We got some more back and forth between Regal and Owens until they were interrupted by Solomon Crowe, who called out Kevin for his actions. Owens offered Crowe a match and Regal made it official for tonight. A hot start to the show and a great rub for Solomon.
- Hideo Itami Recap: A replay of the video shown last week of Hideo Itami laid out in the Full Sail University parking lot. The feed then cut to Itami in the trainer room, where he cut a promo talking about how he doesn’t know who attacked him, but when he comes back, nothing will stop him.
- Zack Ryder/Mojo Rawley Backstage Promo: Footage was shown that didn’t make the cut last week of Zack Ryder talking backstage about why he came to NXT Takeover: Unstoppable. He said the same thing we’ve been hearing from every other main roster superstar: NXT is hot right now, the talent is incredible etc. From out of nowhere came Mojo Rawley, who jumped around with the energy of a Chihuahua, seemingly annoying Ryder, who closed the promo by saying “And people said I was over the top”
- Bayley vs Emma with Dana Brooke: Emma came out with new music befitting her new personality, and her new friend. Bayley took early control, but Emma’s new aggression soon gave her the edge, mostly be dragging Bayley around by her ponytail. Some cocky taunting by the evil Aussie would give Bayley the momentary momentum back, but soon Emma had taken control again and trapped her opponent in the Emma Lock for the upset submission win. After the match, both Emma and Brooke worked over Bayley until Charlotte came out to help her friend. From there, the team of Emma and Brooke ganged up on Charlotte and left both ladies lying in the ring.
- Rhyno vs Baron Corbin Recap: A narrated recap of last week’s showdown between NXT’s two unstoppable forces. The slow motion shots were great at showing the impactful moves of this match. We then cut backstage to Baron Corbin giving an interview talking about the victory, when he was interrupted by Rhyno, who stated that the match was fun, intense, and they should do it again sometime.
- Becky Lynch Video Package: A replay of the video shown a few weeks ago to build for Lynch’s match against NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks. They added on a recap of the championship match from last week, and ended it with the incredible moment of the crowd singing Becky’s theme after the match.
- Mike Rollins and Elias Sampson vs Blake and Murphy with Alexa Bliss: Mike Rollins started by out powering both Blake and Murphy, but the NXT Tag Team Champions quickly took back control with double team and wear down moves. The match continued that way until a hot tag was made to Samson, who came in a house of fire, but was quickly snuffed out with a vertical suplex/frog splash combination, leading to a pin fall victory for the champions. After the match, Blake and Murphy held down Rollins while Bliss performed her Sparkle Splash, adding insult to injury.
- #1 Contender Recap: A quick recap showing the highlights of the Tyler Breeze vs Finn Balor match from last week, then hyped that Balor would be in action.
- Blake, Murphy, and Alexis Bliss Backstage Promo: Alexis Bliss was asked why she joined up with the NXT Tag Team Champions. She stated that all three of them are winners, and winners tend to gravitate towards each other. She then cut a scathing promo on Carmella and hyped their match next week, saying that she would send the Statin Island Princess back to the garbage dump she came from.
- Tye Dillinger vs Finn Balor: Dillinger got a very favorable reaction from the NXT Universe. I was disappointed not to see Dillinger using his new perfect 10 gimmick. Dillinger showed some aggression early on and really looked very good against the #1 contender, first using vicious kicks, then trapping him in an arm clutch chin lock. Balor managed to fight back and hit Tye with a string of signature offense, culminating with the Cou De Grace for the victory.
- Jason Jordan Promo: We found Jason Jordan working out in the performance centre, when he was approached and asked what his plans were. He briefly talked about finding a new tag team partner, when he was interrupted by Chad Gable who offered his services. Jordan was quick to reject him, but Gable was persistent, listing his Olympic accomplishments and offering him a Chad Gable towel. Jordan said that he already had a partner in mind, but he’ll call him if he decides to reconsider.
- Kevin Owens vs Solomon Crowe: The match started with Owens stalling on the outside, leading Crowe into an ambush. Once back in the ring, Crowe showed heart and went punch for punch with Owens, gaining momentum until scaling the top rope when Owens pushed him off, sending him crashing to the floor. Owens tried squeezing the life out of Solomon with a rear chin lock, then began pelting Crowe with unrelenting punches and kicks. Despite the punishment absorbed, Solomon continued to get back up and fight during the champion’s taunting, and even managed to turn the tide momentarily before falling victim to a Pop Up Power Bomb and a three second look at the lights. Kevin began beating on Crowe and looked like he was going to power bomb him on the apron, when Samoa Joe came out and chased off the champion again. The show ended with Joe and Owens staring each other down from the ring and ramp respectively.
Any show trying to follow last week’s event would have a difficult time doing so, but even judging it on it’s own merit, fell a little short this week. There was a good balance of in ring action and backstage hype, but this nothing this week felt special. Nothing had an impact that could be built upon heading into the next week or month. It felt a bit like a filler show until they decided what to do next. Each match almost felt formulaic as those “Chinlock City” signs were a little too relevant this week. The one big upside to this show was the opportunity some lesser known talents had to maximize their minutes and get over. On the whole I would say most were able to do that, and hopefully it will lead to more chances in the future.
The Future Five
5. Solomon Crowe (Last Week – Not Ranked): While not making much of an impact since arriving in NXT, Solomon Crowe has had flashes of great potential. The NXT Universe has latched onto those flashes and continues to support Crowe despite his less than impressive win/loss record. This week despite a losing effort he showed a tremendous amount of guts in both challenging and taking the fight to Kevin Owens. He looked tough in the main event and his showing this week may have helped him turn the corner when it comes to getting on the road to success. I’m certain Solomon Crowe made more than a few new fans this week.
4. Blake and Murphy (Last Week – Not Ranked): After weeks of looking less than impressive against Enzo Amore and Big Cass, Blake and Murphy needed to look really good after Unstoppable. Thankfully, this week they looked great, and made their opponents also look really good in the process. It made Blake and Murphy look vulnerable, yet skilled, and as heel champions, it works well. The inclusion of Alexa Bliss in the post match beat down, as well as letting her cut a promo while they played support in the background shows they are willing to share their spotlight, and that will pay off dividends in their future.
3. Finn Balor (Last Week – 5): Coming off of a huge win last week that put him back in title contention, Finn Balor didn’t need to do much this week, but instead of resting up and letting his momentum carry him through, Finn was in action against a top notch competitor that deserves better than his place as the new CJ Parker. Balor must have felt that way about Tye Dillinger too, because he tried his best to give him as much of the match as he could, ultimately making himself look even better when his hand was raised in victory. It wasn’t a win against a man as well known as Tyler Breeze, but it was a win against a man just as skilled.
2. Emma (Last Week – Not Ranked): It is easy to forget that before her disappointing run on the main roster, Emma was considered one of the best talents in NXT. This week, she reminded everyone of that fact with a win over Bayley, a woman that some consider the best talent in NXT today. Not only did she defeat Bayley, but she did it with a clean submission victory. After having high hopes for Emma when she first returned to NXT, I had given up on the evil Aussie become more than jobber fodder. I hope with this upset victory that things will change for her and she will start to see more checks in the win column.
1. Kevin Owens (Last Week – 2): After spending two weeks holding down the number two spot, NXT Champion Kevin Owens finally recaptures the top spot in the NXT Future Five. Owen’s stunt at the top of the show was a classic heel tactic that admittedly suckered me in, and the mockery of his supporters showed that being a heel was more important to him than his ego. Owens had lots to juggle this week, and once again balanced everything like a superstar. His dominance in the main event and subsequent cowardice against new rival Samoa Joe was by the books heeling, but sometimes keeping things simple is the best thing you can do.
Final Thoughts:
Sometimes the truest test of a talent is the ability to victory in defeat. That was certainly the case for Solomon Crowe this week, and his courageous showing was enough to get him the final spot in the Future Five this week. It’s also been said that timing is everything, and if that is to be believed then while Blake and Murphy didn’t have the most high profile win, it certainly came at the right time to get them back on fan’s radars. Finn Balor might be riding a wave of momentum right now, but his demonstration of superstardom came in the form of making his opponent look good, and making his own victory look more hard fought. There is no doubt that Emma had the highest profile win of the week, beating out the insanely over Bayley without any outside interference. This win demonstrated that her return to NXT might not be the demotion many thought it to be. Despite having the bigger win, Emma still falls short to the NXT Champion this week, as Kevin Owens did an impressive job of promoting the upcoming Elimination Chamber event, while generating heat against Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe, while simultaneously making Solomon Crowe look great against him. That takes an incredible effort, but Owens made it look effortless this week. Let’s see how this Sunday’s match with John Cena and the subsequent fall out effects the vibe down in Florida next week.
