{"id":26856,"date":"2018-09-26T11:46:19","date_gmt":"2018-09-26T15:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=26856"},"modified":"2018-09-26T11:46:19","modified_gmt":"2018-09-26T15:46:19","slug":"the-story-so-far-nxt-9-26-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/09\/26\/the-story-so-far-nxt-9-26-18\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story So Far: NXT (9\/26\/18)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>NXT has been tremendous at storytelling and match psychology over the last few weeks and months and last week\u2019s September 19 episode was no different. From the females gaining a new edge to their characters, to the \u2018who attacked <strong>Aleister Black<\/strong>\u2019 mystery being built up in its own way, the show stayed true to its unique methods with another compelling episode.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Women\u2019s Division<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Lacey Evans<\/strong> and the recently repackaged <strong>Aliyah<\/strong> were booked strong, picking up a tag-team victory over indy darling <strong>Deonna Purrazzo<\/strong> and the eternal babyface, <strong>Dakota Kai<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dakota Kai &amp; Deonna Purrazzo vs. Lacey Evans &amp; Aliyah: WWE NXT, Sept. 19, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/3swK-LDGHwg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It was the manner of the duo\u2019s victory that particularly caught the eye. Evans and, particularly, Aliyah showed new layers to their character that we hadn\u2019t seen before, pulling out all the classic heel tactics in the book to gain the upper hand. Aliyah\u2019s body language and the way she carries herself indicates that she may have what it takes to be a good heel in the NXT women\u2019s division.<\/p>\n<p>The match saw a lot of hard-hitting as well as technical wrestling from Lacey Evans and Deonna Purrazzo. Dakota got the hot tag before her show was stopped by Evans hitting the Women\u2019s Right for the pin. It\u2019ll be interesting to see what <strong>Triple H<\/strong> has planned for both women in the lead up to <em><strong>TakeOver: WarGames<\/strong><\/em> in November.<\/p>\n<p>In other news, <strong>Candice LeRae<\/strong> was interviewed by General Manager <strong>William Regal<\/strong> regarding the attack on Aleister Black. LeRae denied the involvement of her and her husband, <strong>Johnny Gargano<\/strong>, while also insinuating that current NXT Champion, <strong>Tommaso Ciampa<\/strong>, may have been the one behind it.<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Next Week<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The return of <strong>Lars Sullivan<\/strong> to in-ring action was announced for tonight&#8217;s show. This would be Sullivan\u2019s second match back from injury after decimating <strong>Raul Mendoza<\/strong> a few weeks ago. He was involved in a backstage beat down of <strong>EC3<\/strong> a couple of weeks ago as well after the latter said to Regal that Sullivan may have been the one behind the attack on Aleister Black. It will be interesting to see whether either story is revisited upon Lars\u2019 return to the ring next week.<\/p>\n<p>The show also saw the debut of <strong>Jaxson Ryker<\/strong>, formerly known as <strong>Gunner<\/strong> in TNA. Ryker is a part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/02\/01\/former-nxt-tag-team-champ-debuts-new-team-tapings-spoiler\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new stable called the <strong>Forgotten Sons<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0alongside Steve Cutler and Wesley Blake. Ryker was<a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/09\/09\/ultimo-ninja-meet-nxts-humberto-carrillo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> facing Humberto Carrillo, fka Ultimo Ninja<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Humberto Carrillo vs. Jaxson Ryker: WWE NXT, Sept. 19, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0zjQkUEzD7c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>WWE also put up a video of <strong>Matt Riddle<\/strong> on their YouTube channel, hyping up his TV debut for NXT. Riddle talked about making his debut at an NXT live event and how excited he was to be on NXT.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Matt Riddle makes his NXT Live debut\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aIFggnmanms?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>NXT Champion, <strong>Tommaso Ciampa<\/strong>, was also announced to be going one-on-one with <strong>Otis Dozovic<\/strong>. It would be a nice change and a fresh, never-before-seen match-up between the larger Dozovic against the sadistic Ciampa. The pair have been going at it on social media over the last few days.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We saw Ciampa by that Big BUSH&#8230;&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kLkAZuck7y\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/kLkAZuck7y<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OTIS (DOZER) (@otiswwe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otiswwe\/status\/1037521308156870656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 6, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/STEAKSandWEIGHTS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#STEAKSandWEIGHTS<\/a> <br \/>I\u2019m COMINNNNNNN\u2019 @ProjectCiampa <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/pN4Qd8wn64\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/pN4Qd8wn64<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OTIS (DOZER) (@otiswwe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otiswwe\/status\/1044647817199984642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 25, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nowhere to Hide this Wednesday Night @ProjectCiampa <\/p>\n<p>You know your GuiltyAaa \ud83d\udc49\ud83c\udffb <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m gonna keep on Comin\u2019 and COMIN\u2019 and COMINNNNNNN\u2019 After Ya <br \/>AAAAASSSSA!\u270a\ud83c\udffb <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/HeavyMachinery?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#HeavyMachinery<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/STEAKSandWEIGHTS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#STEAKSandWEIGHTS<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BulkingSeason?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#BulkingSeason<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OverSIZEload?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#OverSIZEload<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/E4Bj0liGOC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/E4Bj0liGOC<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OTIS (DOZER) (@otiswwe) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/otiswwe\/status\/1044404055609675776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 25, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProjectCiampa\/status\/1044671685608316928<\/p>\n<h4><strong>Main Event<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p><strong>Ricochet<\/strong> and<strong> Pete Dunne<\/strong> have been an interesting pairing ever since teased as a team against the <strong>Undisputed Era<\/strong> a couple of weeks ago. And the \u201cChampion vs Champion\u201d tagline to their match made it even more interesting. The winner-takes-all stipulation was a giveaway, however. It was obvious the company would not unify the titles, at least so soon after their introduction to the mainstream, casual audience. With that in mind, the outcome of the match may have been predictable.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ricochet vs. Pete Dunne - Champion vs. Champion Match: WWE NXT, Sept. 19, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zE2qGRBKPM8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, the predictability didn\u2019t stop you from enjoying what was a tremendously athletic back-and-forth and hard-hitting match between Dunne and Ricochet. This would definitely be in my top five matches to recommend this week in pro wrestling.<\/p>\n<p>The finish, unsurprisingly, was ruined by interference from the Undisputed Era. <strong>Bobby Fish<\/strong> is still not cleared for such physicality so he was conspicuous by his absence. The <strong>War Raiders<\/strong> then came out and chased off <strong>Adam Cole, Kyle O\u2019Reilly<\/strong> and <strong>Roderick Strong<\/strong> before the show ended with Ricochet and Dunne standing in the ring with their respective belts in hand and looking at each other with begrudging respect.<\/p>\n<p>Hopefully we get to see a rematch somewhere down the line with higher stakes and more suspense. It\u2019ll be interesting to see whether the duo reunited to fend off the Era or do they go their separate ways.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NXT has been tremendous at storytelling and match psychology over the last few weeks and months and last week\u2019s September 19 episode was no different. From the females gaining a new edge to their characters, to the \u2018who attacked Aleister Black\u2019 mystery being built up in its own way, the show stayed true to its [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2709,"featured_media":26873,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,3],"tags":[515,740,116,536,70,2073],"class_list":["post-26856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-nxt","category-wwe-universe","tag-aliyah","tag-lacey-evans","tag-nxt","tag-pete-dunne","tag-ricochet","tag-tommaso-ciampa"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2709"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}