"CINCINNATI OHIOOO"

NXT's first on-the-road show, high expectations, high adrenaline, hope for a better crowd etc. Were the expectations met? Was the adrenaline... kept at a high level? Was the crowd better? (that isn't hard to do).

All PRESSING QUESTIONS.

POINTING AND BREATHING A LOT

DOES IT MAKE ME GOOD AT P-PROMOS?

(no)

KICKING OFF THE FIRST SHOW IN OHIO (HOME STATE OF THE MIZ) is good old definitely-not-struggling-to-not-be-one-dimensional Tyler Breeze, who otherwise still manages to be popular and a very decent star at the very least, versus the Rey Mysterio clone attempt #3 or so in Kalisto, who because of these comparisons is always going to be underrated by some, yet still obviously needs work in the ring.

Not a horrible match but there was nothing amazing either. The first thing that came to mind was the interesting fact WWE started off a show at the Arnold Classic thingy with a particularly short luchadore and one of the skinniest guys on the current roster. I thought it was weird but eh it's hardly important in this day and age I suppose. Nothing to scoff at, just ironic in a sense. Also completely unimportant and irrelevant. I DIGRESS.

Can't really knock the match or really complain about anything either. Really the only disappointing thing in it was, apart from Breeze getting yet another win for god knows why, Kalisto only doing a regular 450 splash as opposed to something interesting - something we haven't seen yet on the NXT roster. Just a regular 450 splash which will always be lacking in an awe factor when used by a guy whose primary aspect is his athletic lucha-libre style, and when compared to Neville's red arrow. At least it didn't finish the match though, that's good. It means it's not a finisher. Maybe it's a signature. Actually, that might be worse, because it's a high impact, big deal. It should finish matches. FUCK.

Oh GOD I can't believe I sat through nearly ten minutes of wasted time on a show that already has awfully imbalanced allotted time for talents watching these pointless promos. I do not care about what they did there. Not many people do. Typical HHH has to push his fucking Hall of Fame entrance shite that again no one really cares about. Put it on Raw, use it to amplify your fucking character on the main show. Make MORE PEOPLE, and a fanbase that ACTUALLY COULD MAYBE CARE A LITTLE BIT see it, don't waste a sixth of a show that already has time problems please. And just throw the NXT videos with the fans and stuff up on the Network or YouTube or some shit. Jeez. At least try to respect kayfabe slightly when you have a show that only goes for an hour. It's not like you're lacking filler, so you have to fill it with ego-massaging crap like that.

In all honesty who the hell could even enjoy wasting eight minutes watching some video package that should have been on wwe.com? It's cool they do this stuff with the fans and they are exceptionally successful considering NXT (formerly) being a developmental brand, but it didn't need to be there at all.

[POINTING INTENSIFIES]

Seriously what a bad promo lol.

Anyway, after that travesty of wasted time involving HHH and shoot-shit, and then that silly pointy-promo by Finn Balor, it's decided that the NXT Tag Team Champions will finally get a spot on the show!

Completely unsure what's going on with their names at the moment. I still maintain that separately they're being billed by their full names (ie Buddy Murphy and Wesley Blake) but when tagging together, their tag team name is actually just their last names (ie Blake and Murphy). It seems the most logical overall to be honest, and is how it has been since they started teaming together. Team Thick was never a thing. Never.

Enzo & Cass getting a regular spot on NXT is great. I'm glad that it didn't actually take that long to finally put in more guys on regular positions than the BIG FIVE to be completely honest. It seems that Bull hasn't been prioritised for a while now and over him the tag division has been. Or at least Enzo & Cass anyway. BAM still get little time though they're the champions which needs to change. The tag team championships have never been considered a big deal and are now more pointless than a middle-of-the-show singles match. Why? The tag teams in NXT right now are fantastic.

Anyway I digress again. The match was, eh, expected from developmental talents. Cass is looking better but still a bit confused when he takes charge in the ring, as if he's plodding, unsure of what move to do next. That's probably the main thing I'd hope Cass can work on before he gets a call up with Enzo.

Will we see Murphy vs. Enzo in the coming weeks? I sure hope so.

Sasha Banks vs. Alexa Bliss proved two particularly interesting things about NXT.

1) The divas division could possibly go to complete shit if Charlotte, Bayley AND Sasha all leave in relatively quick succession. Becky Lynch is good, obviously, yet she hasn't been able to prove that. If she can't prove it against any of those three I just mentioned - or all of them in one match - what are the chances she can prove herself against newer divas like Alexa Bliss or Dana Brooke, among others? How are those two divas going to impress anyone a la the aforementioned trinity of star divas have?

and 2) NXT is definitely able to travel around. That crowd was probably full of people that went there to actually watch NXT and do whatever else as a secondary. Big wrestling fans as noted by the chants in certain matches and the lack of a real HOMETOWN pop for Bliss.

Match was rubbish though. Feel bad for Sasha probably having to put Bliss over in the near future again even though Bliss isn't particularly good in any aspect and severely needs off-TV development time before she gets in the ring again.

Hyped for the debut of another female though.

And what is there to say about this M-M-M-M-M-MAAIIN EVENT other than "disappointment"?

Owens had a great showing of course, and I'm not going to say that Riley coming back wasn't obviously just for Owens to get over more as some evil guy or whatever, but come on. Riley just gets destroyed like that? He had barely any offence yet again. Two matches in a row with a gimmick based on UNLEASHED ANGER. It makes virtually no sense, even if the babyface in WWE matches are supposed to get their ass whipped for the majority of the match.

Owens coming out to a big pop and these travelling fans chanting "Mr Wrestling", "Kill Owens Kill", among other things, is another horrible horrible thing. Will I or others ever find solace in a respectable non-self-absorbed crowd for NXT? Is it possible for NXT heels to get over as heels without having to devolve in-ring so their "movez" don't get pops from these crowds? Is it possible for these crowds to accept heels as heels based on what they do in kayfabe at least one in a while?

As for the questions I posed...

Were the expectations met? No.

Was the adrenaline... kept at a high level? What?

Was the crowd better? Barely.

tuning into NXT... on time.

To quote BBR, "Rare footage of Oxi watching NXT on time". And holy heck I'm glad I did. This episode was pretty good overall and certainly for once catered more to WHAT I WANT THAN WHAT YOU WANT.

CERTIFIED WINNING MATCHES

BONAFIDE CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS

Opening with Enzo & Cass against the Lucha Dragons was almost a great change of pace.

I'd say it was actually a great change of pace if the tag team division wasn't treated like it lacks worth for some ungodly reason. But nonetheless, I certainly like the idea of allowing Enzo & Cass to treat even face teams (or supposed face teams I guess) like the Lucha Dragons with a bit more EDGE, instead of being some goodie-two-shoes-cookie-cutter faces that only smack-talk the bad guys.

I'll be among the first to admit that though Enzo & Cass have almost unparalleled charisma as a tag team in today's age, their ring work isn't magnificent, but, I wouldn't say it's bad. It's more than acceptable, but not near a level where they can put on any MOTY contenders even with great opponents unfortunately. That being said, they are still in the remnants of what was once developmental for a reason.

Overall the match was plodding at points and it could have been a bit faster. Enzo's not a big guy so I don't see why he doesn't have a bit more spring in his step in his matches, even if he's booked as a guy who gets his ass whipped all the time. The smack talking and cockiness at the start set the mood well though, and Cass once again coming to the aid of Enzo more than once was easily the best part of the match. First pushing him out of the way and then coming back with fortitude only a 7 foot tall man can have from birth - and not be taught - to turn the tables single-handedly for the victory was perfect. Best big-guy big boot these days btw.

Story-wise, awesome match with an awesome finish. I'm glad they're making Cass a subtle powerhouse who almost always carries Enzo to a good match, but isn't too overbooked that it's annoying.

As Carmella walks out alone (for the first time?) I'm wondering if she could hold herself on the microphone without Enzo or Cass there to back her up. I won't say she's great but she can definitely hold her own. At least it seems like she lives the character. That's a good trait, especially for Carmella, because I don't think any other females bar maybe Charlotte actually seem to live their character in NXT. Total Divas doesn't mean SHIT.

A match between two VERY NEW divas that is actually watchable is something I never thought I'd say. Carmella is decent and Bliss has improved dramatically since I remember her being on TV back when she had a little mini-feud with Sasha. The match was far from fantastic, and was definitely not something I'll remember in the coming weeks, but considering their lack of experience, the match was definitely impressive. Certainly working proof that NXT as developmental was never a problem at all, and televising developmental talent is a good idea, as well as working proof of the great training by Sara Del Rey on the divas.

Bliss vs. Sasha down the road may be a good match but Bliss really needs to improve to take on one of the greatest modern womens' wrestlers in WWE history in a match that can impress like the divas matches at every other special.

Alex Riley's promo seemed to drift off into the distance - far from the point - but I think we got the gist. If Riley has such conviction to do a promo like that even after his career almost being entirely tarnished by John FUCKFACE Cena's politicking backstage, he definitely should be given another opportunity. So I'm glad he is.

Of course with most of Riley's in-ring attempts, the match wasn't fantastic but wasn't bad either. I don't understand the point of a guy coming out with RAGE and then being locked into rest-holds for a good portion of an already short match, but it did pick up I suppose. I can't really mention anything on Riley's side because it wasn't anything special. CJ Parker however did show some proof that he should be given a proper push as more than an enhancement talent on the (now ex-) developmental show, what with his heel work during his amazing entrance and the match.

Hopefully Riley can be a legitimate opponent for Owens and actually give him some trouble instead of getting whipped like Zayn did.

P.S. I like the idea they got Riley, a legitimately big guy, to take on Owens to inevitably lose. Owens will look a lot better in my eyes - and probably to a lot more people - when he physically dominates a guy like Riley too.

P.P.S. Let CJ Parker, a somewhat legitimately big guy, take on Owens too sometime down the road or something. HE DENTED HIS ARMOUR.

For some reason, CJ Parker vs. Alex Riley didn't close the show and we have another Itami vs. Breeze match which I can't be assed watching. Maybe someone should tell me if it was any good or not and I might get around to it. I don't really care though.

Main event of the night for me was Parker vs. Riley and Riley's EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN after realising FAT KASSIUS OHNO has a family and Alex Riley, a university jock from the original NXT, has no family, and is/was stuck in a cage.