WWE BATTLEGROUND: The Third Year in a Row

THANK THE LAWD FOR THE NEW DAY

If it's not obvious by now, my personal favourite parts of the shows are captured in the above image-space beneath the headers. Sometimes it's hard to decide on a good picture. Some other times, like with Battleground, the decision is between a transparent image or the only decent thing on the show. Xavier Woods is probably the only person that saved the show from being completely worthless. This is hardly an exaggeration.

KING BARRETT vs. R-TRUTH

For the fucking ownership of a fucking crown that means fucking nothing
'weak'

I tuned in half way through this travesty of a feud, but what I saw wasn't horrendous. I guess you get better at wrestling a specific person when you wrestle them like twenty times in a month (including likely house shows), but no one really wants to see that any more than twice, if not even once.

It sucks for both guys, obviously. Barrett had been slated so many times in his career to be the next guy to "make the Intercontinental Championship matter", or the guy to "win the Money in the Bank briefcase" next year, or even "the next World Champion", and injuries always seemed to offset those predictions, which obviously held weight considering his talent, and now that he has had a relatively long stint without being hurt, he's in a nothing feud with Truth? It's such a massive waste, as if all these injuries make him completely unable to be trusted by management or something.

And for Truth, he's still entertaining to a big part of the audience, and his heel run with Miz was great, and he still hasn't gotten anything out of it, not even a 'last hurrah' considering his age, which is a lot more than most of the other full-time wrestlers. I wouldn't be against Truth becoming IC Champion or something like that just one last time. Or facing Cena to prove he can still go in the ring at his age (he's one of the few guys that could gain something from it to be honest), but I guess he'll just trade wins in irrelevancy.

RANDY ORTON vs. SHEAMUS

Apparently so Orton can have another nothing match just for the hometown pop

'average'

It makes absolutely no sense to me why they put THIS match that got booed out of the building more than just once in history (and it only needed to happen once) on a special event in Battleground, which itself, has been lauded, and listed as 2013 and 2014's worst PPV of the year by Wrestling Observer Newsletter - which is the reason for this title as well, if it was lost on anyone.

Orton had to be there because it's St. Louis, I get it. And Sheamus had to be there to stay relevant as Money in the Bank briefcase fella. It all makes sense. But against each other? That I don't get. I'm sure they could've put something else on the pre-show, scrapped Barrett and Truth, had Orton take on Rusev or something, and then have Sheamus take on Neville again, or something along those lines. Anything but Orton vs. Sheamus.

The match was a lot better with the two not being "respectful faces" though. Weirdly I had a feeling this match was going to be the best match of the night somehow and it seems it really was. There wasn't anything special or amazing at all. Nothing was out of the ordinary for Orton and honestly I think it was a bit of a weak effort from Sheamus (out of the ordinary is anything that isn't weak from Orton lol) but it still managed to outdo the rest of the matches all night with ease.

I guess Orton getting another win just puts him on the shelf for a little while again, or back to his irregular Raw showings and PPV matches. Maybe he sticks around until SummerSlam is over and then comes back for Survivor Series? Dunno, but anything he does is pretty boring by proxy again.

THE NEW DAY (KOFI KINGSTON & BIG E) vs. THE PRIMETIME PLAYERS

For the WWE Tag Team Championship

'average'

The saving performance of the show. Thank FUCK this was a match and it wasn't something hit-or-miss like PTPs versus the Lucha Dragons or something. A solid decision with solid talent who have proven their decency at the least against eachother was exactly what they needed to make Battleground have one thing worth watching that wasn't worth watching just for shock value.

As always, Young impresses me with how fluid he is in the ring. I think it's criminal that the guy hasn't had the chance to really put on a 'clinic' against one of the top guys. Maybe throwing Young and Woods in a ten minute singles match without any stupid outside interference would do good for the two and the tag division as a whole, because both guys can work but neither have had that moment to prove it like they should.

Too bad that Woods wasn't working in-ring for the match, but his antics outside sure made up for it. Who needs Abe Washington on the PTPs when you got Woods who's so much better and a wrestler for the New Day? Those damn taunts were fantastic. The GIF I posted up above was second only to Woods crawling on the floor like a cocky Randy Orton when Young got thrown over the turnbuckle. As soon as Woods yelled out "WORST LEG DROP EVER!" he was on FIRE.

And we all know Titus is goofy but he has one of the best hot-tag games going right now. Just going in and running roughshod is the best thing he can do. Throw people around, display his only two good qualities (and when I say "only two" I mean it as nicely as possible) in his inhuman strength and awesome charisma, pick up the win using the two, and have that cheesy ass smile at the end of the match.

I'm still surprised there hasn't been a strength-off between Big E and Titus yet though. It looked like we were gonna get it this match but I guess not. I legitimately wonder who's more impressive. It has to be done before the feud is over damn it.

ROMAN REIGNS vs. BRAY WYATT

To defend Roman's daughter from paedophiles

'weak'

I'm clearly still not a fan of Wyatt and I probably never will be, and I definitely won't be 'invested' in a match between Reigns and Wyatt and no one else... ever... but I did kinda watch this match. Despite hardly watching the screen because I honestly don't care about Wyatt at all and really don't care for Reigns in this capacity, it wasn't that bad. Though, I expect more out of Reigns and wish Wyatt would either fuck off or prove himself in the ring instead of being plodding and slow as fuck.

Neither happened. Wyatt didn't leave nor did he prove himself. This match went for way too damn long. Twenty-two fricken minutes apparently? And it ends with an interference? Well, at least it was unexpected. Probably the biggest actual shock of the night seeing as WWE ruin everything "big" by probably purposely leaking things out to ensure viewership.

The best part of this match was Reigns running into the steps like an idiot. Wyatt didn't look like he was in a position to be hurt by a shoulder tackle into the steps and Reigns didn't look like he was aiming at him at all.

Give a guy like Wyatt who hasn't any great matches under his belt, and a guy like Reigns, who has only two, and in 50% of those (yes that's one) got his ass whipped for almost the entirety, twenty-two minutes in the ring and expect... what? This time could've given Cesaro or Rusev, or even Neville a spot to impress and make this show better than subpar.

CHARLOTTE vs. BRIE BELLA vs. SASHA BANKS

To waste an incredible opportunity

'WASTED'

For a split goddamn second I was hyped to see Charlotte and Sasha in the ring against the Divas Champion NIKKI Bella but the FUCKING bookers had to almost completely sabotage this by throwing Brie in.

Holy shit this match was awkward. What a horrendous setting for both Charlotte and especially Sasha - seeing as she didn't pick up the win - to debut in. From my view it seemed like Brie tried to control the match every time she was in the ring, despite Sasha and Charlotte having the superior chemistry and better knowledge of lengthier matches. Brie should know better.

I really can't trash this much because the only shite happened because of Brie, but the booking behind it all was just so bad. So uninspired. So uncaring. Pull up these amazingly influential women and make them look bad by pairing them with the objectively worst wrestler of the group. Why didn't they utilise Alicia Fox in this role? It'd be a lot more sensible, seeing as she's not even a Bella, has historically been a jobber, and has actually worked with Charlotte and Sasha when NXT had her down there a couple of times.

So Charlotte and Sasha have a particularly good match on the last NXT televised before Battleground and bookers decide to throw them into a match with Brie fucking Bella who seemed to either not thought about what the hell she's going to do in the match, OR, is actually that disappointingly bad that she just looked like she had no idea. So now the bookers, management, and some ignorant ass fans will think these two are just like the rest. I really hope they don't continue this.

This just makes no damn sense and disappointed me so very much.

KEVIN OWENS vs. JOHN CENA (c)

To destroy the hopes and dreams of many

To devalue the concept of a quick promotion

To kill off the concept of an anti-Cena

And for the WWE United States Championship

'Pretty fucking shitty again'

An abundance of nonsensical near falls don't make a match good.

Just like making your fastest rising developmental star and most interesting character on weekly television tap out to John Cena of all people doesn't make anyone look good.

There are some people who would overreact and talk shit about how "Cena just buried yet another talent!".

And there are some people who would try to validate this by talking shit about how "Cena's the best guy, losing to him doesn't matter!".

The thing is, with this match, WWE hasn't buried or ruined Kevin Owens, but they have hindered him and prevented him from being something that he could be, and honestly that could be just as bad if it's horribly mismanaged like everything else on the show is. I would argue they fucked it up originally in the first loss, but with Owens losing a second time, both in a row and after his first and only win, they've only made it look worse, and dug that hole (not to bury) even further.

Cena continued his ridiculous attempts at making his matches look better than they are, fooling only the goobers that fall for the subtle brainwashing, by performing "new manoeuvres" as Michael Cole exclaims in the background "You gotta give John credit, guys!", as if any of those new manoeuvres are fundamentally decent, executed well, or make any sense. Which none of them do and haven't since he adopted them. Still using that awful neck-breaking hurricanrana anyone other than Cena would be demonised for using wrongly, the horribly executed dropkick that even The Rock at his fathers' Hall of Fame speech said he would never try to do as he couldn't do it like Rocky Johnson, and that abyssmal springboard stunner no one else in the world would ever bother trying to do because it's fucking SHIT.

And there are people that applaud this.

Past Cena proving his lack of true coordination and wrestling ability outside of the natural bare minimum you would pick up after wrestling for 12+ years, Owens was using his regular moveset which has unfortunately already been drawn out a little bit due to wrestling Cena in overly-done, near-fall-reliant lengthy matches three times.

So in this match, which was far from good, just some excessive bullshit with a whole lot of fucking near-falls, we had Cena continue his shtick of being worse than he has in the last few years, Owens become a bit more overexposed, and a horrendous ending that was the lowest of an already low night.

What's more disappointing about Owens losing is the people who genuinely, legitimately defend Cena throughout all of this. Not just defending him for being the main hand in making a new talent look like a doofus, but also defending him for respecting the fact he himself cannot do certain moves and shouldn't do them at all.

BROCK LESNAR vs. SETH ROLLINS (c)

For the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

'???'

We all read the reports. A big shock became a big bummer. Instead of being 50/50 in euphoric surprise and whatever-the-opposite-of-nostalgia-is in disappointment, it was mostly just annoyance and disappointment instead.

I was actually hyped for Rollins to get in a decent offence by attacking THE BEAST's untrained and weak legs...

Oh, that's not his weak spot and his leg was injured on Raw some weeks before?

Well anyway, that was disappointing.

The abrupt leaving of Rollins really does show a lot about WWE. I completely agree with the sentiment that Rollins disappearing completely to leave the 50 year old Undertaker in the ring alone with Brock is just flat-out bad. Not really any more words, I think everyone feels the same way.

What an awful yet apt ending to an awful show. I never believed that Battleground 2013 or 2014 were that bad. But this is horrible, just fucking horrible.

July 15, 2015 NXT: MAINly forgetting Raw

TAGGERIFIC

It turns out these last few weeks of NXT have been pretty interesting. Bookers being forced to use talent that aren't the top two guys in the singles division has made a couple of good things pop up as well as a couple of... lame things... as well. One of those good things though...

JASON JORDAN & CHAD GABLE vs. STEVE CUTLER & ELIAS SAMSON

Two NXT weeks in a row Gable has been in my headline picture. I've been hyped to see him since I heard a lot of good stuff from house show reports. A smaller, more underdog-esque version of Kurt Angle that doesn't seem like an awful rehash, but a still somewhat unique wrestler inspired by him. That's a much better description of Gable than "Kurt Angle clone" to be honest.

I do remember him having a match some months ago and getting a nice reaction from the nerds in the crowd, but that wasn't a proper debut like this, which was done very, very well throughout the last few weeks. Good job bookers, now if only you actually did care for more than just one or two non-indie talents... Or at least more than one tag team.

Anyway, enough of Gable, there were three other guys in the match. I'm still cold on Jordan. He has some freakish strength and that's interesting enough but sadly for him he's gonna need more than just that and his amateur wrestling skill to get over, as he has already taken a backseat to Gable. Steve Cutler is jobbing again, but I haven't heard shit about him and he didn't look good in the match at all so he's just there. Samson still getting some props from commentary and still looks like he could have a genuine shot at being someone, so here's hoping he works out.

The toss-over bridging back suplex (or "aided back suplex" I guess) was fantastic. The camera definitely has to be placed right for it to look good though. If it's too far away and not in a good position it'd just look like Jordan is passing the opponent over, as opposed to completely throwing him a couple feet. Lovely bridge too. Close to Darren Young for 2nd best bridge behind Alicia Foxx.

SAMOA JOE vs. AXEL TISCHER

Someone needs to explain to me the point of this match. Samoa Joe, star-studded, world-renowned, Samoa Joe, so big he didn't need to change his name, has to showcase his lack of a moveset against a jobber? And that jobber isn't even surprisingly large to make Joe look strong? Yea I don't see the point at all. Waste of TV time and a waste of Joe too. Inexcusable.

BARON CORBIN IN A NON WRESTLING APPEARANCE

Before I got behind Bo Dallas as a character, I really hated the idea that the bookers would just flat out turn a guy based on their negative reaction instead of trying to fix the faults. But, I realised for Bo Dallas as well as CJ Parker, it was the right call. They went from uninteresting (and in Parker's case, completely unsalvageable) shitty faces to entertaining heels.

Whether this is the right move for Corbin is questionable though. He was definitely over as a face at one point, but, like I always say, clearly the nerds at Full Sail got pissy because he didn't have a good match with Bull Dempsey of all people. Bookers should be tackling this awfully retarded expectation people have, instead of taking advantage of their misplaced anger, because that's the stuff that can kill careers.

At least the execution is okay though. Sheamus-ish in the sense he just hates everyone the crowd likes, but maybe he'll do it better than Sheamus. Probably works better that Corbin isn't a good wrestler, whereas Sheamus is.

BLAKE & MURPHY (w/ ALEXA BLISS) vs. SAWYER FULTON & ANGELO DAWKINS

THE entrance is still a thing so I still can't believe anyone can hate the dubstep cowboys ayyy.

No point to this match either. Ask me why the Ascension were shit, other than their lack of fucking wrestling ability, and I'll say because they just squashed jobbers. BAM are doing less than that. They're having competitive-ish matches with jobbers. There's no goddamn point.

And then the end of the match shows how Bliss is clealy more of a priority than the tag team champions. She gets the "COOL!" moment. Far out.

SAMI ZAYN UPDATES EVERYONE ON INJURY

Bayley kept it to like twenty seconds. Why couldn't Zayn? For fuck sake that promo took forever. Kinda speaks volumes when not even the women - who are booked exceptionally well on NXT - can't get the length of time one of the big indie names gets just to update people on their injury. I'm not against the idea of someone telling everyone they'll be out for ages, but damn, no need to take up so much time talking the same shit everyone already knows either.

ANOTHER RECAP OF BALOR vs. OWENS

THIS IS A WASTE OF FUCKING TIME!

CHARLOTTE vs. SASHA BANKS (c)

For the NXT Women's Championship

'pretty good'

Me liking a Sasha Banks match? Colour me surprised, etc etc.

I wouldn't put this match up against any of the past four divas matches. Bayley vs. Charlotte, Sasha vs. Charlotte, the Fatal Four Way and Becky vs. Sasha were all better than this, but this was still a great example of what these women can do even in a random throwaway episode. It's nice that we can still see a decent match outside of the BIG FIVE(+/-) on a non-TakeOver episode of NXT.

Some very nice submission work in this match, but it's far from Becky vs. Sasha. And I think Charlotte is becoming very formulaic in her matches already. There are some spots that are repeated a lot in every match of hers and I feel a very Cena-ish vibe from it. Where Sasha has a handful of spots, they're very unique, whereas Charlotte has way more spots she does regularly, barely any are unique.

Overall the biggest problem I had with the match was the reliance on the use of corners for the first half or more. It seemed as if half of the match for the first half was confined in corners, which kinda sucked and dragged, but it picked up later on.

Regardless, Charlotte had a great powerbomb spot I definitely didn't expect from her, despite Sasha probably weighing like 100lbs. It looked great. The only gripe I have is that Sasha seems to take big bumps the same way all the time, but at least they always look good because of the effort.

I lol'd at Charlotte's extensions falling out.

And I grimaced at the torque put on the BANK STATEMENT as well. Shit was intense.

Great finish with Charlotte yet again tapping out. It's lovely to see that a strong face character can deal with actually tapping out and giving up. None of that Cena nonsense.

Also fuck the hug, god damn it. They knew they were going to debut on Raw and they did that? And they televised it afterwards? Come on, it's not an alternate universe. Jeez. (This is where the title comes from. They forgot they were on Raw. Which is the MAIN roster... Right?!)

July 13, 2015 RAW: The US Extravaganza

YOU ALMOST DID IT

Three hours is too much to cover. Even if those three hours have great segments in them like this Raw. So I'll cover the only one that was good enough to cover, the US Championship segment(s).

For the record I did mark for the divas debuting on the main roster, but I think it was slightly mismanaged and there's not really much to comment on.

Rusev's return was obviously very anticipated by me and anyone who REALISES HIS INCREDIBLE ABILITY AND POTENTIAL, but when it was Rusev who accepted the US open challenge I was skeptical about the entire thing. Was Cena going to destroy Rusev yet again, just as he returned? I hoped that wouldn't be the case as I also hoped WWE would see the ability and worthiness of Rusev. Thankfully, it wasn't the case, and they did.

With Owens coming out as well, weirdly unexpectedly, I went from skeptical to almost marking. Rusev insulting Owens and almost solidifying Owens' stature as a near perfect tweener was fantastic as well, no doubt. But things went to an all new high when Cesaro even came out.

Three of my favourite wrestlers in the ring fighting to defeat Cena sounded great, and I didn't even realise the match would be directly afterwards, mostly because I just flat-out didn't think about it at all. I was way too euphoric to think logically.

It didn't take long for the triple threat match to impress, apart from having three top-tier talent in the ring at one time. It was a triple threat match... in WWE... booked well! GASP.

Triple threat booking is so easy to see quickly. If someone is knocked out of the ring within just two minutes, it's one of those lame, typical WWE triple threats. If not, it'll be interesting at the least. And that's what happened.

Nothing in the entire match was off. There were a few botches, but nothing major, and sometimes a couple of botches (not screwing up a manoeuvre, but screwing up the execution of a manoeuvre) can make the match look better. For example, the suplex from Rusev to Cesaro. It clearly wasn't meant to look like that, because it looked sloppy, brutal and otherwise unplanned, but because of that, it looked more gritty, more realistic. The same deal with Cesaro's suicide dive as well.

Past the quality of the triple threat booking, the booking of all three talent was done incredibly well too. Cesaro's little pseudo-gimmick right now is being the great wrestler who just can't get it done for some reason, and he lost. Rusev's pseudo-gimmick is being a dominant heel who can't be beat, unless it's John Cena, and he pulled out the win. And Owens full gimmick is being an opportunistic dickhead, and he left the match and got the DQ yet again in the singles match for the title. Not only that, but Owens was able to display his athleticism as a FAT guy, Cesaro was able to display his strength as the comparatively less heavy and lanky wrestler, and Rusev was able to display his wrestling ability as the brawler type. Everything was done in a triangle where it seemed as if one wrestler would trump the other.

The finish to the triple-threat-turned-singles-match may be met with split reaction, but honestly it was well done. Though, commentary could have explained the impact of a kick to the chest after a near 30 minute outing, it seemed to me that was the intention - have Rusev win with his most devastating and logical move virtually out of nowhere which doesn't involve Cesaro tapping out.

However my absolute favourite display was Rusev vs Cena after the match. Not much happened in those minutes, but not much had to. Rusev throwing his hairtie at Cena before the match began, trying his best to defend himself at the beginning but just eventually giving up, asking for Cena to continue as a last resort to, I don't know, tire him out? And lastly Rusev doing so well in this position of getting his ass whipped that even Cena looked like he was legitimately laughing at the hilariousness of the situation.

Ultimately it seemed more like Rusev lucked out of the AA into his Accolade, as opposed to "baiting" Cena in, as Rusev's facial expression was of surprise and amazement. Cena being able to lift Rusev but not able to break the Accolade was probably the best and most important booking of the entire segment, not just the match too. Now Rusev looks like he actually still has a chance to beat these guys, and didn't get clowned by Cena again.

Cena's performance throughout the match was spectacular as well. Though I'm not sure if it was an act or if he was genuine, the fact I can't tell probably makes it better than even I think it was. The douchery of the fifteen time world champion taking on a winded, weak and temporarily handicapped opponent that he has beaten multiple times will never, ever be matched.

And Owens interrupting was expected, but not in a bad way. It was the best finish to the match without a doubt.

In my honest opinion, almost a perfect segment from beginning to end. The matches were fantastic for different reasons, but unfortunately not quite high enough to make it the best it could be.

I would put the triple threat match up as the best Raw match of 2015 so far, with the singles between Cena and Rusev in the top 10, and the segment overall in the top 5.

Everything was great, for once.

July 8, 2015 NXT: The half-episode

"NXT FANS STILL OKAY WITH WASTED EPISODE"

I've been lazy again. I had much higher hopes for the Japan show but it was just a glorified house show and there was nothing to comment on bar the NXT Championship match so I decided to just skip the entirety. Kinda like Raw at this point. Hence the complete lack of Raw posts. Oh, and I just forget to watch NXT in time for a proper post. UNTIL THIS WEEK!

DANA BROOKE & EMMA vs. SASHA BANKS & CHARLOTTE

I hope I'm not the only person who marked out at the idea that Sasha was going to actually compete willingly in a handicap match...

Sasha willingly competing in a handicap match would've been far from Cena-tier so-close-to-braggadocio-that-no-one-wants-to-see-it. It would have been great to see a heel... or, I guess a tweener now... actually be cocky enough to do this without trying to cheat or weasel out of it, which I think is how Sasha would have the match, even if she'd have lost.

Though unfortunately for me the most obvious teammate joined Sasha and turned it into another tag team match instead of something interesting for once. Yet again proving NXT has become stagnant and not attempting to book anything interesting or slightly daring, sticking with their guns at being "normal", which in some ways is worse than Raw, because even though Raw sucks most of the time now, it's at least trying to put something different on every couple of weeks. When was the last time NXT did something different? It has been a long time.

The quality of the match was as expected. Nothing incredible, It's just a random weekly NXT episode, why put the effort in, right? Dana sucks as usual, but again I suppose it's okay because she's developmental. The main issue here is Dana's wrestling ability when in the ring with Emma, Charlotte and especially Sasha looks worse than it really probably is, and we all know to blame the scouts for signing only one pre-existing wrestler in that group of women in Becky who has already worked extensively on TV. Dana should really be behind Jessie and Cassie, among a couple of others yet to debut on TV, as they'd wrestled beforehand.

The little BFF mannerisms were nice to see. I don't know anything about the rumours of pushing these women up as "a team" or whatever, but I'm not entirely against it. Though, debuting a team bound to split is basically asking for a 'Rockers' situation. And if Sasha is put with Charlotte, Charlotte might unfortunately get the better part as a second generation wrestler and daughter of one of the all-time greats, whereas Sasha, who is undoubtedly better in all aspects, gets the short end of the stick.

FINN BALOR vs. KEVIN OWENS (c)

A championship rematch!!!

In the same arena!!!

Wait a minute, Owens is still the champion...

Is this de-ja-vu?!

Yes, it is.

What a complete waste of fucking time this was. I can see a lot of people finally realising how stupid this kind of shit is, but still reluctantly criticising it as their heart is still behind Triple H and the concept of knowing you're being mocked but enjoying it anyway.

I mean, damn. It's a good match, and in Japan, so it was immediately interesting and worth watching as well as worth anticipating too, but replaying it? And wasting even more time on NXT? Yet again, for Finn Balor? It's way over the top now. They've went so far into this territory it's mocking everyone who watches NXT.

What I don't understand is replaying it in full when, well, both the Japan event and NXT itself is Network exclusive. Why not just dedicate 30 seconds to remind people that they can watch it on the Network instead?! Much better than wasting 30 minutes replaying something that's already on the Network for fuck sake.

And then after playing the match in entirety, they show Balor shaking hands with Cesaro and Neville? Wow. They really are putting all of their eggs into the proverbial Balor basket here.

And the completely "necessary" John Cena involvement. LMAO. I kinda feel bad for Balor there.

But then I remember how disingenuous he is. Constantly saying how he loves NXT and being NXT Champion is one of his "life goals". Yea, yea, it's booked and he's told what to say, but under the guise of his legitimate honesty. That's why he declined normal contract offers to move from NJPW right?

Owens was a star in that match anyway. Him dropping the title was planned, obviously, and I guess losing the NXT title and moving up to the main roster is best for him because he's the best in NXT bar none anyway.

MARCUS LOUIS vs. SOLOMON CROWE

Fuck the match, I was too busy browsing the forum to see how many people didn't bother commenting on the previous 30 minutes.

I did stop and watch what was going on when Crowe was writhing in pain though. That was a great selling of such a submission in honesty. Still doesn't make Crowe look good enough for me though.

And that's a testament of how NXT is, as some call "smark bait" (which I find a bit condescending in honesty and don't agree with). A guy like Crowe keeps getting mini vignettes hyping his matches, and he, well, keeps getting matches, despite doing nothing decent at all in any of them and proving nothing to anyone. The best thing he has done in the whole time he has been on TV is sell an abdominal stretch with the ripping of the rib, or whatever that was. And despite it being good, was nothing to write home about.

Crowe impresses no one in his matches and gets more. Guys like Dillinger, who impress in the short allotted TV time they get, make guys like Kevin Owens note how underrated and talented they are, still lose in short matches almost akin to being a generic jobber. Certainly no favouritism here...

ENZO & CASS w/ CARMELLA vs. THE VAUDEVILLAINS

For the #1 Contendership to the NXT Tag Team Championship

I have a weird feeling that because a match between three developmental talent and Simon Gotch wasn't exactly a four star match people will use it as fodder as to why non-indie talent shouldn't be main eventing NXT, and in a way I kind of agree. This match was far from bad but it didn't live up to the standard that other people on the show could have had (see: Sasha Banks again, which should have main evented).

I firmly believe that the best matches should end the show, at least on NXT, but I don't think that necessarily means the same few guys have to main event each week. The length of a main event isn't that bad. 10 or 15 minutes is okay for a 60 minute program (20 is pushing it), but when it's the same people constantly that's when it becomes a problem.

Anyway, Enzo does pretty well getting the crowd behind him as the face in peril and it contrasts amazingly with how good Cass looks when he gets the hot tag. The aesthetic of Cass running in with his TEST HAIR waving around as he figuratively-literally cleans house and dominates the enemy team is fantastic. They work so well together in every aspect they're easily the best team in NXT right now.

The fact Cass comes in and just demolishes everyone is great though. Enzo is clearly the weak link of the tag team but it's not gonna break them up (hopefully anyway), it just allows Enzo to be good at what he's good at, and hide his flaws in the ring, and allows Cass be a true monster in the ring without falling for a pin or getting whipped around by guys smaller than him. The consistency is great and is probably the best example of hot tag based tag team matches in WWE.

The Vaudevillains are in their own right a good tag team too. I'd put them at number 2 only because Blake & Murphy haven't been able to display much of anything in comparison to either Enzo & Cass or the Vaudevillains. But their characters work so well together, and they are pretty fluid in the ring as well. Certainly not bad, but not good, in promos either.

I always like it when these two teams face off, because despite not having fantastic matches, it's always a great, great example of developmental wrestling, and how they always show fluidity as teams and as opponents, and that makes me believe that they can have classics eventually down the road.