NXT is back on the road as these trips are starting to be a bit more frequent. This time the show is in Austin, Texas, and we have a pretty strong card. The main event will see NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending against Ilja Dragunov, which should make for a big fight feel. Other than that, we have a lot of title matches, including Dominik Mysterio in action, so let’s get to it.
Kickoff Show: Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Meta Four
Now this is how you Kickoff Show, as it’s one match with a lot of people running around, which should make for a nice way to get the crowd going. I’ve never been a big fan of the giant Kickoff Shows with multiple matches, especially when the show itself only has seven matches. This is a feud that has been going on rather quietly but could make for a good start to the night.
While the Meta Four winning seems like the more logical way to go, I’m rarely a fan of starting things off with a heel winning, so we’ll go with Lee and company getting the pin. The good thing about an eight-person tag is that there will be someone there who can take a fall without getting hurt to keep the feud going. This should be a relatively light match, and that’s how a show should start, including with the villains losing.
Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson
After nearly two years of waiting, Steveson FINALLY makes his in-ring debut, even if it might be one of his only matches before he heads back to amateur wrestling. This is a good example of a match that needs to be a degree of difficulty of five (or less) and an execution of ten rather than the other way around. Steveson needs to look crisp and effective rather than trying to do something too complicated and falling on his face. If he can do that, this will be a success.
And yes, of course Steveson wins, as you don’t bring Corbin in to give him a victory in a spot like this. Corbin is there to walk Steveson through the match, and that is something he can do well. This is ALL about Steveson, and if Corbin can work some magic here and make him look good, it will be a success. Just don’t try to do too much, and this could work, but it needs to work very well.
Tag Team Titles: Gallus(c) vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks
It took me time to think of who held the titles at the moment. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you a thing about Gallus’ reign, which has almost reached SIX MONTHS. It says a lot that the NXT tag division, which used to be a large chunk of its backbone, has fallen this far, but here we are. The titles have very little value at the moment, and it is pretty clear that something needs to change.
I’ll go with D’Angelo and Stacks to take the titles from Gallus here. Gallus has been almost ice-cold as champions, and there is no reason to keep the titles on them any longer. The division isn’t what it used to be, but D’Angelo and Stacks are more than good enough to get the belts here. If nothing else, they need to for the sake of breathing some life back into the championships already.
Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport
This is a Weapons Wild match because we needed another name for Street Fight. Perez has been on quite the downward slide in recent months and probably needs this win a lot more than Davenport