WWE NXT Review (3/8): Shinsuke Nakamura Returns, Asuka Vs. Ember Moon Announced, This Week's MVP

Segment Reactions

1) The Power of Ten ? Tye Dillinger came out to his usual solid pop from the crowd, last night he went up against Eric Young, which typically means he's taking on all of Sanity. That would not be the case though as Eric Young says "You and me" sending the rest of the group to the back before the match even gets underway. No surprise here with the crowd fully behind Tye, Sanity returns with the beaten up Rodderick Strong. The crowd has yet to really care about Strong, so there is exactly zero reaction and one guy yelling "Roddy" over and over. While Tye tends to Strong, No Way Jose makes his way out to check on the fallen wrestler.

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Sanity gathers in the ring while No Way Jose and Tye jump in the ring, outnumbered, which doesn't seem like the smartest idea. It looked like at one point No Way Jose tried to go after Nikki and was intercepted on the way there. It seems to me Jose and Tye would have been liked enough for the fans to really get heated about what went on in the ring, that wasn't the case though.

2) The Iconic Duo ? We see Peyton Royce and Billie Kay attempting to find a place to hang their NXT Awards as they move throughout the Performance Center. The annoying Aussies eventually happen to run into Ember Moon, who was in the middle of her workout session. After some trash talking through a window, Ember decided to come out of the training room which sends Billie and Peyton running, "Oh, she's comin', she's comin', alright." Ember throws down a challenge as the two moved along.

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3) Meh. ? I've seen enough Ho Ho Lun (more like Ho Hum Lun, am I right?) matches to know I'm not that interested in anything he does. Then out came Andrade Almas, another wrestler that I've had a tough time getting into despite him putting together some solid matches. Almas basically dominated this match, and got a few boos for his work. Have to say with how NXT presented him, his heel work is much better than working as a good guy, it was too vanilla and had nothing for fans to dig into.

4) The Duo ? These two are such a conceded bunch that pretty much live in their own world, in interviews they've even said they don't like other people. Pretty sure I'm not the first to call this out, but Billie Kay's ring attire is kind of weird looking, not sure if it's because of the one-piece or the material itself (leaning more towards this) as the reason why. Taking on Billie was Ember Moon, who commentary put over as "Never being pinned or submitted" which is a nice way to eventually build-up her match against Asuka.

Ember with a quick strike on Billie and nearly gets the win right off the bat. Billie then went on a sting of impressive attacks, and then couldn't help but trash talk which gave Ember that...spark needed to get the victory. Really good heel work by both Billie and Peyton, who attempted to get involved a few times. Post-match, Billie Kay couldn't get up as officials checked on her, crowd gave her a clap as she made her way to the back.

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5) The Ealy Brothers ? I'm down with their music and their entrance attire, but unfortunately we didn't get to see much more of WWE's first identical twin tag team as The Authors of Pain rushed the ring, tossed them aside, and went right after The Revival. Dash and Dawson bounced so the Ealy Brothers ended up feeling the brunt of AoP's wrath. Crowd still didn't really react to AoP, it's almost like they are more of a spectacle that people just sit and watch.

6) Asuka vs. Ember ? William Regal made it official, it's on! Should be an entertaining match, but with Asuka's undefeated streak, I would be very surprised if Ember was able to get the victory.

7) Ohno Interview ? Ohno talked about how it was surreal to return and how he was around when the Performance Center was just an empty warehouse as WWE moved in. Ohno spoke about his wrestling experience and how "Doubt" crept in during his time with NXT, but if he can grab that NXT Title away from Bobby Roode, that could all wash it away. Really dig how they have allowed Kassius to have a more natural face vibe, he really doesn't need much of a gimmick with the talent he has in the ring.

8) Live from a funeral home? ? Bobby Roode was in a foul mood as he cut off Tom Phillips ("Tom, Shut up!") and said that he just doesn't care what Ohno had to say and doesn't appreciate him showing up and ruining his vision of NXT.

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Trending Up

Aleister Black - A man, a door, a stained glass window, some candles, the man says some stuff; it's a vignette for Aleister Black! Nice to see NXT is moving him along somewhat quickly, he should be a fine addition to the show with his gimmick that will be taking cues from the English occultist (among a number of other things), Aleister Crowley. A well seasoned veteran, I'm curious to see how creative they let Aleister get, he could be a really unique character to follow.

Trending Down

TJ Perkins ? During his promo, sure, he can grind out the lines, but there's just no connection (gimmick doesn't help either), it actually looks like he's telling a rehearsed story, rather than being more natural sounding. He also lost his match this week, granted, it was against Nakamura. This pick is more about his promo though, had that been skipped, Ho Ho Lun would have been here.

This Week's MVP

Shinsuke Nakamura ? "The King of Strong Style" received a hero's welcome from the crowd after he returned from his knee "injury." The injury came into play a number of times as Perkins looked to target it more and more as the match went on. A competitive match, that ultimately saw Nakamura get the win. More good news for Nakamura, he will go to NXT TakeOver: Orlando and face whoever wins next week between Ohno and Roode!

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Overall Thoughts

Whenever Nakamura shows up, it's always a good time, but this show had a little more meat to it than last week, so it gets slightly higher marks. Kassius and Roode both had great segments, and I really enjoyed Moon vs. Billie, we also got a title match set, and Aleister Black is coming! NXT is still very much a hit or miss show, but I try to keep in mind this is still development, so I'll usually go a little easier on it when it comes to ratings.

Grade (out of 10): 7 (Last Week: 6)

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