I’m finding myself getting extremely tired of WWE’s weekly main roster shows, which shouldn’t be happening leading into what used to be my favorite premium live event (though, back then it was still pay-per-view), SummerSlam, but alas, “WWE Raw” last night was painful. The show had just three matches, with one just thrown together at the last minute, or so it was made to seem to the fans, and excruciatingly long segments. Tonight, “NXT’s” five varied matches felt like a breath of fresh air.
The opening NXT Tag Team Championship match was an excellent way to kick off the show, as my colleague mentioned. Tate Wilder is another fun watch, though he lost to Naraku, who then furthered his story with NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo tonight.
The Women’s North American Championship match was changed to a four-way, due to an unfortunate injury, but that only helped the pace of the show feel refreshing compared to the red brand, as the inclusion of Lizzy Rain and Izzi Dame, especially, in the match against Zaria was really fun, and the bout overall was so fast-paced. “NXT” then threw in another, more low-stakes singles match, with Jackson Drake going up against Tavion Heights, and I always love a good women’s main event on Tuesday nights, though I can’t say I agreed with the winner of the triple threat number one contender’s match.
Even when “NXT” has its goofy segments, and there’s always at least one per show, they’re not nearly as long as anything on “Raw” or “WWE SmackDown.” Last night, we saw a brutal Vision vs. Alpha Academy face-off, and an extended contract signing between Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns. Sure, the red brand has an extra half hour on “NXT,” at least, but WWE chooses not to spend it on anything exciting.
Some of the troupes are the same, like a lot of interference in matches on both the main roster and “NXT,” but just having more matches on the show makes a world of difference. The stars may be in “developmental,” but there are honestly a few talents I would choose to watch, even if they’re still trying to find their footing and figure things out, over a lot of what we see on the main shows. “NXT” is easily my favorite main roster show of the week these days, and I’m feeling less and less apologetic about it as the weeks roll on.
Written by Daisy Ruth
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