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Csonka’s NXT TV Review 8.08.18

August 8, 2018 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Keith Lee NXT WWE
5.5
The 411 Rating
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Csonka’s NXT TV Review 8.08.18  

Csonka’s NXT TV Review 8.08.18

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Nikki Cross defeated Amber Nova @ 3:24 via pin [**]
– Kassius Ohno defeated Adrian Jaoude @ 2:53 via pin [NR]
– Keith Lee defeated Marcel Barthel @ 4:20 via pin [**]
Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match: Taynara Conti defeated Vanessa Borne @ 4:04 via pin [*]
– Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano went to a no contest @ 2:30 [NR]


– Follow all of my reviews at this link.

– I looked at “6 Ideas For Extra WWE Programming on The Fox Networks” at this link.

– You can check out my top 31 matches of JULY list at this link.

Nikki Cross vs. Amber Nova: Amber Nova has appeared several times for Impact Wrestling in an enhancement role. They lock up and Cross takes her to the corner. Cross breaks clean but Nova attack. Cross actually uses wrestling moves, hitting an arm drag and Saito suplex or 2. Nova fights back, driving Cross to the buckles and lays in ground and pound. The Japanese stranglehold follows as she grounds Cross. Cross escapes, lays in kicks and fires up with clotheslines. Ground and pound follows and Cross heads up top, and the high cross connects. The purge finishes it. Nikki Cross defeated Amber Nova @ 3:24 via pin [**] This was an ok little opener, but I’m not sure where Cross fits in or where she goes from here. While she never won the title, she feels like she’s outgrown NXT.

– We get a Keith Lee video package.

– Ricochet arrives for his match, but instead of a match, Cole and the Gang arrive to deliver him an undisputed ass kicking. Cole calls him a loser and proclaims himself the one and only… North American Champion, which he’ll stay at Brooklyn.

– Vanessa Borne is interviewed about facing Taynara Conti in a Mae Young Classic Qualifier, noting that an important tournament like the Mae Young Classic can’t take place without her.

Kassius Ohno vs. Adrian Jaoude: They hype Jaoude as a 17-time Brazilian wrestling champion and a black belt in several martial arts. Ohno is not impressed by Jaoude’s little martial arts dancing, but Jaoude takes him down a few times. Ohno cuts him off with a bicycle kick. The big boy senton follows. Ohno follows with a running boot and follows with more kicks. Ohno slaps him around and fights off a slam and lays in elbows and knees but Jaoude hits a Saito suplex. Jaoude then runs into an elbow strike and Ohno finishes him with the dream crusher. Kassius Ohno defeated Adrian Jaoude @ 2:53 via pin [NR] Ohno picks up a TV win to keep him relevant for when he has to put over a bigger star. But him working with guys like Jaoude is a good thing for those with little experience.

– We now get the special Velveteen Dream/EC3 summit. They meet by a pool, and EC3 is immediately on guard, thinking Dream will toss him in, but Dream says that won’t happen. They then discuss their Takeover match, calling it the Purple Rainmaker against the Golden God. Dream feels disrespected by EC3, drops his glasses, and EC3 dumps him into the pool. This was wacky and fun and played into their characters well.

Keith Lee vs. Marcel Barthel: Barthel is the former Axel Dieter Jr. Lee is immediately over with the NXT crowd. Barthel messes around with Lee early on and gets dropped with strikes. Barthel cuts him off with a shot to the throat and uppercuts. Lee picks up the pace and hits the dropkick. Barthel lays in kicks, and follows with strikes. The head kick follows and now lays the boots to Lee in the ropes. The running dropkick follows and Barthel covers for 2. Barthel lays in more rights, but Lee cuts him off with a head butt and chops. Lee misses a corner splash, Barthel lays in uppercuts, but Lee tosses him aside and hits a pounce. Ground zero follows and Barthel is done. Keith Lee defeated Marcel Barthel @ 4:20 via pin [**] This was ok, and I can understand them not wanting to squash Barthel in his first match, but this was all about showcasing Lee, and he shouldn’t have been going 50-50 with anyone here. If they were that concerned with protecting Barthel, they should have had someone else in there for Lee to destroy and simply run through his signature offense on.

– Taynara Conti walks.

– The Street profits make fun of the Mighty and hype their match next week.

Mae Young Classic Qualifying Match: Taynara Conti vs. Vanessa Borne: They lock up and Borne grounds the action, and they roll around. Conti hits a judo throw, but Borne cradles her for 2. Conti grounds things and looks to attack the arm; Borne escapes and hits a shoulder tackle. Borne slams her to the buckles repeatedly, and then covers for 2. Borne grounds Conti from north-south position lays in strikes and locks on a body scissors. Conti fights out and Borne misses an elbow drop. Conti fires away with strikes, lays in kicks, and hits some throws. Borne fights her off, but Conti counters a crucifix into a really sloppy side slam (which editing couldn’t save) and picks up the win. Taynara Conti defeated Vanessa Borne @ 4:04 via pin [*] I think that both ladies have a good look, and a good presence in terms of how they carry themselves, but they are both very much still projects in terms of in ring work. I know that this is developmental, but this was largely sloppy & disjointed, and the bad finish made it even worse. Not good.

– UFC’s Cain Velasquez (who recently visited and worked out at the WWE Performance center) is in the crowd.

Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano: Black attacks with kicks right away, Gargano fires back and hits the rolling kick. The suicide dive follows. Back in and Gargano works over Black in the corner, but Black cuts off the slingshot spear with a knee strike. Black continues to control with kicks, they trade clotheslines and work into a double down. Ciampa runs out and attacks, leading to the no contest. Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano went to a no contest @ 2:30 [NR] This was just the appetizer for the post match angle. It was fun while it lasted.

– Post match we get the big brawl between the three men (which was a lot of fun), officials eventually break them up, leading to angry NXT dad William Regal arriving and making Black vs. Champion Ciampa vs. Gargano in an NXT Title match at Takeover: Brooklyn.

BUT WAIT… following up on reports that Aleister Black was injured at a live event and had some serious groin surgery, WWE released the following video, where angry NXT dad William Regal reveals that an unconscious Aleister Black was found in the parking lot. I bet it was the same motherfucker that attacked Hideo Itami back at Takeover: Unstoppable..

NEXT WEEK: Street Profits vs. The Mighty, Kairi Sane vs. Alliyah, Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Bate, & Velveteen Dream appears.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

 photo fe36ffd0-0da4-4e3b-a2d3-b026b341dd87_zps41ef5d61.jpg
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”

5.5
The final score: review Not So Good
The 411
I tend to really enjoy the weekly NXT product, but I felt that this week’s episode was a big miss after a string of good and strong shows. While the Ricochet/Cole & EC3/Dream segments were good, there was no good wrestling to speak of. The main event angle was well done, but unfortunately, that match may not even happen. For me, this was the definition of a rare skippable edition of NXT TV.
legend

article topics :

NXT, Tremendous Tirades, WWE, Larry Csonka