Kevin’s WWE NXT Review 4.20.21

WWE NXT

April 20th, 2021 | Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida

Right off the bat, while I dislike the new NXT logo, I love that Poppy got the theme. NXT often makes huge swings and misses with their TakeOver song choices by relying on out-of-touch musicians but Poppy is their best bet in recent years.

Kyle O’Reilly kicked things off. He was in a good mood after TakeOver and discussed what his future potentially held in regards to winning championships. He went to call out Karrion Kross but was interrupted by Cameron Grimes. I love Grimes. He wanted them to work together as Grimes could invest in him and they could go TO THE MOON. Of course, Kyle eventually leveled Grimes and set the tone for a match tonight. Kyle’s gimmick is goofy but he’s a weird dude and it works for him. Fine enough as an opening segment.

Earlier today, Sarray arrived and Zoey Stark introduced herself and offered to wrestle her, which will happen.

Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight

TNA WRESTLING…CROSS THE LINE. Knight got some promo time before the bell. I think both guys do good character work but I don’t love their matches. The match itself was kind of bland at points and they worked through a commercial. It didn’t really get interesting until Indi Hartwell showed up. She came face to face with Dexter at ringside, which allowed Knight to take advantage. He also questioned how Indi could even look at Dexter when he was around. Lumis hit a plancha but still fell to a lame looking Bulldog Driver inside after 9:51. I just couldn’t get into this at all. [*¾]

Post-match, Indi and Dexter nearly kissed but The Way showed up to take Indi away.

Leon Ruff got a promo in the back about how he went after Isaiah Scott last week on NXT.

Io Shirai had a sit down interview with Beth Phoenix in the back. She put over Raquel Gonzalez and wants a rematch but after defending the title for 300 days, she needs rest for a bit. Franky Monet and her dog interrupted. She basically called Beth old and said she’d fill Io’s shoes while she was away. Io yelled at her in Japanese and when Franky didn’t understand, Io said she likes cats. Me too, Io.

Breezango vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Breezango were dressed as British guards and had a version of British Bulldog’s theme playing. Zack Gibson’s angry promos are everything I want from a heel. He made sure to call out MSK before the match. These teams work well together on paper. You’ve got an aggressive serious heel team against the fiery, fun babyfaces. This got a bit hurt by the commercial break without PIP to help. Returning, Drake seemed to have a knee injury but he feigned it so Gibson could get in a cheap shot. Breezango turned it around thanks to a Breeze hot tag. A blind tag to Gibson led to Ticket to Mayhem in 9:01. Solid tag that, like I said, was hurt by the commercial. [**¾]

Indi Hartwell asked for interview time but it just led to The Way cutting her off. Bronson Reed showed up for another North American Title match only for Austin Theory to step up and say he only gets a shot if he beats him. Gargano was clearly not happy with it.

Sarray vs. Zoey Stark

Sarray has large shoes to fill given what the last three Joshi exports to NXT (Asuka, Kairi Sane, and Io Shirai) achieved. Stark has been good since arriving, so they made for a quality matchup on paper. This worked as a debut since Sarray brought a lot of energy that Stark was able to match without overshadowing her. They had some impressive exchanges, with Sarray displaying explosiveness and quickness. Stark missed pretty hard on an aerial move that could’ve won it, so Sarray took advantage and won with a high collar suplex in 7:13. Nothing blowaway but it did what it had to while being entertaining. [***]

After the two showed respect to each other following the match, Toni Storm arrived and jumped Stark, continuing their feud. Sarray ran her off though.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez had a basic interview backstage about Io wanting a title shot. Dakota is so good at everything.

Backstage, Candice LeRae tried to talk sense into Indi but she got distracted by Dexter Lumis creepily being behind some glass. That left Candice to confront Ember and Shotzi alone, who beat her up since she was alone. Didn’t seem all that face like.

NXT Cruiserweight Championship: KUSHIDA [c] vs. Oney Lorcan

KUSHIDA issued an open challenge to celebrate winning the title. Oney is an excellent choice because both are awesome. The champ has changed up his gear and now doesn’t wear boot. I’ve never liked wrestlers competing barefoot. These two had some very good moments throughout with Oney bringing the stiff shots and KUSHIDA taking things to the mat. The latter put the focus on the arm, as usual, and kicked away at it down the stretch. Oney nearly stole this after a Blockbuster but KUSHIDA won with the Hoverboard Lock in 9:24. It could’ve been better but this was a good start to KUSHIDA’s reign. [***¼]

KUSHIDA was jumped after the match by Legado del Fantasma until MSK made the save. I smell a six man tag.

Mercedes Martinez suggested that Raquel Gonzalez was ducking her and is apparently targeting Dakota Kai to get her attention.

A battered Candice came up to The Way. Indi was excited that she made eye contact with Dexter Lumis. She also got William Regal to agree to give them a Women’s Tag Team Title shot.

Ever-Rise vs. Imperium

Ever-Rise is a fun duo but they were here to do the job. Imperium put them down with a European Bomb in 1:53. Just what it needed to be. [NR]

Cameron Grimes vs. Kyle O’Reilly

On his way to the ring, Kyle had a faceoff with Karrion and Scarlett. Sometimes, a main event doesn’t need a ton of build. Just put two quality wrestlers in there who also happen to have enjoyable gimmicks and you’ve got a winner. That’s just what this was. The first part of this was pretty evenly matched before a suplex put Grimes in control heading into the break. He held serve there until Kyle rallied with strikes and then tried the guillotine. They went into trading blows in the closing stretch that saw Grimes hit his moonsault slam for two. Kyle survived that and hit the Brainbuster followed by the flying knee to win in 13:29. Like I said, they kept it simple and just had a heck of a match because they’re both great. [***½]

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

For the most part, this is about what I expect from a good weekly wrestling show. Not every week has to be fantastic. Sometimes, you just get a handful of good matches, some fun character moments, and build to bigger shows down the line, which is what this was.