It looks like NXT is going all in on SAnitY, and I don’t mind. Mainly because of MOTHER EFFIN’ DAMO.
Dain kicked off the night by utterly destroying the Bollywood Boyz. The Sihra brothers didn’t even stand a chance against the Beast of Belfast who took care of business without needing to tag in Wolfe. Dain and SAnitY would pull off double-duties though, as a backstage attack to Tye Dillinger led to a six-man tag team match main event against Dillinger, No Way Jose, and Roderick Strong. While Dain didn’t see as much action on their second match, he was instrumental to his team win when he leveled Strong with a vicious running crossbody block that lead to the pinfall.
If Dain keeps up with this intensity and aggression, we’re probably seeing the next breakout star for NXT. We know how Triple H prizes agile big men—just look at Kevin Owens, Samoa Joe, and hell, even Rusev. Dain is the right mix of the old-school monster hoss and new-school explosive athlete. Expect a lot of big things from Big Damo, and with it, a lot of beautiful destruction.
*****
The Rest of the Show:
- Liv Morgan def. Billie Kay (w/ Payton Royce): The match itself wasn’t bad, but the context surrounding it was just meh. I know the roster’s not deep, so it’s not unexpected to see some repeated match-ups, but come the fuck on. This “feud” between the Iconic duo and Morgan had gone on long enough, and it’s reaching the point where I can’t be bothered to keep up with it. Shake things up, NXT.
- The Revival def. Heavy Machinery: The Revival is awesome, but you already knew that, and watching them work tag matches are always fun, even in short ones like this. Seeing them going after the Authors of Pain, and actually getting the jump on the NXT Tag Team Champions are a great way to keep interest high on a thin division. Either a three-way match including former champs #DIY or a straight up heel vs heel match at TakeOver: Orlando for the title would be must-watch television.
- Bobby Roode's Glorious Coronation: Short and sweet, this one was. Roode came off as egotistical and slightly delusional. The new NXT Champion ran down the crowd, Shinsuke Nakamura, and NXT in general nicely. We even got some good laughs to kick it off. He’s doing a real good job that you can’t help thinking he’s a dick, and that’s good heel work. I can’t wait to see what’s next for the Glorious one.
*****
Thoughts on this week's episode? Let us know by dropping a comment below!
Photo from WWE.com and WWE Network
*****
Jocs Boncodin (@caboncodin) is a Managing Editor of Smark Henry. He answers tweets by day and watches wrestling by night. An aspiring writer, Jocs spends most of his idle time fantasy booking angles and overthinking wrestling storylines. A big fan of the WWE, his introduction to the local online wrestling community Smark Gilas-Pilipinas has opened his eyes to the wonders of puroresu and lucha libre. He currently handles Smark Hen-XT, smarkhenry.ph's weekly NXT review.
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