The NXT Thread Is Like Ring of Honor's Bay-Bay!

As much as I would prefer the DIY feud to be for the championship, I think the most logical route would be to put the belt on Aleister Black in New Orleans, as he has waited too long for the belt. Thus instead of constantly hotshotting the belt from one guy to the next, let Almas retain in Philly (first title retention since Roode defended against Nakamura I think), and have Black beat Almas (or beat Almas/Cole/Gargano if Ciampa can't return for Philly).

Of course they may want to put Black on RAW or Smackdown after Mania, which would mean no championship win and completely screw up my thoughts...
 
Yea, Rumor has it that Black is going up at the Post Mania call.


My guess is Cole takes it off of Gargano and then goes on a long, possibly year-long, run.
 
I’m assuming that we’re gonna get Ciampa/Gargano down the line whether it’s for the title or not.

I know it will never happen, but now that Candice is signed, I’ll MTFO if she Balls-Plexes Ciampa
 
Why does this notion seem to exist that guys have to win the NXT Title before they get called up?
Because there's still a large portion of the fanbase that feels that the championship belongs on the top guy.

It's not "oh he needs a title run before he's called up" as much as it's "if he's not coming up imminently he should get the belt because he's the best." If he's coming up soon then no he doesn't need a title run, especially since he would have to lose the title when he left for good.
 
Барбоса;5779783 said:
If Ciampa himself was going to be portrayed as being clever, he should be the one to make sure that Gargano wins the title...

So many ways it could go.

Nothing wrong with putting bloodthirst over championship glory, either. Personally, I think Ciampa costing Johnny the dream of being champion has more depth to it than Ciampa wanting to take a championship away from him. Either way, I doubt I leave this feud unhappily.

I'm torn. I don't want Almas/Gargano to be an overbooked mess. At the same time, I want Candice to debut in the match by dispatching Zelina and for Tomasso to cost Johnny Wrestling the title. Both would be too much.
 
As long as they make sense - Candice has already been established as Johnny's wife on-screen and his rivalry with Ciampa is obviously well entrenched - there probably isn't a hard limit to the accoutrements one can add to a match's story, and, if there is, it's probably not two.
 
On paper, I agree that two plot points hardly constitute a strain, but when said two moments are potentially loaded with emotion, I see risk of being overwhelmed.
 
NXT
Date: January 17, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re still in Atlanta as we’re heading towards Philadelphia for the next Takeover. Last week saw the Undisputed Era beat down Aleister Black to end the show, earning Adam Cole an Extreme Rules match with Black in Philadelphia. Odds are we’ll get the final card for the next Takeover tonight so let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

From Atlanta to Philadelphia
 
NXT
Date: January 24, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Philadelphia and that means most of the show is already set. There’s always the chance of throwing some stuff in via a backstage segment but odds are we’ve seen the card announced. Tonight is likely going to be heavy on talking, which isn’t a bad thing around here. Let’s get to it.

Dream On
 
They're doing Roddy versus Bate on Saturday, to air on Wednesday. The winner gets Dunne for the UK title.

That match could steal the whole night. Also, wow at that potential Roddy against Dunne title match.
 
To preclude this by saying that Almas vs. Gargano was quite comfortably the best wrestling match I've ever seen live and I was so elated at having seen it that it took me a while to get to sleep, but:

The wrong man won.

Once Johnny had kicked out of Almas' finisher, once Vega had been neutralised, once it had been established that there wasn't an ounce of quit in Johnny Wrestling, they had gone past the point of no return. The knees against the post and the top rope DDT were a good way to do it but the atmosphere in the arena wasn't so much one of disappointment but one of "Oh, OK." This was a crowd waiting for either the ultimate underdog story to finish unfolding or an unspeakable betrayal by a former friend. In the end, the heel champion retained (relatively) cleanly. It was just a little odd.

If Johnny wins that title or Ciampa doesn't let the fact that he can't even walk unaided stop him from costing his former partner his dream, that's an all-time classic match.
 
NXT
Date: January 31, 2018
Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

It’s time for another of the pre-Takeover shows as we haven’t had time to do more tapings, meaning we have some dark matches from this weekend’s Takeover: Philadelphia. This includes a match between Roderick Strong and Tyler Bate with the winner getting a UK Title match against Pete Dunne at some point in the future. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

British, Strong, Style
 
The wrong man won.

I could not disagree with you more Sam. Almas losing the title in his first defence would have done a tonne of damage to him. Johnny the underdog pushed him to the limit. His manager was taken away by LeRae. His finisher failed, but he still managed to get the win. The match was as much about him proving that he's as good as Zelina says he is. He found a way to overcome Gargano's heart through massive head trauma. In the moment, it seems wrong, like its taken the wind out of Gargano's sails. Maybe it did sour the moment, but matches don't exist for moments or in a vacuum. They exist to further the programme, and NXT is better served with Almas as champion than Gargano. Why? Because ask yourself, are you going to care any more or less about Gargano vs Ciampa if the title was involved? The answer is no. That match sells itself on the blood feud and it diminishes the title because it's just a prop that's less important than the personal issues. Almas since started chasing McIntyre has been all about the title, his desire for it allowing him to push further and further to get the win makes it seem more important because it's so important to him.

Almas needed that win to legitimise himself as a star. Gargano didn't need it, he and Almas just made you want it so so badly and took it away at the last minute which is a credit to them both as performers.
 
NXT
Date: February 7, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

We’re back to the regular shows this week with about two months to go before Takeover: New Orleans. That means it’s time for some short form stories before we move on towards the bigger stuff with a few weeks before the important show. That doesn’t mean this first period has to be weak though as this is often some of the best material NXT has to offer. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

That's Nice For A Change
 
NXT
Date: February 14, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson, Mauro Ranallo

We’ve got another packed show this week with two title matches on tap. First up the Women’s Title is on the line as Ember Moon defends against Shayna Baszler in a rematch from Takeover: Philadelphia. After that, Pete Dunne defends the United Kingdom Title against Roderick Strong. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Roses Are Red, Violets Aren't Blue, OW MY ARM!
 
NXT
Date: February 21, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We have a main event quality main event here with Andrade Cien Almas vs. Johnny Gargano in a title vs. NXT career match. Gargano lost to Almas in a classic at Takeover: Philadelphia and now he has one more chance. The stipulations would suggest an obvious ending, but that’s not exactly the way NXT tends to operate. Let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Round 4
 
NXT
Date: February 28, 2018
Location: Center Stage Theater, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re still closing in on Takeover: New Orleans but this time we’ll be doing it without Johnny Gargano. Last week Gargano put his NXT career on the line for another shot at the NXT Title but former partner Tommaso Ciampa cost him the title with a crutch shot to the back. Now we need to figure out what’s going on in New Orleans so let’s get to it.

Click on the link below for the full review.

Gone But Not Out Of His Contract
 

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