WWE NXT: Winners and Losers for October 4
By Bryan Heaton
Who were the big winners and losers on this week’s episode of NXT?
After WWE NXT on Wednesday, there are a handful of superstars who are seeing their stock rise. Likewise, a couple of superstars look like they’ve hit a rough spot. A pro wrestler’s career is always full of peaks and valleys, but in WWE they get magnified because of the number of eyes on them at all times.
With that said, let’s take a look at some superstars on the move after NXT this week.
Winners
Drew McIntyre, Roderick Strong
One thing NXT seems to do more consistently than the main roster is to make both participants in a match look awesome. On a random Monday night, you may see Jason Jordan beat Curt Hawkins, and it’s very one sided. Over on SmackDown, Bobby Roode will treat Mike Kanellis like he’s nothing. But then you get a match like this on NXT.
McIntyre has looked like a million bucks since returning to WWE and joining NXT. Strong had a bit of a slow start upon his debut, but since he’s become one of the top babyfaces he’s also been a stud out there. Seeing these two tear it up in a championship match was a delight. I’d love it if these guys would have more matches together in the future.
Kairi Sane
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The winner of this year’s Mae Young Classic made her NXT television debut this week by defeating Aliyah. As would be expected, the Pirate Princess won the match with relative ease.
Despite the match not being anything super special, Sane showed the NXT crowd exactly why she’s one of the top wrestlers in the world. (Yes, “wrestler,” and not “female wrestler.”)
The big spot in any Kairi Sane match is the flying elbow. The added contortion she puts into the move makes it stand out from other top rope elbows. And, even though Sane looks like she weighs about 100 pounds, the elbow looks like it could take out someone the size of, oh, I don’t know, Braun Strowman.
https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/915736561886646274
And now I want to see Kairi Sane vs. Braun Strowman. Why do I do this to myself?
Losers
Lio Rush
Poor guy. Lio Rush was all set to make his NXT debut against Aleister Black. But Velveteen Dream, Black’s nemesis of late, ambushed the newcomer and the match never got started. It’s always exciting when new talent debuts, and Rush is definitely an exciting wrestler to watch. Not getting the match is a bit of a let-down, as is watching him get annihilated.
However, it may be a blessing in disguise. Black has defeated two other dewbuting superstars in their first matches – Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. Black himself – as Tommy End – debuted with a loss against Neville at the UK Tournament in January. It stands to reason that Rush probably would have befallen the same fate. So maybe not getting his match in was a good thing after all.
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Either way, when Lio finally debuts, he’ll definitely turn some heads. Hey, maybe he’ll get that match with Black after all, lose, and do what Fish and O’Reilly did – team up with Adam Cole and run roughshod over the NXT champions. You never know.