NXT Aug. 10, 2021: Listing 3 things the brand got right

No matter how good the next few NXT shows are, it’s hard to escape the lame duck aura that now permeates through the entire brand thanks to reports that things might be changing for the worse soon.

One could argue that those changes have already started, but there are still plenty of aspects to the show that remains on point despite the increasingly frustrating moments. After all, it’s sometimes good to appreciate the good before harping on the bad, that that’s what we’re going to do here.

These are the three things that went right on the Aug. 10 episode of NXT

Odyssey Jones

Watching the 2021 Breakout Tournament, it has become clear that WWE has something with Odyssey Jones (well, there was also something there with Ikemen Jiro, but last week’s squash made it clear how he’s seen by the writers).

A 400-pounder who moves around like someone half his size and whose charisma reaches through the television screen applies a vise grip to your heart, Jones comes across as a future star for the promotion, and his win over Trey Baxter reinforced that idea (as did his post-match promo).

With the company planning to refocus the brand around size, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see a Jones vs. Duke Hudson final, with Hudson the likely favorite due to him being tall and…..him being tall. Hopefully, they ignore this impulse and go with the guy with some tangible upside.

Karrion Kross/Samoa Joe video package

Man, it really is a shame the WWE main roster — specifically, Vince McMahon and the Raw creative team — chose to turn NXT Champion Karrion Kross into another dude who wrestles inconsequential matches on a three-hour wrestling show.

If Kross were still positioned as an unstoppable killer, then the video packages the NXT production team put together over the last two weeks would’ve been more effective in building up the Kross vs. Samoa Joe match at NXT TakeOver 36.

To be clear, the videos, particularly this week’s offering, presented both men as indomitable forces who are set to collide for the brand’s richest prize. Kross pointing out how he and Joe aren’t too dissimilar from one another even added a new wrinkle to the animus they share for the other.

However, Kross’ diminished aura makes it hard to fully buy into what NXT is selling. You can appreciate the effort to ignore the main roster stupidity, though.

Enhancement/Showcase matches

Not every match needs to be a back-and-forth affair, and this is something that the NXT crew understands better than their main roster counterparts. Sometimes, a wrestler just needs a few minutes to flash their moveset and score a decisive win.

This week’s NXT featured three of such bouts in the form of Gigi Dolan vs. Amari Miller, LA Knight vs. Andre Chase, and Boa vs. Drake Maverick (though Maverick got plenty of offense in during this match).

These matches didn’t take up too much TV time (gotta make room for those Indi Hartwell/Dexter Lumis skits!), but accomplished far more than any non-finish, distraction finish, or surprise rollup ever could.