Thumbs up, thumbs down: NXT 2/17

NXT still better than Raw by a mile even when treading water

In case you haven’t been watching, here are the main things you need to be caught up on:

Sami Zayn, Samoa Joe and Baron Corbin squared off in a triple threat match with the winner earning a shot at NXT champion Finn Balor. It ended with huge question marks as both Zayn and Joe earned a submission victory over Corbin at the same time. A match between Zayn and Joe, scheduled to take place on this show, will determine the new number one contender.

The tag division is heating up. Enzo and Cass still swear up and down that they are going to take down Dash and Dawson for the tag team titles, American Alpha is still doing awesome American Alpha things and there are like three or four other teams that could go on a tear and rise to the top, making WWE’s main roster tag scene look like literal tumbleweeds aside from the New Day.

As for the revamped women’s division, it’s as good as ever. Bayley has transition nicely from the underdog to the established vet facing down her challengers. Nia Jax and Eva Marie are in the forefront as immediate threats while Asuka has now established herself as a looming threat. Awesome all around and a shame the main roster can’t figure out how to do it like this.

Without further ado,  your Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down for NXT 2/17/16.

Thumbs Way Up: American Steiners

The opening match of the night is an eight-man tag featuring Enzo and Cass, American Alpha (Gable and Jordan) facing Dash and Dawson and the Dubstep Cowboys (Blake and Murphy, with Alexa). Most of these teams have something awesome going for them. Blake and Murphy have Alexa and her on-point facial expressions. Dash and Dawson have this old-school ’80s NWA tag team feel that no one else has. Enzo and Cass are Enzo and Cass. And American Alpha? Well…

AMERICAN ALPHA IS DRESSED LIKE 1992 STEINER BROTHERS ARE YOU SERIOUS.

I loved these too way more than I should before they came out looking like the 2010s version of Rick and Scott. I appreciate what Dash and Dawson are doing as true workers, but man, American Alpha should have the belts like yesterday. Give it to me now, please.

Thumbs Up: The Match Itself

Okay, it took me a few minutes to stop freaking out about Steiner brother singlets, but once I did I saw a pretty good match. Everyone brings something different to the table and it’s refreshing to see tag team wrestling matter once again.

It even helped set the table for a future number one contender’s match, as American Alpha clearly had the win before having the pin broken up leading to Enzo and Cass definitively grabbing the win right after. It gives us an easy match between the two teams to find out who the better one is and presumably the winner will take the belts off of Dash and Dawson at Takeover: Dallas.

Thumbs Sideways: Deonna and Dana

Backstage, we get the most generic jobber promo out of Deonna Purrazzo, aka That Girl Asuka Knocked Out. She kind of blathers on for a minute, talking about how her having her face caved in by Asuka was a “learning experience” as in “maybe I shouldn’t get hit in the face really hard.” That’s a lesson to learn.

She’s interrupted by the absolutely wonderful combination of Dana Brooke and Emma. Emma has become awesome once again as bitter, jaded, selfish Emma who has been to the main roster and you don’t want to know the things she’s seen, man.

Dana, meanwhile, is what would happen if you took your average woman from the midwest and crammed her in a fitness model’s body. Just over-annunciation and thick-ass accents all around. But Dana being unable to speak like a properly working adult has become one of my favorite things in the world at this point and her shouting terribly during Emma matches is a thing I want to be around for a while.

Thumbs Down: Deonna vs Asuka II

I don’t know what I expected for this one, but this match felt like it not only ran a little too long, but it was sloppy as all hell. With all due respect to Deonna, who seems like she’s trying really hard, she looks like a student still learning to find her flow in the ring and not someone who should be on the hottest brand the WWE has going right now.

The offense looked choppy and uncoordinated, with Deonna selling like she’s thinking about selling instead of looking like she’s getting her block knocked off. I’m not saying there isn’t potential there, but maybe she should stick to the performance center and house shows for a little while longer.

This bleeds into a pre-filmed promo from Eva and Nia, who both look like they’re trying really hard to remember their lines. They launch vaguely threatening comments at Bayley and Carmella, setting up a tag team match for next week.

Thumbs Up: The Perfect 10

Normally, a match between “The Perfect 10” Tye Dillinger and Mr. “say it to my face” Alex Riley would be something I’d recap with “BLAH” and nothing more. And the match itself was kind of sloppy and rough, but we’ve become accustomed to that in most Riley matches.

Having said that, Dillinger has a character that needs a little bit of a push to really get going. The crowd is behind him, throwing up ten fingers for almost no reason and Dillinger is clearly into the gimmick. He seems to be having fun with it, adding goofy mannerisms seemingly each and every time he is out there. With a little love, the Perfect 10 could become more than just something goofy for us to love.

Thumbs Up: Vaguely Threatening Baron Corbin

We get a quick backstage segment with Baron Corbin, still smarting from his loss in the triple threat, wandering into general manager William Regal’s office to say that since a rematch is taking place for the number one contender’s spot, he should be in it.

Regal calmly tells him that, while no one won the match, he very clearly lost it. Corbin gets huffy about it and uses the “eye for an eye” mantra to vaguely threaten Regal before sauntering off. Though the good old days of a performer on NXT getting into a blood feud with Regal are long gone, it’s good to see Corbin continue to act like the jerk he actually seems to be in the backstage looks we get. He’s a natural heel and has really been coming into his own as a performer over the last several months.

I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really enjoying Baron Corbin. That felt gross. Can I have some mouth wash?

Thumbs Up: Samoa Joe vs Sami Zayn, Except The Finish

What, I’m supposed to not like a match between Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe? They’re only the perfect foils for one another. Joe is the big, nasty power house willing to take a step or ten over the line of good competition to get what he thinks is his. Zayn is maybe the only truly good guy in the entire NXT universe, an underdog in every sense of the word whose goodness sometimes costs him titles.

The match itself was as it should have been: Joe dominates in large stretches, simply bullying the smaller and nicer Zayn with his power and mean streak. Sami fights out from underneath, throwing flurries of offense to get himself back into it before Joe squashes him back down.

Also worth noting: there might not be anyone better at selling than Sami Zayn right now. People like to give that distinction to Dolph Ziggler, but selling like you’ve been shot out of a cannon isn’t always the best way to make it look like you’ve been hurt. Sami crumbles and falls in such ways that there are times you can’t help but wonder about him. That’s how you sell.

Thumbs Down: The Finish, Though

For the second consecutive time, we get a finish that equates to “shrug, see you next week.” The finish this time is as follows: Joe gets Zayn up for the Muscle Buster, Zayn squirts out and hits the Helluva Kick. Joe falls on his back, Zayn falls on top of him but in a way where his shoulders are squarely on the mat. The ref counts, realizes both guys are down and doesn’t know what to do.

This brings out Regal, demanding to know who his number one contender is while both Joe and Zayn make their case and the ref declaring that it’s a draw. We’re back to square one and haven’t figured out a damn thing.

It was fine the first time to get us from three viable contenders to two, but what are we accomplishing by dragging this out another week? Both guys can lose this match and not look weaker for it, so who are we protecting here? It just doesn’t make a ton of sense to go with another question mark finish. Hopefully, we get a resolution that makes sense and satisfies what we’re looking for on next week’s show.