WWE NXT Review, March 9, 2016: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Your very official NXT review for March 9, 2016

Previously on NXT…

Things are totally treading water right now as we head down the home stretch to Takeover: Dallas. Thankfully, resolution is coming! Despite two non-finishes, Sami Zayn and Samoa Joe are headed towards a two-out-of-three falls match to finally determine a new number one contender.

Bayley has nearly the entire women’s roster gunning for her Women’s Championship, from Eva Marie to Nia Jax to the unstoppable Asuka. Bayley is the big dog on campus right now, but it seems like her run is numbered with so many contenders gunning for her.

The tag team title scene seems to be getting some resolution as on next week’s show, American Alpha will battle the Vaudevillains for the right to face The Revival. I don’t know if this means Enzo and Cass are suddenly and randomly out of the tag title picture, but if it means American Alpha gets the belts, it is what it is.

Lastly, Austin Aries debuted last week and Baron Corbin has officially had it with all of your indie darlings. This Corbin versus every new indie star is becoming the best feud in NXT right now. The best part is that, even though he’s an absolute jerk, Corbin is right! I can’t wait to see how this develops, but the way things are going, Corbin has a life-long feud ahead of him. Nakamura is going to debut and Corbin is going to go ape.

And now, your Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down for the March 9, 2016 edition of NXT.

Thumbs Up: This Is How You Showcase Talent

If you’re going to hype a match-up like a two-out-of-three falls match between two of your top stars, this is how you showcase them. Aside from a brief announcement regarding the night’s action, the entire hour was given to Joe vs Zayn.

I honestly expected this to get 25 to 30 minutes and I’m sure it would have been fantastic even in that instance. But putting everything aside and letting this match stand alone elevate the talent. It made this feel so important to have the whole hour, to not rush the falls, to let this develop as the story they’ve been trying to tell for the last several weeks.

The match itself is nothing short of fantastic. It starts with some feeling out, sees Sami play the underdog role better than anyone on the entire WWE roster, ramps up with his comeback and finally comes to a fitting end. It told the story of Joe, how he maybe tried to be too nice and play the game when he first got to NXT and how he’s tired of not getting what he wants and he’s just gonna choke everybody out that’s in his way. Meanwhile, we get the story of Sami Zayn’s comeback in the face of injury, Samoan monsters and everything else.

The finish itself was a thing of beauty. Zayn had fought his way back into the match, caught Joe in the koji clutch and seemed like he was on his way to overcoming the odds to win the match. Unfortunately for him, Joe is a monster. The Helluva Kick got caught — Joe literally just caught the kick — and a moment later, the coquina clutch was locked in. Sami fought like hell, as he usually does, but passed out. It’s the Sami Zayn story in a nutshell: he fights like hell against the odds, nearly overcomes them before falling just short.

Hopefully with his run-in on Kevin Owens on Raw on Monday, we get the ultimate underdog Sami Zayn on the main roster because he’s the guy everyone will cheer for. His offense is explosive and I don’t care what anyone says, he is hands down the best seller on the entire roster. He doesn’t need to flop around like a rag doll with no stuffing like Dolph Ziggler does. He sells with his face. He makes you believe that he’s really taken a pounding. That thing he does where he lets his arm hang down? Makes even the most jaded, experienced fan think for just a second that maybe he’s really gotten his bell rung. Sami Zayn is the guy the main roster needs to fill that Daniel Bryan void. He’s easily the most likable, genuine babyface in the entire company. Let him play the role he was meant for.