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WWE NXT Recap, May 24: Aleister Bullies, Velveteen debuts and McIntyre shines

By Derek Lombardo

credit: WWE.com
credit: WWE.com /
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What was in store for the first NXT episode after the latest stellar Takeover event?

Aleister bullies Hawkins

This week’s episode of NXT was recorded before Takeover went live on the air, and the two guys that got the chance to set the tone for the entire evening were Aleister Black and Curt Hawkins. If you really thought Hawkins had a chance to win this match, you haven’t been watching NXT. Aleister Black is one of the two guys who seem to have been shot out of a rocket that is aimed straight to the top of the division (we’ll talk about the other guy in a couple sections), and he’s checking off all the boxes on his way: a great entrance, an insanely painful looking finishing move (he took Hawkins head off with the Black Mass to win this match) and an athleticism you’d never guess he had at a first glance. Oh, and the tattoos help.

Black is not the type of guy who comes around quite often (though Hawkins has a similar haircut), so it’s going to be interesting to see how long he stays in NXT. He fought Hawkins on Main Event (how did I not know this was still a thing???) two weeks ago, so he could be more ready for the main roster than we realize. I’m hoping he stays in NXT for at least one title run; whether it’s for the  NXT Championship or United Kingdom Championship doesn’t matter to me, I just want to see Black in some gold.

It was all a dream

Step aside, Shinsuke Nakamura. There’s a new king for most impressive debut of the weekend, and his name is Velveteen Dream. (Yes, I realize this isn’t technically Dream’s debut since he’s been on WWE television before using his real name, Patrick Clark, but still.) This guy is like a hybrid between Prince and Blade, except instead of beautiful music or a sword, he has snug velvet pants and a devastating elbow drop.

After pinning Robert Anthony (whose name sounds like a randomly generated player from Madden), who can say what’s next for Velveteen Dream? He really impressed with this victory, but is his specific gimmick enough to predict his ceiling? He seems like a fun character with the flashiness of Rich Swann, the confidence of Tyler Breeze and the body of an NFL tight end, but is this specific gimmick something you could see in a main event match? I guess, considering who the current WWE Champion is (Jinder Mahal, who defeated Randy Orton at Backlash for the WWE Championship) these kinds of predictions shouldn’t be made, but since I pride myself at being wrong, I’ll continue to make them.

McIntyre is the real deal

Not sure why Wesley Blake was the one to challenge Drew McIntyre to a match in front of this Chicago crowd, but I have a feeling he deeply regrets that decision. While it may have been the most competitive match of the evening, there was no doubt that McIntyre would defeat the former Tag Team Champion.

Drew McIntyre would be the Las Vegas favorite to become the next challenger for Bobby Roode’s NXT Championship but would most likely need to earn his shot. Naturally, the thought of Aleister Black vs. McIntyre would make me want to cryogenically freeze myself to right when the fight starts, but since Black will (more likely than not) go for the UK Championship, McIntyre will most likely look elsewhere for someone to leapfrog over. But who will it be?

Kassius Ohno would be an option if he wasn’t too busy throwing Twitter shade at Hideo Itami, most likely enough shade to start a rivalry, No Way Jose still hasn’t returned to NXT television since his injury, and Andrade “Cien” Almas, well, sucks. Roderick Strong has gained some recent momentum: between the “Who is Roderick Strong?” two-part series and his big win against Eric Young at Takeover, it wouldn’t be a stretch to picture him fighting for a title shot. Hell, he just did a couple weeks ago but ultimately lost to Itami.

Granted, this is all speculation and fun fantasy booking, because at the end of the day, we can pretty much write the main event of the next Takeover in permanent marker colored concrete: Bobby Roode will be facing Drew McIntyre, and no matter the result, it will be glorious.

Takeover leftovers

To fill some of the 50 minutes allotted for this episode, we got to see some exclusive footage that didn’t make the Takeover broadcast, including interviews with Ember Moon and Asuka, as well as a full recap of just about every match from Saturday night. I did not write a recap for Takeover, but here are some rapid fire thoughts to close:

  • It’s time for someone from SAnitY to win a match.
  • Can anyone beat Asuka? Maybe NXT’s big goal was to have Ember Moon be the one to dethrone NXT’s queen before she got hurt. Whatever the big picture plan is, Asuka is becoming an NXT legend, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Triple H changed the name of the upcoming Women’s Tournament from the May Young Classic to the Asuka Invitational.
  • Bold move having Tommaso Ciampa turn on his best friend, Johnny Gargano, especially since we’ve already seen them go one-on-one in that instant classic they put on during the Cruiserweight Classic. This is a team that would have crushed it on the main roster. While there are a lot of reasons to be negative about this move, there is one huge (and I mean huge) reason to be positive, and their names are Heavy Machinery. I’ve already ordered the 12-pound package of Smart Food I’m ready to devour during this match.
  • Okay, WWE Hall of Fame, it’s time to get working on that Bobby Roode bust.
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