WWE NXT Recap, June 14: Women’s Championship Triple Threat

While Drew McIntyre, Velveteen Dream, and the Authors of Pain were all in action, the real party was the NXT Women’s Championship Triple Threat match.

My Name is McIntyre

Only when William Regal starts putting Drew McIntyre in matches against legitimate competition, and not against someone named Rob Ryzin (who looks like a rooster heading to a Slipknot concert), will I consider McIntyre to be a serious threat to Bobby Roode’s NXT Championship. There has been more effort put into hyping McIntyre up than anything he has done in the ring since his return to NXT. His biggest win this year has been over Wesley Blake, someone who only came back into relevancy because of this matchup. I want to believe in Drew McIntyre, and I’m ready to see what he is capable of against the upper echelon of talent (Roode, Hideo Itami, Aleister Black, etc.). Even though MyIntyre defeated Ryzin, I can’t help but feel like his stock went down a hair this week. (I will admit, McIntyre’s Single-Leg Yakuza Kick is frightening. and would look great wrapped around Bobby Roode’s steel jaw.)

The Book of Pain

In their first appearance since beating DIY badly enough to break them up permanently, the Authors of Pain had some in-ring action against two dudes names Anthony Dominguez & William Freyday. Never heard of these two? Well, after this match, you can read all about them in their upcoming obituaries. After the destruction of this pair of unknowns, Paul Ellering had a couple things to get off his chest, and it wasn’t until he started listing off all the tag teams they’ve beaten that made me really think if we should start including AoP in the conversation for “The Greatest NXT Tag Team Ever.”

Think about it: DIY, American Alpha, The Revival, just to name a few of the victims that AoP has conquered. While that list is nothing short of incredibly impressive, it lacks size. AoP never had the chance to face a team who could match up with them pound-for-pound. (The Ascension would have been an interesting battle considering the domination they displayed during their NXT days; unfortunately, NXT success doesn’t always translate to main roster talent, and now Ascension finds themselves as the main roster’s biggest jobbers.) That is until we finally got a glimpse of them face-to-face with Heavy Machinery. If I were Vince McMahon, I’d put these four titans in a three-hour long match at Great Balls of Fire. Who needs Brock Lesnar when you could have two guys named Otis and Tucker?

Another Velvet Victory

The man in the purple velvet pants is becoming something of a cult figure these last few weeks. I’m still developing my opinion on him, but I’m fascinated whenever he’s on my television. He could potentially be the most athletic, physically fit man on the roster, and when you combine that with the charisma straight out of Prince’s handbook, you have an attraction that could be very influential on pay-per-view buys. When I wrote about Drew McIntyre earlier, I didn’t even think to add Velveteen Dream to the list of his potential opponents, but after playing it in my mind for a few seconds, I think Dream should be at the top of that list. Maybe McIntyre’s legs will go on strike once they see the nice, comfy living quarters Dream’s are nestled in.

Championship-Caliber Violence

As of today, Asuka has been NXT Women’s Champion for 439 days. To put that in perspective, that’s how long it’s been since Danny Burch has won a match. (This was meant to be a joke, but before Burch won in a tag team match with Oney Lorcan back in April of this year, he hadn’t won a match in NXT since July 19, 2013. I’m… so sorry, Daniel.) It hasn’t been an easy road to get to 439 days, with the most recent speedbump coming last night, in the form of Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot.

This is a rematch from Takeover: Chicago, with an added elimination stipulation. Don’t get me wrong — I enjoy watching Ruby Riot wrestle, but in my heart of hearts, I felt relief when she was the first one eliminated, which bettered the odds for my daughter, Nikki Cross, to win this brutal match. These two girls were fighting inside the ring, and out, which eventually led to both of them being counted out, resulting in a draw (and a title retention by Asuka). This doesn’t mean the action stopped; Cross and Asuka fought backstage, in the makeup room, in an ice cooler, on a garage door, and finally, through a table.

Next week, Ember Moon will be fighting Peyton Royce, so whomever wins that may have a serious claim to Asuka’s belt, which has been attached to her long enough for it to legally be considered a limb. There’s only one problem for whoever wins that match: Nikki Cross doesn’t care.