Ember Moon returns, Kassius Ohno faces Aleister Black, and a photo shoot brawl!
Right to the Moon
And just like that, the Women’s Division’s most athletic lady, who also happens to have a claim to the NXT Women’s Championship, is back! Ember Moon was cleared to wrestle a couple of weeks ago and faced Peyton Royce in her first televised match since she competed in a Women’s Battle Royal back in early May. Moon did not seem to show any signs of rust or regression in her defeat of Royce, who was once again accompanied to the ring by Billie Kay.
Next week, we’ll get to see Asuka take on Nikki Cross in a Last Woman Standing Match for the NXT Women’s Championship. I’m grateful that Cross is going to get a one-on-one shot at Asuka, but whoever is indeed standing at the end better keep her head on a swivel, as an Eclipse is never too far away.
Twin slayers
As a guy who has seen almost every match that the Usos have had and still can’t tell you which is Jimmy and which is Jey, these Ealy Brothers are not making my job easier. For Alexander Wolfe and Eric Young of SAnitY, it didn’t matter who was who, as both Urial and Gabriel Ealy took bad beatings from the crazy people. After another dominant performance by SAnitY, it’s still tough to predict which way their trajectory is pointing. Are they actually a tag team with ambitions of fighting for the NXT Tag Team Championship at some point? Or are they just a group that seems to punish only the ones who are withering away in storyline purgatory? Time will tell, but whatever these guys decide (collectively or individually), the rest of the roster should be very afraid.
Deville’s display of dominance
Earlier, I mentioned how Ember Moon will be ready to challenge whoever wins next week’s title match between Asuka and Nikki Cross, but if we’re being honest, Sonya Deville deserves to be in the conversation as well. Her striking power is unmatched by any woman, main roster or otherwise. She looks like at any moment, she’d be down to fight Asuka, and then Holly Holm immediately after. Maybe I’m starting this conversation a little too prematurely, but after watching her lay a whoopin’ on someone named Rachel Evers, I’m buying all the Sonya Deville stock I can get my hands on while it’s cheap, because trust me, it won’t be for long.
Photo shoot punishment
When you’re as glorious of a man as Bobby Roode, you should be protected by the best security that money buys. However much money Roode is making, he’s not spending enough toward a human shield, and Roderick Strong was able to get his hands on the NXT Champion fairly easily. I’d be lying if I said Strong wasn’t provoked by the NXT Champion, who made a comment, something about Strong’s wife and her maybe sorta wanting to get with someone better (a lá Bobby Roode). They came to massive blows during Roode’s backstage photo shoot, and thus, a match between Strong and Roode in two weeks for the NXT Championship was born.
Fantasy warfare
We finally got to see what would happen if you put Aleister Black against (semi-) legitimate competition, as he faced Kassius Ohno to close the show. I knew this match was going to be fun the minute I found out about it, but I had no idea that it’d be a serious contender for Match of the Year. These guys fought for almost 20 minutes, laying their bodies on the line the entire time.
Next: WWE Superstar Power Rankings: Post-Money in the Bank Edition
I also didn’t expect that there would be a true finish to this match, since Aleister Black could be considered to be in a completely different division than Ohno, the UK Division, and a false finish would not have halted Black’s storyline (as long as he picked up the win in return, even if it were via countout or disqualification). Ohno has been dealing with Hideo Itami’s temper tantrums the last few weeks, so Itami was always a wild card in my mind to assist Black in this match, but he never did. It was just a battle where the better man won. Whatever Ohno and Itami do as a program will be fun, but I’m more interested in where Aleister Black is headed, specifically in his route to gold, assuming that’s his goal. He could also just be around to fight and kick people’s heads off, which I am also here to see.