WWE NXT Recap, July 12: Johnny Gargano returns, Authors of Pain defend
Johnny Gargano makes his return before Heavy Machinery challenges Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championships!
A Fish out of Water
The NXT crowd seems very “woke” these days, judging by their reaction to superstars from other promotions making their NXT debuts. This week, it was someone named Bobby Fish, a veteran from New Japan Pro Wrestling, Ring of Honor and more than a dozen other places, most with acronyms that look like they could be additions to the periodic table when written on paper.
Pardon the softball pun, but Fish should have used some extra laps in smaller rivers and lakes that he’s used to before chasing waterfalls. (God, that was awful.) It also wasn’t very nice setting him up against one of NXT’s most dangerous men, Aleister Black. Fish could have used a win in his debut as a better preview of what he can do for those of us who use only WWE for our pro wrestling fix.
Since Andrade “Cien” Almas has been digging himself in a huge hole (reasons: wins, girlfriends, and a silly hat), he would have been a great opponent for Fish to get put over by, while keeping the Almas story of him not being able to buy a win alive. Maybe this makes too much sense, but Fish lost and Black won — yet again.
Borne to Qualify
When you see Vanessa Borne competing in the Mae Young Classic on the WWE Network later this summer, know that she’s there because she dominated Jayme Hachey in a qualifying match. Borne has earned the right to be one of the the 32 women who will be featured in the Mae Young Classic, but it’s a shame that Hachey won’t be involved, as she did impress even in losing. I look forward to the new class of WWE women being peppered in more often through NXT broadcasts. Perhaps there is someone out there who can put a stop to Asuka’s historic reign.
“Here’s Johnny!”
The last we saw of Johnny Wrestling, he was writhing in pain on the floor in Chicago after being betrayed by his former best friend and tag team partner, Tommaso Ciampa, following their tough loss to Authors of Pain at Takeover: Chicago. This week on NXT, Gargano seemed hurt by the betrayal, but determined to not let it ruin him. Gargano spoke of the future, stirring up the conversation that he does have a future in the single’s division.
Surely, Gargano will want some revenge when Ciampa is able to return from injury and compete again, but it’s not an unbelievable thought to picture Johnny Wrestling headlining an episode NXT, or even fighting Roode for the NXT Championship eventually. Whatever Takeover gets Ciampa vs. Gargano on the card will absolutely be sold out, but can you imagine if the NXT Championship was on the line? Saying the NXT Universe would “mark out” would be a massive understatement.
Authors Retain
It feels like NXT has been spoiling us with the lovely spread of championship matches we’ve been privileged to see for the past three weeks, including this week, where Heavy Machinery challenged Authors of Pain for the NXT Tag Team Championship. We all got exactly what we wanted: four beef hoagies colliding in the ring, a bunch of weird noises from Tucker & Otis, ridiculous feats of strength, and not ever feeling like we truly knew who was going to win.
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Okay, maybe the last one is a stretch; if these two teams met at Takeover, I could see Heavy Machinery winning, if only to get the crowd popping. On a random Wednesday in July? Definitely not. In the end, it was Authors of Pain with their hands raised after the match. We didn’t have to wait long to find out who would be the next challengers for AoP, as Killian Dain, Alexander Wolf and Nikki Cross of SAnitY came out after the match to make their presence felt.
First: YES! Second: I’m a little sad Heavy Machinery lost clean, if only because my newest fantasy would be Heavy Machinery vs. AoP vs. SAnitY in a Ring match. What’s a Ring match? It’s like a Tables match, only you have to put your opponent through the ring. There, now we all have a new fantasy. Isn’t this fun?