WWE NXT Recap, July 19: Bobby Roode gets a challenger, Ember Moon gets a win
Ember Moon’s stock rises with a big win, and we find out who the new number one contender is for the NXT Championship!
Who Wants It More?
Now that Nikki Cross has been knocked down a peg by the NXT Women’s Champ (or, suplexed off a ladder onto a table; to-may-to, to-mah-to), it was up to Ruby Riot and Ember Moon to work out which of the two is the most worthy to take Asuka on singlehandedly.
Riot pulled a couple of rabbits out of her hat, but it wasn’t enough to derail Ember Moon’s path to avenging her loss at Takeover: Orlando. I’m unabashedly crazy about Nikki Cross, but if she couldn’t beat Asuka fair and square, Ember Moon may be the only woman left on the roster with even a whisper of a chance.
Ember Moon isn’t hard to root for: she has great sportsmanship (displayed when her and Ruby Riot acknowledged each other’s skills with respectful high-fives mid-match), her finishing move may be the best in the NXT Women’s Division (and maybe the Men’s too), and, like I said, she’s the only hope for the people who are ready to see a new NXT Women’s Champion crowned.
A Friendly Request
Hideo Itami’s tantrums are happening so frequently these days that WWE’s videographers should consider adding it to the NXT intro montage. These guys fight next week, so all we can hope is after the match, they shake hands and get back to being friends (that everyone supposedly thought were friends before this friendship-based feud, but really we had no idea).
Lorcan vs. Burch, Round 1
If WWE wants want to put someone over, but not over enough to warrant any real impact being made by said person, they should put that person against Danny Burch. Wait, that’s exactly what they did to Oney Lorcan? You don’t say! Danny Burch (who even got to use his finisher in this match!) looked better than he has in any of the recent bouts I can remember him being in (or, come to think of it, any match I can remember him being in), even getting Lorcan down to a two-and-three-quarters count twice. Could this be because Oney Lorcan is actually a viable WWE superstar, capable of putting over even the most basic colleague?
Lorcan hit the Single Leg Crab, forcing Burch to tap out. Sticking with the sportsmanship theme of the night, Lorcan and Burch shook hands after the match, and Burch asked for a rematch. Lorcan didn’t consider the fact that perhaps he is being hustled by Burch (lol) and immediately accepted the challenge.
Yes Way, Jose!
It’s great to see No Way Jose back in action (and it’s great to see the respect he shows in his ode to the Undertaker, where he takes seven minutes to get in the ring), especially against someone who has a little momentum themselves; last time we saw Cezar Bononi, he had just finished embarrassing Andrade “Cien” Almas in a match. Jose impressed with a Fastball Punch that sent Bononi into Dreamland for the win, but that wasn’t the last of the beating Bononi would endure, as Almas came out to have the last word. Even Jose was upset about this, coming back into the ring to break things up. Jose could use a big pay-per-view win, and anytime someone needs a win, you put them against Almas (or, the aforementioned Danny Burch).
RUN, ROODE!
Normally, it’d seem like lazy writing, or the lack of a healthy talent pool for someone to be in the conversation for both the NXT Tag Team Championship and the NXT Championship, but if anyone could do it believably, it’s be Killian Dain. If you had any doubt that Dain belonged in this Number One Contender match against Drew McIntyre, they should have been put to rest when Dain KICKED OUT OF FUTURE SHOCK AFTER A ONE-COUNT AND IT STILL TOOK TWO CLAYMORES TO BEAT HIM!
Drew McIntyre is now in the main event of Takeover: Brooklyn III against Mr. Main Event, Bobby Roode. McIntyre is no spring chicken in this business, but I still believe that Roode’s familiarity with Takeovers will give him a slight edge. McIntyre may be the best opponent Roode will see in a NXT ring, and the biggest threat to take his title. Sure, I’m a little salty that Killian Dain won’t be fighting in two championship matches at Takeover, but McIntyre vs. Roode does feel like it’s going to be special.