Okay
Vengeance Day was flat. It started with a bang and then slowly morphed into a standard NXT Tuesday night show. Sadly, nothing grabbed my attention or inspired me to jot a few hundred words here. Ironically, the go home show before Vengeance Day packed a lot of promise that now goes unfulfilled.
If there’s one thing consistent about NXT since the roster raid is that it’s inconsistent. The law of averages was never on their side for this PLE.
B-Sides
- Interestingly, I was wrong. Well, that’s not new; my predictions aren’t always right so I’m not shocked Blake Monroe defeated Jaida Parker in a very entertaining street fight. It didn’t get as street as I wanted but the territory booked what became an actual street fight, so I get that. This was still nasty. We got diamonds, kendo sticks, diamonds, chairs, diamonds, and Slim Jim tables. Also diamonds. I loved the diamond spot as it was perfect for Blake’s character and went against Jaida’s belief that Blake always takes the easy way out. I wonder what this means for Jaida though. She’s getting incredible crowd reactions and she’s got new music that flows perfectly with the crowd chants. Jaida’s rarely gotten the big wins in big spots, which makes her look like big hype with small results. As it relates to Ms. Monroe, hopefully this puts her back in prime position for a championship once the title picture clears up a tad.
- This Underground match didn’t do it for me. Mostly because it felt like Lola Vice’s other Underground matches. The only difference was her hand being injured prior to rather than during. Kelani Jordan worked Lola’s hand as part of the story, and I liked her aggression. But besides that and The Standout letting a fan distract her, this hit similar beats. Lola won while using the fist she was explicitly told not to use, and then danced on Kelani’s grave.
- From one fight that disappointed to one that didn’t. Tony D’Angelo defeated Dion Lennox in a brawl that started in the parking lot and ended in the ring. Dion was a man of his word; he told Tony to see him in the parking lot because it’s on sight. Their backlot brawl (shoutout to Mania XII) involved DarkState and OTM. OTM didn’t protect Tony as much as they furthered their issues with DarkState, so props to the logic there and the chaos. You know that spot with the cardboard wall NXT loves? Well they inverted it here. Rather than it symboling the end of the match or wrestlers fighting out of the ring, it brought wrestlers in the arena and started the match. I don’t know if that was the thought process behind it but I see the vision. Even if it’s only mine. But the was worthy of a feud with this much emotion behind it. I do hope Tony goes down the list now that he’s crossed off Dion. OTM should have their day with DarkState but not before Tony.
- They made it official: Jacy Jayne’s next championship defense is against
Sol’s ExZaria and Sol Ruca. This was the moment where Vengeance Day drifted into being another Tuesday night for me. The exact moment. Not because of the anyone involved but it broke up the flow of the evening. And the Performance Center backdrop didn’t help. It would also be great if a segment ended with these three without Sol snatching both of their souls. We’ve established it’s a possibility more than once now. I love the move but it feels like stagnant storytelling. - Tatum Paxley is the new NXT Women’s Champion! That excites me. I didn’t think the match was anything to write home about and was actually a tad messy in spots, but I’m happy with the outcome. Tatum overcame Izzi Dame and The Culling then celebrated with the crowd. This was all about Tatum showing she’s not alone and that Izzi can’t do anything without her crew. The match proved both points correct.
- Charlie Dempsey & Tavion Heights are dusting off the NQCC for one night only to shut up Birthright. Sure, Jan. I predict Chuck turns on Tavion and…reclaims his birthright.
- And lastly, the main event. This just didn’t feel worthy of this show. Ricky Saints and Joe Hendry put on a fine match but it was just that. Joe is a fantastic babyface and it’s very easy to root for him. He looks great staging a comeback and knows how to work a crowd. Ricky, for my money, is at his best when he’s heeling it up, which he did here. But this just felt like something I could see on Tuesday. Even with the multiple ref bump teases, the multiple low blows, and Ethan Page’s presence. Now, Ethan provides a somewhat interesting wrinkle for the coming weeks. He and Ricky had a plan that clearly didn’t go right for reasons only Ethan can answer. He was supposed to toss Ricky the championship but fell under hypnosis looking at it. It still happened, but in a way that could’ve benefitted the current champ instead of the challenger. Like I said, there’s some issues between these two that hopefully get resolved now. Is a Ricky face turn on the way? Or will it simply be heel vs. heel to put Ethan and Joe together at Stand & Deliver?
This just wasn’t enjoyable. After the first two matches, everything slowly but surely went downhill. And it got there fast.
Grade: D
What say you, Cagesiders?
