NXT 449 Review: A Velveteen Dream Turned into an Undisputed Nightmare

No fingers will ever be the same as long as Pete Dunne has his way! Courtesy of WWE.

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By Michael Klink

@michael_klink

5) Velveteen Dream vs Ricochet go 1 on 1

Ordinarily would this be the top moment of the NXT week? Absolutely.  Could this be a main event match at an NXT Takeover Pay Per View? Undoubtedly.  Does it drop to this week’s #5 spot due to a Lars Sullivan cameo that ended the dream (sorry for the pun) matchup? Unfortuntately.  The chemistry Dream and Ricochet teased us with was electric, with dueling arm bar/hip gyration spots and quid pro quo sequences that would make Hannibal Lecter proud.  One bizarre moment to re-watch: Dream and Ricochet later on storm to General Manager William Regal’s office to demand a match against Sullivan, which is understandable, but Regal never officially answers the storm.  So Dream and Ricochet go behind closed doors…alone.  Maybe WWE’s answer to Japan’s Golden Lovers? Let’s hope so.

4) Lacey Evans and Kairi sane continue their mid-card feud in the women’s division.  Lacey gets the win in a squash over Brandy Lauren and later eats an ambush from Kairi.  Gotta say though, this writer is really enjoying the Evans USO Entertain the Troops gimmick.  And on a night where we saw Kona Reeves reissues his version of a Samoan Drop (called the Hawaiian Drop) it’s a relief to see that naming finishers isn’t dead, thanks to Lacey’s new “Women’s Right” finishing punch.  As a reference, it’s comparable to Big Show’s Knockout Punch, but more patriotic.

3) Mauro Ranallo’s cultural awareness continues to impress, whether he’s equating Ricochet to Donald Glover’s “Atlanta” TV show, comparing the electricity of the crowd to “Thomas Edison’s basement”, or the way he names every maneuver with laser accuracy.  I mean this in a complimentary sense, but the sharpness of his naming is like a 3rd grader rattling off the names of all 802 Pokémon.

2) Tommaso Ciampa continues to dominate on the microphone.  Sure it takes two to tango, and Ciampa may not have earned all this heat without a babyface like Gargano going against him, but maybe Gargano wouldn’t be as over as a babyface without a monster like Ciampa opposing him.  Ciampa strolled out to Gargano’s music, insulted Gargano’s manhood, and even took a page out of Batman’s Bane’s book by explaining how he’d broken Gargano’s mind and body, and was ready to wreck his soul.  In a sea of gray characters, that blur the line between good and bad, Ciampa is definitely in a league of his own right now as a villain.  Bravo good sir!

1) Come on BAYBAY; was there any doubt who had the strongest segment this week?  The Undisputed Era squared off against Pete Dunne, Danny Burch, and Oney Lorcan in the show’s main event and didn’t remotely disappoint.  Kyle showed off his mat work, Roderick debuted some heelish antics with a few Gene Simmons expressions, and Adam Cole was Adam Cole. 

On the other end of things, Pete Dunne orchestrated a sinister game of “pull my finger”, Oney Lorcan laid siege to Undisputed Era’s chests with vicious knife edge chops, and Danny Burch (!) walked away with the pinfall using a “wheelbarrow DDT”.  I’ve been watching wrestling for 25 years or so and can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen the “wheelbarrow” variation of the DDT.

Before we head off into the sunset, just the least valuable players from tonight, a little tongue of cheek of course, can’t help but love everybody on this roster:

1) Aleister Black

Sure he’s the NXT champion and has the best entrance song on the show.  But what the heck was that vest he was wearing?  And his promo is just in the dark by some bushes?  It looked like a prom date gone wrong.

2) Dakota Kai

No fault of her own, just a weird way to package her: the fraidy cat.  Nikki Cross running in and give Dakota a Mickey from “Rocky” speech was a nice touch, but not sure what to make of this development.

3) Kona Reeves

Again, no fault of his own, just a weird way to keep trotting this guy out.  The commentators have to keep reminding us that he looks like The Rock (more like Rocky Maivia if you want my opinion) and his finisher looks like a botched Samoan Drop.  I don’t doubt the man’s talented; he’s just being given some writing that isn’t doing him any favors.

Thanks for checking in we’ll see you next week!