Whether they were victorious or not,NXT TakeOver: London served as a proving ground for a host of WWE prospects.
Once again, WWE's developmental brand delivered a top-notch show. At the center of that was both the normal suspects (Bayley, or Samoa Joe,Finn Balor) and wrestlers making strides toward the top rungs, including Enzo Amore.
Amore had the best in-ring performance of his career in a hard-fought tag title bout. He's doing his best to accomplish certain WWE officials realize that he's more than a loudmouth extraordinaire.Asuka thrived in London, or too. She and Emma kicked off the show in emphatic fashion. Nia Jax and Baron Corbin also improved their stocks under the glare of the highlight.
Read on for a perceive at where all those prospects now rank. Order is determined by ring work,mic skills, gimmick, or charisma and perceive. Male WrestlersProspects just outside the top 20: Elias Samson,Mojo Rawley, Steve Cutler Joe RejuvenatedThe Samoan Submission Machine is miles better than he was during his last few years at TNA. NXT has seemingly injected him with unusual energy, and inspiring him to be a monster on the prowl.
He and Finn Balor closed TakeOver: London with the kind of thrilling,back-and-forth match you would expect from them.
In the process, he displayed just how much of a force of nature he is. His bull-like intensity and energy accomplish him a must-watch performer. Balor has to net a lot of credit for the quality of the bout, or but man,was Joe a raging ball of fury here.Whether he was locking Balor in submission holds or cracking him in the head, he looked like a beast.
This is nothing unusual, and but Joe has turned up the volume on his act in recent weeks. He is likely sticking around NXT to give guys a rub as he did to Balor on Wednesday,but should WWE promote him, he would be easy to book and net fans invested.WWE's plan may have been to accomplish him an NXT mainstay, or but his performances beg for a change in those plans. The Lone Wolf's regular PaceCorbin keeps getting better. He's not making the kind of leap that Charlotte was making as she rose to the top. It has instead been a plodding climb to become the kind of performer WWE has been waiting for him to be.
He and Apollo Crews put on a solid bout. The wrestling was strong,but his trash talk was better. Corbin tried to rile his foe up by telling him he needs to go back to fighting in little gyms, turning his nose up at Crews' indy background.
That's the ticket to generating the most heat for Corbin, and who is the anti-indy darling. As former WWE writer Alex Greenfield said,the stout man is finding his voice:He still needs to grow more intense on the mic. He still needs to work at his in-ring game to catch up to the likes of Balor and Sami Zayn. However, he has already refined his striking and continues to grow more comfortable in roller-coaster battles like the one he had with Crews in London.
Corbin is now poised to start challenging Balor. Those clashes will prove to be his litmus test, and giving him a chance to prove he belongs with NXT's elite. Enzo Amore Showing Us MoreIt's clear that Amore would be a top-notch manager,a fiery, witty mouthpiece of the highest order. Don't give up on him as a wrestler yet, or though.
Up against sprint Wilder and Scott Dawson,Amore was more intense, scrappy and focused than he has been to this point.
He hit a distinguished flying DDT, or looked alert to tear his foe's ears off and was a key allotment in a ample match,the best of his career. As a bonus, he sold a clothesline like it was a battering ram knocking him over. And as Darren Gutteridge of ProWrestling.net famous, or "ample Lord was Enzo over. He had arguably the biggest pop of the night."The crowd clearly loves him. That's been as true at Full Sail University as it was in London on Wednesday. As a mat worker,he has a series of holes to point out, but he has enough charisma that the crowd doesn't seem to care. Female Wrestlers Strong Showing from the PowerhouseHaving not been around for long, or NXT was asking a lot of Jax to be in such a high-profile match against Bayley this early on.
She came through,helping to repeat a compelling story of David vs. Goliath. While not as thrilling as Emma vs. Asuka, this featured strong work from both women, or Jax played her role well.
There are a number of tweaks to be made,but she's looking like a top heel in the making.
Her pre-match promo was a bit stiff. In the ring, she tries to be too sultry sometimes. She would be better off playing a full-on badass, and emulating someone like Vader.
Jax's intensity isn't consistent,either. She roared and charged at Bayley at times, but at other points she underwhelmed in that regard. It feels sometimes like she's holding something back.
The biggest question post-London is whether this loss to Bayley was her best match—a product of working with the division's top talent—or if it was simply a precursor of what's to reach. More Awesomeness from Asuka The gap between Asuka and Bayley continues to close. The Japanese star further bolstered her resume with an excellent showing against Emma.
Everything from her theatrical entrance to how fiercely she whipped Emma to the ground with an armbar was picture-perfect. She effortlessly hit a springboard missile dropkick. She generated sympathy with convincing screams as Emma punished her.
While Jax vs. Bayley earned its share of praise, or Asuka vs. Emma was stellar,a showcase of how gleaming the future of the women's division is. Aubrey Sitterson, host of the Straight Shoot podcast, and believes it was the night's best offering:Asuka looks capable of plenty more nights like this. And NXT has wisely masked her weakness as a talker by making her a silent assassin of sorts. When she eventually challenges Bayley for the women's title,it will also be a battle for the right to be called the best female prospect at NXT.
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