NXT Review – August 15 2018: “So this is what it sounds like when doves cry?”

The Street Profits vs The Mighty

English commentator Nigel McGuinness has become an overnight expert on Australia. He claims the land Down Under is home to some “dangerous animals”. Not sure The Mighty fits into this category. They look about as dangerous as Kylie Minogue.

Anyway, the match, which sees the freestyling Profits display their usual charisma and random dance moves, while Nick Miller and Shane Thorn just cheat. The Street Profits win after Ford reverses a roll-up using the tights, then he and Angelo Dawkins celebrate in the crowd. This was a humdrum affair – the highlight was Ford and Dawkins’ entrance. The Street Profits have a lot of likeability but skills-wise, they are a level below the top trio of tandems in the NXT tag division – The Undisputed Era, Moustache Mountain and The War Raiders. And The Mighty, while improved since their heel turn, are still blah.

Speaking of the System Shockers, The Era are here for a backstage promo. You know the drill by now. Strong, O’Reilly and Fish chatter for a bit. Then Adam Cole completely steals the scene like a modern-day Ric Flair. It’s the same every week. The North American Champ is the undisputed star of The Undisputed Era.

Kairi Sane vs Aliyah

Aliyah was spied backstage before this one, receiving a pep-talk from Sane’s Takeover foe Shayna Baszler. Whatever the advice was, the NXT Women’s Champ feels she needs a closer look so comes out to the commentary desk. There The Queen of Spades sees The Pirate Princess pull off a nifty Stretch Muffler. We don’t often see that hold on WWE TV. Aliyah displays plucky intensity. Perhaps this is the Baszler influence. But then she gets speared and InSane elbowed. “Kairi lacks killer instinct,” says Shayna, as her upcoming challenger refuses to go for the pin and hits the elbow again. The fans are loving it as the Japanese star nails her finisher for a third time and then pulls Aliyah up at the two count. Sane then applies a painful submission hold called the Anchor and points at a concerned-looking Baszler as Aliyah taps out. This was a strong way to build Sane as a challenger and threat to the champion, by having her show more brutality than usual.

Adam Cole vs Ricochet music video package! I have to say I’m not looking forward to this match as much as EC3 vs Velveteen Dream or even Miz vs Daniel Bryan because of the personalities involved. But inside the ring, it could be the show stealer of Summerslam weekend.

• ricochet
• johnny gargano
• pete dunne
• Aleister Black
• Angelo Dawkins
• bianca belair
• adam cole
• shayna baszler
• Street Profits
• Bobby Fish
• kyle o'reilly
• Trent Seven
• Tyler Bate
• Roderick Strong
• The Undisputed Era
• Montez Ford
• Aliyah
• Zack Gibson
• Cezar Bononi
• Velveteen Dream
• The Mighty
• nick miller
• Shane Thorn
• Steve Cutler
• kairi sane
• Moustache Mountain
• war raiders
• Tommaso Ciampa
• ec3
• nxt
• wwe

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