NXT Review August 8 2018: “He once pulled a jeep 40 yards in 12.5 seconds!”

Keith Lee vs Marcel Barthel

Here comes Marcel Barthel from Germany. Hands up, who is responsible for giving Axel Dieter Jnr this new name? (ED- it’s his real name, you fool). Well, I suppose it still has more PIZZAZZ than ‘Keith Lee.’ Barthel has ice-cold presence and Full Sail doesn’t like him. They like ‘Keith Lee’ though. Shrieks of delight greet the indie darling’s first ever NXT TV entrance. Oli Davis and Luke Owen must be in the crowd. “He once pulled a jeep 40 yards in 12.5 seconds!” says Ranallo. That’s ‘Keith Lee’ by the way, not Oli Davis or Luke Owen.

I’m going to be honest here. I’ve never fully understood the love for ‘Keith Lee.’ OK, so he’s an agile 300lb man. But so was Big Bossman. It’s hardly anything new. But I will say this. ‘Keith Lee’ has poise, bags of confidence, commands the crowd effortlessly and chucks a mean drop kick. He beats Barthel with a fireman’s carry jackhammer and then basks in some hard cam glory. Impressive debut for ‘Keith Lee’.

“That is das end,” says Nigel, showing off his GCSE German.

Backstage, Taynara Conti is warming up in a white martial arts robe she probably borrowed off her compatriot Adrian. Or maybe the Gracies. Brazilian ju-jitsu, it’s the future.

Now here’s ‘Street Talk’ with the Street Profits! In front of a cash machine! Not sure why. Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins babble on for a bit. They’re channeling the two dudes in Airplane who speak jive. I can’t understand a word. Where’s Shawn Michaels when you need him? A helpful graphic announces they’ll face the Mighty next week.

• ricochet
• johnny gargano
• Aleister Black
• Amber Nova
• Angelo Dawkins
• RAW
• Big Bossman
• adam cole
• bob holly
• shayna baszler
• Brutus The Barber Beefcake
• Street Profits
• Bobby Fish
• cain velasquez
• kyle o'reilly
• Macho Man
• Steve Austin
• Marcel Barthel
• Roderick Strong
• Montez Ford
• Kassius ohno
• mauro ranallo
• Ravishing Rick Rude
• Undisputed Era
• keith lee
• nigel mcguinness
• Taynara Conti
• Velveteen Dream
• The Mighty
• Ronda Rousey
• candice lerae
• vanessa borne
• ultimate warrior
• kairi sane
• The Rock
• Tommaso Ciampa
• ec3
• Smackdown
• nikki cross
• nxt
• wwe

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