A night in NXT 2.0! Many matches of future Superstars who are actually our NXT Universe Superstars and we don't need them lost on Raw or SmackDown! We love to see them every Tuesday, even those who were "demoted' and relieve their dreams here (like Mandy Rose who doesn't have any chance at main roster title, I even doubt if she is taken into the count as a tag team champ). But with WWE you'll never know what will pop up and usually, it's not very sweet!
Let's concentrate on NXT 2.0. We had a return, we had a promo, we had some backstage and in-ring action - verbal and physical. Our lovely usual and satisfying evening with our beloved brand, where the "superstars are rising"... again!
RAQUEL GONZALEZ defeated CORA JADE
A rough match with a happy ending!
Look I am always excited to see what Cora Jade will do next. Her ability to win matches (even the War Games match with one injured hand) is like a superpower and as long as I remember only a small count of women had survived that famous Jade's luck.
So, the long story- is short. Jade wants the Women's belt, you can bet that Gonzalez wants it too. Jde spoiled Gonzalez's chance to involve herself in a triple threat match against the reigning Mandy Rose and their relationships got a bit heated. Now the NXT women's division and its womens' tag team had a new fever - the Women's Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament! Everyone, even established singles stars are looking for a partner.
So, Cora Jade was set to prove that she was worth it to be Gonzalez's tag teammate... if survive the clash first! And she barely did. Her famous accidental victory ability was off and Raquel gave Cora one of the hardest times of her young life and ended her with a merciful Chingona bomb.
The happy ending: After defeating her opponent Raquel Gonzalez return to her and picked her up telling her that she is "on" for the team project. that means that we have one really controversial and with big chances to reach far in the tournament team.
AWOW Match Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SARRAY defeated KAYLA INLAY
After an emotional promo in Japan's superhero manga series style where the Geek girl finds her grandma's neckless and acquires immense power, Sarray is back! She's back and is managing between two characters - the geek and the super-wrestler! Well, it's not like Su Yung in Impact Wrestling with three-four gimmicks, but it's a nice start.
The match was the usual good and technical, all wrestling, NXT's high-quality performances. Pure and nice to watch, with some spots that make you go wow, like that low kick from Sarray in the jaw of Inlay, while settled in the ropes. Well deserved victory for Sarray.
It's going to be a long and painful way. Sarray is just another high-profile Joshi star who was signed in a hype similar to those of Asuka, which means that tons of heavy expectations are put on her shoulders! Her beginning was nice but then come the slip-on downward on the spiral. This character revision and a new story - we hope it will work for her because we see that Xia Li's story didn't get her very far on SmackDown, for example. At least Sarray had the advantage that she is in the appropriate environment where people can explore their characters, freely - the NXT 2.0 roster and the WWE PC!
AWOW Match Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐➕
After her victory and in her geek mod, Sarray's interview was interrupted by Dakota Kai which sets the tables for a really interesting clash with the New Zealand Superstar and veteran, who is already an NXT Legend!
These days NXT's locker room is filled with strange birds like Wendy Choo, Tiffany Stratton, etc. Now we heard about Nikkita Lyons who, according to her story is a daughter of a bass guitarist and his groupie girlfriend, had traveled the USA up and down, East and West, learning from suspicious club managers and rock musicians. She rapped a bit, and shared how excited she is to join NXT's women's division which she correctly named "one of the world's most competitive"!
Actually, she is a WOW (Women of Wrestling) talent/superhero, known as The Lioness. You can
see that she had some matches for both WOW and 205 live, already. So, it's really interesting to see her debut, which is another quick one, especially knowing from where she comes from - from the 21st-century GLOW incarnation!
AWOW Segment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐➕
WENDY CHOO defeated AMARI MILLER
Guys, I needed to double-check, even triple-check who Wendy is because I was like "Is that Karen Q?! Mei Ying?!" OMG! I couldn't believe it, but here she is - one rough in-ring warrior pulling another interesting character with a comic aura! LOL, It's a really huge transformation and the easiness she pulled that out of her is talking what a serious and talented professional she is on so many levels.
Well, Wendy was booked to have a match with Amari Miller. Miller is someone who builds a solid foundation to her existence in WWE very quietly, mostly working on 205 Live. She looks solid (check the
statistics, guys).
So the match was what most women's matches on NXT 2.0 are - great, pure competition made a bit funny thanks to Choo. In the end, it was revealed that Miller was bribed by Tiffany Stratton with a whole credit card which "Daddy's Little Rich Girl" demanded back, for not accomplishing the goal to defeat Wendy. Well, the card was in Choo who victoriously wave it around at the top of the ramp with it!
It's interesting to see this little charming build-up to Stratton vs. Choo, I hope we'll see some more and it will be fun! For me, Wendy/Karen's character work is earning deserved praise and a star to the match's rating, from me!
AWOW Match Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐➕⭐
KAY LEE RAY FORCED MANDY ROSE TO AGREE ON A MATCH
Well, well, well - it's happening! New matches are booked, titles are on the line, with some help from a baseball bat!
Everyone agrees that KLR deserves a title shot and it's going to be epic and painful for Mandy, an experience, that might cost her the title. The moment where the two women measured their accomplishments and Mandy talking about her covers and photoshoots put next to KLR's in-ting accomplishments like her NXT UK reign as a Women's Champion for 649 days, was funny! Of course, Rose said "NO!" to the challenge so that forced Ray to chase her and her Toxic Attraction protegees all around the WWE PC and in the end force the champ to agree for a match!
The match would be next week... but, folks, I think that it's not going to be the Match and we might see the real title match and I hope the end of Rose's reign at NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day, on February 15th,2022, a day after Valentine's Day!
Also, we have The Toxic Attraction's WWE NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jane defending their belt at Vengeance Day against the solid challengers - Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta!
AWOW Segment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐➕
Damn! I Love NXT 2.0!
P.S. Elektra Lopez was presented as a valet for Legado del Fantasma, helplessly watching them losing to Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker. I hope we will see her soon in action because she is an interesting competitor!
