NXT – November 21, 2018: The Thanksgiving Present
IMG Credit: WWE
NXT
Date: November 21, 2018
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson
After everything that went down on Saturday, it’s time for a little breather. That tends to be the best thing that you can get the week after Takeover and that’s even better the day before a holiday. There are some matches from before Saturday’s Takeover, which are often pretty entertaining in their own right. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
We open with the traditional long form recap of Takeover.
Opening sequence.
Keith Lee vs. Fidel Bravo
The fans sing about basking in Lee’s glory so the much smaller Bravo shoves him in the fans and demands respect. Lee takes him into the corner for a double chop to the chest, followed by the Supernova for the pin at 1:59. Lee is growing on me and that finisher is a big part of it.
Video on Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler.
Baszler doesn’t want to talk about Duke and Shafir getting involved in her match.
We look back at Kassius Ohno calling out Matt Riddle on Sunday’s Kickoff Show, leading to Riddle defeating Ohno in five seconds in an impromptu match.
Riddle is very happy with his debut (which he again pronounces day-but) and he couldn’t have asked for more.
Lars Sullivan vs. Keita Murray
Sullivan isn’t playing around as he hits a running splash in the corner and a sliding clothesline. The Freak Accident is good for the pin at 37 seconds.
Sullivan says that’s a warning to everyone until he gets his NXT Title match. He beats on Murray some more but Keith Lee comes in for the save. Nothing wrong with a good hoss battle.
Video on Aleister Black vs. Johnny Gargano. That was so awesome and the “Give me your best shot John.” moment really stood out.
Black won’t talk about his rivalry with Gargano continuing. Candice LeRae came up and they stared at each other without saying anything.
Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream. Again: that was incredible.
Sullivan and Lee yell at each other. They’ll face off next week with matches taped in San Jose last week.
Long video on WarGames. Still a little longer than it needed to be, but great nonetheless.
Nikki Cross vs. Candice LeRae
Candice tells her to come on so Nikki does just that, even taking Candice down underneath the ring skirt to hammer away. A crossbody gets Candice out of trouble and a dropkick gives her two. Nikki’s bulldog is shoved off and Candice steps up onto her back for a backsplash in a cool spot.
An Unprettier drops Cross but she avoids the Lionsault. Instead it’s Cross hitting the Purge for two but getting caught on the top. Candice hits a German superplex (from the bottom rope) for two more. Cross laughs at her though, getting pummeled in the corner for her efforts. A stomp sets up the Gargano Escape, sending Cross scrambling to the ropes. Nikki sends her throat first into the ropes and grabs a hanging Purge for the pin at 7:01.
Rating: C. Perfectly watchable match here with Candice continuing to be a great underdog. Cross could hang around NXT for years or move up to the main roster tomorrow and I’d be fine with either. She’s that great at playing the character and even in matches comes off as completely insane. That’s hard to do but she makes it work every time.
Overall Rating: C+. Another rather nice post Takeover NXT. Next week’s show with the house show taping should be a lot of fun as it’s nice to see them giving the talent the week off instead of having a taping around the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s certainly better than having them work on the holiday night like WWE had to do last Christmas (the network’s decision but still) and should mean a much hotter crowd. Nice show this week, as tends to be the case with the post Takeover editions.
Results
Keith Lee b. Fidel Bravo – Supernova
Lars Sullivan b. Keita Murray – Freak Accident
Nikki Cross b. Candice LeRae – Hanging Purge
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