CRYSTALIZED WORDS

The Voice and Soul of NXT respectively, Vic Joseph and Booker T always do a fantastic job of elevating NXT characters. Most of the NXT roster is still in a learning phase, so they may fail to properly convey some of the story beats TV-ready wrestlers easily can. This is why commentary is so important, and both Joseph and Booker understand the characters to a fundamental degree.

The match was kind of sloppy after the first two minutes or so, with Braun dominating most of it as I assume they didn’t plan on fleshing the story out. It was like when Brock worked with Omos, they opted for a simple storyline: Brock is a monster, but there are taller and bigger monsters. The appeal came in Brock being in a rare underdog role. 

Taking on Humberto Carillo of Los Garza, Royce got a chance to show off the mix of athleticism, mobility, and strength which makes him such a coveted prospect. The match featured Beto trying to outwit Royce using his speed and finesse. While he would sometimes catch Royce off guard, he’d eventually get slammed by a variety of creative moves. 

But then we wouldn’t get him at his full potential. To win championships, Ciampa must tap back into the Psycho Killer. For a guy whose latest theme song echoes the words “My shadow knows my story”, this is a welcome return to roots. 

Gunther is called The Ring General, but his understanding of crowd psychology and character work extends beyond just the ring. His in-ring character would be nowhere near as effective if he didn’t perform actions like this. The underdog story he crafts for his opponents — like Goldberg, Cena, and CM Punk — would not resonate as well emotionally without this towering wrestler wanting us to hate him.

Thankfully, in the void that now feels greater after watching Cena leave his gear in the ring on Saturday, it was alleviated a bit by CM Punk on Monday. Punk delivered — in my opinion — one of the best promos of his second WWE stint and there couldn’t have been a more perfect time to do so.