The Best And Worst Of WWE NXT 10/25/17: Only In Dreams

Previously on the Best and Worst of WWE NXT: The Aleister Black/Velveteen Dream feud got hotter, Authors Of Pain returned, and Zelina Vega broke all rules of space and time.

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And now, the Best and Worst of WWE NXT for October 25, 2017.

Best: No One Else

I’ve been calling for it since August, and finally, Oney Lorcan and Jason Statham Danny Burch are officially a tag team. These two dudes are perfect for each other, and I never want to see either of them tag with anyone else. While they’re undersized compared to pretty much every other tag team in the division, I can see the day when they actually win the tag straps (mainly because the odds of everyone else being called up before them is pretty high).

Team Lad (Lorcan and Danny) go up against Team Trash Heap (Riddick Moss and Tino Sabbatelli), and they do the job like pros. Sabbatelli’s abs are so perfect, it looks like they’re CGI, and Moss’ face is so stupid-looking, it would make a freight train take a dirt road.

Best: Thank God For Girls

The last time we had a women’s division battle royale, it featured a bunch of new indie talent along with the big players in NXT, had a final three that included Nikki Cross, and resulted in a Fatal Four-Way match for the Women’s Championship at the next TakeOver. So, on paper, not a whole lot has changed. But despite some deja vu moments, this match was dope, and allowed a lot of the Mae Young Classic competitors to get some shine — specifically Bianca Belair, because goddamn, she was awesome. Her spear of Mercedes Martinez was boss, and the spot with her trying to eliminate Billie Kay, only for Billie to grab onto her ponytail to save herself, which then resulted in Bianca whipping the f*ck out her? So awesome. Also, look at the damage that hair actually causes:

I was a little irked that William Regal inserted Nikki Cross back in the match at the top of the show, because it kind of gave away the ending, but she looked dominant as hell, taking out seven competitors and deserving the win. Now, the TakeOver: WarGames Fatal Four-Way is set: Nikki Cross, Kairi Sane, Peyton Royce and Ember Moon. Honestly? I have no idea which way they’re gonna go with this, because all four women could easily come out on top. It’s nice when match outcomes are unpredictable, no?

Worst: Waiting On You

Next, Drew McIntyre is interrupted yet again by Zelina Vega, who accuses him of being scared of Andrade Almas. McIntyre actually says, “I’ve told you once, I’ve told you twice, so I’ll tell you thrice,” which made me wonder if he was a longtime Team Coco supporter or if he just f*cks with The Alchemy Index.

Given how the episode ends with Vega and Almas in Full Sail Arena challenging Drew to meet them face-to-face next week, I don’t even understand why this was in the episode. It just reiterated what we already learned last week — Drew ducks confrontation behind the facade of bureaucracy, Almas needs someone to get his opportunities for him, and Vega may or may not be time traveler.

Best: Heart Songs

The first time I saw Marmozets live — a few summers ago, before their first album had even been released — I was absolutely blown away by the intensity of their live show. The best way to describe the band is it’s as if Paramore was super-into the Dillinger Escape Plan. This new song “Play” is a bit of a jam, but my personal favorite is “Hit The Wave,” so check that one out if you’re feeling frisky. Good call for a TakeOver theme, NXT!

Best: Haunt You Every Day

https://twitter.com/totaldivaseps/status/923347450039013377

I don’t know how he keeps doing it, but the Velveteen by-god Dream is continually the best part of each week of NXT TV. His stalking of Aleister Black got even creepier tonight as he snuck up on Black during his entrance. (How many times will that happen to Black throughout his WWE career, do you think? Follow-up: Why didn’t that happen to the Undertaker all the damn time?)

While the anal-retentive part of me was wondering how Black got his vest back (honestly, the segment would’ve been even better had Dream still been wearing Black’s clothes), the repeated cries of “SAY MY NAME!” followed by some stiff slaps made this a no-brainer Best.

Best: Knock-Down Drag-Out

For the main event, we get a rematch from TakeOver: San Antonio between Roddy Strong and Andrade Almas. (Be honest: How many of you even remembered these two guys threw down before now? Because I sure didn’t, until a quick Google search refreshed my memory.) The match itself was fast-paced and exciting, especially when both men used the ropes for creative submissions (Almas’ triangle armbar and Roddy’s vertical Boston Crab).

For a brief moment, it looked like Almas actually busted Strong open with his elbow strike — when Roddy fell into the corner to set up for Almas’ flying double knee smash, there were some splotches on his forehead that weren’t there before, and his eyes told the story too. The second time they attempted the back-elbow-into-flying-knees sequence, it was a bit messier, but that’s easily overlooked by the involvement of Vega, who executed a nice flying headscissors off the apron to send Strong into the stairs, then into the arms of Almas for a hammerlock DDT and a 1-2-3. All in all, an enjoyable main event between two guys I’m not incredibly fond of, so that’s saying something.

After the match, we get two stingers: One, where Vega and Almas call out McIntyre for a face-to-face confrontation next week (the end result of which has already been spoiled by WWE’s YouTube channel), and a second, where Ring Of Dishonor once again tries to recruit Strong. Adam Cole says, “You’re not a loser, Roderick! Join us!” and gives him an armband before leading the millennial nWo out of the ring, and we’re left wondering just where Strong’s alliances will lie. (Or, if you’ve already about why TakeOver: WarGames is being called WarGames, then you already know — again, gotta love WWE spoiling its own storylines.)

Next Week: SAnitY defends their tag team championships against the Authors Of Pain, Drew McIntyre and Andrade Almas go cara a cara, and I will once again shoehorn in a half-dozen references to one of my favorite bands into a column about developmental pro wrestling. See you then!