So you didn’t watch NXT Roadblock? I don’t blame you. There’s too much wrestling in any given week and NXT 2.0 hasn’t exactly had the track record the black and gold brand used to have. But in case you missed it, I’m here to give you a rundown of the most noteworthy parts of the show in a short and concise fashion.
Let’s try this out. If this catches on and people find it useful, it’s worth doing these on a regular basis. Let me know in the comments if you dig it and/or if there are improvements to be made.
And NEW NXT Champion…Dolph Ziggler!
Easily the most important thing to happen on this show was Dolph Ziggler winning the NXT Championship in the main event.
This came about after Robert Roode interfered several times on Ziggler’s behalf, ultimately opening an opportunity for DZ to score a pin on Tommaso Ciampa.
Since Bron Breakker wasn’t involved in the decision that wound up costing him the championship, we’re most likely looking at a scenario where Breakker will face Ziggler for the belt at NXT Stand & Deliver.
Does he win it back and WWE just did this hot potato deal to spice things up and give Breakker a big win at WrestleMania Weekend? Or, did Vince McMahon like Breakker so much on Raw that he’s already looking at bringing him up to the main roster, and this was a means to pivot, take the belt off him without having him lose, and move on to something else?
I’m thinking more of the former, but the latter wouldn’t surprise me, either.
Ciampa’s position in the company has me perplexed, too. He doesn’t stand much of a right to challenge for the title again, so maybe he comes up to Raw while Breakker stays in NXT?
.@HEELZiggler is the NEWWWWW NXT Champion!!! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/HwRqnLwl0C
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 9, 2022
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals / Toxic Interference
Kay Lee Ray and Io Shirai beat Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter. They will face Dakota Kai and Wendy Choo in the finals of the tournament.
Choo and Kai were successful in part due to interference from Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne, who took out Raquel Gonzalez’s leg. Cora Jade later attacked Mandy Rose in her lounge to get some payback.
My guess is we see KLR and Shirai win the tournament in a week or two. I’m imagining Jade is being set up for another match against Rose, which is disappointing to someone like myself who is tired of rematches. Maybe she’ll actually win the title, though, and it won’t be a waste of time.
WWE Stalls on The Creed Brothers
The Creed Brothers won the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament and were supposed to get their tag title shot here. That didn’t happen, as they were attacked backstage.
Technically, there wasn’t any confirmation it was Imperium who did the dirty deed, despite them being the top suspects. MSK suspiciously were quick to say they’d replace The Creed Brothers in a title match and got their wish.
While I doubt a heel turn is in the works for Nash Carter and Wes Lee, it’s a possibility. There’s also a chance some other team jumped The Creed Brothers.
Since Julius and Brutus attacked both MSK and Imperium to interrupt that match, my guess above all is that WWE simply wants to drag this out. They probably realized too late into the process from this past week that they would rather have the championship match at Stand & Deliver and crown new champions there, so they concocted this to stall.
A Triple Threat seems on the horizon, if not just to get MSK on the card.
Carmelo Hayes is Booked in Rare Form
The so-called A-champion of NXT, Carmelo Hayes, is definitely being given a major star treatment style booking. This has been going on for quite some time, but it gets clearer and clearer every week that it isn’t just a temporary strategy.
Most heel champions don’t want to put their titles on the line. Hayes was the one to suggest that he do so at Stand & Deliver. He even brought up the ladder match idea. Now, this week, he and Trick Williams were talking it over with the boys at the barber shop and the idea leveled up even more.
Hayes isn’t backing down from a challenge. He wants multiple challengers. It was settled on having four opponents who need to qualify for a spot, and Hayes was not only not intimidated, but excited about the idea of beating everyone.
WWE rarely positions heels like this. Hayes is being treated like he can back up all the shit talking he does. I get the sense that’s because they want the ultimate goal for him to be that he’s a top babyface, rather than a heel, so they’re keeping his credibility high despite how he’s technically on the villainous side.
Not going with the typical chicken shit heel gimmick is refreshing.
As far as his contenders go, we know Cameron Grimes will face Santos Escobar for one of those spots. It seems as though A-Kid will face Kushida, but that hasn’t been entirely confirmed.
Indi vs. Persia – Next Week
Things have been tense between Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. For a while, Persia was having to win handicap matches while Indi was busy getting distracted with Dexter Lumis. Now that Persia has a relationship going with Duke Hudson and is looking for her turn to be in that position, this duo has friction.
This week, the bubbling anger started overflowing. Persia flat out said she’s been carrying the team and wants more support from Indi, who took offense and challenged her friend to a match next week to settle which one is really the better Superstar.
Clearly, this should head toward a mixed tag match with InDex against Pirotta and Hudson. They don’t get to have a cutesy couple name, I guess.
Remaining Quick Notes
- LA Knight had Grayson Waller on the ropes the entire Last Man Standing match. If it weren’t for Sanga interfering, Knight would have won.
- Nikkita Lyons and Lash Legend had a whole not of nothing to say, but their Stans will obsess over it. People are already putting those two up in comparison to pictures of The Rock talking to Stone Cold. It’s ridiculous. Hold your horses with this “everything is the best or worst thing ever” emotional response.
- Andre Chase is a great tweener. He’s perpetually an asshole to his students, but booked as a babyface.
- I still have no idea what Tony D’Angelo plans to do for Stand & Deliver. He says he has a plan, but WWE is being so vague about it that I suspect there isn’t actually a plan in mind and they’re just stalling until they think of something.
Obviously, some other things happened, but they aren’t the biggest deals in the world, such as Sarray costing Tiffany Stratton a match or Xyon Quinn backing up Draco Anthony over Joe Gacy and Harland.
Based on this breakdown, what are your thoughts on NXT Roadblock? Leave a comment below!
