BRM Reviews the 2/24/2021 NXT

[Big Red Machine]

THE WAY BACKSTAGE- Gargano tells Theory he doesn’t have to come to ringside to face Lumis if he doesn’t want to. The Way came off like total babyfaces.

DEXTER LUMIS vs. JOHNNY GARGANO (w/The Way)- 6/10
The Way got involved on Gargano’s behalf to remind us that they’re the heels (somehow, because Dexter Lumis ABDUCTED Austin Theory). They built up to a spot where Gargano had the referee distracted and Theory was supposed to hit Lumis with a chair but didn’t and smiled at him and tried to talk to him instead. Gargano tried to attack Lumis but Lumis side-stepped it and Gargano hit the chair Theory was holding, allowing Lumis to lock on his finisher and win by stoppage when Gargano passed out. I don’t see how this could possibly go anywhere good. We’re either using Theory having PTSD as a set-up for comedy, or Theory has Stockholm Syndrome. Also, it means Dexter Lumis getting a title shot. NXT is usually so good with figuring out who to push, but Lumis is such a miss. I have not heard one person say that they enjoy his character.

WILLIAM REGAL IS OUTSIDE WITH A CAMERA- Santos Escobar isn’t here yet. Regal tells the cameraman to send Escobar to him as soon as he arrives.

MSK VIDEO PACKAGE- This was very good, but I have to ask why they didn’t this to us a month and a half ago when these guys were just debuting, so that we would know who they are and care about them when they made their big run in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic?

THE GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS JUMP MSK WHILE MCKENZIE MITCHEL IS INTERVIEWING THEM- good
This was quick and vicious. McKenzie had just enough time to let us know that MSK would be getting their title shot next week before GYZ flew in and attacked them.

MALCOLM BIVENS WAS HANGING OUT IN THE TRAINER’S ROOM AND CHALLENGED LEON RUFF TO A MATCH EARLIER TODAY- Okay. So now we’ve clearly established Bivens’ MO.

MALCOLM BIVENS PROMO ON LEON RUFF- good

LEON RUFF vs. TYLER RUST (w/Malcolm Bivens)- no rating, fine segment
Isaiah Scott assaulted Ruff before the match could start. Bivens declared victory when it was clear that Ruff couldn’t go. Tyler Rust seemed to be perfectly fine with this, so I guess he has come around to Bivens’ way of thinking.

WILLIAM REGAL AND ZOEY STARKS AT THE PERFORMANCE CENTER YESTERDAY- fine
Regal asked Starks if she’d like to face Io Shirai tonight. She was very happy.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS ZOEY STARKS- weird
Starks started to cut a promo, but then we suddenly cut to Io Shirai standing in a corner, unmoving. The announcers said these were “technical difficulties.” This was weird enough that I’m tempted to believe them.

CAMERON GRIMES WATCHES FOOTAGE OF TED DIBIASE BEING MEAN TO FANS- horrendous
He tries to make a random dude at the Performance Center do the “dribble a basketball ten times” thing, but Grimes is so dumb that he didn’t try to kick the ball away. He apparently didn’t watch the end of the video… which means that he’s so stupid that he didn’t think a grown adult could dribble a basketball ten times. At least he was honest and gave the dude the money, but this just made Grimes look like an idiot.

ZOEY STARKS vs. IO SHIRAI- 6/10
Starks has been in the ring for what feels like ten minutes at this point (she came out after her interview, then we went to a break). Io won clean, but they gave Starks enough that she could gain some standing from losing cleanly to the champion. Io showed Sparks respect after the match.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- fine
Toni Storm came out and cut a promo saying that Io was afraid of her because she hasn’t tried to get revenge for Toni attacking her last week. She also pointed out that Io pinned Mercedes Martinez ant TakeOver, not her. Io was fine with giving Toni a title match.

THE WAY BACKSTAGE- bad
McKenzie Mitchell wanted an interview and walked in on Gargano scolding Austin Theory. Candice was giving Theory her “stern parent” look and Indi Hartwell was paying the uncomfortable sibling.
So yeah, Theory has Stockholm Syndrome now. He claimed that Theory was “misunderstood.” Gargano responded by pointing out that Theory wasn’t even the first person that Lumis has abducted. Candice said Lumis should be in jail. Indi Hartwell said she thought Lumis was “kind of hot.” I believe that to be an opinion unique to Indi. Gargano insists that Theory must go to therapy. That sounds reasonable to me.

MORE DUMB SH*T WITH CAMERON GRIMES- He’s dumb, so he loses his money again. This time he didn’t think that someone who hangs out at a basketball court could protect a ball she was trying to dribble.

KACY KATANZARO (w/Kayden Carter) vs. XIA LI (w/Boa & Tian Sha)- no rating, excellent segment
Xia tried to jump the bell on Kacy but Kacy dodged it.
Since when was Xia Li particularly good friends with Team KC? I can see them being friendly, but Beth Phoenix is acting like they used to be trio even though Xia was never really portrayed as their friend onscreen.
They cut away from the match several times to show us Boa and Tian Sha on the ramp. We saw them during the entrance, we can see them in the background of one of the usual camera shots, and the announcers are talking about them. You don’t need to cut away from action to show them to us!
The match itself was very good for the time it got. Xia Li stomped Kacy’s leg on the steps, which caused a stoppage once the referee got Xia away from her (Xia had dragged Kacy back into the ring by her hair). A bunch of referees came out to tend to Kacy and to keep Kayden away from Xia. Kayden tried to get to Tian Sha but Boa kept her away. When the referees helped Kacy to her feet, Xia superkicked her down again.

WILLIAM REGAL CHECKS FOR SANTOS ESCOBAR- He’s still not here

WWE WOMENS’ TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH VIDEO PACKAGE- fine

MORE OF CAMERON GRIMES BEING A CLOWN- This time he punches the dude when he starts to dribble. He then throws the money around and shouts like a goof… and leaves the money on the floor, so the dude gets the money anyway.

GYV PROMO- good
They were fined for attacking MSK. Gibson called Dain & Maverick “Shrek and Donkey.” That had me rolling.

DRAKE MAVERICK & KILLIAN DAIN vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETERANS- 6.75/10
GYZ got the clean win, as they should have. The Ticket to Mayhem on Maverick looked awesome. Props to all involved.

LEGADO DEL FANTASMA HAVE ARRIVED AT THE BUILDING- time for a commercial break

AN ATTEMPT TO INTERVIEW KILLIAN DAIN AS HE TAKES DRAKE MAVERICK TO THE TRAINER’S ROOM CATCHES ALEXANDER WOLFE PLANT THE SEEMS TO RECRUIT DAIN- He tells Dain “You used to be a monster.”

NO DISQUALIFICATIONS MATCH: Karrion Kross vs. Santos Escobar- 8.25/10
Kross jumped Escobar and his pals in the parking lot. He tried to throw him into the back of a truck but Escobar slammed the door on Kross when he tried to follow him in. This was a great spot… and then Kross was fighting on equal footing with Escobar moments later. They fought to the ring and had an awesome brawl full of big spots. Kross won, despite it being three-on-one. That ends the feud, but I remain convinced that the whole feud was a bad idea, as it essentially buried the Cruiserweight Title when the champ lost despite having a three-on-one advantage.

L.A. KNIGHT PROMO- dumb
He says “when I debut, it’s going to be on my time; on my terms.” Why the hell would Regal be okay with this? If he signed the dude, he should get to booking him.

ADAM COLE EXPLAINS HIS ACTIONS- great
Earlier today, we were told that Kyle O’Reilly isn’t medically cleared to be here due to herniated discs in his back as a result of Cole’s attack last week. His projected return time is several weeks.
He admitted that he was jealous that Kyle kept getting title shots. I was expecting the standard heel stuff from Cole, but he was actually remorseful for what he did, even going so far as to say “I hate myself right now” and vowing to do whatever he could to fix it.
Then Roderick Strong came out and criticized Roddy for “shattering that trust” the UE was built on. Roddy warned Cole that he didn’t know if he could save Kyle from what Kyle was going to do to him when Kyle heals.
Finn Balor came out and attacked Cole. Roderick eventually came in to defend Cole. Balor was taking it to Roddy on the outside, but got taken out by a superkick from Cole. Cole got back into the ring, and Roddy saw a dude dressed in black coming towards him, so he threw a punch, and nailed Cole. Roddy was upset with himself. Cole took the punch and again apologized to Roddy. Cole started to have a break- down. Roddy apologized for hitting him and they said they loved each other and were brothers and they hugged… and then Cole hit Roddy in the nuts. Cole called Roddy stupid, ripped off his UE dog tags, and superkicked him.
This was well done. I will fully and proudly admit to having been suckered in by Cole. Everyone was great here, although Roddy was a little over the top at times. But I can’t help but feel disappointed that they went down the cliché road when the one they teased seemed so much more interesting.


This was a very good show from NXT, but the comedic elements definitely dragged it down from the great show it could have been. Grimes is a clown and they need to stop spending time on him that could be spent on the Cruiserweights or KUSHIDA or Bronson Reed or Ember Moon or Mercedes Martinez or Tommaso Ciampa or Timothy Thatcher. Gargano needs to return to his pre-clown persona, and they need to just get rid of this Dexter Lumis character.