NXT recap & reactions: Down goes Tony – Cageside Seats
Filed under:Jaida Parker calls her shot, Trick Williams gets what he wants, and Shawn Spears gets gold around his waist on this week’s NXT. OH NO, @Stacks_WWE! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/lM82JyZs66Stacks is an idiot. That’s my big takeaway from this week’s main event in silver, orange, and black territory. Not because he got in the ring during an all out melee between his family and Shawn Spears’ crew, but because he didn’t go for the DQ. After watching his Don fall back first onto a chair and injure himself, he did nothing with Shawn right in his face. If you want to save the championship and let your boss live to fight another day, then you punch Shawn and end it right there. The ref showed a lot of discretion during those few minutes but that would’ve drawn the line. One swift jab to the challenger’s jaw changes everything. Instead, the Don is no longer the champ of North America. Although, given the state of our continent at this moment, maybe that’s no big loss. Still, I’m sure he won’t see it that way. In a clever move, the match didn’t end after Tony D’Angelo landed on a chair and took a C4 from the cult leader challenging him for his championship. It ended when Tony went for a Spinebuster and his back gave out. I like that more because it’s tragic. He had enough will to kick out of Shawn’s machinations but was undone by his body betraying him. And I think that word “betrayal” might be on Tony’s mind next week. The Don and the Underboss haven’t seen eye to eye lately. Even before this match, Stacks thought it best for Tony to sit out since his back wasn’t 100 percent. Judging by the match, it was barely hanging on at 50. Then there was the tension mounting for weeks when Stacks felt Tony abandoned the crew for fame, fortune, and Izzi Dame. They told us it was all good but was it really? I don’t question whether Stacks did this purposefully or accidentally. I do question how Tony reacts to it based on recent history. While this thing between Shawn’s…whatever they are, and The Family seems far from over, it also feels like a prelude to changes in Tony’s faction. Either they break up or someone gets ousted. Shawn mocked Tony’s love for family after the chair incident. Tony might feel like the new North American champ was right. “I’mma be at Roadblock watching your match!”After a big win, @Jaida_Parkerwwe has a message for both @giulia0221g and @Steph_Vaquer. #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/sphiO6iKnRJaida Parker and Kelani Jordan have an interesting feud going. It’s more about Kelani’s growth than anything else; her willingness and desire to toughen up as her career continues. That’s a weird place for a former champ, much less an inaugural champion. I kept wondering about the L’s pilling up on her resume and this feud with Jaida became a nice way to encapsulate the whole thing. The match bore that out too. Kelani was extra aggressive and wrestled smarter. She had some extra stink on her attacks But it painted a picture of someone trying vs. someone who already is that thing. Jaida’s attitude is for real; she carries herself like that effortlessly. That applies to her wrestling too. They didn’t book this bout as a dominant showing for Jaida and she had moments where her attitude actually got the better of her. That’s the cool part of this whole feud: Kelani’s trying to be like Jaida, and failing, while Jaida being Jaida doesn’t always work. Kelani’s finding herself by trying to be someone else rather than just being herself. And being more aggressive didn’t always work for Kelani in this match either. In fact, I say that’s why she got another L in her bag. What a move from @kelani_wwe! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/RrZavxDzrRKelani went for a 450 Splash, possibly when she didn’t need to, and possibly taking too long, and missed. Jaida caught her with Hypnotic, and that was that. Now Jaida moves on to someone with a championship while Kelani…yeah I don’t know about Kelani. I was surprised with the clean win and the lack of immediate follow-up for Ms. Jordan. Still a dope match though. These two have chemistry together and I wouldn’t mind seeing them dance the dance again. This was a weird show for me. It lacked flow, and of course the incident with Cora threw off the back half. Definitely some awesome matches on the card, but it was mostly set up for Roadblock. Oh, and what happened to our mystery group? They made a big bang at Vengeance Day, ransacked Ava’s office, bloodied up Stone, and then nothing. That also contributed to this week’s weirdness. The episode felt thrown together rather than meticulously plotted out. What say you, Cagesiders? How we feeling about Shawn Spears as the North American championship? Never been my cup of tea so I’m meh on it. Check your inbox for a welcome email.Oops. Something went wrong. Please enter a valid email and try again.
