💛🛸 NXT 1/24 Thread: Gargano vs Velveteen

[lionheart21]

I love that DDT counter that Dream does

[Deleted]

Solid match.

[lionheart21]

Hell of a match. Dream's only 22 and is that good already.

[lionheart21]

TRANQUILo

[hbkid718]

Here are the facts for NXT:
- No Way Jose VS Cezar Bononi was both wrestlers’s 1st NXT match & opener of 2018, Bononi’s 1st NXT match since November 8, 2017 & Jose’s 1st NXT match since September 20, 2017
- Latoya Alsop VS Bianca Belair was both wrestlers’ 1st NXT match of 2018, Alsop’s NXT debut, & Belair’s 1st NXT match since October 25, 2017
- Johnny Gargano VS The Velveteen Dream was both wrestlers’ 1st NXT match & main event of 2018, & The Velveteen Dream’s 1st NXT match since War Games on November 18, 2017
- This was the 1st NXT of 2018 to not have a Tag Team Match, not counting January 3, which only had 1 match

[abjordans]

I loved that Velveteen Dream promo, that dude is a legit wrestling phenomenon. Crazy how good he is with his character and psychology at that age.

[wrestlingrecap]

Tonight on NXT, No Way Jose makes his in-ring return. NXT Women's Champion Ember Moon has a sit-down discussion with her opponent at NXT Takeover: Philadelphia, Shayna Baszler. Plus, Johnny Gargano puts his NXT Championship title match on the line against the Velveteen Dream!

wrestlingrecaps.com/2018/01/25/nxt-tv-1-24-2018/

[brettappedout (BLM)]

Was No Way Jose on an unannounced 30 day vacation? Dude looking real chubby.

Belair is still awesome.

Moon looks like she's going to cry when making mean angry tough faces.

Shayna is already a better promo than most woman and Baron Corbin. Sounds very natural.

I like AOP talking, but it brings up my fear when called up Ellering won't be with them.

Gargano vs. Dream was really good. Johnny is on a hot streak and Dream just keeps getting better.

[Super Duper Dragunov]

Solid episode.

The more you see Shayna the more Sonya Deville just looks like a poor imitation.
I'm glad Shayna's finally here, and love her "regular clothes" look. Fits her perfectly.
She reminds me of kind of a Samoa Joe type that can cut a promo where they just talk to you and it feels natural.
Ember Moon, I like her, but ehhhhh.

So glad people are getting on that Velveteen Dream bandwagon. There's room for all.
Honorable mention to Johnny Gargano's abs.

Who the hell ate No Way Jose?

and the REAL boss Bianca Belair was here, great seeing her as always.
Glad she got some love from the crowd.

TM61 still has a stupid name.
This was the perfect opportunity to shed it and came back as TMDK.

[PKO]

Got to watch the whole show today so here's a few thoughts:

• I liked the presentation, but that Dream promo needed a second take. He seemed a little unsure of where he was going with each sentence.

• Jose has apparently been dealing with some injuries which probably explains why he looked a little bigger than usual. The booing of the "CM Punk" chant was hilarious. Very basic match but Jose could be a good midcard talent on either brand right now already, it'll be interesting to see where he can go in NXT.

• Great hype video of Black vs Cole

• Bianca has a great presence and I love the way she moves in the ring. She's surely the next homegrown talent to win the NXT women's title; she's still got a lot to learn obviously, and we haven't heard her speak yet, but she's got so much talent for such little experience.

• Liked the sit down interview with Shayna/Ember. The ominous music could have come off cheesy but it worked for me. Ember still has a lot of work to do when it comes to character work, but Shayna has a natural aura to her. I'm hoping for some kind of screwy finish at Takeover because it's too early for her to win the title, but also too early for her to be beaten.

• Wonderful video on TM61. God, this is what WWE needs more of. Showed their personalities perfectly (well, Shane Thorne at least) and, as someone who doesn't know their Indy work and missed most of their NXT work when they were there, it got me really hyped to see them return.

• AOP segment was fine I guess.

• I may not have been impressed with his earlier promo, but damn Velveteen looks like a star when he comes down to the ring (and I frickin' love his music). What a great match. Great storytelling, great action, great psychology...what more could you ask for? Loved how commentary were unabashedly on Johnny's side.

Great post match interaction with Almas and Vega (what a babe). Perfect villains for this story. "Don't you dare touch that!" from Vega followed by the "Touch it!" chants as Johnny looked at the title were amazing (were there duelling chants as he held up the title though? Seems odd after a match like that).

I think many people are predicting a similar story for this Saturday; Candice debuting to even out Vega's presence, only for Ciampa to cost Gargano the win. I think that's pretty much the perfect way to book it

[Hypnosis]

I liked the purple smoke effect for Dream's promo.

No Way Jose could use a better finisher than that Pop-Up Punch.  I'm pretty sure that he, Evans, and Big Show now all have punch finishers.  

Cool video package on Black/Cole.  

Belair has some good hard-hitting offense.

That ominous music during the Baszler/Moon sit-down interview was unintentionally funny.

I thought TM61 should have been gone back to being named TMDK myself, but that was another nice segment about their careers up to this point.

Gargano's on a roll with his NXT matches, and the one with Dream was no exception.

Vega screaming at Gargano at the end was gold.

[Bobeddy]

Jan 25, 2018 2:00:39 GMT -5 brettappedout (BLM) said:

I like AOP talking, but it brings up my fear when called up Ellering won't be with them.

Then talking put the idea of them moving up without Ellering in my head too. Manager's are a rarity on the main roster and at 65 Ellering might not be keen to be travelling around the country on a full-time schedule.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Jan 25, 2018 18:35:06 GMT -5 Bobeddy said:

Jan 25, 2018 2:00:39 GMT -5 brettappedout (BLM) said:

I like AOP talking, but it brings up my fear when called up Ellering won't be with them.

Then talking put the idea of them moving up without Ellering in my head too. Manager's are a rarity on the main roster and at 65 Ellering might not be keen to be travelling around the country on a full-time schedule.

Yeah, I thought part of the reason he came in was because he could just be based in Florida and didn't have to travel. But then, that is part of what NXT is for, to prepare guys so it's good they're getting AoP to move on to their own promos.

With TM61, if there's a rights issue with the name, just call them The Mighty or something, when even they're bringing up the Poke on thing, you know there's a problem.

Am I the only one who prefers the music in Velveteen Dream's promo to his entrance music? I dunno, I like it, more dark, intense, sexy and doesn't have terrible repetition of his name over it.

[Derk!]

Dream is scary good right now. The potential to him get even better is insane at his young age.

[Dragonfly]

Jan 25, 2018 2:23:11 GMT -5 Super Duper Dragunov said:

TM61 still has a stupid name.
This was the perfect opportunity to shed it and came back as TMDK.

It's not quite that easy. While they were easily the most well-known, TMDK are more than just Nick Miller and Shane Thorne. There are currently six other people connected the group - Slex, Jonah Rock, Marcius Pitt, Damian Slater (he worked the CWC), Elliot Sexton (semi-retired) and Hartley Jackson (honorary member). According to their social media, TM61 rep the group in NXT, while Slex, Rock and The Untouchables (Slater and Pitt) work the indies and New Japan. (TMDK versus Bullet Club is set for NJPW's upcoming Australian tour.)

I agree that the TM61 name isn't great. That said, their "old name" is a bit busy at the moment.