The future of the WWE went to school last night, and I’m here to grade their performance. Matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, crowd involvement, and overall impact on the storyline. Important promos will also be graded based on entertainment value, believability, and originality.
While this is supposed to act as a weekly report and recap for NXT, more importantly, it’s a place for you, the SEScoops readers, to discuss this week’s episode, dole out your own grades, and discuss the future of the product. Without further ado, here is this week’s NXT Report Card.
Adrian Neville/Kevin Owens Opening Promo
This was a pretty good way to start the show and the crowd really seemed to be into it. Neville did his best to make amends with the fans and put over Sami Zayn, saying things like, “We went to war” and “The better man won.”
Neville isn’t the strongest promo man in the game, but he did his best, even if he can be a bit redundant at times. Owens, on the other hand, cut an intense and articulate promo that seemed to have the crowd on the edge of their seats. Overall, it was a good way to start the show and set up the main event between Neville and Owens.
Grade: B+
Bayley vs. Becky Lynch
This one started off a bit sluggish, with most of the early action consisting of Bayley throwing punches and not utilizing many wrestling moves. The action picked up toward the end, however, with the ending sequence being particularly impressive. The counter into Lynch’s finisher was fresh and it worked well with the in-ring psychology due to Bayley’s injured knee.
Grade: B-
