NXT recap and reactions: Melo plays chess not checkers

The Wolf Dogs get new challengers, Roxanne Perez gets what she wants, and Trick Williams gets a surprise on this week’s NXT.

Secret Rivals

Before we get started here, shoutout to Lash Legend. She was fantastic at every turn this week. It started early when she clearly had the vapors from last week’s action hero moment, and continued throughout Noam Dar’s match with Trick Williams. She looked conflicted because while Noam is the homie, Trick is, well, Trick. She played her role incredibly well, visibly split between allegiances.

Back to business. Trick put on perhaps his best match thus far. In retrospect, Noam Dar was the perfect opponent for what Booker T called Trick’s “coming out party.” Noam is technically sound, smooth, and a weasel heel. All that went a long way into making Trick look great when it mattered most. Last week was his moment, so following up on that showing his in-ring prowess, along with some mic work, was necessary. With Noam giving Trick everything in the ring and Lash’s conflict turning into deceit then turning back into conflict, Trick looked like the man.

That gets us to the heart of the matter: Carmelo Hayes. Melo played the sidelines last week and actually for most of this episode. He and Trick never felt like big presences on this show, but that’s not a bad thing. This episode juggled a lot of balls and In the words of one of my favorite Arrested Development songs, it put those balls in the air.

Trick calling out Melo goes hand-in-hand with his character, along with standing up to the massive security guards surrounding the ring. And Melo hiding in plain sight works perfectly with who he is. He’s a man who hides behind security until he doesn’t need to while always looking for the upper hand. This is a part of establishing Melo as Trick’s biggest challenge. He knows the game better than his former best friend and also knows how to hit him hard. That’s why Melo using the Trick Knee to end the segment hurt my soul. It’s a foul but perfect move for conniving heel who prides himself on playing chess not checkers.

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B-Sides

Infamous Mobb

I like using Prodigy songs or songs featuring Prodigy when I talk about Roxanne Perez. Originally because of her nickname, duh. But lately it’s because she and P both love being the villain.

Roxanne debuted a new theme, new hairstyle, and different makeup. She did all the things that say “evil” but then her actions backed up the ponytail. Before Tatum Paxley got even halfway to the ring, Roxanne attacked her. Devotees to this little space know how much I love when that happens. Roxanne continued from there and kinda decimated Tatum. This match wasn’t designed for Tatum’s offense; she’s simply there to get heat on Roxanne, who once again submitted her opponent instead of pinning her with the Pop Rox.

Using Tatum is one thing but Lyra Valkyria and this happened:

Ruthless, right? While Lyra does nothing for me as a personality, seeing her go after Roxanne with one arm and then suffer because of that bravery makes me empathize with her. I’d still prefer Roxanne as champ, but maybe Lyra gets her personality through simply not backing down. We’ll see what happens between now and Stand & Deliver, but here’s hoping Lyra uses this opportunity to truly define her character.

Theme From Shaft

Look, I’m not old, but Dijak referring to Samuel L. Jackson as Shaft and not Richard Roundtree makes me feel incredibly old. And I’m young enough that I didn’t know Shaft was a thing until the 90s!

Anyway, props to Dijak for giving this segment a little personality, and pointing out the obvious when Josh Briggs called him “wannabe Shaft.”

That “Master of Mayhem” moniker sounds like a first draft. I like Josh and he’s still figuring out who Josh Briggs is outside of a tag team, but that nickname just doesn’t work for me. I liked his impassioned promo towards Oba Femi. He stated his purpose, he stood up for his friend, and he looked like someone on Oba’s level. Adding Dijak to the mix only makes me anticipate this more. This thing screams “choosing violence” so I expect nothing less now.

Daytime Drama

I’m not a purist for the Heritage Cup matches, but I think involving the entire Chase U vs. Jacy Jayne drama is a smart move. I mean, why wouldn’t Jacy interfere? She knows how much this match means to Chase U and, more importantly, it’s importance for Thea Hail. Jacy showing up after Riley Osborne and Drew Gulak were tied is just good storytelling. It raised the stakes for the third round while putting Thea on edge. The end of the mach devolved into chaos and the No Quarter Catch Crew got the W thanks to plenty chicanery.

But now we get Thea vs. Jazmyn Nyx next week. I’m not sure if we’re building towards Thea vs. Jacy at Stand & Deliver, so I can see this match going either way.

Pyrex Vision

If last week’s Tony D’Angelo and Ilja Dragunov interaction struck me as a bit goofy, this week hit the perfect sweet spot. Tony and the fam showed up with new theme music that sounded more serious and threatening. Even the way Tony addressed the crowd and introduced his new consigliere felt very business-like. And he stuck with the theme he and Ilja hit upon the last time they spoke: power.

I wish Ilja showed in-person but his video appearance was still effective. Tony seems intent on punishing the champ before they get to Philly, with Stacks as the first crucible. I’m more interested if Luca Crusifino gets a match with Ilja after Stacks. I just want more Luca in the ring and think he and Ilja might put on a show.

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Singles

• Nathan Frazer & Axiom and The Good Brothers join next week’s big tag match for a spot at Stand & Deliver. Both teams competed in very different matches, with Nathan & Axiom defeating the No Quarter Catch Crew in a run and shoot style offensive showdown, and the Good Brothers slugging it out with Hank & Tank. A lot of meat in the latter and Tank really impressed me. Nathan & Axiom wrestled my favorite match of the night.
• Ms. NXT In-Training is Gigi Dolin’s new name. Hilarious. While I wanted more of Gigi and Arianna Grace and “Georgina” this week, this appetizer sufficed.
• Alpha Academy showed up with their sights set on the NXT tag championships. Otis made me cackle calling Maxxine “dove” while still spitting a little game at Lash. The big news? Alpha Academy wrestles the Wolf Dogs next week. If they win, they will join another team in the tag team championship match at Stand & Deliver.
• Speaking of the Wolf Dogs, I love Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker together. They’re the buddy cop movie team I never knew I wanted.
• Big spotlight on the women this week, with emphasis on backstage fighting and setting up future bouts.
• Sol Rucca looked good in her return, which also set up the grudge match with Blair Davenport.

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Like Raw, this NXT went full steam ahead to WrestleMania weekend. I loved the pace, which started at the opening, and most everything felt important. Even potential throwaway matches, like Sol vs. Brinley Reece, moved story forward and developed plot. There’s not much more I can ask for in my professional sports entertainment wrestling show.

What say you, Cagesiders? How do you feel about Melo hiding in plain sight and how should Trick retaliate?