X-Pac opens today’s show by discussing the controversy surrounding Bully Ray and his actions at a recent ROH show. A fan has accused Bully Ray of getting security to bring him backstage where Bully Ray could confront him after he had words with two female heels on the ROH roster.
X-Pac says he doesn’t have any issue with this story and he doesn’t understand why it’s a big story in the first place. He understands that Bully Ray hasn’t done himself any favours with the way he’s reacted to fans in the past, and there may be something to the notion that Bully wanted to intimidate the fan somewhat, but X-Pac still doesn’t think it’s a big deal.
He’s sure that this fan crossed the line with whatever he said to the two female talents, because those women are professionals who’ve heard just about everything over the years. For them to get upset about a fan remark, the fan must have crossed the line.
X-Pac admits that he comes from a different era in the wrestling business but he thinks he does a pretty good job of trying to understand all sides of a situation. He doesn’t think anything will come of this in terms of discipline for Bully Ray.
X-Pac gets into his analysis of last weekend’s NXT Takeover event.
He thought Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong opened the show with a terrific match. He notes that it’s a toss up for match of the night between this one and the main event. He points out that there were some unique parts to this match and they did a great job of building throughout to a huge climax.
He thought the tag team ladder match was great as well. He says this was a feel good moment for the Street Profits. He was able to meet those guys when he guest coached at the Performance Centre recently, and they’re both great guys with loads of talent so he was quite happy to see them win.
He goes on to say that they have great chemistry and charisma to spare, and the end of the match showcased Montez Ford’s athleticism as he leaped onto the ladder and grabbed the Titles. He thought the fans were great throughout this entire show, and they were loud during this bout.
Tyler Breeze made his return to NXT and battled Velveteen Dream on this show. X-Pac notes that NXT talents work a different style than the main roster, and you really have to “bring it” when you work matches in NXT. He thought Tyler Breeze really showcased his abilities during this match and it turned out to be a great bout.
The show continued it’s momentum with the Women’s Title match between Shayne Baszler and Io Shirai. X-Pac really enjoyed this match as well. He admits that it can be a bit tough having to watch all these great matches and then go to the Performance Centre and try to coach these talents. He loved the finish to the match, as well as Shirai’s post-match beatdown.
He adds that Bazsler is “so great”, calling her his favourite female wrestler in the world right now. He adds that she’s the greatest NXT Women’s Champion of all time.
The main event of the evening saw Adam Cole defeat Johnny Gargano in another terrific match. X-Pac texted Shawn Michaels after the match and told him that this match had his fingerprints all over it. He notes that producing these matches gives Michaels a great sense of accomplishment. X-Pac thought this was a “masterpiece of a match”.
X-Pac thought the Title switch was the right call here. Some critics have said that these two men didn’t sell enough during the match but X-Pac disagrees entirely, noting that they sold their asses off. He points out that selling is all about hearing the crowd reactions and knowing how long to stay down. Just because their actions don’t look like the classic definition of “selling”, that doesn’t mean they aren’t selling.
X-Pac says he texted Triple H after the show and told him that this Takeover was even better than the last one. Triple H responded, “#Followthat”.
It can be debated whether or not AEW influenced the great work we saw on this Takeover, but X-Pac points out that this is just was NXT does. NXT delivers one amazing show after the next.
X-Pac notes that Triple H received some “NXT” chants when he appeared on RAW this week. There has been some rumblings lately about Triple H doing a better job with the main roster creative once Vince McMahon leaves, and that probably stemmed from Jon Moxley’s recent comments. X-Pac confirms that there is no power struggle in WWE. Sure Triple H and McMahon have disagreements, but McMahon is still “The Man” there and everyone knows it.
That sums up this week’s episode of X-Pac 1, 2, 360. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
