A Fun Main Event Couldn’t Save Episode 2 of NXT 2.0 from Mediocrity

The first episode of NXT 2.0 was interesting. Sure, it was stuffed with too many super short squash matches, but there were a few things I liked about it. The new presentation is pretty cool. That InDex wedding was a lot of fun. And though it didn’t reach TakeOver-worthy levels of greatness, the NXT Championship fatal 4-way was still plenty fun.

The second episode of NXT 2.0, however, was pretty bad. Actually, it was awful.

I won’t get into a detailed full review of the entire episode like I did last week. But I felt like discussing the show once more, because honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll keep watching NXT 2.0 for much longer — at least not in its entirety. So this may be one of the last times I really delve deep into and talk about the NXT brand.

While the debut episode wasn’t amazing, I understood what it was trying to do. By filling it with a bunch of short matches, a lot of newer talent was showcased. We were introduced to many new faces in mostly forgettable matches, but the show still had some bright moments. This week, however, was pretty much about 95 percent forgettable. Bron Breakker channeling his inner Rick and Scott Steiner and wrestling a fun tag team main event with Tommaso Ciampa against Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland was really entertaining.

Other than that, though, all we got were matches that were either really predictable or just bad. Trey Baxter, who’s been picking up steam the past couple months, was demolished by the debuting Dante Chen. Odyssey Jones and Andre Chase were involved in a spot that involved a poorly gimmicked breakable chair. Even the Cruiserweight Championship match between Kushida and Roderick Strong was underwhelming. It wasn’t even that short, either — it just never got a chance to become the exciting bout that it by all accounts could have and should have been.

I understand that NXT 2.0 is still trying to find its identity — or rather, it’s trying to communicate what its identity is to the audience. And I understand that there are rumored plans to make the show edgier moving forward. But aside from a few moments, the past two episodes haven’t been all that great. And this second episode was much, much weaker than last week’s.

If the debut episode was a C+, the second episode of NXT 2.0 was a D-. The only reason I wouldn’t give it a full F is because the main event was at least enjoyable. But even that couldn’t save this show from mediocrity. For a very long time, NXT was my favorite wrestling show. I get what NXT 2.0 is going for, but it just might not be for me.

Of course, if the ratings prove otherwise, it won’t really matter that this brand isn’t geared toward the more niche wrestling crowd. But if that’s the case, it’s not something I need to watch. I might still tune in from time to time, or I’ll watch the show on perpetual fast-forward like I did with TNA back in 2014, or like I do with Raw these days. Hell, before AEW became the hottest thing in pro wrestling this year, I was skipping a lot of the fluff I didn’t care for.

There’s a lot of wrestling on TV these days, so we can pick and choose what we want to watch — I don’t know if I want to watch too much more of this NXT. If you do, that’s awesome, and I hope you enjoy it. Personally, I miss what NXT was, because it was the type of wrestling show I loved being fully invested in — at least right now, though, NXT 2.0 isn’t that type of show.

Also, I can’t be the only who thinks it’s problematic that there’s a wrestler named Dante Chen and another named Andre Chase. I mean, those names are too similar and just lack any creativity. Come on, NXT 2.0, do better with these wrestlers’ names.