NXT 2.0 Debut: Great Presentation, Fun Moments, but a Bit Bloated

The NXT 2.0 launch is in the books. We’ve officially said goodbye to the NXT of old and ushered in a new era for the brand. This shift in style caused a bit of nervousness among fans of the original format, which mixed old school and indie wrestling vibes. The new NXT, however, was promoted as being fresh and fun with a new coat of paint (literally and figuratively).

As a fan of the previous format, I’ll admit I was a bit apprehensive about NXT 2.0, especially after Samoa Joe relinquished the NXT Championship. It was great to see him win the title for a record-setting third time, so Joe giving up the championship just felt like a changing of the guard, even if he did cite an injury as the reason for his decision.

So how did the first episode of NXT 2.0 fare? Let’s discuss!

New Look, More Dynamic Presentation

To start, there’s no way of getting around it: NXT 2.0 looks much different than before. The classic, underground tone of what was once dubbed the black and gold brand is no more. In its place is a brighter, more lit up arena. It still looks pretty personal, and I dare say it still retains a bit of that indie wrestling vibe, albeit with a cleaner look and wider color scheme.

Honestly, I didn’t hate the new, colorful logo when that was revealed. And though I’m really going to miss the look and feel of the black and gold color scheme, the new presentation is actually really cool. The show definitely has a different overall mood, though, with new camera angles and more dynamic cuts, but it works. Not everyone will like it, but personally, I dig the new style.

A Bloated First Hour

There was a lot of action in this episode of NXT 2.0, but that doesn’t mean it was all good. For starters, it felt overstuffed, especially that first hour. Matches were short and lacking any excitement, and it seemed like the goal was to showcase as much new talent as possible versus actually putting on a good wrestling product.

The first match of the evening featured the debuting Bron Breakker (real name Bronson Rechsteiner), son of Rick Steiner and nephew of the ever-memorable Scott Steiner. Originally, Breakker’s ring name was Rex Steiner, a play on the Steiners’ real-life surname. For whatever reason, he was renamed Bron Breakker, which is just a horrid name. Not to mention, the Steiners are well-known and have a legit reputation — any other wrestling company would, rightfully, want to capitalize on that.

In any case, he took on LA Knight, who was scheduled to be in the NXT Championship fatal 4-way later in the show. Breakker picked up a win in quick fashion, which made little sense considering he defeated a competitor who had a title shot on the same episode. It’s a move that lowers the credibility of LA Knight at the expense of a newer, unproven wrestler (with a really bad name).

Next up, we got Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner of Imperium taking on the new tag team of Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs. Though the latter put up some hard-hitting offense, Imperium ultimately picked up the victory. It’s worth noting that despite being built up as the faces, there were some very audible boos heard around the arena whenever Jensen and Briggs took control of the match.

By the time NXT 2.0 hit the 30-minute mark, the third match of the night had ended. It was a super quick squash that saw B-Fab of Hit Row making her NXT in-ring debut. The match was meant to showcase B-Fab, who cut a solid promo afterward and did some back-and-forth trash-talking with Elektra Lopez of Legado del Fantasma.

There was a backstage segment hyping up the wedding of Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis. The highlight here was seeing Monday Night Raw’s Damian Priest make a fun cameo appearance as he returned to NXT for the wedding.

That was followed by Carmello Hayes and his buddy Trick Williams heading to the ring to cut a promo that almost sounded like a heel turn for Hayes. As the duo walked to the back, though, they were met by Duke Hudson, who previously had some beef with Hayes. He shoved his way past Hayes and Williams, which led to the two men running back to the ring to dish out a much-deserved beatdown on Hudson.

We got another quick nothing match between the team of Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne and the team of Kacy Katanzaro and Kayden Carter. Mandy Rose ran in to assist Dolin and Jayne, which prompted Sarray to run in and make the save. This then led to a quick three-on-three tag team match in booking that felt like it came straight out of the main roster.

During this match, we got a picture-in-picture cut to the back, where Kyle O’Reilly was seen getting jumped by Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland. O’Reilly was basically written off the fatal 4-way NXT Title match and replaced by another debuting wrestler, the fairly large Von Wagner.

Ridge Holland had a match where he destroyed Drake Maverick. Then the Creed Brothers of Diamond Mine had a squash match of their own where they were booked to look incredibly strong. I get that this is what wrestling does to create a buzz around new talent, but it definitely seemed like overkill at this point.

Speaking of new talent, Malcolm Bivens introduced the newest member of Diamond Mind, Ivy Nile. We also got a vignette introducing Tony D’Angelo, who just seems like a really corny mobster type.

Cruiserweight Champion Kushida returned to NXT tonight, as well. He came out during Bivens’ promo, which led to a match being made for next week: Kushida vs. Roderick Strong for the Cruiserweight Title. Given both men’s great in-ring capabilities, it should make for an exciting match.

NXT Champ Is Crowned and We Got a Wedding

The final match of the night was the NXT Championship fatal 4-way between Tomasso Ciampa, Pete Dunne, LA Knight, and newcomer Von Wagner. This bout was decent for what it was, though Kyle O’Reilly was sorely missed. It’s disappointing that he was replaced to showcase a new talent, especially since O’Reilly is well-known and has been on the rise in NXT. The match ended with Ciampa picking up the victory and being crowned the new NXT Champion. It was great seeing one of the pillars of NXT win his precious “Goldie” back — here’s to a lengthy title reign for Ciampa.

The highly promoted wedding between Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis capped off the debut episode of NXT 2.0. Wrestling weddings are typically chaotic events, and this one was pretty hectic. Thankfully, it didn’t end with a beatdown or a demonic presence crashing the party. Instead, the wedding went off without a hitch. Well, sort of. At one point, Lumis threatened the attendees with a hatchet, which was absolutely hilarious. He also put the minister to sleep with a submission hold.

That’s when the lovable Beth Phoenix jumped in to make the save. Sensing something would go wrong, Phoenix apparently registered to be an ordained minister online the night prior. I mean, hey, I’m not going to question these wrestling happenings. After all, the night ended with Hartwell and Lumis both saying “I do.” That’s right, Lumis finally spoke!

So that was NXT 2.0. The presentation, promos, backstage segments, and, above all else, the InDex wedding were pretty solid overall. The action, however, was lacking, which was the result of WWE attempting to showcase as much new talent as possible when eyes were on the product. Unfortunately for die-hard wrestling fans, the in-ring action was mediocre and uninteresting, with too many squash matches all over the show and definitely no match of the week candidates. Still, it was great to see Ciampa win back the NXT Championship.

Speaking of Ciampa, the show closed with a staredown between the new champ and Bron Breakker, hinting at a potential feud between the two down the road.