Despite delivering a quality TakeOver event June 13, NXT still felt like it was lacking a certain spark.
The moment was made special by the live crowd’s raucous reaction, something that will be missing from Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view.
All Elite Wrestling’s been in a similar boat in not having hosted an overly newsworthy show in recent weeks, though Brian Cage seemingly parting ways with Team Taz has been an interesting development.
This installment of Quick Takes will discuss why it’s too soon for Cage to be leaving Team Taz, Roman Reigns vs.
Although WWE’s pay-per-views have suffered from not having fans in the building over the past year, they have largely been solid shows from an in-ring standpoint.
One of the strengths of these pandemic pay-per-views is that they have run around three hours and haven’t overstayed their welcome.
With Hell in a Cell specifically, it’s a promising card, boasting three big bouts each from Raw and SmackDown.
For all of the creative faults Raw and SmackDown have had over the past year, WWE’s monthly specials haven’t been part of the problem.
One match that won’t be taking place at Hell in a Cell on Sunday is Roman Reigns vs.
Bayley could have been announced as a Hell in a Cell match from the get-go, and few fans would have questioned it because of how long the two have been feuding.
SmackDown is superior to Raw more often than not, but there are some of the same questionable calls being made, such as making major matches official less than a day before they are supposed to happen.
Team Taz has a ton of talent in its ranks yet is already showing signs of dissension less than a year after the group’s formation.
That isn’t to say the faction will break up with Brian Cage seemingly on the outs with the rest of Team Taz, but his departure is disappointing.
Cage has proved in the past, most notably during his stints in Impact and Lucha Underground, that he can work well in the babyface role.
There was much more for Team Taz to accomplish as a unit before the inevitable split.
With Cage gone and Starks out injured for the foreseeable future, Team Taz is significantly weaker, which is a shame given how high their ceiling was when they initially joined forces.
Although she was advertised to go one-on-one with Naomi, the former Piper Niven was revealed as her replacement at the last minute and proceeded to squash the two-time SmackDown Women’s champion.
Before linking up with Eva, Niven was toiling away over in NXT UK, having fallen short of becoming NXT UK women’s champion on multiple occasions.
Better yet, it appears Eva won’t be a regular in the ring during her latest stint with the company, similar to how she was booked the last time she was on TV in 2016.
Joe was reintroduced not as a competitor but rather as an executive enforcer of sorts for NXT general manager William Regal.
Between his confrontation with Karrion Kross and putting Adam Cole to sleep backstage, the two-time NXT champion’s reign as an authority figure got off to a strong start.
Either way, Joe’s shocking comeback was easily among the strongest segments on NXT TV all year.
The rest of the show was great as well, but whether NXT can maintain his momentum in the weeks and months ahead is what’s key.
Graham Mirmina, aka Graham “GSM” Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010.