NXT BattleGround More Like BattleBoring

I only watched this to see "All Ego" Ethan Page's WWE debut. This performance was held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas crowds for wrestling have been pretty lame for a while now. This crowd was no different, as they chanted "This is awesome" for the basic wrestling move and, of course, everyone's favorite, "We want tables." The crowd even chanted, "You deserved it," after Kelani Jordan won the first-ever Women's North American Title. While the UFC Apex is cool, it did seem quite dangerous for wrestling. The outside of the ring area was a very tight fit between it and the commentary table. Even one of the security guards was taken out when a performer was sent crashing into the barricade because he had no place to go.

Now, onto the matches themselves. The show opened with a six-way women's match for the new North American title. Prior to this, I had only seen two of these women wrestle, Fallon Henley and Michin. I was very impressed by Sol Ruca and her move set. Lash Legend seems to have some power. The match overall was not bad; it had some good spots that make you go 'holy shit.' I was very impressed by all the women in this match.

Next, we moved on to the NXT Tag Team Championship match between The Good Brothers and Nathan Frazer/Axiom. I have seen all of these men wrestle except Frazer. There were several false finishes, which I think is getting out of hand in wrestling. The match was nothing special, and it felt like something was missing, but I am not sure what it was. I don't really see the Good Brothers being anything other than a mid-card tag team.

Our next match was the NXT Underground Match, featuring Shayna Baszler and Lola Vice. I saw on the internet that many were upset at the outcome of this match, which we will talk about in a few minutes. This match did not have countouts or pinfalls. The only way to win was by knockout or submission. The match was based on MMA-style fighting. For what it was, the match was decent until the end, when the ref stopped the match, allowing Vice to win. Baszler was nearly knocked out before the ref jumped on her and called the match. I was like, "What the fuck."

The triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship featured Wes Lee, a former champion, Joe Coffey, and the current champion, Oba Femi. I can say I was intrigued by Oba. That guy is big and strong and looks good as a champion. This match was good for a three-way, but you knew there would be some 'fuckery' which we got when Coffey's partners came out to help.

This next match was a good match, but I have a problem with its outcome. We have the NXT Women's Championship match with Roxanne Perez and TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace. So, let's start by discussing this "partnership" between WWE and TNA. This is the most one-sided partnership I have ever seen. If the WWE wanted to show that they were a 'true' partner, they would have let Grace win the NXT Women's Title and have Perez win it back a few weeks later. There is no way that Perez would have beaten Grace in a straight fight on God's green earth. Grace would have killed her. What made this match unbearable to me was that of the announcer, Booker T. That man could not shut up about Perez, and I thought to myself, Booker T is eating Perez like he is at a buffet, dude, shut up!

The final match, and the match I was eager to see, was the NXT Championship Title match between Trick Williams (champion) and Ethan Page. I have been an Ethan Page fan since his days in AEW, and I was eager to see how he would do in the WWE environment. This match was a complete snoozefest for me. The crowd booed when Page came out, but I don't think they knew who he was. As I was looking at Twitter last night, Wrestling, INC. (trash site) claimed that Page was already 10x a better star. Really??? He has the same gear, same name, and the same 'aura' as fans like to say. So how is he 10x better? Page's theme music is such garbage that my trashman dumbed that shit on the road. Trick Williams retained his title, which I had no problem with, but my question is..... Now, what for Ethan Page? Will he feud with those two gentlemen he took out to jump the line, or will he be what he always is... a mid-carder with talent?