With the departures of stars Shinsuke Nakamura and Tye Dillinger to SmackDown, and the always polarizing Elias Samson seemingly destined for Monday Night Raw, Wednesday's edition of NXT continued the brand's mission of building up their next generation of stars.
The base is already there with reigning NXT champion Bobby Roode and a number of other talents on the rise, but one of the biggest assets for the months to come in NXT came in the form of the biggest surprise at NXT TakeOver: Orlando. After Drew McIntyre appeared in the crowd prior to the NXT title match, in much the same way as Roode did the year before, the former Intercontinental champion made a huge splash.
It was the first time McIntyre appeared live on WWE television since the summer of 2014, when the former "chosen one" of Vince McMahon had descended to being a bit player in the lower-card act 3MB alongside Heath Slater and Jinder Mahal.
During his two-plus year stretch away from the company, McIntyre found more success and popularity than he had enjoyed at any point during his WWE career by seeking out opportunities, taking chances and getting the kind of reps that he wasn't seeing at the tail end of his initial WWE run. Just two months gone from WWE, he defeated Kassius Ohno (then Chris Hero) for the EVOLVE championship, and by the end of that year he won the ICW heavyweight championship.
It was more of the same throughout 2015 and 2016, as McIntyre traveled all over North America and the UK and found success and championships everywhere he went, including a pair of title reigns with Impact Wrestling. But with all of that behind him, and a freshly signed WWE contract, sealed and delivered, only one thing remained -- McIntyre's official debut, which came Wednesday night against Oney Lorcan.
"Welcome back" and "chosen one" chants rained down from the Full Sail crowd as the two got things started. Both men have intensely physical styles, so it came as little surprise that the match was full of stiff strikes. In fact, it was one of the stiffest NXT battles we've seen in some time. The conclusion saw McIntyre nail his running single leg dropkick -- a finisher he developed while outside of the WWE that he dubbed the 'Claymore' -- and picked up the three count.
In a postmatch interview, McIntyre left us with the following: "I don't want to be anywhere else but right here in NXT." Expect big things for McIntyre this time around, and if the NXT stretches of other former WWE-level champions who spent some time with the brand are any indication, perhaps even bigger things in the future.
Nakamura says goodbye
As McIntyre was being welcomed back, one of the greatest NXT champions they've ever had bid farewell. Nakamura has been the premier face in NXT for a little over a year, during which he became a two-time NXT champion and played a part in some of the most memorable and remarkable rivalries and matches in NXT history.
Nakamura addressed the fans at Full Sail in what looked to be his final appearance in an NXT ring. Having learned a lot from his fellow superstars, coaches and the fans, he thanked them and, endearingly, he stated, "The NXT universe is crazy!"
In closing, he proclaimed, "I will always be NXT. 'Cause we are NXT!" The entire locker room made their way to the stage to show their respect and give Nakamura a standing ovation. As Nakamura made his way up the ramp, his old rival, occasional partner and good friend Finn Balor, himself having just returned to Raw, emerged to embrace the King of Strong Style.
Aleister Black continues to shine
As the scramble to find the next generation of stars continues, it's far from a one-man show in McIntyre. In just two televised matches, Aleister Black has shown serious flashes of star potential, and it continued Wednesday night.
Black debuted at TakeOver with a creative entrance in which he mimicked rising from the dead like a vampire, before a very good match with Andrade 'Cien' Almas. It seems as though the entrance will be a signature moment for Black, as his prematch entrance once again followed the same pomp and circumstance prior to his showdown with Corey Hollis.
Fresh off a strong debut, Black needed to make another strong statement -- and that's exactly what he did. Black immediately nailed Hollis with his Black Mass finishing maneuver, a standing spinning heel kick right to the jaw for the immediate pinfall victory.
Black appears to have caught the eye of the NXT universe quickly as his reception was as sizzling on Wednesday night as it was at TakeOver. Despite a gimmick that emphasizes darkness, the future is bright for Black.
The Ruby Riot/Nikki Cross conflict gets heated
Both Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot ooze intensity every time they're on camera. Their blooming rivalry, which began just a couple of weeks ago, has escalated to a scorching level. The two were ferocious in their roles in the eight-person tag team match at NXT TakeOver: Orlando, whether they were attacking each other or their male counterparts.
The recently debuted Riot looked to build on that performance this week against Kimberly Frankele, but Cross emerged from the crowd and caused a distraction early on in the contest. The distraction was short lived, though, as Riot regained the advantage and eventually snagged the win using a windup overhead kick.
Cross, smiling, stared down Riot as she made her way back up the entrance ramp. While the NXT women's championship seems to be locked into an Asuka-Ember Moon feud, having another fiery rivalry in the making in the women's division is a welcome addition.
#DIY victorious, Dylan Miley has memorable NXT debut
#DIY was looking for a bit of redemption coming off an unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the tag team championships at NXT TakeOver: Orlando. They were the first team eliminated from the epic triple threat title match, though they, The Revival and the Authors of Pain had another absolute classic; this week, they took on the team of Dylan Miley and Michael Blais.
After a fine offensive display by the powerful (and gigantically proportioned) Miley, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa caught a break as the much smaller Blais tagged into the match. The former NXT tag team champions ended the bout the way they've done on countless other occasions, with their "Meeting in the Middle" finisher on Blais.
Afterwards, the near 300-pounder Miley provided a memorable moment in what was his first NXT television appearance. He demolished Blais. After some vicious forearms, Miley hit what essentially amounted to a series of chokeslams on Blais, only Miley's hand was on Blais' face and not his throat; he finished Blais off with a devastating powerslam.
"Losing" doesn't seem to be in @DylanMWWE's vocabulary... the monstrous Superstar is NOT happy with his tag team partner! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/ptlmEebh4c
- WWE NXT (@WWENXT) April 13, 2017
What's next?
- In a backstage interview, Dillinger noted that he had one more NXT score to settle. Next week, he will take on SAnitY leader Eric Young inside a steel cage.
- For the first time in more than a year, there were massive changes to the visual presentation of NXT. The introduction song and video package gave everything a much darker, grittier feel, and everything down to the prematch promo photos, lower-third graphic overlays and font styles also changed in a similar way. Along with the changes in design for all three physical NXT championships, it all feels like a change for the better.