Chaos in the performance center
If you caught last night's episode of NXT, you probably walked away with your head spinning. The aftermath of the Naraku and Tony D'Angelo brawls has left the brand feeling like a locker room after a bar fight. Tony D'Angelo is still prowling for relevance, and frankly, the guy is starting to look like a man possessed by his own gimmicks. Naraku isn't backing down, and the intensity is thick enough to cut with a rusted steel chair.
We are watching a classic power vacuum unfold. With the mystery of Kendal’s next challenger looming, the internet is predictably dumping its entire load of theories into the subreddits. Some people think a surprise debut is coming, while others are convinced the writers have absolutely no plan and are just throwing darts at a corkboard. It feels like we are waiting for a shoe to drop that doesn't actually exist.
The tag team headache
The biggest point of contention right now is the hunt for a tag partner for Saquon. This isn't just a booking choice; it's a personality test for the audience. Half the fanbase wants a high-flying underdog to balance out Saquon’s power game, while the other half is begging for a grizzled veteran to come in and just start tossing people through tables. It's the classic divide between the "workrate" nerds and the "I want to see destruction" crowd.
Community voices in the mud
Reddit threads have been lit up since the closing credits rolled on yesterday’s show. One user noted: "They are trying to make Saquon a solo act but the tag division is so thin he’s basically carrying the whole weight of the division on his back." It’s harsh, but he's not wrong. When you look at the latest NXT report, the frustration with the tag team booking is evident in every thread. Another commenter pointed out, "If they don't pair him with someone who can actually cut a promo, this whole experiment is going to belly flop in under 4 weeks."
Then you have the Naraku stans. These people are fully committed to the bit and genuinely believe he is the most interesting thing on television. One post mentioned that the intensity Naraku brings makes the rest of the roster look like they are working at a summer camp. They have a point, but it's easy to look intense when everyone else is stuck in booking purgatory. The guy has had about 12 matches this year, and every single one of them has been a chaotic mess of brawling and table spots.
My take on the booking nightmare
Let's be real for a second. The folks running NXT are currently playing a game of catch-up. They are trying to build up credible threats to fill the gap left by the main roster transitions, and it shows. The reliance on these multi-person chaotic brawls is a cheap way to hide the fact that they don't actually have a long-term story for half these people. It's like watching a kid trying to build a lego tower without the instruction manual; it might look cool for a second, but it's going to collapse the moment a gust of real competition hits it.
The stronger argument here lies with the skeptics. You simply cannot maintain interest if your main storylines feel like they are being improvised by a guy on a caffeine crash. While the enthusiasts focus on the "hard-hitting action," they miss the forest for the trees. If the win-loss record doesn't matter and the alliances change every 7 days, people are going to stop caring. Tony D'Angelo running in circles is fine for filler, but it doesn't sell tickets for the long haul.
We need a clear hierarchy, not a perpetual scramble. Stop teasing the Saquon partner reveal every week and just give us a payoff. If the plan was to have him go solo, commit to it. If the plan is tag team gold, sign someone who can actually hold their own on the mic. Right now, it’s just noise disguised as content. I'll be watching next week, obviously, because I'm a glutton for punishment, but my expectations are hovering somewhere around the basement level. Let's hope they find a gear that isn't stuck in neutral.
