This week’s Stars in Progress is a tough one, because Monday Night Raw was really lousy, and it’s hard to think of even a single program, off the top of my head, that actually deserves a “step up”. And it’s not just me – social media was overwhelmingly negative towards Raw this week. I haven’t heard or seen a single person worth their salt defend the product at this point. But hey, it’s the fall TV season – what do you expect? TIME FOR BIG SHOW’S ANNUAL PUSH, GUYS!
So in order to make this column possible, we’re going to have to make the bubble a bit bigger.
STEP UP: NXT Championship Picture
There’s been one consistently well-booked title picture in WWE this year, and it’s Andrian Neville’s run at the top of the NXT developmental promotion. I’ve been critical of Neville’s lack of charisma and shyness on the mic, but you can’t deny the creative team has done right by him since defeating Bo Dallas at NXT Arrival back in February.
This coming week, Neville will defend his title in a 4-way match at NXT Takeover 2 against Sami Zayn, Tyson Kidd and Tyler Breeze. The match will air live on the WWE Network, as the big main event in a special two-hour event that promises two other title matches, the debut of KENTA and a lot more. This past week, all four guys picked up matches in singles action to build up maximum momentum heading into the title fight. It’s so rare that all the challengers have momentum. Usually there’s some sort of ridiculous underdog motif (thanks John Cena). Not only did they each win their matches, but all four got promo time backstage to set the stage for Takeover. Brilliant. The main roster writers should take not on how to properly book a straight forward title feud.
