My Pretzel Was Stale

Hey-o!  As it was written in the stars (and on this very website), I attended an NXT show last night with a good friend.  I mean, we're just friends right now.  No pressure.  We'll see where it goes, y'know?  Anyway!  The official title was NXT Vengeance Day 2023.  It premiered on Peacock, and while I can't speak to how everything sounded on TV, the live crowd was super hot for most of the matches.  As a matter of fact, several of the talents were more over than I expected, but I'll get to specific wrestlers in a second.  I'm in the mood for an itemized list...

- Wes Lee defended his NXT North American Title in a seesaw contest against Dijak, a former Donovan.  I'll just say it; I don't get Dijak's gimmick.  It's modern pro-wrestling, so I guess that someone has to be the heavy.  Someone has to kidnap weaklings left and right in the backstage area.  If that dude is Dijak, so be it.  I did love his series of barn burners with Keith Lee "back in the day."

- This is where I'll be the cantankerous old duffer and whine about the pacing of matches in 2023.  It seems that the general consensus is that Lee and Dijak had the best bout on the card, but it was also the first bout on the card.  And I'll be damned if they didn't do every move known to man.  What's worse, they extricated way too many false finishes, which is a trend currently plaguing all promotions.  You feel bad for the poor bastards following the opener.  Seriously, how are they supposed to stand out, unless they light each other on fire and/or bleed out onto the mat?

- This is where I'll mention that I enjoyed myself.  Heh.  For my money, NXT is the bottom feeder of (televised) American wrestling, but there's nothing quite like attending a live show.  That's one of the reasons why I jumped at the opportunity to go in spite of the so-so roster.  I knew it would be a blast.  Plus, HBK made an appearance before the PPV started in earnest.  Bonus!

- We don't call them pay-per-views anymore, do we?  Kind of a bummer.  It's the end of an era.

- Apparently, the Chase U guy is a Charlotte native.  He still struggled to evoke a pop.  Chase U is yet another gimmick that I do not understand.  They are committed.  I'll give them that.

- My pretzel was stale!  Yeah, I don't have anything intellectual to add.  Had fun.  Bought a hat.