Ever since his return to NXT, Velveteen Dream has had his eyes set on The Undisputed Era, looking to stop their reign of dominance once and for all. He started with Roderick Strong, and during a cage match he pivoted his focus to NXT Champion Adam Cole. He would lock Adam Cole in the cage with him after throwing Roderick Strong out. Adam Cole doesn’t feel this should give Dream a title match, and as such he must face Bobby Fish in a rare singles match. Bobby Fish has only had 3 televised singles matches in his WWE run, having lost to Aleister Black, EC3, and Velveteen Dream in the past. Depsite this, he would look to act as a roadblock for Dream and get his first singles win in WWE.
The Dream Is Not Over
The match would start quick with some chain wrestling, with Fish having a clear advantage. Dream would start the mindgames, calling Fish an old man, which Dream would get a stiff leg kick for as Fish went on the offensive. He would be cut off with a lariat from Dream, who would take control. An attempted suplex would end with Dream being locked in a sleeper hold, which Fish would transisiton into more stiff strikes from the Enforcer of Undisputed Era. Dream would exit the ring to catch his breath, only to have Fish chase him out, which Dream used to regain the advantage. Taking to the top rope for a Double Axe Handle, Dream would uncork some stiff strikes of his own, hitting a superkick to set him up for a Purple Rainmaker, but spent too much time showboating to an empty arena.
While Fish fled to the outside, Dream would simply hit a Double Axe Handle to the outside. Fish would come back by ramming Dream into the barricade as the show went to commercial. Coming back, it was revealed that Fish maintained his advantage as they continued to wrestle without a crowd or a camera airing their match. The left leg was the target of Fish, who would hit a Dragon Screw leg whip, then a knee breaker. This hard hitting submission approach has been a standard since WWE went to no crowd shows, as a slower more technical match works better; which had Bobby Fish looking like a singles star, despite not having won a singles match in at least 3 years.
Fish would nearly get Dream with an ankle lock, as Dream got the rope break to escape, before hitting the Dream Valley Driver for the win. This was another unimpressive showing for Velveteen Dream.
Did Velveteen Dream Lose His Magic During His Injury?
Since his return to the black and gold brand, Velveteen Dream has hardly looked like the wrestling prodigy he was in 2019. This is not the same man who people wanted to see become NXT Champion, but almost a shell of that man. A match like this felt like something from the classic playbook of WWE, where the babyface got his ass kicked for about 10 minutes, only to hit his finisher and win the match out of nowhere. If this is the Velveteen Dream we get facing Adam Cole, people will be hoping Cole reigns on.
Do you think Velveteen Dream has been disappointing since his return to NXT? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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