NXT – September 7, 2021: The Ungrand Finale
NXT
Date: September 7, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett
This is how it ends. We’re wrapping up the original run of NXT this week as everything changes with the next show. I’m a mixture of scared, excited and scared excited as the idea of Monday Night NXT scares me to death, but NXT does need some changes. There are a pair of title matches tonight to finish things off. Let’s get to it.
Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.
Ember Moon vs. Kay Lee Ray
Feeling out process to start with Moon snapping off an armdrag. Back up and Ray hits a quick faceplant for two before taking Moon into the corner. Ray cranks on the arm and pulls Moon down into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed in a hurry and Moon is back up with a middle rope Codebreaker for two. The Crossface has Ray in more trouble and Moon rolls it into the middle to make it worse. Ray slips out so Moon pulls her into a triangle choke but gets rolled into the corner to break it up.
Back from a break with Moon getting two off a small package and tying her in the Tree of Woe for a kick to the face. A tornado DDT gets Ray out of trouble but Moon sends her outside for the big dive. Back in and Ray breaks up an Eclipse attempt with a hair mare off the top. Moon blocks a kick into something like a flipping One Winged Angel for two more. They fight into a pinfall reversal sequence with Ray trying a backslide but lifting Moon up into a Gory Bomb for the pin at 14:41.
Rating: B-. This was a good way to get Ray her first important win around here as Moon is still a name that means something. It helps that they had a good, hard hitting match with Moon continuing to being able to have a solid match with anyone. Ray is going to be a major player around here and that is something the division could use.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are ready to win the Tag Team Titles. Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne tell them to get rid of MSK too.
We go to Indi Hartwell’s bachelorette party where no one seems to like Dexter Lumis. This includes Indi’s friend Persia, who is here to see Disney World rather than the party. Hartwell talks about how Dexter saved her but she owes so much to Candice LeRae. Candice gets to give a speech, which involves throwing bread at Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter for being on Tik Tok. She didn’t like Lumis either, but it has worked out well enough.
Santos Escobar vs. Carmelo Hayes
Escobar has the rest of Legado del Fantasma with him. Feeling out process to start with Hayes working on a wristlock. Escobar starts kicking away and chokes on the rope before kicking Hayes outside. Hayes goes crashing over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Escobar sitting Hayes on top for a loud chop and grabbing a Crossface. With that broken up, Escobar takes him outside for a Boston crab on the steps.
Hayes fights back to escape some choking on the ropes and scores with a quick dropkick to the floor. Escobar is sent face first into the announcers’ table, setting up a running knee back inside. Hayes’ springboard is kneed out of the air but he’s back with a Codebreaker and face plant for two. A DDT onto the apron plants Escobar again but Legado’s distraction lets Elektra Lopez slam Hayes on the floor. That rocks Hayes so much that the Phantom Driver can finish Hayes at 13:51.
Rating: B-. I liked the match for the most part, but being devastated by a simple slam is a bit much to take. The slam was pretty impressive but that’s enough to stun Hayes long enough for Escobar to get the win? The finish wasn’t clean so it’s hardly some career killer for Hayes or anything, though I’m really not sure pinning him is a good idea.
Malcolm Bivens officially welcomes the Creed Brothers, both former amateur wrestling stars, into the Diamond Mine. Roderick Strong seems happy to have them.
William Regal announces a fatal four way to crown a new #1 contender next week, as Kyle O’Reilly, LA Knight, Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa fight to get the first shot at Samoa Joe.
Creed Brothers vs. Chuckie Viola/Paxton Astall
Brutus starts for the Creed Brothers and wrestles Viola down with ease. Viola is sent outside and then suplexed back inside. Brutus slaps Julius in the face for the tag and Astall is powered into the corner. Something like a front facelock suplex plants Paxton and Julius brings in Viola. The Brothers slam them into each other and a basement clothesline finishes Astall at 2:18. That was a snappy squash and the Brothers looked rather good in dominance.
Ember Moon is tired of losing and feeling like this, so she knows what she has to do. Stay tuned.
Hit Row should have seen it coming when Legado del Fantasma jumped them and it’s time to drop them like a $10 pinata. B Fab is ready to take out Elektra Lopez.
Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark
Shirai and Stark are defending. Catanzaro headlocks Stark to no avail to start as Stark flips away to escape. It’s off to Shirai, who stops to say something to Stark and gets dropkicked in the face for two. Catanzaro comes back in but gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Shirai rocking Carter again and getting two off a missile dropkick. Shirai grabs the Crossface (third time in three matches) but Carter fights up and brings in Catanzaro off a blind tag.
After a few shots to Shirai, Carter tags herself back in and gets elbowed in the face. Stark comes in to kick Carter in the face for two but accidentally kicks Shirai down. A Downward Spiral drops Stark and Carter, after thinking about it for far too long, brings in Catanzaro for an elevated splash. Shirai makes the save so Stark knees Catanzaro in the face, setting up the Moon Over Moonsault to retain at 12:01.
Rating: C. Much like on the main roster, the Women’s Tag Team Titles seem to be forgotten more often than not, making it really hard to care about them. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was completely flat and there was no reason to get invested in anything they were doing. Catanzaro and Carter did their thing, but you just can’t compete with partners who don’t get along.
Post match Mandy Rose (now in a face mask, because covering up Mandy Rose’s face is a good idea), Gigi Dolin and Jayce Jane come out to beat down Carter and Catanzaro.
Kyle O’Reilly doesn’t care anymore because all he wants is the NXT Title.
It’s time for Dexter Lumis’ bachelor party, with Johnny Gargano saying he won’t pay for a dime. Don’t worry though because Cameron Grimes is here to pay for everyone. Everyone, including the zombie referee, gets out of the car and Lumis makes peace with Grimes. First up, go karts, with Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae spying on them. Then they throw axes, with Lumis indicating he has experience with them and then winning the competition.
Odyssey Jones makes a bet with Grimes about being able to bounce Drake Maverick off a trampoline and wins easily. We wrap it up with lazer tag but Lumis punches one guy out so Gargano can get an easy score. That’s not enough, so Lumis chloroforms another guy and Gargano scores again. Gargano fakes a handshake and wins for his team, though he can’t bring himself to high five Lumis.
The zombie referee says that it’s not that bad, but reveals that he is, in fact, Canadian. Jones shoves their hands together and we get a quick Lumis/Gargano montage. Hartwell and LeRae come in to say everyone is on the same page. Gargano: “Let’s go have a wedding.” Lumis seems to smile a bit. Dang it why did I have to like this a bit? Far better than the bachelorette stuff at least.
Robert Stone has gotten Frankie Monet a Women’s Title shot next week to get Money and Jessi Kamea back in his good graces.
Mei Ying vs. Virginia Ferry
Ferry gets in a jawbreaker but walks into a Mandible Claw for the win at 47 seconds.
LA Knight is in his car and talks about how there are three challengers and one superstar. Next week he’s going to take all three of them out and then he’s coming for Samoa Joe.
Tommaso Ciampa says it has been a long time since he had Goldie but the greatest things in life are worth waiting for.
Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch
MSK is defending and it’s Burch driving Carter into the corner to start. It’s off to Lorcan but Lee comes in as well to take him down in a hurry. A cheap shot from Burch comes in (and the fans approve) to put MSK back in trouble. Everything breaks down and a running dropkick in the corner drops Burch to the floor as we take a break. Back with Carter caught in a chinlock but fighting up to strike it out with Lorcan. That doesn’t go well for Carter, who is taken into the wrong corner to continue the beating.
Carter fights up and brings in Lee to clean house, including with a German suplex for two on Lorcan. The push moonsault gets the same as everything breaks down. Carter’s Swanton hits raised knees and it’s an ankle lock from Lorcan and a Crossface (erg) from Burch. That’s broken up as well and it’s the Blockbuster Hart Attack to retain the titles at 12:16.
Rating: C+. NXT’s decline seems to go hand in hand with the decline of its tag team division. The NXT Tag Team Titles used to be one of the best things in all of WWE and now they mean about as much as the Raw Tag Team Titles do in a given week. Two teams had a title match and one of them won. That has been the case for far too long now and it was a bit of a dry match as a result. Much like the rest of NXT: Perfectly good, but not that interesting.
Post match MSK leaves so here are Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne to take out Lorcan and Burch, breaking up the group.
Overall Rating: C+. So that’s it for NXT and I can see why they need to make a change. In something I almost never get to say about NXT, this was pretty boring. Nothing was bad and the first two matches were good, but there is absolutely no spark to any of this and I don’t particularly care where these stories go. NXT has lost its soul somewhere along the way and as a result, none of this feels important. The show is lifeless and while the changes don’t sound the most appealing, I’ll go with them taking a chance on something new than this kind of a show.
Results
Kay Lee Ray b. Ember Moon – Gory Bomb
Santos Escobar b. Carmelo Hayes – Phantom Driver
Creed Brothers b. Paxton Astall/Chuckie Viola – Basement clothesline to Astall
Io Shirai/Zoey Stark b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter – Moon Over Moonsault to Carter
Mei Ying b. Virginia Ferry – Mandible Claw
MSK b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Blockbuster Hart Attack to Lorcan
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They’re still doing the wedding next week so how much are they really going to change?
Hit Row vs. Legado seems to still be continuing endlessly.
Also possibly a new women’s champion next week and a #1 contender to the title being crowned.
I’m somewhere between interested and scared, just because of who is going to be running things.
I feel you Kb. Seeing as how you traveled to a lot of their shows and some really great moments.
Look everybody starts somewhere. You don’t just get to wwe or anywhere with a jet pack. The problem with nxt’s core audience(I watched, but wise enough to understand that transitions in migration of moving up take time, but a lot of their core audience(which is also Aew’s audience too is that the wrestling audience that’s not branded choose the other brand but want results right away.
Wwe did such a great job in the early 2000’s of masking their developmental future so they could use their present talent to bump up their future talent (ex cena confronting angle in June of 02.
If you remember, Cena had the desire and fire, but he did not win his first world title until wrestlemania 21, which even in winning he was in protective mode as he was not in the main event for every single show until a few months later.
Nowadays due to their success in one brand to the elevator up. Oh he just moved up why is he not the champ right now. Why watch a show week by week on television and see something actually develop when you can watch a whole season of a series on Netflix in one eight hour binge on a weekend. I want it but I want it now.
To me Nxt (like you, will always have a place in my heart) but if you really think about it, they were that third hour of raw when raw could use a great middle or end just so raw was still raw and not overbooked .
I remember when they experimented bringing gargano and tomasso up and a lot of the audience was like who are they? Wwe was arrogant to think that oh everybody that watches raw or smack down also watched nxt. Not the case Raw or smackdown never even allowed the viewer vignettes on hey this person is coming with highlight packages
I became a member of the wwe network in April 2018 but started watching nxt highlights due to the success of Kevin Owens program with cena in summer of 15. Watched the women fight and just was like wow every takeover is incredible. Indy style or whatever style the matches were just incredible
But when they get bumped up then the nxter’s audience is like great,Keith Lee is up after bowing at takeover. He’s facing lesnar at wrestlemania 37
Kb I get it I’m not stupid, but while some would say wrestling is in a boom(that’s a real cole mine) people’s expectations are Way too high.
Listen I loved All Out. No complaints. But there will be have to be a time where Aew has to slow down and actually produce a wrestling match that doesn’t involve 45 pile drivers and 50 canadien destroyers. Remember that’s how edge broke his neck doing all those tlc’s. I love professional wrestling, it’s not entertainment darn it but you can still have exciting matches and not have it be a car wreck. I loved taker and Shawn wm 25 because it’s what the business is truly about or Bret Austin Wm 13. It tells a story in a competitive setting. Rip Nxt. God bless Kb Mike