NXT – April 4, 2023: The Saving Grace

NXT
Date: April 4, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Stand & Deliver and quite a few things have changed. We had a pair of title changes, with the biggest being Carmelo Hayes taking the NXT Title from Bron Breakker. That should make for some interesting futures for multiple people around here so let’s get to it.

Here is Stand & Deliver if you need a recap.

We open with a long Stand & Deliver recap.

Here is new NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell to get things going. She can’t believe she’s finally champion and thanks the fans for having her back. Hartwell talks about going from nothing to something and then falling right back down but the fans never gave up on her. She wants Roxanne Perez to have the first title shot but here is Zoey Stark to interrupt. Stark hasn’t heard anything from Perez so Hartwell should give Stark the title shot instead. Hartwell says it’s on.

Yesterday at the airport, Axiom interrupted Wes Lee and again asks for a one on one title match. Sure.

Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Pretty Deadly

Stacks rolls Wilson up to start and hits a springboard forearm to take him down. D’Angelo comes in with a knee lift and a yell to Wilson as everything breaks down. Stacks gets sent into Wilson in the corner but a non-tag allows Wilson to come back in and take over on Stacks in the corner.

Prince comes in off a tag and sends Stacks into the corner again for two but it’s right back to D’Angelo. House is cleaned but Pretty Deadly changes places under the ring skirt. The distraction is enough for D’Angelo to be sent into an exposed buckle to give Prince the cheating pin at 7:08.

Rating: C+. That’s all it needed to be as Pretty Deadly gets to keep their roll going and D’Angelo and Stacks get to save some face due to the cheating. Pretty Deadly is one of those teams who work very well with everything they’re doing and have figured out exactly how to do everything they’re doing. That’s a hard trick to pull off and they’ve made it work so well.

Jacy Jayne laughs at the idea of Gigi Dolin winning the Women’s Title.

Odyssey Jones vs. Dijak

Dijak gets crushed in the corner to start as Jones uses the size advantage. With that not working, Jones heads up top but gets kicked in the head, allowing Dijak to hit a Death Valley Driver for two. The top rope moonsault finishes Jones at 2:47. The moonsault looked good.

Post match Dijak says he’s mad.

Video on Dragon Lee.

Gallus says this is their kingdom.

Nathan Frazer vs. Dragon Lee

Before the match, here is the returning Noam Dar with the NXT UK Heritage Cup. Dar talks about how he is back after months away and brags about how awesome the Cup is. Feeling out process to start with Frazer’s headlock not working so well. They flip to an early standoff and we take a break.

Back with Frazer being sent into the corner. Frazer fights out but gets caught again, with Lee hitting the top rope double stomp. Back up and Frazer kicks him down, setting up a Phoenix splash for two. Lee catches a charging Frazer in a sitout powerbomb for two more, followed by a running knee to finish Frazer at 10:10.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of match that lets both of them shine as they have the talent to go in a slightly longer than usual sprint. These two were trading their big spots and moves until Lee won to establish himself a little bit around here. Frazer might never be a star in NXT, but he is going to have a job for a long time by making people look good in competitive matches.

Chase U is pleased with the win at Stand & Deliver, with Andre Chase thanking Tyler Bate. Duke Hudson asks about his credit when Chase reminds Hudson that he doesn’t like awards. Hudson gets up and talks about everything he did, so Chase says next week, Hudson is getting the MVP trophy!

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are ready to defend their Tag Team Titles against all comers. Drinking ensues.

Wes Lee is proud of what happened on Saturday and calls it the proudest match of his life. He knew he picked the right guys, but there is still Axiom to deal with tonight.

Women’s Title: Zoey Stark vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell is defending and slips away to start. Stark hits a running kick for two and gives us a stunned kickout look face. Hartwell gets sent into the corner but comes out with a hard right hand for two. Another hard shot puts Hartwell down though and we take a break. Back with Hartwell fighting out of the cravate but getting taken down with a clothesline for two. Hartwell makes a quick comeback and hits a top rope elbow for two. The spinebuster gets the same but Stark is back with the flipping knee to the face, which sends Hartwell outside. Back in and Stark covers for two but Hartwell rolls her into a cradle for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: C. I’m still not wild on Hartwell winning the title after being so miserable for so long, but at least she picked up the pace a bit here. Giving her a win over someone like Stark does at least help reestablish her without going too far over a big time challenger. Not a bad match, but like most of Hartwell and Starks’ stuff, it was just kind of there.

Post match Tiffany Stratton comes out to stare at Hartwell but Cora Jade comes in to jump Hartwell and say the title is hers. Stratton isn’t impressed.

Brooks Jensen begs Kiana James for forgiveness when Fallon Henley comes in to say James is cheating on her. James says she was dating around and playing the field. Then they had their first kiss and it was special. James leaves and Henley/Josh Briggs say James is trying to make him the bad guy. Jensen yells at them to stay out of his relationship.

Commentary acknowledges the passing of Bushwhacker Butch.

Cora Jade is leaving when Lyra Valkyria pops in to threaten her about trying to run away from fate.

Tatum Paxley vs. Ivy Nile

Nile goes right after her to start but Paxley knocks her into a headlock on the mat. Back up and Nile unloads in the corner, setting up something like a spinning Big Ending. A spinebuster lets Nile hammer away some more, followed by the Diamond Chain Lock to make Paxley tap at 4:24.

Rating: C-. This is what it needed to be, as Nile, the much more polished star, gets to run over Paxley to end their feud (at least in theory) and move on to something else. There was no reason to believe that Paxley was a threat to Nile and they didn’t bother trying to make her one. The match was little more than a squash and it went as it should have.

Ilja Dragunov is disappointed in losing at Stand & Deliver but promises to come back. Von Wagner comes in to challenge him but Mr. Stone pops up. Stone will get him the match for next week, but if Wagner loses, they’re done. Thank goodness, as this story has been on repeat for weeks.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Axiom

Lee is defending. They go with the grappling to start and Axiom gets a rollup for two. A test of strength goes to the mat with Axiom getting the better of things, setting up a springboard armdrag. Lee is sent outside and gets dropped by a dive, only to pop back up with a knockdown of his own as we take a break.

Back with the two of them slugging it out until Lee takes him down for a basement dropkick. A rolling double stomp gives Lee two but he has to fight out of Axiom’s choke. Axiom grabs a small package for two and knocks Lee back. The Golden Ratio misses though and Lee hits the Cardiac Kick for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. Much like the Frazer vs. Lee match, this was something that was going to work well just due to the people involved. Let them go out there and have an entertaining match because they’re both skilled and work well together. Other than that, it should put an end to Axiom coming for the title, which could open the door for someone interesting to come after Lee.

Post match Lee shows respect and leaves. Cue Scrypts to jump Axiom but he gets dropped with a quick kick. Axiom says he’s going to expose Scrypts.

Nathan Frazer is upset by a tough loss but seems to have an epiphany about what he needs to change.

Coming to NXT: Tank Ledger, Dani Palmer and Oba Femi. They’re all regulars on NXT LVL Up.

Here are Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes for the big championship celebration. Hayes brags about his accomplishments and Williams declares it the HIM Era. Hayes says he’s a great champion but he has to give Bron Breakker his credit too. If Breakker is back there, Hayes would like him to come to the ring, so here he is. Things are fine here and Hayes thanks Breakker for the show of respect after the title change. On behalf of Hayes and everyone in NXT, thank you.

Breakker says every champion loses to the new guy and it was his job to pass the torch to the new man. That’s why he did what he did, just like Tommaso Ciampa did to him. Breakker tells the crowd to show respect for the new champion and goes to leave but Hayes stops him for a handshake….and then Breakker turns on both of them and lays them out. The fans chant ONE MORE TIME to end the show. If Breakker is staying in NXT, he had to do this.

Overall Rating: B-. Unlike Raw, this felt like a show that was coming off a big event and actually did something. You had promises of debuts, a big turn in the end, and some nice action throughout. This came off like a show that was planned in advance and I’ll take that over things being made up on the fly. Pretty solid effort this week, and as usual, they set things up for the future, which is so important yet not done nearly often enough elsewhere. As usual, NXT is dependable and that’s great to see.

Results
Pretty Deadly b. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks – Ram into exposed turnbuckle
Dijak b. Odyssey Jones – Moonsault
Dragon Lee b. Nathan Frazer – Running knee
Indi Hartwell b. Zoey Stark – Rollup
Ivy Nile b. Tatum Paxley – Diamond Chain Lock
Wes Lee b. Axiom – Cardiac Kick

 

 

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