IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: September 10, 2020
Host: Andy Shepherd

It’s the final show before things are back to normal around here and that could make for some interesting changes. This time around we are getting some special announcements which will most likely start off next week. I’m not sure what to expect here but we should be in for a lot of recapping. Let’s get to it.

Andy takes us right to the point by sending us to Sid Scala for an announcement.

Sid announces the NXT Heritage Cup Tournament with eight men competing to crown the first cup winner.

And now, here’s William Regal with the rest of the story.

The tournament will take place under the British Rounds System, meaning six three minute rounds with twenty seconds in between rounds. Each match will be 2/3 falls and a pin, submission or countout ends a round. A DQ or Knockout ends the match immediately. If the rounds end, whomever is ahead advances.

We get three of the eight entrants, with each getting a quick highlight reel and soundbyte about why they are going to win.

Flash Morgan Webster

Noam Dar

Alexander Wolfe

More entrants later.

In two weeks, Kay Lee Ray defends the Women’s Title against Piper Niven.

Niven talks about knowing Ray for years now, including footage from ICW Fight Club. She was overconfident back then but then she started getting all the more nervous. Having Ray around made things that much easier but then things got a little more complicated because they started getting competitive. Ray did not make it as far in the Mae Young Classic as Niven but Ray won the Women’s Title first. Now Ray is the longest reigning Women’s Champion, which was always the plan.

From NXT UK, February 27, 2020.

Women’s Title: Kay Lee Ray vs. Tony Storm

Storm is challenging in an I Quit match. They slug it out to start and head outside with Storm sending her into various things. Back in and Storm Zero is blocked so Storm goes with something like an STF instead. Ray makes the rope but since that means nothing, she keeps crawling until Storm has to let it go. Ray bends Storm’s neck around the ropes and pulls the hair, setting up a Gory Special for a smart change of pace from her norm.

That’s broken up so Storm takes it to the floor and loads up a table. It takes Storm too long to go up top though and Ray catches her on the ropes. Not that it matters as Storm knocks her off and hits a splash through the table (nearly covering before catching herself). Storm Zero on the apron is broken up and a hanging DDT off the apron plants Storm again, this time with a heck of a thud.

Ray busts out the athletic tape and ties Storm’s hands behind her back so the beating can really begin. It’s chair time with Storm’s head being put through the open chair for a superkick. Ray drives the chair into Storm’s neck but she still won’t quit, meaning it’s time to wrap the chair around her neck. Instead of stomping though, Ray stands on the chair. Sid Scala and Piper Niven come out as Ray PILLMANIZES HER NECK. That’s not enough so Ray goes up again, which is enough to make Storm give up at 12:51.

Rating: B. This was an interesting one but it’s more about the future than anything else. Ray beat her up pretty decisively here and the loss should get Storm off of television for the time being. She can move on to the regular NXT (or maybe even higher) as there is nothing left for her to do around here. Let her go away for the time being so she can rebuild herself a bit and then do something bigger in the future.

We see a Network Exclusive where Niven helps Storm to the back.

Ray talks about Niven’s big heart being easy to use against her.

Niven talks about being made to feel like less of a person because of her size and that’s not happening.

Gallus is ready to get back in the ring so next week, we’ll see which team wants to come get it.

We get a four way Zoom chat with Andy Shepherd, William Regal, Robbie Brookside and Drew McIntyre talking about how much they like the tournament format. McIntyre grew up in modern British wrestling but loved the round format when he got the chance. Regal and Brookside talk about how different it is and how the matches will be like watching chess. The participants can’t prepare enough because they have to start again every single round.

McIntyre advises tapping if you have to and points at his own head. Maybe he would like to win that cup one day too, suggesting that it will be defended. Everyone gets in one more piece of advice, with McIntyre and Brookside saying be ready and Regal quoting Karl Gotch by saying that conditioning is your best weapon.

Four more entrants:

A-Kid

Dave Mastiff

Joseph Connors

Trent Seven

Next week: Amir Jordan/Kenny Williams vs. Gallus in a non-title match.

From NXT UK, July 24, 2019.

Trent Seven vs. Walter

Non-title. Trent dives on him to start and sends Walter into the barricade before the bell. They get inside for the first time to officially start but Trent sends him right back out for a baseball slide. Walter is back up and tries the powerbomb but gets backdropped on the floor instead.

Back in and Seven hammers away until Walter snaps off a German suplex. Seven’s chop to the chest just annoys Walter, who slams Seven right back down. The half crab sends Seven bailing to the rope as Walter is looking disgusted at him for not quitting. A missed big boot in the corner lets Seven chop him in the back of the neck, followed by a heck of a clothesline.

More chops annoy Walter, so he knocks Seven down again. Seven is all but out on his feet but manages a backfist to the face to put Walter on the floor. Walter tries to come back in on the top so Seven chops him even more, setting up a top rope superplex for two. They head outside again with Walter hitting a big boot and this time the apron powerbomb connects.

Seven is done so Walter powerbombs him again for no cover. There’s another powerbomb and cue the rest of Imperium to stare at the stage. Walter hits yet another powerbomb and the referee tells him to finish the match. The fourth and fifth powerbombs connect until the referee FINALLY stops it at 14:14.

Rating: B. This was a rather good storytelling device along with a hard hitting fight. They’re setting up Bate as the last hope to fight Walter and that’s going to be an incredible match, especially when he hits the Tyler Driver. Seven made Walter look like an absolute monster here and it was a rather good piece of business. As usual, Seven is a valuable asset and I’m sure he’ll be back.

We get a video on the big matches coming up when NXT UK returns to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was designed to make me want to see what is coming up and it worked out rather well. They focused on the Women’s Title and the Heritage Cup here and that was all it needed to be. I’m not sure I can imagine Ray holding the title past the Niven title defense and the tournament could work out well too. They have my interest up and I could go for seeing the show start back up next week as the table has been set up rather well.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s time for the sequel to last week’s four way Iron Man match with Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Title. This could be a classic if they’re given the time and actually have a finish instead of setting up something for Clash Of Champions. I’ll give NXT the benefit of the doubt not to do that twice in a row though and hope for the best. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Quick recap of last week’s Iron Man match.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole

The title is vacant coming in and they’re not wasting time tonight. After the Big Match Intros, it’s a battle over a headlock to get things going. Cole takes him down into an armbar but Balor reverses into one of his own and slaps on a headscissors on the mat. That’s broken up and Cole hits a basement dropkick, followed by some chops against the ropes. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Balor and we take a break.

Back with Balor working on a chinlock and then slamming him into an elbow drop for two. Balor knocks him into the corner and hits his own basement dropkick for another near fall. Cole is back with some shots to the face and a pump kick to put Balor down. A Backstabber gives Cole two of his own and a Shining Wizard cuts off Balor’s shotgun dropkick. The Last Shot misses though and Balor hits a double stomp to the ribs to take over again.

Some hard stomping puts Cole on the floor but he’s back up with a superkick for the double knockdown. Back from another break with Cole grabbing a Figure Four to work on the knee. Balor finally escapes and hits the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace connects for a delayed two (because of the bad knee) and commentary LOSES IT at the kickout to really sell the impact.

Cole goes back to the Figure Four but this time Balor makes the rope. A superkick into the Last Shot gives Cole two and there’s the shocked face that Cole does so well. Back up and Balor drives him into the corner for the reverse 1916. Cole crotches him on top and it’s a super 1916 to give Balor the pin and the title at 23:16.

Rating: A-. That’s the right call as we just got done with a year plus Cole reign and Balor has been needing a big win to get himself back on track in NXT. I would have bet on him being the next big challenger to Karrion Kross anyway so this makes a lot of sense. It was also a heck of a match which got some time and had the knee injury working as a story throughout. Nice job here and thank you for not having any kind of a surprise twist.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Mercedes Martinez and grabs the cage.

William Regal congratulates Balor for the win and Cole shakes his hand as well. The face turn continues.

Robert Stone finds Shotzi Blackheart’s tank and is ready to hit it with a pipe. Cue Shotzi to hit him in the face but Aliyah pops up to knock Shotzi through a curtain…and right into Io Shirai. Aliyah panics and the fight heads into the arena where the beatdown is on. Stone tries to come off the top but gets punched out of the air. Shirai hits the moonsault to Aliyah and Shotzi hits the top rope backsplash to Stone….but picks up the Women’s Title, which Shirai doesn’t like.

We go to the Gargano House where Candice LeRae is nervous about dinner with Tegan Nox. Johnny Gargano says it’s cool but the nerves are still there. Nox shows up and Johnny puts on his good face before letting her in. He teases being annoyed at her but says it’s just a joke before bringing Nox inside. LeRae hugs her and Nox is nervous as the two stare at her.

Timothy Thatcher has a film study on Damien Priest, who mistakenly thinks life is a party. It’s time to do some work.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ashante Adonis

Dream doesn’t seem worried to start and strikes away but Adonis pops back up and hits a DDT into a nipup. Adonis hammers away but Dream gets serious and pounds him down. The Dream Valley Driver is good for the pin at 1:35.

Post match Dream grabs the microphone but Kushida, who Dream attacked a few weeks ago, runs in to jump him before Dream can say a word. Referees try to break it up but Kushida manages to pull him shoulder first into the post. A cross armbreaker in the corner makes Dream tap, because that’s what you do in a brawl.

Video on Breezango winning the Tag Team Titles but getting jumped by Imperium last week. Breezango took the only nice accessories they had so Imperium want the titles back next week.

Back at the Gargano House, Johnny realizes he’s making this weird and leaves the two women alone. Candice thinks Nox should admit to her mistakes but Nox isn’t sure what those are. Nox asks what she’s talking about so Candice explains the Gargano Way and thinks Nox is jealous. That’s not what’s going on but Candice offers to show her the way.

Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Reed works on a headlock to start before sending Theory flying with a shoulder. A bottom rope springboard elbow gets two and Reed flips him back in from the apron. We hit the big chinlock until Theory fights up and tries a sunset flip. Reed sits down on his chest for two and sends Theory outside, meaning it’s a cannonball off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Reed fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the Jagged Edge for two. Reed sends him into the corner but Reed hits a forearm into a rolling Blockbuster for two of his own. Theory tries the TKO but collapses under the weight. Reed adds the top rope splash to the back for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This might have been a bit longer than it needed to be but they both looked good, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Reed has come out of nowhere and turned into something rather good while Theory looks to have all the tools in the world minus experience. I could go for more of both of them and that’s a good sign for the future.

Cole says Balor was the better man and they went through the same Iron Man match. Balor better be ready though because if Cole gets another shot, he’s taking the title. Total face promo from Cole here.

Mercedes Martinez wants to be locked in a cage with Rhea Ripley so she can show who the real animal is.

Roderick Strong vs. Killian Dain

Fallout from Dain saving Drake Maverick from the Undisputed Era and Bobby Fish is in Strong’s corner. Strong goes after Dain to start and the monster doesn’t like that. He knocks Strong around the ring and hammers away in the corner until a leg lariat puts Dain on the apron.

A Rock Bottom from the apron takes Strong down but Fish kicks the ankle out and we take a break. Back with Reed throwing him across the ring and hitting the running crossbody for two. Fish pulls Strong out of the way of the Vader Bomb so Dain drops Fish from the apron. The distraction is enough for Strong to hit a jumping knee to the face for the pin at 7;35.

Rating: C. Dain is someone else who should be an easy layup and they’re finally starting to get the hang of him. It’s better late than never, but it’s weird to see a monster like him getting beaten like this. It’s interesting to see the Undisputed Era showing some differences and that could go in several different directions, which is always a good option.

Post match the beatdown is on until Drake Maverick makes the save with a pipe. Maverick is beaten down as well but Dain gets the pipe to chase the Era off. Maverick slowly gets up and offers a handshake but Dain punches him out.

Back at the dinner, the ladies toast a new beginning until Candice throws a salad at her. Nox eats some lettuce and throws a drink at Candice, so here’s Johnny to interrupt. That earns him a bowl of spaghetti over the head so Candice throws something at Nox, only to hit and break the TV instead. Nox bails and Candice chases after her as Johnny looks at the broken screen.

Damien Priest thinks Timothy Thatcher is ugly and his game plan is pretty easy: hit Thatcher in the face and make him uglier than he already is. Priest promises a sweet Reckoning for Thatcher before the celebration can continue. Of course the interviewer is invited to join in.

Next week: Thatcher vs. Priest for the North American Title, Imperium challenges Breezango for the Tag Team Titles and Io Shirai vs. Shotzi Blackheart in a non-title match.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Rhea Ripley

In a cage with Robert Stone at ringside. Martinez goes for some weapons to start but Rhea is right there to jump her from behind. A table and some chairs go inside the cage with them and Ripley closes the door herself. Martinez sends her into the steel but Ripley does the same and then sends her in again for a bonus. The fisherman’s suplex gets Martinez out of trouble and she powerbomb Rhea out of the corner as we take a break.

Back with Ripley throwing a chair at Martinez’s face to catch her on top. The running dropkick sends Martinez into the cage and her HEAD gets caught between the cage walls. Rhea pulls her out (without ripping off an ear) and hits a top rope superplex for a delayed two. Martinez is back with a spinebuster and they’re both down again.

It’s Rhea up first and she grabs the Prism Trap until Martinez grabs the kendo stick to break it up. Stone tries to interfere but gets caught climbing, allowing Ripley to beat him up on top of the cage. Martinez catches her up top though and grabs a super neckbreaker to put both of them down again. The table is set up in the middle of the ring and Ripley loads up a fisherman’s superplex. That’s countered into a super Riptide (dang) through the table to finish Martinez at 14:21.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match and a lot of that has to do with the atmosphere. You had two big, strong women beating the heck out of each other for a good while in a hard hitting fight. That’s what they advertised this as being and Ripley looked like the star that she most often does. The big spots all worked and the ending looked great. I’m not sure what more you could ask for here, aside from maybe no Stone interference as he felt out of place, but other than that, this was a heck of a fight and felt like a main event.

Overall Rating: A-. To coin a phrase, this was NXT. This felt like the old days of the classic shows with the big matches delivering (to put it mildly) and the undercard working as well. What mattered the most about the undercard stuff was not only did they build things for the future, but they built reasons for these people to dislike each other for the future.

You had Thatcher’s film session, the Gargano House dinner, Breezango and Imperium’s dueling promos and the Shirai/Blackheart staredown. Those are different (enough) ways to set up feuds for the future and they made me want to see some of the matches. This was the tightest show NXT has put together in a long time and if this is what they can do unopposed, load up the moving truck and get the directions to every Tuesday night.

Oh and one more thing that helps a bit here: the evolution of Damien Priest. He has turned into this guy who is all about the party and the celebration, but there was no big moment and announcement of the change. Instead, you just saw him starting to act differently and NXT didn’t treat you like a moron who needed every tiny detail explained to you. That’s just who Priest is now and people are going with it because it was an acceptable evolution of where he went. Commentary isn’t beating you over the head with it and he’s rolling along with the change. Little things like that make a show so much easier to watch.

Results

Finn Balor b. Adam Cole – Super 1916

Velveteen Dream b. Ashante Adonis – Dream Valley Driver

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Top rope splash

Roderick Strong b. Killian Dain – Jumping knee

Rhea Ripley b. Mercedes Martinez – Super Riptide through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: September 3, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

We are two weeks away from everything being back to normal around here and that is a good thing, assuming you haven’t been liking all of the different material this show has had. That means it is time to start setting up what is planned in the future, meaning today we are looking at Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov. Let’s get to it.

Andy welcomes us to the show and sends us to March 7, 2020, for a match from the most recent NXT UK TV tapings.

Walter vs. Ridge Holland

Non-title. They trade shots to the chest and running shoulders to start with no one going anywhere. Ridge slams him to the floor though and Walter looks shaken up. Back in and Walter grabs a top wristlock to take him down before stomping on the neck to keep Holland on the mat. A twist of the neck has him in more trouble and Walter gets in his own slam, setting up the pose.

Walter goes back to the arm and throws in some chops but Holland gets in a clothesline to put Walter down for a change. The sleeper goes on again but Holland muscles him up into a torture rack (dang), only to have the arm give out. There’s an overhead belly to belly for two but Walter slips out of Northern Grit twice in a row.

A powerbomb out of the corner gives Holland two and Northern Grit (with commentary not even calling it) gets the same. Walter grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two and it’s time for some forearms to the chest. Holland reverses into some of his own but here is Alexander Wolfe for the distraction. That’s enough for Walter to get in a kick and the big clothesline for the pin at 9:02.

Rating: B-. Now that’s more like it as Holland looked like a threat out there. Walter gave him A LOT too and sold hard to make Holland look a lot better than he would have otherwise. Holland has a long way to go but this was far better than he looked over in regular NXT. As usual, Walter can do some amazing stuff in the ring.

Commentary talks about how Walter needed help to win. Nice job of building Holland up there too. Now if that had been the kind of debut he had in NXT, it would have worked far better.

Various people talk about how much of an impression Walter makes, plus how hard those chops are. Drew McIntyre doesn’t know who can stop Walter.

Video on the tag team division, including some looks at several of the teams on the roster. Mentioning where they are from is a nice touch.

Video on Ilja Dragunov. He and his family moved from Russia to Germany when he was five years old and his mother’s Russian teaching degree didn’t mean anything in Germany. His mother worked hard and went to school to become a teacher all over again while working to feed his family. That makes her his biggest role model because no one has worked that hard.

They were very poor growing up and didn’t have anything but he found some Pringles in a trashcan and it was the first taste of a better life. When he was ten, a bunch of teenagers beat him up for speaking Russian and told him to get out of their country or his family would be next. He had never felt so weak and promised to never feel like that again. Over the years he wanted to find a way to express himself and finally found that in wrestling. All of the uniqueness came out in the ring and it is real madness. His success is a celebration of everyone who doesn’t fit into the system.

This was GREAT and sold me on Dragunov in a way that I haven’t been with someone in a good while. NXT/NXT UK know how to do these things better than anyone right now and I have no idea why such a thing is never used on the main shows. They would do wonders for a lot of the wrestlers up there because, as it always has been, wrestling works better when you have a connection to the people you are watching.

Next week: a huge announcement and a look at the Women’s Title.

Walter knows that Dragunov has the same passion that he has for this sport. It will be the greatest fight of Dragunov’s career and Walter will destroy him.

From April 2.

Battle Royal

Ashton Smith, Ridge Holland, Kassius Ohno, Alexander Wolfe, Dave Mastiff, Oliver Carter, Travis Banks, Ligero, Saxton Huxley, Joe Coffey, Jordan Devlin, Ilja Dragunov, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Noam Dar, Kenny Williams, Tyson T-Bone, A-Kid, Amir Jordan, Flash Morgan Webster

The winner gets a UK Title shot at some point in the future. Ohno backs away from Holland and Mastiff to start and is promptly ganged for the early elimination. Huxley throws out Williams and it’s Webster and Kid throwing each other to the apron for no avail. Coffey gets rid of Webster and Jordan headscissors Huxley out. Kid is thrown onto Huxley’s back but chokes him out and climbs back in for a clever save.

T-Bone is out next and Coffey seems to be favoring his leg. A chokebomb plants Banks and Mastiff gets rid of him, meaning it’s time for everyone to fight near the ropes. Mastiff gets rid of Jordan (Nigel: “Jordan with a mere ten minutes in the match!”), followed by Holland powering out Carter (with a huge overhead belly to belly) and Smith back to back. Ligero is thrown onto the two of them, leaving Mastiff vs. Holland. As usual, Dar messes things up by interrupting the showdown but here’s Joseph Conners to distract Holland so Coffey and Dragunov can get rid of him as well.

Coffey and Dragunov have the big slugout for a double knockdown, leaving Moustache Mountain to hit stereo airplane spins on Dar and Kid. Seven drops Bate (with love of course) but Coffey tosses Seven from behind. Bate manages to get Mastiff on his shoulders but can’t keep him up so it’s time for everyone to pair off. Kid hits a springboard clothesline on Coffey but gets headbutted out by Devlin. A Rock Bottom puts Dragunov onto Coffey and Devlin moonsaults onto both of them, only to have Dar throw Devlin out.

Mastiff is waiting on Dar though and it’s a big backsplash to crush him hard. Everyone gets together to get rid of Mastiff though and we’re down to Coffey, Dar, Bate, Dragunov and Wolfe. Bate gets rid of Dar (the fans sound VERY pleased) and everyone takes a corner. Coffey swings Dragunov for a long time before crushing Bate in the corner. A running tackle crushes Bate and Dragunov at the same time but Wolfe sends him to the apron. Wolfe kicks Coffey out and we’re down to three.

Bate and Dragunov double team Wolfe but some heel miscommunication lets him take them both down, including a heck of a German suplex to drop Bate on his head. Bate staggers Wolfe though and Dragunov clotheslines him out, leaving Bate vs. Dragunov. They tease some eliminations until Bop and Bang drops Dragunov in a heap. A suplex plants Dragunov again but Bate walks into a hard clothesline.

The 6 1 Line plants Bate again and they’re both down for a bit. Bate unloads with rights and lefts until an enziguri takes him down again. They both go over the top and out to the apron so Bate loads up a rather illogical superplex. Dragunov throws him back in and hits a top rope backsplash but can’t hit Torpedo Moscow. Bate gets sent over the top but holds on with one hand, allowing Dragunov to hit Torpedo Moscow for the win at 28:40.

Rating: C+. The length was a bit of a problem but they kept things energized for a good chunk of the time. The ending was the best part and Dragunov is the best choice for the title shot. Odds are that was set for Dublin and they can go back to it whenever things are back to normal. A lot of people looked good in this though and that’s what matters in a match like this.

Overall Rating: B. This show did an excellent job of making me care not only about the title match but about Dragunov in particular. Ignoring the big layoff, there has not been a reason to care about him yet other than he has the crazy eyes. They let him tell his story and that made me want to see him in the ring, which is all you can ask for. Very well done here and the Holland match was a nice bonus.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 1, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentator Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

It’s Super Tuesday and they have a big time main event this time around. Tonight it’s a four way sixty minute Iron Man match for the vacant NXT Title. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Finn Balor are facing off for the title and that could make for a pretty major moment. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Long video on the Iron Man match, which is all they need to focus on here.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Breezango/Isaiah Scott

Street fight with weapons around the ring. It’s a huge brawl to start with everyone going after each other and hitting/throwing people into the weapons. A table is set up at ringside and Fandango puts a ladder on his head for the helicopter spot. Beth calls this innovative because it’s been a good while since ECW was around. Scott kicks a trashcan lid into Mendoza’s face and then knees Escobar in the face. Breeze sprays a fire extinguisher to clean house and we take a break.

Back with Scott kicking his way out of trouble but being knocked to the floor for a heck of a suicide dive from Escobar. Breezango tries to get back up but here’s Imperium to jump Breeze for a four on one beatdown. They get back inside but Scott and Fandango are standing on top of a well placed forklift to dive onto all four of them. Breeze is back in to clean house, followed by Breezango diving onto everyone but Escobar on the floor. Scott is alone with Escobar inside and it’s the JML Driver to give Scott the pin at 11:56.

Rating: C+. They got the important part here and the rest is pretty much gravy. Breezango still feel like they are going to be the most transitional champions in a long time but at least they might get another win over Imperium first. The match was entertaining enough with the dives looking good and the right ending so not too bad.

Connor’s Cure video.

Tegan Nox talks about being friends with Candice Michelle for years but since Johnny Gargano started following the Gargano Way, the spark went out of her eyes. Nox isn’t ready to live in a world where they aren’t friends because they’re sisters and sisters fight. These videos aren’t exactly setting up a huge match but they’re telling you everything you need to know about these two and giving you a connection to Nox. That’s more than you get on the main roster 95% of the time and these took about a minute and a half a week.

Candice LeRae vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Kayden Carter is in Catanzaro’s corner. Kacy armdrags her down to start and grabs an anklescissors but LeRae is right back with a hanging neckbreaker. A quick trip to the floor doesn’t hurt Kacy that much as she comes back in with a rollup but gets elbowed in the face. Kacy gets fired up and unloads in the corner but gets taken down to the mat. LeRae ties her legs up and stomps Kacy’s head into the mat for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Candice grabs the mic and says seeing Carter and Catanzaro has made her miss her time with Nox. She would love to talk this out too so Nox should come by the house, because dinner is on Candice.

Rhea Ripley is sick of the Robert Stone Brand and wants Mercedes Martinez in a cage. That makes sense, even after the quick detour last week against Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Bronson Reed

They go with some grappling to start until Reed starts slugging away. Thatcher is smart enough to go for the arm to slow Reed down, though a big clothesline gives Reed two. It’s right back to the arm though with an armbar taking Reed down. Back up and Reed knocks him to the floor with a single shot, setting up a suicide dive to take Thatcher down again. Cue Austin Theory to jump Reed from behind though and Thatcher hooks a cross armbreaker. Reed turns it over but Thatcher switches into a Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 4:48.

Rating: C-. NXT is doing a good job of setting up a midcard again as what has been lacking for a little while now. You have to build some people up for the future and this was a good example, with three people getting some time to set things up. Throw in all of them being a possible challenger for the North American Title and you’re almost in for some good stuff going forward.

Mercedes Martinez is down for a cage match with Rhea Ripley.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor vs. Tommaso Ciampa

The title is vacant coming in and it’s a 60 minute Iron Man match, meaning no countouts or disqualifications. It’s a brawl to start with Ciampa clearing the ring off a bunch of knees. Ciampa hits some running knees to Balor and Gargano before getting in a slugout with Cole. Back in and Ciampa beats on Balor a bit more as we’re three minutes in. Cole gets in as well and Ciampa is sent outside, leaving Balor to hit a basement dropkick to put Cole down. Gargano joins them and stomps away on everyone before working on Cole’s arm.

Gargano kicks at the arm and grabs kind of a standing Crossface, or at least the standing Crossface’s weird out of town cousin that it only sees on major holidays. Cole gets out and hits a neckbreaker so Balor takes Gargano’s place. That’s fine with Cole, who takes him down with a chinlock. Balor fights up with a running forearm into a double stomp to Cole. The Eye of the Hurricane gets two on Ciampa and it’s off to another chinlock. We take a break and come back with no falls and Gargano pounding Cole down into the corner and no clock to be seen.

Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Gargano but the other two get back in. That’s fine with Cole, who kicks them in the head but gets kneed down as we have 43:00 left. Cole goes up so Balor catches him, with Ciampa turning it into a Tower of Doom. Gargano crotches Ciampa against the post though and gets two on each of them. We’re down to about 40:00 to go as Gargano hammers on Balor in the corner.

Balor comes back with a quick 1916 for two so he follows up with a Sling Blade into the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace misses but Ciampa is right there with an Air Raid Crash for two on Balor. We take another break and come back with 36:00 to go and still no score. Ciampa and Gargano get ready for the big showdown but Cole and Balor send them outside. Cole suggests a Too Sweet reunion but Balor sends him outside for the big flip dive. The shotgun dropkick sends Ciampa into the timekeeper’s area and the Coup de Grace gives Balor the first fall on Cole with 34:23 to go.

Balor starts chopping away at Gargano and grabs a chinlock. That’s let go so he can take Ciampa down and then alternates stomps to Ciampa and Gargano. Cole gets knocked off the apron and we take a break. Back again with the same score and Ciampa hitting the Willow’s Bell on Balor. The Fairy Tale Ending connects but Gargano steals the pin to tie things up with 26:38 to go.

Ciampa breaks up One Final beat but Cole hits the Last Shot on Ciampa for a near fall. Another Last Shot (or Last Call as Vic puts it) is cut off by a hard clothesline but Cole is back with a superkick to Ciampa. Balor is back in with the Sling Blade to Cole but Cole superkicks him as well. There’s another superkick to Gargano and the Panama City Sunrise finishes Gargano at 24:40 to go.

That puts everyone but Ciampa at one fall and they’re getting winded. Balor breaks up the Last Shot to Gargano and Ciampa steals a near fall. A double Willow’s Bell hits Gargano and Cole, followed by the Fairy Tale Ending to Cole to tie things up with 22:41 to go. Everyone pulls themselves up on the ropes and the slugout is on again. Gargano and Cole fight to the floor while Balor wins a slugout with Ciampa inside. Another quadruple knockdown gives everyone a breather with about 19:15 to go.

Ciampa and Balor are back up inside with Balor being sent hard into the corner for two. A running knee in the corner rocks Balor but Ciampa knocks Cole off the apron and goes outside. Ciampa sends Gargano into the barricade and tosses Cole into the Plexiglas. That lets Ciampa applaud himself but Cole kicks him in the knee back inside. We take another break and come back again with the same score and 11:45 to go.

Balor cleans house again and Ciampa’s knee gives out to make it even worse. Cole is kicked to the floor and Balor grabs a half crab on the bad leg. That’s broken up as Balor has to go after Cole, followed by another shotgun dropkick to Ciampa. Balor has to knock Gargano off the apron meaning he misses the Coup de Grace. A double superkick from Gargano and Cole drops Balor and Gargano superkicks Cole to the floor for a bonus. There’s the suicide dive to Ciampa and another to Cole, capped off by a third to Balor, who pulls his out of the air. 1916 on the floor is blocked and Gargano hits a tornado DDT instead.

Back from another break with 5:00 left and the same score as Gargano getting the Gargano Escape on Cole. Ciampa pulls it to the floor for the break, putting them all outside. The limping Ciampa sends Balor into the Plexiglas and suplexes Cole on the floor. There’s a ram for Balor as well but Gargano is up to slug away at Ciampa with 3:00 left. Ciampa catapults Gargano throat first into the bottom of the ring but Cole makes the save. Ciampa covers again and this time Balor breaks it up, much to Ciampa’s annoyance. Balor and Cole are sent into parts of the set, with the delay allowing Gargano to get two off a small package.

We have 1:30 to go with Ciampa hitting Gargano in the throat to put him down again. Ciampa puts Gargano on top for a super Air Raid Crash with 30 seconds left. Balor comes in with the Coup de Grace though and goes up 2-1-1-1 with 20 seconds to go. Barrett declares him the new champion but Cole hits a Last Shot on Balor for the pin to even things up as time expires at 58:31 (close enough).

Rating: B+. You could feel the screwy finish coming the second they announced the match and that’s what they gave us here. Hopefully they don’t wait a few weeks for the match as it would be nice to have a champion instead of waiting for whenever the next Takeover is going down. It was a good, action filled match as you knew it would be, but it had the same problem that every Iron Man match (or tournament for that matter) has: you can skip everything until the very end and not miss the part that really matters. It was as good as expected, but dang the ending didn’t sit all that well, as predictable as it might have been.

Post match William Regal comes out to make Cole vs. Balor next week, one fall to a finish. Well at least they’re not waiting.

Overall Rating: A-. This was a one match show and that one match delivered so of course the whole thing works. What matters here is they gave us what was advertised, at least with the match, and I can live with waiting one more week. It might be annoying, but guaranteeing a one on one title match (without the time factor) is as surefire of a way to grab an audience as you can get. The rest of the show was hit and miss, but this was all about the main event and it worked out well.

Results

Breezango/Isaiah Scott b. Legado del Fantasma – JML Driver to Escobar

Candice LeRae b. Kacy Catanzaro – Stomp

Timothy Thatcher b. Bronson Reed – Fujiwara armbar

Adam Cole and Finn Balor b. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano 2-2-1-1

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: August 27, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

It’s time to crack open the vault again and that’s a very nice thing to hear. Granted it won’t be that way for long as the regular shows are back on September 17 but I’ll take what I can get while it lasts. The previous show was a lot of fun and I’m curious to see what we get here a second time around. Let’s get to it.

Andy reminds us that they are back on September 17. With that out of the way, it’s time to send us to our first match.

William Regal picks the only WWE match of the recently passed away Rollerball Rocco’s career. Now this is the kind of thing that could make this show (or another show) must see. From MSG, December 28, 1984.

Junior Heavyweight Title: The Cobra vs. Black Tiger

The title is vacant coming in and Tiger is Rocco. Cobra works on the arm to start but Tiger snapmares him down for a knee and elbow. Back up and Cobra grabs the arm again and they head to the mat for the exchange of holds. Cobra is out of a chinlock in a hurry so Tiger hits a running clothesline. A backdrop lets Cobra grab his own chinlock, only to miss a middle rope ax handle. Instead it’s a crucifix into a headscissors to keep Tiger down as Gorilla Monsoon talks about the one time he tried to wear a mask.

An airplane spin into a faceplant sets up a Boston crab but Tiger is out in a hurry. The surfboard goes on but Tiger falls into the ropes. Tiger gets up for a kick to the head into a legdrop for two before hitting Cobra in the mask a few times. The chinlock goes on again and it’s off to a leglock, allowing Gorilla to praise the WWF as much as he can. Tiger grabs a headlock on the mat but misses something like a Vader Bomb, allowing Cobra to hit a quick backsplash for two.

Cobra dropkicks him to the floor and slams Tiger off the top. Gene Okerlund rejoins commentary and this could be quite the interesting description. Cobra grabs a figure four necklock as Gene talks about how whoever wins this title could easily go buy a half a million dollar house with a garage full of cars. As I can’t help but smile at Gene trying to hype things up, Tiger gets two off a suplex and plants him with a piledriver.

A middle rope falling elbow misses though and they’re both down. Back up and Cobra gets two off a spinwheel kick and a dropkick sends Tiger to the floor. That means a suicide dive, which was unthinkable around these parts. Tiger hits a suplex and floats over for two before grabbing a Tombstone. The second attempt is reversed into a Tombstone from Cobra, setting up the top rope backsplash for the pin and the title at 12:32.

Rating: B-. The big thing to remember here is the timing. Tombstones, top rope backsplash and a suicide dive three months before Wrestlemania? This was completely out of the norm for this audience and yet these guys looked completely natural. Yes it was done better later on, but dang this was out of nowhere and the kind of hidden gem that I could go for a lot more often.

Toni Storm sends us to Evolution.

Mae Young Classic Finals: Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai

They trade headlocks to start as we hear about Toni being the first Progress Women’s Champion. Toni slips out of a headscissors but Io picks things up with a fast dropkick. A handstand into a double knee drop sets up a Rings of Saturn (which Beth calls a version of a full nelson) to keep Toni grounded. Toni gets a foot on the ropes and snaps off a hard German suplex, only to get dropkicked off the top.

Shirai pops up and scores with a moonsault to the floor but Storm is right back with a German suplex on the apron. Back in and Shirai unloads on her with forearms, only to have Storm pop up with the Storm Zero for a close two. Shirai hits a 619 and a springboard sunset flip for two of her own. The moonsault hits raised knees and Storm Zero is good for the pin at 10:05.

Rating: B-. Well that was sudden. I was expecting this to be nearly twice as long and the match is just over that fast? Storm winning makes more sense as Shirai comes in with all the hype and Storm already lost once late in the tournament last year. The match was good, but I was expecting a lot more.

NXT UK is coming to London.

Next week: a special look at Walter vs. Ilja Dragunov.

Video on the NXT UK tag team division, capped off by the champions, Gallus.

Ilja Dragunov sends us back to a time before Takeover existed. From Arrival.

Sami Zayn vs. Cesaro

Sami is crushed but Cesaro comes back and hugs him.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah this worked, as you kind of knew it would. At the same time though, it will be nice to get back to original stuff. You can only do greatest hits and the like for so long and having something fresh is going to be a good change. WWE has the resources to do whatever they want, but at some point you have to run shows to function as a promotion. It has been long overdue for NXT UK to do that, but at least we’ve had some awesome stuff like this to get us through. Skip the women’s match, but check out the other two for sure.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 26, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

We’re past Takeover: XXX and that means it’s time to get back to a little more normal around here. Karrion Kross is the new NXT Champion, Keith Lee is gone and Tommaso Ciampa is back so…maybe the normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This could be an interesting show, including a Tag Team Title match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Takeover recap.

Here are Scarlett and Karrion Kross, with his arm in a sling, to open things up. Kross told us that he would become NXT Champion and that on the way there, everyone would suffer. That’s what he did at Takeover but when you go to war, you expect casualties. Hence his separated shoulder, which is going to prevent him from defending the NXT Title.

There are obstacles on the path, but to him, the obstacles are the path. Kross lays the title down and Scarlett puts the hourglass next to it. Kross says this changes nothing because everyone pays the toll. Tick tock. Well dang. This could get interesting in a hurry. That’s horrible to hear for Kross though as no one deserves that kind of an injury just after they reach the peak (so far) of their career.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Breezango

Breezango is challenging and jump the champs during the entrances. We get the opening bell with Breezango cleaning house until Barthel armbars Breeze down. That earns him a dropkick though and we take an early break. Back with Fandango fighting out of a chinlock but getting double teamed back down. That doesn’t last long as Fandango gets over for the hot tag to Breeze as the pace picks up.

A jumping knee rocks Barthel but Breeze has to avoid running into the referee. The delay lets Barthel hit a suplex, only to dive into the Beauty Shot for two. Aichner makes the save and comes in to pound away as he is known to do. Breeze knees him down though and Fandango tags himself in for the guillotine legdrop to Aichner. Barthel pulls him to the floor though, meaning Fandango hits a dive. That earns him a hard suplex on the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Fandango still in trouble as Aichner hits the middle rope moonsault for two. Breeze makes the save but gets uppercutted out to the floor as Barrett mentions wrestling with Breeze all the way back in FCW. Aichner and Barthel’s double team hits each other though and Breeze superkicks them both. Fandango comes in with the double Last Dance for the pin and the titles at 15:17.

Rating: C. They had to do something like this at some point as Breezango have lost and lost over the years. Throw in the fact that Imperium have been pretty worthless champions since they won the belts. It isn’t that they’re bad in the ring or anything close, but they haven’t been interesting and they have been downright forgetful at times. This was a necessary change and they picked a good night to do it.

The new champs dance on the announcers’ desk.

Damian Priest says the after party is still going. Cue Timothy Thatcher who seems to want a title shot.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Ciampa jumps him at the bell and unloads on him in the corner. Willow’s Bell finishes at 52 seconds.

Post match Ciampa destroys Atlas even more, including sending him knees first into the steps a few times. Ciampa even catapults him throat first into the bottom of the ring, meaning we need a stretcher job as the fans chant for Ciampa anyway. Since he’s extra evil, Ciampa pulls Atlas off the stretcher with another Willow’s Bell on the floor.

Candice LeRae talks about her friendship with Tegan Nox over the years, including going to a castle in Wales. Now Nox doesn’t get her anymore though, as Nox wasn’t there when Candice needed her. LeRae is going down the right path now and LeRae can do things the Gargano Way too. If she doesn’t want to though, just stay out of LeRae’s way. Has LeRae always been able to talk like this?

Bronson Reed thinks he should get the first NXT Title shot since he has beaten Damien Priest. Cue the returning Austin Theory to say Reed is taking some steps in the right direction and maybe he can have a title shot by the time he’s about fifty five. Reed slaps the taste out of his mouth.

Mia Yim vs. Mercedes Martinez

Hang on though as here are Robert Stone and Aliyah to say not so fast. Mercedes isn’t getting in the ring after that powerbomb from Rhea Ripley last week…and here’s Shotzi Blackheart to run Stone over with the tank again. We have a replacement.

Mia Yim vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi takes her down to start and hits Welcome To The Ball Pit but Yim is right back with a running hurricanrana. Mia rolls her up for two and they both catch kicks to the ribs. They set them down so Yim gets in a cheap shot and hammers away in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip out of the corner has Shotzi in more trouble with the knee banged up. Yim grabs a bow and arrow but Blackheart is back up with a discus forearm. That earns her a quick suplex as Yim throws her down again. Yim goes up but gets pulled down, setting up a backsplash to the back. A top rope backsplash finishes Yim at 4:31.

Rating: C-. The more I see of Shotzi, the more I like her. She has gone from looking like another strange wrestler with weird hair to being one of the more charismatic women in the division. I can’t imagine that she is going to be near the top of the division anytime soon, but there is nothing wrong with having a star in the making. Not the greatest match, but it’s a big win for Blackheart and that’s a good sign.

William Regal has a decision on the NXT Title.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez say they’re a team but Kai promises to become NXT Women’s Champion. As for tonight, Gonzalez is ready to settle things with Rhea Ripley.

Here’s Regal to announce a solution to the NXT Title. It is a shame that Kross had to vacate the title and Regal wishes him the best on his long recovery. As for the title though, there will be a four way match next week (on Tuesday) to crown a new champion. The four of them can all claim to be the best ever in NXT and they could all claim to be the face of NXT. Those four are Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor and Adam Cole. Oh and for a bonus: it’s a four way, sixty minute Iron Man match.

Barrett is so excited that he will be back next week to call the match.

Cruiserweight Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar is defending and is on his own this week. Scott wastes no time in hurricanranaing him out to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Escobar working a headlock but getting reversed into something like a Gory Stretch. That’s broken up so Scott goes for the short armscissors which sends Escobar to the floor. Escobar catches him with a toss from the apron into the Plexiglas though and Scott is in trouble.

A drop onto the steps gives Escobar two back inside and the pace slows down a bit. Scott manages to grab a knuckle lock and they both go to the middle rope. That means an attempt at a jumping hurricanrana from Scott but Escobar reverses into a super sitout powerbomb for another near fall as we take another break. Back with Escobar hammering away against the ropes but Scott reverses and unloads in the corner. A backbreaker sends Escobar outside again and the Fosbury Flop takes him down.

Back in and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two more but here is the rest of Legado for the distraction. A jumping superkick gives Escobar two so here is Breezango to take out Legado. Scott’s jumping knee to the face gets two and a bridging German suplex is good for the same. The House Call gives Scott another two and a flipping slam out of the corner gets yet another near fall. Escobar bails to the floor and puts on a mask, which seems to be loaded. A headbutt knocks Scott silly to retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: B-. They did a nice job here and the false finish off the Legado interference was well done. Escobar cheating on his own to retain gives him another way to keep the title and that’s a good thing for him. You can have the goons if you want but at some point you have to win on your own, which he did here (cheating included). Scott could get a rematch and that’s a good thing, mainly because I’m not sure who else there is to go after the title.

Johnny Gargano is ready to go after the title and remind everyone who he is. He has been the Iron Man for years and next Tuesday, he’ll have the title to prove it.

Finn Balor says he’ll rise to the occasion. Next week the four cornerstones are ready to fight but he’ll prove that he is the centerpiece.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Drake Maverick

Fallout from the Undisputed Era interrupting Maverick’s match and Bobby Fish/Roderick Strong are here too. Maverick unloads on him to start and dropkicks the knee to send O’Reilly outside. The big flip dive from the top takes out the rest of the Era but O’Reilly is back with the strikes inside. Maverick’s comeback is cut off with a whip into the corner and the striking continues. A quick Underdog attempt is countered though and O’Reilly rolls into an Achilles Lock. Maverick hammers away but can’t get out, forcing the tap at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad while it lasted and that’s a good sign for Maverick. Even when he’s losing (in other words, every time he isn’t on 205 Live), he has a lot of energy going in the ring and that’s something you can always go for. The match was more about O’Reilly than anything else, but Maverick looked good in defeat.

Post match the beatdown is on but O’Reilly tries to call off the troops. Cue Killian Dain (who Maverick was facing when the Era interfered two weeks ago) for the save. Maverick pulls himself up but Dain beats him up as well.

We look back at the Women’s Title match at Takeover.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Raquel Gonzalez.

Adam Cole is glad to be done with Pat McAfee and is ready to get his title back. He is the Iron Man and that is undisputed.

Io Shirai/Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Ripley throws Kai aside to start and gets the big lockup with Gonzalez. A headbutt rocks Gonzalez so she shoves Ripley into the corner, where Shirai tags herself in. The middle rope hurricanrana sends Gonzalez outside and we take a break. Back with Ripley swinging away at Kai but getting pulled to the floor by Gonzalez. That means a ram into various things and they head back inside to keep up the beating.

Kai grabs a rollup for two and slaps on a seated abdominal stretch. Gonzalez comes back in but gets kicked in the head by Rhea, allowing the hot tag to Shirai. Everything breaks down and Shirai hits the running knees in the corner to Gonzalez, followed by a 619 to Kai. A scorpion kick gets Kai out of trouble but Shirai blocks the Kairopractor. Shirai’s German suplex gets two but Gonzalez takes her back into the corner.

Shirai tries to dive over for the hot tag but the referee doesn’t see it, meaning she is taken back over to keep up the beating. Cue Mercedes Martinez to pull Ripley off the apron and Gonzalez plants Kai with a spinning powerslam for two. Ripley is back up to take the tag but she trips on her way in and gets kicked in the face. Gonzalez’s powerbomb finishes Ripley at 10:03.

Rating: C. Things are getting interesting in this division as they have multiple stories going on but they are starting to tie together at the same time. Gonzalez pinning Ripley, even with some cheating, is going to be a good deal as she and Kai continue the Diesel/Shawn formula. Throw in Kai and the title plus Martinez and you might have some good things going on in a hurry.

Overall Rating: B-. So last week’s show was rather slow paced and didn’t have much going on. This was the polar opposite and that is a great thing, because they hit the ground running coming out of Takeover. Now that being said, it is a shame to see this happen after Kross’ injury because that is never a good thing to see. Almost everything else worked well though with a title match, a return, and the announcement of a huge match for next week. Solid, energized show here and if the in-ring product was better, they could have had a great one.

Results

Breezango b. Imperium – Last Dance to Aichner

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Willow’s Bell

Shotzi Blackheart b. Mia Yim – Top rope backsplash

Santos Escobar b. Isaiah Scott – Headbutt with a loaded mask

Kyle O’Reilly b. Drake Maverick – Achilles lock

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Rhea Ripley/Io Shirai – Pumphandle powerbomb to Ripley

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: XXX
Date: August 22, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

It’s time for the milestone edition of the show and this time around it’s not exactly feeling like that important of an entry. Maybe it’s the rushed build to the show or the lack of star power, but there is something missing here. The main event should be a heck of a hoss fight between Keith Lee and Karrion Kross for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Breezango vs. Legado del Fantasma vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

For the #1 contendership. Fandango jumps Mendoza to start and goes to the apron with Oney. Oney is knocked to the floor and Fandango hits a heck of a clothesline to Mendoza. Burch comes back in and gets small packaged for two, meaning it’s time for the showdown with Lorcan. Fandango gyrates while Lorcan glares but Mendoza gets up to run the corner and hits a springboard corkscrew dive.

Back in and Lorcan DDTs Breeze while Mendoza neckbreakers Lorcan for two each. The hot tag (yes there are tags in this) brings in Burch to clean house, including the German suplexes. Something that looked like a Doomsday Device is broken up as Wilde slips out of the electric chair. Lorcan’s uppercut gets two on Wilde as everything breaks down again. A Spanish Fly into the 450 gives Mendoza two with Burch and Lorcan making the save. Back up and Breeze hits a quick superkick for the pin on Lorcan at 6:56.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much to do here and I can’t say I’m surprised at the winners. That being said, Breezango vs. Imperium isn’t all that interesting, though it’s not like anyone else is getting much out of Imperium these days. They need to do something with the titles and if that means Breezango as transitional champions, so be it. Good enough choice for an opener though.

The opening video looks at the history of Takeover before going into your traditional look at all of the matches.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Finn Balor

Grudge match after Thatcher cost Balor a spots in the North American Title ladder match. Balor charges at him in the corner to start but gets taken to the mat which isn’t likely to go well. They go to the grappling with Balor working on the arm but getting caught in a front facelock for his efforts. Balor gets up and strikes Balor against the ropes before taking it back down to the mat to crank on the leg.

Thatcher hits him in the face and puts on a bow and arrow hold as Balor can’t get away from the holds. Balor flips over into a cover for two but Thatcher is right back with a Kimura. The arm is pinned back and Thatcher puts on something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. They get back up but Balor can’t get away from the grip, instead having to backdrop Thatcher into a cover for two. The hold still isn’t broken but Balor rolls into a basement dropkick for the much needed break.

They slug it out with Thatcher getting the better of it until Balor drops him with a Pele for the double knockdown. Balor gets in a double stomp and tries 1916 but has to slip out of a fireman’s carry. This time it’s Thatcher getting caught in the abdominal stretch with Balor planting him again. The Coup de Grace misses though and Balor bangs up his knee again. The half crab goes on but Balor slips out.

That’s fine with Thatcher, who kicks him in the back but Balor switches places and gets in a kick to the ribs. Thatcher gets in a shot to the face but gets rolled into the abdominal stretch again. The next reversal lets Thatcher grab an ankle lock so Balor rolls out and hits a double stomp. Another double stomp sets up the Coup de Grace but the knee means there can’t be a cover. 1916 connects to give Balor the clean pin at 14:16.

Rating: B-. It was a good grappling match but the ending was a little flat. Balor just started hitting his moves and then won with his finishers. I didn’t think Thatcher was going to win (though maybe he should have) but I was hoping for something a little better than that. What we got was good though and I’ll take that over something completely flat.

Bayley and Sasha Banks are here.

Video on the North American Title ladder match, including everyone qualifying.

North American Title: Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Bronson Reed

Ladder match for the vacant title. It’s a brawl to start (duh) until Reed (in Bam Bam Bigelow inspired gear) and Priest are left alone. Dream comes back in to break it up with a DDT as Grimes pulls out the first ladder….which is about three feet tall. He isn’t pleased but gets knocked down by Priest, only to come back with a big kick to the chest. Gargano pulls in his own full sized ladder and Grimes brings in a second. It’s Grimes going up, only to get caught with a leg on each ladder as they are spread apart, leaving Grimes in the splits.

Reed comes back in and cleans house, including dropping a backsplash onto a ladder onto Dream’s chest. More house is cleaned as Reed sets up a ladder but he has to shoves Gargano up as he tries to climb the standing ladder. Gargano’s next attempt to go up is countered into a powerbomb attempt from Reed but Dream takes out Reed’s knee. Gargano wants Grimes and Dream to help him but goes up, only to get caught. Johnny: “I had to try it!”

It’s Grimes in trouble this time around until Gargano crotches Dream on top. Priest crushes Grimes into a ladder into Dream’s head but it’s Reed cleaning house to take over. The massive Tower of Doom is broken up and Gargano is the only one left standing. Reed takes care of him and Grimes is sent off the ladder and into the rope. Priest is all alone on top of the ladder but Dream makes the save. That means kicks to Gargano and Dream’s heads so Gargano hits the slingshot DDT to the ladder around Reed’s neck.

Gargano heads outside but gets caught with the standing flip belly to belly from Grimes. Reed dives onto them but Grimes is up first to load up the ladder inside. For some reason he sets it up next to the ropes and Priest runs up the bridged ladder to take out everyone with a flip dive. Grimes goes up but Candice LeRae runs in for the save. Corey: “Maybe Candice just wants directions to the moon.”

Candice tries a headscissors but Gargano goes with a ladder to Grimes’ head for a more effective move. Gargano goes up so Reed knocks him off, only to have Candice climb onto his back. Reed dives off onto Gargano for the big triple splash (Corey: “The Wednesday night’s been squashed!” Since Gargano is mostly dead, Reed goes up but Priest is waiting on him. Grimes has his own bigger ladder as Reed is knocked down. Reed sends Grimes off the big ladder onto the regular one but Dream makes a save, only to get his leg tied into the falling ladder.

Dream is back up to bridge a ladder from the middle rope into the standing one before going up. The title is swinging away so Dream can’t get it, allowing Priest to shove him down. Priest drops down and knocks Reed down, only to have Grimes hit the Cave In. Grimes climbs until Gargano hits a powerbomb to send him into the bridged ladder. Instead of climbing, Gargano fires off superkicks but the One Final Beat is countered by Dream into a Dream Valley Driver onto Priest onto a ladder.

It’s Dream climbing this time but Reed shoves the ladder over, sending Dream bouncing off the top rope and over the barricade for the huge crash of the match. Grimes is up on the ladder for the title with Gargano making the save this time. Priest and Gargano go up and the title is unhooked, with Priest knocking Gargano down to win the title at 21:16.

Rating: B+. This was long and chaotic, which is exactly what you want out of something like a five way ladder match. I had Grimes winning but Priest is the second best choice as Gargano doesn’t need the title, Reed isn’t ready, and Dream probably shouldn’t be near….well anything at the moment. That Dream spot was great and there’s something special about seeing him in extreme pain at the moment. Good, long match here and I liked it more than I expected.

We recap Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole. McAfee mocked Cole for being small on his podcast and for thinking that he’s the king of NXT. Then McAfee invaded NXT and punted Cole in the face for a big knockout. McAfee went on to have some of the best promos in NXT and the match was made for tonight. As has been the case throughout: McAfee has been a great heel, but that doesn’t make me want to cheer for Cole, which is holding things back a bit.

Adam Cole vs. Pat McAfee

Cole comes to the ring but we cut to the back where McAfee, with his football players, says he’s got this and promises to destroy Cole once and for all. The other players come out with McAfee, though Cole is on his own. Well that’s somewhat noble. Cole grabs a headlock to start and McAfee can’t do much here. That means Cole can send him into the corner and tease a kick of his own so McAfee asks for a timeout.

Back up and the threat of a superkick sends McAfee outside for some trash talk. Cole follows so the players get in his way, which draws out the rest of the Era. McAfee uses the distraction to go up for the big dive onto everyone, meaning the trash talk is back on. Back in and McAfee slugs away in the corner as commentary starts being amazed by every single thing McAfee does. A slam, with squats, gets two on Cole and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up after longer than you might expect and Cole gets fired up in the corner.

They slug it out with Cole pulling the shirt over McAfee’s head and slugging away before kicking McAfee in the head for two. The shock at the kickout sends Cole up top but Cole shoves him down…with McAfee landing on his feet. Cole is STUNNED and it’s even worse when McAfee runs the corner for a top rope superplex into a near fall. Cole’s head is hung over the apron so McAfee loads up the punt, which only hits the steps.

Back in and Cole grabs the Figure Four, sending McAfee over to the ropes for the break. Cole goes after him in the corner but a quick low blow puts Cole down. Now the Punt connects for two, sending McAfee up top. That takes too long though (It could have been the MCAFEE BAY BAY!) and Cole superkicks him out of the air, setting up the Panama City Sunrise for the pin at 16:20.

Rating: B-. It isn’t really shocking that McAfee was impressive, but I’m not sure people were expecting him to be this athletic. This was a good effort from both and Cole winning is the right call so they didn’t go too far. They had a pretty quick feud and while Cole is far from a face so far, it went about as well as could be expected.

Post match Cole looks at McAfee in the corner before turning to the camera to pose.

Drew McIntyre is here and picks Keith Lee to win the main event.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai for Shirai’s Women’s Title. Kai has been extra evil as of late and is ready to beat Shirai, because she is in her head. That and having the monster Raquel Gonalez in her corner.

Women’s Title: Io Shirai vs. Dakota Kai

Kai is challenging and has Gonzalez with her. Shirai goes with the double leg and starts kicking at Kai’s leg, including a dragon screw leg whip on the mat. A Gonzalez distraction lets Kai go after the arm though and wraps it around the arm. Shirai kicks her in the arm sets up an arm trap choke over the ropes and then stomps her down a bit. The armbar goes on, followed by one with Kai’s legs.

Shirai gets out and hits a kick to the face, followed by the 619 into a missile dropkick for two. Another armbar is broken up with a kick to the head but Kai breaks up a German suplex and sends her hard into the corner. Shirai is right back up with the running knees in the corner but the moonsault takes too long. Kai gets shoved down though and a double stomp gives Shirai two. The Kairopractor gives Kai two though and we hit the armbar, with Shirai having to get over to the ropes for the break.

Shirai is sat on top for a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head for two more with a foot on the ropes saving the title. Kai kicks the referee down by mistake so Gonzalez comes in to plant Shirai, giving Kai two. The Crossface goes on but Gonzalez makes the save. That means a moonsault to the floor to take both of them out, followed by the regular version for the pin to retain the title at 16:12.

Rating: B. Good showing here with both women looking awesome. Gonzalez added a lot here as there is only so much that you can do with Shirai vs. Kai on their own. Shirai is a monster who can destroy Kai on her own but the monster makes things that much more interesting. That turned this into a solid back and forth match and I had a good time with it, which was more than I expected.

Post match Gonzalez goes after Shirai again but Rhea Ripley runs in for the save. The staredown is on but Kai and Gonzalez run.

Damien Priest jumps in a hot tub with some women to celebrate.

NXT UK is back on September 17.

Tommaso Ciampa is back on Wednesday.

We recap Keith Lee vs. Karrion Kross for the NXT Title. Lee won the title at the Great American Bash and Kross didn’t seem happy. Kross then choked out Lee’s friend Dominick Dijakovic so Lee wanted revenge. That resulted in a fireball to Lee’s face to get us slightly away from the Rocky IV theme. Now it’s about revenge and the title.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee

Kross, with Scarlett, is challenging and we get the big intro. Lee knocks him straight back to start and unloads with right hands in the corner to put Kross in early trouble. They head to the floor with Kross hammering away but Lee’s right hand busts up the Plexiglas by mistake. Lee’s arm gets caught on another swing though and the champ is hurt early on. Back in and Kross cranks on the arm (as he should) before putting him down for two. The armbar goes on again but this time Lee powers up.

That’s fine with Kross, as he sends the arm into the buckle to put Lee down again. It’s a hammerlock to put Lee down on the mat again and Kross cranks on it even harder. With that not working, Kross tries a cross armbreaker so Lee latches his hands together for the block. Lee hits a running splash in the corner and muscles him up for a spinning powerslam into the near fall. Back up and Lee misses a charge in the corner but Kross can’t Saito him. Kross can hit a DDT for two but Lee blocks the Saito again.

Lee hits a suplex of his own for a slightly delayed two of his own and they get back up. After what looked to be a little miscommunication, Kross hits a hard clothesline for two more. They slug it out until Lee is knocked to his knee, only to come back with a heck of a clothesline. Kross kicks him in the face and Lee isn’t happy. The Grizzly Magnum is blocked though and now the Saito connects for two.

Scarlett is furious about the kickout so the Crossjacket goes on, with Lee’s arm almost hitting the mat. A groggy Lee gets over to his stomach and finally makes the rope for the save. Back up and Lee headbutts him in the chest, setting up the Spirit Bomb for two. Lee goes up but Kross catches him with a shot to the arm. The super Doomsday Saito gives Kross the pin and the title at 21:56.

Rating: B+. This started slowly but they wound up going with what was the best possible choice. Kross would have been dead in the water if he had lost here and Lee is someone who can bounce back from a big loss. They didn’t quite go with the hoss battle the whole way but they got it working by the end, which is what matters here. Kross should have won, and I have no idea where Lee goes next. As for who is next for Kross….that Takeover machine Finn Balor sounds like a smart choice no?

Overall Rating: A-. As I’ve said about Dynamite before, if this is their bad show, they’re going to be fine. This wasn’t even close to what Takeover can do but it was still a rather good show with nothing resembling a bad match. There were some memorable moments and you can see where some things are going, but it was lacking that show stealer and it stuck out pretty badly.

In addition, there are some things here that make it clear the times have changed. One thing that NXT made look easy was having each match feel different. While they were different matches, there was something off about the last two matches being built around the champion’s arm being hurt. It feels like NXT should know better, but maybe that’s just the past talking. Still though, very good show, but not up to the old standards.

Results

Finn Balor b. Timothy Thatcher – 1916

Damian Priest won a ladder match – Priest pulled down the title

Adam Cole b. Pat McAfee – Panama City Sunrise

Io Shirai b. Dakota Kai – Moonsault

Karrion Kross b. Keith Lee – Super Doomsday Saito

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: August 20, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

We’re back to something a lot more interesting than Greatest Hits here as we have Superstar Picks. In other words, it’s time to crack open the WWE video vault and see what we can find involving UK wrestlers. This is what they have been needing to do for a long time now as they are long past the point of good stuff for Greatest Hits from NXT UK. Let’s get to it.

Andy has finally changed rooms. He can still throw it to someone to pick a match though, with Ridge Holland getting the first honor.

From Prime Time Wrestling, October 8, 1985.

Bret Hart vs. Dynamite Kid

It’s the rare blue and black Hitman attire here. Bret wants Dynamite’s boots checked and then hides in the ropes to start. Dynamite shoves him down and Bret chills on the floor for a bit. Back in and we get a catapult to send Bret chest first into the buckle. That means another breather on the floor but this time Bret comes back in and is promptly atomic dropped. There’s the snap suplex for Dynamite and we hit the chinlock. They fight over a hammerlock until Bret is sent outside to break it up, much to the fans’ delight.

Back in again and Dynamite spins out of a wristlock but gets pulled down by the hair. Bret grabs the hair again and slams him down, setting up the middle rope elbow. The headbutt hurts Bret’s own head so he throws Dynamite outside for a change. A slam on the floor and a backbreaker give Bret two back inside but Dynamite’s sunset flip gets the same. Dynamite grabs a backbreaker of his own but can’t follow up, allowing Bret to tie him in the ropes.

The charge only hits said ropes though and they’re both down again. Dynamite gets in a headbutt and hair slam to the mat of his own (nice little callbacks) and a knee drop gets two. A middle rope knee gets two more but Bret trips him face first into the ropes. Another trip sends Dynamite through the ropes (another callback) but this time he comes back in with an O’Connor Roll for the pin at 12:30.

Rating: B-. They were telling a nice story here as Bret had to find a way to slow Dynamite down and started smothering him. He couldn’t control the energy eventually though and Dynamite got to make the comeback, including doing the same things that Bret did to him earlier for a nice bonus. These two probably wrestled each other 500 times in some combination and you can see it here.

Post match Jim Neidhart runs out to complain about Dynamite pulling the tights but Davey Boy Smith runs in for the save.

Video on the NXT UK women’s division, including showing how many countries are represented.

Piper Niven sends us to the 2017 Mae Young Classic.

Second Round: Serena Deeb vs. Piper Niven

Niven powers her into the corner to start and falls on Deeb in a slam attempt. Well to be fair that was just kind of dumb. A hard belly to back suplex breaks up Serena’s headlock and there’s a splash for two more. With the holds not working, Deeb opts for just punching her in the face for a change. A middle rope Codebreaker (or maybe something like a monkey flip) drops Niven and a neckbreaker gets two.

Deeb is right back up with a modified Diamond Cutter for two more as the fans are split again. A charge misses in the corner though and Niven drops a Vader Bomb….for two. Dang I would have bet on that one. Niven heads up top (uh oh) and misses a splash, only to grab the Michinoku Driver to put Deeb away at 7:12.

Rating: C. What in the world was that ending? Niven missed the splash to seemingly give Deeb a hope spot but she was up less than five seconds later and hit the finish for the pin. I looked away for a second and my head swung back because I thought the video had skipped. They were trying to get into the Sting vs. Vader formula here but that ending REALLY knocked them back.

Dave Mastiff sends us to….Uncensored 1996???? I just stopped having the flashbacks to this show!

Belfast Bruiser vs. Lord Steven Regal

That would be Fit Finlay and William Regal (with Butler Jeeves, as played by Bill Dundee) of course. Jeeves it’s dumb enough to stick around for this and bails to the back as Finlay jumps Regal to start. Regal grabs a hiptoss for one (with the forearm going into Finlay’s face) and hits an uppercut so Finlay knees him in the face. A hard clothesline gives Finlay two as they are beating the heck out of each other here. Regal gets in a kick of his own and we hit the cravate on the mat.

Dusty Rhodes uses terms like stomping a mudhole and Bobby Heenan is incredibly confused, though that could just be from trying to understand anything Dusty said. Finlay knees him in the face and takes it to the floor, where Regal is dropped face first onto the barricade. Regal’s arm is pulled into the post and we hit an armbar back inside. That’s broken up and Regal kicks him in the face as we hear about Pedro Morales doing Spanish commentary. Dusty is VERY pleased with this, calling Morales “the greatest athlete to ever put on a pair of tights.” I’m going to assume that’s some kind of a rib and move on.

Regal’s dropkick gets two but Finlay is right back with another crank of the arm. That’s broken up and Regal punches him down again, allowing for the choke with the leg while arguing with the referee (always a great one). Finlay headbutts him down and we hit the chinlock. Even that’s rough as Finlay hits him in the face at the same time. Regal glares up at him while getting choked but fights up, earning one heck of a clothesline to give Finlay two more.

Finlay drives him face first into the apron but Regal manages a suplex over the apron and down onto the floor. An elbow off the apron crushes Finlay again and we hit a headlock back inside. As Bobby and Dusty argue over United Kingdom geography, Finlay kicks him hard in the back so Regal distracts the ref and gets a good low blow. Finlay isn’t about to be sunset flipped so he puts his knee on the back of Regal’s head and drives him face first into the mat instead.

Regal is back with an armbar, with a knee on Finlay’s face of course. That’s broken up and Finlay hits a kind of backdrop but Regal counters a Boston crab attempt and sends Finlay face first into the apron (Heenan: “Right in the corned beef and cabbage.”). Finlay punches him in the face and that looks like a broken nose (apparently with a broken cheek for a bonus). Back in and Regal kicks him over the top as commentary tries to explain that the fans are too worn down to cheer. Regal runs him up the aisle for a ram into the Doomsday Cage and here are the Bluebloods (Regal’s friends) to pound on Finlay for the DQ at 17:30.

Rating: B. I’ve seen this match several dozen times (had the VHS and watched it over and over as a kid) but it’s the first time I’ve seen it in a long time. This was a blast as they beat the heck out of each other for a LONG time (probably a bit too long actually) and it was a very different and much more physical match than you would expect from 1996 WCW. It’s Finlay’s element but Regal was right there with him the whole time. If you like physical, hard hitting stuff, make sure you check on this one.

Post match Regal gets in a heck of a slap as Finlay is held back.

Overall Rating: B-. Now this is the kind of show that I’ve been wanting to see from this series and I’m hoping that we get a lot more of it. NXT UK hasn’t been around all that long and they have already gone through a lot of their matches. It’s ok to crack open the vault every now and then and I would love to see them do it for a long time to come. Give us something different every now and then. It isn’t going to hurt all that much.

Results

Dynamite Kid b. Bret Hart – O’Connor Roll

Piper Niven b. Serena Deeb – Michinoku Driver

Fit Finlay b. Lord Steven Regal via DQ when the Bluebloods interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 19, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s the go home show for Takeover and really, I’m not sure I could remember half of the card at this point. This show has felt slapped together and while I have confidence in NXT to be able to pull it off, it doesn’t exactly make me want to watch the show. Hopefully they do something better here. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Ridge Holland

Candice LeRae is here with Johnny. Holland starts fast and knocks him outside but Gargano manages a kick from the apron and a stomp to the hand to take over. Back in and Holland knocks him down with straight power again before a forearm to the face makes it even worse. Gargano pulls him down by the leg but a crank on said leg is broken up with some kicks to the face. Holland misses a running knee in the corner and Gargano takes him down with the suicide dive as we take a break.

Back with both guys down and everyone panicking after Gargano got dropped on his head after a botched spinning powerslam attempt. That looked HORRIBLE but Gargano is fine enough to hit a superkick. Holland grabs him in a front facelock and swings him around, which is probably not advisable after he got dropped on his head. Gargano flips out of an over the shoulder backbreaker but gets Pounced out to the floor. LeRae grabs the foot on the way back in though and Gargano kicks the rope for a low blow. One Final Beat finishes Holland at 8:10.

Rating: C+. The match was a nice power vs. speed fight but that drop on the head was absolutely terrifying as Gargano came straight down. I’m a little surprised that they didn’t edit that out of this as the show is taped and it could have allowed for a lot less cringing. Gargano winning was the only call here as Holland isn’t ready to beat him one on one and you already have Reed in the match as the young power guy.

Dakota Kai vs. Jessi Kamea

Kai sends her hard into the corner to start and yells about being #1 contender. Some running boots to the face in the corner set up a Facewash for two. Kai’s double arm choke is broken up and Kamea hits a kick of her own, followed by a sliding kick to the chest in the corner. A spinebuster gives Kamea two more but Kai is back with the GTK for the pin at 2:58. That was a lot of offense for a #1 contender to give up two days before a title shot.

Post match Kai grabs the mic and says she isn’t scared of Shirai. Io is so focused on Kai’s past but she’s focused on the future, which means taking the title from her. Kai promises to kick her in the face over and over but here’s Kai to beat her up. They fight up to the ramp and it’s the returning Raquel Gonzalez to take Shirai out. It makes the title match more intriguing, but Kai’s promo had very little fire and sounded scripted in a bad way.

Tegan Nox doesn’t like how Candice LeRae has been and needs to fix it. Maybe over a glass of wine like old time. She’s ready to talk.

Finn Balor knows Velveteen Dream has talent but tonight, no one is getting in the way of Balor getting his North American Title back. Tonight is the same as always: Finn over.

Breezango/Isaiah Scott vs. Legado del Fantasma

Fandango’s arm is still taped. It’s a brawl at the bell with Fandango being left in the ring with Mendoza for a running clothesline. Wilde comes in and gets draped over the top, setting up a double kick to the face. Fandango comes back in but gets sent outside, with Scott having to hit a slingshot dropkick through the ropes to Mendoza. Escobar’s dive is cut off with a kick to the head and Breezango’s double superkicks put the rest of Legado down.

Back from a break with Fandango being shoved off the top and out to the floor to bang up the arm again. Mendoza comes in and helps with a springboard moonsault from Mendoza. Apparently the tag just doesn’t matter as Mendoza stays in and kicks at Fandango’s arm some more. Another kick sends Fandango into the corner but he gets in a double backdrop to the floor.

That’s enough for the hot tag to Scott for the house cleaning, including the jumping Downward Spiral on Escobar. A Wilde distraction lets Escobar knee him out of the air though and it’s Scott in trouble this time. Wilde’s springboard missile dropkick hits Escobar by mistake and Scott is knocked into the corner, knocking Breeze off the apron. Scott comes back out and hits the JML Driver on Escobar but Scott running into Breeze counted as a tag (What else was it supposed to be?). Breeze comes in to slug away but walks into the Phantom Driver for the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C-. This was a messy match and the ending felt a little more complicated than it seemed to be. The idea was to have Scott ready to pin Escobar but Scott not realizing that touching your partner on the apron was a tag was a weird moment. They tried to put in a little more than they should have and it didn’t work out that well. Scott vs. Escobar should work, but the Breezango stuff is making it seem a lot less serious than it should be.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to go face to face with Pat McAfee. Cue McAfee, complete with a bunch of NFL players, through the side entrance. He knows Adam Cole goes nowhere without the rest of his team so he brought a team of his own. Everyone else drops to the floor and McAfee talks about how the last time they were in this arena together, Shawn Michaels was checking Cole’s vitals. Then the next week, Cole went on a rant about how McAfee isn’t special enough to be here.

Cole has wrestled all over the world and even called himself the King of NXT. Yeah Cole was undefeated for 400 days or whatever it was but it took McAfee one kick to knock Cole out. McAfee has made a million dollars in seven different professions and he could make wrestling #8 if he wanted to. Cole gave him two weeks to get ready for this match and HHH talked about how he can make McAfee famous.

On Saturday, Cole is getting knocked out with another kick to the head and all anyone will hear is BOOM. Cole comes at him and beats up the referees before saying he’s making McAfee his b**** at Takeover. McAfee’s promo was one of the best celebrity talks I’ve ever heard but I’m still not sure why I’m supposed to cheer for Cole, who has been the top heel for a year plus, after a guy called him out and knocked him cold.

Mercedes Martinez/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Rhea Ripley

Robert Stone is here too. After Beth gets done with a horribly obvious read off a script to recap the feud (not her fault as I’m sure she was told to sound that way), commentary immediately starts ignoring the women to talk about Cole vs. McAfee. Ripley goes right after Martinez to start but Aliyah makes a quick save. That earns Aliyah a trip into the corner for a beating from Ripley and Shotzi comes in for the WELCOME TO THE BALL PIT. Aliyah gets in a shot to the face though and Martinez comes in to grab a chinlock as we take a break.

Back with Aliyah grabbing a neckbreaker on Blackheart and Martinez coming back in for a knee to the face. Blackheart gets dragged back into the corner and Martinez grabs a seated abdominal stretch. The double underhook suplex gives Martinez two but the fisherman’s buster is blocked.

Blackheart grabs a jumping DDT and the diving tag brings in Rhea to clean house. A basement dropkick rocks Aliyah and an electric chair faceplant gets two with Martinez making the save. Riptide plants Aliyah but a Stone distraction lets Martinez crotch Shotzi on top. Ripley manages to powerbomb Martinez over the barricade for a big old crash and the top rope backsplash finishes Aliyah at 9:55.

Rating: C. That ending made up for some of the weaker parts of the match as Ripley vs. Martinez could be one of the best hoss fights the women’s division has seen in a long time. Aliyah is great as someone who can take a fall for the team and Blackheart has the charisma. I liked this more than I would have bet on and that’s a rather nice surprise.

Long video on Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee. Kross was watching Lee win the NXT Title and made it clear that he wanted the next shot. Then Kross choked out Lee’s friend Dominick Dijakovic and burned Lee’s eyes. This awakened the monster in Lee, which could make for one heck of a showdown at Takeover in a big hoss fight.

Takeover rundown.

North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Finn Balor vs. Velveteen Dream

Dream is in a red shirt and jeans for a weird look. Balor headlocks him over and then sends Dream outside, where the concern in Dream’s face takes us to a break. Back with Dream fighting out of a chinlock and running Balor over, setting up the Thesz press. Dream sends him into the corner and rakes the back. Balor makes another quick comeback and they hit the mat, with Balor cranking on the legs.

The knee gets cranked around the ropes and Balor stomps away, with the referee having to make sure Dram can continue. Dream manages to crank on a cross armbreaker for a bit until Balor kicks his way to freedom. Back up and Dream’s side kick gets two, followed by some right hands in the corner. After Dream gets annoyed at the lack of counting from the fans, Balor dropkicks him to the floor. Cue Cameron Grimes to talk a lot of trash and we take another break.

Back again with Grimes sitting on the ladder and holding the North American Title as Dream hits a backbreaker. Dream hits the Rick Rude hip swivel but Balor rolls through a sunset flip and hits a basement dropkick. Balor stomps away in the corner but stops to chase Grimes up the ladder, allowing Dream to hot shot him onto the apron. Back in and the Dream DDT is countered so Dream tries the Dream Valley Driver. That’s broken up as well and Balor hits the shotgun dropkick into the corner.

Balor looks to go up but a Grimes distraction lets Dream run the corner for the superplex. Cue Johnny Gargano to shove the ladder over, sending Grimes into the referee. Grimes gets up and is taken down by Balor, setting up a Fameasser from Dream. Balor hits Dream with the Sling Blade, only to charge into a superkick for the double knockdown. Gargano grabs the title so here are Bronson Reed and Damian Priest to surround him.

That means a quick knockdown as Priest takes the title and kicks Reed in the face. Dream kicks Priest in the face and the monsters are knocked to the floor. Balor is back up to clothesline Dream to the floor and hits a big flip dive. Cue Timothy Thatcher to drop Balor, setting up the Dream Valley Driver to Balor. The Purple Rainmaker sends Dream to Takeover at 20:26.

Rating: C. This felt like a main roster match and that’s not a good thing. Ignoring everything involving Dream, there was WAY too much going on here and it took away a lot from what was a pretty nice back and forth match. Thatcher vs. Balor should be a good fight (probably next week on TV) and Dream going on to Takeover makes sense, assuming you ignore a lot of stuff happening elsewhere.

Post match we get the usual parade of shots to the face, capped off with Reed holding the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. For the first time in longer than I can remember, I really didn’t care for this week’s NXT. There was nothing on here worth seeing and Takeover feels ice cold. I can’t say I’m surprised by the North American Title qualifying matches not being interesting, as they almost never are. The wrestling hasn’t been all that great in recent weeks and there isn’t much on the line anyway. Takeover should be good as it always has been, but dang they need something fresh on television in a hurry.

Results

Johnny Gargano b. Ridge Holland – One Final Beat

Dakota Kai b. Jessi Kamea – GTK

Legado del Fantasma b. Breezango/Isaiah Scott – Phantom Driver to Breeze

Rhea Ripley/Shotzi Blackheart b. Mercedes Martinez/Aliyah – Top rope backsplash to Aliyah

Velveteen Dream b. Finn Balor – Purple Rainmaker

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 12, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re coming up on Takeover and that means most of the card is either set or more or less set. We still need to figure out what the heck is going on with the ladder match as last week saw a change to the lineup. Other than that, we have the build towards Karrion Kross vs. Keith Lee in the big hoss fight. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

Karrion Kross vs. Danny Burch

We get the full entrance for Kross as he continues to look like the biggest star in the world. Burch says ring the bell and goes right at Kross with a dropkick. A clothesline puts Kross on the floor but Kross pulls him outside and hits a two handed chokeslam. Back in and Kross talks trash while slowly hammering away, as should be the case with him. There’s the exploder but Burch manages an enziguri out of the corner.

Burch hits the missile dropkick out of the corner into a German suplex. A second German suplex sets up the Crossface but Kross rolls….well right into the middle of the ring without breaking the hold. That’s countered into a pair of Doomsday Saitos, followed by the Krossjacket for the win at 4:59.

Rating: C. Burch got in some offense here but the point was to make Kross look like a killer in the end, which is exactly what they did. They’re setting up a good main event for Takeover as it’s hard to imagine either Kross or Keith Lee actually losing a match. That’s what you’re supposed to do and if the hoss fight is that good, they’ll be more than fine.

Post match here’s Keith Lee with a contract in hand. His name is already signed and William Regal has approved, so Kross needs to sign sot hey can fight at Takeover. Scarlett takes the contract and Kross signs, with Scarlett kissing the contract and handing it back to Lee, who slowly picks it up. Lee opens the contract….and a fireball comes out to burn his face. Medics immediately hit the ring to take care of Lee and get him outside. Lee: “WHERE IS KROSS???” Lee keeps shouting to get him Kross as he is taken to the back and we get ready for the next match.

Drake Maverick vs. Killian Dain

We take a break just after the bell and come back to the Undisputed Era arriving in the parking lot. Back in the ring, Dain gets taken down with a big flip dive to the floor and Maverick heads up top. Maverick hits the top rope elbow but the Era comes in for the no contest (or double DQ) at 5:12. Not enough shown to rate and it was just a way to set up the Era’s promo anyway.

Post match Adam Cole gets rather serious and says he isn’t taking what Pat McAfee did to him last week because McAfee is in over his head. That’s why he wants McAfee here next week to see him face to face where the beating will be undisputed.

Video on Legado del Fantasma beating down Breezango last week.

Video on Kushida, who wants to be North American Champion.

Santos Escobar vs. Tyler Breeze

Non-title and Escobar sends his goons to the back. Escobar chops him down to start and kicks away at the chest. More kicks have Breeze down so Escobar can pose, allowing Breeze to hit a dropkick to the floor. Breeze makes the mistake of following him and gets his leg taken off, setting up a drop down onto the apron.

We take a break and come back with Breeze fighting out of a chinlock but walking into an atomic drop (you don’t see that one very often these days). A running knee to the face drops Breeze again but the Phantom Driver is countered. Breeze hits some running forearms in the corner and the Supermodel Kick, which draws out the rest of Legado del Fantasma. The distraction lets Escobar hit the Phantom Driver for the pin at 7:51.

Rating: C. I’ve always liked Breeze and Escobar is the first interesting thing to happen to the cruiserweight division in a long time. Or maybe it’s that he’s the first thing that they have treated as important in a long time. I’m curious to see who they build someone up to take the title from him and that’s going to be an interesting road to travel.

Post match the beatdown is on but Fandango limps to the ring with a stick for the save. That earns him another beatdown but Isaiah Scott comes down for the real save.

Video on Dakota Kai, who knows how to defeat Io Shirai. Kai is in Shirai’s head and knows how to outsmart her She’s coming to Takeover and leaving with the title.

Video on Ridge Holland.

Mia Yim vs. Indi Hartwell

Before she comes to the ring, Mia says she’s ready despite what happened to Lee. Hartwell shoulders her down to start but Mia knocks the knee out and hits a basement dropkick. There’s the Cannonball in the corner for two but Hartwell is back with a side slam for two. We hit a pretty weak looking chinlock (crank a bit Hartwell) and Hartwell pulls her down into it a second time.

A backpack Stunner gets Mia out of trouble but Hartwell grabs it for a third time. This time Mia shrugs her off so Hartwell elbows her in the face. Mia sweeps the legs and hammers away before muscling her up for a German suplex. With her patience running out, Mia grabs her by the arm and pulls her into something like a reverse cross armbreaker for the tap at 4:37.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t a great match but they had an idea there with Mia being distracted. It’s a relationship that you don’t need to have portrayed on screen but it makes sense here and it can add a dimension to Lee. I don’t need it to be a major moment, but it worked out well enough here as a reason to care about the match.

Finn Balor is ready to face whoever is left out of tonight’s triple threat because he’s getting the North American Title.

Video on Pat McAfee vs. Adam Cole, complete with a lot of the ESPN media coverage.

McAfee will be here next week.

Damian Priest vs. Bronson Reed

They glare at each other to start until Priest grabs him by the wrist. Reed gets in his own wristlock but Priest pulls him into an armbar with a crossface. Back up and Reed tells him to run the ropes, so Priest kicks him in the leg and then does just that. Reed knocks him down though and it’s time to slug it out. Priest leapfrogs him and this a jumping back elbow to the face as we’re in hoss fight mode.

Some discus forearms rock Reed but he catches Priest’s jumping elbow in the corner. A DDT plants Priest and sends him outside for a needed breather. We take a break and come back with Reed fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a splash in the corner. Priest is back with a bell clap but Reed throws him down with a twisting fall away slam. The backsplash gives Reed two so Priest comes back with a bunch of shots to the face.

A springboard flipping attack puts Reed down again and now the running elbow connects in the corner. Priest manages the Broken Arrow for two so Reed evens things up with a suplex. Back up and Priest hits a spinning kick to the head to win the slugout but his springboard is powerbombed out of the air. Reed goes up for the top rope splash but Priest rolls over (not away, as Reed mostly landed on Priest’s back). Back up and Priest loads up the Reckoning, only to have Reed sweep the legs and grab a jackknife cover for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: B. This is one of those match types that is always fun and that worked rather well here. I know I’m probably getting my hopes up for Reed but they’re giving him a chance here and that’s one of the best things that could happen to him. I’m really surprised by the win here, but what matters for Reed is what happens after the ladder match.

Priest is STUNNED.

Video on Io Shirai, who knows what Kai has been doing as of late. Kai has been smart and taking people out, but Kai is no match for her. Kai has ticked her off and that isn’t going to end well.

Video on Cameron Grimes, who is ready for the North American Title.

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Mercedes Martinez/Aliyah

Robert Stone is here with Martinez and Aliyah and offers Kacy a spot on the team. That earns Stone a slap to the face and Kacy hurricanranas Martinez out to the floor to start. A slingshot hilo gets two on Aliyah and a double basement superkick gets the same. Martinez is back up and tags herself in for a wheelbarrow into a cutter from Aliyah (cool) for two. We take a break and come back with Martinez coming in to hammers on Carter in the corner. Aliyah drops a leg for a few near falls but Carter kicks her in the head to bring in Kacy. Everything breaks down and Martinez grabs a quick Air Raid Crash to finish Kacy at 7:50.

Rating: C-. This was a fine way to help establish the Robert Stone Brand as a team who actually works well together, but at the same time, I’m not sure how much more proof you need for that. Martinez is destined for the big showdown with Rhea Ripley at Takeover and that could be a heck of a fight. Martinez is awesome and as annoying as it is that it took her this long to get here, it’s great to have her around.

Post match it’s Rhea Ripley coming out for the brawl but the numbers game gets the better of her. Cue Shotzi Blackheart for the save and the Stone Brand runs off.

We go to the Gargano house where Johnny is climbing a ladder while Candice reads a book to their dog. This turns into a rant about how Tegan Nox needs to be destroyed (with the camera being from the dog’s perspective). Johnny: “What kind of book are you reading?” Anyway, Johnny knows there are going to be talented people in the ladder match, but he has to be there too.

How can you have a Takeover without Johnny Takeover? He has a real qualifying match with Ridge Holland next week and he’ll go on to the ladder match he should have been in since the beginning. Gargano climbs the ladder and fixes a light before the two of them, both in POWER COUPLE suits, retire for the night.

Timothy Thatcher demonstrates an ankle lock at Thatch As Thatch Can school.

North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes vs. ???

We have a mystery entrant and….hokey smoke it’s Velveteen Dream. I’m actually stunned to see him as he was facing some of the most serious allegations in all of WWE. Unless I’ve missed it, WWE hasn’t said much of anything about him and he just disappeared from TV about two months ago. I’m going to assume that WWE hasn’t lost their freaking minds and have one heck of a pile of evidence proving his complete innocence, because there is no way that they are stupid enough to put him anywhere near a WWE logo without having a completely airtight answer to every single accusation against him.

Yes I said even WWE couldn’t be stupid enough to do something, because this would be about as dumb as you could get. Dream is facing accusations of some rather serious illegal activity and while it is possible he is innocent, there were quite a few people accusing him of doing similar things. If WWE has some been satisfied as to his innocence, they might want to make that public, because otherwise they are looking completely insane.

One way or another, WWE is going to have to explain something about this because a lot of people are going to going to be wanting some answers. I can’t imagine WWE is just going to let this go without making some kind of a statement as they all but have to on this. Maybe Dream is innocent and has proven it to WWE, but they might want to let others know, because otherwise it looks like they’re allowing him back on TV after giving him a two month vacation.

Oh yeah we have a match too.

Dream, with his blond goatee, gets knocked to the floor to start and Kushida arm wrings Grimes down hard onto his head. It’s Dream coming back in with a top rope ax handle to Kushida’s head for two but a tornado DDT plants Dream on the apron. Grimes crotches Kushida though and we take a break. Back with Kushida hitting a basement dropkick to Grimes and following it up with a running elbow in the corner. Dream comes back in but can’t hit the Dream Valley Driver on Kushida.

Instead everyone punches each other in the face and everyone is down. It’s Dream back up with a running clothesline to put Grimes on the floor, setting up a big dive to take him down again. Back in and the Dream Valley Driver connects on Kushida but Grimes pulls Dream out to the floor. The two fight outside until Kushida hits a big flip dive off the top onto Dream. Back in and Kushida pulls Grimes off the top and into the cross armbreaker but has to let go to catch Dream coming off the top. The Hoverboard Lock goes on Dream, who stands up, allowing Grimes to Cave In both of them and pin Kushida at 8:55.

Rating: C+. I’m still trying to get over the fact that Dream is back on TV as I wasn’t expecting to see him on WWE TV for a LONG time (if ever actually). Ignoring all of the allegations against him, Dream is an incredible talent and can be a player around here, but he isn’t exactly the same since the crowds went away. Grimes is a good choice to win, but Dream making the ladder match as well wouldn’t surprise me.

Post match Dream beats up Kushida, seemingly going heel again. Finn Balor, who will face Dream next week, comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This could have been worse, though there isn’t anything you need to see on the show. The best thing they did here was make the North American Title feel like a big deal, just by having a lot of people talk about how they wanted to win the title. The Lee angle worked (partially because commentary stayed completely quiet until the fire hit Lee) and I’m more interested in Takeover than I was before. My head is still kind of spinning off Dream though and I’m really interested in seeing the reaction to his return. Not a great show, but it was the moving forward to Takeover week.

Results

Karrion Kross b. Danny Burch – Krossjacket

Drake Maverick vs. Killian Dain went to a no contest when Undisputed Era interfered

Santos Escobar b. Tyler Breeze – Phantom Driver

Mia Yim b. Indi Hartwell – Reverse cross armbreaker

Bronson Reed b. Damian Priest – Top rope splash

Mercedes Martinez/Aliyah b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter – Air Raid Crash to Catanzaro

Cameron Grimes b. Velveteen Dream and Kushida – Cave In to Kushida

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6