NXT
Date: September 7, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

This is how it ends. We’re wrapping up the original run of NXT this week as everything changes with the next show. I’m a mixture of scared, excited and scared excited as the idea of Monday Night NXT scares me to death, but NXT does need some changes. There are a pair of title matches tonight to finish things off. Let’s get to it.

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

Ember Moon vs. Kay Lee Ray

Feeling out process to start with Moon snapping off an armdrag. Back up and Ray hits a quick faceplant for two before taking Moon into the corner. Ray cranks on the arm and pulls Moon down into a cross armbreaker. That’s reversed in a hurry and Moon is back up with a middle rope Codebreaker for two. The Crossface has Ray in more trouble and Moon rolls it into the middle to make it worse. Ray slips out so Moon pulls her into a triangle choke but gets rolled into the corner to break it up.

Back from a break with Moon getting two off a small package and tying her in the Tree of Woe for a kick to the face. A tornado DDT gets Ray out of trouble but Moon sends her outside for the big dive. Back in and Ray breaks up an Eclipse attempt with a hair mare off the top. Moon blocks a kick into something like a flipping One Winged Angel for two more. They fight into a pinfall reversal sequence with Ray trying a backslide but lifting Moon up into a Gory Bomb for the pin at 14:41.

Rating: B-. This was a good way to get Ray her first important win around here as Moon is still a name that means something. It helps that they had a good, hard hitting match with Moon continuing to being able to have a solid match with anyone. Ray is going to be a major player around here and that is something the division could use.

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are ready to win the Tag Team Titles. Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne tell them to get rid of MSK too.

We go to Indi Hartwell’s bachelorette party where no one seems to like Dexter Lumis. This includes Indi’s friend Persia, who is here to see Disney World rather than the party. Hartwell talks about how Dexter saved her but she owes so much to Candice LeRae. Candice gets to give a speech, which involves throwing bread at Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter for being on Tik Tok. She didn’t like Lumis either, but it has worked out well enough.

Santos Escobar vs. Carmelo Hayes

Escobar has the rest of Legado del Fantasma with him. Feeling out process to start with Hayes working on a wristlock. Escobar starts kicking away and chokes on the rope before kicking Hayes outside. Hayes goes crashing over the barricade and we take a break. Back with Escobar sitting Hayes on top for a loud chop and grabbing a Crossface. With that broken up, Escobar takes him outside for a Boston crab on the steps.

Hayes fights back to escape some choking on the ropes and scores with a quick dropkick to the floor. Escobar is sent face first into the announcers’ table, setting up a running knee back inside. Hayes’ springboard is kneed out of the air but he’s back with a Codebreaker and face plant for two. A DDT onto the apron plants Escobar again but Legado’s distraction lets Elektra Lopez slam Hayes on the floor. That rocks Hayes so much that the Phantom Driver can finish Hayes at 13:51.

Rating: B-. I liked the match for the most part, but being devastated by a simple slam is a bit much to take. The slam was pretty impressive but that’s enough to stun Hayes long enough for Escobar to get the win? The finish wasn’t clean so it’s hardly some career killer for Hayes or anything, though I’m really not sure pinning him is a good idea.

Malcolm Bivens officially welcomes the Creed Brothers, both former amateur wrestling stars, into the Diamond Mine. Roderick Strong seems happy to have them.

William Regal announces a fatal four way to crown a new #1 contender next week, as Kyle O’Reilly, LA Knight, Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa fight to get the first shot at Samoa Joe.

Creed Brothers vs. Chuckie Viola/Paxton Astall

Brutus starts for the Creed Brothers and wrestles Viola down with ease. Viola is sent outside and then suplexed back inside. Brutus slaps Julius in the face for the tag and Astall is powered into the corner. Something like a front facelock suplex plants Paxton and Julius brings in Viola. The Brothers slam them into each other and a basement clothesline finishes Astall at 2:18. That was a snappy squash and the Brothers looked rather good in dominance.

Ember Moon is tired of losing and feeling like this, so she knows what she has to do. Stay tuned.

Hit Row should have seen it coming when Legado del Fantasma jumped them and it’s time to drop them like a $10 pinata. B Fab is ready to take out Elektra Lopez.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark

Shirai and Stark are defending. Catanzaro headlocks Stark to no avail to start as Stark flips away to escape. It’s off to Shirai, who stops to say something to Stark and gets dropkicked in the face for two. Catanzaro comes back in but gets kicked in the face as we take a break. Back with Shirai rocking Carter again and getting two off a missile dropkick. Shirai grabs the Crossface (third time in three matches) but Carter fights up and brings in Catanzaro off a blind tag.

After a few shots to Shirai, Carter tags herself back in and gets elbowed in the face. Stark comes in to kick Carter in the face for two but accidentally kicks Shirai down. A Downward Spiral drops Stark and Carter, after thinking about it for far too long, brings in Catanzaro for an elevated splash. Shirai makes the save so Stark knees Catanzaro in the face, setting up the Moon Over Moonsault to retain at 12:01.

Rating: C. Much like on the main roster, the Women’s Tag Team Titles seem to be forgotten more often than not, making it really hard to care about them. It wasn’t a bad match, but it was completely flat and there was no reason to get invested in anything they were doing. Catanzaro and Carter did their thing, but you just can’t compete with partners who don’t get along.

Post match Mandy Rose (now in a face mask, because covering up Mandy Rose’s face is a good idea), Gigi Dolin and Jayce Jane come out to beat down Carter and Catanzaro.

Kyle O’Reilly doesn’t care anymore because all he wants is the NXT Title.

It’s time for Dexter Lumis’ bachelor party, with Johnny Gargano saying he won’t pay for a dime. Don’t worry though because Cameron Grimes is here to pay for everyone. Everyone, including the zombie referee, gets out of the car and Lumis makes peace with Grimes. First up, go karts, with Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae spying on them. Then they throw axes, with Lumis indicating he has experience with them and then winning the competition.

Odyssey Jones makes a bet with Grimes about being able to bounce Drake Maverick off a trampoline and wins easily. We wrap it up with lazer tag but Lumis punches one guy out so Gargano can get an easy score. That’s not enough, so Lumis chloroforms another guy and Gargano scores again. Gargano fakes a handshake and wins for his team, though he can’t bring himself to high five Lumis.

The zombie referee says that it’s not that bad, but reveals that he is, in fact, Canadian. Jones shoves their hands together and we get a quick Lumis/Gargano montage. Hartwell and LeRae come in to say everyone is on the same page. Gargano: “Let’s go have a wedding.” Lumis seems to smile a bit. Dang it why did I have to like this a bit? Far better than the bachelorette stuff at least.

Robert Stone has gotten Frankie Monet a Women’s Title shot next week to get Money and Jessi Kamea back in his good graces.

Mei Ying vs. Virginia Ferry

Ferry gets in a jawbreaker but walks into a Mandible Claw for the win at 47 seconds.

LA Knight is in his car and talks about how there are three challengers and one superstar. Next week he’s going to take all three of them out and then he’s coming for Samoa Joe.

Tommaso Ciampa says it has been a long time since he had Goldie but the greatest things in life are worth waiting for.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

MSK is defending and it’s Burch driving Carter into the corner to start. It’s off to Lorcan but Lee comes in as well to take him down in a hurry. A cheap shot from Burch comes in (and the fans approve) to put MSK back in trouble. Everything breaks down and a running dropkick in the corner drops Burch to the floor as we take a break. Back with Carter caught in a chinlock but fighting up to strike it out with Lorcan. That doesn’t go well for Carter, who is taken into the wrong corner to continue the beating.

Carter fights up and brings in Lee to clean house, including with a German suplex for two on Lorcan. The push moonsault gets the same as everything breaks down. Carter’s Swanton hits raised knees and it’s an ankle lock from Lorcan and a Crossface (erg) from Burch. That’s broken up as well and it’s the Blockbuster Hart Attack to retain the titles at 12:16.

Rating: C+. NXT’s decline seems to go hand in hand with the decline of its tag team division. The NXT Tag Team Titles used to be one of the best things in all of WWE and now they mean about as much as the Raw Tag Team Titles do in a given week. Two teams had a title match and one of them won. That has been the case for far too long now and it was a bit of a dry match as a result. Much like the rest of NXT: Perfectly good, but not that interesting.

Post match MSK leaves so here are Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne to take out Lorcan and Burch, breaking up the group.

Overall Rating: C+. So that’s it for NXT and I can see why they need to make a change. In something I almost never get to say about NXT, this was pretty boring. Nothing was bad and the first two matches were good, but there is absolutely no spark to any of this and I don’t particularly care where these stories go. NXT has lost its soul somewhere along the way and as a result, none of this feels important. The show is lifeless and while the changes don’t sound the most appealing, I’ll go with them taking a chance on something new than this kind of a show.

Results
Kay Lee Ray b. Ember Moon – Gory Bomb
Santos Escobar b. Carmelo Hayes – Phantom Driver
Creed Brothers b. Paxton Astall/Chuckie Viola – Basement clothesline to Astall
Io Shirai/Zoey Stark b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter – Moon Over Moonsault to Carter
Mei Ying b. Virginia Ferry – Mandible Claw
MSK b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Blockbuster Hart Attack to Lorcan

 

 

 

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NXT
Date: July 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

It’s a big night as the main event will feature Karrion Kross defending the NXT Title against Johnny Gargano. This comes amid rumors that Kross is on his way to the main roster so we could be in for some serious fireworks tonight. Other than that, it’s time to begin the Breakout Tournament. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Paul Orndorff.

We open with a recap of the Great American Bash and the setup of the title match.

Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai, who grinds away with a headlock to start. A running shoulder drops Moon as well but she armdrags Kai into an armbar. Kai pops up with a kick to the face but Moon sends her outside for a ram into the barricade. That earns him a kick from the apron as we take a break.

Back with Kai throwing her down again, only to have Moon nip up for an enziguri. A springboard spinning crossbody gives Moon two but Kai’s backbreaker gets the same. Kai goes up and gets kicked in the face, allowing Moon to hit a top rope hurricanrana for two. Moon is sent to the apron, where Kai pulls her over the top for the GTK and the pin at 12:59.

Rating: C+. This was a hard hitting, back and forth match until Kai won in the end. She needs the match a bit more, but it’s kind of a shame that Moon is left hanging out there. Shotzi Blackheart has been sent up to the main roster while Moon has nothing to do, but she seems to be a better fit in NXT anyway.

Post match Kai poses with Gonzalez but here is Xia Li to say she wants Gonzalez’s Women’s Title. Gonzalez is down.

Malcolm Bivens talks about how great the Diamond Mine is and issues an open challenge. Bobby Fish pops up to say he’s in to face Roderick Strong. Bivens switches that over to Fish vs. Tyler Rust instead.

Ikemen Jiro says don’t let his good looks fool you, because he can beat you up. He was trained by Tajiri and Great Muta so he knows how to fight.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes showed up to start as LA Knight’s butler and doesn’t mind that he showed up late. He’s here because of his pride because he gave his word, but first up it’s time for a makeover. The beard and hair are adjusted and Knight even has a uniform for him. Grimes likes the look (the tuxedo works) and it’s time to go to work. More on this later.

Tyler Rust vs. Bobby Fish

Rust starts in on the arm and strikes away, setting up a Figure Four necklock. Back up and Fish punches him down, setting up a kick to the chest. Roderick Strong gets on the apron for a distraction but Fish knocks Rust outside anyway. The distraction lets Rust get in a chop block though and a kick to the head finishes Fish at 2:39.

Post match the Diamond Mine surrounds Fish but Kushida runs in for the save.

Samoa Joe comes up to Karrion Kross, who threatens him if he messes with the title match.

The Way arrived earlier today and Beth Phoenix asked Indi Hartwell what happened with Dexter Lumis. That would be nothing, but they both seemed to want it to. Beth tells her to take a chance.

Gigi Dolin vs. Sarray

Sarray grabs a wristlock to start but Dolin reverses into one of her own. A running armdrag into a headlock takeover has Dolin down again but here is Mandy Rose of all people to watch. Sarray grabs the leg and slaps on a Muta Lock, which she just lets go. That leaves Dolin to grab some rollups for two each, followed by an STO for the same. Sarray is back with a running dropkick against the ropes, setting up a MUCH harder one to knock Dolin silly. A high collar suplex (nearly dropping Dolin on her head) gives Sarray the pin at 3:31. Those last two moves were nasty and Dolin was rocked.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t be surprised if Dolin’s bell was a bit rung there so hopefully she’s ok. The Rose deal is interesting, if nothing else because she could use more ring time in NXT. You’re only going to get so much out of photo shoots and posing with Dana Brooke so if a few matches here can help her a bit, so be it. Sarray continues to just be kind of there, but she is certainly a physical one.

Santos Escobar doesn’t like Bronson Reed, Hit Row or Dexter Lumis.

Duke Hudson is ready for Ikemen Jiro. You can either call him Duke or just cut tot he chase and call him the Breakout Tournament winner.

Dexter Lumis vs. Santos Escobar

The rest of Legado del Fantasma is here too. Escobar runs him over to start but Lumis nips up to scare him a bit. Back up and Lumis runs the ropes, setting up the Thesz press to hammer away. That’s enough for Escobar to need a breather on the floor but Lumis uses the distraction to slide underneath the ring. Lumis tries to pull him under but has to settle for just crawling out for the glare as we take a break.

Back with Escobar hitting a basement dropkick to the side of the head and hitting some running clotheslines in the corner. Lumis fights up with some right hands and it’s a clothesline into a bulldog. The Silencer is loaded up but the rest of Legado makes a save. The distraction lets Lumis gets posted, allowing Escobar to hit the Phantom Driver for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C-. I’m still not wild on Lumis but he is a good bit easier to take now that he is not featured nearly as much as he was before. That is the kind of thing that could give him a longer shelf life and I could go for him a lot more if he is in a match like this, especially one where Escobar wins. Escobar has a lot of possible ways to go and that is rather interesting.

Post match Legado runs into Hit Row for a showdown with trash talking.

Earlier today, Kyle O’Reilly sat down with Wade Barrett and said that unfortunately, losing is a part of life. That was the case last week against Adam Cole, but now he isn’t sure if he needs his soul back. He needs to get his groove back and he is willing to do what it takes to finish Cole.

Back at Knight’s estate, LA Knight has Cameron Grimes mow his rather large lawn with an old a rather ancient push lawnmower. Grimes talks about his grandmother chasing him with one like this but Knight doesn’t want to hear it.

During the break, Indi Hartwell tried to carry Dexter Lumis off but couldn’t hold him up. The kiss was imminent but Candice LeRae broke it up. Ok the fall was funny.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Duke Hudson vs. Ikemen Jiro

Hudson is formerly known as Brendan Vink and Jiro has wrestled on 205 Live for a few months. Jiro’s jacket, which he wrestles in, is universe themed but he gets shoved down to start anyway. A cartwheel and some flips have Hudson a little confused, as does Jiro’s headstand in the corner. Hudson gets him on his shoulder for a knee to the head and then drops Jiro down onto the top rope.

Some stomping in the corner has Jiro in more trouble but he gets in a few shots to the face (with jacket) to stagger Hudson. A few more right hands put Jiro in trouble again but he hurricanranas his way out of a Razor’s Edge. That’s enough to send Hudson outside for a top rope Asai moonsault but Jiro bangs up his ankle. Back in and Hudson hits a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:28.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a styles clash but they made it work anyway. Hudson needs the win a lot more as he is best known for a forgettable run on Raw when nothing was going on while Jiro has some amazing chemistry which will take him a long way. The jacket alone is something that makes him stand out and a loss in the first round isn’t going to take him down.

Pete Dunne wants the winner of tonight’s title match but Timothy Thatcher doesn’t like Dunne calling himself the best technician in NXT. Tommaso Ciampa runs in to start the brawl with Dunne and Oney Lorcan.

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Robert Stone Brand

Jessi Kamea kicks Catanzaro into the corner and it’s off to Aliyah for a hair toss. Catanzaro gets up some boots in the corner to cut off Aliyah though and dives over for the tag to Carter. Everything breaks down and Catanzaro dives onto Kamea on the floor. That leaves Aliyah to get caught with the 450/neckbreaker combination for the pin at 3:30.

Rating: C-. Carter and Catanzaro have a long way to go but the Coconut Loop opening back up should help them out a lot. They both need more ring time and working a few house shows a week to give them some time in front of a crowd is going to help them. Working a three minute tag match on TV once a week isn’t getting you very far, but ten minutes two or three times a week could.

Post match Robert Stone checks on Aliyah, who shoves him away and shouts that she has done more for him than he has ever done for her. She slaps Stone in the face and beats the fire out of him, drawing a heck of a reaction as a result. Aliyah leaves as Frankie Monet comes out to look at Kamea. Stone crawls up the ramp as Kamea leaves with Monet.

Samoa Joe comes up to Johnny Gargano to protect himself at all times and obey his commands. Gargano is cool with that, just like Austin Theory is cool with the new Way shirt. Joe leaves and gets into a staredown with Pete Dunne.

Cameron Grimes is sitting by the pool because, as a fellow millionaire, he has hired a kid to mow the lawn for him. LA Knight is furious and sends the kid away so he gets kicked in the shin. That makes Knight drop his money, so Grimes sweeps it up, knocking Knight into the pool in the process. Slapstick still works.

Here is Adam Cole to say that Kyle O’Reilly needs to rethink that rematch idea. Anyway, it’s time to move on to Samoa Joe, who choked him out from behind a few weeks ago. Joe is a security guard in a suit and Cole knows no one in the back is man enough to face him. Cue Bronson Reed, who doesn’t have the North American Title anymore but he’s still ready to fight. Cole’s superkick is blocked and Reed runs him over, sending Cole outside. Cue Samoa Joe for the main event and the staredown with Cole is on.

Frankie Monet and Jessi Kamea are leaving with Robert Stone catching up to them. Mandy Rose pops up to say it looks like the brand is under new management.

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Karrion Kross

Kross, with Scarlett, is defending and Samoa Joe is referee. Gargano goes right after him to start but gets knocked down in a hurry. Some dropkicks tot he back put Kross on the floor though and a running flip dive from the apron drops Kross again. A missed charge sends Kross shoulder first into the steps but he is fine enough to drop Gargano onto the announcers’ table.

We take a break and come back with Kross being sent shoulder first into the post. Gargano kicks him outside but this time Kross comes back in with a suplex to take over. Back up and Kross hits a hard lariat but Gargano grabs a tornado DDT out of the corner. A chokeslam cuts off Gargano, who is right back with a superkick. The Krossjacket is escaped with a backflip and the Gargano Escape has Kross in trouble for a change. That’s countered as well and Kross grabs the Krossjacket again. Gargano makes the rope but Kross won’t let go, earning a break from Joe (his first important moment in the match).

They head outside with Gargano being rammed into the barricade. Kross loads up the steps but Joe takes them away and gets in Kross’ face. The distraction lets Gargano hit a DDT onto the floor. One Final Beat gets two (with commentary making it clear that it wouldn’t be a pin, which they really need to work on) but Kross hits him in the face. A powerbomb into another doublebomb into a triplebomb into a Doomsday Saito has Gargano mostly done. The running forearm to the back of the head retains the title at 12:47.

Rating: B. This worked well as Gargano knows how to wrestle this match in his sleep. The match made Kross look like a monster who was having a match rather than someone just doing one thing after another from bell to bell. Kross vs. Joe seems to be on the horizon and that should be the awesome brawl that you should expect it to be.

Post match Kross gets in Joe’s face again but Joe goes to walk away. Kross jumps him from behind and chokes him out to end the show. There’s the Summerslam Takeover main event.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a good example of a show where the sum is greater than the total of the individual parts. The main event was the best match on the show but they had a nice collection of matches throughout, the funny Grimes/Knight stuff and setting things up for the future. The show also flew by and it was one of the best NXT’s in a good while. It was well put together and a rather entertaining show. Well done, and very NXT of them.

Results
Dakota Kai b. Ember Moon – GTK
Tyler Rust b. Bobby Fish – Kick to the head
Sarray b. Gigi Dolin – High collar suplex
Santos Escobar b. Dexter Lumis – Phantom Driver
Duke Hudson b. Ikemen Jiro – Swinging Boss Man Slam
Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter b. Robert Stone Brand – 450/neckbreaker combination to Aliyah
Karrion Kross b. Johnny Gargano – Running forearm to the back of the head

 

 

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NXT
Date: June 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for In Your House and there is not exactly a lot of hype around this one. It isn’t a good sign when they have a main event of five people in the title match, which feels about as un-NXT as you can get. Hopefully they have something to build up the show tonight, because it needs the help. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NXT Title match, plus a look at some of the rest of Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Oney Lorcan

This is “my friend is better than your friend” and Theory dropkicks him into the corner to start. Lorcan is back up with a headlock takeover to put Theory down for a bit. They get up and exchange forearms with Theory getting the better of things. Lorcan is knocked down for a slingshot stomp into a suplex, which has commentary a bit too impressed. Back up and Lorcan hits a heck of a chop to knock some skin off of Theory and a knee life puts him on the floor.

A suplex puts Theory down again outside and here is Pete Dunne to watch as we take a break. Back with Johnny Gargano at ringside too and Theory sending Lorcan into the barricade a few times. They get back in for a fall away slam to send Lorcan down again. Lorcan is sat up top for a running springboard Spanish Fly and another near fall. Another trip to the floor sees a double clothesline, sending Gargano and Dunne into a brawl. As the two of them are ejected, Lorcan hits a half nelson slam for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C+. They hit each other pretty hard here and it was nice to see Theory getting to do something nice in the ring instead of having everything be all wacky comedy. Lorcan is the same as he can get in there and have a good match with anyone. All in all, this was a fine match, though I’m not sure how much it did to build towards Takeover’s title match.

We go to LA Knight’s house to show his Million Dollar Legacy. This involves having some women join him in the hot tub with some champagne so he can talk about how he’ll take out Cameron Grimes on Sunday. Then he gets in a rather expensive looking car (with one of the women closing the door) and drives off. This is the kind of vignette that we need to see more of because they are a great way to build someone up in a hurry.

Here’s your weird flashback of the week as Dok Hendrix joins us for an In Your House Slam Jam.

Here is Legado del Fantasma to call out Bronson Reed. Cue Reed to look at him running over Santos Escobar last week so the brawl is teased. Cue MSK to chase them off, so Escobar throws out the challenge for a six man tag with all titles on the line. Deal, but first we see Escobar getting squashed again last week. Hold on though as here is Hit Row to stare down the champs.

Isaiah Scott vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Hit Row and Drake Maverick are here too. Dain works on the wrist to start and Scott can’t get around him to start. Scott gets sent outside but it’s too early for the big dive. The distraction lets Scott sneak in from behind for some cheap shots but Dain runs him over again. Another distraction lets Scott get in a cheap shot, setting up the running kick from the apron.

Back in and a kick to the face rocks Dain but he unloads in the corner to stagger him again. One heck of a shot to the head drops Scott again, setting up a running crossbody for two. Scott rolls away from another clothesline and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two of his own. Dain is back with a splash in the corner as the brawl breaks out on the floor. Top Dolla catches Maverick with an AA on the apron so Scott kicks the distracted Dain off the ropes. A running kick to the head finishes for Scott at 6:40.

Rating: B-. There is something so cool about the way Scott moves as he looks so smooth out there. This was a rather fun match and the two of them both looked good the whole time. Hit Row has hit the ground running as they are already feel like one of the bigger deals around here. I would be surprised if they don’t have some titles by the end of the summer and that is a good thing.

Candice LeRae is annoyed at Poppy being here tonight but Indi Hartwell runs off to find Dexter Lumis. Candice: “Why does this keep happening? They were never even a thing.”

And now, Cameron Grimes’ Million Dollar Legacy. We start with Cameron hitting a cannonball into a pool and coming back up to talk to the camera while looking between a woman’s legs. Grimes fires up a Cuban cigar with a $100 bill but chokes on the smoke. Some liquor makes him cringe as well so it’s time for a massage. Then Grimes gives the woman a massage and seems to have a better time. Then he jumps in a less expensive looking car and drives off.

Mercedes Martinez comes out for a match but Xia Li jumps her from behind and the big beatdown is on. Martinez fights back and sends Li over the barricade. Back in and ring the bell.

Mercedes Martinez b. ???

Air Raid Crash finishes in 16 seconds.

Breezango talks about Imperium coming after them and doesn’t like the propaganda videos that they have been seeing. Maybe Imperium is a little scared because Breezango beat them once before.

HHH and William Regal are in the back with Poppy, who has put together an NXT soundtrack. HHH asks when the album drops so Poppy pulls out her phone and hits a button. Poppy: “Right now.” The album is plugged and here’s Dexter Lumis with a drawing for Poppy. She hugs him and here’s Indi Hartwell to scream.

Cameron Grimes and LA Knight arrive at the same time and a guard comes in to say that Ted DiBiase is waiting in the ring for them. After Knight can’t tip the guy and Grimes won’t, we cut to DiBiase in the ring asking them to join him. Cue Grimes and Knight so DiBiase can say that they need to climb the ladder to success. A solid gold ladder comes down from the ceiling and Knight seems cool with all of this. He promises to run over the hillbilly to get here but Grimes doesn’t like the name.

Instead Grimes talks about how he can do everything in between these ropes, he cannot be beaten. You can take his clothes and his legacy but he is taking the Million Dollar Legacy to the moon! Grimes starts climbing the ladder and asks what is he reaching for. DiBiase is glad he asks and tells the guys to bring it in. Two goons bring in a case containing….the Million Dollar Title. Well that was kind of obvious and I really don’t need to see a ladder match, but it does make sense in this case. DiBiase’s laugh makes up for a lot of it though and Grimes’ promo was fire.

Kyle O’Reilly and Karrion Kross have to be held apart in the back when a ticked off Regal comes in to say cool it.

Ever-Rise is going to host the Takeover Pre-Pre Show!

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. August Grey/Ikemen Jiro

Grey/Jiro are a regular team on 205 Live. Gibson takes Grey down by the arm but Grey is back up with a running hurricanrana. Jiro, who wrestles in a jacket, hits a forearm to the head but gets sent to the apron. That’s fine with Jiro, who slingshots in with an anklescissors. Gibson is fed up with this and goes after Jiro but makes the mistake of touching the jacket.

Everything breaks down and Drake comes in to clean house, including Gibson kicking Jiro in the face. A shot to Jiro’s leg puts him down and a slam sends him legs first into the ropes. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to watch the match and the distraction lets Grey come in off the hot tag. House is cleaned, including a spinning high crossbody. So Much Prettier (Unprettier running up the corner) is broken up and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem to finish Grey at 5:00.

Rating: C. This is where 205 Live can be a bit of a benefit to NXT, as Grey and Jiro have won a few matches in a row on the show. Now that wasn’t exactly focused on here, but at least the Veterans won clean in the end despite the distraction. It wasn’t exactly a great match but they did it fast enough that it didn’t hurt anything.

Post match the Veterans shout at Ciampa and Thatcher about wanting the titles, but Ciampa says the title shot goes through them. That’s cool with Gibson, who issues the challenge for a tornado tag match next week. Ciampa says they love tornadoes and they don’t need tags, so let’s do it right now. The Veterans run from the right.

We look back at Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan injuring Bobby Fish’s arm.

Fish is training in the back and says he isn’t done with Lorcan.

Here is a ticked off Candice LeRae to talk about how annoyed she is with Poppy. Indi Hartwell ran off crying because of Poppy so now it is time for Poppy to learn. So either come out here right now or be introduced to the parking lot. Cue Poppy, who doesn’t seem interested in fighting, but here is the returning Io Shirai who is glad to do it.

Dok Hendrix gives us the Slam Jam for In Your House, still as the best promo on the show.

During the break, Poppy and Xia Li ran into Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai but there is no Shotzi Blackheart. They both kick the other in the arm to start so they take turns driving the other into the corner. Kai knocks her down for two and a whip into the corner sets up a running kick to the face for the same. Back up and Moon hits a running kick to the face into a basement Downward Spiral for two of her own. Kai gets sent to the apron but manages a forearm to the back and sends Moon into the post as we take a break.

Back with Moon hitting the middle rope Codebreaker, followed by a superkick. A flipping Stunner gives Moon two and she grabs something like a dragon sleeper of all things. That’s reversed into a spinning faceplant to give Kai two and a running kick in the corner gets the same. Moon is back up to reverse a victory roll into a powerbomb for two and Kai needs a breather on the floor. Gonzalez’s cheap shot doesn’t work so Moon hits a suicide dive to take them both out. That’s enough for Gonzalez, who comes in for the DQ at 12:34.

Rating: C. Moon has improved a good bit in recent weeks and is now starting to feel more like the version that made her a star in the first place. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have her get the pin over Kai here but it could have been worse. Still though, not a bad match and Moon busted out some new stuff here so she feels like a bit more of a threat to the title on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on but Moon counters the lifting powerbomb into a Stunner. The Eclipse leaves Gonzalez laying and Moon holds up the title.

Karrion Kross says the four challenges have been given the opportunity to face him tonight. They don’t have to wait until Sunday to feel what it is like to be flatlined though and now is their chance to find out what it is like. Tick tock.

William Regal is in the ring with Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Regal rants about how he is the GM around here and Kross isn’t taking over the show. Kross says this place has been out of control for a long time now so he wants the four challengers out here right now. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to say that Kross has the thinnest skin he has ever seen and it is a matter of time before he snaps.

Cue Johnny Gargano to stand on the announcers’ table and talk about how Kross shouldn’t let a guy in a jean jacket talk about him that way. Kross isn’t Johnny Takeover but he should go choke O’Reilly out right now. Kross calls Gargano a mark and offers him a beating of his own. Cue Pete Dunne to say he is tired of waiting and promises to win the title on Sunday.

Adam Cole pops up on the video screen to say he beat the unbeatable Kross (verbally) last week. Kross is scared to face Adam Cole bay bay because Cole can beat any of the rest of them (again) to become NXT Champion (again). He’ll see you on Sunday and goes away. O’Reilly: “Clearly Adam Cole is too much of a b**** to be here tonight.” He gets in Kross’ face and the beatdown is on with security getting beaten up as well.

Security winds up holding Kross so the other three can score on him a bit. Kross is back up to run O’Reilly over though and stands tall….until Cole runs in for a superkick to the back of the head and the Last Shot. Cole stands tall to end the show, again looking like the biggest star on the show by a mile. This segment was effective enough, but egads it felt tacked on, much like the entire title match. I could see this not headlining if there was anything else worthwhile to put in the top spot, but that just isn’t the case this time.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a good job of building up Takeover but at the same time, the show isn’t exactly jumping off the page. Nothing on it feels must see and it comes off more like a Takeover that is happening because it has to, not because they have the material to have one. The wrestling tonight was good enough and they added a match/adjusted another, though I’m still not sure how much I need to see the show. That being said, Takeover has a reputation like no other and if anyone can pull it off, it’s NXT.

Results

Oney Lorcan b. Austin Theory – Half nelson slam

Isaiah Scott b. Killian Dain – Running kick to the head

Mercedes Martinez b. ??? – Air Raid Crash

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ikemen Jiro/August Grey – Ticket To Mayhem to Grey

Ember Moon b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Raquel Gonzalez interfered

 

 

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NXT
Date: May 18, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s time for a big main event with the North American Title being defended inside a cage. Johnny Gargano has to defend against Bronson Reed, which could set up a heck of a Tsunami to crush Gargano for good. That could be quite the match as you have two talented people in there, plus a lot of other things on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the cage match.

Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

Stark starts fast and drives her into the corner to hammer away, setting up a springboard missile dropkick. They head outside with Storm getting knocked around until she manages to whip her into the steps. The running hip attack crushes Stark against the steps and Stark barely beats the count. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Storm boots her down for two.

Stark grabs a backslide for two and nails an enziguri to put both of them down as we take a break. Back with Stark reversing Storm Zero into a hurricanrana for two, followed by a half nelson suplex for the same. Storm is back up with Storm Zero for two and shock exists. That’s fine with Storm, who grabs a judo throw and spins it over into a DDT, which drops Stark on her head (that was TERRIFYING) for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. They got me with the finish as I was thinking Stark was going to win after surviving Storm Zero. Granted I would hope they could come up with a better way to do it than by dropping Stark on her head, but at least she seems to still be alive. Storm really needed the win, and if she can get a less disturbing finisher, she should be good to go.

Post match here is Frankie Monet to stare at Storm.

Legado del Fantasma is ready for MSK but Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher come in to say not so fast. Thatcher goes into Spanish to say…..I believe “the cat does not have shoes.” Ciampa: “That makes perfect sense.” The match seems to be made for later.

Cameron Grimes comes up and says park his car, but he’s in Ted DiBiase’s spot. He gets a match with the valet, who happens to be Jake Atlas, for later.

The Way is at a spa, where Indi Hartwell admits that Candice LeRae was right about everything, including Dexter Lumis. As you might have guessed, Lumis is giving her the massage, though she can’t see him due to the cucumbers over her eyes.

We get a Prime Target on Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor II. Kross was feeling the injuries from the match for weeks and can’t believe Balor survived as long as he did. At the end though, Kross left with the title. Balor says getting back up is how you keep going though and it’s time to go. Pat McAfee is ready for the rematch and Paul Heyman says everyone is interested in the match, even Roman Reigns. As for a spoiler….it’s a little too close to call. Next week, it’s round two. More greatness from these videos, as usual.

Cameron Grimes vs. Jake Atlas

Before the match, Grimes says everyone is glad to see Ted DiBiase, but he has a video on the REAL DiBiase, including all kinds of bad things happening to him over the years. Atlas dropkicks him to the floor before the bell and we take a break. Joined in progress after a break with Grimes hammering away but charging into a boot to the face. A springboard armdrag sets up a running enziguri in the corner, followed by the middle rope hurricanrana for two.

Grimes clotheslines him down and grinds an elbow into the chest in the corner. Atlas sends him chest first into the corner and snaps off a German suplex….as Ted DiBiase arrives in his limo. Something misses off the top and Grimes snaps off the flipping powerslam. The Cave In is loaded up but we’ve got Ted DiBiase in person, allowing Atlas to grab a rollup for the pin at 4:51.

Rating: C-. The action wasn’t the point here and Grimes losing to Atlas in this kind of situation isn’t going to hurt him. Grimes vs. DiBiase continues to be one of the best things going on in all of wrestling today and I want to see where it keeps going. I’m not sure if it is going to be but they have me wanting to see it every week.

Post match Grimes gives chase but DiBiase is in the limo, saying that Grimes will never be a Million Dollar Man. Ranting ensues again.

Bronson Reed is ready to make everything he has put into his career worth it by winning the North American Title. He has been around the world but now he is going to be here, winning the title and telling his wife that they did it.

We get a sit down interview with Pete Dunne, talking about how he can win any title he wants at any time. He has never had a bad match and even when he loses, people leave the ring a different person. Dunne talks about being influenced by British style and everything he has put together over the years (with the required Fit Finlay reference). The fans’ influence makes a huge difference and he can’t wait to see what is next.

Alexander Wolfe vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Imperium (minus Walter) and the still scared Drake Maverick are here too. Dain punches him into the corner to start but gets kicked and uppercutted for his early efforts. Some uppercuts from Dain allow him to send Wolfe into the corner. Fabian Aichner knocks Maverick off the apron and there’s a German suplex to Dain. Marcel Barthel throws in a chair but Wolfe takes too long, allowing Dain to hit a running crossbody for the pin at 1:49.

Post match, Imperium turns on Wolfe and beats him down, setting up the posing.

Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai are done with Mercedes Martinez and are ready for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Ever-Rise come in (with coffee mugs) to say Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are the #1 contenders. They plug their show, but Gonzalez doesn’t watch it. Matt Martel says that sounds like she wants to hit him….and she does, dropping him with one slap. These guys are good.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher

Wilde dances at Ciampa to start, who takes him outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and we hit the front facelock on Wilde, setting up the chinlock. Thatcher comes in for a hammerlock on Mendoza, followed by a headscissors from Ciampa. Mendoza fights up and raises a boot in the corner to cut Ciampa off. Thatcher comes back in for a headlock into an ankle lock.

With that still on, Ciampa comes in with his own to Wilde but stereo rollups get….no count because two of the people are illegal. Stereo enziguris put everyone down and we take a break. We come back with Ciampa hitting a string of running clotheslines in the corner. Mendoza breaks up the hanging DDT on Wilde as we see Mendoza’s busted nose being checked on during the break. Ciampa gets punched and chopped in the corner but Mendoza misses a charge into the post.

The hot tag brings in Thatcher to hammer away in the corner, with Ciampa getting to do the same. Legado gets Ciampa into the corner for a clothesline and some moonsaults get two. Thatcher breaks up the Russian legsweep/boot combination and Wilde nails the big running flip dive. Back in and the hanging DDT gets two on Wilde with Mendoza making the save. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans to jump Ciampa though and now the boot/Russian legsweep is good for the pin at 15:41.

Rating: C+. What we got was good but we got quite a bit of it as this match felt long. Legado is a solid team, though it’s weird to have heels who fly around like they do. At the same time though, it sets up the Veterans vs. Ciampa vs. Thatcher, which more than works for everyone involved. Legado likely gets a title shot too so that is a well used match.

Bobby Fish says his business is with Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan. The torn tricep was a long recovery, but now he is back and there is a debt to be paid. First up is Pete Dunne because they have unfinished business. Next week, they can finish it.

Back at the spa, the Way’s credit card is declined. They think it is Austin Theory, but the spa employee called the credit card company and found out that it was something about a florist three weeks ago. Indi Hartwell puts the pieces together and realizes that Dexter Lumis still loves her. Hartwell runs off screaming this over and over as Candice LeRae is stunned. Beth: “Forget Bennifer! INDEX IS BACK!!!”

Johnny Gargano is ready to prove that Bronson Reed is not on his level. Gargano stops the unstoppable inside of a steel cage.

Aliyah vs. Sarray

Sarray starts fast with a springboard armdrag into a basement dropkick but Jessi Kamea grabs a leg. Aliyah gets in a few shots of her own but walks into a spinning kick to the face. There’s a German suplex into a missile dropkick from Sarray, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. The high collar suplex finishes Aliyah at 2:25.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are ready for the Way again and it’s time to get gritty and wild. Howling ensues (Moon: “That’s what she said.”).

Hit Row vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese

That would be Ashante Adonis/Top Dolla, with the former taking over on Nese to start. Dollar hits a World’s Strongest Slam/Wasteland at the same time and it’s already back to Adonis for the corner stomping to Daivari. A superkick drops Nese and Dolla has to calm Adonis down. Something like an AA into a neckbreaker gives Dollar the pin on Daivari at 2:20.

Post match, Hit Row brags about the win, with Isaiah Scott promising to watch the North American Title match.

William Regal announces Legado del Fantasma vs. MSK for the Tag Team Titles in two weeks. There are going to be some new stars in the cruiserweight division, and also next week it’s Dakota Kai/Shotzi Blackheart vs. Ember Moon/Raquel Gonzalez.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Frankie Monet’s debut, Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase in a Million Dollar Faceoff, plus Balor vs. Kross II.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed

Gargano, with Austin Theory, is defending inside a cage. An early escape attempt doesn’t work for Gargano as Reed pulls him back and shoves Gargano out of the air without much trouble. Reed sends him into the cage a few times and drives his face into the steel to make it worse. A missed charge hits cage, but the slingshot spear doesn’t work because of the cage.

That lets Reed snap off a hanging DDT but Theory is there to cut off a climb attempt. Gargano superkicks the knee out and we take a break. Back with Reed hitting a super Samoan drop for a delayed two. That means it’s time to go up but Gargano powerbombs him back down. It’s too early for Gargano to escape though as Reed pulls him back in and sits on his chest. A powerbomb is countered with a grab of the cage though and Gargano hits a poisonrana to put both of them down.

One Final Beat is countered with a toss into the cage but Theory slams the door on Reed’s head. Now One Final Beat can give Gargano two so it’s time to go up. Reed is right there to catch him with a superbomb but makes the mistake of climbing, allowing Theory to cut him off. Gargano gets headbutted off the top and Theory gets punched down. The splash to the back sets up the Tsunami to give Reed the title at 15:25.

Rating: B. This was exactly how such a match should have gone, with Reed overcoming the obstacles/odds and winning clean in the end. There was no fluke here either, as that Tsunami is one of the best looking finishers going today. Gargano was a good choice as champion because he could do something like this, but is more than enough of a legend to be back just fine in a few weeks. Solid main event here, and a good example of how a telegraphed finish isn’t a bad thing.

Pyro goes off for the celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty awesome show here as they had a bunch of nice stuff capped off by the big main event, which more than delivered. I can always go with watching NXT get to do their thing and show how a good show is supposed to be put together. They have things set up for weeks now while delivering this week as well. That’s an efficient two hours and it was worth the watch here as usual.

Results

Toni Storm b. Zoey Stark – Judo throw spun into a DDT

Jake Atlas b. Cameron Grimes – Rollup

Killian Dain b. Alexander Wolfe – Crossbody

Legado del Fantasma b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Russian legsweep/running enziguri to Ciampa

Sarray b. Aliyah – High collar suplex

Hit Row b. Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari – Fireman’s carry flipping neckbreaker to Daivari

Bronson Reed b. Johnny Gargano – Tsunami

 

 

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: January 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

We’re a little over a month away from Takeover and that means it is time to start putting things together. Last week’s show featured a stacked card with Finn Balor retaining the NXT Title over Kyle O’Reilly, meaning that he is going to need a new #1 contender. This week is also going to focus on the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s show and a quick look at the Dusty Classic, with three first round matches tonight.

Candice LeRae vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Candice has Indi Hartwell with her. Shotzi ducks a kick to start and shrugs off a neckbreaker, allowing her to go up top. The high crossbody gets two on Candice and it’s time to work on the arm. The armbar sends Candice bailing to the ropes so Shotzi goes after the other arm for a change. This time they go to the apron with Shotzi dropping her onto the steps but managing to avoid getting tossed into the barricade ala the battle royal from a few months ago.

An Indi distraction lets Candice hit a springboard spinning crossbody to the floor and we take a break. Back with Shotzi winning a slugout and nailing the running reverse Cannonball against the ropes. They go to the apron again with Shotzi hitting a DDT and then diving onto Indi and Candice at the same time. Back in and Candice manages a dropkick into the corner into a low superkick for two. Blackheart grabs another DDT but gets distracted by Indi, setting up Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride for the pin at 11:22.

Rating: C+. They went back and forth rather well, though it did slip into the succession of spots rather than much of a flowing match at times. I’m not sure on Shotzi losing, but I do get Candice winning here, as the Way still hasn’t been around all that long as an official faction and needs to look strong. Good opener here though, with Indi paying dividends.

Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch arrive, which seems to be a surprise.

Here’s Finn Balor for a chat. Balor says this is the day that he’s still the champ. Kyle O’Reilly again showed that he was great but he isn’t on Balor’s level. O’Reilly stepped up and got put down, because now he he is the one eating through a straw. Whoever is coming next better understand that they don’t make the cloth he is cut from anymore.

Cue Pete Dunne and company, with Dunne saying that he knew it would come down to these two to be the face of British wrestling. They were always going to go one on one so Balor tries to start fast. The beatdown gets the better of him through with Dunne taking him down by the arm. O’Reilly runs in for the save but it takes Adam Cole and Roderick Strong to chase the villains off. Balor has an awkward but seemingly respectful staredown with O’Reilly before leaving. Dunne vs. Balor is about as awesome of a match as there is right now, even if Dunne has lost a bit of his mystique.

Johnny Gargano is ready to take out Dexter Lumis and then he’ll beat Kushida too….but here is Austin Theory with some of Lumis’ drawings of the two of them. Gargano doesn’t handle things well.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise

Before the match, Zack Gibson does his usual stuff, saying this is going to be their year. William Regal pops up on the screen to say the tournament is on and we’re ready to go. Gibson drives Martel into the corner so it’s off to Parker, who tries some trash talk. That earns him a beating into the corner so Drake can take him down with a headlock. Parker uses the hair to pull him down and stomp away, with Gibson getting things out to the floor.

An EVER-RISE RULES shout has Drake ready to kill him so Gibson calms things down. Drake fights up again and drops Parker, before throwing in a shot to Martel on the apron. Gibson comes back in for a front facelock and a belly to back slam. A half crab is blocked with some kicks to the face so Drake comes back in for a running elbow in the corner. There’s a spinwheel kick to give Drake two and he grabs the wristlock to cut off a near hot tag attempt.

Parker finally manages to drag Drake over for the hot tag to Martel, who immediately cleans house. There’s a suplex to Drake followed by a running clothesline and it’s already back to Parker. The Sweet Taste is broken up by Gibson and Drake hits a dropkick to Martel. The Ticket to Mayhem sends the Veterans on at 7:58.

Rating: C. They tried but the idea of the Veterans being actually threatened by Ever-Rise is laughable on its best day. The Veterans are going to be favorites to win the whole thing so there was little drama to be seen here. They are one of the better teams going today but could use the boost from a strong showing in the tournament.

Raquel Gonzalez talks about how important last week’s win was for her because just one year ago, Rhea Ripley was the chosen one. She is looking forward to the division and the Women’s Title because she is the baddest b**** around.

Shotzi Blackheart isn’t happy but she’s ready to win the Dusty Classic and beat Candice up on the way. She needs a partner and it needs to be someone she went to war with. Cue Ember Moon and the team is formed in a hurry.

Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis

Non-title and Gargano has Austin Theory with him. The bell rings and Gargano rips up the picture Lumis drew. That earns him a boot to the face and some right hands from Lumis, who does not appreciate the disrespect. Gargano misses the rolling kick to the head so Lumis is right there to stare at him. They head outside with Lumis ducking the running kick and nipping up to freak Gargano out.

Back in and Lumis gets caught on top but a superplex attempt is cut off by a series of headbutts. Lumis shoves him off the top but misses a Swanton as we take a break. We come back with Gargano in control and driving in knees to the back. Lumis manages a spinebuster though and the comeback is on with some right hands to the face. A slingshot suplex into a legdrop gives Lumis two but Gargano’s crucifix gets the same. The low superkick gets two more and it’s time for a slugout. Lumis has to deal with Theory and even Silences him, but Gargano uses the distraction to grab a rollup pin at 11:12.

Rating: C-. This was certainly a Lumis match, as I couldn’t get into anything they were doing. Lumis can do a few things in the ring but NXT thinks he is the most interesting person around. It’s much more an indifference to him than disdain, but that doesn’t exactly make things much better. Standard Lumis here, meaning the weakest thing on the show.

Post match the beatdown stays on with Gargano grabbing a chair. Kushida runs in for the save and makes Gargano tap with the Hoverboard Lock. Kushida hands him the title and poses for a good visual.

Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are ready to take out the Undisputed Era.

Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa have a sitdown interview with Wade Barrett. Thatcher is cleared for the Fight Pit so we’ll do that next week. Ciampa challenged him to this because he wanted to change the culture but Thatcher says Ciampa doesn’t know what he’s getting into. Thatcher talks about Ciampa interrupting Thatcher’s students but Ciampa calls him a piece of garbage as a teacher. Ciampa is ready to change things in the Fight Pit and he’ll see if he still has it.

The Undisputed Era is ready to end Lorcan and Burch. They respect Breezango, but the two of them are in the Era’s way.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: MSK vs. Isaiah Scott/Jake Atlas

MSK is……Nash Carter/Wes Lee, better known as the former Rascalz. Carter (formerly Zachary Wentz) starts things off with Atlas and they go to the mat, only to pop up for a standoff. Atlas’ armbar doesn’t last long so Carter starts flipping around, setting up a jumping back elbow for one. Scott comes in and the flipping around is on, setting up Carter’s springboard corkscrew spinning crossbody.

Lee (formerly Dezmond Xavier) comes in to work on the arm a bit more. Scott takes him into the corner though and Atlas gets in a knee to the ribs. A low bridge from the apron puts Lee on the floor and Atlas takes him down. Carter goes over for the save and Lee adds the flip dive. Vic calls them some rascals and we take a break. Back with Scott having to block a hot tag attempt, meaning Carter gets over to Lee for the tag a few seconds later (even the newcomers get that one).

Atlas gets knocked down so the push moonsault can connect for two as Atlas makes the save. This time it’s Lee getting caught in the corner so Atlas can kick him in the head. Scott’s 450 gets two with Carter having to dive in for the save. Carter hits a big dive onto Atlas on the floor but pops back up in the corner to get the tag from Lee. With Atlas down, it’s a modified Hart Attack with Lee hitting a running Blockbuster into the spinebuster to finish Scott at 11:54.

Rating: B. I’ve been a big Rascalz fan since they debuted so it’s cool to have them here on a stage where people might see them. They looked great here and I could go for a lot more of them. While winning the tournament seems far fetched, it isn’t out of the question and that is the kind of thing that can make the team a big deal in a hurry.

Here are the first four teams in the Women’s Dusty Classic:

Indi Hartwell/Candice LeRae

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter

Mercedes Martinez/Toni Storm

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

More teams to be announced and the first match is next week.

Video on Boa/Xia Li and their mystery master.

Scarlett, with Karrion Kross, uses Tarot cards to say things are about to get bad, especially for Finn Balor.

Xia Li vs. ???

The awesome entrance takes three times longer than the match, as Li finishes with the spinning kick to the face in 22 seconds.

Post match Li ties her in the ropes and beats her up even more, much to the master’s approval.

Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter are ready to win their first round match over Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm. They’re used to being overlooked though and beg everyone to do just that.

Isaiah Scott and Jake Atlas had to be separated. Bronson Reed handles the separating and Scott doesn’t seem to like that.

Next week: more first round matches, plus the Fight Pit.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Undisputed Era vs. Breezango

Adam Cole/Roderick Strong for the Era here with Kyle O’Reilly in their corner. Breeze headlocks Cole to start and shoulders him down, but both of them try superkicks to no avail. They go with another grapple off to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Fandango and Strong come in with Strong grabbing an armbar to take over. Fandango gets in his own armbar as they’re completely even so far. A spinwheel kick gives Fandango two and we go to a break.

Back with Cole kicking Breeze in the head but getting sent outside before the hot tag. Breeze’s dive is cut off with a kick to the head, which is enough for the double tag to Strong and Fandango. Strong slams Breeze onto Fandango for two and it’s back to Cole, who misses the Last Shot. Breeze hits a Backstabber for two on Cole and knocks Strong to the floor. That means a backbreaker/slingshot elbow combination can get two on Cole.

Strong is back in as everything breaks down, meaning everyone can kick someone in the face for the four way knockdown. Cue Lorcan/Burch/Dunne to go after O’Reilly but Finn Balor runs in for the save before the jaw can be crushed again. That doesn’t matter though as Dunne knees O’Reilly in the jaw and Balor’s bad arm is sent into various things. Cole is distracted and walks into a superkick but Strong makes the save this time. The Panama Sunrise is countered but Cole superkicks Fandango out of the air for the pin at 11:57.

Rating: B-. This was the best Breezango match I’ve seen in a long time and that is probably due to having a team like the Era in there to rein them in. You knew the Era wasn’t losing in the first round without a bunch of interference and that was teased here, so there was a bit of drama near the end. I’m curious to see where this is going, which is why you tie an angle into a tournament match like this. Good stuff.

Dunne and company smirk from the stage to end the show as the Era checks on O’Reilly’s injured jaw.

Overall Rating: B. They did a nice job with the opening round of the tournament, which is rarely going to be the most interesting stuff. What matters here is they gave me some interest in every match, with the Veterans vs. Ever-Rise having a bit of a history, a mystery team and then the main event tying into the title feud. Throw in a few other things here and there and it was a nice show up and down.

Results

Candice LeRae b. Shotzi Blackheart – Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ever-Rise – Ticket To Mayhem to Martel

Johnny Gargano b. Dexter Lumis – Rollup

MSK b. Jake Atlas/Isaiah Scott – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Scott

Xia Li b. ??? – Spinning kick to the face

Undisputed Era b. Breezango – Superkick to Fandango

 

 

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

NXT
Date: January 6, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s a huge night this week with the absolutely stacked New Year’s Evil card. The main event is Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kyle O’Reilly in a Takeover rematch, which should be a heck of a fight. Other than that, we have a hoss fight between Karrion Kross and Damian Priest, plus the Cruiserweight Title on the line. Let’s get to it.

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

Dexter Lumis, our host for the evening, is in the empty arena to start things off. He goes to the control and hits some buttons to mess with the lights before turning everything on. What a great way to draw in viewers! A guy pushing buttons in silence!

Damian Priest vs. Karrion Kross

Scarlett is here with Kross and this is a grudge match after Kross returned and Priest said he’s in if Kross wants a fight. They go with the hard lockup to start and fight out to the floor without breaking it up. Back in and Priest kicks him into the head and starts slugging away but Kross knocks him down as well. A running clothesline in the corner has Priest in trouble again and the t-bone suplex gets two.

We hit the double arm crank for a bit before they go out to the floor. Priest kicks the steps out of his hands and slugs away back inside, even managing to kick Kross down. A spinning suplex gets two on Kross and it’s time to crank on the arm, including a reverse cross armbreaker. They trade kicks to the head until Priest hits a springboard flip dive to take him down again.

That just earns him a running clothesline for two and Priest is put on the top. The super Doomsday Saito is broken up though and a Razor’s Edge out of the corner gets two. Kross breaks up the chokeslam onto the apron so Priest knocks him to the floor for the big dive. Back in and a kick to the face sets up South of Heaven for two on Kross.

That doesn’t really keep him down as it’s right back up for a powerbomb to Priest for two more. It’s back to the floor with Kross powerslamming him onto the steps to mess with the ribs even more. Back in and Priest tells him to bring it, earning himself the Doomsday Saito and a running forearm to the back of the head for the pin at 15:29.

Rating: B. They gave us what they advertised here by having two big, strong people beat each other up for fifteen minutes. Priest losing is fine as Kross seems destined for the title scene and it’s not like losing to a former NXT Champion is going to hurt him. Good opener here, with Priest looking good on his way down and Kross looking even better.

The Undisputed Era is ready for their first round Dusty Classic match against Breezango. They may be entertaining but the Undisputed Era is that much better.

Cruiserweight Title: Gran Metalik vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar, with Legado del Fantasma, is defending and Lince Dorado is here with Metalik. They start fast with Metalik snapping off a hurricanrana out to the floor. Back in and a double springboard hurricanrana takes Escobar down again, setting up the big dive to the floor. Escobar kicks him in the head but a rope walk hurricanrana is mostly botched and they fall to the floor.

Back from a break with Escobar dropping him ribs first onto the turnbuckle. The surfboard goes on for a bit, followed by a clothesline for two. Metalik gets in a superkick into a reverse Sling Blade to send Escobar outside again. That means another step up flip dive, followed by a top rope splash for two back inside.

Escobar knees him out of the air though and now it’s Metalik getting crushed by a dive for a change. Back in again and Escobar almost knocks the mask off but Dorado has to take out the rest of Legado. Metalik’s next hurricanrana gets two but the top rope elbow misses. The Phantom Driver retains the title at 12:26.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much drama here and that’s a good thing, as Escobar isn’t going to drop the title to someone coming down from Raw for a two match run. Metalik wasn’t great here either as some of his stuff wasn’t hitting and he used that hurricanrana quite a few times. Not bad, but it wasn’t quite memorable.

Mercedes Martinez doesn’t care that Io Shirai is the Competitor of the Year. She wants the Women’s Title and she’s waiting on the champ.

Xia Li vs. Katrina Cortez

This is Li’s, with a masked man, return after being trapped in a kung fu torture movie for a few weeks. Li kicks her down to start and hits some knees to the ribs. Cortez’s strikes are shrugged off and a big kick to the face finishes for Li at 1:27. Li, especially the finish, looked awesome here.

William Regal regrets to inform us that Timothy Thatcher is injured, meaning the Fight Pit against Tommaso Ciampa isn’t happening. The match will happen when Thatcher is healthy.

We get a special look at Bronson Reed, who promises a colossal 2021 and thinks Rhea Ripley wins tonight.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Last Woman Standing. Ripley dropkicks her into the corner to start and hammers away with right hands to the head. Back up and Gonzalez blasts her with a clothesline, followed by the fall away slam. Gonzalez cranks on the arm and kicks away but talks a bit too much trash about their matching tattoos. That means they go out to the floor with Ripley busting out the kendo sticks to put Gonzalez in some pain.

Gonzalez chairs her out of the air though and hits a hard whip into the barricade. The handcuffs are brought in but Ripley gets them away and attaches her to the barricade. That’s fine with Gonzalez, who rips them off and hits Ripley in the face. Ripley is sent face first into the bell and a backdrop onto the edge of the announcers’ table (geez) puts Ripley down again. Ripley makes it back in and we take a break.

Back with the Gonzalez hitting her in the face with the steps on the stage and then kicking Ripley down the steps. They fight to the back with Ripley spearing her through a glass door. Gonzalez is laid on a table and hits a Swanton off a box to drive her through it. Cue Dakota Kai with a kendo stick though and Ripley is in more trouble. That’s fine with Ripley, who kicks Kai into a locker and puts an anvil case in front of her for a nice trap.

Gonzalez and Ripley go back to the stage with Ripley grabbing the Prism Trap and choking with a chair. That’s broken up though with Gonzalez kicking her into the lighting structure. Ripley goes into the LED board (messing it up for a bit on the process) and it’s the one armed powerbomb to drive them both through the stage for the huge crash. Gonzalez is the only one to climb out for the win at 18:04.

Rating: B+. These two beat the fire out of each other and that’s all you could ask for here. The only thing that worries me is Ripley losing AGAIN because that seems to be the case almost all the time these days. The ending looked great though and Ripley locking Kai in a locker was funny so the whole thing was a success. Ripley almost has to be heading to the main roster now though right?

The Way, with a police escort, arrives for their latest celebration. They get in the ring, where something is under a sheet for them. Johnny Gargano talks about reversing the curse last week, just like the Cleveland Browns. Gargano: “YO CANDICE! I DID IT!” Candice is proud of him and has a plaque commemorating the curse being broken.

Austin Theory and Indi Hartwell offer their own praises and have a gift for him: a portrait of the Way as superheroes. Gargano is touched and announces that he and Theory are entering the Dusty Classic. Cue Shotzi Blackheart with the tank, which she fires at Theory’s crotch. As Theory is writhing in pain, here’s Kushida to go after Gargano. Lumis shows up to ring the bell.

Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae vs. Kushida/Shotzi Blackheart

Gargano and Candice, in street clothes, rant on the floor before Shotzi kicks Candice in the head to start. We take an early break and come back with Shotzi getting kicked out of the corner as Lumis sits on commentary in silence. Blackheart snaps the arm down and it’s off to the men to pick up the pace.

Kushida goes for the cross armbreaker but Gargano gets his foot on the rope. Candice comes in for the save and offers to fight Kushida herself but Blackheart cuts her off in a hurry. Gargano and Candice are knocked outside so Shotzi can hit a big dive onto LeRae. A Theory cheap shot gets him pulled inside and kicked down, leaving Kushida to grab a rollup for the pin on Gargano at 9:05.

Rating: C. I’m still looking forward to both singles matches but this was just kind of there as a tag match. I love the Way’s wacky devotion to Gargano and Candice sells everything rather well, but the matches are only ok for the most part. Nothing too bad here, but not exactly must see stuff.

Takeover is back on Valentine’s Day.

The Dusty Classic is back next week, with the Undisputed Era vs. Breezango and the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Ever-Rise.

William Regal announces the first ever women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. That could actually work.

NXT Title: Kyle O’Reilly vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending and they’re both on their own. After the Big Match Intros, O’Reilly shoulders him down to start and Balor touches the previously broken jaw. A headscissors doesn’t go anywhere and it’s the threat of a kick to the head to shake Balor again. The second headscissors keeps Balor down and O’Reilly starts in on the arm. Balor tries to get up and grabs an abdominal stretch, sending O’Reilly to the ropes, which he bites for the break.

The trainer checks on O’Reilly’s mouth but Balor pulls O’Reilly into a headlock to stay on the jaw. O’Reilly fights up and starts in on the arm, including twisting it around the ropes. Balor goes back to the jaw and then stomps away, setting up a Crossface. That sends O’Reilly feet first to the rope for a change so Balor elbows him in the face and drives the forearm into the jaw.

Back up and O’Reilly kicks him down and goes for the arm, earning another shot tot he jaw for a breather. Balor hits the kick to the head to send O’Reilly outside and he has to beat the count. O’Reilly gets back in and it’s time to go after the leg, earning O’Reilly another kick to the face. Balor goes right back to the Crossface and hits the Sling Blade into a jumping stomp to the chest.

The shotgun dropkick puts O’Reilly in the corner but Balor gets crotched on top. A superplex into a brainbuster gets two and it’s back to the arm. A foot on the leg gets Balor out of trouble, even though his eye is cut. O’Reilly charges into a kick to the side and collapses, allowing Balor to put on something like the Rings of Saturn with a Crossface to make O’Reilly tap at 17:27.

Rating: A-. These guys were fighting an uphill battle as they had to live up to some unbelievable hype. Somehow they managed to have a heck of a match with Balor going after the jaw to mirror what happened last time. There wasn’t a lot of drama about the winner, but watching these guys beat the fire out of each other for about eighteen minutes was all you needed, and Balor looks all the more ready for Kross.

Medics and the Undisputed Era check on O’Reilly as Balor poses to end the show.

Overall Rating: A-. This lived up to the hype and that’s a heck of a trick given how much this show was built up. You could have passed this off as a slightly weaker than usual Takeover and it would have worked just fine. There are some very good matches up and down the card and a limited use of Dexter Lumis makes everything better. Check this one out as it was a great show, with the main event and Last Woman Standing being some hard hitting fights.

Results

Karrion Kross b. Damian Priest – Running forearm to the back of the head

Santos Escobar b. Gran Metalik – Phantom Driver

Xia Li b. Katrina Cortez – Spinning kick to the face

Raquel Gonzalez b. Rhea Ripley – Ripley could not answer the ten count

Kushida/Shotzi Blackheart b. Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae – Rollup to Gargano

Finn Balor b. Kyle O’Reilly – Rings of Saturn with a Crossface

 

 

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

Takeover: WarGames 2020
Date: December 6, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s time for what has become something close to NXT’s signature match and that year has one of the better looking matches in the show’s history. Just like last year, we have the men’s and women’s edition of the show’s namesake match, with a good enough looking undercard. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a general look at WarGames, including the cage being lowered. With that out of the way, we switch into a look at the two WarGames matches.

Team Blackheart vs. Team LeRae

Shotzi Blackheart, Rhea Ripley, Ember Moon, Io Shirai

Candice LeRae, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Toni Storm

We start with the Women’s WarGames match, including a rundown of the rules. After the time is up, the team who won the advantage coming in (Blackheart in this case) sends someone in for a 2-1 advantage for three minutes. Once that time is up, Team LeRae will even things up for three minutes. They alternate until all four each are in and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. And yes Shotzi has a new and bigger tank, which even shoots something at the side of the cage.

Dakota Kai and Moon start things off and go straight to the mat for the brawl. Moon flips off a sleeper attempt and hits a flipping clothesline in the corner. Dakota sends her into the ropes but Moon is right back with a crossbody against the cage. A charge is cut off by Kai’s raised boots and the Kairopractor connects. Kai chokes away and it’s Shotzi coming in for the advantage. Blackheart whips out a toolbox as she comes in to clean house on Kai. The reverse Cannonball connects against the ropes but Shotzi rams her into the cage.

Kai goes after Moon but Shotzi is back up with a doomsday missile dropkick to put Kai down. Gonzalez comes in to tie it up but Shotzi and Moon are right there to jump her at the door. It doesn’t seem to matter though as Gonzalez wrecks both of them, including powerbombing Shotzi against the cage. Kai is back in to clean house and a kick to the face rocks Shotzi in the corner. A springboard from one ring to another takes out Blackheart and Moon again but it’s Ripley coming in, giving Gonzalez a VERY interested face.

The showdown is on (they’ve got something with these two) until Ripley is cut off by Kai. Moon and Shotzi take care of Gonzalez, leaving Ripley to destroy Kai on her own. It’s time for the toolbox and Ripley busts out a hammer, only to drop it to send Kai into the cage. Gonzalez has dropped Moon and Shotzi though, meaning NOW we get the real showdown. They meet between the rings and slug it out with Ripley getting the better of things until Storm, with kendo sticks, comes in to take over.

Everyone else gets back in but Team LeRae takes over without much trouble. The stick beating is on but all six go to the corner, with Moon hitting a Steiner Bulldog on Kai and Blackheart/Ripley being slammed down as well, leaving all six down. Shirai is in for the final advantage and slides in a ladder, only to be kicked out by Gonzalez. Things get creative as Gonzalez keeps knocking Shirai off, either out of the door or off the side. The time expires and it’s LeRae coming in, only to have Shirai waiting on her outside.

Cue Indi Hartwell to jump Shirai and throw in some more weapons. The big beatdown is on, with the referee even telling LeRae and company to stop and give Shotzi a breather. Moon is back up but it’s Shirai on top of the cage, putting a trashcan over herself and diving onto EVERYBODY for the huge spot. Shirai gets the hammer and cleans house with it (meaning she hits people either with the bottom or flat across the back) and the recorded NXT chants start up again.

There’s the moonsault to Gonzalez but everyone makes the save. LeRae gets the Gargano Escape on Moon (with a wrench) at the same time Shotzi puts Storm in Cattle Mutilation. Shotzi uses a chair to knock a kendo stick out of Storm’s hands before picking up the stick (uh…) to clean house again. Shirai’s charge is sent into the corner and Kai hits the running boot to the face. Kai puts Shirai in the trashcan again for a top rope double stomp but Moon makes the save.

Two chairs are set up and Moon hits the Eclipse to drive Kai into said chairs. Storm makes the save and hits Storm Zero to drive Moon into the trashcan for two. Ripley is back up with the Prism Trap to Storm, with Shirai adding a running dropkick for a bonus. That gives Ripley two and the ladder is bridged between the rings. LeRae superkicks a trashcan lid into Ripley’s face as another ladder is set up in the corner. Shotzi and LeRae climb at the same time, with LeRae being knocked off and onto some chairs.

LeRae puts the chair onto herself, flips it over, and points at it before Shotzi drops a backsplash for the (very well choreographed) crushing. Shirai’s Over The Moonsault hits Ripley but Storm drives Ripley into the cover for the save. Shirai gets caught on top and Gonzalez superbombs her through the bridged ladder for the pin (and likely the next title shot) at 35:34.

Rating: B. This was a long and brutal fight, though it didn’t feel quite like your traditional WarGames. That’s because this isn’t your traditional WarGames, and for the NXT version, it worked out well. There were some great spots in here (that Eclipse onto the chairs looked awesome) but it did feel like they were stretching things out for the sake of stretching things out at times. What we got was a heck of a fight though and that’s what it needed to be, with the right team winning.

Finn Balor says after the team sports end, it’s time for all eyes to go back on the Prince.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

Ciampa said he wanted to fight and Thatcher was game. Thatcher takes him to the mat and starts working on the arm before switching over to the leg for a change. Ciampa is right back by working on the leg, including stomping on the leg. Thatcher sends him outside though and catches him with an uppercut on the way back in. Hold on though as Ciampa gets knocked into the ropes, meaning the referee needs to check on him. Thatcher is fine enough to uppercut away and sends Ciampa outside for a second.

Back in and another uppercut means another check from the referee so Thatcher grabs a neck crank. Thatcher pulls on the arm as the slugout begins, only to have to send Ciampa into the corner. They bang heads for a double knockdown but it’s Ciampa coming up with the clothesline comeback. A superplex gets two on Thatcher, who is right back with the guillotine. Ciampa drives him through the ropes for the break and they’re both down on the floor.

Back in and Ciampa runs him over, setting up a bulldog choke. Thatcher’s ear is busted open as he makes the rope and manages a German suplex to drop Ciampa again. Ciampa can’t hit Willow’s Bell as he is pulled throat first into the top rope instead. That’s fine with Ciampa, who ties him in the ropes and chops away, setting up Willow’s Bell for the pin at 16:55.

Rating: B. They built this up as two people wanting to beat the heck out of each other and that’s what we got. There was no reason to try for anything more than Thatcher using his technical stuff against Ciampa’s brawling and the formula worked out rather well. Good, hard hitting match here and while I might have gone with Thatcher winning, Ciampa being rebuilt is a good thing for NXT.

They stare at each other after the match so this might not be over.

We recap Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis. Grimes is cocky and loud so Lumis has been stalking him, including inside a haunted house at Halloween Havoc. As a result, Grimes has been running away over and over so let’s have a strap match.

Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis

The referee is ready to put the strap on but Grimes wants to use his own. That’s not cool but Grimes jumps Lumis before the bell. They head outside with Grimes sending him into various things and choking with the strap. Back in and Lumis hits a Thesz press to hammer away and now the strap goes on, meaning the bell can ring (so we can get some bonus Lumis you see). Grimes heads outside and tries to escape over the barricade, only to get pulled back for an uppercut.

A hard whip sends Grimes into the barricade but Lumis gets sent over for a change. That lets Lumis do his big scary pull up (he’s no Keith Lee) but Grimes pulls him back to ringside in a crash. A shot to the face drops Lumis again and Grimes wraps the strap around his eyes. With that not being enough, Grimes puts a hood over Lumis’ head and takes him back inside for a whipping. Lumis whips out a spinebuster and, after taking off the hood, heads outside to wrap the strap around the structure around the post.

That goes nowhere as Grimes escapes and kicks Lumis in the chest, only to be pulled off the apron. Back in again and Lumis whips away, only to get German suplexed into the corner. Grimes unloads with a chair before having a seat in it for a change. Lumis catches a charge and hits a fall away slam, only to get pulled off the top. Grimes’ flipping powerslam gets two but both the Cave In and Silence are countered. Lumis ties the legs up with the strap and Grimes goes face first into the open chair. Silence goes on and Grimes taps at 12:55.

Rating: B-. They had a good match here and Grimes is still a natural treasure but….WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT LUMIS??? I’ve yet to miss an episode of NXT and for the life of me I do not understand what is so special about this guy. I don’t get what NXT sees in him and yet it just keeps going for months on end. Anyway, pretty good match with some creative spots, but in the end, it’s still Lumis and that cuts off a lot of my interest.

The lights flicker and a vulture flies around. Karrion Kross’ voice is heard saying Tick Tock. Since Kross’ theme is a clock and he said tick tock over and over, commentary has no idea who this is.

We recap the triple threat match for the North American Title. Johnny Gargano won the title from Damian Priest thanks to some outside interference at Halloween Havoc. That made him cocky so he rigged a wheel to choose Leon Ruff as his first challenger. Priest interfered to cost Gargano the title, making Ruff the fluke champion. Ruff did not like being called a joke and agreed to defend against both at once.

North American Title: Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest

Ruff is defending and gets sent into the corner early on, leaving Gargano to hit a superkick. Gargano takes Ruff into the corner but Priest is back in to throw Ruff out of the way for a second time. Back in and Ruff hits a double missile dropkick before stepping up to Priest. That isn’t the best idea as Priest grabs him by the throat until Gargano makes the save. Priest gets double teamed down but Gargano turns on Ruff with the slingshot spear. Priest is back up as they head outside, with Ruff insisting that he is not a joke.

That earns him a shot to the face and a Razor’s Edge through the barricade as the crowd noise doesn’t seem pleased with Priest. Referees check on Ruff as Priest apologizes for hurting him like that. Gargano is back up but One Final Beat is blocked so Gargano goes with a standing Sliced Bread for two instead. Priest blasts him with a clothesline and they’re both down. With Priest down on the ramp, Ruff comes back and uses him as a launchpad for a clothesline.

A rope walk flip dive off the top takes both challengers down on the floor. Back in and a twisting rope rope cutter (The heck was that?) drops Gargano again, but it only seems to get on his nerves. Ruff clotheslines Gargano for two but Priest is back in, saying Ruff is out of chances. Priest kicks him in the head and lifts them both up in a double Downward Spiral. The double teaming takes Priest down again though, this time with his arms getting tied in the ropes.

Ruff gets quite the two count off a crucifix but Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape, right in front of Priest. That’s as bad of an idea as it sounds as Priest gets out and makes the save. The spinwheel kick drops Gargano and Ruff is sent outside, leaving Gargano to take the South of Heaven chokeslam. Cue three Ghostfaces to jump Priest, who shrugs all of them off. Three more show up so Priest hits a big step up flip dive to the floor. Another dive takes out the original trio.

Priest is all fired up (great visual) and chokeslams Gargano onto the apron. Back in and Ruff hits the frog splash for two on Gargano with Priest making the save. The Reckoning is broken up and they trade kicks to the face, with Priest knocking Gargano silly. Cue another Ghostface with a lead pipe to Priest’s back though, allowing Gargano to hit One Final Beat on Ruff for the pin and the title at 17:31.

Rating: B. This was an interesting match as you had Gargano winning the title, but Priest and Ruff got to showcase themselves very well. Priest looks like the monster of monsters right now and that fired up look on his face after the dives was great. At the same time you have Ruff, who probably just moved past the peak of his career, getting a chance to show you what he can do. I can always go for someone making the most of their chances and that is exactly what he did here. Nice job all around with probably the right result.

Post match the main Ghostface is…..Austin Theory.

New Year’s Evil is a special episode of NXT on January 6.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. Pat McAfee and Company got together and ran over NXT, including taking out the Undisputed Era. They set their sights on Finn Balor, but the Era is back for a big fight. That means a William Regal WARGAMES announcement and here we are.

Undisputed Era vs. Team McAfee

Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Roderick Strong

Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Pete Dunne

O’Reilly and Dunne start things off and Team McAfee has the advantage. The take their time to start with neither being able to get very far early on. O’Reilly takes him down by the arm to start but can’t get the triangle. He can’t get the cross armbreaker either so Dunne pulls him into a triangle choke in the ropes for a change. With that not going very far, Dunne cranks on the fingers, only to have go after the fingers in the corner. A stomp to the fingers misses so O’Reilly goes with a choke.

O’Reilly knees him in the chest, only to get pulled into a cross armbreaker. That’s broken and it’s Oney Lorcan coming in to kick away at O’Reilly. The double teaming is on with O’Reilly going down but fighting back in a hurry. Lorcan gets caught in the ropes for a guillotine legdrop but Dunne dropkicks the leg out. It’s Bobby Fish coming in to start throwing the knees and there’s a spinebuster to Lorcan. Dunne is back up with a Kimura on O’Reilly but Fish makes the save with a choke.

They go into the cage until time runs out, with Danny Burch telling Pat McAfee that he has this. Burch grabs a bag to pull out a cricket bat to clean house. Like any villain though, Burch takes too long talking trash and gets pulled into a kneebar. Dunne breaks it up with a stomp to the arm and it’s Lorcan with his own cricket bat. The group stomping is on but here’s Roderick Strong running in….and getting stomped down immediately.

Strong fights up to clean house with a dropkick to Lorcan and a backbreaker to Dunne. He heads to the middle of the rings and hits the running forearms to all three at once in a nice little sequence. Lorcan manages to send Strong face first into the cage though and McAfee and Company take over again. With the Era in trouble, it’s McAfee coming in to complete the team, though he needs to grab a table. Make that four tables, each with a member of the Era’s name included.

With all four in, McAfee finally gets in as the team is dismantling the Era. Strong is driven through his table and it’s Cole coming in to finally complete the field. Since McAfee and Company are waiting on him, Cole whips out a fire extinguisher to clear the ring and it’s time to get going. All of the usual takes care of everyone but McAfee and the showdown is on. Dunne steps in Cole’s way though and we hit the slugout, with Dunne taking him down and stomping away at the head.

The Bitter End is countered with a quick DDT but McAfee grabs Cole’s arms so Dunne can kick him in the head. O’Reilly takes Dunne down with a chair and tells McAfee to come fight him if he wants to be a wrestler. Kyle goes on the best rant I’ve ever heard from him, telling McAfee that he’s nothing and to come get some. Everyone is back up and the big fight is on with Lorcan hitting a Blockbuster. O’Reilly and Strong knee Dunne down with Lorcan making the save.

Cole starts kicking people in the face until McAfee chop blocks him down. With the required WOO’s, McAfee puts on a pretty good Figure Four while the other six are brawling at the ropes. Cole turns it over with Dunne having to make his own save. The Era is in trouble with the Cole table being set up but Strong and Fish kick Lorcan and Burch down. Cole hits Dunne with the brainbuster onto the knee for two and sets up a table in the middle of the ring.

Dunne gets powerbombed onto Burch onto a table, which doesn’t break (Barrett: “Where are we getting these tables from?”). Strong splashes both of them through the table and Cole shoves McAfee off the top and through another table in a massive crash. And Company is caught up against the cage so the rest of the Era charges into them with a long series of strikes. Cole gets in on it as well and the Era stands tall. McAfee is all alone and despite claims of a bad back, he tries to scale the cage, which goes about as well as expected.

The group beatdown is on and McAfee is sent hard into the cage. With McAfee mostly done, the rest of the team gets back up and we’re right back at it. A Doomsday European uppercut drops Strong but Dunne is taken off the top with a super neckbreaker. There’s a superplex to McAfee and they’re all down again. Everyone gets together for the big staredown but it’s McAfee going to the top of the cage for the HUGE flip dive onto everyone else for the huge crash.

O’Reilly and Dunne slug it out in the other ring with O’Reilly kicking away, only to get his fingers snapped. A suplex drops Dunne between the rings for two. McAfee grabs a chair and Cole tells him to do his best. Cole knocks it down and takes it away, only to get kicked low. Fish drives Burch through another table and Cole superkicks McAfee out of the air.

The Panama Sunrise plants McAfee for two in a heck of a false finish. The Last Shot misses McAfee but hits Lorcan instead. Dunne is back up with the Bitter End onto an open chair (geez) but O’Reilly kicks him down. A top rope knee onto a chair onto Lorcan’s head gives the Era the pin at 45:06.

Rating: A-. It says a lot when a 45 minute match doesn’t feel long and makes you feel every bit of the pain. I’m surprised at the Era winning but if McAfee isn’t going to be around regularly (fair enough), there was little reason to have his team win. McAfee can come back when he wants and be the best heel in the company, which is probably going to keep him a lot more fresh. I’m not sure what is next for the Era now as there is nothing left for them to do, but dang they had a great one here. Awesome match and crazy brutal throughout, with the Era getting the win in the definitive NXT team battle.

A lot of posing takes us out.

Overall Rating: A-. Yeah it was great and I’m not sure what else there is to say about something like this. All five matches were good to great and I had an awesome time throughout. It’s a heck of a show and worth seeing, though it didn’t have that big show stealing match. Still though, this felt like a Takeover and that’s as strong of an endorsement as you’re going to get.

Results

Team LeRae b. Team Blackheart – Superbomb to Shirai through a ladder

Tommaso Ciampa b. Timothy Thatcher – Willow’s Bell

Dexter Lumis b. Cameron Grimes – Silence

Johnny Gargano b. Leon Ruff and Damian Priest – One Final beat to Ruff

Undisputed Era b. Team McAfee – Top rope knee to a chair to Lorcan

 

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

We’re already back to Takeover but this time around we have a special attraction which is all you need to sell the show. This time around it’s WarGames, with a pair of the show’s namesake matches. That should make for some awesome stuff in its own right, but there are some other things in there to help fill in the gap. I have a good feeling of where this one is going so let’s get to it.

Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes

Let’s get this one out of the way first. This is a strap match as Grimes keeps trying to run off so now they’re tying him to the monster. I would be scared of Lumis as well, as he is the kind of guy where I really don’t get what WWE sees in him but that hasn’t stopped them yet. Lumis continues to be just kind of there (literally in some cases as he just stands there a lot of the time) but Grimes is a national treasure, so it balances out a bit.

I’ll take Lumis to win here because that’s how NXT works with him, though Grimes is the kind of guy who can stay over without ever winning a single thing. All I can hope for here is to have Grimes steal the show and do whatever he can, because that’s the best thing that I can hope for here. Lumis is absolutely not the worst thing in the world, but he isn’t someone I want to see in a spot like this. Grimes loses, and I shake my head a bit more.

North American Title: Leon Ruff(c) vs. Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano

So we have the big culmination of Gargano messing around with Ruff and losing the title to him, though Ruff has decided to stand up for himself and fight both of them at once. This sounds like something where Ruff should get destroyed so one of them will win the title….and yeah that’s probably exactly what we are going to be seeing here, as we should be getting.

I’ll take Gargano to win here, even though him winning a third time seems to be a little bit much. Ruff does not need to hold onto the title to keep the gag going any longer and the point has already been made. Gargano barely got to hold the title and Priest already had a decent reign (though I could go for more of him holding the title in the future). Go with what was planned before we took the detour, meaning Gargano wins.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

This is much more of a grudge match, as Ciampa went after Thatcher, who doesn’t take kindly to that. Therefore, let’s have a match. That’s about as easy of a plot as you can get and the rest is dressing everything else up to make the whole story work. They have good chemistry here too and I want to see where it goes. You don’t get that very often in a grudge match and it should work out.

As much as I want to go with Thatcher here, Ciampa needs to get back on the winning track and I can’t imagine Thatcher beating him. Unless Thatcher’s student interferes, it would make the most sense to have Ciampa go over here. If nothing else, you need a nice moment for one of the winners here as there might not be many other things for them to get behind here. Ciampa wins, because he kind of has to.

Women’s WarGames

This has been a little bit of a weird one as it seems to stem from Candice LeRae destroying Shotzi Blackheart’s tank. That is quite the forced reason to start up a WarGames match, but….well ok I haven’t heard many worse, but at least there is a reason to have this one. Granted the teams have been thrown together and I’m not sure how much of a reason they have to be here other than there need to be some people on the teams, but WarGames is better than nothing.

I’m sure Blackheart is going to have her new tank here but I think I’ll go with Team LeRae for the win here. They have a stacked lineup and seem to have a bit more chemistry, though I’m not sure who they have who is going to take out Rhea Ripley. I’m probably wrong on this one, but I really don’t know if I can see Blackheart and her merry band winning here, so we’ll go with LeRae.

Men’s WarGames

Now this is a much more traditional WarGames matches you have two teams ready to fight each other. Believe it or not, one of them is the Undisputed Era, who has been in one of them every year so far. That does not exactly bode well for their futures, but at least they are the established name in the match ala the Horsemen. It gives them some more possibilities, and I think we are going to get to the important one.

I’ll take Pat McAfee and Company (their official name as far as I’m concerned) for the win here, because they have nowhere to go with a loss and the Undisputed Era doesn’t need to win a thing at this point. If nothing else, the main event of the next Takeover almost has to be Pete Dunne taking the NXT Title from Finn Balor (unless Karrion Kross is ready again, though I’m not sure I can imagine going with him again as champion) and this is a good way to get him there. McAfee and Company win, as the Undisputed Era….oh of course they aren’t going up yet, because that’s just not what they do.

Overall Thoughts

This is the first time in a long while that I have felt interested in a Takeover just by looking at the card. The show is looking like it will hit on every point, which is where Takeover tends to shine. There is always the chance that things could go slightly beneath expectations, but just putting WarGames on the card should be more than enough to carry the whole thing. I think.

 

 

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

NXT
Date: November 25, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Kevin Owens, Vic Joseph

We’re rapidly approaching the next Takeover and that means it’s time to get ready for WarGames. The men’s match is already set up but the women’s match needs a little more tweaking. There are a few more other things to be set up this week as well and that means they better be moving fast. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show, with the Undisputed Era returning to go after Pac McAfee and company. After the show went off the air, William Regal announced WARGAMES (he must practice that all year, like the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter).

Candice LeRae vs. Ember Moon

Indi Hartwell is here with Candice but Moon goes straight after her to start. Candice is knocked outside and dropped onto the announcers’ table (Owens: “HI CANDICE!”), followed by a trip back inside. That doesn’t last long as Moon beats her up by the entrance, only to get caught with a cheap shot on the way back in. A neck crank doesn’t last long for Candice but she does get one off a sunset flip.

That sets off a pinfall reversal sequence, followed by a Moon kicking her in the chest for two. Candice scores with a running clothesline though and a head slam onto the mat gets two more. Moon manages to knock her into the corner and then hits a kick to the face for two of her own. Cue Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai for a distraction though and we take a break.

Back with Moon fighting out of a chinlock and snapping off a hurricanrana. Candice manages a spinning faceplant and the Gargano Escape goes on. That’s switched into a sleeper but Moon drops backwards for the break. Moon strikes away and scores with a release gordbuster before loading up the Eclipse. Gonzalez and Kai offer a distraction though, meaning Hartwell takes the Eclipse instead. LeRae uses the distraction (and lack of being Eclipsed) to hit a superkick into the Wicked Stepsister for the pin at 12:58.

Rating: C. You really can see the tier system around here and that’s not the worst thing in the world. While you have matches like Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley last week, you also have people at this level. This was a perfectly watchable and acceptable match, but it was a step or two below what we were seeing at the higher level. Candice is good for almost anything and Moon is starting to get her time back, so hopefully everything keeps improving.

Post match the group beatdown appears to be on but Moon manages to get to the floor. Cue Toni Storm to even things up a bit….until she turns on Moon, who is destroyed by the trio (Hartwell is still down and Storm has fun watching on the floor).

Santos Escobar talks about how he started Legado del Fantasma to bring respect back to lucha libre. This has been their year and their careers are taking off. They have taken out everyone who have come against them and turned Isaiah Scott into a talk show host. Next up is Curt Stallion, who is going to be a HUGE challenge. The difference between them and everyone else is they get things done. Cheers. Or maybe salud in this case.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to talk about WarGames, though first we see a clip from Pat McAfee’s podcast where he talks about how Pete Dunne is going to win a match tonight to gain the WarGames advantage. Adam Cole says they don’t look dead and he can’t count how many times people have promised to take them out. McAfee and company gave them a dose of their own medicine and yeah the Undisputed Era had it coming.

The only thing Cole is going to enjoy more than kicking McAfee in the face is being locked inside WarGames with him. WarGames is in two weeks though, and tonight they have to have the advantage match first. Kyle O’Reilly volunteers to fight for the team and Cole loves the idea. In two weeks, McAfee and company are going to face a new Undisputed Era, and they are taking those four to h***. That is undisputed. Cole is one of the best talkers around here and he sold the confidence and anger well here.

Candice LeRae and company talk rather quietly but the gist is that Candice’s WarGames team will be Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai and Toni Storm. They’re all cool with each other.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae (she’s been busy tonight) shill merchandise.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Kushida

Hold on as Tommaso Ciampa comes out with a chair to watch (Owens: “Oh he’s going to sit. That’s not so bad.”) as Thatcher takes him down by the arm to start. Kushida slips out of a front facelock and kicks at the leg, only to have to kick Thatcher in the face. A belly to belly plants Kushida and Thatcher grabs a leglock, which Kushida reverses into one of his own. Make that a Muta Lock, which doesn’t last long by definition.

Thatcher is sent to the apron where he manages to bend Kushida’s leg around the rope as Ciampa isn’t looking pleased. We take a break and come back with Kushida striking away until an uppercut cuts him off. Kushida gets taken down into another leg crank but he’s right back with some stomps to the chest. The Hoverboard Lock goes on but Thatcher blocks a lot of the pressure by grasping his hands. Thatcher reverses into a Hoverboard Lock of his own, with Kushida reversing that into a failed cross armbreaker attempt.

With that not working, Kushida goes to an ankle lock but switches into a bridging rollup for two instead. Thatcher is out of that too and grabs a sleeper, only to be sent outside in a big crash. Kushida drives him down by the arm on the floor as Thatcher is bleeding from the nose. Back in and Kushida kicks him in the arm, only to get caught in a butterfly suplex. Ciampa pops up and shoves the chair away, with the distraction setting up the Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 12:35.

Rating: B-. I think you can get the idea here and they worked rather well with all of the submission stuff here. The ending wasn’t quite the screwy finish that you usually get as Kushida wasn’t beaten when Ciampa stood up. Thatcher vs. Ciampa should be good, though I’m still waiting to see Kushida actually get to do something of note.

Post match Ciampa thinks Thatcher might have a problem with him now.

We look back at last week’s main event with Io Shirai defeating Rhea Ripley to retain the Women’s Title in a hard hitting fight. Even the ringside physician gets to talk about how banged up they are after that kind of a match. Rhea Ripley isn’t sure what she is going to do next.

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are a little more fired up for Pete Dunne’s match with Kyle O’Reilly than Dunne is. Dunne promises to break Undisputed Era’s spirit tonight.

It’s time for the Kevin Owens Show, with Owens saying last November he was in WarGames and this time he’s doing commentary so maybe he’ll be a referee next time. Either way, this week it’s time to talk to someone who just had the biggest win of his career: the North American Champion Leon Ruff. Leon is glad to be here and Owens wants to give him the chance to tell his story. The fans are happy to see him and Ruff can’t believe that he only signed his contract seven weeks ago.

We look at Ruff winning the title, even with the title not fitting. Owens: “Same thing happened to me when I won the NXT Title.” Owens talks about how great of a feeling this is and Ruff needs to appreciate what he is getting to do. Ruff talks about wanting to be an inspiration to others, but Owens doesn’t think that he’s selling it hard enough. You need to let them hear who you are so Ruff starts shouting about how he beat Johnny Gargano twice, even shoving his chair away.

Owens facepalms, with Ruff immediately apologizing for the chair. Owens says it isn’t the chair because he knows what’s about to happen. Cue Johnny Gargano (Owens: “I was a little off on the count but that’s what I meant. I knew it.”) to ask if this is a prank show. Owens gets Gargano his own chair, which is thrown over the top rope. That means Owens grabs another chair, which is for someone other than Gargano.

That’s shaken off so Gargano can get in Ruff’s face as he rants about Damian Priest. Owens: “Come on Johnny, I just told him what happened.” Owens counts it down again (and again….Owens: “Oh man maybe things in NXT are different!”) so here’s Priest to get in Gargano’s face. Owens: “Before this gets too far, do you need a chair?” Gargano yells at the smiling Ruff but Priest says hang on a second.

Priest remembers Ruff saying he could beat both of them at once. Owens: “Oh man. What a shame that Teddy Long isn’t in NXT!” He wishes the NXT version of Teddy Long could come out and make a triple threat match so here’s William Regal to make the triple threat title match at WarGames. Regal: “Playa.” I knew that last line was coming and I laughed anyway.

Finn Balor talks about preparing for war. Some advice for whomever wins the war: don’t put checkers on his chess board. He isn’t hard to find.

Shotzi Blackheart has some fun with a blowtorch and asks what is the best part of war. That would be crushing your enemies and she laughs a lot.

Cameron Grimes vs. Jake Atlas

Atlas goes right after Grimes to start but a German suplex drops him down for an early two. Grimes ducks his head for a backdrop and gets it kicked right back up, only to have Atlas do the exact same thing. Now it’s Atlas with his own German suplex and a shot to the face gets two. That’s enough for Grimes though as he hits Atlas in the face and finishes with the Cave In at 2:46. Nice to see Grimes being himself again.

Post match here’s Dexter Lumis to scare the hat off of Grimes. That’s enough to send Grimes running off but a video of Grimes running away from the haunted house match, complete with a singalong, starts playing on the screen. Lumis pulls out a strap and I think we know where Takeover is going.

Post break, Grimes is trying to leave but William Regal makes a strap match between Grimes and Lumis at Takeover. Grimes asks Regal why he hates him so much, with Regal thinking it’s his personality.

Here’s Rhea Ripley to address her future. She had a big fight with Io Shirai last week and then hugged her after the match. That was all about respect though, because Ripley isn’t going anywhere. All that matters is winning the NXT Women’s Title but here are Candice LeRae and Toni Storm to interrupt. LeRae makes fun of her for never being able to win and says she’s all talk. On the other hand, LeRae can walk the walk, so here are Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai, with the former carrying the unconscious Io Shirai on her shoulder. Ripley tries to fight but the numbers game catches up with her. Sign her up.

A terrified looking Xia Li and Boa go up to what appears to be their master and beg her forgiveness for losing again. They plead for one more change but a mark is written on their hands and the master says it’s time.

Here’s Ever Rise for a tag match but the Grizzled Young Veterans are back to beat them down instead. The beatdown is on and Zack Gibson promises to dominate going forward.

The Garganos take Indi Hartwell, in a neck brace, to the car. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae promise to dominate at Takeover….and there’s another Ghost Face in the car next to Hartwell.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne

It’s a ladder match for the WarGames advantage. They go straight to the brawling before the bell with Dunne being knocked outside as we take a break. Back with the match joined in progress and O’Reilly knocking him outside again for the running knee from the apron. Dunne gets in a shot to take over though and bridges a ladder between the apron and the barricade. O’Reilly gets back up though and catapults Dunne face first into the Plexiglas.

Back in and Dunne runs over the ladder to put O’Reilly down, with the ladder landing on his leg for a painful visual. O’Reilly’s arm is crushed in the ladder but he manages a dragon screw legwhip into a knee hold with Dunne on the ladder to make it worse. The knee is fine enough to pick O’Reilly up for a powerbomb onto a ladder in the corner but O’Reilly is back up to nearly knock Dunne into the bridged ladder. A charge hits a raised boot though and Dunne suplexes him through the ladder for the huge crash.

We take a break and come back with O’Reilly kicking a chair out of Dunne’s hand and suplexing him down onto a ladder. The top rope knee only hits ladder though (that looked and sounded great) and a limping Dunne goes up. O’Reilly pulls him down by the leg though, only to have Dunne’s enziguri only hit the ladder. They slug it out from underneath the ladder and then get up so Dunne can go for the fingers.

That means a double knockdown and the ladder goes down as well, landing on Dunne’s knee. It’s time for the big stereo climb until O’Reilly snaps the arm. Dunne snaps the fingers to knock O’Reilly down….but he can land on his feet just fine, meaning Dunne gets knocked down again.

A heck of a rebound lariat drops Dunne and they’re both down. O’Reilly goes up but gets chaired in the knee and then the back to make it worse. The Bitter End onto the barricade leaves O’Reilly laying but he’s up again to turn the ladder over, sending Dunne into the ladder in the corner. O’Reilly goes up again but here’s a man with a hood over his face to jump from the floor to the apron shove O’Reilly down in a crash. Dunne wins at 15:53.

Rating: B. This was your usual violent ladder match without much drama in the end. I think you can guess who the masked man was and that’s a fine way to go, as even WWE knows better than to have the heels go into WarGames at a disadvantage. They did their thing here and kept popping up over and over, which tends to be the case in a ladder match. I’m not sure why this needed to be a ladder match (and hey we’ll be seeing another one next week) but at least they did what they needed to do.

Post match, Dunne poses with Lorcan and Burch while the Undisputed Era yells at ringside.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event was the big spectacle to set up the REALLY big spectacle later on but that’s about the only thing worth your time. Candice LeRae was all over this show, appearing in about five segments. LeRae is good at this wrestling thing but that’s a lot for almost anyone. The rest of the show was designed to set things up for Takeover and the show needed that, but it wasn’t the big awesome show that they needed to get us ready for WarGames. That’s probably next week, and they need it at this point.

Result

Candice LeRae b. Ember Moon – Wicked Stepsister

Kushida b. Timothy Thatcher – Hoverboard Lock

Cameron Grimes b. Jake Atlas – Cave In

Pete Dunne b. Kyle O’Reilly – Dunne pulled down the briefcase

 

 

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

Survivor Series 2019
Date: November 24, 2019
Location: Allstate Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 13,271
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Jerry Lawler, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

This year’s show is all about the Battle For Brand Supremacy, but NXT is involved as well and the invasions have been red hot for a change. They have set up a pretty awesome looking show, even with the amount of triple threat matches, including triple threat elimination matches. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the end zone straight across from the Titantron in the upper deck.

Kickoff Show: Tag Team Battle Royal

Raw: OC, Street Profits, Curt Hawkins/Zack Ryder

Smackdown: Revival, Robert Roode/Dolph Ziggler, Lucha House Party, Heavy Machinery

NXT: Forgotten Sons, Breezango, Imperium

When one member is out, the team is out. Where to begin? First of all, there are no graphics to tell you which brand the teams are on. I get expecting people to know that at the time, but WWE knows that they have the Draft every year and that the Network is a thing here. Throw up a show graphic.

Second, a year later and five of these teams are gone, with four of them out of the company. Third, Hawkins and Ryder are “glad to still be here.” These people were the Tag Team Champions at Wrestlemania seven months and a half months earlier. That’s a heck of a fall. Oh and I had forgotten about that Tag Team World Cup deal the OC had from Crown Jewel. I’ve heard worse ideas.

It’s a brawl to start (shocking I know) with Jaxson Ryker saving Gran Metalik for no reason. General stupidity maybe? The Sons are out in a hurry as I try to get over Dolph Ziggler wearing a Smackdown hat in the match. Yeah they need graphics on their name but it’s Ziggler so by definition it’s a stupid thing to do. Angelo Dawkins throws out Gran Metalik to get rid of the Lucha House Party as Ziggler (now minus the hat) is thrown to the apron for his traditional save fest.

Hawkins is sent through the middle rope but Ryder is thrown over the top and onto him for the elimination. Barthel catapults Ziggler over the top for the skinning of the cat and Roode gets rid of Aichner to eliminate Imperium and save Ziggler (again). Otis falls trying the Caterpillar and gets dumped by OC/Revival. Breezango is out thanks to Revival and that’s it for NXT.

We’re down to Revival, OC, Roode/Ziggler and the Profits, with the Profits dropkicking Revival out in a hurry. Ziggler saves Roode from the Magic Killer and superkicks Gallows out to get us down to two. The brawl is on with Roode busting Dawkins’ spine but Ziggler superkicks Roode through the ropes by mistake. The Sky High looks to set up the frog splash but Roode saves Ziggler (that man needs a lot of saving). Ford hits the frog splash on Ziggler instead, only to be thrown out by Roode for the win at 8:19.

Rating: D+. It’s a battle royal and a tag team one at that, with the teams barely being identifiable outside of commentary throwing out a brand here and there. It will get better later on and since this was a bonus match, it’s hard to get that upset. What impresses me the most is how much the tag team division changes so quickly, as this feels like it could have been four or five years ago. That probably shouldn’t be happening and yet it doesn’t seem out of place.

Smackdown – 1

Raw – 0

NXT – 0

Kickoff Show: Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa (Raw) vs. Kalisto (Smackdown) vs. Lio Rush (NXT)

Rush is defending and gets double teamed to start but Tozawa and Kalisto waste no time in turning on each other. That means it’s time for Rush to start his bobbing and weaving, which always looked awesome. Kalisto pulls Rush to the floor and cuts off Tozawa’s dive before walking the rope to kick Rush in the face.

A spinning wristdrag takes Tozawa down but Tozawa shoves Kalisto into Rush’s raised boot. Rush hits a double handspring elbow to take both of them down but Tozawa punches him in the face. Kalisto gets kicked to the floor and Tozawa’s sliding boot gets two on Rush. Tozawa and Kalisto take Rush to the top but he double armdrags both of them down for a huge crash.

A circle chop off is capped off by Tozawa German suplexing Rush but Kalisto dives in to roll Rush up for two. Tozawa is back up with a Shining Wizard to send Kalisto outside and the top rope backsplash hits Rush. Kalisto dives in for the save and the slugout is on, with Kalisto hitting the Salida del Sol on Tozawa. That’s fine with Rush, who comes in with the Final Hour to pin Tozawa and retain at 8:20.

Rating: C. It’s a match that has been done before but what we got worked out just fine with the three of them flying around and doing their high flying stuff. That’s something that is always going to work because it is a style that never gets old and Rush retaining is a fine way to get NXT on the board. I know he might have some issues, but dang Rush can do the flying thing.

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

Raw – 0

Kickoff Show: New Day (Smackdown) vs. Undisputed Era (NXT) vs. Viking Raiders (Raw)

Non-title (with all three as respective champions) and it’s Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, fresh off WarGames the previous night, for the Era. Big E., Ivar and O’Reilly start things off, which may be a little harder to keep track of but it makes a lot more sense than having two people in there at once instead. O’Reilly is taken down in a hurry so it’s Fish coming in, earning himself a beating of his own from Ivar. Both parts of the Era come in and get dropped by Ivar and Big E. before they turn on each over.

They take turns flipping away from each other until Big E. runs Ivar over in the power display. O’Reilly comes back in for the rapid fire knees to Big E. but the Raiders knee O’Reilly down without much effort. It’s back to Fish, who gets Ivar slammed onto him to make it even worse. Kingston comes in to slug away on Erik and it’s New Day double teaming O’Reilly down for two.

The Era is sent outside and it’s the New Day/Raiders showdown. The slugout goes on until Kofi is left alone, meaning it’s time for the Era to come back in and take over on Kingston’s leg in the corner. Ivar dives in with a splash to break up a kneebar so O’Reilly and Kingston slug it out on the apron instead. Big E. misses his spear through the ropes so Kofi and the Era join him, meaning Erik can slam Ivar onto the other four.

Back in and Fish starts taking over on Erik’s knee before handing it off to O’Reilly for the same. Erik manages to suplex O’Reilly into the corner to take Fish down, allowing the hot tag to Ivar. House is cleaned and O’Reilly kicks Fish in the corner by mistake. Big E. gets kicked in the face as well and Erik hits the shotgun dropkick on Fish. Ivar’s Bronco Buster misses though, meaning Kofi can come in with a standing double stomp to Erik.

Big E. suplexes the Era and it’s a powerbomb/top rope double stomp to crush Erik. Kofi’s big dive over the top takes out Ivar and the Era, with Big E. hitting the spear to take Erik down as well. Everyone gets back up and Erik knees Big E. in the face, setting up the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination (always cool), sending Big E. outside again.

Kofi takes the High/Low on the floor meaning it’s the Era vs. the Vikings for a change. Erik is knocked outside so the Era kicks Ivar…who doesn’t seem to mind. The handspring double elbow (second in two matches) connects for Ivar and it’s the Viking Experience to drive O’Reilly into Fish to give Ivar the pin at 14:42.

Rating: B. This was the kind of all action match that they should have been having and it got enough time to make it work really well. New Day is a team who can be put in there at any time to make other teams look good and the Era can work with anyone. The Raiders needed the win most and it worked out well all around. Good stuff here and a nice way to wrap up the Kickoff Show.

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

NXT – 1

The opening video looks at how this is usually Raw vs. Smackdown but then NXT jumped in to make it a lot more interesting in a hurry. There are some other matches thrown in but this is ALL about the three way brand fight, which did have a heck of a build.

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Raw – Charlotte, Asuka, Kairi Sane, Natalya, Sarah Logan

Smackdown – Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Nikki Cross, Lacey Evans

NXT – Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Toni Storm

The NXT team was announced after last night’s Takeover and some of them are coming off of WarGames so they’re a little banged up. Storm, Evans and Logan start things off with Lacey taking over early on. That earns her a double flip out to the floor and it’s Cross tagging herself in to take her place. Logan hits a cartwheel knee to Storm’s back for….well nothing actually as she talks trash until Cross jumps on her back for the choking.

They’re both a bit odd so that fits well. Back up and Storm German suplexes both of them at once so it’s off to Sane, Carmella and Shirai. The fans get rather excited about two of these people and I’ll let you guess who they are. Carmella hands it off to Brooke, who is fine with just standing in the corner while the other two trade headscissors and clotheslines. Shirai hits a running basement dropkick to Sane’s face but Brooke sends them both into the corner for a double handspring elbow.

The Swanton hits both of them for two on Shirai so Evans comes in for a double hiptoss instead. Candice gets the tag and strikes away at Evans as Asuka comes in as well. A quick snapmare drops Asuka so Candice can hit a step up backsplash and there’s a middle rope faceplant for two on Evans. It’s off to Ripley, who gets caught in Asuka’s armbreaker so Belair makes the save, triggering the parade of secondary finishers. Banks is left alone in the ring with everyone else down…including Shirai and LeRae need medical attention.

Everything pauses as Raw and Smackdown wave goodbye to them instead of, I don’t know, trying to eliminate each other. We settle down to Banks vs. Ripley vs. Charlotte, which does sound like a heck of a match. Ripley doesn’t seem to be very impressed and since this feels big, it’s off to Belair, Logan and Cross instead. Cross hits a neckbreaker on Logan but gets sent to the apron for her efforts. A dive to the floor takes Ripley down and Cross hammers away on Storm against the apron.

Ripley picks Cross up though and puts her on the apron, allowing Belair to grab a rollup (with Ripley holding the feet) for the elimination at 9:39. Carmella comes in with a big headscissors to Belair and a superkick to Logan, only to walk into Belair’s KOD. That sends her into the ropes but Logan sends both of them out to the floor. Running knees takes Carmella and Belair down again with Natalya having to make a save back inside. Belair punches Logan down though and hits the 450 to get rid of her at 12:10.

That puts us at Raw and Smackdown with four each and NXT with three as Charlotte comes in to face Belair and doesn’t seem impressed. Belair gets clotheslined but Carmella comes back in to kick Charlotte down. The big boot drops Belair again but Carmella breaks up the moonsault that will never hit no matter what anyway. Charlotte pulls Carmella up for a powerbomb, which is countered into a hurricanrana onto Belair to give Carmella a pair of two’s each on both.

Carmella grabs Belair by the ponytail but takes too long, allowing Charlotte to hit Natural Selection on Carmella for the elimination at 15:38. Sane, Storm and Banks come in with Storm kicking Banks in the face. Storm Zero to Shirai is broken up though and the Insane Elbow connects, with Sasha breaking up the pin and….then pinning Sane herself at 16:48. Asuka gets so frustrated that she comes in and wrecks the place, including kicking the now legal Brooke in the face to get rid of her at 17:25.

We’re down to Ripley/Belair/LeRae/Shirai (with the latter two backstage) for NXT vs. Evans/Banks for Smackdown vs. Charlotte/Asuka/Natalya for Raw. Charlotte tags herself in and gets into a shoving match with Asuka as a result, eventually slamming Asuka down by the hair. Lacey tries to jump Charlotte but Asuka is back with the green mist (BIG pop for that) to blind Charlotte before walking out. The Woman’s Right gets rid of Charlotte at 19:09 and Raw is down to just Natalya. I’ll take that over Asuka taking another loss and Charlotte is going to be the focal point of everything she does so a tainted loss doesn’t mean a thing.

Since Natalya is the only one left for Raw, she comes in with the discus lariat to Storm and then rolls Evans up for a fast elimination at 19:51. That leaves us with Storm/Belair/Ripley for NXT, Banks for Smackdown and Natalya for Raw and Ripley is rather pleased. Banks and Natalya get smart and take Storm down for a Sharpshooter/Banks Statement combination for the tap at 20:47.

Belair comes in and Natalya tries to talk trash before going with the smarter move of playing Jim to Banks’ Bret on the Hart Attack for the pin at 21:16. So it’s down to Banks vs. Natalya vs. Ripley….or at least it is until Banks decks Natalya for the pin at 21:57, eliminating Raw completely.

The fans REALLY like the idea of Banks vs. Ripley though and it’s Ripley hammering away and getting two off a dropkick. Back up and Banks can’t hit a tornado DDT so it’s a sleeper to limited avail instead. Banks hits the running knees in the corner and the middle rope Meteora gets two. More knees to the back of the head send Ripley into the corner again but this time she superkicks the Meteora out of the air.

The Prism Trap (dang that looks awesome) is on but Banks rolls into the Bank Statement instead. Ripley is in trouble so here are LeRae and Shirai, who were never officially eliminated, to pull Ripley to safety. That earns them a dropkick through the ropes each and they head back in, where Banks has to slip out of Riptide. Shirai hits her with a springboard missile dropkick though and now Riptide can give Ripley the final pin at 27:53.

Rating: B-. They got some time here and the important thing is NXT wins a major match. That’s an awesome thing to see and it’s really cool that it actually happened on a big stage. You want to set things up well for the rest of the night and having an NXT all star team lose to teams involving Logan, Brooke and Carmella wasn’t going to work. Above all else, Ripley looked like a total star here, eclipsing almost everyone else in the match and the fans treated her like one. I wouldn’t have had Shirai and LeRae save her at the end, but Ripley pinning Banks for the win is all that matters.

NXT – 2

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

We look at the closing moments of WarGames last night when Kevin Owens became the final member of Team Ciampa and helped them win.

Seth Rollins, Raw Team Captain, comes up to Owens to ask where his loyalties lie. Owens says last night was just to get back at the Undisputed Era so tonight, he’s Team Raw. He also finds it funny that SETH ROLLINS is questioning loyalty. A mock Shield pose takes us out.

Shinsuke Nakamura (Smackdown) vs. Roderick Strong (NXT) vs. AJ Styles (Raw)

Battle of the midcard champions and Sami Zayn is in Nakamura’s corner. Nakamura strikes away at both of them to start but AJ gets them into the corners for some running elbows. Strong’s backbreaker gets him out of trouble but AJ knocks him to the floor and hits a shot to the face. Back in and Nakamura breaks up AJ’s springboard and kicks Strong to the floor for a bonus. A knee gets two on Styles and there’s the running knee in the corner.

The gutbuster fireman’s carry gives Strong two on Nakamura but AJ comes back in with a sleeper to give Nakamura a breather. Strong fights back up and runs them both over a few times, including the alternating running forearms to AJ in the ropes. AJ fights up and gets in a few shots, only to be monkey flipped into a shot to the face from Nakamura. A slugout puts Strong down in a hurry and Nakamura hits the sliding knee for two.

The Styles Clash to Nakamura is broken up and Sami pulls Nakamura outside for a break. Strong unloads on Styles in the corner but gets caught in an Electric Chair, with Nakamura coming in off the top with a kick to the chest. AJ breaks that up as well but Sami pulls him outside, leaving Strong to hit a jumping knee for two on Nakamura. Back in and AJ cuts off Kinshasa, setting up the circle of strikes to the face.

Nakamura drops AJ and hits a reverse exploder on Strong (whose knee got very close to AJ’s face), setting up Kinshasa….for two as AJ makes another save. AJ and Nakamura slug it out so Nigel can talk about their Japanese rivalry. The Landslide gets two on AJ but Kinshasa is countered with a shot to the face. AJ hits the Phenomenal Forearm but Strong comes in to get rid of AJ and steal the pin at 16:43.

Rating: B. This was the action packed match that you would have expected and the cool thing is that it made Strong look like he was on their level. Strong isn’t someone who has been proven on the big stage before and seeing him win here, especially by outsmarting the other two, is great to see. Again: it’s not like Nakamura or Styles are going to be hurt by the loss, especially to another champion. Throw in the fast paced action and having commentary boosting it that much more than this was a great time.

NXT – 3

Raw – 1

Smackdown – 1

Miz comes up to Daniel Bryan in the back and says they’re both family men. That’s why Miz wants Bryan to stop the Fiend once and for all, because he is an evil that must be stopped. Bryan doesn’t want to hear it from Miz.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Pete Dunne

Cole is defending, but the interesting thing here is the lack of Mauro Ranallo, who apparently blew his voice out last night at Takeover. This would be code for “did not like Corey Graves calling him out for making too many Chicago rap music references and not letting Phoenix and McGuinness talk enough. He would be gone for a little while before returning, but it was clear that something wasn’t quite right. Cole has bad ribs and Dunne has a bad knee coming in.

The wristlocking doesn’t work well on Cole as Dunne flips out before going straight after the bad ribs. Dunne starts in on the hand before taking it outside to stomp the elbow in the steps. Back in and Cole kicks him down to stomp away before a dropkick cuts off Dunne’s knee. Dunne grabs the X Plex for a breather and Cole lands hard on the ribs again. There’s an enziguri into the corner to set up a release German suplex.

A sitout powerbomb gets two on Cole and he heads outside, with Dunne hitting a middle rope moonsault to the floor. Back in and Dunne’s moonsault hits knees, setting up the Last Shot to give Cole two. The Panama Sunrise misses so they take turns hitting each other in the face. The brainbuster onto the knee gives Cole two but another Last Shot misses and Dunne grabs the Bitter End for a close two. They slug it out again and Dunne unloads with chops but Cole superkicks his moonsault out of the air.

That’s good for two as well, as is Dunne’s sitout X Plex. They fight to the apron (because of course they do) and Cole busts out the Panama Sunrise to put them both down on the floor. Back in and Cole kicks him in the head and the kickout has Cole panicking. Dunne talks trash as they get up and snaps the finger but the Bitter End is countered into a Panama Sunrise (that looked great). The Last Shot retains the title at 14:09.

Rating: B+. Now that’s what you were hoping to see from these two and it was an awesome match throughout. Dunne is an absolute star and Cole looks like someone who should be the future whenever he is in the ring. This is one of those matches that makes you drool when you hear it announced and then they delivered on top of it. Great stuff here and worth seeing for that NXT style that works so well.

Team Smackdown argues over who should be the captain.

We recap the Fiend taking the Smackdown World Title from Seth Rollins at Crown Jewel. Then Miz questioned if Daniel Bryan was the same person he used to be, which got the Fiend involved as well. Bryan finally said YES again and that’s just what Fiend wanted as Bryan brought back the YES Movement.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Fiend is defending and there is something so creepy about watching him in person. The red lights are on and Bryan hits the running dropkick into the corner. A running clothesline cuts him off though and they head outside with Bryan being sent into the post. Back in and Fiend hits the release Rock Bottom and there’s the toss suplex to drop Bryan again. We hit the neck crank as Fiend laughs a lot.

They head outside again with Bryan hitting a running knee from the apron. A top rope dive takes Fiend down again and there’s a missile dropkick back inside. Bryan nips up and the YES chants set up the YES Kicks. The big kick to the head just makes Fiend laugh but another one keeps him down for a change. The running knee connects for two but Fiend grabs the Mandible Claw. Bryan manages to reverse into an armbar but another Mandible Claw finishes Bryan at 10:01.

Rating: C+. The point here was to have Fiend get over as a monster in his first title defense and that’s what he did. They made Fiend feel like a movie monster and that’s the kind of thing you want to do in this situation. Bryan not being able to win, even with the most successful stuff he has, is a good way to go and it told they story they wanted. Fiend is an unstoppable monster and that’s how it should be.

Rey Mysterio says it has been fifteen years since he first faced Brock Lesnar. A few months ago, he was ready to hang up his mask but his son Dominik made him keep going. Tonight, Rey is swinging his lead pipe for Lesnar’s knees and hopes his son is watching when he becomes WWE Champion.

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Raw: Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton

Smackdown: Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Mustafa Ali, Shorty G., Braun Strowman

NXT: Tommaso Ciampa, Walter, Keith Lee, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle

The NXT team was announced on the Kickoff Show again. The fans are way into Walter, more or less sealing his fate. Strowman, Ciampa and Rollins start things off and Strowman dropkicks both of them down. Walter and McIntyre come in and Walter is all over a three way battle of the big men. The double teaming works on Strowman this time before slugging it out themselves. A big boot into the running seated senton hits McIntyre and there’s a German suplex to drop him again.

Walter chops Strowman to make him mad, tells him to bring it, and hits a dropkick into the corner. McIntyre hits the Claymore to finish Walter at 2:59 and the fans are MAD, as they should be in that spot. Priest comes in to strike away at McIntyre and Strowman. Shorty comes in to moonsault Priest and it’s Ricochet coming in as well. That earns him a Chaos Theory from Shorty and it’s off to Riddle for the grapple off. Both ankle locks miss and neither can hit a spinning kick so we’ll go with the standoff. Ciampa comes in so Ricochet kicks both he and Shorty down at once. Owens frog splashes Shorty for the pin at 6:27.

Reigns and Corbin both come in with Corbin hitting him in the face like the horrible teammate that he is. Owens heads outside to superkick Corbin and hit the Cannonball on Reigns against the barricade. Back in and….Ciampa grabs Willow’s Bell to get rid of Owens at 7:42. Orton slides in behind Ciampa and the fans really like this one. The RKO is blocked and Ciampa clotheslines him outside but Willow’s Bell is blocked as well. Orton drops him onto the apron and it’s time for the circle stomp back inside. Priest gets a blind tag as Orton RKOs Ciampa, so it’s an RKO to get rid of Priest at 10:16.

Riddle comes in and rolls Orton up for the fast pin at 10:30. Riddle is SHOCKED at the win….until Orton hits him with an RKO so Corbin can steal the pin at 10:56. We’re down to Rollins/McIntyre/Ricochet for Raw, Reigns/Corbin/Ali/Strowman for Smackdown and Ciampa/Lee for NXT. Lee comes in to face Corbin but Strowman tags himself in as the fans are recommending that we BASK IN HIS GLORY.

Strowman runs Lee over and starts cleaning house, including the freight train around the ring. He does it again but this time Lee Pounces him, followed by a Claymore from McIntyre for the countout at 13:14. Ricochet comes in to kick Corbin down and the big flip dive drops Reigns on the floor. That just earns him the End of Days from Corbin for the pin at 14:30. Ali, the hometown boy, comes in to clean house and soak in some cheers. The wicked tornado DDT plants Rollins and Ali hits a suicide dive…but Corbin yells at him, allowing Rollins to hit the Stomp on Ali for the elimination at 16:10.

Reigns and Corbin get into it on the floor as a quick CM PUNK chant starts and stops just as fast. Back in and McIntyre hits the reverse Alabama Slam on Ciampa. Reigns spears McIntyre down for the pin at 17:39 though, leaving us with Rollins vs. Reigns/Corbin vs. Ciampa/Lee. Rollins rolls Reigns up for two but gets kicked in the face. Willow’s Bell drops Reigns but the Fairy Tale Ending is blocked. Corbin cuts off Lee and drags Reigns over for the tag, only to have Reigns spear Corbin. Ciampa will take that pin at 19:54 and Smackdown is down to Reigns.

Rollins and Reigns go after Ciampa, who is fine with these odds. Rollins throws Ciampa outside though…and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. Lee breaks up the DoubleBomb though and Ciampa hits Project Ciampa for a close two on Rollins back inside. The Fairy Tale Ending is countered so Ciampa hits a running knee, only to eat the Superman Punch from Reigns. The Stomp gets rid of Ciampa at 24:01 and we’re down to one man each.

Lee comes back in to throw Rollins around and he crossbodies both of them at the same time. Rollins is back with an enziguri into a low superkick and the frog splash gets two, with Lee LAUNCHING him off the kickout. Rollins is all fired up but walks into the Big Bang Catastrophe to give Lee the pin and get rid of Raw at 26:36. Lee smiles down at Reigns, who hits back to back Superman Punches for a VERY close two. The spear is countered into the Spirit Bomb for a nearer fall but the moonsault misses. Reigns hits the spear for the final pin at 29:18.

Rating: A-. I came to Survivor Series wanting to see one of the classic elimination matches and that’s what I got here, with one elimination after another and some crazy drama near the end. Lee looked like a STAR here and pinning Rollins clean is as big of a moment as he was going to get. There is no shame in being pinned by Reigns and what we got here was great stuff. I loved this match, save for the way Walter was put out, and it’s all I could have asked for.

NXT – 3

Smackdown – 2

NXT – 1

Becky Lynch is ready for Shayna Baszler and there is no one who can keep her down tonight. She has been traveling the world and every day out means one day out of the gym. Becky sees something of herself in Bayley, so tonight she is going to show both of them what she is.

We recap Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio for Brock’s Raw World Title. Brock came after Rey and his family so Rey brought in Cain Velasquez. That didn’t go so well as Brock destroyed him, leaving no one to protect Rey. That’s why Rey grabbed a lead pipe and started swinging, setting up this No Holds Barred title match.

Raw World Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Rey Mysterio

Lesnar, with Paul Heyman, is defending and it’s No Holds Barred. Rey is the Joker here for no apparent reason. Heyman says Lesnar weighs about two and a half Rey Mysterios. Rey grabs a pipe to start so Lesnar drops to the floor. He comes right back in though and blasts Rey with a clothesline. Rey is thrown over the announcers’ table and an overhead belly to belly sends him into the announcers’ table covering.

Brock posts him but Rey does the same to him, meaning it’s pipe time. Back in and Brock suplexes him onto the pipe and then adds another suplex. Cue Dominik to try to throw in the towel but Rey uses the distraction to hit a low blow. Some pipe shots from Rey and a chair shot from Dominik set up stereo 619s. Back to back frog splashes into a double cover gets two on Lesnar, who is back up with a suplex on Dominik. The F5 retains the title at 6:53.

Rating: C+. The whole point here was that one moment of drama and it worked a lot better than I was expecting. I don’t think anyone was realistically expecting Rey to win here but they managed to get in that little bit of drama and that was a great surprise. Lesnar was running out of opponents so having him wreck Mysterio was as good of a move as they had here, with Rey knowing how to sell this perfectly.

We recap the Women’s Champions triple threat. Becky Lynch said being the champ was all that mattered but Shayna Baszler just wanted to snap a limb. Bayley wanted to know why she was an afterthought and now it’s match time.

Bayley (Smackdown) vs. Becky Lynch (Raw) vs. Shayna Baszler (NXT)

Non-title again. They stare each other down to start and Bayley shoves Baszler into Becky. The brawling continues to the floor so Becky dives onto both of them. Back in and Bayley avoids the running spinning legdrop but Becky kicks her in the head. Baszler is back in as well and starts cleaning house until Bayley knocks her outside. Bayley stomps on Becky but charges into an elbow in the corner. With Baszler being dropped to the floor again, Bayley drops onto Becky’s back for two.

All three are back in with Becky kicking Baszler down and starting the Bexploders. A DDT gets two on Bayley and the top rope legdrop is good for the same with Baszler making the save. Becky gets sent outside so Bayley can hit a running knee for two on Baszler. Back up and Baszler sends Bayley outside, meaning it’s time for the big showdown with Becky. Bayley crossbodies both of them at once though and Becky is back outside. Bayley has to elbow her way out of a gutwrench superkicks but Becky breaks up the Kirifuda Clutch.

A powerbomb out of the corner gives Becky two on Baszler, who knocks Bayley off the apron. That means the Disarm-Her on Baszler but Bayley makes a save. They all head outside again with Becky tweaking her knee, allowing Baszler to drop her onto the announcers’ table. Becky gets dropped onto the table again but Bayley runs Baszler over. Back in and Bayley hits the top rope elbow, only to get pulled into the Kirifuda Clutch for the tap at 18:05.

Rating: C. Another viewing helped this a lot but it was longer than it needed to be and the action was only so good. Bayley was obviously there to take the fall and there is nothing wrong with that. If nothing else this should set up Becky vs. Baszler in a mega showdown later as Becky is unstoppable and Becky looks that way. Not overly great, but it did its job, albeit in the very long form.

Final Standings:

NXT – 4

Smackdown – 2

Raw – 1

Overall Rating: B+. The two last matches drag this down a bit but otherwise it’s a heck of a show with nothing bad and some good drama/shock as NXT runs away with things. What matters most here is they took some chances (some good some bad) and gave us a special moment with NXT. The wrestling was good throughout and it felt like the Survivor Series I had wanted to see for such a long time. Awesome show here and proof of what NXT can offer when they get the chance (and win the trophy).

Ratings Comparison

Tag Team Battle Royal:

Original: D

Redo: D+

Lio Rush vs. Akira Tozawa vs. Kalisto

Original: C+

Redo: C

New Day vs. Viking Raiders vs. Undisputed Era

Original: B

Redo: B

Raw Women vs. Smackdown Women vs. NXT Women

Original: B-

Redo: B-

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong vs. AJ Styles

Original: B

Redo: B

Pete Dunne vs. Adam Cole

Original: A-

Redo: B+

The Fiend vs. Daniel Bryan

Original: B

Redo: C+

Raw Men vs. Smackdown Men vs. NXT Men

Original: B+

Redo: A-

Rey Mysterio vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: C+

Redo: C+

Bayley vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch

Original: D+

Redo: C

Overall Rating:

Original: B+

Redo: B+

Other than the main event, the memories seem strong with this one.

Here’s the original Review if you’re interested:

https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/12/01/survivor-series-2019-they-really-did-that/

 

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