IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentator: Mauro Ranallo

We’re in the marathon taping session now and this time around we have a big double main event. This week’s show will feature the six woman ladder match to crown a new #1 contender, but the real big match is the final showdown between Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano in a battle years in the making. Let’s get to it.

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

As you might have expected, the opening video is all about Gargano vs. Ciampa.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai vs. Io Shirai vs. Chelsea Green vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae

Ladder match for the #1 contendership and Robert Stone and Raquel Gonzalez are here too. It’s a brawl to start with Kai being left alone in the ring. Gonzalez throws in a ladder but a bunch of the women take her out and triple team Kai in the corner. Green gets caught on the apron for a series of forearms to knock her down as well. It’s time for the first ladder as Stone tries to set up a table on the floor.

LeRae and Shirai fight over trying to drop each other onto the ladder until Green comes in with a double bulldog. Back from a break with Kai and Nox slugging it out until Nox gets in a chokeslam. Green gets shoved away so Nox climbs but has to deal with Nox again. LeRae and Green come in to take both of them down, only to have Yim and Shirai do the same.

Another ladder is set up, but everyone keeps pulling each other down. Soul Food drops LeRae but Green gets her leg caught in a ladder in the corner, leaving Yim to have to crush it with a chair. Shirai sends Yim face first into the ladder in the corner but Gonzalez shoves Shirai’s over. That’s fine with Shirai, who lands on the top rope and springboards down onto everyone else.

Back from another break with Nox sending Gonzalez and Yim off the top and through the table at ringside. Shirai knocks Kai off the top and through the ladder (always looks good), only to get dropped by Candice. Stone helps Green go up but LeRae and Shirai break that up too. Shirai shoves Candice off the top and onto the ladder in the corner (egads), allowing her to pull down the briefcase for the title shot at 16:40.

Rating: B. The lack of fans hurt things but there were some nasty bumps here. Shirai getting the title shot is a good way to go as her match against Charlotte could be great. They needed some fresh challengers in here and this is as good of a choice as they had. The rest can get back to where they need to go in the future, but Shirai was the right choice here.

We look back at Imperium attacking Finn Balor two months ago. Then Balor beat Alexander Wolfe and bailed before Imperium could take him apart.

Balor wants Walter.

We look at Indus Sher attacking Matt Riddle two weeks ago.

Killer Kross vignette.

We look at Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde being kidnapped by masked me.

Indus Sher vs. Ever Rise

Martel’s wristlock on Rinku has no effect so it’s off to Parker to drive him into the corner. An enziguri staggers Rinku again and a slingshot elbow to the back gets one. Rinku clotheslines Parker’s head off though and that might be it for the upset bid. There’s a double toss to send Parker flying and Rinku stomps away. Rinku knocks Martel off the apron and it’s off to Saurav for a big boot. A rope walkless Demolition Decapitator to Parker is good for the pin at 4:30.

Rating: D. Oh no on this one. Indus Sher were every slow, generic, monster heel team that you can think of and that’s not a good thing. I don’t know if they think so much of Rinku’s status (he was the subject of the movie Million Dollar Arm, which was mentioned several times) but my goodness this really did not work. It’s one of the worst things I can remember NXT doing in a good while as this was a complete miss.

Adam Cole says he’s for real and Velveteen Dream is a flash in the pan, twice.

Video on Charlotte defeating Rhea Ripley to become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

Charlotte talks about her dad teaching her that the man makes the suit. In her case, the woman makes the title. She’s done everything there is to do and now she is going to elevate this title. Rhea Ripley was good, but just like everyone else, she bowed down to the Queen.

Ripley says Charlotte was better than she expected.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae arrive at the empty building for the final battle with Tommaso Ciampa. The ominous music plays as Candice gets back in the car, but comes back out to give Gargano….something in a small package.

We go to an empty arena (like, more empty than usual as this is feeling cinematic). HHH is in the ring and says it starts and ends in this ring. In between, nothing else matters and there is a referee here to call things. After this, there is no between the two of them. HHH leaves and the door closing means it’s on.

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Ciampa kicks the chair away and they talk trash to each other before slugging it out. Gargano gets hammered down in the corner but a whip over the corner puts him in trouble. The slingshot spear is cut off with a knee to the face and we take an early break. Back with Ciampa kicking him in the arm and stomping away while shouting about the two of them being brothers. A catapult sends Gargano into the bottom buckle as the lack of commentary is really jarring.

They have stopped with the cinematic stuff for the most part, but the camera cuts are fast and furious. Gargano gets in a shot to the face though and sends the injured knee into the post. The fight goes to the floor with Gargano hammering away with left hands but Ciampa suplexes him into the post. Ciampa takes too much time bringing a table over and gets dropped again, allowing Gargano to mock him from the apron. It’s time for weapons with Gargano unloading with both a trashcan lid and the accompanying trashcan.

Back in and Gargano blasts the knee with the chair before sitting down and telling Ciampa to get back up. A chair to the back puts Ciampa back down and the chair is wedged in the corner. As expected, that means Gargano goes head first into it instead and they’re both down. Back from another break with Gargano’s slingshot dive being knocked out of the air with a trashcan lid shot. The chair goes around the neck and Ciampa sends it into the post, allowing Ciampa to get in his applause.

Ciampa pulls out a crutch for the sake of the callback and it’s time to choke away, while shouting in Gargano’s face of course. Gargano comes back with a fire extinguisher but he can’t powerbomb Ciampa through a table. Ciampa can powerbomb him through one instead and they both need a quick breather. With Gargano down, Ciampa cuts up the ring and, despite the referee telling him that it’s too far, the pad is pulled back to expose the wood.

Gargano gets through a side door so Ciampa follows, only to get hit in the knees with an anvil case. Some left hands put Ciampa in front of a wheel on a semi truck but the anvil case misses. Ciampa gets on top of the truck (popular trope this weekend) and calls Gargano up to join him. In pure wrestler logic, Gargano follows him and gets his face pulled back because Ciampa is rather violent. That’s reversed into the Gargano Escape on top of the truck, but Gargano misses the low superkick.

The regular superkick works and a second actually puts Ciampa down as we take another break. Back again with Gargano staggering back into the arena and Ciampa slowly following behind. Gargano puts him through a table as the cinematics have been cranked up again. They’re back in the ring now with Gargano stomping him down and shouting THIS IS IT. What looks to be a super White Noise off the top to the exposed boards is instead reversed into a super White Noise onto the floor with Gargano getting the worst of two bad landings.

That gives Ciampa the first near fall of the match and we take another break. Back again with Ciampa bringing in the crutch but Gargano bends it around his neck ala New Orleans. This time though Ciampa breaks it up with the trashcan lid, only to have Gargano BLAST him with the lid. Some kicks to the head rock Ciampa again but Gargano can’t follow up. Instead, Gargano calls him a failure as a husband, friend and a father. The big crutch shot misses so Ciampa unloads on him with it instead.

We take ANOTHER break (this has to be a record) and come back with Ciampa choking with the crutch but a thumb to the referee’s eye sends him to the apron. Ciampa’s running knee takes the referee out and Gargano knocks Ciampa outside too. Back in and Ciampa plants him again so Gargano grabs Ciampa’s hand. Ciampa pulls it away and pulls himself up with the top of the broken crutch so they can hit stereo shots to knock each other down. Cue Candice and she isn’t sure what to do.

The guys get up as Candice asks Gargano what he’s doing. She asks Ciampa if he’s happy for taking away her husband. Candice kicks Gargano low and leaves but Ciampa doesn’t follow up. Ciampa shows mercy and tries to help Gargano up, saying he’s sorry. Ciampa gets up but here’s Candice to kick him low as well, with Gargano revealing that he’s wearing a cup. Gargano: “You lose.” The Fairy Tale Ending on the exposed boards finished Ciampa at 52:37.

Rating: D+. And that’s being generous as I actually let out a heavy sigh when this FINALLY ended. These two are capable of having an incredible match with each other (best match I’ve ever seen live when I was there in New Orleans) and this wasn’t it. This felt like something they put together spot by spot as a big list of options instead of something they actually planned to do and then no one told them to cut it down.

There was no drama, I never got interested, the way it was shot was annoying and we’ve seen all of this before. It just kept GOING, with no one telling them to wrap it up already and that’s not a good feeling. You really could have cut out about half an hour of this thing and it would have been the same story and match, which is never a good sign. I can’t believe how disappointing this was and really, they didn’t need to go back to it after New York didn’t work.

As for the end of the feud, egads man. This never felt like the big, final battle but rather just a really long one that they happened to have. I love the whole feud and if it had wrapped up with Gargano winning the title in New York last year, it was an all time classic. This had its moments (both of them turning into what the other was to start, some of the looks of hatred when the other wouldn’t stay down, neither of them being willing to admit they couldn’t do it), but almost no match needs to go this long and this one certainly didn’t. We’ve seen it done better and more efficiently and they had nothing to make up for that here.

A very happy Gargano staggers away with Candice as Ciampa can’t get up. The two of them leave the arena, pass a car with people sitting in it (not identified but Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux would make sense) and drive away to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. If that ladder match hadn’t been there, this would be the absolute worst thing NXT has ever done. What makes it interesting though is that they didn’t so much fail completely but rather totally missed with the big match. It was clear that they had a concept and went with it, but it wasn’t the right concept. That’s the kind of mistake that NXT NEVER made before and that scares me for the future. You can feel so much of the main roster pressure, the need to beat AEW and the extra hour weighing on them and I’m going to be really sad if they can’t find a way out of it. Total misfire this week so watch AEW.

Results

Io Shirai won a ladder match by pulling down the briefcase

Indus Sher b. Ever Rise – Middle rope elbow/backbreaker combination to Parker

Johnny Gargano b. Tommaso Ciampa – Fairy Tale Ending onto exposed boards

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 12, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Portland and the card is bigger than usual. This time around there are six matches, but if NXT knows how to do one thing really well, it’s put on a solid go home show. Everything is going to get some attention tonight and that should make for a solid evening. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Mauro runs down the card.

Here’s a ticked off Roderick Strong to rant about Velveteen Dream having his wife and son’s faces on his tights. Strong is going to hurt him and won’t regret it so get out here and apologize RIGHT NOW. That’s not what Strong gets though.

Bronson Reed vs. Roderick Strong

Fallout from last week when Strong jumped Reed in the back so Reed charges the ring. Reed hammers away in the corner but Strong hits a knee to the ribs and chops away. That only gets him driven back into the corner for some bigger chops from Reed. A side slam plants Strong again and it’s time to take off Strong’s shirt, or at least tie it over his head. Reed headbutts the blinded Strong, which has to be against some kind of rule.

With his sight restored, Strong gets in some right hands in the corner, only to get whipped hard into the corner again. There’s another whip, with Reed throwing him so hard that he falls down. The waistlock goes on and a heck of a forearm drops Strong again. Reed hits a rather delayed vertical suplex and Strong bails to the floor so Reed can shoulder him off the apron. Back from a break with Reed suplexing his way out of a chinlock to put both of them down.

Reed splashes him in the corner and a running hip attack to the face gets two. Strong strikes away but gets blasted with a clothesline for two more. They head up top with Strong getting in a shot to the head and managing a superplex (with Reed landing with a thud) for two. A hard slingshot dropkick through the ropes knocks Reed silly but Velveteen Dream….’s lights come on. That lets Reed hit a heck of a suicide dive of his own and there’s still no Dream. Back in and Reed goes up but Strong knees him out of the air for the pin at 14:00.

Rating: B-. Good match, though it went from the angry start to just having a match. Reed got to showcase himself here though and that’s a good sign for his future. Strong beating him wasn’t exactly in doubt (barring a Dream interference) but it was great to see Reed getting to beat him up and show off a lot. The finish looked good, but I was hoping for some more intensity from both of them.

Post match Dream pops up on screen, with “call me up Marina” on the back of his tights. Dream talks about Strong trying to end his career and the Experience, so what if someone took something from Strong? It’s all well and fine that Strong has lost the North American Title but Strong still has a wife and a kid. What if something happened to Strong? Don’t worry about it because someone somewhere would fulfill all of Marina’s dreams. The camera pans down to show Marina, Strong’s son Troy and Dream on the leg. How in the world is this supposed to make me want to cheer for Dream??? That’s WAY over the top and not exactly the smartest idea in the world.

And now for your idea that needs to be turned into a movie: Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne take a road trip to Portland, with the Dusty Cup in the back. Dunne starts driving and Riddle yells at him for driving on the wrong side of the road. Cue the cops and the car is towed in a hurry because neither of them have a license. It’s cool though because they need to find a way to Portland. To be continued. Oh I’d certainly hope so.

Angel Garza is ready to beat Lio Rush so he can get his title back. Rush comes in to say he’s not the same guy Garza beat before. Garza just smiles.

Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai

LeRae misses a charge into the corner and gets kicked in the face for her efforts. Kai gets kicked right back to the floor though and LeRae hits a suicide dive to send her into the barricade. Another suicide dive drops Kai and LeRae hits another…and then a fourth in case you didn’t get the idea yet. Back in and a missile dropkick gives LeRae two but Kai is right back with a boot choke in the corner.

They go up top and tease a superplex to the floor until Kai is knocked to the apron. She kicks LeRae off the top as well though and there is some blood from the nose. They still can’t get back inside so LeRae pulls her shoulder first into the turnbuckle. Back from a break with Candice hitting Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride but Kai is right back with a kick to the leg. The big one to the head misses though and LeRae slaps on the Gargano Escape. Kai can’t get to the rope but she can roll backwards into a cradle for the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. I can go for Kai being all evil and she was extra vicious here to she off the bad side. I’m not wild on her winning clean but it’s not like LeRae is on Kai’s level at this point. The match was fine enough and Kai has momentum heading into Portland, which is what matters more than anything.

Post match Kai isn’t done and hits her with the bell. That doesn’t seem to be it either but here’s Tegan Nox to run out for the save, sending Kai bailing.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes and Johnny Gargano got in an argument last weekend so a match was set for tonight. Well done on making this about ten seconds long instead of showing us the whole thing.

Johnny Gargano vs. Cameron Grimes

This could be good. They go to the mat to start with Gargano getting perhaps the most quickly broken chinlock of all time. This time it’s Gargano working on a leglock and Grimes pulling at the ear doesn’t break it up. Instead he goes for the rope which works a bit better. A front facelock keeps Grimes down as he can’t get much going so far. An armdrag into a sunset flip gives Gargano two as the dominance continues.

Gargano slaps on a Crossface but switches into something like an inverted chickenwing (weird but cool looking hold). That’s broken up and Grimes finally gets something going with a knee to the ribs. Grimes’ armbar doesn’t last very long so Gargano kicks him to the floor and hits a superkick off the apron. The running Cannonball off the apron drops Grimes again but he’s able to block the slingshot DDT. A hard clothesline sends us to a break with Gargano in trouble.

Back with Grimes hitting a bridging German suplex for two. Gargano scores with a springboard spinning Downward Spiral out of the corner before a hard clothesline puts Grimes on the floor again. The slingshot spear gets two but Grimes reverses the tornado DDT with something like a Side Effect for his own two.

They miss a few running shots and Grimes hits his flipping belly to belly suplex for another near fall. They’re both down for a bit until it’s an exchange of superkicks with neither getting the better of it. Now the tornado DDT can connect but Grimes kicks him in the head to cut that off. The Cave-In misses though and it’s the Gargano Escape to make Grimes tap at 13:38.

Rating: B. They were going back and forth and that’s what you need for the two of them. Just like earlier, I’m not sure how much drama there was because Gargano has the big showdown coming on Sunday but Grimes is the kind of guy you could see pulling off a win. This was a heck of a match though and I like both guys so it’s nice to see two talented people working hard and going fast out there.

Post match, Gargano promises to come for Balor on Sunday.

Adam Cole is ready to teach Kushida a lesson tonight and to teach Tommaso Ciampa his own lesson on Sunday. The NXT Title is Cole’s life and he wants to be the greatest NXT Champion of all time.

Riddle and Dunne have a pedal boat (it’s a swan) as Riddle needs to think about how they’re getting to Portland. Riddle: “LIGHTBULB!” To be continued.

Chelsea Green and Robert Stone promise to relaunch their brand next week.

Next week: Strong vs. Dream.

Lio Rush vs. Angel Garza

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot. It’s a serious match so Garza TAKES OFF HIS PANTS at the bell instead of waiting for later. Rush starts with his running dodges but Garza runs as well, setting up a dropkick to put Rush down early on. Garza kicks him down again and then ties Rush into the Tree of Woe for another running kick. They fight on the apron with Garza not being able to hit a powerbomb. Instead Rush flips to the floor and gets driven back first into various steel objects.

That lets Garza pose a bit and we take a break. Back with Rush hitting a suicide dive, followed by a big running flip dive. Rush kicks him in the head for two and it’s time to exchange kicks to the head. Rush’s springboard Stunner is dropkicked out of the air and Garza flips him into a faceplant for two more. A super cutter sends Garza to the floor, leaving a frustrated Rush inside when he can’t cover. The Final Hour to the floor connects but the second version hits raised knees back inside. Garza hits a HARD superkick but the Wing Clipper is reversed into a small package for the pin at 10:23.

Rating: B-. You can add this to the Dream thing earlier where the finish wasn’t the most logical idea. Garza is becoming a big deal on Raw and he loses here? Rush beating him is hardly some big upset but Garza is doing more important stuff on the main show. Why have him lose here? Anyway, at least the match was good and it was a quick ending instead of a more decisive one.

Post match Jordan Devlin comes out to say that Rush shouldn’t be so excited. You never bet against an ace.

Video on Dominick Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee, with Mark Henry narrating about how important big men are to the history of wrestling. These two are taking big man wrestling to a different level though and they’ll fight again at Takeover. We get a bunch of clips of how awesome they both are and it does make me want to see them both again on Sunday. Henry was a really good addition here because he’s become a legend in retirement and it feels appropriate to have him here.

Bianca Belair vs. Santana Garrett

Belair runs her over, hits a Glam Slam into the corner and finishes with the KOD at 42 seconds. Yeah that works.

Post match Belair wants to know why she is being ignored while Rhea Ripley goes to Raw to challenge Charlotte. Ripley can forget about her all she wants because she’s losing the title on Sunday. Cue Rhea to say that she isn’t losing the title as the fight is on in a hurry. Belair actually lays her out with the KOD.

Riddle and Dunne find a jet to get to Portland. Riddle’s British accent as he tells Dunne to get their boots into the boot doesn’t sit well with Dunne, who wants to know why they’re loading the cup themselves. They load it up…and then get into the cargo hold as well. Apparently it’s HHH’s plane and Riddle might have snuck them onboard. I really did completely undersell these two at first as the wacky pairing is great. NXT doesn’t do this kind of thing very often but I laughed more than once. The segments going from night to day to night again made it even better, but now I need that swan boat.

Tommaso Ciampa watches a clip of himself forfeiting the NXT Title in this very room and promising to be back bigger and stronger. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be back and wants to know what happened if he gave away his only shot at his life. Now everything has come full circle and in four days, he can take his title back.

But what if he loses and Adam Cole becomes the longest reigning champion in NXT history? But what if Ciampa wants it that much more and has been through that much more? What if he goes to Wrestlemania weekend as champion like he was supposed to last year? Ciampa has nothing left to lose and Cole will find that out on Sunday. As usual, promos are made that much better when they are taken out of the standard places and that was the case here. Awesome stuff and Ciampa sold every bit of it.

Adam Cole vs. Kushida

Non-title and oh yeah Kushida is a thing around here. He was my favorite guy in New Japan and now he just….exists. Kushida takes him down into a front facelock to start and Cole can’t roll out of it. The kick to the head misses and Cole bails to the floor, allowing Kushida to hit a dropkick through the ropes. Strong does a bit better with a whip into the steps but the Panama Sunrise off the apron is countered into a cross armbreaker. Cole is back with a kick to the face and we take a break.

Back with Kushida hitting a basement dropkick to put Cole on the apron. The cross armbreaker sends Cole straight to the ropes so Kushida kicks him in the arm a few more times. Cole is right back with a Shining Wizard and they strike it out with Kushida eventually getting the better of things. That just earns him the brainbuster onto the knee and Cole does it again for two. The Last Shot misses so Cole settles for a superkick for two more.

The Panama Sunrise is countered into the Hoverboard Lock and Cole takes his sweet time kicking out of it. A pinfall reversal sequence gives them two each and Kushida is right back with the Kawada kicks. Cole superkicks the handspring elbow away and the Last Shot finishes Kushida at 12:52.

Rating: B-. They followed the same pattern from earlier in the show here and that’s not a bad thing. Kushida is someone who can get a solid match from anyone and Cole doesn’t need much to take him to another level. That being said, the lack of drama didn’t help things as it wasn’t would Cole win, but when would he win. Still though, good way to make Cole look sharp going into Sunday.

Post match here’s Ciampa to slowly get into the ring as the fans aren’t sure who they like more. Ciampa says he’s taking his life back in Portland but Cole says it’s over his dead body.

Overall Rating: B. I never thought I’d reach this point but I was wanting this show to end more than once. The show is still very good and one of the best weekly shows but it doesn’t feel special anymore. Instead of the tight show that made me want to watch every week, this is a bunch of stuff that feels like it’s there because they need to fill in two hours a week. The talent and storytelling is there and the wrestling is good, but it’s like the show has lost its magic. Maybe it’s watching this after Dynamite and not finishing it until late at night, but this isn’t the same NXT that became the best show in the world.

Now all that being said, this was a rather good show and gave the final push to everything that is coming up on Sunday. Even Riddle and Dunne not taking things very seriously fits them perfectly and gave me a good bit of entertainment. Takeover is looking awesome and until they find a way to make those not as amazing, NXT is going to be very strong for years to come.

Results

Roderick Strong b. Bronson Reed – Jumping knee

Dakota Kai b. Candice LeRae – Cradle

Johnny Gargano b. Cameron Grimes – Gargano Escape

Lio Rush b. Angel Garza – Small package

Bianca Belair b. Santana Garrett – KOD

Adam Cole b. Kushida – Last Shot

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: January 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s back to Full Sail for the first time this year after things went in a bit of a different direction last week. This time around it’s time to crown a new #1 contender to the North American Title. In addition to that, it’s time to start the annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which can be a bit hit and miss. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick preview, talking about Rhea Ripley’s first appearance as Women’s Champion and looking at the Dusty Classic.

Here’s Rhea Ripley to soak in the YOU DESERVE IT chants. She talks about memories, including being in this ring to become the new Women’s Champion. Cue Toni Storm to cut her off though and she has a question: “Remember that time when I beat you?” Toni promises to win the NXT UK Women’s Title at Sunday’s Takeover and she likes the idea of having two titles. The challenge is thrown out for When Worlds Collide and Rhea wastes no time in accepting.

Cue NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray to say Toni isn’t winning on Sunday but here’s Io Shirai to cut them all off. She points at the Women’s Title and says it’s hers but here’s Bianca Belair because it’s been too long since she choked in a title match. Belair says she has 2020 vision and knows she’s better than everyone. Now it’s Candice LeRae and the fight is on. William Regal sends in word to make a six woman tag. That’s a very main roster style booking and I really hope that’s not going to be the norm. At least it didn’t take long though.

Candice LeRae/Toni Storm/Rhea Ripley vs. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai

The bell rings and Storm hits a dive onto all three villains as we take an early break. We come back with LeRae hitting some running elbows in the corner, only to dive into a superkick for two. Shirai hits a flapjack and a running dropkick to the side of Candice’s head to set up a chinlock.

A seated abdominal stretch keeps LeRae in trouble and it’s off to another chinlock. Candice finally gets up and low bridges Belair to the floor but Belair dives around the side and cuts off the tag in a smart move. Storm breaks up a cover and everything breaks down and everyone is on the floor/mat as we take another break. Back again with Candice hitting her reverse hurricanrana on Ray, only to have Belair throw her back into the corner.

A missed charge knocks Shirai off the apron though, meaning it’s Storm coming in off the hot tag to clean house. Shirai sends her into the corner though and grabs a butterfly backbreaker to drop Storm. The moonsault is loaded up but Belair tags herself in, only to have Shirai springboard in with a missile dropkick to break up the KOD. Shirai walks out and Ripley comes in for a big boot to Belair. Riptide is good for the pin on Belair at 16:16.

Rating: B-. Good match here as they set up a bunch of people to come after Ripley while also giving Storm vs. Ray a needed boost. I’m curious to see where Ripley goes as you have to build up her challengers in the right way. She’s big and dominant, which makes it a little difficult to set up a challenger. It can be done, but it has to be done the right way. Storm is a good choice for the first one though, even if it’s at a special instead of Takeover.

Post match Toni and Rhea stare each other down but Candice picks up the title and looks at it as well. Everything winds up being ok though as Candice hands it over to Rhea and everyone poses.

Help victims of the Australian wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Tommaso Ciampa wants the NXT Title back because he was the best NXT Champion of all time. It was the best 238 days of his life but then it was stopped. He’s coming for Adam Cole, which is a match they have to do sooner or later.

Keith Lee is ready to become #1 contender tonight with a big Pounce.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Forgotten Sons vs. Imperium

Cutler/Blake vs. Aichner/Barthel. During their entrance, Imperium says this is the first step to dominating NXT. The Sons start fast and take Aichner, with a face mask on, down for an early two. Aichner takes Blake into the corner though and it’s Barthel hanging him upside down over the middle rope for a double running dropkick. A DDT gets Blake out of trouble and it’s off to Cutler and Aichner for the slugout. Cutler’s butterfly backbreaker gets two and it’s a very fast Boston crab as Cutler is showing some fire early on.

That’s broken up and Cutler is sent outside with Blake making a blind tag. Blake raises his knees to block a moonsault but his moonsault gets the same fate to put them both down. It’s Blake going to the middle rope and getting tossed into a delayed vertical suplex from Aichner (awesome) for two. Cutler dives back in and it’s a knockdown to put everyone down at once. Blake dropkicks Barthel into the corner and then dropkicks Aichner out of the air. The reverse DDT/middle rope stomp is broken up though and it’s the European Bomb for the pin on Blake at 5:11.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match as they only went five minutes but never stopped the entire time. The Sons got to showcase themselves rather well here, even though it isn’t likely going to go anywhere for them. They just went out there and had an exciting match and that’s a great use of five minutes.

Matt Riddle talks about how he and Pete Dunne don’t know each other very well, which makes them perfect for the Dusty Classic. They posed at each other and the team was born.

Gallus is ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Austin Theory vs. Joaquin Wilde

Wilde slugs away to start and anklescissors him out of the corner, only to get dropped throat first across the top rope. A slingshot stomp and a fisherman’s suplex give Theory one and it’s off to a cobra clutch. Wilde fights up and hits a hurricanrana to put Theory on the floor, only to have Theory roll back in with a rolling dropkick. A TKO finishes Wilde at 2:59. Theory looked good again and Wilde was working hard as usual.

Damian Priest is ready to make his name live forever.

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

Non-title and it’s Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Wolfgang/Mark Coffey. The rest of the Era is at ringside as well. Wolfgang runs O’Reilly over to start so it’s off to Coffey for a slugout. Fish comes in as well and gets powered into the corner, setting up a big toss right back out of it for a crash. It’s already back to Wolfgang and it’s something like a double monkey flip into the corner to keep Fish in trouble.

With Fish having been destroyed thoroughly so far, it’s O’Reilly coming in so he can get whipped around as well. Wolfgang’s running backsplash gets two and a clothesline puts the Era on the floor. All four members get on the apron for a staredown and we take a break. Back with the Era double kicking Wolfgang down for two. Fish’s chinlock doesn’t work either as Wolfgang flips him forward for the escape. Fish pulls Coffey off the apron to break up a tag so, of course, the tag goes through about five seconds later.

Coffey gets to come in and start cleaning house with backdrops but more kicks take him down for two. Running knees in the corner have Mark in more trouble until he ducks a running big boot, causing O’Reilly to kick Fish by mistake. Everything breaks down again and some shots to the face put the Era on the floor. Wolfgang throws Mark onto the Era but Cole gets in a cheap shot onto Wolfgang. That’s enough to set up High/Low to finish Wolfgang at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here with the Era using the numbers game to win as there was no Joe Coffey to even things up a bit. I’m curious to see how the Era is going to do in the tournament as you don’t want your champions losing but there are ways around it, which should be interesting to see. Good match though and that’s always nice to see in the tournament or not.

We look back at Finn Balor turning on Johnny Gargano and laying him out. Gargano then returned and cost Balor the NXT Title, plus gave him a beating with a chair.

Video on Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for a chat. He isn’t wasting time this week and talks about everything Finn Balor did to build this place. Then Balor put him out for three months, which made Johnny Takeover miss a Takeover. Yeah Balor did a lot of things around here, but then he bailed as soon as he got that phone call. Gargano got his in August but he turned it down because he wanted to stay here.

When Balor left, Gargano took up the NXT mantle, threw out Balor’s game plan, and took NXT to new heights without him. That must eat Balor up, but here’s Balor to interrupt. Balor says maybe we should call him Johnny Promo because that’s all Johnny can be cleared to do. That being said, if Johnny wants his Takeover moment, go talk to Regal and Balor will see him in Portland. If Johnny can make it that far. Another match where you had to go there and going with the logic is the right call.

Cameron Grimes is ready to cave people in.

Video on the Grizzled Young Veterans.

We’ve covered most of the Dusty Classic teams but there is one left. Kushida needs a partner and he’s got…..ALEX SHELLEY as the Time Splitters are reunited next week.

Mia Yim vs. Kayden Carter

Yim blocks an early armdrag attempt and runs Carter over to start. A springboard dropkick works better for Carter but she can’t hit a running hurricanrana. Instead Yim counters it into a sitout powerbomb for two and a basement dropkick gets the same. We hit the bow and arrow hold to make it worse for Carter but she’s back up with some right hands against the ropes. A running boot to the face gets two and a low superkick gives Carter the same. Carter goes up but dives into Protect Yo Neck to give Yim the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as Yim gets some momentum back. She’s fine in a place like this but going up any higher than this doesn’t quite work for her. Maybe it’s her promos and backstory that don’t work for me but Yim has a pretty firm ceiling. I still like Carter though and she could be something if she is given a push.

Post match Yim helps her up but Chelsea Green debuts and jumps Mia. Robert Stone (Robbie E.) appears on the ramp and says 2020 will be the year of the Robert Stone Brand, starting with Green as his first signing. Green does her Tessa Blanchard pose.

Dominik Dijakovic is used to getting past obstacles and this match is nothing but a formality.

Video on Ciampa vs. Cole.

Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a North American Title shot in two weeks. Lee invites us to bask in his glory as everyone stares at each other to start. Grimes goes after Lee and gets tossed into the corner. Dijakovic does the same to Priest and it’s time for Lee and Dijakovic to start beating people up. We get the huge staredown with Lee leapfrogging him so Dijakovic grabs the rope before things go too fast.

Lee misses a spinwheel kick and it’s another staredown until Grimes and Priest jump them both. Priest BLASTS Grimes with a right hand but Dijakovic tries his toss suplex on Priest…..so Lee catches him. He’s not done though as Lee SWINGS PRIEST AROUND LIKE A WEAPON, including a powerbomb onto Dijakovic’s back for two. Every time I think these two can’t do more things to impress me, they surprise me again.

Everyone winds up on the floor but Priest goes back inside, leaving Lee to get double teamed. He fights that off and tells Priest to dive on him, but Priest is too smart this time. Lee gets distracted though and now Priest dives onto all three of them to send us to a break. Back with Priest heading back inside for the showdown with Lee….who deadlift superplexes him off the apron.

Dijakovic moonsaults onto Lee’s back but Grimes grabs a bridging German suplex for two. Grimes goes up so Priest hurricanranas him into Lee’s arms, so Lee hands him off to Dijakovic for Feast Your Eyes. The Pounce puts Dijakovic on the floor but Priest grabs the Reckoning, only to have Dijakovic break it up with a big boot through the ropes. Back in and Priest kicks it out with Dijakovic until a double big boot puts them both down.

They both grab the other by the throat…and Lee rises up to chokeslam them both. Grimes hits his flipping belly to belly suplex and moonsaults onto Priest on the floor. Back in again and Grimes gets knocked out of the air, setting up the Spirit Bomb to give Lee the pin and the title at 14:02.

Rating: B. This was a well put together match and the right choice. Dijakovic and Priest are good and Grimes has a different style but Lee has been the star for a long time now. He needs to actually win something though and the North American Title should work just fine. As long as they actually pull the trigger for once though, and there is good reason to believe they will.

Lee celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was one of those shows where they built up some obvious stuff and didn’t have anything bad, making it a rather awesome two hours. I’m not as big of a tournament fan as some are but the action was good enough to make it work. Couple that with Lee’s coronation (or as close as he’s going to get to one at the moment) being set up and some major matches being scheduled and we should be in for a nice future to go with a good present here.

Results

Rhea Ripley/Toni Storm/Candice LeRae b. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai – Riptide to Belair

Imperium b. Forgotten Sons – European Bomb to Blake

Austin Theory b. Joaquin Wilde – TKO

Undisputed Era b. Gallus – High/Low to Wolfgang

Mia Yim b. Kayden Carter – Protect Yo Neck

Keith Lee b. Cameron Grimes, Dominik Dijakovic and Damian Priest – Spirit Bomb to Grimes

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: December 25, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida/Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix
Hosts: Pat McAfee, Cathy Kelly, Sam Roberts

It’s a Christmas night show because that’s something we needed this year. Last week’s show was a huge one with Rhea Ripley finally ending Shayna Baszler’s crazy long Women’s Title reign in a great moment. In addition to that, Johnny Gargano returned and annihilated Finn Balor to set up a huge match probably in the near future. 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 big (and awesome) show.

The hosts welcome us to the show and do some bickering because that’s what WWE does.

From Full Sail.

Roderick Strong is issuing an open challenge for the North American Title.

North American Title: Roderick Strong vs. ???

Strong is defending against….Austin Theory, making his NXT TV debut. They go to the mat with Strong getting an early near fall and smiling a lot. Strong’s headlock doesn’t last long as Theory flips him over and even offers his cheek without much fear. The trash talk goes to Theory so Strong forearms him in the face and stomps away. Theory is back up with a nice dropkick for one and a hard whip puts Strong into the corner.

A standing moonsault connects for two and they head outside, with Strong hitting an Angle Slam into the post to start in on the back. That’s only good for nine so Strong stomps away again with the aggression starting to flow. Strong hits his own great dropkick and sends Theory outside, only to have Austin roll in….for a backbreaker to give Strong two.

Theory snaps off a snap suplex before rolling through the ropes for another dropkick. The fans are split as Theory kicks Strong away and hits a buckle bomb to rock Strong again. A fisherman’s buster onto the knee gets two on the champ but he’s right back with a superplex. Theory counters a backbreaker though and grabs a torture rack into a spinning powerbomb for his own two.

Strong takes him to the top for a backbreaker onto the buckle but Theory is out again. Theory is right back up with something like a fisherman’s buster onto the apron for a VERY close two and the shock is rather nice. They slug it out with Theory hitting a superkick (Mauro: “AUSTIN THEORY JUST JINGLED HIS BELLS!”) so Strong is right back with End of Heartache. The Stronghold finishes Theory at 16:46.

Rating: B. Theory looked like a potential star here and the fact that he is 22 years old puts him near the heights of Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate who should not be that good at that age. Strong was the right choice of an opponent for him too as he has a style that works with everyone, including Theory, and we got a rather awesome match out of the two of them. This was about Theory doing everything he could and Strong focusing on the back because that’s what he does to set up his finisher. Theory will be back.

Theory gets a standing ovation and we get a lot of replays.

The hosts chat a bit with McAfee shouting a lot.

From Brooklyn, after a Smackdown taping.

Isaiah Scott vs. Jack Gallagher

Scott starts working on the arm but Gallagher grabs a leg to get out. Now it’s Gallagher cranking on the arm and fingers (Beth: “Taking those phalanges to a place they’re not supposed to go!”) and then a chinlock to mix it up a bit. Scott is right back on the arm with something like a short armscissors and Gallagher can’t spin out of things. He finally flips away so Scott dropkicks him in the side of the head.

Scott sends him over the top for a face first drop onto the apron. Back in and we hit the chinlock as they’re certainly keeping things slow and mat based early on. Gallagher slams him away though and we take a break. Back with Scott’s arm a bit banged up but he uses the good arm for a heck of a discus lariat. The middle rope elbow to the back has Gallagher in more trouble and it’s time for some kicks to the chest against the ropes.

A rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two more and a backbreaker gets him away from Gallagher cranking on the arm. Gallagher headbutts the heck out of him for two of his own and they’re both down. It’s back to Scott’s arm but Scott reverses into an arm hold of his own, only to have Gallagher reverse into a cross armbreaker attempt. Scott reverses that into a Pentagon style arm snap, albeit with his foot instead of pulling back. The House Call is good for the pin on Gallagher at 13:48.

Rating: C+. Scott is someone who has more starts and stops to his run in NXT than I can even imagine. He keeps coming and going without being able to really get very far. That becomes an issue, but the talent is there and he can do all kinds of things in the ring. It helps that the fans are with him and Gallagher is the same way, with the ability to have a good match against anyone.

The hosts talk about how important the Barclays Center has been for NXT.

Next week: the NXT Awards.

From Full Sail.

Candice LeRae vs. Taynara Conti

Conti can’t sneak in a kick to the ribs as LeRae knocks it away and hits a neckbreaker across the middle rope. A suicide dive connects and Candice adds a springboard crossbody to the floor for two. The chinlock goes on but Conti fights out in a hurry and hits a running knee as we take a break.

Back with Conti getting two off a tilt-a-whirl Boss Man Slam and then covering again for a bonus. Candice is so annoyed that she ties her hair back and slaps away, setting up a missile dropkick for her own two. The step up backsplash sets up the Lionsault to finish Conti at 7:55.

Rating: C-. LeRae is someone who can wrestle a fine enough match but she doesn’t exactly break through to the other side. I could see her getting a Cinderella run towards the title but I’m not sure if she will ever win the thing. Conti is fine as a midcard dragon to slay, though she needs to win a few matches to get her back to that status.

Arturo Ruas is coming.

Back to Brooklyn.

Dominick Dijakovic vs. Bronson Reed

They do the power lockup to start with Dijakovic getting the better of things off a headlock. Reed reverses into one of his own as he gets his turn to grind Dijakovic down for a change. An exchange of shoulders goes nowhere so Dijakovic tries and fails at a suplex attempt instead. Reed runs him over and sits on Dijakovic’s back as we take a break.

Back with Reed forearming him in the face and snapping off a German suplex. A running hip attack in the corner gives Reed two and there’s a suplex for the same. Dijakovic still can’t suplex him so he kicks and strikes away instead. Now the toss suplex connects for two on Reed and the Cyclone boot gets the same.

Just to show off, Dijakovic busts out a moonsault for another near fall and the fans are getting into these kickouts. The chokeslam is broken up with headbutts to the hand (that’s a new one) and Reed busts out a middle rope Thesz press for two more. Some headbutts to the head look to set up the splash but Dijakovic catches him on the middle rope with a chokebomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C+. I can go for a good hoss fight like this and that’s what they did here. Reed has gotten to show off multiple times now and I’ve been having a good time watching him look so good. At the same time, Dijakovic is a monster and someone who should be pushed towards the main event in a hurry. He’s that good and NXT knows it.

Video on When Worlds Collide.

Video on Bianca Belair.

Bianca Belair vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi, recently signed, takes her into the corner to start and snapmares Belair down for blowing bubbles. Belair spins out though and drops a seated senton to take over. A sunset flip doesn’t work for Shotzi and Belair blows more bubbles. This one is broken up with a slap to the face and a springboard hurricanrana sends Belair into the ropes. A running reverse Cannonball against the ropes puts Belair on the floor but she counters a dive and drops Shotzi onto the apron.

Back from a break with Belair clotheslining her down and posing a lot on the cover. Shotzi gets caught with a running dropkick and we hit the cravate. That’s broken up and Shotzi hits a running faceplant to get a breather. There’s a kick to Belair’s head and a rolling faceplant gets two. Shotzi gets creative with a running tornado DDT onto the apron and Belair is rocked. Back in and a big boot misses though, allowing Belair to send her into the corner. The KOD finishes Blackheart at 10:15.

Rating: C. This was a way to showcase Shotzi and that worked out well enough. You knew she wasn’t going to beat a bigger star like Belair but at least she hit a bunch of nice stuff. It was designed as a get to know you match and for what it was, that worked out well enough. Shotzi is going to need some more work but she had a good first outing here so at least her first foot came off well.

The hosts discuss Shotzi and the women’s division.

Keith Lee/Lio Rush vs. Tony Nese/Damian Priest

What an odd pair of teams. Nese and Rush start things off but it’s off to Priest for the ridiculous visual on the staredown instead. Rush slaps him in the face for some reason but he gets in a kick to the chest as well. A blocked kick allows the tag to Lee though and now let’s have a staredown.

Priest makes it personal by pulling off Lee’s Santa hat and it’s time for them both to miss a lot of shots to the face in a far more fast paced exchange than should be legal for people their size. Lee hits a crossbody and smiles at Nese for trying to interfere. The chase is on outside with Nese being Pounced over the announcers’ table for a .6 Cole. Back from a break with Priest punching Rush out of the air to take over.

Nese comes in to kick Rush in the face and we hit the bodyscissors. A big kick to the head misses and Rush flips out of a belly to back suplex. The bottom rope springboard Stunner puts them both down though and it’s back to Lee to clean house. Lee’s running clothesline gets two on Priest but the Spirit Bomb doesn’t work. Nese knocks Lee down and gets two off a Lionsault but Rush comes back in for a springboard hurricanrana.

Rush strikes away and kicks Nese in the head but Priest chokeslams him onto the apron. Back in and….Lee, in the Santa hat, rises up next to Priest and throws him to the floor. Lee catches a diving Nese in the air so Priest tries a running flip dive….and Lee catches THAT, holds him up, and powerbombs him onto the apron. You know, because HE CAN DO THAT. The Limit Breaker into the Final Hour off of Lee’s shoulders finishes Nese at 13:25.

Rating: C+. The more I watch Lee, the more I’m convinced that he was built in a lab somewhere. The guy is a complete athletic freak with the power and athleticism being as impressive of a combination as you’re going to see. Throw in another rise into the camera and how can you not be impressed? Much like Dijakovic, he needs to be pushed up the card in a hurry, just because it’s hard to leave him out of the main event if he keeps this up.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that you may not have needed to see but it was entertaining and flew by with no stories and little more than a bunch of showcase matches. There’s nothing here you really need to see, though Theory and Shotzi both had some valuable performances. We’ll be back to normal soon enough but for a one off special, this worked very well.

Results

Roderick Strong b. Austin Theory – Stronghold

Isaiah Scott b. Jack Gallagher – House Call

Candice LeRae b. Taynara Conti – Lionsault

Dominick Dijakovic b. Bronson Reed – Chokebomb

Bianca Belair b. Shotzi Blackheart – KOD

Keith Lee/Lio Rush b. Tony Nese/Damian Priest – Final Hour to Nese

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 27, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

Things took quite the turn for NXT over the weekend as they won the battle for Brand Supremacy on Sunday at Survivor Series, defeating both Monday Night Raw and Smackdown in the process. They’re celebrating with a Tag Team Title match as the Undisputed Era defending against Keith Lee and Dominick Dijakovic. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of WarGames, as we should.

The entire NXT roster comes out to celebrate, naturally in the matching shirts (NXT 4, their score from Survivor Series). Josiah Williams, the rapper who did the Takeover theme song, gives us a big victory song as the roster celebrates at ringside. The Undisputed Era breaks everything up as Tommaso Ciampa, Dijakovic, Lee and Matt Riddle get in the ring. Adam Cole says no one around the ring did a thing to get them where they are. The Undisputed Era is NXT, though the fans don’t seem to agree.

They dominated at WarGames and Survivor Series and they’re just getting started. They are the Iron Men of this brand but Ciampa cuts him off and brings up the loss at WarGames. The Era’s collapse is continuing and those titles are going away. Before WarGames, Daddy said Goldie would have to wait, but now there’s nothing in his way. Cue Finn Balor, to say he’s in Ciampa’s way. Ciampa: “Well Prince, you just met your king.” The challenge is made for tonight but Balor doesn’t say anything. Lee grabs the mic and tells the Era to get in here because it’s basking season.

Tag Team Titles: Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Keith Lee/Dominick Dijakovic

Lee/Dijakovic are challenging. The champs jump them in the corner to start but get thrown to the floor by Lee as we take an early break. Back with Dijakovic in trouble but driving over for the tag to Lee anyway. Roderick Strong, in street clothes, has replaced Fish, who got hurt while being tossed to the floor before the break. Lee shrugs both of them off without much trouble and Dijakovic suplexes Lee onto them for two. Strong goes after Dijakovic’s knee to take over though and we take an early break.

Back again with O’Reilly working on Dijakovic’s knee but Dijakovic runs him over and gets the tag to Lee. House is cleaned in a hurry, including a double backdrop to the floor. The champs are smart enough to move before the dive though and a shot to the knee has Lee in trouble. A missed splash lets Lee get over to Dijakovic for the tag though and it’s time for the heavy shots in the corner. O’Reilly grabs a triangle so Dijakovic pulls him up for the powerbomb, but throws in a chokeslam to Strong AT THE SAME TIME JUST BECAUSE HE CAN DO THINGS LIKE THAT!

Lee isn’t about to let the champs leave so Strong chop blocks him again. With the Era on the floor, Dijakovic busts out a huge springboard flip dive to take them both down. O’Reilly is right back on the bad leg to slow him down, so Dijakovic chokeslams both of them again. Cue Adam Cole, but Lee Pounces him over the barricade and into the crowd (that was INSANE and looked like something out of a cartoon). The distraction lets Strong and O’Reilly hit a High/Low for the pin on Dijakovic at 20:15.

Rating: B. Lee and Dijakovic are going to get some strong pushes just due to the insane amount of stuff that they can do. They can do things that almost no one else can think of, let alone pull off, and they do it every single time. What matters here though is Fish’s injury, which seems like it could be a big problem should it be that serious. But find the clip of that Pounce because it’s unreal.

We look at Dakota Kai turning on Tegan Nox and destroying her knee at Takeover.

Candice LeRae promises revenge. Tonight, Kai isn’t facing her friend, because Candice is going to be Nox’s ticked off big sister.

We look back at Angel Garza flirting with Lio Rush’s wife. Then on Saturday, Rush attacked Garza as the feud continues.

Shane Thorne vs. Mansoor

Mansoor starts fast with some dropkicks, including one to send Thorne outside. The suicide dive is countered into a suplex onto the floor though and Mansoor is a bit shaken up. Another belly to back suplex gets two back inside but Thorne charges into an enziguri. The superkick puts him outside again and this time the suicide elbow connects. A slingshot neckbreaker puts Thorne away at 3:03.

Rating: C-. It’s nice to see someone fresh like Mansoor come out of nowhere, hit a cool finisher and win. On paper he would seem like little more than a token addition to the roster for the sake of tying things into the Saudi Arabian shows but he is more than fine in the ring and could go a little somewhere in time.

Candice LeRae vs. Dakota Kai

New music for Kai, as there should be. She also has Nox’s knee brace so Candice goes straight at her with a running kick to the face. It’s too early for the Lionsault though as Kai bails to the floor, only to get dropkicked in the back of the head. A suicide dive drops Kai again and Candice drops a backsplash to the back for good measure. Kai is right back with a shot to the face before tying Candice’s arms in the ropes.

That means a kick to the face and a rather sneering look, which is almost hard to imagine from Kai. Another kick to the face rocks LeRae and we take a break. Back with Candice kicking at the leg and taking her to the apron for a belly to back suplex. They’re both down on the floor until Candice throws her back inside for two off a tornado DDT (not a good one, but a tornado DDT).

Kai gets in some kicks but LeRae drops her with an enziguri. The knee brace is knocked out of Kai’s hands and a kick to the head sets up the Lionsault for two. The Kairopractor gives Kai her own two and it’s off to the Kawada kicks. LeRae spins her down into the Gargano Escape so Kai bails outside, grabs the knee brace, and knocks LeRae out for the DQ at 12:39.

Rating: B. That was the perfect way to end this as Kai looks vicious and doesn’t lose in her first match while keeping LeRae primed for a rematch. This is the kind of story that could go in a lot of different directions for a good while and they needed to do an ending like this to keep it hart off the bat. Rather nice stuff all in all here, with Candice looking like she was out for revenge and Kai being vicious.

Post match Kai grabs a chair but Rhea Ripley runs out for the save and chases Kai off.

Ciampa isn’t worried about Balor.

Video on Cameron Grimes, who is a country boy who has worked hard to get here. Why aren’t people talking about him more than they are?

Video on Rhea Ripley.

Cruiserweight Title: Akira Tozawa vs. Lio Rush

Rush is defending. Feeling out process to start as they even go to the mat early on, only to both try a cheap shot kick to the ribs. Both catch the kick though and they’re not sure what to do. Tozawa heads to the apron so Rush tries the German suplex that will never connect, followed by trying the powerbomb that can connect occasionally. That’s blocked as well and Tozawa drops the backsplash onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Tozawa slipping out of an armbar and sending Rush outside for the running Cannonball off the apron. The missile dropkick gets two and it’s time for the crazy rapid fire exchange of strikes. They both hit pump kicks to the face at the same time and it’s a double knockdown. It takes a second for them to get up so they head to the apron….where Tozawa ACTUALLY HITS THE GERMAN SUPLEX OFF THE APRON!

Rush crashes hard into his face and they’re both down again. They both dive in to beat the count and Rush knocks the mouth guard out. Some more kicks to the chest and back have Tozawa in more trouble but he’s right back with a bridging German suplex for two. The rope backsplash misses though and Rush scores with the Final Hour. That’s not enough for a cover though so Rush hits it again to retain at 13:04.

Rating: B. I’m trying to get my mind around the fact that the German suplex off the apron actually hit. These two beat the heck out of each other with a great display of speed and striking that would have been lost on the 205 Live audience. I know there are a lot of other factors to the whole thing, but my goodness people. Just do what makes sense and put the cruiserweights around here full time. Or at least get them away from 205 Live.

Balor isn’t worried about Ciampa.

Xia Li vs. Vanessa Borne

Borne is fighting for Aliyah, whose nose was broken in a match with Li. An early charge goes into the post though and Borne gets powerbombed down hard. Cue the Horsewomen as Li kicks Borne in the head for the pin at 1:14.

Post match the Horsewomen come in so Li beats them up for a bit, only to have Baszler nail her with a clothesline. Ripley grabs the mic and demands respect but here’s Ripley to interrupt. The Horsewomen bail but Shayna gets back on the apron to stare at Ripley. Rhea says that she’s beaten Shayna up before and the next time it’s going to be for the title. Shayna gets in and says she’s heard that before. Rhea is going to be napping or tapping just like the rest of them. Rhea: “They why don’t you do it now?” As expected, Shayna bails.

Damian Priest has bad ribs but he’ll face Killian Dain next week anyway.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Balor

Ciampa takes him into the corner a few times to start and hits a hard shot to the ribs. Balor is right back with a takedown and basement dropkick, though the chinlock doesn’t last long. A dropkick through the ropes has Ciampa in some trouble but the White Noise on the floor is blocked. Ciampa posts him instead and gives himself some applause as we take a break. Back with Ciampa fighting out of the chinlock and hitting some clotheslines.

Some hard chops in the corner have Balor down so Ciampa stomps away for a bonus. Balor is right back with a Sling Blade though and they head outside for the running dropkick into the barricade. With Ciampa rocked, Balor loads up 1916 but gets reversed into the White Noise for the double knockdown. That’s good for a double seven so it’s Project Ciampa for two back inside.

Balor hits the running dropkick and goes up, only to get caught with the super White Noise for two. Ciampa says this is for Johnny Boy but here’s Adam Cole for the distraction. With nothing else working, Balor picks up the NXT Title that Cole dropped. That’s taken away so Balor hits the Eye of the Hurricane onto the belt (seemingly by accident) for two. The referee gets rid of the belt and Cole adds an enziguri from the floor. 1916 gives Balor the pin at 11:13.

Rating: B-. Another situation where they make sure to take care of the person in a big loss as Ciampa didn’t lose a thing here (other than the match that is). What mattered here is that Ciampa was able to hang with a big time main roster star the whole way and never once felt overwhelmed by Balor. Now get us somewhere with these two and Cole for the title and we’ll be fine.

Post match Cole gets in the ring and picks up the title. Cole gives Balor a pat on the back and gets blasted by the Pele kick to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah that worked. This was AEW not wasting time with a victory lap and getting right back into things with the fallout from the biggest weekend the show has ever had. NXT has taken a step forward over the last few weeks and it feels rather well earned. Normally I would be worried about them being able to maintain momentum, because that is exactly what NXT does every single week. Another rather strong show and the future looks bright, as well as now.

Results

Kyle O’Reilly/Roderick Strong b. Keith Lee/Dominick Dijakovic – High/Low to Dijakovic

Mansoor b. Shane Thorne – Slingshot neckbreaker

Candice LeRae b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Kai used a knee brace

Lio Rush b. Akira Tozawa – Final Hour

Xia Li b. Vanessa Borne – Kick to the head

Finn Balor b. Tommaso Ciampa – 1916

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 30, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

Things changed in a big way last week as Finn Balor turned on Johnny Gargano, likely setting up a heck of a showdown in Chicago. Other than that, it’s time to start setting up Takeover, which means it’s time to start setting up WarGames. They have a lot of ways to get there and I’m curious to see which they pick. Let’s get to it.

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

Poppy performs live to open things up with a recap video from last week playing on the screen. As a bonus, they play Io Shirai to the ring.

Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice knocks her outside to start but gets caught with a 619 on the apron. A heck of a suicide dive drops Candice but Io throws her in for the same dive from Candice. Back in and a hard clothesline gives Candice two but Shirai runs her over. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Candice snaps off a headscissors into a kick to the face. With her nose bleeding, Candice takes her to the apron to fight over a suplex attempt.

Shirai shoves her off the top and out to the floor as we take a break. Back with Candice hitting a tornado DDT to bang up Shirai’s neck. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride is broken up but Shirai’s moonsault hits raised knees. A headscissor choke goes on and Candice has to get a boot on the rope for the break. Shirai grabs a chair so Candice rolls her up for two and hits a full nelson swinging faceplant for two. Candice’s Lionsault hits chair though and Shirai gets the pin at 12:56.

Rating: C+. Evil Shirai is more than working and Candice is as easy of a face to cheer as there is outside of Team Fly Kicks. This should finish the story between the two of them though and there is nothing wrong with that, as Shirai is someone who can be even further established as a monster. Then you have Candice, who can smile her way through any loss you give her.

Finn Balor talks about how it felt good to kick Johnny Gargano in the head last week. This is the real Balor, who is glad to be back on NXT. Raw and Smackdown are Hollywood, where you can hide behind a bunch of things. NXT is Broadway, with no place to hide. The Prince is back.

Here’s Balor for a chat. Balor talks about how the hottest thing in the business is a guy who put a mask on but now he’s taken his mask off and now he’s the hottest thing in the business. Everyone has their opinions, including those tough guys on social media. The problem is there are so many fans in the locker room when they should be out there with the people. Balor does not watch the business because the business watches him. That brings him to Johnny Gargano, the so called heart and soul of NXT. Gargano is out of the hospital but if he comes after Balor, he’ll be Johnny Watches Wrestling, as he should be.

Video on the Kabuki Warriors and the two of them furthering their heel status by misting Paige on Raw.

Shane Thorne vs. Bronson Reed

Thorne dropkicks him into the corner at the bell but gets taken down by a clothesline. The running backsplash gives Reed two and it’s time to chop it out. A kick to the head sets up a belly to back suplex for two on Reed and it’s time to fire off the kicks. Reed is right back with some clotheslines and an over the back piledriver for two of his own. Thorne catches him on top and tries a super hurricanrana but gets shoved down. A top rope splash crushes Thorne for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C+. Oh that worked, if nothing else for the splash alone. Thorne hit at Reed with everything he had but just couldn’t overcome the size and power advantages. They’re 1-1 now and even if it was just a short match that didn’t get a lot of time, I could go for a third one from them, which isn’t usually the case with a match like this.

Team Fly Kicks is ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Video on Mia Yim.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Kabuki Warriors vs. Team Fly Kicks

The Warriors are defending and Asuka gets a heck of a WELCOME BACK chant. Asuka goes straight for Nox’s knee to start so it’s off to Sane for a hard chop. Everything breaks down for a bit and the champs are dropkicked to the floor. That’s fine with them as they easily win a brawl as we take a break.

Back with Nox hitting the running backsplash in the corner and Kai snapmaring Asuka down for a kick to the chest. Asuka goes crazy evil with a dragon screw legwhip onto the ropes to crank Kai’s recently repaired knee. The leglock is on inside and they take turns kicking at each other in a painful looking exchange. Sane comes back in to Walk The Plank for a rather cocky near fall.

The Brock Lock has Nox in even more trouble and it’s Asuka coming back in for a leg trapped chinlock. Sane grabs a Figure Four neck lock, followed by a kick from Asuka for two. It’s back to the leglock and we take a second break. Back again with Kai still in trouble as Asuka puts on another leglock. Kai gets up and fights out of the corner before nailing a scorpion kick to knock Sane down. The hot tag brings in Nox so house can be cleaned, including a chokeslam to Sane and running elbows in the corner.

The Shiniest Wizard is blocked though and Asuka grabs a kneebar in the middle of the ring. Nox reverses into a cross armbreaker with Sane making the save this time around. A series of suplexes and kicks puts everyone down and the fans are pleased. Kai gets back in with the running kick to Asuka in the corner but walks into the mist. The Insane Elbow to the back finishes Kai (with Sane covering Kai’s face to avoids the DQ) to retain the titles at 24:06.

Rating: B. This was more long than great, though it was still quite the match. Kai and Nox are a rather awesome team (the matching gear helps a lot) and they’re going to be a big deal at some point in the future, either together or on their own. It’s great to see what can actually be done when these titles are given some time and a crowd that cares, which is so often the case around here.

Post match here are Shayna Baszler and the Horsewomen for what is likely to be painful. Nox tries to fight them off but the numbers get the better of her. Baszler loads up the arm but Rhea Ripley runs out for the save. Shirai jumps her from behind though and the fight is on outside. Bianca Belair runs out to beat down Ripley as well, which draws out Candice LeRae for a failed save attempt.

Rhea gets up and takes everyone out before staring Shayna back. The fight is on with everyone getting in the ring and I think you know where this is going. William Regal comes out and orders security to break it up and the WARGAMES chants are on. That’s exactly what Regal gives them too, though Rhea and company need a fifth. Rhea kicks a guard away and goes after Shayna again but gets held back.

Tyler Bate vs. Cameron Grimes

Bate goes for the leg to start and flips away from Grimes’ attempted escape. An armdrag into an arm crank has Grimes down and his nip up only keeps him out of trouble for a few moments. The airplane spin has Grimes in more trouble and a dropkick puts him on the floor. Back in and Grimes counters a charge into a spinning sitout Side Effect for two as we take a break.

We come back with Grimes hitting his crazy cool backflip into a German suplex for two more. Grimes cranks on the arm even more but Bate fights up and throws him down with a t-bone suplex. The running shooting star gives Bate two and he reverses Grimes’ powerbomb attempt into a hurricanrana for the same.

Bate can’t hit the Tyler Driver 97 so they hit each other in the face until Grimes hits the spinning powerslam for two more. Back up and the rebound lariat gives Bate two, setting up the rolling Liger kick to send Grimes outside. The big no hands dive crushes Grimes again but here’s Killian Dain to distract Bate, meaning it’s the Cave In to finish Bate at 13:11.

Rating: B. Bate is one of those guys who can do something good against anyone in there and that’s what he did here. Then again, Grimes is more than capable of holding his own and the Cave In is one of the better finishers at the moment. I could go for Bate/Dunne vs. Dain/Grimes soon and that appears to be where we’re going. If nothing else, watching Bate throwing Dain around could be awesome. But yeah, another rather good match here.

Post match Dain drives Bate into the steps and crushes him with the Cannonball against the steps.

Video on Angel Garza.

Shayna Baszler and Rhea Ripley are officially the team captains for WarGames.

Undisputed Era vs. Matt Riddle/Keith Lee

Non-title. The champs go after Lee to start and are easily pulled into each other, allowing Lee to leapfrog both of them at once, setting up a double crossbody to put them down again. The Era’s low bridge attempt is blocked as well and that means it’s time for a breather on the floor. Riddle isn’t cool with that and kicks them down as the dominance continues.

O’Reilly gets chopped to the floor and Riddle Jackhammers Fish for two. Back from a break with Riddle suplexing O’Reilly until Fish runs him over with a shoulder. We hit the chinlock for a bit but Riddle powers up without much trouble. O’Reilly kicks Fish in the face by mistake but is smart enough to grab Riddle in a leglock before he’s anywhere close to a tag. That’s broken up but Fish uses the delay to kick Lee off the apron.

Riddle kicks and knees both of them, only to get kicked right back. Chasing the Dragon is enough to bring Lee in for the save but he doesn’t drag Riddle to the corner. Riddle flips out of a suplex though and the hot tag brings in Lee for the big elbows to the face. Lee clotheslines and backdrops them down but a legsweep cuts him down.

O’Reilly goes for the triangle choke but Lee curls him up with ease to shot off even more. The powerbomb breaks it up though and it’s back to Riddle for the strikes and suplexes. Cue Strong and Cole for the distraction though, only to have Riddle send everyone to the floor for a springboard Floating Bro. Lee Pounces Cole into Strong but it’s the High Low to finish Riddle at 14:22.

Rating: B-. Another good match here that seems to be setting up something big for Takeover (I wonder what it could be) and that’s a good way to go. Having Riddle and Lee in the main event scene is a good idea and if you get someone else in there, say Ciampa and one other person, against the Era, should be a rather good idea. That’s almost a guarantee at this point and I can more than go for the idea.

Post match the beatdown is on but it’s Tommaso Ciampa running in for the save with the crutch. Cole is left alone with Ciampa but an O’Reilly distraction lets Cole escape. O’Reilly gets beaten down and Lee throws him onto the rest of the team. Ciampa grabs the mic and says hold on a bit Goldy, because Daddy is going to war.

Overall Rating: B+. Good wrestling, awesome promo from Balor and two WarGames matches being set up. This was a heck of a show and they picked up the steam for Takeover and that is what this show needed to do. You can see the card from here and it seems that this is going to be a show focusing on the feuds instead of the titles. Unless they tie the titles into WarGames, though I’m not sure how smart that would be. Anyway, rather good show here and NXT is back on a roll.

Results

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Lionsault to a chair

Bronson Reed b. Shane Thorne – Top rope splash

Kabuki Warriors b. Team Fly Kicks – Insane Elbow to Kai

Cameron Grimes b. Tyler Bate – Cave In

Undisputed Era b. Keith Lee/Matt Riddle – High/Low to Riddle

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 2, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuiness

As big of a night as it is on the other show, this one is huge in its own right with the first full two hour broadcast on USA. The card is completely stacked with three title matches for a new Takeover level show. I’m not sure what to expect from this show but NXT knows how to bring it on the big nights. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video talks about how this is the exclusive brand of wrestling and if that’s what you’re looking for, welcome home (nice touch).

NXT Title: Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole

Cole is defending and has a broken bone in his wrist. Riddle goes straight for the armbar to start in a smart move but Cole is straight over to the rope. Some rolling gutwrench suplexes give Riddle one and he kicks Cole outside without much effort. Cole is fine enough to hit a jumping kick to the head to stagger Riddle though and Cole sends him into the steps for a bonus.

Back in and the fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two and we hit the figure four necklock. Riddle fights up and hits some running forearms in the corner, setting up the standing moonsault. That doesn’t connect so Riddle hits a Broton into a running kick to the chest for two. The Final Flash into the fisherman’s buster gets the same and a dead lift German suplex gets the third two.

Riddle puts him in a fireman’s carry but Cole slips down into a Backstabber for the double knockdown. Cole gets smart by stomping on Riddle’s bare feet before superkicking him in the face. Riddle is fine enough to hit a knee before tossing Cole onto the back of his head with a release German suplex. Cole is right back up with the brainbuster onto the knee for two more and they’re both down to a huge NXT chant.

Back up and Riddle kicks him in the face but can’t hit something on the apron. Instead Cole kicks him to the floor but dives into a knee to the face. Back in and the Floating Bro hits knees, setting up Cole’s Panama Sunrise for two more. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a Bro To Sleep and a powerbomb. Another Floating Bro connects for a very hot two and Riddle is stunned at the kickout.

Riddle tries a flip over the ropes but gets superkicked, setting up the second Panama Sunrise. The Last Shot misses and the Bromission goes on in the middle of the ring. Cole flips back and stacks him up for two, only to get pulled into the Fujiwara armbar. That’s escaped as well and Cole gets in a cast shot, setting up the Last Shot to retain at 13:49.

Rating: B. Good match here, even if some of the submission escapes were a bit of a stretch. What we got was some high enough quality stuff though and the always hot Full Sail crowd helped make it even better. I’m a bit surprised Riddle lost, though I’m certainly not surprised that Cole cheated to win, which protects Riddle enough.

Post match Cole poses….and here’s Finn Balor. He soaks in the cheers and stares Cole down before declaring that as of now, he is NXT.

Shayna Baszler watched Candice LeRae’s match at a house show last week and LeRae isn’t surprised. LeRae is ready to win the title.

Here’s Velveteen Dream, surrounded by an army of women, for a chat on the stage. Dream talks about the experience and how the Undisputed Era tried to steal it. He’s never had a problem with taking on more than one man at a time so he has a challenge for Roderick Strong. If he accepts, the next thing he knows it’s going to be dream over, and a snap takes the lights off.

Next week: Drew Gulak defends the Cruiserweight Title against Lio Rush. The title is officially the NXT Cruiserweight Title.

Video on Lio Rush.

Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim

Shirai starts fast and takes it to the floor with a kick to the face staggering Mia. We go picture in picture for a break and come back with Shirai hitting a running dropkick to the side of the head for two, meaning it’s time for some frustration. A flapjack into a handstand double knees to the chest gets two more but Mia is back with a suplex. Some shots to the face and a clothesline give Yim two but some kicks to the chest cut her off.

A 619 into a springboard missile dropkick get two more on Yim, who is right back with Code Blue. Shirai bails to the floor for a suicide dive and we go picture in picture again….which switches to a full commercial and then back to picture in picture again. Anyway we’re back with Yim hitting a superplex for two. Shirai is done with this though and kicks her in the face, setting up the moonsault for the pin at 14:43.

Rating: C+. It was a good, hard hitting match but I still cannot bring myself to care about Mia. I don’t know if it’s the bad nicknames or the character but it’s really not clicking at all. Hopefully this loss seems to indicate that she is going down the card, which almost feels like a relief at this point. She’s not terrible, but I can’t get into anything she does.

The Outsiders are here.

The Street Profits arrived earlier today. Of note: Bianca Belair is mentioned as Montez Ford’s wife, I believe for the first time on television.

Video on Tegan Nox’s injury and long time recovery.

Shane Thorne vs. Johnny Gargano

Johnny teases a kick to the face so Shane goes to the safety of the mat instead. Gargano rolls him up for two and tries the Gargano Escape to send Throne to the ropes. Back from a break with Johnny hitting the rolling kick to the head before sending Thorne outside. The suicide dive is blocked so Johnny tries it again and knocks Throne down in a crash.

The slingshot spear gets two but the slingshot DDT is countered. A Cannonball into a heck of a powerbomb gives Thorne two so he kicks Gargano in the head. That’s fine with Johnny, who snaps off a reverse hurricanrana. The low superkick (ala his half of Meet in the Middle) gives Johnny the pin at 8:53.

Rating: C. Just a match here as it’s almost strange to see Gargano winning a short match instead of some epic. I don’t think anyone was really expecting Thorne to take off as the next big thing so a short match with Gargano was about as good as he was going to get. What we got here was fine enough, though I’m not sure what Gargano can do next.

Women’s Title: Candice LeRae vs. Shayna Baszler

Baszler is defending. Feeling out process to start with Candice knocking her to the floor. The slingshot dive takes us to an early break and we come back with Candice being knocked off the top. Baszler crushes the arm in the steps and it’s time to crank away back inside. Candice is right back up and hits a DDT onto the apron, setting up the suicide dive to drop Baszler again.

A second and third dive connect as well and Candice heads up top, only to get superplexed right back down as we take another break. Back again with Candice snapping off a German suplex and grabbing her own Kirifuda Clutch. Baszler is out of that in a hurry and grabs her own clutch out of the corner, which is reversed into Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride for two more. The Lionsault misses though and now the real Kirifuda Clutch goes on. Candice flips around a bit and almost breaks it but has to tap at 14:50.

Rating: B-. I am genuinely at a loss for who is supposed to take the title from Baszler. They’re going to have to import some names at this point with Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai being too fresh off of injuries to go to so soon. Rhea Ripley has already had her match so maybe….Toni Storm? Perhaps? I mean is there anyone other than someone from NXT UK?

Stephanie McMahon, Mark Henry and Alundra Blayze are here.

Video on Kushida vs. Walter, which takes place next week.

Pete Dunne vs. Danny Burch

Dunne nips out of a wristlock to start as they fight over early arm control. Burch avoids having his fingers stomped and reverses an armbar into a quickly broken Crossface attempt. A missed right hand gives us a staredown until Dunne blasts him with a clothesline. Back from a break with Burch getting the better of a slugout as someone is bleeding from somewhere. Dunne hits a Batista Bomb for two but Burch headbutts him into a powerbomb of his own. The top rope hanging DDT gets two but Dunne has had it and snaps the fingers. Dunne grabs the Bitter End for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C. Good, hard hitting brawl here as I’m still trying to get my head around the idea of Dunne as a regular wrestler instead of the big specialty star. Burch is very good for a spot like this as he can wrestle against anyone and has good enough matches to keep himself solid despite almost never winning anything.

Post match Dunne poses but Damian Priest runs in and lays him out.

Cole tells the Undisputed Era to forget about Balor and go keep the Tag Team Titles.

We look at the Street Profits winning and losing the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Street Profits

The Profits are challenging and Wale raps them to the ring. Dawkins wrestles O’Reilly down to start before running him over with a shoulder. That means an early standoff and the champs bail to the floor. We take a break and come back with Ford getting taken into the champs’ corner. Ford get knocked down so O’Reilly dances a bit, allowing Ford to nip up. That earns him another beating though, including a slingshot hilo to give Fish two.

Some forearms to the face keep Ford down as the heat segment rolls on. Three Amigos give Fish two and it’s a double kick to the chest for two more. We take another break and come back again with Fish kicking Ford down again. Ford finally gets in a Rock Bottom but Fish is right there to pull Dawkins off the apron. Some rolling butterfly suplexes keep Ford in trouble and we hit the abdominal stretch.

Ford finally gets out and dives over for the hot tag to Dawkins, who runs through a double kick to the chest. A clothesline drops Fish and Dawkins bulldogs O’Reilly onto him for a cool spot. Everything breaks down and Dawkins’ spear is blocked with a knee to the face, allowing O’Reilly to come off the top onto Dawkins’ knee. The kneebar goes on and Fish adds a guillotine to Ford.

That’s broken up as Ford drives forward for the double escape and everyone is staggered. Ford hits a splash onto Fish’s back but an electric chair is broken up. The champs tease leaving so Ford hits a running flip dive over the post onto all three. Cue Roderick Strong to grab Ford’s foot so Dawkins spears him down. The distraction is enough for the High/Low to retain the titles at 20:06.

Rating: B. These four have chemistry together but it was pretty clear that the Profits were going to be the short term, one time champions. There’s nothing wrong with that and it makes sense to have them lose here. I’m not sure who is next to go after the titles, though Breezango would seem like a logical way to go.

Post match the Era celebrates with Cole coming out to the stage to pose….and here’s Tommaso Ciampa to circle Cole and look at the title. The place goes nuts and singes along with Ciampa’s song as the staredown ends the show. Well he’s the biggest face in the company now. Maybe? Dang it’s cool to have two huge names appear on one night like that.

Overall Rating: B+. Yeah they brought the big time atmosphere as they always do and had the wrestling to back it up. What matters most here though is the two major returns as NXT’s main event scene is instantly energized again, which is a place where WWE has a major advantage: with so much talent on all of their rosters, they can swap people in and have fresh matches and moments for years. “Hey here’s a former World Champion who is a god in NXT. Oh and to close out the show, one of the most popular stars NXT has ever seen.” Not bad for two hours and there happened to be an awesome show in between.

Having seen both shows, NXT was a better (though not much better) show but this really isn’t a fair comparison. NXT has a long history, established stories and a far deeper roster with WWE support. Coming into tonight, AEW has about as much total time on air as WWE produces in about two weeks. The comparisons can come in a few months when AEW has gotten its footing, but NXT won by a bit tonight, though you can’t go wrong watching either show.

Results

Adam Cole b. Matt Riddle – Last Shot

Io Shirai b. Mia Yim – Moonsault

Johnny Gargano b. Shane Thorne – Low superkick

Shayna Baszler b. Candice LeRae – Kirifuda Clutch

Pete Dunne b. Danny Burch – Bitter End

Undisputed Era b. Street Profits – High/Low to Ford

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 18, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time to make this show live and double the length as well because of course it is. This is the first episode of the anti-AEW defense system and that means we’re in for a stacked show. That would include Velveteen Dream defending the North American Title against Roderick Strong and a street fight between Matt Riddle and Killian Dain. Let’s get to it.

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

An extreme closeup of HHH opens the show, with the boss talking about how this is the present and the future. He’s ready to show us what this is and we get a first person trip through the curtain to see the arena.

Mauro welcomes us to the show and the arena looks more vibrant than usual, though it may be the difference between a laptop and a TV.

Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a shot at Shayna Baszler at some point in the future. Candice goes right after Shirai to start but Io gets sent outside. Belair’s handspring moonsault gets two on Candice with Mia making the save. Shirai’s springboard missile dropkick gets the same on Belair with no one making a save. Belair slams Candice on the floor so Mia dives onto both of them, setting up the huge top rope moonsault from Shirai to send us to a break (that’s going to take some getting used to).

Back with Belair getting the worst of a Tower of Doom, followed by Candice grabbing a Black Widow on Belair until Shirai makes the save. Candice suplexes Shirai to the floor but walks into a reverse Alabama Slam into the buckle. Mia breaks up the KOD and hits Code Blue for two on Belair with Shirai making a save.

Belair spears Shirai and Yim down, setting up the KOD for two on LeRae. Protect Ya Neck sends Belair outside but Shirai sends Candice to the floor as well. Running knees in the corner rock Candice but Mia sends Shirai outside. Candice spikes Mia with a reverse hurricanrana and adds a Lionsault for the pin and the title shot at 9:59.

Rating: B-. This worked well with everyone working hard and some good near falls throughout. Candice winning is the absolute right call as she hasn’t gotten a shot at the champ yet and is the better of the two faces in the whole match. It would be a great underdog story to see Candice win the title and that’s how you want to present things from here. Great way to open things and show what NXT is about too.

Post match Shayna Baszler and her cronies come out to stare Candice down.

Quick Adam Cole video.

Video on Dominick Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee and their instant classic last month. They meet again next week.

Video on Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain to set up tonight’s street fight.

Sean Maluta vs. Cameron Grimes

Standing double stomp finishes Maluta at nine seconds.

Video on Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong.

Video on Damien Priest.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is challenging. Dream takes him into the corner so Strong shoves him away, meaning it’s time to grapple to the mat. A clothesline puts Strong on the floor but Dream is ready for a springboard, sending Strong outside for some ranting and a break. Back with Dream hitting a dropkick for one and hitting an ax handle to put Strong on the floor. That means another ax handle but Strong is right back with a suplex onto the barricade.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by another backbreaker for two. Dream is back up and tries the Sharpshooter but get knocked to the floor instead. A right hand sends Strong into the steps and we take another break. Back again with Dream slugging his way out of the top rope superplex and hitting another ax handle. The Dream Valley Driver gets two but Strong pulls him to the apron. A kick to the face has Dream hanging over the middle rope and Strong ties the arms in the ropes.

Strong hits a series of running shots to the face and it’s another backbreaker into a tiger bomb for two. The Strong Hold goes on so Dream makes the slow crawl to the ropes. Cue the Undisputed Era and of course the ref gets bumped. There’s another Dream Valley Driver but Dream has to knock the Era off the apron. End of Heartache gets a great near fall and Dream hits another Dream Valley Driver. Cole superkicks Dream off the top though and it’s another End of Heartache to give the Era all the titles at 22:30.

Rating: B. I know it’s all about the moment but the match never hit that other gear that Dream matches can get to. Maybe it was the obvious ending but other than that near fall off the first End of Heartache, there wasn’t much here to get excited about. You can see where they’re going with WarGames, but this Undisputed Era Holds All The Titles deal isn’t all that interesting.

We move to the WWE Network and recap the title change.

We recap the four way. Baszler vs. LeRae is in two weeks.

Pete Dunne vs. Arturo Ruas

They trade arm holds to start and it’s an early standoff. With the wrestling out of the way, it’s time for a slugout with Dunne nailing a clothesline. Dunne misses the stomp to the arm and Ruas cartwheels over for a kick to the face. Ruas is back with more kicks to the chest and another to the knee keeps Dunne down.

Another kick is blocked by a grab of the knee for some toe manipulation. The dragon screw legwhip sets up more strikes to Ruas, followed by the stomp to the fingers. The X Plex gets two on Ruas, who is right back with more strikes to the face. Dunne enziguris him and grabs the triangle, meaning it’s time to bend the fingers back for the tap at 6:41.

Rating: C+. The technical stuff was good here though I’m still having issues getting used to seeing Dunne having regular matches. The fact that he is around regularly now is a great sign for the future as Dunne has seemed ready to break through every ceiling there is in WWE and having him presented more often is a great thing.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

Li goes straight to the kicking to start and Aliyah gets knocked down in a variety of ways. A kick to the leg sets up a spinning kick to the back of the head to finish Aliyah at 1:50. That was quite the surprise as I was expecting Aliyah to get beaten up until she won with a cheating rollup or something. Well done on going with a surprise.

Denzel DeJournette vs. Kushida

Hold on though as here’s Imperium, minus Walter, to beat down Denzel. The fans want Walter and here he is to a MONSTER pop. Walter introduces the team and promises to make anyone who disrespects them pay the price to the ring general. Cue Kushida, who says this is his time. The rest of the team is cleared out but Walter rips off Kushida’s vest. That earns him a kick to the face but Kushida is smart enough to bail. This is where NXT can shine: take two stars you wouldn’t expect to see go at it and then pair them together. It helps when you have several all star teams worth of talent at your disposal.

Lio Rush vs. Oney Lorcan

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot at some point in the future and hokey smoke Rush is allowed to exist again. Lorcan hits some running elbows in the corner and gets two off a Blockbuster. As the announcers explain that Lorcan is angry that Rush is getting this spot (explaining things we wouldn’t otherwise know as commentary should do), the half and half is blocked and Lorcan is sent outside. Three straight suicide dives hit Lorcan but he’s fine enough to whip Rush hard into the corner. Another shot to the face puts Rush on the floor but he’s right back in, allowing Lorcan to hit a gutwrench powerbomb for two.

The half crab works on Rush some more and a chop sends Rush to his knees. Rush is right back with a bottom rope springboard into a Stunner for a VERY close two but he tweaks his knee on a frog splash attempt. Lorcan is right on the leg and powerbombs him into another half crab. Lorcan switches into an STF but somehow Rush makes it over to the rope for another break. For some reason Rush slaps him in the face and Lorcan is all fired up, only to run into a standing Spanish Fly. The Dragon’s Call finishes Lorcan at 10:15.

Rating: C. It’s hard to imagine Rush not winning the title to kick the title’s run on NXT off in a hurry, though I’m not sure how wise it is to have Rush go away for six months and then hand him a title as soon as he gets back. Maybe that won’t be the case, but it’s hard to imagine Gulak retaining the title again.

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain

Street fight. Dain goes right at him to start and the fight is on with Riddle not being able to get much in. The Broton hits knees and it’s time for the weapons in a hurry. They fight into the crowd with Dain hitting his own backsplash and they brawl into the back. Riddle gets thrown into the side of a production truck but knees Dain. They fight over to Walter, who jumps Riddle despite not being touched.

Imperium, the Street Profits and the Forgotten Sons (who we saw during the brawl) all get in on it and it’s time to head into the arena again. Pete Dunne and maybe Danny Burch are in there as well with security breaking up Riddle and Dain. Security gets beaten up as well and more wrestlers get involved until Dain is left alone in the ring. That means a suicide dive onto a bunch of people to end the show. I won’t bother rating the match as it was just a few minutes before everyone else got involved, but that was certainly a hot angle.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a hard one to grade as it felt like two big episodes put together with some interesting stuff throughout. The problem though is the double length takes away a lot of what made NXT feel so special. It always had this feeling of getting a little taste and leaving you wanting more. Maybe it’s having so much content on Wednesdays but a lot of that feeling was missing here. I’m sure I’ll get used to it and they’ll get the hang of the feeling, but this felt long instead of special, which makes the show more like every other wrestling program around rather than the special one it became. It’s sad, but that’s wrestling.

Results

Candice LeRae b. Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Mia Yim – Lionsault to Belair

Cameron Grimes b. Sean Maluta – Standing double stomp

Roderick Strong b. Velveteen Dream – End of Heartache

Pete Dunne b. Arturo Ruas – Bent fingers

Xia Li b. Aliyah – Spinning kick to the head

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain went to a no contest

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

TakeOver: Toronto
Date: August 10, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re going north for this one with the second Takeover from Toronto. The second part is rather appropriate as the main event is a rematch (of a rematch) with NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against former champion Johnny Gargano in their second 2/3 falls match. A lot of the show centers around Cole’s Undisputed Era so there is certainly a theme. Let’s get to it.

There is no special narration for the opening video, which is your standard highlight package, though we do watch the crowd watching it from the arena. At least they’re not cutting back and forth between a normal video and the crowd watching shot.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era. The Profits won the titles in a four way ladder match in June and the Era say that was a fluke win. The champs have their always high energy entrance as the fans have the red solo cups. Dawkins takes O’Reilly into the corner to start and shouts that O’Reilly thinks he’s a joke. A takedown goes to Dawkins but it’s off to Fish, who gets run over with a big shoulder.

The champs start taking turns on Fish’s arm until a shot to Ford’s face gives Fish a breather. O’Reilly comes in but everything breaks down for a few seconds, with Fish walking into a double flapjack. O’Reilly gets knocked outside and manages to get Dawkins to follow him, allowing Fish to get in a surprise shot to take over for the first time. Some running/sliding knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble and O’Reilly adds a Samoan drop.

Mounted palm strikes set up a front facelock but Dawkins wins a slugout with O’Reilly. A backdrop lets Ford come in off the tag and it’s a standing moonsault for two. Ford hits the spinebuster but O’Reilly breaks up a People’s Elbow. Instead, Ford goes with a Rock Bottom for two on Fish. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron, leaving Ford to get caught with an elevated DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

We settle down to Ford being in trouble, including a superplex from Fish and a top rope knee to the knee. O’Reilly slaps on an Achilles lock with Fish adding a top rope headbutt and the fans are rather nervous. Dawkins comes back in and spinebusters Fish onto O’Reilly for the save. Ford makes the hot tag and everything breaks down.

A spinebuster/super Blockbuster combination gets two on O’Reilly and they’re all down again. The slugout is on with Dawkins and Fish being knocked outside. O’Reilly is sent to the floor as well, meaning it’s a big running flip dive from Ford. Back in and a spear from Dawkins sets up Ford’s frog splash to retain the titles at 15:50.

Rating: B+. I had the Street Profits retaining in my predictions and even I’m surprised that they pulled it off. Every sign pointed to the Era winning the titles here but I’m glad they didn’t. There was no need to have them get the belts back outside of setting up the Era having all of the titles as the Profits needed the win a lot more than the Era. It was a hot opener with an only slightly cooler ending, but the Profits winning is better in the long run.

Ricochet is here.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae. Candice had tried to help Shirai win the Women’s Title but Shirai kept coming up short. Shirai snapped and turned on LeRae, saying that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Tonight is about revenge for LeRae and for Shirai to prove herself.

Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice starts the fight before the bell and it’s Shirai bailing to the floor. That means a baseball slide from Candice but Shirai suplexes her onto the announcers’ table to knock her silly. That’s only good for a nine so Shirai keeps pounding her down for a cocky near fall. The early chinlock goes on until Candice fights up with a headscissors, only to have Shirai land on her feet. A camel clutch goes on for a bit but Shirai misses a missile dropkick.

Candice hammers away in the corner and gets two off a brainbuster, setting up an Iron Octopus of all things. That’s broken up as well so Shirai tries the 619, which is countered into a neckbreaker. Candice is sent to the apron though and now the 619 hits the back of her head. That goes nowhere as Candice sends her outside for a suicide tornado DDT, which looked better than expected.

Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two more on Shirai, who is right back with a Crossface. That’s reversed as well with Candice flipping over so Shirai puts her on her shoulders, only to get reverse hurricanranaed for two. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride gets two and the fans declare this to be awesome. Shirai catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for another near fall and frustrated screaming ensues. A double underhook backbreaker plants LeRae again and the moonsault….gets two? With nothing else working, Shirai grabs a Koji Clutch to knock LeRae out at 15:00.

Rating: B. That was a good change of finisher for Shirai as something like a moonsault isn’t befitting a new heel persona. You need to have her do something a bit more sinister and they had set up all of the neck stuff throughout the match. Candice was always going to come up short here and it wouldn’t have made sense to have her win over the newly heel Shirai. They were both working here though and I was buying Shirai being angrier and more aggressive than usual here.

Here’s an unscheduled Matt Riddle through the crowd to call out Killian Dain for a fight. Dain comes through the crowd and the fight is on with Dain hitting a jumping kick to the head. Referees come out for the save with Dain stomping on Riddle’s bare foot. Riddle doesn’t care and they fight to the stage so Dain goes for the eyes. Some knees to the face put Dain down and Riddle takes care of security, including with a GTS to a guard. Dain uses the distraction to hit a crossbody, only to have Riddle jump on his back for a choke. They dive off the stage with Riddle being crushed through a table to finally wrap up a hot fight.

Evolve Champion Austin Theory is here.

We recap the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has held the title longer than anyone in its history and Roderick Strong pinned him in a tag match. Then just to mess with what seemed to be an obvious ending, Pete Dunne was added to the mix as a wildcard.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dream is defending and goes full Canada with his entrance, complete with an army of Mounties (and yes with the Mountie song of course), who then morph into Toronto Raptors dancers before Dream himself comes out. Strong says the other two don’t matter and it’s Dream being sent outside early on. Dunne clotheslines Strong down and it’s time to go after Strong’s fingers.

Dream is back in and tosses Strong but it’s the big showdown with Dunne. That lasts all of one stare though as Strong comes back in and gets punched in the face by the champ. A Bret Hart pose looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Strong slips away. That just means it’s time for Dream and Dunne to beat him up at the same time, with Dream holding the arm for Dunne’s stomp.

Strong is sent outside so Dream can gyrate the hips, earning himself most of a cross armbreaker. It’s too early for the Bitter End as Dream slips out, only to get crotched against the post (Mauro: “NOTHING BUT NUTS!”). The backbreakers start for Strong and the UNDISPUTED chants get going again. Back in and Dream finally gets the Sharpshooter but Dunne comes off the top with a double stomp to Dream’s back for the save. Dunne starts throwing suplexes and alternates with stomps onto both of them.

Strong and Dream get together to beat him up before fighting each other (duh). Dunne is back up as well and it’s a three way slugout for a triple knockdown. Dream and Strong get their fingers snapped but it’s a Dream Valley Driver to Dunne, an Olympic Slam to Dream and an X Plex to Strong to put everyone down. Dunne catches Dream up top and Strong joins them for an Olympic Slam to Dunne, which brings Dream down with them.

Strong is up first with a backbreaker to Dunne, who tries to grab a triangle. They go into the corner with Dream hitting a springboard Purple Rainmaker to Dunne for the break. You know, because he can do that. Back up and Strong grabs a Stronghold on both of them at once. That falls apart so Dream tries a double Dream Valley Driver, which is a bit too much for him.

Dunne snaps a pair of fingers and hits the Bitter End on Strong but Dream has the referee. The delayed cover is cut off as Dream grabs the referee’s hand at two. Dream gets sent outside as Strong grabs the Stronghold on Dunne. The save doesn’t take long and it’s the Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, with Strong coming back in for End of Heartache. Dream makes another save and steals the pin to retain at 17:25.

Rating: B+. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with the title now as Dream has held the thing for six months and doesn’t really have anyone left to fight for the thing. That being said, NXT knows how to build someone up in a hurry and there is a good chance that they could do just that at a moment’s notice. The cool thing is NXT has all the talent they could need to put together a challenger, but more importantly they know how to do it. The match here was quite good, though it never hit that next level.

We recap Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler. Mia grew up in a horrible situation and had to fight from the streets to get here. Baszler doesn’t think anything of her and thinks Yim is just a thug. Shayna has held the title for a long time now and thinks Yim is going to be just another challenger.

Women’s Title: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Mia is challenging and comes out with a bunch of people in black with their faces covered to not the strongest reaction. Baszler goes to the arm to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Miz traps the arm between the steps and post for a dropkick and Baszler is in early trouble. Back in and Shayna takes her down for some left handed punches and a stomp on Mia’s left arm.

The champ stays on the arm by wrapping it around the bottom rope and then bending it at a rather disturbing angle. A pull of the hair gets Mia out of trouble so Shayna dropkicks her for two. Back up and they seem to get completely out of sync as they run the ropes for a bit. Mia sends her to the floor and shouts OK before hitting a suicide dive. A tornado DDT gets two but Baszler kicks her in the face for two with the fans not even teasing a reaction to the kickout.

Mia goes up top and traps Shayna’s arm for a super Code Blue and another near fall. Shayna pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch but Mia pulls the bad arm for the break. A stomp on the champ’s arm (Mia: “This is karma.”) looks to set up a cross armbreaker but Shayna rolls over into the Clutch again. Another pull of the arm gets Mia out, only to have Shayna wrap her legs around the neck for another choke and the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C+. I actually sighed in relief when Baszler retained. Mia tries and has a good story but I could never take her seriously with the name Head Baddie In Charge. She never felt like the big challenger who could take the title and I was almost dreading the idea of her taking the title. The problem now though is who can challenge Shayna for the title as she has almost completely cleaned out the division. That’s where they need to bring some people up, and NXT knows just how to do something like that.

Walter and Tyler Bate are here.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. They’ve fought at the last two Takeovers with Gargano winning the vacant title and then losing it to Cole the next time. The idea here is Cole believes he belongs at the top and Gargano wants to earn his legacy by getting the title back. Each fall has a different stipulation: regular match, street fight, weapons filled cage.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano, in Wolverine inspired gear, is challenging and the first fall is a regular match. Cole is roughly 18x more popular than Gargano during the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start with an early Last Shot and Gargano Escape attempt missing for each. Cole can’t hit the Panama Sunrise either as Gargano sends him outside for a running dropkick through the ropes. Cole’s running knee hits steps and Johnny sends the knee into the apron. Back in and it’s Indian Deathlock to keep Cole’s knee in trouble and an enziguri makes it worse for the champ.

Cole is fine enough to pull Gargano outside for a wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a triangle choke to Gargano, who gets smart by grabbing the bad leg. An ankle lock is quickly broken up with Cole sending him face first into the middle buckle. The Panama Sunrise still doesn’t work as the leg gives out and Johnny sends him into the corner as well. Gargano’s rolling kick to the head and it’s a fisherman’s driver for two.

Cole misses a superkick in the corner and Johnny stomps on the leg again, setting up the Figure Four. The rope gets Cole out of trouble and it’s a German suplex for two on Johnny. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a sunset driver to give Johnny two more. Cole STILL can’t get the Sunrise as the leg gives out but he’s fine enough to catch a diving Gargano in a gutbuster.

A Samoan driver gives Cole two and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Gargano is up first and hits the slingshot DDT for two but the slingshot spear hits a superkick. Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two so it’s time for a chair. The referee throws that out and Cole gets in a low blow for two. Cole sits in the chair but Gargano gets up and takes it away, setting up a shot to Cole’s back for the DQ at 20:50.

Gargano shrugs and unloads with the chair as the second fall, a street fight, begins. Cole bails to the floor so Gargano throws the chair at his head and hits the slingshot DDT. They fight into the crowd with Gargano beating Cole all over the place, though he does stop for a picture with a fan’s phone. Gargano hits a superkick and they head back to ringside with Cole being driven through the timekeeper’s area.

They fight onto the announcers’ tables with Gargano backdropping his way out of a Pedigree to send Cole through the Spanish Announcers’ Table in the huge crash. Gargano throws Cole back inside, plus a table and some chairs. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two but he stops to wedge a chair in the corner. That’s not a good idea as Gargano lawn darts him into the chair, setting up the Gargano Escape for the tap and the tie at 29:37.

The weapons cage lowers, showing off the barbed wire around the top. There is no escape here and you can only win by pinfall or submission. They slug it out with superkicks slowing down the kendo stick shots, only to have them beat each other senseless with the sticks. Stereo superkicks put both guys down and the fans find this awesome. A reverse hurricanrana sends Cole into a chair for another superkick and a near fall.

Cole gets in a chair shot to the back and a Backstabber with a kendo stick across the throat connects for two. Johnny gets in a blast with a fire extinguisher and hits a tornado DDT onto the open chairs, with Cole’s face hitting the open edge for a rather terrifying landing. Gargano goes up to try and grab a sledgehammer but has to stop for a spinning sunset bomb instead. Cole goes up top and throws a ladder at Johnny, who ducks to avoid a bad case of death.

Now the super Panama Sunrise gives Cole two and another one off the ladder gives Cole two more. The Last Shot in the chair only hits knee though and Gargano grabs the STF with the kendo stick. Cole bites his way to freedom so Gargano sledgehammers him in the ribs. Instead of following up, Gargano loads up two tables and climbs the ladder, only to have to come back down when Cole rolls away.

Instead Gargano hits a super Canadian Destroyer for two as these kickouts are getting comical. Gargano isn’t done and pulls out a bag of tools, including some wire cutters to cut some barbed wire down. Cole climbs onto the top of the cage and gets on the table bridged over the corner, right above the two tables already set up. Gargano puts the wire on his head and they dive off through a table (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”), with Cole covering to retain at 51:05.

Rating: A-. This was way past the point of going long for the sake of going long with the kickouts and non-covers being ridiculous more than once. Gargano almost has to go up to the main roster full time now as there is nothing left for him to do. You can find something else for Cole to do as he has a bunch of people to defend against, but after seeing these two fight for about two and a half hours in three matches, I never need to see them together again. Crazy violence (the ending and the DDT onto the chair were nuts) and an awesome match, but it needed to be a good bit shorter.

Overall Rating: A. It exceeded my expectations with only the Women’s Title match not being very good, but it wasn’t really close to some of the Takeovers they’ve done before. What worries me the most are the rumors of the move to Fox Sports 1, as this could be the last of the great Takeovers under the classic formula. We can worry about that later though because this was another excellent show. I’m hoping they get the right amount of time and build to the next one so it can have some fresh matches, but what we got here was quite good and a way to wrap up the summer with a great show, though not as great as before.

Results

Street Profits b. Undisputed Era – Frog splash to O’Reilly

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Kofi Clutch

Velveteen Dream b. Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong – End of Heartache to Dunne

Shayna Baszler b. Mia Yim – Leg choke

Adam Cole b. Johnny Gargano – Crash through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time to go north of the border for the next edition of one of the best series in wrestling history. Takeover has gone from a few specials for the minor league to some of the most must see wrestling events of the year. This one feels a bit different though as the build towards Takeover: Toronto hasn’t been the strongest in the world. Maybe the card isn’t as strong or maybe it feels a bit rushed, but it hasn’t felt as great on the way up. It’s still worth looking at though so let’s get to it.

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

This is a grudge match after Shirai couldn’t beat Shayna Baszler to become Women’s Champion. Instead of blaming herself, she blamed LeRae, who had tried to help even the odds against the Four Horsewomen. Shirai snapped and beat the fire out of LeRae, who came back and did the exact same thing to her. This one is all about the violence and that could make for an intense match.

I’ll take Shirai to win here as she seems like someone who could be quite the challenger for Yim, assuming she wins the title. LeRae vs. Baszler seemed to be the way to go for a long time, but for some reason they never did it on the big stage. Maybe they still could, but I think Baszler is on her way up sooner, meaning that Shirai is a better choice for a challenger and the win here would get here there. LeRae will work as hard as she always does, but Shirai is going to be too much for her.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Mia Yim

It makes sense to go here next. Baszler has dominated the NXT women’s division like no one other than Asuka in the title’s history. If she can somehow make it another three and a half months as champion, she will actually surpass Asuka’s record for most combined days as champion. However, in doing so, she has run through almost everyone there is to defeat, save for Yim, who is being billed as the underdog who has fought through everything to get here. That sounds like a setup and I think I know where this is going.

Yim winning the title seems to be the most likely ending here as Baszler may not be long for NXT. There is nothing left for her to do down there other than set records and given that she is in her late 30s, there is no reason to leave her down in NXT any longer. There are all kinds of reasons for her to come up to the main roster and putting Yim over for the title makes a lot of sense. Granted I’ve been saying this for months and have been wrong every time, but it has to connect at some point.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits(c) vs. Undisputed Era

It’s Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly representing the Undisputed Era here and that means we might be in for a big story. The idea seems to be the Undisputed Era holding all of the titles at the same time and you can’t do that with two of the titles missing. Unfortunately that means we can’t have the Street Profits holding the titles any longer, which is going to take away some of the spark that she show has had. They’re as entertaining as you can get, but I’m not sure what happens here.

The more I think about it though, I don’t think the titles change hands. NXT isn’t the place to have transitional champions and the Street Profits have only held the titles for about two months. I just can’t imagine NXT making the Undisputed Era three time champions, especially for the sake of setting up the group as the Four Horsemen of NXT. Odds are I’m wrong here and it’s more hope than anything else, but I’ll go with the champs retaining.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

This was set up as a singles match with Strong challenging Dream, but Dunne was thrown in to shake things up a bit. That’s exactly the case too, as I would have bet on Strong taking the title but now I have no idea where things are going. I can’t imagine Strong losing, I can’t imagine Dream losing and I can’t imagine Dunne losing. That’s a very impressive way to build to the match and they’ve done it well here.

I’ll go with Strong winning here as the Undisputed Era has to do something and get some extra gold. The Dream is ready to do something else as he has far longer than anyone else in history. Dunne is a complete wildcard though as he’s someone you could see as one of the top stars in the entire company one day. I don’t know if he’s going to be around NXT full time though and that leaves you with Strong, who needs his big singles win. I’ll take Strong here, but I’m completely lacking certainty.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

This might be why I’m not wild on the whole show. At the end of the day, we’ve seen this match headlining the last two Takeovers and Gargano has been in the main event scene for going on two years now. Eventually you need something fresh and it doesn’t feel like that is the case at the moment. The match is 2/3 falls as well, making it feel even longer.

I think they’ll stick with Cole here as Gargano is much better as the challenger instead of the champion and tends to lose the big matches. He’s already been there once and that’s about all he needs to cement his legacy. The build for it has been good (the final video from this week’s TV was outstanding) but both guys are ready for something new and there are more challengers for Cole than Gargano. It will be entertaining, but Gargano loses in the end, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

Here’s the thing about NXT: even if the show is one of the weakest in the history of Takeover, it’s still going to be one of the best shows of the year. That’s just how NXT works and they’re incapable of having a truly bad show. It’s going to be a great time and likely a blast, but you never can tell just how things are going to go. I’m more into the show than I was three days ago so the go home episode did well, but they’re going uphill this time around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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