NXT
Date: March 11, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s a special episode this week as we’re in the Performance Center instead of at Full Sail due to an event at the university. We’re getting ready for Takeover, assuming the show stays on the schedule given the Coronavirus. Either way, we’re in for some good stuff on the way to the show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

The arena looks great and other than the PERFORMANCE CENTER sign, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t Full Sail.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes

Grimes is challenging and tries for a leg pick to start. That’s blocked with straight power and Lee isn’t all that impressed. An Irish whip doesn’t work for Grimes either so he hits Lee in the face, only to get knocked hard out to the floor. Lee follows him out but Grimes escapes the powerbomb by grabbing the ropes and stomps him in the face for a unique counter.

The suicide dive is pulled out of the air though and Lee nods at him before trying the powerbomb again. Grimes grabs the rope again so Lee knocks his leg out this time instead. Back in and Grimes’ hat is knocked off the post but a superplex is broken up. Grimes nails a high crossbody but can’t cover off the impact.

Back from a break with Lee powering out of a waistlock and crushing Lee with a crossbody. The Spirit Bomb is escaped and Grimes hits the Superman forearm. A superkick rocks Lee and Grimes kicks him in the head again. There’s a rather impressive bridging German suplex to give Grimes two and he slips out of the Spirit Bomb again. Not that it matters as the Pounce sets up the Big Bang Catastrophe to retain the title at 11:57.

Rating: B-. Grimes got to show off here and Lee was on his usual ridiculous level. It was nice to see Lee switching things up a bit and fighting a smaller opponent rather than the usual monsters. What we had here was good, though I’m still curious about what we’ll be seeing at Takeover. Maybe it means another Lee vs. Dijakovic match, but you never can tell.

Post match here’s Damian Priest to jump Lee with a pipe. Dominick Dijakovic runs him off and helps Lee up but Lee powerbombs him instead. It isn’t clear if Lee saw that it was Priest who jumped him.

The #1 contenders ladder match at Takeover will be a six way. I don’t think the number had been confirmed until now.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim

Kai has Raquel Gonzalez in her corner. Yim kicks her down to start and grabs some early near falls but Kai is back up with a slap to the face. That earns her a running basement dropkick and Yim hammers away for two. Gonzalez trips Yim down though and drops her onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Yim getting in a shot to the knee, plus a superkick to the jaw. A running neckbreaker gives Yim two but Kai sends her throat first into the middle rope. The Kairopractor gets two so Kai goes with the Kawada kicks, only to get rolled up for two more. Kai’s running boot in the corner misses so Yim powerbombs her out of the corner. Gonzalez breaks up the pin so the referee yells at her, meaning there’s no count off Kai’s rollup. Yim Codebreakers Kai for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. Yim winning here was a surprise as Kai has been a much bigger deal as of late. That being said, there are still four spots to be filled in and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Kai get one of them. Gonzalez is a good enforcer though I’m not sure what she is going to be able to do on her own. She’s fine at the moment though and doesn’t need to mix things up just yet.

Post match Gonzalez powerbombs Yim to leave her laying. Yim gets a big ovation as she gets up. Off a single powerbomb? Really?

Tommaso Ciampa arrives and doesn’t think much of doing things Johnny Gargano’s way tonight.

We get another creepy video of various signs of destruction, including the words “tick tock”.

Kushida vs. Raul Mendoza

They go straight to the forearm exchange to start until Mendoza dropkicks him into the corner. A springboard is knocked out of the air though and Kushida hits a springboard flip dive to the floor. Back in and Mendoza grabs a swinging suplex to put him down, setting up a Lionsault for two. Kushida scores with a Tajiri elbow but a rolling DDT is blocked. Instead Kushida hiptosses him down into a basement dropkick (ala Jay Lethal) before going up. Mendoza is right there to catch him so Kushida grabs the Hoverboard Lock up there. With that broken up, Kushida flips him down into a cross armbreaker for the win at 4:00.

Rating: C+. I’ve been a Kushida fan for a long time and while he’s nowhere near what he was in New Japan, at least he got to show up here and win a match for a change. Mendoza continues to be one of the best hands in the whole company as you can put him out there against anyone and get at least a watchable match. That’s a very valuable thing to have on your roster and why Mendoza appears on so many shows.

Tyler Breeze was at the Performance Center earlier today and talks about how the Performance Center built the wrestlers. Austin Theory comes in to say he used to watch Breeze on Breaking Ground when he was in high school. Breeze doesn’t seem impressed so he takes a picture of Theory. Breeze: “You look great, for a flash in the pan.”

Here’s Rhea Ripley for a chat. She isn’t going to be intimidated by Charlotte because she loves the idea of knocking the Queen down. Cue Charlotte (fans: “YOU DON’T GO HERE!”) to say that Rhea has guts….and there’s a GO BACK TO RAW chant. Charlotte doesn’t think the bright lights or 80,000 people in the stands are going to distract Ripley.

It’s going to be Charlotte that takes Ripley out of her game because she’s going to take Ripley into deep waters. Charlotte gets in the ring and the fight is on in a hurry, with Charlotte kicking her in the face (painful considering those heels are tall enough to ride the scrambler at the fair) and putting on the Hartbreaker around the post. That’s probably your story of the match.

Video on Walter vs. Finn Balor. Finn holds up a passport, suggesting that he’s coming to NXT UK.

Mia Yim is in the parking lot when a car drives up. Two masked men jump out and kidnap Raul Mendoza. Probably the same guys who kidnapped Samoa Joe in TNA about ten years ago.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Tegan Nox vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Nox has a bad shoulder coming in so Purrazzo goes right after it. A takedown by the arm gets two but Nox sends her into the corner for the Cannonboar. Purrazzo is right back with a bicycle kick into the Fujiwara armbar but Nox reverses into a crucifix for two. The Shiniest Wizard finishes Purrazzo at 2:27.

The Undisputed Era comes out for a match but hold on though as here’s Velveteen Dream in the crow’s nest. Dream holds up the tights with Strong’s family on the, saying they’re just tights and Strong is just dumber than he looks. He wants a title shot at Takeover but Cole says he hasn’t earned anything. Didn’t Dream lose last week inside that cage? Next week, Cole is officially the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time so they can end this tonight. Dream snaps his fingers though and it’s time for a match.

Tag Team Titles: Broserweights vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era and the rest of the team is at ringside. Riddle and Fish start things off and I try to keep the song out of my head. Fish gets slammed down in a hurry and Riddle does a bit of a dance. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the champs hit stereo gutwrench suplexes to send us to a break. Back with Riddle kicking at O’Reilly’s chest and forearming at his head, only to get sent to the apron.

A Fish distraction lets O’Reilly get in a kick to the face to knock Riddle outside. We settle down to Riddle in trouble and not being able to strike his way to freedom. Fish’s slingshot hilo gets two and it’s a double suplex to start on the back. Riddle shrugs off some kicks though and it’s off to Dunne to clean house. That includes taking out O’Reilly’s leg and X Plexing him into a failed Cross armbreaker attempt.

Instead it’s a triangle choke to send Fish straight into the ropes and outside, allowing Riddle to nail a big running flip dive onto the Era. Strong and Cole try to interfere again but get ejected, with Riddle miming all the cheating that they did. We take a break and come back with Dunne blocking another hilo and making the second hot tag to Riddle. More striking abounds, plus a pair of Brotons for two.

Everything breaks down and the champs flip out of stereo German suplexes so they can kick the Era in the heads. We settle down to Fish escaping the Bro to Sleep but walking into the Final Flash. A blind tag lets O’Reilly come in with a top rope knee to the ribs for two with Dunne making his own save. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans as Riddle knees Fish again. The referee is with the Veterans though, meaning it’s a backdrop to send Fish onto the two of them. That leaves O’Reilly to get kneed in the head, setting up the Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination to retain the titles at 20:01.

Rating: B. Another good match between these four, which isn’t all that surprising. All four can do the striking and the champs have that weird chemistry that you just stumble upon from time to time. That’s the kind of thing you can’t build up and NXT is capitalizing on it as they should. Solid back and forth match here, with the Veterans waiting in the wings for the Broserweights.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa, who wants to know why Johnny Gargano did everything he did. Gargano pops up on screen to talk about how horrible of a person Johnny is, but since Ciampa knows the building well, he storms to the back and the fight is on. They fight down the hallway with Ciampa hitting him with a framed poster. It heads into the medical area with both guys beating up other people to keep the fight going.

Gargano throws him through the window of the gym door and they fight into the exercise equipment, with Gargano throwing him over a big tire. Gargano grabs a weight but Ciampa kicks it away and grabs some smaller ones. He THROWS them at Gargano but destroys a mirror instead, sending Gargano down another hall. They finally make it into the arena and Ciampa hits a running chair shot to the side of the head.

Gargano is back up though and they go up to the crow’s nest with Ciampa following him. They slug it out up there with Gargano pulling him into the Gargano Escape. The referee gets knocked down and Gargano superkicks Ciampa, who pops right back up with the Air Raid Crash off the balcony and through the announcers’ table to end the show. This was a lot of fun as they used their environment, which isn’t something you get to see them do very often. I know the two of them have done this to death, but sweet goodness they can take it to another level at times.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this one rather well as, aside from the big main event angle, there was nothing that would suggest that this was anything more than a regular Full Sail show. It was another solid episode as the focus shifts towards Takeover, though right now everything seems up in the air. The good thing is they might just be able to do the show at the Performance Center or Full Sail if necessary, but dang things are all over the place at the moment. Anyway, rather awesome show this week as NXT gets going towards Tampa.

Results

Keith Lee b. Cameron Grimes – Big Bang Catastrophe

Mia Yim b. Dakota Kai – Codebreaker

Kushida b. Raul Mendoza – Cross armbreaker

Tegan Nox b. Deonna Purrazzo – Shiniest Wizard

Broserweights b. Undisputed Era – Bro to Sleep/enziguri combination to O’Reilly

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: March 4, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s a big night around here with a pair of steel cage matches. First up Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai are in for a big fight, as Nox is still out for revenge after Kai attacked her back in November. Other than that, we have Roderick Strong vs. Velveteen Dream in a heck of a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Mauro previews the show.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai

Inside a cage with Raquel Gonzalez in Kai’s corner. Nox slugs away to start and takes Kai down to hammer her upside the head. The Shiniest Wizard misses but Kai can’t send her into the cage. A middle rope crossbody isn’t even worthy of a cover and Nox pounds away even more. Kai sends her into the corner though and chokes with a boot, followed by a ram into the cage for two.

Nox is back up and hits some running shots in the corner, onto to have the Cannonboar (yes Boar) hit knees. We take a break and come back with Nox sending Kai into the cage over and over, much to the fans’ delight. A tabletop suplex gives Nox two but Kai is back with the Kairopractor for her own two. Kai gets evil and goes after Nox’s knee brace but Nox kicks her away. It’s time for the climb, with Kai catching her on top, only to get chokeslammed right back down.

Instead of leaving, Nox climbs back down and hits the Cannonboar. Nox goes all the way up again and this time it’s a high crossbody of the cage. Nigel says that was a 20 foot drop, putting Kai at about 8’4. It’s time to go for the door but Gonzalez holds it shut, only to have Kai miss a running kick and knock the door into Gonzalez’s head. The Shiniest Wizard connects for two and Nox is STUNNED.

Gonzalez tries to come in this time but Nox kicks her in the face. Kai chases Nox up top so Nox kicks her down as well. Nox tries to climb down so Gonzalez tries to pull Kai out. That’s fine with Nox, who kicks the door onto Kai’s knee but Gonzales pins her against the cage with the door. The delay lets Kai escape at 16:10.

Rating: B-. The interference got annoying because the stipulation was built around the idea of Gonzalez not being able to interfere. Then she just did anyway, making the cage a rather pointless detail. There’s a good chance they do this one more time, perhaps in a ladder match in the tournament final at Takeover?

Finn Balor thanks Walter for sending Imperium to make the first move. That forced his hand and Walter will see him sooner than he thinks.

Rhea Ripley was in Raymond James Stadium (home of Wrestlemania XXXVI) and talks about how cool it is to have an NXT Title on the line. She started wrestling in front of 50-100 people and now she’s here. All she ever wanted to do was help people but she needed to find herself first. She changed everything and now she is ready to accomplish what she wanted. People called her a mini Charlotte when she got to WWE and now she wants to beat the real Charlotte.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Chelsea Green vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Robert Stone introduces Chelsea. Green kicks her away to start but Shotzi takes her down for the Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs. An enziguri drops Green again but she avoids a charge and gets caught with a Backstabber. Green kicks her in the ribs for two, followed by a missile dropkick to the apron. I’m Prettier (not Unprettier) finishes Blackheart at 2:24. I’m not sure I would have gone with Green over Blackheart for the ladder match. I’m also not sure how many people are going to be in the ladder match, as I thought it was just two but that might not be the case.

Here’s Keith Lee for a chat. After greetings and salutations, Lee talks about men invoking his name, including Dominick Dijakovic, who wants to fight forever. Or people like Damian Priest, who wants to live forever. Cue Cameron Grimes, who says Lee should be talking about him. Lee’s jacket comes off and Grimes has made the gravest mistake of his career.

The fans keep booing Grimes before he can get a word in, until Lee says he’d like to hear this. Apparently William Regal has granted Grimes a title match next week, so Lee shoves him out of the ring. Lee tells him to bring it next week. The fans didn’t like Grimes here.

Austin Theory is ready to win all of the titles but Isaiah Scott comes up to say not so fast. They’ll fight tonight.

The Undisputed Era is warming up.

Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish here. Fish and Lorcan strike it out to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. The Era is sent outside and Lorcan hits a double Blockbuster off the steps to send us to a break. Back with Fish hitting Lorcan in the face again and having to throw in some knees to cut off the comeback attempt. Fish’s slingshot hilo hits raised knees though and it’s off to Burch to slug away. An RKO drops O’Reilly but Fish comes back in with a blindside shot to the face.

Burch gets beaten up in the corner and the chinlock goes on. That lasts as long as you might expect and it’s Burch getting up for a shot to the face. O’Reilly misses a big kick to the head though and Burch dives over for the hot tag. Lorcan comes in and gets to clean house, including a running Blockbuster to send O’Reilly outside. The big running dive over the top takes down Fish and O’Reilly and Lorcan takes him them back inside for running elbows in the corner. That’s not a good idea against the Era though as they come back with the High/Low to finish Lorcan at 11:50.

Rating: B. Burch and Lorcan are great gatekeepers as they can have good matches against anyone and make their opponents look good. The Era is in a weird place at the moment though as they’ve held the titles for the better part of ever and there’s no need for them to do so again. That being said, what else is there for them to do at the moment?

Post match the Era says they want their titles back. Adam Cole is taking care of business and tonight Roderick Strong is shutting up Velveteen Dream. Cue the Broserweights with Matt Riddle saying they’re down with a rematch. The Grizzled Young Veterans jump them from behind and throw the Broserweights off the stage. The Veterans don’t want to hear about rematch clauses because they’re going to be the Tag Team Champions.

Video on Austin Theory.

Austin Theory vs. Isaiah Scott

Feeling out process to start with Theory’s headlock not getting him very far. Scott takes him into the corner and hits a quick dropkick. A jumping kick to the face in the corner drops Theory and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting a slingshot rolling dropkick to take over, only to get caught with a discus lariat. A jumping Downward Spiral gives Scott two but Theory counters a hurricanrana into the buckle bomb.

RP1 (leg trap brainbuster onto the knee) gives Theory one but Scott pulls him into a cross armbreaker. With that broken up, Scott pins one arm behind Theory and stomps the other one down, giving us a SNAPPING sound that made me cringe harder than anything in wrestling has in years. Theory is fine enough to pull Scott off the top and hit a one armed ATL (Austin Theory Launch, a TKO) for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: C+. Theory is one of those guys where you can see everything WWE loves in a wrestler wrapped into one. It isn’t surprising me that he is getting this kind of a push and he’ll be around for the time being. The different names for his moves are going to help too. Scott continues to feel like he has potential but can’t get very far for whatever reason. He’s far from in danger, but he feels like he’s running on a treadmill.

We get a series of creepy visuals, mainly involving death. Killer Kross maybe?

Mauro sat down with Johnny Gargano at the Performance Center and asks what happened with Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover. Johnny says he was the only wrestler to show up at the premiere of Mauro’s documentary in New York, which Mauro says meant more to him than Johnny could ever know. Johnny talks about some of Mauro’s (complimentary) statements about him but Mauro doesn’t know him at all.

Mauro would like to think that he knows him but people want to know about the sneak attacks on Ciampa. That makes Johnny a lot more serious and says that it can’t be a sneak attack when you’re wearing a powder blue sport coat. No one has any idea what Johnny has seen, gone through or felt, but Mauro wants to know. Johnny gets up and nearly gets in Mauro’s face before sitting back down. Mauro asks why again and this time Johnny stands up and puts his hand on Mauro’s shoulder, saying that Mauro knows why.

If Mauro admits it though, he’s admitting he’s a liar. Mauro admits that they haven’t talked since Takeover: Portland so Johnny yells at him for calling him Johnny Turncoat. When Ciampa came back, Mauro couldn’t help but say Daddy’s Home. Johnny wants Mauro to look in the camera and say he’s a liar but Mauro walks off. Johnny: “No Mama Mias now!” Gargano grabs the camera and says next week at the Performance Center, they do things his way. This was a level of intensity that you don’t see from Johnny very often (if ever) and he feels like he’s on the verge of madness all over again.

Video on Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong.

Next week: Keith Lee defends against Cameron Grimes and the Undisputed Era gets their Tag Team Title rematch, all from the Performance Center.

Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong

Inside a cage ant they go straight at it at the bell with Strong sending him into the cage. Dream is right back with a crossbody but it’s too early for the Dream Valley Driver. They slug it out again with Strong getting the better of it, including the first backbreaker. Strong yells that Dream did this and starts with the running forearms. A backdrop sends Strong into the cage but here’s Marina Shafir (Strong’s wife) to slip him a kendo stick.

Shafir leaves and we take a break. Back with Strong going up but getting hit low, allowing Dream to grab a Boston crab. Strong grabs the rope and thankfully the referee does nothing, but Dream lets go anyway. The breather lets Strong grab the Stronghold but Dream slips out as well. Another Dream Valley Driver is broken up so Dream dropkicks him into the cage.

There’s a superkick to make it worse but Strong pulls him face first into the cage. They fight over the kendo stick with Strong using it for a pumphandle backbreaker. Strong goes up but Dream pulls the pants down (fans: “A******!”) for the save. Dream stays on the top with him and that means a super Angle Slam to put them both down.

Neither can dive through the door and now the Dream Valley Driver connects. Dream hits a second one and goes all the way to the top, only to have the rest of the Undisputed Era come out. Cole manages to get inside so Dream slams him off the top. Strong gets over to the door again so Dream grabs him, looks at Cole….and shoves Strong out to give Strong the win at 13:00.

Rating: B. This was both hard hitting and entertaining while setting up the next Takeover main event. Strong was fighting to get rid of Dream once and for all, but the ending says that Dream has his sights on something bigger (likely the guy he left himself inside the cage with, plus that guy’s shiny title). The match was a good fight but the ending was all about setting up something new and that’s a nice combination.

Post match Dream locks the cage with himself and Cole inside and the beating is on. Dream starts throwing Cole at the cage to knock the rest of the Era out, followed by using the stick to beat them up. Strong gets tied in the Tree of Woe and it’s another Dream Valley Driver to send Cole into the chair. Dream grabs the title and poses a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a solid show up and down as the focus moves towards Tampa. I like a lot of where the show looks to be going and that’s hard to do on such a short turnaround time. It also helps that there was nothing bad here with a bunch of good matches and an intense promo from Gargano. Couple that with the potential of Balor vs. Walter (which might be more likely for Dublin) and things are in a good place. The doldrums that they were in for a few weeks have been shaken off and that’s quite the relief going forward.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Tegan Nox – Kai escaped the cage

Chelsea Green b. Shotzi Blackheart – I’m Prettier

Undisputed Era b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – High/Low to O’Reilly

Austin Theory b. Isaiah Scott – ATL

Roderick Strong b. Velveteen Dream – Dream pushed Strong out of the cage

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

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

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

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

Takeover: Portland
Date: February 16, 2020
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re back with the big show and making the Sunday debut, which hopefully isn’t a trend. This is the first Takeover since November and it’s going to be an interesting one since we are only about six weeks away from the next one. As usual they’ve done a good job with building the card so let’s get to it.

Poppy performs the theme song live.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Dominick Dijakovic

Lee is defending. They stare each other down to start and neither can get anywhere off a headlock. Lee goes with a hurricanrana to pop the crowd for the first time and shrugs off some shoulders for a bonus. The cyclone boot works a bit better and puts Lee on the floor, setting up the Fosbury Flop, which Lee catches in a powerbomb. That’s escaped as well and Dijakovic suplexes him onto the apron.

Back in and Dijakovic talks trash and slowly pounds Lee down but Lee blocks a suplex. Instead it’s a release German suplex to drop Dijakovic on his face but Dijakovic is back with another cyclone book. A corkscrew moonsault gives Dijakovic two and it’s time to strike it out again. An exchange of standing clotheslines puts them both on their knees and neither can get up. Lee is on his feet first and heads up top but Dijakovic is right there wit him with a super spinning Samoan drop for two. That looked awesome, though it wasn’t the top rope Feast Your Eyes that commentary called it.

Lee is back up with a Pounce into the corner and it’s time to head outside. Dijakovic gets knocked into a chair and Lee chops him rather hard but Dijakovic puts him in the chair for a superkick. It’s time to show off again though as Dijakovic hits a springboard flip dive onto Lee in the chair and they head back inside. Back in and the Big Bang Catastrophe is countered, as is the sitout chokeslam.

Rating: A-. This is the definition of spectacle, as the match was built around the idea of one huge spot after another until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s always incredible to watch and neither comes out looking anything close to bad. It was an awesome match and somehow not even their best one ever. It’s going to take someone special to take the title off of Lee and that’s a great situation to be in.

Lee helps him up post match, as he should.

We recap Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox. They were best friends and went through everything, including knee rehab together. Then Kai didn’t make it onto the WarGames team but was added as a replacement. Therefore, she turned on Nox and went after her bad knee in a rather evil moment. Tonight it’s a street fight.

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox

Street fight. Kai jumps her during the entrances and they fight through the barricade with Kai hitting a DDT on the floor. They head inside for the opening bell and a two count on Nox, meaning it’s time to bring in the weapons. Nox hits a crossbody off the steps to knock the cricket bat away from Kai and adds a Cannonball against the steps. A table is pulled out but Kai cuts her off with a kick to the face.

Nox is back with a trashcan though, including a nasty German suplex to put Kai onto the can for two. The Kairopractor gives Kai her own two but Nox sends her face first into the apron. They go to the top with Nox chokeslamming her down and busting out a Molly Go Round for two. Nox puts Kai’s head in a chair and loads up a Punt of all things but Kai slips away and throws the chair at her to send Nox outside.

Rating: B. They made the right call with Kai winning here as there was nothing to be gained with Nox winning. Gonzales being the big surprise is a different way to go and it keeps Nox looking like the great sympathetic face that she is. You can imagine that this isn’t done yet, or at least Nox isn’t done with trying to get revenge.

Gonzales helps Kai up and Kai isn’t sure what is going on.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano. It’s a battle of old vs. new as Balor is one of the legends around here and Gargano has taken up the NXT mantle in his absence, leading NXT to new heights. Balor doesn’t like what NXT has become and is back to show that he’s still the best while also taking out Gargano late last year in the process.

Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano

They go technical to start with Balor not being able to take over on the arm and getting rolled up for two instead. Balor takes him down with a headscissors and even does some pushups at the same time for a bonus. Gargano fights out and gets a headlock on the mat before kicking Balor in the chest. The rolling kick to the head stuns Balor again but he’s back up with a whip into the corner for some running chops.

Balor goes to the apron but Gargano follows him out and hits a spear to knock them outside. Gargano loads up a running dropkick, only to have Balor Sling Blade him down. Back in and Balor grabs an armbar while rubbing his forearm over Gargano’s face. The chinlock/armbar stays on until Gargano fights up and pulls Balor down by the arm. Gargano goes to the apron but gets his leg snapped over the top rope.

Balor works on the leg and stomps on it in the corner, followed by the cannonballs down onto said leg. Gargano can’t quite kick him over the top so he pulls Balor back inside and gets two off a small package instead. Back in and Balor ties up the leg again until Gargano fights his way up one more time. An enziguri and dropkick put Balor on the floor but the suicide dive is countered. 1916 is blocked though and Gargano sends him into the steps, setting up the running flip dive off the apron.

The Lawn Dart is broken up and Balor hits a Nightmare on Helm Street for two. Gargano gets in a superkick followed by the Lawn Dart and they exchange kicks to the head. They slug it out with Gargano getting the better of it from the apron. The slingshot spear is blocked but the slingshot DDT connects for two. Back in and Balor cuts off the running superkick with the Sling Blade. That works so well that they do it again and Balor dropkicks him into the corner.

The Coup de Grace misses and Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape. That’s reversed into a standing double stomp but 1916 is countered into the Gargano Escape again. This time Balor dives for the rope and bails to the floor, allowing Gargano to hit the John Woo dropkick into the barricade. Gargano loads up the announcers’ table but Balor knocks him down, setting up his own John Woo dropkick off said table. Back in and the Coup de Grace connects hard, setting up a heck of a 1916 to finish Gargano at 27:19.

Rating: A-. These guys beat the heck out of each other and Balor won definitively, which should set him up for a huge match in Tampa, say against Lee perhaps. Gargano shrugging off the knee work was the only significant problem as it was fun to watch these two beat each other up until Gargano could keep going any longer. Heck of a match and Balor continues to look like a huge star around here.

Roderick Strong is ready to destroy Velveteen Dream on Wednesday. That’s next week though because tonight, the rest of the Undisputed Era is ready to prove why they are the best in the world.

We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair for the Women’s Title. Ripley became the biggest deal in the division and finally ended Shayna Baszler’s title reign. Belair won a battle royal and doesn’t like Ripley overlooking her to face Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is defending and goes for the arm to start but gets reversed into a waistlock to the mat. That doesn’t last long though as Rhea is up with clotheslines and a dropkick but Belair grabs a cravate. A standing moonsault gives Belair two and she nearly drops Ripley on a Jackhammer attempt.

Belair goes full He Nan with a seated full nelson but Belair powers out again. The standing Cloverleaf is countered as Belair sends her shoulder first into the post. A spinebuster gives Belair a few near falls and she puts Ripley on top. That means an exchange of hard slaps to the face until Belair uses the hair whip to take over. The gorilla press drop shows off Belair’s power but the KOD is countered.

Ripley kicks her in the chest but Belair pops up with the spear for the double knockdown. They slug it out from their knees but Ripley avoids the hair whip. Belair backdrops her over the top so Belair hits a big running flip dive. Ripley gets in a whip to the steps but blocks a sunset bomb back inside. That’s fine with Ripley, who switches to the Riptide to retain at 13:33.

Rating: C+. Belair continues to be an athletic freak and she’s grown on me in recent months. Her problem at the moment is that she is developing a reputation for not being able to win the big one, though it’s hard to imagine that she won’t be Women’s Champion one day. Ripley now has a clear path to Wrestlemania and Charlotte, which should be a heck of a showdown.

Post match Charlotte runs in and decks Ripley. She accepts the match at WrestleMania and sends Belair into the steps for a bonus.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Broserweights

The Broserweights are challenging after winning the Dusty Classic. They drive out in a golf cart with the trophy in the back, plus matching “How Much Fish Could Bobby Fish Fry If Bobby Fish Could Fry Fish?” shirts. Matt Riddle isn’t done and leads the fans in a singalong of the line, drawing the champs up to start the fight. Riddle kicks at O’Reilly to start so it’s off to Fish, who gets suplexed down. Dunne comes in and blasts Fish with a clothesline before stomping on the arm.

Fish is sent outside for the middle rope moonsault but Fish sweeps the leg back inside. That allows the tag off to O’Reilly as the champs take over for the first time. O’Reilly twists the leg around the ropes and Fish kicks the other leg out to keep Dunne down. The champs collide though and it’s off to Riddle to clean house. That means kicks and Brotons to both, plus a Bro To Sleep into a German suplex for two on O’Reilly.

Some knees to the face give Dunne two on O’Reilly but Dunne kicks the post by mistake. Riddle knees O’Reilly again and the Final Flash sets up a release German suplex. O’Reilly strikes him right back and they both go down to a nice reaction. Back up and Riddle gets in a spear on O’Reilly but Fish is back in with a chop block to Riddle. Double knees put the champs down and it’s Dunne coming back in to strike it out with O’Reilly.

Dunne reverses O’Reilly’s ankle lock into one of his own but gets reversed into a Scorpion Deathlock. Fish sleepers Riddle at the same time but Riddle knees O’Reilly and drops back onto Fish for the double escape. What looked to be a Doomsday Device is broken up and O’Reilly t-bone superplexes Riddle down.

O’Reilly kneebars Riddle but Dunne bends Fish’s fingers and stomps onto O’Reilly’s for a save of his own. Things settle down with Dunne bending O’Reilly’s fingers but Riddle is drawn in to accidentally spear Dunne. Chasing the Dragon gets two and the fans are WAY into the kickout. Riddle is back up and makes a blind tag so it’s time to knee a lot of people. The Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination gives us new champions at 16:58.

Rating: A-. This is the kind of wild tag match that makes NXT work so well and that’s the kind of match you can always use on any show. I’m a bit surprised by the title change but the Undisputed Era has held the titles for the better part of ever so having them drop the things to a new team is a good idea. NXT doesn’t have the deepest tag division in the world so this is the right way to go, if nothing else as the Undisputed Era continues its slide.

We recap the NXT Title match between Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole. Ciampa had to vacate the title due to a neck injury and now he’s back to get the title he never lost. Cole is on the verge of becoming the longest reigning champion in the title’s history but Ciampa is coming for Goldie because daddy’s home.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Cole is defending and we’re ready to go after the Big Match Intros. Ciampa puts him against the ropes and mocks Cole’s pose, followed by a headlock for a bonus. It’s too early for Willow’s Bell so Ciampa goes with another headlock. That stays on for a bit until Ciampa gets up and chops him in the corner. Cole’s Backstabber misses so he kicks Ciampa down instead and gives himself the applause.

Ciampa throws him over the announcers’ table though and now we get the real self applause. A jumping enziguri misses Ciampa and he drops Cole across the barricade. That means a running knee to the head and a bunch of chops in the timekeeper’s area. The big running knee makes it worse and Ciampa even hugs a fan. Ciampa misses a kick though and gets suplexed into the edge of the announcers’ table for a delayed two. Cole kicks him in the face for two more but takes too long going up, meaning he has to block a sunset bomb.

A Backstabber out of the corner sets up a chinlock but Ciampa is up again. The Panama Sunrise is countered with a dropkick and they both need some time to get up. Ciampa grabs a torture rack bomb for his own two but Cole is right back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Cole ties him in the corner but a sunset bomb is countered into the super Air Raid Crash for the VERY near fall and Ciampa is stunned. They head outside again with Ciampa powerbombing him onto the announcers’ table (again, not through), followed by another to put Cole through it.

Back inside and Cole hits a quick superkick, only to get caught with Project Ciampa for two. They slug it out with Cole knocking him to the floor but a suicide dive is kneed out of the air. Back in again and Cole snaps off the brainbuster onto the knee for two as the fans are split again. They slowly fight up with Cole getting the better of it and hitting a Last Shot. Ciampa is smart enough to roll straight to the rope though, meaning it’s time to head to the apron.

Another Air Raid Crash onto the apron puts them both down on the floor but Ciampa can’t hit the Fairy Tale Ending. Cole can hit a Panama Sunrise off the announcers’ table though and Ciampa is….not done as he’s back up for Willow’s Bell. The Fairy Tale Ending connects for two and Ciampa has nothing left. Cole changes pace with a Crossface but Ciampa reverses into one of his own. It’s too close to the rope though and Cole bails outside after the break.

Cue Roderick Strong for a distraction though and O’Reilly and Fish take Ciampa down with a High/Low on the floor. That’s only good for two as well so Ciampa hits Willow’s Bell on Strong and nails a big corkscrew dive onto the other three. Back in and Cole hits a quick Last Shot for two and I let out an “oh come on”. The ref gets bumped and Ciampa hits another Fairy Tale Ending for no count so here’s Johnny Gargano (Where was he five minutes ago?) to throw the title to Ciampa….and then hit him with it instead. Cole retains the title at 33:23.

Rating: B+. I enjoyed it but these Cole main events are getting out of hand on a ridiculous level. They could have cut out probably seven to ten minutes of kickouts here and done the same thing, which isn’t a good sign. That being said, the action was good and Gargano vs. Ciampa part whatever number we’re at should be good with a new twist on the whole thing. This pretty much leaves Velveteen Dream as the most likely challenger to Cole in Tampa as there aren’t many other ways to go, save for Lee dropping the title in a hurry. Anyway, entertaining main event that could have been better with a few cuts.

Overall Rating: A. It never ceases to amaze me that this is probably considered one of the weaker Takeovers and it’s still an incredible show. There’s nothing close to bad on it and several very good matches, though it didn’t have the big blow away one. You can piece together some of Takeover and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few cameos from NXT UK to really bump up the quality. What we got here was great though and it was an awesome show as Takeover continues to be the untouchable one.

Results

Keith Lee b. Dominick Dijakovic – Big Bang Catastrophe

Dakota Kai b. Tegan Nox – Toss onto a table

Finn Balor b. Johnny Gargano – 1916

Rhea Ripley b. Bianca Belair – Riptide

Broserweights b. Undisputed Era – Bro To Sleep/Enziguri combination to O’Reilly

Adam Cole b. Tommaso Ciampa – Belt shot to the head

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

This is a different kind of show for more ways than you almost ever see. In this case, we have a show on a Sunday, a Takeover without a major event from WWE and a six match card. I’m not sure if those things are better or worse for what we’ll be seeing but NXT has not been as strong as usual of late. This is where they get their reputation from though so let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Bianca Belair

I’m not sure what to expect from this one and that’s a hard thing to pull off. What makes this so much better is the fact that while they are certainly teasing Charlotte vs. Ripley at WrestleMania, they might be going a swerve in the form of a triple threat match with Belair vs. Ripley vs. Charlotte. Now I’m not sure how great that would be, but it’s a possibility.

That being said, I don’t think it’s a possibility that is going to become a reality so we’ll say that Ripley retains here. NXT clearly sees something huge in her and I don’t think they’re going to take the title off of her in her first Takeover defense. Unless there is something surprising like Charlotte interfering to cost Ripley the title, and I’m not sure I see that happening, I think we’ll be seeing Ripley retain.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. Broserweights

The Undisputed Era is reaching the Shayna Baszler point of “someone has to beat them”. Granted that has been the case for a long time now and yet it never seems to end. Now that’s an interesting point as you start to wonder who that team is, because there isn’t a very deep tag division in NXT. Hence the Broserweights being put together to get this spot after winning a handful of matches.

I’ll take the Undisputed Era to retain here, as I think we’re coming up on the dream match at Takeover: Tampa where DIY takes the titles off of them. The Broserweights can keep teaming together, but there isn’t a need to switch the titles here. The Undisputed Era has held them for so long now that another six weeks isn’t going to matter, so switch them in Tampa instead of here.

Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor

Here’s your showcase match and it’s a very good one at that. The story makes perfect sense here as you have the former star against the new one, with Gargano needing to prove that he’s as good as he seems to be. Balor is someone with main roster credentials and having Gargano beat him would be a huge moment for him. You could see this one going either way though and that’s what makes it fascinating.

I think I’ll go with Balor here, as there is a case for both of them. First and foremost, Balor is Balor and someone who brings instant main roster credibility to NXT. At the same time though, Gargano has one of the best resumes and legacies in NXT, but he also has a reputation for losing. He’s a lot better when he’s losing though and it’s not like another loss is going to hut him that much. Gargano winning wouldn’t shock me, but I’ll take Balor.

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox

This is a good example of a match where the extra time for the build may have hurt it a bit. The whole thing is built on Kai being the most horrible person ever by taking out the adorable Nox’s already injured knee. The problem is that was three months ago and a lot of the steam has gone away. The heat will be back as soon as we see a clip of the attack, but it doesn’t feel as important as it once did.

Again you could go either way here, but if they want Kai to go anywhere, she needs to win here so I’ll say that. Nox is someone who has that underdog/never say die aspect to her and that is going to be enough to carry her a long way. Kai is still new to this massive heel turn deal and having her lose (again) wouldn’t leave her with much to do going forward. Let her win here and see where she can go with it.

North American Title: Keith Lee(c) vs. Dominick Dijakovic

I don’t think I’m alone when I say this is the match a lot of people have wanted to see again. These guys showed a completely new aspect to big man matches and they were some of the most exciting things I’ve seen in a long time. I had wanted them to do it on a bigger stage and that is what they are getting here, with a title on the line to boot.

I’ll take Lee to retain, as he seems in line to become the next big thing in NXT. Therefore, you don’t take the title off of him here (barring what would be a very surprising turnaround to give him the title shot at Takeover: Tampa), though Dijakovic winning it would hardly be the worst thing in the world. But yeah Lee retains here, as it is going to take a Herculean effort to get the belt off of him.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This is the match that got me into the show because Ciampa’s promos have been outstanding. He never lost the title and pinned Cole to win WarGames so there is already a story built in. Should Cole retain, there is a strong chance he sets the record for the longest NXT Title reign in history, which is a pretty big deal given the history the title has. I’m more curious what happens if Ciampa loses though, as this is pretty much his life.

I think we’re going to find out though, as I’ll take Cole to retain. It leaves open the question of who is left to fight him (though a certain Dreamy one would seem to be an option) but for now, Ciampa doesn’t get Goldie back. I’m not sure if he ever does, but I don’t think he does here. It’s another coin flip (dang NXT is good at setting those up), though I’m going with Cole retaining.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not sure what to expect from this show as the television shows haven’t been as great lately. What matters the most though is that we’ll get down to just the wrestling here and that’s where NXT shines. I do not believe they are capable of a bad (or even average) Takeover and I don’t see this one going any differently. Just give us a good show and everything will be fine. Make it a great one and NXT is back, which is what I’d bet on happening.

 

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: 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

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.

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

NXT
Date: January 29, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

It’s a big night around here as Worlds Collide is behind us. That means it is time to move forward towards Takeover: Portland and that means we need to finalize the card for the big show. We do a lot of that this week with the Dusty Classic wrapping up to set up the Tag Team Title match, plus finding out who will challenge Adam Cole for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Worlds Collide and the setup for tonight’s tournament final.

Beth Phoenix is very upset after what happened to Edge on Monday but he told her to come to work so let’s do this.

Finn Balor vs. Trent Seven

Fallout from Balor attacking Seven in the parking lot last night (injuring Seven’s throat in the process), which was aired on the YouTube channel (due to Moustache Mountain stopping Balor from attacking Johnny Gargano at Worlds Collide). Balor dropkicks him off the apron (serves Seven right for spending so much time posing) and kicks away on the floor before the bell. Seven is ready to go anyway so Balor stomps him down without much effort. Chops against the barricade sets up a chinlock inside, followed by a running elbow for two.

Balor steps on the face and we take a break. Back with Seven fighting out of a chinlock and striking away, setting up a DDT to really rock Balor. Seven snaps off a half nelson suplex and the Seven Star lariat gets two. Balor gets knocked off the barricade but the bad throat won’t let Seven get much air. The delay lets Balor knock him off the top and Seven gets sent hard into the middle buckle. The John Woo dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace into 1916 for the pin at 10:09.

Rating: C. This was storyline based as Seven wasn’t able to get much going due to the throat. That’s a fine way to go as it shows how evil and aggressive Balor can be, which sets him up even more for the Gargano match. If they can do something special in the build, we could be in for something great with what should be an awesome performance from both. Beating Seven this badly helps Balor a lot and that’s what they were going for.

The Broserweights are ready to win the tournament. If Dunne has to break some fingers, so be it. Riddle likes that wild man potential and promises to show why Dunne is the life of the party after they win. Dunne’s side glance at him is great.

Quick video on Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai.

We see three circles with 5, 20 and 2 in them. 2/5/20 perhaps?

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Shotzi now rides to the stage in a mini tank for one of the more unique entrances around here. Purrazzo goes straight for the arm to start (as is her custom) but she gets sent into the ropes. A springboard armdrag is countered into a DDT though and Blackheart is right back in trouble. That lasts all of a few seconds as Blackheart is back up with a reverse Sling Blade and a Question Mark kick for two. The top rope backsplash finishes Purrazzo at 3:27.

Rating: C-. Just a quick match here and it’s a good sign for Blackheart’s future that she got a win here. She has had some good efforts but at some point you need to actually win a match to make the impact work. Blackheart is unique enough to go somewhere eventually and the tank alone makes it seem like they have some plans for her.

We look back at Keith Lee winning the North American Title.

Video on Worlds Collide.

Here’s Keith Lee for a chat. A few weeks ago he was wondering which title he should take first and now he is your limitless champion. Cue Damian Priest to say he wants the title. Dominick Dijakovic does the same (because “bootleg Marilyn Manson” isn’t getting the first title shot) so it’s hoss fight time.

Dominick Dijakovic vs. Damian Priest

Priest starts fast and knocks Dijakovic to the apron. That means a big crucifix bomb on the outside and we take a break. Back with Dijakovic slugging away but walking into a Flatliner for two. Dijakovic is fine enough to hit a sitout chokeslam for two, sending Priest outside. That’s fine with Dijakovic, who hits an Asai moonsault just to show off a bit.

Back in and they both hit spinning boots to the head for a double knockdown. Priest goes up but Dijakovic catches him for a fireman’s carry, only to get pulled down in a super reverse hurricanrana for two. The Reckoning is broken up as well and Feast Your Eyes finishes Priest at 8:37.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have the time to go as far as some of their other matches but what we got was good enough. Sometimes you just need to let athletic guys go out there and do crazy stuff to each other, which is what got these two plus Lee over. They can do incredible stuff to each other and that makes these matches as good of a set of popcorn matches as you’ll get these days.

We look at how the Grizzled Young Veterans made the finals.

Tommaso Ciampa is ready to become the new #1 contender and has a pipe to help him, because Goldie is coming home.

Post break, the Undisputed Era (minus Adam Cole) has been laid out and Ciampa walks by, dropping the pipe next to them. Ciampa keeps talking and carries a table into the arena. Cole shows up in the back and wants to know who did this before storming to the ring. Ciampa says he’s going to beat Cole up, powerbomb him through the table and then sign a contract so he can get Goldie back in Portland.

Cue William Regal to say Cole has already signed the contract and doesn’t care who he is facing. Cole says he has this and takes the contract while walking to the ring. He gets on the apron and catches a charging Ciampa with a microphone shot to the head. Ciampa cuts off a belt shot though and powerbombs him through a table. The contract is signed and since Ciampa is a bit busted open, he adds in some blood for good measure. Good segment to set up the logical title match.

Video on Bianca Belair’s dominant performance in the Royal Rumble.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai

Nox has to watch Kai’s entrance video, which is Kai destroying Nox’s knee at Takeover: WarGames. That’s so awesome. Nox isn’t happy though and throws her knee brace at Kai to start and they trade shots in the corner. Kai gets the better of it and hits her running kick tot he face, only to get caught with a running reverse Cannonball. They head outside with Kai kicking her in the face again and sending it into the crowd to keep up the beating.

Back to ringside they go and it’s Kai kicking her in the face again. Kai grabs a chair but it gets kicked away, allowing Nox to post her. Back in and Kai loads up the brace but gets German suplexed for her efforts. The chair is almost brought in again but here’s Candice LeRae to grab it from Kai. That lets Nox hit Kai with the brace and the Shiniest Wizard is good for the pin at 3:16.

Rating: C+. This was short but dang they packed in a lot. These two felt like they wanted to hurt each other and the ending worked very well with the brace into the finish. I could go for more of this and it wouldn’t shock me to see Kai come back for more in the future. Rather entertaining brawl, especially given the time.

Here’s how the Broserweights made the finals.

Chelsea Green b. Kayden Carter

Carter hits a running dropkick to start but gets in a kick to the face to drop Carter. A running dropkick gives Green two more and she whips Carter hard into the corner. The chinlock goes on but Carter is right back out with some rollups for two each. A superkick sets up a low superkick for two more but green kicks her down again. The bragging takes too long though and Carter grabs a small package for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: D+. I had heard some rumors about Robert Stone being a parody of/inspired by Tony Khan and this is the first time I’ve bought into it. WWE is the kind of company that would create a character just so they could be turned into a loser so they could mock someone from another company. I hope that’s not the case and I’m not that it is, but this gave me a reason to think about it.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Broserweights vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Takeover. Dunne chops away at Drake to start and it’s Riddle coming in for a double stomp to the shoulders. Riddle grabs the ankle lock but Drake is right next to the ropes. Gibson comes in off a blind tag and kicks Riddle in the chest as the fans are all over him. That’s reversed and Riddle kicks away, allowing the double tag to bring in Dunne to beat up Graves.

Riddle has to be held back though and what looked like a slingshot shoulder breaker (or Tombstone) to the floor has Dunne holding his arm. The arm gets posted and we take an early break. Back with Riddle coming back in to kick away at both Veterans, earning a “RIDDLE’S GONNA SMOKE YOU” chant. A bridging German suplex gets two on Gibson (Beth: “Riddle delivering the blunt force trauma.”) and it’s a spear to Drake for good measure.

The Brohammer plants Gibson and it’s already back to Dunne as they’re going fast here. A powerbomb into Riddle’s jumping knee gets two on Drake but Dunne is sent to the floor. That leaves Riddle to take a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination for two as the Veterans take over again. Fans: “YOU STILL SUCK!” Dunne is knocked off the apron but Riddle blocks a neckbreaker/superkick combination. That lets Dunne come back in for some kicks to the head and the Final Flash gets two on Drake.

A pair of Brotons to Drake’s back doesn’t do much as Drake is right back with a DDT. The double tag brings in Dunne to slug it out with Gibson but everything breaks down again. The Veterans are caught in stereo ankle locks but they both kick away as we take a break. Back with Dunne breaking up a Doomsday Device so Gibson throws Riddle over the top onto Riddle. Ticket to Ride gets two on Dunne and Gibson busts out the Shankley Gates to put Dunne in more trouble.

Riddle, with Drake on his back, comes in with a spear to break that up and everyone is down again. Drake gets powerbombed onto Gibson’s back and it’s the Bitter End into the Final Flash for a close two. Gibson is back and it’s a Doomsday Device through the ropes to drop Dunne on the floor. Back in and Riddle gets driven into the corner for a running dropkick. Drake’s 450 gets two but Dunne is back in for stereo Bro Dereks. Dunne moonsaults to the floor onto Gibson as Drake takes the Floating Bro. The BTS into the enziguri gives Dunne the pin at 21:25.

Rating: B. Best thing on the show by far and while you could argue that the wrong team won, it’s certainly going to set up an interesting title match. Riddle has been waiting on that first big win and while this isn’t the whole thing, it’s a big step in the right direction for him. Dunne is in the same boat and now hopefully he can move forward doing something else.

The trophy is presented and confetti falls to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event helped it a lot because this wasn’t one of their better shows. I’m assuming it’s the extra hour but NXT has not been the same for the last few months. The Survivor Series stuff was good but the show doesn’t feel as special as it did before. It’s still good, though not as good and that’s a shame. Maybe they can get back on track with a Takeover build, but they’ve got some work to do for a change.

Results

Finn Balor b. Trent Seven – 1916

Shotzi Blackheart b. Deonna Purrazzo – Top rope backsplash

Dominick Dijakovic b. Damian Priest – Feast Your Eyes

Tegan Nox b. Dakota Kai – Shiniest Wizard

Kayden Carter b. Chelsea Green – Small package

Broserweights b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination to Drake

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: January 1, 2020
Hosts: Pat McAfee, Sam Roberts, Cathy Kelly

It’s a special edition this week with both the Year End Awards as well as the unveiling of the NXT Matches of the Year. That means things should be interesting and showing some high quality wrestling since a lot of those matches are going to come from Takeover. I can always go for that so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the year, which saw huge growth in the form of the move to USA and everything else that went down. It really was an awesome year as NXT just never slows down.

Note that the matches presented here will be clipped but I’ll be posting the full reviews for each.

The hosts give us a quick welcome.

3. From Takeover: XXV

Tag Team Titles: Forgotten Sons vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Ladder match for the vacant titles and there are no seconds. It’s a brawl to start as you had to see coming with the Era taking over early on. Blake gets low bridged to the floor and it’s time for a showdown with Lorcan and Burch. Lorcan chops away but Burch gets knocked down and the Era takes over again. It’s time for the first ladder but Blake suicide dives down to take the Era out. A bunch of people wind up brawling in front of the ring so Dawkins can dive onto all of them.

The Profits climb a ladder at the same time, allowing the Era to come back in for the save. Blake knocks the Era down again with O’Reilly landing back first on the ladder. The Sons put the ladder around their heads to clean house until Burch and Lorcan hit stereo release German suplexes, sending the ladder flying in a spot that could have gone a lot worse. The Profits are back in to take down Lorcan and Burch, with Ford hitting a heck of a frog splash.

O’Reilly is back in with a missile dropkick to break up a climb attempt but he bangs up his back even worse. It’s the Era loading up the ladder with Fish going up, only to have Blake toss powerbomb O’Reilly into the ladder for the huge crash, with Fish thankfully landing on O’Reilly. The big ladder is brought in and Cutler goes up….but stops to stomp onto Fish as Cutler hits a reverse DDT. There was absolutely nothing stopping him from getting the belts there.

Now the Sons go up again but Burch and Dawkins make the save with a Doomsday elbow/Doomsday Blockbuster each. O’Reilly starts going up but here’s Jaxson Ryker to buckle bomb him into a ladder. Ryker shoves Dawkins down and crushes him with a ladder in the corner over and over. Lorcan charges at Ryker and gets backdropped onto the edge of the ladder for a scary spot. Fans to Ryker: “WE DON’T LIKE YOU!”

Everyone gets together to beat down Ryker, who I don’t think got over as well as NXT would have liked him to here. About eight ladder shots to the back crush him for good and it’s back to “regularly scheduled hostilities.” Ryker is getting back up as the Era loads up a ladder so they hit him in the face with it instead. Ford adds a big running flip dive and it’s time for Burch and Lorcan to beat everyone up with the ladders.

They throw the ladder at the Forgotten Sons and go up the big ladder with the Era making the save. The four of them wind up on a pair of ladders but the Sons shove all of them over. The Profits come back in though with Dawkins spearing Cutler down and Ford springboarding onto the ladder to knock Blake off. Ford pulls down the titles at 21:19.

Rating: B. Ryker getting this much attention hurt things a bit as he almost had his own section in the middle of the match. What matters here though is they pulled the trigger on someone new and paid off their chase over the last few months. They were the right choice and they have a bunch of matches waiting on them, which is a great future.

The hosts are rather impressed.

It’s time for our first award with Tag Team of the Year. The nominees are:

Street Profits

Grizzled Young Veterans

Viking Raiders

Mark Andrews/Flash Morgan Webster

Undisputed Era

Winners: Undisputed Era. Kind of an obvious pick there.

The Era comes into the empty arena to accept the awards from William Regal. They aren’t impressed with Regal and want to know why there are only two awards for a four man team. Regal hands them their trophies and leaves the Era to celebrate.

Next up, Male Competitor of the Year:

Adam Cole

Walter

Johnny Gargano

Velveteen Dream

Tyler Bate

Tommaso Ciampa

Winner: Adam Cole. Again, could it be anyone else?

Cole and the Era come to the ring again to torment Regal some more but he leaves faster this time. Cole says they decided to do this at the beginning of the year and he’ll win it for years to come.

Now it’s Female Competitor of the Year:

Shayna Baszler

Io Shirai

Toni Storm

Kay Lee Ray

Bianca Belair

Rhea Ripley

Winner: Shayna Baszler. It was going to be her or Ripley but this is the right call.

Baszler and the Four Horsewomen accept the award with Shayna not being surprised.

The hosts praise Baszler for her win.

Rivalry of the Year: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole for Rivalry of the Year with no other nominees. You could go with Undisputed Era vs. Everyone Else but this was the best option again.

Gargano is proud to win two years in a row but Cole brings up that he won the whole thing. A challenge is thrown out to keep it going but Cole turns it down. Gargano: “Some things never change.”

2. From Takeover: WarGames.

Team Ripley vs. Team Baszler

Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai

Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray

Kai is Yim’s replacement in WarGames. The first two will face off for five minutes, followed by Team Baszler sending in a second member for a three minute advantage. After that, Team Ripley gets to tie it up for three minutes. The teams alternate entrances every three minutes until everyone is in, and then it’s first pinfall or submission wins. If you leave the cage, you forfeit the match for your entire team. Rhea and Io get huge reactions while Kai is seen as a big of a disappointment.

Shirai and LeRae get things going and they hit the right hands early on. Candice’s headscissors is rolled through as the fans are entirely behind Io. Shirai gets sent to the other ring but is fine enough to block a dive, setting up a 619 from both directions. A rope walk missile dropkick puts Candice down again and she gets sent head first into the metal board between the rings. LeRae’s face gets raked across the cage but she scores with some right hands as Bianca Belair is in to make it 2-1.

The release Glam Slam into the running shooting star have Candice down again but she scores with a reverse hurricanrana. Belair’s charge hits Shirai in the corner so she makes up for it with a triple powerbomb, with the third being a buckle bomb into the cage (Cage bomb?). Belair grabs a camel clutch so Shirai can run the ropes several times into a dropkick to a huge reaction (it’s not that hard to work a crowd up you know).

Rhea Ripley ties things up and it’s already time to bring in the weapons. Hold on though as Rhea pauses to slam the cage door onto Belair’s head before grabbing even more weapons. The fans want tables but have to settle for EVERYTHING else as Rhea goes under the ring at least six times to get weapon after weapon. A belly to back faceplant onto the trashcan makes it even worse for Belair and it’s time to set up some chairs.

Shirai saves Belair from a double suplex through the chairs to prevent a bad case of death as Kay Lee Ray makes it 3-2. She pulls out her own weapons, including a pile of chairs, before pulling out a table….which she slides back under the ring in a good heel move. Chair shots abound, including a tornado DDT to plant Rhea on one of the chairs. A lot of people head over to the corner above the open chairs so Ray folds them down, setting up the HUGE Tower of Doom to crush everyone save for Belair onto the chairs. That’s fine for Belair, who snaps off the gorgeous 450 onto Ripley.

Everyone is down so it’s Dakota Kai to tie things up….but she turns around and kicks Nox in the face before slamming her into the small cage so hard that the cage is actually rocking back and forth. The cage door is slammed onto Nox’s head (you could hear that one all over the arena) and then the knees over and over. Kai takes the brace off so here’s William Regal for the save. Kai shoves HIM and swears a lot as Regal orders her to the back. She comes back though and pulls on the leg again before shouting at a furious Ripley, who is watching from the cage (yeah the cage, which we haven’t seen in a few minutes now).

With Kai finally taken to the back, Baszler finally gets to come out to complete her team and doesn’t exactly seem in a hurry. Ripley is being held back but she breaks free to slug it out with Baszler, only to have the numbers get the better of her. Kai and Nox are officially out so pins and submissions are open. Candice gets in a shot to knock down Shirai and Ray but she has to save Ripley from being handcuffed to the ropes (something I couldn’t see at all watching live). The stereo two on one fights are on with Belair being sent into a trashcan in the corner.

Ripley blocks Ray’s DDT and suplexes her into the cage, setting up the Cloverleaf to Shirai on the top. Not to be outdone, Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on LeRae across the ring. LeRae slips out though and Ray makes a save with a kick to the head, followed by LeRae’s moonsault for two on Baszler. Belair gorilla presses LeRae over the top onto Ripley and it’s the Gory Bomb to leave LeRae laying. The moonsault gives Shirai two and there are the hair whips to Ripley.

LeRae is back with the kendo stick shots for the save but Shirai takes her down. Shirai goes all the way to the top but LeRae catches her, followed by the super reverse hurricanrana to Ray for the huge crash. LeRae and Belair stand up, only to have Shirai moonsault onto both of them (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”) for an even bigger crash. Ripley loads up a trashcan onto two open chairs but stops to knock a trashcan into Ray’s face. That lets Baszler grab the Kirifuda Clutch but Ripley escapes and cuffs them together. Baszler’s big kick misses and it’s Riptide through the chairs to pin Baszler at 27:26.

Rating: B. This was definitely better on a second watch with the additional camera angles showing me a lot that I didn’t see before (including the handcuffs all together). Ripley continues to look like the star of stars and I don’t see how they can’t put the title on her soon. At the same time though, it’s going to take a long time for me to get my head around two women, including one who started the match, beating four, including two champions, at the same time. That’s a lot, and some of the villains just disappeared for long stretches. It’s not some horrible idea or completely unacceptable, but it’s going to take some time.

The hosts liked the match.

Future Star of the Year:

Kushida

Xia Li

Bronson Reed

Tegan Nox

Dakota Kai

Ilja Dragunov

Isaiah Scott

Taynara

Cameron Grimes

Winner: Dakota Kai. This was pretty much a pickem and Kai is a great choice. The future looks great around here.

Kai has known she was the future for a long time and everyone else is late to the party.

Here are the teams for the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic:

NXT

Undisputed Era

Forgotten Sons

Matt Riddle/Pete Dunne

Kushida/???

NXT UK

Grizzled Young Veterans

Gallus

Imperium

Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews

Takeover of the Year: Takeover: WarGames. Yeah that works.

Breakout Star of the Year:

Damian Priest

Piper Niven

Dominik Dijakovic

Angel Garza

Joe Coffey

Keith Lee

Candice LeRae

Matt Riddle

Rhea Ripley

Winner: Keith Lee. It was him or Dijakovic.

Lee gets the award backstage from HHH and sings a bit because we haven’t seen anything yet.

1. From Takeover: New York.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

The title is vacant coming in and it’s 2/3 falls. Cole sends the Undisputed Era to the back so he can do this on his own. The fans are behind Cole and it’s off to the mat about a minute and a half in. Gargano works on a hammerlock but gets reversed into a headlock. Back up and it’s an armdrag into an armbar to to keep Cole in trouble. That’s broken up and Cole bails to the floor where he manages to catch Gargano with a jumping enziguri. A hard knee to the face rocks Gargano and we hit a chinlock.

Gargano fights up again so Cole pulls him right back down into a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up too and it’s a double crossbody for a double knockdown. They bring it up another gear with Gargano nailing a belly to belly, setting up the rolling kick to the head. The slingshot spear gets two and a tornado Downward Spiral is good for the same. Cole is right back with the Backstabber out of the corner for two of his own. They fight over a small package and it’s Cole up first with a jumping enziguri. Another exchange of rollups goes nowhere so Cole hits the Last Shot for the first fall at 13:54.

The second fall begins and it’s a German suplex into another Last Shot for a very close two. Gargano spears him to the floor but walks into the fireman’s carry backbreaker. Back up and Cole can’t get a superbomb so Johnny reverses into a super White Noise (Ciampa move) for two of his own. With that not working, Gargano hits a slingshot DDT onto the apron but breaks the count, allowing Cole to post him twice in a row. Back in and Johnny grabs the flipping armbar (Ciampa move) before switching over to the Gargano Escape for a very fast tap and the tie at 20:52.

We pause for a second as Gargano has a cut on his head but it’s not a bad one. Gargano’s discus lariat sets up a swinging kick to the head but the brainbuster to the knee gives Cole two. The Lawn Dart sends Cole into the middle buckle for two so it’s double enziguris and double superkicks for a double knockdown. Cole is up first with a straitjacket suplex but Gargano is back with a reverse hurricanrana. The low superkick sends Cole outside and Gargano is crushed again. He goes out to get him and it’s a wheelbarrow suplex into the apron to put Gargano down again.

Back in and Gargano’s slingshot spear is blocked with a superkick, setting up Cole’s middle rope Canadian Destroyer for a very close two and the fans are losing it again. Gargano rolls outside and Cole tells him that he fails so Gargano throws him over the announcers’ table. The table is cleared out but Cole hits a Fairy Tale Ending onto (not through) the table instead. Cole wants the countout so Johnny dives back in at nine, right into a low superkick for another near fall.

The next Canadian Destroyer is countered into the Gargano Escape and here’s Roderick Strong for a distraction. Kyle O’Reilly breaks the hold as Cole is tapping and the referee goes down. High/Low from Fish and O’Reilly gets an even closer two so Gargano backdrops Cole onto all three of them. The Era gets beaten up on the floor but it’s two more superkicks into the Last Shot from Cole….for two. Another Last Shot misses and the Gargano Escape makes Cole tap for the title at 38:15.

Rating: A-. Yeah it worked and while it needed to be Ciampa, this was the best ending they could have had given what they had. Gargano FINALLY overcoming the odds to win the title was the feel good ending that the show needed, especially with Gargano defeating the entire Era to win. Some of the near falls were a bit much and there were a few too many superkicks, but they nailed the ending and that’s what mattered most.

Candice comes out to celebrate and they go into the crowd to hug their parents. They walk to the stage….and it’s Tommaso Ciampa….to hug both of them to end the show.

Adam Cole wins Overall Competitor of the Year as the Undisputed Era all has trophies. Cole says they’re the best around with the trophies and the titles. This is just the beginning.

Overall Rating: A. Well what else was it going to be? Three great matches and a bunch of clips of other awesome stuff. It’s not a traditional show but for what it was, this was as good as it was going to get. The show isn’t supposed to be a regular night but rather a look back and it was a look back at an awesome year. If they can come close to doing this again next year, sweet goodness we could be in for some awesome stuff.

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: December 11, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

It’s the next to last show of the year with one more show to go after this in 2019. That show is going to need a main event and we’ll be setting that up tonight with a triple threat match for the #1 contendership to the NXT Title. In other words, it’s Keith Lee vs. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Finn Balor, which should tell you everything you need to know. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at the triple threat but Adam Cole cuts things off to say this is a waste of time. Whoever wins tonight is just cashing a ticket to a beating from the best NXT Champion of all time. That is undisputed.

Cruiserweight Title: Angel Garza vs. Lio Rush

Rush is defending and we get the Big Match Intros, as we certainly should for something like this. Rush jumps him before the bell though and it’s a brawl to start until Garza spears the champ through the ropes. A tackle into the steps has Garza down but he drops Rush face first onto the apron to take over. Garza can’t TAKE OFF HIS PANTS though as Rush tackles him down and starts the rapid movements. He gets caught in the corner though and a superkick gives Garza two more.

Garza sends him outside though and we take a break. Back with Rush getting in a shot to the face to put Garza on the floor as well. That means a moonsault to the floor as the pace slows a bit. A slingshot reverse suplex is reversed into a crossbody for two on Garza but he catches Rush with an enziguri on top. That means the super Spanish Fly for a very close two, followed by an exchange of superkicks for the double knockdown.

It’s Rush up first with a Wing Clipper of his own for a near fall of his own but Garza puts him in an electric chair. For some reason Garza drops him onto the ropes so Rush bounces right back with the Stunner. The Final Hour connects but Garza crawls to the floor…..AND RUSH TAKES OFF GARZA’S PANTS! Another Final Hour to the floor only hits knees though and the Wing Clipper gives Garza….two. In a smart move, Garza grabs the underhook again and pulls back for the tap and the title at 15:17.

Rating: B. This was an intense, back and forth match with Rush trying as hard as he could but ultimately being beaten by the better man. That being said though, it isn’t exactly an interesting feud and while Garza has been impressive, he just feels like the next guy to hold the title. It’s way better than whatever they would do on 205 Live, but the title still doesn’t serve much of a purpose other than filling in time on these now double length shows.

Clip from a special on Shayna Baszler vs. Rhea Ripley to set up their title match next week. That is feeling special.

Finn Balor doesn’t like Tommaso Ciampa because he calls the NXT Title Goldie. He’s coming for the title.

During the break, Garza brought his girlfriend into the ring and proposed to her. She said yes, as you might have expected.

Last night, Cameron Grimes attacked Kushida at the Performance Center.

Cameron Grimes vs. Raul Mendoza

Grimes jumps him in the corner to start and sends him outside for a big flip dive. Cue Kushida for a distraction though and Mendoza snaps off a hurricanrana for the pin at 1:14.

Kushida steals the hat, just to be evil.

Mia Yim is furious at Dakota Kai and promises to put her in an ambulance tonight.

Video on Travis Banks, who is in action tonight.

Travis Banks vs. Jaxson Ryker

When Worlds Collide preview. Banks starts fast by kicking him to the floor and hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Ryker chops away in the corner before throwing Banks down with ease. Banks dropkicks the knee out to send Ryker into the corner though and there’s a Cannonball to the back. The top rope double stomp misses so Ryker ax handles him in the chest. A missile dropkick sets up the Slice of Heaven to pin Ryker at 2:46. Remember when Ryker was an unstoppable monster who survived a bunch of ladder shots earlier this year at Takeover? NXT doesn’t either. Or Banks is just that awesome.

Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim

Yim dropkicks her into the corner to start but Kai forearms away. That just earns her a toss into the corner and a basement dropkick to the head gives Yim two. Kai is back with some kicks to the back but a missed charge puts Kai on the floor. That means a Cannonball against the steps as we take a break.

Back with Yim working on the leg but getting sent face first into the buckle. The circling kick to the face gets two on Yim but she scores with some kicks to the ribs. A belly to belly sends Kai down for two more, followed by Code Blue for the same. Kai grabs a sitout powerbomb out of the corner for two but a one kneed Codebreaker puts her on the floor. Back in and Yim charges into a boot to the face, allowing Kai to pull off a turnbuckle pad. A bounce off the exposed buckle gives Kai the pin at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Yim is a lot better when she’s motivated like this and we got a good match out of it. I’m also rather surprised by how well Kai has done with the heel run. She seems like the most natural face ever and yet here she is cheating and making me want to see someone stop her. Well done indeed and a good match too.

Post match Yim goes after Kai again and takes her onto the tech platform. The belly to back superplex onto some tables destroys Kai as Yim is up pretty quickly. Kai may be hurt as the referees are checking on her for a good bit.

Keith Lee says all he needed was an opportunity and now it’s going to take a lot to stop him. He’s the only one who can make the other two bask in his glory.

Breezango vs. Singh Brothers

One: Breezango are doctors this week. Two: I ALREADY WATCH 205 LIVE SO WHY DO I HAVE TO WATCH THESE STUPID SCHMUCKS HERE TOO????? A jumping knee to the face rocks Sunil to start and a Backstabber puts him down again. It’s off to Fandango, who avoids a charge in the corner to get two on Samir.

A dropkick lets Sunil get a breather and he sends Breeze outside for a few seconds. Back in and the Bollywood Blast gets two on Breeze and we hit the chinlock. Breeze enziguris his way out of trouble and it’s back to Fandango for a top rope kick to the face. Everything breaks down and Samir gets powerbomb onto the apron. Back in and the Last Dance gives Fandango the pin at 4:17.

Rating: D. Well that certainly existed. I’m not sure what the appeal or even point here was supposed to be but it did fill in some time. Having Fandango in a costume of the week (or month at this rate) is missing the point, but it’s not like it’s going to matter all that much either way. At least they got on TV, but

We get another part of the Baszler vs. Ripley video, this time focusing on Ripley’s rise to the top of NXT UK.

Kayden Carter vs. Bianca Belair

Belair charges at her in the corner to start but Carter is right back with a springboard kick to the face. A backbreaker into a gutbuster puts Carter right back down and it’s off to an Argentine backbreaker. That’s broken up so Belair drops down onto Carter’s back a few times. Carter comes back with a forearm to the ribs but the tornado DDT is blocked. Carter gets knees up to block a moonsault and Belair misses a charge to the floor. Back in and Belair spears her down, setting up the KOD for the pin at 4:55.

Rating: C. Carter is someone who has impressed me multiple times so far and she got in some offense against a much bigger star here. Belair is fine in moments like this but she keeps falling short at the finish line. It wasn’t a squash though and that’s a good sign for Carter’s future.

Adam Cole comes out to watch the main event.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa, who is back to claim what is his.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Keith Lee vs. Finn Balor

During his entrance, Ciampa dedicates this to Goldie. Ciampa starts on Balor to start with Finn being sent outside. That means a stalking from Lee, who drops Balor onto the apron. Lee sends him back inside for a slingshot dive onto both of them for the big knockdown. Back from a break with Lee crushing both of them with corner splashes until Ciampa kicks him in the face. A Cactus Clothesline leaves Balor alone in the ring but it’s Ciampa back inside in a hurry.

Ciampa’s running knees to the face has Balor in trouble and there’s a double hanging DDT to both Lee and Balor. Ciampa pats himself on the back (as he does) and starts slugging away at Lee for a change. Lee runs him over but the splash hits knees in a hurry. The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up though and it’s Balor coming back in for a double stomp to Lee’s chest. With everyone back in, Lee starts crushing the other two in the corner.

That gets the fans going all over again and a double backdrop makes it even worse. Lee goes up but gets double super Russian legsweeped back down. We take another break and come back again Ciampa trying the super Air Raid Crash….so Lee puts them both on his shoulders for a double electric chair. Lee misses a middle rope moonsault but he’s fine enough to hit the Limit Breaker on Ciampa. Balor reverses another attempt into a small package for two but Lee is fine enough to block the Sling Blade.

The Spirit Bomb is countered into a double stomp. Ciampa is sent outside and Balor hits a big flip dive onto Lee. Balor sends Ciampa into the barricade to knock down some fan but it’s time for Lee to start running people over back inside. Ciampa goes after Lee’s knee and somehow hits the Air Raid Crash for two. Back up and Lee plants him with a spinebuster, setting up the middle rope moonsault for two of his own. The Spirit Bomb hits Ciampa but Balor comes in off the top with the Coup de Grace to Lee (that was some great timing) for the pin and the title shot at 18:10.

Rating: B+. The ending alone made this one that much better as Balor came in out of nowhere and got the pin, including after hitting his finisher instead of stealing someone else’s win. This is a match where no one looks bad and the action was awesome throughout so what more can you ask for? Other than Lee winning, but he seems safe for now.

Cole stares Balor down and the Undisputed Era comes out to join him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I’m not sued to saying this but for the first time in a long time, it felt like this show dragged in parts. There were matches (Belair and Breezango in particular) which felt like they were there for nothing other than filler to get us to the two hour run time. That being said, you had the Cruiserweight Title match, the main event and Grimes vs. Kushida continuing so we should be fine going forward. It just makes me miss the hour long format because this could have been a classic show had they not had to stretch to fill in the time.

Results

Angel Garza b. Lio Rush – Double underhook pull

Raul Mendoza b. Cameron Grimes – Hurricanrana

Travis Banks b. Jaxson Ryker – Slice of Heaven

Dakota Kai b. Mia Yim – Ram into an exposed turnbuckle

Breezango b. Singh Brothers – Last Dance to Sunil

Bianca Belair b. Kayden Carter – KOD

Finn Balor b. Keith Lee and Tommaso Ciampa – Coup de Grace to Lee

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: November 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

NXT
Date: November 20, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

In a rare situation, this is the go home show for both Takeover: WarGames and Survivor Series. Takeover’s card seems to be set, but there are five spots each for both the men’s and women’s Survivor Series teams. There is a good chance that we will not know any of the members until Sunday, which could make for quite the show. As for tonight, HHH has said the doors are open so it’s guest stars time. Let’s get to it.

William Regal is in the back when Becky Lynch comes out of a locker room. With a nod of approval from Regal, Lynch goes to the ring with a microphone in her hand. Becky says it has been awhile since she has been here and all she can think about is champ vs. champ vs. champ on Sunday. First up you have Bayley, who has an old woman’s haircut and destroyed all of the Bayley Buddies, except the blue haired one that is holding her back.

Then Shayna Baszler showed up on Raw to introduce herself but Becky is here on Shayna’s show, so what is she going to do about it? Cue Rhea Ripley and that seems to get some attention. Rhea says Becky is the Man so let’s find out if she has a set of balls. Cue the referee and we’re starting big this week.

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch

Non-title. Becky starts fast with a running forearm to put Rhea on the floor but Rhea drops her face first onto the apron. Back from a break with Rhea sending her to the apron but missing a charge so Becky can kick her in the face. The slam off the top drops Becky as the fans are behind Rhea. A reverse DDT gets Becky out of trouble as the chant switches to NXT.

They forearm it out from their knees until Rhea hits a faceplant for two. An enziguri puts Rhea down and the middle rope legdrop gets two as the back and forth is on. The Disarm-Her goes on but Rhea rolls out and tries a powerbomb, which is reversed into a hurricanrana. Rhea catches her on top though and it’s a top rope superplex….and we’ve got the Horsewomen for the double DQ at 9:25.

Rating: B. They were rocking with the back and forth stuff here and Rhea looked she was on Becky’s level here. There is a very good chance that she is going to be on Team NXT on Sunday and that could be a heck of a showcase for her. Becky is the biggest star in the women’s division and Ripley is getting her star push at the moment. Just don’t mess it up.

Post match the beatdown is on but Ripley and Lynch clean house.

The Revival arrived earlier and were flanked by security, just in case.

Video on Kay Lee Ray.

Kona Reeves vs. Matt Riddle

Or not as Ricochet jumps Reeves and we have a replacement match.

Ricochet vs. Matt Riddle

Ricochet flips over him to start and snaps off an anklescissors into a dropkick. Riddle bails out to the floor and that’s just not a good idea against Ricochet, who hits a flipping suicide dive. Back in and the running shooting star is countered into a triangle choke but Ricochet powers out. Riddle takes him right back down and hits the Broton, followed by the exploder suplex for two.

Ricochet is right back with a northern lights suplex into a swinging neckbreaker. Now the running shooting star keeps Riddle down but Ricochet has to roll out of the Phoenix splash. Riddle isn’t having this defense thing and snaps off a German suplex but cue Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura. The two of them are knocked away but the distraction lets Riddle grab a rollup for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C+. The distraction finish was the right call here as you can protect both guys while giving Riddle just enough of a win to make it feel important. The double interference helped a lot and gave the fans something else to cheer about. Ricochet is a near legend in NXT though and a win over him means more to Riddle than the opposite would have.

Post match Nakamura and Cesaro beat the two of them down, only for Riddle to hit a knee to send Cesaro outside. Ricochet’s springboard goes over the barricade for the crazy dive. Roderick Strong runs in to go after Nakamura but gets knocked outside, meaning it’s Finn Balor to come in and go after Riddle. That earns him a Final Flash as Riddle stands tall.

Video on Killian Dain vs. Damien Priest vs. Pete Dunne at Takeover for an NXT Title match the following night at Survivor Series.

Revival vs. Undisputed Era

Non-title. Dawson and O’Reilly start things off and it’s a quick staredown with the Era bailing to the floor. Wilder and Fish come in instead with Wilder being back into the corner. That’s fine with him as he strikes his way out, setting up another showdown. The brawl is on with all four falling out to the floor, including Wilder and O’Reilly suplexing each other over the top. Back from a break with Wilder down in the corner and a double suplex getting one.

Fish scores with a slingshot hilo and it’s O’Reilly coming in for some knees to the back. The bodyscissors and chinlock go on, followed by some kicks to the ribs to give O’Reilly two. Wilder grabs a small package and belly to back suplex for a breather, only to get dropkicked in the back to send him outside. Back from another break with Wilder grabbing a desperation powerslam and low bridging Fish to the floor.

A hurricanrana of all things allows the hot tag to Dawson as everything breaks down. There’s a running neckbreaker to Fish and Dawson goes up with the Swan Dive getting two. The TAG TEAM WRESTLING chant is on as Wilder gets in a cheap shot so Dawson can hit a brainbuster for two more. Dawson gets knocked off the rope and O’Reilly kicks away at Wilder on the apron. That’s reversed into a DDT onto the apron and it’s the PowerPlex for two on Fish. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up with a kick to the leg to knock Dawson right back down.

A Samoan drop plants Dawson but Wilder breaks up the High/Low setting up the Shatter Machine for two (in a sweet one motion move) with O’Reilly making a last second save. O’Reilly hits a NASTY looking to rope knee to Dawson’s back for two but he’s fine enough with escaping a suplex. A DDT plants O’Reilly but Fish is back up with some kicks to the legs. The shots put Dawson down and with Wilder done on the floor, the High/Low finishes Dawson at 24:55.

Rating: A-. How was this not going to be great? These are two of the best teams in the world and they got the time needed here to deliver the great match that they needed to. I was rather impressed here and the champs winning is the right call. They had a nice mixture of the old school formula and fast paced mixture of spots here and that made for a great match, of course.

The Forgotten Sons and the Viking Raiders are about to brawl backstage.

Video on the women’s WarGames match.

Kay Lee Ray vs. Dakota Kai

Non-title. Kai starts fast with a headbutt though the running kick in the corner is countered into the Gory Bomb. That is countered into a sunset flip for two and now the kick to the face connects. Ray hits a few kicks to the back of the head but Kai gets in a rollup for a fast two. A gordbuster cuts her off for two more and the stomping is on for Ray.

It’s time to start on the knee but Kai sends her into the corner. The double stomp out of said corner gives Kai another breather and she snaps off the Kawada kicks. They head outside with Ray going into the steps and there’s the running boot to the face. Back in and Kai misses another kick, allowing Ray to nail her own superkick. The Gory Bomb finishes Kai at 5:44.

Rating: C. Kai is getting better and thankfully isn’t showing any major setbacks after her knee surgery. Ray needed a win like this to solidify herself on the main NXT roster and they did that just fine. It’s a good double showcase and you don’t get something like that every week. Now just get Ray to defend the title against the pretty good NXT UK women’s division and they have something.

Post match the Smackdown, Raw and NXT women run in for the MASSIVE brawl with Nikki Cross cleaning house with a trashcan lid.

Viking Raiders vs. Forgotten Sons

Non-title and Jaxson Ryker is out with the Sons. Erik dropkicks Cutler into the corner to start and it’s time to clean house, including Erik slamming Ivar onto Cutler. A powerslam into the Swan dive gets two with Blake making the save. That doesn’t get Cutler out of trouble though as it’s a missile dropkick/Downward Spiral combination for two. Cutler gets to choke on the ropes but runs into a forearm. A jump over Cutler in the corner lets Erik roll over for the hot tag. House is cleaned until Ryker distracts Ivar so Blake can get in a cheap shot.

Back from a break with the springboard clothesline/German suplex combination getting two, again thanks to Ryker. Cutler hits a Backstabber on Ivar and powerbombs him onto Blake’s knees for two more. Ivar powers out and brings Erik back in, only to have Ryker get in another cheap shot. A Death Valley Driver onto the apron gets two on Erik but Ryker is finally ejected.

That’s not good enough for Erik, who hits him with a suicide dive. Blake hurricanranas Ivar into the other two of them for a cool visual and everyone is down. The slugout is on with the Raiders getting the better of things, only to have it turn into an exchange of cartwheels. The double handspring elbow takes the Sons down and the Viking Experience finishes Cutler at 12:16.

Rating: C+. It was a good brawl with a wild feeling at times, though the Ryker stuff got annoying in a hurry. The Raiders are really getting into a groove with their stuff and having them dominate people is a good way to go. Just don’t leave them in there with the Sons for that long, as the team isn’t great in the first place and shouldn’t be doing this.

Video on Adam Cole.

Video on WarGames.

Adam Cole vs. Dominick Dijakovic

A whip into the ladder makes it even worse and the ladder falls onto Cole’s leg as he goes down (since he’s ok, it’s fine to say how cool it is when fluke situations like that happen). The first climb is cut off as Cole kicks the knee out and wraps it around the post. Back from a break with Dijakovic bridging a ladder in the corner but Cole hits the brainbuster onto another ladder in another corner. Dijakovic catches him climbing though and it’s a chokeslam onto the ladder in the corner.

Cole kicks him away and goes up, only to come down with the Panama Sunrise. That’s still not enough though as Dijakovic is right back with the power, including Feast Your Eyes. The knee gives out though and the climb is slow, allowing Cole to make the catch. A belt shot to the head knocks Dijakovic onto the bridged ladder and Cole gets the briefcase at 10:44.

Rating: C+. They were doing some big spots in there but after last week’s crazy violent match, it was a hard goal to reach. Couple that with we’re now doing a ladder match o set up WarGames and it’s a little weird. They didn’t need the ladders here, though Dijakovic’s incredible athleticism got a great showcase and he had Cole in trouble multiple times here.

Post match the Undisputed Era comes out for the celebration but the Raw and Smackdown roster cut them off. Drew McIntyre comes in but gets powerbombed by Keith Lee. Ivar gets in and it’s a double suicide dive to the pile. Seth Rollins runs in though and superkicks Cole, but here’s Tommaso Ciampa to break up the Stomp. He takes his time getting in before the big brawl with Rollins is on to end the show.

Overall Rating: A. And that’s how you do a show like this. The entire point of tonight was to have everyone on the roster on notice about the invaders and the stars were out from Raw and Smackdown. The wrestling and action were great but what mattered was how high the stakes felt. Raw and Smackdown were in NXT’s house tonight and it looked like a showdown was set up for Sunday. I really liked this show and it made me far more interested in Survivor Series than I was coming in. Outstanding stuff and a great primer for Survivor Series.

Results

Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch went to a double DQ when the Horsewomen interfered

Matt Riddle b. Ricochet – Rollup

Undisputed Era b. Revival – High/Low to Dawson

Kay Lee Ray b. Dakota Kai – Gory Bomb

Viking Raiders b. Forgotten Sons – Viking Experience to Cutler

Adam Cole b. Dominick Dijakovic – Cole pulled down the ladder

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/

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