NXT
Date: May 2, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We are in for the final night before everything changes up next week. The NXT roster was gutted by the WWE Draft and now we get to see everyone have one last night around here. This is going to include multiple champions, so we could be in for some last minute title changes, which could be quite the shakeup. Or WWE will just do something stupid. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NXT Draft picks.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Drew Gulak

Lee, with Tyler Bate (as evened out by Charlie Dempsey), is defending. An early dropkick puts Gulak on the floor but he’s back in with a sunset flip for two. Back up and Lee takes him to the top, only to get knocked to the mat for a top rope clothesline. Gulak cranks on both arms at once but Lee slips out and wins a slugout. A German suplex out of the corner is blocked and Gulak heads outside, where he is taken down by a dive. Dempsey’s interference is cut off by Bate and the Cardiac Kick retains the title at 5:23.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a lot of time here but they crammed in what they could for a nice opener. Lee is a great choice to open the show as he can excite the fans rather easily no matter who he is in there against. Gulak is going to be around as long as he wants to as he can always be a trainer, plus actively wrestling on the side. Nice opener here and I could have gone for a longer version.

We look at Carmelo Hayes retaining the NXT Title last week against Carmelo Hayes. After the match, the challenge was thrown out to Bron Breakker, who then wrecked Hayes and Trick Williams.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are ready to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles before they leave NXT for good after tonight. They’re leaving the place in darkness.

Here is Trick Williams for an angry chat. He has known Carmelo Hayes since high school and they have been friends for years. Last week he took a spear for Hayes and he would do it again in a heartbeat because it’s his instinct. Cue Bron Breakker to say Williams must be tougher than Hayes because he’s actually here. The match is on for Battleground, but Williams wants to face Breakker as well. Breakker does it on his time so they can fight next week.

JD McDonagh is ready to move up to Raw but Noam Dar comes in to tell him to take out Dragon Lee tonight. McDonagh says stay away from him or he’ll take the Heritage Cup with him to Raw.

Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne

Jayne knees her in the ribs to start and trips Dolin face first onto the apron. Back in and Dolin’s half nelson attempt is blocked and it’s a superkick to stagger her again. Dolin is back with a kick to the head though and an STO gets two on Jayne. They head outside again (where Dolin’s brother is watching in the crowd) and some Kawada kicks send Jayne’s head into the steps. They get back inside where Dolin is sent into the turnbuckle bar, allowing Jayne to hit a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. Again they didn’t have much time here but this was about giving Jayne a pin over Dolin to even things up a bit. It was a quick beating and Dolin didn’t get in a ton of offense, but at least there were some shenanigans setting up the finish. There will probably be a rubber match at Battleground, but this feud has gone ice cold since Jayne got injured.

Post match Jayne keeps up the beating and even mocks Dolin’s brother for a bonus.

Axiom vs. Scrypts

Scrypts (no entrance) jumps Axiom to start but gets armdragged down. A northern lights suplex drops Scrypts again but he sends Axiom outside. The big dive drops Axiom and a top rope moonsault press gives Scrypts two back inside. Scrypts dropkicks him out of the air but Axiom knees him in the face for two. Axiom gets dropped again but he manages to superkick Scrypts out of the air as well. The Golden Ratio finishes Scrypts at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Now just move on to something else for Axiom already. He’s a talented guy who has been stuck in this weird/not interesting feud with Scrypts for a good while now. They did some nice things here with the flips and dives, but I’m still not sure what the point of Scrypts is supposed to be and I don’t know if NXT knows it either.

Post match Scrypts goes after Axiom and gets exposed as….well the fans chant Reggie but no name is given. This is up there with Doom’s reveal for non-surprises.

Earlier today, Brooks Jensen joined Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley at the bar and thanked them for dealing with him. They say he doesn’t need to apologize, but he did learn enough from Kiana James to help the bar make more money. Some women come up to hit on Jensen but he politely declines because he’s with his friends.

Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh

Lee works on the arm to start but gets driven into the corner. That doesn’t work for Lee, who hits some rapid fire dropkicks in the corner. Cue Noam Dar for a distraction though, allowing McDonagh to tie Lee up in the Tree of Woe. A charge misses Lee and sends McDonagh crotching himself into the post as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh holding a bodyscissors to keep Lee in trouble. Lee isn’t having that though and goes up top for a high crossbody, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. The top rope double stomp gives Lee two and they head to the apron, where McDonagh gets struck in the chest a lot.

They both crash down to the floor and beat the count, with Lee snapping off a fast German suplex. The poisonrana plants McDonagh again but he’s back with a hard clothesline as Noam Dar is here. Lee heads up but gets cut off by a super Spanish Fly. The brainbuster gives McDonagh two, only to have Lee Canadian Destroy him to the floor. Back in and the Devlin Side finishes Lee out of nowhere at 15:03.

Rating: B. These two got a lot more time and had a much better match, which shouldn’t be surprising given the talent involved. McDonagh gets a nice showcase on the way on the way out of NXT and onto Raw with some momentum. At the same time, Lee needs to win something around here and I’m not sure why he keeps losing so often. The talent is there, but those losses pile up.

Post match Lee and Dar brawl to the back.

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles because they’re a better team.

Joe Gacy is ready to sacrifice his body to Joe Coffey to get the Dyad a Tag Team Title match.

We look at various women being attacked in recent months.

Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey.

If Gacy wins, the Dyad gets a Tag Team Title shot against Gallus and the rest of Schism is here. Coffey knees him into the corner to start and stomps away but Gacy hits a knee to the face. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Coffey fights up and hits an elbow for two. Gacy’s belly to back gets the same but gets caught with All The Best For The Bells. The Dyad puts a foot on the rope though and Gacy hits the Upside Down for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: C-. Well Gacy wasn’t going to lose here, even if he should have. Putting the focus on the Dyad is a better idea than focusing on Gacy, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see that coming sooner rather than later. At the end of the day, Schism is still the same level of bad that they have been since they came in and I don’t see it getting any better anytime soon.

Sol Ruca (via phone), Tank Ledger and Hank Walker give Dani Palmer a pep talk. Oba Femi comes in to scare the guys.

Eddy Thorpe was training earlier when Damon Kemp came in to tell him to take out the trash. Kemp called him a young boy too, making a match seem imminent.

Dani Palmer vs. Tatum Paxley

Palmer flips around to start, including flipping out of a wristlock and into a rollup for two on Paxley. Back up and Paxley knocks her into the corner to take over, setting up a chinlock with a knee in the spine. Palmer slips out of an abdominal stretch attempt and avoids a splash, followed by something like a standing Sliced Bread to drop Paxley again. A frog splash gives Palmer the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C+. This was a showcase for Palmer and that’s what it needed to be. She has the athleticism and some charisma to go with it so there is certainly potential there. Paxley is far from a top star but she is someone who has been around long enough to have a bit of a reputation. That makes her perfect to put Palmer over to start and that is all it needed to be here.

Andre Chase is too banged up from facing Bron Breakker, meaning he can’t teach this week. Instead, Duke Hudson takes over the teaching and says we have no more pop quizzes. Hudson: “Duke University?”

Von Wagner and Mr. Stone are going through a photo album but Wagner doesn’t want to talk about one of the photos. Wagner leaves, and Stone sees a baby dealing with a lot of medical issues (presumably Wagner himself).

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter/Chance are challenging and both teams are main roster bound. The champs jump them to start fast and the fight is on the floor before the bell. Chance dives onto both of them and we get the bell, allowing Chance to sunset flip Fyre for two. Carter clears the ring and hits a few kicks from the apron as we take a break.

Back with Chance snapping off a hurricanrana to Fyre, followed by a flipping legdrop to the back of the head for two. A springboard moonsault/legdrop combination gets two on Fyre but she kicks Chance into the corner. The Backstabber/Swanton combination gets two, with Carter having to make the save.

Everything breaks down and the 450/neckbreaker combination hits Dawn for two more and it’s time for the big double slugout. Dawn gets sent outside and a super Spanish Fly gets two on Fyre. A high crossbody hits Dawn but Fyre is back in with a Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination (that looked sweet) to retain at 9:14.

Rating: B-. Another fun match here, but they didn’t do it any favors with the break in the middle. It still gets very old having that cut out such a big chunk of the match but what we did get to see worked well. Now I’m curious to see what happens to the titles, though I could go with seeing them unified with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Dijak blames Ilja Dragunov for the beating he received last week.

Apollo Crews runs into Trick Williams in the parking low and gives him a pep talk.

Here is Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell, with the fans telling her that SHE DESERVES IT (likely meaning the promotion to the main roster, not the walking boot and crutches). She talks about her path here and what it meant for her to become champion. Then she got hurt in a title defense, but the title reign wasn’t ending on the medical table. Now she is on the way to Raw, but the most important thing right now is NXT.

Starting next week, there will be a tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion, with the new champion being crowned at Battleground. Hartwell leaves the title in the ring….and Dexter Lumis pops out from underneath said ring. Dexter takes her away and Tiffany Stratton comes in to pick up the title. A bunch more women come in and the big brawl ends the show. Makes sense, as Hartwell doesn’t seem able to lose the title right now and you don’t want her getting beaten on the way to the main roster. It also gives a bunch of people something to do so this is the right way to go.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a very different kind of show, as NXT is finishing up a bunch of stars and there isn’t much that can be done with them as a result. Instead, you had some farewells and some things being set up for once everyone is gone. That doesn’t leave you with many options, but at least they got through the show with some good action and an important development in the end. The new NXT starts next week, but for now their latest finale went well.

Results
Wes Lee b. Drew Gulak – Cardiac Kick
Jacy Jayne b. Gigi Dolin – Spinning kick to the face
Axiom b. Scrypts – Golden Ratio
JD McDonagh b. Dragon Lee – Devlin Side
Dani Palmer b. Tatum Paxley – Frog splash

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: April 18, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

Things got a little more interesting last week as Grayson Waller became the new #1 contender to the NXT Title and Bron Breakker seemed to target Chase U. Those are both new directions and I’m curious to see where they go from here. Other than that, the Women’s Title situation could get more complicated so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap….is broken up by a three way brawl between the Dyad, the Creeds and Gallus, who are scheduled to face off for the Tag Team Titles. That’s a new one and I got a bit confused by what they were doing (in a good way).

Tag Team Titles: Gallus vs. Dyad vs. Creed Brothers

Gallus is defending, the rest of the groups are here too and it’s a brawl to start with the Dyad taking over. That doesn’t last long as Gallus is right back, only to have Julius snap off some suplex. Julius moonsaults onto Reid and manages a heck of a powerbomb but a string of shots to the face gives Reid two. Mark sends Julius flying for two and we take a break.

Back with a three way knockdown and a triple tag bringing in Brutus, Fowler and Wolfgang, with Brutus getting to clean house. The Dyad breaks up a double team from Gallus and we get a Dyad vs. Creed showdown. Something like Aussie Open’s Coriolis hits Brutus but Ava offers a distraction. Reid is knocked off the top into Ivy Nile as the Brutus Bomb hits Fowler. With that broken up, Gallus’ running boot/flapjack combination retains the titles at 13:09.

Rating: B-. It was a hot start to the show and that is the right way to go. I liked the whole interrupting the normal video to start, just to add in some rarely used flavor. Other than that, the match was pretty much nonstop action and that is how you get a show going. Gallus is running through the division though and I’m not sure who is supposed to take the belts from them at the moment.

Dijak is mad about Ilja Dragunov and runs into Apollo Crews, setting up a match tonight.

Nathan Frazer has a new talk show segment called Hard Hitting Home Truths, where he talks about how talented the roster is around here. Frazer talks about how he is going to keep going fast to keep from getting down because unhappiness can’t catch you. This was an odd choice but sure why not.

Myles Borne vs. Noam Dar

Dar’s Heritage Cup isn’t on the line. Dar kicks the leg out to start but Borne drives him into the corner to hammer away. Borne gets hung over the ropes and kicked in the face but he fights up with some dropkicks. Dar hits a spinning elbow to the face though and the Nova Roller (running kick to the face) finishes Borne at 2:45.

Roxanne Perez is ready to go through Zoey Stark tonight on her way back to the Women’s Title.

Kiana James isn’t willing to help Josh Briggs after everything that has happened. Briggs still wants help talking to Brooks Jensen, who comes in, looking like he’s auditioning for Pretty Deadly. He doesn’t want to talk to Briggs because Jensen is a man instead of a boy. Jensen tells him to leave.

Odyssey Jones comes out for a match but gets jumped by Bron Breakker. After getting rid of Jones, Breakker talks about how he had to take out Chase U last week but here is Duke Hudson to say not so fast. Breakker isn’t going to badmouth Chase U and get away with it so they can fight at Spring Breakin. Hudson cuts him off to say Breakker is going to face the beating heart of Chase U. Breakker promises to wreck all of Chase U.

Cora Jade gets cut off by Gigi Dolin, who thinks Jade is channeling her anger. A match is made for later.

Pretty Deadly is happy with attacking Tony D’Angelo and Stacks and an anything goes match seems likely for next week.

Roxanne Perez vs. Zoey Stark

Stark works on the arm to start but Perez slips out and we have a standoff. Perez takes her into an armbar and cranks away, setting up a headlock for a change of pace. A headlock takeover out of the corner has Stark even more annoyed but she slips out and kicks Perez in the ribs. Back up and Perez is sent outside, where she cuts off a dive and drops Perez on the apron.

We take a break and come back with Perez being catapulted into the corner, setting up the cravate. Another catapult is countered into a middle rope Thesz press but Stark rolls through a high crossbody for two. Pop Rox is blocked and a half and half suplex drops Perez for two more. The Z360 is countered though and Pop Rox out of the corner gives Perez the pin at 11:08.

Rating: C+. This is where Perez shines, as she fought from behind and came back to win in a nice match. Perez is small enough to be the plucky underdog and she pulled it off well here. On the other hand you have Stark, who is great as a villain to be slayed and it worked out for both of them as a result. Good match here, with Perez getting closer to her title rematch.

Post match here is Indi Hartwell to say she’s a fighting champion so next week, Perez can have her title shot. Perez is of course game but here is Tiffany Stratton to be all annoyed. Stratton says another beatable opponent is getting a title shot but Perez brings up beating her in the Breakout Tournament. Hartwell is up for a triple threat.

Grayson Waller says he’s here because the Johnny Gargano match was unsanctioned and didn’t count. Now for the NXT Title!

Von Wagner convinces Mr. Stone to stick around because he’s the son of a Beverly Brother and ready to go. Why does WWE insist on trying over and over with Wagner? Am I missing something?

Dani Palmer will be here soon.

Cora Jade vs. Gigi Dolin

Cora works on a wristlock to start but gets kicked in the arm to cut her off. A running hip attack drops Dolin for two but she knees Jade in the face. Jade’s running knee is cut off but here is Jacy Jayne for a distraction. Dolin isn’t having that and sends Jayne into the steps, as well as Booker T., with the distraction letting Jade hit a DDT for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and was more about Jayne vs. Dolin than anything else. The feud is likely continuing and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rematch in the next week or two. Dolin feels like someone who NXT wants to push but won’t pull the trigger on, though that might have been more due to Jayne’s injury.

Post match Lyra Valkyria comes out to say she’s facing Jade next week.

Eddy Thorpe is ready to succeed and overcome the Native American stereotypes. Damon Kemp comes in and doesn’t seem impressed.

Fallon Henley and Josh Briggs aren’t cool with Kiana James and Brooks Jensen, who come in to interrupt. Briggs wants to make amends but the challenge for a mixed tag is thrown out. Henley is absolutely in.

Dijak vs. Apollo Crews

Dijak grabs a headlock to start as Booker says time is running out on Crews’ chances. Crews’ headlock goes on before he picks up the pace, setting up a nice dropkick. Dijak manages to send him to the apron though and a hard shot knocks Crews into the announcers’ table as we take a break. Back with Crews hitting a top rope shot to the head but the discus boot gives Dijak two. Crews kicks him down but the standing moonsault is countered into Hard Justice for….two in a nice finish. Feast Your Eyes finishes Crews at 9:52.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see Dijak getting a nice win as he is starting to feel a bit more like his old self. Dijak felt like someone who should have been a bigger deal in the new NXT but hasn’t quite hit that same level, or really even approached it. Maybe this is a nice step forward, but the lack of consistency gives me pause.

Post match Dijak goes after Crews again but Ilja Dragunov makes the save. The two have to be held apart.

Jacy Jayne can’t stand Gigi Dolin and talks about how Dolin left her seven year old brother to deal with their abusive mother.

North American Title: Charlie Dempsey vs. Wes Lee

Dempsey, with Drew Gulak, is defending and Gulak gets in a cheap shot before the bell. Dempsey gets in a fast two and rolls Lee up for two more. Lee is fine enough to send him outside for the big flip dive and we take a break. Back with Dempsey working on an armbar but Lee gets up for the slugout.

A dropkick to the back of the head sends Dempsey into the corner but he comes out with a dragon screw legwhip. Dempsey’s bridging German suplex gets two, only to have Lee kick his way out of trouble. After kicking Gulak off the apron, Lee hits the Cardiac Kick to retain at 8:35.

Rating: C+. The break didn’t do this any favors but I can go with more of Dempsey getting to torture someone. That is something that works no matter what era of wrestling you’re in and that was true again here. At the same time you have Lee, who is on the roll of a career at this point and we could be in for even more awesome title defenses going forward.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are ready for Pretty Deadly and they’ll make it a trunk match.

Oba Femi is coming and can throw stuff, like furniture.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Bron Breakker vs. Andre Chase instead of Duke Hudson.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect with Waller promising to win the NXT Title next week. That brings him to his guests: NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes, with Trick Williams. Waller talks about what a star he has been without a title, so imagine what he’ll be with one. We get a viewer question asking what the “him” thing means for Hayes. Williams doesn’t like it but Hayes says they keep chanting his name, so what does that tell you?

Waller suggests that Hayes is nothing without Williams but Hayes isn’t going to fall for it. They insult each other for how horrible they would be on the main roster until Waller promises to win the title. The staredown ends the show. This wasn’t great, but it isn’t meant to be some kind of major title showdown. Instead, it’s about Hayes getting his first title defense out of the way and Waller is just dangerous enough to feel like a threat.

Overall Rating: B-. Another solid show from NXT and the best thing is that they have been building up towards the important show next week. Granted a lot of the card was built up in the span of one night, but at least they did get it together. Spring Breakin is not going to be the biggest card ever, but it is going to feel bigger than a regular show. For now though, they’re coming in to the show on something of a roll so there is a lot of potential next week.

Results
Gallus b. Dyad and Creed Brothers – Running boot/flapjack combination to Brutus
Noam Dar b. Myles Borne – Nova Roller
Roxanne Perez b. Zoey Stark – Pop Rox
Cora Jade b. Gigi Dolin – DDT
Wes Lee b. Charlie Dempsey – Cardiac Kick

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: April 11, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

With no major special events in sight, it is time to start getting ready for the next big TV show. That would be two weeks away with Spring Breakin, which is going to need a main event. This week will see a four way match for the #1 contendership, with participants to be announced. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to get things going. Hayes wants to talk about Bron Breakker turning on him last week. There was no passing of the torch because Hayes took it. Hayes and Breakker are going to be facing off for a long time and Stand & Deliver was just a chapter in a long story. Tonight, Hayes is flexing his championship muscle and inviting Breakker into the four way #1 contenders match. That means he’s telling, not asking.

Cue Dragon Lee to interrupt, saying that Hayes is talented but he’s coming for the title. Hayes welcomes him to NXT and says never interrupt the champ. Lee gets a pass because he’s new around here, but here is JD McDonagh to interrupt. McDonagh promises to win the match and the title, but Hayes makes a leprechaun joke. Now it’s Grayson Waller, who says there are some stupid people here. Hayes says there are a lot of them’s but one him. This was your “hi, I want a title match” opening segment.

Kiana James and Fallon Henley argue again. Brooks Jensen is nowhere to be found.

Sol Ruca and Dani Palmer were making a TikTok video in the parking lot when Tiffany Stratton interrupted. Tiffany was NOT happy about them being in her space but left in a huff.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn vs. Fallon Henley/Kiana James

Henley/James, with Josh Briggs, are challenging. James jumps Dawn to start and the fight is on fast. It’s off to Henley, who gets tripped down and forearmed by Fyre. We see Brooks Jensen arriving as Henley jawbreaks her way to freedom and brings James back in. The champs are cleared out and we take a break.

Back with James in trouble but managing a belly to back suplex to Fyre. Henley gets the tag and trades kicks with Dawn for a double knockdown. Cue Jensen to try to bring in the loaded purse but the referee ejects him as Henley tells him to get out. Jensen shoves Briggs down and carries James off, leaving Dawn to get Backstabbered and Swantoned to retained the titles at 10:05

Rating: C. Henley and James have been bickering for months now and they are still doing just that. There is only so much that you can get out of that idea and we might be reaching that point. At the same time, Dawn and Fyre are looking like fairly good champions, even if there isn’t much to compare them to. Just get on with the Henley/James stuff already so everyone can move on to something else.

Video on Noam Dar and the Heritage Cup.

It’s time to present the Chase University MVP Award to Duke Hudson. After a speech from Andre Chase about Hudson saving the day, Hudson seems mostly grateful and does his own spelling chant. Cue Bron Breakker to interrupt, saying everyone wants to hear from him. Breakker doesn’t care that he is being rude, but he has realized that the title is a curse.

He doesn’t need the approval of these scumbags any longer, but for tonight, Hudson should be in the #1 contenders match. Breakker goes to leave, only to turn around and spear Chase in half. The Chase U flag is ripped in half. This didn’t feel like the start of a feud and it shouldn’t be.

Gigi Dolin is at her childhood home, which looks less than inviting. She talks about how she wanted to be loved and escape from this place. Jacy Jayne knew that and then attacked her anyway, but she will never break Dolin’s spirit.

Earlier this week, as shown by NXT Anonymous, Tony D’Angelo and Stacks attacked Pretty Deadly.

Javier Bernal vs. Eddy Thorpe

They go to the mat to start with Thorpe getting the better of things and hitting a crossbody. Cue Damon Kemp to watch as Bernal sends Thorpe outside. Back in and a suplex sets up a Boston crab on Thorpe, who slips out rather quickly. Thorpe’s double underhook swinging suplex finishes Bernal at 3:36.

Rating: C. This was little more than a way to get Thorpe some more exposure as he continues his start. Beating up a goon like Bernal is a fine way to go as the fans will react to it enough and Thorpe can get something out of it. Thorpe has potential, but he has to get some wins before that potential can start to be realized. These matches might not be great, but they’ll be helpful for him on the way up.

Gallus interrupted Tank Ledger’s photo shoot but as interrupted by Schism. The Dyad want a Tag Team Title shot.

Scrypts is ready to expose Axiom.

Sol Ruca vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton takes her down by the wrist to start before they take turns flipping over each other. Ruca actually falls for a handshake and is quickly taken down for a standing moonsault. The armbar keeps Ruca down but she fights up with some running shoulders. A flipping corner clothesline and a powerslam give Ruca two, with Stratton bailing to the floor. Ruca’s dive is cut off with a kick to the arm, setting up a Regal Roll. The moonsault gives Stratton the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. The athleticism was on display here but Ruca didn’t get to show nearly what she can do. That’s the right play in a match like this though, as this was about making Stratton look like a star. The flips looked great with that moonsault to finish being a thing of beauty. Stratton very well could be the next breakout star in the division so there is no reason to have her lose here.

Duke Hudson is fired up about bringing gold to Chase U.

The Creed Brothers want Gallus for the Tag Team Titles next week. With them gone, Tiffany Stratton comes in to say Indi Hartwell is scared.

Here is Cora Jade for a chat. Jade talks about how it is time to start humbling some people. Zoey Stark can do a lot of impressive things in the ring, but she’ll never be champion. Roxanne Perez is only famous for Jade turning on her and how long is she using what happened to her as a crutch? Gigi Dolin was close to winning the title but that title says Cora Jade.

Then there’s Tiffany Stratton, who has the tools but Jade runs this place. Lyra Valkyria is fearless but she should fear Jade. Finally there is Indi Hartwell, who isn’t in a fairy tale but rather Jade’s NXT. Cue Valkyria to interrupt and accuse Jade of being jealous. The fight is on and Jade bails fast. This was a weird mixture of compliments and insults but Jade seems to have a next opponent lined up.

Wes Lee is interrupted by Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak, who wonder how he would handle being tied up on the mat. Lee more or less says bring it and leaves.

Von Wagner vs. Ilja Dragunov

If Wagner loses, Mr. Stone (ringside) is done with him. Wagner jumps him to start as Booker compares Wagner to Shaquille O’Neal. Dragunov is back up with the Constantine Special and a suplex to drop Wagner again. Wagner gets in a slam off the top but Dragunov kicks him in the head to take over again. The Torpedo finishes for Dragunov at 3:23.

Rating: C+. That’s exactly what it needed to be, as there was no reason to believe that Wagner was going to be a threat to Dragunov. After months of Wagner losing every big match he had, he wasn’t going to beat a star like Dragunov for the sake of keeping his manager. This was more a matter of necessity to split up Wagner and Stone and if I get to watch Dragunov wreck someone, so be it.

Stone walks away from Wagner. Cue Dijak to stare Dragunov down and threaten violence.

Hank Walker gives Tank Ledger a pep talk.

Tank Ledger vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is here too. Ledger shoves him down to start but Coffey is right back in with an armbar. That’s broken up and Ledger hits a splash but what looks to be an Alabama Slam is broken up. They head outside with Coffey sending him into the steps, followed by All The Best For The Bells back inside. A second one finishes Ledger off at 4:25.

Rating: C. Much like Dragunov vs. Wagner, this wasn’t about drama as Ledger wasn’t going to win here, save for a very surprising upset. Coffey hasn’t been around for a good while and needed a win, but this wasn’t entirely dominant. Ledger got in a few shots here and showed some potential, but it isn’t close to his time yet.

Post match the Creed Brothers and Schism comes in to fight.

Roxanne Perez comes up to Tony D’Angelo and Stacks to say they’ll all win titles. Then Zoey Stark comes in to mock Perez, resulting in a match for next week. With Perez gone, Pretty Deadly jumps D’Angelo and Stacks.

Grayson Waller vs. Duke Hudson vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee

The winner gets a title shot in two weeks. Hudson gets knocked to the floor to start, leaving Waller to take over inside. Back in and Hudson suplexes McDonagh and Waller at the same time but Lee low bridges him to the floor. The big flip dive drops Hudson again and McDonagh Asai moonsaults onto Lee. Waller’s rolling Stunner hits Hudson but he gets dropped as well. Everyone is down as we take a break.

Back with Lee hitting a bunch of dropkicks in the corner but Waller cuts him off. Hudson is back up to clean house, including a bionic elbow on Waller. A slingshot German suplex gets two on Lee but McDonagh hits Hudson with a poisonrana. Lee makes the save with a top rope double stomp, followed by another to bring McDonagh out of the corner. There’s the suicide dive onto Hudson and a running shot to McDonagh’s face for two. Lee powerbombs Hudson but Waller hits the rolling Stunner to steal the pin and the title shot at 12:45.

Rating: B. This was the all action match that you would expect here with a bit of a surprise result. Waller winning is an interesting way to go as he is the most established of the four stars but he just lost a huge match at Stand & Deliver. He’ll do for a first challenger for Hayes though and it came after a pretty great match. The four of them kept moving almost entirely throughout and Waller stealing the win suits him perfectly. Very good main event and the best thing on the show.

Waller drinks from a shoe and gets stared down by Carmelo Hayes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Solid show here with matches that kept stories moving and got some people into new spots. What matters here is setting up a bigger show with Spring Breakin and they got the main event ready here. The rest of the card can be set up next week, but for now we had some stuff going on and a good main event. That’s a nice use of two hours, as tends to be the case for NXT.

Results
Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn b. Fallon Henley/Kiana James – Swanton to Henley
Eddy Thorpe b. Javier Bernal – Swinging double underhook suplex
Tiffany Stratton b. Sol Ruca – Moonsault
Ilja Dragunov b. Von Wagner – Torpedo
Joe Coffey b. Tank Ledger – All The Best For The Bells
Grayson Waller b. Dragon Lee, Duke Hudson and JD McDonagh – Powerbomb to Hudson

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: February 28, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are about a month away from Stand & Deliver and the card is starting to take shape. While nothing has happened yet and Roadblock is next week, you can probably figure out a lot of what is coming. One thing that is not entirely clear is what will be going on with Shawn Michaels and Grayson Waller, but maybe we can find out some more tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a huge brawl of people trying to get to the ring to answer Wes Lee’s open challenge for a North American Title shot. Dabba-Kato almost makes it in but Apollo Crews jumps him. Nathan Frazer returns and gets inside for the title shot.

North American Title: Nathan Frazer vs. Wes Lee

Lee is defending. Frazer headlocks him down to start and holds him there for a good bit. That’s broken up and Lee nips to his feet for a standoff. Lee takes Frazer down but they’re right back up with lee being sent outside. Frazer’s big dive is cut off by a kick to the head and we take a break.

Back with Frazer missing the Phoenix splash but a double crossbody leaves them both down. Frazer hits an AJ Styles moonsault into a (lifting) DDT for two and superplexes him into a spinning neckbreaker for two more. Lee is sent outside but Frazer’s big dive only hits the announcers’ table. Lee busts out a big flip dive to drop Frazer again and the Cardiac Kick retains the title at 13:33.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of fast paced, all energy opener that makes great sense as a choice to start the show. Lee gets another win on his long list as champion and there is a good chance the list could keep going for a good while to come. Frazer returning was a surprise too so this worked in multiple ways.

Respect is shown post match.

JD McDonagh talks about having a torn retina repaired. He loves inflicting pain and is ready to damage Ilja Dragunov.

Josh Briggs tries to perk Brooks Jensen up over his problems with Kiana James. Briggs says all men are stupid with women and he’s proud of Jensen for getting so far. Things seem to be a bit better.

Video on Tyler Bate.

Hank Walker and Axiom get into it over Walker hitting him to try to get to the North American Title match. Shoving ensues and a match seems likely for later.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Indus Sher

Jinder Mahal is here with Indus Sher. Sangs powers Jensen around to start but Jensen manages a spinning faceplant. Briggs comes in for a front facelock but Jensen isn’t there for the tag. Instead Jensen comes in and gets knocked down by Sanga as the beating is on. Veer holds Jensen up for a kick to the ribs and we hit the cobra clutch. Jensen finally avoids an elbow and it’s Briggs coming in to clean house. Another double team doesn’t work as Jensen’s head isn’t in it, meaning it’s a chokeslam and Million Dollar Arm to finish Jensen at 3:27.

Rating: C. This was more about Briggs and Jensen’s issues than Indus Sher winning. Jensen and Briggs having issues with Fallon Henley and Kiana James is causing problems for the team and that isn’t good for their future. It still feels like there is a big reveal coming in that story and it wouldn’t surprise me to see it happen in the next few weeks.

Post match Mahal issues a challenge to the Creed Brothers for a six man tag next week.

Wendy Choo was attacked in the parking lot during the break and seems to have an injured elbow.

Here is Gigi Dolin for a chat. She says this is the last time that you’ll hear the Toxic Attraction theme song. Dolin is going to go fast because she isn’t Jacy Jayne, who loves to hear her own voice. She can live with the physical pain from Jayne jumping her because it told Dolin about herself. Dolin knows how to survive because her own mother used her as her own personal punching bag for years. Jayne calls herself the last woman standing but Dolin keeps getting back up. They’re fighting next week at Roadblock and Dolin is bringing everything she has. Dolin was trying here, but Jayne feels like a much bigger star.

We go to Chase U, where Duke Hudson tries to apologize to Thea Hail. She seems to accept it, but here is Andre Chase to talk about factions in WWE history. Schism hacks the classroom’s feed and talks about how fake Chase U is at everything. Chase is ready to fight next week. If it involves getting rid of cults in wrestling, I’m all for it.

Meiko Satomura vs. Zoey Stark

Roxanne Perez is on commentary as they grapple around to start. Stark slips out of a front facelock but Satomura grabs a headlock and grinds away. Back up and Stark sends her into the corner so Satomura needs a breather on the floor. That’s fine with Satomura, who kicks Stark down as we take a break.

Back with Satomura being sent into the corner again but being fine enough to kick a springboarding Stark out of the air. Stark comes up favoring her knee so Satomura kicks her down again and drops a top rope splash for two. Satomura’s cartwheel kick to the back misses though and Stark’s slingshot splash gets two. More kicks give Stark two but she misses a 450. The Death Valley Driver drops Stark and Scorpio Rising gives Satomura the pin at 11:16.

Rating: C+. This was a hard hitting match that was all about giving Satomura momentum going into next week’s title shot against Perez. Satomura is going to be able to have a good match with anyone and Stark can carry her own as well. This did what it needed to do but they were working hard enough to make it a bit better.

Post match Perez gets in for the respectful staredown.

We look back at Grayson Waller hijacking the production truck and calling out Shawn Michaels to end last week’s show.

Shawn Michaels has accepted the invitation for the Grayson Waller Effect next week at Roadblock.

There is no word on how injured Wendy Choo may be but Tiffany Stratton isn’t interested. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance think there Stratton is up to something, but she asks where they were when Nikkita Lyons was attacked. Hair flipping ensues.

We get the Montez Ford/Bianca Belair Titanic trailer.

The Creed Brothers need a partner against Indus Sher. They run into Damon Kemp and even though they don’t like him, he’s what they need next week. Kemp smirks a lot and turns them down. Bron Breakker comes up though and says he’s in. Julius asks if Breakker could have been here a minute earlier to avoid having to humiliate himself with Kemp but he’ll take the champ next week.

Sol Ruca vs. Elektra Lopez

Valentina Feroz is here with Lopez. Ruca has to flip out of a wristlock to start but gets sent to the apron. Lopez knocks her off the top and out to the floor in a heap. Back in and Ruca fights out of the neck crank before firing off the running shoulders. A butterfly suplex drops Lopez but she avoids a flipping clothesline in the corner. Lopez goes for her brass knuckles in the turnbuckle but Feroz has taken them away. The Sol Snatcher finishes Lopez at 4:56.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how much interest there is in this Feroz/Lopez stuff, but as usual this was more about making Ruca look good. The Sol Snatcher is going to get a reaction every time and Ruca is making it look a lot more natural. Ruca has all hf the tools to go somewhere and this was another step in the right direction.

Post match Lopez yells at Feroz, who lays her out with the brass knuckles.

Gallus is shooting pool and Mark Coffey is a bit worried about Pretty Deadly. A guy accidentally runs into Wolfgang and violence ensues.

Pretty Deadly is ready to talk to Gallus next week, despite a tweet from Drew McIntyre talking about how much trouble they’re in.

Katana Chance vs. Tiffany Stratton

Kayden Carter is at ringside. Chance hits a dropkick to start but gets sent to the apron, where she grabs a slingshot headscissors. Stratton takes her down and sets up a double arm crank to slow the pace a bit. Back up and Chance grabs a headscissors but cue Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn. The distraction lets Stratton pull Chance out of the air and plant her down. The moonsault (to Chance’s shins) is enough for the pin at 3:36.

Rating: C. Chance and Carter’s downhill spiral continues as Stratton still seems like the next big villain in the women’s division. That means giving her wins like this, though she might want to work on that moonsault. Stratton would be perfect as the villain who brags about being the champion, and the push towards the title is likely to happen sooner than later.

Post match Stratton says she wants the Women’s Title. So, sooner.

Brooks Jensen apologizes to Josh Briggs about what happened but Briggs tells him to get his girl back. Briggs will talk to Kiana James though.

Axiom vs. Hank Walker

Axiom goes straight for a choke to start but gets driven into the corner. A shot to the face annoys Walker, who knocks Axiom down hard. Walker spins him into a faceplant but Axiom is back with a running kick in the corner. Axiom’s high crossbody and some strikes just seem to fire Walker up but he blasts Axiom with a clothesline. A kick to the face staggers Walker though and the Golden Ratio gives Axiom the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C-. Axiom seems to be getting the feel of what he is doing more and more every week. He is turning into a heck of a high flier who can hang with anyone and that Golden Ratio is getting better and better. Walker is someone who has some tools but needs experience to put some things together. That might happen down the line, but it isn’t there yet.

Grayson Waller responds to Shawn Michaels. He knows to never say never, so don’t make him put Shawn in a place Shawn said he would never be in again.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Tyler Bate

Trick Williams is here with Hayes, who grabs a wristlock to start. Bate slips out of that but gets sent outside, where he comes back in quickly. They trade rollups for two each before Bate blocks what looks to be a Codebreaker. Some European uppercuts against the ropes stagger Hayes again and there’s a spinning headscissors to stagger him again. Bate dropkicks him to the floor and hits the big dive as we take a break.

Back with Bate having to deck Williams before airplane spinning Hayes for two. The rebound lariat gives Bate two more but Hayes plants him down hard. Bate is fine enough to catch Hayes on top with a superplex but Williams offers a distraction. Spiral tap misses for Bate and Williams grabs the Codebreaker into Nothing But Net for the pin at 11:20.

Rating: B-. These two are both reliable hands in the ring so it isn’t surprising that they would do well in the main event here. That being said, this didn’t quite hit a high level and it was more about Hayes getting another win to bolster his resume before Stand & Deliver. Hayes is ready to challenge for the title now, and beating Bate just got him a step closer.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was about building up Roadblock and that went well enough, even if it is a bit weird to have a big show three weeks before the biggest show of the year. What matters is Roadblock is being set up and then we can get ready for the real show. Another efficient show here though and that’s where NXT tends to shine.

Results
Wes Lee b. Nathan Frazer – Cardiac Kick
Indus Sher b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen – Million Dollar Arm to Jensen
Meiko Satomura b. Zoey Stark – Scorpio Rising
Sol Ruca b. Elektra Lopez – Sol Snatcher
Tiffany Stratton b. Katana Chance – Moonsault
Axiom b. Hank Walker – Golden Ratio
Carmelo Hayes b. Tyler Bate – Nothing But Net

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT LVL Up
Date: February 24, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

It’s another LVL Up and again I’m not sure what to expect. The best formula around here seems to be having some midcard NXT stars in the main event and the younger stars filling in the rest of the show. That has worked well in the past, but you never know what direction the show is going to take. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Axiom vs. Kale Dixon

Dixon works on the arm to start but Axiom reverses into an armbar of his own. A springboard kick to the side of the head drops Dixon but he’s right back with some clubbing forearms. They trade kicks to the ribs until Dixon gets two off a delayed vertical suplex. Axiom strikes his way out of a chinlock and there’s a high crossbody. The Golden Ratio finishes for Axiom at 4:35.

Rating: C. Axiom is starting to find his grove and that was on display here. He’s getting smoother and smoother in the ring and that Golden Ratio is starting to look good. Dixon is someone who has a good look but not much else to back it up, though getting to more than about five matches might be a good start.

Myles Borne and Tank Ledger are different on paper but they can win together tonight.

Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice

Ruca takes the arm to start and fireman’s carries her into an armbar. Vice fights up and knees her down, setting up the sleeper. That’s broken up as well with Ruca starting the comeback, setting up the Sol Snatcher for the pin at 4:29.

Rating: C. Ruca is still almost all about that finisher but to be fair, it’s a pretty incredible looking finisher. She has such a unique style and it makes sense to push her every chance WWE has. That was the situation here, though Vice has a certain fire to her as well that makes it easy to want to watch her.

Tavion Heights/Damon Kemp vs. Myles Borne/Tank Ledger

Ledger and Heights grapple over a rollup to start with Heights being suplexed over, meaning it’s off to Kemp. Borne comes in to work on Kemp’s arm but Kemp hits him in the face. It’s back to Heights for a suplex and Kemp grabs a chinlock. Borne fights up and hits a dropkick, with Heights knocking him into the corner for the tag. Ledger splashes Heights for two and everything breaks down. Ledger rolls Kemp up for two but walks into a Rock Bottom neckbreaker for the pin at 7:48.

Rating: C. This was a weird one as there was one even slightly important name in the match and that didn’t help anything much. It felt like four people who were thrown together for a main event and then told to figure it out for themselves. Not bad by any means, but it came off more like a Performance Center training exercise than a match we needed to see.

Overall Rating: C-. Not the best show here as Axiom was the big name and wasn’t exactly in much danger. The other two matches existed for the sake of a finisher and getting people on the show. This felt more like the LVL Up of old and that is not the best thing to see after it was starting to make some progress.

Results
Axiom b. Kale Dixon – Golden Ratio
Sol Ruca b. Lola Vice – Sol Snatcher
Damon Kemp/Tavion Heights b. Myles Borne/Tank Ledger – Rock Bottom neckbreaker to Ledger

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: February 14, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

It’s Valentine’s Day and that is not likely to mean much of anything here. We are about a month and a half away from Stand & Deliver and Carmelo Hayes is looking like a strong option to go after Bron Breakker’s NXT Title. Other than that, NXT has some work to do so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Jerry Jarrett.

Grayson Waller vs. Tyler Bate

Waller takes him to the rope to start the choking, while shouting that Shawn Michaels bet on the wrong horse. Bate grabs his own foot and swings it into Waller’s face, followed by a dropkick for two. A quick shot lets Waller grab a cravate with the knee to the face getting two more.

The back and forth continues as Bate runs him over and hits a standing shooting star press for his own near fall. They go outside with Booker going on his latest long winded rant about how attitude will get you to Wrestlemania. Waller slides back in and then back outside for a hard clothesline and we take a break.

Back with Bate avoiding the rolling Stunner and hitting the rebound lariat for two more. A middle rope uppercut sets up the airplane spin for two on Waller and frustration is setting in. Waller is back with a leg lariat into an Unprettier for two of his own and more frustration sets in. With nothing else working, Waller Tunes Up The Band but Bate cuts him off with Bop And Bang. A superkick gives Bate two more with Waller having to grab the rope. Bate tries the sunset flip but Waller grabs the rope for two, only to have Bate break the grip and get the pin at 11:57.

Rating: B-. The Shawn stuff is interesting as I can’t imagine he’ll get back in the ring at an NXT show, but that is where they seem to be building towards. Unless Shawn has someone to fight for him, I’m not sure where that is going. Bate winning is a good thing as he needs to be rebuilt (again) and beating the most recent #1 contender is a good place to start.

Earlier today, Brooks Jensen was worried about Valentine’s Day with Kiana James, revealing that he has never kissed a woman before. Josh Briggs gives him an explanation (math is involved) and even starts to demonstrate when Fallon Henley comes in. Briggs explains what is going on and Henley says keep it simple: when Jensen drops off James at her door, if James plays with her keys, go for it. Jensen seems to feel better.

Jacy Jayne is coming to the ring but we can see Grayson Waller yelling at Shawn Michaels. Matt Bloom breaks it up and a furious Shawn says cut to the break.

Apollo Crews is up set at Dabba-Kato for returning and attacking him at Vengeance Day.

Here is Jacy Jayne for an explanation about turning on Gigi Dolin last week. Jayne says last week was the beginning of her story and now it is about her. She has been the talk of NXT for the last week and her name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Jayne has already watched the footage back 1000 times, so let’s make it 1001.

After that produced video rather than just the regular footage, Jayne calls Dolin Jannetty and says the days of Chuckie are over. Everyone needs to listen to her carefully: screw you. She is tired of being the third wheel in the most dominant faction in WWE history. But now, look who is the last woman standing. This wasn’t exactly original (the amount of “IT’S ALL ABOUT ME” promos over the years is astounding) but Jayne did deliver it well.

Chase U tells Thea Hail that she can talk to them about what Schism did anytime they want. She’s ready to go tonight though, and is going to say “Hi fear, I’m Thea.”

Video on Sol Ruca.

Thea Hail vs. Tiffany Stratton

The rest of Chase U is here too. Hail armdrags her down to start and hits a running dropkick for a bonus. Cue Schism (in different parts of the arena) to scare Hail though, allowing Stratton to knock her off the apron. Back in and Hail knocks her to the floor again, setting up the suicide dive. Ava Raine pops up for another distraction, allowing Stratton to plant Hail. The moonsault finishes for Stratton at 3:29.

Rating: C. This was all about keeping Hail vs. Schism going and that feels like it is going to last for a long time. Getting inside Hail’s mind is a good way to go, but at the same time, but Schism has a tendency to drag down almost anyone they work with. Hopefully that isn’t the case here, as Chase U has taken enough damage already. Stratton gets a win as her comeback continues and that is about as good as she can do right now.

Javier Bernal comes up to Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile in the back and offers to let both of them be his Javytine. Paxley is taken but Nile actually says yes. Then she chokes Bernal out. Isla Dawn’s voice pops up to threaten Paxley and Nile, who don’t seem pleased.

Axiom vs. Damon Kemp

Fallout from Kemp attacking him a few weeks back. Axiom goes right for him to start as Booker talks about the Matrix. The big kick to the head misses so Kemp heads outside, with Axiom hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Kemp snaps off a wheelbarrow suplex and Axiom is in trouble in a hurry. A release German suplex does it again and Axiom gets knocked out to the floor. Axiom strikes away back inside but his high crossbody is rolled through for two. Another German suplex gives Kemp two more but Axiom hits him in the face. The Golden Ratio finishes Kemp at 3:31.

Rating: C+. Axiom is falling into his groove as a rather good midcard star as they have gotten rid of some of the bad things that he had been doing. The superhero deal works well for him and he can back it up in the ring. I’m still not sure what is going on with Kemp, who could be a decent star, but that Diamond Mine feud seemed to ruin him for some reason.

We see some Instagram posts about Brooks Jensen and Kiana James’ Valentine’s Day date.

Fallon Henley has to tell Brooks Jensen what is going on.

Grayson Waller has been thrown out and rants about Shawn Michaels, saying there is no more Heartbreak Kid and he runs this place.

Here is Bron Breakker for a chat. Breakker says it doesn’t feel right around here because the next challenge feels bigger. The match everyone wants to see is Breakker vs. him (not named) but here are Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher to interrupt. Breakker wasn’t expecting them, but Mahal says you have to expect the unexpected. The villains get inside, with Mahal talking about the stress that Breakker has been under for nearly a year now.

Mahal asks if this is what Breakker expected as champion, and yeah it is. Breakker must be deaf if he doesn’t hear the small pocket of fans who are booing him. Mahal says you either die a hero or you become the villain. Breakker says the fans can think whatever they want, which Mahal refers to as arrogance. The tides are changing and Mahal issues the challenge for next week. The champ is in and says Mahal doesn’t need to waste time with the new 3 Man Band. Breakker: “Which one of you plays the guitar?” Mahal says he’ll still like Breakker after taking his title.

This was a good example of the problem being the messenger instead of the message. Jinder Mahal is someone fans are not going to take seriously and the 3MB joke didn’t help things. As a one off win it’s fine, but Mahal as generic villain isn’t helping him. Just have Breakker smash him and move on (which is probably what is going to happen).

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter confirm that they are down to face Roxanne Perez and Meiko Satomura. Perez and Satomura respect each other.

It’s time for an open challenge for the North American Title. Tony D’Angelo comes out to accept but Dijak jump him, with Stacks going to help. We have another challenger sneaking up on Lee though.

North American Title: Von Wagner vs. Wes Lee

Wagner, with Mr. Stone, is challenging. Lee fights back and tries to flip away in the corner, only to get dropped face first onto the apron. Stone reminds Wagner that he has to win back inside so it’s a clothesline for two on Lee. Back up and Lee ducks a big boot, setting up the standing moonsault to stagger Wagner. Lee’s tornado DDT is pulled out of the air and Wagner faceplants him for two. Lee slips out of a gorilla press, hits four straight superkicks, and finishes with the Cardiac Kick at 4:43.

Rating: C. This was power vs. speed 101 and as usual, it worked just fine. Lee is getting built up as someone who can over come the odds, which is going to make whoever beats him that much bigger of a deal. Then you have Wagner and I still don’t get it. He’s as generic of a monster as you can get and it still isn’t interesting no matter what.

Hank Walker has a new singlet but his old boots. Drew Gulak gives him some silver boots of his own.

Charlie Dempsey vs. Hank Walker

Drew Gulak is here with Walker, who shrugs off some forearms to the face to start. A collision goes to Walker but they trade big boots for a double knockdown. Walker tries a Fujiwara armbar but Dempsey reverses into his head and leg stretch for the tap at 1:41.

Post match Dempsey puts the hold back on but Gulak just stands there. Then Gulak and Dempsey leave together. Fair enough as Walker is kind of a loser.

Von Wagner is furious about his loss and Mr. Stone blames Wagner not having a connection to anyone. Wagner needs to break his walls down and Stone has time for the guy inside him.

Gallus is in the pool hall when Pretty Deadly comes in. A pool game breaks out and Pretty Deadly does well….albeit on the wrong balls. Gallus wins easily but Pretty Deadly wants a rematch. The deal is if Pretty Deadly keeps buying them drinks, they can keep playing, with Pretty Deadly getting a Tag Team Title shot if they win. Pretty Deadly loses at least seven games in a row and then get stuck with the (very long) bill. Gallus gives them the title shot anyway.

Ilja Dragunov talks about how pain makes you feel alive and he promises to hurt JD McDonagh. We cut to the arena, where Trick Williams calls out Dragunov. That works for Dragunov, who comes to the ring as Williams promises to drop Dragunov like a mix tape. Cue Dragunov to say Williams is an entertaining life of the party. Williams is dropped but here is JD McDonagh (with tape over his eye) to threaten Dragunov, allowing Williams to get in a cheap shot.

Post break, Trick Williams comes up to Carmelo Hayes and brags about what he just did.

We see Brooks Jensen taking Kiana James to her front door after their date. Jensen gives her astronomy trivia (which he gets wrong) and then goes to kiss her (following the key playing). Then Fallon Henley and Josh Briggs show up (How long have they been following them?) with Henley bringing up the phone call with an “I love you Zack” from a few weeks ago. It turns out Zack is James’ brother and he pops up at the door. James storms inside and Jensen leaves in heartbreak.

Here’s what is coming next week.

Meiko Satomura/Roxanne Perez vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter shoulders Perez down to start and hands it off to Chance, who trips Perez down. A sliding kick and slingshot hilo get two on Perez and we hit the armbar. Back up and Perez flips out of a hurricanrana but gets taken right back into the wrong corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Satomura for the first time, including a handshake with Carter.

Everything breaks down with Perez and Satomura cleaning house with uppercuts. Perez dives through the ropes onto Chance and Satomura hits one on Carter as we take a break. Back with Perez fighting out of Chance’s abdominal stretch but getting dropkicked down. Perez jawbreaks her way to freedom though and it’s Satomura coming back in to strike away. Some kicks to the head get two on Carter and Perez adds a backflip moonsault for two more.

Carter grabs something like an STO to plant Perez but she Russian legsweeps her way out of trouble. It’s back to Satomura, who gets knocked into the wrong corner for a change. Everything breaks down and Perez is knocked to the floor. Satomura is right back with the moonsault knees to Chance, followed by a Pele to Carter. Perez comes back in for Pop Rox and the pin on Carter at 10:29.

Rating: B-. This was a “hey, look who’s here” match as Satomura being around is a cool thing to see. Carter and Chance still have some value as a team so Perez and Satomura beating them means a little something. You might as well make Satomura vs. Perez for the title now though, as it isn’t like Perez has another challenger at the moment.

Post match Satomura issues the challenge for the title match and it would be Perez’s honor.

Overall Rating: B. This is a great example of a show where the overall rating is greater than its individual parts. All kinds of things were advanced here and you even got some turning points in a few stories. It came off like they had a big checklist for the show and covered every single item. The show felt organized and well put together, as you can see a lot of Stand & Deliver coming from here. Heck of an episode this week and I could go for a lot more like this one.

Results
Tyler Bate b. Grayson Waller – Sunset flip
Tiffany Stratton b. Thea Hail – Moonsault
Axiom b. Damon Kemp – Golden Ratio
Wes Lee b. Von Wagner – Cardiac Kick
Charlie Dempsey b. Hank Walker – Head and leg stretch
Meiko Satomura/Roxanne Perez b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Pop Rox to Carter

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT LVL Up
Date: January 20, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Matt Camp

The big change this week is on commentary, as Sudu Shah is gone from the company, meaning we have a new team talking to us. That could be just about anyone, but what makes things worse is the fact that commentary changes are probably more interesting than whatever is going on with the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Jakara Jackson

Lyons misses the early kick to the head and it’s a fast standoff. A armbar has Jackson down and Lyons rolls over into a front facelock. Back up and Lyons misses a running boot in the corner, allowing Jackson to hammer away. We hit the Fujiwara armbar and Lyons can’t quite power out. Finally she gets up and hits a sidewalk slam for the break. The strikes have Jackson in trouble, with a superkick into the splits splash being enough to give Lyons the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C. Lyons is someone who has hit a wall hard and I’m not sure what she can do to get around it. Maybe this is just a one off appearance on LVL Up for her, but she should probably be a star if someone will let her try. There is obvious skill there but it doesn’t matter if she isn’t being given much of a chance.

Damon Kemp is ready for Tank Ledger, but doesn’t seem overly interested.

Damon Kemp vs. Tank Ledger

Kemp takes him to the mat for a headlock before walking over Ledger’s back for the strut. Leger is annoyed but gets knocked into the corner to keep him in trouble. A neckbreaker and belly to belly give Kemp two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. Ledger fights out and hits a fall away slam but a splash lands on raised knees. A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Kemp the pin at 4:31.

Rating: C. I still like Kemp as the dangerous evil wrestling ace but that wasn’t quite what we were getting here. This was something close to a squash as Ledger never felt like anything resembling a threat. There is some potential with Ledger, but for the time being that is still a long way off.

Joe Gacy vs. Odyssey Jones

The rest of Schism is here too. Jones shoves the much smaller Gacy into the corner to start before cranking on the arm. The rolling splashes crush Gacy but Ava Raine grabs the leg, allowing Gacy to take out Jones’ knee. Jones fights up but get the knee taken out again to put him back down. The next comeback works a bit better as a World’s Strongest Slam crushes Gacy. The crushes Gacy is fine enough to hit Jones in the knee again and the handspring clothesline is good for the pin at 5:59.

Rating: C. This is more of what the show needs, at least for a main event: a match between two (slightly) stronger names where you could see an upset happening. LVL Up tends to run a bunch of matches featuring a name against an up and comer and there is no drama. Gacy winning here was the more logical way to go, but there was enough doubt to make it interesting.

Overall Rating: C. Oh this was LVL Up alright: a totally middle of the road show with nothing standing out and nothing that you needed to see, but also nothing that was so bad you would regret watching it. As usual though, they can fall back on the act that they are a thirty minute show that never overstays its welcome, meaning it isn’t even worth getting mad about most of the time. Just a breezy show that doesn’t hurt anything and gives you a taste of the future.

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling

NXT LVL Up
Date: January 13, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shaw, Byron Saxton

As usual, LVL Up has me wondering what in the world I should be expecting. It might be a boring show, it might be a show with some slightly bigger NXT names or it might be a show that winds up being rather entertaining. It really is a show that could go anywhere, but it would be nice to have some more consistency. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Von Wagner vs. Oba Femi

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner, who powers Femi into the corner to start. A running shoulder drops Femi but he’s back with a running shoulder of his own. Wagner cuts him off with a clothesline though and starts in on the back. A belly to back suplex and elbow to the face put Femi down again and we hit the chinlock. Femi fights up and hits a running clothesline in the corner, earning himself a big boot. The Death Valley Driver finishes Femi at 4:13.

Rating: C. Nothing special to this one but Femi getting to be in there against a bigger name might mean something for him. At the same time, there is only so much to be gotten out of Wagner, who has not shown much in the way of variety so far. Maybe Wagner being here means WWE is giving up on him at the moment, which might be for the best until he can find something different in the ring.

Jakara Jackson is a goal (yes goal) digger and she needs to check Isla Dawn off her list tonight.

Jakara Jackson vs. Isla Dawn

They go with the grappling to start and Dawn takes her to the mat with a headscissors. Back up and Jackson grabs a headlock before dropkicking Dawn into the corner. Dawn isn’t having that and goes after Jackson’s hand, setting up the chinlock. A Meteora gives Dawn two so she yells at the referee (whom she has hurt before). The distraction lets Jackson get two off a rollup and a knee in the corner gets the same. Dawn uses the rope to block a suplex though and a Nightmare On Helm Street finishes Jackson at 5:25.

Rating: C. Decent showing from Jackson here but Dawn is the one who is going to be presented as something more important going forward. Dawn is going to be the new supernatural force, but thankfully she doesn’t go in that direction all of the time. Thankfully they didn’t waste it on what should be an easy win for her, meaning this made better sense.

Duke Hudson vs. Damon Kemp

Chase U is here with Hudson. Kemp struts to start and mocks Chase U (uh oh) and it’s Hudson cranking on his arm to stand up for his school. A knee to the ribs cuts Hudson off though and a fireman’s carry sets up the armbar on the mat. Hudson can’t flip away but he can power up and hit a hiptoss. Kemp is back up with a flapjack and neckbreaker, setting up a slingshot seated senton to the back for two. The chinlock goes on before some shots to the face just annoy Hudson. A running shoulder lets Hudson hit some spelling jabs and a running elbow (the Big Elbowski) finishes Kemp at 6:31.

Rating: C. You know what you’re going to get from a Hudson match, though changing from the big boot to the elbow to the face seems to be a bit of a downgrade. Speaking of downgrades, you have Kemp, who is lucky to make it on this show anymore. I was digging him as the amateur wrestler who didn’t care about anything good, but yet here he is, seemingly in NXT jail.

Overall Rating: C. Well, it was back to run of the mill this week, but it was nice to see some slightly different names around here. LVL Up, is the hardest show to predict each week, despite it doing so many of the same things. This was a pretty in the middle show, though it isn’t like the high end is that much better around here.

Results
Von Wagner b. Oba Femi – Death Valley Driver
Isla Dawn b. Jakara Jackson – Nightmare On Helm Street
Duke Hudson b. Damon Kemp – Big Elbowski

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT LVL Up
Date: December 9, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton, Matt Camp

This show is finally starting to figure a little something out and that can make things a lot more tolerable week to week. What matters around here is building some people up so that they have some clue as to what they’re doing when they go to the regular NXT show. I’m not sure how long that might take, but at least they’re trying. Lets get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Odyssey Jones vs. Damon Kemp

Kemp flips over him to start and gets hit in the face for his efforts. Jones starts cranking on the wrist before dropping a knee on the arm. Back up and Kemp snaps the arm over the top, setting up a loose crossface chickenwing. Jones can’t quite power out and drops down, allowing Kemp to put on something like a seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well and Jones hits the corner splash, setting up a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C-. What the heck happened to Kemp? Maybe it was just me but I was getting into his heel stuff against Diamond Mine and now he’s jobbing on LVL Up. It’s quite the sudden fall and it isn’t like Kemp had some horrible moment. Jones is someone who has grown on me a bit since his return and maybe he can be as good as he has been hyped up as being.

Valentina Feroz gives us a subtitled promo about wanting to prove herself to her fans in Brazil. In English, she’s ready for Sol Ruca.

Valentina Feroz vs. Sol Ruca

Feroz works on a headlock to start but Ruca grabs the arm and fires off some shoulders. A tilt-a-whirl slam gives Ruca two and she grabs a headlock of her own. Feroz can’t fight out so it’s a cravate to hold her in place. Back up and a wheelbarrow faceplant gives Ruca two but Feroz charges into an elbow in the corner. Ruca goes up to the middle rope…and does an inverted backflip, grabbing Feroz with a cutter on the way down for the pin at 4:35.

Rating: C. This is a match where the only thing that is going to matter is that finisher. It’s the kind of move that you don’t see very often but it makes you take notice when you do. Ruca needed something to make her really stand out and a sweet looking finisher like that could be just the ticket. It isn’t enough to carry her, but it’s a big upgrade.

Trick Williams vs. Ikemen Jiro

Williams likes the jacket and shoves him down a few times to start, only to have Jiro nip up each time. The frustrated Williams jumps over Jiro in the corner and pulls him down by the jacket in some smart thinking. A running neckbreaker gives Williams two and we hit the chinlock. Jiro fights up and knocks Williams down, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two. The Ikemen Slash is broken up though and it’s the Trick Kick to give Williams the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. I know Carmelo Hayes gets all of the attention but Williams is quite good at what he does every time he is out there. Williams is perfect as the enforcer/hype man, but he can do things on his own too. That is going to give him much more of a future around NXT and based on what we have seen from him, that is good news.

Overall Rating: C. This was back to the run of the mill shows and that isn’t a good thing. You had the big flipping cutter from Ruca but other than that, there was nothing here that stood out in the slightest. The action was just ok, though Williams did well in the chance he was given. Total middle of the road show here and that’s not exactly a compliment.

Results
Odyssey Jones b. Damon Kemp – Boss Man Slam
Sol Ruca b. Valentina Feroz – Middle rope inverted moonsault into a cutter
Trick Williams b. Ikemen Jiro – Trick Kick

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: December 13, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

We’re done with Deadline and that means it is time to start the rather long road to Vengeance Day in February. Deadline saw the crowning of new Tag Team Champions and a pair of new #1 contenders. That should give us some places to go for the next few weeks and we should be in for some fun, though maybe not so soon after Deadline. Let’s get to it.

Here is Deadline if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Deadline.

Here is Roxanne Perez to get thing going….but Grayson Waller interrupts from the parking lot. Waller has the camera walk us into the arena where he brags about everything he can think of until Perez cuts him off. She says he wasn’t the only Iron Survivor but Waller isn’t impressed. Cue Bron Breakker to say Perez did a great job at Deadline and promises she’ll be the next Women’s Champion. Waller brags about outsmarting Breakker, who he’ll outsmart again for the title at Vengeance Day. Breakker chases Waller through the crowd, leaving Perez to get jumped by Mandy Rose.

JD McDonagh gets checked out and knows the medical report before it is read to him. The Creeds come in, with Julius not being happy about McDonagh going after his knee. Brutus promises to hurt him tonight, which McDonagh finds happy.

We cut back to Roxanne Perez pulling herself up and saying she wants her title shot tonight. Mandy Rose is in.

Stacks jumps Wees Lee in the back, with Tony D’Angelo approving. The fight comes into the arena and we’re having a match.

Wes Lee vs. Stacks

it isn’t specified but there is nothing to suggest Lee’s North American Title is on the line and Tony D’Angelo is in Stacks’ corner. Stacks starts fast but gets dropkicked to the floor for the big running flip dive (with Lee landing HARD). We take a break and come back with Lee in trouble, including a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The half crab goes on but Lee fights up and starts slugging away. Lee gets the better of things and hits his backflip kick to the head for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. They kept this one fast and it was more about D’Angelo vs. Lee being set up for the future. D’Angelo wanting the North American Title is a nice fit for him and having Lee beat his lackey first makes sense. I’m still not feeling Lee as the midcard champion, but at least he has a feud going on.

Post match Dijak comes out to distract Lee, allowing D’Angelo to jump Lee from behind. The triple threat continues to seem likely.

Chase U runs into Duke Hudson shaking hands with Drew Gulak. Andre Chase thinks Duke might enter the transfer portal and even apologizes for last week. Worry not though as Hudson isn’t transferring and is ready for Damon Kemp.

Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Toxic Attraction

Kacy Catanzaro and Katana Chance are on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Toxic Attraction mocking the champs on the floor. We settle down to Jayne faceplanting Nile so Dolin can get two. Nile fights back and they head outside, with one more distraction being enough for the champs to jump Toxic Attraction for the DQ at 2:25. This feels like a way to set up a bigger match down the line.

Post match the brawl stays on and the fans seem impressed.

Fallon Henley’s mom isn’t having a good day but Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen want her to be happy. 2023 will be their year.

Carmelo Hayes says he would have won the Iron Survivor Challenge with five more minutes, but Trick Williams shows him a shot of Axiom’s moonsault.

Odyssey Jones vs. Von Wagner

Malik Blade, Edris Enofe and Mr. Stone are here too. Wagner can’t get anywhere with some running shoulders to start but a big boot puts Jones down. The sleeper keeps Jones in trouble until he makes the clothesline comeback. Jones slams him hard and, after Stone’s distraction accidentally allows Enofe to kick Wagner in the head, a crossbody gives Jones the pin at 2:50.

Javier Bernal doesn’t like McKenzie Mitchell cheering for Ikemen Jiro against him tonight. Bernal tries to name his fan base, eventually settling on Big Body Believers. More good stuff from these two.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Javier Bernal

Jiro slugs away to start but Bernal is back with some right hands. A back elbow sends Jiro outside but he catches Bernal with a kick to the head. Jiro’s super hurricanrana sets up the Ikemen Slash for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Scrypts jumps Jiro and steals the jacket.

Wendy Choo is happy Cora Jade lost the Iron Survivor Challenge because Jade is bad. Choo even talks about the evolution of her drink throwing, which started with a bad experience at a slumber party. Oddly enough, this worked.

Here is New Day for their championship celebration. Xavier Woods brags about Kofi Kingston’s ridiculous list of accomplishments (with Kofi cutting him off before Booker T. gets any more annoyed) before we hear about Woods having the first ever NXT match (Against Big E!). He never won an NXT title though…..and now that has changed! The celebration is on but here is Pretty Deadly to interrupt, saying New Day RUINED CHRISTMAS! Woods insists they would never do that because Santa Claus (a fan in costume) is here!

After a SANTA chant, Woods talks about how it was a bad week for Pretty Deadly when England was knocked out of the World Cup and then they lost the titles. Sure Pretty Deadly can have a rematch, as long as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That’s too far but here are Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, with an American Flag, to say they’ll say the Pledge for a title shot. We get the Pledge and, as Pretty Deadly looks near sickness, Kofi says they’ll find out about that title shot for Jensen and Briggs next week. Works for the country boys. Well that was out of nowhere.

The women’s division is in the back, talking about the Iron Survivor Challenge. Elektra Lopez talks a lot until Indi Hartwell jumps her, setting up a huge brawl.

Brutus Creed vs. JD McDonagh

Julius Creed is here too. Brutus starts fast but McDonagh takes it to the floor and goes after the arm. Said arm is rammed into the announcers’ table but Brutus gets in a shot to send McDonagh to the apron. McDonagh kicks Julius down and low bridges a charging Brutus to the floor. Cue Indus Sher to take a chair away from McDonagh, leaving him to hit a pair of Devil Insides (one outside, one inside) to finish Brutus at 4:15.

Rating: C. McDonagh continues to do very little for me in his new persona but at least he seems to be getting further and further away from the NXT Title picture. Beating a tag wrestler to help advance an already established tag feud isn’t a bad thing and McDonagh can still do enough good things. Just don’t let him move much further up the ladder and things will be fine.

Zoey Stark didn’t like a Nikkita Lyons Tik Tok reaction video from Deadline, so they’ll fight about it.

Lyra Valkyria is ready to debut.

Isla Dawn is ready to use some magic to get rid of Alba Fyre.

Amari Miller vs. Lyra Valkyria

Valkyria enziguris her to the floor to start and hits the dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Miller gets kicked in the ribs and face, setting up a northern lights suplex for two. A frog splash finishes Miller at 3:01.

Rating: C-. I’ve always liked Miller as she has one of the bubbliest personalities around, but she was nothing more than cannon fodder for the debuting Valkyria. Debuting her with a squash is the best way to go for her and it isn’t like Miller is going to lose anything by getting pinned. This went as it should have, though Valkyria didn’t quite live up to the incredible hype she had built up in recent weeks.

Axiom isn’t worried about Carmelo Hayes.

Kiana James comes up to Brooks Jensen in the back, with Jensen seeming rather nervous. Jensen is worried about Fallon Henley but here is James’ assistant with a Christmas gift for Jensen: a new dress shirt which actually fits. Ok then.

Toxic Attraction jumps Katana Chance and Kayden Catanzaro.

Duke Hudson vs. Damon Kemp

Chase U is here too. Kemp starts fast and hits a running neckbreaker before hammering Hudson in the face on the mat. Cue Drew Gulak to watch but Andre Chase isn’t having this. Hudson Hulks Up and starts the comeback, setting up the big boot for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C. Speaking of quick and to the point, we have Hudson winning here despite Gulak trying to get involved. It wasn’t a particularly good or bad match, but it felt like something that is going to be part of a bigger story later. Gulak getting to do something is a good sign, though having him vs. Chase could be rather entertaining.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. Rose takes her down by the arm for two to start before Perez snaps off some armdrags. With Rose sent to the floor, Perez takes her down with a suicide dive. A whip into the steps cuts Perez off and bangs up her arm as we take a break.

Back with Perez fighting up but getting taken down by the arm again. Rose runs her over and grabs the Crossface but Perez makes the rope. Kiss From The Rose connects….for two, and Rose is stunned. The fans are split as Perez grabs a small package for two. Pop Rox connects and Perez is champion at 9:35.

Rating: C+. I was expecting a Cora Jade run-in to cut off the title change so well done on the surprise. Perez winning the title out of nowhere was a nice twist as you don’t want every major title change to take place at a big event, just for the sake of some variety. This worked well and felt like a big moment, as Perez gets the title to establish herself as the next big prospect around here. Rose can move back up to the main roster, even if she might not have the easiest time becoming a star there again.

Perez celebrates in tears and Booker T. can’t help but laugh in joy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling here was up and down, but the best thing was that the show felt like it was put together differently. They were doing things in a hurry and it never got boring. I don’t need them to do that every week, but once in awhile it’s nice to switch things up, especially coming off a show when I wasn’t expecting anything to happen. This show worked, and I’ll take that when I came in without many expectations.

Results
Wes Lee b. Stacks – Backflip kick to the head
Toxic Attraction b. Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile via DQ when Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter interfered
Odyssey Jones b. Von Wagner – Crossbody
Ikemen Jiro b. Javier Bernal – Ikemen Slash
JD McDonagh b. Brutus Creed – Devil Inside
Lyra Valkyria b. Amari Miller – Frog splash
Duke Hudson b. Damon Kemp – Big boot
Roxanne Perez b. Mandy Rose – Pop Rox

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

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

AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.