NXT
Date: October 26, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s another special show this time around with Halloween Havoc. Last year’s edition did rather well but now we need to see if they can do the same with the new cast. The main event is Tommaso Ciampa defending the NXT Title against Bron Breakker, plus a bunch of Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal matches. Let’s get to it.

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

Chuckie as in from the Child’s Play movies, welcome us to the show and runs down part of the card.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark

Shirai/Stark are defending in a ladder match, with Chuckie giving us another intro. It’s a brawl to start with Toxic Attraction being sent outside. Some ladders are thrown inside and it’s Hartwell/Pirotta going up, only to have the champs break it up with some dropkicks. Jacy Jayne kicks the ladder and breaks one of the metal pieces in the middle. Since that doesn’t work, Jayne just shoves the ladder over, leaving Stark and Dolin to kick each other over. Hartwell and Stark slug it out on top of the ladder but Pirotta sets up the big ladder.

That sets up a bunch of crashes until Pirotta has to pull Shirai down. Shirai gets dropped onto the top turnbuckle and Dolin gets powerbombed hard onto a bridged ladder in the corner. Jayne tries to go up but Shirai pulls her down onto a ladder, setting up a Lionsault onto Jayne onto the ladder. Now it’s Hartwell planting Stark onto the ladder but Shirai knocks Hartwell off the ladder. Hartwell then knocks the ladder over, sending Shirai back of the head first onto the bridged ladder. With that terrifying crash out of the way, Dolin runs up and wins the titles at 12:23.

Rating: C+. That must be the best ladder match I’ve seen in at least 22 hours. It felt like they went to the ending really fast after Shirai’s landing and at least the right team won. I don’t think there was any real doubt in the idea that Toxic Attraction was going to win here and they didn’t bother going in another direction. This had some brutal crashes, but it’s only so exciting when the most recent WWE match before this was a ladder match as well. At the very least, it’s nice to have a non-thrown together team holding the titles.

Commentary is dressed as…..themselves. Wow that’s a missed opportunity.

We now join Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams as they search through a haunted house for the North American Title, which the Way stole last week. They can’t believe they’re doing this, which I can certainly understand. We cut to Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis in the house, with Gargano saying he Home Aloned the heck out of this house. He even had help from the zombie referee from last year! Back to Williams and Hayes, with Hayes not interested in just getting a replica title. More on this later.

Video on Kay Lee Ray, who breaks a bunch of things.

Grayson Waller (who isn’t the host) is here as Dracula and promises the women will be in revealing outfits. Cue Joe Gacy to complain about things and now it’s time for him to deal with someone.

Joe Gacy vs. Malik Blade

Gacy jumps Blade to start as we cut to Harland walking around backstage in a Michael Meyers style. Another shot puts Blade down but here is Harland to grab Blade by the throat. That’s not a DQ, so Gacy hits the handspring lariat for the pin at 2:18.

Gacy talks to Harland post match.

We go to the NXT Halloween party, with Waller liking what he is seeing (the fact that a lot of the wrestlers aren’t in any kind of special costume tells you a lot about the current state of NXT). Cameron Grimes, dressed as an astronaut, hits on two women but calls them extraterrestrials instead of angels, much to their dismay. Waller gives him a pep talk.

Malcolm Bivens issues a Diamond Mine open challenge.

Odyssey Jones vs. Roderick Strong

Non-title in a rematch from a recent 205 Live. Strong kicks away at Jones, who throws him down with ease. A choke doesn’t get Strong very far so he goes with some kicks to the face instead. Jones fights back up but has to deal with the rest of the Diamond Mine, allowing Strong to hit some jumping knees. A bit one to the jaw makes Jones fall forward for the pin at 4:12 (the exact same finish as their 205 Live match).

Rating: C-. I think we can get closer to writing off Jones, as this wasn’t exactly his finest hour. It’s also not a good thing to see the same finish between the same people on two different WWE shows, even if 205 Live isn’t exactly important. The show is still broadcast by WWE, but they couldn’t even change the endings. WWE being lazy isn’t a surprise, but at least make it seem like you’re trying?

Imperium, with subtitles, promises to win the Tag Team Titles. How you have subtitles on a live interview is beyond me.

We go back to the Halloween party where no one recognized Von Wagner, Cameron Grimes promises to be in Duke Hudson’s poker room next week, and Robert Stone, as Elvis, gets put through a table by Xyon Quin. The latter makes everyone celebrate.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez is defending and comes to the ring on a motorcycle. This is Spin The Wheel Make The Deal, so Chuckie gets to spin. That would be Chuckie’s Choice, so let’s have a Trick or Street Fight. Rose starts fast with the kendo stick but gets knocked outside where Gonzalez, in lime green for quite the visual, misses a boot against the post. Some kendo stick shots rock Gonzalez again and we take a break.

Back with the fight still on at ringside, where Rose puts Gonzalez in an announcers’ chair and locks her in place with a kendo stick. Rose shoves the chair over unloads with the kendo stick again. Gonzalez, now in a hockey mask for no apparent reason, is back up with a fire extinguisher to blind Rose. A gorilla press….doesn’t quite get Rose over the middle rope so Rose gets rolled under the bottom rope instead.

Back in and Rose gets dropped face first onto some chairs in the corner so it’s time for the steps. Rose kicks those into Gonzalez’s face for another near fall but Rose can’t get her up in a double underhook. Gonzalez is back up with a spear through the table in the corner for a very near fall. Cue a woman in a Grim Reaper costume to hit Gonzalez in the back with a shovel, allowing Rose to knee her in the face the pin and the title at 11:08.

Rating: C. It was all smoke and mirrors, but that’s exactly what they needed here. Rose is not exactly a polished worker but doing all of the weapons stuff hides so much of that. This was by no means a great match and the ending was designed to protect Gonzalez. That might be a bit annoying, but it’s all about Toxic Attraction in NXT now and this was as good of a way to get there as they had.

Post match Toxic Attraction poses with their titles and the Grim Reaper is….Dakota Kai. Makes sense.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are still scared in the haunted house. Post break, they run into an old woman and a guy with his face painted and keep moving. Andre Chase pops up and the three of them see Lumis in a mirror. They turn around and Lumis isn’t there, but then he appears so running ensues. Williams and Hayes find the title, but Williams says it’s never this easy in the movies. Hayes grabs the title and everyone shows up, with Gargano saying Lumis’ house is weird. Next week, they’ll do it at Gargano’s place. Everyone gives a collective thumbs up to seemingly finish things up.

Grayson Waller is in the ring to talk about exclusive content on social media when LA Knight arrives (in the same costume). Knight had car trouble, but wants to know how Waller knew about it (that’s a classic angle from back in the day). Not that it matters as the debuting Solo Sikoa, a martial artist, clears the ring.

Bron Breakker is warming up with Chuckie watching from a locker.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Imperium

Imperium is challenging and we Spin The Wheel to Make The Deal of….Lumberjack O’Lantern (as chosen by a fan’s spin). The lumberjacks come out, in costumes, with Vic Joseph calling Wade Barrett “Stu” by mistake. Aichner throws Carter around to start so it’s off to Barthel to kick Lee in the face. Imperium gets sent outside where the lumberjacks jump them, meaning it’s a double dive from MSK.

We take a break and come back with Aichner being knocked outside again, setting up a moonsault for two on Barthel. Aichner picks up both champs at once to plant them down and take over, but the Imperial Bomb is broken up. Lee hits a big dive to take out Barthel and a bunch of lumberjacks, leaving Carter to cutter Barthel off the top and out to the floor as well.

That’s enough for the referees, who eject the lumberjacks, which makes this a rather unique lumberjack match. Another Imperial Bomb is broken up and Carter hits a middle rope Canadian Destroyer to knocks Barthel silly. The push moonsault gets two and it’s a brainbuster to drop Lee. The Imperial Bomb gives Imperium the titles back at 13:12.

Rating: C+. It was a good run for MSK, though you can’t keep the titles on them when the fans are booing the heck out of them every single week. It was better once they got rid of the lumberjacks as things settled down a lot, but Imperium getting the titles back isn’t exactly inspiring. They do their thing really well, but when your gimmick is that you are ultra serious, it is a little hard to get excited.

Chuckie introduces us to a video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker. Ciampa won the title back to start the new NXT and now Breakker is accepting the challenge for the title shot. This is all about power and force vs. experience, which makes for an interesting showdown. Chuckie taking shots at Breakker’s dad is a great Easter egg for older fans.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker

Ciampa is defending in a God Of War costume. A big shoulder puts Ciampa on the floor to start so he comes back in for a headlock. That’s fine with Breakker, who suplexes his way to freedom in a hurry. Ciampa goes to the ribs to slow Breakker down though and we hit the bodyscissors.

We take a break and come back with Ciampa hitting a middle rope ax handle to the back for two. The waistlock stays on the ribs but Breakker fights up and hits some forearms to the face as the LET’S GO CIAMPA/DOG BARKS dueling chants are on. A running shoulder puts Ciampa on the floor again but he grabs Willow’s Bell for two more. Breakker snaps off a Frankensteiner into a butterfly powerbomb for two of his own.

They slug it out with Ciampa getting the better of things. The fight heads outside, where the floor bad has been pulled back. A DDT onto the exposed concrete knocks Breakker silly (while possibly busting him open). and the Fairy Tale Ending gets two. Ciampa knees him in the face a few times and hits another Fairy Tale Ending to retain at 13:50.

Rating: B-. They had a good match, but it’s going to take some time to process Breakker losing that close to clean. I do get the idea that he isn’t ready yet (and he probably isn’t), but dang it was a little jarring to see him get pinned. Ciampa going on as champion is not a bad thing and I can imagine USA wanting to keep the title on a star rather than a project. It’s just kind of surprising to see Breakker lose so soon, even if it probably is the right call.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off rough but did settle down and got a good bit better by the end. Halloween Havoc is a tricky show to pull off and they did it well enough here, though there were some things that needed to be tweaked. They leaned pretty heavily into the goofy at times, though Chuckie being around all night was a nice touch. The title changes more than made it feel big, though your mileage on Toxic Attraction may vary. Still though, it certainly felt like an important show and that’s what they were going for. Maybe a bit too over the top at times, but it worked more than it didn’t.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark and Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell – Dolin pulled down the titles
Joe Gacy b. Malik Blade – Handspring lariat
Roderick Strong b. Odyssey Jones – Jumping knee to the face
Mandy Rose b. Raquel Gonzalez – Running knee to the face
Imperium b. MSK – Imperial Bomb to Lee
Tommaso Ciampa b. Bron Breakker – Fairy Tale Ending

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

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NXT
Date: October 5, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

Things are starting to come together around here and that’s a good thing. Now, instead of bringing in a bunch of new people, we’re seeing those wrestlers getting to do something. The pieces that have been introduced are now being put into some stories and that’s a positive sign. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the Tag Team Title situation. Tonight’s scheduled eight man tag has been changed into a four way for the titles.

Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon

The rest of Toxic Attraction is here with Mandy. Moon takes her down to start and Mandy bails to the floor, meaning it’s a suicide dive to take the team out. Back in and Mandy kicks away in the corner, setting up a bodyscissors. Moon fights up and slugs away, including a heck of a discus forearm. A middle rope Codebreaker drops Mandy again but Moon has to bail out of an Eclipse attempt. Mandy’s running knee finishes Moon at 4:35.

Rating: C-. If they want to make Mandy into the next big thing, this is how you go about doing it: short matches where she can pick up wins, including over someone like Moon. While she has fallen a long way, Moon still has some name value and it is a good move to have Rose go over her. Mandy plays her part well, and keeping the match short made it even better.

Legado de Fantasma isn’t done with Hit Row and Santos Escobar wants Isaiah Scott’s North American Title.

Odyssey Jones vs. LA Knight

Jones throws him around to start, including one heck of a toss into the corner. Knight needs a breather on the floor before Jones runs him over back inside. Knight manages to get in a shot of his own but a cover only gets one. For some reason Knight tries a slam, which goes as well for him as you would expect. Cue Andre Chase for a distraction though and Knight scores with a jumping neckbreaker for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C. Another short match and again, that is probably the right idea. Jones is a huge guy and it should be a case of less is more. Don’t let the fans get worn out on a guy that size who can move like that. Let him get the crowd’s attention and then leave, as now they want to see him pummel Chase, as is the plan.

Cameron Grimes says love is in the air around here and wants to find a lucky lady of her own. Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland come up with Dunne throwing out a challenge for tonight. Grimes heads off to hit on some women instead.

Kyle O’Reilly asks Von Wagner why he has been helping him. Wagner says he respects O’Reilly but Kyle doesn’t trust anyone. O’Reilly appreciates it but wants Wagner to leave him alone. Wagner is going to need some help with the talking.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. Halloween Havoc is back on October 26 and the champ needs a challenger. He knows that Bron Breakker has been circling around but who has the guts to come out here and face him? Cue Bron Breakker, who says he doesn’t care how long he has been here because he wants the NXT Title. Ciampa says Breakker wants the title but Ciampa needs it. Breakker sees it as a stepping stone to something bigger and better, but to Ciampa, it is something bigger and better. That leaves Breakker with three weeks to get ready, because challenge accepted. Breakker’s Steiner was showing here again.

Joe Gacy talks about how he wasn’t worried when social media crashed yesterday. Tonight, the ring is his safe space.

Persia Pirotta is here with Indi Hartwell and talking about how great the honeymoon was. Indi wore Dexter Lumis out by going through two packs. After saying Lumis is 9.5, they find a door with smoke coming out from underneath and find….Tian Sha, who throws them out.

Joe Gacy vs. Ikemen Jiro

Jiro shoulders him to start and Gacy encourages him to do it again. That earns him a running armdrag and a hurricanrana, meaning Gacy wants a breather. Gacy runs him over but Jiro slips out of a slam. Jiro tosses him down again but misses the Ikemen Slash. The handspring clothesline finishes for Gacy at 3:08.

Rating: D+. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen a gimmick that beat you over the head as hard as Gacy. There might as well be a big sign over his head explaining the joke every time for how subtle the whole thing is. It isn’t funny and the matches aren’t exactly great, but I’m sure the people writing it are having a great time so we aren’t getting away from it anytime soon.

Post match, Gacy picks him up for a bit of an awkward hug. As Gacy leaves, a guy stares down at him from the stands and Gacy smiles back up at him.

Cora Jade likes to skateboard.

Duke Hudson is a wrestler and a professional poker player with his own Duke’s Poker Room. He’ll take your belt or your money. Or your Swinger’s Palace.

Cora Jade vs. Virginia Ferry

Hold on though as here is Frankie Monet to jump Ferry and take her place.

Cora Jade vs. Frankie Monet

Monet hits the running knees in the corner to start so here is Trey Baxter to cheer Jade on. A stomp has Jade in more trouble and a spear cuts her in half. Not that it matters as Jade rolls her up for the pin at 2:04.

The Grizzled Young Veterans come up to MSK in the back. Let’s just make the title match elimination rules? Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen and Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes come in for the brawl.

Tommaso Ciampa is ready for Bron Breakker but Joe Gacy comes in. Gacy thinks Ciampa is putting forth his privilege as champion and would like a shot of his own. Ciampa says if Gacy can beat him next week, Halloween Havoc can be a three way. Just remember that the ring isn’t going to be a safe space for Gacy.

Pete Dunne vs. Cameron Grimes

Ridge Holland is here with Dunne. They trade wristlocks to start with Dunne getting the better of things. Back up and a running hurricanrana gets Grimes out of trouble, setting up an armdrag into an armbar. Dunne kicks him down again but misses a charge in the corner, allowing Grimes to hit a good high crossbody for two. A double stomp to the hands slows Grimes back down but he is back up with a bridging German suplex for two more. Holland goes for the distraction, drawing out Kyle O’Reilly for the save. The distraction lets Dunne hit the Bitter End for the pin at 5:40.

Rating: C+. I could have gone for more of this as these two had some chemistry. It’s always nice to see some of the people who can have a good match getting the chance to do so and it worked out well enough here. Dunne winning off the distraction is fine as Grimes saves some face, but he’s over enough that a loss to a more established star isn’t going to hurt him.

Post match Dunne and Holland lay out O’Reilly.

Hit Row isn’t running from NXT but running to the money. Smackdown wanted them and that’s where they’re going. They’re ready to finish things with Legado del Fantasma and Santos Escobar can have his title shot.

During the break, Von Wagner helped Kyle O’Reilly up.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Malik Blade

The fans go nuts for D’Angelo, who talks a lot and grabs a headlock to start. A running shoulder sets up another headlock as commentary talks about D’Angelo’s, ahem, businesses, with all the subtly of a pair of concrete shoes. Blade manages to get in a shot and head outside, only to walk into a spear. A waistlock sets up an abdominal stretch but Blade fights up and hits a high crossbody. Some rolling suplexes set up a fisherman’s neckbreaker to finish Blade at 4:44.

Rating: C. Oh man this has potential. The fans were loving D’Angelo and it certainly felt like a case where they’re in on the joke of how bad he really is. D’Angelo looks like an athlete but there were a lot of instances of pausing for holds here as it didn’t seem like they were ready. The fans were absolutely loving it though and it is a rare case where they were able to bring this WAY higher than it would have been otherwise.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are bout it and ready to win the Tag Team Titles without using Hayes’ contract.

Indi Hartwell vs. Mei Ying

Persia Pirotta is here with Hartwell and Boa is with Ying. We get a MRS. LUMIS chant as Ying hammers away to start and grabs the nerve hold. The Tongan Death Grip has Indi on the floor but Ying lets go and kicks Persia in the face by mistake. Indi posts Ying and hits a springboard clothesline for the surprise pin at 2:52.

Lash Legend is talking about how great her show will be next week. Tony D’Angelo comes in and wants to be her guest, which works for Legend. She takes credit for shutting down Facebook and Instagram yesterday because her show was so hot.

Malcolm Bivens introduces the Diamond Mine and gives us a quick bio of every member. More stuff like this please, as you need to get to know these people.

Raquel Gonzalez thinks Mandy Rose’s hair dye has gotten into her brain because Mandy doesn’t know who she is messing with. Touch her title again and Mandy can start posing for a body cast. Cue Toxic Attraction to say Raquel is coming off desperate. The three of them talk about how great they are but Gonzalez says she can only look at the staples in Gigi Dolin’s head from when Gonzalez hit her with the belt. Jacy Jayne says they’ll hold all of the gold soon because they’re THE attraction. Gonzalez is surrounded but Zoey Stark and Io Shirai run in for the save.

Von Wagner comes in to tell Kyle O’Reilly that they’re facing Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland. O’Reilly isn’t happy.

Raquel Gonzalez, Io Shirai and Zoey Stark are ready for Toxic Attraction but Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta come in to say they’re coming for the titles. Shirai said the only gold they’re wearing is in their ears.

Tag Team Titles: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes vs. MSK

MSK is defending and it’s elimination rules. Wes Lee rolls Zack Gibson up for two to start and it’s off to Nash Carter for the rapid fire kicks to the chest. That’s enough to send Gibson over for the tag to Hayes, who drops Lee in a hurry. Williams comes in and clotheslines Jensen, who cuts Hayes off with an atomic drop. A double shoulders sends Hayes over to Williams, who gets booted in the face. Lee comes back in and sends Williams outside for a suicide dive. Back in and the Hart Attack Blockbuster pins Williams at 3:55.

We take a break and come back with the Veterans working over Lee, including some choking on the ropes. Lee gets away and brings Carter back in though, allowing house to be cleaned. A moonsault to the floor drops the Veterans but Gibson drops Lee. Briggs makes a blind tag though and a double powerbomb finishes Gibson to get rid of the Veterans at 10:30. Briggs’ running boot into a Russian legsweep from Jensen gets two on Lee. There’s a huge double spinebuster to plant Lee again but Carter breaks up the double powerbomb. Lee hurricanranas Jensen to retain at 12:32.

Rating: C+. I like the elimination rules, but MSK needs to drop the titles pretty soon. That being said, outside of the Veterans, who are they supposed to drop them to? The country boys? Hayes and the new guy who shouts bout it all the time? I’m sure the Veterans aren’t gimmicky enough for this NXT though and that shouldn’t be a big surprise. Nice match, but they need to shake up the titles sooner than later.

Post match Briggs and Jensen pick up the titles….and hand them to MSK. The fans want Melo but get Imperium jumping MSK instead. Briggs and Jensen run in for a late save. Fans: “THANK YOU IMPERIUM!” This really didn’t do the division or the titles any favors, but there is in fact a division there now, which is more than you can say about the main roster.

Overall Rating: C. This was a big step back for NXT and I’m scared that it’s a sign of things to come. A lot of this show felt like WWE saying “this is what you’re getting and we don’t care if you like it”. Maybe the live fans were complaining for the sake of complaining, but it was pretty clear that they weren’t happy with a good bit of this.

Between Toxic Attraction doing their best Beautiful People impression to Duke Hudson suddenly copying Johnny Swinger to that wacky Joe Gacy to Imperium vs. MSK, there wasn’t much to get excited about around here. That seems to be NXT in a nutshell, but at least Vince’s lovable gang of goons have their jobs instead of HHH right?

Results
Mandy Rose b. Ember Moon – Running knee
LA Knight b. Odyssey Jones – Jumping neckbreaker
Joe Gacy b. Ikemen Jiro – Handspring lariat
Cora Jade b. Frankie Monet – Victory roll
Pete Dunne b. Cameron Grimes – Bitter End
Tony D’Angelo b. Malik Blade – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Indi Hartwell b. Mei Ying – Springfield clothesline
MSK b. Grizzled Young Veterans, Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen and Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams last eliminating Briggs/Brooks Jensen

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

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AND

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

NXT
Date: August 3, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix.

We are less than three weeks away from Takeover and after last week, we have a new main event for the show as Samoa Joe will challenge Karrion Kross for the NXT Title. Granted Kross might not mean as much after how things have gone on Monday Night Raw, I’m not sure how much that is going to be worth. Other than that, more things will be happening. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Hit Row

Santos Escobar and the rest of Hit Row is at ringside. It’s a brawl to start with Legado being knocked outside until Mendoza and Adonis slug it out inside. A whip into the corner takes Mendoza down and a neckbreaker makes it worse. Top Dolla comes in to throw people around, including running both of them over. Hold on though as Escobar gets up for a distraction, allowing Mendoza to low bridge Adonis to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Adonis getting planted with a double spinebuster into a chinlock. Back up and some running clotheslines in the corner set up a moonsault for two. Mendoza’s chinlock doesn’t last long either as Adonis gets up for a dropkick. That’s enough for the hot tag off to Dolla to clean house. Legado is rocked but Escobar hits Dolla in the back with a chair for the DQ at 10:52.

Rating: C+. It was nice while it lasted but they were smart to not have a definitive ending here. This is all but guaranteed to have some kind of a big match at Takeover (or maybe even two of them) so there was zero reason to have a clean fall here. Hit Row shouldn’t be losing, but you also don’t want Legado taking another loss until it’s on a big stage. The ending might be annoying, but it was the right call.

Post match the beatdown is on with Escobar stealing Swerve’s grill. The Pillmanizing of the neck is broken up though and Dolla sends Legado running. Escobar still has the grill.

William Regal tells Samoa Joe to not get physical until Takeover.

We look back at the return of Ridge Holland last week to wreck Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher.

Dexter Lumis is drawing INDEX over and over.

Ridge Holland vs. Ikemen Jiro

Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan are here too. An uppercut drops Jiro in a hurry and we’re already off to a chinlock. Jiro fights up but gets knocked outside in a hurry. The big tackle sends Jiro hard into the barricade, allowing Holland to take off the jacket, which is high treason against Jiro. A headbutt into Northern Grit finishes Jiro at 3:12.

Rating: C. This was all it needed to be as Holland destroyed someone with a minor name. Holland is going to need ring time after being gone for so long (and not being around that long before he was put on the shelf). Holland is a monster who can wreck people for a good while while he develops and that should work fine for the time being.

Post match Pete Dunne says they’re ready to destroy Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa, because Holland is a real man.

Frankie Monet blames Robert Stone for her loss last week. The Robert Stone Brand is used to losing but that is not what she does. Stone seems to accept responsibility as Monet and Jessi Kamea leave.

Video on Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish.

Video on Trey Baxter, who is All Heart.

Roderick Strong vs. Bobby Fish

The rest of the Diamond Mine is here too. They go technical to start with Fish grabbing a headlock into a suplex to take Strong down. The grappling on the mat goes to Strong until he lands a kick to the chest. Fish is fine enough to take him into the corner as Malcolm Bivens is looking worried on the floor. Strong gets knocked to the apron and we take a break.

Back with Strong taking him down for another chinlock but Fish fights up again. A fish hook gives Fish a breather and it’s time to strike away at Strong. Some chops stagger Fish and a belly to back faceplant puts him down again. Fish is back with a rollup for two but Strong knees him in the face. End of Heartache finishes Fish at 12:45.

Rating: C+. Only way this one could have gone as Fish isn’t going to win any important match right now. Strong seems to be on the rise and a Cruiserweight Title match against Kushida at Takeover would make sense. You almost have to get the Fish match out of the way though and it gives Strong a nice win on the way there.

Cameron Grimes is ready for the tag match tonight but LA Knight wants him to be more serious. Grimes promises to be there for him and Knight will have his back too. For now though, Grimes has a boot to polish.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Cameron Grimes/LA Knight

Grimes is still in his tuxedo. Before the match, the Veterans say they don’t like Grimes and Knight and want them out of their way. Grimes and Gibson start things off but it’s quickly off to Knight, who gets caught with a clothesline. Drake comes in to forearm away but a neckbreaker gets Knight out of trouble. It’s back to Grimes, who gets distracted by Knight and taken into the wrong corner.

Grimes manages to backdrop his way out of trouble but Knight walks off, saying Grimes can do this on his own. That’s fine with Grimes, who takes off the gloves and sends the Veterans into each other. A double hurricanrana puts the Veterans on the floor and Grimes snaps off the flipping powerslam for two on Drake. Gibson comes back in though and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem for the pin at 4:42.

Rating: C. This was angle advancement and that’s fine. The big blowoff match is coming at Takeover and that is the right way to go for Grimes and Knight. Grimes needs to get the big win and probably will, which will be even better now that they have put in the effort like this. The Veterans even got to win something for a bonus too!

Post match Ted DiBiase comes out to say that Grimes is a man of his word, but he needs to find a way out of this.

Video on Samoa Joe.

We look back at Dakota Kai turning on Raquel Gonzalez last week.

Dakota Kai talks about how she found Raquel Gonzalez and helped bring her up. They were friends and partners, but it was all Kai’s doing. Then Io Shirai gave Gonzalez the Women’s Title shot at Takeover: Stand & Deliver and won the title. That should have been Kai’s, because she plucked Gonzalez out of security. Kai is more than Gonzalez’s sidekick and the only opportunity should be hers. How does it feel knowing that the person standing next to you is about to kick your head off? Kai brought her into this world and now she is going to take her out of it by winning the Women’s Title. Logical explanation.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae are sick of Dexter Lumis messing with the Way. Tonight, Gargano is ending InDex for good.

Joe Gacy won’t be controlled until he wins the Breakout Tournament. After that, sure why not.

Adam Cole has a neck injury after last week’s attack at the hands of Kyle O’Reilly. We look at the attack again.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Trey Baxter vs. Joe Gacy

The smaller Baxter tries a waistlock to start but gets thrown into the corner for his efforts. A dropkick puts Gacy on the floor but he catches a dive by sending Baxter into the ropes. That lets Gacy knock Baxter silly again and we hit the neck crank back inside. Baxter reverses into a quickly broken choke and Gacy suplexes him down for two. The neck crank is on again but Baxter escapes just as quickly.

A missile dropkick sends Gacy outside and this time the suicide dive works. Back in and a slingshot splash gets two but Gacy sends him into the corner for a Cannonball. Gacy takes him up but Baxter slips off and sends him into the ropes. Baxter hits a quick middle rope 450 stomp (or maybe he just didn’t rotate properly) for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C+. I liked what we got here but Baxter needs to either pick a 450 or a stomp because it was messy enough that I couldn’t really tell what he was trying. At the same time, Gacy winning would have been nice as the roster could use someone built like him rather than another cruiserweight style guy. Baxter was good though and will be fine as an appetizer for Odyssey Jones in the semifinals.

Zoey Stark and Io Shirai get sushi and Stark is rather confused/disgusted. Food is thrown away when Shirai isn’t looking and Stark gets stuck with the bill. Shirai hugs the waitress, who says they don’t know each other but speak the same language. The two of them leave and Stark is somewhere between annoyed and disgusted by the food.

Indi Hartwell wishes the Way would give Dexter Lumis a chance because he isn’t a bad guy. Tonight, we’ll see how much he cares.

Commentary talks about Johnny Gargano vs. Dexter Lumis but Karrion Kross interrupts to stand on the announcers’ table and call out Samoa Joe. Cue Joe, who fights through security and chokes one of them out but Kross has escaped. Joe shouts a lot.

We get the Prime Target video on Ilja Dragunov vs. Walter II. They beat each other so horribly in the first match and everyone is talking about it. Dragunov talks about how angry and aggressive he has been since the first match because he knows something was missing. The rematch will take place at Takeover, and Walter says he is unbeatable on his best day. Dragunov says he has the stamina and mental toughness, which is why he can take the title. We see clips from the press conference with Dragunov getting in Walter’s head as he’s smarter this time around. This is going to be awesome.

Kushida says of course Roderick Strong can have a Cruiserweight Title shot.

Dexter Lumis vs. Johnny Gargano

Love Her Or Leave Her, which technically means the winner gets Indi Hartwell. Gargano shouts about how Lumis has to go through him to get her and starts in on the arm. Lumis is back up with a dropkick but gets sent outside as Hartwell comes out. The distraction lets Lumis get in a Thesz press back inside to hammer away and slowly stalk Gargano in the corner. Gargano is back up to knock Lumis outside, with Lumis going under the ring. Hartwell goes after him so here is Candice LeRae to help pull her out….with her hands interlocked with Lumis’.

We take a break and come back with Gargano winning a slugout but getting caught in a spinebuster. The Silence is broken up with Lumis being elbowed to the floor. Gargano hits his suicide dive and yells at Beth Phoenix, with the distraction allowing Lumis to block the slingshot spear. A slingshot Falcon Arrow gives Lumis two but Gargano’s superkick gets the same. Lumis runs him over again but misses the springboard elbow. The Gargano Escape goes on until Lumis reaches out to Hartwell/the rope for the break. Lumis’ rollup gets two and the kickout sends him into Hartwell. One Final Beat finishes Lumis at 12:53.

Rating: C. I was getting into the love conquers all story and you know this isn’t going to be the end of the thing. It’s a fine enough story, but Lumis is still not doing anything for me for the most part. This isn’t exactly the most thrilling stuff, but Beth being so into the romance thing and Hartwell in general are making it work well enough. Just…please find something to make Lumis more interesting somehow.

Post match Hartwell goes to leave with the Way but then runs back and dives on Lumis for the big kiss as Beth Phoenix screams about InDex to end the show. Makes enough sense (while not doing much for the stipulation), as Hartwell never said she was leaving anyone.

Overall Rating: C+. Nothing really jumped off the page here but it was an easy to swallow use of two hours. The good thing is you can see almost all of (if not all of) Takeover from here. NXT knows how to set up a card and then make it come into reality. That’s what they did a lot of here, making it more efficient/important than good.

It’s also nice to see how logical things are around here. There might be some things that don’t make a ton of sense at first, but NXT knows how to tie them together. It is such a jarring change of pace from Raw, where things seem like they are happening at random and if they can be made somewhat coherent later, so be it then. NXT feels like they have this planned out and that can make all kinds of difference.

Results
Hit Row b. Legado del Fantasma via DQ when Santos Escobar interfered
Ridge Holland b. Ikemen Jiro – Northern Grit
Roderick Strong b. Bobby Fish – End of Heartache
Grizzled Young Veterans b. Cameron Grimes/LA Knight – Ticket to Mayhem to Grimes
Trey Baxter b. Joe Gacy – Middle rope 450 stomp
Johnny Gargano b. Dexter Lumis – One Final Beat

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

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NXT
Date: July 20, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Things are getting interesting around here as Karrion Kross choked out Samoa Joe last week, only to go up to Raw and get pinned in less than two minutes by Jeff Hardy. That would suggest that a title change is afoot, and hopefully they find an interesting way to set it up. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look back at Karrion Kross choking out Samoa Joe.

Here is Samoa Joe to get things going and he looks ready to fight. Joe calls him out but gets William Regal instead. Regal says this isn’t what they agreed to and Joe can’t do this but Joe says he was provoked. Did Regal know about Kross’ trip to Raw last week? Of course not, because Regal doesn’t control the man. Regal says Kross is on his way here and things will be settled peacefully. Joe says that due to his respect for Regal, this will end tonight, but he can’t guarantee peace, because someone is going to sleep. Big difference between Raw and NXT: the opening sequence is done five minutes after the show starts.

Xia Li is ready to defeat Raquel Gonzalez and become Women’s Champion because she has been waiting for this chance.

Tyler Rust/Roderick Strong vs. Kushida/Bobby Fish

The rest of the Diamond Mine is here too but Kushida and Fish jump them from behind to start and clear the ring before the bell. We take a break and come back joined in progress with both of Strong’s arms being cranked on, setting up a double armbar from Kushida. That’s broken up and Rust comes in, only to get caught with Fish’s slingshot hilo. Kushida comes back in but has to fight out of the corner.

Strong goes back to basics with the backbreaker to take over and the chops in the corner keep Kushida in trouble. There’s the butterfly suplex for two and the chinlock goes on. That doesn’t last long as Kushida fights up and hits the double handspring elbow. Fish gets the tag and it’s time to clean house (including telling Rust which corner to go to) again. Everything breaks down with the good guys being knocked outside as we take a break.

Back with Fish still in trouble, with Rust hitting an ax kick for two. The arm cranking goes on but Fish manages a spinebuster, setting up the hot tag to Kushida. The hiptoss into the basement dropkick drops Strong and a kick to the head gets two. Rust comes back in and gets enziguried but he switches a half crab into the ankle lock. That’s broken up as well so Kushida pulls him into the Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 15:02.

Rating: C+. This is a feud that is technically fine but it is not exactly a thrilling story. Kushida is rapidly becoming the “I forgot he was champion” champion and that is a bad sign for his title reign. Having the other guy in the team tap to a champion isn’t a bad thing, as the Diamond Mine is more about Strong than anyone else. Just get them a big win soonish.

LA Knight arrived earlier, with Cameron Grimes driving. Knight tells him to get all of the bags (all four of them), so Grimes has a story carrying bags. As Knight freaks out about Grimes having a story for everything, Drake Maverick comes up to give Grimes a hand with the bags. That’s not cool with Knight, so a match with Maverick is set up for later.

The next Takeover is August 22, the day after Summerslam.

Video on Odyssey Jones, who is in the Breakout Tournament tonight.

Frankie Monet vs. Jacy Jane

Jessie Kamea is here with Frankie but Robert Stone joins them, seemingly sans invitation. Monet misses a right hand and gets rolled up, only to get sent into the corner. Jane misses a charge and Monet hits the running knees in the corner. The chinlock goes on and here is Mandy Rose to lay on the commentary table. Jane fights up and hits a pump kick as Barrett tries to give Rose his number. A running neckbreaker gives Jane two but Jane yells at Rose, allowing Monet to hit Road To Valhalla for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one and a lot of that was over having a bit too much going on. You had Stone and Rose at ringside, plus a no name like Jane putting up a pretty good fight. Monet has lost a bit of her personality since getting here, but that is often the case with someone who has something that works outside of NXT. It should come back over time, but it makes for a bit of a rough start.

Kyle O’Reilly is arguing with Johnny Gargano when Austin Theory comes in. Theory vs. O’Reilly is set for later, with O’Reilly saying he is putting his dancing shoes on. Gargano dubs himself Papa John.

The next two weeks are on SyFy due to the Olympics.

Bronson Reed had a sitdown interview with Wade Barrett earlier today and talked about how losing the North American Title was a hard thing to take. He has to move forward though, and that includes facing Adam Cole next week. Reed wants to fight the best and he already shut Cole down last week. He’ll do it again in the ring.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Austin Theory

No one is here with Theory, who loads up the no look high five anyway, only to realize his mistake. Feeling out process to start with O’Reilly taking him down but missing a shot in the corner. That lets Theory headlock takeover him and talk to the camera a bit. That’s broken up and O’Reilly low bridges him to the apron, setting up a running knee to the back. We take a break and come back with O’Reilly striking away but Theory fights back. A slingshot rolling dropkick is countered into a heel hook, sending Theory straight to the rope.

Theory hits a slingshot stomp into an armbar but O’Reilly escapes and grabs an ankle lock. Theory grabs the rope and plants him for but stops to go after the steps. O’Reilly is all ticked off and sends Theory into various things, which commentary thinks is a flashback to the brainbuster onto the steps. Another shot to the head drops Theory and the top rope knee to the knee connect. The heel hook makes Theory tap at 14:09.

Rating: C+. This was a nice, hard hitting fight and that’s what it should have been. I know Theory plays the idiot really well but it is nice to see him getting to do something else every now and then. He has a lot of talent in the ring and getting to showcase it is one of the best things he can do. O’Reilly snapping was pretty awesome though and I could go for more of that kind of personality.

Raquel Gonzalez, with Dakota Kai, is ready to destroy Xia Li and then there will be no one left. That last line gets a look from Kai.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for the MARIACHI MADNESS MUSICAL (complete with a band) but Santos Escobar says these people don’t deserve it. He isn’t here to be like Hit Row because this isn’t a battle of styles. His style is to be the real champion with blood, sweat and tradition…but here is Hit Row to interrupt. Rhyming and Spanish ensue, with Top Dolla talking about how much better they are and Swerve talking about how it took all three of Legado to beat him.

Swerve can’t believe that there were kidnappings in the parking lot but the guys got returned. The challenge is on and Hit Row is ready with the brawl being on. Escobar loads up a guitar but B Fab takes it away. Swerve misses the big swing and Escobar bails, leaving Mendoza alone with the entire Hit Row. The guitar is cracked over Mendoza’s back and Hit Row stands tall. The gimmick is absolutely not my thing but there is absolutely something here with them.

The Way is complaining about the issues they have been having lately, with Indi Hartwell saying Theory can kiss Dexter if he wants to. Candice: “Ok I’m calling the therapist.” Everyone but Theory bickers so he leaves.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Andre Chase vs. Odyssey Jones

Chase strikes away at the much bigger Jones and manages to knock him to the floor. The big dive mostly connects and Chase posts him for a bonus. Back in and a dropkick to the knee sends Jones face first into the buckle and a slingshot flipping Stunner staggers him as well. Chase hits a top rope moonsault press for two and he charges at Jones, only to get caught in kind of a lifting Boss Man Slam for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: D. This really didn’t work and Jones is little more than a guy with size. That is going to work for a bit, but he really didn’t showcase himself well here. Chase could only do so much here and he was pretty limited due to what Jones was doing. Not a good display here for Jones, though Chase looked fine enough.

MSK is ready for anything but McKenzie Mitchell points out we still don’t know what MSK stands for. Wes Lee is about to explain but Imperium interrupts the feed to say they are serious, unlike all of these goofy teams. They are fixing this by any means necessary. Cut back to Lee: “And that’s what MSK stands for.” Yay, Imperium.

Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan want to have a scrap with Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa next week.

LA Knight vs. Drake Maverick

Non-title and Cameron Grimes is here with Knight. Maverick starts fast with a dropkick to the knee but Knight is right back with a knockdown of his own. Hold on though as Knight makes sure that Grimes is holding the title up through the whole match. Maverick snaps off a hurricanrana and nails a high crossbody for one. Knight runs him over again but stops to yell at Grimes, allowing Maverick to grab a rollup pin at 2:28.

Post match Knight beats Maverick down but Grimes pulls him off. Grimes goes to leave but Knight orders him to do it. He has Grimes’ word, so Grimes reluctantly hits Maverick and eventually leaves with Knight.

Video on Xia Li vs. Raquel Gonzalez.

A guy who looks a bit like Karrion Kross arrives so Joe jumps him, only to be told that Kross came in through the front.

Women’s Title: Xia Li vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez is defending and has Dakota Kai in her corner. Li goes right at her for a test of strength but gets slammed down. That’s fine with Li, who tries to climb over her for a sunset flip but gets sent into the corner. A big boot puts Li on the floor for a lawn dart into the post to keep her in trouble. Gonzalez misses a big boot though and the leg is wrapped around the post, with Li swinging it into the steel a few times.

We take a break and come back with Li working on the leg again. The half crab is broken up and Gonzalez hits a good looking dropkick for two. Li rolls her up for the same and kicks Gonzalez’s knee out again. There’s a running kick for two more but Gonzalez runs her over again. A Vader Bomb spun into a backsplash gives Gonzalez two and hang on as the medical staff has to check on Li. Things are allowed to continue after a few minutes and it’s the lifting powerbomb to give Gonzalez the pin at 10:50.

Rating: C+. This was a good hoss fight but I’m curious to know what happened on that landing. The match just stopped cold and they went home immediately, so hopefully it was nothing more than Li having the wind knocked out of her. It was a hard hitting match and that’s all you could ask for here, though Gonzalez is starting to run out of readily available challengers.

Post match here is Samoa Joe to demand that the young champion come out here right now and take his beating. Karrion Kross pops up on the screen to say this is his world now. He is the new beginning and the title means that he can go anywhere and do anything he wants. For example….and we cut to a knocked out William Regal. Kross: “Hey Joe, do you still feel like you’re in control?” Kross gets in his car and leaves to end the show, with Joe showing up just too late.

Overall Rating: C+. For a show where no one was going to be watching in the second hour due to the NBA Finals, this worked out pretty well. Things were moved forward towards Takeover and I’m curious to see what we are going to be getting. You can see a good bit of the card from here and as usual, things should work out. Not a great show, but a fine use of two hours, as is the NXT mantra.

Results
Kushida/Bobby Fish b. Tyler Rust/Roderick Strong – Hoverboard Lock to Rust
Frankie Monet b. Jacy Jane – Road To Valhalla
Kyle O’Reilly b. Austin Theory – Heel hook
Odyssey Jones b. Andre Chase – Lifting Boss Man Slam
Drake Maverick b. LA Knight – Rollup
Raquel Gonzalez b. Xia Li – Lifting powerbomb

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

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AND

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

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

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

In Memory Of Paul Orndorff.

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

Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tyler Rust vs. Bobby Fish

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

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

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

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

Gigi Dolin vs. Sarray

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

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

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

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

Dexter Lumis vs. Santos Escobar

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Breakout Tournament First Round: Duke Hudson vs. Ikemen Jiro

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

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

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

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

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Robert Stone Brand

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Karrion Kross

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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

NXT
Date: June 22, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s another pretty big show this week as Kyle O’Reilly faces Kushida. That’s an interesting way to go but it doesn’t do much good for the Cruiserweight Title. The easiest way to make a title valuable is to have people fight over it and the title isn’t on the line here. We also find out what the Diamond Mine is, which has me curious. Let’s get to it.

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

The narrated recap talks about Samoa Joe’s return last week and the chaos between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly.

Here is Adam Cole to pick his opponent for his match against Kyle O’Reilly. Cole isn’t going to do that because no one is going to tell him what to do. Samoa Joe may be back, but he isn’t the big star around here anymore. Cue Carmelo Hayes to say he’ll change Cole’s mind. Cole wants to know how so Hayes says RUTHLESS AGGRESSION and slaps him in the face to start things off.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Adam Cole

Hayes starts fast by hitting a springboard clothesline to put Cole on the floor, setting up the big dive. Back in and Cole stomps away in the corner, setting up a suplex so he can wipe the dust off of his hands. A neckbreaker looks to set up a low superkick but Hayes is back up with a hard clothesline for two. Hayes tries to go up but gets knocked to the floor in a heap.

Back to back whips into the barricade take us to a break with Hayes in trouble. We come back with Cole hitting a running knee in the corner but Hayes is back with a pump kick. Something like a suplex into a cutter gets two on Cole, who grabs a Backstabber for two of his own. Cole goes up but dives into a superkick, only to get superkicked out of the air as well. The Panama Sunrise finishes for Cole at 12:27.

Rating: B-. You can feel the potential with Hayes, who has the poise and skill to back it up. He doesn’t seem like someone who is trying to get in everything he can but rather having a match that he has planned out. It worked well here, and having him hang with Cole for twelve minutes is a good idea.

Frankie Monet is talking to the Robert Stone Brand about how they are all going to win their matches tonight. Robert Stone comes in and gets scared by Frankie’s dog.

Zoey Stark helped Io Shirai last week because Shirai gave her the big break around here. Shirai comes in to say she respects Stark.

LA Knight talks about taking out Cameron Grimes and the fans chanting or Cameron Grimes. It turns out that Grimes cares about DiBiase instead of the money. That makes Grimes a total idiot and Knight will drink to that for sure.

Here is the Way for a chat. Johnny Gargano thinks he should be the handsome, hard working, headband working, respectable family man to be the NXT Champion again. He was champion for 57 days and NXT has never been better. At Takeover, Gargano outclassed Karrion Kross and he can do it again any day. Cue Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan to interrupt and Austin Theory isn’t happy. Dunne tells him to try it but Gargano calls them off. They don’t partake of in hijinks or shenanigans anymore and it’s time to go. Gargano leaves but Theory stops to point fingers at Dunne, earning him a snap. That’s perfect Theory.

Cameron Grimes arrived earlier and paid some of the attendants for being nice. Someone asked how Ted DiBiase was doing at the nursing home and gets punched in the face. Grimes throws some money at him and says that was for Ted.

Adam Cole isn’t talking about Kyle O’Reilly when William Regal comes in. Regal says there is no animosity between Cole and Samoa Joe. Cole provoked him and got Clutched out, so that’s it. That’s not enough for Cole, but he leaves anyway.

The battery from last week is now at 31%.

Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory go into William Regal’s office to complain about Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan. Gargano wants consequences and bribes Regal with a new pencil. Regal has an idea: a tag match for later tonight.

Zoey Stark/Io Shirai vs. Robert Stone Brand

Shirai fireman’s carries Aliyah to start but puts her down to chop away. A flapjack plants her again and there’s a basement dropkick to the side of Aliyah’s head. The slingshot knees to the chest connect and it’s off to Stark for an armbar. A sliding clothesline drops Aliyah again so it’s off to Kamea, who hits a rolling kick to the face for two. Stark comes back in for a running double stomp to the back but Kamea elbows her down again.

Cue the Way to watch and the distraction lets Kamea drop Stark as we take a break. Back with Stark still in trouble, including Kamea dropping Aliyah down onto her for two. The bodyscissors goes on but Stark gets over the hot tag to Shirai. House is cleaned for a bit until Aliyah grabs a northern lights suplex. That doesn’t last long either as it’s back to Stark for a suplex of her own, setting up the moonsault to finish Kamea at 9:42.

Rating: C. The Stone Brand continues to be lovable losers and little more than that. They still don’t exactly feel like major stars, but at least they are established enough to lose a match like this and still make the other team feel like they did a little something. Odds are they are going to be pawns for Frankie Monet in one way or another and that is not a bad place for them.

Post match here are Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to help the Way surround Stark and Shirai. The brawl is almost on but Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart come in as well as the Way stays on the floor. Samoa Joe comes out to call in security to break things up.

Kushida is looking forward to his match with Kyle O’Reilly.

We look back at Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher beating the Grizzled Young Veterans. As a result, Thatcher and Ciampa get a Tag Team Title shot at the Great American Bash.

The Way vs. Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan

Gargano armdrags Dunne down to start and hands it off to Theory, who uses his bad hand for a not very bright chop. Dunne takes Theory down and starts cranking on various limbs before taking him into the corner. Lorcan comes in to work on the wrist but Theory gets in a quick shot for two of his own. Dunne isn’t having that and takes him back down to crank on the arm, including some finger bending.

We hit the seated armbar into the kick to the bad arm but Theory manages to fight up. After knocking Lorcan to the floor, Theory hits a big dive to take him down but it’s a double half nelson slam onto the apron to send us to a break. Back with the arm stomping continuing but Theory kicks Dunne into the corner. Lorcan is right there in time to break up the tag, meaning it’s a big forearm allowing the tag to Gargano.

House is cleaned and it’s rather quickly back to Theory for a springboard Spanish Fly for two on Lorcan. Gargano escapes the Bitter End though and Dunne is planted with a DDT. A running Blockbuster drops Theory so Dunne comes back in to kick him down, setting up the arm cranking until Gargano makes the save.

Gargano comes back in to kick away at Dunne, including the rolling version to send him outside. Back in and Dunne is sent into Lorcan but it’s a half nelson slam/powerbomb combination for two on Gargano. Theory makes the save but can’t hit his own powerbomb to Dunne. An enziguri drops Lorcan again but Gargano is back up with a suicide DDT to Dunne on the floor. One Final Beat finishes Lorcan at 14:18.

Rating: B. If they are trying to turn the Way, or at least Gargano and Theory, face, this was a good start as they played the roles well. These two are so much goofy fun together that it would be an easy way to go, especially with the idea of Johnny Gargano/Takeover/Wrestling challenging Karrion Kross for the NXT Title at Takeover. Heck of a match here, though I could also see Dunne getting the shot. Those question marks are what make NXT thrive and it is nice to have them back.

Post match, Karrion Kross comes out to drop Gargano.

The battery is at 40%.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett run into Samoa Joe, who is reminded that nothing physical can happen unless Joe is provoked. Joe: “Of course champ.” Kross and Scarlett leave, but Pete Dunne pops up for the staredown with Joe.

Next week: a triple threat match to crown new #1 contenders to the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Elektra Lopez vs. Frankie Monet

Monet headlocks her down to start and it’s time to fight over a wristlock. Lopez backs into the corner so Monet poses a bit and runs her over again. Some mounted shots to the face have Lopez in more trouble but she comes back up with a shot to the face. A pump kick drops Money for a second but two shots of her own set up the Road to Valhalla to put Lopez away at 3:26.

Rating: D+. Fairly short and to the point here as Monet beat her up, posed a lot and then won. That’s why you bring in someone like Lopez, who has a unique enough look to get some interest and then lose anyway. Monet is someone who came in ready to be a star and very well could be again for a long time to come. The Robert Stone deal is fine for a start, especially if she can steal them from Stone.

Bronson Reed isn’t sure what is going on around here but Hit Row comes in. Top Dolla says everyone is colossal until Colossus walks into the room. They don’t like Ever-Rise either.

Earlier today, Ever-Rise went to spray point Hit Row’s car but Top Dollar was inside, sending them running off.

Ever-Rise vs. Hit Row

That would be Ashante Adonis/Top Dolla, with the latter running Chase Parker off the apron to start. Matt Martel gets dropped as well and it’s off to Adonis for a dropkick. Parker saves Martel from a powerslam and Ever-Rise knocks Dolla to the floor. This proves to be a bad idea as Dollar comes back in to wreck more things. The Long Kiss Goodnight sets up a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination (with a nasty landing) to finish Martel at 2:32. Hit Row has great presence, but they aren’t completely polished in the ring.

Mercedes Martinez is ready for a mixed tag against Tian Sha next week. Xia Li and Boa jump her from behind but Jake Atlas kicks Boa in the head for the save.

Kyle O’Reilly is ready for the main event.

The battery is at 51%, putting it into green.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Kushida

Kyle takes him to the mat to start but Kushida winds up on top in the grapple. They get up to a standoff so O’Reilly goes for a kneebar. That’s broken up as well so Kushida takes him down and twists on the arm. Back up and O’Reilly takes him into the corner where a double headbutt puts both of them down.

We take a break and come back with Kushida working on the ankles but O’Reilly slips out. A kneebar is broken up with Kushida looking for the Hoverboard Lock, which is countered into a cross armbreaker which is countered into the Hoverboard Lock which is countered into a choke which is countered into a kick to O’Reilly’s arm. O’Reilly blocks a kick but Kushida is right back with a bridging northern lights suplex for two.

Kushida goes up but dives into a kick to the chest, setting up another kneebar from O’Reilly. That’s countered into a cradle for two but O’Reilly is back up with a rebound lariat to put him down as well. The brainbuster gives O’Reilly two so he heads to the apron, where Kushida sends him arm first into the post.

They trade kicks to the arm until Kushida’s hammerlock suplex drops O’Reilly onto the apron and out to the floor. Back in and they trade more kicks but Kushida still can’t get the Hoverboard Lock. Another attempt mostly works but O’Reilly gets smart by putting his hands in his trunks to avoid all of the pressure. O’Reilly finally manages to roll out and cradle Kushida for the pin at 14:26.

Rating: B+. Yep this was great and I’m not sure why that should be a surprise. They traded holds and strikes for the better part of fifteen minutes until one of them got pinned. Everything looked crisp, they didn’t do very many ridiculous looking things and it felt like a struggle. This was a heck of a main event and is more than worth the time to find if you want to see something awesome from this style.

Post match here is Adam Cole to brawl off with O’Reilly. Cue three guys in hoodies with one of them jumping Kushida. The guys are revealed as Roderick Strong, Tyler Rust and Hideki Suzuki (not named). Malcolm Bivens comes in to hand Strong the Cruiserweight Title and says THIS IS THE DIAMOND MINE to end the show. I’m intrigued, while also being annoyed that I thought Strong was the battery guy.

Overall Rating: B. When the only thing close to bad (and that is debatable) on your show is a three minute squash, you’re having a pretty good week. This was a heck of a show and felt like the NXT of old, with a mixture of very good wrestling, building for the future and leaving me intrigued about where things go. Awesome show here, and it’s nice to have NXT feeling like it’s old self again.

Results
Adam Cole b. Carmelo Hayes – Panama Sunrise
Zoey Stark/Io Shirai b. Robert Stone Brand – Moonsault to Kamea
The Way b. Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan – One Final Beat to Lorcan
Frankie Monet b. Elektra Lopez – Road To Valhalla
Hit Row b. Ever-Rise – Powerbomb/neckbreaker combination to Martel
Kyle O’Reilly b. Kushida – Cradle

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.