NXT
Date: December 6, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Deadline and I’m not exactly expecting much tonight as a result. The card is mostly set, though we do need to determine the final entrants in each Iron Survivor Challenge. That means a pair of triple threat matches and they at least have some stakes going in. Let’s get to it.

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

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Axiom vs. Von Wagner vs. Andre Chase

The rest of Chase U is here with Chase. A running boot rocks Wagner at the bell but he’s fine enough to headlock both of them at once. That’s broken up and a double shoulder puts Wagner on the floor. Axiom loads up a dive but gets rolled up for two by Chase. That’s enough for Wagner to get back up and send them both outside as we take a break. Back with Chase hitting a top rope superplex on Axiom near Wagner, who was either out of position to get knocked down or was trying to help with the crash.

Either way, Axiom heads to the floor and it’s a slugout between Chase and Wagner. A Russian legsweep drops Wagner to set up the spelling stomps, followed by a tiger driver to give Chase two on Axiom. Wagner comes back in but gets triangle choked by Axiom. That’s broken up and Wagner plants Chase for two. Chase DDTs both of them at once but Axiom shoves Chase to the floor and superkicks Wagner for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced and that’s one of the best things that can be said about something like this. On top of that, at least Chase didn’t take the fall, even if it would be nice for him to actually win something for a change. The fans are into him and for some reason that seems to be enough for NXT for whatever reason. Also it was someone other than Wagner, which is a positive.

Julius Creed’s knee is cleared for him to compete but Ivy Nile asks the trainer to check his ribs. Those are banged up, and he won’t be able to compete because of them. Brutus Creed isn’t happy, but Nile says she’s protecting Julius.

Cora Jade is ready to do whatever it takes to become #1 contender.

Bron Breakker is about to go fishing when Apollo Crews shows up at the doc to join him. Crews compliments the boat and Breakker shows him how to cast. They praise each others’ athleticism, with Breakker admitting he copied the standing moonsault from him. Crews asks if this really calms you down, with Breakker talking about the pressure that comes from being champion.

Crews catches a fish, earning some praise from Breakker, before throwing it back. They agree that Deadline should be a good one and shake hands. Crews says today wasn’t Breakker’s day with fishing and Saturday won’t be his day at Deadline either. These vignettes have been different enough to make the feud interesting and that’s a nice change of pace.

Bryson Montana is in the ring for a match but Indus Sher takes him out. Cue Montana’s opponent.

Javier Bernal vs. Bryson Montana

Actually hang on as Bernal has a sudden hamstring injury so he’s out. Indus Sher says they won’t fight the Creed Brothers unless they’re 100%, so the challenge is turned down for now. Cue the Creed Brothers but Ivy Nile and some referees hold them back. No match.

Duke Hudson is trying to console Andre Chase when a very excited Thea Hail runs in to say she’s facing Isla Dawn tonight. Hudson doesn’t think it’s a good idea because Dawn is scary, but Chase says go do it. Chase isn’t happy when Hudson questions his decision.

Sol Ruca danced on Tik Tok at a live event but Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs and Malik Blade/Edris Enofe got in an argument behind them. A tag match was set.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Xyon Quinn

Stacks is here with D’Angelo, who is getting quite the positive reaction here. Quinn drives him into the corner to start but D’Angelo slugs away at the ribs. A suplex drops Quinn again Quinn’s Samoan drop sends D’Angelo outside, only to run him over back inside. D’Angelo hits something close to John Cena’s ProtoBomb for the pin at 1:49.

Post match D’Angelo says he’s back and he wants Wes Lee and the North American Title. Cue Lee to say the Don is back and the champ is ready for him. Dijak took Lee out recently though so if D’Angelo wants the title, he’ll have to wait until Lee takes care of some business. That doesn’t work for D’Angelo, who says his business comes first. Dijak pops up on screen to say he’s going to decimate NXT and take the title. Then Stacks jumps Lee, who shoves Stacks down and bails from the numbers advantage.

Last week, Hank Walker talked to Charlie Dempsey and says he wishes he could have followed in his father’s footsteps. Walker wants respect and they can do this if they need to. Dempsey says he’ll show Walker that he doesn’t belong.

Scrypts looks at his debut match and talks about how he needs to change things up, starting with the chosen ones. He writes his name down while surrounded by crinkled papers.

Hank Walker vs. Charlie Dempsey

Dempsey slaps him in the face to start so Walker takes him into the corner. There’s a big hiptoss to send Dempsey flying and a slam makes it worse. Dempsey grabs a gutwrench suplex but here is Drew Gulak of all people for a distraction. The Kimura keeps Walker in trouble abut he fights out and hits a Thesz press. That’s fine with Dempsey, who dragon screw legwhips him down but a half crab attempt is broken up. Dempsey cranks on the knee instead and ties up the face at the same time to make Walker tap at 4:02.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point, as there is no reason to believe that Walker, who is little more than a brawler, could hang with a technical monster like Dempsey. I’m glad to see Dempsey taking someone apart, and having him do that to Gulak in a technical off could be very entertaining. Or Gulak mentors him, which might not be the best idea as Gulak last won anything….when?

Zoey Stark talks about timing and knowing how none of the people in the Iron Survivor Challenge can touch her.

Grayson Waller is ready to win the Iron Survivor Challenge because everyone is scared of him going in.

And now, Pretty Deadly as Santa and an elf in a Christmas set in the ring, for the real meaning of Christmas. They both sit in the throne (yeah there’s a throne) and read the book, which talks about their bulging sacks overflowing. They’ll never lose the titles and never be bruised so they have a Merry Christmas hug….and here is New Day to interrupt.

Kofi Kingston talks about how Pretty Deadly has beaten everyone, so let’s have a title match at Deadline. The fight is on and New Day clears the ring without much effort, including having presents put on Pretty Deadly’s heads. That’s a big surprise and Pretty Deadly will benefit from the win.

Isla Dawn is ready to hurt Thea Hail.

Javier Bernal is going to leave and suddenly remembers he’s in pain when McKenzie Mitchell shows up. No, he is NOT scared of Indus Sher, who don’t want any of him. He accuses Mitchell of being biased and wants someone more fair. Cue Ikemen Jiro, who Bernal trusts. Jiro calls him a chicken and Bernal isn’t pleased.

Thea Hail vs. Isla Dawn

Chase U is here too. Dawn shoves her down to start and hits a running shot to the back. Hail fights up and slugs away, including a running shot in the corner. There’s a t-bone suplex to Dawn, who is right back with a sitout reverse DDT. A second one finishes Hail at 2:50.

Post match Alba Fyre pops up to go after Dawn but gets held back by referees. Fyre charges anyway and a referee gets misted by mistake.

Kiana James is ready to be smart and win the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Lyra Valkyria is here next week.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Odyssey Jones is here with Blade and Enofe. Jensen gets knocked into the corner to start and Blade hits a heck of a dropkick for two. That’s broken up and it’s Jensen working on the arm as Kiana James’ assistant shows up with a letter for Jensen. Blade hits a big moonsault on the floor onto Briggs (and almost misses), leaving Enofe to hit an old Dean Ambrose standing top rope elbow for two on Jensen. Von Wagner shows up to brawl with Jones and it’s the high/low to give Briggs the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. It might not be the best idea to have multiple people getting involved or interfering in a match that doesn’t even last three minutes. I like both teams but it would be nice to have Blade and Enofe win something for once. The tools are there, but eventually they just feel like losers and that is a hard stigma to overcome.

Respect is shown post match.

Roxanne Perez is ready to prove herself because she keeps getting screwed over. But how do you prepare for a match that has never taken place before? She looks in a mirror to talk herself up and seems to buy it.

Shawn Michaels runs down the concept of the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Iron Survivor Qualifying Match: Indi Hartwell vs. Wendy Choo vs. Fallon Henley

In the back, Brooks Jensen opens the envelope from the assists, which contains VIP tickets to Deadline from Kiana James. Hartwell starts fast but Choo headlock takeovers Henley. A double rollup gives Hartwell two as Toxic Attraction is watching. Back up and Henley flips both of them down at once, with Hartwell being sent outside. Hartwell kicks Henley down on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Choo in the Tree of Woe with Hartwell kicking away, only to get rolled up by Henley. With Choo free, Hartwell is sent outside and Henley is suplexed, with Hartwell having to make the save. The Tower of Doom leaves everyone down and Choo splashes Henley. Then Hartwell sends Choo outside, decks Henley, and steals the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. Hartwell was the focal point of the match and is the most established star so her going forward makes sense. I still like Henley a lot but she might be better suited as the manager/friend of the team rather than a featured star. You know what you’re getting with Choo, though to be fair she has toned down A LOT of the silliness and it’s a big improvement. Hartwell was the right call here though.

Toxic Attraction says of course they’ll be at Deadline but Indi Hartwell comes in to say Saturday is her night.

Deadline rundown.

Here is Grayson Waller for the Grayson Waller Effect, with the rest of the Iron Survivor entrants (JD McDonagh, Carmelo Hayes, Axiom and Joe Gacy) as his guests. Waller insults all of them but Hayes says he’s ready to show that he is the A Champion again. McDonagh asks about Hayes losing the North American Title twice, but Hayes says that doesn’t matter right now. McDonagh is sure he can go 25 minutes, which Waller would never understand.

Waller shrugs that off and asks Gacy about this group. Gacy says individuals are selfish and will step over each other to get what they want. Axiom talks about how you have to evolve to win and that is where he excels. Hayes: “NERD!” We get a question from a fan: which spot would you want to enter the match?

Axiom says first or second so he can maximize his falls, but that doesn’t appeal to anyone else. Gacy promises that he’ll win but Hayes says he won’t miss. Waller says you never know when someone is going to strike first, earning himself a headbutt from Gacy. The fight is on and everyone but Waller heads to the floor, leaving Waller (with camera) to flip dive onto everyone else. The big brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This could have been worse, as they did make the Iron Survivor Challenge feel like a big deal. That is kind of hard to do when it’s nothing but a heavily gimmicked #1 contenders match, but they pulled it off here. There wasn’t much else of interest on the show and Deadline is looking like a pretty unimportant card, but they made the featured matches feel bigger and that’s the important thing.

Results
Axiom b. Von Wagner and Andre Chase – Golden Ratio to Wagner
Tony D’Angelo b. Xyon Quinn – Belly to back slam
Charlie Dempsey b. Hank Walker – Leg trap crossface
Isla Dawn b. Thea Hail – Sitout reverse DDT
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – High/low to Enofe
Indi Hartwell b. Fallon Henley and Wendy Choo – Running forearm to the back of Henley’s head

 

 

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NXT
Date: November 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

This week is about the past and the future, as a group of Hall of Famers, led by Shawn Michaels, will announce the participants in the Iron Survivor Challenge. That would be quite the segment and it will determine most of the Deadline card. The main event is a rather big six woman tag so let’s get to it.

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez

Hartwell powers her around to start but Perez dropkicks her down. The chinlock goes on to slow Hartwell up but she fights up and sends Perez crashing out to the floor. Back in and a boot to the face drops Perez and a hard clothesline gives Hartwell two. A sideslam sets up the chinlock but Perez is up rather quickly.

Perez forearms away and sends Hartwell face first into the middle buckle as the comeback is on. A running basement dropkick sends Hartwell into the corner, where she comes out with a belly to back suplex to cut Perez off. Perez is fine enough to send her outside, setting up the high crossbody back inside. Hartwell is back up with a big boot but Perez kicks her in the ribs and grabs Pop Rox for the pin at 9:05.

Rating: C+. Perez continues to become a bigger and better star every week. She’s young, she’s good, and she continues to string together solid matches. What matters is Perez is being treated as something important and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her move up the ladder rather quickly. Perez even taking the Women’s Title is a possibility and that’s pretty impressive for someone who hasn’t been around that long.

Thea Hail and Duke Hudson interrupt Andre Chase, with Hudson apologizing for messing up last week (Chase: “I know, I was there!”). Hudson has gotten a petition together to get Chase into the Iron Survival Challenge but Grayson Waller comes up to suggest Hudson isn’t on the up and up. Hail has to be held back but Hudson has this.

Dijak vs. Dante Chen

This is Dijak’s return after a pretty long NXT absence. Dijak grabs him by the throat to start and sends Chen into the apron. A sitout chokeslam (Hard Justice) plants Chen and some hard forearms to the back knock him even sillier. Dijak elbows away in the corner but Chen comes back with some right hands. The double chop and a pump kick rock Dijak, who shrugs them off and hits Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. This was mostly a squash and Dijak already looked better than he ever did on the main roster. Dijak ran through Chen, shrugged off whatever was thrown at him, and finished with his hard knee to the face. That’s what this needed to be, as Dijak isn’t someone who needs to be complicated. Just let him do his impressive looking stuff and he’ll be fine.

Post match Dijak says this is his place to dominate and he promises to run through everyone.

JD McDonagh came to the Diamond Dojo earlier today and the Creeds weren’t impressed. They’re ready for Indus Sher and argue with McDonagh about how sure they can do it. McDonagh continues to be a pest.

We go to the Hall Of Fame panel, with Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly picking the five entrants for both Iron Survival Challenges. They all praise the roster and discuss some possible entrants in the men’s match, but the announcement will be made later.

Grayson Waller vs. Duke Hudson

The rest of Chase U is here with Hudson. Waller grabs a headlock to start but Hudson powers him into the corner. A side slam connects as we see the Hall of Fame panel…paying absolutely no attention to the match whatsoever. Hudson gets whipped into the corner and the cravate goes on.

That doesn’t last long as Hudson makes the powered up comeback, including an overhead belly to belly. They head outside where Hudson almost boots Hail, only to say that he can stop it whenever he needs. Chase, who Hudson booted last week: “YOU CAN STOP IT WHENEVER YOU NEED???? Back in and the rolling Stunner finishes for Waller at 5:21.

Rating: C. This was about the storyline development with Hudson letting the big boot reveal slip. Chase is smart enough to figure that out and now the question becomes where things go from here. Waller should be beating Hudson on his way to something bigger, though I’m not sure if he’s going to make it to the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Javier Bernal has a special announcement: BIG BODY TUESDAY, complete with his own merchandise! You can get his Big Body Baseball Bat, which was requested by Adam Judge! Mitchell: “You mean Aaron Judge?” Bernal: “Adam is his middle name!” There is also the Big Body Pillow (McKenzie: “Already trademarked.”) Bernal: “Men want to be me and women want to be with me.” McKenzie: “Absolutely not.” Therefore we have a cologne, which she says smells like rotten eggs. Axiom comes in and a match is set. Bernal and Mitchell have some great chemistry together.

Kiana James vs. Fallon Henley

Henley kicks her down to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with James working on the arm, including ramming it into the top rope. The Codebreaker on the arm gets two and the arm cranking continues. Henley fights up and manages a one armed takedown, followed by a head of a shot to the face. The chase is on around the ring but James manages to grab the bag for a distraction, with Henley being sent into the post. The 401K finishes for James at 9:39.

Rating: C+. The arm stuff was nicely worked in here and even played into the finish to make it better. Henley losing again is a bit much, but it is nice to see James getting elevated for a change. Both of them have the talent and now the question is which one gets to move up to the next level first.

Malik Blade is crushed at Von Wagner ripping up his sweater but Edris Enofe and Odyssey Jones (in a Godfather shirt) tell him to use it to fire himself up. Blade can go with that but he wants to do this himself.

The Hall of Famers talk about the women and are rather pleased with some of their options.

Nikkita Lyons/Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Toxic Attraction

Hold on though as Zoey Stark jumps Lyons from behind and takes out her leg. Toxic Attraction looks on and smiles. No match.

Lyra Valkyria (the former Aoife Valkyrie from NXT UK) is coming and runs through the woods while losing her feathers.

Elektra Lopez is ready to make her own empire. If you bet against her, you’ll go broke.

Javier Bernal vs. Axiom

Axiom takes him down by the arm to start and hits a dropkick to send Bernal outside. We take a break and come back with Axiom wrapping the leg around the post. Some dropkicks to the knee keep Axiom in trouble and a hart slam jars the knee even more. Axiom manages a sunset flip and pulls Bernal into a choke, which is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two. The Figure Four stays on the leg until Axiom turns it over to send Bernal to the rope. Back up and Axiom hits the Golden Ratio superkick for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C+. Axiom is someone who can make things look good in the ring, but there is something a little less than interesting about calling your finishing move the Golden Ratio. Bernal talking so much trash and then losing suits him well, and if they keep it as goofy as they have so far, it can go well. Just don’t try to make him into something he isn’t.

Nikkita Lyons is cleared for the six woman.

Pretty Deadly is excited because next week is…..CHRISTMAS!

Apollo Crews is at a diner when Bron Breakker interrupts. Breakker looks at the menu but doesn’t see Crews being ready to win the title. Breakker puts his own pressure on himself but Crews says he’ll have the speed and strength advantage. They’re both ready and things never quite get personal. Very minor note that no one else will care about: Crews’ pen was from a Chase bank. That is the kind of realistic thing that made the segment feel more normal, as I’m surprised WWE didn’t have the pen branded with their own logo. It’s nice to see something feel spontaneous rather than totally staged.

Julius Creed vs. JD McDonagh

Brutus Creed is here with his brother. McDonagh grabs a headlock to start and Julius can’t even suplex his way to freedom. Julius can power his way out of it though and the toss has McDonagh in trouble. The chase around the ring results in Julius being dropkicked off the apron as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh holding a bodyscissors as Indus Sher is out to watch. Julius fights up and knocks him outside for a heck of a clothesline but can’t German suplex him off the apron. Instead McDonagh hits an apron moonsault before going after Julius’ knee. Said knee is cranked around and taken to the floor, where McDonagh grabs a chair. The big swing is loaded up but Veer Mahaan takes it instead, which is a DQ…I think on McDonagh, giving Julius the win at 10:33.

Rating: B-. The ending was a little weird but McDonagh not beating someone else is rather nice to see. Indus Sher vs. the Creeds is being treated as a big deal and while it’s not the most interesting, they are putting the work in to make it better. Julius continues to feel like a top star ready to break out and giving him singles matches like this will make that more likely.

Video on Isla Dawn’s debut.

Dijak is leaving when the D’Angelo Family interrupts. Tony has a business proposal and Dijak seems interested.

Von Wagner vs. Malik Blade

Blade strikes away to start and rains down some right hands in the corner. Wagner powers out but seems to be favoring his knee as Blade sends him outside. Some rams into the announcers’ table have Wagner in more trouble but he avoids a frog splash. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker finishes Blade at 2:41 as Wagner’s monster push continues.

Post match Wagner stays on him but Edris Enofe and Odyssey Jones make the save.

Here are the Iron Survivor Challenge participants:

Men
Carmelo Hayes
JD McDonagh
Grayson Waller
Joe Gacy

Women
Zoey Stark
Cora Jade
Roxanne Perez
Kiana James

The final spots will be determined in triple threat wild card matches next week.

Toxic Attraction vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance/Nikkita Lyons

Jayne and Carter start things off but everything breaks down in a hurry. Triple superkicks send Toxic Attraction to the floor and Carter/Chance hit back to back dives. We settle down to Carter rolling Rose up for two but Jayne offers a distraction. Rose gets in some running knees to Carter and the villains take over in the corner. A spinebuster gives Rose two and we hit the bodyscissors.

Carter kicks her away and brings in Chance to fire away at Dolin but gets suplexed down. Lyons makes the save and everything breaks down again. We settle back down to Chance getting suplexed but grabbing a rollup for two on Rose anyway. Everyone else comes back in and Dolin sends Carter into the steps. Lyons suplexes Jayne but Rose gets in a cheap shot and the bad knee gives out. A not so great looking high/low finishes Lyons at 9:04.

Rating: C+. This felt like a house show main event with the thrown together group taking on the established villains. That worked out well enough as Toxic Attraction feels like such a team that should be difficult to stop. Lyons coming back and going after the title one day seems all but inevitable, but for now she needs to focus on Zoey Stark, which is likely coming at Deadline.

A pleased Zoey Stark looks down from the platform to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. When I think about this show, it felt like two hours of checking things off a list. It felt like several matches, angles and feuds were advanced in the span of one night and that is nice to see. In other words, it came off like something that was planned in advance and then everything came together. That kind of attention is nice to see and makes it feel like an old school edition of NXT. Good stuff here, and Deadline is mostly together, even without being officially announced yet.

Results
Roxanne Perez b. Indi Hartwell – Pop Rox
Dijak b. Dante Chen – Feast Your Eyes
Grayson Waller b. Duke Hudson – Rolling Stunner
Kiana James b. Fallon Henley – 401K
Axiom b. Javier Bernal – Golden Ratio
Julius Creed b. JD McDonagh via DQ when McDonagh used a chair
Von Wagner b. Malik Blade – Fireman’s carry neckbreaker
Toxic Attraction b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance/Nikkita Lyons – High/lot to Lyons

 

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.