NXT
Date: August 8, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

The long road to No Mercy is on but there are probably going to be a bunch of big time matches before we get there. A month and a half is too long to build up the card so odds are we’ll blow through some stuff over the next few weeks. That includes tonight’s North American Title match with Rey Mysterio here as a special guest. Let’s get to it.

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

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are ready to prove how great Dominik is.

Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee are ready to show that Lee is the future of lucha libre.

Mustafa Ali vs. Axiom

This is over Ali trying to jump over Axiom to get a North American Title shot and feeling disrespected. Booker tries to make it into some complicated thing and Vic, apparently not in the mood tonight, wastes no time in asking what the heck Booker is talking about. They run the ropes to start until Ali runs him over. Back up and Axiom sends him outside for a dive over the announcers’ table, with Booker managing to stay on his feet.

Back inside and here is Scrypts to watch as Axiom is shoved off the top for a flip into a clothesline to drop Axiom. Cue Bronco Nima and Lucien Price as Ali reverses a suplex into a Jackhammer of all things. Axiom snaps off a Canadian Destroyer to send Ali rolling outside, where a huge springboard moonsault connects.

Hold on though as Axiom comes up holding his knee but he’s fine enough to avoid a 450 back inside. A tornado DDT plants Ali but he counters a cross armbreaker into a Sharpshooter. With that broken up, Axiom hits a springboard moonsault DDT and they’re both down again. Axiom goes up but Ali goes the mask and sends him crashing to the floor. The 450 gives Ali the pin at 10:07.

Rating: B-. Good action, as you would expect from these two as Ali moves forward to a likely North American Title shot, but WOW they need to drop this Scrypts stuff. He isn’t interesting, he looks tiny and they can barely decide what his name is, let alone giving us a reason to care about him. Just let Axiom go have good matches with people and stop trying to make Scrypts a thing.

Post match Ali says he’s next in line for the North American Title.

Schism promises to find the Creed Brothers, and proceed to destroy Ikemen Jiro.

Kelani Jordan vs. Blair Davenport

This is the result of Dana Brooke, here at ringside, wanting Jordan to do something so she called Davenport out. Jordan starts fast and can’t quite snap off a springboard hurricanrana. Davenport takes her into the corner and hammers away, with Dana’s coaching not really working. Jordan fights up but gets knocked out of the corner, allowing Davenport to stomp her in the back. A hard knee to the face finishes Jordan at 3:27.

Rating: C. Speaking of things that aren’t working, Dana Brooke is up there on the list. It’s a fine story of a veteran trying to push a newcomer to the next level, but at the end of the day, that veteran is Dana Brooke. She has always tried and seemed to be getting better at times, but this is not the right role for her and there isn’t much of a way around that.

Post match Dana chases Davenport off with a belt but nearly hits Jordan with it, earning Dana a glare.

Von Wagner is ready for Bron Breakker and threatens to put him in a table.

Tyler Bate vs. Noam Dar

This is for Dar’s unofficial Heritage Cup and therefore under Heritage Cup rules with the rest of the Meta Four at ringside. Round one begins with a fight over wrist control and go to the mat with neither being able to get the better of things. Back up and Bop and Bang doesn’t work for Bate so they clothesline each other and pop up for a glare. More fighting against the ropes ends the round with neither having much of an advantage.

Round two begins with Bate taking Dar down but having to clothesline Mensah off the apron. A big dive hits Dar on the floor and the Tyler Driver 97 finishes Dar at 43 seconds of the round and 4:15 overall to put Bate up 1-0. We take a break and come back with Bate missing what looked to be a dropkick off the top, banging up his knee in the process as round three ends.

Round four begins with Bate running him over for a rather close two. Dar is right back up and hits a spinning elbow for two before grabbing the kneebar. Bate stacks him up for two so Dar grabs the hold again until Bate taps at 2:20 of the round and 11:01 overall, tying it up 1-1. Round five begins with Bate unloading on one leg but Dar pulls him back into the kneebar. That’s broken up and Bate hits a German suplex before a small package gives Bate two. The Tyler Driver 97 is countered so Bate rolls him up for the pin at 2:13 of the round and 13:33 overall to win 2-1.

Rating: C+. I was expecting Dar to retain via cheating so well done on a bit of a surprise. I’m still not much of a Heritage Cup fan and the Meta Four do very little for me, but Dar has gone from all time levels of annoying to moderately interesting, so there is some growth there. It’s also nice to see Bate get a win, as he hasn’t been in the ring much lately.

Tank Ledger and Hank Walker name themselves Smash Mouth before being beaten down by Schism, who is still looking for the Creed Brothers.

Dijak comes in to Carmelo Hayes’ locker room and wants a title shot. Wes Lee comes in and wants a shot too but Dijak doesn’t like that. They argue as Hayes leaves, with Dijak sucker punching Lee and sending him into a locker.

Here is Ilja Dragunov to call out Trick Williams. Cue Williams, to say he has something to say, which is too far for Dragunov. He doesn’t want to hear from Williams after the Great American Bash, but Williams says Dragunov ran into the title rather than Williams hitting him with it. The challenge is on for a match because Williams wants to show he can back everything up because he isn’t a sidekick. Dragunov says be careful what you ask for because he won’t hold back and will break Williams. Williams says they’re on for two weeks at Heatwave. Dragunov is going to kill him, but Williams should put up a good fight.

Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey think Tank Ledger and Hank Walker are cowards for backing out of their match due to injury. Damon Kemp comes in to say he’s their man if they are looking for toughness. That’s just one, so here are Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen to say they’re tough. A tag match is made.

Bron Breakker is ready for Von Wagner.

Rey Mysterio gives Roxanne Perez a pep talk and is impressed with her. Thea Hail comes in and is a nervous wreck to meet him. Rey praises the heart he sees in the ring with her and she seems amazes. Thea asks if he still loves Dominik, which Rey says he does, even if things aren’t great right now. Rey leaves and Chase U comes in to say that was Rey Mysterio, Hall of Famer! Thea: “I know. And unlike you, he wouldn’t throw in the towel!” YOWZA that was cold.

Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner, who powers Breakker into the corner to start but Breakker runs him over with a clothesline. Breakker drops him again and hits a standing moonsault (or most of it) for two. Back up and a double clothesline leaves both of them down again for a breather. Wagner gets up and hits a running big boot but the fans want tables. Breakker doesn’t mind and hits a spear for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C+. Nice power match here and they went the right way with the far more established Breakker winning, but please stop with the table stuff. It’s bad enough to have the fans chant for them in every weapons based match and I really don’t want to hear about them every time Wagner is out there at all. They’ve been done to death so many times that they’re probably eligible to be put on trial as a serial killer and those chants can take over a match way too fast. Find something else for Wagner to use as a thing please, before it gets even worse.

Post match Breakker goes after Stone but Wagner powerbombs him through a table.

Eddy Thorpe talks about the spirit he was given to fight for his people but Dijak has taken him out more than once. Now he has to take responsibility to refocus and readjust.

Lyra Valkyria interrupts Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio, but she accuses Ripley of manipulating people. Ripley doesn’t like being accused of helping Dominik retain the title, so Valkyria challenges her to not be in Dominik’s corner tonight.

Schism asks Tony D’Angelo and Stacks about the Creed Brothers but tease coming after the Tag Team Titles instead.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Drew Gulak/Charlie Dempsey

Fallon Henley is here with Briggs and Jensen. Gulak backs Jensen into the corner to start but charges into a boot to the face. An elbow misses for Jensen though and it’s Dempsey coming in for a headlock takeover. Cue Myles Borne to be in Gulak/Dempsey’s corner but since he doesn’t have water, Gulak sends him away. Briggs comes in to slam Dempsey and drops an elbow for two.

It’s back to Gulak, who is quickly taken into the wrong corner, with Briggs sending him flying off a slam. Briggs and Jensen drop Gulak but it’s Dempsey gets the tag anyway and twists Briggs’ arm over the ropes. Dempsey cranks on the arm, with Vic saying he has a regal approach to this kind of thing. Briggs fights up and brings Jensen back in as everything breaks down. Cue Damon Kemp to suplex Jensen, allowing Dempsey to snap off a dragon suplex and pin Jensen at 5:46.

Rating: C+ Briggs and Jensen have kind of fallen off the face of the planet since the Henley/Kiana James deal ended and that’s a shame as they aren’t a bad team most of the time. That being said, I do like Kemp being added to Gulak/Dempsey. They fit well together and that could be a nice three man team going forward.

Dana Brooke wants to know what that was from Kelani Jordan, but Jordan doesn’t know what her killer instinct looks like. Brooke will show her next week when she faces Blair Davenport. This really isn’t working as it’s still just Dana Brooke.

Ivy Nile vs. Kiana James

Before the match, James promises to tap into her wild side. James jumps her before the bell and takes it outside, with Nile getting posted and suplexed. Back in and we hit the armbar as we take a break. We come back with Schism surrounding the ring and rhythmically slapping the mat. Nile fights up but charges into a boot in the corner, allowing James to hit the spinebuster. A Fujiwara armbar has Nile in more trouble but she’s back with a powerslam. Schism offers a distraction though and a knee to the back of the head finishes Nile at 7:41.

Rating: C. Yay more Schism, as this one angle has been on TV four times tonight. I still do not get what NXT sees in these guys but they don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. At least they’ve mainly been portrayed as a bit more unhinged this week, as they have been the lamest cult in a long time. As for the match, James being more aggressive is good but they still need to find a way to make her stand out more. Nile continues to feel like a missed opportunity and could be something, provided she doesn’t have to talk.

Post match Schism gets in the ring but Tony D’Angelo and Stacks run in with crowbars for the save.

Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo text each other about how they’re a joke now but want to honor their grandfather. A reunion is teased.

Tyler Bate is polishing up his new Heritage Cup when the Meta Four come in to say Noam Dar needs it back for emotional support. Nathan Frazer comes in with his own cup and says they’re a Spider-Man meme. They argue over which cup is real and the result is Dar getting his cup back AND a shot at the real thing at Heatwave. Frazer to Bate: “I owe you one?” Bate: “Yep.”

Tiffany Stratton is asked what’s next for her but talks about clothes instead of the title.

Trick Williams runs into Wes Lee in the parking lot and is told to tell Carmelo Hayes to be ready. Williams tells Lee to tell him himself but Lee drives away. Drew Gulak and company show up to mock Williams and then tell Myles Borne he’s late again.

Here’s what’s coming on upcoming shows.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio

Dominik, with Rhea Ripley, is defending and Rey Mysterio, who handles Lee’s entrance, is in Lee’s corner. Lee knocks him into the corner to start and hits the slingshot dropkick to send Dominik outside. The fight with Rey is teased and we take a break. Back with Dominik taunting Rey and grabbing a chinlock. Three Amigos hit Lee and Dominik hammers away with right hands.

Dominik goes for the mask, which fires up Lee to start the comeback. Lee knocks him outside for a big dive but Dominik grabs a neckbreaker for two back inside. They trade shots to the face until Dominik hits a 619. The frog splash hits raised knees though and the powerbomb gets two. Rhea slides in the North American Title but Rey takes it away. That’s enough for Rhea to hit Lee with the Women’s Title, allowing Dominik to hit a Michinoku Driver to retain at 11:40.

Rating: B-. One of the good things about Dominik is that he is far from a disaster in the ring. While he’s nothing compared to his dad (most aren’t), he’s certainly capable of having a completely acceptable match. That was on display here, with the Ripley stuff being more of a way to bail Dominik out rather than saving him at the beginning. Lee will get there one day, but Dominik isn’t losing that title for a long time, and that’s how it should be.

Post match Rhea yells at Rey but Lyra Valkyria comes in to send Rhea to the floor. The heroes stand in the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe it was the show feeling longer with the limited breaks or something, but this show was testing my patience more than once. Between Scrypts, Schism and Dana Brooke getting so much time, it was a tough show at times and that isn’t a good thing to do. The action was mostly fine, but there were enough annoying parts to bring it back down. Not their worst show ever, but getting rid of some of the bad parts would help a lot.

Results
Mustafa Ali b. Axiom – 450
Blair Davenport b. Kelani Jordan – Knee to the face
Tyler Bate b. Drew Gulak 2-1
Bron Breakker b. Von Wagner – Spear
Drew Gulak/Charlie Dempsey b. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs – Dragon suplex to Jensen
Kiana James b. Ivy Nile – Knee to the back of the head
Dominik Mysterio b. Dragon Lee – Michinoku Driver

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Summerslam 2022
Date: July 30, 2022
Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee
Attendance: 48,449
Commentators: Michael Cole, Jimmy Smith, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton

We’re still in the stadium for Summerslam and believe it or not, this time we have a main event of Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar. The twist this time is that it’s Last Man Standing to add some spice, but there is only so much interest to be had. Other than that, we have Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair in a match a year in the making. Oh and Vince McMahon stepped down from WWE eight days before this show so we’re in a VERY new era. With a pair of rematches on top. Let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on what a CRAZY TOWN Nashville is, with a look at all of the crazy people on the show.

Oh and there’s a pinball theme. A CRAZY pinball theme I’m sure.

Raw Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair

Lynch, currently in the Big Time Becks villain phase, is challenging after Belair took the title from her at Wrestlemania. Feeling out process to start with Belair powering her away without much trouble. Back up and Belair flips away from her, setting up a heck of a shoulder. Becky takes her down by the arm and cranks back on it though and Belair is in trouble for a change. The bad arm is kicked apart to make it even worse but Belair’s legs are fine enough to hit a dropkick.

They head outside where the KOD onto the announcers’ table is broken up and the arm is banged up again. They get back inside with Lynch snapping off a Bexploder and taking her down in the corner…but Lynch comes up holding her shoulder (uh oh). Lynch is fine enough to go for the leg and then kick Belair to the apron but the middle rope Fameasser is blocked.

They go outside again with Belair Glam Slamming her onto the apron before a posting sends Lynch’s shoulder into the steel. Back in and a handspring moonsault gives Belair two but Lynch is back with Diamond Dust of all things for two of her own. Belair’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana which is countered into a failed KOD attempt. They head outside with the KOD connecting this time, but Lynch just beats the count.

Back in and another KOD is countered but Belair spikes her anyway. Belair takes too long going up and gets Manhandle Slammed for two. With nothing else working, Lynch takes her up top for a super Manhandle Slam, which is reversed into a KOD to retain Belair’s title at 15:11 and win the feud.

Rating: B. Yeah these two fought a lot but they have the chemistry to make it work very well. This was another good back and forth showdown between two of the best women (or anything) that WWE has ever had. It came off like a huge battle and that is the kind of showdown that these two have managed to make possible. The arm work from Becky to take away the power made sense and the fact that she was banged up makes this even more impressive. Heck of a match here and a great opener.

Post match Becky, with her right arm non-functional, shakes Belair’s hand and seems to be good again. With Becky gone, Bayley makes her surprise return after over a year away with a horrible knee injury. Cue the returning Dakota Kai (she’s been gone for a bit), plus the newly named Iyo Sky (no longer Io Shirai). The trio gets in the ring to yell at Belair but Lynch evens things up a bit, sending the villains running off. That would be more or less it for Lynch for about four months, as she would be written off television the following night on Raw due to a shoulder injury and not be back until November.

We recap Miz vs. Logan Paul. They were a team at Wrestlemania and won, but then Miz turned on Paul for no apparent reason. Months later, Miz said that he destroyed Paul, who then announced that he had signed with the company. Now it’s time for Miz to show what he can do, while Paul is back with his first ever singles match.

Miz vs. Logan Paul

Miz has Maryse and Tommaso Ciampa (missing his first name here but just in case you confuse him with Gus Ciampa) with him. Inspired by Paul’s really rare Pokemon card (not here this time), Miz has a one of a kind Polaroid of he and Paul together around his neck. Feeling out process to start with Miz snapmaring him down and mocking Paul a bit, much to Maryse’s delight.

Back up and Paul grabs a waistlock into a fireman’s carry, allowing him to mockingly shove him away with a boot to the head. Miz is sent out side and an apron moonsault takes him down again as Paul is already shining rather well. Back in and Miz crotches him in the ropes, setting up a Codebreaker for two. Ciampa even gets in a cheap shot and we hit the chinlock.

Miz misses the charge in the corner though and Paul is right back with a Blockbuster. Back up and Paul gets two off a running powerslam, followed by the YES Kicks to send Corey Graves that much closer to madness. The Figure Four has Miz in trouble but a rather dramatic rope break gets him out. Paul hits a high crossbody and a standing moonsault for two but Miz kicks him in the face.

Ciampa teases another cheap shot and gets ejected (with the crowd throwing in a YES chant), but Ciampa just sits ringside in a chair. Cue AJ Styles to really chase Ciampa off, leaving Paul to hit a not so phenomenal Phenomenal Forearm. They head outside with Paul loading up the announcers’ table, setting up a heck of a top rope frog splash to drive Miz hard through it. Back in and Maryse distracts the referee but Miz almost runs into her. That’s enough of a distraction to let Paul hit the Skull Crushing Finale for the pin at 14:16.

Rating: B. This was up there for best celebrity matches ever and it’s barely even on a sliding scale. Paul was out there showing himself to be able to do all kinds of things in the ring, with that frog splash being a great bonus. It was entirely a showcase for Paul and Miz is the perfect choice to be out there taking the beating. What mattered here was Paul looking like a star and that is exactly what happened here. Heck of a match and WWE has to know what they have here with Paul.

US Title: Bobby Lashley vs. Theory

Theory, the reigning Mr. Money In The Bank, is challenging and jumps Lashley before the bell. Lashley says he can go and shrugs off Theory’s swarm to start. An elbow to the face into a spinebuster has Theory on the floor and he’s ready to walk. Lashley isn’t having that but Theory is right back with a rolling dropkick for two. For some reason Theory thinks it’s a good idea to slug it out with Lashley, earning himself a powerslam. The spear hits the post but Theory rolls into the Hurt Lock to retain the title at 4:44.

Rating: C-. This could have been on any given Raw and that isn’t good enough for a Summerslam title match. They seemed to be playing up the idea that Theory was saving himself for a potential cash-in later tonight but the Hurt Lock is the kind of move that could make him tap that fast as well. This is something that could have been cut from the show without missing much, though having Lashley on the show is often a good idea.

We recap the Mysterios vs. Judgment Day. The team isn’t happy with Rey Mysterio being a star and attacked him in front of his family. Now it’s time for revenge in a No DQ match.

Judgment Day vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

Rhea Ripley is here with Judgment Day (Finn Balor/Damian Priest) and this is No DQ. Judgment Day jumps them to start and the fight is on fast. Rey hurricanranas Balor though and Dominik dropkicks Priest, setting up the back to back dives to put the villains down. We settle down to a double Russian legsweep dropping Balor but Dominik gets sent into the wrong corner.

The chinlock goes on as the fans are starting to wake up a bit here. Priest adds the Broken Arrow into a slingshot stomp from Dominik but he’s back with a suplex. Rey comes in with a top rope seated senton to Priest. A bulldog plants Priest again so Balor slides in a chair, which Rey picks off without much trouble. Rey grabs the chair and slides down into a splash on Balor for a nasty looking crash.

Back in and Priest boots Rey down for two and Balor adds the shotgun dropkick in the corner. Dominik breaks up the Coup de Grace though and Rey snaps off a top rope hurricanrana, with Priest making the save this time. The double 619 is broken up by Ripley, who drops Dominik face first onto the apron. South Of Heaven hits Rey but Balor wants a chair. Instead he gets the returning Edge, who spears down Judgment Day, setting up Rey’s slingshot splash for the pin on Balor at 11:07.

Rating: C+. The match itself was good enough, but my goodness the fans did not care about what they were seeing here. Granted at this point Judgment Day was one of those things that just kept going and there wasn’t much to get excited about with them, but it shouldn’t take Edge to get the only strong reaction of the match. This was a good example of a match where the fans just didn’t are no matter what was happening, and that’s a bit disappointing.

We recap Happy Corbin vs. Pat McAfee. They’re old friends/roommates from the NFL and McAfee has mocked Corbin’s losing streak. Corbin has attacked McAfee a few times so now it’s time to fight.

Pat McAfee vs. Happy Corbin

McAfee has a choir here to sing about BUM A** CORBIN for a rather unique entrance. They talk a lot of trash to start, with McAfee leading the crowd in their singing. McAfee hits a superkick and a middle rope hurricanrana puts Corbin on the floor. A posting drops Corbin again and McAfee stomps away back inside.

Corbin is put on top but gets shoved down, only to have McAfee moonsault onto his feet. A dropkick (to the stomach) sends McAfee into the corner and Corbin gets to hammer away. The slow beating is on, with a ram into the barricade giving Corbin two. McAfee manages to send him to the floor and hit the slingshot dive, only to be thrown over the announcers’ table.

Back in and McAfee catches him on top, this time jumping (mostly) to the top for a top rope superplex. McAfee slugs away and avoids a charge to send Corbin shoulder first into the post. That lets McAfee go up top and, after getting his balance, hit a top rope flip dive to take Corbin down on the floor. Back in and McAfee knocks Corbin into the referee by mistake, setting up a low blow (payback for Corbin doing the same thing to him the previous night) and a Panama Sunrise to finish Corbin at 10:50.

Rating: B-. McAfee is another of the few celebrities who has figured out how to put together a rather good match. There were some close calls here as McAfee didn’t have everything polished but he made it work well enough. This was an entertaining match and the fans ate McAfee up as usual, while Corbin lost again, also as usual. It might not quite have been the Logan Paul stunt show, but McAfee is certainly worth a look whenever he is out there and has a star power all his own.

We look at Drew McIntyre defeating Sheamus to become #1 contender last night on Smackdown.

Here is McIntyre to talk about how much he loves Nashville, to the point where he lives here. He and Sheamus went to war last night but now it is time to go to to war with Roman Reigns. For now though, it is time for Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar for the first time ever! Uh, in Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Last man standing. McIntyre asks a an for his name (Colt). McIntyre: “IN FRONT OF COLT!” Nice save there and McIntyre raises his sword to set off some pyro and wrap up a quick cameo.

Tag Team Titles: Usos vs. Street Profits

The Usos are defending in a rematch from Money In The Bank where a bad referee cost the Profits the titles. Therefore, Jeff Jarrett of all people is guest referee, just for the save of the country music connection. The Profits come out with the Tennessee Titans cheerleaders for a little bonus. Dawkins and Jimmy start things off with Jeff having t pull both of them out of the corner.

Jey comes in off a quick tag for a modified Demolition Decapitator for two. It’s already back to Jimmy for a chinlock as this isn’t the fastest pace to start. The running hip attack connects but a second one misses, allowing Dawkins to enziguri his way out of trouble. Ford and Jey come in to pick up things up a lot, with Ford’s high crossbody getting two. A rather loud chop only seems to wake Jey up though and it’s a pop up neckbreaker for two on Ford.

Back up and Ford slips over for the tag to Dawkins and house is rapidly cleaned, including a huge flip dive to the floor. Back in and the Anointment gives Dawkins two on Jimmy but Jey is back in to cut him off. A superkick into the Superfly Splash gives Jimmy two, setting up the double Superfly Splash with Ford having to make a save.

Jey almost superkicks Jarrett by mistake but walks into a spinebuster. Ford’s very high frog splash gets a delayed two, meaning it’s time to yell at Jarrett (who did nothing wrong, along with the nothing he has done for the rest of the match). A dive is cut off by a double superkick to the….some part of Ford’s body. Back in and more superkicks hit Dawkins, setting up the 1D to retain at 13:22.

Rating: B. I remember wondering what Jarrett was going to add coming into this and coming up with an answer of “nothing”. The fact that I didn’t remember him being involved in this match at all didn’t help things and there was nothing to having him here. At the same time, you had these teams with some great chemistry having a good, pay per view worthy match. The Usos were still doing some awesome stuff with the titles, even if they had to deal with such a lame choice for guest referee.

Matt Riddle (not medically cleared) runs in through the crowd and calls out Seth Rollins for a fight. Rollins comes out to meet him in the aisle, gets the better of it, and Stomps (how Riddle was hurt in the first place) Riddle down again.

We recap Liv Morgan challenging Ronda Rousey for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Morgan cashed in Money In The Bank on an injured Rousey to win the title so now it’s time for the match with Rousey ready coming in.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Morgan is defending and Rousey flips her over to start. A running knee rocks Morgan and another throw gets two. Morgan comes back with a Codebreaker but Oblivion is easily blocked. Rousey tries to get her down but is reversed into a double arm crank. That and a crucifix bomb get two on Rousey, who is right back with the armbar. Morgan tries to slip out but gets pulled into it again, this time making the rope for the break. Rousey gets the armbar again so Morgan stacks it up for the pin at 4:35…..despite tapping before the pin.

Rating: C-. Morgan was on a roll on the way to Money In The Bank and then just died once she got the title via the cash-in. This was Morgan mostly getting squashed before tapping out and retaining anyway. If WWE wanted Morgan to be a big star, they needed to actually put her over someone rather than these screwy finishes. It didn’t do Morgan any favors and Rousey hardly looked better either.

Post match Rousey protests and armbars Morgan…and the referee. Replays show that Morgan tapped way before the three count.

Here is Kane to announce the attendance: 48,449. I believe he has some questions about those numbers.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match for Reigns’ WWE Universal Title. In short, Randy Orton was supposed to get the shot but was too hurt so it’s time to break the Lesnar glass. Not the most thrilling match, but fair enough that they didn’t have a better option. The video also teases Austin Theory cashing in his briefcase.

WWE Universal Title: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Reigns, with Paul Heyman (but without the Usos, who he sends to the back), is defending in a Last Man Standing match. Lesnar starts walking to the ring but stops to put on a flannel shirt and cowboy hat….so he can drive a tractor to the ring. There is no way this can end well. As Lesnar stands in the loader of the tractor, he cuts off the introductions and does his own, before flipping the mic to Reigns…..who snatches it out of the air in one hand (not shown but find the clip as it’s rather awesome).

Lesnar then DIVES out of the tractor onto Reigns and a clothesline takes it to the floor. There’s the overhead belly to belly on the floor as Lesnar is starting very fast. Another suplex of the steps has Reigns rocked and they head into the crowd, where Lesnar suplexes him onto a platform. Reigns gets in a quick shot but is promptly suplexed back to ringside. The table is set up but a Heyman distraction lets Reigns put Lesnar through it instead.

Lesnar is back up so Reigns steps him in the face. Back in and Reigns hits a pair of Superman Punches, followed by the first (of probably many) spear. Another spear is blocked and Lesnar sends him outside in a crash. Lesnar slams him into part of a broken table before getting back in the tractor. After fiddling with it a bit, Lesnar gets out and hits Reigns with the steps instead.

A piece of a broken table to the head puts Reigns down again but he staggers to his feet. That doesn’t work for Lesnar, who puts him in the front loaded and drops him into the ring for a crash. With that not being enough, Lesnar snaps off some German suplexes and the F5 gets nine. Another F5 is countered into the guillotine but Lesnar reverses into one of his own. Lesnar lets him go and Reigns is up at nine again.

That doesn’t work for Lesnar….who uses the tractor to LIFT UP THE RING and send Reigns falling out to the floor. Reigns is up again (and so is the ring, which is still up on the tractor, meaning a big middle finger to fans on that side of the ring, who can’t see a thing right now) so cue the Usos to go after Lesnar. They’re wrecked in short order so Heyman hands Lesnar the titles in an attempt to get him off Reigns.

That earns Heyman an F5 through the announcers’ table (egads the impact), allowing Reigns to hit a spear. They’re both down so heeeeeeere’s Theory with the briefcase! Before the bell can ring, Lesnar F5’s him on the floor to cut that off in a hurry. The Usos are back up to superkick Lesnar, who gets up again.

Reigns hits another spear, followed by another spear. With that not working either, Reigns hits Theory with the briefcase and then unloads on Lesnar with the thing. That’s only good for nine, so Reigns belts him in the head but Lesnar is up AGAIN. Another belt shot connects so Reigns and the Usos bury Lesnar with everything they can find at ringside to finally keep him down and retain the title at 22:54.

Rating: B. This was the fight that you would expect from these guys under these circumstances and that’s exactly what it needed to be. Sometimes you need two people to beat the daylights out of each other with one big shot after another and that’s what you got here. Lesnar might not have been the biggest threat to win the title, but sometimes you need a match where the champion has to fight really hard to keep the title. Rather good main event and that’s as good as you could have gotten here.

Reigns poses as what used to be Heyman is carried out to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. WWE had a rather strong show here with the bigger matches more than delivering. There’s nothing on here to make it a classic but it’s a three and a half hour show with some very good stuff throughout. The weaker points are kept short and I had a lot of fun throughout. This is what Summerslam tends to be like and they made a rather transitional time in the company’s history work out.

Results
Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch – KOD
Logan Paul b. The Miz – Skull Crushing Finale
Bobby Lashley b. Theory – Hurt Lock
Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio b. Judgment Day – Slingshot splash to Balor
Pat McAfee b. Baron Corbin – Panama Sunrise
Usos b. Street Profits – 1D to Dawkins
Ronda Rousey b. Liv Morgan – Rollup
Roman Reigns b. Brock Lesnar when Lesnar could not answer the ten count

Ratings Comparison

Bianca Belair b. Becky Lynch

Original: B
2023 Redo: B

Logan Paul vs. The Miz

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B

Theory vs. Bobby Lashley

Original: C-
2023 Redo: C-

Judgment Day vs. Rey Mysterio/Dominik Mysterio

Original: C
2023 Redo: C+

Baron Corbin vs. Pat McAfee

Original: C
2023 Redo: B-

Usos vs. Street Profits

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B

Ronda Rousey vs. Liv Morgan

Original: C-
2023 Redo: C-

Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar

Original: B-
2023 Redo: B

Overall Rating

Original: C+
2023 Redo: B+

Dang I underrated some of those earlier matches, especially Miz vs. Logan Paul.

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.

Summerslam 2020
Date: August 23, 2020
Location: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Corey Graves, Byron Saxton, Tom Phillips, Samoa Joe

We’re a year removed from this show and things have indeed changed a bit. For one thing, we are FINALLY out of the Thunderdome, which was a full two days old when this aired. In something that hasn’t changed, I have no idea what happened at this show, save for the main event. That’s kind of nice for another look so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: US Title: Apollo Crews vs. MVP

Crews is defending and it’s strange to see him as just a guy in trunks and not….whatever he would become next year. As a bonus, the rest of the Hurt Business is banned from ringside. MVP takes him down into a very quickly broken knee bar but Crews is back up with a sunset flip for two. That’s enough for MVP to bail to the floor as things cool down a bit. Back in and Crews flips away from him, setting up a quick dropkick for two. MVP is fine enough to toss him over the top and out onto the steps as the beating begins.

The running boot misses in the corner so Crews goes up, only to get crotched on top. The superplex brings Crews back down but MVP lands hard and the delayed cover gets two. A clothesline puts MVP on the floor and there’s the big flip dive to take him down again. They both dive back in to beat the count and it’s time to slug it out. Crews gets the better of things and it’s a spinebuster into the standing moonsault for two. The toss powerbomb retains the title at 6:37.

Rating: C. This was about as Kickoff Showey of a match as you could get and it happened to have a title on the line. There was nothing wrong with it and Crews gets a win to make him feel that much more important as US Champion. You’re only going to get so much out of a standard Raw level match and this was about it. Not bad, but as forgettable as any other Kickoff Show match.

The opening video is much more about the Thunderdome than anything else, though the matches themselves do actually get some attention. Well the bigger ones at least. The Smackdown World Title match between the Fiend and Braun Strowman has a tagline of “You’ll Never See It Coming”. That’s one way of advertising things.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Bayley vs. Asuka

Bayley is defending as part of the Bayley/Sasha Banks Are The Most Amazing Women Ever stretch. Granted it wound up being pretty awesome so it’s kind of hard to complain all that much. Banks (the Raw Women’s Champion and Bayley’s partner as the Women’s Tag Team Champions) is at ringside too as they fight over the grappling against the ropes to start. Asuka dropkicks her in the ribs to take over and pulls Bayley down into a reverse Koji Clutch.

The foot on the rope gets Bayley out of trouble in a hurry so she bails to the apron, allowing Asuka to kick the leg out again. There is something fun about watching Asuka pick someone apart like that and it always works. Bayley gets kicked out to the floor and Banks is already looking worried. Asuka grabs a DDT (or close enough) off the steps for two back inside but Bayley manages to snap her neck across the middle rope for a much needed breather.

Some stomping sets up the chinlock with Bayley shouting a lot as she keeps Asuka down. Back up and a quick Bayley to Belly gets two but Asuka kicks her in the head for a double knockdown. A German suplex into the hip attack gives Asuka two and they head to the apron for the slugout.

That doesn’t last long so they head back inside for an exchange of leglocks. Asuka knees her in the face for two but Bayley is right back with a running sunset flip into the corner. The “patented” (I want paperwork) top rope elbow is countered into a quickly broken cross armbreaker so Asuka is back with a kick to the head. Banks takes the running hip attack though, allowing Bayley to grab a rollup to retain at 11:33.

Rating: B-. Good and logical choice for an opener here with Asuka fighting as hard as she could to pick up the first title. That didn’t wind up working out, but they did a nice job of going back and forth against each other. What mattered here was having Asuka seem ready to pick up the win until Banks’ interference was enough to throw her off for a split second. Nice match with the story making perfect sense.

Post match Banks (who faces Asuka later tonight) and Bayley beat Asuka down and leave her laying.

Dominik Mysterio asks Rey Mysterio to let him go out there alone tonight. Rey, realizing how much of a disaster it would be to ask fans to care about Dominik on his own, says no but is finally talked into staying in the back.

Video on Retribution’s path of….well really just annoyance so far, though this period of breaking stuff would be their apex as a team.

Raw Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Angel Garza/Andrade

Garza and Andrade, with Zelina Vega (who recently poisoned Montez Ford), are challenging and Kevin Owens is on commentary. We get the traditional rain of red solo cups to start as the Profits’ inset promo talks about how they are here for revenge. Andrade slugs away at Ford to start but gets caught with a big jumping clothesline. A jumping hurricanrana brings Andrade off the top and there’s the double flapjack to drop Garza.

Ford loads up the big flip dive, but gets countered into a double powerbomb onto the floor (as tends to happen). Back in and we hit the armbar on Ford, allowing Garza to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS (Vega approves). A cross armbreaker over the ropes has Ford in more trouble and it’s back to Andrade for an armbar of his own. Garza adds a running knee to the ribs (and promises to win the titles, which Owens does not like) and the running kick to the ribs makes it worse.

There’s the top rope Alberto Double Stomp for Andrade’s next near fall. Ford flips out of a belly to back suplex though and the enziguri sets up the diving tag to Dawkins. Chris Jericho’s Judas Effect only takes Dawkins off one foot (ha) and he spears Andrade down. Ford comes back in with the crazy high crossbody but Garza rolls through for two, even with Vega holding his feet on the rope. Vega gets on the apron to yell but Ford knocks Garza into her. The Sky Cash Out into the twisting frog splash retains the title at 7:50.

Rating: C. Total Raw match here which was the latest exhibit of how much charisma that Garza has. The guy can make anything look better but Andrade had the star power and that is what gets you ahead around here. This feud, or some form of it, went on for the better part of ever and never once got interesting because the Profits were that much better. Now get some fresh competition in the tag division.

The long form celebration is on.

Bayley and Sasha Banks don’t like Kayla Braxton’s questions but know that Sasha will beat Asuka tonight. Bayley even busts out a broom because it’s going to be a sweep.

We recap Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose, which has been going on for a long time. Sonya got jealous of Mandy getting all of the attention and eventually turned on her by calling her selfish. Since it’s WWE, we’re supposed to side with the bombshell model, which was made even worse when Sonya was about five levels ahead of Mandy on the mic. Sonya cut off some of Mandy’s hair so the hair vs. hair match was set.

Then a psychotic fan broke into Deville’s house with zip ties and a knife, likely in an attempt to kidnap and/or kill Deville. Rose happened to be staying there and the two got away as the stalker went into the wrong part of the house. This sent Deville into a lengthy legal process and since her lawyer felt that cutting her hair off was a bad idea, it was turned into a No DQ Loser Leaves WWE match. Fair enough, but next time you have a crazed stalker who might be trying to kill you, make sure you think of kayfabe. Go out separate doors or something and worry about being stabbed later.

Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose

No DQ and the loser leaves WWE. Mandy offers a handshake to start so Deville rolls her up for two. Back up and Mandy hits her in the face and they head outside with Deville getting suplexed onto the ramp. A clothesline off the announcers’ table puts Deville down again and let’s get a table. As usual, that takes way too long and it’s Sonya ramming Mandy into the announcers’ table to take over.

Back in and a running knee to the chest gets two and it’s a dragon sleeper with a bodyscissors to put Mandy in even more trouble. The trash talking fires Mandy back up though and it’s a jumping knee for two on Sonya. It’s back outside for more ramming into the announcers’ table before Mandy slides chairs over the regular table, with Sonya having to duck the decapitation attempts. That’s either brilliant or really stupid and I’m not sure which. Back in and three straight running knees set up Angel’s Wings to crush Sonya. Another running knee gives Mandy the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C-. This had the intensity but dang Mandy is not the greatest in the ring. I completely get why WWE would want to push the heck out of here but Sonya was so much more of a complete package and felt like a natural. It’s a shame that she had to go away, though it was a rare instance where something is more important than wrestling (egads that’s hard to say).

Post match Otis comes out to celebrate with Mandy (Yeah remember when that was a thing?), who fails at the Caterpillar.

Here’s what’s coming on the WWE Network!

We recap Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio. This was part of the never ending Rollins vs. Mysterios feud, which saw Rollins gouge Rey Mysterio’s eye out. Dominik is willing to fight for his father in a street fight, which also happens to be his in-ring debut. Rollins also destroyed Dominik by tying him into the ropes and destroying him with a kendo stick for a pretty nasty moment. Other than that though, this feud was complete death by this point and this was the match that I was dreading coming into the show.

Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio

Street fight and Rollins, with Murphy, is in gear inspired by Rey Mysterio at Halloween Havoc 1997. Rey is here with Dominik, as you might expect. Rollins wrestles him down without much trouble to start and seems rather comfortable. He’s so comfortable that he offers Dominik a headlock before tripping him down with ease. Dominik gets in a few right hands before getting dropped again. A springboard armdrag and then some regular versions have Rollins down, which is just a step too far.

Rollins drops him again and gets a kendo stick, which is dropkicked out of his hands. Dominik gives chase but gets knocked down, only to have Rollins kick the stick away. The one armed camel clutch has Dominik in more trouble and Rey is nervous. The Sling Blade lets Rollins work on Dominik’s hand and Murphy sends in a chair. Seth yells at Rey a lot as he stomps away but the Stomp (that’s confusing) is countered into a drop toehold into the chair. The Buckle Bomb is countered into a hurricanrana into the corner to stagger Rollins again as this comeback needs a crowd reaction.

A tornado DDT out of the corner gets two and the kendo stick shots have Rollins in more trouble. Dominik goes up but it’s Rollins running the corner for the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two. Rollins is mad (as he should be) and it’s time to kendo stick Dominik for a change. Murphy throws in a table but Rollins takes too long going up, allowing Dominik to hit a super White Russian legsweep through the table. Since wrestling logic is a thing, Dominik is fine and hits a frog splash for two.

Dominik takes too long grabbing things again, allowing Rollins to superkick and kendo stick him some more. Saxton: “Rey can do nothing to help his son!” As you try to see the invisible wall keeping Rey from doing anything, Rollins pulls out some handcuffs. Cue Rey’s wife Angie to try and do something but Rey holds her back.

Murphy loads up the steps to take out Dominik’s eye, meaning the invisible wall is smashed as Rey finally gets involved (making the last five or so minutes subject to wrestling logic). With Dominik as backup, Rey is quickly cuffed to the ropes as the villains look up at Angie. Dominik is back up to make the save this time….and his frog splash hits knees, because he isn’t very good at this. Rollins tells Rey to reach for Dominik and then hits the Stomp for the pin at 22:36.

Rating: C-. Being away from this story for a year has taken away some of the bad feelings about it, but this still wasn’t very good. Above all else, this was WAY too long as Rollins felt like he was dealing with an annoyance than any real threat. Dominik isn’t an embarrassment in the ring by any means but he also isn’t ready to be in a 20+ minute featured match at Summerslam. He looked ok for a debut, but the length of the match (and the feud) dragged it way down.

The villains sneer post match and Rey hugs Dominik.

Raw Women’s Title: Sasha Banks vs. Asuka

Banks is defending and has Bayley in her corner. Commentary points out that Banks has never had a successful singles title defense, which does not bode well for her future. Banks goes straight for the knee (ala Bayley in the first match) but Asuka spins up and fires off the Kawada kicks. A sliding forearm (minus some power because of the knee) sends Banks outside and Asuka is right there with a kneebar on the floor.

They wind up on the apron, where Asuka kicks the post by mistake. Bayley cranks up the trash talk (because she’s very good at that) and Banks takes her back inside to fire off kicks in the corner. Banks switches to the shoulders but gets caught in an electric chair faceplant. Asuka can’t be trusted with two legs in front of her and Banks has to bail to the ropes to escape the kneebar.

With that broken up, Asuka gets a bit creative by taking her up top for a super DDT. The missile dropkick gives Asuka two but Banks goes after the knee again, setting up the double knees in the corner. They’re both down so Bayley goes into coaching mode….and Asuka immediately grabs the ankle lock. Bayley isn’t good at coaching. The Bank Statement is countered into the Asuka Lock which is countered as well. Bayley’s distraction fails and the Asuka Lock goes on again to make Banks tap for the title at 11:31.

Rating: B-. I liked this one a good bit as Banks and Bayley had a plan to take Asuka out but still couldn’t do it. That’s a nice way to make Asuka look even more impressive while also continuing the build to Banks vs. Bayley. They took their time to get there but Bayley was awesome almost every step of the way. Banks held up her end as well and it was a heck of a match on top of the storytelling.

Post match Banks glares at Bayley, who begs forgiveness.

We recap Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre for the Raw World Title. Orton has attacked a variety of legends, which has McIntyre ready to fight back and defend their honor, along with his title. McIntyre talked about how Orton has been protected for years while McIntyre fought every day to get here. They did a nice job with the culture clash here and the video does a good job of making this feel big.

Raw World Title: Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

McIntyre is defending and we get a quick inset promo from Shawn Michaels, who wants Orton to get Claymored. Orton bails to the floor to start as the mind games are going strong early on. Back in and Orton begs off again but does hit a few right hands before bailing to the floor for a second time. This time the chase is on but Orton catches McIntyre on the way back in. The RKO attempt is blocked so McIntyre shoulders him down. Another threat of the RKO sends McIntyre bailing outside and you can see a bit of shock.

Back in again and McIntyre unloads in the corner but has to block the RKO for a third time. The ensuing charge sends McIntyre shoulder first into the post and Orton sends him into the barricade to make it worse. A posting sets up a drop onto the announcers’ table and then Orton does the latter again. Orton gets a bit creative by suplexing McIntyre off the table for a delayed one (that kickout at one was a good deal for McIntyre).

The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by the Orton Stomp and some slow staring at the….uh, screens. McIntyre comes back with a Stunner to the knee in the corner and a spinebuster for the double knockdown. With the knee banged up, McIntyre goes Flair with the Figure Four (nice job given Orton attacking Flair and other legends leading up to this). Orton can’t roll out so he grabs the referee for a distraction and goes to the eye to escape. McIntyre’s eye looks to be cut a bit as they slug it out from their knees. Make that from their feet, with McIntyre having to block the RKO again.

The overhead belly to belly sends Orton flying and McIntyre does it again for a bonus. A top rope shot to the head drops Orton and McIntyre nips up as the adrenaline starts flowing. McIntyre loads up a superplex, gets knocked into the Tree of Woe, and pulls himself up to send Orton flying with the choke superplex as usual. As impressive as that is, commentary shouldn’t be that impressed or surprised, but WWE commentators are seen as stupid for a reason.

The Futureshock gets two but McIntyre misses coming off the top. Orton’s powerslam gets two and he is busted open as well. The hanging DDT is broken up and it’s a Cactus Clothesline to put both of them on the floor. They get back in fast but this time the hanging DDT connects. With nothing else working, Orton loads up the Punt but McIntyre cuts him off. The Claymore misses so Orton tries the RKO again, only to get caught in a backslide of all things to retain the title at 20:34. Commentary shouts about how Orton NEVER SAW IT COMING because they need to hit that tagline.

Rating: B. I liked this one a good bit as they were playing up the story they had established coming in. The idea was that Orton was the seasoned veteran who had learned from the legends and he was cheating every chance he had here. Throw in the RKO as the ultimate weapon (which he never hit, as it is probably being saved for later) and this was a chess match with McIntyre using everything he could while Orton just waited to hit the RKO. I liked what they were doing and the ending worked well. Good match, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise.

Orton looks up at McIntyre from the floor because this isn’t over.

We recap Braun Strowman vs. Bray Wyatt for the Smackdown World Title. These two have been feuding for MONTHS in one bad match after another. Last month, they fought in the swamp (because reasons) and Wyatt made Alexa Bliss appear because Strowman has always wanted her. Strowman doesn’t buy it because he knows the Fiend is going to corrupt her as well. Bliss slapped Strowman a bunch so he teased attacking her but decided to fight the Fiend instead. In other words, this feud was really, really stupid and nothing they were changing made it any better at all.

Smackdown World Title: The Fiend vs. Braun Strowman

Strowman is defending and this is Falls Count Anywhere. Fiend is driven back into the corner to start but comes back with a heck of a clothesline to drop Strowman. They’re already on the floor with Fiend busting out a toolbox. A few shots with said toolbox don’t do much to Strowman, who runs Fiend through the barricade. Strowman chokeslams him onto (not through) the announcers’ table and a steps shot to the face drops Fiend again.

Back in and the powerslam sends Fiend right back to the floor, which doesn’t mean as much as he can get pinned out there as well. Strowman kicks him up the ramp and they fight backstage. Fiend whips him into a few walls and Sister Abigail gets two. They come back into the arena where Strowman is sent into the video screen to bust up some of the color.

The Mandible Claw goes on but Strowman gets up anyway and shoves him into the apron for the break. Back in and another powerslam gets another two on Fiend so Strowman yells a lot. Strowman grabs a box cutter from the toolbox and starts cutting up the mat to expose the wood. That takes WAY too long so Fiend is back up with a Rock Bottom and a pair of Sister Abigails onto the wood for the pin and the titles at 11:58.

Rating: C. The shorter time helped but egads this feud was death and everyone but WWE seemed to know it. You could have seen this title change coming from before Extreme Rules last month, making for a very long and slow build. They kept this the way they should have and the lack of anything involving Bliss helped here. It could have been worse, but you’re only getting so much out of a hoss fight like this one. As long as Strowman isn’t champion any longer though, it’s an upgrade.

Post match Roman Reigns is back (for the first time since March) with the spear to the Fiend and the beating is on. Another spear hits Strowman and Reigns shouts about how they aren’t monsters unless he’s here. Reigns bends a chair over Strowman and spears Fiend down again. He grabs the title, says it has always been his, and calls Fiend a freak in a mask. Cole: “WE NEVER SAW THIS COMING!” Reigns would win the title a week later, as he should have, along with joining Paul Heyman, which was an amazing twist.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a bit of an odd show as the stuff that was good was quite good but the weaker stuff just felt tacked on. WWE was still figuring things out after getting into the Thunderdome and this came off as somewhat of a Summerslam in name only. It certainly isn’t a bad show with the Bayley/Banks/Asuka stuff and McIntyre vs. Orton all being good. Tighten things up a bit and it could be great, but for now it just has to settle for being pretty good.

Ratings Comparison

Apollo Crews vs. MVP

Original: C
Redo: C

Asuka vs. Bayley

Original: B-
Redo: B-

Street Profits vs. Andrade/Angel Garza

Original: C
Redo: C

Sonya Deville vs. Mandy Rose

Original: D+
Redo: C

Seth Rollins vs. Dominik Mysterio

Original: D+
Redo: C-

Asuka vs. Sasha Banks

Original: B
Redo: B-

Randy Orton vs. Drew McIntyre

Original: B+
Redo: B

Fiend vs. Braun Strowman

Original: C+
Redo: C

Overall Rating

Original: C
Redo: B-

I’m not sure if that overall rating makes sense but the rest of the show was certainly in the same ballpark, save for Rose vs. Deville.

Here is the original review if you are interested:

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: August 1, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re past the Great American Bash and Carmelo Hayes is still the NXT Champion after defeating Ilja Dragunov in the main event. The show was another strong effort when NXT goes on the road and now they’re having to get ready to do it again at the end of next month. There is a good chance that the build starts here so let’s get to it.

Here is the Great American Bash if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of the Great American Bash.

New Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo and Stacks arrive but get jumped by Gallus. Joe Coffey says no matter what, Gallus boys on top.

Jacy Jayne storms the announcers’ table and promises to finish what she started with Lyra Valkyria at the Great American Bash.

Jacy Jayne vs. Lyra Valkyria

The fight is on before the bell with Valkyria in trouble as we officially get things going. Jayne takes her down and nails a kick to the back before they head outside. Valkyria takes over and we go to an early break. Back with Valkyria elbowing her way out of the corner but Jayne knocks her down again.

A backsplash gets two but Valkyria manages a quick toss outside, followed by a high crossbody back inside. Valkyria’s northern lights suplex gets two but Jayne’s spinebuster gets the same. Back up and Valkyria hits a spinning kick to the head into a top rope splash for the pin at 9:23.

Rating: C. They started fast but then it turned into a more basic match after the break. Valkyria gets a nice win over someone with some status and that is a good idea. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Valkyria as the next challenger to the Women’s Title and a win like this can be a step forward for her.

Trick Williams congratulates Carmelo Hayes on retaining the NXT Title but says he has to start doing this for himself. Hayes is totally cool with that and says Williams should go get his, but Williams says he isn’t a sidekick. Hayes says he never saw Williams as a sidekick, which Williams says he knows, but now it’s Williams’ time to go after the dragon. Williams clarifies that this is NOT a breakup and Hayes promises to have his back anytime. They seem to part as friends.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are getting checked out by the medics but D’Angelo says they want Gallus tonight. Stacks says that’s 3-2 but D’Angelo is going to make a call.

Here are Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio for a celebratory chat. Mysterio says the win on Sunday makes him the greatest luchador of all time, but here is Dragon Lee to say Mysterio’s dad is the greatest of all time. Lee and Rhea disagree about Dominik’s cajones but we get a title match set for next week. Rhea says she’ll be here too, but Rey Mysterio pops up on screen to say he’ll be in Lee’s corner next week because Lee is the future of lucha libre.

Wes Lee is mad about his loss and vents to Carmelo Hayes, who tells him to calm the h*** down. Noam Dar comes in to say he’s the Heritage Cup Champion because Nathan Frazer never beat him. On the other hand, Dominik beat Lee twice. That’s enough to trigger a brawl, with referees quickly breaking it up.

Thea Hail is depressed over her loss at the Great American Bash, with Andre Chase saying he had no choice. Hail shouted she still had a chance but Baron Corbin shows up to tell them to leave. Corbin tells Hail that the job isn’t for everyone so she should leave. Chase: “That’s it Corbin. You’re a piece of s***.” A match seems to be made but Hail still doesn’t want to talk to Chase.

Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak

Thorpe charges right at Dijak to start and sends him into the corner, setting up a high crossbody for two. Dijak is right back up for a slugout before drilling Thorpe with a clothesline. Dijak can’t get a chokeslam so Thorpe sends him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs. A charge only hits post though and Dijak grabs a chokeslam for two. Back up and Thorpe grabs a suplex for two but can’t hit a German suplex. Instead Dijak tries a torture rack but gets reversed into the German suplex to knock him silly. They head outside, with Dijak posting him hard, setting up the cyclone boot to finish Thorpe at 4:22.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to get very far but they used the time they had well. Dijak continues to feel like a monster and some of the things he can do still look great. At the same time you have Thorpe, who has hit a rough patch and doesn’t feel like nearly the up and comer he was a few weeks ago. There is still time for him, but Dijak getting pushed is certainly interesting at the moment.

Tony D’Angelo makes a call to someone and gets a second partner for tonight.

Dana Brooke and Kelani Jones are happy with Brook’s win last week but tells Jordan to find her killer instinct.

Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Lola Vice/Elektra Lopez

Leon and Lopez start things off with Lopez taking over. Feroz comes in but gets caught in the wrong corner, allowing Vice add a running hip attack in the corner. Lopez’s enziguri sets up a chinlock but it’s quickly back to Vice. A belly to back suplex doesn’t work for Vice and Feroz crawls over for the tag to Leon. Everything breaks down and Vice kicks Leon in the head for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: C. Another match without much time, but what matters here is setting up Vice and Lopez as a new team. It’s not like there are a ton of options in the women’s tag division so setting up someone from NXT is a good way to go. Maybe this is just a one off, but beating Feroz and Leon does feel like a little something at least.

Tiffany Stratton talks about how much pain she was in against Thea Hail but she survived. She’ll be back next week for something fabulous.

Wes Lee/Carmelo Hayes vs. Oro Mensah/Noam Dar

Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend are here with Mensah and Dar. Lee starts fast on the floor and Hayes has to come out for the save before asking what Lee is doing. We settle down to Hayes being driven into the wrong corner but coming out with the springboard clothesline to Mensah. Lee comes in for two off a falling backsplash as the fans start chanting HAPPY BIRTHDAY to someone (apparently Hayes, who is turning 29). Mensah rolls outside and Lee loads up a dive but Hayes calls him off as we take a break.

Back with Mensah hitting a northern lights suplex for two on Lee. A quick shot takes Mensah down though and the big tag brings Hayes back in to clean house. Hayes takes Dar down with La Mistica (headscissors into a faceplant, minus the armbar) but Jackson gets in the way of something off the top. Everything breaks down and Lee’s Cardiac Kick hits Hayes by mistake. Mensah superkicks Lee into the Nova Roller to give Dar the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This match, especially the ending, was more about setting up Lee as the likely next challenger for Hayes. After Lee’s record North American Title reign, he has more than earned a shot so that all lines up. Other than that, this was a pretty nice tag match and it isn’t like being pinned by a long running Heritage Cup Champion is some major upset. They did what they needed to do here and that’s nice to see.

Post match Hayes and Lee argue, with Hayes trying to play peacemaker but Lee yells a lot.

Bron Breakker talks about the sad story Von Wagner has been telling but the truth is that Wagner is soft like his father. The scar he had on his head was nothing compared to how Wagner will look after Breakker gets done with him.

Axiom is looking to get a North American Title shot (Dominik Mysterio can’t keep his masked people straight) but Mustafa Ali interrupts and tries to get his own title shot. Dominik and Rhea Ripley leave as they argue, with Axiom saying he doesn’t respect the disrespect. Ali rants about being disrespected for three years.

Baron Corbin vs. Andre Chase

The rest of Chase U is here and Thea Hail is rather distraught. Corbin powers him around to start but Chase slips out and knocks Corbin outside. A Death Valley Driver plants Chase on the floor and we hit the chinlock with a knee in Chase’s back back inside. Fans: “THROW THE TOWEL!”

Chase fights up and gets in a shot to the leg before dropkicking the leg out again. The Russian legsweep sets up the spelling stomps but Corbin is back with a spinebuster. A half crab goes on and Thea throws in the towel at 4:40. The referee doesn’t see it so the match continues with Corbin letting the hold go as Thea leaves. End of Days finishes Chase at 5:14.

Rating: C. As much as I want to see him win, Chase losing here is what makes the most sense. He isn’t as big of a star as Corbin, or even close to it, and he has the whole Hail thing on top of it. Corbin gets a bit of a win to help make up for the Gable Steveson mess, but for now it’s going to be about Chase U, which seems to be in a lot of trouble.

We look at Roxanne Perez going back home to Texas for the Great American Bash, where Blair Davenport jumped her. Then she beat Blair in a Weapons Wild match, because no one can break her.

Meta Four is bragging about their win when Tyler Bate returns to say he has been in Tibet for a bit. Since Noam Dar says he’s the Heritage Cup Champion and has beaten everyone, he might need a fresh opponent. Bate accepts the challenge (which he himself issued) so the title match is on next week.

Here is the Schism to find out who messed with them last week. There are six masked people in the ring with them, with Joe Gacy talking about how insubordination must be eradicated. Ava tells them to unmask one by one, with the first two being no one in particular. The third is….Ikemen Jiro of all people, with his stylish jacket. Schism throws him and one other person out, leaving two people that Schism KNOWS are the Creed Brothers. They jump the still masked men but the Creeds pop up on screen from a beach.

They’ve also been to the pyramids, Easter Island, and…well back to the beach in some place they can’t agree on. What matters is they are NOT in Orlando, so we see that the two masked men are just more people. Gacy tells the worldwide followers of the Schism to find the Creeds and bring them back. Well at least the Creeds are kind of back and the Jiro surprise was good for a chuckle.

Last week, Cora Jade snapped after her loss to Dana Brooke and stormed out of the locker room.

Gallus vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks/Santos Escobar

Stacks hammers on Wolfgang to start before D’Angelo comes in for more of the same. A hiptoss sends Stacks into Wolfgang in the corner and everything breaks down, with the good guys hitting stereo punches to the ribs. The ring is cleared out and we take a break with Gallus in trouble.

Back with Gallus taking turns on Stacks, including Mark holding a front facelock. Stacks slips away but his partners are pulled to the floor, meaning there is no one to tag. Not that it matters as the tag off to Escobar allows him to clean house. Mark sends Escobar to the apron, where he scores with an enziguri. A high crossbody hits Mark and a victory roll gets two. Everything breaks down and Escobar snaps off a super hurricanrana to Mark. The Bada Bing finishes for D’Angelo at 9:54.

Rating: B-. This was little more than a fun reunion between Escobar and D’Angelo while giving Escobar a mini boost before his US Title match. It was just fine for what it was and should finish Gallus off from the title hunt for the time being. I can really go for more of these main roster cameos in NXT and this was another good one.

The winners celebrate, and seem to bury the old hatchet…..to not end the show.

Ilja Dragunov says he isn’t done with Trick Williams and promises to begins his retribution next week.

Overall Rating: B-. This show felt like a nice, slower edition without much going on but when you look at it, they accomplished a lot. They covered the fallout from the Bash, set up some matches for next week and seemingly set up Hayes’ next challenger. That’s a rather efficient use of two hours and it’s cool to see an NXT that is covering so much in a single night. If there was some better wrestling throughout this would have been one of the better weekly NXT shows in a good bit. For not though, it was just another efficient one.

Results
Lyra Valkyria b. Jacy Jayne – Top rope splash
Dijak b. Eddy Thorpe – Cyclone boot
Lola Vice/Elektra Lopez b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – Superkick to Leon
Oro Mensah/Noam Dar b. Carmelo Hayes/Wes Lee – Nova Roller to Lee
Baron Corbin b. Andre Chase – End of Days
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks/Santos Escobar b. Gallus – Bada Bing to Mark Coffey

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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Great American Bash 2023
Date: July 30, 2023
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

NXT is back on the big stage here and that is becoming a bit more common of a situation. In this case, it’s the biggest show of the summer with NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending the title against Ilja Dragunov in the main event. Other than that, we have the in-ring debut of Gable Steveson and Thea Hail challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Women’s Title in a submission match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Meta Four vs. Nathan Frazer/Dragon Lee/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz

Dar and Frazer fight over wrist control to start until Frazer snaps off a dropkick, meaning Legend comes in. Leon hits a running knee before handing it off to Feroz for a quick moonsault. Jackson faceplants her down for two and it’s Jackson coming in but getting sent into the wrong corner. Leon unloads on Jackson but Mensah tags himself in, meaning Lee can hit a running kick in the corner. A quick distraction lets Mensah take Lee down though and of course Dar is willing to come back in.

The chinlock goes on but Lee is right back up with a basement superkick for a double knockdown. Frazer comes back in to unload on Dar but Legend cuts off the big dive. Everything breaks down and Leon LAUNCHES Feroz over the top for the crash. Lee and Frazer hit dives of their own, followed by Frazer’s springboard reverse DDT.

Vic says these wrestlers embody Dusty Rhodes and….yeah not seeing it. Leon hits a missile dropkick on Lash, setting up a DDT to give Feroz two. Lee and Dar trade strikes to the head until Mensah hits a powerbomb faceplant (Big Show used to call it the Alley Oop) for two. Lee is fine enough to get back to Frazer though and it’s a springboard reverse Spanish Fly to Mensah, setting up Lee’s running Sliced Bread for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: B-. That’s about as perfect of a way as you can have to start a show, as you had eight people doing all whatever they could in the time they had. Frazer and Lee are great high fliers and they did their thing rather well. Dar can hang with just about anyone and I’m sure we’ll see more of this going forward with the double cups. Not a classic match, but a very fun opener.

The opening video focuses on Dusty Rhodes, who invented the Bash and was born here in Austin. Cody Rhodes narrates how important this is (nice touch) and we look at most of the card.

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Gallus

Gallus, with Joe Coffey, is defending and get a video before the match, where they promise to come out on top. Mark drives Stacks into D’Angelo to start and hammers away early on. Stacks is back up and brings D’Angelo in to stomp away but Joe trips Stacks up. D’Angelo goes after Joe, allowing Wolfgang to get in a hard clothesline to put him down on the floor.

Back in and Mark sends Stacks throat first into the bottom rope so Wolfgang can grab a chinlock. With that broken up, Stacks jumps over Wolfgang and hands it back to D’Angelo to clean house. Everything breaks down and Wolfgang is punched to the floor, leaving Mark to get PowerPlexed (headbutt instead of splash) for two, with Wolfgang making the save.

Back up and Wolfgang throws Mark over the top onto D’Angelo, followed by a moonsault for two on Stacks. Joe gets on the apron and slips Wolfgang a club, which is quickly taken away. Stacks low bridges Wolfgang to the floor and D’Angelo powerbombs Mark into him. D’Angelo hiptosses Stacks onto both of them and Bada Bing finishes Wolfgang for the pin and the titles at 9:15.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much of another choice here as Gallus was ice cold as champions and there was no reason to keep the titles on them. D’Angelo and Stacks have been chasing the belts for a bit so the win is a pretty nice moment. The match was good enough too, with Gallus’ cheating not working this time around and the titles going to the better team.

We recap Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport in a Weapons Wild match. Davenport was out of action for a long time but came back as the mystery attacker who took out a bunch of the women’s division. Then she targeted Perez, who was sick and tired of being treated as an easy opponent. Perez is fired up for revenge and anything goes.

Blair Davenport vs. Roxanne Perez

Weapons Wild and anything goes, but first we see a clip of the two of them getting into it at a convention yesterday. Perez’s family is in the crowd, but so is a disguised Davenport to get in a cheap shot to start fast. Davenport takes her down on the floor and then heads inside, only to get dropped with a suicide dive. Some chair shots have Perez in trouble and what looks like a cane to the ribs puts her down on the floor.

Davenport makes sure to mock the family before putting a trashcan over Perez and unloading with the cane. Perez manages a quick chair to the ribs but Davenport hits her in the ribs with a belt. Davenport yells at the family again but Perez is back with a bull rope (with cowbell of course). The belt is tied around Davenport’s wrist so Perez can whip her into the barricade a few times.

It’s table time (because of course) but that takes a bit too long, allowing Davenport to take her down again. The chairs are stacked up but Davenport has to counter Pop Rox onto the pile. A suplex through the trashcan gets two on Perez, who is back with a Russian legsweep of all things. They’re back on the floor with Perez hitting a running knee to send her head first into the steps. A top rope splash through the table crushes Davenport, followed by Pop Rox onto the chairs for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. Not a bad brawl here with both women laying it in until Perez won. They could have gone either way here but this is going to take Davenport out of the running to be the big bad of NXT for awhile. That’s not the worst idea, but Perez winning is a good way to go after she has had a rough few weeks. Other than that, it was your run of the mill hardcore match and it went well enough.

Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin

This is Steveson’s, an Olympic gold medal winner, debut and we get a quick look at everything he has done in WWE so far. Corbin punches him into the corner to start but Steveson leapfrogs over him and gets the ankle lock (Please no. There are going to be enough Kurt Angle comparisons already.).

Corbin gets the rope and heads outside, where Steveson gets posted. Back in and Corbin posts him shoulder first, followed by a Death Valley Driver for two. Steveson sends him into the corner but gets stomped down for his efforts. Some belly to belly suplexes drop Corbin and Steveson sends him outside. Steveson whips him into the announcers’ table…and they fight to a countout at 6:33?

Rating: C-. While this wasn’t a disaster, it’s going to leave some people saying “that’s it?” Steveson is clearly a great athlete and can do the suplexes and throws well, but this should have been a dominant start, not a match designed to set something else up for the future. Let Steveson show what he can do rather than having him sell for most of the match. Steveson is a special athlete and someone WWE is not going to get very often. This didn’t make me think he was special, but rather that he was a good athlete who wasn’t very high on the WWE totem pole. Not an awful match, but this wasn’t the right direction to take.

Post match the brawl stays on but the fans are really, really not pleased.

We look at Lyra Valkyria coming up short against Rhea Ripley but getting a show of respect after. Ripley told her to take out Jacy Jayne.

Valkyria wants more, but Jayne attacks her and the big brawl is on.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio, with Rhea Ripley, is defending after taking the title from Lee a few weeks back. The other two go after Dominik to start but Rhea gets in Ali’s way, as she is known to do. Dominik tries to run but gets pulled back in by the two of them (great visual) so the double chopping in the corner can ensue.

Lee and Ali slug it out but Dominik is back in for the Three Amigos. That doesn’t work for Ali and Lee, who hit double Three Amigos in a clever spot. With Ali sent outside, Lee grabs a hurricanrana for two, with Ali’s dropkick through the ropes (cool) making the save. Ali kicks Dominik down and hits the rolling neckbreaker, setting up a Boston crab/camel clutch at the same time. That’s broken up so Ali kicks them into the ropes but a 450 only hits apron.

Dominik is knocked to the floor for a dive from Lee but Rhea blocks another. That’s fine with Lee, who dives over her to take Dominik down again (and sticks the landing). Rhea isn’t cool with that and Lee gets Riptided through the announcers’ table to give Dominik a VERY close two (Rhea freaking out on the floor is great). A belt shot gets two more but Ali breaks up the frog splash. The 450 gets two but Ripley pulls Ali out, allowing Dominik to hit the frog splash and retain at 12:05.

Rating: B. There’s a lot here and that is a good thing. First of all, it was a rather modern triple threat style, with all three working at a fast pace and the challengers trying to get the pin where they could. At the same time though you have Dominik doing his best Honky Tonk Man impression and absolutely nailing it. While he isn’t incompetent in the ring, he’s in over his head and needs Ripley to bail him out every time. That is making him an absolute heat magnet and it’s some amazing work.

Finally you have Ripley, who is more of a star than the women’s division has seen since Becky Lynch. She is the kind of person who leaves you wanting to see what she is going to do next while believing that there is nothing she can’t do. It’s a treat to get to watch her and she and Dominik together are about as perfect as it gets.

Video on Ilja Dragunov.

Trick Williams is ready for Carmelo Hayes to shut Dragunov up.

We recap Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail for the Women’s Title. Stratton beat her once before, albeit after tapping behind the referee’s back. Tonight it’s a submission match, with Stratton promising to debut a new submission.

Women’s Title: Thea Hail vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton, with a Barbie theme, is defending in a submission match while Chase U is here with Hail. Feeling out process to start until Stratton knocks her down for an early surfboard. That doesn’t last long as Hail knocks her outside but a suicide dive is blocked. Stratton posts her to start on the back and works away back inside.

Hail avoids a charge in the corner though and grabs a suplex, only to get pulled into a bodyscissors. Back up and Hail gets in a bulldog to send Stratton outside, meaning the dive can connect this time. Stratton pulls her out of the air back inside but Hail tries the Kimura. That’s broken up with a suplex into the corner though and a Regal Roll plants Hail again.

Hail catches her on top with an exploder superplex and the Kimura goes on. Stratton uses the ropes to escape to the floor and drives Hail’s back into the apron. Back in and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever sets up a Boston crab to keep hail in a lot of trouble. Stratton cranks back on it….and Andre Chase throws in the towel at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I’m going to need to hear the explanation on this one, as it is going to be needed to boost the match up. Stratton isn’t really a submission wrestler, so while her hurting the back worked, the Boston crab really didn’t. Hail being mad at Chase over the ending could work, but it didn’t come close to building up the emotion you need from that kind of ending. I didn’t buy Hail being in that much danger and it brought things down a bit. Still good, but not what it could have been.

Dragon Lee is proud of his win earlier when he runs into Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. Rhea calls him the wannabe Rey Mysterio, with Lee saying he would be proud to be like Rey in any way.

Schism argues about the two masked men who interfered in their match. Next week, it’s an interrogation.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending. They fight over the arm to start until Dragunov grabs a headlock. Hayes goes for the arm before hitting a springboard clothesline but Dragunov gets in a shot to the back. A German suplex drops Hayes and Dragunov kicks him in the face for a bonus. They slug it out until Dragunov rolls some German suplexes until Hayes armdrags his way out of trouble. That doesn’t work for Dragunov, who kicks him in the face and snaps off a bridging German suplex for two.

A backsplash stays on the ribs for two more and we hit the chinlock. Hayes tries to fight back and gets hit in the face for another near fall. The Constantine Special gets two and Dragunov needs a breather. Dragunov is up with the heavy forearms to the back into a cobra clutch with a bodyscissors. Hayes slips out and hits a kick to the chest, only to get kicked in the head for two more.

Back up and Hayes knocks him into the corner but Dragunov comes back with the chops. Hayes elbows his way out of trouble and a springboard DDT gets two on Dragunov. Back up and Dragunov catches him on top, setting up the top rope backsplash for two. Dragunov tries the Coast To Coast but dives into a Codebreaker (for a VERY over the top bump). Hayes goes up for Nothing But Net, which is countered into a heck of a powerbomb.

Dragunov’s running forearm to the head gets two but a top rope superplex is countered into a super cutter (that was sweet) to give Hayes two of his own. Williams grabs the title to give Hayes a pep talk and the slugout on the ground begins. The slugout sends Hayes out to the floor as the fans find this awesome. Dragunov’s dive takes out Williams by mistake but his head hits the title. That’s enough for Hayes to hit Nothing But Net to retain at 24:08.

Rating: B. This one took some time to get going, but it hit its stride once it stopped being a Dragunov squash of Hayes. They didn’t have the best chemistry, though it worked out well by the end, especially with Dragunov’s own intensity and willingness to go one more step being his downfall. Hayes didn’t look great here, but he looked good enough to get by and in some cases that’s all you need.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like the main event, this show wasn’t great but it was just good enough. One thing I like about NXT is that it never feels like they are trying to be Wrestlemania and that’s how it should be. NXT isn’t good enough to be that big and it would be foolish to try. Instead you get shows like this, where they have been built up well enough and then make the execution work. They pulled it off here and I had a good enough time with the show, especially considering it was in and out in less than two and a half hours. This is worth a look if you want something different, so consider it if you have the chance.

Results
Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz b. Meta Four – Standing Sliced Bread to Mensah
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Gallus – Bada Bing to Wolfgang
Roxanne Perez b. Blair Davenport – Pop Rox onto a pile of chairs
Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson went to a double countout
Dominik Mysterio b. Wes Lee and Mustafa Ali – Frog splash to Lee
Tiffany Stratton b. Thea Hail when Andre Chase threw in the towel
Carmelo Hayes b. Ilja Dragunov – Nothing But Net

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

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AND

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NXT is back on the road as these trips are starting to be a big more frequent. This time the show is around Austin, Texas and we have a pretty strong card. The main event will see NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending against Ilja Dragunov, which should make for a big fight feel. Other than that we have a lot of title matches, including Dominik Mysterio in action, so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Meta Four

Now this is how you Kickoff Show, as it’s one match with a lot of people running around, which should make for a nice way to get the crowd going. I’ve never been a big fan of the giant Kickoff Shows with multiple matches, especially when the show itself is only seven matches. This is a feud that has been going on rather quietly but could make for a good start to the night.

While the Meta Four winning seems like the more logical way to go, I’m rarely a fan of starting things off with a heel winning so we’ll go with Lee and company getting the pin. The good thing about an eight person tag is there will be someone there who can take a fall without getting hurt to keep the feud going. This should be a relatively light match and that’s how a show should start, including with the villains losing.

Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson

After nearly two years of waiting, Steveson FINALLY makes his in-ring debut, even if it might be one of his only matches before he heads back to amateur wrestling. This is a good example of a match that needs to be a degree of difficulty of five (or less) and an execution of ten rather than the other way around. Steveson needs to look crisp and effective rather than trying to do something too complicated and falling on his face. If he can do that, this will be a success.

And yes, of course Steveson wins, as you don’t bring Corbin in to give him a victory in a spot like this. Corbin is there to walk Steveson through the match and that is something he can do well. This is ALL about Steveson and if Corbin can work some magic here and make him look good, it will be a success. Just don’t try to do too much and this could work, but it needs to work very well.

Tag Team Titles: Gallus(c) vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks

It took me time to think of who held the titles at the moment. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you a thing about Gallus’ reign, which has almost reached SIX MONTHS. It says a lot that the NXT tag division, which used to be a large chunk of its backbone, has fallen this far, but here we are. The titles have very little value at the moment and it is pretty clear that something needs to changel.

I’ll go with D’Angelo and Stacks to take the titles from Gallus here. Gallus has been almost ice cold as champions and there is no reason to keep the titles on them any longer. The division isn’t what it used to be, but D’Angelo and Stacks are more than good enough to get the belts here. If nothing else, they need to for the sake of breathing some life back into the championships already.

Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport

This is a Weapons Wild match, because we needed another name for Street Fight. Perez has been on quite the downward slide in recent months and probably needs this win a lot more than Davenport at the moment. However, Davenport is still the new star on the block and it would make a lot of sense to give her the win on the bigger stage as she hasn’t had that kind of success just yet.

In kind of a hard decision, I’m going to go with Davenport, as I think she is going to get more out of a win and a sustained push at the moment. Perez is someone who has already gotten the title reign and special moment. While Perez needs the win more, she can also absorb a loss a bit better, which puts her in a weird position. As strange as it is, I’ll go with Davenport, but this could be either of them.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Wes Lee

This is a lot trickier than I thought, as it is a result that depends on where WWE wants to go next. On one hand, you could have Ali win and get his big moment….and we’ll write that off right now, because I just can’t picture it happening. That leaves us with two realistic options and I could actually see this going in either direction, which makes the match more interesting.

That being said, there is a grand total of NO reason to take the title from Mysterio here. He is getting WAY more mileage out of a title that doesn’t have a ton of value on the main roster and that is a great thing to see. Mysterio is more or less the modern day Honky Tonk Man with the title and Lee doesn’t need to get the title back anytime soon. Let Mysterio milk the heck out of the thing, starting with him retaining here.

Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton(c) vs. Thea Hail

They’ve put themselves into a weird place here as the stakes are almost too stacked against Stratton. It’s a submission match and Hail has turned into a mini submission master, while Hail has only talked about introducing a submission move. Maybe they have a plan for this, but it would be almost weird to see the title change hands in this case, as the field is tilted so much towards Hail.

I’ll go with Stratton retaining here, even though Hail losing again is going to hurt her a lot. There is a chance that this is some kind of screwy finish, where Hail has to give up to save someone else, though I have no idea how that would be set up. I’d love to see Hail win the title and FINALLY give Chase U something to brag about, but I don’t think it happens here, nor should it.

NXT Title: Carmelo Hayes(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov

While the reason for the match is pretty basic, there is a lot to be said about having Dragunov in this spot. Dragunov is the definition of someone you just want to watch because it feels like he is leaving everything in the ring every time he is out there. You can imagine what he is going to do when he is on perhaps the biggest stage he has ever been on. That being said, I’m not sure it means he wins the title.

This is the trickiest decision of the show, as both options are very viable. Hayes hasn’t really felt like one of the great NXT Champions yet, but it’s almost hard to imagine Dragunov losing. I’ll take Hayes to win, but I’m not convinced this is the end of the story. Hayes needs the win more and will get more out of it, though Dragunov taking the title would not shock me in the slightest.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this show, the more interested I am in seeing the show. I’m not seeing some instant classic or all time show here, but I’m seeing a potentially strong show that makes everyone involved look good. There is still no reason to compare these shows to the Takeover series because it’s not the same thing, but we could be in for a very entertaining two and a half or so hours of wrestling, which I would certainly call a success.

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 25, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and believe it or not, Judgment Day is here again. At least Dominik Mysterio being North American Champion gives him a reason to be here, but WWE is getting dangerously close to overexposing the team. Other than that, we get the final showdown between Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov before their title match. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Dominik Mysterio winning and defending the North American Title.

Here are Dominik and Rhea Ripley to get things going. They talk about how great each other is until Rhea has to shout down a CUT THE MULLET chant. As for Lyra Valkyria….and never mind as here is Wes Lee to interrupt. Lee hates seeing Dominik holding that title and wants his rematch TONIGHT.

Cue Mustafa Ali to say he respects Lee but not so much Dominik. Ali wanted his chance to be the new North American Champion but Dominik stole it when this clown….and Lee doesn’t like that. Ali didn’t mean it like that but Dominik says this is a problem between them. That makes Ali swing at Dominik, only to hit Lee. Dominik: “Excuse me, champ coming through.” The other two brawl as Dominik and Rhea escape. Just make the triple threat already, but first of all, make sure you praise Rhea for the little silent things she does. Here she had her head on Dominik’s shoulder and the biggest grin on her face and it made things so much better.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are ready to win the Tag Team Titles. Lucien Price and Bronco Nima come in to say they want the belts too, so a match is on for tonight.

Lyra Valkyria challenged Rhea Ripley for tonight. This video might have been more effective if the match hadn’t already been announced.

Valkyria says she has been here for seven months and needs to know where she stands. She isn’t going to stand in the shadows like Jacy Jayne because people will see who she is.

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams/Ilja Dragunov vs. Schism

Hayes and Joe Gacy start things off with an exchange of knockdowns. Williams comes in for a rather high dropkick but Gacy hits him in the face and brings in Reid. That’s fine with Williams, who hits him in the face and hands it off to Dragunov. Fowler comes in and gets wrestled down without much trouble, meaning Williams can hit him in the face. Everything breaks down and Schism is sent outside as we take a break.

Back with Hayes fighting up and bringing Williams back in. Gacy gets knocked to the floor as Dragunov tags himself back in and knocks the other two outside. Dragunov goes outside with him but misses a charge which sends Williams hard into the steps. Back in and Fowler actually takes over on Dragunov, who chops his way to freedom rather quickly. Everything breaks down and some of the Schism followers pull Reid and Fowler down. Hayes tags himself in and Nothing But Net finishes Gacy at 11:28.

Rating: C+. The ending is what matters here, as Dragunov has been on a roll in recent weeks so Hayes needed to get some momentum of his own on his way to the title match. the (allegedly) incidental contact is more than enough to make things personal and the title match should be awesome.

Video on Tiffany Stratton, who knows she is awesome and isn’t sweating a submission match with Thea Hail.

Von Wagner vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal jumps him to start but gets booted in the face. Wagner hammers away on the mat and hits a swinging slam for the pin at 1:02.

Post match Wagner puts him through the announcers’ table but gets blindsided by Bron Breakker. The beating is on and Wagner gets chaired down for a bonus.

Trick Williams goes after Ilja Dragunov in the back, with Dragunov threatening to break him. Carmelo Hayes says he has this but Williams wants Dragunov tonight. He’s going to call Dragunov out, even with Hayes not looking happy.

Here is Gable Steveson for his big decision. Steveson lists off some of his accomplishments in the Olympics and says he has options in front of him. He is ready to announce his decision but Baron Corbin cuts him off. Corbin talks about how Steveson should just go back to college because this place is full of sharks. Steveson needs to leave before he gets hurt, which he says makes his decision for him. The challenge is on for the Great American Bash and Corbin gets suplexed a few times.

Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade

Singapore Cane match and Kelani James is here with Brooke, who seems to have a Catwoman theme going. They fight on the floor to start and Brooke sends her into the steps. Jade is sent hard over the announcers’ table, with Booker T. getting wiped out in the process (Fans: “ARE YOU OK?). Jordan comes back by taking out the legs and there’s the stick to the back.

They get inside with Jade piling up a bunch of sticks and slamming Brooke onto all of them. One heck of a running knee in the corner hits Brooke in the face but she gets in a shot of her own for a breather. The handspring elbow in the corner sets up a failed bulldog though and Jade hits the DDT for…two. A Jordan distraction lets Brooke send Jade into a chair, allowing Brooke to get the pink kendo stick. Brooke slams her onto the chair and drops a Swanton for the pin at 7:40.

Rating: C. Ok that result is a surprise as I never would have bet on Jade actually losing here. Jade seemed to be ready for a push up the card over the last few months but for some reason she lost here in what should be an upset. Those stick shots were rather loud too, making this a more violent than expected match.

Carmelo Hayes warns Ilja Dragunov about Trick Williams wanting to call him out. Dragunov is fine with that, but it won’t be for a match. He will break Williams, and then he’ll break Hayes at the Great American Bash.

Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey are training with Myles Borne, who doesn’t impress them. Damon Kemp comes in and wants to train with them, which works for the villains.

Bronco Nima/Lucien Price vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks

Scrypts is on commentary as Nima takes over on Stacks. It’s quickly off to Price, who gets elbowed in the face. D’Angelo comes in and is taken down but manages to knock Nima into the corner. It’s already back to Stacks for a chinlock, which doesn’t last long either. Price is back in for a running corner clothesline. Cue Axiom to go after Scrypts and the distraction lets D’Angelo come in to clean house. The Bada Bing finishes Price at 4:55.

Rating: C. I didn’t think it was possible, but Scrypts actually made commentary more annoying. I’m not sure what WWE sees in him other than being a heck of an athlete but anything involving Scrypts talking is horrible. As for the match, the Family getting a win makes sense as they have a title match this weekend, but Price and Nima losing so soon was really surprising.

Post match Gallus pops up to say they’re retaining on Sunday.

Dijak is ready to hurt Eddy Thorpe.

Zion Clark is in the crowd (apparently an MMA fighter and author).

Great American Bash rundown.

We get some cell phone footage of Roxanne Perez attacking Blair Davenport in what looks to be a convenience store. Perez beats her up and threatens her for their fight at the Bash before leaving as the cops arrive. No green frogs were harmed in the filming of this fight.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions with the Meta Four. Their guest this week is the REAL Heritage Cup champion, Noam Dar! They recap Dar losing the Cup….which they somehow have here! Dar wakes up from his stupor and gets out of his wheelchair before going to stand on his couch. Cue Nathan Frazer (with the real Cup) and Dragon Lee to say Dar is a fraud. Now it’s Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz to take out the women, allowing Frazer and Lee to clear the ring.

Duke Hudson and Andre Chase narrate a Thea Hail training montage. Thea says she doesn’t need a miracle, because all she needs is a chance.

Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza yelled at each other and officially split up.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Rhea Ripley

Non-title and Dominik Mysterio is here with Ripley. Valkyria’s headlock doesn’t last long as we hear about Dominik having a triple threat title defense on Sunday. Ripley gets tripped down and looks rather mad, only to get rolled up for two. Back up and Ripley knocks her down but gets rolled up for two more. That earns Valkyria one heck of a German suplex and we take a break.

Back with Ripley hitting a belly to back faceplant for two but Riptide is countered into a choke. Ripley breaks that up and goes up top, only to spend too much time looking at Dominik. Valkyria sends her outside for an apron hurricanrana but Ripley pulls a high crossbody out of the air. A suplex is countered into a DDT on Ripley for two but Valkyria gets kicked down. The Riptide finishes for Ripley at 10:12.

Rating: B. And that is how you give someone one heck of a rub. Ripley talked about how awesome Valkyria was a few weeks ago and then backed it up in the ring here. This was a great way to make Valkyria look like a star, as while she isn’t as good as Ripley, she could be a force around here with some more time. Heck of a match and Ripley made Valkyria look very impressive.

Post match Ripley says prove her right and beat Jacy Jayne.

Great American Bash rundown.

Here is Trick Williams to call out Ilja Dragunov, who comes straight down the aisle. A dropkick hits Dragunov and Williams unloads on him against the barricade. Dragunov fights back and unloads with chops in the corner before dropping a big right hand to the face. Carmelo Hayes tries to make the save and gets dropped as well. Dragunov promises to take the title on Sunday to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show had some nice moments and the wrestling was mostly ok, but what matters most is it made me more interested in seeing the Sunday’s pay per view. That’s the point of a show like this one and they made it work. The Bash needs to be a hit as they don’t do shows like that very often, but the hype for the show went well and that’s what matters the most, at least for tonight.

Results
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams/Ilja Dragunov b. Schism – Nothing But Net to Gacy
Von Wagner b. Javier Bernal – Swinging slam
Dana Brooke b. Cora Jade – Swanton
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Lucien Price/Bronco Nima – Bada Bing to Price
Rhea Ripley b. Lyra Valkyria – Riptide

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Smackdown
Date: July 21, 2023
Location: Amway Arena, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We are just over two weeks away from Summerslam and this week has a pretty major development. The big story of the week will be the announcement of the rules of engagement between Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. Other than that, we get a step closer to a #1 contender to the US Title. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of the recent Bloodline issues, which got us to tonight’s Jey Uso vs. Roman Reigns showdown.

Rey Mysterio vs. Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight vs. Sheamus

The winner gets to face Santos Escobar next week for the US Title shot at Summerslam, meaning Summerslam is at ringside. Knight has a mic on the way to the ring and promises to win the match to go to Summerslam (the fans approve). It’s a brawl to start with the four of them pairing off. Knight elbows Sheamus down and the fans are very pleased as we take a break.

Back with Knight and Grimes being sent outside, leaving us with Sheamus vs. Rey in the ring. Rey and Sheamus actually hit the stereo forearms to the other twos’ chests but Sheamus isn’t having that much gimmick infringement. Instead it’s a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker to Rey but Grimes comes back in to kick away at them. Knight’s comeback is cut off with an enziguri and Grimes faceplants Mysterio for two. Back up and Knight crotches Rey on top but the other two come over to make it a Tower Of Doom.

We take a break and come back with Rey hurricanranaing Grimes at Theory at ringside but only hitting the chair. Sheamus sends Grimes and Rey into the barricade but Knight counters the Brogue Kick into a slam. Blunt Force Trauma is broken up so Knight settles for his reverse AA for two, with Rey making the save.

Rey goes up top but Grimes catches him, only to have Rey hit a top rope hurricanrana on Sheamus and Grimes at the same time. Theory breaks up the cover by sending Rey into the steps so here is Santos Escobar to fight Theory into the crowd. We hit the parade of finishes until Rey snaps off a hurricanrana to finish Grimes at 18:36.

Rating: B-. Well, at least Knight didn’t get pinned. That is likely going to be the big talking point coming out of this match as Knight’s non-push has been rather interesting for the last few weeks. As for the actual winner, this sets up Mysterio vs. Escobar, which should have more than a few interesting facets. The match itself was a higher level version the four way formula, though it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

Post match Rey and Escobar have a respectful standoff.

The Cavinder Twins, NXT rookies, are here.

Jey Uso is walking through the back and runs into NXT’s Tony D, Stacks and the Creeds, all of whom are or were NXT stars.

Austin Theory wants Santos Escobar tonight, with Adam Pearce making it official. Non-title of course.

We look at Brock Lesnar taking out Cody Rhodes on Raw.

Carmelo Hayes (NXT Champion) and his friend Trick Williams are here.

NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton is here.

Charlotte vs. Iyo Sky

Bayley is with Sky and joins commentary. They trade cartwheels to start until Charlotte gets in a quick shot, setting up a high crossbody for an early two. Sky is back up and drops Charlotte as Bayley isn’t interested in talking about Shotzi last week. Charlotte knocks her to the floor but misses a dive as we take a break.

Back with Charlotte in trouble but neckbreakering her way to a double knockdown. Sky’s crossbody is countered into a fall away slam and an Honor Roll gets two. Bayley has had enough and offers a distraction, allowing Sky to hit an awesome sunset bomb. We get a rather intense video of Shotzi shaving her head last week and Bayley is scared enough to run away.

Charlotte misses the spear into the corner and the crossface goes on. With that broken up, Sky misses the missile dropkick and the spear gives Charlotte two. A German suplex connects for the same but Sky catches her on top with a super hurricanrana. They trade rollups for two each until Natural Selection finishes Sky at 13:38.

Rating: B. This had time and they were able to put something together here. The Smackdown women’s division has become something rather interesting in a short amount of time. You have four women in the title hunt right now, with Sky looming over all of them. I want to see where this is going and that’s interesting for a change.

Post match Asuka runs in and lays out Charlotte.

Dominik Mysterio is the new NXT North American Champion. Cue Butch to say he wants a title shot and here’s Shawn Michaels to make it official. Well that was quick.

Roman Reigns looks at the lei that symbolizes being Tribal Chief. Solo Sikoa looks at it as well and Reigns isn’t pleased.

Bayley gets to her locker room and finds a photo of herself stabbed to her bag with a pair of scissors. They’re out fast.

Santos Escobar vs. Austin Theory

Non-title. Theory knocks him down for an early two but Escobar is right back with a running headscissors. A rollup gives Escobar two but Theory slips away from what looked like Colt Cabana’s Billy Goat’s Curse. Theory bails from the threat of a dive and we take a break. Back with Theory getting two off a backbreaker but not being able to drop Escobar on the apron.

Instead Escobar knocks him outside for a suicide dive. Some running forearms drop Theory again back inside and a high crossbody gives Escobar two. Theory gets in a left hand and a fisherman’s buster gets two. A-Town Down is blocked so they both go to the top, where Escobar snaps off a heck of a super hurricanrana. The Phantom Driver finishes Theory at 10:43.

Rating: C+. The match was good enough stuff but it’s almost weird to see a champion losing like this. I know Theory hasn’t been the strongest champion in recent months but I could have gone without him getting pinned here. Escobar getting the title shot at the title itself should work out, though the threat of the two going 50/50 looms rather large.

Bobby Lashley meets with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams.

NXT North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Butch

Mysterio, with Rhea Ripley, is defending. Butch doesn’t waste time in hitting a dropkick and cranking on the fingers. The arm stomp sets up an armbar but Dominik is right in the ropes. Ripley slips Dominik a chain but here is Ridge Holland to pull it away. Butch grabs a quick X Plex and we take a break.

Back with Dominik hitting the slingshot hilo for two and we hit the chinlock. Cue Pretty Deadly, with Elton Prince in a wheelchair due to his separated shoulder. Butch fights up and hits Dominik in the face, earning commentary some yelling from Ripley. The kick to the head gives Butch two as Pretty Deadly and Holland get into it on the floor. The three of them go running off but Rhea chop blocks Butch, allowing Dominik to get in a posting to retain at 7:54.

Rating: C. As is usually the case, Dominik’s in-ring work (while fine) isn’t the point. This was about Ripley helping Dominik retain the title and all of the other shenanigans going on at the same time. It made or an entertaining showcase, with Dominik almost playing the modern day Honky Tonk Man. That’s an idea that could last for a long time, and this could be a nice first step.

Here is Jey Uso, followed by the Bloodline, to decide the rules of his match with Roman Reigns (in the form of a contract signing). They both sit down at the table and Reigns asks if Jey still wants to do this. Jey says that Jimmy is in the hospital so Jey has to get him. Reigns says that Jey isn’t getting him because he doesn’t get it. He’s just a soldier and a pawn in the game.

Reigns calmly signs the contract but Jey rips up the contract. Jey says they don’t need the contract because it’s in their blood. This is officially Tribal Combat, which has Reigns and Sikoa looking a bit more serious. Reigns: “Do the elders know about this?” Jey: “It was their idea Uce.”

Tribal Combat means anything goes, with Jey listing off everything that can happen. Reigns puts the title down and puts the lei on top of it, suggesting that it’s for the title and the spot as Tribal Chief. Sikoa loads up the Spike on Jey but Reigns blocks it and Sikoa gets superkicked. Reigns isn’t sure what to make of this and leaves to end the show. So it sounds like a street fight/no holds barred, but Reigns and Sikoa’s reaction to the term “Tribal Combat” sold the heck out of this, as you get the sense that they know it just got a lot more serious.

Overall Rating: C+. This was more about setting things up for the future and as a result, it made for kind of a weaker than usual Smackdown. What mattered here was setting things up for Summerslam, or at least the next few weeks and that part was a success. The wrestling was a bit up and down, but I think they knew the audience would be smaller because of the show being away from FOX this week. Not a bad show, but it was something you would watch if nothing else was on, not watch it above everything else.

Results
Rey Mysterio b. LA Knight, Sheamus and Cameron Grimes – Standing hurricanrana to Grimes
Charlotte b. Iyo Sky – Natural Selection
Santos Escobar b. Austin Theory – Phantom Driver
Dominik Mysterio b. Butch – Ram into the post

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

We are less than two weeks away from the Great American Bash and that means it is time to build towards Ilja Dragunov challenging Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title. That should go well, as it’s Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes. Other than that, Judgment Day’s NXT excursion continues as Dominik Mysterio challenges for the North American Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Here are Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes to open things up ans Vic Joseph is seen tapping Booker T. on the arm over and over in the background. Williams introduces Hayes, who talks about how the numbers game and interference cost them a tag match last week. Ilja Dragunov tried to “help” and here is Dragunov to interrupt.

Dragunov says he didn’t mean to mess with Hayes’ business last week, but he wasn’t about to let Damian Priest use his Money In The Bank briefcase to take the NXT Title to the main roster. Dragunov accuses Hayes of losing control last week, but Hayes praises his ability to keep going.

Threats are made for the Great American Bash, with Hayes saying he feels everything. There is no one more qualified to face him than Dragunov, but Hayes isn’t going to lose anytime soon. He is Mr. PLE and he will hit different. Dragunov says he has a fire inside but Hayes promises to blow it out. They only have so much time to set this up so diving in head first like this is a good idea.

Mustafa Ali comes in to Wes Lee’s locker room and says he doesn’t think much about Lee agreeing to face Dominik Mysterio. Ali is already set for his title match, but he isn’t sure about tonight. Lee doesn’t seem to like that disrespect.

Earlier today, Stacks picked up Tony D’Angelo from prison and everything seems ok.

Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza vs. Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer

Angel and Humberto jump them to start until it’s Frazer picking up the pace as he and Humberto start. A running dropkick sends Humberto into the corner for one so here is Lee for a change. Lee gets taken into the wrong corner and Humberto goes after the mask. A suplex gives Humberto two and here are Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz. Frazer’s flip dive is cut off and dropped in front of them as we take a break.

Back with Lee fighting back and hitting a running knee for two on Garza. Everything breaks down and Carrillo drops Frazer face first onto the announcers’ table. Back in and a double top rope slam puts Lee down, setting up one heck of a moonsault to give Carrillo two. Garza hits a superkick on Lee but Frazer is back in with a middle rope Downward Spiral. Lee’s sitout powerbomb gets two on Carrillo, followed by a running flip into a reverse DDT to finish Garza at 11:27.

Rating: B. This got rocking by the end and that is what you want from a match like this one. It’s always a good idea to let a bunch of fast paced, talented wrestlers go out there and tear the house down and that is almost what you had here. Carrillo and Garza can work well with anyone and Lee/Frazer might just be a bit better. Very fun stuff here with some great near falls.

Post match Garza yells at Carrillo, who shoves him down and says it was his fault. Carrillo leaves through the crowd, with Garza following.

Baron Corbin finds a man standing near a bunch of torches and doesn’t know how he let this happen. Everything was easy but then he burned everything he had. Now it’s time to evolve, but to what? He will face his future, and we see the hooded person is…..a slightly taller Corbin?

Earlier today, NXT Anonymous revealed a clip of Booker T. giving Roxanne Perez a pep talk.

Booker is NOT happy about this invasion of privacy.

Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James

James starts fast and hammers away but gets dropkicked to the floor for her efforts. Back in and James slams her down for two before Dolin wins a strike off. Dolin misses a shot though and pulls her down by the hair. It’s time to bring in the loaded bag but Dolin has it taken away, allowing James to hit the 401K onto the bag for the pin at 3:28.

Rating: C. That’s quite the odd result as I wouldn’t have bet on Dolin, who has felt ready to move up to the next level, to lose here as James hasn’t been doing much lately. Maybe James gets to go somewhere, but there is a good chance that this isn’t over yet as Dolin is going to want revenge. Or at least to find out what is is in the bag.

Last week, Scrypts agreed that he and Axiom would face Lucien Price and Bronco Nima this week, but Axiom said they aren’t a regular team. He’ll team with Scrypts, but this can’t keep happening.

Ivy Nile takes down the Diamond Mine banner.

Noam Dar is so depressed that he canceled last week’s Supernova Sessions.

Last week’s planned Supernova Sessions guest, Eddy Thorpe, is interrupted by the Meta Four, who give him a consolation prize of a photo of Noam Dar. The ensuing trashing of the photo results in Oro Mensah vs. Thorpe, likely tonight.

Bronco Nima/Lucien Price vs. Scrypts/Axiom

Axiom is powered into the corner to start but comes out with a headscissors and kick to the face. Back up and Axiom gets over to Scrypts for some flips…..and a forearm to the back of Axiom’s head as the team splits. A running boot gives Mina the pin on Axiom at 2:12. Good, as the team was holding Axiom back.

It’s time for Tony D’Angelo’s big return celebration. Stacks, with a bunch of people behind him, brings out Tony, who is very proud of what Stacks did. We see a video of the two stringing Gallus along to pretend that Stacks was turning on Tony. It’s all a ruse get the title shot and here is a livid Gallus. They don’t like being lied to, but the rest of the Family whip out crowbars so the beating can ensue. Mark Coffey goes through a table so D’Angelo and Stacks can hold up the titles.

Elektra Lopez vs. Thea Hail

Lopez, with Lola Vice, knocks Hail with Duke Hudson, into the corner t start but Hail comes out with a suplex. Not that it matters as Hail grabs the Kimura for the tap at 1:11.

Post match Hail says she wants to make Tiffany Stratton tap out, meaning it’s time for a REMATCH chant. Cue Stratton to say the rematch is on, because Hail is in over her head. Hail wants a submission match but gets turned down. That’s fine with Hail, who puts on the Kimura again until Tiffany agrees to the stipulation.

Tony D’Angelo and company wish Dominik Mysterio good luck tonight. With D’Angelo and company gone, Rhea Ripley calls over Lyra Valkyria and tells her to deal with Jacy Jayne.

Gable Steveson makes his decision next week.

Oro Mensah vs. Eddy Thorpe

The rest of the Meta Four is here with Mensah. They start fast by trading knockdowns until Mensah gets in a shot to take him down. Some right hands keep Thorpe in trouble and Mensah kicks him down again. The neck crank doesn’t last long as commentary bickers about who is right coming into this. Thorpe fights back and knocks Mensah outside, leaving the Meta Four to carry the catatonic Noam Dar inside. The distraction lets Dijak run in and drop Thorpe, setting up Mensah’s running spinwheel kick in the corner for the pin at 4:42.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much to see but Dijak cutting Thorpe off means we should be having a big showdown in the near future. For now though, Mensah gets to shine a bit, which really has not been the case so far in the Meta Four. Not bad here, though somehow Dar was the interesting part, which might never have been said before.

Kelani Jordan and Dana Brooke do gymnastics. Cora Jade is not impressed.

We get a split screen interview between Blair Davenport and Roxanne Perez. Roxanne isn’t happy with NXT Anonymous (Blair: “It isn’t me.”) but she’s ready to face Blair in her home state of Texas. Blair says Perez had a great rookie year but that was last year. Perez goes off about how she is tired of being treated as this helpless and now she is ready to prove herself. Blair says you either have the killer instinct or you don’t (Perez: “I have it!”) and we’ll see that reality at the Great American Bash. Perez storms out as Blair mocks her.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Wes Lee

Mysterio, with Rhea Ripley, is challenging. After the Big Match Intros, Lee grabs a headlock to start as the fans debate if Dominik is ready. Lee kicks him to the floor and teases the dive as we take a break. Back with Dominik hitting Three Amigos into the 619 into a Michinoku Driver or two.

The frog splash misses though and they slug it out with Dominik getting the better of things. Some right hands keep Lee down but Lee comes back with some hard shots of his own. Lee kicks him in the face and grabs a springboard tornado DDT. The Spiral Tap connects but cue the Judgment Day for a distraction. Ripley belts Lee and Dominik gets the pin and the title at 10:32.

Rating: C+. This was all about the big surprise at the end and that worked very well. Lee has gotten far more than enough out of the title reign and pulling the trigger here was a great surprise. That was one heck of a curve ball, but as usual, it helps that Dominik can wrestle a completely fine match. It’s not like this is some manager beating Lee, which makes it just a little more interesting. Pretty awesome surprise here and nicely done on finally ending Lee’s reign in a unique way.

The fans are STUNNED as Judgment Day celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The ending and the pretty awesome tag match were what mattered here and carried the show. The Bash is mostly set at this point, with Bron Breakker’s status being the top question mark. I liked the show well enough, but there are some parts that don’t quite feel as important. Unfortunately most of those were the women’s segments, which don’t quite have the same gravity. Stratton vs. Hail feels almost a bit silly in parts, but the fans want to see Hail win so there is something there. Overall, pretty nice show that did some important things, but not quite must see.

Results
Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer b. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza – Running flipping reverse DDT to Garza
Kiana James b. Gigi Dolin – 401K
Bronco Nima/Lucien Price b. Scrypts/Axiom – Running boot tom Axiom
Thea Hail b. Elektra Lopez – Kimura
Oro Mensah b. Eddy Thorpe – Running spinwheel kick in the corner
Dominik Mysterio b. Wes Lee – Belt shot from Rhea Ripley

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

It’s a big night as Judgment Day is here again. This time around that should mean some issues for Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, as there are still issues to deal with from before Money In The Bank. Other than that, we have the fate of Tony D’Angelo as NXT’s idea of how the courts work continues to be out there. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Judgment Day to get things going. The fans chant for Mami but Finn Balor says DADDY’S HOME. It’s time to do some Judgment Day things, starting with Damian Priest, who doesn’t like Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes. Dominik Mysterio gets booed down, but here are Hayes and Williams to interrupt. Hayes praises Balor but says the two of them run this place. Priest says that’s because Judgment Day isn’t here every week. Williams and Priest get into the argument and a tag match is made for later.

Tony D’Angelo, who needs to get to chow time in jail, says he wants to trust Stacks but he keeps hearing bad things. He’s just not sure anymore.

Gigi Dolin talks about how she puts herself out there, while Kiana James tries to hide her past. We see some shots of a younger James seemingly being quite the different kind of person.

James insists that isn’t her anymore.

Chase U vs. Charlie Dempsey/Drew Gulak

The fight is on before the bell until we settle down to Dempsey hitting Hudson in the face. As Lucien Price and Bronco Nima pop up on the platform to watch, Hudson gets in a running hurricanrana on Gulak, with commentary not believing it. Hudson gets caught on top but manages something like a super Michinoku Driver. Chase comes in and is quickly slammed down, allowing Dempsey to grab the chinlock.

That doesn’t last either, as it’s back to Hudson to clean house. Everything breaks down and Chase U clears the ring as we take a break. Back with Hudson fighting out of trouble and bringing in Chase to clean house. Suplexes abound and there’s the Spelling Stomp to Dempsey. A high crossbody gets two and it’s time to exchange German suplexes. Thea Hail has had it with this and grabs a Kimura on Gulak, leaving the Fratliner to finish Dempsey at 11:22.

Rating: C+. This was all about getting Chase back in the ring and the fans still seem to absolutely love him. That is exactly what NXT had to be hoping for, but now it’s all about actually doing something with him. Chase U was the hottest thing in NXT for a good while but they never really did anything. Change that this time and we could be in for something rather interesting.

Bron Breakker is ready to beat Ilja Dragunov and become #1 contender.

Von Wagner talks about how he was an outcast as a kid and eventually accepted being a monster. He started doing that here, but for the first time, the fans were cheering him. Wagner has Mr. Stone to thank for that, which leaves Stone looking happy.

Kelani Jordan vs. Cora Jade

Dana Brooke is here with Jordan. The gymnastics frustrated Jade to start but she gets in a few stomps to take over. A running dropkick hits Jordan as she is tied up in the ropes, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Jordan gets two off a rollup and the forearms abound. Jordan’s springboard is broken up though and Jade hits the DDT for the pin at 3:58.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time to do anything here but Jade continues to look strong. That’s all you can ask for from a match this short when Jade is facing someone brand new. There’s a good chance we get Jade vs. Brooke next and then hopefully Jade gets to move on to something a little more difficult.

Post match Jade goes after Jordan again but Dana Brooke makes the save.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to be #1 contender.

We look at Eddy Thorpe winning the NXT Underground match last week.

Gable Steveson isn’t sure what to do now because he loves being here but also wants another Olympic medal.

Dijak is not impressed with Thorpe winning one NXT Underground match.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Bron Breakker

For the NXT Title shot at the Great American Bash. Breakker powers him straight into the corner to start but Dragunov wins a slugout. The 61Line is countered with a heck of a suplex though and Dragunov is right back in trouble. Dragunov chops away but Breakker just unloads on him with forearms and right hands as we take a break.

Back with Dragunov winning another slugout but getting caught with a German suplex. Breakker cuts him off with some raised boots though and the top rope bulldog (which barely makes contact) knocks Dragunov silly. Dragunov is back up with a Death Valley Driver into the corner, setting up a Coast To Coast.

The Torpedo connects for two, and Dragunov is stunned by the kickout. Breakker is right back with a heck of a spear for two before loading up the gorilla press. That’s reversed into a DDT for two but Breakker hits a clothesline. Another spear is cut off by a knee to Breakker’s head and now the Torpedo to the back of the head can finish for Dragunov at 14:22.

Rating: B. This was straight out of the old NXT playbook, as you have the new top challenger facing the previous top challenger to give the new one some credibility. In this case it helps that Dragunov and Breakker worked very well together and had a pretty great fight. Dragunov can sell like no other and Breakker’s power stuff looked awesome against him. Very good match here and it could have been on some kind of special instead of regular TV.

Wes Lee talks about being ready for Mustafa Ali when Dominik Mysterio, with Rhea Ripley, comes in to accept the open challenge. There wasn’t one open, but they can do it next week.

A driving Baron Corbin talks about not knowing who he is anymore because he has changed so many times. He comes to a circle of torches and asks who he is.

Ivy Nile vs. Tiffany Stratton

Non-title. Stratton shoulders her down to start and then does it again. Back up and Nile grabs the arm before getting in a hard shot to the face. Stratton is fine enough to knock her to the apron, setting up a running hip attack to the floor. Back in and the chinlock is broken up without much trouble, allowing Nile to kick her in the head. The Diamond Chain Lock is broken up and it’s a Regal Roll into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. Much like the previous women’s match, there wasn’t much time to do anything here, but at least Nile got in a bit more offense. I’m not sure what she is going to be able to do with the Creeds gone, but her in-ring abilities should be enough to carry her pretty far. Stratton is looking for her next challenger, so keeping her warm is a good idea.

Post match Stratton grabs the mic but is told she tapped out so many times that she gives up.

Chase U gives Thea Hail a pep talk and believe she can be Women’s Champion.

Noam Dar is still depressed.

Blair Davenport mocks Roxanne Perez for taking a beating last week and promises to do it even worse next time Perez comes at her.

Stacks vs. Joe Coffey

Galls is here with Coffey. If Stacks wins, the charges against Tony D’Angelo are dropped and he and Stacks get a Tag Team Title shot. Otherwise, it goes to trial. Feeling out process to start until Coffey grabs a headlock takeover to grind away. Back up and All The Best For The Bells gets two on Stacks, with Coffey looking stunned at the kickout. Stacks insists that he isn’t a snitch and we take a break.

Back with D’Angelo calling in to be happy with Stacks as Coffey cranking on the arm. A clothesline cuts Stacks down again and here are Lucien Price and Bronco Nima to glare at Gallus. Price and Nima leave as Stacks fights up and hits him in the face. Stacks runs him over so Wolfgang yells at the referee, allowing Stacks to grab what looks like a pipe. With the referee turning around, Stacks hands the pipe to Wolfgang, getting Gallus ejected. The running knee to the back of the head finishes D’Angelo at 10:45.

Rating: C+. This whole story has been way over the top and more than a bit nuts at times, but Stacks has gotten a lot out of the whole thing. He has gone from little more than a generic heel to an actual character who can back it up in the ring. That’s more than I would have bet on and the D’Angelo Family winning the titles would make a lot of sense.

Schism comes up to Ivy Nile, who accuses Joe Gay at being the masked man last week. They invite Nile to join the team but she doesn’t say anything.

Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz talk about Noam Dar when Humberto and Angel come in to hit on them. With that not being well received, Dragon Lee and Nathan Frazer come in to get rid of the pesky guys.

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams vs. Judgment Day

Finn Balor/Damian Priest for the team here, with the latter punching Williams in the face to start. Priest cranks on the arm before handing it off to Balor for some choking on the ropes. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Balor drives him into the corner for some chops. Williams manages to get over to the corner for the tag to Hayes though and the ring is quickly cleared.

We take a break and come back with Hayes being sent into the wrong corner, allowing Priest to hit a running corner elbow. The double arm crank is broken up rather quickly and the rolling tag brings Williams back in. A running neckbreaker gives Williams two but Priest gets in a clothesline for the double knockdown. Hayes and Balor come in to pick the pace back up with Hayes hitting a superkick for two. The Sling Blade drops Hayes again but the Coup de Grace misses.

A springboard clothesline gives Hayes two more but it’s Priest coming in with a kick to the head. Williams makes the save as everything breaks down. Priest hits a Razor’s Edge onto the announcers’ table but Hayes grabs a Codebreaker. Cue Dominik Mysterio for a distraction but Hayes faceplants Priest anyway. The briefcase is thrown in but here is Ilja Dragunov to take it away. Hayes is sent into the briefcase though and it’s South of Heaven into the Coup de Grace to pin Hayes at 12:15.

Rating: B-. There was a lot of protection for Hayes, but I’m still not sure why you need to have the champion lose here when you have Williams in the same match. At least it does set up more of the Great American Bash main event, which should be great, but I’m assuming this is it for Judgment Day, at least most of them, in NXT. This id feel like a big time main event though and that is what matters more than almost anything else.

Hayes and Dragunov yell at each other to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty nice show this week with some of the matches feeling rather big for a regular TV show. The women’s matches weren’t exactly treated as important though and that is still a little weird to see. Other than that though, there wasn’t much that brought this down and it did a nice job of setting things up for the Great American Bash later this month.

Results
Chase U b. Charlie Dempsey/Drew Gulak – Fratliner to Dempsey
Cora Jade b. Kelani Jordan – DDT
Ilja Dragunov b. Bron Breakker – Torpedo
Tiffany Stratton b. Ivy Nile – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Stacks b. Joe Coffey – Running knee to the head
Judgment Day b. Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams – Coup de Grace to Hayes

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