NXT
Date: December 14, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s another new era as Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly are both gone, at least for the time being. That means we might be in for some new names, but ultimately that might not be the best thing. Some of the new generation has done well, but there are more than a few who haven’t been the most thrilling. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Grayson Waller attacking Johnny Gargano to end last week’s show.

Waller arrives and gets booed by a bunch of fans, so he films a bit of the reaction.

We recap Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson. Grimes has beaten Hudson in poker and a match, including cutting off some of Hudson’s hair. Tonight is the final fight, no holds barred.

Duke Hudson vs. Cameron Grimes

No holds barred so Grimes busts out the weapons before the bell. Hudson still has the blond wig, as held down by the headgear. The brawl starts on the floor, with Grimes getting in a few shots early on. Hudson has to fix the hair while fighting back, but Grimes slips out of a Razor’s Edge attempt on the floor. Back in and a chair is set up, with Hudson managing a Rock Bottom onto the edge (that was nasty) for two.

We take a break and come back with Grimes diving over a poker table to hit a high crossbody for another near fall. Hudson catches him on top though and counters the Cave In into a powerbomb through the poker table. The cover takes awhile because the shoulders aren’t on the mat though and Grimes is up at two. The frustrated Hudson goes outside to grab the electric hair clippers but gets kicked in the face. Grimes hits the Cave In through a chair for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: C+. I’m glad they got to the point with this as the feud was more or less done once Grimes cut Hudson’s hair. Grimes has done everything he can to Hudson at this point so let them both move on. It’s good to see Grimes pick up another feud and hopefully he gets to move on to a higher level.

Post match, Grimes de-wigs Hudson to reveal the bald head.

Cora Jade is medically cleared but here is Dakota Kai to say that this is what “she” does. Maybe “they” can get together and win the Dusty Cup! Jade is ready to beat Kai tonight instead. I’m not sure who Kai meant but it almost sounded like the interviewer.

Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs are getting to go to a country concert with Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter. The band isn’t actually mentioned, but the culture clash seems to be a bit of an issue. Carter and Catanzaro wind up dancing with each other.

Here is Grayson Waller for his big talk after attacking Johnny Gargano. Waller is very proud of what happened last week and we see some footage from his own phone of the chaos, including Vic Joseph looking rather annoyed. After he took out Gargano, he spent some time partying with the biggest celebrities in the world. What did the people here do? Spend the weekend yelling about him online!

We see some tweets, including from Wade Barrett, who calls Waller a “POS”, but Barrett might like him anyway. Waller doesn’t care what Barrett thinks because it isn’t 2010. He does find it interesting that Vic Joseph got so mad but didn’t do anything, which has Joseph looking mad. Waller says the only thing he needs to bet on is himself to wrap it up. This was pretty generic at best and I’m not sure if Waller has the level of heat NXT thinks/hopes he does.

We recap Riddle being revealed as MSK’s Shaman.

It’s time for Lashing Out with Lash Legend, with Jacket Time as this week’s guests. We pause for Mei Ying to walk by with her pillow until Legend can talk about how nice the two of them dress. Legend asks about the Grizzled Young Veterans so Ikemen Jiro goes into a rant about the Veterans, albeit with subtitles. That’s all the time we have, making this the least annoying edition yet, mainly because Legend barely talked. As usual though, these segments feel more like the comic relief stuff (especially Ying) and they are such a detour from everything else.

Amari Miller vs. Ivy Nile

Nile throws her down to start and then chokes away in the corner. Miller comes back with some rollups for two each and hits a dropkick. A spinwheel kick misses though and Nile spinebusters her down. The neck crank finishes Miller at 3:40.

Rating: C-. Miller continues to be someone they see something in and that is not a bad thing. She has a great smile and a lot of charisma so if she can back it up with the rest, she’ll be fine. Nile seems like she has all of the basic tools, but she is going to need to show she can do things in some longer matches.

Xyon Quinn knows how Elektra Lopez plays now so the game is continuing. Quinn leaves so here is Robert Stone to say it’s time for him to be taken seriously. Now it’s Von Wagner coming in to say if people has a problem, come say it to his face. Who knew he was an Alex Riley fan?

Riddle has a magic sack and pulls out presents for MSK: a baseball bat, a traffic cone and the John Cena spinner US Title belt. Riddle says these things are holding them down, so it’s time to learn to let it go and become the best again. Then Riddle pulls out a scooter, which is the key to clearing your mind.

Harland vs. Guru Raaj

Joe Gacy (with a peppier song about being yours) is here with Harland. Raaj is sent face first into the mat to start and some elbows to the face keep him in trouble. A belly to back slam finishes Raaj at 1:06.

Post match, Harland beats Raaj up again but Gacy calms him down so they can leave.

LA Knight arrives in his nice car and says he doesn’t want to hear about Grayson Waller after he hit one cool move (with help) at WarGames. It’s not Knight’s fault that some fine woman was feeling him last week and he’ll smack Waller around when he sees him.

Security is trying to get rid of Harland, so he throws Brian Kendrick (an agent) down the steps.

Dakota Kai vs. Cora Jade

Mandy Rose is on commentary. They fight the corner to start, with Jade’s bad shoulder being sent into the buckle. Kai works on the armbar but misses the running boot in the corner, as Rose tries to figure out why Jade rides a skateboard (Rose: “This isn’t a park.”). A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Kai two, followed by a swinging reverse DDT for the same. Back up and Jade grabs a very quick rollup for the pin at 6:28, leaving Rose stunned at the luck.

Rating: C-. This was mainly a squash until Jade survived in the end, which is rarely a good way to go. I’m not sure how far Jade is going to go around here but she does have some charisma to back it up. That being said, she might need more than being able to hold her shoulder to make something like this work long term.

Post match Kai lays Jade out again but Raquel Gonzalez runs in for the save. Cue Toxic Attraction for the distraction though, allowing Mandy to take Jade down by the arm again.

Tiffany Stratton tells Grayson Waller her daddy thinks he’s a bad person. Io Shirai comes up and yells at Waller a lot. Waller thinks Shirai likes him.

Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai are fighting in the back.

Andre Chase vs. Tony D’Angelo

D’Angelo drives him into the corner to start and sends Chase face first into the corner. Chase might go to the eyes to escape and swears by his student section that he didn’t cheat. A neckbreaker gets two on D’Angelo and a Russian legsweep gets the same. We hit the chinlock, but D’Angelo fights up and sends him into the corner for the break. Chase’s sweater is pulled over his head for some shots to the ribs, setting up the fisherman’s neckbreaker to give D’Angelo the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C-. These are two of the gimmickiest wrestlers on the show right now and it felt like something out of a low level indy promotion. D’Angelo is still as over the top as you can get and Chase is….I’m really not sure what he is actually. He has some talent, but where is he supposed to go with this beyond the NXT midcard?

Post match, D’Angelo declares himself as the head of the class but here is Pete Dunne to interrupt. D’Angelo doesn’t think much of Dunne and goes after him, only to get his fingers snapped.

Grayson Waller comes into the locker room, where Bron Breakker tells him to get out. Others agree, so Waller says real stars have their own locker room anyway.

Brian Kendrick is being checked on and is in a neck brace.

Boa vs. Edris Enofe

Boa knocks him down to start and grabs a quick cobra clutch to keep Enofe in trouble. Some knees to the ribs set up a butterfly suplex for two. Boa grabs the chinlock but Enofe fights up and hits a dropkick. A fisherman’s suplex gets two on Boa but he grabs the Tongan Death Grip. Enofe is stunned and it’s a spinning kick to the head to give Boa the pin at 3:03.

Rating: D+. I’m still not sure what they see in Boa, but I don’t think it’s the greatest idea to have him beat a bunch of people with interesting vignettes (like he did to Draco Anthony a few weeks ago on 205 Live). The matches aren’t even that good (save for that awesome kick to the head) but the Boa train continues for some reason. At least stop having him beat people before they get the chance to establish themselves.

Raquel Gonzalez has to finish this with Dakota Kai and wants a street fight.

Grayson Waller steals LA Knight’s car, having taken Knight out. There was someone in the car with him but it wasn’t clear who.

Jacket Time vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Kushida takes Drake down to start so Gibson is right there for a pep talk. The advice doesn’t work as Kushida takes him down and twist the arm around. Kushida finally gets knocked down so the double teaming can begin. That lasts all of a few seconds until Kushida strikes his way to freedom and brings in Jiro.

House is cleaned as everything breaks down, including the Hoverboard Lock to Gibson. That’s reversed into a suplex for two but Kushida fights out of Ticket To Ride. Cue the Creed Brothers, whose distraction allows Jacket Time to hit stereo dives. A Swanton/reverse DDT combination finishes Drake at 6:24.

Rating: C. This was much more of a formula tag match and that is a good idea for both of them. That being said, the tag division is pretty terrible right now and I’m not sure I can see it getting that much better. Above all else, the Veterans have gone from a team who could have been a big deal to whatever they are now, while Jacket Time feels like a gimmick that probably doesn’t have much of a shelf life as anything more than comedy.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes run into Roderick Strong and don’t think much of him. Then they find a scary drawing from Dexter Lumis and panic a bit.

Cora Jade and Brian Kendrick have both been injured and could be out for awhile.

Bron Breakker vs. Roderick Strong

Non-title. Strong takes him down to start as Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are watching from the balcony. Breakker muscles Strong up to start into a suplex, setting up a nip up to show off. They head outside with Strong dropping him onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Breakker fighting out of a front facelock but getting caught with a fireman’s carry gutbuster. Breakker isn’t having that and comes back with a powerslam, followed by the big running shoulders. Strong knocks him against the ropes though and hits the running forearms. The Angle Slam gets two and it’s a top rope superplex into a tiger bomb for two more on Breakker. That’s too far for Breakker, who counters a charge into something like a powerbomb. The gorilla press powerslam finishes for Breakker at 9:53.

Rating: B-. This is the kind of thing they should be doing with Breakker: putting him in the ring with a talented veteran who can show him a lot more of the ropes. Breakker has all of the star potential in the world, but he is desperately in need of experience. Having him out there for ten minutes with someone like Strong, who can walk him through a match, is a good idea and the kind of thing he should be doing three nights a week on the house show circuit. Strong’s Cruiserweight Title continues to mean nothing, but it’s not like it has had any value in the better part of ever.

Post match, Tommaso Ciampa comes in and gives Breakker the Willow’s Bell to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This was a weird show as it had some up and down action, but also some all over the place character stuff. The wrestling was better than not for most of the show, but some of the matches felt like they should have been held in front of coaches at the Performance Center rather than on national TV. It doesn’t help when a lot of these people are flat out not ready for this level but are here anyway because NXT can’t have house shows anymore. There are good wrestlers here, but some of them are glorified coaches/on the job trainers and it shows badly.

Then there is the character stuff, which is the Grayson Waller portion of the show. Waller was ALL OVER this show and I’m not sure what to think of that. On one hand, it is really nice to have an overarching story rather than a bunch of things that just happen. Almost everyone had some kind of an opinion on Waller and it made things more interesting as a result. That being said, it’s still Grayson Waller, who is about as generic of a cocky heel as you can get right now. I’ll take what I can get, but not by much.

Overall, the show feels like it is going in a bunch of directions at once, with a lot of people being shoved into spots they aren’t ready to be in yet. You can tell which wrestlers are veterans and which are long term projects, but it doesn’t make a difference when they’re on the same show. This is what happens when you completely gut your roster, because there is not enough talent on this show to fill two hours of prime time. It’s really jarring to go from a full roster to this in such a hurry, but that’s what NXT is now, and I guess it’s what WWE wants. I don’t know why, but it’s going to be a long road from here on out.

Results
Cameron Grimes b. Duke Hudson – Cave In through a chair
Ivy Nile b. Amari Miller – Neck crank
Harland b. Guru Raaj – Belly to back slam
Cora Jade b. Dakota Kai – Rollup
Tony D’Angelo b. Andre Chase – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Boa b. Edris Enofe – Spinning kick to the head
Jacket Time b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Swanton Bomb/reverse DDT combination to Drake
Bron Breakker b. Roderick Strong – Gorilla press powerslam

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.

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

We’re not at a Takeover, but we’re pretty much at a Takeover. It’s close enough to November so let’s have some WarGames matches, with the men and the women both getting a shot. Other than that, we have a hair vs. hair match, a Tag Team Title match, and a Cruiserweight Title match with only one cruiserweight. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at WarGames and now violent this is going to be.

Team Toxic Attraction vs. Team Raquel Gonzalez

Toxic Attraction: Mandy Rosa, Jacy Jayne, Gigi Dolin, Dakota Kai
Gonzalez: Raquel Gonzalez, Kay Lee Ray, Cora Jade, Io Shirai

We’re in the double cage with Kay Lee Ray and Dakota Kai starting. The first period is five minutes, the rest are three minutes, you can win by pinfall/submission once everyone is in, and Jade falls off of her skateboard on the way to the ring. Ray brings in a baseball bad so Kai brings in a bunch of kendo sticks. They stare each other down for awhile to start until Ray’s bat shot only hits rope.

The weapons are dropped and it’s Ray being knocked into the cage and then sent into said cage as well. They go into the other ring with Ray being sent into the corner but she catches Kai with an enziguri. Kai grabs the bat but Ray knocks it away and drops her onto the kendo sticks bridged across the ropes. The period ends and Cora Jade comes in, with skateboard, to make it 2-1.

It’s Kai getting beaten down and double teamed for a good while as Ray and Jade keep looking at Toxic Attraction. Kai manages to counter a double suplex into a double DDT though and it’s Dolin coming in to help take over. A bunch of kicks have Ray and Jade in trouble until they get in a trashcan for a breather. Kai is put in the trashcan and the KLR Bomb drives Dolin onto her for the big double crash. Io Shirai comes in to make it 3-2 and brings in a bunch of chairs.

The villains get in some shots of their own though and Shirai is sent into the cage. Ray starts fighting back though and faceplants Dolin before Jade hurricanranas (or something resembling one) Kai between the cages. Now it’s Jayne coming in to even it up with a table as this is really not very good so far. Ray gets a trashcan kicked into her to knock her through some tables but Jayne kicks Dolin by mistake. Shirai starts cleaning house and Jayne is laid out on a table.

Jade flip dives off the top of the cage to put Jayne through the table and seems to bang up her shoulder on the landing. Shirai has to pop Jade’s shoulder back into place as the match basically stops until Raquel Gonzalez completes her team. That means Kai’s shovel, but first it’s a fire extinguisher blast so Gonzalez can get in. Gonzalez puts Kai in the trashcan and swings it around to knock people down.

Hold on though as Gonzalez goes to check on Jade, allowing almost everyone else to get on one corner for a Tower of Doom. Shirai moonsaults onto a trashcan with Dolin inside and everyone is down until Mandy Rose comes in to complete the field. Rose comes in and goes over to Jade, grabbing her by the bad arm as she should.

That’s broken up by Shirai and we now get the required big showdown spot as the previous 25 minutes are erased (save for the arm injury). The big brawl is on with kendo stick shots making it worse. Jade is back up with some one armed kendo stick shots but Kai knocks her down. Toxic Attraction holds Jade in place for a running knee to the face from Mandy and a near fall. The rest of Team Gonzalez makes the save and it’s a Chingoa Bomb to Jayne. Everyone is down….and Jade pins Jayne at 31:25.

Rating: C-. This is a good example of the problems with NXT WarGames: the weapons dominated the match, they spent too much time in one ring, the majority of the match felt like it didn’t matter at the end, and then it just ended. This was a match that did not need to be WarGames and would have been much better suited as an elimination tag than anything else. That being said, this could have been WAY worse as it was much more just dull than actively bad. I was expecting a lot worse of a match and they absolutely had a story with Jade’s shoulder injury. Not great, but it didn’t go as far down as I was betting.

Video on Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen. I believe this originally aired a few weeks ago.

Boa says you will fear him. I certainly fear him being on the show.

Team Black & Gold is ready to go to war, though Johnny Gargano thinks this might be his last time.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner

Imperium is defending and it’s Barthel and O’Reilly going to the mat to start. Aichner comes in to work on O’Reilly’s arm, setting up some chops in the corner. It’s off to Wagner for some headbutts in the corner before O’Reilly comes in to strike it out with Aichner again. Wagner comes back in to take Barthel into the corner until Barthel kicks his way to freedom. Aichner hits a Regal roll (to much approval from the crowd, likely due to the squat in the middle) on Wagner, who is right back with a clothesline to Barthel.

O’Reilly comes in and knocks Barthel outside before sending Aichner to the floor as well. Aichner is back in to slow down a tag attempt but a backdrop allows Wagner to come back in and clean house. Everything breaks down and O’Reilly knees Aichner off the apron. An Angle Slam gives Wagner two on Barthel but the champs are back up with double running dropkicks to Wagner in the corner. O’Reilly comes in with a top rope knee to Barthel’s knee but Aichner makes the save with a double springboard moonsault.

Wagner and Barthel head outside, leaving O’Reilly to guillotine Aichner. That’s powered up into a suplex, which O’Reilly reverses into a small package for two. Everything breaks down again and it’s a high/low for two on Barthel. Wagner and Barthel go outside again and O’Reilly brainbusters Aichner for two. The triangle choke has Aichner in more trouble but he powers O’Reilly up into the Imperial Bomb to retain the titles at 14:48.

Rating: B. This was a bit of a weird one as it didn’t feel like an important match but they beat the heck out of each other and worked very hard. I don’t think there is much of a future to O’Reilly/Wagner, but they put in the effort in what is probably one of their last matches together. They had me wondering on some of those near falls, but at the same time, the tag division has fallen so far that it’s just hard to care these days.

Post match O’Reilly gets the big THANK YOU chant….but Wagner charges at him, only to get kicked down by O’Reilly. Wagner gets beaten down and O’Reilly throws up the Undisputed Era pose, plus some crotch chops. Then O’Reilly just looks at him before leaving.

Legado del Fantasma is ready for Xyon Quinn.

Video on Ikemen Jiro.

We recap Duke Hudson vs. Cameron Grimes. Hudson isn’t happy that Grimes beat him in poker and then cut part of Grimes’ hair. Now Grimes wants Hudson’s hair, so the loser is bald.

Duke Hudson vs. Cameron Grimes

Hair vs. hair. It’s a brawl to start with Hudson throwing him over the top for the big crash onto the steps. Back in and Grimes charges into a release Rock Bottom out of the corner. Hudson hammers away on the mat before taking Grimes outside for a belly to belly. Back in and an abdominal stretch has Grimes in even more trouble as Hudson stays on the ribs.

There’s a backbreaker to stay on said back but Grimes fights up and sends him into the corner for a break. The flipping powerslam gives Grimes two and a sunset flip is good for the same. A poisonrana plants Hudson hard and a high crossbody gives Grimes two. Hudson loads up a Razor’s Edge but gets sent into the corner for the counter. Grimes grabs a rollup (with trunks) for the fast pin out of nowhere at 10:18.

Rating: C+. They were working while they had the chance here and it’s nice to see Grimes win another match with some stakes. Hudson is someone WWE seems to see something in so Grimes winning before he is crushed in some other way is a good way to go. I’m sure Grimes will get a huge push out of this, because things have gone so well for him in the past.

Post match Hudson tries to run but knocks Grimes out instead. Hudson teases shaving Grimes anyway but Grimes hits the Cave In (points for a good fake out) and shaves Hudson’s hair. Well at least a little bit of it before Hudson bails again.

Video on the Grizzled Young Veterans stealing a delivery driver’s food.

Video on Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter.

Video on Draco Anthony.

New Year’s Evil is on January 4.

We recap Joe Gacy vs. Roderick Strong for the Cruiserweight Title. Gacy thinks the Cruiserweight Title is about weight shaming so Strong is defending the title against someone out of the weight class.

Cruiserweight Title: Joe Gacy vs. Roderick Strong

Strong, with the rest of the Diamond Mine, is defending, though Gacy has Harland with him. Gacy gets taken down to start but comes back with a running shoulder. A clothesline to the back of the head puts Strong down again but he sends Gacy to the apron and strikes away. Gacy loses his shirt, which seems to fuel his comeback, including a suplex for two on Strong.

Back up and Strong manages a super hurricanrana to set up the Boston crab. That’s broken up so Gacy takes Strong outside but has to tell Harland not to end Ivy Nile. A gutwrench powerbomb plants Strong for two but he is right back with a jumping knee to the face. End of Heartache retains the title at 8:28.

Rating: C. So that happened. The Cruiserweight Title has felt worthless for a long time now and in a way I was hoping that Gacy could win it here so they could just drop the thing and move on to something else. I’m not sure if the title is going to get to do anything, but I can’t have my hopes go much lower.

Another Ikemen Jiro video. This time, he’s eating pizza and ice cream. Then his stomach hurts so he runs to the bathroom, where various noises are heard. I would bet at least $14 that this was written for/by Vince McMahon.

Kyle O’Reilly wants Von Wagner in a cage on Tuesday.

We recap the men’s WarGames match. It’s old vs. new for the future of NXT, with Bron Breakker feeling like the breakout star.

Team Black & Gold vs. Team 2.0

Black & Gold: Johnny Gargano, LA Knight, Tommaso Ciampa, Pete Dunne
2.0: Carmelo Hayes, Bron Breakker, Tony D’Angelo, Grayson Waller

In the double cage, five minutes to start and then three minutes each, first fall wins once everyone is inside. Hayes starts with Gargano, who gets to come out to Rebel Heart and gets the big hero’s welcome as he is probably out of here. Gargano also seems to be wearing gear that is a huge mashup of all of his special Takeover trunks and boots for an awesome look. Feeling out process to start with Gargano trying a rather early One Final Beat.

That’s broken up so Gargano hits the slingshot spear to take him down instead. Hayes is sent into the cage over and over again, leaving Hayes down until Waller comes in to get the advantage. The double teaming is on, with Gargano’s nose being busted open somewhere in there. Trick Williams throws in a chair from the floor and hits Waller by mistake, but Gargano survives long enough for Dunne to come in and even things up. Stereo Crossfaces have 2.0 in trouble and Dunne/Gargano kick them in the face at the same time.

Hayes is back up to send Dunne into the other ring but gets knocked out of the air. D’Angelo is in to give the villains the lead again as Williams pulls out a bunch of weapons. It takes so long that Dexter Lumis has enough time to appear underneath the ring and come out to stalk Williams to the back. D’Angelo chains the door shut and the weapons have Black & Gold beaten down even more. LA Knight is in to tie it up but has to climb the cage to avoid the lock.

With that minor inconvenience out of the way, Knight climbs the cage and starts cleaning house with all kinds of weapons. Waller is put into the trashcan and beaten on with various things. Referees grab some boltcutters to get the totally effective chain off the door as the Black & Gold wait for Bron Breakker to get in. Breakker grabs the cutters and finishes breaking the chain (which took a long time), allowing him to come in and clean house. The numbers game take him down until the rest of 2.0 gets back up.

Ciampa finally comes back in and gets to even things up for good. We get the DIY reunion, complete with crutch, and the fans are certainly pleased to see it happen one more time. Gargano and Ciampa get to clean house on Breakker and D’Angelo, at least until Breakker plants Gargano onto Ciampa out of the corner. The beatdown leaves Black & Gold in the middle of the ring but they pull themselves up and charge at 2.0 to set up the big beatdown against the cage. 2.0 is sent through some tables and it’s a Tower of Doom to drop Hayes.

Knight’s bulldog driver gets two with D’Angelo making the save. Ciampa Air Raid Crashes Breakker off the middle rope and onto a trashcan for two and everyone is down again. Knight is laid on a table and Waller hits an elbow off the cage but Dunne make the save this time. Dunne destroys Hayes’ hand with a kendo stick but D’Angelo is up with a crowbar. A crowbar across the throat sets up a super swinging neckbreaker on Dunne for no cover, leaving Ciampa and Breakker to slug it out in the other ring.

Gargano saves Ciampa and there’s One Final Beat to drop Breakker as Ciampa hits Willow’s Bell on Waller. Meet In The Middle drops Breakker for two as Hayes pulls the referee. Hayes hits Gargano low but gets kneed by Ciampa, who is speared through a table by Breakker. The gorilla press powerslam finishes Ciampa at 37:32.

Rating: B-. It was a heck of a fight with some big spots, but like so many NXT WarGames matches, it went on too long and felt like it should have ended at least ten minutes earlier. Breakker winning was the right call and the DIY stuff was great, but ultimately this was a match that needed to be trimmed down. The classic WarGames matches barely broke twenty minutes as they got in their violence and then went to the big finish. This is a bunch of filler until they can do their weapons spots, which makes things feel far longer than they should. Still a positive result, but egads it was long.

Overall Rating: B. NXT is such a mixed bag these days, as you have people working very hard and good matches taking place, but at the same time you have some wrestlers who do not seem to have the brightest future. The show is far from some disaster or even that bad a lot of the time, but it is pretty hard to have been around for the great days of NXT and move on to things like Ikemen Jiro’s stomach issues and Toxic Attraction feeling like a Divas era tribute.

The talent was there and on display here, but what happens when the veterans are all gone because they don’t want to stick around and no one is left to help things? Odds are they’re losing Gargano and O’Reilly soon after this, so what’s left then? The show is still holding it together and as usual, things are better when they focus on wrestling, but the future isn’t exactly looking bright.

Results
Team Raquel Gonzalez b. Team Toxic Attraction – Rollup to Jayne
Imperium b. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner – Imperial Bomb to O’Reilly
Cameron Grimes b. Duke Hudson – Rollup with trunks
Roderick Strong b. Joe Gacy – End of Heartache
Team 2.0 b. Team Black & Gold – Gorilla press powerslam to Ciampa

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.

Since it’s NXT 2.0, this is pretty much a Takeover without being a Takeover. We still have the double WarGames matches, which have been set up about as well as can be expected. I’m not sure how the whole thing is going to go, but we could be in for a heck of a fight. That being said, NXT’s expectations have more or less plummeted in recent months so I wouldn’t quite get my hopes up as much. Let’s get to it.

Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson

I like Grimes a lot and Hudson is slowly growing on me, but what is working for this match is Grimes’ talking over the last few weeks. Grimes has been cutting some old fashioned wrestling promos about Hudson taking away his hair and beard, which apparently meant a lot to him. That’s the kind of thing that has worked in wrestling for the better part of ever and it worked again to set up this hair vs. hair match.

I’m not sure on this one, but I think I’ll take Grimes. If nothing else, we have already been through the “Grimes loses over and over” deal so having him do it again here would seem counterproductive. Let him get the win and send Hudson on to something else, as Grimes should be fine enough with just the trimmed hair. Getting rid of the caveman look was a big change, but if it gets him higher up on the card where he belongs, I’m all for it.

Cruiserweight Title: Roderick Strong(c) vs. Joe Gacy

So this is a Cruiserweight Title match with a non-cruiserweight because WWE has given up on the title (again). This will be Strong’s first defense of the title since September so the cruiserweight deal is either being dropped or…well what other option is there really? Gacy is claiming weight discrimination or fat shaming or something similar and gets a title shot as a result, because NXT 2.0.

Therefore, we’ll go with Gacy to win, as it is pretty clear that WWE has no interest in keeping the title on Strong. I’m hoping this leads to the title either being dropped completely or turned into some kind of TV Title, the latter of which would be unnecessary in NXT when the North American Title is around. There’s a good chance that the title is done for after Gacy holds it for a bit, so we’ll say he starts his reign here.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium(c) vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner

I had to think for a second about who held the titles coming into this show and that is rarely a good sign. This seems to be more about O’Reilly and Wagner’s future than the titles and that does not bode well around here. O’Reilly and Wagner haven’t exactly done much to get much momentum going here and I don’t think I can see that changing in the near or far future.

Give me Imperium to retain here and that is about the only good choice they have here. Wagner and O’Reilly seem destined to lose and split up, with O’Reilly probably putting Wagner over on his way out, likely with an Undisputed Era reunion in his future. That gives us Wagner and Imperium as the real winners in NXT, because…egads because that’s really where we are these days.

Women’s WarGames

This is Toxic Attraction/Dakota Kai vs. an assortment of heroines, because when you think WarGames, you think of Mandy Rose and pals. As little need as there is for this to be a WarGames match, it might be better to have them do a bunch of spots with weapons than trying to have a long form regular match. Leave the big spots to Kai and Io Shirai/Kay Lee Ray and it should lower the risk for a horrific injury.

I’ll go with the villains winning here, as Toxic Attraction needs another big win and I fully expect Ray to embrace her inner villain and turn on the rest of the team. That being said, if she does, it is going to leave NXT rather heel heavy and I don’t know how good of an idea that would be. Toxic Attraction needs challengers, but I’m not sure if either of them are in this match. Therefore, we’ll go with the champs and Kai winning.

Men’s WarGames

This is old vs. new, which is about as good of an idea as NXT has right now and should make for a good WarGames match. As usual, this is going to be about seeing what kind of carnage Bron Breakker can wreck on the rest of the field, as this is the kind of match where he could thrive. There is a lot more talent and success on the old side though and that could make things interesting.

This is where the good guys win, as you have either Grayson Waller or Tony D’Angelo to take the fall for the villains. Breakker is going to wreck people and likely get the NXT Title before the end of the year, but at least he should have a good run in this match to get him there. I’m looking forward to this one, as the DIY reunion alone should be worth a look, but the good/old guys win here.

Overall Thoughts

On paper, this show doesn’t look bad. The problem is that for every good thing they have, there is something else on there that feels like some kind of a joke or a half thought out idea that doesn’t belong on a major show. I do like that they dropped the Takeover name and are just going with the name of the show, because that is the only reason to make this a special at the moment.

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: November 23, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s title time as we have a pretty big main event with North American Champion Carmelo Hayes defending against Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne. NXT has a good history of setting up these title matches and then making them work, so hopefully they remember how to make it work. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with Grayson Waller in the ring, talking about how great of an NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa really is. Waller goes on about the fans booing everyone, including John Cena and Roman Reigns, but those two are at the top of the game. It’s like people with 80,000 tweets and 3 followers don’t matter! Cue Ciampa to cut Waller off and we’re ready to go.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grayson Waller

Non-title. Ciampa isn’t having this and stomps away in the corner. A running knee puts Waller on the floor but he comes back in with a jumping neckbreaker. Now it’s Waller stomping away in the corner until Ciampa is back up with a boot out of the corner. Waller grabs a spinebuster into a modified People’s Elbow, which only hits mat. A clothesline puts Waller on the floor and there’s the throw over the announcers’ table so Ciampa can applaud himself.

We take a break and come back with Ciampa kneeing Waller out of the air, followed by a DDT for two. Waller grabs a spinebuster for two but Ciampa catches him on top. A super Air Raid Crash gets two but Waller catches him with a spinebuster for two. Ciampa is sent outside for the big flip dive but he catches Waller with the Willow’s Bell on the way back in. The Fairy Tale Ending finishes Waller at 13:37.

Rating: C+. This was a good showing from both guys and Ciampa still feels like he’s a few miles ahead of just about everyone else in NXT. He comes off as polished and knowing what he’s doing, while so many others seem to be figuring it out as they go. Speaking of figuring it out, it would be nice if NXT could figure out what Waller is supposed to be and stick with it for more than two weeks at a time.

LA Knight doesn’t think much of Grayson Waller, because the fans were chanting WALLER SUCKS. That’s not an insult, but just a fact of life. Joe Gacy comes in to talk about how bad that is so they agree to meet in the safe space. Knight: “You make it sound like such a perverted thing, you freak.” The match is on for later.

We recap last week’s poker showdown.

Toxic Attraction isn’t looking forward to having to face Cora Jade. Dakota Kai comes up next to them and seems to be a bit crazy. Mandy Rose: “At least she’s on our team.” They find a bunch of destroyed stuff but keep walking, with Kai breaking another glass. Kay Lee Ray pops up with a baseball bat, apparently having smashed everything.

Here is a depressed Cameron Grimes, still with the shorter hair. Grimes talks about growing up in a very small town in North Carolina. Every day, he would have people push him down and tell him he wasn’t good enough. Grimes kept fighting and coming up because he would never quit and now he has made it. The entire time, he kept his hair and beard to remind himself of what he went through. Duke Hudson took all of that away last week and embarrassed him.

Hudson messed up though because he made Grimes angry. He wants Hudson down here right now because the talking is done. Hudson, in a barber’s chair, pops up on screen to ask why Grimes should be mad at him. Last week, Grimes took a lot of money from him and got a free haircut. All Hudson is trying to do is make Grimes a decent human being, so Grimes says come down here and let’s finish this. That’s not happening, so Grimes makes a better offer: let’s go all in, with hair vs. hair at WarGames. Hudson is in, and holds up Grimes’ hair in a bag.

This was a wrestling promo and a classic wrestling setup. Ignoring the poker nonsense, this was someone who has been wronged giving a serious speech about wanting revenge and setting up a big match with some high stakes. That’s how this stuff can work and this was good stuff.

Pete Dunne is ready to win the North American Title tonight.

Indi Hartwell says Dexter Lumis has a broken hand and is out for a month. He can’t even draw, but she’s still ready to have her tag match tonight. This one is for Dexter, but Persia Pirotta pulls her to the ring.

Tiffany Stratton, a rich blonde girl who plays tennis, is coming. I saw her on 205 Live and that’s not a great thing.

Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell vs. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro

Carter and Catanzaro come through the crowd for their energized entrance. Persia shrugs Carter off to start and hands it off to Hartwell, who seems a little distracted. Hartwell shoves her way out of the corner but gets taken down by Carter in a hurry. Catanzaro comes in off a blind tag and is suplexed into a moonsault for two on Hartwell.

It’s back to Pirotta to drop Catanzaro face first on the top, setting up a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Hartwell stops to look at her ring finger before hitting Carter with a side slam. That means another look at the ring finger, allowing Carter to grab a crucifix for two of her own. Carter splashes the distracted Hartwell for the fast pin at 3:35.

Rating: C. Hartwell being distracted because of Dexter is a way to go for her, as the team with Pirotta seems ready to split. To be fair, they have been a team for all of a few months now and that is a long shelf life around here. Carter and Catanzaro seem primed for a Women’s Tag Team Title match and that should be a good thing whenever we get there.

Andre Chase gives his students a tour of Chase University facilities when they run into Cameron Grimes. Chase calls him a teachable moment and Grimes doesn’t seem pleased.

Malik Blade vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar takes him to the mat to start but Blade slips out of a suplex. Blade grabs a sunset flip for two, earning himself a forearm to the face. Back up and Escobar sends him into the corner, setting up the Phantom Driver for the pin at 2:27.

Post match Legado del Fantasma gets in the ring, where Elektra Lopez says Xyon Quinn turned them down. They never needed him anyway, but here are Von Wagner and Kyle O’Reilly to interrupt. They’re here for the same reason: they want the Tag Team Titles (which Legado never mentioned) and Wagner’s foot was on the rope in their match. Imperium pops up to shout about how the little children are fighting among themselves. Imperium announces a #1 contenders match and the winners can get a shot at WarGames.

Raquel Gonzalez barges into the women’s locker room and nearly gets in a fight. Cora Jade tells them to get it together for WarGames, but they need a fourth to go along with Io Shirai. They can figure that out while she goes to fight Mandy Rose.

Tony D’Angelo’s money is on Carmelo Hayes tonight and suggests putting some bets on the match.

Mandy Rose vs. Cora Jade

Non-title. They fight over a lockup to start with Jade grabbing a quick rollup for two. A running knee in the corner is countered into a spinebuster to give Rose her own two though and she plants Jade again for a bonus. Back up and Jade snaps off a running hurricanrana for two, only to miss a middle rope dropkick. Cue Kay Lee Ray with her baseball bat, which is smashed into a variety of things. The distraction lets Jade grab a rollup for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: D+. As soon as Rose told Toxic Attraction to stay in the back and this was non-title, Rose was in big trouble. Those are some nearly guaranteed signs that the champ is in trouble, though what might be a bigger problem is how obvious those signs were. Work on those things a bit, because it makes your booking pretty easy to guess.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are ready for the triple threat. Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne are chasing him and he won’t miss.

Joe Gacy is ready to make the ring a safe space. Harland puts his hand on Gacy’s shoulder.

Kay Lee Ray comes up to Cora Jade, Raquel Gonzalez and Io Shirai. Ray will be their fourth member at WarGames, and she’ll be in the advantage ladder match next week too. It has been a full month since a ladder match so at least they’re not wasting any more time.

Joe Gacy vs. LA Knight

Cue Grayson Waller to jump Knight from behind and they fight to the back. No match.

Gacy talks about anger management but here is the Diamond Mine to interrupt. That sends Gacy into a rant about weight shaming with the Cruiserweight Title but Roderick Strong says he’ll face Gacy anyway. Malcolm Bivens says the match will be made, but here is Harland to scare Diamond Mine off. Well at least….actually no, as I can’t think of anything positive in this segment.

MSK continues on their quest but get pulled over for driving seven miles an hour. They’re worried about the contents of their bag but are allowed to go.

Ivy Nile vs. Yulisa Leon

Nile takes her down and does pushups on Leon’s back. Leon fights up and works on the arm but Nile is back with a heck of a clothesline. A triangle choke is eventually broken up so Leon tries a rollup, only to get reversed into a dragon sleeper for the tap at 2:44.

Solo Sikoa talks about everything he has done to get here and he has done it on his own.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are planning something but get broken up by an LA Knight/Grayson Waller brawl.

Boa can’t control his evil but once he does, you will fear him.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Drake gets sent throat first into the middle rope for a pair of right hands to start. There’s a big left hand to put him down again but Zack Gibson asks for some time before a right hand. A blind tag brings in Gibson to jump Jensen from behind and we hit the chinlock. We cut to LA Knight and Grayson Waller STILL fighting in the back as Gibson cuts off Jensen’s tag attempt.

That lasts all of a few seconds as it’s off to Briggs to clean house in a hurry. Drake gets backdropped and claims a knee injury but Briggs has to go after Gibson. Drake’s knee is fine enough to try a kick to the ribs, which is easily caught. Briggs and Jensen go high/low to finish Drake at 4:26.

Rating: C. Briggs and Jensen get to pick up a win and that’s a good thing for them. They have the potential to be a nice tag team but you’re only going to get so far without ever beating anyone. Granted you could say the same thing about the Veterans and in a much bigger way, but the solution for them is to be goofy con artists for some reason.

WarGames rundown.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is defending. Dunne gets dropkicked to the floor start, leaving Gargano to dropkicks Hayes. Back in and Dunne runs Hayes over, with Gargano taking Dunne’s place. Everyone is back inside so Dunne can half crab them both. That’s broken up as well so Hayes springboard body blocks Dunne for two before hammering on Gargano. Johnny fights out of the corner and this a bulldog/running clothesline combination to take both of them down. Gargano hits a dive each onto Dunne and Hayes, setting up a running hurricane to Dunne.

We take a break and come back with a circle slugout until Hayes gets knocked into the corner. Hayes gets the better of things and sends Gargano to the apron, where scores with the slingshot spear. The Patter End is countered into a DDT for two on Dunne. Stereo kicks to the head rock Hayes but he’s back up to suplex Dunne onto Gargano. Back up and Gargano runs both of them over, setting up the Lawn Dart to Hayes. Dunne comes back in and hits the Bitter End, but here Tony D’Angelo to break up the cover. D’Angelo sends Dunne into the steps and the top rope ax kick gives Hayes the retaining pin at 11:23.

Rating: B-. They had me wondering who was leaving with the title here and Hayes continues to look like a star, so they’re certainly doing something well. Hayes is one of the brighter young stars around and the other two have been made men for a longtime. I liked the match and the ending probably sets up something for WarGames, so they took care of a few things at once.

Post match the big beatdown is on with LA Knight and Grayson Waller joining in. The villains get the better of things and Gargano’s hand is loaded up for the Pillmanization. Cue Tommaso Ciampa with the chair to break everything up. The fans want the DIY reunion and the fans chant for WarGames….but here is Bron Breakker to join the villains. Breakker: “WARGAMES!!!” The brawl is on again as the sirens go off to end the show. I’m really not sure if this should be a WarGames match, but the more appropriate Survivor Series has already passed so this is as good as we’re getting.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling wasn’t great here, but this felt like a show where they had a plan and were starting to execute it. A lot of the random, throwing stuff at the wall feeling was gone and a lot of that probably has to do with having a shot to build towards. This was a glimmer of hope and if NXT is more like this going forward, they have a chance. There is still a lot of fine tuning to go, but at least they got it a lot closer to right this week.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Grayson Waller – Fairy Tale Ending
Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter b. Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta – Splash to Hartwell
Santos Escobar b. Malik Blade – Phantom Driver
Cora Jade b. Mandy Rose – Rollup
Ivy Nile b. Yulisa Leon – Dragon sleeper
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Grizzled Young Veterans – High/Low to Drake
Carmelo Hayes b. Pete Dunne and Johnny Gargano – Top rope ax kick to Dunne

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: November 16, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re back to whatever NXT has become but this time it’s all about WarGames. Somehow NXT thinks they have a matchup that will work there, though I’m almost scared to know who is going to be included. Maybe we find that out tonight, plus get what should be an obvious setup for Breakker vs. Ciampa II. Let’s get to it.

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

Tony D’Angelo vs. Dexter Lumis

Fallout from D’Angelo suggesting Lumis was about to get whacked. Lumis has a drawing for D’Angelo, showing him asleep in a school of fish. D’Angelo bails away to start and gets caught with a Thesz press. Back up and D’Angelo gets in a few shots of his own to take over and we hit the chinlock. Lumis fights up again but D’Angelo snaps his throat across the top. With Lumis staggered, D’Angelo grabs the easel the drawing is sitting on, which is quickly taken away. That’s all D’Angelo needs as he pokes Lumis in the eye behind the referee’s back. The fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Lumis at 3:05.

Rating: D+. I’m trying to get into D’Angelo but he’s so straight out of central casting that it’s almost impossible. He feels completely out of place around here and it’s a really jarring thing to see. Having him pin Lumis is a way to go, but egads I’m really not sure how much of a future there is in someone doing the corniest mobster deal imaginable.

Post match here are Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes to go after Lumis. They throw in a Pillmanizing to the hand, with Johnny Gargano getting in for the save a moment too late.

Post break, Gargano says we don’t need to see any replays. He wants Hayes out here right now but gets Pete Dunne instead. Before that can go anywhere, here are Hayes and Williams in the balcony to interrupt. Williams talks trash about Gargano but Dunne wants to know who these people are. Dunne says he’s the same age as Hayes with ten years more experience, plus with a win over him. Hayes doesn’t like this so let’s make it a triple threat match for the title next week. Hayes loads up the Melo Don’t Miss catchphrase but gets cut off by telling him how much he does miss. Gargano says you don’t want to miss the title match.

The Diamond Mine is warming up when Joe Gacy comes in. He likes the idea of a leader and seems to be interested in joining. Malcolm Bivens says the tryout is in a few weeks and that’s going to be 837 dollars. Gacy does at least get a business card.

LA Knight talks about how he has all kinds of things but he’s still the same person without them. He was ready for the NXT Title but then Grayson Waller came in to get in his way. Waller can talk all he wants, but there is one superstar around here and it isn’t him.

Diamond Mine vs. Odyssey Jones/Jacket Time

Strong and Kushida start things off, with Strong hitting Jones in the face on the apron. That’s enough to bring Jones in but it’s off to Julius Creed, who jumps on his back. Jones breaks that up so Brutus comes in and gets flipped over for his efforts. Jiro comes in to start on the arm but it’s off to Strong, who gets to face Kushida

The basement dropkick rocks Strong and Kushida takes out the Brothers for a bonus. A cheap shot from Strong takes Kushida down though and we take a break. Back with Julius working over Jiro and handing it off to Brutus to hammer away. That’s broken up and it’s back to Jones, who gets Olympic Slammed to give Strong two. Everything breaks down and Jones splashes Strong for the pin at 8:39.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure what the point is in having Jones feud with Strong, but at least it is something for both of them to do. Bringing Jacket Time (because their name really is Jacket time) is a good thing, but you’re only going to get so far with these three against a pushed team like the Diamond Mine. The match was fine though, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

The Grizzled Young Veterans have stolen the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles but call Gibson’s grandmother to brag. She’s proud of their win, which should be enough to get him the lion’s share of the inheritance. They even have a board labeled Nana Con. I have no idea why the team needs a gimmick like this, but I don’t get a lot of this NXT.

MSK get to the airport but get caught with, ahem, supplies. Then they take separate flights to meet the Shaman, whoever that is. They get wherever they’re going and are off to find him.

Xyon Quinn vs. Andre Chase

Chase takes him down to start and grabs a running neckbreaker for two. The chinlock goes on but Quinn powers up and throws Chase down with ease. The Jackhammer finishes Chase in a hurry at 3:08.

Rating: D+. This was what it should have been as there was no reason to have Chase be a threat to a monster like Quinn. They have something with Quinn and having him dispatch Chase (with an upgraded finisher) is a good sign for what he’s doing. Now just get Quinn something more serious to do and see what you have with him.

Post match Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde jump Quinn from behind. Quinn fights them off but Santos Escobar comes in to jump him from behind. Cue Elektra Lopez to say no one say no to Elektra Lopez (But didn’t she just say it?). Quinn gets planted on the ramp.

Raquel Gonzalez talks about how much she loved being champion but one shovel to the back took all of that away. Now she has to look at Mandy Rose holding her title, but tonight she’s burying Dakota Kai with that shovel.

It’s time for the Poker Showdown between Duke Hudson and Cameron Grimes. We actually go over the rules for the game and Hudson talks about how luck is for losers. Grimes says he played Hudson and now it’s time for poker. They play out the hand, with the pot getting to nearly $20,000. Hudson requests that the fans be quiet before calling.

The final card is dealt and Grimes goes all in, with Hudson being scared despite having the best hand. Hudson loses it and thinks that Grimes has him beat and folds, with Hudson grabbing the cards to find out he was bluffed (you don’t do that in poker). Grimes thinks it’s hilarious and gets kicked in the head, setting up a powerbomb through the table. Hudson grabs some scissors and cuts Grimes’ beard and hair. This was long but the ending was a step forward for the story.

Kyle O’Reilly doesn’t seem happy with Von Wagner appearing on Smackdown but they’re cool for tonight.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner

O’Reilly ducks Jensen’s clothesline and kicks away before grabbing a headlock. Briggs tags himself in though and it’s a double shoulder to take him down. We see Imperium watching in the back as O’Reilly gets over for the tag to Wagner. That means the power standoff with Briggs, who can’t shoulder Wagner down. Wagner powers him into the corner so O’Reilly can come back in for the kicks. That earns him a bearhug but O’Reilly slips out, allowing the tag back to Wagner. Everything breaks down and O’Reilly takes Briggs down on the floor. That leaves Wagner to hit a double underhook swinging slam on Jensen for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. I was really hoping that O’Reilly and Wagner could be done but NXT sees something in them. I’m not sure what that is, but it seems to be continuing. Jensen and Briggs continue to be the easiest team in the world to set up, yet they have almost no success at all. Is Wagner really that great of a prospect?

Imperium is impressed, but not that impressed.

Indi Hartwell is worried about Dexter Lumis’ hand. Persia Pirotta will wrestle on her own, but she doesn’t seem happy.

It’s time for Lashing Out with Lash Legend (dang it I hoped they had dropped this stupid thing) and this week she doesn’t like Kay Lee Ray. Grayson Waller pops up to be the guest and talks about all of the veterans who have made it this far. Then Waller was a success on reality TV and made a video to get on here. The business has changed because it’s no longer about how many stars you get but how many followers. Lash: “The tea has just been spilled!” This continues to be the dumbest thing on a show full of dumb things.

Persia Pirotta vs. Gabby Stephens/Jenna Levy

Persia cleans house to start as Robert Stone is in the aisle. The jobbers are cleaned out and Pirotta puts them both on her shoulders for a double Samoan drop. A sitout F5 finishes Leavy at 1:49. Total domination.

Stone is impressed.

Dakota Kai seems a bit off but says she needs to purge Raquel Gonzalez. Toxic Attraction pops up to scare her off but here are the Grizzled Young Veterans to give them their titles back.

Tommaso Ciampa is ready to face anyone….and he’ll just address them in the ring.

Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro went to a music festival and danced a lot. They want to bring the party to everyone. More vignettes like this, just to give us an idea of who these people are, even if they’ve been around.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. He doesn’t like a lot of these new people, including Grayson Waller mocking old wrestlers working the indies for a hot dog and a handshake. Cue Bron Breakker to cut him off to say Ciampa must be upset over these new talents popping up. Ciampa reminds him of the loss at Halloween Havoc and we even see a clip. Ciampa says Breakker has less than a 33 1/3% chance of taking the title, because he is just a puppy instead of the champ.

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai

Before the match, Gonzalez points to Olympic gold medal winning gymnast Tamyra Mensah-Stock in the front row. The beating continues in the corner, with Kai smiling while Gonzalez unloads on her. An over the shoulder backbreaker makes it worse until Gonzalez sends her outside. This time Kai gets in a shot of her own and we take a break.

Back with Kai hitting a running boot against the ropes for two. Kai goes up and shoves Gonzalez off for daring to try a superplex. Another kick to the head keeps Gonzalez in trouble but she fights back, albeit with a bottom turnbuckle being pulled off. A Vader Bomb gives Gonzalez two but Kai breaks up the Chingona Bomb.

Instead, Gonzalez grabs a stretch muffler and spins Kai around for a crash. Kai is able to send her face first into the exposed buckle though and now it’s time for the shovel from Halloween Havoc. Gonzalez takes it away without too much effort…and here is Toxic Attraction to jump Gonzalez for the DQ at 11:45.

Rating: C+. This was pretty easily the best match on the show and I think you know where the ending is taking us. How Gonzalez isn’t on the main roster yet is beyond me, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see WarGames as her big NXT finale. Kai’s new character is certainly weird and I’m not quite sure what they’re doing with her. This was pretty good action for a bit though and that’s better than most of this show.

Post match the beatdown is on but Cora Jade makes the save with her skateboard. Mandy Rose cuts that off though and Jade gets beaten down. Cue Zoey Stark, with her leg in a cast, but Io Shirai runs out and grabs the crutch to clear the ring. The big brawl continues as fans chant for WARGAMES as Gonzalez and company clear the ring. Shirai issues the WarGames challenge to end the show, because Toxic Attraction needs to be in ANOTHER dangerous match.

Overall Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling a lot of this show and that shouldn’t be a surprise. They have certainly settled down, but nothing feels overly big and Toxic Attraction does not feel like they belong in a WarGames match. This show is a bad mixture of goofy and people who aren’t ready yet. That works fine on local TV where you can get away with more, but at two hours a week on the same channel as Raw, it makes for a downright bizarre experience.

Results
Tony D’Angelo b. Dexter Lumis – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Odyssey Jones/Jacket Time b. Diamond Mine – Splash to Strong
Xyon Quinn b. Andre Chase – Jackhammer
Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner b. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs – Double underhook swinging slam to Jensen
Persia Pirotta b. Gabby Stephens/Jenna Levy – Sitout F5 to Leavy
Raquel Gonzalez b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Toxic Attraction interfered

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: November 9, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re back with more of this show and I’m not exactly sure what that means. Odds are it means more Toxic Attraction though, as the trio has been all over the show almost every single week as of late. Throw in more of the usual suspects and this hasn’t been the most thrilling time in NXT in recent memory. Let’s get to it.

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

Kayden Carter/Io Shirai/Kacy Catanzaro vs. Toxic Attraction

They’re starting fast this time. Rose hammers on Carter to start and it’s quickly off to Dolin for more of the same. Carter fights up and brings in Shirai to take Jayne down by the leg. Catanzaro’s sliding trip takes Jayne down and a slingshot flip dive gets two. Jayne takes her into the corner though and it’s Rose coming back in, only to be sent outside for a slingshot corkscrew dive. Carter dives onto Rose and Dolin but Rose cuts off Shirai’s dive.

We take a break and come back with Rose chinlocking Catanzaro while holding a bodyscissors. That’s broken up and the tag brings in Shirai, who gets to take over for a bit. The Moon Over Moonsault connects on Rose as everything breaks down. Carter comes in as well and everything breaks down, with a brawl breaking out on the floor. The distraction lets Dolin pull Carter off the top and grab an abdominal stretch rollup for the pin at 12:05.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse and the fans were into it. That’s more than you can say for a lot of things around here so maybe they are making some progress. I’m not sure who is next for Toxic Attraction, but it is pretty clear that they are going to be a thing for a good while on this show.

Pete Dunne doesn’t think much of Tony D’Angelo and he can come get a fight if he wants one. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes come in, with Williams saying a bunch of stuff that Dunne doesn’t understand. The result seems to be Dunne vs. Hayes for tonight.

MSK is walking to find whoever they’re looking for and finally get there….but the person has moved. They look up the new address, which is 420 miles away. First, they need a change of clothes and a shower, but they’re flying, with references to the Mile High Club. I’m assuming this is just a way to get the team away from the rather annoying NXT fans, which is rather sad if that’s the case.

Kay Lee Ray vs. Sarray

Ray walks through Toxic Attraction, who are still here for some reason. Ray knocks her down to start and hits a big forearm to the face. Sarray reverses a whip into the corner but misses a charge. Back up and Sarray pulls her to the mat for a nasty pull on the leg, only to have Ray make the rope. A fisherman’s suplex gives Sarray two but she misses the running dropkick in the ropes. They head outside with Ray hitting the KLR Bomb onto the announcers’ table. Back in and another KLR Bomb gives Ray the pin at 4:50.

Rating: C-. Pretty quick match here but the main idea was to get Ray back in the ring and winning a match. Ray has all of the potential in the world and it would be great to see her getting to do something more important around here. As for Sarray…I’m still not sure what went wrong but she isn’t looking to be the next big thing around here anytime soon.

Joe Gacy has requested a match with Boa to help him, because he sees the shame Boa carries. He also wants Harland to reach out his hand because he’s doing this for the two of them.

We see some clips of Bron Breakker on the UK tour, where he learned a lot and is ready to take the NXT Title.

Boa vs. Joe Gacy

Gacy knocks him down to start and scores with some shots to the face, setting up a suplex for two. Boa gets a boot up in the corner though….and we’ve got some flickering lights. They seem to recharge Boa, who cokes Gacy into the ropes and that’s a DQ at 3:27.

Rating: D+. So the guy who is subject to a thousand year old witch just got recharged by a red light and choked the woke guy for a DQ. This is one of those situations where you can see just how screwy the whole NXT 2.0 is, but at least the match was short. Nothing to see here, but the Boa attempts continue.

We look at the formation of Jacket Time (Ikemen Jiro/Kushida), which has the Diamond Mine annoyed. It’s time to dominate.

Grayson Waller interrupts Solo Sikoa’s interview but here is LA Knight to annoy both of them. Sikoa wants this settled tonight.

Jacket Time vs. Creed Brothers

Barrett: “Jacket Time is the worst tag team name I have ever heard.” Joseph: “Worse than the Corre with two r’s?” Barrett mutters. Brutus takes Jiro down to start and Jiro’s running shoulder doesn’t make much different. Kushida comes in and is quickly powerslammed and suplexed, but he comes back with a double handspring elbow.

Back with Kushida coming in off the hot tag (see how easy it can be to come back with energy) and house being cleaned. Jiro comes back in with a Swanton for two on Julius but the Ikemen Slice misses. Julius rips off Jiro’s jacket, allowing Roderick Strong to pull Jiro outside. Back in and Julius hits a gutwrench powerbomb for the pin on Jiro at 7:45.

Rating: C. I can’t get my head around the name Jacket Time, but at least the match went as it should have. The Creed Brothers could be something special and that means they shouldn’t be losing a match like this. Thankfully NXT seems to know they have something there and if that’s the case then everything should work out for them.

Post match, Odyssey Jones runs in and helps clean house.

Toxic Attraction isn’t losing their titles anytime soon. Raquel Gonzalez rides up on a motorcycle and says keep her title warm for her.

Gonzalez rides into the arena and says she wants Dakota Kai out here right now. Cue a kind of unhinged Kai to say it felt good to hit her with a shovel, but here is Cora Jade for the pull apart brawl.

Andre Chase’s lesson of the day is Mental Toughness. One student asks about Chase messing up last week so another defends him, with Chase yelling a lot.

The Grizzled Young Veterans distract a food delivery driver and steal his meals, saying they can use this to distract a referee too. Remember when they were loudmouthed heels who were good in the ring and could get crowd hating them after about thirty seconds on a microphone? That’s not good enough around here apparently.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ru Feng

Feng goes right after Grimes to start and stomps away. Cue Duke Hudson to watch as Grimes fights back and knocks Feng into the corner. The Cave In finishes for Grimes at 1:40.

Post match Hudson gets in the ring and demands to know how Grimes was so good last week. Grimes says he won and thinks it’s funny but Grimes calls him an ugly hick who lives under a bridge. That doesn’t seem to bother Grimes, who says he holds it down everywhere. Hudson doesn’t accept that and the challenge is on for next week…in a poker showdown. Deal.

Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

Sikoa punches Knight into the corner to start but some double teaming puts him in trouble. That doesn’t last long as Sikoa clotheslines both of them but gets punched in the face by Waller. Knight gets sent outside, only to come back in and breaks up Sikoa’s suplex on Waller. A double suplex puts Sikoa down but he counters a double superplex attempt into a double powerbomb. Sikoa hits a running hip attack in the corner on Waller but misses one on Knight. Waller is sent outside but runs back in for the Stunner on Knight. Sikoa sends him outside though and the Superfly Splash finishes Knight at 5:05.

Rating: C. I’m not big on this kind of match as they had three people hitting each other until the right one won. Sikoa is someone who is going to wind up as a force around here and I’m curious to see where he goes. Knight still has star power and I don’t think a loss like this is going to hut him all that much.

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirrotta are annoyed at not winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles. This sends Hartwell into another speech about how much she loves her husband but Tony D’Angelo interrupts. He’ll see Dexter next week but for now, he hands Indi a dead fish and Persia gets some money.

Tommaso Ciampa was on the UK tour as well and is ready to beat Bron Breakker again.

Elektra Lopez vs. Erica Yan

Lopez runs her over to start and hits a snap suplex, followed by a sitout powerbomb for the pin at 1:24. Total squash.

Post match Legado del Fantasma calls out Xyon Quinn, who is right here to join the festivities. Lopez says Quinn turned a lot of heads last week so the offer to join is tossed out. Quinn thinks she is amazing but he isn’t down with the team. Legado goes after him and gets tossed outside in a hurry. Lopez’s slaps are blocked and Quinn pulls her to him, which she doesn’t seem to mind. The intrigued staredown ensues and Lopez holds Legado back.

Takeover WarGames is on December 5. And who in the world is supposed to be in that???

Kyle O’Reilly isn’t sure what to do with his future, but he thinks he and Von Wagner are a special team (no, they aren’t) and they should go after the Tag Team Titles. Imperium pops up but so does Wagner for the showdown.

Pete Dunne vs. Carmelo Hayes

Non-title and Trick Williams is here with Hayes. Dunne jumps Hayes in the corner to start and stomps away in a hurry. It’s already time to work on Hayes’ fingers but he flips over Dunne and hits a springboard clothesline. Dunne sends him outside and slingshots out to grab Hayes’ arm, setting up the X Plex onto the apron. Cue Dexter Lumis to grab a headset and stare Williams down as we take a break.

Back with Dunne fighting out of an armbar but walking into a Codebreaker (for a big flipping bump) and a near fall. Dunne is back with a quick forearm to knock Hayes out of the air but what looks to be the X Plex is reversed into a twisting suplex. Hayes gets creative by trying the Gargano Escape but Dunne escapes that as well. Hold on though as Williams tries some interference, only to be taken out by Lumis. The distraction lets a gloved hand grab Hayes’ foot. That’s enough for the Bitter End to finish Hayes at 12:35.

Rating: C+. Thank goodness we’re starting to get champions losing in non-title matches around here as that was one of the main roster tropes that hadn’t made its way down here yet. Dunne vs. Hayes could be good on Takeover, but I don’t needs more of this 50/50 stuff. Or the “mysterious” hand popping up for that matter.

It was Johnny Gargano, in Dexter Lumis gear.

Overall Rating: C. The main word I would use to describe tonight is indifferent. The show had its up and down moments, but the biggest problem was that when things would get going, some goofy concept would come up and suck the energy out of the whole thing. As a result, the whole show felt like it was just kind of there all night, with little reason to get invested into almost anything they were doing. Takeover seems to be a stretch at this point, with WarGames (especially minus William Regal to announce it) being even harder to reach. The show could work, but that’s a far cry from what used to be a layup around here.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter/Io Shirai – Abdominal stretch cradle to Carter
Kay Lee Ray b. Sarray – KLR Bomb
Joe Gacy b. Boa via DQ when Boa choked in the ropes
Creed Brothers b. Jacket Time – Gutwrench sitout powerbomb
Cameron Grimes b. Ru Feng – Cave In
Solo Sikoa b. LA Knight and Grayson Waller – Superfly Splash to Knight
Elektra Lopez b. Erica Yan – Sitout powerbomb
Pete Dunne b. Carmelo Hayes – Bitter End

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: November 2, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and that means it is time to get ready for…well I have no idea actually as I’m not sure what they’re going to do as far as Takeover goes. There were a bunch of title changes last week and now it is time to see where things go from here. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Mandy Rose to open things up and Barrett is VERY happy to see her as the new Women’s Champion. She is very proud of her win because she is the best looking champion in the title’s history and she is still the baddest b**** around. Last week was a great night for Toxic Attraction and we see all of them holding up their new titles last week (Mandy: “D*** I’m hot.”).

Her girls aren’t here, so we cut to the back where the rest of Toxic Attraction is beating up Zoey Stark. Mandy is proud of them but wants some competition. Cue Io Shirai to say she’ll fight right now, but Rose says she isn’t scared. Rose wants a referee out here right now so Shirai looks to the entrance and gets hit with the microphone. The beatdown is on until Shirai fights back, which draws out the rest of Toxic Attraction for the real beating. Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter run in for the save, likely setting up the six woman tag.

In the back, Toxic Attraction find Dakota Kai, who says she didn’t help them last week. She just wants to get rid of Raquel Gonzalez.

Cameron Grimes is in Duke’s Poker Room with a bunch of other people, though he doesn’t seem to know the rules. Grimes: “You got 21? I GOT 22!” Hudson looks happy.

Dakota Kai vs. Cora Jade

Kai wastes no time in knocking Jade down and grabbing a chinlock. Back up and Jake fires off the running elbows, setting up the running hurricanrana. Jade gets two off a sunset flip but Kai scorpion kicks her. The running boot in the corner finishes Jade at 2:24.

Post match the beatdown stays on, including another shot to Jade’s head. Kai pulls out a table and lays it on Jade on the floor, but stops before jumping off the apron. Instead, she walks away and leaves Jade down.

Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner have been yelling at Legado del Fantasma on Twitter over the weekend.

Robert Stone doesn’t like everyone being happy with Xyon Quinn beating him up last week. The challenge is on.

MSK is depressed by their Tag Team Title loss but they’re getting help from someone. They don’t say who it is, but he invented the legend of MSK and has helped millions and millions. We’re about to hear the legend, but a bus pulls up and we can’t hear the explanation. And they missed their bus, so they’ll just have to walk.

Xyon Quinn vs. Robert Stone

Stone doesn’t like Quinn and promises to win in a hurry. This one is for Frankie Monet though and it’s time to dance to Monet’s theme. Quinn stands in the middle of the ring while Stone dances around him before asking if Quinn can dance better. After Quinn says no, Stone dances around like a chicken so Quinn says play the music and then dances/sings to Shawn Michaels’ theme. He even dances with Stone a bit, including a Dirty Dancing lift. Stone slaps him in the face so Quinn says ring the bell. A Samoan drop and Jackhammer (better than that running elbow) finish Stone at 47 seconds.

Joe Gacy talks about how horrible the world is, including clips of people arguing and talking about how evil social media really is. Harland is called a monster because he’s big and has tattoos. They will change the world together.

Legado del Fantasma, including Elektra Lopez, seems impressed by Xyon Quinn, who says he has a lot of sides to him.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner

Elektra Lopez is here with Legado. O’Reilly headlocks Wilde’s head to start so Mendoza comes in and has his sunset flip blocked. The much bigger Wagner comes in to take Mendoza down as well but Mendoza springboards over him for a breather. That doesn’t go well either as Wagner plants him, allowing O’Reilly to come back in and go after the arm. Wilde comes in so Wagner shoulders them both down, setting up a double suplex as we take a break.

Back with O’Reilly loading up a kick on Wilde but getting distracted by Lopez. Wilde’s kick connects in the corner and it’s Legado taking over for the first time. Mendoza kicks Wagner off the apron and it’s a springboard flip dive to drop O’Reilly for two. O’Reilly comes back and kicks Mendoza down, with Wilde making the save. Wagner comes back in but has some miscommunication with O’Reilly, allowing Wilde to roll him up for the pin at 10:59 (with Wagner’s foot in the rope).

Rating: C+. For the life of me I cannot get into this O’Reilly/Wagner team. O’Reilly was a main event player in NXT and now he seems to be there to mentor a pretty run of the mill big guy. The team isn’t bad or anything, but it’s not something I’m going to be interested in, which is making for some rough sits.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are ready to move on from the Way but Andre Chase pops up to say he has their back. Chase insists that he was NOT a coward last week and promises to give someone a beating to blow off some steam.

Back to the Poker Room, where Cameron Grimes is on a streak of beginner’s luck despite hitting on the women and not knowing the rules. Duke Hudson takes all of one of the women’s money and Grimes starts losing. More later.

Here’s Andre Chase for the open challenge (required on every show) but his microphone doesn’t work. We get a replacement microphone so Chase can say that people have been calling him a COWARD after last week. That sounds like a teachable moment so the challenge is on.

Andre Chase vs. Bron Breakker

Chase gets knocked outside in a hurry and Breakker blasts him with a clothesline. Back in and Chase chops away a bit but Breakker grabs the gorilla press powerslam for the easy pin at 1:41.

Post match, Breakker says he fell for one trap after another last week. Tommaso Ciampa is the man in NXT but they’re not done, because Breakker is coming after the title. Breakker’s voice in this promo was so Steiner that it might as well have been the University of Michigan fight song.

Imperium is proud of their Tag Team Title win, but they don’t like America. Toxic Attraction comes up to say Imperium should watch their six woman tag next week. Barthel thinks America has its benefits. I’m not sure if you noticed, but Toxic Attraction is a bunch of good looking women, just in case you didn’t get it from how many times we heard about them.

It’s time for Lashing Out With Lash Legend, with Lash talking about last week’s Halloween costumes. She doesn’t like the suggestion that LA Knight and Grayson Waller were the hosts because she is the REAL host around here. This week’s guest is Tony D’Angelo, who talks about allegedly kidnapping Lash’s producer, but here is the producer in person! D’Angelo makes vague threats to the producer’s family before moving on to saying he wants to face bigger NXT stars. This was the dumbest thing on a show with a lot of dumb things and feels like it belongs on a low level territory show from 1989.

Solo Sikoa vs. Jeet Rama

Sikoa sends him into the corner for the running Umaga attack and scores with a kick to the head. The Superfly Splash finishes Rama at 1:29.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen cook steak, play cornhole and pitch horseshoes while talking about loving to fight and compete.

Boa vs. Grayson Waller

LA Knight is on commentary. Waller drives Boa into the corner to start but gets taken down into a crossarm choke. Back up and Waller fires off some clotheslines into a cravate with knees to the head. Knight offers a distraction though and Waller gets kicked off the ropes. Boa scores with a kick to the head to finish Waller at 2:28.

Back to the Poker Room where Cameron Grimes beats Duke Hudson on a big bluff. Grimes hat 2’s, because he’s going TO THE MOON. So a poker game gets three segments, a good fifteen or more years after the poker boom hit its peak. That’s very WWE of them.

Kay Lee Ray is back in a rage next week.

Boa can’t find Mei Ying. I’d call that a positive.

Here is Tommaso Ciampa for a chat. Ciampa talks about how last week was a changing of the guard in NXT and lists off the new champions. Bron Breakker was supposed to be the next NXT Champion but no one told Ciampa about that. With this title comes a target, but he knows that this is usually the time when someone interrupts. Cue Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams, with the former saying he is that guy. Hayes says he is the A Champion in NXT, but Ciampa can’t hear him over the CIAMPA’S GONNA KILL YOU chants. The brawl is teased and Williams gets dropped, making Hayes think twice as Ciampa leaves.

The Way vs. Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams

Ciampa is still in the aisle as Johnny Gargano comes out for a tease of the good old days. Lumis and Williams start things off, with a single glare sending Williams over for the tag to Hayes. That’s fine with Lumis, who crawls over to scare Hayes, meaning Williams comes back in to hammer away. Lumis scores with a Thesz press and right hands before it’s off to Gargano to work on the arm.

That should mean a top rope ax handle, but instead Lumis lands on his feet and uppercuts Williams in the face. Hayes comes back in and gets his kick to the ribs caught, meaning Gargano can come back in for some more traditional wrestling. Gargano nails the slingshot spear to cut Hayes down, allowing the Way to clear the ring as we take a break. Back with Hayes cutting off Gargano’s tag attempt and hitting an assisted springboard legdrop for two. Gargano gets over for the tag to Lumis a few moments later though and it’s time to clean some house.

An assisted superplex gets two on Hayes and Gargano superkicks Williams. Gargano loads up his own glove for stereo shots to the face, followed by stereo superkicks. Lumis adds a top rope elbow for two on Williams with Hayes making the save. We settle down to Hayes and Gargano chopping it out until Hayes goes to the throat. A discus lariat turns Hayes inside out and there’s the Silencer to keep Hayes in trouble. The referee gets Gargano out though, allowing Williams to hit Lumis with a shoe. That’s enough to set up the top rope ax kick to give Hayes the pin at 13:32.

Rating: C+. Another perfectly decent if not fairly good match, as Gargano and Lumis have a weird chemistry, but are also an established team. What matters here is they made Hayes and Williams look pretty good, which is exactly the point of something like this. Hayes looks like a possible NXT Title challenger, so it isn’t like he was going to lose here. I’m not sure what is next for the Way, but this father-in-law/son deal could be funny.

Overall Rating: C-. The two longer matched helped this show a lot but my goodness this felt like a circus. There are so many characters and so many gimmicks running around that it felt like a high school improv exercise where you pulled your character out of a hat and figure it out in ten minutes. That’s fine for some low level place that needs something for people to do, but this is national television and I’d expect a bit better.

There are a lot of problems on this show, but there are certainly good parts too. I want to see where some of the new characters go, including Sikoa, Quinn, Breakker and Hayes, which shows that NXT does know how to do some things right. At the same time though, there are a bunch of things that are a bit less than thrilling, including Toxic Attraction, Duke Hudson’s Poker Room, Tony D’Angelo and Lash Legend (egads). Those things are bringing the show down, because they do not exactly offer the greatest hope.

Overall, this show was a microcosm of what NXT is at the moment: a bunch of things happening, with some interesting prospects but a lot of people who are bordering on disaster because it isn’t 1994. Why would I want to see a mobster on a talk show with a loud host when I could see more of the talented athletes getting to do their thing? This was a rough sit, but it did have some bright spots to keep some hope alive.

Results
Dakota Kai b. Cora Jade – Running kick in the corner
Xyon Quinn b. Robert Stone – Jackhammer
Legado del Fantasma b. Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner – Rollup to Wagner
Bron Breakker b. Andre Chase – Gorilla press powerslam
Solo Sikoa b. Jeet Rama – Superfly Splash
Boa b. Grayson Waller – Kick to the head
Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes b. The Way – Top rope ax kick to Lumis

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.

205 Live
Date: October 22, 2021
Location: Capitol One Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

It’s weird to be looking forward to this show but they have managed to make it happen. I have no idea what to expect from the show but the mere hint of effort and a purpose has turned this show into something with a bit of value for a change. What’s next? An actual big name showing up around here? Let’s get to it.

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

Amari Miller/Valentina Feroz vs. Katarina Cortez/Yulisa Leon

Leon is new. Feroz and Cortez go to the mat to start with Feroz’s takedown not having any effect. It’s off to Leon for a very spinning wristdrag and Cortez’s missile dropkick gets two. Feroz has to fight out of a chinlock and Miller comes in for the first time, only to get clotheslined down. Everything breaks down and Miller cravates Leon onto her knee for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C-. Not much to see with this one but Miller getting a win is not exactly surprising. It is clear that they want to do something with her and she has to start somewhere. Feroz and Leon weren’t bad but this was about Cortez and Miller getting over, which worked well enough for this stage.

We see the Duke Hudson poker room from last week’s NXT.

Duke Hudson vs. Malik Blade

Hudson runs Blade over to start and then tosses him outside with straight power. Back in and Blade cranks on a headlock but Hudson counters a dive into an overhead belly to belly. Some slams put Blade down again and Hudson is looking rather cocky. Blade hits a dropkick into a running corner clothesline but Hudson sends him flying again. The more serious Hudson puts him down and finishes by….grabbing Blade by the back of the head and shoving him face first onto the mat at 5:31. Not driving him down mind you, but just shoving him.

Rating: C. The match was pretty good, including Blade being treated more seriously this time, but Hudson is going to need a MUCH better finisher. That felt like the kind of thing you do to embarrass your opponent and get a one count but it finished here. Hudson is already a bit hard to take seriously and that didn’t help things.

Post match, Hudson tosses him a poker chip.

Halloween Havoc rundown.

Jeet Rama vs. Xyon Quinn

Feeling out process to start with Quinn grabbing a headlock until Rama sends him into the corner. A front facelock suplex gives Rama two and the armbar goes on. Back up and a hard whip sends Rama into the corner to give Quinn a breather. The armbar goes right back on, though this time Quinn muscles him up for a World’s Strongest Slam. Quinn is back up to toss Rama around, setting up a running shoulder in the corner. The running forearm finishes Rama at 4:15.

Rating: C. Quinn has been treated as something of a big deal in recent weeks but this time it was more about Rama. I could see that going somewhere as Rama looks good enough in the ring to become a bit of a player. I’m not at all surprised that Quinn won though, as he could turn into one of the upcoming stars of NXT without much trouble.

Respect is shown post match.

Overall Rating: C. This was a bit of a downgrade, but it’s nice to see this as the pretty firm new format of the show. Above all else, it gives you something to look forward to and that is a nice change of pace after so many years of nothing from 205 Live. If this can become something like NXT’s Dark, WWE might be on to something for a change.

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: October 12, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s another big night this time around as we have Santos Escobar challenging Isaiah Scott for the North American Title. Given that Scott and company have been Drafted to SmackDown, there might not be the most drama on this one. Maybe they have a curve ball for us, but that might not be a good idea. Let’s get to it.

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

Earlier today, Legado del Fantasma jumped Hit Row and kidnapped everyone but Isaiah Scott.

Opening sequence.

Joe Gacy is in the ring and says that Tommaso Ciampa holding the NXT Title means untold unbalance. Tonight, Gacy will beat the walking example of toxic masculinity and championship privilege. He represents all of his Snowflakes and is ready to inject himself into the championship match at Halloween Havoc.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Joe Gacy

Non-title but if Gacy wins, he is added to the NXT Title match in two weeks. Ciampa knocks him around to start but Gacy hits a shoulder for two. The chinlock doesn’t last long but here is Harland (the man who looked at Gacy last week, better known as Parker Boudreaux) for a distraction.

Ciampa is back with a running knee in the corner and they head to the floor, with Gacy bouncing off of the announcers’ table. Back in and Ciampa hits him in the nose, only to get taken outside again. This time it’s a drop onto the apron to put Gacy in control as we take a break. Back with Ciampa running him over again but what looked to be White Noise is escaped. Instead they slug it out with Gacy getting the better of things, only to have Ciampa come back with the Fairy Tale Ending and the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C. The match was fine but what were you expecting here? I know NXT has gone a bit nuts but they aren’t going to put Gacy in a spot like that. Ciampa beating him up was nice to see, but it wasn’t like there was any real doubt about the winner. Now we sit back and wait for Bron Breakker to win the title and hopefully one day remember that he is a Steiner and really get into the new era of NXT.

Post match Harland jumps Ciampa and then chokes Gacy (Fans: “WHO ARE YOU???”), who rubs Harland’s face to get him to let go.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. They want all the titles and they left last week very unsatisfied. They aren’t going to play by the rules and they get what they want. The three of them are getting their title shots at Halloween Havoc and leaving with all of the titles. Mandy Rose doesn’t care what color her hair is, because she is always the baddest b**** in the business. The fact that the team lost their first title shot and the fact that it’s Mandy Rose trying to sound tough makes this kind of hard to take seriously.

Someone is at a graveside and starts shoveling dirt, saying he will bury the past to start anew, apparently at Halloween Havoc.

Xyon Quin vs. Malik Blade

Toxic Attraction seems impressed by Quin during his entrance. Quin powers Blade around to start and whips him hard into the corner for two. Blade gets thrown around again and plants with a spinebuster. The running elbow to the face finishes for Quin at 2:48. The more I see of Quin, the more I like him.

Tommaso Ciampa is ready for Bron Breakker in two weeks, but here are the Grizzled Young Veterans. They are ready to see him lose, but here is Breakker to say he’s ready to fight right now. Breakker will have Ciampa’s back until Halloween Havoc because he wants Ciampa at his best. Worked for John Cena and Shawn Michaels in 2007.

Isaiah Scott says his friends are warriors and if Santos Escobar wanted to bring out the evil spirits in him, IT WORKED. He is taking this North American Title to Smackdown and there is nothing Escobar can do about it.

Ivy Nile vs. Valentina Feroz

The rest of the Diamond Mine is here with Nile, who is the first female champion of the Titan Games. Nile catches Feroz’s crossbody and muscles her up into a delayed vertical suplex. Some kicks in the corner have Feroz in trouble as Barrett says he is getting Glamazon vibes from Nile, which he means as a compliment. As Beth tries to get her head around that, Nile muscles her up into a torture rack and does a squat to make it even worse. Feroz (eventually) taps at 2:43. Nile is an athletic machine, but you can tell she is just doing power/athletic stuff rather than knowing how to string a lot of this together (fair enough).

Post match Malcolm Bivens praises the Diamond Mine, but here is Ikemen Jiro to cut Roderick Strong off. Julius Creed cuts him off but Jiro hits him in the face.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Julius Creed

Creed throws him around to start and scores with a powerslam to plant Jiro again. There’s another suplex to send Jiro flying again as this is a total squash so far. Jiro fights up and kicks him down, setting up a delayed splash off the top. A Lionsault to the floor drops Julius but he pulls Jiro out of the air and plants him down again. The basement clothesline finishes Jiro at 3:30.

Rating: C. This was just beneath a total squash and Creed looked impressive. His gear needs more than a few upgrades, but wins like this will get him noticed. The fans like Jiro, but I can’t imagine he goes much further beyond where he is not. There is nothing wrong with being a low level, less than serious guy, and that’s about all he’s going to be for a good while.

Post match the beatdown is on but here is Kushida to make the save. It doesn’t work and he is beaten down as well, but at least he tried.

Raquel Gonzalez talks about how great her title reign has been and is down to face Mandy Rose. Let’s just make it Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal.

It’s time for Lashing Out With Lash Legend. She liked the Draft, misses Hit Row, and didn’t have time for Tony D’Angelo.

Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner vs. Pete Dunne/Ridge Holland

Holland and Dunne didn’t get an entrance, but Lash Legend needed the time more. Wagner jumps Dunne to start and muscles him up for a vertical suplex. It’s off to O’Reilly, who kicks Dunne over to the corner a tag to Holland. That goes a bit better for the Brits, as some knees to the back have O’Reilly in trouble. An overhead belly to belly takes O’Reilly down again and Dunne gets in his own shots.

Holland uppercuts him down to set up an arm trap chinlock, followed by a hard clothesline. O’Reilly manages to knock Dunne away and brings Wagner back in to clean house, including sending Holland into the steps on the floor. We take a break and come back with Holland holding O’Reilly in a chinlock as the fans give him a YOU DON’T GO HERE chant. Dunne comes back in to work over O’Reilly as Holland takes Wagner down off the apron.

Everything breaks down and Wagner takes out both villains on the floor. O’Reilly brings Wagner back in off the hot tag to clean house, including a jumping knee and an Angle Slam. Dunne gets dropped by a running knee from O’Reilly and Wagner hits a double underhook spinning slam to finish Holland at 12:42.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of one of the biggest problems with NXT right now: we haven’t gotten an explanation of who Wagner is and now we likely won’t, because he is a regular around here. It’s more lazy writing from NXT and that is not something I’m used to seeing. The match was fine, but I have little reason to care because I have no connection to Wagner. I’m sure it won’t be a problem though, because it’s not like he is one of about half a dozen characters with that problem.

Andre Chase points out how Odyssey Jones should have had his foot over the rope instead of underneath it last week, but hit low ring awareness prevented it. One of the Chase University students asks if that was illegal and gets thrown out by Chase. Several F bombs ensue.

Tony D’Angelo is proud of his win last week but isn’t happy that he was bumped from Lashing Out With Lash Legend. It seems that D’Angelo has kidnapped Legend’s producer.

Grayson Waller vs. Duke Hudson

Waller talks about being a former Golden Gloves boxer and since he’s facing a poker player, he’s all in. Waller goes right after him but charges into a suplex, setting up a waistlock. The fans chant for “Dukie” as Waller makes a comeback, including snapping Hudson throat first across the ropes. A running Stunner gives Waller two but Hudson rolls him up with tights for the pin at 2:38.

Santos Escobar promises that Legado del Fantasma will stay in the back for tonight’s title match.

Imperium doesn’t like MSK and want the Tag Team Titles.

Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta vs. Sarray/Amari Miller

Commentary talks about the Queen’s Crown and Beth actually brings up the fan complaints about the matches being short. Sarray kicks Hartwell down to start so it’s off to Miller, who gets run over by Pirotta. Miller gets kicked into the corner, setting up a sitout F5. Hartwell drops Pretty Savage (rope walk elbow) for the pin at 2:26.

Post match Pirotta says she wants the Women’s Tag Team Titles, but here are Io Shirai and Zoey Stark to interrupt (WAY too fast, as the music hit maybe half a second after Pirotta mentioned the titles). Before they can agree that they don’t like each other, here is Toxic Attraction to say they want the titles too. The brawl is on with the champs clearing the ring.

Grayson Waller hits on a woman but Cameron Grimes interrupts. He’s impressed by how Waller did despite losing, but Waller says it’s just the accept. Waller shows Grimes a dating app and has Grimes’ attention.

Solo Sikoa: coming soon.

North American Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar is challenging but gets jumped in the aisle as Scott gets going fast. Scott runs him over at ringside and hits the big running flip dive to take him out again. They get inside where Escobar has to block the JML Driver and knocks Scott back to the floor. There’s a suicide dive to send Scott over the announcers’ table and we take a break.

Back with Scott fighting out of a double arm crank and blasting Escobar with a clothesline. Scott’s rolling cutter is countered into a Downward Spiral to give Escobar two and a frog splash gets the same. Scott catches him on top though and a Death Valley Driver onto the apron plants Escobar again. The 450 hits knees though and Escobar rolls him up for a very near fall. Cue Legado del Fantasma for a distraction but Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes come in to take them out. Escobar gets dropped into the corner and the JML Driver gives Scott the pin to retain at 11:15.

Rating: B-. Scott is a heck of a star and the more I see of him, the more sure of that I am. There is something to him that makes you want to keep watching and in a way, it’s a shame that he is in Hit Row. Good main event here and the match of the night, though something seems up with a certain pair of interfering people.

Post match, Hayes jumps Scott and it’s time for another title match, via Breakout Tournament cash in.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Isaiah Scott

Hayes is challenging and gets in a springboard clothesline for a close two. The top rope Fameasser gives Hayes the pin and the title at 1:14.

Celebrating ends the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a good example of a show where all of the problems are in the presentation. There are talented people and some of the wrestling is high quality, but the way the material is being presented is killing the show. Above all, there is WAY too much going on here. For two hours, this is a show that is just throwing stuff on the screen, hoping that it catches your attention, and then moving on. Nothing has a chance to develop, nothing has a chance to make an impact and nothing has a chance to stay in your mind, because it’s all about getting the next act out there.

It also doesn’t help that some of the stuff on here just isn’t good. Gacy is a way for some of the writers to poke fun at people they don’t like, Hudson is suddenly a poker guy, Grimes just kind of hangs out backstage looking for women, Toxic Attraction is supposed to be taken seriously, and Von Wagner just…kind of is. What “is” you might ask? Just is, period.

NXT took a long time to define itself and it turned into its own thing. Suddenly deciding that everything that once was is now gone and replacing a bunch of the wrestlers with new ones (Why? Just go with it.), while some (certainly not all) of them wrap up their stories is going to be really jarring. This show is NXT in name only and that is becoming more and more obvious every week. It might be good, but don’t expect me to just drop everything that I cared about and suddenly love a bunch of new gimmicks and characters who we are learning about on the fly. That’s insulting to the fans, but I doubt WWE really cares at this point.

Results
Tommaso Ciampa b. Joe Gacy – Fairy Tale Ending
Xyon Quin b. Malik Blade – Running elbow
Ivy Nile b. Valentina Feroz – Torture rack
Julius Creed b. Ikemen Jiro – Basement clothesline
Kyle O’Reilly/Von Wagner b. Pete Dunne/Ridge Holland – Double underhook spinning slam to Holland
Duke Hudson b. Grayson Waller – Rollup with tights
Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta b. Sarray/Amari Miller – Pretty Savage to Miller
Isaiah Scott b. Santos Escobar – JML Driver
Carmelo Hayes b. Isaiah Scott – Top rope Fameasser

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

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

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

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

Mandy Rose vs. Ember Moon

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

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

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

Odyssey Jones vs. LA Knight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Gacy vs. Ikemen Jiro

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

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

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

Cora Jade likes to skateboard.

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

Cora Jade vs. Virginia Ferry

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

Cora Jade vs. Frankie Monet

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

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

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

Pete Dunne vs. Cameron Grimes

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

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

Post match Dunne and Holland lay out O’Reilly.

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

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

Tony D’Angelo vs. Malik Blade

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Mei Ying

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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