NXT
Date: February 21, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are on our way to Roadblock and then Stand & Deliver, which means we should be in for some big stuff over the next few weeks. That includes this week, as Bron Breakker defends the NXT Title against Jinder Mahal. Ok so not everything can be the biggest deal in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov

Before the match, Williams says that if pain makes Dragunov feel alive, he’ll be on cloud nine tonight. Williams hits him in the face before the bell so Dragunov starts angry. That means an angry headlock on the mat, with Williams having to bail to the ropes. Back up and Dragunov hits a running knee in the corner for two, followed by another such knee to keep Williams down. Dragunov goes up but gets kicked in the leg, allowing Williams to knock him to the floor. Cue JD McDonagh to watch as we take a break.

Back with Dragunov fighting out of a cravate and hitting a 61Line for the double knockdown. With McDonagh on commentary, Dragunov knocks Williams down again and drops a middle rope knee. An enziguri staggers Dragunov, who is fine enough to hit a powerbomb for two more. The Torpedo finishes for Dragunov at 13:09.

Rating: C+. Dragunov is probably going to become a pretty big deal around here as he has the talent and bizarre charisma that makes fans care about him. At the same time, Williams continues to be one of the biggest unsung heroes of NXT. He’s smooth in the ring and knows how to talk. It’s a great combination and compliments Carmelo Hayes while also being his own thing. Williams deserves some more attention, as well as praise.

Jinder Mahal brings up Bron Breakker getting shaken up by the fans booing him. Tonight, he’ll win the NXT Title.

Fallon Henley tries to get in touch with Brooks Jensen after last week. Josh Briggs says Jensen needs time and Henley was wrong about the whole thing. She needs to go apologize to Kiana James, which she reluctantly agrees to do.

Earlier today, Meiko Satomura held a training session in the Performance Center, with Roxanne Perez joining in. Perez was the only one to make it to the end…..of the warmup, which seems to have her quite shaken.

Here is Tyler Bate for a chat. He wasn’t sure about coming to the United States but the love he had received from most of the fans tell him that he made the right decision. Bate has faced some very tough challengers, and now it is time to join a mystical journey. Cue Schism to interrupt, with Joe Gacy seeming to offer him a spot on the team. Bate is going to turn that down but Gacy threatens m him with gang violence. Cue Chase U to chase Schism off.

Chase U vs. Dyad

We’re joined in progress with Hudson coming in to drop an elbow on Reid. Chase gets driven into the wrong corner though as Booker has flashbacks about Boogeyman abducting his wife. A hard clothesline gets two on Chase and we hit the chinlock. Reid’s shoulder breaker gets two on Chase and we’re right back to the chinlock. Chase fights up and Hudson comes in to clean house. It’s back to Chase as everything breaks down, with Reid hitting a suicide dive on Hudson as we take a break.

Back with Chase getting the hot tag and cleaning house, including taking down Reid and Fowler at the same time. Chase dives onto Fowler on the floor and hits a high crossbody for two on Reid. The Russian legsweep sets up the Spelling Stomps but we stop for Chase to get between Thea Hail and Ava. The distraction lets Hudson get caught with the double Codebreaker for the pin at 12:33.

Rating: C+. Just let them win something already! NXT was handed a crazy over act with Chase U and they lose over and over and over. Save for a one off Tag Team Title shot in a four way this month, I can’t remember the last time they won anything of note. Now they go down again, and to freaking Schism of all people. Pretty decent match, but the frustration continues.

Post break Hudson blames Hail for the loss. Hudson: “Is this a university or a charity?” Great, as we’re getting to the split.

Earlier today, Mr. Stone tried to fire up Von Wagner when Tony D’Angelo and Stacks came in to yell about him costing them last week. The result is a match between Wagner and D’Angelo, much against Stone’s wishes.

Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey don’t think much of Hank Walker. Gulak wants someone willing to hurt people, like Dempsey.

Sol Ruca talks about loving to try new things, often involving surfing or a skateboard.

Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell misses a clothesline to start and gets caught with a neckbreaker for two. Some low kicks give Jayne two and we hit the chinlock. Hartwell fights up but gets sent shoulder first into the post. With Hartwell in trouble, cue Gigi Dolin to jump Jayne for the DQ at 5:08.

Rating: C. That was a bit sudden for a Dolin comeback but this is likely headed to a showdown at Roadblock, Stand & Deliver, or both. It wouldn’t surprise me to see these two have some kind of a big street fight or something like that, which should let them beat the fire out of each other. That might be a lot better than trying to have them do a regular, long form match. Then you have Hartwell and she….well she certainly exists.

Back to the Meiko Satomura/Roxanne Perez training session, with Perez trying but running out of energy. Satomura approves of the effort though, saying that the win comes from the heart, not muscles. Their title match is in two weeks.

Zoey Stark isn’t happy with Meiko Satomura being handed a title shot or everyone accusing her of attacking Nikkita Lyons.

Gallus vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Non-title. Blade and Coffey take turns powering each other up against the ropes to start. Wolfgang comes in for the running uppercut but cue some guys in costumes, with a cake. Blade and Enofe hit something like a suplex into a Backstabber for two on Coffey. Wolfgang is back up with the running forearm into a powerslam for the pin on Enofe at 3:49.

Rating: C-. I still like Blade and Enofe but it doesn’t seem that WWE thinks very highly of them, as they were little more than cannon fodder here. Gallus aren’t the most inspiring champions but they can do the power stuff. Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus worked well enough in the UK so maybe they can make it work again here.

Post match the guys in costumes present the cake, which makes the two year anniversary of Pretty Deadly beating Gallus for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles. Gallus cleans house but the real Pretty Deadly comes in from behind to beat up Gallus with chairs. That’s a more aggressive side from Pretty Deadly and I think I like it.

Dabba-Kato says that while Apollo Crews has been looking to the future, he has forgotten his past. He is here to hurt Crews.

Stevie Turner interrupts the announcers and uses a randomizer to pick who she should talk about. It’s Lyra Valkyria, who has those weird feathers. The stream ends just as Vic Joseph is ready to ask his own question.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Von Wagner

Stacks and Mr. Stone are here too. Wagner powers him around to start, followed by a big boot to drop D’Angelo again. A clothesline cuts off D’Angelo’s comeback but Wagner misses a charge into the corner. D’Angelo hits a belly to belly and spinebuster, followed by a belly to back slam for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. This Wagner story needs to wrap up already, as he continues to be one of the driest stars that is regularly presented anywhere on wrestling TV. Other than an oddly shaped head, there is nothing about him that makes him stand out in the slightest. Let it go already and get someone with a brighter future in there instead.

Post match D’Angelo says he’s sick of Dijak and wants a Jailhouse Street Fight at Roadblock.

Nikkita Lyons has undergone successful surgery but doesn’t know what happened when she was attacked. Tiffany Stratton pops in to say she’s tired of Lyons’ whining, but Lyons thinks that sounds suspicious. Stratton’s solution: leave for a year and get better.

Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile agree they’re still a team, despite what Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre said. Paxley doesn’t seem so sure.

Carmelo Hayes praises Trick Williams for his efforts earlier when Tyler Bate interrupts. Bate talks about how there are going to be issues at times and Williams seems to improve. Hayes is glad that Bate’s journey has nothing to do with the NXT Title. Bate smiles a bit as Hayes and Williams leave.

Alba Fyre vs. Ivy Nile

Isla Dawn and Tatum Paxley are here too. Nile throws Fyre into the corner to start and hammers away for an early two. The comeback is on with Nile grabbing the Diamond Chain Lock, drawing Dawn to the apron. Paxley gets up as well, only to have Nile driven into her. The superkick and Alba Bomb finish Nile at 2:58.

Video on Bron Breakker.

Fallon Henley apologizes to Kiana James over the allegations of cheating. James didn’t tell her the truth because he wanted Henley to trust her. The apology is accepted, but James accuses Henley of being jealous of her relationship with Brooks Jensen. Either way, they’re good for now.

Wes Lee loved the open challenge so much last week that he’s going to do it again next week. It’s just who he is.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal, with Indus Sher, is challenging and takes Breakker down to start. Breakker is back up with a shoulder and spinebuster but it is too early for the Steiner Recliner. With Mahal on the floor, Breakker busts out the big running flip dive to take out the villains. Indus Sher teases getting involved so here are the Creed Brothers to get rid of them.

We take a break and come back with Breakker being sent outside. A whip into the steps has Breakker in more trouble but he’s fine enough to hit a spinebuster back inside. Mahal bails to the floor before the spear can launch, allowing Mahal to hit a superkick into a suplex for two. Breakker is back with a spear and release suplex for two of his own, The Khallas is countered and another spear retains the title at 10:47.

Rating: D+. Yeah I’m not a bit surprised that this didn’t work. Mahal has never been a ring general and Breakker hasn’t even been wrestling for two years now. There was no one to lead here and the interest in any Mahal match is going to be limited at best most of the time. Pretty bad main event event here and Breakker needs to move on to anything else.

Carmelo Hayes pops up on stage for the showdown…..but Grayson Waller takes over the feed and says he’s the new Main Event, Showstopper and Mr. Stand & Deliver. No one can stop him, including Shawn Michaels, so maybe Shawn can meet him on the Grayson Waller Effect in two weeks. Again: I don’t know what they’re doing with Shawn vs. Waller, but unless they have a heck of a surprise to fight for Shawn, it’s going to feel like a letdown if he doesn’t fight Waller himself. That’s certainly what they have been teasing.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was up and down (with the main event being rather down) but what matters is they moved things forward towards both Roadblock and Stand & Deliver. This show has me wondering what they have planned for those events as NXT is doing a good job of setting things up for later. Pretty nice show this week, which saw more seeds being planted or getting to grow a bit on the way to the important stuff.

Results
Ilja Dragunov b. Trick Williams – Torpedo
Dyad b. Chase U – Double Codebreaker to Hudson
Jacy Jayne b. Indi Hartwell via DQ when Gigi Dolin interfered
Gallus b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Running forearm/powerslam combination to Enofe
Tony D’Angelo b. Von Wagner – Belly to back slam
Alba Fyre b. Ivy Nile – Alba Bomb
Bron Breakker b. Jinder Mahal – Spear

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

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AND

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NXT
Date: October 11, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re rapidly approaching Halloween Havoc and that means we might need some more matches added to the show. The main event is already set and tonight we get another name added to the North American Title match as Axiom and Nathan Frazer wrap up their best of three series. Let’s get to it.

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

Javier Bernal vs. Bron Breakker

Non-title and here is JD McDonagh to join commentary. Breakker wrestles him down with ease to start and grabs an armbar. A belly to belly drops Bernal but he’s back up with a shot of his own. A shove to the face annoys Breakker though and he throws Bernal down. The gorilla press powerslam finishes Bernal at 3:18.

Rating: C-. This was just a step above a squash as Bernal got in just as much offense as you would expect him to get in such a match. There is no reason to have it be anything else and it’s fun to see Bernal get beaten up. Breakker continues to learn in the ring so keeping it short against lesser proven names is a good idea.

Post match McDonagh gets in the ring for the showdown and Ilja Dragunov comes in to join them. The brawl is on and Dragunov’s Torpedo hits Breakker, despite looking like he was aiming at McDonagh.

NXT North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

In addition to being a qualifying match, this is the rubber match in a best of three series. Feeling out process to start with Frazer taking him down and smirking a bit. Axiom gets in his own takedown and…..well I’m assuming smirks back. They go with some grappling and Axiom takes him down with a headlock to slow things down a bit. Back up and Frazer pulls him out of the corner as we take a break.

We come back with the fight heading outside, where Frazer hits a Nightmare on Helm Street to put them both down for a bit. Frazer takes him down back inside and goes up top but dives into a triangle choke. That’s broken up so Axiom switches to a rear naked choke. Frazer escapes again and they trade kicks to the face. A double clothesline leaves both of them down and the fans applaud. Back up and Axiom knees him in the head and they go to a pinfall reversal sequence. Frazer finally gets the better of it and cradles him for the pin at 12:50.

Rating: B-. These two work well together and it was nice to see them getting to do their thing for a third time. I was expecting some kind of a draw to put them both in the ladder match so it was a bit refreshing to have a twist. Frazer winning is probably the better choice, though Axiom came out of the series looking good as well.

Post match, respect is show.

Ilja Dragunov is leaving but gets cut off by Grayson Waller. After Waller is a bit annoying, Dragunov mocks Waller’s sunglasses and a match seems to be made for later.

Valentina Feroz wants Sanga in her corner tonight and of course he’ll be there. Indi Hartwell comes in to suggest that Feroz is in trouble.

Apollo Crews writes in his journal about how changing one detail can make a huge difference. He is ready to get his hands on Grayson Waller at Halloween Havoc. The vision seems to be a bunch of clips of Halloween Havocs past, plus Chuckie from Child’s Play. He promises to leave Waller in the dark.

Indi Hartwell vs. Valentina Feroz

Sanga is here with Feroz. The much bigger Hartwell powers her up against the ropes to start and slams her down a few times for two. Hartwell grabs the chinlock and here is Veer to take Sanga to the back with him. Feroz doesn’t notice at first as she grabs a short armscissors. That’s broken up so she puts it on again, only to realize that Sanga is gone. The distraction lets Hartwell grab a superplex for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: C-. Hartwell is at least starting to put something back together but she has still fallen a long way. Other than that you have Feroz, who seems to be more of a pawn in the Indus Sher reunion. That’s a shame as I like Sanga, but I guess we need an evil foreign menace team instead, because that’s what we have been missing.

Post match Pretty Deadly pops up on the platform in an overly large cowboy hat and one of those hats with two beer cans on the side. They mock fans cheering for sports teams and the idea of anyone being a real challenge to them.

Cora Jade is annoyed at her lack of respect and it gets even worse when she finds out that Roxanne Perez is going to be on Smackdown this week.

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

For the Halloween Havoc Tag Team Title shot. The Dyad takes over on Jensen to start but he punches his way to freedom and brings in Briggs to run the Dyad over. Enofe gets punched into the ropes, setting up the slides underneath the ropes and stereo right hands. The Dyad gets knocked to the floor for a meeting with Joe Gacy, allowing Fowler to come back in for a suplex on Enofe.

Briggs comes in to clean house and cuts off Reed despite a blind tag. Reed is thrown over the top and onto the pile at ringside, followed by Jensen hitting a big flip dive off the top for a wipeout. We take a break and come back with a Tower of Doom taking Blade down further than anyone else.

Briggs comes in and gets to clean house, including going to the floor, picking Enofe up, throwing him off the ropes, and clotheslining him out of the air (that was cool). Blade gets the tag and starts to clean house as everything breaks down. We hit a long string of strikes to the face until Enofe and Blade clear the ring. The back to back running dives take down the other four but Gacy drops Enofe with a discus lariat. Cue Cameron Grimes to take Gacy out and Enofe pins Reed at 12:29.

Rating: C+. This was all action and they didn’t try to do anything else. It makes sense to have something like this on a show just to spice things up a bit and the winner makes for an interesting setup. If nothing else, Blade and Enofe needed a win to get them somewhere and why not let them have a title shot? It isn’t like they have anything to lose.

Toxic Attraction want their Women’s Tag Team Title match and promise violence.

Kiana James wants to shut down Chase U because the land it’s on is really valuable.

Alba Fyre vs. Jacy Jayne

Gigi Dolin is here with Jayne and offers a distraction to start. Jayne knocks Fyre into the corner and looks a bit too cocky early on. Fyre fights back up and slugs away but can’t hit a Gory Bomb. A fireman’s carry slam gives Fyre two and some frustration is setting in. Instead it’s another Dolin distraction to annoy Fyre, meaning she hits a running dive to take both of them out at ringside. Back in and the Gory Bomb finishes Jayne at 3:32.

Rating: C. This is one of those stories that you know by heart as soon as the match is announced and that isn’t a bad thing. What matters is keeping Alba warmed up before her title match and so far, that is working well. You can pencil in the Gigi Dolin match from here and it should go rather well with the story they are telling.

Post match a fan jumps Fyre and it’s…..Sonya Deville. The beating is on with Fyre getting triple powerbombed through the announcers’ table.

Joe Gacy promises to end Cameron Grimes 3-1 because Grimes has no one to help him. Their follower in the red hoodie pops up behind the team as they leave.

Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Quincy Elliott and Hank Walker are ready for a match next week. Walker gives him a quick spank and Elliott thanks him.

Wes Lee vs. Stacks

Stacks takes him down by the leg to start but Lee is right back up with a shot to the face. Back up and Stacks goes for the leg and grabs a leglock. A torture rack neckbreaker gets two on Lee so Stacks goes up, only to get pulled back down. The Spiral Tap gives Lee the pin at 3:58.

Rating: C. Well you can see why Stacks is the lackey to Tony D’Angelo rather than the other way around. Stacks is one of the more generic stars that you will see in NXT as he just didn’t have anything to make him stand out. He did everything fine, but the crowd didn’t seem interested and Lee’s Spiral Tap was about the only interesting part. Not bad, but dull.

Post match Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes come in to beat Lee down but Oro Mensah makes the save.

Sonya Deville likes Toxic Attraction and doesn’t like Alba Fyre. Next week, Deville will be waiting in the ring for her.

Roderick Strong, in a neck brace, is wheeled in to see the Creed Brothers and wants Julius to take out Damon Kemp at Halloween Havoc. Strong apologizes for ruining everything by bringing Kemp in and is forgiven. If you can’t see how this is going at Halloween Havoc, you aren’t paying enough attention.

Thea Hail vs. Kiana James

The bell rings and Mr. Stone runs in to say he can’t enjoy Von Wagner’s win last week because Thea Hail slapped him. Stone charges at him and gets backdropped but James hits a reverse Sling Blade (401K) to finish Hail at 1:18. Sounds like a teachable moment.

Tony D’Angelo on crutches comes in to say he’s disappointed in Stacks for losing and for not listening to him. Stacks has another match next week, but D’Angelo won’t say against who.

Von Wagner tells Mr. Strong that he needs to be serious for two weeks.

Cameron Grimes seems to have some friends for next week.

Cora Jade has an invitation from Rhea Ripley to come to Raw, so HA Roxanne Perez.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Grayson Waller

Dragunov takes him down to start and works on the armbar. A jumping backsplash and running knee in the corner put Waller down again as this is one sided so far. Back up and Waller gets in a shot to the face to take over and even mocks his conducting. Oh and he mocks the Spinarooni, which has Booker annoyed as well.

We take a break and come back with Dragunov hitting some shots to the back, setting up a jumping enziguri. Waller knocks him right back down though and hits the middle rope elbow for two. Dragunov comes back with the 6 1 Line but a takedown sets up Waller’s choke. A neck snap across the top has Dragunov down so he goes to the floor….where the Spin The Wheel Make The Deal wheel appears and starts spinning (on its own). Back in and Dragunov rolls some suplexes, setting up the Torpedo for the pin at 11:05.

Rating: C+. The wheel thing was a little weird but Apollo Crews is doing a lot of weird things as of late. Dragunov winning here helps establish him a bit more in NXT, where he is still brand new. This should give him a small boost on the way to Halloween Havoc and I’d like to see what happens to him in what could be a wild triple threat.

Post match Bron Breakker runs in and spears Dragunov down. JD McDonagh applauds to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. Not exactly a strong week from NXT here as they don’t have anything that has me overly interested for Halloween Havoc. The NXT Title match should be good, but it doesn’t feel like a story that is head and shoulders above everything else. The problem is that nothing else on the show does either and I’m not exactly interested in what they’re doing so far. Maybe they can change that next week, and at this point, they need to. Decent enough action this week and it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t make me more interested in their big show and that’s not good.

Results
Bron Breakker b. Javier Bernal – Gorilla press powerslam
Nathan Frazer b. Axiom – Rollup
Indi Hartwell b. Valentina Feroz – Superplex
Malik Blade/Edris Enofe b. Dyad and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen – Rollup to Reed
Alba Fyre b. Jacy Jayne – Gory Bomb
Wes Lee b. Stacks – Spiral Tap
Kiana James b. Thea Hail – 401K
Ilja Dragunov b. Grayson Waller – Torpedo

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: September 13, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the one year anniversary and that is something that could work very well. WWE knows how to hype up its own history like few others and they could manage to make it work around here. I’m not sure how many highlights there are for this show, but there is at least some potential. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. Pretty Deadly

Pretty Deadly is defending inside a cage, where thankfully there are no tags. The champs try for stereo escapes to start and are quickly pulled down into some suplexes. Wilson is sent into the cage and Prince gets kneed in the face a lot. The Creeds have to cut them off again, but this time Prince hits a middle rope Codebreaker to drop Julius. Brutus is fine enough to powerbomb Wilson into the cage. Prince and Brutus slug it out on top of the cage until Julius pulls Wilson down with a springboard Spanish Fly.

We take a break and come back with the champs double superplexing Julius. The champs go up but Julius pulls them back, leaving Brutus to hit the Creed Bomb for something like a Doomsday device. Cue Damon Kemp with handcuffs so Julius goes up to cut him off. That leaves Julius handcuffed to the top of the cage so Brutus has to make his own save. Brutus can’t keep up with the numbers though and Spilled Milk gets two. A series of rams into the cage crush Brutus again and another Spilled Milk retains the titles at 14:58.

Rating: C+. I’ve been big on Pretty Deadly for a long time now and it is great to see them getting this kind of a win. This felt like a major moment and they needed to do something like that to feel like bigger stars. Hopefully they get to hold onto the titles for a good while, as the Creeds seem busy with Damon Kemp at the moment.

Damon Kemp is pleased.

Wes Lee wins the vote for a North American Title shot and is very pleased. Von Wagner, one of the losers, isn’t and storms off. Joe Gacy says he approves of the vote and wishes Lee luck. Lee seems a bit disturbed.

Video on the last year of NXT. Like it or not, there has been A LOT of stuff in there, some of which worked better than others, but things did happen. As usual, this is where WWE shines, as they made some silly angles and moments feel a lot better than they were.

Lash Legend vs. Fallon Henley

Legend starts fast and knocks Henley outside hard. A ram into the apron has Fallon’s back in trouble and they go back inside for an over the shoulder backbreaker. With that broken up, Henley ducks the pump kick and hits a running knee to finish Legend at 2:17. Well that’s a surprise and I’m not complaining.

Yulisa Leon has torn something in her knee and will be out nine months. Sanga consoles her as an annoyed Von Wagner and Mr. Stone come in. They rant a lot and Sanga says watch the language because there are ladies present. A fight is teased.

Fallon Henley, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs run into Toxic Attraction. After Jensen stumbles over being nice to Mandy Rose, Henley doesn’t think much of what she says back to him. Another fight is teased, with Toxic Attraction mocking Henley a good bit.

Here is Toxic Attraction to say it is appropriate that they are the featured attraction on the anniversary show. They promise to keep dominating and brag about all of their title wins, with Mandy Rose saying she’s better than Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes. Cue Alba Fyre to say Mandy knows nothing about her. The bat holds the team off and Mandy has to be saved. She goes back to get the title as the next challenger seems to be set. Fyre is one of the few challengers Mandy has left so this is a smart way to go.

Cora Jade talks about how great she is, despite taking her time to rise up. The lack of confidence cost her, until the match with Natalya brought her to the next level. Then she dropped Roxanne Perez like she should have done a long time ago and now the sky is the limit. The change of attitude has allowed her to become a star and this time next year, she’ll be the top star.

Wendy Choo doesn’t think much of Jade and says she may dress weird, but she’s still smart. Lash Legend comes in and is still mad about the loss to Fallon Henley. Glaring at Choo ensues.

Quincy Elliott vs. Sean Gallagher

Elliott gyrates a lot and Gallagher is shaken. A flip from Elliott makes it even worse so Gallagher hits him, only to get mauled in return. Elliott hits a Banzai Drop to finish at 1:21. The fans seemed into Elliott so they’re doing something right.

Cameron Grimes is ready to fight the D’Angelo Family himself, because he’s teaming with the one person he can trust. Time to go to the moon.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams jump Wes Lee in the locker room and crush his head in a locker. Sounds like replacement time.

Cameron Grimes vs. D’Angelo Family

Stacks starts for the team and gets dropped with a running shoulder. A knee to the ribs does the same and there’s a running kick to the back of the head. D’Angelo comes in and the numbers game puts Grimes in trouble in the corner. Cue Joe Gacy and the Dyad, with Gacy getting on the apron as Grimes’ partner.

Grimes fights out of the corner and Gacy extends his hand, but Grimes would rather get suplexed by D’Angelo for two instead (probably smart). A backflip gets Grimes out of a suplex and he staggers into the corner, where Gacy tags himself in. House is cleaned but Grimes stops to yell at Gacy, only to have the Family break it up. A Cave In hits D’Angelo and the handspring lariat finishes Stacks at 5:36.

Rating: C. The match was just kind of there, but please do not let this turn into a Gacy/Grimes thing. If they have to feud with each other then fine, but putting Gacy above Grimes sounds like a horrible idea. Then again that might just be Gacy in general, as almost nothing he has done has been worthwhile whatsoever.

Post match Gacy hugs a confused Grimes, who says he doesn’t need Gacy. The Dyad jumps Grimes and Gacy joins in with the beatdown, including putting the smiley face sticker on Grimes’ chest.

JD McDonagh is getting his beard shaved and says this is a necessity. He doesn’t like Bron Breakker or Tyler bate for that matter, but doesn’t seem phased by the fact that he is bleeding from the shave.

We get a sitdown interview with Bron Breakker, who was scared after his first match but the people made him feel at home. After some issues getting there, Breakker won the NXT Title, which was a big deal for his family. Then he got to induct the Steiner Brothers into the Hall of Fame, which was a great honor for him. Breakker won the NXT Title for the second time and then beat a bunch of people to retain it. We’ll see what’s next.

Tyler Bate respects Bron Breakker but wants a rematch for the NXT Title. As for JD McDonagh, Bate is down to face him to get the title shot.

Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark vs. Kiana James/Arianna Grace

Stark pulls James into the corner to start and it’s off to Lyons, who blocks a hiptoss attempt and hits a release fisherman’s suplex into a nip up. We take a break and come back with Lyons fighting back again, including a spinning kick to Grace for two. Stark comes in to take Grace down and James gets tagged in, much to her own fear.

James manages to get in a cheap shot on Lyons and takes Stark down in a bit of a surprise. A backdrop kicks Stark out of trouble so Grace comes in, only to get kneed in the face. Since there is no Lyons, Grace kicks Stark in the face for two instead. Stark manages the Z360 (the flipping knee) to Grace and it’s Lyons with the splits splash for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C. Lyons and Stark were supposed to be in the Women’s Tag Team Title tournament so it would seem that they are going to be pushed as a regular thing. Grace and James only got together recently and have already lost so their future might not be as bright. Stark is still able to have a good one with just about anyone though and that made up for some of Grace and James’ shortcomings.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are happy with not voting for Joe Gacy. Cue the Dyad for the brawl but security breaks it up. Hank Walker is told to go back inside because he has his own match.

Oro Mensah (Oliver Carter of NXT UK) is coming next week.

Grayson Waller is sure that he is going to be voted the biggest star of NXT, but the final four were Toxic Attraction, Nikkita Lyons, Carmelo Hayes and….Bron Breakker. Waller goes off on the fans for not voting for him because he is the face of this brand.

Javier Bernal vs. Hank Walker

Walker is a security guard, doesn’t have music, and comes to the ring in street clothes. Bernal gets caught in the corner and is tossed right back out of it, only to dropkick the knee out. Some kicks to the knee stagger Walker but he tossed Bernal around again. Walker takes him down and hammers away before taking off the shirt to quite the reaction. A running elbow finishes Bernal at 3:20, which is viewed as a major upset.

Rating: D+. They do realize that Walker has wrestled on one of the other NXT shows right? I’ve seen Walker a few times on LVL Up and I have no idea what the appeal is supposed to be. The fact that he looks like Seth Rogen is only going to get him so far and he didn’t show me anything here to make me think he has potential.

Video on cool entrances.

Sol Ruca is coming. She’s still a surfer.

Some alumni congratulate NXT 2.0 on its anniversary.

Bron Breakker is voted Superstar Of The Year.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending, at least in theory as Lee was taken out earlier. Hayes talks about how he is running over everyone and he has more on him than anyone else. Hold on though as we seem to have a surprise challenger.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Solo Sikoa

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is still defending and the fans are WAY into Sikoa. A whip into the corner sets up a running corner clothesline but it’s too early for the running Umaga attack. Instead Sikoa sends him over the top and onto Williams as we take an early break. Back with Williams tripping Sikoa down to bank up the bad knee and give Hayes control for a change.

The half crab keeps Sikoa in trouble until a rope breaks things up. Hayes’ jumping knee is blocked and Sikoa hammers away. There’s the Samoan drop to Hayes and Sikoa takes Williams out. A swinging Rock Bottom sets up the Superfly Splash for the pin and the title at 10:00.

Rating: C+. I don’t think the title change is any kind of a surprise as NXT would want to have a big moment to end the show. That being said, Sikoa winning the title is almost confusing due to his Smackdown/Bloodline status, but I can’t imagine they changed their minds on a promotion and then and then gave him a championship immediately thereafter. This should be interesting, but it’s more bizarre than anything else at the moment.

Shawn Michaels gives us a voiceover talking about what NXT means to end the show, complete with a new, and much less rainbowy, logo, with the 2.0 disappearing.

Overall Rating: C+. What mattered more than the wrestling here was the fact that the show felt like a big celebration of the first year of NXT 2.0. The video package on the history’s show was great and the title change at the end felt special. This was a show that made me want to see more of NXT, and the ending gave me a hope that they are going to be a bit more serious going forward. I liked the show and had a good time with it, so they hit their mark this week.

Results
Pretty Deadly b. Creed Brothers – Spilled Milk to Brutus
Fallon Henley b. Lash Legend – Running knee
Quincy Elliott b. Sean Gallagher – Banzai Drop
Joe Gacy/Cameron Grimes b. D’Angelo Family – Handspring lariat to Stacks
Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark b. Kiana James/Arianna Grace – Splits splash to James
Hank Walker b. Javier Bernal – Running forearm
Solo Sikoa b. Carmelo Hayes – Superfly Splash

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NXT
Date: September 6, 2022
Location: capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re done with Worlds Collide and that means it is time to start the build towards whatever is next around here. Odds are that is going to be a big weekly show in a month or so, continuing a schedule that has severed NXT well. NXT has a fresh batch of stars from the UK here and now we get to see them full time. Let’s get to it.

Here is Worlds Collide if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Worlds Collide.

Here is Tyler Bate for a chat. He thanks the fans for having NXT UK’s back since the beginning, along with Bron Breaker for having such a great match. Cue Gallus to accuse Bate of letting the UK down and not being the Big Strong Boy anymore. The brawl doesn’t take long but Breakker runs in for the save. I think we have a tag match.

Pretty Deadly brags about winning more Tag Team Titles when Lash Legend comes in to brag about them.

Back on Sunday, Cora Jade interrupted Meiko Satomura and mocked her before setting up a match between them. Well not quite actually as Satomura already has a match with Roxanne Perez.

Doudrop/Nikki Ash vs. Toxic Attraction

Ash sends Dolin into the corner to start and hands it off to Doudrop for some heavy shoulders. It’s back to Ash, who is driven into the wrong corner so Jayne can pose a lot. Ash comes back with a chinlock to keep Jayne in trouble, setting up a swinging neckbreaker. Back up and Nikki gets knocked off the apron with Doudrop following in a bigger crash as we take a break.

We come back with Jayne grabbing a front facelock before taking Ash down with a neckbreaker. Ash fights up and gets over to Doudrop so house can be cleaned, including a double backsplash. Jayne has to save Dolin after a Cannonball so Ash ties her in the ring skirt for the hard forearms. Dolin goes up so Doudrop pulls her out of the air for a Michinoku Driver. The basement crossbody finishes Dolin at 10:40.

Rating: C. It says a lot when I was so sued to calling Toxic Attraction the champions that I almost did it again here. Doudrop and Ash might be sticking around long term and that isn’t a bad thing for them. Giving them a few wins at least reheats them a bit, though it may be too late for them to be brought back to any value.

Apollo Crews talks about Grayson Waller going for his eyes. Payback is coming.

JD McDonagh vs. Wes Lee

McDonagh headlocks him down to start as we talk about the return of Braun Strowman to Raw. Back up and Lee kicks him away, only to get his neck snapped across the top rope. We take a break and come back with Lee fighting out of a chinlock. The rapid fire kicks to the chest and a double stomp to the back have McDonagh on the floor. Lee knocks him over the announcers’ table and takes him back inside for a Meteora. A hard knee rocks McDonagh again but he pulls Lee into a suplex. Another attempt is countered into a sunset flip but McDonagh kicks him in the face. The Devil Inside finishes Lee at 9:34.

Rating: B. Lee was bringing it here and McDonagh was right there with him the whole way, making for another good match. These guys were working hard and keeping the pace fast, which is more than you see most of the time in a match on this level. I’m still not sure what Lee is going to do and McDonagh’s oddness makes him hard to pin down as well. For now though, I’ll settle for something like this.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are having coffee when Pretty Deadly comes in to join them. D’Angelo asks them how much it cost to get Damon Kemp to screw over Diamond Mine. Prince burns his mouth on the coffee before saying they did everything themselves.

Meiko Satomura vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is looking rather nervous here and Satomura takes over on her arm to start. Back up and Perez sends her into the corner, setting up a headscissors into a rollup for two. Satomura pulls Perez down into a choke but vets reversed into an STF, causing Satomura to elbow her way to freedom. Perez sends is outside for a heck of a suicide dive and we take a break.

Back with Satomura pulling on both arms but Perez fights up and grabs a Russian legsweep. A Koji Clutch is broken up and Satomura hits a running spinwheel kick. Perez catches her up top with a super hurricanrana for two, giving us the shocked kickout face. Satomura has had it with her and comes back with a Pele kick into Scorpio Rising for the pin at 11:22.

Rating: B-. More goodness here and a very nice rub for Perez. You can see so much natural talent and star power in her matches and giving her a match with Satomura is a great way to go. Satomura sticking around is a good thing as she adds value to anyone doing anything, including as she did with Perez here.

Respect is shown post match but Cora Jade runs in to stick Perez down.

Tyler Bate and Bron Breakker are ready to take out Gallus.

Damon Kemp explains how he tore Diamond Mine apart from the inside because he didn’t like being left as the bench as a backup. He knew Roderick Strong and Julius Creed were going to explode and he stirred the pot. Then he took Strong out in the parking lot and cost the Creeds the Tag Team Titles. More on this next time. I’ve heard far worse explanations.

Dyad tries to recruit Kiana James, who gives them a polite brush out. Then James runs into Arianna Grace, who seems to be what James was looking for. Someone hugged the Dyad as the women were talking.

Trick Williams vs. Ricochet

Carmelo Hayes is on commentary. Ricochet kicks him to the floor and Hayes isn’t sure what to do early on. Back in and Ricochet starts cranking on the arm but Williams manages a pop up uppercut for two. Williams takes him outside for some rams into the announcers’ table, setting up a running neckbreaker for two more back inside. Ricochet fights up and hits a springboard crossbody into the Recoil into the shooting star press (with a stare at Hayes) for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C+. They kept this one quick and Ricochet was his usual high flying self. Williams continues to be someone that is fun to watch but that you also want to see get hit in the face, which is an impressive combination. I’m not sure if Ricochet is sticking around full time, but another match with Hayes would not be the biggest shock.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are still having coffee when Cameron Grimes walks past. Grimes says they’re just like Joe Gacy and he still doesn’t need anyone. D’Angelo throws an insult so Grimes throws the coffee, earning himself a Rock Bottom through the table.

Sol Ruca, a surfer, is coming.

Diamond Mine is ready to wreck Damon Kemp, plus Pretty Deadly next week. Pretty Deadly comes up to say not so fast, because the people can vote on the stipulation so Pretty Deadly can prove everyone wrong.

Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

First match in a best of three series. They trade wrist control to start before Frazer reverses into a headlock, allowing them to flip up to their feet. Frazer dropkicks him to the floor for a dive and we take a break. We come back with Axiom sending him to the floor for a suicide dive before starting in on the arm back inside.

Frazer fights up again and hits something like AJ Styles’ moonsault into a reverse DDT for two, followed by a Sling Blade. The running shooting star hits knees though and Axiom pulls him into a triangle choke. Frazer makes the rope and pulls Axiom into a half crab, followed by something like the old Haas of Pain to send Axiom to the ropes as well. Back up and Axiom hits a heck of a jumping kick to the face for the pin at 11:42.

Rating: B-. This was more of the modern style match with both guys hitting their stuff and trying to wear the other one down until the big finish could give them the win. I don’t know if I need to see them do this two more times, but it is good to get them both on television a bit more often. They have the in-ring abilities but are still needing something to do, so this is better than nothing.

Javier Bernal annoys Hank Walker (security guard) and a fight nearly breaks out until Walker goes to escort Gallus to the ring.

Quincy Elliott is here next week.

Here’s what else is coming next week.

Gallus vs. Tyler Bate/Bron Breakker

Mark Coffey is here with Gallus. Breakker headlocks Joe Coffey to start and takes him down in the corner before handing it off to Bate. Joe gets over for the tag off to Mark so it’s a double suplex to drop Gallus. We even get an old school Steiner pose we we take a break. Back with Bate hitting a big dive to the floor but a Wolfgang distraction lets post Breakker to take over again.

Back in and the rib work begins, including some forearms to the ribs and a chinlock. Mark grabs a bearhug but Bate slips out and goes through the legs to set up the hot tag. Breakker comes in for the spinebusters and a Steiner Bulldog gets two. All The Best For The Bells is cut off with a spear and the Tyler Driver 97 finishes Mark at 10:51.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on Gallus losing again but at least they lost to a pair of big singles stars. Bate getting the main event pin should help him a bit and they had another hard hitting match on the way there. Gallus could use a win of its own and soon, but it’s far too early to write anyone off.

Post match the winners celebrate but JD McDonagh runs in to take them both down, including a big beating to Bate to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a show with nothing close to bad and a bunch of good to very good matches. Throw in some angle advancement and that is a heck of a good use of two hours. NXT might not what it once was but it is still a very nice show a lot of the time. This is one of their best in recent memory and it comes off a pretty good Worlds Collide, so they might even be on a roll.

Results
Nikki Ash/Doudrop b. Toxic Attraction – Basement crossbody to Dolin
JD McDonagh b. Wes Lee – Devil Inside
Meiko Satomura b. Roxanne Perez – Scorpio Rising
Ricochet b. Trick Williams – Shooting star press
Axiom b. Nathan Frazer – Running kick to the face
Bron Breakker/Tyler Bate b. Gallus – Tyler Driver 97 to Mark

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Worlds Collide
Date: September 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Vic Joseph

This is a themed show as we have some unification matches between the NXT and NXT UK Champions. NXT UK is no more and things are wrapping up with this show. That means the card is looking stacked and we should be in for some good stuff. The main event of Bron Breakker vs. Tyler Bate for both singles titles should be great. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the history of both NXT’s, which set up the title unification matches tonight.

North American Title: Ricochet vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is defending and has Trick Williams with him. Feeling out process to start and they both go with some flips that get nowhere. Ricochet is back up with a dropkick to stagger Hayes so it’s time to go outside for a breather. The Williams distraction lets Hayes get in a shot of his own and they head back inside. A few kicks rock Ricochet and Hayes is starting to get the confidence rolling.

Ricochet flips out and tries the comeback but walks into a heck of a superkick for two. A springboard clothesline gives Hayes two more but Ricochet manages to take him down for a quick double stomp. Back up and they both try springboard spinning crossbodies, meaning a midair collision gives us a double knockdown (and a great visual). Ricochet wins a slugout and kicks him in the head but the Benedriller is blocked. Hayes gets in another kick but misses a springboard spinning crossbody.

The Recoil rocks Hayes but Williams breaks up the cover. Back up and Hayes hits a suplex into a cutter before going up top. That’s fine with Ricochet, who brings him down with a top rope superplex for two, leaving both of them staggered. They strike it out again until Ricochet hits a poisonrana. Ricochet loads up something but Hayes offers a distraction, meaning the shooting star pres is a bit slow. The delay lets Hayes grab a small package to retain at 16:18.

Rating: B. Yeah this was exactly what they were hoping for with this one, as they did a bunch of stuff to pop the crowd and look awesome in the process. Ricochet wasn’t likely to win here but that wasn’t what the match was about. It was cool to see and a very good choice for an opener so well done.

Post match Hayes celebrates and Ricochet’s name is added to the list of victims.

Video on Meiko Satomura.

Roderick Strong was attacked in the parking lot, meaning he was taken out in an ambulance.

NXT Tag Team Titles/NXT UK Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus vs. Creed Brothers vs. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs

Elimination match for both sets of titles and the Creeds and Jensen/Briggs are defending. Lash Legend, Joe Coffey, Damon Kemp and Fallon Henley are here as the respective seconds. It’s a brawl before the bell until we get down to Julius Creed vs. Josh Briggs to start things off. Jensen comes in for an atomic drop/big boot combination but Prince tags himself in to steal the cover.

With Julius not being happy, it’s off to Wolfgang vs. Brutus for some more power. The brawl is on again and the women get in a fight inside. That helps everything break down, with Jensen being backdropped onto Pretty Deadly. Wolfgang superplexes Brutus and it’s a powerslam/jumping kick to the head to eliminate Jensen at 4:15.

We get the Gallus vs. Pretty Deadly showdown, with Wilson’s rollup with trunks only getting two on Mark. Back up and Mark kicks Wilson’s head off for a double knockdown, leaving Brutus to tag himself in. A Doomsday Creed Bomb sets up the sliding lariat to get rid of Gallus at 8:39, leaving us with the Creeds vs. Pretty Deadly for the unified titles.

After security gets rid of Gallus, Prince and Brutus slug it out until Wilson comes in for some knees to the ribs to put Brutus down in the corner. A DDT drops Brutus again but he’s able to get over for the hot tag off to Julius. House is cleaned but here are Briggs/Jensen and Gallus to brawl at ringside again. The distraction is broken up by security, allowing Julius to take Wilson down. Prince tries to grab a chair but Kemp cuts him off…and hits Julius with the chair instead. An Irish Curse plants Julius and Prince gets the pin and the titles at 15:06.

Rating: C+. I was surprised by the result here and the Kemp turn was a nice twist, so well done on giving us something out of nowhere. Pretty Deadly are good champions and having them unify the belts should set up someone else to come take them away fairly soon. Gallus is going to be fine and Jensen/Briggs….well they had a nice run at least.

Video on Blair Davenport.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are trying to figure out who they can get to replace Legado del Fantasma when Cameron Grimes comes up. Word on the street is he needs some new friends, so Tony tells him to make an offer. Grimes is good.

NXT Women’s Title/NXT UK Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Meiko Satomura vs. Blair Davenport

Only Davenport isn’t a champion coming in. They strike it out to start with Rose being knocked down, leaving Satomura to hit a running spinwheel kick to Davenport. Satomura and Davenport head outside, leaving Rose to pose in her very patriotic gear. Davenport goes after her and it’s a fall away slam to put her down, allowing Rose to hit a shoulder in the corner.

Satomura pulls both of them outside and kicks away at Davenport against the steps. Mandy is dropped as well, leaving Satomura to take Davenport back inside and charge into a boot to the face. Satomura kicks the invading Rose down for two but Davenport makes the save. Rose catches Davenport on top but it’s Satomura charging at both of them in the corner for some clotheslines.

A double suplex attempt is countered into a double DDT to give Satomura a breather. Satomura hits a series of Satomura Specials before driving Rose down for two, as Davenport comes off the top with a double stomp for the save. Rose is back up to forearm away at Rose in the corner as the USA chant breaks out. Davenport hits a weird looking missile dropkick on Satomura but she’s right back with Scorpion Rising. Rose hits a double running knee though and pins Davenport to unify the titles at 13:28.

Rating: C+. This was more or less between Davenport and Rose as Satomura winning never felt like it was in the cards. Rose has become something of a monster around here, though she is going to need a fresh challenger. Odds are it’s going to be Nikita Lyons and that is a good enough idea, as I don’t know if I can imagine Satomura sticking around. Either way, Rose plays her role well, as she might not be the best, but no one is stopping her and that lets her get more and more condescending each week.

Alba Fyre is still ready for Lash Legend.

We see the Axiom/Nathan Frazer segment from NXT. They’ll meet on Tuesday.

Wes Lee isn’t worried about the weird JD McDonagh.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Doudrop/Nikki Ash vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter and Chance are defending. Carter takes over on Ash to start and a running dropkick in the corner gives Chance one. Doudrop comes in to flatten Chance and dance a bit before flattening the champs again. Nikki comes in and ties Chance up in the ring skirt to hammer away. The chinlock doesn’t last long inside but Doudrop is back in with the big elbow. A missed charge hits post though and it’s Carter coming in to pick up the pace.

Ash tornado DDTs Carter to cut her off too and a double neckbreaker gives Doudrop two. A Samoan drop/neckbreaker combination hits Carter so Chance has to make her own save. Doudrop takes Carter up top but here is Toxic Attraction for a distraction. Ash goes after them, leaving Carter/Chance to hit a neckbreaker/450 combination to beat Doudrop at 10:23.

Rating: C. This was always going to be the weak match on the card and I don’t think they bothered trying to hide it. Doudrop and Ash have been treated as losers on the main roster so having them come down here and win the NXT titles didn’t make sense. Chance and Carter aren’t great champions but giving them a win over two bigger names is a good way to give them a boost. And now we have Toxic Attraction doing something so at least there is a path forward from here.

Dyad talks to Grayson Waller, who doesn’t want their button. Waller walks away from them and talks about how his mom yelled at him for poking Apollo Crews in the eye. For once, he was speechless but his mom can kiss his a**.

We recap Tyler Bate vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT United Kingdom/NXT Title. It’s a showdown to unify the titles so one man can be left standing.

NXT Title/NXT United Kingdom Title: Bron Breakker vs. Tyler Bate

Winner take all and the fans are behind Bate to start. Breakker works on a headlock but has to fight out of a Tyler Driver 97. They collide into stereo nip ups and that’s a staredown. Bate picks up the pace and jumps over Breakker before shoving him into the corner, where Breakker gives him a stare.

Breakker grabs a delayed vertical suplex and hits a standing moonsault for two. We hit the front facelock for a bit before Breakker is sent outside. That means the big no hands dive but Breakker is right back with a powerslam back inside. Breakker drives him outside again but Bate suplexes him down back inside.

The running shooting star press gives Bate two and a bit of frustration is setting in. Breakker gets in a shot of his own and jumps up top for something close to a Steiner Bulldog. A suplex into a powerbomb gets two on Bate and they fight it out from the mat. Bop and Bang is countered into a Fujiwara armbar, which is countered into the airplane spin to give Bate two.

There’s the rebound lariat for two and Bate manages a Tyler Driver 97 for two, leaving them both down. It’s Breakker’s turn with the gorilla press powerslam for two, as Breakker goes to the rope. The spear is cut off with a boot to the face and Bop and Bang makes it worse. Another Tyler Driver 97 is blocked so Bate tries the rebound lariat, only to have Breakker spear him down for the pin at 17:17.

Rating: B. The last few minutes picked up a lot, but this never hit that high gear that I was expecting. Granted a lot of that is in the story, as there was nothing personal here and that took away the emotion that a match like this needs. What matters here is giving us a big Breakker win as his legend continues to rise. Bate will be fine, as I’m assuming he sticks around NXT as one of the other big projects.

Bate presents the titles to Breakker and respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like the main event, the show was good but there was nothing that took it to the next level. Pretty Deadly winning was a surprise, but other than that they went about as by the predicted book as you could have. This show was good enough for a two hour and fifteen minute watch, though it probably isn’t a must see show. NXT UK did at least go out on a high enough note though and I’ll take that over just letting it die. More than adequate show here, but don’t go out of your way to see it.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Ricochet – Small package
Pretty Deadly b. Gallus, Creed Brothers and Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs last eliminating Creed Brothers
Mandy Rose b. Blair Davenport and Meiko Satomura – Kiss of the Rose to Davenport
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Nikki Ash/Doudrop – 450/neckbreaker combination to Doudrop
Bron Breakker b. Tyler Bate – Spear

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NXT
Date: July 19, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

The focus is on the women again this week as we have a battle royal for the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. Other than that, we are probably going to be getting a lot more attention on Cora Jade betraying Roxanne Perez last week. And maybe Bron Breakker can do something. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of last week, with Cora Jade turning on Roxanne Perez and costing her the Women’s Title.

Cameron Grimes vs. JD McDonagh

Grimes shoulders him down but McDonagh kicks at the knee. That doesn’t bother Grimes, who kicks him in the chest and hits a backdrop. A whip into the corner has McDonagh on the apron and a big boot puts him on the floor. Back in and Grimes hits a high crossbody to rock McDonagh again, but here is Joe Gacy on the platform for a distraction as we take a break.

Back with Gacy still looking down and McDonagh blocking a suplex from the apron. McDonagh goes back to the knee and kicks away at it in the corner, only to get caught in a swinging Side Effect. Another shot to the knee slows Grimes down so he enziguris his way out of trouble. McDonagh goes for the leg again so Grimes knees him in the face. Grimes is knocked to the apron but McDonagh headbutts him, with Grimes’ knee getting caught in the ropes. That’s enough to slow Grimes down so the Devlin Side can finish Grimes at 13:24.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match you knew you would get from these two, as McDonagh and Grimes are capable of doing very good things in the ring. I could go for about 183% less Gacy, but he’s the junk mail you get in your box every day anymore. Other than that, they had a really good opener here and McDonagh is instantly established on the show.

Nikkita Lyons is ready to win the battle royal tonight.

Tiffany Stratton is OFFENDED that she has to be in the battle royal tonight but she’ll win anyway.

Here is Cora Jade for her big explanation. After coming close to using the start of Hulk Hogan’s Bash At The Beach 1996 speech, Jade talks about how she has been the featured star of the women’s division since she got here. People have been talking about how great she is at such a young age. Then she found the perfect partner in her best friend, Roxanne Perez. Everything was great and they won the Tag Team Titles, but not THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Perez wanted to do something more by winning the Women’s Title.

That was so disrespectful so it was time to do something about it. That’s why Jade didn’t mind turning on her last week and hitting her with the title. Now Perez is gone with a broken heart but they are still the Women’s Tag Team Champions. The titles mean nothing to her in the new Generation of Jade, so she throws it in the trash at ringside. Logical, to the point, everything was fine here and that’ snice to see for a change.

Xyon Quinn likes what Jade did but now he has something to look forward to next week: a one on one match with Apollo Crews. Sure Crews can throw weight around in the gym, but he couldn’t do it on the main stage. Now the X Factor gets to take Crews out.

Indi Hartwell wants to win the Women’s Title.

Roderick Strong vs. Damon Kemp

They trade headlock takeovers to start with Strong getting the better of things early on. Back up and Kemp grabs a suplex before a gutwrench suplex makes it worse. Strong is back with some knees to the ribs to put Kemp down as commentary talks about Strong’s failings as the leader of Diamond Mine. Kemp gets in some more suplexes, but we cut to the D’Angelo Family on screen laying out the Creed Brothers. Kemp is distracted enough that Strong can hit a jumping knee for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C. I’m oddly curious about how this Diamond Mine split is going to go, even if Strong is hardly the most interesting person. Kemp continues to seem like he could work well in some kind of a role and I could go for more of him. For now though, it is likely going to be about the team’s split rather than anyone standing out and that might not draw the most interest.

Pretty Deadly, in their cowboy gear, is ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen ware ready to keep the Tag Team Titles and then Fallon Henley is winning the battle royal. She tells them to focus, because keeping the titles is harder than losing them.

Diamond Mine is banged up but Roderick Strong is ready to fight the D’Angelo Family.

NXT UK Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen

Briggs and Jensen, with Fallon Henley, are defending. Jensen knocks Prince into the corner to start for some clotheslines and a backdrop as everything breaks down early. A cheap shot has Briggs in trouble but he knocks Prince outside….and right into Henley. The champs panic as Henley is down and we take a break.

Back with Prince taking Jensen down for a chinlock and keeping him from getting over for the tag to Brigs. That doesn’t last long as Jensen gets over to Briggs for the tag so house can be cleaned. Stereo crossbodies put Briggs and Wilson down, with Prince handing Wilson a title belt. Then Prince slides Briggs the other belt so the referee doesn’t see Henley grab Wilson’s title. The tug of war lets Briggs and Jensen hit a High/Low to retain the titles at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Briggs and Jensen have finally picked up a little something to move them forward and that is a good idea. They have the gimmick and abilities to make something interesting so giving them some titles was the right move. I’d like to see how far they can go, but the fact that NXT set up a team and then developed them is a great sign.

Joe Gacy says it is time for the Dyad to reveal themselves but there is no going back. And of course it’s the Grizzled Young Veterans, who he baptizes as Jagger Reid (James Drake) and Rip Fowler (Zack Gibson). They might be named the Schism.

Bron Breakker is looking for JD McDonagh.

Wes Lee is still on his quest to find himself and now it’s time to go after Grayson Waller and then Trick Williams.

Here is Bron Breakker for a chat. He can respect someone coming to him and asking for a title shot like Cameron Grimes, but then there is someone like JD McDonagh who jumps him from behind. Breakker knows who McDonagh is and here is McDonagh on the screen. McDonagh talks about how he knows Breakker is tough and will fight through anything, but McDonagh knows how to hurt people.

That bad shoulder Breakker has is comprised of eight major muscles, which McDonagh draws on a mannequin. Breakker is tired of the lesson and tells McDonagh to come down here and fight him. McDonagh says in due time and watch that shoulder. Breakker threatens to take the shoulder and beat McDonagh over the head with it for a line that could only work coming from a Steiner.

Von Wagner and Solo Sikoa got in a fight backstage at Smackdown, with Wagner beating him up outside the building.

The Diamond Mine is fired up and ready to take out the D’Angelo Family. The Family has two choices, both of which involves getting beaten up.

Axiom vs. Dante Chen

Axiom is a masked man who looks like a superhero, complete with special effects that make him look like he moves in a blur. They fight over wristlocks until Axiom takes him down by the arm. Chen sends him outside but Axiom comes back in with a tornado DDT. A jumping kick to the face finishes Chen at 2:56. Not the greatest debut but the superhero deal should work fine.

Lash Legend brags about her greatness.

Giovanni Vinci grants a fan a picture (with the fan not in it) but Chase U arrives and gets in the way of Vinci’s car. They go inside but don’t move their bus, leaving Vinci annoyed. This was funnier than it should have been.

We go to the barber shop where Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams aren’t impressed with Hayes’ potential challengers. Williams will be watching Wes Lee vs. Grayson Waller next week though.

Toxic Attraction isn’t impressed with the battle royal but Ivy Nile, Kiana James and Alba Fyre come in to say they’ll win.

There’s a new QR code, which links to a woman wearing boots and walking somewhere.

Cameron Grimes is leaving and an unseen interviewer (sounds like Jeremy Borash) won’t take no for an answer on asking questions. Grimes snaps and yells about how he wants to go home, but Joe Gacy pops up to say he gets it.

Tony D’Angelo accepts the Diamond Mine’s challenge for next week.

Battle Royal

Alba Fyre, Nikkita Lyons, Tiffany Stratton, Fallon Henley, Lash Legend, Indi Hartwell, Ivy Nile, Kiana James, Elektra Lopez, Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, Sloane Jacobs, Valentina Feroz, Yulisa Leon, Wendy Choo, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Tatum Paxley, Amari Miller, Arianna Grace

For the next shot at Mandy Rose and commentary confirms that Zoey Stark is behind the QR codes. Everyone glares at Jade, who walks outside and gets beaten up by Nile. Miller is out first and Grace is kicked out as well. Fyre and Legend eliminate each other and brawl to the back, because basketball related feuds run deep.

Stratton knocks Choo out but she lands on her pillow and gets back in. Stark tosses Leon and Feroz and James kick Henley out. Stratton hits Choo in the face with a cup to get rid of her as well and we take a break. Back with Carter and Chance putting Nile out but getting knocked out as well. Paxley dives onto the two of them to save Nile and eliminates herself in the process. Stratton dumps Hartwell and we’re down to Stratton, Lyons, James and Stark.

James drives Lyons into the corner but gets kicked in the face for the easy elimination. Stratton dumps Lyons, leaving her alone with Stark. A clothesline puts Stratton over the top but only one foot hits, allowing her to get back onto the apron. Stratton backdrops Starks to the apron but they both get back inside. Stark forearms Stratton out….but Jade comes back in through the crowd and….gets backdropped out as well to give Stark the win at 13:10.

Rating: B-. This was better than I would have expected and a lot of that is due to the division actually having some depth. There were twenty women involved in this with three more watching (and Roxanne Perez not included), most of which have some kind of defining characteristic. That’s a heck of a lot more than most women’s divisions can claim and that’s pretty impressive. As for the match, Stark winning is a fine way to go as she’s a fresh challenger for Rose, though I wouldn’t have had the brand new heel get tossed like a goon.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty nice show this week with the opener and main event both working well. NXT is turning back into a good show, though there are still some parts that need ironing out. What matters most is that they have developed people up and down the card rather than just in the main event, which is more than WWE can say. Now just get things a little tighter and you could have something here, though they have already come a rather long way and should be proud of their success.

Results
JD McDonagh b. Cameron Grimes – Devlin Side
Roderick Strong b. Damon Kemp – Jumping knee
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Pretty Deadly – High/Low to Wilson
Axiom b. Dante Chen – Running boot to the face
Zoey Stark won a battle royal last eliminating Cora Jade

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NXT
Date: July 12, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the week after the Great American Bash and we still have a title on the line this week. This time around, we have the Women’s Title on the line as Roxanne Perez is going to be challenging Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Title in an attempt to become a double champ. In addition, we have the fallout from JD McDonagh attacking NXT Champion Bron Breakker last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Great American Bash.

Roxanne Perez has been attacked in the parking lot (THE PARKING LOT STRIKES AGAIN), with Cora Jade and medics checking on her.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Apollo Crews

They fight over a lockup to start and neither gets very far. Crews slips out of a slam but gets shouldered down. Some forearms from Crews rattle Vinci though and Crews is up with AJ Styles’ drop down into a dropkick. They head outside with Crews being dropped onto the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Crews making a comeback on Vinci, including a splash in the corner and some rolling German suplexes. Crews goes up but dives into a suplex, with Vinci pulling him out of the air (dang) for two. Hold on though as Vinci grabs a fan’s phone for a distraction, allowing Xyon Quinn to run out of the crowd and deck Crews. Vinci grabs the sitout Last Ride for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C+. The screwy ending aside, this was a good win for Vinci as he needed to do something to set him apart from the rest of the field. Beating Crews means more than beating a lot of NXT stars and the ending sets up Crews vs. Quinn while Vinci can move on to something else. Nice match here and well put together.

Cora Jade isn’t impressed by Toxic Attraction jumping Roxanne Perez and is ready for some revenge. I’m sure.

Tiffany Stratton is getting her nails done and vents about FINALLY being done with Wendy Choo. Now she wants to know who leaves with the Women’s Title. The nail work isn’t great but she’ll spare them a bad review.

Here is Cameron Grimes for a chat after his loss to Bron Breakker last week. He didn’t get robbed and he even caved in Breakker’s chest but he didn’t win the title. Now he has lost the North American Title and the NXT Title shot but maybe that’s just life. Instead of going to the moon, he crashed into the sun….and here is JD McDonagh to interrupt. McDonagh says that after Grimes lost last week, he became old news. Now it’s all about McDonagh, who wants that meat head Bron Breakker. Grimes wants McDonagh to look at him when he talks, so McDonagh headbutts him. That’s enough for Grimes to chase him off.

The Creeds and Damon Kemp are going over footage from last week’s match and respect is shown. Kemp would love to run it back and the Creeds are in if he is. The Creeds leave but here is Roderick Strong to say that isn’t what you do. Kemp cost them the titles so next week, Strong is teaching him a lesson.

Grayson Waller blames Wes Lee for his loss last week and wants to teach him a lesson.

Roxanne Perez is still getting checked out.

Tatum Paxley vs. Kayden Carter

Katana Chance is here too. Paxley takes her down by the arm to start but Carter is back with a running dropkick to the floor. That brings out Ivy Nile to check out Paxley and send her back inside, where Carter ties up the legs. Paxley grabs the rope so Carter pulls her away….and right into a small package to give Paxley the fast pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. I could go for more of Paxley as she and Nile could be a little something if they’re put together. One of the bigger issues with the NXT women’s division is that they have a bunch of people but a lot of them don’t have much to make them stand out. If Paxley teaming with Nile is her thing, then it gives her a step up on a lot of the rest of the new class.

Joe Gacy is ready for the Dyad to reveal themselves next week.

Sanga is watching the intro from last week’s show where he splashed Duke Hudson in a pool. Hudson comes up and complains, setting up a match.

Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are in the bar celebrating their Tag Team Title win when Pretty Deadly, dressed as cowboys, come in. Pretty Deadly calls the place a dump and a fight is teased, but Henley sets up the match for next week.

Duke Hudson vs. Sanga

Hudson drives him into the corner to start but can’t whip him around. Instead Sanga runs him over with a shoulder out to the floor so Hudson grabs a neck snap across the top. Back in and Hudson rips at the chest hair before hitting a big boot (Wade: “Yes Duke!”). Sanga doesn’t seem to mind and hits a chokeslam (Wade: “No Duke!”) for the pin at 2:58.

Mr. Stone and company don’t think much of Solo Sikoa being from the streets because Von Wagner is a real athlete.

Solo Sikoa is ready to fight.

Toxic Attraction mocks Roxanne Perez for getting hurt, but they didn’t do it.

Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner

They fight on the floor to start before getting inside for the opening bell. Since they’re so angry, Wagner grabs a headlock before shouldering him down. Sikoa’s shoulder just annoys Wagner but a slam works a bit better, setting up a running headbutt for two. There’s a backsplash to send Wagner outside and we take a break.

Back with Sikoa fighting out of a chinlock but getting booted in the face. Sikoa hits a belly to back suplex to start the real comeback and starts striking away. There’s the Samoan drop and a running Umaga attack in the corner, sending Wagner outside. Sikoa goes with him and they fight up the aisle for the double countout at 10:34.

Rating: C. The fighting stuff was ok, but there was a bit too much wrestling in there for what they seemed to be trying to do. Sikoa not losing to Wagner is encouraging, though I would like to believe that this isn’t the best Sikoa can do right now. Fighting Wagner is quite the downgrade and it seems like we’ll be seeing it again soon. How great.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams go to the penthouse with some ladies. The hot tub is visited.

Lash Legend dribbles a basketball and shouts about Indi Hartwell. The ball rolls away and is stopped by a red baseball bat.

Chase U has gone to London but Andre Chase isn’t happy with being named as the seventh best school. Chase threatens to beat Glenn up for writing this and throws him out.

Lash Legend vs. Indi Hartwell

Legend jumps her to start and they head outside with Hartwell being driven into the apron. Back in and Hartwell gets draped over the top rope before being bent over Legend’s back for some cranking. Cue Alba Fyre on the platform, with Legend’s basketball, for a distraction, allowing Hartwell to try a springboard….I have no idea as Hartwell comes crashing down to the mat in a horrible slip. Legend rolls her up but gets reversed into another rollup for the pin (or close enough) to give Hartwell the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D-. That ending alone is a downgrade, but Fyre stealing a basketball is pretty lame even for modern wrestling stories. What’s worse is that Fyre, who could have been a star on the main roster a year ago, is now tasked with bringing Legend along. The botch wasn’t on Legend, but it’s not like this was going anywhere before Hartwell fell down. Hartwell continues to be directionless at the moment and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Post match Fyre chases Legend off with the bat.

A bunch of women talk about Roxanne Perez, including her lack of a boyfriend.

Tony D’Angelo wants to know where Legado del Fantasma’s loyalties lie. You mean he can’t tell yet?

Solo Sikoa and Von Wagner are still fighting outside.

The QR code is back, this time taking you to a Wordle style puzzle. The word is either _ _ _ OC or O _ _ _ C. Havoc?

Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade

Legado del Fantasma (minus Santos Escobar) is here too. Enofe and Stacks start things off with Blade coming in for some quick double teaming. Stacks gets over to D’Angelo for a suplex on Enofe and the villains take over. That doesn’t last long either though as the hot tag brings in Blade for a spinebuster on Stacks as D’Angelo sends Enofe into the steps. Blade gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle and it’s a swinging fisherman’s suplex to give D’Angelo the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C-. This D’Angelo/Legado stuff has completely stalled and it doesn’t help when they are trying to have D’Angelo as a serious guy. He’s the definition of a gimmick guy and that doesn’t shine at all when he is in the ring. There is something there with him, but they need to move on to something else with him in a hurry.

Nikkita Lyons doesn’t know who attacked Roxanne Perez, though people are accusing her. If she can, she’s ready to take the title shot though.

Axiom likes comic books and wears a mask. He’ll debut next week.

NXT Title: Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is challenging, or at least she is in theory as she isn’t here. Toxic Attraction laughs it off but here is Cora Jade to say we’re having a title match. Mandy says not so fast and gives Perez a ten count, but here is Perez, with ribs taped, to answer. Jade tries to talk her out of it but says go do it. Perez comes in swinging and gets a ROXIE TWO BELTS chant. Rose isn’t having that and goes to the injured ribs to take over, with Perez being knocked outside.

We take a break and come back with Rose working on a bodyscissors but Perez fighs up and hits a running uppercut in the corner. Pop Rox is blocked as Rose gets to the floor, where Perez hits a dive. Pop Rox connects on the floor and Perez gets her back inside….but Cora jade hits Perez with the Women’s Tag Team Title. That’s enough for Rose to hit the running knee and retain at 9:18.

Rating: C. They telegraphed that ending pretty hard but that isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it is easier to just go with the story that makes sense, even if the pieces are laid out in front of you. Jade and Perez splitting up is an interesting way to go since they are still the Tag Team Champions, but I can certainly go with the idea of getting rid of those belts if that happens to be a side effect. As for the match, it was what you would expect with an injured star coming after Mandy Rose, who continues to be completely adequate in the ring.

Post match Jade yells at Perez a lot and tries to hit her with the skateboard….but it breaks beforehand, leaving Jade to use the pieces to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show wasn’t the best but it was setting things up for the future, which is a good thing to see. The problem is they didn’t have a very good show to get there and that made for a pretty dull night. The good thing is that it came off a rather strong show last week so things going down a bit was understandable. Now just get back to closer to last week next time and we should be ok.

Results
Giovanni Vinci b. Apollo Crews – Lifting sitout powerbomb
Tatum Paxley b. Kayden Carter – Small package
Sanga b. Duke Hudson – Chokeslam
Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner went to a double countout
Indi Hartwell b. Lash Legend – Rollup
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade – Spinning fisherman’s suplex to Blade
Mandy Rose b. Roxanne Perez – Running knee

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

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NXT
Date: June 28, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and that means it is time for the big push towards the show. Most of the card is already set, including the NXT Title match main event, so we should be in for a good one. Odds are we get a little more from Legado del Fantasma and the D’Angelo Family, even if the Family is now down a member. Let’s get to it.

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

Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot next week. Cora and Carter start things off with a lockup until Jade grabs a wristlock. That’s broken up and Jade is sent into the corner, setting off a chop exchange. Chance comes in and rolls Jade down, allowing her to get in a smiling pose. Perez comes in to roll Chance up for two before working on the armbar. It’s off to Carter for some forearms to the chest and two of her own.

Everything breaks down and Perez clears the ring, only to have Carter cut off the dive. Perez gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Chance getting two on Perez, who fights up and brings Jade back in. Jade runs Carter over for two before handing it back to Perez. Carter kicks her down without much trouble and but Jade breaks up the 450/neckbreaker combination. Pop Rox finishes Chance at 13:47.

Rating: C+. It might not have been a classic but this set up next week’s title match as well as it needed to. Both teams are starting to gel and while the division is still little more than three teams, it is nice to have someone fighting over a chance at the titles. Chance and Carter still don’t get to the belts, and the longer they wait, the less sure I am that they are going to.

Joe Gacy and the Dyad invades Diamond Mine practice and gives them a sales pitch. That isn’t happening, but a six man tag is on for tonight.

Toxic Attraction isn’t sweating Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade next week. Mandy Rose isn’t worried either so here is Nikkita Lyons saying she’s coming for the title.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Ikemen Jiro

Vinci works on the arm to start but Jiro pops up. The jacket punches are shrugged off and Vinci snaps off a German suplex, followed by one heck of a chop. More jacket punches don’t work as Vinci hits a heck of a springboard tornado DDT, prompting some HOLY CENSORED chants. The sitout Last Ride finishes Jiro at 2:59. Vinci’s offense looks good, and if he moves on from the low level opponents soon, he could be just fine.

Post match, Vinci says the Great American Bash isn’t happening without him.

We look at Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen winning the vacant NXT UK Tag Team Titles last week.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are happy with getting the title back. Grayson Waller comes up and gets some stuff signed, which certainly doesn’t seem nefarious.

Here are Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen with Fallon Henley. They’re very happy with the title win but when Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter (the former champions who had to vacate the titles due to Smith’s injury) are ready to go, their shot is waiting on them. Jensen thanks Briggs for believing in him, but now it’s time to drink some beer. Cue Pretty Deadly to cut them off though because they don’t like their British titles being spoiled by Americans. Threats are made and the fight is on, with the champs clearing the ring without much trouble.

Video on Bron Breakker.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance rant about their loss and don’t like people staring at them.

Indi Hartwell vs. Kiana James

They lock up to start with Hartwell having to fight out of a wristlock. Some armdrags have Hartwell in control and the armbar has James down. That’s broken up and James drives in a shoulder into the ribs in the corner. A bodyscissors doesn’t last long as Hartwell fights up with some shots to the face. Pretty Savage misses though and James grabs a rollup (with quite the stretch to get a foot on the rope) for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C-. Pretty quite and to the point match here as Hartwell can’t quite get anything going while James gets a win, especially with cheating. Not exactly a great match, but NXT seems to be working on rebuilding the women’s division and James could be part of that. Now just go somewhere with her and build on that potential.

Tony D’Angelo seems to have murdered Two Dimes by having him thrown into a river. Then Santos Escobar calls to laugh at D’Angelo for not winning the North American Title last week, so D’Angelo throws his phone into the river too.

Wes Lee is ready for Trick Williams next week.

Joe Gacy/Dyad vs. Diamond Mine

Gacy headlocks Strong to start but Strong is back with a chinlock. With that broken up, Dy comes in and gets taken into an armbar, allowing the tag off to Brutus. Dy is dropped and Julius comes in to suplex Brutus onto him. That’s enough for Dy to be sent outside for a pep talk from Gacy. Back in and Dy takes Julius down and puts on the chinlock before handing it off to Ad.

The front facelock has Julius in trouble but he powers up into a suplex. Triple suplexes have Diamond Mine in control and we take a break. Back with Gacy getting two on Brutus before handing it back to Ad. Gacy does a handstand in the corner and then hits a release Rock Bottom for two.

A neckbreaker drops Brutus again but he gets out of the chinlock without much trouble. Brutus gets over and brings Julius back in to clean house, or at least until Strong tags himself in. Strong and Julius argue, leaving Brutus to break up Gacy’s handspring elbow. Dy and Ad trade places and it’s the double elevated DDT to finish Strong at 13:58.

Rating: C. It is kind of astounding to see how uninteresting and boring Gacy and company are every time they are on this show. Now we are probably going to have to see more of them too because the Dyad is probably getting a title shot. The Creeds are starting to mesh that much better, but enough of Gacy being all culty.

Post match the rest of Diamond Mine yells at Roderick Strong.

Trick Williams is ready for Wes Lee, but Carmelo Hayes doesn’t know anything about a title defense against Grayson Waller. Remember him signing things earlier tonight? One of them was a contract. Ok that was kind of clever.

Lash legend cuts off a medical update on Alba Fyre and says Fyre is on the shelf permanently.

Sanga and Xyon Quinn get in a fight before their scheduled match.

Roderick Strong yells at Diamond Mine for not listening to him. The result: Strong/Damon Kemp vs. the Creeds next week.

Xyon Quinn vs. Sanga

It’s a brawl to start with Quinn hitting a boot to the face. Sanga runs him over with a shoulder and a clothesline sends Quinn outside. Back in and Sanga drops him onto the turnbuckle and then does it again for a bonus. Quinn fights back and knocks him into a sleeper, which is broken up with a ram into the corner. Sanga hits a clothesline, setting up a chokeslam for the pin at 5:09.

Rating: C. Sanga wasn’t anything as Grayson Waller’s bodyguard but he has become something a bit more interesting during this singles run. He is a big guy with a unique look who can do a basic enough power match. Build him up and let someone take him out down the line, then have him do whatever. That’s a fine enough idea, even if it meant Quinn had to lose here again. I’ve given up on him, but that doesn’t make it easier.

Video on Cameron Grimes getting his NXT Title shot against Bron Breakker next week.

We see another Wendy Choo dream, this time looking at her tormenting Tiffany Stratton over the last few weeks. Then she wakes up and goes to brush her teeth, where we hear her thoughts telling herself that she is NOT stupid. Then she looks at the camera and says she’ll beat Stratton next week.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Mandy Rose

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Lyons powers her around to start and hits a running splash in the corner. Rose gets sent outside in a heap and we take an early break. Back with Rose hammering away and working on the recently injured knee. Lyons gets in some shots of her own but a choke is broken up. A running clothesline drops Rose though and a release German suplex gives Lyons two. Rose comes back with a shot to the face and a missile dropkick, only to miss the running knee. That’s enough for Toxic Attraction to come in for the DQ at 8:58.

Rating: C-. This was another good example of Lyons not working so well in a longer match. She punches a lot but doesn’t seem to have much in the way of in-depth offense. I get why WWE wants to push her, but there is a pretty firm limit on how far she seems likely to go at the moment. Odds are she’ll get the title sooner than later though and that shouldn’t be a surprise.

Post match the beatdown is on until Cora jade and Roxanne Perez make the save.

Solo Sikoa rants to Apollo Crews about his loss to Grayson Waller last week. Xyon Quinn comes in and has a chat with Crews about potential. Crews doesn’t see much for Quinn’s future.

JD McDonagh is coming.

Great American Bash rundown.

Wade Barrett brings out Cameron Grimes and Bron Breakker for a chat. Breakker tells Barrett that they have this so the two of them can talk about how Grimes has nothing to lose. Grimes says that it’s another title defense for Breakker and if he loses, he’s off to Raw and Smackdown. If he loses, he’s probably on Summerslam. Grimes is betting everything he has on beating Breakker and that’s what makes them different.

That’s because Grimes doesn’t have a backup plan, which is similar to Breakker, because THIS is his backup plan. Breakker wanted to be in the NFL but since that didn’t work, he called his famous daddy and got into WWE. That doesn’t work for Breakker, who promises to send grimes to the moon and then spear him in half. Grimes isn’t impressed and promises to keep getting up.

Breakker promises to keep spearing him down so Grimes can need Ted DiBiase to tell him what to do again. Grimes mentions Rick Steiner again and the fight is on, with Breakker missing a hard charge into the corner. Grimes sends him into it again and the turnbuckle breaks. Breakker’s arm is hurt, with Grimes looking concerned, only to switch to being happy to end the show. Grimes going borderline evil without going over the line is good, though it’s still hard to believe that he has any kind of a chance against Breakker next week.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t exactly a thrilling show but it did enough of a good job of pushing towards the Bash that it worked out. There are still some very bad parts of the show, including anything Gacy related, but they do seem to be trying to push some different people. The Bash looks good on paper and certainly has some big matches, but NXT might need a bigger change of pace in the next few weeks and I don’t know if that is going to be coming.

Results
Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance – Pop Rox to Chance
Giovanni Vinci b. Ikemen Jiro – Sitout Last Ride
Kiana James b. Indi Hartwell – Rollup with foot on the rope
Joe Gacy/Dyad b. Diamond Mine – Double elevated DDT to Strong
Sanga b. Xyon Quinn – Chokeslam
Nikkita Lyons b. Mandy Rose 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:

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AND

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NXT
Date: June 21, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

it’s another title week this time around as we have Carmelo Hayes defending the North American Title against Tony D’Angelo in the main event. Other than that we continue the build towards the Great American Bash, where Bron Breakker will defend against Cameron Grimes. Other than that, we get more Lash Legend and Joe Gacy because we’re that lucky. Let’s get to it.

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

Solo Sikoa vs. Grayson Waller

Before the match, Sikoa talks about how he’s tired of Sikoa whining and is ready to uncensor himself. That’s enough for Sikoa to charge at him and the fight is on fast. They head inside with Sikoa hammering away and hitting a belly to back suplex. Back up and Sikoa head fakes him to set up a clothesline as Waller can’t get anything going here. Waller gets smart by kicking at the leg and dropping Sikoa for a change. Sikoa gets sent outside but comes back with an elbow to the face as we take a break.

Back with Waller hammering away and grabbing a cravate. The trash talk takes a bit too much time though and Sikoa knocks him to the floor. The turnbuckle pad is taken off somewhere in there, meaning Sikoa misses a charge into the exposed buckle. That means the rolling Stunner can finish for Waller at 12:14.

Rating: C+. The Waller push gets a bit of a recharge as he beats Sikoa, who was on a pretty nice roll coming into this week. I’m not sure where all of this is leading for the North American Title, but odds are it will involve having a bunch of people in a match at once. At least it might not involve a ladder this time around.

Tony D’Angelo is ready for a big night and promises to take things over tonight. Santos Escobar shakes his hand and calls him the Don, though D’Angelo makes threats if he doesn’t win the North American Title tonight.

JD McDonough is coming. He says never bet against an ace, he looks like Jordan Devlin and he sounds like Jordan Devlin, but this is JD McDonough.

Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz

Carter dropkicks the dancing Leon down to start and the rapid fire double teaming begins. Leon is sent into the corner for a running dropkick to give Chance two. Chance sweeps the leg for two but it’s quickly off to Feroz to take over. That doesn’t last long as Carter is right back in to double team Feroz down. A superkick into the neckbreaker/450 splash combination (with the 450 being more knees to the chest) gives Chance the pin at 5:14.

Rating: D+. This was a bit rough, with that ending being a hard landing for everyone. Chance and Carter continue to be one of the better women’s teams in the company, but hopefully the main roster doesn’t figure that out and think that they should be involved in the Tag Team Title picture. Leon and Feroz are fine as jobbers of the division but that’s about it so far.

Here is an upset looking Wes Lee for a chat. He thanks the fans for everything but he has gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Lee was a two time Tag Team Champion but then he had his world explode under his feet. All he has been doing is trying to prove himself from Xyon Quin all the way to Sanga, but here is Trick Williams to interrupt.

Williams says no one wants to hear this and suggests that Lee’s partner (not named) left because Lee was dragging him down. Lee accuses Williams of playing second fiddle to Carmelo Hayes and the challenge seems to be thrown out. Williams calls him Afro Thunder and says he’ll leave like Lee’s partners do. Somebody better call the doctor after that line (Ready 2 Rumble reference if that didn’t make sense.).

Tiffany Stratton rants about how annoying Wendy Choo is, especially with all of those onesies. Stratton swears revenge for Choo costing her a match though.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Diamond Mine

Joaquin Wilde/Cruz del Toro vs. Damon Kemp/Roderick Strong here. Strong takes del Toro down by the arm to start and cranks away. Kemp comes in for a shot of his own, followed by dragging del Toro into the corner so Strong can kick away. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Wilde to clean house.

Kemp is right there to cut him off though and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up as well and it’s del Toro coming in to take over on Strong. Everything breaks down and it’s del Toro hitting a slingshot dive to the floor. Two Dimes yells at Del Toro though, leaving Wilde to get caught with a jumping knee to the face to give Strong the pin at 4:54.

Rating: C. This stuff with Legado/the D’Angelo Family is wearing thin in a hurry and I don’t exactly see myself keeping up much interest on the whole thing. The teams don’t like each other and now they’re screwing each other over. It wasn’t a great story before it got to the point and now it is continuing. Kemp is still worth a look most of the time though and you can see the development week to week, which is a great thing.

Giovanni Vinci brags about his win last week but Ikemen Jiro comes in to brag about his own style. A match seems likely.

Apollo Crews fantasizes about beating someone up in a stairwell. Then he snaps back to reality and goes to do it for real.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. Mandy Rose doesn’t think much of Roxanne Perez, who is going to learn what it means to fail. Cue Perez, with Cora Jade, who knows what it means to live your dreams, especially with Cora Jade by her side. Perez would rather win the Tag Team Titles with Jade, but here are Katana Chance/Kayden Carter to interrupt. The line starts behind them so the brawl is on.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are ready to win, including Hayes defending his North American Title against Tony D’Angelo.

Indi Hartwell is ready to move on but Kiana James interrupts to mock her. Hartwell says no one cares about James’ opinion and a match is set for next week.

Cameron Grimes vs. Edris Enofe

Grimes spins out of a wristlock to start but the pace picks up until Enofe dropkicks him down for two. Enofe gets sent outside though and Grimes hits a running kick in the apron. A high crossbody gives Grimes two and he tries some YES Kicks, which have Enofe begging for more. They trade shots to the face for a double knockdown until Enofe sends him into the ropes for a knee to the head. The big running flip dive drops Grimes again but the 450 misses back inside. Grimes hits a swinging Side Effect and the Cave In finishes for Grimes at 5:37.

Rating: C. Completely fine match with Grimes getting some build before he gets to the title match. Sometimes that’s all you need and it worked well here. Enofe is just good enough to make Grimes break a bit of a sweat and that is all he needs to do with something like this. Good enough match here with Grimes getting the boost that he needed.

Thea Hail arrives at Chase U and finds out that she’s rooming with Bodie Hayward. Hail unpacks (with wacky sound effects) and is VERY excited to be here. She’s off to get food, though Hayward takes a shot to the ribs to slow him down.

Nikkita Lyons is on her way back next week.

Brooks Jensen vs. Von Wagner

Jensen gets sent into the corner to start but Wagner goes after the hand (not the one that was hurt), including tying it up in the turnbuckle. The armbar is broken up and Jensen starts fighting back, only to get taken down by the arm. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker finishes Jensen at 4:46.

Rating: D+. Yes, more Wagner, as we continue the push of the generic power guy who has nothing going for him and does absolutely nothing of note in the ring. I don’t see much in Jensen either, but Wagner is reaching the point where I spend more time trying to figure out what WWE could possibly see in him. Not much more than a squash here, and even that was boring.

Bron Breakker comes in to see Cameron Grimes and says that’s the Grimes he wants to see at the Great American Bash. Grimes says if this version shows up, he’s winning the NXT Title.

Joe Gacy gives the Dyad a pep talk about winning the Tag Team Titles again. Can we just say they’re the Grizzled Young Veterans and move on?

Alba Fyre vs. Lash Legend

Legend kicks her down to start but has to fight out of a Gory Bomb attempt. A butterfly suplex drops Fyre and legend gets to keep up her awkward looking stomps. Fyre is back up with a Gory Bomb but misses her Swanton, allowing Legend to get in a baseball bat shot for the DQ at 3:27.

Rating: D. Lash Legend is not good and I’m running out of ways to say it. I know WWE wants the NIL people to succeed and that Legend has the size and sports background that they love but my goodness. Who looks at her and thinks she is ready for TV when she can bring down someone as talented as Fyre?

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D’Angelo

Hayes is defending and a bunch of people are here. Hayes flips around to start but everyone gets on the apron. The referee looks at them and….does nothing, as they drop to the floor so D’Angelo can punch Hayes. They head outside with Hayes being sent into the steps as we take a break.

Back with D’Angelo grabbing a seated abdominal stretch but Hayes fights up and hits a springboard spinning clothesline for two. D’Angelo grabs a suplex for two as Trick Williams is looking worried. A Codebreaker gives Hayes two but Stacks offers a distraction, allowing Escobar to slip…..Hayes some brass knuckles. D’Angelo yells at Escobar and it’s a right hand from Hayes for the knockout to retain at 10:35.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit more just because it seems like we might be on the way to some big finale of this Escobar/D’Angelo stuff. Hayes can get out of this and move on to the other challengers, as thankfully this felt like a side quest. Good enough match too, with the ending being there to advance the storyline more than anything else.

D’Angelo is mad to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one of the most part, though most of the wrestling was adequate. The problem here was that NXT seemed to be focusing on the least interesting stuff, which isn’t the best way to spend two plus hours. The show felt long and there was nothing on here worth seeing, making this a rather long show. Granted there is a very good chance that has to do with it being another taped show, so maybe the live versions can pick it up a little. For now though, not a good week for NXT.

Results
Grayson Waller b. Solo Sikoa – Rolling Stunner
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – Neckbreaker/450 combination to Leon
Diamond Mine b. Legado del Fantasma – Jumping knee to Wilde
Cameron Grimes b. Edris Enofe – Cave In
Von Wagner b. Brooks Jensen – Fireman’s carry neckbreaker
Alba Fyre b. Lash Legend via DQ when Legend used a baseball bat
Carmelo Hayes b. Tony D’Angelo – Right hand with brass knuckles

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

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NXT
Date: June 14, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re taped this week and rapidly on the way to the Great American Bash in three weeks. That means it is time to start getting the show ready and odds are some of those things are going to be done this week. One of the bigger matches this week will see the Creed Brothers defending the Tag Team Titles so let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Creed Brothers

The Creeds are defending. Brutus takes Blade into the corner to start and then shoulders him into it again, only to have Blade come back with a headlock on Julius. It’s off to Enofe for the 619 in the corner, followed by a weird slow motion sunset flip for two. Enofe ties up the arms and pulls on Julius’ neck but some power gets Julius out of trouble. Brutus gets slammed onto Enofe for two and we hit the front facelock.

A northern lights suplex is enough for the escape and it’s back to Blade to pick up the pace. Enofe comes right back in for a dropkick but gets backdropped to the floor. There’s a double backdrop to Blade though and we take a break. Back with Brutus getting kicked in the face, setting up Enofe’s top rope elbow for two. The tag brings Julius back in though and everything breaks down, allowing Blade to get suplexed into the basement lariat for the pin at 13:53.

Rating: B-. This is about as classic of a tag team story as you are going to get, with the power of the Creeds vs. the speed of Blade/Enofe. That’s a formula that is going to work almost every time and these guys had a perfectly watchable wrestling match with the teams looking good. Nice opener.

Respect is shown post match.

Indi Hartwell is sad about her love life but tells Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade to work hard. Cora calls her out for being an old grizzled veteran at 25, but what matters is that they’re ready for Toxic Attraction tonight.

Apollo Crews is sitting in a diner and writing about his WWE career in a journal. He has had great results in WWE, but he still hears the echoes of those three letters. Now he is going back to NXT….but we pause for him to fantasize about beating up a rude customer in a diner. Instead he goes over to said customer and asks if there is a problem, only to be told to get out of his face.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

Wendy Choo is seen bouncing through Stratton’s entrance on a big ball. Stratton backs into the corner to start but Henley unloads on her with right hands. Henley gets caught in the ring skirt though and Stratton takes over on her, including a toss towards the ropes for a big crash down.

A slingshot Swanton gives Stratton two and we hit….a rather weird hold on Henley (picture the start of a Code Red, but Stratton bridges back to force a sitting Henley down to the mat). The comeback is on and Henley kicks her into the corner, only to get caught in a fall away slam. Cue Choo to throw confetti at Stratton, allowing Henley to grab a small package for the pin at 3:10.

Rating: C. Ah yes, the continuing saga of that girl on a ball with the confetti. Henley winning isn’t the biggest upset ever but I could go for Stratton not losing so often. Hopefully she doesn’t lose to Choo as well, no matter how much NXT seems to think that she is the funniest and least annoying person ever.

Cameron Grimes is depressed but Bron Breakker tells him it’ll be ok. Grimes leaves and here is Duke Hudson to needle Breakker. The match seems set for some point in the future.

Video on Lash Legend vs. Alba Fyre, featuring Legend giving her career bio, because LASH LEGEND IS A THING AND YOU WILL CARE ABOUT HER.

Wes Lee vs. Xyon Quinn

Lee tries an early rollup but Quinn picks him up for a drop onto the top rope. A running shoulder to the ribs into a backdrop has Lee down again as the dominance is on. Back up and Lee hits a backflip kick to the head, setting up the Spiral Tap for the pin at 2:48. Lee getting some wins is a good thing.

Joe Gacy is ready for the Dyad to win.

Video on Nathan Frazer, who is from Jersey (not New) and loved diving off of things on the beach. He was also really good soccer player and could have played in the EPL, but wound up following his dream of wrestling. To be continued.

Dyad vs. Javier Bernal/Dante Chen

Joe Cacy is here with the Dyad. We’ll say Dy takes Chen down to start before it’s off to Ad for a forearm to Chen. Dy, who is left handed, throws some shots to the head to put Chen down but Chen gets in a boot to the face. It’s back to Chen to start picking up the ace but a clothesline cuts him off. Everything breaks down and an elevated DDT (ala Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan) finishes Chen at 3:53.

Rating: C. The new team did well enough together but all that matters is the fact that we have to hear more and more from Gacy, who is one of the top heels on the show. Dyad was ok and I’m curious to see who is under the hoods, but listening to Gacy talking about acceptance and all that jazz every week isn’t quite appealing.

Post match Gacy says don’t judge these two for wanting to belong. Threats and evil smiling ensue.

Sanga is in the back with Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz when Xyon Quinn comes in. Words are exchanged, but Sanga standing up scares Quinn off.

Nikkita Lyons is coming back.

Here is Tony D’Angelo’s Family, complete with Legado del Fantasma. D’Angelo is pleased with Stacks and Two Dimes and gives them some cash. As for Legado, they need to understand the idea of the code of silence, which results in a rather forced handshake, much to the fans’ annoyance. D’Angelo has a family and the title of Don, but now he wants a title around his waist. Cue Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to say they don’t buy this. The title match is made for next week.

Toxic Attraction is ready to destroy Roxanne Perez, Indi Hartwell and Cora Jade.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Duke Hudson

Breakker is defending but Hudson jumps him from behind before the bell. That’s fine with Breakker, who hits the running shoulders and a spear. The gorilla press powerslam retains the title at 43 seconds.

Post match here is Cameron Grimes to say she would like to finish his chat with Breakker. Grimes says Breakker has that title because of his last name, but no one knows who Grimes’ daddy was. That’s completely fine, but that’s the problem: Breakker’s dad was sitting in the front row watching him win a title while Grimes’ dad had to look down at him. Grimes is tired of the catchphrases so let’s launch the rocket and go to the moon at the Great American Bash. Breakker shakes his hand and we’re on.

Ivy Nile gives Tatum Paxley a bit of a pep talk. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp come in and ask what is up with that, because Strong wants no excuses. The Creeds come in and Strong isn’t happy with them shaking hands after the title defense. Strong was right, but he gets to return to the ring next week. That doesn’t sit well with Strong, but he seems ready to go.

Sofia Cromwell doesn’t want Brooks Jensen ringside next week when Von Wagner gets his revenge.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Guru Raaj

Vinci’s entrance includes a bunch of pictures being take of Vinci (photographers not included) with Vini, Vidi, Vinci on the screen. Vinci takes him down with a headlock takeover before hitting a hard running shoulder. Raaj fights up with a dropkick and that just annoys Vinci. A springboard spinning crossbody drops Raaj and a hard clothesline does it again. Vinci picks him up for a sitout Last Ride and the pin at 2:49. Not a bad debut and the finish was devastating, so nice job for a start.

Grayson Waller interrupts Solo Sikoa, who is so annoyed that he wants a match next week. Cool with Waller.

Malik Blade and Edris Enofe aren’t happy with their loss but they’ll get another shot. Cameron Grimes pops in to say they shouldn’t be this complacent. What if they never get another win like that? They’re trying to leave before the show is over because they’re not hungry. Grimes doesn’t want Enofe to waste his talent, because Grimes doesn’t waste his own.

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams vs. Stacks/Two Dimes

The rest of the Family is here too. Hayes knocks Dimes down to start and Williams gets in a dropkick of his own. Two Dimes comes in to take over on Hayes and the beating is on, including a hard clothesline. A knee to the ribs keeps Hayes in trouble but something close to the Demolition Decapitator misses. Williams comes in to clean house so Legado tries to interfere, only to take Two Dimes out by mistake. That’s enough for Hayes to go up top for the ax kick and the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. The problems are already (Or is it still?) showing between the mega team and that’s about what they were shooting for the whole time. Odds are this isn’t going to last long and that is about the only way this could have gone. On top of that, it’s quite the relief to see a champion not lose, as that is far too common of a WWE trope.

Legado gives a great “oh well” look after the match.

Post break D’Angelo yells at Legado, saying to get better, starting next week.

Cora Jade/Indi Hartwell/Roxanne Perez vs. Toxic Attraction

Mandy starts with Jade but quickly hands it off to Jane to pieface her. Jade takes over without much trouble so it’s off to Rose vs. Hartwell, with the latter grabbing a wristlock. A side slam drops Rose and we need a Toxic Attraction huddle on the floor. Back in and Toxic Attraction is knocked outside as we take a break.

We come back with Perez ankle scissoring Jayne down and grabbing a rollup for two. A discus forearm cuts Perez down for two and it’s time for the strike off. Perez rolls her way to freedom and it’s off to Hartwell to take Rose into the corner. Jade gets to clean house for a bit until Jayne takes her down for a kick to the back.

The double clothesline puts Jade and Rose down though, meaning Jade needs to crawl over to Hartwell. The referee doesn’t see the tag though and it’s Dolin taking over on Jade. That doesn’t last either though as the hot tag brings in Hartwell to clean house. Everything breaks down and Jade hits a top rope backsplash on Dolin, allowing Perez to get the pin at 13:45.

Rating: C+. The ending got better and the result helps set up both title matched down the line. That’s a good thing for the future as you can picture one if not both titles changing hands, which is a good thing. The match itself was energetic and they even got in the referee missing the tag spot. Good enough main event here, though the interest might not be that high.

Overall Rating: C. This was a show that didn’t exactly have a lot of greatness on the show, but it set up some things for the future, likely at Great American Bash. It’s kind of a fast turn around from In Your House but at least this is going to be a TV show instead of another big special. This was a right in the middle show with some ok matches, though nothing that is worth taking the time to watch.

Results
Creed Brothers b. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade – Basement lariat to Blade
Fallon Henley b. Tiffany Stratton – Small package
Wes Lee b. Xyon Quinn – Spiral Tap
Dyad b. Javier Bernal/Dante Chen – Assisted elevated DDT to Chen
Bron Breakker b. Duke Hudson – Spear
Giovanni Vinci b. Guru Raaj – Sitout elevated powerbomb
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams b. Stacks/Two Dimes – Top rope ax kick to Two Dimes
Cora Jade/Indi Hartwell/Roxanne Perez b. Toxic Attraction – Top rope backsplash to Dolin

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

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AND

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