Impact Wrestling
Date: June 4, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re less than a month away from Slammiversary and…there isn’t much on the show. There are only a few matches set for the show and most of the champions are still waiting to find challengers. They might want to work on that with just four shows left before the pay per view so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards vs. BDE

The rest of the System is here with Edwards. BDE starts fast with a springboard crossbody and Edwards is sent outside for a dive. Back in and Edwards catches him on top for a scary sounding top rope belly to back rope superplex. BDE is right back up with a reverse DDT into a Codebreaker. Alisha Edwards gets up for a distraction but BDE is right back with a springboard Stunner for two more. The System offers another distraction though and BDE’s frog splash hits raised knees. The Boston Knee Party finishes for Eddie at 4:52.

Rating: C. This was about what it should have been as a former multiple time World Champion shouldn’t have much effort beating a winless streamer. The good thing is that they didn’t stretch this out, as tends to be the case for BDE, and BDE is far from embarrassing. Just a quick opener here and that’s about all it needed to be.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Fabian Aichner runs in for the save. The System manages to take him down but here is Leon Slater for the real save. This includes the big running flip dive over the corner so the good guys can stand tall.

Video on the Hardys vs. the Righteous in the Righteous’ weird garden.

Here is AJ Francis for a chat. Francis does his usual introduction and brags about getting rid of Rich Swann. He brags about his musical abilities and loads up a song called Walk, which doesn’t seem to be overly great. Cue Elijah to interrupt but Francis says that Elijah is stealing his intellectual property. Francis throws up what appears to be his face on Elijah’s guitar playing body.

Hold on though as Francis isn’t done, even busting out a cease and desist letter. Since Elijah doesn’t want to collaborate, Francis has purchased the name, image and likeness for Elijah, Elias and EZEKIEL. Elijah loads up a song called No Skill Uncle Phil anyway and actually turns his back on Francis, who lays him out. That was another level of dumb from Elijah, who deserved to be knocked cold.

Indi Hartwell and Santino Marella are warming up when Daria Rae interrupts. She makes it clear that she had nothing to do with Hartwell getting a new contract.

Elayna Black brags about winning the Champions Challenge last week and is ready to win the Knockouts Title because she’s that awesome.

Indi Hartwell/Santino Marella vs. Stacks/Arianna Grace

Frankie Kazarian is on commentary. The men start things off but Grace comes in to offer a free shot. Hartwell is fine with coming in to tackle Grace and hammer away but Stacks jumps Marella to take over instead. A random sleeper pulls Stacks down, who is right back with a basement lariat as we take a break.

We come back with Stacks mocking the trombone pose but getting backdropped out to the apron. That’s enough for Hartwell to come in (legally this time) with a spinebuster to Grace but Stacks makes a save. A fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Grace two and she runs Hartwell over. The chinlock goes on but Hartwell fights up for a clothesline in the double down. Marella comes back in but Grace takes the Cobra and loads it up herself. Naturally she hits Stacks by mistake, allowing Hartwell to pull out her own Cobra. Stereo Cobras give Marella the pin on Stacks at 12:23.

Rating: C. This was all about the power of the Cobra and given that we have a match in a magical garden coming up, this could have been worse. It wasn’t much of a tag match, though Marella isn’t out there for the sake of having something high quality. There is at least something with the son/daughter/son-in-law deal though so it could have been worse.

The Elegance Brand gets scared by the Undead Realm again.

Eric Young is in the ring to talk about how this place is sick and he has to fix everything. He did that to Joe Hendry, Ricky Sosa and EC3 and now it’s time to win the World Title. Mike Santana is sick and addicted to the fans’ applause so Young is going to beat him due to being better than that.

Cue Santana to interrupt and call Young a bit less than relevant. Young talks about how he’s been here longer than anyone and he is the one constant (that’s not how constants work). Santana says that people like Young are the ones really poisoning TNA but Young calls him the shiny new toy around here. The people will turn on him too but Santana is sick of him, so let’s do the title match right now. Young hits him low and gives him a piledriver. Thankfully it seems like we’re done with Young’s main event push after next week.

Mustafa Ali is not happy with getting pinned in the Champions Challenge but he knows that KC Navarro just got a fluke win. Their title match is next week.

We look at Young piledriving Santana again.

Here is the Personal Concierge to warn Lei Ying Lee that the Elegance Brand is coming for the Knockouts Title.

Mr. Elegance vs. Lei Ying Lee

Xia Brookside is on commentary. Elegance shoves Lee down to start and strikes a pose but Lee is back up with her own takedown. That means Lee gets to pose as well and then hammer away in the corner. The rest of the Elegance Brand gets up for a distraction and that’s a big group elimination. Elegance powers Lee around again and swivels his hips behind her neck.

Some hip thrust faceplants have Lee in more trouble and she can’t get a sunset flip. A missed charge sends Elegance into the corner though and Lee kicks him into an ankle lock. Elegance reaches the rope and nails a pop up slap but gets crotched on top. An airplane spin is broken up as Brookside gets on the apron, allowing Elegance to rake the eyes. A wind up DDT finishes for Elegance at 7:09.

Rating: C-. This was a rather odd choice for a match, with Lee getting powered around, as you would expect, and then the villain cheating to win, even if he should have anyway. Brookside costing Lee the win in the end was a logical way to go but this was weird all around. I’m not sure what they were going for here but it didn’t exactly work.

Post match Brookside announces that she’s getting her title shot at Slammiversary.

The Broken Garden is prepared, which appears to be a bunch of flowers and barbed wire being set up around ringside. I’ll take that over some mythical place.

Hardys vs. Righteous

Wicked Garden, which means anything goes and pin/submission has to be in the ring. The Righteous come out with a bunch of lackeys in robes, who surround the ring. The bell rings and they take their time getting ready before finally slugging it out. That means the Hardys have to avoid being sent into the barbed wire a few times but Dutch is sent into the barbed wire board.

Jeff is sent into the wired ropes and gets his arm wrapped around one of them but Matt is back up with some kind of a gardening tool. Dutch’s face gets raked and of course he’s already busted open. Vincent is back up with some wire around Matt’s head but Jeff is up for the save. The double legdrop hits Dutch as Matt is busted open as well. The Righteous are sent outside so the Hardys join them for more wire raking.

We take a break and come back with Jeff being dropped ribs first onto the barbed wire. A Downward Spiral sends him into the wire again and Matt is back inside to get choked down. We go to a quick shot of the crowd which is likely some kind of an edit and come back to Matt using the wire to hit Dutch low. A Plot Twist gets two on Vincent and the wire is wrapped around his head. Dutch’s save is cut off and Vincent gets caught with Poetry In Motion.

The Side Effect gets two on Dutch but he spears Matt through a barbed wire board in the corner. Jeff gets pulled into a kendo stick shot to the ribs and Vincent whips out a white flower. They put it into Jeff’s mouth and Jeff is in trouble. Matt is back up with a double DDT as Jeff falls outside and convulses. Jeff starts vomiting and is put on a stretcher but comes back in to fight some more. That doesn’t exactly work and it’s Orange Sunshine to finish Matt at 21:00.

Rating: C+. I never know what to make of these weird/otherworldly things and this was no exception. I’m sure there’s some kind of explanation of what the heck the Righteous are talking about here but honestly that might just make it worse. The brawl was less insane than I was expecting and thank goodness it was just in the arena, though this feud has outlived its interest for a long time now and needs to be over. It won’t be, but it needs to be.

The Righteous are all happy and the Hardys disappear for the spooky ending.

Overall Rating: C-. This one really didn’t click for me, as Slammiversary is coming up and it feels like one of those things that might be going on in the background but isn’t overly important. I’m not sure why they’re so obsessed with the Righteous vs. the Hardys, but it’s probably whatever Jeff came up with and thought was some artistic display. This wasn’t a very good show and that’s not something I have to say about Impact Wrestling very often. Hopefully it’s better next week, as the pay per view needs some buildup.

Results
Eddie Edwards b. BDE – Boston Knee Party
Santino Marella/Indi Hartwell b. Stacks/Arianna Grace – Cobra to Stacks
Mr. Elegance b. Lei Ying Lee – Wind up DDT
Righteous b. Hardys – Orange Sunshine to Matt

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 28, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The slow build towards Slammiversary continues and we have a few things starting to come together for the show. Some of them you can probably either guess from here or should be able to figure out in the coming weeks. That should make for an important enough few hours this week so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Men’s Champions Challenge

Champions: Mustafa Ali, Bear Bronson, Cedric Alexander, Brian Myers, Mike Santana
Challengers: Frankie Kazarian, Leon Slater, Eric Young, Elijah, KC Navarro

If one of the challengers pins a champion, they get a future title shot, though Young has said he won’t change from his current World Title shot. Shouldn’t he just get two titl….oh geez no don’t put that idea out there. Elijah grabs Myers’ arm to start and hits Old School as we take an early break. We come back with Santana working on Elijah’s arm but missing a flipping legdrop.

They get up for a standoff but Young comes in to jump Santana from behind. It’s already off to Kazarian, who is dropkicked down but pokes Santana in the eye. Santana elbows Elijah in the face and it’s Ali tagging himself in to take over. Everything breaks down (even commentary says they knew it was coming) and Elijah chokeslams Ali onto the apron. Slater hits a huge flip dive to wipe out the pile and we take a break.

We come back again with Elijah fighting out of Bronson’s headlock and sending him outside. Santana gets the tag and cleans house with the rolling Buck Fifty hitting Young. Another rolling Buck Fifty drops Kazarian and it’s Ali coming in for his rolling neckbreaker. That has Santana and Ali arguing so Navarro dropkicks both of them. A spinning DDT gets two on Ali, who drop toeholds Navarro and hands it back to Bronson to hammer away.

Bronson tosses Navarro for two and Ali tags himself back in, much to Bronson’s annoyance. That’s enough for Slater to get back in with a spinwheel kick for two. Everything breaks down again and Ali misses a charge. Slater’s Swanton 450 gets two, with Alisha Edwards putting the foot on the rope. Bronson throws Ali a belt but the referee takes it away. Slater hits a superkick and Navarro’s Blessing In Disguise pins Ali at 20:47.

Rating: B-. There were a lot of people in this thing but they made it work well. The good thing about something like this is you have multiple options for who can get the fall over whom and that opens things up rather well. It’s not something you can do very often but for a once in a while concept, it does exactly what it needs to do.

Arianna Grace complains about being thrown into a Knockouts Title match on short notice and losing as a result. Therefore, it’s time for Stacks to beat up Santino Marella. And no, she won’t visit when Marella is in a nursing home.

The Righteous invite the Broken Hardys to the Wicked Garden. Sweet goodness I cannot wait to get done with this stuff.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Harley Hudson

Blanchard shoves her down to start but gets hit with a running boot. An apron legdrop hits Blanchard again but she’s fine enough to kick Hudson out to the floor. Hudson’s knee is banged up so Blanchard drops it onto the ground for quite the crash. Back in and a DDT to the knee sets up a leglock, followed by a rather painful looking double underhook crank.

A running knee has Hudson in more trouble but she comes back with some rapid fire right hands. Hudson gets her up for a one legged fall away slam and a hip attack gets two. Blanchard gets sent into the buckle but comes back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two. An Air Raid Crash onto the knee gives Hudson two of her own but Blanchard goes for the knee again. The Buzzsaw finishes Hudson at 8:09.

Rating: B-. At some point you need to throw these newer, unproven stars out there and see what they can do. That’s what they were trying with Hudson here and that’s not a bad idea. She held her own well enough, though she’s not going to have Blanchard out there every week. At least Hudson has had one good match of her own though and now we get to see where she can go from here.

The Personal Concierge interrupts Lei Ying Lee and tells her not to screw this up for the Elegance Brand tonight.

Santino Marella vs. Stacks

Arianna Grace is here too as Marella takes Stacks down by the leg. A front facelock lets Marella grab an armbar and Stacks needs to bail out to the floor. Back in and Marella snaps off some armdrags but his running splash hits raised knees. Marella needs a time out and gets punched in the bad ribs for his efforts. The beating doesn’t last long so Marella loads up the Cobra. Grace takes it away though and Stacks gets a rollup pin at 5:39.

Rating: C. At least it wasn’t long, as there was no reason for it to be anything beyond this. There isn’t much to having Stacks beat Marella the wrestler, but having him beat Marella the father could go a bit better. I’m sure the story won’t be over here, but they did get this right enough.

Post match Grace yells at Marella and slaps him but he grabs her arm. Stacks jumps him but Indi Hartwell makes the save and wants a mixed tag right now. Daria Rae comes out to say no because Stacks won fair and square. We can do it next week though. At least she didn’t say the catchphrase.

AJ Francis yells at someone for not having paperwork for him. It needs to be there by tomorrow at the latest.

Eddie Edwards vs. Fabian Aichner

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. Aichner starts fast with a springboard spinning crossbody and they go outside, where Aichner hits a heck of a clothesline. Alisha offers a distraction though and a release gordbuster drops Aichner back inside. A rather hard whip sends Aichner into the corner for two but he’s back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

Aichner’s brainbuster gets two but Eddie catches him on top for the backpack Stunner. Eddie tosses him outside, where Alisha grabs a kendo stick. That’s enough for an ejection so Eddie goes up, with Aichner butterfly superplexing him down. Cue the rest of the System so Aichner dives onto all of them, setting up a springboard tornado DDT. A bulldog choke goes on but the System runs in for the DQ at 7:33.

Rating: B-. First and foremost: this was already better than everything Aichner did on his own in WWE. The whole rich Italian guy never got off the ground and just having him be a tough, athletic guy (whose nickname seems to be the Gladiator) is quite a step up. That’s a good start and while I would have had him beat Eddie here, at least Aichner didn’t lose.

Women’s Champions Challenge

Champions: Lei Ying Lee, M By Elegance, Heather By Elegance
Challengers: Elayna Black, Xia Brookside, Mara Sade

Keith Jardine and the rest of the Elegance Brand are here too and this has the same “win for a title shot” rules. Lee and Brookside start things off but Brookside tags out, because that’s what we do in tag matches these days. Sade comes in and, after a handshake, trades standing switches with Lee. Sade takes her down into a quickly broken armbar and they get up for a standoff.

It’s off to M, who kicks Sade down and brings in Heather, who is taken down for Black’s basement dropkick. Brookside does her own blind tag and gets two on Heather, followed by a running dropkick to send her into the corner. Heather switches up and stomps away, allowing M to go Coast To Coast for two. Everything breaks down and Sade hits a slingshot dive onto the Brand and we take a break.

We come back with Sade crushing Heather in the corner and dropping a knee for two. Heather catches her up top though and gets in a quick Codebreaker, allowing M to come back in. A step up backsplash to the back hits Sade for two and M flips Heather onto her for two more. The double arm crank has Sade in more trouble but she’s back up with a springboard spinning double crossbody.

It’s off to Brookside vs. Lee, with the latter grabbing a suplex for two. The Warrior’s Way gives Lee two but Black makes the save. Everything breaks down and Mr. Elegance tries to interfere, earning himself a heel hook from Jardine. The Concierge is stalked to the back but Mr. Elegance gets in a quick distraction, allowing Brookside to plant Lee with Darkside for the pin at 16:00.

Rating: B-. This was a smaller version of the men’s match but it made sense to have Brookside beat Lee to get the title shot. That is a story that has been set up in advance and the result was little more than a formality. There’s nothing wrong with that and it makes perfect sense. It was also nice to have fewer people involved here, as it kept things that much less chaotic.

Overall Rating: B. This is something that TNA has done a few times now, with the idea working perfectly well. It’s a way to advance some storylines without having to burn through a bunch of matches. I liked this show rather well and that is usually the case when they pull this out. It’s a simple idea that TNA made feel important and it got them ready for a new batch of stuff, so this was rather efficient all around.

Results
Men’s Challengers b. Men’s Champions – Blessing In Disguise to Ali
Tessa Blanchard b. Harley Hudson – Buzzsaw
Stacks b. Santino Marella – Rollup
Fabian Aichner b. Eddie Edwards via DQ when the System interfered
Women’s Challengers b. Women’s Champions – Darkside to Lee

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 21, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re back to taped after last week’s live show which was kind of all over the place. Last week’s show saw Cedric Alexander end Leon Slater’s near record setting X-Division Title reign. The show ended with the debut of Fabian Aichner, which is certainly a surprise, though maybe not the biggest. As for tonight, Steve Maclin gets his (second) World Title shot against Mike Santana. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is the System to get things going. Eddie Edwards brags about the team’s success and says Cedric Alexander got them one step closer to holding all of the gold. He’s coming for Mike Santana but Brian Myers doesn’t like the fans disliking them. Bronson promises that anyone who comes after them will be eaten alive. Alexander became the Record Taker last week and if Fabian Aichner has something to say, come say it.

Cue Aichner, who says he was out here to introduce himself last week. He knows he’s a future TNA Champion and that X-Division Title looks nice. The team comes after Aichner, who gets right through them and chokes Alexander, sending the System running. That already makes Aichner look more interesting than anything he did in WWE.

Daria Rae gives Steve Maclin a pep talk and he says…absolutely nothing.

Elayna Black vs. Indi Hartwell

Stacks and Arianna Grace are on commentary. Black gets shoved out of the corner to start fast and Hartwell boots her in the face. Another boot to the side of the head gets two but Black shoves her off the top for a crash to the floor. Back in and Black knees her in the back for two, followed by a running knee for the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Hartwell fights up with a spinebuster. Hartwell goes up but Grace shoves her down for the DQ at 4:05.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time to get this going and the biggest thing here was Grace going after Hartwell. That’s a feud that has been built up for a bit and will probably get us closer to Hartwell going after the Knockouts Title down the line. Then you have Black who continues to just kind of be here, which has been an issue for her since her debut. At least she isn’t taking pins all the time though, meaning there is still hope for her at the moment.

Post match Grace throws Hartwell outside and rants about Santino Marella, who comes out to interrupt. Marella says that wasn’t cool and yells at Stacks, who seems interested in a fight. The Cobra is loaded up but cue Daria Rae to interrupt. After her catchphrase, she brings up her own past in MMA and tells everyone to leave.

The Elegance Brand is planning for Ash’s return when the lights go out. The lights come back up and there is a message from the Undead Realm, saying they’ll see the Brand soon.

Vincent vs. Matt Hardy

Dutch is here with Vincent. Hardy’s music starts but Vincent says hang on, because he wants Broken Matt. Cue Matt, with Jeff Hardy, and yes he’s Broken because this is still a thing. Jeff and Dutch have to be handcuffed to the corners and we start with Matt avoiding a charge into the corner. Dutch grabs him by the leg though and we take a break.

We come back with Matt striking away until a double clothesline puts them both down. Matt pops up and sends him into the corner over and over. The powerbomb out of the corner plants Vincent, who starts untying his boot. A big swing misses Matt and he bites Vincent’s foot. Dutch offers a distraction so Vincent gets in a running shot to the face.

The Twist Of Fate is countered and the referee gets bumped, with Vincent belly to back suplexing Matt down. Vincent steals the key from the referee’s pocket…but the lights go out (just like in the previous backstage segment). This time though, Willow is back to beat Vincent up with the umbrella. The Twist Of Fate gives Matt the pin at 11:29.

Rating: C+. I know the Broken stuff has its audience and I continue to not be part of it. This was another instance of the Hardys getting to do their weird stuff and get out their creativity or whatever they’re calling it this time. At the same time, the Hardys get to win again, as they tend to do far too often around here.

AJ Francis comes up to applaud Elijah’s guitar playing and suggests a collaboration. Elijah politely declines and Francis says you’re going to regret that. Francis: “You’re going to regret that.”

Santino Marella announces a pair of upcoming Champions Challenges (champions vs. challengers) but Daria Rae interrupts and makes Marella vs. Stacks for next week. Marella approves and leaves, with the System coming in. Eddie Edward requests and receives a match with Fabian Aichner next week.

International Title: Chazz Hall vs. Mustafa Ali

Hall, from NXT/Evolve, is challenging and Ali has Order 4 with him. They run the ropes and trade legsweeps to start until Ali sends him into the corner. Hall knocks him away and hits a springboard wristdrag, setting up a running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Ali cutters him for two before taking Hall up top. The super Razor’s Edge is countered into a super hurricanrana, followed by a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Sliced Bread is broken up and Ali grabs a backslide and flips forward into a cradle to retain at 4:47.

Rating: B-. They packed a bunch of stuff into the limited time they had here and that was nice to see. Hall got to showcase himself fairly well, with those flips and dives looking nice. The rollup was rather smooth as well though and Ali certainly seemed to be fired up off that nice of a pin.

Mara Sade meets actor Keith Jardine, who agrees to be in her corner.

Eric Young fires up the rather serious/possibly zombified Steve Maclin. Young talks about giving him an opportunity and now Maclin has to make the biggest choice of his life.

Jada Stone vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside looks annoyed and backs Stone into the corner to start. Stone rolls her up and Brookside goes outside for a breather. Back in and the threat of a leglock sends Stone over to the ropes so she comes back up with a wristlock. Stone knocks her down but takes too long going up, with Brookside going back to the leg. Said leg is tied up and cranked on until Brookside ties it up in the corner. Stone fights back and gets in a kick to the face, setting up a split legged moonsault for two. A handspring is cut off with a kick to the leg though and Darkside (implant DDT) finishes for Brookside at 7:09.

Rating: C+. I like Brookside getting a chance in this way and while it’s early, it’s working for her thus far. She very easily could bring it back around the whole “it’s your birthright” thing and this is her way to get there. It’s working for her well enough so far and picking Stone apart was a good way to go.

Steve Maclin goes after Mike Santana in the back but security holds them apart.

Stacks and Arianna Grace are ready for Santino Marella next week.

TNA World Title: Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana

Santana is defending. They immediately slug it out to start and Maclin blocks the superkick (which knocked him out at Sacrifice). A missed dropkick puts Santana down but he’s right back up with a belly to back faceplant. Maclin heads outside and gets taken out by a dive but is able to post Santana for a breather. The table is loaded up and Santana seems to tweak his knee. That’s fine with Maclin, who scores with a chop block to put Santana down.

We take a break and come back with Santana reversing a Figure Four to send Stacks over to the rope. Maclin dives into a Death Valley Driver and they’re both down again. Back up and a jumping enziguri rocks Maclin in the corner but the rolling Buck Fifty is blocked. Santana escapes the Tree Of Woe though and now the rolling Buck Fifty connects for two. A spinning powerbomb gives Santana two but Spin The Block is countered into a Michinoku Driver for two more.

The spear in the Tree Of Woe gets another two and they go up top. Santana drops down to the apron and kicks Maclin through the table, followed by a frog splash for two more. Maclin collapses before Spin The Black can connect, which is a ruse so he can connect with a superkick of his own. Santana is back with a jumping clothesline into Spin The Block to retain at 17:37.

Rating: B. So that was the Sacrifice main event postponed by a bit and that’s perfectly fine. I do like Maclin getting his title shot and a chance at a full match rather than the mishap from the first attempt. This worked and felt like a main event, though I could have gone with something other than a second match in a row with someone working on the leg.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s another perfectly efficient show, with a big main event and some stuff being set up for later. I could go for less of the Broken Hardys and the battling bosses, but the champions vs. all stars matches should be good. They covered quite a bit here and that’s always appreciated, with a more steady show after last week’s live edition.

Results
Indi Hartwell b. Elayna Black via DQ when Arianna Grace interfered
Matt Hardy b. Vincent – Twist Of Fate
Mustafa Ali b. Chazz Hall – Rollup
Xia Brookside b. Jada Stone – Darkside
Mike Santana b. Steve Maclin – Spin The Block

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 23, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

NXT has their backs up against the wall at the moment as we are less than two weeks away from Takeover, there is one match announced so far, and apparently the company has been rocked by the Coronavirus. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but we are getting two #1 contenders crowned tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Shotzi Blackheart, Candice LeRae, Xia Li, Kacy Catanzaro, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Kayden Carter, Rhea Ripley, Aliyah, Gia, Marina Shafir, Catalina, Raven, Ellie, Adrian, Rita, Emily, Indi Hartwell

The winner gets a shot at Io Shirai at Takeover. There is no Tegan Nox as Candice LeRae attacked her knee earlier today. I know I’m not going to be able to get everyone listed here as Gonzalez and Ripley have a staredown at the bell. That goes nowhere as everyone starts brawling everywhere else. Ripley tosses Gia without much trouble as commentary talks about William Regal trying to expand the competition for this match.

Raven gets tossed out and Ellie (I don’t know who these people are either) is gone as well. Ripley eliminates Shafir and Gonzalez gets rid of Adrian. Gonzalez isn’t done and eliminates a woman whose name we don’t hear. There goes Rita at Gonzalez’s hands as well and Rhea kicks Emily (they’re just getting single names here so it isn’t like you should know who these people are) out too. Gonzalez tosses Catalina but can’t get rid of Hartwell.

Aliyah sends Catanzaro to the floor but the feet don’t touch, allowing Catanzaro to do a Kofi Kingston style save, involving a backflip, walking on her hands, and pulling herself up by her feet. Back from a break with Kacy having to save herself again but Hartwell kicks her off the steps…and onto the barricade. Carter tries to help but gets eliminated, so Catanzaro stands on Carter’s shoulders for the save and gets back in. Ripley and Gonzalez gets in the big slugout but eliminate each other, leaving Kai panicking over her lack of an insurance policy.

We’re down to LeRae, Blackheart, Catanzaro, Hartwell and Kai, with Catanzaro swinging around the post to save herself again. A hurricanrana gets rid of Hartwell to get us down to four. Candice and Kai get together to finally get rid of Catanzaro and it’s time to double team Blackheart. Shotzi gets rid of Kai in a hurry and sends LeRae to the apron. LeRae gets back in so it’s a step up enziguri, only to have Blackheart miss the running charge into the ropes.

A neckbreaker drops Shotzi and LeRae sends her to the apron. Shotzi hits a kick to the head to get back in and goes up top but LeRae is right there again. They both go over the top and wind up on the apron, with Shotzi kicking her down onto the steps. LeRae manages a monkey flip to send Shotzi to the floor for the win at 15:06.

Rating: C-. It got some time and that isn’t the best idea in this case. The problem here was they had a bunch of people included to increase the numbers (probably indy wrestlers or Performance Center students), but it didn’t matter for the most part. Rhea and Raquel threw them out in a hurry to build them up and then just went out together, which didn’t make for the most exciting conclusion. Candice was the fairly obvious winner once we got near the end, though at least the ending was good.

Damian Priest is ready to beat Johnny Gargano at Takeover and he’ll warm up against Austin Theory tonight. Sarah Schriber is invited to the after party too.

Fandango, in a deerstalker hat, is in front of a dry erase board with a bunch of tag wrestlers around when William Regal comes up. After a warning from Regal about bad British accents, Fandango gives us his idea: we team up members of four teams (as in one member from four teams) in a tag match and the winning members’ teams face off to become #1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Fallout from Ciampa attacking Atlas a few weeks back. The threat of an early Willow’s Bell sends them outside with Atlas getting in some shots against the steps. Atlas pulls the ring skirt back and tries the catapult into the ring but Ciampa gets away in a hurry. Back in and Ciampa hits a hard clothesline but Atlas comes back and hammers away with right hands.

Ciampa is knocked outside for a middle rope moonsault, followed by a Blockbuster back inside. The cartwheel DDT misses though and Willow’s Bell gives Ciampa the…one count as he pulls off. Ciampa yells a lot before finishing with the Fairy Tale Ending (now spinning Atlas around to land on his back instead of his face) at 4:48.

Rating: C. This was all about making Ciampa look like a killer and that’s what they accomplished. Ciampa could be put into almost any level on the card and look good so I’m not sure why they are having him waste time with Atlas over a few different weeks. This should be it though and Ciampa can move on to something bigger and better.

Video on Ridge Holland, who is rather strong and rough.

Video on tonight’s Gauntlet Eliminator, set to a new Corey Taylor (of Slipknot) song, with all five participants saying they are ready to win.

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza

The winning team will then meet off in another tag match with their usual partners for a future Tag Team Title shot. Aichner throws Strong down to start and then brings in Mendoza, who is taken into the corner for the tag to Burch. The beating continues but Aichner’s distraction lets Mendoza pull Burch off the middle rope. Back from a break with Burch fighting out of Aichner’s chinlock but getting suplexed down hard. Mendoza stomps away in the corner and we hit the cobra clutch on the mat.

Aichner breaks up a sunset flip on Mendoza and even knocks Strong off the apron in a smart move. Therefore there is no one for Burch to tag so Aichner blasts him with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Strong anyway and it’s time to start picking up the pace. An Angle Slam gives Strong two on Aichner but Mendoza gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Aichner hits a spinebuster for two but Strong kicks him in the face. Burch hits the Tower of London out of the corner to finish Mendoza at 8:49.

Rating: C-. This was a messy match, but that was kind of the point given that they aren’t regular partners. I’m a bit surprised to see Legado del Fantasma losing here as they seemed to be the next challengers, though maybe we are going to see Breezango win a big match before dropping them. Or I’m still really bad at fantasy booking, as I have been for years. Either way, this feels like a match thrown together because some partners might be missing due to illness.

Austin Theory is ready for Damian Priest but Johnny Gargano comes up to give him a bit of a pep talk anyway. Maybe Gargano will throw him a bone if Theory softens him up for Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Damian Priest

Non-title. Priest works on the arm to start and then shoves Theory away without much effort. Theory seems to know he’s in a fight and then definitely knows he’s in a headlock. Back up and Priest goes up top for Old School before jumping down with a high crossbody to change things up. Theory is right back with a belly to back suplex into a standing moonsault for two as the pace slows a bit. Priest gets knocked outside in a heap and we take a break.

Back with Priest hitting the running elbow in the corner and the toss Falcon Arrow gets two. Priest misses the spinning kick to the head and Theory grabs a spinning torture rack slam (not a Blue Thunder Bomb Tom) for his own two. They head outside with Theory slipping out of a chokeslam onto the apron. The spinning kick connects this time though and there’s the powerbomb onto the apron to rock Theory. Back in and the Reckoning finishes Theory at 11:06.

Rating: C+. I like both guys and they both looked good here, as they should. Priest is infinitely better as a face than a heel. Just let him go out there and show off all of his cool stuff where we are supposed to cheer for it this time. That being said, the Reckoning isn’t exactly the most suitable finish for a monster of his size and athleticism. He can do something cooler looking, so maybe he should switch it up.

Post match Johnny Gargano runs in and superkicks Priest to set up their title match a bit more.

We get a night vision video with a distorted voice talking about titles. Someone wipes the dust off of a case holding some NXT Titles. The voice talks about coming back for what belongs to them and the person breaks the case to pick up one of the titles. The date of Takeover ends the show. Karrion Kross already? That seems a little optimistic but not impossible.

Video on Isaiah Scott.

Ridge Holland vs. Antonio de Luca

The much bigger Holland knocks him down to start but ducks his head to get kicked in the face. A Pounce sends de Luca flying though and an overhead belly to belly does the same. Holland headbutts him over and over in the corner (that was brutal) and Northern Grit finishes de Luca at 1:33. That worked.

Io Shirai is ready for Candice LeRae, who comes in to interrupt. Candice doesn’t think much of Shirai and Johnny Gargano comes in to yell as well. Damian Priest comes in and decks Gargano, likely setting up a mixed tag next week.

Next week: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Dakota Kai.

Gauntlet Eliminator

This is a hybrid of a Royal Rumble and a gauntlet match. There are five entrants and two start. Another comes in every four minutes and it’s pinfall/submission only for eliminations. The winner faces Finn Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover. Kyle O’Reilly is in at #1 and Kushida is in at #2, though neither get entrances. O’Reilly takes him to the mat to start and it’s time to hit the grappling. Kushida goes for the arm but O’Reilly gets in a bodyscissors until it’s a standoff to give them a breather from the grappling exchange. Kushida goes for the arm again but gets his legs tied up and they head to the rope.

Back up and Kushida gets in a hiptoss into the basement dropkick before cranking on the arm on the mat. That’s broken up as well so Kushida kicks away at the arm to mix things up a bit. They slug it out until it’s Bronson Reed in at #3. Reed wastes no time in throwing Kushida at O’Reilly and then fireman’s carries both of them at once. That’s broken up so Kushida kicks Reed in the ribs and then in the head.

O’Reilly goes for a cross armbreaker on Kushida but lets go to take Reed down by the leg. For some reason Kushida breaks that up for the Hoverboard Lock on O’Reilly until Reed breaks that up with a suplex to Kushida. Reed knocks Kushida outside and goes up top, only to be forearmed in the head by O’Reilly. Kushida knocks O’Reilly outside but here’s Velveteen Dream with a Dream Valley Driver to take Kushida down. Reed adds the Tsunami to get rid of Kushida at 7:48.

Timothy Thatcher is in at #4 and gets knocked off the apron as we take a break. Back with all three slugging away, with Thatcher going for Reed’s arm. Reed suplexes Thatcher down and it’s Cameron Grimes in at #5 to complete the field. Thatcher blocks Grimes’ kick to the face and goes for his arm but Reed knocks them both down. Everyone is down for a bit with Thatcher and O’Reilly being the first up for a slugout on the apron. O’Reilly knocks Thatcher off the apron and hits a running knee, with Reed catapulting Grimes onto the two of them.

Back in and Reed hits a Death Valley Driver for two on Thatcher and a powerbomb gets the same on O’Reilly. Grimes comes back in and gets sent down in a hurry, followed by a suicide dive onto everyone else. We take another break and come back with Thatcher and Grimes double teaming Reed. O’Reilly gets back in as Reed knocks the other two down. A Rock Bottom sends Thatcher onto Grimes for two and Reed goes up top. The Tsunami “misses” Thatcher (read as it hit Thatcher’s legs as he rolled away) so O’Reilly adds a top rope knee to Reed’s back for the pin at 21:37.

Thatcher and O’Reilly exchange ankle locks until Thatcher suplexes him down. Thatcher isn’t done and grabs Grimes’ leg before belly to bellying him down as well. O’Reilly goes for Thatcher’s arm but gets caught in a sleeper. That’s fine with O’Reilly, who ankle locks Grimes at the same time. That’s broken up by the sleeper so O’Reilly kicks off of Grimes to backflip onto Thatcher for two. O’Reilly strikes away at Thatcher and gets two off a backslide, followed by a rollup for the pin to get rid of Thatcher at 25:24.

We’re down to Grimes vs. O’Reilly with Grimes hitting a quick Cave In For two. Grimes yells about O’Reilly not being the star of the Undisputed Era and hits the flipping powerslam for two. O’Reilly is right back with a leg crank but Grimes kicks him in the face. Another Cave In misses and the knee seems to go out. O’Reilly grabs a heel look for the tap at 27:49.

Rating: B-. There was a lot to unpack here but what matters is they managed to make a new singles star, even if it is only in the short term, in O’Reilly. They needed someone fresh to go after the title and that’s what we got. That could be a heck of a match and O’Reilly has been on the big stage elsewhere before.

The problem here though is he didn’t exactly beat the biggest stars. The best illustration I heard about this match is that it felt like a North American Title #1 contenders match. Maybe that’s due to Coronavirus or maybe it’s due to trying someone new, but they might need O’Reilly to get one more big win next week. What we got was fine, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to carry it to the main event of a Takeover.

Post match Adam Cole and Roderick Strong come out to celebrate so here’s Finn Balor for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The big, long main event helped here as they are trying to slap things together as well as they can because their backs have never been this far up against a wall. What we could wind up seeing should work because it’s NXT, but dang they are stretching with some of these things. O’Reilly vs. Balor has my attention though and they could absolutely tear the house down. Couple that with a mystery return story and they could be fine. That’s a lot of could’s though, and that scares me.

Results

Candice LeRae won a battle royal last eliminating Shotzi Blackheart

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Fairy Tale Ending

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong b. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza – Tower of London to Mendoza

Damian Priest b. Austin Theory – Reckoning

Ridge Holland b. Antonio de Luca – Northern Grit

Kyle O’Reilly won the Gauntlet Eliminator last eliminating Cameron Grimes

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: July 23, 2020
Host: Andy Shepard

Every week I wonder how much longer this Greatest Hits deal can continue around here. The show hasn’t been around all that long and it isn’t like they have the longest string of classics to pick from. They can switch things up if necessary in the future, but I’m not sure if it can be exclusively NXT UK that much longer. Let’s get to it.

Andy throws us to our first introduction.

Mark Andrews is enjoying some ice cream and sends us to NXT UK, December 5, 2018.

Fabian Aichner vs. Mark Andrews

They shake hands to start and Andrews has to slip out of an early gorilla press. Andrews spins around his head into a headscissors to send Aichner outside, followed by a suicide dive. Back in and a backbreaker plants Andrews, which isn’t the most surprising strategy given how big Aichner is.

Back up and Andrews slides on his knees to duck a clothesline and nails an enziguri. A standing Whisper in the Wind splash gets two, followed by Andrews flipping out of a suplex into a hurricanrana (cool) for two more. Andrews scores with a 619 to the ribs and a victory roll gets two. That’s enough for Aichner so he clotheslines the heck out of Andrews, only to get caught with the Stundog Millionaire.

Aichner catches a Blockbuster and reverses it into a brainbuster (that’s some impressive power) for two but takes too long setting up a double springboard moonsault (which someone his size can just do). A very twisting DDT drops Aichner for another near fall but he moves before the shooting star can connect. They head outside with Aichner crushing Andrews’ head against the steps with a running knee for nine. Andrews is done so Aichner hits a helicopter bomb for the pin at 9:17.

Rating: B. Aichner is one of those guys with all the natural tools and Andrews has more than enough charisma and underdog status to make something like this work. He’s very good at making you believe that he can beat someone like Aichner, even as he comes up short in the end. Aichner could be a big star just with his natural look and skills alone so give him some kind of a character and he’ll be fine.

Xia Brookside promises us that we will get through all of this. NXT UK is trying its hardest to get back.

Piper Niven wants to be Women’s Champion and also wants to go to NXT UK, November 28, 2019.

Jinny vs. Piper Niven

Jazzy Gabbert is here with Jinny. Niven starts with the big shoves and Jinny can’t do much against the size and power. A missed charge into the corner gives Jinny a break though and Jinny gets two off a slingshot hilo. The Iron Octopus sends Piper down to one knee before powering out. Jazzy trips her up though and that’s good for an ejection.

Niven drops a big elbow for two as Nigel is wondering how Jinny can survive without her best friend. A headbutt knocks them both down but it’s Piper up first to snap off a belly to back suplex. Jinny gets caught on top and it’s an electric chair faceplant to give Piper two. Piper gets kicked in the face for two so she dropkicks Jinny hard into the corner. The Cannonball sets up the Michinoku Driver for the pin on Jinny at 7:28.

Rating: D+. The size difference caused some problems here as there are only so many ways you have have a monster like Niven as the face in a match like this. Jinny doesn’t have the most in the ring either and it made for a bit of a difficult situation. The match could have been worse, but this didn’t work all that well.

Saxon Huxley shouts about seeing things in his head and finally being unlocked.

Dave Mastiff wraps us up with this from NXT UK, December 12, 2018.

Eddie Dennis vs. Dave Mastiff

Mastiff takes him into the corner to start but they’re both tentative early on. Dennis’ shoulder has no effect and a second does even less. Instead it’s Mastiff hitting a heavy forearm to take over and some elbows to the head keep Dennis in trouble. The running dropkick looks to set up the backsplash but Dennis avoids the bad case of pain. A boot sends Mastiff outside and two more keep him in trouble.

Back in and Mastiff misses a charge in the corner, setting up….the cravate. Well it’s better than another armbar. Mastiff gets up and scores with a headbutt, followed by a big superplex to put them both down. A Regal Roll into a backsplash gives Mastiff two, followed by a bridging German suplex for the same.

Dennis is right back with a swinging sitout powerslam (and he held Mastiff up) for his own near fall. The Severn Bridge is blocked twice (even with Dennis holding him up in the Razor’s Edge position) so Dennis nails a clothesline for two instead. Mastiff has had it and throws him into the corner for the Cannonball and the pin at 11:47.

Rating: C. This was the hoss battle that it should have been and the more I think about it, the more I can go with Mastiff winning here. I’ve been saying for months that they have to do something around here to make more stars and Mastiff seems to be one of them at the moment. It’s a fun match, even if Dennis lost to my annoyance.

Overall Rating: C-. Yeah I’m not sure what else they’re going to be able to do around here, as these shows just aren’t working all that well anymore. The wrestling is acceptable enough at times, but there are only so many things that you can do with the limited selection they have available. There are all kinds of things you can do on this show, but sticking with just NXT UK is not going to work that well in the long run.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 15, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

After today’s record setting number of releases, it might be nice to have things get back to normal, meaning we’re in an empty arena with a different set of commentators. Last week saw Johnny Gargano win the final battle against Tommaso Ciampa, but the question now is what happens with Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux, who were watching at the end of last week’s show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s ladder match and Gargano vs. Ciampa showdown.

Finn Balor vs. Fabian Aichner

Marcel Barthel is here with Aichner. Balor headlocks him to start but Aichner reverses into one of his own as they’re going technical to start. Aichner tosses him into the corner and slowly stomps away but Balor is back with a basement dropkick. Balor sends him outside and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Barthel grabbing the leg so Aichner can get in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Some hard whips into the corner make Balor’s back even worse and Aichner gets two off a clothesline. Balor hits a Sling Blade but has to deal with Barthel, allowing Aichner to hit a toss powerbomb. The running knee to the steps only hits steps though and Balor Sling Blades Barthel. A dropkick sends Barthel through the barricade and Balor avoids a moonsault back inside. The John Woo dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace and 1916 to finish Aichner at 11:48.

Rating: C+. Balor’s path towards Walter continues and that could make for a heck of a fight as soon as we eventually get there. It was a good enough back and forth match as well, with the two of them beating on each other until Balor finally came through in the end. Imperium continues to be some very good villains and hopefully we can get to the big showdown with Walter soon enough.

Video on Raquel Gonzalez vs. Tegan Nox, which takes place later tonight.

Charlotte talks about how awesome she is and how she has dominated the past, present and future of wrestling. She has already defeated the past and present, but what about the future? Charlotte wants to face Mia Yim, who was actually her first opponent in NXT. Now she wants Mia to have the first title shot. Then it’s on to anyone else William Regal lines up and Charlotte will beat them all. Io Shirai wasn’t mentioned by name.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

This was supposed to take place a few weeks back but Io Shirai jumped Xia. A kick to the chest puts Aliyah on the floor to start but she uses a referee distraction to kick Li down as well. More kicks and a chinlock keep Li in trouble but Aliyah misses a charge into the corner. A running fish and dropkick both drop Aliyah again and the spinning kick to the back gives Li the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. This was more competitive than I would have bet on but it told a decent enough story: Li is better and a dangerous striker who shrugged off whatever Aliyah had and beat her in the end. You don’t need a complicated match structure every time and this was a good example.

Video on the tournament for an Interim Cruiserweight Championship. It’s a round robin format for a change with the winners of the two four man blocks meeting for the title.

Interim Cruiserweight Title Tournament Group B: Isaiah Scott (0-0) vs. Akira Tozawa (0-0)

They fight over wrist control to start with Tozawa flipping out of a wristlock and snapping off a hurricanrana, with Scott landing on his feet. A chop makes Scott stand up straight and a pump kick puts him on the floor. Scott is back up with a rather missed headscissors to the floor (his feet grazed Tozawa’s face and Tozawa flipped forward anyway) to send us to a break.

Back with Tozawa’s running flip dive off the apron taking Scott down and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa two. The Octopus goes on but Scott breaks out in a hurry, meaning Tozawa goes to a guillotine instead. Scott muscles him up into a suplex for another break before muscling him up into a German suplex. The House Call gets two but Tozawa sends him hard into the corner. Trouble in Paradise drops Scott again and the top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin at 11:26.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other rather hard here and the ending was a surprise. I can go with Tozawa winning, though having him beat Scott clean is a little surprising. That being said, it is a round robin tournament so the loss isn’t game over. I like Scott a lot and hopefully he winds up going somewhere soon.

Tozawa – 1-0

Scott – 0-1

Post match Tozawa says he’ll keep winning.

Video on Hijo del Fantasma, who is coming to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.

Tegan Nox vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez has Dakota Kai with her and starts fast by lifting Nox up by the arm. A shoulder drops Nox again and Gonzalez holds the arm just to be safe. The backbreaker drops Nox again and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. That’s broken up so Gonzalez sends her into the corner, allowing Kai to get in a cheap shot for two. Cue Shotzi Blackheart to take care of Kai so Gonzalez goes after Shotzi, allowing Nox to grab the rollup for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Not great here but I like the idea of setting up some new names in the women’s division. With Charlotte on top of the division, she is going to need some new challengers and Nox challenging Charlotte, who might have to focus on those knees, could be great. You can pencil in the tag match too and that’s fine.

We get a biography video on Keith Lee. He has been doing this for a long time now and stood out in Evolve because he was a bigger guy who could do a lot of impressive things. Now he’s here doing the same, and has gone on to appear at Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. Then he won his first singles title to start the year because his time is just starting.

Dexter Lumis vs. Tehuti Miles

Miles continues to get some big intros, complete with a cool hat. Lumis stands in the middle to stare at him and Miles isn’t sure what to do. A hard forearm to the back drops Miles as the slow, creepy beatdown is on. Some dropkicks stagger Lumis but he hits a spinebuster into a head and arm choke (called the Anaconda Vice) for the tap at 1:45. Lumis’ blank stare is still good.

Adam Cole is not here for his scheduled showdown with Velveteen Dream. Whether he accepts it or not, Dream does not deserve a shot at the title and what matters at the moment is protecting Cole’s reality. The reality of the world right now is no one deserves a shot at the NXT Title.

Here’s Velveteen Dream and he’s looking a bit upset. He says this was typical Cole and of course he doesn’t believe Cole. Dream does respect Cole for thinking of himself as the mastermind and leader of the Undisputed Era. The one thing Cole is is the last remaining champion of the Undisputed Era.

Cole might even be the best NXT Champion of all time, but he needs to understand the words Dream Over. Cue Finn Balor, who says he doesn’t know or like Dream but he doesn’t like hearing anyone else being called the greatest NXT Champion of all time. Ignorant comments will get you a date with the Prince. Dream says Balor can be a gentleman and pick him up next Wednesday.

Malcolm Bivens is interested in the main event because the winners are losing the Tag Team Titles to his men.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Matt Riddle/???

Riddle is defending with a mystery partner chosen by his regular partner Pete Dunne. That partner would be….the debuting Timothy Thatcher. It’s Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong for the Era here for a different pairing. Riddle and Fish start things off and the trash talk is on in a hurry. Fish gets annoyed so they go to the mat in a hurry where he can’t get a rollup. Instead, Riddle slams him down to send Fish bailing as we take a break.

Back with Thatcher tying Strong up and grabbing a bow and arrow to induce screaming. Strong gets out and brings Fish back in to grab Thatcher’s leg and stomp down on it to take over. Thatcher reverses into a hold of his own and drags Fish over to Riddle. That means a suplex into a running kick to the chest for two, followed by the Broton for a bonus. The rolling gutwrench suplexes have Fish rocked and Thatcher adds his own to Strong.

An assisted moonsault gives Riddle two but Thatcher gets pulled to the floor. That lets the Era take Riddle into the corner so Strong can hit a backbreaker. The double teaming continues on the floor….as Dexter Lumis is watching from the top of the arena. An assisted Angle Slam plants Riddle and we take another break.

Back again with Fish hammering away at Riddle and grabbing the front facelock. Riddle finally gets in a fisherman’s suplex for the hot tag to Thatcher. Some spinning belly to belly suplexes have the Era in trouble and a Fujiwara armbar sends Strong bailing to the ropes. Fish comes in for some strikes to slow Thatcher down and a running forearm gets two. A knee to the face gets the same but Riddle breaks up the High/Low. The Fujiwara armbar is enough to retain at 22:12.

Rating: B. Thatcher debuting was quite the surprise but he turned out well enough and that’s all you can ask for. It’s a long form title match that was probably supposed to be the Takeover match against the Grizzled Young Veterans (or a triple threat) and it’s nice to have that big match feeling like this. Riddle continues to look good and it’s not like the Era is going to put in a bad performance.

Post match, Thatcher doesn’t dance.

Tommaso Ciampa says he is done with all of this and yes, Johnny Gargano was the better man. He gets jumped from behind though, sending the camera flying, and it’s Killer Kross, who says tick tock. There is also a woman’s boot shown standing next to Ciampa.

Overall Rating: B. This was a pretty good show where the individual parts don’t add up to the whole picture. The point here was getting things to feel normal again and that’s what they did here. They covered a lot of things all around the card here though with a bunch of stories being advanced and some matches being set for the next show. I liked a lot of where this show was going and hopefully they can continue that in the future.

Results

Finn Balor b. Fabian Aichner – 1916

Xia Li b. Aliyah – Spinning kick to the back

Akira Tozawa b. Isaiah Scott – Top rope backsplash

Tegan Nox b. Raquel Gonzalez – Rollup

Dexter Lumis b. Tehuti Miles – Anaconda Vice

Matt Riddle/Timothy Thatcher b. Undisputed Era – Fujiwara armbar to Strong

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: Download Festival, Leicestershire, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English

We’re still at the Download Festival and that means the crowd reactions are likely to be a little bit weaker again this time. The build towards Cardiff continues but it seems that we have to get through one more stand alone show before we get there. That’s understandable, but not the most thrilling thing in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Sid Scala runs down the card.

Opening sequence.

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner vs. Tyson T-Bone/Saxon Huxley

Aichner shoves T-Bone down to start so T-Bone punches him from the mat. That earns him a powerslam and T-Bone stumbles over for a tag to Huxley. A spinebuster from Aichner and a kick to the face from Barthel has Huxley in trouble for a change. We hit the chinlock for a bit until a clothesline gets Huxley free, only to have the legal Aichner sneak around and pull T-Bone to the floor. With T-Bone down, it’s a powerbomb/middle rope European uppercut combination to finish Huxley at 4:53.

Result: D+. Pretty much a squash here as Imperium continues to look completely dominant. The four of them could be the top monsters for the company for a long time to come and making Barthel and Aichner look better is going to get them closer towards that ending. I still don’t get the appeal of T-Bone and Huxley but they could be worse.

Travis Banks says his journey continues despite losing to Walter. His journey is just beginning.

Xia Brookside vs. Jinny

Jinny says she doesn’t need Jazzy Gabbert to beat Xia but Jazzy doesn’t go anywhere. Brookside grabs a quick headlock before a crossbody gets two. A missed charge sends Jinny into the corner and Xia ties her in the Tree of Woe. That means a missed charge from Xia as well, allowing Jazzy to stare her down so Jinny can take over. Jazzy gets in a few shots of her own and Jinny pounds away for two. Brookside gets in a hurricanrana out of the corner but the referee gets knocked away. That’s enough for Gabbert to grab Brookside’s foot and Jinny pins her with a rollup at 4:35.

Rating: C-. Somewhat better than the opener as Jinny could ride this help from the monster all the way back to the title scene. Or Gabbert could go after Toni Storm as the ultimate monster. Either way, you could be in for something entertaining as the show has a women’s feud that isn’t about the title. That’s more than some places can say.

Imperium talks about taking out British Strong Style and only Trent Seven is left. Walter has accepted Trent’s challenge and promises to break his back.

Kenny Williams didn’t like washing the mud out of his mouth, but he’ll be ready to face Noam Dar next week. He’ll snap the wing that Dar has taken him under.

We look at Gallus defeating Dave Mastiff/The Hunt last week. After the show, Mastiff called out Joe Coffey but Gallus backed away.

Gallus says they tamed the wild animals and Joe is going to make Mastiff sit and heal.

Here’s Toni Storm for a chat. For a long time, she thought Kay Lee Ray was one of her best friends. She took Toni under her wing when she first got to the UK but now she’s not sure what happened to Ray. All Ray has to do is say when she wants her title shot and Toni will be ready….so here’s Ray to interrupt. She knows Toni is sick of her mind games so let’s do this right now. Eh or not actually. Ray is going to make Toni wait for Takeover: Cardiff but until then, she’s going to make Toni’s life a nightmare.

Scala isn’t interested in waiting for Takeover so next week it’s Toni Storm/Xia Brookside/Piper Niven vs. Kay Lee Ray/Jazzy Gabbert/Jinny.

Also next week: Walter vs. Trent Seven.

Kassius Ohno vs. Mark Andrews

Fans to Ohno: “PLEASE DON’T EAT HIM!” Ohno grabs a cravate to take Andrews down for two but Andrews cartwheels his way to freedom. Some dropkicks and an armdrag send Ohno outside but the suicide dive is pulled out of the air. Ohno, while still carrying Andrews, pulls the padding off the hook that attaches the post to the buckle and drops Andrews hard onto it.

Back in and a legdrop gets two and we hit the quickly broken chinlock. Ohno chokes on the rope instead and it’s back to the mat where Ohno declares himself a wrestling genius. Ohno: “He can’t get out because he doesn’t know how!”. Something like an abdominal stretch with a neck crank sets up a backbreaker for two as Ohno is having fun picking him apart here. He even sits on Andrews in the corner before knocking him off the top to the floor in a heap.

A more serious Ohno follows him outside and hammers away while throwing more insults. Ohno takes too long getting back in though and it’s a trio of enziguris as he comes through the ropes. The big running flip dive into a hurricanrana has Ohno down on the floor. Back in and Ohno sneaks in a shot to the throat, followed by a forearm to the back of the head for two.

One heck of an electric chair faceplant gives Ohno two and you can see the frustration setting in. Ohno chops away and Andrews stares at him. A knee to the face doesn’t do much to Andrews, who snaps off a reverse hurricanrana for two of his own. Stundog Millionaire and a tornado DDT gets two but Fall to Piece is caught in a cravate. Ohno hits a cravate suplex of all things (that’s a new one) but Andrews grabs a victory roll for the pin at 13:06.

Rating: B-. This told a very nice story with Andrews fighting from underneath against the bully in Ohno. They’re both easy characters to get but more importantly they’re easy to get behind/boo which is why a story like this worked so well. On top of that it was a good match with Ohno busting out some awesome stuff and grinding Andrews down but not being able to finish him.

Overall Rating: C+. It was nice to see the setup of the first match for Takeover but I’m more interested in seeing next week’s show. The women’s tag match and Trent vs. Walter should be entertaining and that helps get us one step closer to Takeover, as they’re getting better at bridging the gap between the major shows. Nice show here, with the rather low level main event offering a surprise.

Results

Marcel Barthel/Fabian Aichner b. Tyson T-Bone/Saxon Huxley – Powerbomb/middle rope European uppercut to Huxley

Jinny b. Xia Brookside – Rollup

Mark Andrews b. Kassius Ohno – Victory roll

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 10, 2019
Location: Barclays Center, New York City, New York
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time for the fallout show from Friday with a show taped prior to the show we’re recapping. Tonight we’re looking at a bunch of clips from Takeover: new York plus a trio of matches that took place before the show went on the air. These shows are usually very light and there’s no reason to believe that this should be any different. Let’s get to it.

Here are Friday’s results if you need a recap.

A long recap package of Takeover opens things up.

Opening sequence, now with a new theme song.

Aliyah vs. Candice LeRae

Vanessa Borne is in Aliyah’s corner. Aliyah takes her to the mat and gets in some forearms to the back but Candice is right back up with an armdrag. A knee in the corner slows Candice down and Aliyah demands that New York cheers for her. Vanessa offers a distraction and Aliyah gets in a kick to the face to take over. The chinlock doesn’t work for Aliyah as Candice takes her down and hits a step up backsplash. A neckbreaker into a Lionsault (with Candice possibly tweaking her knee) finishes Aliyah at 4:12.

Rating: D+. Standard Welcome To The Show match to kick off the evening and that’s fine. It was just an exchange of moves with Candice overcoming the odds and winning without breaking much of a sweat. That’s fine for this match though as Candice is such a likable person and character that it’s easy to see why she’s in a spot like this.

We look at Velveteen Dream vs. Matt Riddle with Dream retaining the title in a bit of an upset.

Dream talks about his win as Buddy Murphy walks by. Dream says that’s someone who couldn’t handle the spotlight at Wrestlemania. Murphy doesn’t like that so Dream asks where his title is.

Video on the War Raiders retaining the Tag Team Titles against Ricochet and Aleister Black in what was likely Ricochet and Black’s NXT farewell.

We look at Kushida signing with NXT.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Danny Burch

Steve Cutler, Wesley Blake and Oney Lorcan are at ringside. Burch takes him straight down for two and hammers away in the corner with right hands and clotheslines. Ryker pulls him off the middle rope and blasts Burch in the face with an elbow. A middle rope headbutt gets two but Burch is right back with a forearm. The other Sons offer a distraction so Lorcan takes care of them, leaving Burch to walk into the Widowmaker to give Ryker the pin at 3:10.

Rating: C-. They packed quite a bit in there and Ryker’s intensity is really starting to shine through. Having the Sons as a trio of wrestlers instead of a team with Ryker as a manager has some potential and with Ryker working as the monster, they could go somewhere. Lorcan and Burch are going to be fine no matter what they do because they’re good enough in the ring.

We look at the four way Women’s Title match at Takeover with Shayna Baszler retaining.

Baszler says she’s running out of competition and she’s keeping the title forever.

We look at Pete Dunne FINALLY losing the United Kingdom Title to Walter.

Pete says there will be a rematch.

We look back at Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole in a 2/3 falls match with Johnny overcoming the odds and becoming the NXT Champion after chasing the title for over a year. It’s still a very good match but they went just too far to make it perfect. Tommaso Ciampa coming out to endorse the win made up for a lot of it….I think.

The Undisputed Era isn’t happy with the loss with Roderick Strong and Adam Cole getting in an argument. Cole orders the camera shut off.

Street Profits vs. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

Aichner knocks Dawkins off the apron to start and drives Ford into the wrong corner. Ford is fine enough to dropkick both of them down at once but Barthel kicks him in the face. Barthel has to pull Ford back from a tag and it’s a spinebuster from Aichner to keep him in early trouble.

As you might have guessed, Ford crawls over for the tag a few seconds later and it’s Dawkins cleaning house. A spinning splash in the corner connects but a Doomsday Device is broken up. One heck of a moonsault gives Aichner two on Ford but Dawkins spears Aichner down to break up a powerbomb. The Doomsday Blockbuster finishes Barthel at 6:02.

Rating: C-. Much like the previous two, this wasn’t the kind of match that you need to see but for the live crowd, it was a nice way to warm things up a little bit more before they got to the important stuff. The Profits are entertaining and have a ton of charisma so having them go over the rather dull European team was the easy choice.

Overall Rating: D+. Completely skippable show as usual, but after everything we’ve gotten to see in recent days, it’s fine for them to take a little break like this. The wrestling wasn’t the point this time around as everything was about taking a breather and catching fans up in case they didn’t see Takeover (Though why wouldn’t you have?). We’ll get back to the important stuff next week and everything will be fine.

Results

Candice LeRae b. Aliyah – Lionsault

Jaxson Ryker b. Danny Burch – Widowmaker

Street Profits b. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel – Doomsday Blockbuster to Barthel

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: April 3, 2019
Location: Coventry Skydome Arena, Coventry, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

It’s the go home show for Takeover: New York meaning we’re likely to get the final push towards Walter vs. Pete Dunne for the UK Title. That has the chance to steal the show on Friday night, which is saying a lot given the insane amount of potential that show has. Other than that, we’re likely going to be setting up something for the next few weeks. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan vs. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

Jordan and Barthel start things off with Marcel not approving of all the dancing. I mean, fair enough indeed. Barthel takes him into the corner to hand it off to Aichner but a blind tag lets Williams come in. A hurricanrana is blocked so it’s a sunset flip instead, with Aichner being sent outside. The Europeans take over back inside with Barthel punching Jordan down in the corner before it’s a double stomping for good measure.

The chinlock doesn’t last long and Barthel misses a charge in the corner, allowing the tag to Williams. A wheelbarrow faceplant gives Williams two and a springboard back elbow knocks Aichner to the floor. Williams takes too long trying to skin the cat though and gets dropkicked to the floor. Aichner catches a diving Jordan on the floor and it’s a spinebuster into a kick to the chest for Williams. With Jordan trying to get back in, Williams escapes a suplex and rolls Aichner up for the fast pin at 7:58.

Rating: C. I still don’t care much for Williams and Jordan but at least they’re being pushed as winners for a bit and can lose to the Grizzled Young Veterans in a little while. Jordan’s dancing is still dumb and Williams is still the star who deserves better, but at least they’re doing something for a change.

Rhea Ripley promises to make this place Piper Niven’s nightmare.

Jordan Devlin wants to know how Walter is getting a title shot so fast after he’s won match after match and gotten nothing (save for the title match he already lost). There’s nothing that can be done to change Friday because the contracts have been signed, but Devlin promises to be watching.

Isla Dawn vs. Kay Lee Ray

The battle of Scotland. Ray goes after the arm to start but Dawn spins out and goes to the splits on the mat. It’s right back to the arm with Ray taking him to the mat, tying the arm up with the legs and spinning it around. The arm gets pulled on even more, this time with Ray trapping it for a seated abdominal stretch. Back up and Ray hits a superkick into a Gory Bomb to complete the squash at 4:57.

Rating: D+. Total destruction here with Ray looking good, which again is the most important thing at the moment. The women’s division needs more than two or three people and Ray being the next big thing (or even a thing at all) is a perfectly fine idea. Dawn continues to fall, after having a good start and a cool gimmick with the witch stuff that went nowhere.

Jinny attacks Toni Storm, who can’t get up.

Travis Banks used to look up to Kassius Ohno but now he’ll beat him up.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans for a chat. Gibson talks about how awesome they are but they’re not competing tonight because they’re not dressed and he’s not medically cleared. He’s tired of the fans disrespecting him in person and on social media or from the locker room or from commentary. Gibson talks about all the people coming into this place, such as the kickpad wrestlers and the flippy skinny wrestlers, all trying to jump over the two of them.

That’s why they won the Tag Team Titles at Takeover: Blackpool and now Williams and Jordan want a title shot after winning three matches? They run this place now and that isn’t changing. Gibson is still a great promo, but it only serves to show how unnecessary Drake is for the most part.

Next week: Ohno vs. Banks, Niven’s debut and Storm defends against Jinny.

Joe Coffey vs. Trent Seven

Coffey shows off the strength to start by catching a crossbody and firing off chops. Seven fires off his own chops and gets two off a DDT. The fans chant for the Trent Seven Army as the guys head to the floor with an attempted dragon suplex being driven into the barricade for a break. Coffey bends Seven’s back around the post before going to the chinlock inside. That’s switched into a bearhug as it’s all Coffey so far.

A belly to belly makes it even worse and Coffey drops knees on the back to keep Seven down. Seven finally gets up and fires off the chops into a modified Falcon Arrow for two. Coffey rolls outside and takes a suicide dive as the fans are rather pleased. Back in and Coffey blasts him with a lariat for two of his own into a release German suplex. The powerbomb gets two on Seven and they’re both down.

Seven goes old school with a Figure Four until Coffey makes the rope and crawls to the apron, where Seven backdrops him for a big crash. They barely make it back in to beat the count and it’s Coffey missing a spinning springboard crossbody. The Seven Star Lariat connects for a solid false finish but Coffey is right back up with another powerbomb. This one transitions into a Boston crab and after being pulled away from the ropes, Seven actually taps at 14:12.

Rating: B-. Well I didn’t see that coming. You don’t see heels win clean with a submission like that but it’s a good way to set up the Boston crab as a dangerous hold going forward. Coffey winning can help build him up again, though I’m still not sure how big of a star he can be around here. Seven has proven that he’s bulletproof and at least he looked good in defeat here.

One more Walter vs. Dunne video wraps us up.

Overall Rating: C+. It’s rather odd that there wasn’t anything more than videos on Walter vs. Dunne, which should be the biggest match in the history of the promotion. What we got here was a solid enough regular show but you kind of expect more with such a big match later this week. That being said, Walter vs. Dunne kind of speaks for itself so it’s not that bad. The rest of the show was pretty good stuff with a nice main event and matches being set for next week. Good enough show, but not what you were likely expecting.

Results

Kenny Williams/Amir Jordan b. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel – Rollup to Aichner

Kay Lee Ray b. Isla Dawn – Gory Bomb

Joe Coffey b. Trent Seven – Boston crab

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 6, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Percy Watson

Believe it or not it’s tournament time on a WWE show with the first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic starting tonight. The interesting team involved is the reformed DIY, who are probably the favorites in the whole thing despite having the consistency of something with very low consistency. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the Dusty Classic, with each team getting to say that they’ll be winning.

Opening sequence.

Of course we’re greeted by Common Man Boogie, because it couldn’t really be anything else.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Aleister Black/Ricochet vs. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

Aichner and Black start things off with Aichner’s shoulder not even getting a one count. Barthel comes in and gets struck down in short order with Black armdragging him into an armbar. It’s already back to Aichner to stomp Black down in the corner as the villains take over for the first time. Barthel knees Black in the face and knocks Ricochet off the apron so he can get two.

Black kicks away from a reverse chinlock though and it’s off to Ricochet to speed things up. Kicks abound (Black must be rubbing off on him) and Ricochet sends Barthel into Aichner, who DDTs his partner by mistake. Thankfully Ricochet cuts off my rant about how stupid that is with a springboard European uppercut and the standing shooting star for two. Back up and Barthel throws Ricochet into a suplex from Aichner (Still cool, though not as cool as the powerslam that they used on NXT UK earlier today. Maybe having them on TV twice in one day is a bad idea.), followed by a double springboard moonsault for two.

Ricochet is back up but a kick to the back cuts off his dive, allowing Aichner to hit a springboard tornado DDT for two. Aichner gets low bridged to the floor and Ricochet rolls over to bring in Black, who was fine watching his partner get double teamed. The Europeans catch Black in the Tree of Woe for a double dropkick but Ricochet is in with a springboard hurricanrana to Barthel. A heck of a suicide dive takes Barthel down again but Aichner counters Black’s dive into a rollup for two. Back up and Black Mass finishes Aichner at 8:20.

Rating: A-. This was GREAT with everything but the first minute or two being all action with both teams looking awesome. I haven’t been a fan of Aichner and Barthel so far but they’ve figured it out in their last few matches and looked better and better every time. I was buying that Ricochet and Black were in jeopardy more than once here and that takes a lot when you can be pretty sure who is winning as soon as the teams come out. Incredibly fun match with all four looking awesome.

Moustache Mountain stares down the War Raiders.

We look back at Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee from last week with the double countout likely setting up a rematch.

Earlier this week, Dijakovic tried to get at Lee at the Performance Center but some wrestlers (including Eric Bugenhagen) held him back. The rematch is in two weeks.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Forgotten Sons

Steve Cutler/Wesley Blake for the Sons with Jaxson Ryker on the floor. Burch takes Cutler down by the arm to start and it’s already off to Lorcan for a headlock. The Sons get him over into the corner to take over though and it’s a backbreaker into a double chokebreaker for two. Another double backbreaker gets one and we hit the reverse chinlock with a knee in Lorcan’s back. They’re certainly making sense so far. Lorcan fights up (of course) and brings in Burch to take over, including a release German suplex to both Sons.

The middle rope dropkick into the nipup brings Lorcan back in with Blake hitting a quick backbreaker for two. The Boston crab stays on Lorcan’s back until Burch headbutts the heck out of Blake for the save. Burch slips out of a powerbomb and it’s Lorcan firing off chops to both Sons. Everything breaks down and the spike DDT gives Burch two. Cutler blocks what looked to be a German suplex attempt and it’s Lorcan getting toss powerbombed into Cutler’s knees in the corner. A reverse DDT/middle rope double stomp combination finishes Lorcan at 8:21.

Rating: B. It says a lot when a rather good match isn’t stealing the show this week but that’s how good things have been so far. I’m surprised that the Sons won but beating Lorcan and Burch still has a lot of value to it. Lorcan and Burch are over as a team and the Sons definitely needed the win more. They’re not going to win the tournament, but at least a win is better than nothing.

Here’s Velveteen Dream to remind us that he’s North American Champion (his words) but it’s Matt Riddle interrupting. This could be interesting and, as expected, Riddle says that he likes the look of the title and wonders what it would look like around his waist. Dream says the spotlight is on him….and that becomes literal. I think we have the show stealer in New York.

Io Shirai and Kairi Sane both want the Women’s Title but have to worry about Bianca Belair. Shirai says it’s her destiny to be champion and switches to Japanese as she seems to say she’s the best.

Next week: Belair vs. Shirai in a #1 contenders match.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Street Profits vs. Moustache Mountain

Bate and Ford hit the mat to start with an exchange of headlocks. Dawkins tags himself in to run Bate over for two and it’s back to the mat with a waistlock. Bate gets up with an enziguri and it’s off to Seven, who stands in place so Bate can hit his bounce off the shoulders senton for two. The Profits take over on Seven for a change and it’s a kick to the ribs to set up a cravate. The fans get behind Seven, who fights up with a hard DDT for the double knockdown. It’s back to Bate for the top rope back elbow to the Dawkins. The standing shooting star gets two and Seven sends Ford outside.

The Dragon suplex/clothesline combination is broken up and Dawkins spears Seven for two. Ford is back up for a heck of a dive onto Seven as Bate hits Bop and Bang on Dawkins. With Seven down, it’s the Sky High into the crazy frog splash for two on Bate. Seven is back up for a dragon suplex to Ford on the apron and Bate German suplexes Dawkins. The torture rack (with Seven nearly dropping him) to Dawkins into the top rope knee from Bate is good for the pin at 7:22.

Rating: B. Another very good match here with the Profits getting a rub in defeat. You almost have to have the Brits win here due to their status as major stars and that’s acceptable. The Profits aren’t ready to beat a team like them, though I’m not sure if they ever will be. At least they had a very good match here.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Undisputed Era vs. DIY

Bobby Fish/Kyle O’Reilly for the Era here. Gargano and Ciampa come out to their own music but then switch to the DIY song on the ramp. Fish goes after Gargano’s leg to start as the DIY chants are clearly louder than the UNDISPUTED ones. With Fish not being able to do much, O’Reilly comes in and gets armdragged down. It’s also off to Ciampa for a wristlock so Fish tries his luck again.

Everything breaks down for a bit with Gargano diving onto Fish, leaving Ciampa to get a neckbreaker on O’Reilly for two. Fish is back up with a legsweep to take Gargano down on the apron though and the Era takes over. It’s a kneebar to keep Gargano in trouble and some right hands keep him down. Gargano kicks O’Reilly away but it sends him right over to Ciampa for a knock off the apron in a smart move.

Fish’s wheelbarrow suplex gets two on Gargano and it’s already time for the chinlock, complete with an appropriate fishhook. Gargano fights up and hits the tornado DDT/enziguri combination for the much needed breather but Fish is right there to pull Ciampa from the apron. As tends to be the case, the hot tag brings in Ciampa a second later and it’s time for the house cleaning as Ciampa is still great in this role. A knee in the corner sets up a Tower of London for two on O’Reilly and it’s time to roll some German suplexes.

It’s back to Gargano who gets caught in O’Reilly’s guillotine until Ciampa runs in with a knee to the head for the break. Gargano and O’Reilly strike it out with O’Reilly hitting a Dean Ambrose rebound lariat for a double knockdown and an NXT chant. Double tags bring in Ciampa and Fish with Ciampa teasing the German suplex off the apron. Instead it’s Gargano getting knocked to the floor, leaving Ciampa to take a super Falcon Arrow for a VERY close two.

The cross armbreaker is blocked so Fish adds a top rope headbutt to get the whole thing on. Gargano dives back in and shoves Fish onto the two of them for the break and they all head outside. O’Reilly hits a great looking running knee from the apron on Ciampa, who is right back up with a hanging DDT. Gargano’s slingshot DDT gets two on O’Reilly and it’s a dropkick to Fish, setting up Meet in the Middle to finish O’Reilly at 14:04.

Rating: A. I didn’t think anything would top the opener but of course DIY managed to pull it off. Were you expecting anything else? DIY really hasn’t lost a step at all and that’s not the biggest surprise given how well they know each other. What we got here was incredible stuff and while I’m surprised the Era lost so early on, at least we got an instant classic to wrap things up.

The War Raiders come out for the staredown to end the show.

Here are the updated brackets:

Aleister Black/Ricochet

DIY

Moustache Mountain

Forgotten Sons

Overall Rating: A+. What else is there to say? This was practically a short form Takeover with four very good to outstanding matches, all with a purpose and the big story being advanced. They even set up a non-tournament match in the middle of the show. While it may not have the same variety as some episodes, this is one of the best things NXT has ever done and it’s going to be hard to top. You know, because that’s always been the case for NXT.

Results

Aleister Black/Ricochet b. Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel – Black Mass to Aichner

Forgotten Sons b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Reverse DDT/middle rope double stomp combination to Lorcan

Moustache Mountain b. Street Profits – Burning Hammer/Top rope knee to the face combination to Dawkins

DIY b. Undisputed Era – Meet in the Middle to O’Reilly

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

And check out my Amazon author page with cheap wrestling books at:

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