NXT LVL Up
Date: October 7, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Matt Camp, Nigel McGuinness

We are back to the show that changes so little week to week that I didn’t even realize I watched the same episode twice. Odds are there are going to be a lot of the same things this week as tends to be the case around here. That should mean some ok stuff, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up for anything spectacular. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Indi Hartwell vs. Sloane Jacobs

Hartwell grabs a headlock takeover to start as we hear about Hartwell’s time in the Way. Jacobs slips out and hits a basement dropkick, only to get slammed down for two. A cravate goes on but Jacobs fights up and kicks her in the face a few times. Not that it matters as Hartwell hits the spinebuster for the pin at 3:17.

Rating: C-. As has been the case for the last several weeks, Hartwell continues to be little more than just kind of there and that doesn’t seem to be changing. I don’t know what happened to her over the last few months, but part of it might be that she is just ok in the ring most of the time. Jacobs is still figuring out what she is supposed to do in the ring, which could take her a long while.

Arianna James and Kiana James say don’t underestimate them.

Myles Borne vs. Guru Raaj

Borne wrestles him down to the mat without much effort before going after the arm. Raaj pulls him over with a headlock but gets reversed into a headscissors. That’s broken up as well and Raaj hits a pair of dropkicks for two. A top rope ax handle gives Raaj the same and we’re off to the chinlock. That lasts a bit longer than expected and Borne is back up with a dropkick of his own. There’s a suplex for two on Raaj, who is back with a running boot. Raaj goes up but dives into a Downward Spiral to give Borne the pin at 5:34.

Rating: C. I think we can write off Borne’s awful debut match as a one off as he has come a long way in just a few weeks. Borne has the technical side down and if he can get some charisma to go with it, he’ll be fine. Then you have Raaj, who is also good enough with the in-ring stuff but has almost nothing to set him apart. Fix that and he could be around for awhile too.

Respect is shown post match.

Sol Ruca/Fallon Henley vs. Arianna Grace/Kiana James

Henley shoves James down without much trouble to start and drops Grace with an early right hand. Ruca comes in for a cartwheel into a moonsault for two on Grace but a quick pull of the hair lets James hit a running shoulder in the corner. We hit the seated abdominal stretch to make Ruca yell a lot until she fights back up. James cuts off the tag with a front facelock but a quick leg trip allows the hot tag to Henley. Everything breaks down and Henley hits a Shining Wizard to finish Grace at 5:05.

Rating: C. Grace and James are supposed to be something of a heel duo but I’m not sure what kind of a future they have together. On the other hand you have Ruca, who looks crazy athletic but is still brand new, and Henley, who has more charisma than she know what to do with most of the time. There is potential here though and this was by far the most exciting thing on the show.

Overall Rating: C. Yep, this was indeed an episode of LVL Up, meaning two mostly nothing matches and a decent main event. The lack of bigger names was a problem here though and it didn’t exactly make me want to see where these people go next. Part of that problem is they aren’t going anywhere other than this show, which is the high point for a lot of the people who appear here. For now though, ok enough week, even if nothing on it was particularly good.

Results
Indi Hartwell b. Sloane Jacobs – Spinebuster
Myles Borne b. Guru Raaj – Downward Spiral
Fallon Henley/Sol Ruca b. Arianna Grace/Kiana James – Shining Wizard to Grace

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: September 27, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Things got shaken up in a big way last week as Ilja Dragunov debuted to add quite the wild card. JD McDonagh is the new #1 contender to Bron Breakker’s NXT Title but Dragunov is going to be put into a top spot rather quickly. This should be interesting on top of everything else around here so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Ilja Dragunov to get things going. He has beaten a monster to win gold before and now he is ready to do it again. This time it isn’t Gunther though, but rather Bron Breakker. Cue JD McDonagh to call Dragunov a sneaky, dirty little rat and to say that he hopes Dragunov’s ankle is healed.

McDonagh offers to end Dragunov’s career but here is Breakker to interrupt. Breakker says the title isn’t going anywhere but McDonagh has an idea: Dragunov vs. Breakker with McDonagh being there for to face the winner. That doesn’t work for Breakker, who says if his math is correct, McDonagh has a 33 1/3 chance of winning (BIG pop for that). Breakker will see them at Halloween Havoc.

Gallus and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen are in a fight in the back.

Mandy Rose hopes Alba Fyre is watching.

The Schism is ready to hurt Cameron Grimes.

Fallon Henley vs. Mandy Rose

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Rose knocks her into the corner to start and grabs an abdominal stretch before grabbing an abdominal stretch. Henley hiptosses her way out of it and hits a swinging faceplant for two. Back up and Rose shoves her off, setting up the running knee for the pin at 5:35. Barrett: “Rose keeps knocking them out with those American thighs.”

Rating: C-. This was kind of a dry one as Rose spent a good chunk of time on the abdominal stretch. Henley is still one of the most energetic and charismatic women on the roster but she isn’t in the title hunt and shouldn’t have been any kind of a threat to Rose. There are bigger challengers for Rose out there and this was a way to keep her looking strong before she gets to them.

Post match Rose says this is Alba Fyre’s last warning. Fyre pops up on screen to say she’s more of a visual person, and then lights the words AND NEW on fire. Good thing she had that ready.

Apollo Crews has a vision of Grayson Waller with terrified eyes.

Ilja Dragunov runs into Xyon Quinn, who says Dragunov has a lot of hype. Quinn wants a chance to run with the ball but Dragunov doesn’t think he’s that bright. A match seems likely for later tonight.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Wes Lee vs. Tony D’Angelo

Stacks is here with D’Angelo. Feeling out process to start with D’Angelo getting the better of things. Lee knocks him to the floor though, where Stacks says give him some time to cut off Lee’s dive. That earns Stacks a dive instead so he gets inside, where the referee ejects him as we take a break. Back with D’Angelo grinding away on a chinlock but Lee fights up and sends him into the corner…..and D’Angelo is hurt. The referee calls the match at 8:42 with Lee winning via stoppage.

Rating: C. That’s never something you want to see and hopefully D’Angelo is back to full health very soon. The match leading up to the injury wasn’t all that great and the result means very little, as I can’t imagine either of these two being a major threat to winning the title. Kind of a run of the mill match here until the ending took everything they had away.

It isn’t clear what happened to D’Angelo but commentary thinks it is a knee injury.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams don’t care about Wes Lee but here is Oro Mensah to interrupt. Hayes thinks they can do good things for Mensah but at Halloween Havoc, it is every man for themselves. Works for Mensah.

Sol Ruca is still coming.

And now, a day in the life of Pretty Deadly. They wake up at 10am and have breakfast in bed, then choose their wardrobe at 11am. Then at 2pm it’s time to spend an hour working on their hair. After some tea, they go to the gym (wearing their titles of course) where they keep working out. Then they sleep next to each other. For you old OVW fans, I had no idea that the Heartbreakers were still a thing.

Amari Miller vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is a rather athletic surfer. Miller takes her down by the arm to start but Ruca is back up with a headscissors. A sunset flip gives Ruca one and a dropkick gets two as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled here. Miller takes her back down and grabs a cross arm choke but Ruca is back up. A knockdown out of the corner sets up a flipping legdrop to the back to give Ruca the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Ruca is a very athletic woman and has a good look. That is the extent of what could be said about her based on this and that isn’t enough to get much from yet. So far, the only thing I know about Ruca is she surfs and is athletic. One of those things makes her stand out and she is going to need something else to make me interested in her.

Gallus and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen are still fighting.

Cameron Grimes vs. Joe Gacy

The Dyad is here with Gacy. Grimes kicks away at the ribs to start so Gacy heads outside, where he rams Grimes into the apron. That’s enough for Grimes, who fights up and hits a flip dive to take the Dyad down. Back in and Gacy grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two on Grimes but he slips out of a second one. The superkick drops Gacy but the Dyad offers another distraction. That’s enough for Gacy to hit the handspring lariat for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here, other than Gacy getting another win because of course he does. For the life of me I do not get what WWE sees in him but we are going to be seeing him for a long time to come. I would hope that this doesn’t lead to Grimes joining the team, but maybe he can find a friend to help deal with the numbers game.

Grayson Waller is frustrated with Apollo Crews, including what was wrong with his eyes in that vision. So Crews’ visions are now able to be seen by everyone? Doesn’t that mean it isn’t his vision? Anyway, Waller is going to have extra security for his talk show next week because that isn’t going to happen.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kayden Carter

Zoey Stark and Katana Chance are here too. Feeling out process to start with Carter taking her down and shaking a bit. Back up and Lyons knocks her into the corner, setting up the running headscissors out of the corner. Something like a Michinoku Driver gives Lyons two but Carter knocks her down. The running kick to the face in the ropes gets two on Lyons but she is right back with a spinning kick to the head. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 4:14.

Rating: C. Lyons and Stark are likely to get the next Women’s Tag Team Title shot and that means one of them needs to pin one of the champs on the way there. It would not surprise me to see Lyons move up to a much higher level on her own one day, but the Tag Team Titles makes enough sense. Keeping Lyons matches short is a good idea as she gets to be flashy and get out, which works well for her.

We look back at Chase U beating Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams last week.

This week at a pep rally, Chase told his students that he has a North American Title qualifying match next week against Von Wagner. He’s ready to move on to win the title and opens the floor for questions. Someone named Dave (ahuh) asks why we should believe that Chase can beat Wagner. Chase: “YOU THINK THAT’S A FIVE STAR QUESTION???” Chase promises to win. So there is WWE’s take on the AEW media scrums.

Nathan Frazer talks about being tied up with Axiom and compares it to his soccer career.

Xyon Quinn vs. Ilja Dragunov

They fight over a headlock to start with Dragunov getting the better of things with a headlock takeover. The abdominal stretch goes on but Quinn slips out and sends him into the corner for a running shot to the face. There’s a backbreaker to Dragunov and a splash gets two. Dragunov hits a jumping enziguri and muscles him over with a suplex, setting up a hard right hand on the mat. The Torpedo Undisclosed Location finishes Quinn at 4:54.

Rating: C+. What matters here is getting Dragunov in the ring and giving him a win to establish him. The fans knew who he was but he needed to beat someone to get his feet wet around here. Dragunov is such a ball of energy in the ring and he’ll get over through pure energy, while Quinn….dang he seemed like a solid prospect and then just fell apart.

Wendy Choo doesn’t like Lash Legend’s voice and won’t apologize for standing up for herself. Legend doesn’t like her either so next week they’ll try to shut each other up.

Brutus Creed vs. Damon Kemp

Brutus starts the brawl in the aisle and they head inside for the opening bell. They fight over some grappling to start with Kemp grabbing a cravate. Creed fights up and gets two off a cradle, which is enough for Kemp to grab a chair and unload for the DQ at 3:03.

Rating: C. This was more about moving a story forward as Kemp is getting ready for the big showdown with Julius Creed. That being said, the more I see of Kemp, the more I like him. He has the amateur style and is becoming a rather nasty heel so this was a nice beatdown for the ending. Brutus got beaten up, but there are bigger deals for Kemp coming down the line.

Kemp wants Julius Creed too. Where is Julius for the save anyway?

Quincy Elliott gives Sanga a pep talk in the back, which Sanga appreciates. With Sanga gone, Xyon Quinn comes in but Elliott doesn’t see the X Factor in him. Then Quincy leaves.

Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles but Toxic Attraction comes in to laugh at them. A fight is teased and here is Alba Fyre to even things up (and start a fire). Toxic Attraction bails.

Gallus vs. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs

Pub Rules match, meaning street fight, with Joe Coffey banned from ringside. It’s a brawl to start with a fight on the floor and another inside. Gallus feels the need to bring out a table as I feel the need to praise Jensen’s Badstreet USA shirt. Jensen grabs his own table but instead it’s time for s a bunch of chair shots to drop Gallus as we take a break. Back with Gallus in control and a bunch of weapons in the ring.

Some belts are brought out to whip Jensen and Briggs, with a few fans being rather terrified. Jensen and Briggs fight up and get in their own whipping but since it’s pub rules, some glasses are broken over Gallus as well. Mark is put upside down in a trashcan so here is Joe Coffey, who gets booted off the apron and through a table. Wolfgang goes through a table as well and it’s a High/Low to Mark (still in the trashcan) for the win at 11:34.

Rating: C-. This felt like a low level house show main event where they had a street fight for the sake of saying they had a street fight. There was nothing here that hasn’t been done better elsewhere and Gallus got beaten up pretty easily. I don’t know what kind of a future Briggs and Jensen have, but it’s better than whatever Gallus has to look forward to. Dull match and really not worthy of a main event spot.

Gallus is held back by security and punches a referee. Cops come in to arrest the trio to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a very up and down show and I wasn’t getting into a lot of it. There was nothing on here that was particularly good or worth seeing, but it did move a lot of things forward. That is one of the places where NXT shines: it feels like they know where they want to go and how they want to get there, which is a lot more than some shows can say. Halloween Havoc is over a month away and you can see a lot of the matches from here. If they can find a better way to set things up then great, but for now, they are at least doing something right in the areas of structure. Not a great show, but it was well put together.

Results
Mandy Rose b. Fallon Henley – Running knee
Wes Lee b. Tony D’Angelo via referee stoppage
Sol Ruca b. Amari Miller – Flipping legdrop
Joe Gacy b. Cameron Grimes – Handspring clothesline
Nikkita Lyons b. Kayden Carter – Splits splash
Ilja Dragunov b. Xyon Quinn – Torpedo
Brutus Creed b. Damon Kemp via DQ when Kemp used a chair
Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs b. Gallus – High/low to Coffey

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

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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

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.

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

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: August 30, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Worlds Collide and that means we should be in for the hard push towards the show. Since we currently have a two match card, I’m expecting quite a few matches to be added to the show this week. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but it almost has to happen. Let’s get to it.

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

Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews

Crews’ intro cuts off Waller’s pre-match speech, much to Barrett’s annoyance. Crews grabs a headlock to start as commentary talks about his random visions, which just aren’t going to be explained. Waller fights out but gets dropkicked down, allowing Crews to dribble an invisible basketball and dance a bit. The very delayed vertical suplex slam puts Waller back down but he seems to go to the eye to get a breather. A medic comes out to check on Crews and we take a break.

Back with Crews fighting out of a chinlock but his slingshot hilo is countered into a sleeper. Crews breaks out of that too and kicks him in the head but Waller gets in a shot of his own to slow him down. The rolling Stunner is almost countered into a spinebuster, only to have the second attempt connect to give Waller the pin at 11:13.

Rating: C. Waller’s push continues, even if it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. At the same time, Crews seems to be in NXT to put others over and that might be the best use for him. You could put him into a title hunt almost immediately or even bring him back t the main roster, but for now, this seems to be about it for him.

The Diamond Mine is ready to fight but Roderick Strong wants to talk about the security footage from a few weeks ago. Julius Creed doesn’t care, but here are Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley are ready for their tag match against Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.

Bron Breakker is in the locker room when Finn Balor pops up to say he made the NXT Title the standard. He’s also beaten people twice his size so don’t underestimate Tyler Bate.

Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Non-title. Nile takes Carter down for an early two and sunset flips her for the same. Chance comes in to roll Paxley up for two more, followed by a double clothesline for a double knockdown. As they’re both down, we see that Toxic Attraction has left the Toxic Lounge. Cue Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne for a distraction, which draws Nile away. The 450/neckbreaker combination finishes Paxley at 4:16.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, but it does say something that NXT seems to have some teams that can be thrown out there every now and then. It wasn’t exactly a great match and was there for the sake of the Toxic Attraction run-in, but at least the champs got a win. Now just find some better challengers for the champs and start making them seem better.

Post match Chance and Carter grab the mic but Doudrop and Nikki Ash interrupt. They like the idea of a party, but they also want a title shot on Sunday. Sure.

Kiana James is in her office where she is ready for Zoey Stark tonight.

The Schism is ready for some ceremony involving Cameron Grimes.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams arrive but don’t want to talk about anything but Hayes’ opponent at Worlds Collide.

Here is Schism, with Joe Gacy being proud of the Dyad’s efforts. He’s so happy that they get smiley face pins to show how great they are. They are moving up the Schism’s tree, and yes there is a graphic. The Dyad is rather pleased with what they’re doing, but for now, Joe Gacy wants to talk about Cameron Grimes. He can never be happy without the Schism so here is Grimes to answer.

Cue Grimes, who says the team has been after him for a few weeks but he has realized he doesn’t need them. Gacy talks about how Grimes keeps failing and has not titles, but Grimes still isn’t interested. That makes Gacy bring up Grimes’ dead father, and that’s enough for the fight. Grimes cleans house, but walks into Gacy’s handspring…..hug? Grimes leaves and is rather confused. I’m rather confused as to why Gacy, who might be the worst thing in wrestling, is still around.

Roxanne Perez can’t believe Cora Jade turned on her and goes nuclear by blocking Jade’s number.

Tyler Bate is in the back when Finlay comes in to say there’s a call for him. Pete Dunne is on a tablet and says go unify those titles for NXT UK. Yes Dunne, not Butch.

Lash Legend/Pretty Deadly vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley

Henley goes after Legend to start but gets choked on the ropes for her efforts. Wilson comes in and gets slapped by Henley, allowing Briggs to come in for the big shoulder. It’s off to Prince, who comes off the top and lands in an atomic drop. Henley kicks Legend down and gets LAUNCHED over the top onto all three villains as we take a break.

Back with Briggs getting knocked down and pounded by Wilson, setting up some choking from the floor. The chinlock goes on but Briggs powers over and brings in Jensen to start cleaning house. Jensen and Prince knock each other down so Jensen goes for the tag, only to have Gallus come out. The women get in a fight, leaving Joe Coffey to kick Jensen into a rollup to give Prince the pin at 11:31.

Rating: C. this was all about getting Gallus out there and probably helping to set up the four way for both sets of Tag Team Titles at the pay per view. The distraction helps keep the champs looking ok and Henley vs. Legend was at least energetic. It’s still the weakest title match at the moment, but at least they seem to have a direction.

Shayna Baszler comes in to see Mandy Rose, who says she’ll be passing Baszler soon. Baszler tells her to unify the titles or nothing from the last year matters.

JD McDonagh twists the mic cube around and says people find him creepy, including Wes Lee. He doesn’t care about what people think or about things like feelings. Did you know McDonagh is weird? I don’t know if they made that clear enough.

Andre Chase vs. Charlie Dempsey

Chase U is here with Chase, as you might have guessed. They go with the grappling to start with neither being able to get very far. A test of strength results in them flipping down to the mat, with no one getting an advantage. Chase starts working on the arm to take over but Dempsey isn’t having any of that. Instead, Dempsey pulls him down into a string of holds, from a Fujiwara armbar into an STF into something like a Regal Stretch. Bodie Hayward annoys Dempsey though, causing him to let go and suplex Hayward on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction to let Chase grab a rollup pin at 5:11.

Rating: C. Not much of a match but it deserves some credit for the surprise ending. Dempsey was pushed as a killer in NXT UK but I like Chase actually getting a win. The whole Chase U act has figured out its ceiling and giving them a win like this isn’t the worst idea. There is always going to be room for someone like Dempsey and he’ll be fine, but Chase has a more unique talent and that deserves some attention.

Meiko Satomura runs into Alba Fyre (who Satomura beat to win the NXT UK Women’s Title) and they exchange respect.

Tyler Bate runs into Gunther, who tells him to bring the Bate that fought him in Cardiff to face Bron Breakker.

Kiana James vs. Zoey Stark

Stark starts fast and knocks her down, setting up a springboard corkscrew dive for two. A quick trip to the floor goes badly for James but she’s right back with an armbar inside. Stark fights up and hits a running knee for two of her own, setting up the flipping knee for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Another short match that didn’t have the time to go very far, but Stark winning gives her a nice boost back up. James is someone with charisma and a different kind of character but she hasn’t actually done much yet. She shouldn’t have started doing so here either, so this was the right way to go.

Post match Nikkita Lyons runs in to chase James off.

Blair Davenport is ready to unify the women’s titles on Sunday. Rhea Ripley pops up to say she has held both titles so do the same thing she did.

Nathan Frazer and someone else are reading WWE comic books. Frazer misses NXT UK and says the guy next to him wouldn’t know what that’s like. It’s Axiom, who agrees to face Frazer in a British rounds match under Heritage Cup rules at Worlds Collide. Then they trade comic books.

Gallus vs. Diamond Mine

Brutus has to fight out of early trouble and gutwrench suplexes Mark, allowing the tag off to Kemp for a waistlock. Everything breaks down and Diamond Mine tries stereo submissions to send us to a break. Back with Julius powering Joe up for a release slam, setting up the ankle lock. Mark trips Julius on the apron though and some shots to the back keep him in trouble.

Julius fights out of Joe’s chinlock and Wolfgang’s front facelock but still can’t make the tag. A missed charge allows the tag off to Kemp to clean house, but here is Roderick Strong with his phone. Kemp throws it on the floor for a stomping but the distraction lets Joe hit All The Best For The Bells for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C+. Much like the other six man, this was a bunch of waiting around until we got to the important stuff with the interference. You knew there was going to be someone getting involved somehow and in this case, it was Strong messing things up for his own team. Gallus are fine as the bullies and the Creeds are growing on me, so this was at least decent until the obvious ending.

Post match Pretty Deadly runs in for the brawl but the locker room clears out, with a bunch of referees getting in on it.

Bron Breakker is in the back watching when Ciampa sits down next to him. Ciampa holds the title and talks about what he helped make it mean. It’s Breakker’s world now and he has to defend the brand.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams interrupt a chat about Sunday’s show because Hayes wants an opponent.

Quincy Elliott is still coming.

Worlds Collide rundown, now with Pretty Deadly, Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen, Gallus and the Creed Brothers in a unification match.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to demand to know who Hayes is facing at Worlds Collide. Hayes has already unified titles so this is nothing new for him. He isn’t a secondary champion and the lack of competition means he is not going to Worlds Collide. There is no one on his level or on a level beneath him. Then the lights go out and it’s…..Ricochet. Hayes: “Look he got a microphone. I don’t know if he knows how to use it though.”

Ricochet thinks Smackdown needs to be part of Worlds Collide. While he respect Hayes and all his title defenses, he can’t actually remember any of them. That’s why Ricochet is ready to give Hayes one to remember, which has Hayes ready to fight. Williams gets kicked down and Hayes springboards into a Recoil, leaving Ricochet to pose to end the show. Ricochet is a good choice as he means something around here and he probably wasn’t on a lot of radar. Just don’t let him talk that much.

Overall Rating: C+. The guest stars gave this a lot of energy and it made the show feel more important, at least for a week. They have taken Worlds Collide from a pretty one note show and turned it into something that could be quite the interesting mess. I’m more interested in where it goes now than I was coming into this week though and that means they did something right.

Results
Grayson Waller b. Apollo Crews – Rolling Stunner
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley – 450/neckbreaker combination to Paxley
Pretty Deadly/Lash Legend b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley – Rollup to Briggs
Andre Chase b. Charlie Dempsey – Rollup
Zoey Stark b. Kiana James – Flipping knee to the face
Gallus b. Diamond Mine – All The Best For The Bells to Julius

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: August 23, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re done with Heatwave and now it is on to Worlds Collide. NXT UK’s top names (and some others) have invaded and we are less than two weeks away from a bunch of showdowns between NXT and NXT UK, which does have potential. Odds are we get a lot of build towards this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Heatwave and Tyler Bate appearing at the end of the show.

Here is Bron Breakker to get things going. He talks about his win over JD McDonagh last week and gets to the point: Tyler Bate needs to get out here right now. Bate comes to the ring and congratulates Breakker on a hard fought win last week. With that out of the way, Bate says he’s the first and last United Kingdom Champion and with NXT Europe around the corner, he can think of nothing better than to unify these titles. Breakker is down and they hold up the titles, as tends to be the case.

Video on Gallus.

Fallon Henley had to be held back from Lash Legend in the back. Why would you want to be near her?

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

Wolfgang and Mark Coffey are challenging for Gallus, with Joe Coffey and Fallon Henley as the seconds. Briggs gets taken into the corner to start the beating fast but it’s quickly off ot Jensen to pick up the pace. Jensen gets pummeled by Mark though and his mouth is busted, even as Wolfgang snapmares him over for two. The champs are in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Mark taking Jensen down and grabbing a front facelock to keep him down. That’s broken up and the hot tag brings in Briggs to clean house. Cue Lash Legend to jump Henley, with Pretty Deadly joining in. The champs go after Pretty Deadly and get counted out at 8:45.

Rating: C. That’s a surprise as I would have expected Gallous to get the win here and move on towards the title match with the Creeds. For now though, it seems that they might be setting up some kind of multi team match, which might be the more interesting way to go. Briggs and Jensen are still in over their heads, but at least they didn’t get squashed here.

Post match Diamond Mine runs in to go after Gallus and everyone has to be separated.

It’s time for Chase U, with special guest instructor Charlie Dempsey. A volunteer gets taken down and stretched with ease, before doing the same to Bodie Hayward, complete with some nose ripping. Andre Chase has to call him off because Dempsey doesn’t seem to get the point. Dempsey calls the class soft and leaves. I could go for more Dempsey around here.

Here is Grayson Waller for the debut of his Grayson Waller Effect talk show. After hyping up his Instagram, we get to the guest, with APOLLO…..Crews. We get some seat adjustment from Crews before Waller asks what happened to Crews’ accent. Crews brings the accent back, but he’s still a Nigerian warrior with or without it. He won the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania XXXVII but Waller would rather talk about Crews’ abilities to see the future (or whatever it has been in recent weeks).

Waller asks about Crews seeing Diamond Mine laid out and thinks he had something to do with it, which has Crews on his feet. We have a question from Grayson from Australia: what is going to happen when Crews gets run out of NXT? Apollo from Orlando has a question for Waller: how does it feel to be a low budget Miz? Waller brings up Crews’ kids, so Crews promises to win a title around here soon and punches him out. Crews is right about the low rent Miz, but this was some of Crews’ best talking to date as he sounded confident and like a normal person.

Pretty Deadly and Gallus have to be separated again backstage.

Video on Tyler Bate.

Mr. Stone and Von Wagner are ready to hurt Tyler Bate.

Javier Bernal vs. Cameron Grimes

Last week, Bernal annoyed a security guard, who wasn’t pleased. Schism is watching from the platform and wishes Grimes luck. Bernal claims an early poke to the eye to jump Grimes, earning himself a kick to the gut. Some more shots from Bernal are shrugged off and Grimes almost drops him on his head with a faceplant. The Cave In, plus a glare at Schism, finishes for Grimes at 2:31.

Video on Blair Davenport.

Video on Alba Fyre.

Blair Davenport vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell grabs an early headlock takeover and grinds away before being sent to the apron. A dropkick knocks Hartwell to the floor but she blocks a posting. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a cobra clutch on Hartwell, before Davenport jumps on her back for a sleeper. With that broken up, Hartwell spinebusters her for two but Davenport pulls her off the top and hits something like a Snowplow for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly good as they were rather sloppy in multiple parts, especially the ending. What matters here is that Davenport got a win, even if Hartwell isn’t in the best place around NXT. Davenport seemed ready to break through in NXT UK and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her in the title picture here soon.

Post match Davenport says that she was #1 contender to the NXT UK Women’s Title so she’ll take the NXT Women’s Title instead. Cue Mandy Rose, who wants some respect on her name. Cue Meiko Satomura to say she’s the real champion instead of Rose. The challenge seems to be on but Davenport wants in on this. Satomura: “TRIPLE THREAT MATCH!”

Tiffany Stratton wants the winner of the triple threat match after she takes out Wendy Choo tonight.

Tony D’Angelo tells Legado del Fantasma that things are starting over tonight, even though they don’t look happy.

JD McDonagh, hanging upside down, seems ready to bounce back.

Wes Lee is creeped out by McDonagh but for now he’d rather talk to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. They’re ready to face anyone and Lee is pleased.

Indi Hartwell is still sitting on the apron and says this is what rock bottom feels like. The problem isn’t Blair Davenport but Indi herself. She took a long look at herself but now she is right here four months later in the same position after Stand & Deliver. All she is doing is saying words….but here is Dexter Lumis.

We get the big hug, followed by a slightly less bigger hug. Dexter crawls to the floor and carries her out like he did in the old days. Wade Barrett is nearly sick as Dexter carries her to the door of the arena. Dexter hands her a letter, then walks outside and is arrested. The letter says “Goodbye Indi (for now). I (picture of a heart) love you).” That was so out there and nutty that it made me forget that it was Index.

Cora Jade insists that she is still better than Roxanne Perez.

Dyad vs. Legado del Fantasma

Everyone else you would expect is at ringside and Cameron Grimes is watching from the platform. Legado sends them outside to start but doesn’t like Tony D’Angelo. Back in and the Dyad hits something like Poetry in Motion to take over on Del Toro. An enziguri allows the hot tag back to Wilde as everything breaks down. What looked to be the Dyad’s former Ticket To Ride is broken up, only to have the second attempt connect for the pin on Wilde at 4:57.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly working and that is often the case with two of the least interesting gimmicks on the NXT roster. Legado being annoyed at D’Angelo has been done to death and Schism is dull in general. Hopefully they’re kept apart, as the match wasn’t very good on top of making me grown when I saw the teams.

Javier Bernal is upset by his loss until he runs into a woman. The security guard (also known as Hank Walker from NXT LVL Up) tells him to respect women. Walker is really bad so I’m not looking forward to this.

Legado del Fantasma goes to the parking lot where Santos Escobar is waiting for them in the car. Family stays together, so they get in and leave with him.

Von Wagner vs. Tyler Bate

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner. Bate gets powered down to start and there’s the gorilla press drop to leave him laying. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Bate fights up, only to have the Tyler Driver broken up. Wagner gets sent outside for a dive from Bate though and Bate hammers away back inside. A clothesline drops Bate again but he comes back with a clothesline of his own. The rebound lariat is blocked so Bate goes with Bop and Bang. A rolling capo kick sets up a t-bone suplex and the Spinal Tap finishes Wagner at 6:08.

Rating: C. I’m not sure I get why Wagner got in so much offense on the new #1 contender as you would think Bate would be pushed stronger. Bate did win though so it isn’t some great tragedy, even if he didn’t get to do his big move. Wagner continues to be just another big guy around here and thankfully he didn’t do anything more than take a loss here.

Diamond Mine is ready for Gallus next week but Roderick Strong isn’t included as the Creeds don’t trust him. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen come in and a champions vs. champions match seems likely.

Wendy Choo vs. Tiffany Stratton

Lights Out meaning anything goes and Choo has to get out of bed. The lights are dimmed and the brawl is on, with Choo taking her outside for some rams into the corner. Back in and Choo hits a running shot in the corner before they go back outside for shots from….I can’t tell actually, and neither can commentary. Stratton gets in another shot to take over and we go to a break.

Back with Stratton missing a moonsault onto a chair onto Choo, who is back up with a suplex onto the chair. Choo puts on a reverse chinlock with a wrench over Stratton’s mouth but Stratton pulls hairspray from her purse to spray her way to freedom. A powerbomb onto a trashcan gives Stratton two and they both need a breather.

Back up and Choo hits her with a pillow, which is full of…..Legos. Stratton hits a fall away slam in the general vicinity of the Legos, followed by a toss to send her straight into the Legos for a better crash. Choo kicks some makeup powder into Stratton’s face though and a slam off the apron sends her through Choo’s bed. A top rope Vader Bomb gives Choo the pin at 13:02.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the result but they only did a few goofy things here and nothing that was too far out there. It was a bunch of different weapons and some of the spots were a bit more creative, so this could have been a heck of a lot worse. If nothing else, the feud seems to have been finally good so it’s nice to get done with this once and for all, even with Stratton losing.

Bron Breakker, Tyler Bate, Meiko Satomura, Mandy Rose and Blair Davenport all sign their contracts for Worlds Collide to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I was only getting into this one a little bit as it was kind of an off week for the show. The NXT UK people being around doesn’t have the same impact when they’re just being moved over from a dead show but at least Worlds Collide is looking good. I’m not sure where they go after that show is set, but this could have been a better built towards the bit card. Not their best show and pretty firmly in the middle.

Results
Gallus b. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs via countout
Cameron Grimes b. Javier Bernal – Cave In
Blair Davenport b. Indi Hartwell – Snowplow
Dyad b. Legado del Fantasma – Ticket To Ride to Wilde
Wendy Choo b. Tiffany Stratton – Top rope Vader Bomb

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NXT
Date: August 16, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s time for another special as NXT presents Heatwave. There are a few title matches here, including Zoey Star challenging for the NXT Women’s Title and Bron Breakker defending the NXT Title against JD McDonagh. Other than that we have a heck of a grudge match as Roxanne Perez faces Cora Jade. Let’s get to it.

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

Paul Heyman narrates the voiceover, hyping up the big matches in an old ECW style voice. He’s still got it.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Giovanni Vinci

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending and the fans seem to be behind him. An armdrag takes Vinci down and a chop rocks him in the corner. Back up and Vinci hits some rather loud chops before they hit stereo clotheslines for a double knockdown. We take a break and come back with Vinci pulling Hayes out of the air and hitting a slam, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two.

Hayes is right back with the Fade Away for a breather and a suplex into a cutter gives him two of his own. Vinci backdrops him to the floor and hits a heck of a springboard dive, followed by a double jump moonsault for two back inside, with Williams having to put a foot on the ropes. One heck of a clothesline connects but Vinci has to powerbomb Hayes onto an interfering Williams. The distraction lets Vinci powerbomb Williams but Hayes reverses into a hurricanrana to retain at 11:50.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice opener here as Hayes gets another win under his belt and looks smooth doing it. They’re creating a situation where a win over him is going to be a big deal and that is the point of something like this. Williams is good as the trash talking lackey and they compliment each other well. Vinci has the tools, but still needs to actually beat someone to get to the next level.

Toxic Attraction arrived earlier and ran into Bron Breakker, who seemed to catch their eyes.

Julius Creed watched the Diamond Mine’s eight man tag and there is something that has caught his eye.

Mr. Stone brags about Von Wagner, who promises to end anyone smaller or weaker.

Here is the Diamond Mine for a chat. Julius Creed talks about how much they have done to get this far and become the Tag Team Champions. There is someone trying to take Diamond Mine down though and that is…..RODERICK STRONG! That is immediately denied, with Strong saying that he would put the Creeds up against the Usos, with Julius saying the Usos can bring it. Brutus Creed asks if Julius is sure and then standing behind him.

We see a clip of Strong accidentally kneeing Julius, but Julius points out Tony D’Angelo tapping the mat, which he thinks was a signal to Strong. Again Strong denies everything….and here is Gallus (from NXT UK) to jump the rest of the Diamond Mine. Gallus looks at Strong and then beats them down too. Green lights come on with Gallus posing. Of note: that green light with the Diamond Mine down was what Apollo Crews saw in his vision last week. That’s certainly a way to go, and I like that Gallus didn’t bother siding with Strong in a swerve.

Roxanne Perez is ready to take out Cora Jade for good.

Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade

Perez starts fast and the beating is on. Jade gets knocked outside for a suicide dive but a second attempt is knocked away. Instead Jade hits a suplex on the floor and we take a break. Back with Perez fighting out of a double arm crank and hitting some running forearms.

They hit stereo running boots in the corner, setting up a Russian legsweep for two on Jade. A shot to the face drops Perez though and Jade grabs the stick, which is quickly taken away by Jade. Perez thinks about it too long though and a DDT onto the kendo stick finishes for Jade at 11:44.

Rating: C+. That was a bit of a weird ending as a DDT onto a stick doesn’t seem like the biggest knockout move, but at least they had a good enough fight. Jade is being primed to be something bigger around here and while she’s a step above Perez at this point, Perez is more than talented enough to be right there with her. This feud is likely far from over and that’s a good thing.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen get into a fight with Gallus and have to be separated.

Long recap of Tony D’Angelo vs. Santos Escobar, setting up one more fight for Legado del Fantasma’s future.

Bron Breakker is warming up when Apollo Crews comes in, looks at the NXT Title, and leaves.

Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo

Street fight. If Escobar wins, the rest of Legado is free, but if D’Angelo wins, Santos is gone for good. Legado walks in from the street and Escobar is wearing his mask. Before the bell, Escobar chairs D’Angelo down and scores with a hurricanrana through the chair for two. The chair is wedged into the corner and Escobar knocks him down again as Stacks takes out the rest of Legado on the floor.

The suicide dive is cut off with a trashcan lid to Escobar’s head though and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo crushing Escobar’s arm with the steps and then suplexing him on a pile of chairs on the floor. A Falcon Arrow and a trashcan lid shot to the head gets two on Escobar but he’s right back with a headscissors.

Legado drops Stacks on the floor and Escobar grabs a rollup for two on D’Angelo. Escobar tells Elektra Lopez to hand her a crowbar but D’Angelo runs her over and doesn’t think much of it. They get back in and look at each other before going after something. Escobar gets D’Angelo’s whistle but D’Angelo gets the crowbar and knocks Escobar silly for the pin at 12:41.

Rating: C+. Another not so great ending aside, this is the result that makes the most sense. This feud has gone on for what feels like the better part of ever and it is nice to see them FINALLY wrap things up. In theory this sends Escobar up to the main roster, where he should have been for a long time now. Either way, what matters is that the feud is over and they can both move on to ANYTHING else.

Indi Hartwell congratulates Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on their win but misses the good old days. A woman comes up and gives Hartwell a letter…..from Dexter Lumis. She’s rather happy, but NXT UK’s Blair Davenport comes up and takes it away. Davenport says she’s going to be NXT Women’s Champion. That’s a nice debut.

Video on Tiffany Stratton vs. Wendy Choo, which will take place again next week in a lights out match.

Women’s Title: Zoey Stark vs. Mandy Rose

Stark is challenging and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Rose gets knocked outside to start but manages to send Stark’s bad knee into the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Toxic Attraction getting caught tripping Stark and ejected. Cue Nikkita Lyons to take them out but Rose grabs a half crab. That’s broken up and Stark strikes away, including a clothesline.

An enziguri gives Stark two and the flipping knee to the face connects, with Stark not being able to follow up. Instead Rose crawls to the floor and ties the bad knee up in the ropes. Back in and Stark grabs a rollup for two but Rose hits her running knee….for two more. With nothing else working, Rose puts Stark’s knee brace on and hits another running knee to retain at 11:40.

Rating: C. I’m not sure I get this one as Rose is running out of challengers to beat. They seemed to be building up to the Stark win here and then Rose just beats her again. That’s certainly one way to go, but I’m starting to wonder who takes the title from Rose. This seemed to be the most logical way to go and yet here we are with the reign continuing.

Quincy Elliott, the Super Diva, is coming and doesn’t mind being different.

Grayson Waller doesn’t like Apollo Crews but invites him on the debut of his talk show next week.

NXT Title: JD McDonagh vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending and uses a sledgehammer to break a table that says JD. Must not be a Scrubs fan. McDonagh spins out of a wristlock to start and forearms him in the face, only to get gator rolled into a delayed vertical suplex. The spear misses though and McDonagh gets in a shot of his own as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh hitting a neckbreaker over the turnbuckle to send Breakker crashing out to the floor. Breakker fights up again but misses another pear and goes shoulder first into the post. Something like a Crossface goes on but Breakker is right next to the rope. Breakker’s arm is fine enough to hit a Frankensteiner for two but McDonagh is back with a Spanish Fly.

A brainbuster connects for two and now it’s McDonagh getting frustrated. Breakker is back with the spear but McDonagh rolls outside. Another spear connects and Breakker takes the straps down but McDonagh pops up and smiles. A third spear into the gorilla press powerslam retains the title at 13:11.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much Breakker 101: he gets hurt, fights through it, and then wins with raw power in the end. That’s not the worst way to go, but at the end of the day it is something they’ve done more than once now. Breakker is still a project, but this feud didn’t do him many favors. He needs something to make him feel like a big deal again and this wasn’t it.

Post match Tyler Bate (with the United Kingdom Title, which is CURRENTLY VACANT ON NXT UK TV and being decided in a tournament WHICH INCLUDES BATE) comes out for the staredown. There’s your upgraded feud.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part, but at the end of the day, nothing really happened during the matches. It was one of those shows where they hyped up a bunch of matches and all of the champions retained, but then they made up for it with everything else. This show more or less said that NXT UK is done after they run out their current shows and honestly, that might be better for everyone. NXT needs the boost and it was certainly an eventful show, so well done on that front.

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NXT
Date: August 2, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s a big title night this week as there are three championships on the line. The mot interesting one might be the Women’s Tag Tam Titles, which are guaranteed to see new champions crowned as the titles are vacant coming in. In addition to all that, there is a Falls Count Anywhere match between Solo Sikoa and Von Wagner. Let’s get to it.

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

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Toxic Attraction vs. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

For the vacant titles under elimination rules. Paxley takes Leon down to start and it’s a rapid string of tags until Leon is gorilla pressed onto the pile at ringside. Feroz hits a big flip dive and it’s Paxley getting suplex/high crossbodied inside for two. Nile isn’t having that and runs Feroz over for the first elimination in short order. Jayne knees Nile in the head for two but Paxley suplexes Chance for the same.

Back up and Chance springboards over Paxley and hits a headscissors faceplant for two of her own. Jayne comes in and trips Paxley down for the elimination, leaving us with Carter/Chance vs. Toxic Attraction. Dolin elbows Carter down for two and everything breaks down for a four way knockdown. Chance dives on Dolin on the floor, leaving Dolin to get caught with the 4t0/neckbreaker combination for the pin and the titles at 12:06.

Rating: C. Not exactly great stuff here and a lot of that was due to having too many people in there without enough time. There were eight people to start and you can’t get very far with everyone trying to get in there and do their thing. Chance and Carter have been chasing the titles for a long time now so it was time to have them win the things. If nothing else, it is nice to have them in a division where they might have challengers so we could be in a good place going forward.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen, with Fallon Henley, are fired up for their next title defense when the Schism interrupts. Joe Gacy talks about Cameron Grimes and gets a match with Jensen for later.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams for a chat. It’s Hayes’ birthday so let’s have an open challenge for the North American Title.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Giovanni Vinci

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending. Hang on though as Hayes said the next person in the ring gets the shot so Nathan Frazer runs by Vinci and gets the shot instead. Frazer appearing in Vinci’s freeze frame was funny.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Nathan Frazer

Hayes, with Williams, is defending and Vinci is on commentary. Frazer takes him down to start and slides under the ropes to crotch Hayes against the post. Fans: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Back up and Hayes hits the Fade Away to take over, setting up a springboard spinning clothesline for two. Frazer fights back and forearms away before raining down some right hands.

It’s too early for the Phoenix splash so Frazer is back with a superkick. The low superkick gets two, with Williams almost having to come in for the save. Frazer sends him outside and hits a dive, which knocks over Vinci’s drink. That earns Frazer a shove off the top and Hayes hits Nothing But Net to retain at 5:41.

Rating: C. Hayes is so smooth in the ring that anything he does is worth a look. He makes it look easy out there and that is not something you can find every day. Frazer is someone who should feel like a bigger star but just doesn’t for some reason. It’s still fun to see him though and if he can figure out that missing piece, everything could work in the future.

It’s time for a summit between JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker, with Wade Barrett running things. McDonagh isn’t impressed with Breakker’s physique because it is little more than a road map of things he can hurt. Breakker talks about how he has studied McDonagh’s history and knows how smart McDonagh is. McDonagh is going to challenge his mind, but everyone has a plan until Breakker breaks him in half.

Barrett offers McDonagh the contract but he wants Barrett to sign first because Breakker looks scared. Breakker isn’t buying that and signs, but McDonagh says that this won’t end in violence. It will end in blood though, so he stabs himself in the had and signs with his own blood. Breakker is a bit disturbed but holds up the title anyway. Weird ending, but better than whatever McDonagh was doing last week.

The Creed Brothers are working out when Apollo Crews comes in. Crews is given an open invitations to train anytime but he tells them to have their eyes open against the D’Angelo Family tonight. Everything seems cool and Crews leaves, with Damon Kemp coming in. Roderick Strong is running late this week but he’ll be there for the match.

Toxic Attraction is livid and Mandy Rose can’t believe McKenzie Mitchell wants an interview right now.

Mandy Rose vs. Sarray

Non-title and joined in progress with Rose breaking up the running dropkick in the ropes. Rose slams her head first onto the mat but Sarray is back up with a springboard wristdrag. A fisherman’s suplex (Vic: “That plex is almost perfect!”) gets two on Rose. That isn’t going to work for Rose though, who is back up with a running knee for the pin at 4:14 shown.

Rating: C. I don’t know what it is but something about Sarray just misses most of the time. Other than that running dropkick against the ropes, I can’t think of a single thing she does in the ring that makes her stand out. Rose winning a near squash is a bit weird to see, but it makes sense to put her on television for an easy win for a change.

Post match Rose grabs a chair for some horrible shots to the leg keep Sarray down. Zoey Stark runs in for the save.

Tiffany Stratton does her gymnastics and thinks her hard work is why people are so obsessed with her. She hated losing that battle royal and everything she does is pretty.

Axiom is happy with his time in NXT so far but Duke Hudson comes in to call him short. Hudson beats him up all the way into the arena. Axiom is left laying but gets back up to issue the challenge for right now.

Axiom vs. Duke Hudson

Hudson runs him over to start but Axiom is back up with some kicks to the leg. A Razor’s Edge attempt is countered and Axiom grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:08. Nice enough feel good moment here.

Wes Lee doesn’t like Trick Williams because Williams thinks he’s a boxer. They can fight next week in a rounds match between wrestler and boxer next week.

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. D’Angelo Family

The Creeds, with Damon Kemp, are defending. Julius headlocks Stacks to start and hands it off to Brutus for a suplex. Commentary seems to be rhyming as Stacks gets ax handled in the chest. D’Angelo comes in and cuts Brutus off as we take an early break. Back with Stacks working on a half crab but Julius crawls over for the tag to Julius.

House is cleaned and it’s back to Brutus, who gets caught by the arm to put the champs in trouble again. Stacks grabs an armbar but some forearms get Brutus out of trouble. Julius comes back in but a collision with D’Angelo gives us a double knockdown. Everything breaks down and D’Angelo grabs the crowbar. Cue the returning Santos Escobar to knock D’Angelo silly, setting up the basement lariat to retain the titles at 10:41. Roderick Strong never showed up.

Rating: C+. That ending with Escobar’s hand popping up and grabbing the crowbar was great, but it doesn’t hide the fact that the Creed Brothers are really uninteresting. They’ve come a long way and are good enough in the ring, but man alive they can take the interest out of a match in a hurry. That being said, I’ll take a year of them straight over another 15 seconds of this Legado vs. D’Angelo nonsense that has gone on WAY too long.

Roxanne Perez is tired of having to deal with Cora Jade in recent weeks, but then the title being thrown in the trash was even worse. The challenge is on for Heatwave.

Cora Jade knows she’s the talk of the town so she’s not in for Perez’s challenge. Mandy Rose comes in and wants Jade’s help taking out Zoey Stark. If she does, Jade gets the title shot instead. Jade will think about it. This has been your weekly reminder that NO ONE TALKS LIKE THIS, as Rose kept using the official names of the shows and speaking like she reading off a script.

Video on Von Wagner.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are really happy with their win.

Brooks Jensen vs. Joe Gacy

All of the associates are here too. Jensen punches him down to start but Gacy is back up with chops in the corner. Gacy knocks him down again and does his headstand in the corner. The Dyad goes after Fallon Henley so Josh Briggs gets between them. Cue Pretty Deadly for a distraction, allowing Gacy to hit the handspring clothesline for the pin at 2:58.

Post match Gacy rants about Cameron Grimes. Fan: “GACY LIKES PINEAPPLE LIKE PIZZA!”

Tony D’Angelo rants about Santos Escobar, who calls to laugh about everything. D’Angelo challenges him for one more match, mano a mano. This is the worst feud going in wrestling today and by going, I mean KEEPS GOING ON AND ON AND ON.

Lash Legend vs. Alba Fyre

Joined in progress with Legend running her over and grabbing the over the shoulder backbreaker. We get a tweet from Roderick Strong congratulating the Creed Brothers on retaining the titles and telling Apollo Creed to stay out of Diamond Mine business. Fyre fights out of the corner so Legend grabs the baseball bat. That earns her a superkick and the Swanton gives Fyre the pin at 3:28.

Rating: C-. And they’re done right? As in there is no reason for these two to every fight again and Fyre can move on to anyone else. Legend continues to be pretty awful at this stuff and while she hasn’t been featured as much lately, she is still one of the worst things going in wrestling today. Fyre did her thing and looked like her usual smooth self, but that is only going to do so much against someone like Legend.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes leave and run into some women (perhaps their lady friends) whose car has broken down. Williams: “Y’all got some jumper cables?”

Nikkita Lyons doesn’t think much of Kiana James because everyone tries to put her in a box of what a woman should be. They can fight next week.

Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner

Falls Count Anywhere with Mr. Stone in Wagner’s corner. They waste no time in fighting to the floor, where Sikoa hits a quick backsplash for two. Back in and Sikoa hits a running Umaga Attack in the corner to send Wagner right back to the floor. Wagner gets in a few shots of his own and it’s time to throw some weapons inside. Sikoa gets dropped onto a chair so Wagner heads outside and loads up the announcers’ table.

That takes too long so Sikoa reverses into a Samoan drop onto said table. They fight outside, with Sikoa being thrown into the women’s car from before the break. Wagner sends him into a dumpster and goes to leave but Sikoa pops up. Sikoa fights back and they run into Cameron Grimes as he is leaving the arena.

Back inside and Wagner suplexes him through a table for two but Sikoa pops back up. They head into the ring where Sikoa hits a Samoan drop before grabbing the chair. Wagner gets chaired down and Rock Bottomed onto the steps but Stone’s distraction breaks up the Superfly Splash. That means they head outside where a pair of superkicks set up a Superfly Splash through the table to give Sikoa the win at 12:25.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual good brawl, but there is something so tiring about people taking one big hit after another and just popping up like nothing happened. Get put through a table backstage? Easy kickout and you’re up a few seconds later. Same with chair shots to the back and a Rock Bottom onto the steps. Those are the kinds of things that feel like they should put someone down for a pin, but in a match like this they barely have any impact. That can get old fast and that was the case again here, though Sikoa continues to look ready for the main roster. Second best splash through a table I’ve seen lately.

Overall Rating: C. There is something odd about having a show with three title matches being headlined by a midcard brawl, but that’s another story for another time. This show was a good example of NXT’s problems, as they do have good stuff, but the uninteresting/bad stuff is among the least interesting in wrestling today. Stuff like Legend, the D’Angelo/Escobar story and Joe Gacy drag this show way down and that makes for a long night most of the time. Not an awful show or anything close, but the best parts were only so good and there isn’t much that got my attention.

Results
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon, Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile and Toxic Attraction last elimination Toxic Attraction
Carmelo Hayes b. Nathan Frazer – Nothing But Net
Mandy Rose b. Sarray – Running knee
Creed Brothers b. D’Angelo Family – Basement lariat to D’Angelo
Joe Gacy b. Brooks Jensen – Handspring lariat
Alba Fyre b. Lash Legend – Swanton Bomb
Solo Sikoa b. Von Wagner – Superfly Splash through a table

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NXT LVL Up
Date: July 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Nigel McGuinness

We’re fresh into the non-Vince McMahon era and that gives me a bit of hope that we might be in for something different around here. Then again those changes might not take place for a good while as WWE has more than enough to take care of with, you know, the company being all over the place. Maybe we can get a little something this week though. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Javier Bernal vs. Myles Borne

They shake hands to start and it’s Borne taking him to the mat without much trouble. Borne does it again but grabs an armbar this time to mix it up a little. For some reason he lets it go so Bernal grabs a hammerlock, which is quickly tossed to the floor. Back in and Bernal goes with some shots to the face before grabbing a chinlock. Borne fights up and gets kicked in the face, setting up another chinlock. That’s broken up and Borne grabs a suplex, only to get rolled up with Bernal grabbing the rope for the pin at 4:05.

Rating: C-. I know Borne is an amateur and does the basic wrestling but he just isn’t that interesting. When you have the Creed Brothers around, there is only so much room for someone as dull as Borne. Maybe they’re just trying to get his feet wet here, but that isn’t exactly working in his (still limited) appearances. Bernal isn’t exactly much better, and having him turn heel isn’t going to matter much. Was he even a good guy in the first place?

Quincy Elliott and Ikemen Jiro are ready to steal the show.

Fallon Henley vs. Sol Ruca

Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs are here too. Ruca walks on her hands during the entrances but gets headlocked to start things off. A headlock takeover out of the corner but Ruca counters a snapmare into a wristlock. Ruca’s sunset flip eventually gets two and a shot to the face is good for the same. The armbar goes on to keep Henley down but she’s back up with a faceplant. A running kick to the face finishes Ruca at 5:16.

Rating: C. Ruca is very athletic but that doesn’t necessarily translate into having a good match. Then again she has enough stuff that catches your eye and that might be something they can build on. Henley isn’t exactly great so far, but she’s far more well rounded and it was just a step above a squash for her.

Quincy Elliott/Ikemen Jiro vs. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade

Elliott dances out of Enofe’s waistlock to start, because that’s what Elliott does. That has Enofe doing some pushups and trying to lift Elliott, earning him a throw down. Jiro comes in for some dancing and pushups of his own but Enofe drops him for a change. It’s off to Blade to work on an armbar, plus a dropkick to cut off a comeback. Enofe works on the arm as well but misses a charge in the corner, allowing the tag off to Elliott to clean house. Everything breaks down and Elliott gets dropped with a running knee, setting up a G9 for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. This is a good use for someone like Elliott, who is there to pop the crowd with his charisma and dancing. What matters is that after the fun stuff was over, they didn’t have Elliott and Jiro win. Blade and Enofe are a regular team and therefore shouldn’t lose here, which thankfully NXT understood. Not much of a main event, but the fans liked it so well done.

Overall Rating: C-. Just an okish show here and that’s not much of a surprise. It depends on how much star power the show has and that wasn’t the case this week. Henley might have been the biggest name on the show and that isn’t quite enough to make this interesting. At least it was short, which isn’t exactly the best compliment, but there isn’t much else to praise about this one.

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NXT UK
Date: July 21, 2022
Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd

We’re coming off of a title change last week as Mark Coffey FINALLY took the Heritage Cup from Noam Dar, ending his record reign. After the match, Joe Coffey made his return to celebrate with his brother as things seem to be going well for Gallus for a change. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Mark Coffey’s win last week.

Opening sequence.

Isla Dawn vs. Fallon Henley

Henley forearms away to start and hits an elbow to the face before armdragging her into the ropes. That means a forearm to the face but Dawn sends her into the corner to take over. A running kick to the chest gives Dawn two and we hit the cross arm choke. Henley fights up and drives her into the corner for the break, only to get kicked in the head. Dawn hits a half nelson slam for the pin at 5:13.

Rating: C-. I continue to have no idea what is going on with the bottom half of the women’s division as Dawn gets a win after seemingly not winning anything for the better part of ever. At the same time, you would think that Henley would be one of the more protected stars from NXT, though it does at least give Dawn a win with some value. That isn’t likely to go anywhere, but at least she got something.

Sarray is happy to be here but stops to ask Meiko Satomura for a match. Satomura is down for a change, but tells Sarray to be prepared.

We look back at Amale beating Stevie Turner but not impressing Blair Davenport.

Amale goes to find Blair Davenport and says she’s keeping her anger for whenever they get in the ring.

Josh Morrell vs. Dave Mastiff

Morrell has both shoulders taped up. Mastiff grabs a headlock to start and takes it to the mat, where Morrell hand walks his way to freedom. A wristlock has about the same luck as Morrell spins out, leaving Mastiff frustrated. Instead of the holds Mastiff tries the power, with a hard shoulder and belly to back suplex to drop Morrell for the first time. The slow pounding begins, with Mastiff forearming him down and putting on the nerve hold.

Back up and an overhead belly to belly sends Morrell flying for two in a good looking crash. Morrell can’t get a sunset flip but he can hit a dropkick, setting up a corkscrew moonsault for two. Another dropkick puts Mastiff on the floor, setting up a big running flip dive. Back in and Mastiff snaps off a powerbomb into a Regal Roll for two. Another Regal Roll sets up a backsplash to finish Morrell at 7:01.

Rating: C. So you have Morrell get a win a few weeks ago and then he gets beaten down here in a near squash. I’m not sure what the logic is there, as Morrell seems to have something that might be worth giving a small shot. Mastiff winning is fine enough, but why have Morrell lose after building him up recently?

Respect is shown post match.

Sha Samuels and Noam Dar are having some trouble paying off the gambling debts from last week’s Heritage Cup loss. They can’t even afford a paper or booze so Dar leaves. Two hours later, Johnny Saint showed up to get his money, sending Dar running off.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are fired up to be champions and they’re down for a title defense against Wild Boar/Mark Andrews.

Nina Samuels vs. Emilia McKenzie

They fight over a lockup to start until McKenzie gets up the ropes for a quick hurricanrana. Samuels gets taken into the corner for some kicks to the leg but sends McKenzie face first into the ropes. A dropkick to the back puts McKenzie in trouble and she gets tossed around the ring without much trouble.

The comeback is cut off with a forearm to the face for a delayed two before Samuels puts her on top. That’s fine with McKenzie, who pounds her down for a crash outside. Back in and a faceplant drops Samuels for two but McKenzie misses a charge into the corner to give Samuels two of her own. That doesn’t seem to matter as McKenzie hits a spear for the pin at 4:57.

Rating: C. They’re building to something with McKenzie, as she isn’t happy with Meiko Satomura paying more attention to Sarray. A win here gives her a bit of momentum and it wouldn’t shock me to see her get involved in the upcoming Sarray vs. Satomura match. That’s a way to go, as McKenzie is certainly talented enough to go somewhere if given a chance.

We get a face to face showdown between Ilja Dragunov and Wolfgang before Dragunov’s United Kingdom Title defense next week. Wolfgang has wanted to be champion since 2017 and wants to take it from Dragunov. That’s cool with Dragunov, who says Wolfgang is the kind of person who helped him get to the title in the first place.

Wolfgang wants to win the title, but Dragunov talks about Wolfgang being stuck in the shadow of Gallus. Next week, Dragunov wants to fight Wolfgang one on one, not a member of Gallus. Wolfgang is ready to do Dragunov a favor by taking the champion’s burden away, but Dragunov doesn’t think so. Simple and to the point here, but it’s a little hard to buy Wolfgang as a major threat to Dragunov.

Trent Seven vs. Sam Gradwell

Seven is sent outside with Gradwell hitting a suicide dive eleven seconds in. Gradwell knocks him around ringside before pulling Seven off the apron to keep him in trouble. They get up to the apron, with Seven nailing a hard lariat to drop Gradwell for a needed breather. Back in and a suplex drops Gradwell, allowing Seven to kick away at the chest. That just wakes Gradwell up so he fires off forearms to the face and a belly to belly suplex for a bonus.

A running clothesline puts Seven on the floor again but he’s right back in for a hard suicide dive to knock Gradwell into the barricade. Back in and Gradwell catches him on top for a top rope butterfly suplex (and a heck of a crash). That’s enough for Seven to run, which is enough of a ruse to let Seven send Gradwell knee first into the steps. They get back in and it’s time to stay on Gradwell’s knee, with the brace being ripped off.

Something close to a Figure Four has the knee in trouble, though Gradwell turns it over, with Seven getting straight to the rope. Gradwell hits a hard clothesline for two but Seven goes right back to the knee. The Seven Star Lariat gets two so Seven grabs the knee brace. A big swing misses, so Gradwell drops him with a discus forearm. Gradwell picks up the brace but gets it taken away, allowing Seven to kick him low (because he’s a modern heel). Another Seven Star Lariat finishes Gradwell at 11:02.

Rating: C+. This was the same problem that Seven has had since his heel turn: he’s only so good/interesting in the ring and his way out of trouble is a low blow. Other than the eventual match with Tyler Bate, I’m not sure how interesting he is going to be. As long as he isn’t pushed as the next top heel or even a huge deal, it should work out, but I don’t know what kind of legs he has in this role after the Bate showdown.

Post match Seven loads up another low blow but Tyler Bate returns and chases him off to end the show (with Seven giving a great “I’ve just seen a ghost” face).

Overall Rating: C-. Not their best effort of a show, as you can feel the energy draining out. Maybe things can get a bit better with a fresh taping cycle, but Dragunov vs. Wolfgang isn’t exactly a top feud. I don’t know if Seven vs. Bate is the big solution, but things have not been the most thrilling around here as of late. At least the NXT invasion seems to have gone away, though it isn’t like things are great again. This wasn’t a very interesting show and that needs to change in the coming weeks.

Results
Isla Dawn b. Fallon Henley – Half nelson slam
Dave Mastiff b. Josh Morrell – Backsplash
Emilia McKenzie b. Nina Samuels – Spear
Trent Seven b. Sam Gradwell – Seven Star Lariat

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