NXT
Date: November 28, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re in the final week of the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches with Jerry Lawler as the guest picker this week. In addition to that, with about a week and a half to go before Deadline and the rest of the card could use some more firming up. That should come this week with the NXT Title match hopefully getting some extra attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

D’Angelo and Stacks are defending and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. We settle down with D’Angelo beating up Carrillo, including a belly to belly for two. Garza gets in a cheap shot though, allowing Carrillo to hit a springboard spinning kick to the head. A tackle gets D’Angelo out of trouble though and Stacks comes charging in, only to get caught in the wrong corner. Stacks fights out and hits an uppercut into a German suplex from D’Angelo. The PowerPlex is cut off though and a double slam off the top rope drops Stacks as we take a break.

Back with Stacks fighting out of trouble and handing it off to D’Angelo as everything breaks down. Everything breaks down and a spinebuster gives D’Angelo two on Carrillo. A distracted referee lets Garza hit Stacks low, setting up a Jay Driller for two, with the kickout hitting Garza low as well. D’Angelo comes back in with the Bada Bing Bada Boom to retain at 12:25.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see the champs get a win, though Garza and Carrillo felt like they could have gotten the title shot at Deadline, or at least been more than challengers of the week. I’m not sure who is up next for the champs but they looked good enough here. The tag division has a lot of teams but I’m not sure how many of them I can imagine being serious threats to the belts right now.

Some wrestlers aren’t sure if Ilja Dragunov’s success equal up to all the things Baron Corbin has. Dragunov comes in and doesn’t seem to appreciate Nathan Frazer’s take on things. Dragunov knows how to fix this.

Jerry Lawler picks Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker and Kelani (which sounds like it was dubbed in) Jordan vs. Kiana James for Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches.

Video on Johnny Gargano.

Josh Briggs is fired up for the Iron Survivor Challenge but Lexis King comes in to take some credit for his success and, after slightly hitting on Fallon Henley, mocks Brooks Jensen. King vs. Jensen is set for later.

Nikkita Lyons is back in training and is here tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Kiana James vs. Kelani Jordan

James stomps away in the corner to start but Jordan dropkicks her way out of trouble. A headlock slows James down on the mat until she grabs the hair to escape. They head outside where Jordan is dropped onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with James snapping off a spinebuster but Jordan grabs a Playmaker for two. James hits a quick 401k….but Roxanne Perez pops in to ring the bell. That’s enough of a distraction for Jordan to knock James down and hit the split legged moonsault for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. I’m still not entirely sure why James vs. Perez is continuing but that’s what we’re getting out of this one. Jordan continues to feel like a long term project for NXT and that is not a bad idea. She’s athletic and can do well enough in the ring but is lacking experience. Get that through to her and they could have something.

Video on Cameron Grimes.

The Alpha Academy isn’t happy with what happened in the Heritage Cup match last week and now they want revenge. That can come in a six person tag next week.

NXT Anonymous has released a video showing Lexis King following Trick Williams on the night of Williams’ attack. We don’t see King do anything physical though.

We get a press conference from Chase U, with Andre Chase talking about the ongoing investigation. There are allegations of gambling and misusing funds, leaving the university in debt. Chase says it’s all true and he’ll do whatever he can to get things back on track. He takes some questions but won’t say how much he owes. It’s all his fault and he’ll address the student body at the next assembly. Well that’s rather specific and again I’m not sure how smart it is to have Chase get in trouble when the team was as popular as they have been.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker

Thorpe has taped up ribs. Breakker slams him down to start and grabs a quick gator roll. Something like a powerslam puts Thorpe on the floor, where Breakker sends him into the barricade. A fireman’s carry gutbuster has Thorpe in more trouble and we take a break. Back with Thorpe slipping out of a torture rack and striking away but getting whipped hard into the corner. Thorpe fights back with some suplexes but Breakker spears him down for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C+. It’s not much of a surprise that Breakker, one of the most successful stars in the history of NXT, was able to get into the big #1 contenders match. This was actually a bit better than I was expecting, as Breakker had a target with the ribs and focused on it. Sometimes it’s fine to go as basic as you can and that’s what they did here.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are ready for revenge on Lexis King but Williams says they can wait for after the Iron Survivor Challenge.

The women’s locker room breaks into a fight over next week’s Last Chance matches to qualify for the Iron Survival Challenge.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Nathan Frazer

Non-title and Dragunov explodes on him to start. Frazer gets knocked hard into the corner to start before Dragunov grabs a waistlock. Frazer is back up with a hard shot of his own into a springboard missile dropkick to put Dragunov down for a change. The phoenix splash misses though and Dragunov hits a powerbomb into the H Bomb…but pulls up at two. Another H Bomb finishes Frazer at 5:26.

Rating: C+. That was a bit weird as Dragunov more or less squashed him. Frazer isn’t a major star but he’s big enough that he should be able to make Dragunov work a bit. That being said, it takes Dragunov look like more of a killer to run through Frazer like this so well done on boosting up the champion.

Post match Baron Corbin pops up on screen to mock Dragunov, who he will meet face to face next week.

Lyra Valkyira knows all of the challenges that could come out of the Iron Survivor Challenge. Fallon Henley pops in to say she’s going to win but someone (Tatum Paxley maybe?) appears from behind the curtains to say Valkyria would beat Henley anyway.

Karmen Petrovic talks about how martial arts teach you to trust your instincts. Her instincts tells her to beat up Arianna Grace.

Meta Four is in for the match with Alpha Academy.

Joe Gacy is underneath the ring because he’s beneath us and wants our attention.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Arianna Grace

Grace powers her into the corner to start and offers to let Petrovic kiss the ring. Petrovic is right back and offers to let Grace do the same. A rollup gives Petrovic two….but here is Joe Gacy from underneath the ring to steal the ring bell. We take a break and come back with Grace bouncing Petrovic’s head off the mat, setting up a chinlock. Petrovic fights up and grabs a choke but Grace goes to the eye. A fireman’s carry slam finishes Petrovic at 9:06 (without a bell because Gacy has to be a thing).

Rating: C. Grace needed to win here as she has been presented as someone who could become a player but hasn’t really gotten much momentum going yet. Beating Petrovic only has so much value but it’s better than not winning. I’m still not wild on Grace as the pageant queen as it isn’t a great idea, though it should do for now.

Gacy rings the bell in the crowd.

Wes Lee is ready for all of his opponents tonight because he needs to go to Deadline and get the North American Title back.

Brooks Jensen vs. Lexis King

Jensen starts fast with a rolling kick to the head and they’re already on the floor for a slugout. We take a break and come back with King hammering away as Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes watch in the back. Hayes goes to deal with something as King grabs the chinlock. Jensen powers him into the corner and grabs a suplex or the break. A missile dropkick gets two on King but here is Hayes to go after King. The distraction lets King grab the Coronation fr the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This felt like one of those random house show matches you get from time to time in NXT, as Jensen has had almost no singles success. What mattered here was getting King a win, as he seems to be ready to become something pretty big around here. They’re still polishing the details, but what matters here is getting him another win.

Video on the Iron Survivor Challenges.

Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Wes Lee

If Lee wins, he gets a North American Title shot at Deadline (against Dominik Mysterio, on commentary) but if he doesn’t, he never gets another shot. Reed cleans house to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Reed getting triple teamed out to the floor, followed by Grimes being sent outside as well.

Lee gets the better of things but Reed is back in to wreck them both. Grimes can’t sunset flip Reed but Gargano catapults Grimes head first into a low blow to put Reed down. Everyone is back up until Lee sends Reed outside. Gargano sends Grimes outside for a knockdown of his own and the fans approve.

The slingshot spear gets two on Grimes but Lee is back in to take over. Reed is back in as well and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee. Grimes’ high crossbody gets two on Reed, who is right back up to pick all three of them up for something like a triple Samoan drop (geez). The other three are able to powerbomb Reed out of the corner, leaving Grimes to grab his flipping powerslam for two on Lee.

The Gargano Escape goes on but Lee saves Grimes for a change. That doesn’t work for Reed, who buckle bombs Lee and backsplashes the other two. Reed takes Lee to the middle rope and gorilla presses him onto the other two. Cue Ivar to jump Reed though and they fight to the back, leaving the other three in the ring. Grimes hits the Cave In on Gargano but the Cardiac Kick gives Lee the pin at 17:19.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it as they had almost nonstop action for a pretty long TV match. Reed came off like an absolute star here and they even had a logical and productive way to get rid of him. Lee winning is hardly a surprise but he feels like he earned the win. That should help him a lot on the way to Deadline, but he almost has to win there.

Roxanne Perez and Kiana James are brawling in the parking lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was another show that got things done and helped build up Deadline, plus some other things not for the show. The qualifying matches were to the point and the main event was very good. Throw in King and Dragunov both looking strong, plus Chase U’s story getting a pretty big step forward and this was another good show. That has been a theme for NXT as of late and I could go for a lot more of it.

Results
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza – Bada Bing Bada Boom to Garza
Kelani Jordan b. Kiana James – Split legged moonsault
Bron Breakker b. Eddy Thorpe – Spear
Ilja Dragunov b. Nathan Frazer – H Bomb
Arianna Grace b. Karmen Petrovic – Fireman’s carry slam
Lexis King b Brooks Jensen – Coronation
Wes Lee b. Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed and Cameron Grimes – Cardiac Kick to Grimes

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

The big story around here seems to be a still unspecified scandal at Chase U, which played a role in the team losing the Tag Team Titles last week. Other than that, we’re about two and a half weeks away from Deadline and two sets of Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches are still on the docket. Two of them go down tonight so let’s get to it.

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

NXT Heritage Cup: Chad Gable vs. Noam Dar

Dar is defending and all of the expected friends are here too. Round one begins with a feeling out process until Gable grabs the wristlock. They go to the mat with Gable grinding away on the arm before switching into a front facelock. A takedown gives Gable two and the ankle lock goes on. Dar grabs the rope and blocks a German suplex as the round ends.

Round two begins with Gable running him over and not liking Dar slapping him in the face. An annoyed Gable chops away and gets two off a release German suplex. An armbar over the ropes looks to set up rolling Chaos Theory but Oro Mensah gets in a cheap shot. The Nova Roller gives Dar the pin at 2:22 of the round and 5:57 overall.

Round three begins during a break and we come back with Gable catching him on top. A top rope superplex gives Gable two as the round ends. Round four begins with a strike off until Gable takes him down. A top rope headbutt (and a long one at that) gives Gable two but Dar kicks him down on the apron. Back in and a spinning elbow gives Dar two but he can’t get anywhere with a rear naked choke. They slug it out from their knees until the round ends.

Round five begins with Gable hitting a rolling Liger kick to the head, followed by rolling Chaos Theory to tie it up at 17 seconds of the round and 14:51. Round six (final round) begins…after a cheap shot from Dar between the rounds so Dar can hit a running elbow in the corner at the bell. Dar slugs away but the Nova Roller is countered into an ankle lock. That’s reversed into a rollup with tights for two so Gable is back with a DDT for two of his own. The ankle lock, with grapevine, goes on but time runs out for the draw at 18:30 total.

Rating: B-. Are you surprised Dar didn’t lose? You really shouldn’t be, as this is what happens in these matches. Dar gets in trouble, cheats, and escapes with the Cup. The Cup has had six holders over about three years and Dar has held it for well over half of that time. Heck he didn’t even lose the fall the last time he lost the Cup. Dar can be funny with his stuff and such but my goodness it’s ok to let something change for a bit.

Dar taps immediately after the bell but it’s still a draw. Otis beats up Oro Mensah and hits on Lash Legend, who looks close to being sick.

JBL picks his Iron Survivor Challenge matches: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs and Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks go to dinner, with Stacks asking how bad it is for Chase U. D’Angelo doesn’t want to talk about it but the rest of the Family is there for a title celebration.

Trick Williams checks on Carmelo Hayes before his qualifying match. Hayes is ready and Williams will be in his corner, but Hayes asks to do this by himself. Cool with Williams as everything seems fine.

Women’s Title: Xia Li vs. Lyra Valkyria

Li is challenging…and jumps Valkyria in the entrance. No match.

Malik Blade/Edris Enofe vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

This was scheduled for later but was moved up due to the Li attack. Carrillo takes Enofe down to start but Blade comes in with a good looking dropkick. Garza gets knocked off the apron but Blade gets sent outside. A hard shot to the chest has Blade in trouble as Booker goes on a rant about getting titles.

The Gory Bomb/flipping cutter combination gets two on Blade, who comes back with some shots to the face. A DDT gets Blade out of trouble and there’s the tag off to Enofe as the fans don’t seem to care. Everything breaks down and Enofe misses a 450, allowing Carrillo to hit a powerbomb. A pop up kick to the ribs finishes Enofe at 5:32.

Rating: C+. The match had its moments with Enofe and Blade getting to show off their athleticism, plus Carrillo and Garza’s snappy double teaming. I can go for Garza and Carrillo getting into the title hunt as they’re a rather awesome team, but they need to string some wins together first. This was a good start, though I’m not sure how much value there is in beating Blade and Enofe.

Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen fire up Josh Briggs but he’s ready to take this opportunity on his own.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs

Briggs tries to go with the power to start but gets dropkicked out to the floor. That works a bit better for Briggs, who hits a big boot but Hayes is right back with the Fade Away. The fans seem pleased with Hayes, only to have Briggs drop him with a right hand. Back in and Briggs works on the arm but Hayes low bridges him to the floor. Briggs sends him over the announcers’ table and we take a break.

Back with Briggs taking over again and hammering away before grabbing a chinlock. Hayes fights up and hits a springboard shot to the face but one heck of a chokeslam puts Hayes down. Commentary keeps playing up the idea of Briggs not being an experienced singles star as Hayes comes back. Cue Lexis King for a distraction though, allowing Briggs to drop Hayes again. A moonsault gives Briggs the big upset pin at 12:32.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a great match but it told a nice story of Hayes being the more experienced singles star and Briggs using the straight power because he didn’t have the experience in singles matches. The King interference plays into the Hayes/Trick Williams deal as we have to be coming up on a twist. Odds are we get Hayes vs. King at Deadline, which should be a big step forward in whatever they’re doing, but for now we have a nice surprise win for Briggs.

Lyra Valkyria says the title match is still happening.

Von Wagner shows up at Mr. Stone’s house for dinner with some partially eaten brownies. They eat with Stone’s wife and kids, who eat rather quickly like Wagner. The sons look at Wagner’s scar, but it’s cool with him. We hear about bullies at their school and Wagner wants violence but Stone says we don’t do that. With the parents away, Wagner says write the bullies’ names down because Wagner has them. This was wacky shenanigans.

Here is Wes Lee for a chat. The people know who he is so he gets to the point: he wants one more shot at Dominik Mysterio and the North American Title at Deadline. Cue Mysterio (no Rhea Ripley) to list off Lee’s losses, which mean he shouldn’t get a title shot. Lee points out how many times Judgment Day has had to save Mysterio and says he’s willing to do anything to get the title back. Mysterio is interested, but Lee has to beat some former North American Champions. Lee is in, but Deadline is his last shot, assuming he gets there.

We recap the Chase U scandal, with Andre Chase breaking his silence next week.

Thea Hail is panicking because Andre Chase and Duke Hudson aren’t here. Jacy Jayne says she always has Hail’s back.

Josh Briggs is happy with his win when Tiffany Stratton comes in to congratulate him. With her gone, Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley come in, with Henley not being happy over Stratton being there.

Iron Survivor Qualifying Match: Thea Hail vs. Blair Davenport

Jacy Jayne is here with Hail as Davenport goes after the arm to start. Davenport runs her over for two and we’re off to the armbar. Hail fights up and strikes away but gets pulled into a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up and Jayne offers a distraction, allowing Hail to hit a fall away slam on the floor. Back in and Hail is distracted by the lack of support from the student section, which lets Davenport block a backsplash. A knee to the face finishes Hail at 4:08.

Rating: C. This was short and to the point as the Chase U ordeal continues to cause the team trouble. I’m almost scared of where this is going but Jayne and Hail seem like they could split off from Chase U without much trouble. Davenport going forward is fine, but at some point Hail needs to get a bigger win before she loses the steam that she has.

We get a video on Baron Corbin vs. Ilja Dragunov, highlighting their differences in training, style and philosophy on their way to the Deadline title match. Dragunov is alone in America as his family is in Russia, while Corbin has everything he could want. Playing up the contract is always a good angle to take and they’re doing a nice job setting this up.

Charlie Dempsey vs. Eddy Thorpe

Dempsey’s friends are here too. Dempsey takes him down without too much trouble and cockily stomps away. Thorpe’s comeback is cut off in short order and we hit the abdominal stretch to work on Thorpe’s ribs. With that broken up, Thorpe hits a running boot in the corner and Dempsey cranks on the arm…until Thorpe reverses into a cradle for the surprise pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. Pretty much a squash here until the fluke ending, which is a good thing as Thorpe has been needing a boost after some recent setbacks. Dempsey and company continue to be a fine midcard heel stable, but they aren’t going to matter much if they don’t win a bit here and there. For now though, Thorpe winning is a good way to go and maybe he can start going somewhere. As for Dempsey, at least commentary is making “Regal” references during his matches.

Post match Dempsey’s friends get in the ring to beat Thorpe down so posing can ensue.

Back at the dinner, Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are given envelopes of money, some of which are more successful than others. They go to leave, where Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza jump them and speed off.

Arianna Grace isn’t happy with Karmen Petrovic attacking her and hopes Petrovic can get some help.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Women’s Title: Lyra Valkyria vs. Xia Li

Valkyria is defending and is banged up after the attack earlier tonight. The fired up Valkyria goes right after Li to start but gets knocked into the corner for some choking. A running dropkick gets Valkyria out of trouble and Li is knocked outside. Back in and another kick drops Valkyria as we take a break.

We come back with Valkyria fighting out of a cravate but getting caught with a swinging neckbreaker for two. Li grabs a facelock but Valkyria fights up again to strike away. The spinning torture rack drop cuts Valkyria off for two more but she blocks a kick. A German suplex puts both of them down and we get a breather. Back up and Li’s spinning kick misses, allowing Valkyria to hit one of her own. A Samoan driver finishes for Valkyria at 9:40.

Rating: B-. It was a nice fight, but there was only so much you could do after Li had a heck of a match with Becky Lynch last night. They stacked the deck against Valkyria a bit here and it made things more interesting, but it was hard to buy Li as a real threat. The idea here seemed to be giving Valkyria a nice win and that’s not a bad thing.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t overly interested in this show as it felt more like the show where things were set up for later rather than anything really happening here. It’s not a bad show and the action was fine, but this was definitely a week where you would be better off reading a recap than watching it live. Deadline is shaping up well enough, though they’ll need some more interesting shows on the way there.

Results
Noam Dar vs. Chad Gable went to a draw
Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Pop up kick to Blade’s ribs
Josh Briggs b. Carmelo Hayes – Moonsault
Blair Davenport b. Thea Hail – Knee to the face
Eddy Thorpe b. Charlie Dempsey – Rollup
Lyra Valkyria b. Xia Li – Samoan driver

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 November 14, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We’re getting closer to Deadline and that means we have another week of Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying matches. In this case, Lita has chosen the matches which should make for some good showdowns. Other than that, Chase U is defending the Tag Team Titles against the D’Angelo Family again so let’s get to it.

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

Chase U arrives with Andre Chase acknowledging the scandal involving the school (with details we still don’t know). He is cooperating fully, but they have a title match.

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

Chase U, with Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail is defending but the student section isn’t happy and Chase looks a bit disheveled. Stacks works on Chase’s arm to start until Chase rolls him up for two. Stacks’ rollup is countered into a cradle to give Chase two more as commentary talks about the student section not being interested. Hudson comes in and hammers away on D’Angelo before it’s back to Chase. Everything breaks down and the champs are sent outside for a big lip dive from Stacks as we take a break.

Back with Hudson hitting the release Rock Bottom out of the corner as we see some of the student section walking out. The fans chant WALK OUT as Chase comes back in to pick up the pace. Chase suplexes Stacks into D’Angelo in the corner and a high crossbody gets two. A middle rope elbow into a German suplex gives Stacks two more as more students walk out.

Everything breaks down again and Hudson gets sent knees first into the steps. A PowerPlex hits Chase, with Hudson diving back in for the save. Chase hits the Russian legsweep into the Spelling Stomps but the fans chant WALK OUT instead. That leaves D’Angelo to come back in for Bada Bing Bada Boom to get the titles back at 13:54.

Rating: B-. The match had good action, but the focus was more on the fans than anything else. I’m not wild on seeing Chase U go from chasing the big win for the better part of ever to losing the titles back three weeks later over what feels like it could be a rather dumb angle. The fans wanted to buy into Chase U and they got over despite how ridiculous the story was, but now it’s going in a completely different direction just a few weeks into their success? It’s still early in this part of the story, but I’m not feeling this so far.

Lita has picked her Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches for tonight: Roxanne Perez vs. Lash Legend and Trick Williams vs. Joe Coffey.

Dominik Mysterio runs into Baron Corbin in the back. They seem to get along with each other and like the idea of getting rid of Wes Lee.

It’s time for Supernova Sessions with the Alpha Academy as the guests and the rest of the Meta Four here as well. They talk about the Heritage Cup, with Chad Gable saying Noam Dar is lucky to still have it. Tozawa blames the loss on Meta Four but Lash Legend doesn’t want to hear it. Otis hits on Lash but Dar shuts that down as fast as possible. Dar is flustered and brags about his greatness, but Gable announces himself as the next Heritage Cup challenger.

Women’s Iron Survivor Qualifying Match: Lash Legend vs. Roxanne Perez

Meta Four is here too. Legend powers her down to start and Perez slugs away, setting up an armdrag out to the floor. Meta Four offers a distraction though and that’s good for an ejection. Perez’s right hands are countered into an over the shoulder backbreaker. Legend drives it into the corner but gets sent outside for a slingshot dive. Back in and a faceplant gives Perez two but cue Jakara Jackson. The distraction lets Kiana James come in to grab Perez so Legend can hit a pump kick. A chokebomb finishes for Legend at 5:05.

Rating: C. As usual, Legend does not feel like she is ready for this level but she’s tall and loud so she gets on television a lot. While I can’t imagine she gets the title shot, it means she’s going to get to talk more and that has rarely proven to be a good thing. Perez vs. James is apparently continuing despite Perez winning at Halloween Havoc, though James qualifying for the Iron Survivor Challenge might not be a sure thing.

A bunch of tag teams argue over who should get a title shot. Stacks and Tony D’Angelo come in to say it’s a celebration next week.

Xia Li has invited Lyra Valkyria to a Warrior Tea ceremony and yes she’s in. Given that we were told about this on Raw, it’s not the biggest surprise.

We go to the tea ceremony where Valkyria has to put the title on the table. Li talks about the meaning of a deep bow and how the tea leaves will tell what is coming. Valkyria isn’t impressed so Li will have to fight next week. That’s fine with Valkyria, who says may the strongest person win next week. Valkyria bows before leaving.

Carmelo Hayes, with Trick Williams, again says he isn’t the attacker and it’s all behind them. Hayes will be at ringside to deal with Gallus tonight.

Kiana James comes into the women’s locker room to give this big speech about how impressive she is. This turns into Gigi Dolin getting annoyed at Arianna grace and setting up a match between the two.

Bron Breakker doesn’t feel bad about what happened to Von Wagner but Dijak comes in to say Breakker can’t break him. Breakker tells him to stay out of his way or he will be begging for retribution. Burn?

Men’s Iron Survivor Qualifying Match: Joe Coffey vs. Trick Williams

Carmelo Hayes and Gallus are here too. They fight over a test of strength to start but neither can get very far. Back up and Trick jumps over him in the corner, setting up a slam to take over. A pop up uppercut sends Coffey outside and they’re right back in with Coffey grabbing an armbar. Williams fights up but gets clotheslined to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Coffey hitting a backbreaker but Williams scores with a jumping neckbreaker. They slug it out with Coffey getting the better of things and grabbing another armbar. That’s broken up as well and Williams hits a running clothesline into a Rock Bottom for two. Hayes cuts off a Gallus distraction but Williams is sent outside and taken out by a dive. Back in and Coffey gets two off a German suplex. Not that it matters as Williams is right back with a flash knee for the pin at 11:56.

Rating: B-. Coffey can be a useful mammal in a situation like this as he has enough of a reputation to put someone like Lee over. What matters here though is Williams getting a win, as he is in the middle of a big story and needs to be in an important match. For now, Williams and Hayes are ok, but I can’t imagine that lasts very long.

Wes Lee runs into Ilja Dragunov, who will be watching Lee vs. Baron Corbin tonight. Dragunov wants Lee to save him a piece, but Lee has other things on his mind besides getting the NXT Title.

Lexis King comes up to Baron Corbin, who is impressed by the attack on Trick Williams. King still won’t say how he did it, but he wishes Corbin luck.

Brawling Brutes vs. OTM

It’s a brawl to start with a quick standoff on the apron. OTM takes over on Butch and a rake to the eyes into a clothesline keeps him in trouble. Butch gets away and brings in Holland to pick up the pace. Holland’s swinging Rock Bottom gets two but it’s back to Butch, who is dropped onto Holland in a big crash. Holland is right back up to take over on Price, setting up an assisted DDT from Butch for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C+. That’s how the match should have gone as the Brutes are the established team. OTM got in a bit of offense here and looked good enough in defeat. I’m sure their time will come, but they have some more effort to be built up. For now though, this is the right way for this match to go and they had a pretty nice fight.

Joe Gacy is on the roof, looking or water that doesn’t exist. No one knows who it is and maybe this is where he lets go but maybe it isn’t.

Gigi Dolin vs. Arianna Grace

Dolin grabs the arm to start before a backslide and small package get two each. Grace gets in a shot of her own though and we’re in the chinlock. With that broken up, Dolin hits a clothesline but get caught in a backslide…with the referee catching Grace’s feet on the ropes. That’s enough of a distraction for Dolin to kick her in the head and grab the abdominal stretch rollup for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: C. Neither of these two are exactly doing much at the moment but Grace is firmly in the “she’s not great but she’s annoying enough to feature” mold. That is a common place in NXT (see also Joe Gacy) and Grace seems to be the latest on the list. At the same time you have Dolin, who has all kinds of charisma but needs something more important to do.

We get a narrated video of Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker.

Mr. Stone invites Wagner to his house for dinner. That’s cool Wagner, as long as there’s no asparagus.

Eddy Thorpe is back after a recharge and hopes to get a spot in an Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match. Charlie Dempsey and company come in, with Dempsey threatening to stretch him.

Andre Chase has no comment on the scandal and leaves with Jacy Jayne to escape a bunch of reporters.

We go over the Iron Survivor Challenge, which is a weird five way Iron Man match with a penalty box.

Wes Lee vs. Baron Corbin

Lee strikes away to start but Corbin cuts him off with one right hand. Back up and Lee scores with some kicks to the head but they head to the floor, where Deep Six puts Lee down. We take a break and come back with Lee fighting out of a chinlock as commentary talks about Lexis King.

One heck of a clothesline cuts Lee off and Corbin hammers away on the mat. Corbin misses a charge into the post though and Lee strikes away, including a dropkick out to the floor. A 619 around the post sets up a dropkick for two but they trade kicks to the head for a double knockdown. Lee sends him outside again and dives….onto Dominik Mysterio. The distraction lets Corbin hit End Of Days for the pin at 10:30.

Rating: B-. These two had a nice power vs. speed match going and the screwy finish lets Corbin get closer to the likely NXT Title match at Deadline while keeping the returning Lee strong. That’s about all you could do here, as Lee is now pretty much an established name around here. I could see him going into the title picture himself sooner than later, but for now, it’s Corbin’s time.

Post match the beatdown is on until Ilja Dragunov runs in for the save. Corbin cuts him down with End Of Days and poses, but Dragunov issues the challenge for the title shot at Deadline.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling here wasn’t all that great but what mattered here was having Deadline getting a nice boost. We had some Iron Survivor Challenge spots taken up and the Deadline main event was set as well. The title change wasn’t quite my thing, though I’m more worried about where the story might be going. Not a great show, but an efficient enough one this week.

Results
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Chase U – Bada Bing Bada Boom to Chase
Lash Legend b. Roxanne Perez – Chokebomb
Trick Williams b. Joe Coffey – Flash knee
Brawling Brutes b. OTM – Assisted DDT to Price
Gigi Dolin b. Arianna Grace – Abdominal stretch rollup

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: October 31, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s week two of Halloween Havoc and this time it’s actually Halloween night. The main event this week will see Carmelo Hayes getting a rematch against Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Title. Other than that, we’ll probably hear from Chase U following their title win last week. Let’s get to it.

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

Scarlett and Shotzi, dressed as Ghostbusters and getting out of ECTO-1, arrive because they got called about a job.

Opening recap, complete with clips of last week’s opening live performance of Vampyre by New Year’s Day. Some previews for tonight are included too.

Creed Brothers vs. Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo

Tables, Ladders and Scares match, meaning a TLC match but with pins. Julius starts fast by putting Garza through Carrillo through a table on the floor before crushing both of them with a ladder. Another pair of tables is set up at ringside but Garza gets in a cheap shot on Brutus to break up Julius’ superplex. Instead it’s Julius being sent onto a bridged ladder inside. A Blockbuster/Gory Bomb combination sends Brutus through a table at ringside and we take a break.

Back with Carrillo hitting a springboard spinning kick to send a chair into Brutus’ face. Garza hits a missile dropkick to knock Brutus out of a chair and then powerbombs Julius into a ladder in the corner. Julius’ back looks AWFUL as Brutus puts the ladder around his head for the Terry Funk spinning spot. Back up and Julius makes the save on the floor and it’s time to load up another pair of tables inside. Garza is knocked to the floor and the Brutus Ball through the tables finishes Carrillo at 14:02.

Rating: B. They had some time here and beat the fire out of each other, which is what a match like this is supposed to be. The Creeds are pretty clearly main roster bound and if this wasn’t their last match, it’s probably one of them. They’ve done everything they can do in NXT and if this was their swan song, they went out with a heck of a fight.

Shotzi (a clown) and Scarlett (as Scarlett) mess with a Ouija board but Ivy Nile and Alba Fyre come in to show them how it’s done.

Tiffany Stratton is NOT happy with Fallon Henley impersonating her last week.

Joe Gacy (now that is scary) talks about seeing horrors and the pain and suffering he had to go through to get here. Everyone stabbed him with his judgmental eyes, but he wonders if he is the problem. Yes.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

Stratton jumps her before the bell and wreck’s Henley’s knee. No match.

The Meta Four (dressed as the Scooby Doo gang) go to a haunted house to find the Heritage Cup. They hear Japanese and Noam Dar shouts that he wants his Cup back from Akira Tozawa. Various monsters scare them off and more on this later.

North American Title: Nathan Frazer vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio (an inmate), with Rhea Ripley (a prison guard, Cobb County, Georgia residency status unclear), is defending. Feeling out process to start until Frazer snaps off some armdrags into a dropkick to the floor. Back in and Frazer sends him to the floor again and we take an early break.

We come back with Dominik hitting some Amigos but Frazer double legs him down to hammer away. Ripley offers a distraction so Dominik can send him outside, only for Frazer to jump back in for a dive. Back in and Frazer superplexes him into a twisting suplex for two. Dominik dropkicks him into the rope but the 619 is cut off with a superkick. Frazer goes up and gets shoved hard into the announcers’ table. The frog splash retains the title at 10:27.

Rating: B-. It’s still hard to fathom that Mysterio is rather good at what he does these days. He and Ripley are still one of the most over acts in the company but it isn’t just because of Ripley anymore. Mysterio can more than hang in the ring and he showed that here, wrestling a completely good match and finishing Frazer without a ton of help. Nice stuff here.

Post match Wes Lee runs in to go after Dominik and hold up the title.

Jacy Jayne congratulates Andre Chase on the title win. Chase says they won fair and square last week but Jayne doesn’t seem to buy it. Jayne and Thea Hail leave when Tony D’Angelo and Stacks come in. Chase calls D’Angelo sir and he says Chase U owes them. Hudson says of course they’ll get a rematch but D’Angelo says “yeah, that too.” Chase again looks a bit shaken.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, now as Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, talk about who is the most cursed.

Back to the haunted house where the split up Meta Four gets scared by a variety of scary things. Oro Mensah, as Shaggy, runs into Akira Tozawa and gets beaten up. Lash Legend (Velma) beats up one of the monsters but gets kidnapped by another. More on this later.

Mr. Stone vs. Bron Breakker

Stone is fighting for his injured friend/client Von Wagner and starts by running away. The chase on the floor results in Breakker running him over and there’s a suplex to make it worse. The spear finishes Stone at 2:36. That’s all it should have been.

Post match Breakker loads up the steps (how he hurt Wagner) but cue Wagner for the save. A chokeslam onto the steps leaves Breakker laying but he avoids being crushed with the steps.

We look back at Lyra Valkyria beating Becky Lynch to win the Women’s Title last week (as narrated by what sounds like Finn Balor). Valkyria has been on a media tour in Ireland to celebrate her victory.

OTM (Reggie/Scrypts and Lucien Price and Bronco Nima) talks about the rough way they grew up and now they’re someone.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Thea Hail/Jacy Jayne vs. Piper Niven/Chelsea Green

Hail and Jayne, with the rest of Chase U, are challenging. The brawl starts on the floor before the bell until it’s Hail armdragging Green into the corner to start. Hail gets knocked outside but runs back in for a dive. The champs are down on the floor and we take a break. Back with Hail fighting out of Niven’s chinlock and avoiding a Cannonball in the corner.

Hail grabs a Kimura on Niven, who seems more annoyed than anything else. A tornado DDT plants Niven and a crawl between Green’s legs is enough for the tag back to Jayne. Green gets planted with a spinebuster but Niven makes the save. Chase goes to hype up the student section so Jayne goes for a belt…but Chase won’t let her. The distraction lets Green hit Unpretty-Her to retain at 9:00.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see the champs actually win something and the ending keeps the Chase U issues going. With Chase wanting to go one way and Jayne, arguably the source of their success, wanting to go the other, there is a setup for something down the line. That being said, Green and Niven continue to get better in the ring and they’re gelling as a team rather well all things considered.

As the champs leave, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn make the Wheel spin, but we don’t see where it lands.

Lexis King is pleased with his performances and likes the buzz around his name around here. You should see what he’s doing next, or better yet, what he’s already done. King hits on McKenzie Mitchell a bit but she leaves. This was more charisma than he showed in his entire AEW run.

Women’s Breakout Tournament Final: Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice

Vice has Elektra Lopez with her. Jordan spins over into a backslide to start but Vice swats away a dropkick and fires off some kicks. We take a break and come back with Vice fighting out of trouble and hitting….I think an elbow to the face. MVP’s Playmaker connects but Lopez’s distraction causes Jordan to miss a moonsault. Vice’s spinning kick to the head is good for the win at 6:59.

Rating: C. That’s about as good as you’re going to get with two still fairly new stars and seven minutes including a commercial break. Vice felt like a star from the second she debuted and giving her the win here is the logical choice to make. Jordan did well in the tournament and got a lot out of it, but this was Vice’s to win and that was the case from the start.

Back to the haunted house where Noam Dar finds the Heritage Cup, which he kisses. Then a bunch of the scary things surround him and Akira Tozawa comes in to steal the cup. Tozawa wants a title shot and Dar is scared into agreeing.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn talk about how Shotzi and Scarlett have fixed the other realm but here are Von Wagner and Mr. Stone. The former wants Bron Breakker next week but Stone says it’s too soon. Wagner’s head starts hurting, though he still wants the match.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov

Hayes is challenging. They miss kicks to the head to start and go with the forearm exchange instead. A double knockdown sends us to an early break and we come back with Dragunov chopping away, including at the knee of all things. Dragunov cuts him off with a hard clothesline for two and they both need a breather. Hayes is back up with a spinning faceplant for two of his own, setting up one heck of a frog splash for two.

Quite the DDT plants Dragunov again but he’s up with a clothesline and something like a spinebuster for his own near fall. Hayes hits a hard clothesline but can’t put Dragunov down, allowing Dragunov to hit a quick H Bomb for two. Back up and they crash out to the floor for a nasty landing but Dragunov gets to scream.

Dragunov gets the better of things and hits an H Bomb through the announcers’ table but they both make it back inside. The springboard Codebreaker is blocked so Hayes sends him into the buckle. Dragunov is back with another H Bomb for two but the super H Bomb is countered into the Codebreaker. Nothing But Net is loaded up….but here is an angry looking Trick Williams. The distraction lets Dragunov hit a superplex into Torpedo Moscow to retain at 16:30.

Rating: B. These guys have good matches but they don’t quite hit that super high level. That was the situation again here in the trilogy match, which hopefully is the last we see from these two for a bit. Hayes seems ready to move on to Williams and I’m sure Dragunov will get Baron Corbin or someone else at Deadline when there is a concept match to focus on. For now though, it was a good main event for a TV special, but not a must see classic.

Post match Dragunov leaves so Williams gets in the ring and glares down at Hayes. Williams picks him up…and we cut to the back where Baron Corbin has attacked Dragunov to end the show. Williams didn’t say anything so there’s your cliffhanger.

Overall Rating: B. This was another strong show from NXT with a string of good matches and the worst ones being completely watchable. The ending keeps us going on the way to Deadline in about five weeks so they’ve worried about the future as well. In other words, NXT continues its roll, as they’ve figured out how to make this show entertaining and keep the ball moving.

Results
Creed Brothers b. Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo – Brutus Ball through two tables to Carrillo
Dominik Mysterio b. Nathan Frazer – Frog splash
Bron Breakker b. Mr. Stone – Spear
Chelsea Green/Piper Niven b. Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail – Unpretty-Her to Jayne
Lola Vice b. Kelani Jordan – Spinning kick to the head

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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No Mercy 2023
Date: September 30, 2023
Location: Mechanics Bank Arena, Bakersfield, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

NXT is back on the road this week and the card is looking rather stacked. The two big matches this time around will see Becky Lynch defending the Women’s Title against Tiffany Stratton in an Extreme Rules match, plus Ilja Dragunov challenging Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title. That should be enough to make this work so let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Kelani Jordan vs. Blair Davenport

Davenport grabs a headlock to start but Jordan snaps off a hurricanrana into a dropkick. Back up and Davenport grabs a slam and we hit a reverse chinlock. A Boston crab sends Jordan over to the ropes but she’s back up with the forearms to really wake up the crowd. Jordan grabs a springboard cutter for a double knockdown and an elbow puts Davenport down again. A sleeper has Davenport in more trouble but a ram into the corner breaks it up. Jordan’s split legged moonsault hits raised knees, allowing Davenport to hit a middle rope double stomp to the back. Something close to a Falcon Arrow finishes for Davenport at 6:35.

Rating: C. This was a nice showcase for Jordan, but the only way she was going to pull this off was with Gigi Dolin interfering. Jordan is someone who has potential to go somewhere once she gets some experience and develops a bit but we’re a long way from there. Davenport is still one of the bigger villains in the division, but she needs to get into a bigger feud sooner or later.

Post match Gigi Dolin runs in to go after Davenport.

The opening video sees someone putting a No Mercy cartridge into an N64 and a modernized version of the game’s intro. We get a character select screen (Complete with a dig diggity dig, dig diggity dog!) and most of the matches are selected and shown on the match screens ala the original game. This was AMAZING.

Bron Breakker vs. Baron Corbin

Breakker comes out with a dog head costume on for something that might have sounded better on paper. Corbin on the other hand comes out on a motorcycle. Breakker hits the big running flip dive to the floor and the brawl is on before the bell. They fight into the crowd with Corbin getting the better of things until Breakker knocks him back to ringside.

We pause for Breakker to beat up some cameramen, allowing Corbin to get in a few shots of his own. Corbin’ backsplash hits the announcers’ table by mistake though and they finally go inside. The bell rings and Breakker hammers away as we have no commentary for some reason. Corbin hits a middle rope clothesline and some forearms on the mat as they’re going with the slugout. Breakker powers him into the corner though and runs the corner for the super hurricanrana.

The gorilla press powerslam gets two but Corbin tells him to bring it and hammers away. The Recliner sends Corbin over to the ropes and he’s back with Deep Six for two. They slug it out again until Breakker hits a hard clothesline. The fight heads outside again and Corbin sends him through the announcers’ table to quite the positive response. Breakker pops back up with a spear and they head back inside….where Mr. Stone pops up for a distraction. That’s enough for Corbin to grab the End of Days for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: B. That was certainly an odd way to go, as I wouldn’t have bet on Breakker losing here. Then again I wouldn’t have bet on Corbin being treated as a good guy pretty much ever in WWE. As for the match, this was about two big, strong people hitting each other really hard until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. Granted it took some assistance for Corbin to put him away, but it was a heck of a fight.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams want to leave with their own titles tonight.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Trick Williams

Mysterio is defending and Dragon Lee is guest referee. A dropkick before the bell gives Mysterio a fast two so it’s already time to yell at Lee. Williams follows him to the floor and throws him back inside as the fans want Mami. Back in and Mysterio kicks the rope for a low blow, followed by a dropkick to send Williams outside again. The chinlock doesn’t last long back inside so Mysterio snaps Williams throat first across the top.

Williams fights up though and a double clothesline leaves them both down. Mysterio hits the 619 but a superkick hits Lee by mistake. A neckbreaker drops Williams as another referee runs in for the near fall. Back up and Mysterio hits the other referee as well, followed by a crossbody to take Williams outside. Williams gets posted but avoids the frog splash, setting up a knee to drive the belt into Mysterio’s face. Lee counts the pin to give Williams the title at 9:40.

Rating: C+. This was one of those matches with all kinds of things going on, which will likely set up a rematch. What matters is giving Williams the big push as he has seemed to be ready for the chance. It’s an interesting way to go and now we get to see what he can do with the chance. Good for them for trying something with someone new, though I’m surprised that Mysterio lost here instead of on Raw.

We look at the dinner to set up the four way Tag Team Title match.

Joe Gacy tells Ava that the Schism is done and now he has to find his own way.

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Bronco Nima/Lucien Price vs. Creed Brothers vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

D’Angelo and Stacks are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Scrypts is here with Nima and Price, who come to the ring on a bicycle and tricycle. The champs have a bunch of the family here for the entrance and we’re ready to go. They waste no time in going to the big brawl and commentary is already feeling sorry for the referee. Brutus hits the big dive to the floor to take some people out, only to get chopped back inside.

D’Angelo comes in and gets chopped by Garza and Carrillo but we pause as D’Angelo’s knee gives out. It’s off to Stacks for a running uppercut as D’Angelo is taken out. Stacks gets dropped by a high/low and a Gory Bomb/slingshot flipping cutter combination gives Carrillo two. Price comes in for a chinlock but Stacks fights up and gets over to Brutus for the tag. Brutus cleans house and ankle locks Garza as Julius suplexes everyone in sight.

Carrillo makes the save and we get the big staredown as D’Angelo comes back to the ring. The Creeds and the champs take the other four up top for a quadruple superplex and everyone is down again. Nima and Price are back up to clean house again and a power up powerslam gets two on D’Angelo. Garza and Carrillo are back in with some dropkicks but Brutus sends them to the floor for the springboard Brutus Ball. That leaves Price to get caught in Bada Boom Bada Bing to retain the titles at 12:05.

Rating: B-. This was fun as they had everyone get in there and go nuts at various times, with D’Angelo coming back in for the big moment later on making a cool moment. You also had the Creeds getting to show just how awesome they can be and it was all over the place for about twelve minutes. It was a bit messy for the most part, but that’s exactly how it should have gone.

We see the vignette from NXT of someone watching the Cincinnati Bengals and WCW, but he also watches various second generation wrestlers.

Carmelo Hayes is VERY proud of Trick Williams.

We recap Butch winning the Global Heritage Invitational to earn a Heritage Cup shot.

Heritage Cup: Butch vs. Noam Dar

Butch, with Tyler Bate, is challenging and Meta Four is here with Dar. Round one begins with the two of them going to the mat but neither can get much of an advantage. Back up and Dar doesn’t seem overly confident, with Butch pulling him down by the arm to make it worse. Butch cranks on the fingers and arm until the round ends, but Dar gets in a cheap shot after the bell.

Round two begins with Dar going after the arm and firing off a kick to the chest. Butch isn’t having that and scores with his own kicks in the corner. Another shot to the arm cuts Dar down again and Butch hits the ten forearms to the chest. The Meta Four offer a distraction though, allowing Oro Mensah to get in a cheap shot. Dar steals the pin and the fall at 2:30 of the round and 6:30 overall.

Round three begins with Dar hammering away but Butch backflips out of a German suplex attempt. Dar rolls to the floor so Butch moonsaults down onto him for the big crash. Back in and Dar kicks another moonsault out of the air but the Nova Roller misses. Butch hits the Bitter End for the pin to tie it up at 1:58 of the round and 9:10 overall.

Round four opens with Butch going after the arm and grabbing the cross armbreaker. That’s reversed into a triangle choke but Butch stacks it up for two and the break. Dar gets in another shot of his own, only to get pulled into Butch’s triangle choke. The clock runs out though and Dar survives without tapping.

Round five begins with both of them banged up but Butch unloads with chops to take over. The Bitter End is broken up and Dar hits him in the face for two. Butch catches him up top with a superplex and another near fall. Dar heads to the apron and grabs a brainbuster for a heck of a near fall and the fans get back into it. Butch snaps the finger as the round ends.

Round six (the final round) begins with Butch striking away but Mensah offers a distraction. The Nova Roller gives Dar two as Bate goes after the Meta Four. Butch hits a Tyler Driver 97 for two of his own but Dar pulls him into the kneebar. That’s reversed into the Bitter End for another near fall so the cross armbreaker goes on. Cue Gallus to go after Bate, allowing Joe Coffey to come in and hit Butch with All The Best For The Belles. Dar retains at 2:34 of the round and 18:51 overall.

Rating: B-. The action was good but egads we just spent a month on a tournament to find Dar, who has been champion for the better part of ever, a new challenger and never mind, as Dar retains anyway. He’s good at what he does but it’s ok to let him drop the title for a bit. The action was high quality as you would expect, but it’s really hard to stay interested in Dar’s title reign continuing.

We recap Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title. Hayes retained over Dragunov at the Great American Bash but Trick Williams used a chair. Now Hayes needs to know he can win on his own.

NXT Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is defending and has a special entrance with banners falling, featuring the name of everyone he’s beaten to retain the title. After the Big Match Intros, Dragunov sends him into the corner and strikes away to take over fast. Hayes gets in a few shots of his own but the springboard elbow misses. Instead Dragunov scores with the 61Line for the knockdown, setting up a backsplash for two.

Dragunov grabs a front facelock to keep Hayes in trouble, with a knee to the head knocking him silly again. The strike off goes to Dragunov but Hayes sends him into the corner and unloads with chops. Hayes knocks him down again but can’t follow up, meaning it’s time for a breather. Back up and they trade more strikes until Hayes nails a step up enziguri to drop Dragunov again.

A springboard bulldog (originally a DDT but Hayes changed it in mid-air after realizing it wasn’t going to work for a nice save) gives Hayes two but Dragunov is back up with some rolling German suplexes. The Constantine Special misses for Dragunov and Hayes grabs a spinning faceplant for two. Hayes unloads with stomps to the head until Dragunov slips out and hits a running knee.

Dragunov scores with a powerbomb and loads up Coast To Coast. Hayes tries to Codebreaker him out of the air but leaves it a bit short, allowing Dragunov to Death Valley Driver him into the corner. Now the Coast To Coast can connect for two and an H Bomb gets two more.

The middle rope H Bomb gives Dragunov another near fall and he’s stunned off the kickout. Torpedo Moscow cut off with a superkick to give Hayes a breather and they head to the apron. Hayes cutters him to the floor for the big crash and they head back inside, where Dragunov knocks him out of the air. A super H Bomb gives Dragunov the pin and the title at 21:07.

Rating: A-. This one pretty much blew their first match away and was two guys beating the fire out of each other. Dragunov is the more rugged brawler who dominated Hayes to start but Hayes eventually got into it with the speed and athleticism. It was a heck of a match, probably Hayes’ best ever, but it was time for Dragunov to get the big win.

Respect is shown post match.

Video on the Women’s Breakout Tournament.

We recap Tiffany Stratton challenging Becky Lynch for the Women’s Title. Lynch took the title from her but Stratton kept attacking the new champ. As a result, it’s Extreme Rules for the title.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton

Lynch is defending and this is Extreme Rules. We get a look back at Lynch’s NXT career before she comes out with a shopping cart of weapons. They fight into the crowd (featuring a heck of a No Mercy sign modeled after the N64 game with modern stars) with Lynch getting the better of things until a forearm to the face slows her down. Lynch hits her with some kind of a necklace (from a fan) and Stratton is knocked back down the steps.

They get back to ringside where Stratton kendo sticks her down to take over. A basement dropkick gets two for Stratton so she grabs the toolbox. Stratton whips out a rather large wrench before switching to a hammer. Both of them miss a big swing and the hammer falls out to the floor. Stratton grabs a sidewalk slam for two but Lynch sends her into the corner. The Bexploder lets Lynch go up top for a missile dropkick and Stratton rolls outside. That’s fine with Lynch, who puts her in the shopping cart for a ram into the steps.

Back in and Lynch pours out a bunch of Barbies, with Stratton being dropped onto them for two. Stratton is back up with one heck of a trashcan lid shot to the head, followed by a non-lid shot to the ribs. A spinebuster onto the trashcan gives Stratton two but she takes a long time throwing in a bunch of chairs. Lynch fights back but gets powerbombed onto the steps. That doesn’t seem to matter very much as Lynch fights up and grabs a table, only to get knocked down again.

Stratton manages to lose Lynch as she sets up the table though, allowing Lynch to spray her with a fire extinguisher. Lynch whips out a barbed wire baseball bat but drops it before she can, uh, kill her. Stratton manages a hurricanrana and a double handspring elbow sends Lynch through the barricade.

With Lynch on the table, Stratton hits a Swanton to…actually not break the table in a nasty looking landing. Another Swanton connects for two back inside so Lynch rolls outside, only to miss a moonsault. The Manhandle Slam on the floor plants Stratton for two and Lynch is rather shocked. Stratton Regal rolls her onto the chairs but misses the Prettiest Moonsault Ever. The Manhandle Slam onto the chairs retains Lynch’s title at 20:20.

Rating: A-. Well that was awesome, as they beat the absolute fire out of each other. Stratton is so far beyond what she should be able to do at this level of experience and it’s not like losing to Lynch is some career killer. Lynch might not be what she was before but she can still more than bring it on the big stage. Great match here and one of Lynch’s best in a long time.

Lynch knows she was in a war.

Carmelo Hayes apologizes to Trick Williams for not getting to be double champs. Williams hugs him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. Those last two matches more than carried the show and made it more than worth a look. The opener was good too and the rest of the matches were good enough. This felt like it was following the old Takeover formula and while it wasn’t quite up to that level, the two main events were both great and this was a heck of a show. NXT has absolutely found itself and if they can keep that going, Halloween Havoc and Deadline should both be rather awesome.

Results
Blair Davenport b. Kelani Jordan – Falcon Arrow
Baron Corbin b. Bron Breakker – End Of Days
Trick Williams b. Dominik Mysterio – Jumping knee into the title belt to the face
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Bronco Nima/Lucien Price, Creed Brothers and Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza – Bada Boom Bada Bing to Price
Noam Dar b. Butch 2-1
Ilja Dragunov b. Carmelo Hayes – Super H Bomb
Becky Lynch b. Tiffany Stratton – Manhandle Slam onto a pile of chairs

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

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

AND

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

NXT is back on the road as they head to California for No Mercy. This is the kind of thing that makes NXT feel like such a bigger deal as it is such a bigger stage than that little studio in Florida. The card happens to be stacked and it’s one of the better looking NXT cards that I have seen in a good while. That has been the case before but they have some more work to do. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Blair Davenport vs. Kelani Jordan

This was announced after NXT went off the air this week so there isn’t much of a build here. That being said, Davenport has been a monster heel in recent weeks and Jordan is someone who had been looking up to Dana Brooke before Brooke’s release. In other words, there isn’t much of a reason to believe this is going to be overly competitive, but there might be one reason to believe otherwise.

I’m going to go with what should be the obvious pick in Davenport, but I can’t shake the feeling that Gigi Dolin will interfere to cost Davenport the win in a big embarrassment. Dolin vs. Davenport has been set up for a long time now and it would be interesting to see Dolin get one back on Davenport after she attacked Dolin earlier this week. I’ll go with Davenport here, but a Dolin inspired upset wouldn’t shock me.

Bron Breakker vs. Baron Corbin

Sometimes you need to let two power guys beat the fire out of each other and that is what we are going to be seeing here. These two got the big go home segment to end this week’s NXT as they literally went through a wall during their fight. Corbin can do rather well when he is given the chance and having a fired up Breakker could do just that. Breakker could use the win too and I think you know where this is going.

There is no reason to buy Corbin winning here so I’ll take Breakker getting another big win over a stronger name. Breakker has been kind of floating for the last few weeks but having him beat Corbin up for a little while, survive some big moves and then win is a smart way to go. It might even be a fun match on the way there, but Breakker wins here, as there isn’t much of a reason for anything else to happen.

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks(c) vs. Lucien Price/Bronco Nima vs. Creed Brothers vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

As is the case with most title matches, this was set up through a nice Italian dinner. The tag division has started a nice little rebuild, but at the end of the day, the Creed Brothers feel like they’re that much better than anyone else. I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough to get them to win the titles though, as it’s hard to fathom the Creeds being in NXT that much longer.

For now, I’ll take the champions retaining, though there is a case to be made for giving the titles to anyone but the Creeds. Carrillo and Garza are a more experienced team and need something to make them feel more special, while Price and Nima could get a heck of a rub by winning the titles so soon into their run. The good thing with a four way is that you still have contenders coming out of the match as only one team gets beaten, and we’ll say the champs get to do said beating here.

Heritage Cup: Noam Dar(c) vs. Butch

This is the result of a nearly month long tournament to crown a new #1 contender and that makes things interesting. It’s kind of hard to imagine Butch coming up short after that long. The problem here could be having Tyler Bate in Butch’s corner, which feels like a way to set up some kind of screwy finish. At the same time, it’s hard to imagine it’s hard to imagine having another main roster star winning an NXT title.

That being said, having a tournament go on that long with Butch winning, only to lose here and keep the title on Dar doesn’t make a ton of sense. Dar has been either champion or right there next to it for months now and I don’t see the need to keep it on him. Butch has been needing a win to get himself back up and I’ll say he wins here, though I have quite the feeling that I’m wrong on this one.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. Trick Williams

So this one is a bit more interesting as you have Williams replacing the suddenly released Mustafa Ali. Williams has felt like someone who is being groomed for the next big step up the ladder, with a Carmelo Hayes match feeling like it’s on the horizon. That being said, it would be a big deal to take the title from Mysterio, who is quite the big deal in his own right on the main roster.

I can’t imagine Mysterio losing here so we’ll go with him retaining the title. Williams is someone who could become a big deal rather quickly but Mysterio losing the title so soon doesn’t feel right. At the same time, Mysterio losing the title without Rhea Ripley being involved doesn’t feel right. Mysterio retains here, likely with some interference to keep Williams looking strong.

Women’s Title: Becky Lynch(c) vs. Tiffany Stratton

This is Extreme Rules and a rematch from earlier this month when Lynch took the title from Stratton. That makes things all the more interesting, as Lynch already has everything on Monday Night Raw and she isn’t going to be the champion long term. At the same time though, I’m not sure I can imagine her losing the title here. Stratton feels like she is going to be a big star, but I’m not sure we’re at that point yet.

I’m not feeling overly strong on this one, but I’ll take Lynch to retain here. Stratton certainly has a lot of the tools needed to step up sooner than later, but beating Lynch is one heck of an upgrade. There’s a chance that Stratton wins here, though I’ll go with Lynch retaining after a better fight than the previous edition. Lynch goes over here, but after getting quite the test from Stratton.

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

This is a rematch from Hayes beating Dragunov at the Great American Bash where Dragunov was sent into a chair. That makes the question whether or not Hayes can win on his own here, and we could be in for a heck of a fight. Dragunov knows how to bring up the emotion with some outstanding near falls and selling the pain he’s going through, which should be the case again here. I’m just not sure how it’s going to end and that’s confusing.

I’ll go with….geez I guess Hayes here, as it doesn’t feel like he’s ready to lose the title here, but dang it’s hard to imagine Dragunov losing another big match. Hayes needs to win here to prove that he’s the big star and he has Williams waiting on him sooner or later. That match doesn’t necessarily need to be for the title, but for now we’ll say the title stays with Hayes after a better match than their first showdown.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this card, the better it’s looking. NXT has figured itself out in recent months and that has made it a good show to see again. Now they need to figure out how to make the big shows work, but the pieces are all there to have a successful night. I’m excited about this show and that’s a nice feeling to have, though having it actually be a good show is what matters most.

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NXT
Date: September 12, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are less than three weeks away from No Mercy and tonight we’ll find out the show’s main event. This week will see Ilja Dragunov vs. Wes Les with the winner getting an NXT Title shot against Carmelo Hayes at the big show. Other than that, Becky Lynch is here to challenge Tiffany Stratton for the NXT Women’s Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Wes Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov

The winner faces Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title at No Mercy. Lee knocks him into the corner to start and strikes away before doing it in another corner for a bonus. Dragunov comes back with some forearms of his own as commentary runs down tonight’s card. The enziguri misses for Dragunov and Lee dropkicks him in the back of the head.

One heck of a chop puts Lee down again but he flips out of a German suplex. Lee kicks him to the floor and hits the required dive but another is cut off. We take a break and come back with Lee getting two off a hurricanrana and kicking him in the head a few times. A Spanish Fly gives Lee two but a hard clothesline gives Dragunov the same.

Lee scores with the Cardiac Kick to send Dragunov outside but he’s right back with a top rope superplex. The H Bomb gives Dragunov two more so he loads up the Torpedo Moscow. Lee cuts that off with a jumping knee but Dragunov blasts him with the forearm to the back of the head for the pin and the title shot at 13:26.

Rating: B. This was quite the fight with Dragunov hitting Lee very hard but Lee hanging in there with his own fast paced offense. While Dragunov felt like the favorite, it wouldn’t have been crazy to see Lee pick up the win, which gave the match that extra layer of drama. Dragunov vs. Hayes II should be a heck of a fight though and No Mercy is looking a lot better.

Post match Carmelo Hayes comes out for the showdown.

We look back at Bron Breakker crushing Von Wagner’s head with the steps. Wagner moved away at the last second, but still got hit hard enough to suffer a minor skull fracture.

Here is a serious looking Baron Corbin for a chat. Corbin talks about how normally, people don’t like him and he doesn’t like them, but last week was different. Von Wagner has a history of skull issues and Bron Breakker took advantage of that. Breakker needs to come out here right now so here he is, though Corbin cuts him off at the entrance. The fans have to get in their chants about tables (because of course)….but Corbin thought last week was AWESOME! They celebrate a bit, but Breakker says he didn’t do it to make Corbin happy. It was about ending Wagner’s career and he absolutely loved it.

Corbin was out here to be nice and he was even going to pay Breakker’s fine, but apparently Breakker doesn’t get it. We hear about Corbin’s career but Breakker cuts him off and challenges him to a fight at No Mercy. Breakker tells him to spend the next three weeks with his family, but Corbin slaps him in the face and the fight is on. I’m glad they didn’t turn Corbin face (though they could have made it work there) but Breakker jumping straight to the match seemed like it needed another step.

Charlie Dempsey/Damon Kemp/Drew Gulak vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Myles Bore

Fallon Henley is here too. Briggs slams Kemp to start and Jensen adds an elbow, followed by the running corner clotheslines. Gulak comes in and gets caught with a running neckbreaker as everything breaks down. Borne hits his own neckbreaker on Dempsey, followed by Jensen hitting a running spinwheel kick on Kemp. The fight heads outside with Borne posting Jensen so Kemp can hit a Rock Bottom into a neckbreaker for the pin at 2:40.

Borne celebrates with the winners and Henley is upset.

Andre Chase wants Duke Hudson to find Thea Hail but she’s blocked him. We cut to Hail and Jacy Jayne backstage where two guys hit on them. They make fun of Hail for sounding a bit like a child so she beats them up. Hail is tired of looking like this so it’s time to go shopping.

Lyra Valkyria vs. Dana Brooke

Kelani Jordan is here with Brooke. They trade some misses to start until Valkyria kicks her out to the floor. Brooke takes her down for two back inside and the cravate goes on. Valkyria drives her into the corner and starts kicking away before hitting the spinwheel kick. A top rope splash finishes Brooke at 3:34.

Rating: C-. Every week, I watch Brooke’s matches and segments and try to find a way to be interested in anything she does. Every week, that gets harder and harder to do as Brooke continues to be that uninteresting. She’s just someone who can have an acceptable match and happens to have been around for a long time. That doesn’t warrant this much TV time but she’s here doing the same thing week in and week out regardless.

Post match Brooke tries to lunge at Valkyria but Jordan holds her back.

The NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament is coming.

Eddy Thorpe isn’t done with Dijak, who pops up in the woods where Thorpe tends to go. Dijak whips a tree and Thorpe is out to get him.

Dominik Mysterio runs into Carmelo Hayes and they brag about their titles. A match is set for next week.

Becky Lynch talks about her original time in NXT and no one thought she was championship material. Now she’s back and ready to win the title. Kiana James comes in to says he doesn’t want Lynch around here, which Becky takes as an application for a beating after she wins the title.

Global Heritage Invitational Group A: Tyler Bate vs. Axiom

They trade snapmares to start before Axiom takes him to the mat with a headlock. Back up and Bate elbows him out to the floor but they switch places, with Axiom hitting a moonsault. Bate powers him up into the airplane spin so Axiom rolls outside as we take a break. We come back with Axiom favoring his knee and charging into a suplex out of the corner.

They trade hard kicks as we see the Meta Four watching, with Noam Dar sitting on an elephant. Axiom cranks on the arm but gets caught in another airplane spin. This one is countered into a poisonrana for two, only to have Bate come back with a brainbuster for the same. Axiom Spanish Flies him into a rollup but Bate cuts him off with the rebound lariat. The Tyler Driver 97 finishes Axiom at 10:10.

Rating: B-. As tends to be the case with a lot of TV matches, the break in the middle killed a lot of the flow they had going. Axiom is one of those great hands that can wrestle with anyone while Bate always feels like he is one step away from being a breakout star. They had a good back and forth match here, but it could have been better with some more time.

Group A Standings
Butch (1-0-1, 3 points, 1 match remaining)
Tyler Bate (1-0-0, 2 points, 2 matches remaining)
Axiom (0-1-1, 1 point, 1 match remaining)
Charlie Dempsey (0-1-0, 0 points, 2 matches remaining)

Butch talks about his history with Tyler Bate, but next week, it’s time for Butch to prove that he is the toughest man in NXT.

Schism, now seemingly just Joe Gacy and Ava, say their tree is dying.

Carmelo Hayes comes in to see Trick Williams, who offers to have Hayes’ back next week against Dominik Mysterio. Hayes declines but they’re absolutely still friends. As this is going on, Wes Lee clears out his locker behind them.

Creed Brothers vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Ivy Nile is here with the Creeds and Angel Garza/Humberto Carrillo come out to watch from the balcony. Brutus gets knocked to the floor to start and Enofe dropkicks Julius for a fast two. Back up and an assisted crossbody gets two on Enofe with Blade having to make a save. A Hart Attack Blockbuster gets two on Brutus and a Fameasser puts him down again. Brutus powers up though and brings Julius back in to clean house. Everything breaks down and the Brutus Ball/powerbomb combination finishes Blade at 3:37.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced match, but the Creeds are showing how they are far above almost every other team around here. They’re crisp, they work well together and Julius’ house cleaning is as good as it gets in NXT. They feel like they’re one big match away from the main roster, though the division getting some depth might keep them around a bit longer.

Post match Hank Walker and Tank Ledger come in to stare at the Creeds but Bronco Nima and Lucien Price come in to brawl with them in the aisle instead.

Becky Lynch is glad to see Lyra Valkyria, who wants her to win tonight.

Roxanne Perez talks about what the Women’s Breakout tournament can mean but Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice come in to talk trash to her. My goodness learn how women talk already.

No Mercy rundown.

Global Heritage Invitational Group B: Nathan Frazer vs. Akira Tozawa

Frazer grabs a headlock to start before sending Tozawa into the ropes. Tozawa is right back with a snap German suplex into a missile dropkick. With Frazer on the floor, Tozawa hits a dive but takes too long going up, allowing Frazer to run the ropes for a superplex. That’s floated into a suplex neckbreaker for the pin at 2:31. Well that was brisk.

Group B Standings
Joe Coffey (2-0-0, 4 points, 1 match remaining)
Nathan Frazer (2-1-0, 4 points, 0 matches remaining)
Duke Hudson (1-1-0, 2 points, 1 match remaining)
Akira Tozawa (0-3-0, 0 points, 0 matches remaining)

Joe Coffey is ready to beat Duke Hudson next week and win the group. Hudson comes in to point out that if he wins, it’s a three way tie and he’ll be able to call himself the Spoiler.

Mustafa Ali is happy with becoming #1 contender to the North American Title and doesn’t care about a fast count. Dragon Lee comes in and isn’t happy, but Ali says Lee will get the first title shot when he wins the title. Lee doesn’t seem happy.

Wes Lee says he’s done and leaves.

Gigi Dolin jumps jumps Blair Davenport but security breaks it up.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Women’s Title: Becky Lynch vs. Tiffany Stratton

Lynch is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. Stratton drives her into the corner to start and cartwheels into a standoff. Lynch flips around a bit as well but it’s too early for the Disarm-Her. They trade forearms until Stratton knocks her to the apron for a hip attack. We take a break and come back with Lynch hitting a running elbow in the corner. A missile dropkick gives Lynch two but Stratton hits a Sky High for the same.

Lynch catches her up top but a superplex is broken up. A Swanton gives Stratton two and a double stomp gets the same as frustration is setting in. Lynch is back up and counters the Prettiest Moonsault Ever into a super Russian legsweep for two. They head outside with Lynch having to climb onto the barricade to avoid a powerbomb. Back in and Lynch hits a legdrop into the Disarm-Her, sending Stratton to the ropes. The sitout powerbomb gives Stratton two but the Prettiest Moonsault Ever misses. Lynch is right back up with the Manhandle Slam for the pin and the title at 13:20.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match and the good sign is that Stratton looked more than comfortable in there against a top star like Lynch. They’ve got something with Stratton and it seems that they know it, which makes her all the more valuable. At the same time, Lynch isn’t likely to be a long term champion and someone can take the title from her for a big rub. Great main event here and they more than lived up to the expectations.

Lynch celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. As usual, NXT is at its best when it lays out a bunch of things it needs to do and then accomplishes them, all while setting up something for the future. That was the case here, with both next week as well as No Mercy being set up. At the same time, they had a good opener and a better main event, making it a strong wrestling show as well. Very solid effort this week and No Mercy is looking that much better rather quickly.

Results
Ilja Dragunov b. Wes Lee – Forearm to the back of the head
Damon Kemp/Drew Gulak/Charlie Dempsey b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Myles Borne – Rock Bottom neckbreaker to Jensen
Lyra Valkyria b. Dana Brooke – Top rope splash
Tyler Bate b. Axiom – Tyler Driver 97
Creed Brothers b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Brutus Ball/powerbomb combination to Blade
Nathan Frazer b. Akira Tozawa – Suplex neckbreaker

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 29, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Heatwave and about a month away from No Mercy. Carmelo Hayes has retained the NXT Title and seems likely to be facing Ilja Dragunov next. For now though, we have a cage match between the Creeds and Schism for the Creeds’ chance to return full time. That would be one of two cage matches in four days this week because WWE likes to do things a lot. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt.

We open with a long recap of Heatwave.

Dyad vs. Creed Brothers

In a cage and if the Creeds win, they’re back in NXT full time. Schism jumps Brutus outside the cage and take him to the back, leaving Julius down 2-1. Julius suplexes his way out of trouble but gets caught with a double clothesline. Some ankle locks slow the Dyad down but they send him face first into the cage as we take a break.

Back with Julius still in trouble but here is Brutus to charge through the rest of the masked Schism members. With nothing else stopping him, Brutus rips the cage door off and gets inside to beat up the Dyad without much trouble. The door is used to crush Dyad against the cage and Fowler gets gorilla pressed into the wall.

What looks to be a Doomsday Device is broken up and Julius is sent into the cage again. Some cage shots to Brutus keep him down until Julius makes the save. Julius lifts both of them onto his shoulders at once for a Brutus Bomb in a very impressive power display. The beatdown is on in a hurry and stereo sliding lariats finish the Dyad at 13:45.

Rating: B-. This was more of a fight than a match and that is what it should have been. There is something amazing about watching the Creeds run through other, possibly more talented teams, with pure power and athleticism. Both of them can just wreck people and it is all kinds of fun to watch every time they’re out there. Just get them something else to do already so they can move up to the main roster.

Roxanne Perez is ready to become #1 contender.

We get a rather well produced video looking over the Global Heritage Cup Invitational. It’s a round robin tournament, set up as two groups of four with the winners facing off for a future title shot. All group matches have a 12 minute time limit and it’s two points for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. These matches are NOT under the rounds system.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks are admiring their titles in the back when Carmelo Hayes comes in to brag with them. The Street Profits come in and show respect to Hayes, while mentioning a blemish on his record. Hayes is ready to get rid of it while the Profits….are interrupted by a brawl between Dana Brooke, Elektra Lopez, Lola Vice and Kelani Jordan.

Global Heritage Invitational Group A: Charlie Dempsey vs. Butch

Drew Gulak and Damon Kemp are here with the Meta Four watching from a box. Dempsey suplexes Butch down to start as the fans are on Butch’s side. They stay on the mat to trade control over the other’s hands. Back up and Butch knocks him down for some forearms to the face. Dempsey’s German suplex gets two but Butch pulls him into an armbar. Butch snaps the fingers again and it’s the Bitter End for the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. This was your technical match of the night and my goodness it’s nice to see Butch being like Pete Dunne but under a different name. He has a history in NXT and it is great to see him going back to what made him one of the best things in wrestling for a long time. Dempsey is rather good as well, but he’s not Butch yet and it showed here.

Group A Standings
Butch – 1-0-0 (3 points)
Tyler Bate – 0-0-0 (0 points)
Axiom – 0-0-0 (0 points)
Charlie Dempsey – 0-1-0 (0 points)

Dragon Lee thinks he deserves a North American Title shot but Mustafa Ali comes in to say he’s never had a one on one title shot. People like he and Lee should be fighting for NXT…but Lee already struck out so it’s Ali’s turn now. Lee doesn’t seem to agree as Ali leaves.

Here is Ilja Dragunov to praise Trick Williams for last week. Williams left it all in the ring and proved that he is NOT a sidekick. Dragunov was impressed but now he wants Carmelo Hayes. Hold on though as Noam Dar interrupts from the box to say they’re already on the way to California for No Mercy. Dragunov says it’s very Dar-esque to put the attention on himself and laughs off Oro Mensah’s childish insults.

Dragunov wants to know why he isn’t coming up there right now. Lash Legend says Dar isn’t afraid of anyone so Dragunov takes off the jacket. The Meta Four freaks out so Dar says let’s do this next week: Mensah vs. Dragunov. Works for Dragunov, who kicks Mensah in the head and sends him bailing at the threat of the Torpedo.

Von Wagner wants Bron Breakker, No DQ.

Lola Vice/Elektra Lopez vs. Kelani Jordan/Dana Brooke

Lopez powers Jordan down to start and it’s off to Vice for a double hip attack to the head. Vice’s spinning backfist gets two but Jordan kicks her way out of trouble. Brooke flips Jordan onto Lopez for two as everything breaks down. A spinning kick to the head finishes Jordan at 4:01.

Rating: D+. As usual, Dana Brooke matches aren’t very good and it shouldn’t be a surprise anymore. Jordan is still brand new at this and still has a long way to go. Then you have Lopez, who feels like she should be a star but never really broke out. Finally there is Vice, and she has something. There is a presence to go with her charisma and that could get her a long way.

Gigi Dolin is ready to become #1 contender.

Trick Williams talks to Carmelo Hayes, who doesn’t like people thinking Williams got him the win over Ilja Dragunov. Now Hayes has to fight Dragunov one on one but Williams isn’t sure if Hayes can beat him. Hayes isn’t happy, but as he leaves, Williams says “I know you can”, though Hayes doesn’t seem to hear him.

Dijak vs. Eddy Thorpe

Eddy starts the fight in the aisle and hits a running boot in the corner for two. A suplex gets the same on Dijak but he’s right back with High Justice for two. They’re both knocked down so Dijak pulls off his belt and the tug of war is on. Thorpe sends him shoulder first into the post but gets tossed hard over the announcers’ table for the big crash. Dijak misses a chair shot in the corner so Eddy him outside. The referee takes the chair away and Dijak gets in a belt shot. The cyclone boot finishes Eddy at 4:15.

Rating: C. These two had a hard hitting match but they seem to be stuck in the purgatory that is the NXT midcard. Either of them could move up to the next level without much of a stretch but for now, they’re more people just trading wins without going anywhere. Why aren’t either of them in the North American Title hunt? Or even the Heritage stuff?

Kiana James is ready to become #1 contender.

Bron Breakker interrupts Baron Corbin and tells him to stay out of the No DQ match with Von Wagner next week.

Angel Garza wakes up with blood on his hands. After he washes it off, Humberto Carrillo knocks on the door and says he had a dream about their grandfather. They seem to have had the same dream, with Garza scratching his chest until he bled. Carrillo reveals that he did the same thing, which means they have to start from….scratch. They pull out a Los Lotharios shirt and seem to be on the same page.

Bray Wyatt tribute video.

Blair Davenport is ready to become #1 contender.

Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio aren’t impressed by Dragon Lee. Mysterio says he belongs to Mami and Ripley promises to make him champ for life. Lee and Mustafa Ali can even fight each other for a North American Title shot at No Mercy. Dominik will even be guest referee!

Global Heritage Invitational Group B: Nathan Frazer vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is at ringside. Frazer works on the arm to start but Frazer seems to accidentally slam his head against the top rope (I’ve never seen that before) so Coffey slams him down. The referee checks on Frazer as fast as he can but Frazer is fine enough to grab a headlock. Coffey powers him into the corner but gets knocked to the apron. A dropkick sends Frazer outside and we take a break.

Back with Frazer firing off a bunch of running forearms into a swinging suplex for two. Coffey cuts him off with a pop up uppercut into a bridging German suplex for two more. Frazer is fine enough to send him outside for a heck of a dive (which barely makes contact). The frog splash gets two back inside but Frazer misses a phoenix splash. A Gallus distraction lets All The Best for The Bells finish for Coffey at 10:00.

Rating: C+. If Frazer is going to be getting the title shot against Dar at the end of this whole thing, they are already building him up for quite the underdog run. Other than that though, we had another good enough match, with Coffey getting something of an upset win. Frazer continues to be a fireball every time he’s out there though and that is always fun to see.

Group B Standings
Joe Coffey – 1-0-0 (3 points)
Akira Tozawa – 0-0-0 (0 points)
Duke Hudson – 0-0-0 (0 points)
Nathan Frazer – 0-1-0 (0 points)

We’re off to Chase U, where there is no Thea Hail. Duke Hudson doesn’t know where she is but can’t imagine she skipped class. Chase recognized Duke Hudson for being in the Global Heritage Invitational. Chase didn’t know that Hudson was from Australia, thinking it was New Zealand. Hudson seems surprised at the round robin structure. Class is dismissed and Hudson and Chase talk about the tournament. Thea Hail comes in and seems to imply she skipped class. Hudson says they’re off to Study Hall but Hail says she’s going out. Jacy Jayne pops in to ask if Hail is ready and they leave together. Oh dear.

Fallon Henley talks to Myles Borne, who is cleaning the ring after Drew Gulak and company. She offers him a spot on a team with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, so he’s in.

Wes Lee is in the desert and says he wants another shot at Carmelo Hayes, who didn’t beat him as Lee beat himself. It’s different the next time he gets a chance.

Tyler Bate sizes up the competition in his group but seems to think twice at Butch. As for next week though, he’s going to be waiting in the ring for Dabba-Kato, so come be the Goliath to his David.

Roxanne Perez vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James vs. Blair Davenport

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a Women’s Title shot next week. Dolin and James fight to the floor to start, leaving Davenport to forearm Perez down. Back in and they trade rollups for two each Everyone stares at each other. Dolin plants Perez on the apron and whips James into the barricade. Davenport takes Dolin down but James moonsaults off the barricade to drop Davenport, only to get taken down by Perez’s dive.

We take a break and come back with Perez getting the worst of a Tower Of Doom. The lack of impact leaves Dolin to hit running charges and dropkicks against the ropes until Perez fights up. Pop Rox is broken up by a James dropkick but Davenport plants Perez or two. Dolin gets two off a half and half suplex and everyone is down (including James on the floor). Perez is back up with Pop Rox to Davenport but she rolls out to the floor. James is back in with the 401k to Perez, followed by the Dealbreaker to Dolin for the pin and the title shot at 11:39.

Rating: B-. This was a better match that I was expecting as they were moving well out there and kept up the action throughout. James kind of stole the win but she did it by taking out two people in a row. That’s an impressive way to get the title shot and it’s nice to see her get a boost. The women’s division can use some fresh blood so even a short shot of James is a good idea.

Tiffany Stratton comes out for the staredown with James.

Carmelo Hayes is watching Wes Lee’s promo and goes into Shawn Michaels’ office, saying they need to talk to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. Another fine show here, even if it was more about setting things up than last week’s show with a bunch of showdowns. They have about a month before No Mercy and they started fast here, though that tournament sounds long (I can however go for something other than another single elimination format). This wasn’t exactly a must see show, but it started to set things up in the right time.

Results
Creed Brothers b. Dyad – Double sliding lariats
Butch b. Charlie Dempsey – Spinning kick to the head
Lola Vice/Elektra Lopez b. Dana Brooke/Kelani Jordan – Spinning kick to the head to Jordan
Dijak b. Eddy Thorpe – Cyclone boot
Joe Coffey b. Nathan Frazer – All The Best For The Bells
Kiana James b. Gigi Dolin, Roxanne Perez and Blair Davenport – Dealbreaker to Dolin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams/Ilja Dragunov vs. Schism

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

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

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

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

Von Wagner vs. Javier Bernal

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

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

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

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

Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dijak is ready to hurt Eddy Thorpe.

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

Great American Bash rundown.

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

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

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

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

Lyra Valkyria vs. Rhea Ripley

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

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

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

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

Great American Bash rundown.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Booker is NOT happy about this invasion of privacy.

Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James

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

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

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

Ivy Nile takes down the Diamond Mine banner.

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

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

Bronco Nima/Lucien Price vs. Scrypts/Axiom

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

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

Elektra Lopez vs. Thea Hail

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

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

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

Gable Steveson makes his decision next week.

Oro Mensah vs. Eddy Thorpe

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

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

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

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

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Wes Lee

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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AND

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