NXT
Date: November 22, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re on the way to Deadline and that means we need to add some people to the card. There are five spots each for the Iron Survivor matches and all of them need to be filled. Other than that, we could use some matches of any kind and that is where we probably start tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. Mandy Rose brags about keeping the Women’s Title last week, saying another one bit the dust. Now NXT has to set up this Iron Survivor Challenge to find a new contender for her title and she’ll be watching closely. Rose brags about their success but here are Kayden Carter and Katana Chance to interrupt. Carter mocks the idea of Rose doing everything herself and suggests that Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin will bail as soon as Rose loses the title. That’s enough for the fight to be on with Toxic Attraction dominating due to the numbers advantage.

Earlier today, Wes Lee arrived when Tony D’Angelo pulled up in his car. D’Angelo suggests revenge over Lee hurting him but Lee says D’Angelo knows where to find him.

Grayson Waller comes up to Duke Hudson and says Hudson isn’t the flag waving rah rah guy. Hudson says he is, because he’s a dedicated student.

Cora Jade vs. Wendy Choo

Choo takes her down by the arm to start and Jade has to beg off into the ropes. Jade sends her throat first into the ropes and hits a running elbow to the back to take over. Back up and Choo hits a running boot in the corner, only to miss the sleeping elbow. Choo avoids a springboard stomp and sends Jade outside as we take a break.

Back with Choo hitting a flipping forearm in the corner for two so Jade grade the stick. Choo takes it away so the referee takes it from her, allowing Jade to throw Choo’s drink into her eyes. A double arm DDT finishes Choo at 9:04. The referee being confused by the liquid on the mat while counting away seems a bit shenanigansy but he didn’t see anything.

Rating: C. Choo has been toned down a bit in recent months and that is a bit better. I’m not sure what is next for her but getting rid of a lot of the over the top stuff has made her a lot easier to watch. The push of Jade continues and she is starting to thrive in this role. You can tell she’s someone WWE sees something in and it is starting to work rather well.

Choo cries post match.

Apollo Crews is ready for Bron Breakker and the NXT Title at Deadline. He has had all kinds of title matches but this is the one that he wakes up thinking about. This time, his vision is holding the NXT Title.

Kiana James is ready for revenge on Ivy Nile.

Javier Bernal has a 1,347 name list of people he wants to challenge, starting with Axiom, who is still hurt. #14 is Elon Musk because Bernal isn’t paying $8 for a check mark. McKenzie Mitchell: “How many followers do you have?” Bernal: “Two thousand. Million.” Drake (the rapper, not Maverick) is on the list, plus some unnamed wrestler who is retired. If Mitchell doesn’t lighten up, she’ll be the one he fights. This is the different kind of promo that made things feel a little different, which is quite welcome.

Chase U, now with several new students, are interrupted by Pretty Deadly, They wonder when Duke Hudson is going to be his usual self and a fight breaks out. Hudson holds his own against both of them until referees break it up.

Ivy Nile vs. Kiana James

Tatum Paxley is here with Nile. James grabs a headlock to start before muscling her up for an over the shoulder backbreaker. A drop to the knees makes it even worse for Nile and a belly to back suplex gives James two. Back up and Nile cranks on the arm before firing off some kicks. A running hurricanrana drops James to the floor, where Fallon Henley pops up to prevent an escape attempt. Back in and the Diamond Chain Lock finishes James at 4:39.

Rating: C-. Not the best match here but Nile getting away from LVL Up is a good thing. She is more than good enough to hang in there with the main NXT stars and I’m not sure why she hasn’t gotten the chance. James continues to be a decent character who needs some more ring time, but she did ok enough here.

Post match the Creed Brothers come in to brag about Nile’s win before saying Indus Sher isn’t making their name off the two of them. They’re ready to fight anytime.

Isla Dawn brags about what she did to Alba Fyre last week and reveals she has been behind some of the recent tech glitches (nice little loose thread being tied up). She and Fyre will have so much fun together.

A banged up Duke Hudson comes in to see Andre Chase and says he got in a fight with Pretty Deadly. Chase: “Who?” Hudson says they were talking trash about the university and the repercussion is……a Tag Team Title match tonight (the fans are REALLY happy with that one)! The student Chase was talking to is very happy so Chase asks him what the **** is he still doing here. It’s time to prepare!

Scrypts vs. Guru Raaj

Scrypts walks around the barricade on the way to the ring and given his size and flipping ability, I would bet pretty heavily on that being Reggie/Reginald. The REGGIE chants would seem to back that up. Scrypts flips away from a charge and hammers away, setting up a Molly Go Round for the pin at 1:21. Nice job on the surprise and if Reggie has trained himself up a bit more, good for him to use that crazy athleticism again. That being said, the mask is awful and looked more goofy than anything else.

Post match Scrypts leaves a card with his name on it on Raaj’s chest.

Here is Schism for a chat, with all of them sitting in chair, albeit with the one in the middle missing. Joe Gacy says it is their duty to reinforce the idea of having something to be thankful for. Ava Raine talks about how families are torn apart by Thanksgiving. Blood relatives cannot be counted on, but Schism certainly can be.

Raine goes outside to look at the crowd as we hear about how Thanksgiving has lost its intent. Raine gets a fan out of the crowd and lets him sit in the empty chair. Gacy talks about how their table is bare so new traditions can be forged. Then they sacrifice him with a release Rock Bottom through the table. Schism continues to be a thing that exists for reasons I don’t understand.

Trick Williams says Carmelo Hayes is ready, so Wes Lee comes in to say that means Williams doesn’t need to be out there for tonight’s title match. Williams eventually agrees, even if he doesn’t seem to do it on purpose. Nice little mind game here.

Video on Bron Breakker going on a boat for some fishing, which is his happy place. He’s ready for Apollo Crews but needs to get away at times. These little personal pieces can go a long way for anyone, including Breakker.

Sol Ruca vs. Zoey Stark

Ruca flips around to start so Stark superkicks her down for two. Stark sends her to the floor but Ruca gets tied up in the ring skirt, setting up the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and Ruca hits a dropkick into a backdrop for two. A sunset flip gets the same and a flipping splash in the corner hits Starks as well. Ruca hits a powerslam but misses a dropkick, setting up the running knee to give Stark the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C. Not much to see here again, as we have a bit of a running theme this week. Ruca has the same criticisms she has had so far: she’s athletic, she’s in great shape and that’s the extent of anything that stands out about her. Stark is still just kind of there, likely setting up a showdown with Nikkita Lyons at Deadline.

Post match, Nikkita Lyons runs in to clear out Stark.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade get beaten up by Von Wagner in the parking lot.

Charlie Dempsey trains old school like Billy Robinson and Karl Gotch. Some clips of the legends are nice to see.

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Chase U

Chase U, with Thea Hail, is challenging. Wilson runs Chase over to start but Chase is back up with a crawl through the legs into a cartwheel. Chase takes both champs down on his own before Hudson comes in to help him do the same. Back with Wilson keeping Chase in trouble in the corner and Hudson being lured to the floor.

Hudson accidentally runs Hail over but gets the hot tag a few seconds later. Everything breaks down and Hudson loads up the Fratliner. That doesn’t work though and it’s Hudson accidentally Kicking Chase in the face. With Hudson on the floor, Spilled Milk to Chase is enough to retain the titles at 11:49.

Rating: B-. Chase U continues to be one of the most over things in all of NXT but they still haven’t gotten that big win to give them some kind of an accomplishment. I get not wanting to give them the titles here, but Chase losing again is a bit hard to take. We’re probably heading to Hudson vs. Chase at some point in the future, but Chase winning something of note would be nice to see.

At a live event, Indi Hartwell and Roxanne Perez got in an argument as Elektra Lopez filmed everything.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance recruit Nikkita Lyons (who has changed clothes since chasing off Stark) to go after Toxic Attraction.

Next week: Shawn Michaels reveals everyone in both Iron Survival Challenges.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee

Lee is defending (and has to jump over a rock during his entrance) and there is no Trick Williams here. They lock up to start with Hayes getting the better of things. That earns him a tackle and some right hands to the face, with Lee hammering him out to the floor. Back in and Lee misses a basement dropkick but dodges a springboard dive. Stereo kicks to the face put them both down and we take a break.

We come back with Lee fighting out of a chinlock but getting caught with a springboard spinning clothesline. Lee fights back and sends him into the corner for a running forearm, only to have Hayes come back with something close to La Mistica for two. Nothing But Net misses for Hayes and a running Meteora gives Lee two. Cue Williams for a distraction so Lee hits him with a running flip dive. Back in and Lee hits a backflip kick to the head Hayes again, setting up a Michinoku Driver for the pin to retain at 12:56.

Rating: B. That’s a good win for Lee, as Hayes has been around the North American Title for a long time now and beating him is something Lee had to do to be taken seriously as a champion. Lee still feels like he is in a bit over his head but he can work his way out of that with a few wins. Solid match too and having Lee take out Williams and Hayes at once makes him look that much better.

Post match Dijak (yes Dijak) is back and hits Feast Your Eyes to knock Lee silly to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that picked up near the end but the first half was only so good. They had something with the Chase U stuff throughout most of the show and the Scrypts/Dijak returns were nice surprises. The wrestling didn’t work so well in the first half but the last two matches made up for it well enough. It seems like we’re getting the start of the Deadline build next week, even if you can see a lot of the card from here. Pretty good show, which could have been a lot better if the first hour hadn’t dragged it down.

Results
Cora Jade b. Wendy Choo – Double arm DDT
Ivy Nile b. Kiana James – Diamond Chain Lock
Scrypts b. Guru Raaj – Molly Go Round
Zoey Stark b. Sol Ruca – Running knee
Pretty Deadly b. Chase U – Spilled Milk to Chase
Wes Lee b. Carmelo Hayes – Michinoku Driver

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NXT LVL Up
Date: November 11, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

For once we’re actually coming off of a decent show, mainly because there were some slightly bigger stars. It also helps when the matches are laid out a bit better, as it seems like more effort is included. There is only so much time on this show so you have to take what you can get. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley vs. Lash Legend/Jakara Jackson

Legend hammers on Nile to start but Nile kicks her in the head to break that up. Jackson comes in and gets suplexed down, allowing Paxley to come in for a standing twisting moonsault. Something like a reverse X Factor plants Jackson again but she takes Paxley over for the tag to Legend. The beating continues until Jackson works on a backbreaker before switching to the leg. That works so badly that Paxley slips over for the tag off to Nile so house can be cleaned. Nile sends the villains together so Paxley can dive on Legend. That leaves Nile to flip into the Diamond Chain Lock and finish Jackson at 4:46.

Rating: C. I still don’t’ get why Nile isn’t getting more of a chance on the main NXT show as she is far better than just about anyone on this show. Legend has settled into a point where she is just bad instead of being a disaster, while Jackson is just the latest person on the roster, which doesn’t exactly make her mean much so far.

Javier Bernal isn’t worried about Ikemen Jiro and promises to beat him up.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal isn’t having any of this handshake stuff to start so he shoves Jiro down. That doesn’t go so well as Jiro armdrags him, only to get kicked backwards. Jiro is sent to the apron and a hard forearm knocks him down again. Back in and a slam into some elbows get two on Jiro, setting up the chinlock. Jiro fights up but gets taken down with a clothesline as this is one sided so far. A dragon screw legwhip gets Jiro out of trouble and he fires off the jacket punches. There’s the Tarantula to Jiro but the Ikemen Slash misses, allowing Bernal to roll him up (with trunks) for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C. This was almost a squash until Jiro’s comeback didn’t work out so well. That isn’t a surprise either as Bernal has been featured on NXT a bit more lately, meaning he isn’t going to be losing to someone who has been around here for such a long time. Bernal is starting to figure out his heel stuff too and if that works out, good for him.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade/Odyssey Jones vs. Xyon Quinn/Lucien Price/Bronco Nima

That’s a different kind of main event around here. Price shoves Odyssey on the apron to start so Enofe headlock takeovers Price down. The rather large Price shoves him into the corner and hands it off to Nima. A dropkick cuts Nima off and it’s Blade coming in, only to get sent into the corner. Quinn comes in but Blade rolls over to Jones for the showdown.

Everything breaks down and the good guys clean house until Quinn gets in a cheap shot on Jones. That doesn’t get him very far though and it’s Nima coming in to beat up Enofe instead. Quinn splashes Enofe for two but a dive through the legs allows the hot tag off to Jones for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down (again) and Blade’s splash off of Jones’ shoulders finishes Price at 6:40.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match with the good guys working well together and having some people to beat up, albeit after breaking a sweat. What matters most here is that it felt like something different on this show after doing the same things over and over. Just mix it up a bit and see how much more fun the show can be.

Overall Rating: C. I had enough fun with this show for it to be ok and that’s all you can ask for with something like this. The main event was enough of a change of pace to make things better and after the months of the same formula, that is really nice to have for once. I have no reason to believe it is going to last, but one night of ok is better than nothing.

Results
Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley b. Lash Legend/Jakara Jackson – Diamond Chain Lock to Jackson
Javier Bernal b. Ikemen Jiro – Rollup with trunks
Odyssey Jones/Malik Blade/Edris Enofe b. Xyon Quinn/Lucien Price/Bronco Nima – Splash to Price

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 15, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

Deadline is in less than a month but we have a big night to get through first. This week will see two title matches, as the NXT Title and NXT Women’s Titles will both be defended. Those are going to make for some major matches and there is going to be some other big stuff included as well. Let’s get to it.

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

NXT Title: Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

Wagner, with Mr. Stone, is challenging. Stone offers an early distraction so Wagner can jump Breakker to start. Breakker’s arm is snapped over the top rope and some shoulders to the arm make it even worse. Back up and Breakker snaps off a suplex as we take an early break. We come back with Wagner fighting out of a chinlock and taking Breakker to the floor for a spinebuster onto the steps.

Breakker manages a top rope clothesline though and the comeback is on, including the powerslam. The Steiner Bulldog plants Wagner again but Wagner grabs a Fireman’s carry flipped into a neckbreaker. Breakker tries the gorilla press but his back gives out, leaving him to escape another fireman’s carry. The spear retains the title at 12:42.

Rating: C+. There was no reason to believe that the title was changing hands here but this got Breakker in the ring and let him get a win under his belt. Wagner is still a pretty generic monster but now that he is out of the way, Breakker can move on to something more important/interesting. For a one off title match, it went just fine.

Video on Alba Fyre vs. Mandy Rose.

Bron Breakker gets to the back where JD McDonagh congratulates him.

Here is Zoey Stark to say her back feels better now that she isn’t carrying Nikkita Lyons anymore. Stark came back from a nine month layoff and gets told that she’s going to be teaming with Lyons in the tournament for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Then Stark got hurt, but Lyons said that she wasn’t mad at her.

Stark didn’t get hurt doing something stupid, but rather while she was in the ring. Then they lost the Tag Team Title match and was tired of the apologies. We see Stark turning on Lyons last week and Starks is very happy with her new attitude. She blames the people and says it is now about her because she is UNDENIABLE. She is the hunter and everyone back there is the prey. As was the case last week: this would have more impact if they had five matches together as a team.

Duke Hudson comes up to see Andre Chase, who wants to know why Hudson threw in the towel last week. Hudson says it was because he values Chase’s health and if Charlie Dempsey had hurt him last week, the entire University would have been on the shelf. If people accuse him of loving the university too much, then he is guilty as charged. Thea Hail comes in and Hudson leaves rather abruptly. Hail says Hudson is growing on her.

Apollo Crews comes up to Bron Breakker and suggests he’s coming for the title.

Indus Sher vs. George Cannon/Ariel Dominguez

Sanga slams Cannon face first into the mat to start and drops him throat first across the top. Veer comes in to run Cannon over and some big slams drop the tiny Dominguez. A running big boot and corner splash rock Dominguez again, setting up a side slam/middle rope elbow to give Mahaan the pin at 3:26.

Rating: D+. Just a squash here but Sher didn’t exactly do anything to make themselves more interesting. They did a fine imitation of the Authors of Pain or the Viking Raiders as the latest power monsters and that’s about it. I’m sure they’ll be fine as they look the part, but this is far from original or any kind of a novel take on the concept of big monsters.

Post match Indus Sher says they’re ready to crush the Creed Brothers.

Diamond Mine is ready to fight but Ivy Nile tells them to cool it.

Wendy Choo calls Cora Jade a salty and petulant child who will never change. At the same time though, she said some things that Choo hasn’t heard since high school. Next week, she’ll give Jade two black eyes.

JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews

They stare at each other to start until Crews armdrags him into an armbar. Back up and McDonagh does the same thing back to Crews, only to get reversed into a headscissors. Crews grabs a backdrop and shoulders him out to the floor in a heap. That’s fine with Crews, who goes after him for a drop onto the announcers’ table as we take a break.

Back with Crews dropping backwards onto McDonagh off the middle rope, only to get caught in a sleeper. A belly to back suplex puts Crews down but he sends McDonagh outside, setting up the apron moonsault. They get back inside with a sitout powerbomb giving Crews two, meaning it’s time to go up top. McDonagh pulls him back down in a crash but Crews gets in a hard whip into the corner.

Crews misses a charge and cashes out to the floor, where McDonagh hits a good looking Asai moonsault. Back in and Crews catches him on top, this time with a super Angle Slam for a double knockdown. They trade small packages for two each until an exchange of shots to the face staggers them both. McDonagh gets two off a sunset flip and goes up top, only to miss a moonsault. A high angle spinebuster gives Crews the pin at 13:55.

Rating: B. That’s quite the surprise ending as I would have bet on McDonagh winning again to set up another title match down the line. The interesting thing here is that Crews finally gets a win that feels like it matters after a few months of just kind of being there. He’ll probably lose to someone in his next big match, but he has to win something to maintain some credibility.

Mandy Rose is ready to beat Alba Fyre because she is a superstar.

Javier Bernal is ready to face Axiom, ignoring that he is injured. With Axiom out of action, what about Ilja Dragunov? Eh he’s out too, so maybe anyone from Gallus? Oh yeah they’re all suspended. Well find him someone then! This was actually somewhat funny so I’ll go with shocked at Bernal being moderately entertaining for a change.

Here is Booker T. to moderate the contract signing between Wes Lee and Carmelo Hayes, with Trick Williams. Hayes is proud to be in Booker’s Fave Five, but Booker isn’t sure about that. Lee says Hayes isn’t the A Champion anymore but Hayes says the fifteen minutes of fame end next week. Lee is ready for his first title defense because he is ready to prove himself again. They both sign and Williams talks some trash with Lee but Booker isn’t going to let violence ensue.

T-Bar is still ready to come back.

Odyssey Jones hypes up Malik Blade and Edris Enofe, but he isn’t wild on Blade’s sweater. Blade talks about how it is a tribute to his father, who wanted him to look nice.

Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs vs. Dyad

Fallon Henley and the rest of Schism is here too. Fowler slugs away on Jensen to start but gets taken down with a running faceplant. Briggs comes in for a flying shoulder and it’s quickly back to Jensen. Everything breaks down and Jensen gets knocked off the apron, leaving Reed to suicide dive him into the announcers’ table in a nasty crash. Briggs is right back up to clean house, including throwing Reid into the ropes on the floor, with Briggs clotheslining him out of the air. Cue Kiana James to go after Henley, earning herself a slap. Back inside and a double Codebreaker finishes Briggs at 4:10.

Rating: C. Well at least Schism didn’t talk. Pushing the Dyad as a team is a fine enough idea, though it isn’t going to matter until they actually win the titles. Kiana James as a thorn in the country boys’/Henley’s side is interesting, but she’ll need a team of her own to fight them at some point. For now though, costing them a win works well enough.

Shawn Michaels joins us for an announcement of a new match: the Iron Survivor Challenge. There will be a men’s and women’s match at Deadline with five entrants each. Two wrestlers will start and every five minutes, a new one will be added until all five are in. You win with the most falls in 25 minutes, with falls coming via pinfall, submission or DQ. If you win a fall, you get a point, but the person who loses the fall is put in a penalty match for 90 seconds. The winner is the new #1 contender, with entrants being announced in the coming weeks. So it’s a gauntlet Iron Man Penalty Box match? That’s quite a few things combined.

Indi Hartwell vs. Tatum Paxley

Ivy Nile is in Paxley’s corner. Paxley sends her into the corner to start but Hartwell does the same. A hiptoss is broken up so Hartwell knocks her down with a shot to the face. The chinlock doesn’t keep Paxley down very long as she makes the comeback, only to have Hartwell rip her mask off. Hartwell kicks her down and, after throwing the mask to Nile, hits a running forearm to the back of the had for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: C. Reheating Hartwell is a good idea and I’m curious to see just how far they’ll take her. She hit rock bottom for a good while and was even a regular on LVL Up so there isn’t much further she can fall. She didn’t need to cheat to beat Paxley here so it could have been a lot worse. Paxley continues to be just kind of there, but at least she’s getting on TV.

Scrypts was here but is already gone because he is too smart and fast to be caught. You’ll see how smart he is next week so do you want to play a game? So he’s Jigsaw?

Roxanne Perez congratulates Indi Hartwell on her win but wasn’t it too far to rip off Tatum Paxley’s mask? Hartwell doesn’t care because she wants in the Iron Survivor Challenge. The heel turn continues to work.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre

Mandy is defending in a Last Woman Standing match. Fyre starts fast and knocks her outside to start. Some rams into the barricade knock Rose sillier and Fyre grabs some weapons from underneath the ring. The delay lets Fyre grab a slam on the floor but she’s right back with a half crab back inside.

We take a break and come back with Fyre hitting a dive off the top to take Rose out on the floor. Rose is back up with some ladder shots against the barricade to put Fyre in trouble but she’s back with a trashcan shot. Rose barely beats the count and they fight into the crowd, with Rose knocking her off the barricade.

Fyre fights up and knocks a diving Rose out of the air. A Gory Bomb onto the apron lets Fyre put her on the announcers’ table. Fyre goes up a ladder….and Isla Dawn pops up on the other side to send Fyre through the table. Rose beats the count at 11:56 to retain the title again.

Rating: B-. They had a good fight here, even with the screwy finish. What matters is keeping the title on Rose, which I wouldn’t have bet on coming in. NXT needs someone who can take the title off of her and I’m not sure who that is at the moment. At least it wasn’t Jayne or Dolin interfering in the end here, even if Fyre has to lose in another big match.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event felt big and Crews vs. McDonagh was a good match, which is enough to carry this week. The rest of the show was pretty in the middle at best, but I’ll take two rather good matches out of six on a weekly show. Other than that, they set up things for the future, though I’m not sure how well the Iron Survivor deal will go. For now though, nice week of TV as we are on the wa to a bigger show next month.

Results
Bron Breakker b. Von Wagner – Spear
Indus Sher b. George Cannon/Ariel Dominguez – Side slam/Middle rope elbow combination to Dominguez
Apollo Crews b. JD McDonagh – Spinebuster
Dyad b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen – Double Codebreaker to Briggs
Indi Hartwell b. Tatum Paxley – Running forearm to the back of the head
Mandy Rose b. Alba Fyre when Fyre didn’t answer the ten count

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 1, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We are into the final two months of the year and heading towards Deadline in December. It would seem that JD McDonagh is on his way towards the next shot at Bron Breakker, where he is probably a favorite to win the title. Now though the question is who shows up from the main roster this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Bron Breakker to get things going. He talks about how great a night Halloween Havoc was, and not just for him. We hear about Wes Lee winning the North American Title, but here is Pretty Deadly to interrupt. They don’t think much of Breakker retaining his title again but Breakker mocks their accents.

Cue Wes Lee to praise Pretty Deadly’s hair and Breakker is willing to let Pretty Deadly have the spotlight. Pretty Deadly poses for a picture (meaning a lot of hip thrusting) but Breakker says someone is going to interrupt. That would be Breakker and Lee, who want the Tag Team Titles. Prince: “There is no way this night could get any worse.” Cue R-Truth and yeah it’s worse. This was a bit of an out of nowhere title challenge, which makes me think the change in the World Series schedule might have messed up NXT’s plans.

R-Truth vs. Grayson Waller

Waller gets sent into the corner to start but comes out with a shoulder. A mock of You Can’t See Me earns Waller a trip down and Truth grabs a headlock. Back up and an STO drops Truth but he rolls away before Waller can try the elbow. They head outside with Truth hitting a big flip dive and we take a break. We come back with…..the match being stopped due to an injury to R-Truth at 7:13. Truth didn’t quite clear the ropes on that dive and hurt his knee. Oh that’s never good to see.

Rating: C. Oh that doesn’t look good. You never want to see anyone get hurt in any way and a knee is one of the scariest possibilities. It doesn’t help that Truth is in his late 40s and probably doesn’t have much time left in the ring. Hopefully he isn’t severely hurt and only needs some ice, but we could be waiting for a long time before he’s back out there.

Post match Waller brags about his win (which came on his own) over a 20 year vet.

We get a sitdown interview with Schism, with Ava Raine saying no one but Schism ever took the time to get to know her. She got hurt early in training and no one who had “known her for years” checked on her. The rest of the team talks about how much they care and can’t help what people think about them. And no, Raine isn’t brainwashed, but she will help Joe Gacy against Cameron Grimes next week. You mean the lack of a Get Well Soon card means we have to sit through MORE Schism???

Javier Bernal talks to Edris Enofe and Malik Blade outside of Shawn Michaels’ office. He was told to be here to find out about his match tonight, but Odyssey Jones comes out. Jones will face Bernal tonight.

Kiana James gives her assistant an envelope.

Indi Hartwell and Zoey Stark get in one of those “only WWE women argue like this” arguments and a match is set for later.

Andre Chase gives Thea Hail a pep talk before her match but she doesn’t feel right. There is no Bodie Hayward, but Duke Hudson breaks through a wall and offers to carry the flag.

Thea Hail vs. Kiana James

Andre Chase and Duke Hudson are in Hail’s corner. Hail is rather fired up to start but James takes her to the mat for an early armbar. It takes Hail a bit to fight back but she sends James into the corner, setting up the running flip neckbreaker. Back up and James hits her running reverse Sling Blade for two, as Hudson puts the foot on the rope. That’s too much for Chase, who ejects him on principle. Another reverse Sling Blade finishes Hail at 4:18.

Rating: C. The Chase University story was one of the best things in NXT and while Chase can still do some very funny things, you can feel that some of the energy is gone and the idea is starting to fall off. It doesn’t help when you have Duke Hudson, who is good but not the most exciting, guy there to bring it down (which does seem to be the point) and Hail losing, but hopefully they can figure out something to salvage it in some way.

Post match Charlie Dempsey returns and jumps Chase from behind, drawing Duke Hudson out for the save. Hail isn’t sure if she can trust Hudson but seems to enough.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley are ready to watch the main event. Kiana James’ assistant comes up to deliver the envelope from earlier to Henley. The trio reads the papers but don’t say anything about them.

Mr. Stone interrupts Wes Lee and Bron Breakker to ask why Von Wagner hasn’t gotten a title shot. Breakker tells him to get out.

Odyssey Jones vs. Javier Bernal

This is Jones’ first match in several months after a knee injury. Jones runs him over to start and then does it again for a bonus. Bernal gets smart by going after the legs to take the much bigger Jones down, setting up a sleeper. With that broken up, Jones has had enough and grabs a swinging Boss Man Slam for the pin at 4:21.

Rating: C. I’m not quite as all in on Jones as some but he does make for a good big man to crush people like Bernal. Jones is someone who could be a rather nice addition to the roster in some places and that is a good thing to have. Bernal….I know you need jobbers, but was he really the best that they had available?

Here is Toxic Attraction to celebrate Mandy Rose reaching one year as NXT Women’s Champion. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin both congratulate her, talking about how she has beaten everyone and turned Toxic Attraction into one of the most important factions in the history of NXT. They send us to a video looking at her rather long title reign.

Rose: “Not bad for a piece of eye candy huh?”. She knows no one can stop her and thanks Dolin and Jayne for helping bring Toxic Attraction to the top. The numbers don’t lie and she wants some respect on her name. Anyone in the locker room knows where to find her so here is Alba Fyre. Dolin is put through a table and Fyre says Jayne is next, with Rose to follow.

Apollo Crews thinks NXT wants to see him face Bron Breakker because Crews is a matchup problem for anyone. Crews thinks Breakker is running from him, but Von Wagner comes in to say he’s next for Breakker. Please no.

Scrypts calls the Performance Center again and says being in NXT almost feels like home. We also see security footage of him spray painting his name on the wall.

Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Stark

Nikkita Lyons is here with Stark, who gets caught by the wrist to start. Back up and Stark hits a springboard spinning crossbody as the lights go out for a bit (seems a bit planned). The lights come back up (after not going all the way out) as Stark works on Hartwell’s arm for a change. Stark gets clotheslined to the floor and the frustration is on as we take a break.

Back with Stark stomping Hartwell down in the corner, even as Lyons tells her to cool it. Stark teases taking her outside for a powerbomb through the announcers’ table but Stark talks her out of it. Back in and Stark kicks her in the face, setting up a clothesline to the back of the head for the pin at 9:48.

Rating: C+. The reheating of Hartwell continues and I’m still not sure how interesting Starks really is. Having her lose her temper isn’t quite an enticing story and having her with Lyons doesn’t exactly help things. Maybe they can get somewhere with her, but it’s not quite clicking yet.

The man who appears to be T-Bar talks about how this is his authority.

Valentina Feroz wants Sanga in his corner but Veer comes in to interrupt them. Sanga says he can’t do it as Wendy Choo watches from behind.

Nikkita Lyons has to calm Zoey Stark from going after the taunting Kayden Carter and Katana Chance.

Valentina Feroz vs. Cora Jade

Feroz looks rather upset on the way to the ring but she’s fine enough to take Jade down. A running knee sends Jade outside and Feroz sends her right back inside. Jade gets in a shot to the face and we hit the choke. Feroz breaks that up but misses a high crossbody, allowing Jade to hit a DDT for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C. This was quick as it should have been, as Jade is rising up the heel side and Feroz is best known for being part of a tag team that is on the shelf at the moment. The lack of Sanga seemed to shake Feroz up and somehow they have set the story up so that makes a good bit of sense. There was no way Feroz should have won here, but at least the loss was logical.

Post match Jade goes after Feroz with her stick but Wendy Choo makes the save.

Stacks tells Tony D’Angelo that he took care of that thing. D’Angelo sees Stacks like his own son getting started. Elektra Lopez comes in to say she’s her own boss now and will be even more dangerous.

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Wes Lee/Bron Breakker

Lee and Breakker are challenging. Lee sunset flips Wilson to start and then rolls him up for two more. Wilson gets annoyed when Lee flips away from him so it’s off to Prince. Breakker comes in for a backdrop and running clothesline to drop him hard. Stereo Frankensteiners take the Champs down and we go to a break.

Back with Lee dropkicking Prince through the ropes to the floor but Wilson jumps him from behind. Lee is thrown back in and elbowed down by Wilson so the beating can continue. A quick shot allows the tag off to Breakker though and a Steiner Bulldog puts Prince down. Breakker suplexes both of them and nips up, meaning it’s back to Lee and everything breaks down. Cue Carmelo Hayes for a distraction though and Lee gets rolled up to retain the titles at 12:00.

Rating: C+. This felt like something you would see at a house show and that isn’t a bad thing for a thrown together TV main event. Singles champions vs. team champions is a fine way to go, though I could have gone without Lee taking a pin. At least they had some shenanigans with Hayes interfering, but I also don’t need Hayes going after the North American Title again.

Lee and Hayes fight away and it’s Von Wagner coming in to jump Breakker.

Apollo Crews is watching in the back when JD McDonagh comes up. McDonagh doesn’t see Crews’ vision of being NXT Champion coming true.

Overall Rating: C+. The more I think about this show, the more I think that they pulled back a bit because baseball was moved into the time slot. That’s fine for a one off show as they didn’t know they were going up against the World Series until yesterday. Punt things until next week when you have a bigger audience and make this more of a stand alone show with previews for next week. For what it was, this was perfectly acceptable, but it’s not worth your time.

Results
Grayson Waller b. R-Truth via referee stoppage
Kiana James b. Thea Hail – Reverse Sling Blade
Odyssey Jones b. Javier Bernal – Swinging Boss Man Slam
Indi Hartwell b. Zoey Stark – Running clotheslines to the back of the head
Cora Jade b. Valentina Feroz – DDT
Pretty Deadly b. Wes Lee/Bron Breakker – Rollup to Lee

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NXT LVL Up
Date: October 21, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

It’s the second week of the Saxton Era and that means…well very little really, as Saxton isn’t as well versed as Nigel McGuinness and not quite as good of a commentator as him either. That more or less leaves the wrestling to carry things and that is a hit or miss bet around here at best. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Myles Borne

Borne grabs a headlock to start but gets reversed into a cravate. Another headlock slows Jiro down but Borne hurts his knee on a leapfrog. Jiro is right on that knee with a leglock sending Borne over to the rope. The half crab has Borne in more trouble until he crawls over to the rope. The jacket punch rocks Borne but the reverses the Ikemen Slash into a small package for the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C. This was a different way to go from most Borne matches and it was quite the win for his career. Borne has gotten better than I would have expected him to be able to do and it’s nice to see his success. At the same time, Jiro was acting more heelish, which is quite the weird way to go for someone with his kind of charisma.

Javier Bernal is ready for Andre Chase because he learned at the school of hard knocks.

Bryson Montana vs. Duke Hudson

Montana grabs him in a front facelock to start and Hudson has to bail to the rope. Hudson elbows away without much trouble but Montana runs him over with a clothesline. A Michinoku Driver gives Montana two but Hudson is back with a snap German suplex. The big boot finishes Montana at 3:53.

Rating: C-. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and Hudson continues to be quite the charisma vacuum once the bell rings. Montana seems to be one of NXT’s next projects and that isn’t a bad thing. He has the size and look to go somewhere so let him see what he can do when he gets his feet a bit wetter in the ring.

Andre Chase vs. Javier Bernal

Thea Hail is here too. Chase takes him down by the arm to start and Bernal is sent outside, where Thea Hail yells at him. Back in and Chase shoulders him down before hammering away in the corner. Bernal manages to get in a knee lift and hammers away, only to get caught with a middle rope sunset flip for two. Some kicks keep Chase in trouble but he comes right back with a suplex. Chase slugs him down and the spelling stomps have Bernal in trouble. The high crossbody finishes Bernal at 6:41.

Rating: C. Chase has become one of the biggest stars around this show and that is one of the things that can make him into a special treat. The fans go nuts when he comes out and while it would be nice to see him doing something bigger in NXT, it might be easier to take the moments on the smaller stage like this one. If it means less of Bernal being boring on the main show too, so be it.

Overall Rating: C. There was a bit more energy to this show, though that might just be the reactions to Chase being in the ring. The show is still completely skippable and I don’t see that changing anytime soon, but at least it was a fun use of half an hour. I’m still not sure why they stopped sending one slightly bigger name down here a week but maybe they found it beneath those stars. For now though, ok show, especially for the short run time.

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

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

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

Javier Bernal vs. Bron Breakker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post match, respect is show.

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Valentina Feroz

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alba Fyre vs. Jacy Jayne

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wes Lee vs. Stacks

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

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

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

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

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

Thea Hail vs. Kiana James

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

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

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

Cameron Grimes seems to have some friends for next week.

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

Ilja Dragunov vs. Grayson Waller

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

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

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

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

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

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

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NXT LVL Up
Date: September 30, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Sudu Shah

It’s another week of the NXT B show, which says a lot as NXT is a C show at best. That doesn’t leave much to get excited about around here, but they do things fast and have found a formula that works well enough. I don’t know what to expect this week but you can probably guess a lot of the names. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Javier Bernal vs. Ru Feng

Bernal grabs a headlock to start but gets punched back without much trouble. Feng is back with an armdrag into an armbar as the fans chant for Mortal Kombat. That’s reversed into a whip into the corner and Bernal is back with a hard clothesline for two. The chinlock goes on, followed by an elbow to the face for two on Feng. We’re already off to the second chinlock but Feng fights up and kicks away. A missed charge into the corner lets Bernal grab a jumping Downward Spiral for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C-. I’m still not sure why Bernal got called up to the main NXT show as he is one of the most uninteresting guys in the ring. There is nothing to him to set him apart and yet he gets a promotion for whatever reason. Other than that you have Feng, who is your standard martial arts guy from about 1986. What were they expecting from this one?

Guru Raaj and Ikemen Jiro are ready for tonight’s main event and say so via subtitles.

Valentina Feroz vs. Thea Hail

Hail takes her down by the arm to start but Feroz is right back up to drop Hail hard. Some suplexes give Feroz two and we hit the cravate. Hail fights up again and gets a breather but Feroz pulls her into a sleeper. That’s fine with Hail though, who backflips into a rollup for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: C. Hail is growing on me and she is great as the overly enthusiastic college girl who happens to be kind of smooth in the ring. It worked well here and the win over Feroz is probably something of an upset. I don’t know how far either of them are going to go in NXT, but Hail being attached to Chase U at the moment should take her pretty far.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Ikemen Jiro/Guru Raaj

Blade runs Jiro over but a nip up means a comparison of jacket vs. vest. It’s off to Enofe for a headlock but Raaj comes in off a blind tag and hits a basement dropkick. Enofe is back up and sends Raaj to the floor for a dive before taking it back inside. Raaj is sent into the corner and Blade/Enofe don’t seem to be overly worried. Enofe misses a dive in the corner though and it’s Jiro coming in to clean house. Jiro hits a slingshot dropkick to the side of the head and adds a Swanton for two on Blade. The Ikemen Slash misses though and the Climax gives Blade the pin at 6:52.

Rating: C. This was a completely watchable tag match and I’m glad to see Enofe and Blade being treated as a decent team for once. Jiro is always smooth in the ring and Raaj was fine here as well. They even had a story with Enofe and Blade getting too cocky to get them in trouble. Good enough for a main event here.

Overall Rating: C. Another run of the mill show here, which is the case far too often. It is so run of the mill most weeks that I watched last week’s show again, thinking it was this week’s and never noticed the difference. They need something to make this show stand out more and I have no reason to believe they will be doing so anytime soon. As usual it’s not worth getting annoyed over a 28 minute show, but do something to spice it up a bit, please.

Results
Javier Bernal b. Ru Feng – Jumping Downward Spiral
Thea Hail b. Valentina Feroz – Rollup
Edris Enofe/Malik Blade b. Ikemen Jiro/Guru Raaj – Climax to Jiro

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NXT
Date: October 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Wade Barrett, Byron Saxton

We’re coming up on Halloween Havoc near the end of the month and the card seems to be set. They still have a few things that need to be done to get ready for the show though and we will probably get some more of that build this week. We also have some guest stars coming in this week from Smackdown so things should be feeling bigger. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Pretty Deadly, dressed as very stereotypical British men (complete with red robes and powdered wigs), for a state of the Commonwealth address. They talk about how back in the day, some pilgrims came from the United Kingdom (Prince: “Hello.”) and now as a result, they are here. All of the other teams have been training in the Performance Center to be as good as they are, including the Boring Brothers and Cheap Denim. Therefore, they should be the Tag Team Champions for all time!

Cue the Brawling Brutes, who are tired of how Pretty Deadly have been complaining everywhere. Pretty Deadly claims they were hacked (By Kevin Nash! Kevin Patrick! Kevin Owens!) but get cleared out anyway. As usual, Pretty Deadly is one of the funnier things in NXT, as long as you don’t take them seriously in the slightest.

Earlier today, Alba Fyre attacked Toxic Attraction so the six woman tag is off for tonight, with Fyre and Mandy Rose taken out.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Oro Mensah

Trick Williams is here with Hayes. Mensah snaps off a suplex to start and they head outside. Hayes gets in a cheap shot to take over and chops Mensah down back inside. Back up and Mensah kicks away, including a shot to the head to knock Hayes away. A missed charge slows Mensah down though and the top rope ax kick finishes for Hayes at 5:30.

Rating: C. Hayes is a bigger deal than Mensah, but you would think that they might not want to have Mensah lose in one of his first matches as part of NXT. Granted Mensah has almost no chance of winning in the ladder match so it isn’t going to lead anywhere, but this was a bit of an odd way to go. I can always appreciate more from Hayes, though Mensah not losing would have made sense too.

Brutus Creed isn’t cleared to compete because of his shoulder. Duke Hudson comes in to laugh at him and gets a match with Julius Creed as a result.

North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Von Wagner vs. Andre Chase

Carmelo Hayes is on commentary. Wagner throws him around with the straight power to start but Chase is back with some right hands. Mr. Stone offers a distraction but gets taken down by Thea Hail. Chase grabs a rollup for two but gets caught with a Death Valley Bomb for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: C-. While I can see the point in having Hayes win the opener, this one feels a lot more questionable. Chase has been on a roll as of late while Wagner seems to have long since stopped being anything around here. I guess they need a power guy in the ladder match, but they had no one else other than Chase to get him in there?

Post match Wes Lee jumps Carmelo Hayes.

Sanga wishes Nathan Frazer luck in his qualifying match. With Frazer gone, Veer Mahaan comes in to stare at Sanga.

Lash Legend is ready for Wendy Choo.

Grayson Waller has his security ready to deal with Apollo Crews’ visions.

Wendy Choo vs. Lash Legend

Choo goes after her to start and they head outside, where Legend spins her into a backbreaker. Back in and a side slam gives Legend two but she misses an elbow, allowing Choo to strike away. Some more kicks put Legend down and Choo’s top rope Vader Bomb is good for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: D+. Given that it was a Lash Legend match, this could have been a heck of a lot worse. I’m not a big fan of Choo, but she is miles ahead of anything Legend can do right now. Hopefully this wraps it up for both of them though, because there is no reason to have it keep going. WWE keeps trying with Legend and it keeps not working, so at least they’re consistent.

Wes Lee is ready for Halloween Havoc but wants Grayson Waller first. He’ll have to settle for a match with an invading Stacks.

Gallus promises to be back and they’re coming for Bron Breakker.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance know they are different but they work great together.

Toxic Attraction vs. Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark

For a future Women’s Tag Team Title shot. Lyons powers Dolin into the corner to start so it’s off to Stark vs. Jayne. Stark knocks her outside without much trouble so Dolin comes back in, earning a springboard spinning crossbody. Toxic Attraction is sent outside for a breather and we take a break.

Back with Lyons in trouble but she kicks her way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Stark to go after Dolin. A superkick into a German suplex gets two on Dolin as everything breaks down. Jayne gets to clean house for a change but she walks into the flipping knee from Stark. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 10:23.

Rating: C. I like Toxic Attraction, but the title picture needs some fresh blood. WWE sees something in Lyons and Stark as a team so this isn’t the biggest surprise. I don’t know if they win the titles, but at least a fresh team is being added to the mix. Lyons feels like she is going to be a major priority for the women’s division at some point, but for now she will have to settle for going after these titles.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to get some more gold because he fought so hard to become champion and then never lost it. He’s ready for JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker if that is what it takes to get back where he wants to be. Dragunov continues to feel like a star.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect with Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez. They talk about how they want to fight each other, with Perez saying they wanted to come into WWE together and be what the Four Horsewomen were to them. Jade accuses her of showing her true colors but Waller interrupts to reveal that in two weeks, they are going to get to pick your poison, meaning select each others’ opponents. Oh and their Halloween Havoc match is going to be Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal.

Waller even goes up to the stage to spin the wheel, comes up on Weapons Wild (sounds street fightish). The women fight in the ring so Waller comes back, only to be pulled underneath by Apollo Crews. Waller comes out and yes his eyes are red like in Crews’ vision last week. This is the right role for Waller, as he is rather good at being the annoying pest who never shuts up.

The Schism yells at an unseen member of the team in a red hoodie. The person failed at their mission and need to be better.

Julius Creed vs. Duke Hudson

Creed knocks him down, grabs a suplex and hits the basement clothesline for the pin at 48 seconds.

Post match Brutus Creed comes out and beats on Hudson as well. Damon Kemp pops up on the platform to say it’s going to be different at Halloween Havoc. Kemp makes it simple: if Julius can beat him at Halloween Havoc, Brutus can get another match, with Brutus saying he just needs five minutes. Kemp says Brutus’ career is on the line at Halloween Havoc, which Brutus accepts on Julius’ behalf. Julius makes it even bigger by saying it’s an ambulance match. Kemp is in.

JD McDonagh is ready for Ilja Dragunov and Bron Breakker at Halloween Havoc.

Hank Walker’s security buddies fire him up. Quincy Elliott comes in to do the same and dancing ensues.

Axiom is ready to win his trilogy with Nathan Frazer.

Xyon Quinn vs. Hank Walker

Walker armdrags him down a few times but Quinn is back with some shots to the face. We hit the quickly broken chinlock so Walker can hit the Thesz press. Some right hands have Quinn in more trouble but that’s broken up. Quinn’s running fist finishes Walker at 2:10.

Post match the beating is on until Quincy Elliott, makes the save. And adds a spank to Walker.

Cameron Grimes comes up tot he red hoodied Schism person with a warning about Joe Gacy. Cue Schism to beat Grimes down and to praise the hoodied one for doing well. The person in the hoodie is officially on the team. No identity given.

Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs and Malik Blade/Edris Enofe give the Brawling Brutes a pep talk but get in their own argument. The Brutes say either team can get a shot after they win the titles, but get serious.

Bron Breakker is ready for Halloween Havoc but Javier Bernal comes up to suggest it’s a bad idea. Oh and that Breakker isn’t very good. A match is set for next week.

Tag Team Titles: Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly

The Brutes are challenging. Wilson hammers on Holland to start but can’t get him up for a suplex. A dropkick/butterfly suplex combination drops Wilson so Butch can come in to bend the fingers. Prince comes in and gets dropped with a clothesline, leaving Wilson to get caught with some Sheamus style forearms to the chest.

We take a break with the champs in trouble and come back with Butch fighting out of a chinlock but getting driven into the corner. Butch slips away again and makes the tag to Holland for the house cleaning. A powerbomb out of the corner gets two on Wilson and it’s back to Butch, who misses a running knee in the corner. Prince tosses Wilson at Butch for a Codebreaker (cool) with Holland having to make the save.

Everything breaks down again and Holland sends Prince outside, leaving Butch to try a cross armbreaker on Wilson. Prince makes the save by stacking Wilson up for two but Butch is back with the Bitter End. Prince puts a foot on the rope so Holland sends him outside. The kick to the head into the Northern Grit connects but here is Imperium for the distraction. Prince uses said distraction to send Butch into the apron and Spilled Milk retain the titles at 12:25.

Rating: C+. They had some good drama in the end but this was less of a match and more waiting for Imperium to show up and cost the Brutes the titles. That’s a fine way to go with Extreme Rules coming up in less than a week so they did the right thing all around. Pretty Deadly might not be good, but they are just right for what they are and that’s enough.

The brawl continues on the floor and goes to the back to….not end the show as Edris Enofe/Malik Blade and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen come out to stare at the champs to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show didn’t have the best wrestling, but it did a nice job of getting things ready for Halloween Havoc. That’s what matters a lot more at the moment and NXT did a nice job of building the show up. Now I want to see it more than I did before and the next few weeks should be entertaining as well. Efficient show this week, even if it might not have been their best.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Oro Mensah – Top rope ax kick
Von Wagner b. Andre Chase – Death Valley Bomb
Wendy Choo b. Lash Legend – Top rope Vader Bomb
Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark b. Toxic Attraction – Splits splash to Jayne
Julius Creed b. Duke Hudson – Sliding lariat
Xyon Quinn b. Hank Walker – Running punch
Pretty Deadly b. Brawling Brutes – Spilled Milk to Holland

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. Pretty Deadly

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

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

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

Damon Kemp is pleased.

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

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

Lash Legend vs. Fallon Henley

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quincy Elliott vs. Sean Gallagher

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

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

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

Cameron Grimes vs. D’Angelo Family

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Javier Bernal vs. Hank Walker

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

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

Video on cool entrances.

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

Some alumni congratulate NXT 2.0 on its anniversary.

Bron Breakker is voted Superstar Of The Year.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee

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

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Solo Sikoa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here is Worlds Collide if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Worlds Collide.

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

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

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

Doudrop/Nikki Ash vs. Toxic Attraction

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

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

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

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

JD McDonagh vs. Wes Lee

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

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

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

Meiko Satomura vs. Roxanne Perez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Trick Williams vs. Ricochet

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

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

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

Sol Ruca, a surfer, is coming.

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

Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

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

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

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

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

Quincy Elliott is here next week.

Here’s what else is coming next week.

Gallus vs. Tyler Bate/Bron Breakker

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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