NXT
Date: February 20, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Byron Saxton, Vic Joseph

We’re taped this week and there is a guest star in the main event, with Smackdown’s Shotzi challenging Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Title. Other than that, we have new Tag Team Champions in Baron Corbin and Smackdown’s Bron Breakker and they are going to need some challengers. Let’s get to it.

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

North American Title: Oba Femi vs. Lexis King

Femi is defending and we’re starting fast with both of them in the ring without entrances. King avoids a charge in the corner and hits an elbow to the face, followed by some kicks to the chest. That just earns him a choke shove to the floor, where Femi misses a charge into the post. Back in and King cranks away on the arm as we see Mr. Stone leaving Von Wagner because he wants to watch in person. King stays on the arm until Stone comes to ringside, earning himself a hard shove. The distraction lets Femi get in a heck of a backdrop, setting up the pop up powerbomb to retain at 3:59.

Rating: C. They kept this short and to the point, which is what you should be doing with someone as inexperienced as Femi. He has pretty much no experience at this point so letting him do his basics and stay down while King works on his arm is a good move. The ending keeps King vs. Wagner/Stone going while giving Femi another win, which isn’t bad for a match that didn’t even last four minutes.

Thea Hail hasn’t heard from Riley Osborne since their Valentine’s Day date but Arianna Grace comes in to mock her for not letting Osborne do everything for her. Jacy Jayne doesn’t want to hear this and tells Grace to stay out of this.

Lyra Valkyria checks on Tatum Paxley, who offers to thank her for last week. She’ll even attack Shotzi with a baseball bat! Valkyria wants her to just stay here instead, with Paxley saying she can do that.

Here are Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker for their big celebration. Breakker can’t believe how far they’ve come since No Mercy, with Corbin bringing up beating Breakker back then. They seem to like the team name of Spear Of Days but here is Chase U (complete with Andre Chase having gotten a haircut) to interrupt. They want the titles back because this is a TEACHABLE MOMENT.

Chase U were promised a title shot from the previous champs but here are Nathan Frazer and Axiom to interrupt. Frazer says the previous agreement is gone but Duke Hudson doesn’t want to hear it. Corbin and Breakker tell the two teams to figure this out, which brings out Ava to make the #1 contenders match for later tonight. They kept this short and that is the right way to go.

Roxanne Perez is ready to beat up Wren Sinclair, who shouldn’t just be happy to be here. Perez continues to lean towards the evil side.

We get another weird vignette talking about how the person will be a mirror to truth.

Roxanne Perez vs. Wren Sinclair

Perez takes her up against the ropes to start and they fall out to the floor with Perez hammering away. Back in and Sinclair grabs a spinning belly to back suplex for two, only to get knocked outside again. Perez starts in on the arm and wrenches away back inside. The chinlock goes on until Sinclair rolls her way out and makes the clothesline comeback. Another arm crank cuts her off though and Pop Rox sets up a crossface to make Sinclair tap at 4:19.

Rating: C. Sinclair has been dropped into NXT and is already fitting in rather well. She is doing well enough in the ring and already seems to be involved in some stories. That is better than most newcomers do this quickly so she is off to a nice start. On the other hand you have Perez leaning towards being a heel and that is already doing well, which is kind of surprising given her smaller stature.

Meta Four is ready for tonight when the No Quarter Catch Crew interrupts. Noam Dar is willing to give them a title shot but wants to know who it is. That isn’t happening though because the Catch Clause says the challenger is announced in the ring next week.

Josh Briggs vs. Brooks Jensen

They trade shoulders to start until Briggs sends him into the corner to take over. Jensen is right back with clotheslines and chops in the corner but Briggs sends him outside. That’s fine with Jensen, who slugs away and takes it back inside for a running faceplant. They go back to the floor with Jensen sending him into the barricade and stomping away with quite the aggression.

We take a break and come back with Briggs hammering him down in the corner Briggs says he’s doing this for Jensen, who hits him in the face for a breather. Jensen scores with a superkick and a missile dropkick gets two. Back up and Briggs kicks him in the face, setting up a chokeslam for two of his own. They slug it out from their knees until Jensen hits a spinning heel kick to the face. Briggs has had it with this and hits a pair of hard running clotheslines for the pin at 11:01.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a match that worked well because of the story behind it. They were having a hard hitting match, but the important factor is there is a reason to care about them fighting. You don’t get that very often and it made things that much more interesting. Nice fight here and Briggs gets a hard fought win.

Post match Briggs says he did this for Jensen and he loves him.

Dijak comes to see Joe Gacy, who is in a straitjacket. Gacy says Dijak can’t stop him so Dijak offers some threats. Luca Crusifino comes in to say this is illegal but Dijak doesn’t care.

Carmelo Hayes goes to the barber shop and talks about how this is where it all started with Trick Williams. He didn’t get too big for his own boots and he wanted Williams to experience everything he could. But then Williams tried to become the #1 guy in NXT. Williams could have been #3, #5 or even #2 behind Hayes but then he went too far. Hayes knew it was coming so he attacked him first. So wherever Williams is, he should stay there, because he has nothing to talk about when it comes to the NXT Title. This heel turn continues to be as logical of a story as there is in wrestling right now.

Arianna Grace vs. Jacy Jayne

Jayne has Jazmyn Nyx and Thea Hail with her. They fight over arm control to start until Grace runs her over with a shoulder. Grace gets knocked to the floor for her efforts and Jayne hits a hard clothesline back inside. A backsplash gives Jayne two but Grace is back with a slam and elbow for two. The armbar goes on but Jayne is right back up to send Grace outside again. Nyx gets in a cheap shot and Jayne hits the big forearm for the pin at 3:19.

Rating: C. This was about getting Nyx involved as Jayne is still evil compared to Hail, who is still rather wholesome. That could lead to an interesting predicament for Hail, which very well could lead to her going back to the full Chase U style. Grace continues to be a pest, but at least she isn’t winning a bunch of matches.

Tony D’Angelo says the Family is going in a new direction and it’s time for him to really be the Don. That means the Tag Team Titles aren’t the focus right now.

We get a sitdown interview with Ridge Holland, who isn’t done with Gallus. Next week, he’ll be apologizing for what he did with a chair last week. Holland walks off.

Chase U vs. Axiom/Nathan Frazer

For the #1 contendership and the women of Chase U run into the men on the way in. Jacy Jayne doesn’t seem happy with Andre Chase and Riley Osborne gives Thea Hail a bit of a weird look. Chase and Axiom fight over arm control to start before grappling down to the mat. Stereo dropkick attempts give us a stalemate so it’s off to Hudson to work on Frazer’s arm. A hard shoulder drops Frazer again and it’s back to Axiom vs. Chase. Everything breaks down and Chase U is sent outside for the big dives as we take a break.

Back with Chase still in trouble until he catches Frazer with a Side Effect. Hudson comes in to clean house but his Razor’s Edge is broken up. Frazer hits a missile dropkick and Axiom’s top rope Spanish Fly gets two. Hudson is back up to clean house and Chase comes back in to get a rollup pin on Frazer at 11:27.

Rating: B-. I could go for Chase U being treated as something more serious and hopefully we are getting away from the rather insane gambling ordeal. I’m not sure I can imagine them getting the Tag Team Titles back but getting a clean win is a nice way to start. Axiom and Frazer are still capable of working well with just about anyone and that is a great thing to have.

Post match the OC of all people come in to wreck both teams. Well it’s better than yelling at AJ Styles about the old days. I think.

Ilja Dragunov is willing to give Carmelo Hayes an NXT Title shot at Roadblock, as long as Hayes will meet him face to face next week. Dragunov is coming for Hayes’ soul.

Thea Hail and Fallon Henley talk about how bad everything is going for them lately. Hail’s Valentine’s Day was awful and Henley talks about how bad hers was last year. They’re off for a chat.

Lash Legend vs. Kelani Jordan

Jakara Jackson is here too. Legend powers her up to start but gets cradled for a fast two. A kick to the chest knocks Jordan out of the air and a backbreaker makes things even worse. Something like a torture rack over the back has Jordan in more trouble but she gets the knees up to block a splash. Jordan flips out of a powerbomb attempt and there’s a dropkick to put Legend into the corner. Jackson offers a distraction though and Legend gets in a chokeslam for the pin at 4:24.

Rating: C. Legend has come a long, long way in recent months and a lot of that is due to the change in gear. She didn’t exactly have the best reputation for a long time so in addition to changing her style, she has a new look, which shakes away a lot of the bad memories. It’s one of those minor changes that makes a big difference, and Legend has gotten a lot better.

Post match Kiana James and Izzi Dame come out for the beatdown but Jordan escapes.

The OC are here to show that they’re different than anyone else. They’ll take the NXT Tag Team Titles too.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Women’s Title: Lyra Valkyria vs. Shotzi

Shotzi is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. Valkyria fights out of a front facelock to start and takes Shotzi down with a headlock. An exchange of rollups gets two each before Shotzi drops her with a shoulder. A rope walk wristdrag has Valkyria in more trouble and Shotzi DDTs her onto the apron. We comes back and….the match has been stopped as Shotzi has blown out her knee. Cue Ava to announce that we have an open challenger for a title shot against Valkyria. I won’t rate the match we got as it was barely long enough to rate and then ended with the injury but it was going well enough.

NXT Women’s Title: Lyra Valkyria vs. Lash Legend

Valykria is defending and gets dropped with an early right hand. Legend’s chinlock doesn’t last long so she grabs a swinging backbreaker for two instead. A whip into the corner gives Valkyria two and we hit an over the shoulder backbreaker. Valkyria fights out as we see Roxanne Perez being furious over not getting the title shot. Legend’s chokeslam gets two and Valkyria’s high crossbody connects for the same. A pump kick gives Legend two more but Valkyria knocks her off the top and hits a splash to retain at 5:49.

Rating: C+. This is on a very lightened up scale as the match was barely anything but Legend was literally sent out there with no notice to have an impromptu title match. it might not have been great, but they did what they could under the circumstances. Good enough match here and nice touch by having Perez be made about not getting out there, but was she just not paying attention to a match for the title she wants more than anything?

Overall Rating: B-. This was absolutely feeling like a taped show to get us to the big shows down the line, but what matters is NXT continues to treat these things like they matter. Even if these were the lower level stories, they were treated as important and that is a very hard trick most of the time. It wasn’t the biggest NXT show, but it moved things forward and set some things up for later with completely good enough action. The big stuff can come later, but for now they’re doing well with the small stuff and that’s important as well.

Results
Oba Femi b. Lexis King – Pop up powerbomb
Roxanne Perez b. Wren Sinclair – Crossface
Josh Briggs b. Brooks Jensen – Clothesline
Jacy Jayne b. Arianna Grace – Forearm
Chase U b. Nathan Frazer/Axiom – Rollup to Frazer
Lash Legend b. Kelani Jordan – Chokeslam
Lyra Valkyria vs. Shotzi went to a no contest when Shotzi was injured
Lyra Valkyria b. Lash Legend – Top rope splash

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NXT
Date: February 6, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Byron Saxton

We’re done with Vengeance Day and that means the only thing standing between here and Stand & Deliver is next month’s Roadblock. The big story coming out of Vengeance Day is Trick Williams losing his shot at the NXT Title and then being attacked by longtime friend Carmelo Hayes. That is going to be a big deal so let’s get to it.

Here is Vengeance Day if you need a recap.

Here is Carmelo Hayes to get things going and he’s carrying a chair. Hayes sits in the chair, doesn’t like the chants from the crowd, stands up, says “not yet”, and leaves.

Vengeance Day recap.

Here are Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker to celebrate winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, though Corbin can’t believe they were called the Wolf Dogs. Anyway, they want the Tag Team Titles.

Axiom/Nathan Frazer vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker are on commentary. Axiom rolls out of Enofe’s wristlock to start so Enofe snaps off a dropkick. Axiom’s dropkick connects as well but he gets sent outside for a dive. Back in and Blade runs Frazer over as we take a break. We come back with Axiom taking over on Enofe and grabbing a chinlock.

Frazer’s neckbreaker gets two and we hit another chinlock. The running shooting star press gives Frazer two more but Enofe knees him in the face. Blade comes in and powerbombs Axiom as the pace picks up quite a bit. Axiom drops Blade again though and Frazer hits the phoenix splash, with Enofe knocking Axiom into the cover for the save.

We take another break and come back again with Frazer running up the corner for a superplex. Frazer raises Blade into a brainbuster, with Axiom adding a superkick as Frazer drops him. Enofe makes the save but get sent outside, leaving Blade to get Phoenix splashed into the Golden Ratio for the pin at 16:42.

Rating: B. This was in the same vein as the old Nitro openers with the cruiserweight matches: let people go out there and fly around with some good action and a very fast pace. It worked back then and it still works today, which was certainly the case here. Axiom and Frazer work well together and it wouldn’t stun me to see them as some of the next challengers after the Corbin/Breakker vs. D’Angelo Family match.

Post match Breakker and Corbin jump Frazer and Axiom. The D’Angelo Family comes out and the challenge is issued for next week.

Ilja Dragunov wants answers from Carmelo Hayes.

Post break, here is Dragunov for a chat. Dragunov talks about going to war with Trick Williams and how Williams would have been a worthy champion. Now though, it is his duty to call out Carmelo Hayes. He has been attacking Dragunov with accusations for months and now he wants to go beyond breaking Hayes, who is a traitorous son of a b****. Cue Dijak to say he and Dragunov both won at Vengeance Day but Dragunov doesn’t want to hear it. Dijak talks about how he knows what it takes to break Joe Gacy but Dragunov tells him to get out of his way. The fight is on and quickly broken up.

Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne are really happy with the success of the Women Of Chase U calendar. Other than that though, Jayne wants Hail to play hard to get with Riley Osborne. Hail can do that.

Von Wagner is mad with losing to Noam Dar but Mr. Stone’s kids come in to talk them into a tag match against Meta Four.

Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne

The rest of Chase U is here but Thea Hail is missing from the student section. King takes him up against the ropes to start but gets dropkicked to the floor. That means a big flip dive from Osborne, who is knocked off the apron and into the announcers’ table. Back in and a slingshot double stomp to the ribs gives King two and we hit the seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and Osborne gets two off a leg lariat but the lack of Thea distracts Osborne on top. The hanging Coronation finishes for King at 4:04.

Rating: C. This was more about the absence of Hail than an important result, but King is slowly building himself back up. Granted he wasn’t exactly high up to begin with but winning is better than losing over and over. I’m not sure how well it’s going to work for him in the long run, though at least he’s building some momentum. As for Osborne, the issues with Hail seem to be the next step in the Chase U saga, which is at least continuing.

Video on Kelani Jordan.

Kiana James and Izzi Dame complain about the locker room and take a drink from the overly excited Brinley Reece. Then they pour the drink out.

Here is Carmelo Hayes, again sitting in the chair, and this time he says the villain is always the villain when the hero is telling the story. He allowed Trick Williams to succeed and wanted Williams to make his parents proud. Then he had to take it all away, because he wanted Williams to know where he was. They had an agreement: Hayes gets the NXT Title and Williams gets the North American Title.

Then Williams tried to act like they were on the same level and no way. So did he attack Williams months ago? Of course he did and he would do it again. Cue Williams……..’music, as Hayes laughs because Williams isn’t here. Williams got so caught up in the headlines that he pushed his friend to the sidelines. He wanted to be like Hayes so much but it was all just a trick. Williams was just a hype man and that’s all it was ever going to be. That was a pretty simple explanation and it worked just fine.

We get the Three Faces vignette from No Surrender.

Video on Oba Femi.

Riley Osborne is disappointed that Thea Hail wasn’t out there but they’re on for Valentine’s Day. With Osborne gone, Jacy Jayne says she’ll work with Hail for next week.

Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez

Vice interrupted Perez’s Vengeance Day title shot and they fought after the match. Perez chases her to the floor to start and hits a dive, only to have Vice take over back inside. The hip attack connects but Perez gets a boot up in the corner. That’s fine with Vice, who kicks her out to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Vice holding a chinlock before firing off some running knees to the ribs. Perez kicks her down and hits the double springboard moonsault for two but Vice is back with a choke. Pop Rox is broken up and Vice elbows her in the face for two more. Cue Tatum Paxley for a distraction so Vice kicks her down, only to walk into Pop Rox for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C+. Vice might be limited in the ring but she has the charisma to make a lot of this work. That’s what matters more than a lot of what she is going to do in the ring and it went well enough here. Perez can move back into the title hunt as she wasn’t pinned on Sunday as Vice can deal with Paxley. That’s a nice way to send things into different directions and it went well enough as a match too.

Meta Four isn’t worried about either of their upcoming tag matches. The No Quarter Catch Crew comes in to say they want a Heritage Cup title shot but Noam Dar bails.

Fallon Henley/Wren Sinclair vs. Meta Four

Noam Dar and Oro Mensah are here too. Legend slaps Henley to start so it’s Sinclair coming in for a crossbody, with Henley adding a dropkick to the back. Jackson comes in and shrugs off a headlock, allowing Legend to crash onto Sinclair’s back. The villains take turns stomping away in the corner for two before Sinclair has to fight out of a double arm crank. The tag brings Henley back in to pick up the pace but Legend helps Jackson pull Henley’s throat into the ropes. Sinclair comes back in and is promptly powerbombed for the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C. It’s almost hard to fathom but Legend and Jackson feel like much bigger stars here. Granted Henley is mainly known for her friendship with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen and Sinclair has barely been around, but it’s still odd to see Legend and Jackson being so dominant. Not much of a match, though Legend looked good as a monster.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen have a brief reunion, with Jensen saying he needs his friends. Briggs isn’t having this and tells him to grow up before someone takes his spot. Fair enough as Jensen has felt pathetic since the split.

Ava gives Jaida Parker a match with Riz next week, one on one. With Parker gone, Ridge Holland comes in to say he wants a match with Gallus, three on one. That can’t happen, but Holland can fight the one at a time. Works for him.

We look back at Carmelo Hayes’ comments.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Dijak

Non-title. They go straight to the fight to start with Dijak going after the nose that he broke before. Said nose is sent into the turnbuckle but Dragunov chops his way out of trouble. Dijak manages a kick to knock Dragunov out to the floor but stops to look under the ring. With nothing found, Dijak decks him again and we take a break.

Back with Dragunov fighting out of a chinlock but having to block Feast Your Eyes. Dijak kicks him into the ropes but is quickly pulled into a Death Valley Driver into the corner. The top rope backsplash gives Dragunov two and he hits a running boot in the corner to rock Dijak again. A quick High Justice gives Dijak two of his own and a clothesline cuts off the Constantine Special. Dijak’s elbow, which was banged up at Vengeance Day, flares up again though and cue Joe Gacy to hit Dijak with….something. Dragunov uses the distraction (which he didn’t see) to hit the H Bomb for the pin at 12:58.

Rating: B-. This was something of reheating a feud that they had a few months ago for one night only and it went well enough for a main event. Gacy distracting Dijak to cost him the match keeps their feud going and now we get to see where Dragunov goes next. This was more about continuing Gacy vs. Dijak and if it gives Dragunov a win in the process, so be it.

Post match Carmelo Hayes comes in to jump Dragunov and holds up the NXT Title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The action was good enough here, with the opener and main event being the best parts, but this was about Carmelo Hayes as the new top heel. It seems like we could be seeing Hayes challenging Dragunov in the near future, perhaps even at Roadblock, and that likely gets us to the main event of Stand & Deliver in one way or another. That’s by far the biggest thing in NXT at the moment and giving it so much time on this show was the right way to go.

Results
Axiom/Nathan Frazer b. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade – Golden Ratio to Blade
Lexis King b. Riley Osborne – Hanging Coronation
Roxanne Perez b. Lola Vice – Pop Rox
Meta Four b. Fallon Henley/Wren Sinclair – Powerbomb to Sinclair
Ilja Dragunov b. Dijak – H Bomb

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: January 23, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the last NXT before the Royal Rumble and that might actually make a difference around here. Around here that might make a difference as there very likely will be some NXT representation in the Royal Rumble matches. I’m curious to see who that might be, but we also have some more work to do towards Vengeance Day. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Roxanne Perez becoming the new #1 contender to the Women’s Title last week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Baron Corbin/Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer/Axiom

The fight starts before the bell with Frazer and Axiom sending them outside for stereo suicide dives. Some dropkicks against the barricade have Corbin and Breakker in trouble as the bell rings. Corbin gets caught with a missile dropkick for two back inside, followed by Frazer armbarring Corbin. That doesn’t last long as Corbin is up with a boot to the face so Axiom comes in. With Corbin knocked outside, Axiom tries a hurricanrana but gets powerbombed onto the announcers’ table. Breakker hammers on Frazer inside as we take a break.

Back with Corbin coming in for a belly to back suplex on Axiom. Breakker comes in for a belly to back suplex…but he tosses Axiom over his shoulder and pulls him into a cutter (that’s a new one). Axiom gets up and brings in Frazer to clean house, including sending the villains to the floor for a huge dive. Back in and some frog splashes get two on Breakker but he powerbombs Axiom onto Frazer to get a breather.

Corbin comes back in for Deep Six to Frazer and a brainbuster for two on Axiom. A toss powerbomb gets the same on Axiom but Frazer makes the save. Axiom manages a super Spanish Fly into Frazer’s phoenix splash for two on Breakker as Corbin makes the save this time. Back up and the spear gives Breakker the pin on Frazer at 12:02.

Rating: B. They went wild with this one and it wound up being pretty great, with Breakker and Corbin not being able to keep up at first but then cutting them down with raw power. That’s a classic formula and as usual, it was awesome to see the power guys having enough of the speed and tearing them apart. Axiom continues to be a gem when he gets on a roll and that was the case here from bell to bell.

Josh Briggs interrupts Ilja Dragunov, who isn’t pleased. Briggs is trying to prove himself and Dragunov asks if this is what Briggs really wants. Trick Williams comes in to break it up but Briggs says he wants to talk to the man who will be NXT Champion after Vengeance Day. That’s not cool with Trick and a match seems likely.

Wren Sinclair is very nervous about her debut match but Fallon Henley comes in to calm her down.

Ava walks out of Shawn Michaels’ office….and so does William Regal! Ava is rather excited and Regal congratulates her on becoming the youngest GM in WWE. He’s always around for advice. She’s more or less been the GM for weeks now so they might as well make it official and save Regal/Shawn for special moments.

Wren Sinclair vs. Lash Legend

The rest of Meta our is here with Legend, who powers her into the corner to start. Some early armdrag attempts are blocked by Legend and she takes Wren to the mat for some rams into the mat. Legend grabs a not great torture rack but Wren reverses into a failed sunset flip attempt. Wren gets sent into the corner but tries another sunset flip, this time with Jakara Jackson’s interference not working. Jackson tries to cheat again, with Wren again managing a rollup for two. Legend finally chokebombs her for the pin at 2:59. Wren was trying here but it was more a showcase for Legend.

Post match Meta Four goes after Wren but Fallon Henley makes the save.

Earlier today, OTM invaded the D’Angelo Family’s restaurant, with Jaida Parker attacking Riz.

We look at Joe Gacy and Dijak brawling last week.

Elektra Lopez is looking for Lola Vice.

Dijak vs. Joe Gacy

Gacy jumps him from behind to start and the brawl is on before the bell. Dijak grabs a chair but gets knocked down, only for Gacy to miss a chair shot. A spinning boot drives Gacy through a wall and a chokeslam puts him through the announcers’ table. Gacy gets back up and chokes Dijak until they’re separated. No match.

Arianna Grace gives another inspirational speech to…no one. Elektra Lopez comes in and still can’t find Lola Vice, though Grace finds the invasion rude.

Lexis King says the main event is coming soon.

Mr. Stone and Von Wagner went to the University of Central Florida football stadium (where Wagner played college football) for training for the Heritage Cup shot. Stone’s kids are there to help.

Lexis King vs. Trey Bearhill

Bearhill knocks him into the corner to start but misses an elbow. King kicks away and fires off a superkick to the ribs to cut off a comeback attempt. A running forearm to the back of the head sets up the Coronation to finish Bearhill at 2:22. This was a nice quick win to give King some momentum.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams to keep his eyes on the prize and asks why he’s fighting Ilja Dragunov’s battles. Williams says he knows what he’s doing.

Noam Dar and Oro Mensah are in the ring for Supernova Sessions and, after their usual jokes, bring out Lola Vice as their guest. Vice talks about how her friendship with Elektra Lopez has expired because Lopez is a leach. Cue Lopez to say she wants to know the real Vice. Lopez says she’s real while Vice got here because of how she looked dancing on Instagram. A match is made for next week.

The D’Angelo Family swears revenge on OTM.

Chase U is having various things repossessed, which makes Riley Osborne leave. Duke Hudson loses his trophy and Andre Chase loses his podium. Next week, they officially say their goodbyes. Chase: “Class dismissed.” Mr. Feeny did it better but I’ll be sad to see the team go.

Dragon Lee vs. Scrypts

The rest of OTM is here too. Lee takes him down with a headlock to start as Oba Femi comes out to the platform. Scrypts gets sent to the floor for the big running flip dive, followed by a slingshot dropkick back inside. That’s enough for Scrypts to head outside, where Lee flips out to follow. Back in and Scrypts hits a high crossbody for two but Lee fights up with a running forearm. A German suplex and powerbomb don’t work for Lee so he knees Scrypts in the face. The running flipping clothesline hits Scrypts but here is the D’Angelo Family to brawl with OTM. Lee grabs a quick Operation Dragon for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C+. This was a lot of flipping around and that’s what it was supposed to be. Lee gets a win to boost his chances of a North American Title shot and Scrypts can hang with him with some acrobatics of his own. OTM vs. the D’Angelo Family should be fine for a Vengeance Day title match so they probably set up two such matches in one here.

Post match Femi says he’ll give Lee the title shot at Vengeance Day.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are disappointed in their loss in the Dusty Classic but Brinley Reece comes in to offer a rather motivational speech. She wants them to come up with five things they liked and didn’t like about last week’s match so they can go over them next week. Sure why not.

Lyra Valkyria is watching something when Tatum Paxley comes in to say she’s so excited to be Valkyria’s partner. Valkyria says she doesn’t have time to do this but Paxley says they’re on the same page. The latter sounds a bit…unnerving.

Blair Davenport vs. Karmen Petrovic

Davenport runs from the kicks to start and manages a quick middle rope double stomp to the back. Petrovic fights out of a chinlock and fires off some forearms, followed by a spinning kick to the face for two. Davenport is right back with a dropkick into the corner though and a knee to the face finishes Petrovic at 3:13.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything here and that’s one of the worst things to happen to any match. Davenport getting the win is the logical way to go here as Petrovic isn’t on her level, but Petrovic’s kicks did look sharp. I’m not sure what is next for Davenport but this should get Petrovic out of her way.

Ridge Holland got beaten up by Gallus last week because he doesn’t have any friends. Therefore, he’ll fight Gallus on his own.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Josh Briggs vs. Trick Williams

Ilja Dragunov is on commentary. Briggs elbows him in the face to start and then does it over and over again in the corner. Williams is back with a rather high dropkick but a chokeslam gives Briggs two. Dragunov tells Williams to do something as we take a break. Back with Briggs still in control, at least until Williams slugs away. Some kicks to the face and a flapjack plant Briggs but he’s back with a backbreaker. They fight to the floor…where Briggs accidentally kicks Dragunov in the face. Back in and Dragunov tries to go after Williams but Carmelo Hayes cuts him off. Williams grabs a quick victory roll for the pin at 7:38.

Rating: C+. As has been the case on this show, the important part is who got the win, as Williams continues his road towards the title shot against Dragunov at Vengeance Day. Briggs is still finding himself in the new role and it’s not like losing to Williams is a crushing defeat. There is something to Briggs, but he needs to get a few wins sooner rather than later.

Post match Briggs clotheslines Williams and Dragunov has to be held back. Hayes comes in to hold Williams back as well.

Thea Hail is crushed over Chase U closing, but Jacy Jayne says it’s not over yet. Lexis King comes up to offer a shoulder to cry on. Riley Osborne comes in to chase King off (Hail approves) and asks Hail for a private chat later. Hail is cool with that…and then loses it when Osborne leaves. Jayne tells her to chill.

Video on the No Quarter Catch Crew.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams to realize that llja Dragunov is coming for him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Ava to emcee the contract signing between Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez. Roxanne says they respect each other and this is a Stand & Deliver main event months early. Everyone has seen the rise of Valkyria while Perez has had to chase a title she never lost. When she wins at Vengeance Day, she’ll make Valkyria walk down the same road Perez had to. Valkyria has been watching Perez, who had a great run, but she has been replaced. Perez thinks Valkyria is overconfident and wonders what happens when Valkyria gets booed because the people turn on her.

They both stand up and sign before an aggressive handshake and staredown…well don’t end the show, as Tatum Paxley sneaks up on Perez and puts her through the table. Valkyria shouts at Paxley, saying to stay away from her to end the show. There’s only so much they can do here with two women who have no reason to hate each other, so the Paxley twist at least opens something up.

Overall Rating: B-. If there was a quintessential NXT show, this would be in the running. They covered all kinds of stuff, set up future matches/shows and had a good opener to kick it off. They didn’t miss much of anything around here and it was the kind of show that flew by with few complaints. It might not have been great, but it did everything it needed to do in just over two hours.

Results
Baron Corbin/Nathan Frazer b. Axiom/Nathan Frazer – Spear to Frazer
Lash Legend b. Wren Sinclair – Chokebomb
Lexis King b. Trey Bearhill – Coronation
Dragon Lee b. Scrypts – Operation Dragon
Blair Davenport b. Karmen Petrovic – Knee to the face
Trick Williams b. Josh Briggs – Victory roll

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

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AND

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

NXT
Date: January 9, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re back to the normal shows this week after New Year’s Evil, which didn’t see the advertised NXT Title match. NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov is still banged up and it makes me wonder if that will be the Vengeance Day main event. Other than that, Oba Femi is the new Breakout star and he has a title match wherever he wants. Finally, it’s time to start the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Let’s get to it.

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

New Year’s Evil recap.

Blair Davenport and Nikkita Lyons got in a fight in the parking lot and it carries into the arena. And here we go.

Blair Davenport vs. Nikkita Lyons

Lyons suplexes her down to start and a spinning kick to the face gives Lyons two. Davenport gets in a ship into the post though and a shot off the apron takes her down again. Back in and Davenport goes after the knee before grabbing a front facelock. That’s reversed into a suplex, followed by another suplex which is almost more of a DDT. A hip attack in the corner gives Lyons two more and they go outside again. This time Lyons kicks the post by mistake, allowing Davenport to get in a chop block. The knee to the face finishes Lyons at 5:25.

Rating: C. The more I see of Lyons, the harder it is to get interested in her. I’m not sure what it is but there is something about her that makes it really difficult to take her seriously. Davenport isn’t a good deal better, but she feels like a more serious heel and someone who could be a star around here. I’m sure Lyons will be too, but it might take a bit of time to make everything work.

Cody Rhodes narrates a video on the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Carmelo Hayes is in the back with Trick Williams, who isn’t happy with Hayes coming to the ring last week. Hayes says Williams got the win last week and he has a surprise: they’re the last team in the Dusty Cup! Williams isn’t sure but the idea of being called Two Time Trick gets him on the same page.

Here are the brackets for the Dusty Cup:

Bron Breakker/Baron Corbin
Gallus

Hank Walker/Tank Ledger
Nathan Frazer/Axiom

Chase U
LWO

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams
Edris Enofe/Malik Blade

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Bron Breakker/Baron Corbin vs. Gallus

Breakker shoulders Mark down to start so Wolfgang comes in, only to be sent into the corner. Corbin comes in and gets dropped with some uppercuts so he and Breakker take a break on the floor. We take a break and come back with Corbin and Mark slugging it out in the corner until Corbin puts him down for two.

Everything breaks down and Deep Six hits Mark, setting up the four way slugout. Wolfgang pulls Mark away from a screaming Corbin, who misses a right hand to the post. Back in and Wolfgang splashes Corbin in the corner but Mark misses one of his own. That’s enough or Breakker to come in and clean house, including suplexing both of them at once. Corbin tags himself back in (Breakker doesn’t like it) and the End of Days finishes Mark at 10:56.

Rating: C+. Corbin and Breakker are your latest tag partners who don’t get along but happen to be successful, which very well may be enough to get them the tournament. At the same time, it would be interesting to see the two of them beating the fire out of each other once the team breaks down. For now though, they got rid of a successful team in Gallus and that could be the start of something big.

We go to Fallon Henley’s ranch, where Tiffany Stratton, in full on pink gear, including her wrestling top and skirt, arrives late. The sights and smells have her terrified, but not quite as much as the clothes Henley has ready for her. Henley goes over her responsibilities and Stratton is already wincing. More on this later.

Here is Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria for a chat. She promises to end the year as champion but needs an opponent for Vengeance Day. We’ll find that out next week, with a 20 woman battle royal (erg) but the final four will have a four way for the title shot (slightly less erg).

Cue Lola Vice, with Elektra Lopez, to threaten to cash in her contract at any time. Valkyria is sick of hearing Vice talk and wants her to fight. Vice says the people love her Latina Heat, but Valkyria says the only heat is coming from Lopez. The brawl is on but Tatum Paxley runs in for the save. Just cash in the stupid contract to get rid of the Money In The Bank nonsense.

Meta Four laugh at Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley splitting up. Briggs comes in to say he deserves a Heritage Cup rematch but gets Oro Mensah tonight instead.

Luca Crusifino presents evidence his foot was under the ropes but Ava doesn’t care. With Crusifino gone, Dragon Lee comes in but Lexis King interrupts, saying that the open challenge is back on so we’ve got a title match. I could really go for no more open challenges either. Just build someone up already.

Oro Mensah vs. Josh Briggs

The rest of Meta Four are here too as Briggs hammers away to start. Briggs plants him down and the chase on the floor doesn’t go well, as Mensah stomps away on the way back in. A clothesline to the back of the head gets two on Briggs but he plants Mensah with a spinebuster. Dar’s distraction doesn’t work as Briggs hits a running clothesline for the pin at 3:23.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do much here but it should set up Briggs’ rematch for the Heritage Cup. That’s still kind of a weird match but at least it’s something a little different. I guess Mensah is the gatekeeper for Dar, who needs someone to stand in his way before he retains the title again, as he seems destined to do for the rest of time.

Back at the ranch, Tiffany Stratton finishes her first task (which seemed to have a lot of parts) but her feet are killing her in these heels. It’s time to wash a horse (Buttercup) and terror ensues. With that done, Stratton is ready to go, but she has to muck a stall. She even gets a pink rake!

Tag Team Titles: D’Angelo Family vs. OTM

The Family (with Riz) is defending while OTM has Scrypts. Stacks can’t do much with Nima to start so Nima sends him into the corner. That doesn’t work so it’s off to D’Angelo as we get a four way standoff. D’Angelo sends Stacks into Price in the corner for two but OTM takes him to the floor. Stacks gets dropped face first onto the floor for a nasty crash and we take a break.

Back with Nima pounding Stacks down until Stacks manages a quick posting. D’Angelo comes back in to clean house, including a spinebuster for two on Nima. Everything breaks down and Booker sounds like he calls OTM “the young bucks”. An assisted powerslam gives Price two on D’Angelo but Stacks is back in for the save. D’Angelo hiptosses Stacks onto the two of them on the floor and they all slug it out back inside. Riz cuts off an interfering Scrypts and the fisherman’s suplex finishes Price to retain the titles at 11:47.

Rating: B-. I can’t believe I’m saying this but the Family is goofy fun that is kind of working. They’re not supposed to be anything serious but they’ve turned into a pretty nice team. It helps when they’re doing more wrestling than over the top segments, but what they’re doing is working. OTM is still a work in progress, though the potential is certainly there, even with Scrypts being such an annoying human.

NXT Anonymous shows Jacy Jayne rallying the female Chase U students with an idea to save the school. Note newly signed Madi Wrenkowski as one of the students.

Oba Femi isn’t sure when he’ll cash in but Lexis King comes in to say Femi should focus on the NXT Title.

Gallus is mad over their loss but Ridge Holland interrupts. They don’t like each other and we could be on the way to Joe Coffey vs. Holland.

Cora Jade vs. Gigi Dolin

They trade wrist cranking to start but Dolin has to escape an early Jaded attempt. Some shoulders in the corner have Dolin in trouble and a running elbow to the back makes it worse. The chinlock is broken up so Dolin strikes away and hits an STO to drop Jade. The abdominal stretch bomb is blocked with a grab of the rope though and Jaded finishes Dolin at 4:05.

Rating: C. Jade’s roll continues and it wouldn’t shock me to see her getting the title shot out of next week’s battle royal. She’s pretty clearly being pushed as one of the new big heels around here and that isn’t the worst way to go for her. At the very least she has the attitude down, and if she can get the rest of the package going, she has quite the potential.

OTM is made about their loss but run into Jaida Parker, who isn’t surprised at the result. She seems ready to help them deal with Riz, so Scrypts says they should talk.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Axiom/Nathan Frazer vs. Tank Ledger/Hank Walker

Walker runs Axiom over to start as Booker goes on a rant about Ledger and Walker’s wardrobe. Ledger comes in and gets kicked in the chest as commentary talks about how both teams used to fight each other. A slingshot splash gets two on Axiom but he rolls over for the hot tag to Frazer. Everything breaks down and a toss belly to back suplex gets two on Frazer. Back up and Frazer hits some hard dives but Tank clothesline Axiom down. Not that it matters as Axiom kicks Tank in the face, setting up Frazer’s Phoenix splash for the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C+. This was short but had quite a bit of action, which is more than you often get out of a match like this one. Axiom and Frazer continue to work well together despite having some issues backstage, while Ledger and Walker just aren’t very good. I get what they’re going for but they didn’t interest me when they started and they still don’t now.

Back to the farm where Tiffany Stratton is near her breaking point so Fallon Henley and her friends mock her behind her back. She’s finally done and Stratton yells at Henley for being pitiful enough to enjoy this stuff. Then Stratton steps in some droppings and falls into a tub of water. This was all funny stuff and the culture clash was great.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are ready to win next week and are tired of hearing about Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. Brinley Reece of all people come in to give them training tips but they show off their abs as proof that they’re covered.

North American Title: Lexis King vs. Dragon Lee

Lee is defending and grabs a headlock takeover to start. That’s broken up so King grabs a wristlock, which is countered into a rollup for two. Back up and they run the ropes until Lee hits a running dropkick. Cue Tre Bearhill to distract King though and Lee kicks him down as we take a break.

We come back with King grabbing a half crab before slapping Lee in the mask in the corner. Lee isn’t having that and gets back up for a slingshot kick to the face. They chop it out and trade strikes to the face until King walk into a superkick, setting up Operation Dragon to retain the title at 8:48.

Rating: C+. They got a bit of time here and it’s still a little weird to see King lose so frequently. That being said, Lee is someone who is being pushed at the moment and racking up one win after another is a good idea. If nothing else, it’s nice to see King getting a chance and doing something more interesting than Brian Pillman’s kid.

Post match here is Oba Femi to cash in his contract.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. Oba Femi

Lee is defending and hits a suicide dive to the floor before the bell. Femi grabs a belly to back toss but charges into some boots to the face. A tornado DDT gives Lee two but counters Operation Dragon into a powerbomb for the pin and the title at 1:16. That’s a surprise, but more importantly, one of those stupid contracts is gone.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a show that helped move things forward to the parts where things could get interesting. In other words, it was the first step towards setting up Vengeance Day, though they are going to get to the bigger stuff in the future. Not exactly a great show here, but the title change in the end was important and the next few weeks should be bigger going forward.

Results
Blair Davenport b. Nikkita Lyons – Knee to the face
Baron Corbin/Bron Breakker b. Gallus – End of Days to Coffey
Josh Briggs b. Oro Mensah – Clothesline
D’Angelo Family b. OTM – Fisherman’s suplex to Price
Cora Jade b. Gigi Dolin – Jaded
Axiom/Nathan Frazer b. Tank Ledger/Hank Walker – Phoenix splash to Ledger
Dragon Lee b. Lexis King – Operation Dragon
Oba Femi b. Dragon Lee – Powerbomb

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: December 26, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re taped again here, as WWE thankfully gave the roster the holiday week off. The big story coming out of last week was Ilja Dragunov seemingly being injured in a match against Ridge Holland, which could change next week’s NXT Title match. Other than that, Chase U has a match to get rid of all of its debt. Let’s get to it.

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

Chase U vs. OTM

If Chase U wins, their debt is paid but if they lose, the have nothing. Chase dropkicks Price to start and hands it off to Hudson as Chase U gets to alternate on the arm. Price kicks his way to freedom and brings in Nima to stomp Chase down for two. A hard corner clothesline rocks Chase again but he fights out of the corner to bring Hudson back in to clean house. Chase comes back in but walks into a superkick, allowing an assisted spinebuster to give Nima the pin at 4:09.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point with Chase screwing up again to get his school into even more trouble. That’s going to be a major problem going forward but for now he’ll have to come up with a new plan. It’s still really weird to have Chase go from the lovable goon to this loser who screwed everything up and I’m still not sure why this is a good idea. At the same time, OTM gets the biggest win of their career and maybe they’re on the way to something bigger.

Here are some NXT Year End Award winners:

Tag Team Of The Year: Creed Brothers
Female Superstar Of The Year: Tiffany Stratton
Male Superstar Of The Year: Ilja Dragunov

Creeds and Stratton make sense and Dragunov’s only competition was Carmelo Hayes so these all work.

Trick Williams is thinking about pushing his title match back due to Ilja Dragunov’s injury. Carmelo Hayes tells him no way and says take your shot, because its not Williams fault that Dragunov is hurt.

Heritage Cup: Josh Briggs vs. Noam Dar

Dar, with the Meta Four, is defending. Round One begins as the much taller Briggs taunts Dar with a test of strength offer before tossing Dar into the corner. Briggs slams him down and gets two off a splash before a running shoulder gets the same. A powerbomb is loaded up but time expires before Briggs can drop him as the round ends. Round Two begins with a Boss Man Slam giving Briggs two. Briggs powers out of a guillotine choke but gets caught in a triangle choke but that’s broken up as well. A hard clothesline gives Briggs the first fall at 1:15 of the round and 4:58 overall.

We take a break and come back with the two of them slugging it out on the apron. Briggs misses a big boot against the barricade though and Dar kicks him in the face as the round ends. Round Four begins with Dar kicking him in the face again and then does it a third time for two. Briggs is back with a chokeslam for two of his own but Dar goes after the knee. Some strikes to the face set up the kneebar but Briggs gets to the rope. Lash Legend hits Briggs with a bucket for two so Briggs grabs said bucket and hits Dar for the DQ at 2:47 of the round. By rule, Dar automatically retains at 12:48 overall.

Rating: C+. Well at least the ending was different. My biggest issue with these matches is they tend to go the same way so points for switching something up for once. That being said, Dar really needs to drop the Cup to someone else already, just to freshen things up a bit at least. Briggs wouldn’t really have fit as the conquering hero, but someone needs to get the thing off of Dar already.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom are in the back, with Frazer talking about how glad he is Bron Breakker isn’t Superstar of the Year. Frazer: “He’s behind me isn’t he?” That would be correct and a match is made for later.

Cora Jade vs. Karmen Petrovic

Jade stole Petrovic’s to set this up and whips Petrovic into the corner to start. Stomping and trash talking ensue but Petrovic kicks her way out of the corner. A spinning kick to the back of the head gets two but Jade is right back with the double arm DDT for the pin at 3:02.

Rating: C. Really short and to the point here, which is what it should have been. Petrovic is still really new around here and it wouldn’t make sense for her to beat Jade, who is back with a vengeance. Jade getting a push towards the title picture wouldn’t surprise me and this is a nice, albeit small, step in that direction.

Post match the beating almost continued but Gigi Dolin ran in for the save. Hopefully Jade can beat Dolin so we can move on from this for good.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Riley Osborne vs. Lexis King

Osborne works on the arm to start as Tre Bearhill comes out with a chair to stare at King. Back up and King takes over to work on the leg. A half crab is broken up so King kicks him in the face and hits a backbreaker. King takes him to the top but Bearhill offers a distraction, allowing Osborne to hit a shooting star press for the pin at 3:43.

Rating: C. Another match that didn’t have much time to go anywhere here, but King’s weird path in NXT continues. He came in with hype, got paired with one of the biggest stars in NXT and is now seemingly feuding with one of the rookies over a spot in the Breakout Tournament. King was still protected in defeat and Osborne seems to be a project around here, but this doesn’t bode well for King’s future as he isn’t off to the hottest start around here.

Post match Bearhill goes after King, who bails out to the floor.

More awards:

Match Of The Year: Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes – No Mercy
Moment Of The Year: The Undertaker In NXT

Ava says Ilja Dragunov gets to decide if he defends the title next week or not.

Nathan Frazer vs. Bron Breakker

Frazer’s headlock doesn’t work in the slightest and Breakker smiles at him a lot. Instead Frazer tries to run the ropes but gets flattened by a shoulder. A headlock takeover actually does work for Frazer, at least until Breakker launches him into the corner. Frazer slips out of a suplex though and hits a running kick to the chest as we take a break.

Back with Breakker hitting a gutbuster for two and starting in on the ribs. Frazer fights up again and kicks Breakker to the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive. Breakker is knocked into the steps but he’s fine enough to slam his way out of a high crossbody attempt. The spear is cut off by a spear so Breakker tries again, this time cutting Frazer in half for the pin at 11:44.

Rating: B-. I can always go for a power vs. speed match and that was on full display here, with both of them doing their parts rather well. Frazer looking desperate when he was going for covers sold how dangerous he knows Breakker to be, while Breakker continues to be a wrecking ball with all kinds of power. I know he’s practically main roster ready now, but giving him a bit more time in NXT to get in reps and be more and more seasoned is helping him so much.

Baron Corbin is watching in the back and seems impressed by Breakker.

The No Quarter Catch Crew wants the LWO next week.

Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen give Josh Briggs a pep talk, with the team seemingly breaking up on good terms. That came a bit out of nowhere.

Arianna Grace talks to Ava about Roxanne Perez slapping her last week. As a result, Ava makes Perez vs. Grace for next week.

Lyra Valkyria and Blair Davenport have a face to face interview before next week’s title match. They accuse each other of hiding, with Valkyria saying she was beating Becky Lynch while Davenport was jumping people in the parking lot. Davenport has seen Valkyria’s rise but will be the reason for her fall. This was short but intense.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Oba Femi vs. Tavion Heights

The stronger Femi powers him down to start and drops a jumping knee for two. A backbreaker has Heights in more trouble and it’s time to work on Heights’ arm. Femi hits a running charge in the corner for two but Heights is right back with an AA into a suplex. Femi blasts him with a clothesline though and a pop up powerbomb finishes for Femi at 4:07.

Rating: C. That’s a bit of a surprise as Heights has been pushed rather hard on NXT LVL Up, though Femi is an absolute monster. Heights is going to have his day, but Femi being the one who wrecks everything in front of him makes sense. Femi vs. Osborne should be a heck of a showdown in the finals as it has the power vs. speed dynamic, but this feels like something of an upset.

Ilja Dragunov arrives and wants to talk to Trick Williams.

We look at Dragunov’s injury, with Ridge Holland apologizing on Twitter. More from Holland next week.

Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is at ringside. They start fast with Gacy being sent outside, where Coffey hits a suicide dive. The fans chant for JOE as Coffey drops an elbow for two back inside. Gacy fights out of the corner and hits some running forearms, followed by a big dive to the floor. Back in and a release Rock Bottom gives Gacy two as Hank Walker and Tank Ledger come out to brawl with Gallus. The distraction lets Gacy hit the Upside Down for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C. NXT is going to pus Gacy no matter what and I can at least take this more than another cult deal. I’m still not sure what Gacy’s deal is at this point but they’re certainly trying something new with him. Beating Coffey feels like a big deal and as long as Gacy doesn’t build up followers, it could be a lot worse.

The LWO is ready for the No Quarter Catch Crew next week. Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice come in, with Lopez being happy to see her old friends while Vice seems totally uninterested.

We run down next week’s card.

Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak

NXT Underground, meaning no ropes and a bunch of wrestlers around the ring. Anything goes but you can only win by knockout or submission. Thorpe goes for the arm to start but Dijak fights out, only to get caught in a triangle choke. That’s broken up as well and Dijak unloads with right hands. Dijak tosses him out to the floor and we take a break.

Back with Thorpe in big trouble and being sent back inside. Thorpe fights up and snaps off a German suplex, followed by a brainbuster. Dijak is still up so Thorpe grabs a choke, with Dijak dropping back onto him or the break. That’s broken up as well and Dijak scores with the spinning boot. Another such boot is broken up with Thorpe’s kick to the face before Thorpe suplexes him to the floor.

Dijak lands on his feet though and hits a quick Feast Your Eyes but Thorpe is still in it. Thorpe drops him ribs first onto the apron but Dijak grabs the leather strap. The big right hand is blocked though and Thorpe hits Manifest Destiny (DDT), which still isn’t enough for the win.

Thorpe grabs the strap and whips away before slapping on another choke. Dijak rams him into the post for the break but a powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana to the floor. An elbow off the apron sets up another Manifest Destiny on the floor but Dijak is still in it. Another choke goes on but Dijak climbs the steps next to the announcers’ table, only to have Dijak Manifest Destiny him through the table for the win at 15:48.

Rating: B. The unique rules and setup take some getting used to but they had a hard hitting fight and that’s what it needed to be. This felt like the big ending to the feud as Thorpe gets a big boost. I’m not sure how long it is going to last but at least they had a good fight, with Dijak looking strong in defeat, as always.

We get a sitdown faceoff between Ilja Dragunov and Trick Williams. Trick won’t hold back at New Year’s Evil and signs, but says we can push the match back if Dragunov needs more time to recover. Dragunov says no one can stop him and takes off the neck brace before signing. An intense handshake ends the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show covered a lot of stuff and the main event helped boost it up a lot. They were in a weird place here as there is only so much that you can make feel big with the major show coming next week. New Year’s Evil is looking very good/important and this show did a nice job of setting things up for next week. Another rather nice show this week, with a variety of stuff being covered in just over two hours.

Results
OTM b. Chase U – Assisted spinebuster to Chase
Noam Dar b. Josh Briggs via DQ when Briggs used a bucket
Cora Jade b. Karmen Petrovic – Double arm DDT
Riley Osborne b. Lexis King – Shooting star press
Bron Breakker b. Nathan Frazer – Spear
Oba Femi b. Tavion Heights – Pop up powerbomb
Joe Gacy b. Joe Coffey – Upside Down
Eddy Thorpe b. Dijak – Manifest Destiny through the announcers’ table

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: December 19, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re closing in on New Year’s Evil and the two big title matches are already set. There are some other things that need to be followed up on as well though and we might find out a few of them this week. This is a taped show, which can take away some of the energy that is usually around. Let’s get to it.

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

Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton

They start fast with Henley knocking her outside to keep up the beating. Back in and Henley elbows her in the corner but gets knocked out to the floor in a big crash. Stratton gets to beat on her a bit as well but Henley rains down some right hands in the corner. A hurricanrana takes Stratton down again, only to have her come back with a spinebuster for two. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence….and Henley gets a sunset flip for the completely clean pin at 3:51.

Rating: C. I’ve been wanting Henley to get a better push for a long time now and she might just be getting that here. That’s by far the biggest win of her career and I could go for her getting to do some more in the future. It’s nice to see some fresh blood in the division and Henley is pretty much set for a long time around here anyway so the loss won’t hurt her.

Post match Stratton jumps her and drags Henley to the back. Stratton rubs a mop over her face and covers her with garbage in a rather mean moment.

Trick Williams congratulates Carmelo Hayes on his Smackdown win but they talk about who actually attacked Hayes last week. Hayes suggests they turn the New Year’s Evil match into a triple threat match but Williams doesn’t get the thinking. That doesn’t seem to be happening, though Hayes says it doesn’t matter who wins as long as they have the title. Williams: “It does matter.” Williams hopes it’s cool and Hayes seems to be ok, though some of the enthusiasm is lacking.

Here is Ilja Dragunov to talk about how he doesn’t know how he got in the middle of this Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes mess. He didn’t have that on his 2023 Bingo card, but he’ll start 2024 by defeating Williams, no matter how popular he is. Cue Ridge Holland to interrupt, saying he needs to prove himself again in NXT. Holland wants Dragunov to help him get there, perhaps by winning the NXT Title. He isn’t going to beg for a title shot so he wants to prove himself. He’ll face everyone to get to Dragunov, and then he’ll be worthy of a shot. Dragunov is tired of all this so he’ll face Holland tonight.

Lexis King knows he’s already the breakout star around here, but he’ll win the Breakout Tournament if he has to.

Trick Williams doesn’t like Ilja Dragunov giving away title shots but Dragunov says he’s the champ so get over it. Makes sense.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Dion Lennox vs. Lexis King

King wastes no time in taking him into the corner for a running clothesline. A knee to the ribs keeps Lennox in trouble but he fights back with some shots to the face. King heads outside where he grabs the contract and tries to grab the contract. That’s not going to work for Lennox, who takes King back inside, where the Coronation gives King the quick win at 2:57.

Post match Tre Bearhill chases King off.

Eddy Thorpe talks about his feud with Dijak and wants to settle it in NXT Underground.

Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail vs. Kiana James/Izzi Dame

Riley Osborne is leading the cheers in the Chase U student section as Jayne takes Dame into the corner. A rollup gives Dame two as Hail is very fired up on the apron. Dame clotheslines her way out of trouble and hands it off to James for some knees to the ribs. It’s back to Dame or another clothesline but Jayne gets in her own shot, meaning it’s the hot tag off to Hail. House is quickly cleaned, including a springboard bottom rope backsplash for two. Osborne approves as Hail Kimuras James…but Dame came in off a blind tag. A big boot finishes Hail at 3:51.

Rating: C. The idea of Hail having a crush on Osborne and her excitement messing with her attention is an interesting way to go and I’m curious to see where that goes. James and Dame aren’t the greatest team but at least they have been together for a few weeks now and could be built up with some kind of a business relationship. Not exactly a great match but at least they kept it moving.

Roxanne Perez is annoyed at Kiana James and Izzi Dame and gets in a fight with Arianna Grace over them.

Andre Chase is gambling with OTM and wins a lot of money, but offers to put up the money double or nothing over a tag match between Chase U and OTM next week. Scrypts says as a bonus, if OTM wins, they get a Tag Team Title match, which they can apparently authorize. The D’Angelo Family’s associate comes in and says everything is on. Hudson doesn’t look convinced and Chase doesn’t seem to have the best idea.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. ???

Lee is defending against a to be determined member of the No Quarter Catch Crew, but here is Gallus to interrupt, with Joe Coffey saying he wants in on this too. Works for Lee.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. Joe Coffey vs. Charlie Dempsey

Lee is defending and gets sent to the apron to start. Back in and Coffey throws Lee but misses a middle rope elbow. Dempsey gets headbutted own but Gallus’ distraction earns them an ejection. Coffey grabs a suplex on Lee and we take a break. Back with Lee grabbing a hurricanrana and knocking Dempsey into the corner. Dempsey fights up and drops Lee but has to slug it out with Coffey.

With Coffey getting the better of things, he goes up top but gets uppercutted out of the air. That leaves Dempsey to suplex Coffey, who is suplexing Lee at the same time. Back up and Lee DDTs Dempsey but gets headbutted into the corner for two more. Dempsey is knocked outside so Lee can knee Coffey in the head for two. Lee is knocked to the floor this time so Coffey hits a dive…as a smiling Joe Gacy pops out from underneath the ring. Gacy pulls Coffey under the ring, leaving Dempsey to tabletop suplex Lee for two. Lee is able to come back with Operation Dragon to retain at 12:12.

Rating: C+. The action was good and they had an exciting enough match, but I’m not a fan of just throwing someone in there to make it into a triple threat. It felt like they were just adding something for the sake of adding it to make it different. Lee getting wins is a good thing, but have him beat one of the Catch Crew and then one of Gallus in separate matches rather than changing what they announced in the first place.

Post match Gacy runs off but the No Quarter Catch Crew jump Lee. Cue the LWO for the save.

Trick Williams rants to Carmelo Hayes about Ridge Holland because if he wins, it might make New Year’s Evil a triple threat. Hayes: “Someone should have thought of that!” They need a way to take the title from Dragunov.

Cora Jade announces her return to the women’s locker room and takes over Karmen Petrovic’s locker. With Jade gone, Petrovic comes in and isn’t pleased. Gigi Dolin tells her to go after Jade.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Luca Crusifino vs. Tavion Heights

Heights, the amateur wrestler, takes Luca down without much trouble and then suplexes him for a fast two. A neckbreaker gives Luca the same and another neckbreaker gets another two. Back up and Heights grabs a powerslam, followed by a spinning belly to belly for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: C. These two have been on NXT LVL Up for months now and it is clear that Heights is someone WWE wants to push in a big way down the line. He’s one heck of an athlete and has the amateur wrestling background which should take him a pretty long way. At the same time you have Luca, who has an interesting gimmick with the wrestling lawyer deal, but then he doesn’t really do anything with it and that stops having any kind o an impact.

Video on Lyra Valkyria vs. Blair Davenport, focusing on their paths here, with Valkyria fighting the right way and Davenport doing anything to get to the top. They meet in two weeks at New Year’s Evil.

Valkyria is ready when Nikkita Lyons comes in to say she’ll deal with Tatum Paxley for Valkyria, but she wants the Women’s Title too.

The Meta Four is happy this season because Noam Dar isn’t scared of Josh Briggs.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Tatum Paxley

Lyons takes her to the floor to start and fires off the chops until Paxley sends her hand into the steps. Back in and Paxley is right back on the arm, including a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up and Lyons kicks her in the head, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. Something like a German suplex puts Paxley down again and a kick to the chest makes it worse. Lyons hits the splits splash for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Paxley did something interesting last week when she went after Lyra Valkyria but then got wrecked by Lyons here. Whatever she had last week is more or less squashed immediately, which isn’t the most thrilling development. Lyons is back and seems ready to move into the title picture, but I can’t get my head around how ridiculous her new gear looks. It’s like some genie outfit that didn’t get finished and it’s a big distraction.

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger are ready for Gallus.

Fallon Henley is livid at Tiffany Stratton, who has never had to work a day in her life. Henley swears revenge and storms off. Josh Briggs is ready for his Heritage Cup Title match but asks to do it on his own. Jensen isn’t thrilled but agrees.

Tank Ledger/Hank Walker vs. Gallus

Hank works on Mark’s arm to start but it’s quickly off to Wolfgang so Walker comes in to work on the arm. Wolfgang gets sent into the corner for a splash but tags out and offers a fast distraction. Walker is knocked out to the floor and comes up holding his shoulder, meaning Wolfgang has a target. Back in and Mark gets kicked away, allowing Ledger to tag himself in, but the referee says no because he was WAY too far down the apron. Therefore no tag, meaning Mark can kick Walker in the face for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. That’s certainly points for a creative ending, as I wouldn’t have thought of that happening in WWE, even if it is by the standard rules of wrestling. I’m really not seeing it with Ledger and Walker, as their every man deal isn’t working. Gallus isn’t exactly great, but they’re the better option here and could be put back into the title hunt sooner than later.

Joe Gacy is watching Gallus from the Chase U student section.

Dijak is in for NXT Underground against Eddy Thorpe.

Tiffany Stratton calls Fallon Henley a servant in society and swears Henley will NEVER be her. Henley will always be trash, so they can fight at New Year’s Evil. When Stratton wins, Henley can become her servant.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ridge Holland vs. Ilja Dragunov

Non-title. Dragunov’s running shoulders stagger Holland but his running shoulder puts Dragunov down. A hard clothesline drops Dragunov again but he’s back up with some hard chops in the corner. An Alabama Slam drops Dragunov, who shrugs it off and rolls some German suplexes.

We take a break and come back with Holland striking away to take over, including a clothesline to knock Dragunov out of the corner. A suplex is countered into a DDT and the H Bomb knocks Holland silly. Holland gets in another shot of his own and tries a suplex but settles for something like a DDT. Hold on though as Dragunov is badly shaken up and the referee calls in the medics, with the match being stopped at about 10:30.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match here and then they went with the rather scary ending. Having what is hopefully a storyline injury in a match is one thing, having a neck injury from the hands of Holland is quite another when he might have accidentally ended Big E.’s career in the same way. I’m really not a fan of this and while the crowd reacted very well, that doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea.

The arena goes silent as Dragunov is taken out on a stretcher, with the title being laid on him, and he is wheeled out to end the show. Of note: this has been reported to be a storyline injury rather than a legitimate injury.

Overall Rating: C. Ignoring everything at the end, this was a rather flat episode with nothing that stood out, save for the surprise of Henley beating Stratton in a heck of an upset. Other than that though, you had a few matches featuring rookies or lower level talent, which didn’t make for the most entertaining show. Granted it was a taped show, but that didn’t exactly make for a good week. We have another of these next week and that’s not exactly compelling after this less than stellar effort.

Results
Fallon Henley b. Tiffany Stratton – Sunset flip
Lexis King b. Dion Lennox – Coronation
Kiana James/Izzi Dame b. Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail – Big boot to Hail
Dragon Lee b. Joe Coffey and Charlie Dempsey – Operation Dragon to Dempsey
Tavion Heights b. Luca Crusifino – Spinning belly to belly
Nikkita Lyons b. Tatum Paxley – Splits splash
Gallus b. Tank Ledger/Hank Walker – Jumping kick to Walker
Ilja Dragunov vs. Ridge Holland went to a no content when Dragunov was injured

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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Deadline 2023
Date: December 9, 2023
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

This is a show built around a theme match with the Iron Survivor Challenge. It’s something like a gauntlet Iron Man match (with a penalty box) with the winners getting a future title shot. For a bonus, we also have the NXT Title on the line as Ilja Dragunov defends against Baron Corbin. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom

This is a rematch after their previous attempt on NXT was broken up by a big fight breaking out. Axiom headlocks him down to start, which Frazer reverses into one of his own. Back up an Frazer snaps off a headscissors but Axiom sticks the landing to give us another standoff. Axiom takes it to the mat again but misses a running kick to the chest. Frazer knocks him into the corner for a heck of a chop and then does it again for a bonus.

A cobra clutch slows Axiom down a bit and Frazer grabs the bodyscissors, which is broken up almost immediately. The moonsault into the reverse layout DDT gives Frazer two and things slow down a bit. Axiom is right back with half and half suplex into a running kick to the chest for two.

Frazer is sat on top for a forearm to the floor, meaning Axiom can hit a top rope moonsault to take him out again (getting roughly 348% of the contact Charlotte would hit). Back in and Frazer hits the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two, only to miss the phoenix splash. A rather hard superkick rocks Axiom though and Frazer goes up top again. This time Axiom catches him though it’s a super Spanish Fly into the Golden Ratio for the pin on Frazer at 10:53.

Rating: B. This feels like they were given the instruction “go out there and kill it”, which is pretty much what they did. That’s how you get things going for a crowd, though I’m almost worried about how many people they’re going to overshadow. Axiom getting a win surprises me a bit as he tends to come up short, but dang they had a good one here and I could go for seeing more of them, either together or apart, in the future.

We open the show proper with Shawn Michaels, who wants to know if we’re ready. Cue CM Punk, in a Bret Hart hoodie but doing the Shawn Michaels pose at the entrance. Punk apologizes for cutting Shawn off before getting to say SUCK IT but Shawn would rather talk about that hoodie. Punk points out that Bret and Shawn made up and since Punk and HHH made up, this is all about healing. He talks about growing up watching Shawn, and now he’s able to take a picture with him, which he does. We get the tease of Punk joining NXT…and that’s it in a rather fun but not exactly substantive cameo.

The opening video looks at the rise of the next generation, who will get their chance to emerge in the Iron Survivor Challenges.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee

Lee is challenging and has Dominik’s dad Rey in his corner. Well on commentary but the man just had knee surgery so give him a break. Lee starts fast and knocks him to the floor for the big running flip dive. Back in and Dominik manages to catch Lee’s leg on the top rope to slow things way down. A DDT onto the apron doesn’t go so well and Dominik crashes down to the floor in a heap. Dominik whips him hard into the corner and we hit the chinlock to keep Lee in trouble.

Lee fights up and catches Dominik on top, meaning it’s a top rope double stomp to the apron to the floor for a nasty crash. Some running forearms have Dominik in trouble and a superkick in the corner makes it worse. A nice dropkick cuts Lee off but they trade strikes to the face. Lee’s sitout powerbomb doesn’t go so well so Dominik powerbombs him for two instead. The 619 misses for Dominik and now Lee’s sitout powerbomb gets two. Back up and Destino gives Lee the pin and the title at 10:40.

Rating: B-. Good opener here and Lee winning the title is the right call. At the end of the day, Lee is being presented as one of the future stars of WWE and he has to win something to get there already. Dominik has done some great things with the title but it might be time for him to move up the ladder. Good stuff here though and Lee gets a nice moment to start the show.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

25 minute time limit, two start, another comes in every five minutes. Anyone can get a pinfall, submission or DQ at any time with 1 point per fall. That fall also sends the defeated wrestler to the penalty box for 90 seconds, most points in the end gets a Women’s Title shot at New Year’s Evil. Fallon Henley is in at #1 and Blair Davenport is in at #2.

They go with the pinfall reversal sequence to start and neither can get anywhere. After a minute plus of reversals, Davenport hits a running knee for two and takes over for good. The double arm crank goes on but Henley kicks her away and it’s Tiffany Stratton in at #3. The entrance takes its sweet time before Stratton comes in to take over on both of them.

Some clotheslines puts Henley down and we hit the double Fujiwara armbar from Stratton and Davenport. Somehow that isn’t a submission so Stratton beats up Davenport. Another kick to Henley gets two, followed by an Alabama Slam or two. Davenport breaks up the cover though and pins Henley at 9:45.

Davenport – 1
Henley – 0
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0
Legend – 0

Henley goes to the penalty box as Kelani Jordan is in at #4. Jordan cleans house and hits the split legged moonsault for two on Davenport as Stratton makes the save. Henley is back in and strikes away at Stratton, including a Shining Wizard for the pin at 12:10.

Davenport – 1
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0
Legend – 0

Jordan and Henley trade some near falls until Henley grabs an armbar into an armbar. Stratton comes back in and Davenport pops back up. All four go into the same corner and it’s Lash Legend in at #5 to complete the field. Legend powerbombs Stratton and Henley out of the corner and then superplexes Jordan and Davenport. A chokeslam hits Stratton and a powerbomb hits Henley….for a double pin, and two points, at 16:13.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 1
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0

Jordan is back up with a double knee to send Legend outside. Jordan’s Asai moonsault mostly misses and she takes a nasty crash into the announcers’ table. Davenport is back up to deck Legend but here is Meta Four to block the door to the penalty box. Henley tries to climb out but Stratton shoves her through the announces’ table, followed by a big flip dive onto everyone else. Back in and Jordan goes after Legend before double stomping Jordan for two. Henley makes the save with five minutes left and Davenport double stomps Jordan for the pin at 20:10.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0

Legend picks up Henley and Davenport at the same time but Stratton dropkicks them all down. Jordan comes back in and Henley takes down everyone not named Davenport. A high crossbody gives Jordan two on Legend with Stratton making another save. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever pins Legend at 23:12 to get Stratton on the board.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 1
Jordan – 0

Jordan 450 Stratton and Davenport for two as Henley makes the save and covers both of them for two each. We have a minute left and some holds are broken up before Davenport German superplexes Jordan. A running knee gives Davenport the pin on Henley at 24:45.

Davenport – 3
Legend – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 1
Jordan – 0

Davenport runs the clock out to win at 25:00.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but they hit a groove once everyone was in there. Davenport winning is a good call as Jordan and Legend aren’t ready yet, Henley isn’t at that level and Stratton doesn’t need the title again. The concept takes some time to sink in but they got the drama going here and had a nice match as a result.

Post match Davenport calls out Lyra Valkyria who comes out….and is jumped by Cora Jade in a surprise return. Jade holds up the title.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams that he has the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Williams tells him to take care of Lexis King, which Hayes doesn’t seem to like.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Lexis King

King might have attacked Hayes’ friend Trick Williams but has implied Hayes was involved so Hayes is fighting to prove his innocence. Hayes takes him down to start and hammers away, with King bailing out to the floor. Back in and Hayes starts in on the hand, including stomping it onto the steps. King is fine enough to knock him back outside for a dropkick through the ropes and start working on the back.

A kick to said back and a running clothesline to the back of the head gets two, setting up a pair of backbreakers for the same. King offers him a handshake but Hayes lips him of and fights up. They go to the top and crash out hard to the floor for a double knockdown. Back in and Hayes drops King for two of his own but King manages a Jackhammer of all things for the same. King hits another backbreaker but Hayes is up with a Codebreaker. Nothing But Net finishes King clean at 11:13.

Rating: C+. This was ok but never got into the next level. I’m more than a bit surprised that King just lost clean as Hayes is a bigger star, but King is still brand new around here. That’s quite the loss to take so early, but there is a good chance that he’ll be involved in something bigger rather soon. Good enough stuff here, though hardly anything great.

Post match King says he didn’t attack Trick Williams, but he thanks Hayes for that PLE spotlight. Hayes is frustrated as he leaves.

Cora Jade says people aren’t happy she is back but she gave everyone four months of. She’ll be here on Tuesday.

Vengeance Day is on Sunday February 4.

Trick Williams is proud of Carmelo Hayes, who tells him to win tonight.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge

Same rules as the women’s edition, including the title match coming at New Year’s Evil. Dijak is in at #1 and Josh Briggs is in at #2, with Briggs grabbing a rollup for an early two. They trade some leapfrogs until Briggs grabs a quickly broken headlock. An exchange of shoulders goes nowhere either so Briggs knocks him into the corner for some shots to the face. A hard running shoulder gives Briggs two but Dijak knocks him into the other corner. The toss suplex drops Briggs and High Justice gives Dijak two. A big boot gives Briggs the same but Feast Your Eyes gives Dijak the first fall at 5:01.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 0
Bate – 0
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Tyler Bate is in at #3 and kicks away at Dijak, setting up a running uppercut in the corner. The airplane spin goes on but Briggs comes back in to go after Dijak. One heck of a clothesline gives Briggs the pin on Dijak at 7:03.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Bate – 0
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Bate is rammed up against the penalty box but comes back with a springboard uppercut to drop Briggs. Another uppercut is blocked though and Briggs hits a splash for two more. Dijak is back in…and gets rolled up by Bate for the pin at 9:03.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Bate – 1
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Bate punches Briggs but Dijak is yelling at the referee, meaning it’s only a near fall. A huge jawbreaker hits Bate as Trick Williams is in at #4. The fans go coconuts as Williams runs over everyone, including using Briggs as a launchpad to knock Dijak out of the air for two as Bate makes the save. A very long airplane spin, complete with bate putting his hands on his hips, cuts Williams off and the Tyler Driver 97 gives Bate the pin on Williams at 13:57.

Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Dijak gets to run some people over until Bron Breakker is in at #5. The spear pins Briggs at 15:13.

Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Breakker – 1
Williams – 0

Another Breakker spear pins Bate at 15:27.

Bate – 2
Breakker – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Another Breakker spear pins Dijak at 15:43.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

That leaves Breakker and Williams, with Breakker grabbing the Recliner. The other three brawl in the penalty box and break out (as their times expire), leaving Williams to make a rope. Williams hits a Rock Bottom on Breakker, who falls out to the floor. A huge Williams dive takes everyone out but Dijak big boots him for the pin at 18:00.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 2
Dijak – 2
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Breakker is back up with a super Frankensteiner to send Dijak into a sitout powerbomb from Bate, who gets the pin at 18:35.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 2
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Breakker hits a heck of a gutbuster for two on Bate and a super flipping World’s Strongest Slam gets the same as Briggs makes the save. Briggs and Dijak get up and start cleaning house, setting up stereo moonsaults for stereo pins on Breakker and Williams at 21:09.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 0

Bate hits a heck of a springboard tornado DDT to Dijak, setting up the big no hands dive to the floor. Briggs decks Bate with a right hand but Dijak takes them both down back inside. Breakker and Williams are back in, with Breakker posting Williams to cut him off. A spear through the barricade drops Williams again but Dijak chokeslams Breakker onto him. Back in and Williams rolls Briggs up for a fast pin at 23:49.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 1

Feast Your Eyes hits Williams but here is Eddy Thorpe to jump Dijak instead. Williams steals a cover for the pin on Dijak at 24:29.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 2

Williams rolls Bate up for the pin at 24:40.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Williams – 3
Briggs – 2

Williams knees Breakker for the pin at 24:57.

Williams – 4
Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2

Williams runs the clock out to win at 25:00.

Rating: B. The last minute and fifteen seconds or so was up there with the most ridiculous endings I’ve ever seen to a wrestling match….and that might be a good thing. Williams was beaten up like he owed people money throughout the match and then basically did a crazy Mario Kart style final lap where he caught up with everything. I’m not sure if it was good, but it was absolutely not boring and I’ll take that every day.

Brooks Jensen tries to cheer up Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley when Meta Four comes in to be obnoxious. A fight breaks out.

Kiana James is driven from WWE Headquarters to the arena.

We recap Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez. They have been fighting for months so it’s time to lock them inside a cage. James talks about being a winner but Perez is ready to end her.

Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James

Inside a cage (pinfall/submission only, with escaping not counting for a change) and James arrives. They fight before the bell with James getting the better of things but Perez slugs away. James goes for a climb but Perez dropkicks the cage for a smart breakup. Back up and James sends her into the cage, setting up a reverse chinlock.

With that broken up, a heck of a spinebuster gives James two. Perez fights up again and hits a quick dropkick to start the comeback. There’s a ram into the cage and it works so well that Perez does it a few more times. They both fight up until Perez gets pulled down, setting up a powerbomb off the bottom rope for two.

Perez is right back with a good looking Pop Rox for two but another attempt is blocked. James tries to leave and brings a chair back in, only to get kicked down. Perez goes to the door again but here is Izzi Dame to slam the door on Perez’s head. The Deal Breaker with the chair finishes for James at 11:30.

Rating: C. This never really broke through to the next level and the few good spots they had didn’t make up for the weaker stuff. The feud didn’t feel like it needed to keep going after Halloween Havoc and this, which felt like the blowoff, didn’t exactly work. It wasn’t a terrible match or even bad, but it was fairly disappointing.

We preview the Men’s Breakout Tournament.

Here’s what’s coming on NXT.

We recap Baron Corbin challenging Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Title. Dragunov wants to make the title special but Corbin just wants to be champion. Corbin has beaten Dragunov as well so he has a claim to a title shot. Dragunov has been playing some last minute mind games though and we’re ready for a fight.

NXT Title: Baron Corbin vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov is defending and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Back up and Dragunov strikes away, including a running knee in the corner. A clothesline puts Corbin on the floor and Dragunov follows for a German suplex. Corbin is fine enough to hit a hard drop onto the announcers’ table, meaning he can taunt Dragunov with the offering of stopping it.

Dragunov tries to fight up but gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle. Corbin puts him on top but gets knocked down, only to avoid a top rope backsplash. A top rope clothesline gives Corbin two and a release Rock Bottom has Dragunov in more trouble. Dragunov enziguris his way out of a chokeslam and nails a running knee to put Corbin down.

Now the top rope backsplash can connect but Dragunov is too banged up to cover. They slug it out until Dragunov drops him with a heck of a right hand. Corbin gets struck down in the corner where a running boot to the face makes it worse. Dragunov can barely follow up again but manages a running boot to the face (he likes that) on the apron. They go up top though, where Corbin hits a release chokeslam for two off a nasty crash.

A dragon sleeper goes on but Dragunov backflips out and Death Valley Drivers him into the corner. Back up and a quick Deep Six gives Corbin two, followed by his own Death Valley Driver. A brainbuster gives Corbin two but Dragunov muscles him up for a jackknife of all things (it took a few attempts but he got there). Coast To Coast hits Corbin but leaves Dragunov holding his ribs again. Back up and End of Days is countered into a DDT and a pair of H Bombs knock Corbin silly. One more H Bomb….doesn’t leave Corbin down so Dragunov hugs him and hits the Torpedo Moscow to retain at 20:58.

Rating: B. As usual, a Dragunov match leaves you feeling that he would rather die than lose. That was on full display here and while he didn’t quite hit his top level, he had me wanting to see him keep fighting until he won. That’s a heck of a performance, which includes Corbin. I know he gets some major heat from a lot of people, but Corbin is able to do all kinds of things in the ring and do them at a high level. Good stuff here, with Dragunov getting another nice win.

Trick Williams, followed by Carmelo Hayes, comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This wasn’t a great show, but it was a nice use of three hours, not counting a heck of a Kickoff Show match. That’s all you can ask for out of something like this and it worked well all things considered. The Iron Survivor Challenge matches can take some getting used to but once you figure out the system, the drama can be great at the end. With only the cage match being a bit disappointing, I liked this show a good bit and NXT closes out the year pretty well, with New Year’s Evil mostly set.

Results
Axiom b. Nathan Frazer – Golden Ratio
Dragon Lee b. Dominik Mysterio – Destino
Blair Davenport won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Carmelo Hayes b. Lexis King – Nothing But Net
Trick Williams won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Kiana James b. Roxanne Perez – Deal Breaker with a chair
Ilja Dragunov b. Baron Corbin – Torpedo Moscow

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We’re wrapping up the big WWE shows of the year with this, which is another show built around a concept match. In this case that would be the Iron Survival Challenge, which is kind of like a gauntlet Iron Man match with a penalty box. Either way, it’s for a future title shot and we have a men’s and women’s version. The rest of the card is looking good enough so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

This match was supposed to happen this week on NXT but that fell apart due to a big brawl. They’re fighting over Axiom not being the nicest friend following a recent Frazer loss. It helps that they have a history and should be able to have a good match with each other in their sleep. That should make for a heck of a way to get the crowd warmed up so they do at least have the right idea.

I’ll go with Frazer to win here, as Axiom has a tendency to never win anything and he probably won’t again here. Frazer is the more successful of the two and it would make sense to have him get the win to start the night. I still think Axiom continues to be someone who should be able to move up the ladder a bit, but for now he is probably losing to Frazer.

Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez

We’ll start the main card with a pretty big one, as Perez is looking for revenge inside a cage. I’m not sure why this feud needed to keep going after Halloween Havoc but here we are with one more big fight. Perez is already one of the more established names in the division while James has that one Women’s Tag Team Title reign with Fallon Henley in a story that feels like it was forever ago.

I see no reason for Perez to lose here outside of some major interference so we’ll go with Perez winning. She should be on her way to something bigger and a definitive win over James is a good way to set things up. James will get in some offense here, but I can’t picture someone as good as Perez coming up short in what should be the big blowoff match for the feud. Perez wins in a fight.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Lexis King

This is the next big step in one of the more interesting stories taking place in NXT at the moment. The question right now is whether or not Hayes was working with King in some way to take out Trick Williams but he’s fighting Lexis here to prove his loyalty to Williams. What matters here is finding out if Hayes is telling the truth and there is a good chance we find that out here.

This almost has to be King’s to win so we’ll go there. King is still brand new to NXT and there is no reason to have him lose here. What matters is getting the story advanced, which could go in a few different ways. What won’t matter is anything that happens if King loses here, so we’ll go with him getting the win, likely through some kind of shenanigans. The end game seems to be Hayes vs. Williams, and Hayes losing here can be a step towards the eventual showdown.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. Dragon Lee

Unfortunately this is the replacement match after Wes Lee announced that he has suffered an injury so bad that he will be out of action for 8-12 months. As a result, Dominik’s father Rey Mysterio announced that he was bringing in Dragon to come after the title instead. This will be the latest attempt to do something with Dragon, who is rather talented and seems to be a big prospect who has to win something at some point.

Given all of the circumstances, I’ll take Dragon to win the title here, as he has to win something at some point. You can put the title back on Dominik if he needs it, but Dragon can’t keep losing over and over. It’s not a bad thing to give us a cool title change here and that might be the idea. If nothing else you don’t want to see Dragon losing so many times, which he did clean this week on SmackDown for whatever reason. For now though, I’ll go with the upset title change and likely be wrong.

NXT Title: Ilja Dragunov(c) vs. Baron Corbin

This is a match that should sound kind of lame on paper but they have turned it into something that much better than expected. Dragunov turned the tables on Corbin’s mind games this week and now the question is what happens when Dragunov is allowed to get violent. At the same time, Corbin is doing some of the better stuff he has done in recent years and I’m actually wanting to see them fight.

We’ll go with a pretty easy winner here and have Dragunov retain the title. What matters here is having a big fight and give Dragunov a run for his money, but I can actually imagine Corbin winning the title in a big surprise. Corbin winning a title like this would be a big career moment for him, though I can’t bring myself to say he does it here. Dragunov wins, though the more I think about it, the more I could see a title change being possible.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

As usual in a match like this, the best thing to do is eliminate some of the potential winners. In this case, we can knock out Kelani Jordan (too new) and Fallon Henley (talented, but nowhere near the title picture). That leaves Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend and Blair Davenport, all of whom could come away with this thing. The interesting thing is I could see it going any of those ways and that makes for some promising prospects.

I’ll go with Davenport getting the win and the title shot. Stratton has been done and Legend feels like it would be little more than a one off challenger for Lyra Valkyria. Davenport seems like she could be someone who could be a big threat to take the title and that means she should get the win here. While Stratton is always a possibility, it makes more sense to go with Davenport for a change.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge

With the whole process of elimination idea again, we’ll get rid of Josh Briggs, who feels like the most random choice to put in this match. I kind of want to drop Bron Breakker, who has already had the big title run but he’s too big of a star to leave out. That gives us a pretty stacked group of options and that should make for a good match, as the more potential winners you have, the better it should be.

The more I look at the field, the more Tyler Bate sticks out to me so we’ll go with him in something of an upset. Trick Williams is busy dealing with Carmelo Hayes and/or Lexis King, Breakker has been champion too long in the past and Dijak just doesn’t feel like a potential winner. Bate vs. Dragunov could make for a heck of a fight on a big TV show, but Bate has to get a title shot to make that a possibility. He can d it here by winning the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Overall Thoughts

Despite two of the matches being the same concept, this show has a decent amount of variety. The Iron Survivor Challenges will be the focal point, but the NXT Title match could be a great fight and there is a cage match to go with some violence. Throw in the storyline match between King and Hayes and we should be in for a solid show. NXT specials like this have been mostly good and while it’s not going to be Takeover, it could go rather well.

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NXT
Date: December 5, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Deadline and that means we have one spot left in both of the Iron Survivor Challenge matches. Those will likely be filled in tonight and that should make for some interesting matches to get us to Saturday. Other than that, the rest of the Deadline card could use a final push so let’s get to it.

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

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Thea Hail vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James

Jacy Jayne is here with Hail. Perez and James brawl to start, which continues a fight they had at the Performance Center earlier this week. With James down on the floor, the other three fight over a test of strength until James and Perez brawl outside. Henley hits a suicide dive but gets dropped by James as we take a break.

Back with the Tower Of Doom (with Hail getting the worst of things) but Perez crossbodies James down. Pop Rox is broken up so Perez knocks James to the floor again. The announcers’ table is loaded up with Perez and James crashing off the barricade and through said table. That leaves Henley to Shining Wizard Hail for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B-. This was more about Perez vs. James and that is not a bad thing, especially with Henley getting one of the bigger wins of her career. She hasn’t had the greatest success rate but she seems like she is capable of doing so much. That leaves Hail in the cold, but she has the whole Chase U ordeal in front of her anyway. Good opener here, as they kept the action going.

Lyra Valkyria is ready for whomever comes out of the Iron Survivor Challenge. Lola Vice comes in to tease cashing in her title shot tonight, though Tatum Paxley pops in for a threat of her own.

Here is Wes Lee, on a cane, for a chat. He was looking forward to winning the North American Title back but the fans supporting him will not bring back the feeling in his legs. He is going to need surgery and time and he isn’t sure when you will see him again. No matter what though, he will be back. This is not a goodbye, but a see you later.

Cue Dominik Mysterio to say Lee is hurt again and he’ll have to be gone for so long. Dominik says he’ll have a night off but Lee says not so fast. Rey Mysterio pops up on screen to say that Dominik will be defending the title at Deadline, with Rey there in person. Dominik will be defending against….Dragon Lee, who comes in to chase Dominik off. Well that’s awful, and hopefully Lee is back to full health sooner than later.

Kiana James is in the trainer’s room and wants to get her hands on Roxanne Perez again. Cue Perez for the brawl.

The Men’s Breakout Tournament begins next week.

Tatum Paxley vs. Lola Vice

Elektra Lopez is here with Vice. They go with the grappling to start and Vice takes her down for a hip attack to the head. Paxley catapults her throat first into the ropes for two and a spinebuster out of the corner gets the same. The body scissors keeps Vice down but she pulls Paxley into a quickly broken kneebar. Vice strikes her into the corner for a hip attack and two, followed by a spinning kick to the head for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C. They kept it quick and to the point here with Vice picking up a win, but at least Paxley got in some offense of her own to keep it from being a squash. The point here was building Vice up on the way to her title match though and that worked well enough. If nothing else, a good kick to the head is a nice way to make a champion feel threatened.

Of note: during that match, commentary announced that Wes Lee’s recovery time from back surgery is 8-12 months.

Last week, Axiom and Nathan Frazer didn’t quite agree on Frazer’s loss and agreed to fight again. Granted they’ll be friends afterwards.

Baron Corbin isn’t worried about Ilja Dragunov tonight.

NXT Anonymous shows a video from October 17 of Trick Williams leaving Carmelo Hayes, who texted someone after he left.

Joe Gacy annoys commentary.

Alpha Academy vs. Meta Four

Dar backs Gable up to the ropes to start but gets slammed down for his efforts. Mensah comes in and gets chopped a few times, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. It’s off to Dupri for a suplex to Legend before Otis comes in to suplex Mensah and Dar. Everyone brawls on the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Gable suplexing Dar and it’s back to Otis to wreck more people. Mensah gets crushed with an elbow so it’s back to Legend….who slams Otis in quite the impressive feat. Dupri comes in and suplexes Legend for two, only to have Otis catch Legend on the floor. That leaves Dupri to dive onto the pile, leaving Gable to ankle lock Dar for the tap at 11:07.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match and they kept things going the whole time. That’s all you need from a match like this, with Legend slamming Otis being a rather awesome moment. Gable beating Dar in the end should set him up for another Heritage Cup win and my goodness it is long overdue or him to win the title, as Dar has held that thing for the better part of ever.

Gallus ran into Tank Ledger and Hank Walker at the bar, where a challenge was made for next week.

Ava leaves Shawn Michaels’ office and announces that Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez is on for Deadline. To make sure it’s violent, we’ll put them inside a cage.

All five entrants in the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge (Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, Blair Davenport, Kelani Jordan, Fallon Henley) are in the ring to say why they are going to win. Stratton says she is the favorite in the match and the future because she sees four participation trophies and one winner. Jordan knows she’s an underdog but no one here has ever been in an Iron Survivor Challenge either.

Legend doesn’t like any of them but she’s been training with Noam Dar and knows about winning multiple falls. Davenport brings up the women she has injured and threatens to be even more vicious. Henley offers to beat them all up. They all argue, Byron Saxton gets annoyed that they’re arguing, and the big brawl breaks out. This was to the point and Legend continues to be one of the most annoying humans in wrestling history.

Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

They start fast and trade flips with neither being able to get very far. Axiom catches him with a sliding German suplex but dives into a nice superkick for two. Frazer is sent outside for the big dive but the Iron Survivor Challenge women fight to the ring and it’s a no contest at 2:06.

The brawl continues until Nikkita Lyons runs out to deck Davenport.

Andre Chase hosts a Chase U assembly to explain the situation. Chase himself put them in this position and the school is officially on academic probation. Any students who enrolled after the investigation began will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Thea Hail wants to know how much Chase owes, with Chase saying it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s a loan plus interest because he went through a third party.

Chase promises to get the school out of debt and we get some suggestions to make money. Like a bake sale! A car wash! A crash course on avoiding financial crisis (a male student suggests this and Jacy Jayne has to get Thea Hail’s attention back)! Chase promises the debt will be paid. This is a story that is going to see more and more revealed week by week and that makes it more interesting. We still need to know who Chase owes and how Tony D’Angelo/Stacks tie into everything, though that might be one in the same detail.

Trick Williams wants answers from Carmelo Hayes about the footage from earlier. Hayes will answer after this.

Lexis King says the camera always finds him but he’s not going to interfere in Carmelo Hayes’ match, because he doesn’t mess with his friends’ matches.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey vs. Eddy Thorpe

Thorpe is coming in with bad ribs so Coffey goes right after them. Hayes cuts that off, leaving Bate and Coffey to slug it out. Coffey swings Bate to no avail so it’s Hayes coming back in for a springboard spinning clothesline to Thorpe. Everyone goes to the corner, with Thorpe hitting a double high crossbody. All four are down and we take a break.

Back with Thorpe stealing a cover on bate for two with Coffey making the save. Thorpe’s brainbuster gets the same on Bate with Coffey saving again. Thorpe goes to the floor to drop Bate again but charges into a spinebuster onto the steps. Back in and Hayes grabs a top rope sunset flip to Coffey to send Bate flying. A Codebreaker hits Bate for two but Coffey knocks Hayes out of the air. Bats grabs a quick Tyler Driver 97 to pin Coffey and go to Deadline at 11:10.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the earlier match in that they kept things moving and didn’t waste time with a bunch of filler. Bate is always a safe choice to put near the title picture as he can be elevated into a main event spot out of nowhere. Hayes already has Williams to worry about and Coffey vs. Thorpe could be a nice feud as well. Good stuff again here, with the right choice for the winner.

Post match Bate promises violence on Saturday, when Dijak interrupts. After kicking the still injured Thorpe down again, Dijak threatens Bate but Bron Breakker interrupts. We get the usual threats but here is Josh Briggs to say he likes being underrated. Trick Williams comes out as well and the brawl is on.

Post break, Williams asks Carmelo Hayes if he sent the text to Lexis King to take him out. Hayes again denies it and says he would never work with King. To prove it, Hayes will take King out at Deadline (again through Ava, who seems to be some new liaison to Shawn Michaels).

Here are Baron Corbin and Ilja Dragunov for a face to face chat. Corbin promises to win the title and mocks the size difference. Dragunov is ready to fight but says he’s containing himself because if he lets himself go now, there will be no title match at Deadline. Dragunov accuses Corbin of wanting the title to keep up his obsession with materialistic possessions. That sends Corbin into a nice rant about how he’s been around for eight years through ups and downs.

Corbin knows Dragunov is about to lose it because he misses his family and tells Dragunov to do something about it. He even loads up the table in the corner so Dragunov can drop him but nothing happens. Corbin calls him a coward, so Dragunov….hugs him, saying that the only person who can destroy the dragon is the dragon himself. Corbin is confused to….well almost end the show, as the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge participants brawl to ringside. Breakker spears Williams through the table to end the show.

That was a very different way to do things and I really like Dragunov turning the tables on Corbin. At the same time, there might be something in a Corbin face run down the line. That promo about always being here no matter what had a lot of potential in it and I could see people cheering him if he did more like that at some point.

Overall Rating: B+. I’ve said this many times before but this is where NXT shines. They ha a bunch of things to cover here and did every single one of them, from making me want to see where everything is going. They added to the two Iron Survivor Challenges, unfortunately had to change a title match, pushed the rest of the card and furthered some stories for after Deadline. That is one heck of a way to spend two hours and they even had a bunch of good wrestling. Very nice show this week, and hopefully Deadline can live up to the hype.

Results
Fallon Henley b. Thea Hail, Roxanne Perez and Kiana James – Shining Wizard to Hail
Lola Vice b. Tatum Paxley – Spinning kick to the head
Alpha Academy b. Meta Four – Ankle lock to Dar
Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer went to a no contest when the Iron Survivor challenge women brawled at ringside
Tyler Bate b. Carmelo Hayes, Eddy Thorpe and Joe Coffey – Tyler Driver 97 to Coffey

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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

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