NXT
Date: June 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for In Your House and there is not exactly a lot of hype around this one. It isn’t a good sign when they have a main event of five people in the title match, which feels about as un-NXT as you can get. Hopefully they have something to build up the show tonight, because it needs the help. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NXT Title match, plus a look at some of the rest of Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Oney Lorcan

This is “my friend is better than your friend” and Theory dropkicks him into the corner to start. Lorcan is back up with a headlock takeover to put Theory down for a bit. They get up and exchange forearms with Theory getting the better of things. Lorcan is knocked down for a slingshot stomp into a suplex, which has commentary a bit too impressed. Back up and Lorcan hits a heck of a chop to knock some skin off of Theory and a knee life puts him on the floor.

A suplex puts Theory down again outside and here is Pete Dunne to watch as we take a break. Back with Johnny Gargano at ringside too and Theory sending Lorcan into the barricade a few times. They get back in for a fall away slam to send Lorcan down again. Lorcan is sat up top for a running springboard Spanish Fly and another near fall. Another trip to the floor sees a double clothesline, sending Gargano and Dunne into a brawl. As the two of them are ejected, Lorcan hits a half nelson slam for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C+. They hit each other pretty hard here and it was nice to see Theory getting to do something nice in the ring instead of having everything be all wacky comedy. Lorcan is the same as he can get in there and have a good match with anyone. All in all, this was a fine match, though I’m not sure how much it did to build towards Takeover’s title match.

We go to LA Knight’s house to show his Million Dollar Legacy. This involves having some women join him in the hot tub with some champagne so he can talk about how he’ll take out Cameron Grimes on Sunday. Then he gets in a rather expensive looking car (with one of the women closing the door) and drives off. This is the kind of vignette that we need to see more of because they are a great way to build someone up in a hurry.

Here’s your weird flashback of the week as Dok Hendrix joins us for an In Your House Slam Jam.

Here is Legado del Fantasma to call out Bronson Reed. Cue Reed to look at him running over Santos Escobar last week so the brawl is teased. Cue MSK to chase them off, so Escobar throws out the challenge for a six man tag with all titles on the line. Deal, but first we see Escobar getting squashed again last week. Hold on though as here is Hit Row to stare down the champs.

Isaiah Scott vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Hit Row and Drake Maverick are here too. Dain works on the wrist to start and Scott can’t get around him to start. Scott gets sent outside but it’s too early for the big dive. The distraction lets Scott sneak in from behind for some cheap shots but Dain runs him over again. Another distraction lets Scott get in a cheap shot, setting up the running kick from the apron.

Back in and a kick to the face rocks Dain but he unloads in the corner to stagger him again. One heck of a shot to the head drops Scott again, setting up a running crossbody for two. Scott rolls away from another clothesline and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two of his own. Dain is back with a splash in the corner as the brawl breaks out on the floor. Top Dolla catches Maverick with an AA on the apron so Scott kicks the distracted Dain off the ropes. A running kick to the head finishes for Scott at 6:40.

Rating: B-. There is something so cool about the way Scott moves as he looks so smooth out there. This was a rather fun match and the two of them both looked good the whole time. Hit Row has hit the ground running as they are already feel like one of the bigger deals around here. I would be surprised if they don’t have some titles by the end of the summer and that is a good thing.

Candice LeRae is annoyed at Poppy being here tonight but Indi Hartwell runs off to find Dexter Lumis. Candice: “Why does this keep happening? They were never even a thing.”

And now, Cameron Grimes’ Million Dollar Legacy. We start with Cameron hitting a cannonball into a pool and coming back up to talk to the camera while looking between a woman’s legs. Grimes fires up a Cuban cigar with a $100 bill but chokes on the smoke. Some liquor makes him cringe as well so it’s time for a massage. Then Grimes gives the woman a massage and seems to have a better time. Then he jumps in a less expensive looking car and drives off.

Mercedes Martinez comes out for a match but Xia Li jumps her from behind and the big beatdown is on. Martinez fights back and sends Li over the barricade. Back in and ring the bell.

Mercedes Martinez b. ???

Air Raid Crash finishes in 16 seconds.

Breezango talks about Imperium coming after them and doesn’t like the propaganda videos that they have been seeing. Maybe Imperium is a little scared because Breezango beat them once before.

HHH and William Regal are in the back with Poppy, who has put together an NXT soundtrack. HHH asks when the album drops so Poppy pulls out her phone and hits a button. Poppy: “Right now.” The album is plugged and here’s Dexter Lumis with a drawing for Poppy. She hugs him and here’s Indi Hartwell to scream.

Cameron Grimes and LA Knight arrive at the same time and a guard comes in to say that Ted DiBiase is waiting in the ring for them. After Knight can’t tip the guy and Grimes won’t, we cut to DiBiase in the ring asking them to join him. Cue Grimes and Knight so DiBiase can say that they need to climb the ladder to success. A solid gold ladder comes down from the ceiling and Knight seems cool with all of this. He promises to run over the hillbilly to get here but Grimes doesn’t like the name.

Instead Grimes talks about how he can do everything in between these ropes, he cannot be beaten. You can take his clothes and his legacy but he is taking the Million Dollar Legacy to the moon! Grimes starts climbing the ladder and asks what is he reaching for. DiBiase is glad he asks and tells the guys to bring it in. Two goons bring in a case containing….the Million Dollar Title. Well that was kind of obvious and I really don’t need to see a ladder match, but it does make sense in this case. DiBiase’s laugh makes up for a lot of it though and Grimes’ promo was fire.

Kyle O’Reilly and Karrion Kross have to be held apart in the back when a ticked off Regal comes in to say cool it.

Ever-Rise is going to host the Takeover Pre-Pre Show!

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. August Grey/Ikemen Jiro

Grey/Jiro are a regular team on 205 Live. Gibson takes Grey down by the arm but Grey is back up with a running hurricanrana. Jiro, who wrestles in a jacket, hits a forearm to the head but gets sent to the apron. That’s fine with Jiro, who slingshots in with an anklescissors. Gibson is fed up with this and goes after Jiro but makes the mistake of touching the jacket.

Everything breaks down and Drake comes in to clean house, including Gibson kicking Jiro in the face. A shot to Jiro’s leg puts him down and a slam sends him legs first into the ropes. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to watch the match and the distraction lets Grey come in off the hot tag. House is cleaned, including a spinning high crossbody. So Much Prettier (Unprettier running up the corner) is broken up and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem to finish Grey at 5:00.

Rating: C. This is where 205 Live can be a bit of a benefit to NXT, as Grey and Jiro have won a few matches in a row on the show. Now that wasn’t exactly focused on here, but at least the Veterans won clean in the end despite the distraction. It wasn’t exactly a great match but they did it fast enough that it didn’t hurt anything.

Post match the Veterans shout at Ciampa and Thatcher about wanting the titles, but Ciampa says the title shot goes through them. That’s cool with Gibson, who issues the challenge for a tornado tag match next week. Ciampa says they love tornadoes and they don’t need tags, so let’s do it right now. The Veterans run from the right.

We look back at Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan injuring Bobby Fish’s arm.

Fish is training in the back and says he isn’t done with Lorcan.

Here is a ticked off Candice LeRae to talk about how annoyed she is with Poppy. Indi Hartwell ran off crying because of Poppy so now it is time for Poppy to learn. So either come out here right now or be introduced to the parking lot. Cue Poppy, who doesn’t seem interested in fighting, but here is the returning Io Shirai who is glad to do it.

Dok Hendrix gives us the Slam Jam for In Your House, still as the best promo on the show.

During the break, Poppy and Xia Li ran into Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.

Dakota Kai vs. Ember Moon

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai but there is no Shotzi Blackheart. They both kick the other in the arm to start so they take turns driving the other into the corner. Kai knocks her down for two and a whip into the corner sets up a running kick to the face for the same. Back up and Moon hits a running kick to the face into a basement Downward Spiral for two of her own. Kai gets sent to the apron but manages a forearm to the back and sends Moon into the post as we take a break.

Back with Moon hitting the middle rope Codebreaker, followed by a superkick. A flipping Stunner gives Moon two and she grabs something like a dragon sleeper of all things. That’s reversed into a spinning faceplant to give Kai two and a running kick in the corner gets the same. Moon is back up to reverse a victory roll into a powerbomb for two and Kai needs a breather on the floor. Gonzalez’s cheap shot doesn’t work so Moon hits a suicide dive to take them both out. That’s enough for Gonzalez, who comes in for the DQ at 12:34.

Rating: C. Moon has improved a good bit in recent weeks and is now starting to feel more like the version that made her a star in the first place. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t have her get the pin over Kai here but it could have been worse. Still though, not a bad match and Moon busted out some new stuff here so she feels like a bit more of a threat to the title on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on but Moon counters the lifting powerbomb into a Stunner. The Eclipse leaves Gonzalez laying and Moon holds up the title.

Karrion Kross says the four challenges have been given the opportunity to face him tonight. They don’t have to wait until Sunday to feel what it is like to be flatlined though and now is their chance to find out what it is like. Tick tock.

William Regal is in the ring with Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Regal rants about how he is the GM around here and Kross isn’t taking over the show. Kross says this place has been out of control for a long time now so he wants the four challengers out here right now. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to say that Kross has the thinnest skin he has ever seen and it is a matter of time before he snaps.

Cue Johnny Gargano to stand on the announcers’ table and talk about how Kross shouldn’t let a guy in a jean jacket talk about him that way. Kross isn’t Johnny Takeover but he should go choke O’Reilly out right now. Kross calls Gargano a mark and offers him a beating of his own. Cue Pete Dunne to say he is tired of waiting and promises to win the title on Sunday.

Adam Cole pops up on the video screen to say he beat the unbeatable Kross (verbally) last week. Kross is scared to face Adam Cole bay bay because Cole can beat any of the rest of them (again) to become NXT Champion (again). He’ll see you on Sunday and goes away. O’Reilly: “Clearly Adam Cole is too much of a b**** to be here tonight.” He gets in Kross’ face and the beatdown is on with security getting beaten up as well.

Security winds up holding Kross so the other three can score on him a bit. Kross is back up to run O’Reilly over though and stands tall….until Cole runs in for a superkick to the back of the head and the Last Shot. Cole stands tall to end the show, again looking like the biggest star on the show by a mile. This segment was effective enough, but egads it felt tacked on, much like the entire title match. I could see this not headlining if there was anything else worthwhile to put in the top spot, but that just isn’t the case this time.

Overall Rating: B-. This show did a good job of building up Takeover but at the same time, the show isn’t exactly jumping off the page. Nothing on it feels must see and it comes off more like a Takeover that is happening because it has to, not because they have the material to have one. The wrestling tonight was good enough and they added a match/adjusted another, though I’m still not sure how much I need to see the show. That being said, Takeover has a reputation like no other and if anyone can pull it off, it’s NXT.

Results

Oney Lorcan b. Austin Theory – Half nelson slam

Isaiah Scott b. Killian Dain – Running kick to the head

Mercedes Martinez b. ??? – Air Raid Crash

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ikemen Jiro/August Grey – Ticket To Mayhem to Grey

Ember Moon b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Raquel Gonzalez interfered

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

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AND

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NXT
Date: May 18, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s time for a big main event with the North American Title being defended inside a cage. Johnny Gargano has to defend against Bronson Reed, which could set up a heck of a Tsunami to crush Gargano for good. That could be quite the match as you have two talented people in there, plus a lot of other things on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the cage match.

Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

Stark starts fast and drives her into the corner to hammer away, setting up a springboard missile dropkick. They head outside with Storm getting knocked around until she manages to whip her into the steps. The running hip attack crushes Stark against the steps and Stark barely beats the count. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Storm boots her down for two.

Stark grabs a backslide for two and nails an enziguri to put both of them down as we take a break. Back with Stark reversing Storm Zero into a hurricanrana for two, followed by a half nelson suplex for the same. Storm is back up with Storm Zero for two and shock exists. That’s fine with Storm, who grabs a judo throw and spins it over into a DDT, which drops Stark on her head (that was TERRIFYING) for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. They got me with the finish as I was thinking Stark was going to win after surviving Storm Zero. Granted I would hope they could come up with a better way to do it than by dropping Stark on her head, but at least she seems to still be alive. Storm really needed the win, and if she can get a less disturbing finisher, she should be good to go.

Post match here is Frankie Monet to stare at Storm.

Legado del Fantasma is ready for MSK but Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher come in to say not so fast. Thatcher goes into Spanish to say…..I believe “the cat does not have shoes.” Ciampa: “That makes perfect sense.” The match seems to be made for later.

Cameron Grimes comes up and says park his car, but he’s in Ted DiBiase’s spot. He gets a match with the valet, who happens to be Jake Atlas, for later.

The Way is at a spa, where Indi Hartwell admits that Candice LeRae was right about everything, including Dexter Lumis. As you might have guessed, Lumis is giving her the massage, though she can’t see him due to the cucumbers over her eyes.

We get a Prime Target on Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor II. Kross was feeling the injuries from the match for weeks and can’t believe Balor survived as long as he did. At the end though, Kross left with the title. Balor says getting back up is how you keep going though and it’s time to go. Pat McAfee is ready for the rematch and Paul Heyman says everyone is interested in the match, even Roman Reigns. As for a spoiler….it’s a little too close to call. Next week, it’s round two. More greatness from these videos, as usual.

Cameron Grimes vs. Jake Atlas

Before the match, Grimes says everyone is glad to see Ted DiBiase, but he has a video on the REAL DiBiase, including all kinds of bad things happening to him over the years. Atlas dropkicks him to the floor before the bell and we take a break. Joined in progress after a break with Grimes hammering away but charging into a boot to the face. A springboard armdrag sets up a running enziguri in the corner, followed by the middle rope hurricanrana for two.

Grimes clotheslines him down and grinds an elbow into the chest in the corner. Atlas sends him chest first into the corner and snaps off a German suplex….as Ted DiBiase arrives in his limo. Something misses off the top and Grimes snaps off the flipping powerslam. The Cave In is loaded up but we’ve got Ted DiBiase in person, allowing Atlas to grab a rollup for the pin at 4:51.

Rating: C-. The action wasn’t the point here and Grimes losing to Atlas in this kind of situation isn’t going to hurt him. Grimes vs. DiBiase continues to be one of the best things going on in all of wrestling today and I want to see where it keeps going. I’m not sure if it is going to be but they have me wanting to see it every week.

Post match Grimes gives chase but DiBiase is in the limo, saying that Grimes will never be a Million Dollar Man. Ranting ensues again.

Bronson Reed is ready to make everything he has put into his career worth it by winning the North American Title. He has been around the world but now he is going to be here, winning the title and telling his wife that they did it.

We get a sit down interview with Pete Dunne, talking about how he can win any title he wants at any time. He has never had a bad match and even when he loses, people leave the ring a different person. Dunne talks about being influenced by British style and everything he has put together over the years (with the required Fit Finlay reference). The fans’ influence makes a huge difference and he can’t wait to see what is next.

Alexander Wolfe vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Imperium (minus Walter) and the still scared Drake Maverick are here too. Dain punches him into the corner to start but gets kicked and uppercutted for his early efforts. Some uppercuts from Dain allow him to send Wolfe into the corner. Fabian Aichner knocks Maverick off the apron and there’s a German suplex to Dain. Marcel Barthel throws in a chair but Wolfe takes too long, allowing Dain to hit a running crossbody for the pin at 1:49.

Post match, Imperium turns on Wolfe and beats him down, setting up the posing.

Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai are done with Mercedes Martinez and are ready for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Ever-Rise come in (with coffee mugs) to say Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are the #1 contenders. They plug their show, but Gonzalez doesn’t watch it. Matt Martel says that sounds like she wants to hit him….and she does, dropping him with one slap. These guys are good.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher

Wilde dances at Ciampa to start, who takes him outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and we hit the front facelock on Wilde, setting up the chinlock. Thatcher comes in for a hammerlock on Mendoza, followed by a headscissors from Ciampa. Mendoza fights up and raises a boot in the corner to cut Ciampa off. Thatcher comes back in for a headlock into an ankle lock.

With that still on, Ciampa comes in with his own to Wilde but stereo rollups get….no count because two of the people are illegal. Stereo enziguris put everyone down and we take a break. We come back with Ciampa hitting a string of running clotheslines in the corner. Mendoza breaks up the hanging DDT on Wilde as we see Mendoza’s busted nose being checked on during the break. Ciampa gets punched and chopped in the corner but Mendoza misses a charge into the post.

The hot tag brings in Thatcher to hammer away in the corner, with Ciampa getting to do the same. Legado gets Ciampa into the corner for a clothesline and some moonsaults get two. Thatcher breaks up the Russian legsweep/boot combination and Wilde nails the big running flip dive. Back in and the hanging DDT gets two on Wilde with Mendoza making the save. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans to jump Ciampa though and now the boot/Russian legsweep is good for the pin at 15:41.

Rating: C+. What we got was good but we got quite a bit of it as this match felt long. Legado is a solid team, though it’s weird to have heels who fly around like they do. At the same time though, it sets up the Veterans vs. Ciampa vs. Thatcher, which more than works for everyone involved. Legado likely gets a title shot too so that is a well used match.

Bobby Fish says his business is with Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan. The torn tricep was a long recovery, but now he is back and there is a debt to be paid. First up is Pete Dunne because they have unfinished business. Next week, they can finish it.

Back at the spa, the Way’s credit card is declined. They think it is Austin Theory, but the spa employee called the credit card company and found out that it was something about a florist three weeks ago. Indi Hartwell puts the pieces together and realizes that Dexter Lumis still loves her. Hartwell runs off screaming this over and over as Candice LeRae is stunned. Beth: “Forget Bennifer! INDEX IS BACK!!!”

Johnny Gargano is ready to prove that Bronson Reed is not on his level. Gargano stops the unstoppable inside of a steel cage.

Aliyah vs. Sarray

Sarray starts fast with a springboard armdrag into a basement dropkick but Jessi Kamea grabs a leg. Aliyah gets in a few shots of her own but walks into a spinning kick to the face. There’s a German suplex into a missile dropkick from Sarray, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. The high collar suplex finishes Aliyah at 2:25.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are ready for the Way again and it’s time to get gritty and wild. Howling ensues (Moon: “That’s what she said.”).

Hit Row vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese

That would be Ashante Adonis/Top Dolla, with the former taking over on Nese to start. Dollar hits a World’s Strongest Slam/Wasteland at the same time and it’s already back to Adonis for the corner stomping to Daivari. A superkick drops Nese and Dolla has to calm Adonis down. Something like an AA into a neckbreaker gives Dollar the pin on Daivari at 2:20.

Post match, Hit Row brags about the win, with Isaiah Scott promising to watch the North American Title match.

William Regal announces Legado del Fantasma vs. MSK for the Tag Team Titles in two weeks. There are going to be some new stars in the cruiserweight division, and also next week it’s Dakota Kai/Shotzi Blackheart vs. Ember Moon/Raquel Gonzalez.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Frankie Monet’s debut, Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase in a Million Dollar Faceoff, plus Balor vs. Kross II.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed

Gargano, with Austin Theory, is defending inside a cage. An early escape attempt doesn’t work for Gargano as Reed pulls him back and shoves Gargano out of the air without much trouble. Reed sends him into the cage a few times and drives his face into the steel to make it worse. A missed charge hits cage, but the slingshot spear doesn’t work because of the cage.

That lets Reed snap off a hanging DDT but Theory is there to cut off a climb attempt. Gargano superkicks the knee out and we take a break. Back with Reed hitting a super Samoan drop for a delayed two. That means it’s time to go up but Gargano powerbombs him back down. It’s too early for Gargano to escape though as Reed pulls him back in and sits on his chest. A powerbomb is countered with a grab of the cage though and Gargano hits a poisonrana to put both of them down.

One Final Beat is countered with a toss into the cage but Theory slams the door on Reed’s head. Now One Final Beat can give Gargano two so it’s time to go up. Reed is right there to catch him with a superbomb but makes the mistake of climbing, allowing Theory to cut him off. Gargano gets headbutted off the top and Theory gets punched down. The splash to the back sets up the Tsunami to give Reed the title at 15:25.

Rating: B. This was exactly how such a match should have gone, with Reed overcoming the obstacles/odds and winning clean in the end. There was no fluke here either, as that Tsunami is one of the best looking finishers going today. Gargano was a good choice as champion because he could do something like this, but is more than enough of a legend to be back just fine in a few weeks. Solid main event here, and a good example of how a telegraphed finish isn’t a bad thing.

Pyro goes off for the celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty awesome show here as they had a bunch of nice stuff capped off by the big main event, which more than delivered. I can always go with watching NXT get to do their thing and show how a good show is supposed to be put together. They have things set up for weeks now while delivering this week as well. That’s an efficient two hours and it was worth the watch here as usual.

Results

Toni Storm b. Zoey Stark – Judo throw spun into a DDT

Jake Atlas b. Cameron Grimes – Rollup

Killian Dain b. Alexander Wolfe – Crossbody

Legado del Fantasma b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Russian legsweep/running enziguri to Ciampa

Sarray b. Aliyah – High collar suplex

Hit Row b. Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari – Fireman’s carry flipping neckbreaker to Daivari

Bronson Reed b. Johnny Gargano – Tsunami

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: April 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

The Tuesday escapades continues with the return of Adam Cole for the first time since his loss at Takeover. That could be interesting, though if nothing else it is kind of a relief that he is not heading up to the main roster. Other than that, we have a pretty big six man tag to fill out the wrestling side of things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dakota Kai vs. Mercedes Martinez

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Martinez gets taken to the mat to start but bounces out of a headscissors and slaps her in the face. Back up and Martinez hits a spinning spinebuster (it seems like we get three of those per show these days) for two but Kai grabs a Rock Bottom backbreaker for the same. The running boot in the corner misses though and Martinez hammers away.

Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator out of the corner gets two but Martinez gets drop toeholded into the corner. The running boot sends Martinez outside and we take a break. Back with Kai sending her outside again and hitting a kick to the ribs on the way back in. A Codebreaker through the ropes drops Martinez again but she is back up with a running shot in the corner.

Martinez takes her down with a delayed butterfly suplex and cranks Kai down by the arm. Kai rolls outside so Martinez throws her back in, where Kai grabs the referee’s leg. That lets Gonzalez take a swing but Martinez knocks her down instead. Back in and Martinez puts Kai in a fireman’s carry but Gonzalez comes in for the DQ at 12:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way to set up Gonzalez vs. Martinez down the line as Martinez beat up Gonzalez’s friend. That should make for a fine big time TV match as Martinez can have a good enough match with anyone. She certainly did here too as the power was a good way to keep Kai from running around with all of her kicks. The wrestling was fine but the storytelling was more important, and better.

Post match the beatdown is on with Martinez being laid out.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon have to worry about the Robert Stone Brand tonight and then they can deal with the Way. Hold on though as here is a delivery woman with some flowers for both of them. Frankie Monet comes up and introduces herself before reading the card, which says they’re from Dexter Lumis. Moon and Blackheart try to give each other the flowers.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes went to look at a ring (as in jewelry) for a special someone (Grimes: “ME!”). The jeweler says he has something special for him….and we’ll see it later.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans for a chat. They accuse MSK of ducking them in a regular tag match because the Veterans need the titles. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt, with Ciampa says they’re grizzled and veterans. After dubbing himself Toothless Timmy, Thatcher mocks the IF YOU HATE GIBSON SHOES OFF chant and the fight is on, with the Veterans being cleared out.

Drake Maverick and Killian Dain are ready for their match tonight against Imperium, but Maverick is convinced that Dain is turning on him to join Imperium. Dain says you gotta have faith, and Maverick is stunned at the George Michael reference.

Quick Tian Sha vignette.

Shane Strickland says if Leon Ruff wants to play this game, they can play it for his life.

Toni Storm vs. Zayda Ramier

Before the match, Toni talks about how Zoey Stark is going to be a footnote in her legendary career. Tonight, every time she slaps this rookie, she is going to imagine that it’s Stark. Storm throws her around by the hair to start and Ramier is in early trouble. There’s a backbreaker with Ramier being bent over the knee, followed by a German suplex to make it even worse.

Cue Stark for a distraction though, allowing Ramier to get in a quick knockdown. A shooting star press (which lands perfectly despite Storm being in the middle of the ring, to the point where I though Ramier was going to leave it two feet short) finishes Storm for the huge upset at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This was a squash until Storm slipped on a banana peel at the end. Storm isn’t going to be hurt by a dirty loss and the angry promos on Stark should be good. It isn’t likely to lead to Ramier becoming a bigger star, though stranger things have happened in NXT. I’m not sure if she should try the shooting star from that distance again, but it worked out in the end.

Bronson Reed runs into Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae on the way to the ring. Austin Theory pops up and asks why they’re standing in the dark.

LA Knight saw a twinkle in the eye of Indi Hartwell and knows that means she had a twinkle in her loins. He has references and after Dexter Lumis lets her down, come talk to him, because that is just a fact of life. Knight leaves and Ever-Rise comes up to ask if the interviewer has a question about their social media event. She doesn’t.

Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed

If Reed wins, he gets another North American Title shot. The rest of the Way is here and Indi Hartwell is completely not in this. Barrett: “Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.” As commentary is astounded at the Billie Jean reference, Theory gets knocked to the floor with straight power. Back in and Theory’s jumping shoulder is swatted out of the air, followed by another shoulder to leave Theory hanging from the bottom rope by his feet.

Theory crashes to the floor as Reed goes after Johnny Gargano, allowing Theory to come back with a dropkick inside. Reed is knocked outside this time so Theory fakes an injury, leaving Gargano to add a superkick. One heck of a dive takes Reed down and a missed charge sends him into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Reed caught in a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Reed tosses him around again, setting up the splash in the corner. Theory is back with a neckbreaker for two as commentary points out Hartwell not being interested in the match. For some reason Theory tries a Samoan drop, which goes as well as you would expect. Reed’s version gets two but Theory manages a TKO for two of his own.

They’re both down so here is Dexter Lumis, with Hartwell walking away (because of the flowers to Blackheart and Moon). Lumis ges on the apron with Hartwell saying he talks too much. Lumis shoves Hartwell out of the way of a charge and takes the shot himself. Reed knocks Theory over and hits the Tsunami for the pin and the title shot at 12:24.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here but what matters the most is Reed getting another shot. I was surprised when he lost the first time so giving him the title in the rematch could make up for things. That Tsunami looks great (and Barrett’s call makes it even better) and it should be enough to carry him to the title as it isn’t like Gargano needs the thing anymore. As much as I’d love to see Theory get a push of his own, he works well as the clueless moron who happens to be crazy athletic.

Johnny Gargano is nervous.

MSK thanks Kushida for his help and tonight they’re taking out Legado del Fantasma.

The Way blames Dexter Lumis, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon for the loss. Indi Hartwell gets rather annoyed and storms off, with the team thinking she is going to deal with this.

Finn Balor is back next week after recharging in Mexico.

Imperium vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

Alexander Wolfe is here with the team. Drake refuses to walk in front of Dain out of the possibility of pain and agony. Dain starts fast with a clothesline to send Barthel outside. Back in and Maverick hits some dropkicks to Barthel’s leg but Maverick gets sent into the wrong corner. With Dain being held out of the corner, some double teaming puts Maverick down and we take a break.

Back with Maverick still in trouble as Barthel sneers down at him. Maverick kicks him in the leg but Aichner comes in to swing him around by the jeans. A shot into the corner gives Maverick a chance but Barthel pulls Dain off the apron, meaning there is no one for the tag. Maverick looks crushed and a kick to the back of the head makes it even worse. Dain comes in and starts wrecking things but gets knocked outside….where Wolfe won’t hit him with a chair.

Barthel doesn’t like the indecision but here’s Maverick to hit a dive. Dain throws Maverick at Aichner but Wolfe won’t let Dain send Barthel into the post. Instead Dain gets sent into the steps as Maverick hits a high crossbody on Aichner….who rolls through, setting up the European Bomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C. Imperium as a whole is a great concept and something that works well. Imperium without Walter is a team that is good at everything they do but the interest and spark aren’t there. It has shown badly every time they are out there without him, including here as it just wasn’t that engaging of a match. They are more than fine with everything else, but it was hard to care at all about what they were doing.

Pete Dunne says no one is talking about him because he has everyone shaken. Kushida stepped to him and got taken out. If he wanted to be Cruiserweight Champion, it wouldn’t take long. Or maybe he gets on a plane and goes back to the UK to take his title back from Walter. The North American Title could be interesting too, and then there is Karrion Kross. Dunne isn’t scared of Kross because he doesn’t need smoke and mirrors to get the job done. Everyone should fear him. Rather awesome promo here, as Dunne can bring the intensity.

Back at the jewelry store, Cameron Grimes buys a watch, but it isn’t ticking (Grimes: “Karrion Kross would hate this!”). He’ll take it anyway, but here is someone with the same watch. That would be…..TED DIBIASE, who laughs at Grimes and leaves, causing Grimes to scream a lot. Yep that was great.

Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Non-title and non-match as we get some more flowers and 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

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NXT
Date: April 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re officially on a new night now and that means things should be getting all the more interesting. This is also coming off of Takeover: Stand & Deliver and we have quite a few changes to deal with tonight. The good thing is Raw left a pretty low bar for this show to clear. Let’s get to it.

Here are both nights of Takeover if you need a recap.

Here are Karrion Kross and Scarlett to interrupt. Kross says time comes for everyone and promised to get the title back. Finn Balor went on a tear as NXT Champion but he couldn’t control Kross and Kross controls everything. He is going to hold this title until he says otherwise because no one is going to out train or out wrestle him. It doesn’t matter what you have done before or how many zeroes are on the end of your check, because everyone pays the toll. They went with the straightforward push here and it worked pretty well.

We get a video on Takeover (which starts with Michael Cole sounding like he is talking about Wrestlemania so we might have seen a bit of a production botch there).

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

MSK is defending. Dain takes Wes Lee down to start and it’s quickly off to Maverick for a missile dropkick. Lee gets Maverick into the corner without too much trouble though and it’s Carter coming in with a Bronco Buster. Carter is sent outside though and we take a break. Back with Carter German suplexing Maverick but it’s quickly back to Dain, meaning the double teaming begins.

The champs manage to knock Dain down and the Final Flash gives Lee two. Carter comes back in and tries a sunset flip, but Dain picks up Lee and Falcon Arrows him while also sitting on Carter’s chest. Dain tries to powerbomb Maverick onto Nash but only hits the mat, allowing Carter to come back with a springboard twisting cutter. Dain is sent outside, leaving Maverick to take a Hart Attack with a Blockbuster. Carter dives onto Dain (while almost leaving it short and barely clearing the apron) as Lee pins Maverick to retain at 10:25.

Rating: C. Completely fine match here and a good way to check off MSK’s first title defense. It played to the formula of Dain being the (mostly) unstoppable monster so MSK went after Maverick in a smart move. They could hold the titles for a nice reign and have the exciting matches they are capable of, which will work out rather well for a lot of teams.

Post match MSK leaves and here is Imperium (minus Walter) to lay out Dain.

Robert Stone (in his bedazzled gloves) is trying to get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot for Aaliyah and Jessi Kamea but Mercedes Martinez comes in, demanding her money. She grabs Aaliyah by the throat but Kamea comes in to issue the challenge for tonight.

Long video on the ridiculously long Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole Takeover main event.

We get some post match footage of the two of them being taken away on stretchers, with Cole shouting at O’Reilly as they were wheeled away. William Regal shakes his head as they are taken towards the ambulance.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Jessi Kamea

The rest of the Robert Stone Brand is here with Kamea, who jumps Martinez to start. The forearms to the back and choking on the ropes don’t do much to Martinez, who is right back with a jumping knee to the face. The Air Raid Crash finishes Kamea at 1:52.

Post match Martinez grabs Stone and chokes him against the barricade, where he finally pays her off from a few weeks back. Martinez goes to the announcers’ table and says she’s coming for Raquel Gonzalez. That’s good enough to make my eyebrows go up.

The Way still thinks William Regal have it out for him but they are ready for their eight person tag. Indi Hartwell wants to take care of some, ahem, business with Dexter Lumis. Everyone puts their hands in for THE WAY….and then Austin Theory walks the wrong way.

Isaiah Scott is in his studio and doesn’t think much of Leon Ruff. It is time for him to move on but he can’t do that. Tonight, they are done.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar talks about how the team came together a year ago and the cruiserweights have become must see as a result. His father was a champion, he is a champion and his son will be a champion, so tonight it is an open challenge for a title shot.

Cruiserweight Title: Kushida vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar, with Legado del Fantasma, is defending. Kushida, now in trunks instead of jeans, dropkicks Escobar to the floor before the bell. Back in and Kushida knocks him to the floor again but the threat of a dive has Escobar backing up. Instead, Kushida poses as we take a break. Back with Kushida in trouble on the floor and being sent into the steps for his efforts. Escobar gets creative by putting on a Liontamer on the steps, with Kushida almost grabbing the post to hang on.

They get back in with some Kawada kicks giving Escobar two and the armbar goes on. Escobar switches to a double arm crank but Kushida fights up and strikes his way to freedom. The hiptoss into the basement dropkick gets two and Kushida kicks him in the arm. Escobar is sat on top for a running kick to the arm and a butterfly superplex brings him back down.

Another suplex gives Kushida two but Escobar blocks the Hoverboard Lock. They trade kicks to the head and they’re both down again. Back up and Escobar grabs a Backstabber but they go into a pinfall reversal sequence with Kushida getting a rollup for the pin and the title at 11:04.

Rating: B-. They surprised the heck out of me here and it was quite the good match to get us there. I’ve been a big Kushida fan for a good while now but I haven’t been thrilled with how he has done in NXT. At some point he needed to win something and that is what he did here. I’m not sure how much of a future he has as champion, but winning and losing it fast is better than nothing.

Tommaso Ciampa says he and Timothy Thatcher didn’t win every fight in the Dusty Classic but they won every battle. Thatcher likes the new challenges and says they’re coming. Ciampa throws down his chair and leaves.

William Regal congratulates Kushida on his win but here is Jordan Devlin to say that was a nice win over Escobar….but all Escobar did was climb a ladder. Devlin is still the best wrestler around here and would take the title if he wasn’t heading back to the UK. He’ll be back though, and Kushida says anytime.

Here is Dakota Kai to introduce new Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez. Raquel talks about how she has been working harder and training more than ever before. Kai noticed that and gave her chance, which is why she debuted in Portland and went on to win the title. Io Shirai was a great champion, but the Raquel Gonzalez has begun.

The lights go out and here is the debuting Franky Monet, complete with dog, to interrupt. She introduces herself as La Reina Loca and says this place is now shinier, bougier and a whole lot better. Gonzalez says if Monet ever interrupts her again, she’s shove the dog up Monet’s something in Spanish (I think you can figure it out). Monet calls her something in Spanish and promises to see Gonzalez every Tuesday.

That’s enough for Monet….and here’s Rhea Ripley for a surprise. She comes to the ring, stares at Gonzalez, and clinks the titles together. We get the big congratulatory hug but now it’s Bianca Belair coming in as well as I feel like I’m writing some fan fiction. They pose together and we see a photo of the three of them in NXT as they all pose with their new titles. This was really, really cool and a special moment.

Pete Dunne says he had a classic at Takeover and if anyone wants to come at him, bring it on. For now though, it is time for him to go get a title.

Video on Sarray, who is coming to the women’s division. She debuts next week.

William Regal is happy Sarray is coming but has to go into his office to talk to Roderick Strong and Strong’s wife Marina Shafir. Strong hands him an envelope, which seems to be his resignation. Strong says he’s done and Regal says he is welcome back anytime.

Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott

Ruff starts fast and sends him to the floor where he snaps Scott’s arm to make it worse. Back in and Scott’s arm is fine enough for a slam and a middle rope elbow to a seated Ruff’s back gets two. Ruff is back up with some running shots to the face and a stomp….mostly misses but it was close enough to be passed off as a running knee.

Scott catches him with a middle rope Russian legsweep though and Ruff heads outside. A kick to the face from the apron drops Ruff and we take a break. Back with Scott chopping away but Ruff fights up and gets to the top for the cutter. Scott bails to the floor but Ruff is right there with the big flip dive (and sticks the landing). They go back to the apron and then up top with Ruff snapping off a heck of a super hurricanrana.

Scott is back up with a fireman’s carry but Ruff turns it into a headscissors into the corner. Another hurricanrana gets a VERY close two on Scott but another super hurricanrana is countered into a face first drop onto the top turnbuckle. A flipping slam (kind of a half nelson flipped forward, kind of like a smaller One Winged Angel) finishes Ruff at 11:07.

Rating: C+. I had a lot of fun with this one and it was really just some of the botches that held it back. The thing that keeps catching my attention here is how much Leon Ruff has gotten out of this run. He basically stumbled into the whole thing and while he is not going to be some big star or a main eventer, he is getting every single thing he can out of this chance. Good for him for going from nothing to something, as not everyone gets to do that. Scott winning is a good sign for his future, and I’m curious to see where he goes next.

Zoey Stark is proud of her win over Toni Storm but Mercedes Martinez comes in and asks why we’re talking about a rookie. Tensions are teased.

Walter narrates a video about Imperium, promising that the group will expand and continue to dominate, because the mat is sacred.

Isaiah Scott implies that it is over with Leon Ruff….who jumps him from behind and sends Scott head first into the lockers. Ruff rolls an anvil case at Scott’s head and says that it isn’t over until he decides it is. Well that was out of nowhere.

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon/Dexter Lumis/Bronson Reed vs. The Way

The Way has some issues figuring out their posing before the bell. Theory drives Lumis into the corner to start but Lumis hits a Thesz press into some right hands. That’s enough for Theory to bring in LeRae so Blackheart joins her. LeRae gets taken down and it’s off to Moon so Gargano comes in….and gets knocked down by the women. Lumis comes in and stares at Hartwell but LeRae breaks that up as we take a break.

Back with Reed running Theory and Gargano over, setting up a double splash in the corner. The double Samoan drop gets two and all four women come in for the brawl. Hartwell spinebusters Moon and LeRae superkicks Blackheart. For some reason, LeRae dives at Reed, who literally brushes her off after she crashes to the mat. Theory dropkicks Reed and the women start hitting some dives onto the men. Blackheart has Reed throw her onto the pile at ringside for the big crash.

Back in and Lumis Silences Gargano, with Hartwell not breaking it up. Instead she drops down next to Lumis, who checks on her, allowing Theory to hit Lumis in the head. Hartwell throws Theory outside and drops down in front of Lumis again, so Lumis carries her off, with Hartwell smiling at the camera and giving a thumbs up.

Reed punches Theory in the face and Moon climbs onto Reed’s shoulders for the Eclipse on Theory. LeRae sends Moon to the floor though and Gargano crotches Reed on top. Reed drops Gargano onto Theory so LeRae goes up and loads up a superplex on Reed. After LeRae winds up hanging out of the air, Blackheart breaks it up, leaving the Tsunami to finish Theory at 11:04.

Rating: C+. This was one of the most against the grain matches in recent memory and I think I liked it. They kept things moving, they did about half a dozen different things throughout, and the action never got that ridiculous. It really wasn’t like most NXT matches but it kept me interested and the Hartwell thing was so over the top that it worked in the end. Certainly not a great match, but it was fun and that is what they were trying for here.

Reed poses with the women while the Way is in shambles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know if it was Raw being so bad or this show being that much better, but I had a blast with this one. It felt like stuff happened and they hit the ground running, but above all else, this show came off like someone (or likely a few people) had a plan and executed it. You do not get that on Raw most of the time and they could absolutely learn a few lessons from NXT. This show was all kinds of fun, and the trio of new champions posing with their titles was a genuine feel good moment. This is how you follow up a big show and it made me want to watch more going forward.

Results

MSK b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Maverick

Mercedes Martinez b. Jessi Kamea – Air Raid Crash

Kushida b. Santos Escobar – Rollup

Isaiah Scott b. Leon Ruff – Flipping slam

Bronson Reed/Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon/Dexter Lumis b. The Way – Tsunami to Theory

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

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AND

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NXT
Date: February 24, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

It’s time for a night focusing on revenge, as Karrion Kross is going to get to destroy Santos Escobar for Escobar running his mouth, plus the fallout from Adam Cole attacking Kyle O’Reilly last week. The latter is likely to be a much bigger story but both have my interest. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Karrion Kross being ready to destroy Santos Escobar.

Dexter Lumis vs. Johnny Gargano

Non-title. The Way fires up Gargano in the back before the match and Austin Theory doesn’t quite get it. The rest of the team is here with Gargano so the numbers advantage is strong. Gargano bails straight tot he floor to start and his slingshot back in is knocked out of the air without much effort. The rest of the Way accidentally distracts Gargano and it’s a Thesz press into some right hands to give Lumis two. A rather delayed suplex drops Gargano again and he heads outside for a breather.

This time a shot to the ribs staggers Lumis and Gargano sends him head first onto the floor. That just earns Gargano a hot shot onto the apron as much like almost everyone else, Lumis is just too confusing. Theory and Indi Hartwell try to offer a distraction and get stared down, leaving Candice LeRae’s hurricanrana off the apron to be blocked with ease. Gargano uses the distraction to nail a suicide dive though and we take a break.

Back with Lumis fighting out of a camel clutch and driving Gargano into the corner. Lumis punches him down a few times and nails a slingshot suplex. A belly to back into a nipup into a legdrop gets two on Gargano, who misses his rolling kick out of the corner. The Gargano Escape is countered into the Silence which is countered into a crucifix to give Gargano two.

They trade shots to the face and Lumis snaps off a spinebuster for two more. The top rope double stomp misses so Gargano nails him with a superkick for two. Gargano orders Theory to send in a chair but Lumis steps on it to cut that off. A kick to the head knocks Lumis down and while he gets his leg checked out, Theory grabs the chair to hit Lumis…but gets stared down instead. Gargano is sent into Theory and the Silence knocks Gargano out at 13:36.

Rating: C+. And yes the story will continue as NXT pushes Lumis for whatever reason they have. With so many other talented people they have sitting around, this is the best that they can do? I’m not sure what to expect from the story going forward, but hopefully it doesn’t wind up with Gargano dropping the title to him, because…just no.

William Regal looks for someone in the parking lot but no one is there.

Video on MSK, who started as opponents and then came together as a team and won the Dusty Classic. Nash Carter’s dad passed away in high school and he wanted to make his dad proud, which is why he has “Legacy Lives On” tattooed across his chest. Now they wan the Tag Team Titles.

MSK is ready for an interview but gets jumped by the Grizzled Young Veterans. Wes Lee’s hand is crushed with a chair and referees come in to break it up.

Earlier today, Leon Ruff was cleared to wrestle when Malcolm Bivens popped up from his hiding place in the trainer’s room. Bivens wants Ruff to face Tyler Rust tonight and you know Ruff is game.

Tyler Rust vs. Leon Ruff

Malcolm Bivens is here with Rust and says Ruff is in trouble. Ruff comes out but here’s Isaiah Scott to jump him from behind. After ranting about how he is sick of people like Ruff getting a chance, Scott hits a nasty AA onto the apron, with Ruff’s back bending in a rather scary visual. Bivens declares Rust the winner despite the lack of a match.

Yesterday, William Regal offered Zoey Stark a non-title match with Io Shirai. Sure.

Stark is ready to….have her promo cut off by technical difficulties that leave us looking at Shirai.

Cameron Grimes watches clips of Ted DiBiase offering people money for various tasks. Grimes likes the idea and tries the same thing with a guy standing nearby….who does it just fine and gets $1000. The guy says it was easy when Grimes didn’t cheat like DiBiase. Grimes knew he should have watched the whole thing! This is as gold as you can get around here.

We see stills of Adam Cole attacking Kyle O’Reilly last week, which will put O’Reilly out of action with herniated discs. He should be out for 4-6 weeks at the moment.

Io Shirai vs. Zoey Stark

Non-title. They lock up to start with Shirai grabbing the arm with Stark flipping up, only to get armdragged back down. A kind of weird looking backdrop sets up a bit of miscommunication as they seem to be trying to figure out what to do. The Octopus has Stark in trouble and Shirai takes her down for the running basement dropkick. the 619 is blocked and Shirai is sent to the apron, where she blocks a charge with a kick to the face. One heck of a running kick to the head knocks Shirai off the top though and we take a break.

Back with Stark kicking the leg out to cut off a comeback and hitting a sliding kick to the head for two. Stark jumps to the top but misses a 450, meaning stereo crossbodies put them both down. A half and half suplex gives Stark two and we hit the chinlock. Shirai blocks a kick and nails a flapjack, followed by the 619 into the missile dropkick. There’s a double underhook backbreaker for two and Shirai can’t believe the kickout. Stark is right back with a German suplex for her own two but Shirai sends her face first into the corner. The running knees set up the Over the Moonsault to finish Stark at 12:50.

Rating: B-. Stark has come off like a complete star in her two matches so far and I think NXT knows what they have with her. Having her in a non-title loss like this where she made the champ sweat is a good thing and more importantly it’s a positive sign for her future. Hopefully we get to see more of her in the future because she has done rather well so far.

Respect is shown post match but here’s Toni Storm to interrupt. She’s no Zoey Stark because last week she kicked Shirai’s head off and Shirai did nothing about it. Shirai had to pin Mercedes Martinez at Takeover because she can’t beat Storm. Shirai says she’ll fight Storm anywhere anytime but Storm says she’s scared. Storm tells her to go find William Regal and get the match made, which seems to work for Shirai.

The Way is leaving before Dexter Lumis finds them. Johnny Gargano asks Austin Theory why he didn’t hit Lumis with the chair. Theory says Lumis is just misunderstood, sending Gargano over the edge into a rant about how crazy Lumis is for kidnapping multiple people. Indi: “I think he’s kind of hot.” Candice: “WHAT THE…..” Gargano has to cover her mouth and promises to fix this because Theory is going to therapy. Ok a Dr. Shelby cameo could help a lot.

Video on Xia Li marking Kacy Catanzaro.

Cameron Grimes has finished the Ted DiBiase video and now he’s ready to try this again. He tries it with three people but one of the women (who seems to be former WNBA player Anriel Howard) accuses him of copying DiBiase. She stands up and is a good bit taller than him, which doesn’t bother her. The dribbling begins but she dribbles between her legs at eight to win the money. Grimes: “TED DIBIASE! THIS AIN’T OVER!” These things are gold.

Kacy Catanzaro vs. Xia Li

Kayden Carter is here with Catanzaro and Boa is here with Li, as Tian Sha watches from the stage. Catanzaro starts fast with a headscissors but gets dropped face first onto the turnbuckle. Li stomps her down in the corner and there’s a snap suplex for two. The chinlock goes on but Catanzaro fights out and grabs a sunset flip for two. A kick to the ribs sets up another chinlock but Catanzaro fights out again.

The stomping in the corner has Li in trouble and there’s a flipping kick to the back. They head to the floor with Catanzaro going into the barricade. Catanzaro’s leg winds up on the steps and Li stomps down HARD on it, with the knee going in a VERY wrong direction. Screaming ensues but Li throws her back inside anyway, where the referee stops it at 4:41.

Rating: C. I know the story is completely over the top but it is also one of the more interesting things that NXT has done in a while. I’m curious to see where this is going to go and that is more than I can say about a lot of things that take place in NXT these days. Li is a completely different kind of star and I want to see how things continue. Nicely done, though hopefully Catanzaro isn’t gone for a long time because she was getting better.

Post match referees check on Catanzaro as Carter goes up to yell at Sha. With Boa standing in the way, Sha signals to Li, who kicks Catanzaro in the head.

Regal is still waiting in the parking lot. It seems that he is waiting on Santos Escobar, which does make sense.

Video on Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai vs. Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler for the Women’s Tag Team Titles next week. Jax and Baszler don’t seem intimidated.

Cameron Grimes finds someone else to try the basketball idea, which the guy thinks is like Ted DiBiase. After one dribble, Grimes punches him n the face and says DiBiase can kiss his grits. He throws the money around and leaves it on the ground because Grimes is a goof. An entertaining goof, but a goof.

Kacy Catanzaro might have a broken leg.

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

For the sake of simplicity, I’ll only refer to James Drake as Drake and Drake Maverick as Maverick. Before the match, the Veterans announce that Wes Lee has a broken hand and they have been fined, but it’s cool because they know they’re the better team. Dain dropkicks Drake into the corner to start and it’s off to Maverick to work on the arm. Everything breaks down and Dain shoves both Veterans over the top and out to the floor. Then he throws Maverick onto both of them and we take a break.

Back with Maverick being thrown into the wrong corner to keep him from getting over to Dain. Maverick knees Drake in the back though and crawls between Gibson’s legs for the hot tag. House is cleaned in a hurry with Dain getting annoyed at Drake for jumping on his back. That means a Samoan drop/fall away slam combination to the Veterans at the same time, setting up a backsplash for two on Drake.

There’s a double suplex to the Veterans again and it’s off to Maverick for a high crossbody. Some dropkicks have the Veterans in trouble but a blind tag sets up a middle rope dropkick/Downward Spiral combination. Dain is taken to the floor and knocked down but Maverick hits Gibson with a bulldog. Gibson pulls him off the top though and Ticket To Mayhem finishes Maverick at 8:22.

Rating: C. Maverick and Dain are still a fun odd couple but you can only have them lose so many times. The good thing is that the Veterans won because I never get tired of those guys. They work so well together and it’s great to see them doing their thing and hopefully moving back up the ladder sooner rather than later.

Legado del Fantasma arrives.

Post break, Killian Dain carries Drake Maverick to the trainer’s room but they run into Alexander Wolfe, who says Dain used to be a monster. Dain ignores him and gets help for Maverick. Was it that bad of a beating?

Karrion Kross vs. Santos Escobar

Non-title and no DQ but we cut to the parking lot where Kross attacks Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde. That brings Escobar out of his car and the brawl is on. They fight over to a truck with Escobar managing to drop the door onto Kross’ shoulder to make him scream. Kross fights back but the rest of Legado comes in to keep up the brawl. Escobar hides in the truck’s cab so Kross fights off the goons and finds a pickax to swing at the door.

That’s enough to bring Escobar out and the three on one beats Kross down again. The arm is sent into the truck and they head inside, with Escobar heading to ringside while Kross throws the other two through the Plexiglas. The staredown is on and Escobar realizes that he’s in major trouble. They get inside with a big boot dropping Escobar for one but Kross has to deal with Wilde. That’s enough for Escobar to get in a chair shot, followed by rams into the post and steps.

We take a break and come back with Escobar hitting a running basement dropkick in the corner as Scarlett is not pleased. The shoulder is wrapped inside of a chair and sent into the post to put Kross down again. A DDT onto the chair is good for two back inside and there’s a dropkick to the arm. They’re already back on the floor with Kross trying to fight back but getting knocked down by the arm again.

Back in and the armbar goes on before Escobar tries Three Amigos. The first two connect but the third is countered into some suplexes from Kross. They’re outside again but this time, Kross pulls him hard into the post. A suplex and a powerbomb get rid of Wilde and Mendoza, leaving Kross to Doomsday Saito Escobar through the announcers’ table. Another Doomsday Saito sets up a running forearm to the back of the head to finish Escobar at 15:36.

Rating: B. This took a bit longer than it needed but Kross as the unstoppable monster was the right way to go. There’s something interesting about him as the monster face rather than a villain and while that wasn’t quite the case here, he was definitely feeling different than usual and I was digging where they were going. Throw in Escobar being treated like a star as well and this was a very different main event which worked rather well.

LA Knight says he’ll debut on his time.

Here’s Adam Cole to look at a clip of his attack on Kyle O’Reilly last week. Now that footage makes him sick to his stomach. At first he was mad at O’Reilly for getting title shot after title shot but now he is ashamed. He knows O’Reilly can’t be here but he should be, and Cole promises to do everything he can to make it better. Cole sounds near tears but here is Roderick Strong to say Cole wrecked everything.

The Undisputed Era was based on trust and Cole broke it. Strong says O’Reilly is going to heal and Cole might not survive what is coming for him. Cue Finn Balor for the brawl with Cole but Strong tries to break it up, allowing Cole to hit a superkick. Strong and Cole head back inside, where Strong runs him over with a clothesline. Cole begs off and asks for mercy, with Strong dropping to his knees and saying he loves Cole too. They hug….and Cole hits him low. Cole calls Strong stupid to end the show. This was rather good and Cole sold the heck out of it.

Overall Rating: B+. This one was a bit of a different kind of show but I liked almost everything they did. Between Kross looking like a monster, the Veterans winning, the great closing segment and Grimes rapidly becoming the most entertaining thing in wrestling, I liked a lot more of this than I didn’t. Awesome show this week and they have a lot of different ways to go on the way forward.

Results

Dexter Lumis b. Johnny Gargano – Silence

Io Shirai b. Zoey Stark – Over the Moonsault

Xia Li b. Kacy Catanzaro via referee stoppage

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – Ticket to Mayhem to Maverick

Karrion Kross b. Santos Escobar – Running forearm to the back of the head

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NXT
Date: January 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

It’s still tournament time around here as the women’s Dusty Classic continues the first round but the men’s version heads on to the quarterfinals. I’m still not sure if this is the best idea in the world as these tournaments are dominating the show, but maybe the action is going to be enough to carry the show. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: MSK vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

Maverick and Lee start things off and go to the mat in a hurry. Maverick’s headlock is driven against the ropes so Lee says bring it. Dain wants in but Maverick isn’t ready yet, instead taking Lee to the mat with a front facelock. That’s broken up as well as Maverick is taken into the corner for a running Bronco Buster from Carter. Maverick slips away and brings in Dain to clean house, including throwing Maverick at Nash for a knockdown (always effective).

The running big boot in the corner rocks Carter but a shot to the knee put Dain down for a second. Lee comes back in and is tossed outside with ease to send us to a break. Back with Dain hitting Lee in the face again and crushing him with a backsplash. That’s enough to give Maverick two but the chinlock is countered for the hot tag to Carter. A penalty kick rocks Maverick and a dropkick puts Dain on the floor. The push moonsault connects for two with Dain making a save. Dain is sent outside again though and it’s a Hart Attack with a Blockbuster instead of a clothesline to finish Maverick at 11:06.

Rating: C+. This was more like it for both teams, as Dain and Maverick are the kind of a team with just enough credibility to mean something and MSK feel primed for a serious run in the tournament. They made enough sense here too, with Dain being the wrecking ball that had to be dealt with and then Maverick being a much easier target. Good enough match and MSK continues to make me smile.

Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan are fired up for tonight. Pete Dunne looks like he’s ordering dinner.

Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai and Jessi Kamea/Aliyah are ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Curt Stallion looks out the window and sees shooting stars. One day he followed it and knew what he was ready to do. Now he wants to have a rocket strapped to his back in the form of the Cruiserweight Title.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Kamea and Aliyah have Robert Stone in their corner. Gonzalez and Aliyah start things off with Aliyah not being able to shove her around. Instead Gonzales swings her around in a lockup so it’s off to Kamea, who has to avoid an elbow. A dropkick sends Gonzalez into the corner for a running forearm but she sends Kamea into Kai’s elbow. Aliyah comes in for some double teaming and a running flipping hair faceplant puts Kai down.

Kai is sent outside but manages to pump kick Aliyah down hard and gets two back inside. Back in and Gonzalez hits a swinging powerslam on Aliyah, setting up Kai’s running kick to the face in the corner. Kai gets two off a double stomp but Aliyah manages a clothesline to bring in Kamea. That’s fine with Gonzalez, who plants her with the chokeslam for the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t quite as interesting as the ending wasn’t in doubt and the match felt a good bit longer than just under six minutes. That being said, the women’s tournament is only three rounds long so it is a good thing to see the winners look dominant. Not the worst match, but it needed more wacky Robert Stone shenanigans to really push it over the edge.

The Way is sure they’ll win the Women’s Dusty Classic but Johnny Gargano isn’t going to answer anything about Kushida. Austin Theory says it’s kind of like the curse but Gargano orders him to say no more words. Kushida does not get a title shot.

Scarlett uses Tarot cards to display that destruction is coming.

Tegan Nox has been training with Brie Larson. Video tomorrow.

Tyler Rust vs. Dante Rios

Malcolm Bivens is at ringside and he has an inset promo, promising that Rust will win. Rust takes him down with ease to start and then nails a hard right hand. A stomp onto the head keeps Rios down and it’s time to crank on the arm. Some chops rock Rust and a backside gives Rios two. What looks to be a tornado DDT winds up as a guillotine choke but Rust powers out. A big boot into a flipping neckbreaker sets up a modified Rings of Saturn (When did that become the most popular move in the world?) to make Rios tap at 3:23.

Rating: D+. Rust still looks good but they are playing into the idea that he might not be as polished as Bivens thinks he is. At least he won here, but it took a little longer than expected. It’s something different though, and that’s often a nice thing to see, especially when so many newcomers have the dominant run before their first story.

Bivens and Rust get a post match photo.

The Grizzled Young Veterans and Kushida/Leon Ruff are ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly are ready, don’t trust each other, and will see each other out there.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Quarterfinals: Leon Ruff/Kushida vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Before the match, Zack Gibson promises to win because Ruff and Kushida have been a team for about five minutes. Kushida takes Gibson to the mat without much trouble but Drake comes in for a spinning kick to the face. It’s off to Ruff for a dropkick but Kushida is already back in for stereo basement dropkicks and two on Drake. We hit the quickly broken armbar and Ruff snaps off a top rope hurricanrana to put Drake down again. Drake forearms his way to freedom but Kushida saves Ruff from a double suplex. A middle rope cutter gets two on Gibson and we take a break.

Back with Ruff grabbing a sunset flip for two on Drake, who pops back up with a heck of a clothesline. Ruff is sent outside for a slingshot forearm/backbreaker combination to put him in even more trouble. A neckbreaker gets Ruff out of trouble back inside and the hot tag brings in Kushida to start cleaning house. The cartwheel into the basement dropkick rocks Drake again and there’s a running dropkick in the corner. Gibson comes back in and escapes an Octopus, setting up a Doomsday Device of all things for two on Kushida.

The double handspring elbow drops the Veterans though and the hot tag brings in Ruff for the second house cleaning. A suicide dive hits Drake and a top rope flip dive hits Gibson. Back in and a running clothesline puts Gibson down again but Ruff misses the Swanton. Drake gets caught not paying attention on the apron and it’s the Ticket to Mayhem to finish Ruff at 13:15.

Rating: B-. I could watch the Veterans at least three days a week and the two of them could be favorites in the tournament. Granted that could be the case for most of the remaining teams and that’s a good sign for the whole thing. This worked out about as expected and Kushida getting the North American Title shot at Takeover (as he is almost a lock to do) is a lot more important than this team.

Post match here’s the Way to beat down Kushida and Ruff. Johnny Gargano insists that Kushida will never get a shot but here’s Dexter Lumis to scare them off. Sweet goodness why can’t this guy just fall in a hole somewhere?

Curt Stallion has been attacked by Legado del Fantasma.

Post break, the Cruiserweight Title match is officially canceled for tonight. If this was supposed to be a surprise, maybe they shouldn’t have pulled the match from the show’s official preview.

Legado del Fantasma doesn’t know what’s going on but ANGRY William Regal comes in and says the title match is on for next week, with promises of consequences if anything else happens to Stallion. Regal leaves and the trio is freaked out by a playing card, though they insist there is nothing to worry about. I wonder if that’s an ace. Like, say, an Irish ace.

Here’s Toni Storm to say she wins whatever she wants. She wanted to be the first ever person to win the Women’s Dusty Cup but Io Shirai took that away from her. Now she wants to hurt and ruin Shirai, but more than anything else, she wants to be the NXT Women’s Champion.

Cue Io Shirai to say she’ll fight Toni anytime because she doesn’t like her. The fight is on with Storm being sent outside but here’s Mercedes Martinez to jump Shirai from behind. Martinez holds up the title but Storm says it’s hers. Shirai is back in to jump them both but Storm pulls her off the top. A pair of hip attacks in the corner leave Shirai laying and Storm rubs the title.

Isaiah Scott doesn’t like being accused of messing with Bronson Reed and suggests you could the fingers pointing at you when you point your finger at someone.

Imperium video, which heavily suggests the return of Walter. It’s about time.

The Undisputed Era aren’t worried about facing Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher because they’re tougher, more experienced and better. Well that was to the point.

Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah Scott

Reed throws him outside to start but Scott sticks the landing, only to get sent face first into the apron. A crossbody on the floor crushes Scott and we take a break. Back with Scott working on an armbar and then raking Reed’s face a bit. Reed isn’t having that and runs him over again, setting up a backsplash for two.

Scott gets in another shot to the shoulder but Reed goes to the middle rope anyway. An enziguri connects though and Scott hits a 450 for two. Scott tells him not to get in his business and hits Reed in the face, which seems to be a rather bad move. Reed headbutts him and adds a hard clothesline, setting up the Tsunami for the pin at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of thing that I can go for: taking two young (or at least new) stars and giving them a story. Reed is looking more and more like a breakout star every week and Scott….well at least he can still talk rather effectively. Pushing one of them is a good idea though and if Reed is their guy, so be it.

Scott really does not look pleased.

Tommaso Ciampa talks about how some fights change people and respect can grow. Timothy Thatcher joins him to say pretty much the same thing. Ciampa promises a war with Undisputed Era next week.

Kyle O’Reilly/Finn Balor vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burke

Non-title, which I didn’t know until this show started. Balor armdrags Lorcan into an armbar to start and it’s quickly off to O’Reilly vs. Burch. O’Reilly grabs an armbar of his own but Burch goes to the recently injured jaw to break up a tag attempt. Lorcan and Burch get to work on the arm for a change, followed by Burch’s headlock on the mat. That’s reversed into a wristlock, which is enough for O’Reilly to get back over to Balor.

O’Reilly is back in less than five seconds later as Balor and O’Reilly start the rapid fire tags and arm cranking. They stop to glare at each other though and we take a break. Back with Balor getting a tag to clean house in a hurry, including a bunch of stomping on Lorcan. A trip takes Balor down though and Lorcan gets in some stomping of his own.

The chinlock goes on to keep Balor down and a double atomic drop into a Russian legsweep gets two. Lorcan starts yelling at Balor, which rarely seems like a good idea, and is quickly followed by Balor nailing a Pele kick. The Sling Blade is enough for the hot tag to O’Reilly as house is cleaned in a hurry. Burch gets a boot up in the corner and tries a middle rope but dives into a kneebar to give O’Reilly and Balor the win at 11:56.

Rating: B-. They were telling a nice story here, though I’m hoping we get at least a token Tag Team Title match out of this. I’m not sure we will, but it would serve well as a TV main event. At least they had a good match in the non-title version, but I would hope that NXT isn’t he kind of place that just lets the champs lose.

Post match O’Reilly and Balor seem cool but Pete Dunne pops up. Burch and Lorcan send O’Reilly into the barricade and Dunne breaks Balor’s fingers as the Undisputed Era come to the ring for the save, albeit rather slowly. The big staredown ends the show, though Balor drops to the floor with the Era standing in the ring. We could use a fourth for the villains here as that’s a heck of an eight man tag.

Overall Rating: B-. The tournament matches are good but I’m rather relieved that they are wrapping things up sooner rather than later. There are too many tournament things going on at once here and it’s kind of dragging things down. It’s the majority of things going with the show and while the wrestling is good, I could go for something else. This was another good week, but I’m losing patience with all of the tournament stuff.

Results

MSK b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – Blockbuster/spinebuster combination to Maverick

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Jessi Kamea/Aliyah – Chokeslam to Kamea

Tyler Rust b. Dante Rios – Rings of Saturn

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Leon Ruff/Kushida – Ticket to Mayhem to Ruff

Bronson Reed b. Isaiah Scott – Tsunami

Kyle O’Reilly/Finn Balor b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Kneebar to Burch

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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205 Live
Date: January 15, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, FloridaCommentators: Vic Joseph, Nigel McGuinness

Things are going to take a bit of a turn this week as the show is going to be dedicated to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. This is where 205 Live can be rather useful, as there are going to be quite a few tournament matches which NXT does not have time to present. Let 205 Live take some of the pressure off of things and NXT can get more important stuff done. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the first batch of Dusty Classic matches from NXT, plus a preview of tonight’s two matches.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Legado del Fantasma vs. Bollywood Boyz

Santos Escobar is here with Legado. Sunil grabs a headlock on Mendoza to start but that’s broken up in a hurry. A monkey flip into a clothesline to the floor has Mendoza in trouble and it’s off to Samir. Wilde comes in as well and gets armbarred down in a hurry. A quick ram into the corner has Wilde in trouble but a Mendoza distraction lets Wilde grab a DDT. There’s the double suplex for two on Samir and the cravate goes on.

Back up and Mendoza misses a charge into the post and the hot tag brings in Sunil for the comeback. The spinwheel kick drops Mendoza but Sunil goes after Wilde. It actually works this time as Sunil hits a top rope ax handle for two on Mendoza. Everything breaks down and a superplex into a top rope elbow gets two on Mendoza as Wilde makes a save. Samir gets taken down on the floor and a running boot/Russian legsweep combination sends Legado on at 9:48.

Rating: C. This was the serious version of the Boyz and it worked a lot better than usual as a result. The dancing stuff does suit them rather well but it’s nice to see them actually do the more traditional thing once in awhile. Legado was good as usual, but I’m not sure how bright their tournament futures really are.

Killian Dain is still sick of Drake Maverick.

The Women’s Dusty Classic is here next week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Killian Dain/Drake Maverick vs. August Grey/Curt Stallion

Stallion shoulders Maverick down to start but gets sent outside so Maverick can dance. Back in and a dropkick into an armdrag has Stallion in trouble so it’s off to Grey. The staredown is enough to bring in Dain and it’s a drop toehold into a backsplash. Dain picks Maverick up to use him as a weapon (Maverick: “PUT ME DOWN!”). Grey and Stallion are sent outside, with Maverick telling Dain to dive. Instead Dain picks Maverick up to throw at them for the big crash.

Back in and Maverick wonders why Dain wouldn’t dive while getting two on Stallion. A backbreaker gets Stallion out of trouble though and it’s back to Grey for a headlock. That is switched into a headlock but Maverick fights up and brings in Dain for the serious house cleaning. A crossbody gets two on Grey but he’s back up with a superplex into a German suplex for two on Maverick. Dain has had enough of this and powerbombs Stallion, followed by powerbombing Drake onto him for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: C. Maverick and Dain are growing on me quite a bit (I bet it’s the whistling) as Maverick’s charisma is enough to carry just about anything to watchable. Throw in Dain as the monster and they’re a nice little oddball team. I’m not sure why Stallion needed to take a fall, but odds are he holds that title shot for months to come anyway so it hardly destroys him.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was completely average but I can go with burning a show off like this and having something good come of it at the same time. Not only did they get some tournament matches out of the way, but they didn’t waste anything they had coming on the regular 205 Live. Not too bad here, even if the two winning teams aren’t exactly heavy favorites.

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NXT
Date: December 23, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the Christmas show as we have A Very Gargano Christmas. That’s special enough, but this show is also not up against Dynamite due to an NBA game so it should be interesting to see what they have on their own. We do have a title match tonight as the Tag Team Titles are on the line in a street fight. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Killian Dain/Drake Maverick vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Lorcan and Burch are defending in a street fight but Dain and Maverick jump them from behind. The champs are in some early trouble but Maverick gets taken down so Dain can be double teamed. We settle down to Dain in trouble in the corner (BECAUSE THIS STREET FIGHT HAS TAGS TOO) but managing to backdrop Burch onto a pair of chairs.

Maverick comes in without a tag to trip Lorcan down and Dain slams him onto Lorcan for a bonus. Dain hits a running boot in the corner to Lorcan and takes him to the floor, leaving Burch to hit a clothesline on Maverick. Burch escapes a suplex through a table on the floor and avoids a charge to send Dain through it instead.

We take a break and come back with Dain down on the floor, leaving Maverick to be whipped by a belt. Dain fights up and starts cleaning house, including a powerbomb into a running elbow. Maverick comes back in but gets knocked off the apron and onto (not through) a table. The breather lets Maverick get the belt to whip the champions until a low blow cuts him off. A cricket bat shot to the ribs and the elevated DDT retains the titles at 14:38.

Rating: C. I liked the violent parts but can we PLEASE stop with the tagging in street fights? It looks so stupid to have chairs and belts and tables but YOU HAVE TO TAG BECAUSE IT’S THE RULE! It wasn’t as bad as the mess on Raw but figure this stuff out. The ending wasn’t in doubt here and it could be a good while before Lorcan and Burch drop the titles given their lack of competition. Nice opener here, bad interpretation of the rules aside.

We go to House Gargano where Johnny updates the number of days until Christmas and plays the piano. Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory join them with Johnny runs the camcorder. Theory gets in trouble for saying no way Jose and is told to put his cookie down. Things are smoothed over with Theory getting some Gargano Protein Powder. Theory: “I CAN BE LIKE YOU???”

We look at Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly watching their match at Takeover: 31 to set up their rematch at New Year’s Evil. They talk about how hard hitting everything was and how much of a struggle the whole thing was. We take a special look at the exchange of strikes which put both of them on the shelf after the match. Balor says he is still the champ but all anyone remembered was the broken jaw. Now they are doing it again and there isn’t going to be a trilogy this time around.

Malcolm Bivens talks about how great Tyler Rust was in his debut and this week, we’ll see that he is a diamond in the Rust.

Isaiah Scott vs. Jake Atlas

They stare each other down to start and then exchange some shoves. Atlas gets in a slap to the face but Scott takes him down into an armbar. Back up and Atlas pulls him down with a dragon screw legwhip and a triangle enziguri puts Scott on the floor. We take a break and come back with Atlas getting two off a Code Red but Scott sends him outside.

They head back in with Scott flipping out of the corner and grabbing a rolling cradle for two. A hard elbow to the face staggers Atlas (and seems to serve as Scott taking things a little too far) and Atlas staggers to the ropes. Scott picks him up and hits the JML Driver (Confidence Boost) at 10:32.

Rating: C-. I know they’re trying here and I can go for Scott as a heel but this is as nothing of a feud as is taking place anywhere in WWE at the moment. The feud is there but it feels like absolutely nothing and there is no reason to see anything that these two are doing. There are no stakes to be see, but Scott getting a change and hopefully a push should be an upgrade.

The Undisputed Era loves the idea of O’Reilly winning the NXT Title at New Year’s Evil but here’s Velveteen Dream to say Adam Cole is becoming a cheerleader while O’Reilly becomes the new leader. Cole punches him in the face, says there is no leader in the Undisputed Era, and sets up a match for later. The heavy sigh I let out when Dream showed up sums up everything about him right now.

Timothy Thatcher likes that Tommaso Ciampa has come after him. Ciampa tried to take his ear at Takeover but the lesson wasn’t complete. Last week, Thatcher came out for a fight but received no respect because security took him out of the arena. Ciampa is the kind of guy who talks a lot but doesn’t do anything about it. Tonight Thatcher is going to take some liberties with Leon Ruff so Ciampa can come do something about it.

Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai

Ripley powers her into the corner to start and then throws Kai down with ease. Dawn bails out to the floor but manages to get in a show to the ribs to take over. Ripley gets posted and we take a break. Back with Kai pulling on the cross armbreaker but Ripley powers out again. A kick to the ribs and a belly to back faceplant gives Ripley two and an electric chair faceplant gets the same.

Kai can’t get a wheelbarrow rollup so Ripley slaps on the Prism Trap, only to have Raquel Gonzalez come out to offer a distraction. Kai makes the rope so Ripley pounds away in the corner while still looking up at Gonzalez. A superplex attempt is broken up though and the Kairopractor gives Kai two of her own. Ripley powers her down again though and Riptide finishes at 10:33.

Rating: C+. Rather fine match here and it’s nice to see Ripley get back on track after a loss. Ripley still has the potential to be one of the best things in all of NXT and setting her up for another showdown with Gonzalez should work out. I’m still not sure how much longer Ripley is in NXT, but she’s doing well enough for now.

Post match Gonzalez comes to the ring and the brawl is on, with referees not being able to hold them back. They’re separated a few times but then go right back at it for a pretty cool fight.

It’s back to House Gargano where Indi Hartwell has gotten the box from Johnny Gargano’s Playstation 5. Johnny has a better gift for her though: Hartwell is now officially INDI WRESTLING. Theory just shakes his head.

Toni Storm says she wants the NXT Women’s Title. Io Shirai is scared of her because Toni is the one woman she can’t beat. Like in the finals of the Mae Young Classic for instance.

Xia Li continues to beat up Boa, who continues to scream for more. The old man says enough and things seem to be taking a turn.

Bronson Reed vs. Ashante Adonis

Adonis tries some grappling to start and is run over in a hurry. Reed runs him over again and stomps on the ribs, setting up the Tsunami for the pin at 1:07. That’s how it should have gone.

Io Shirai says hit her music because she’s coming to the ring. After having some issues getting a chair into the ring, Shirai tells Storm to get out here. Cue Mercedes Martinez from behind to jump Shirai, including sending her into various things.

Back at House Gargano, Candice LeRae gets….a wheel from Shotzi Blackheart’s tank. Everyone hates wheels you see, but this one is special. They take their photo together, with Theory spitting out his powder at the wrong time.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Leon Ruff

We get the empty chair for Tommaso Ciampa at ringside. Thatcher takes him straight to the mat to pull on Ruff’s face but Ruff is back up with a jumping headlock. That earns him an uppercut into a front facelock suplex to send Ruff flying. The abdominal stretch on the mat goes on, with Thatcher covering Ruff’s face at the same time. A quick small package gives Ruff two and he hammers away on Thatcher to limited effect. Ruff hits a clothesline but gets uppercutted out of the air. There’s a butterfly suplex and Thatcher loads up the half crab, only to have Ruff reverse into a small package for the pin at 4:00.

Rating: C. This is the kind of thing that makes you realize how far NXT has come in recent years, as usually Thatcher wouldn’t lose until his next match with Ciampa at the earliest, but here he loses because he can’t stop thinking about Ciampa? It’s not the same as a distraction finish, but this would have gone the same with Thatcher winning and then attacking Ruff after the match. I like Thatcher and he could be something around here, so stop having him lose when there is another way out.

Post match Thatcher stays on Ruff but Tommaso Ciampa runs in to hit Willow’s Bell. Ciampa says he’ll see him in the Fight Pit. Cool. That’s a gimmick that needs to be used more than once.

Damian Priest doesn’t see Killer Kross as much of a killer because he’s still standing.

Dexter Lumis paints Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez in a Last Man Standing match for New Year’s Evil.

Tyler Rust vs. Ariya Daivari

Malcolm Bivens is here with Rust. Daivari gets taken down by the arm to start and the arm cranking continues as they get back up. Rust spins him around by the arm but the threat of a cross armbreaker sends Daivari to the ropes. Daivari manages a kick to the heck in the corner and a neckbreaker over the middle rope sets up a dropkick to put Rust on the floor. Back in and Daivari talks trash, allowing Rust to pull him into a triangle choke. That’s broken up so Rust ducks the hammerlock lariat and kicks Daivari in the head. The Rings of Saturn, with Rust using his let to pull the top arm down, finishes Daivari at 4:32.

Rating: C. Rust continues to look good in the ring and the cruiserweights continue to be there for the sake of filling up the roster and serving as losers to others. That’s a big reason why 205 Live means nothing but that has been a problem for years. Anyway, Rust might be something around here and that’s a good thing to see.

Leon Ruff is getting his rematch for the North American Title next week to continue Johnny Gargano’s curse.

Karrion Kross laughs off the idea of Damian Priest calling him out and mentioning Scarlett.

The NXT Year End Awards are next week. Vote now on WWE.com.

Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream

Roderick Strong is here with Cole. Dream gets taken to the mat with a headlock to start as Beth compares Barrett to the Grinch. Back up and Dream is driven into the corner, where he misses a slap to the face. A cheap shot out of the corner drops Cole but he isn’t having any of that and punches Dream down a few times. The jumping neckbreaker puts Dream down again and a pump kick puts him on the floor. Back in and they bang heads for a double knockdown.

Cue Pete Dunne to go after Strong with a ram into the steps and a kick to the head. The Bitter End onto the apron lets Dream hit a clothesline and we take a break. Back with Dream missing the Purple Rainmaker and the slugout it on again. Some shots to the face sets up the flipping fireman’s carry slam onto the knee into a German suplex for two. Dream is back with a hot shot and a neckbreaker for two but Cole superkicks him off the top.

Cole is knocked to the floor but manages to superkick a diving Dream out of the air. Back in and a superkick sets up a Figure Four, sending Dream to the ropes for the break. Cole almost superkicks the referee, allowing Dream to grab the wind up DDT. The Purple Rainmaker gives Dream two but Cole goes up, only to dive into a superkick. Cole does the same though and finishes with the Last Shot at 13:11.

Rating: C+. I don’t remember the last time I did not want to see someone as much as I don’t want to see Velveteen Dream right now. He is mostly lifeless out there and is just floating around with nothing to do, but because he has done some things before, he gets to stick around. Throw in the allegations against him and I really could go with him falling in a hole and never coming out because…..well we all deserve some happiness now and then.

Overall Rating: C. Maybe they weren’t feeling it because of the holiday season or because everything is focused on New Year’s Evil at this point but this was a pretty lackluster show with nothing standing out. It just came and went, which isn’t something you often say about NXT. That being said, the next two weeks are looking stacked and anyone can have an off night. Not a bad show, but just read a recap instead of watching.

Results

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – Elevated DDT to Maverick

Rhea Ripley b. Dakota Kai – Riptide

Bronson Reed b. Ashante Adonis – Tsunami

Leon Ruff b. Timothy Thatcher – Small package

Tyler Rust b. Ariya Daivari – Rings of Saturn

Adam Cole b. Velveteen Dream – Last Shot

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

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

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

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

NXT
Date: December 9, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

Takeover: WarGames has come and gone and that means it is time to start getting ready for New Year’s Evil, which seems to be the next big television show. I’m not sure what that is going to entail but tonight we get to hear from Finn Balor for the first time in…well in two weeks actually but maybe he is ready to get back in the ring. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Long recap of Takeover.

Here’s Finn Balor for the opening chat. The champ is back and while there are some people who love him, there are some people who hate him. If you want to get to know him, come see him in the ring. This brings out Pete Dunne (here we go), who says they’re cut from the same cloth. It is going to be a matter of time before Dunne takes that title, but here’s Kyle O’Reilly to say his invitation must have gotten lost in the mail.

Now Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater is tough but his team didn’t win at Takeover. As for Balor, yeah he beat him, but O’Reilly took him to the limit and made him eat through a straw for two months. Let the vengeance consume you….but here’s Damian Priest to cut them off as well. Priest things Balor vs. Priest is a marquee matchup that both of them want. Dunne says Priest is the one who couldn’t even beat Leon Ruff. Priest thinks Dunne is the one Pat McAfee pays to keep his mouth shut.

O’Reilly asks when Priest last won a match and they all start bickering as Balor leaves. Balor says they need to learn some manners because they interrupted him before he could make his announcement. He’s going to be defending the title on January 6, but William Regal gets to decide who gets that Finn rub. Cue Scarlett, but Balor cuts her off. He knows she’s going to say tick tock, but tell Karrion Kross that when he’s ready, Finn is ready. Balor leaves so Priest that if Kross is back and looking for a fight, all he has to do is step to him like a man.

The best thing about this: you could believe any of the possible challengers could get the shot. Sure Dunne seems very likely, but you have four people who could be a threat not only to getting a shot at Balor, but at Balor himself. Give us a reason to be curious and things get a lot more interesting in a hurry.

Post break Pete Dunne is being interviewed by Killian Dain charges at him for revenge. Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch, Drake Maverick and referees have to hold them back.

Jake Atlas vs. Isaiah Scott

Scott takes him down by the arm to start and Atlas has to roll to the floor for a breather. That’s fine with Scott, who kicks him in the face from the apron to put him in trouble again. Back in and the rolling Downward Spiral gets two on Atlas, with Scott being surprised by the kickout. Atlas is back with a suplex into a powerbomb for two but Scott around to set up the House Call. Scott can’t get the JML Driver so he goes back to the arm. What looked to be a German suplex attempt is broken up and Scott grabs the arm again. This time it’s la majistral, but Atlas reverses into a cradle for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C. I’m surprised by the result, but that might be more about me being quite the Scott fan. Atlas needs to grow a bit and while giving him some wins are going to help, there is still something lacking from his overall presentation. He isn’t exactly impressive physically (though he’s acceptable) and his stuff in the ring isn’t quite eye popping. In a few words, he’s about average and while he’s far from bad, I could go for a bit more than that.

Post match Scott walks away from a handshake. He did have a bit of a heel touch in the match.

Tommaso Ciampa says no one is safe. It is time that he let the past die in the past and move forward. He wouldn’t have it any other way, so tonight it’s Cameron Grimes’ time. Grimes is loud and confident but maybe it’s just insecurity. That can often disguise itself as confidence and tonight we’ll find out which is true.

Ever Rise vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Imperium

Am I missing something with Ever Rise? The match certainly is as they go to the floor so the other four go after them to start the beatdown in a hurry. Back in and Aichner takes Gibson down, only to get his arm cranked a bit. Barthel comes in with an armdrag and stomp to Gibson but Ever Rise gets back up, allowing Gibson to get over for the tag to Drake. Barthel is taken outside for some quick double teaming but manages to keep Drake from tagging Gibson back in. Ever Rise is back in instead to take over on Drake, with Martel getting two off a double takedown.

Drake gets rid of Ever Rise and it’s back to Gibson vs. Aichner again. Gibson drives Aichner into the corner for another tag to Drake, who spinwheel kicks Aichner. Martel clotheslines Drake down though and a double Snake Eyes into the corner gets two. Imperium is back in with the double dropkick in the corner to knock Parker out of the Tree of Woe. Barthel hits a middle rope moonsault for two on Drake and a middle rope DDT drops Drake again, only to have Parker steal the near fall. That’s enough Ever Rise though and it’s the Ticket To Mayhem to drop Parker and give the Veterans the win at 7:07.

Rating: C+. I was rather surprised by this one as I never would have expected to like it so much. Ever Rise as the team trying to steal the win was a great little addition as they came closer more than once. The Veterans winning is a good idea and Imperium looked better than usual here. This was the surprise of the night and while it wasn’t a classic, it was far stronger than I ever would have bet.

The participants in both WarGames matches talk about how brutal the whole thing was. This was different and everyone is different than when they went in. The biggest note out of this: Bobby Fish tore his tricep and has already had surgery. No word on how long he will be out.

Toni Storm says she turned on Shotzi Blackheart because she wants the Women’s Title and that’s all that matters, no matter what she has to do. Now Ember Moon is in her way and that’s cool, because Toni is winning no matter what. Io Shirai comes in to say the title is the only thing that matters. Shirai has no problem with Toni, but she doesn’t like her and therefore hits Storm in the face. They brawl into the arena with Storm throwing her into the ring but getting taken down anyway. Storm rolls away before the moonsault can launch but here’s Ember Moon to toss her back in, with Shirai hitting said moonsault.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Cameron Grimes

This could be interesting. Timothy Thatcher comes out to watch as Ciampa takes Grimes down by the arm to start. Grimes fights up and is immediately elbowed in the face for his efforts. That’s enough for a trip to the floor, where Thatcher’s staredown doesn’t exactly work as Ciampa takes it back inside. A knee to Ciampa’s ribs takes him down for two and we take a break.

Back with Ciampa fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a rollup for his own two. The clotheslines rock Grimes again and it’s a running knee in the corner for two more. Grimes is back with a knee to the face and the flipping powerslam gets two more. Ciampa catches him on top with some chops though and shoves Grimes outside in a heap. Cue Tyler Rust (Thatcher’s student) for a distraction though and Grimes gets in another shot. Not that it matters though as Ciampa gets him into the ropes and hits Willow’s Bell for the pin at 10:52.

Rating: C. This is something that could be better on a larger stage and with a little bit of a story, but for not it was a perfectly fine ten minute TV match. Ciampa vs. Thatcher continuing could be fine but what matters most is that Grimes isn’t running from Dexter Lumis any longer, as that wasn’t helping anyone. Fine enough match here, as Ciampa continues to reestablish himself.

Post match Ciampa and Thatcher stare each other down again, with Thatcher claiming innocence on the interference. Ciampa leaves so Grimes yells at Thatcher, who twists Grimes’ leg around to leave him laying.

Raquel Gonzalez is happy to have won WarGames on Sunday and to beat Io Shirai in particular. Now Dakota Kai is on the shelf, but tonight it’s time to make Ember Moon regret that she returned to NXT.

Here are Johnny Gargano, Candice LeRae, Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory for a celebratory chat, complete with Gargano dancing. Gargano dubs the team The Way, with Johnny and Candice bragging about their wins on Sunday. Gargano: “THAT’S THE WAY!” Theory: “The Milky Way!” Sure there were some issues, with LeRae breaking his arm and Gargano needing stitches in his mouth, but now he is the first ever three time North American Champion.

Candice has now led her team to victory in WarGames two years in a row, so she must be Ms. WarGames. Gargano is so happy that he has a special present for her. Indi has to get the present, which is imported from Italy. It’s….a trophy with Shotzi Blackheart’s head on top! Candice says she definitely deserve it but she doesn’t have a trophy for him.

That’s cool with Gargano, who has his North American Title. He and Theory are so in sync (as demonstrated with some high fives WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING) that they’ll be facing Damian Priest and Leon Ruff next week. Candice: “If you’re not in the Way, then stay out of our way.” Cue Priest to say he’s coming for revenge but Karrion Kross jumps him from behind for the beatdown, including a powerbomb on the stage. Kross walks to the back and gets in a car with Scarlett waiting.

Tyler Rust is in the back when Malcolm Bivens comes up and wants to talk business. Rust leaves with him.

Pete Dunne vs. Killian Dain

Dain slugs him into the corner to start and tosses Dunne around, followed by the pump kick to the jaw. Dunne bails outside, where Dain hits another pump kick. Dain manages to posting but headbutts the post by mistake to put him down for the first time. Back in and Dunne pounds him down in the corner, setting up some kicks to the face for a bonus. A quick suplex gives Dain the breather so Dunne is right back with one of his own.

There’s the stomp to the fingers and we take a break with Dain heading to the apron. Back with Dain fighting out of a chinlock and dropping down onto Dunne for the break. The release Rock Bottom into a slingshot hilo into a jackknife gives Dain two. Dunne is right back with a triangle choke, but Dain is right back with a sitout powerbomb for the break. Dain takes him up top for something like a fisherman’s superplex for two more.

With Dunne rocked, Dain loads up the Vader Bomb but here are Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch for the save. Drake Maverick runs down to chase them off with a chair, only to get jumped from behind. Dain makes the real save but Dunne catches him with a kick on the way back in. The Bitter End finishes Dain at 13:35.

Rating: C+. Dain got a lot out of this, but at the same time there is only so much that you can do when he never actually wins anything. Granted Dain should not be beating Dunne and it seems that we are getting ready for Dain/Dunne vs. Lorcan/Burch for the Tag Team Titles, but Dain winning something could do him some good. He did look aggressive here though, as he should have.

The Way comes up to Leon Ruff in the back to mock him for Damian Priest being taken out. Kushida comes up to say he’ll be Ruff’s partner, which works for Ruff.

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon

They stare each other down to start until Moon’s early hurricanrana attempt is blocked. The middle rope Codebreaker gets blocked as well and Gonzalez starts yelling a lot. Gonzalez tosses her into the corner and then back out again as the power is on full display here. Moon can’t get a wristlock but can kick Gonzalez in the face. Gonzalez doesn’t seem to mind and knocks Moon down again for some elbow drops.

Moon fights out and hits a running Downward Spiral before knocking Gonzalez outside as we take a break. We come back with Gonzalez knocking her down again and working on the arm. Moon manages a hurricanrana into the corner, setting up the spinning snap suplex out of the corner. A tornado plants Gonzalez for two more but Moon can’t quite follow up.

Gonzalez is knocked outside and there’s the suicide dive to make it worse. That lasts all of a few seconds as Gonzalez pops up and lawn darts Moon face first into the post for….two. A running knee gives Moon two but the Eclipse is pulled out of the air (cool). The powerbomb is countered into a victory roll for two but the second attempt plants Moon for the pin at 12:35.

Rating: C+. This was a great way to make Gonzalez look like a monster, as she not only absorbed everything Moon threw at her, but she just blocked the Eclipse, which was one of the best weapons the women’s division has ever seen. They have to be gearing her up for the Shirai title shot either at Takeover or at New Year’s Evil, and after something like this is would be hard not to. Just don’t send someone flying head first into the post and have them keep going for a few more minutes. That shouldn’t be complicated.

Post match Toni Storm comes out after Ember Moon but Rhea Ripley makes the save and the Ripley vs. Gonzalez standoff ensues. Gonzalez bails to the floor but keeps her eyes locked on Ripley to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Nothing on here was great, but they started setting up a lot of things for the next big show. There are some stories being set up for later with the wrestlers already starting to get ready for later. Given how fast things move around here anymore, they need to start faster and now I’m curious to see where a lot of these things go, which is a nice feeling to have so soon.

Results

Jake Atlas b. Isaiah Scott – Cradle

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Ever Rise and Imperium – Ticket to Mayhem to Parker

Tommaso Ciampa b. Cameron Grimes – Willow’s Bell

Pete Dunne b. Killian Dain – Bitter End

Raquel Gonzalez b. Ember Moon – Powerbomb

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and now the question is where do we go from here. There is no Takeover scheduled at the moment but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a Survivor Series weekend event. I’m not sure if they have the matches set up for that so far, but we do have a new North American Champion in Johnny Gargano. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a narrated recap of last week’s Halloween Havoc, which did have some great moments.

Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai

Raquel Gonzalez is in Kai’s corner. Moon takes her down by the arm to start but gets reversed into a headlock on the mat. Kai armbars her down for a change, which is reversed into a headscissors as the countering continues. A flip over doesn’t work for Kai as Moon grabs a double underhook to hold her down. Back up and the arm twisting continues until Kai pulls her down by the hair. Moon nips up and does the same, meaning it’s time for a shove off.

Moon sweeps the leg and hits a running backsplash and ties her up in the corner. That’s fine with Kai, who pulls her shoulder first into the post and pulls on the arm. It’s time to stomp the arm down in the corner and the short armscissors goes on. Moon gets in a kick to the face to leave Kai’s head hanging over the apron. A running kick to the face rocks Kai again but Moon misses a suicide dive to send us to a break.

Back with Moon getting two off a spinebuster but a victory roll face plant gives Kai the same. Kai hits a good kick to the head, only to have Moon come right back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two of her own. Moon slaps on a Crossface in the middle of the ring until Kai rolls her up for a pinfall reversal sequence.

Kai finally slaps on the Fujiwara armbar with Moon having to go to the rope for the break. They slap it out again with Moon getting the better of things and sending her hard into the corner. Gonzales gets up to break up the Eclipse though and it’s a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head to finish Moon at 16:21.

Rating: B-. Kai continues to look great and Moon continues to be someone who seems ready to break through to the next side but never actually getting there. They got some time here though and that’s not something you really expect to see from these two most of the time. Good stuff here, but it never quite hit the next level.

Kai says she isn’t the woman Moon remembers.

Cameron Grimes seems very shaky after last week but insists that he’s fine enough to beat Kushida. A referee comes up to say his match is next so Grimes runs off screaming ZOMBIE.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about how great last week was but now he’s ready to face a star in Toni Storm. This is a huge test for her so welcome to the Ball Pit.

Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes

Kushida wastes no time in taking him to the mat by the arm and cranks away. Back up and Grimes sends him into the corner, only to get hiptossed into a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Back up and Grimes uses his leg to crank on both arms before stomping it down for a bonus. Grimes gets up again and hits him in the face before working on Kushida’s arm for a change. You don’t do that to Kushida though as he takes Grimes down and stomps on the arm again.

The armbar doesn’t last long this time though as grimes gets up and hits a shot to the back, only to have his German suplex countered into a victory roll for two. Back up and Grimes drops him throat first onto the top rope. We take a break and come back with Kushida hitting a springboard elbow to the face into a basement dropkick. Kushida grabs both arms but the stomping is countered into a rollup for two. The jumping forearm sets up a sitout powerbomb for two more on Kushida and they’re both down.

Grimes puts him on top but gets crotched down, setting up the Hoverboard Lock slam for another double knockdown. Back up and Kushida sends him into the corner with the referee getting bumped, meaning there is no one to see Grimes tap to the Hoverboard Lock. Grimes is back up with his running flip powerslam so here’s the zombie referee to send Grimes running around, setting up another Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 14:08.

Rating: C+. I’m split on this one as it’s great to see Kushida built up as a thing around here (a North American Title shot wouldn’t shock me) but at the same time….dang it Grimes just lost because he was scared of a zombie referee. The match was good stuff until the ending but that wasn’t the kind of ending I was hoping for. I rolled my eyes at the zombie deal and that’s not how you should be feeling after a pretty good match.

Video on Toni Storm, who is ready to use Shotzi Blackheart as a stepping stone to the top of the division. This is the new her and she’s more Toni.

Io Shirai knows that she has to face Rhea Ripley to really be the best. She’s ready.

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick vs. Ever Rise

Dain throws Parker around to start and it’s off to Maverick, who takes Parker down without much effort. A running backsplash crushed Parker but it’s Maverick getting caught in the wrong corner. The armbar goes on but Maverick fights up and sends him outside for a breather. Martel breaks up the hot tag though as we cut to the parking lot where Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch and Pete Dunne arrive. Actually hold on as here they are in the arena for the big beatdown and a no contest at 3:52.

Rating: D+. You can only get so much out of this and that was pretty obvious here. The action itself wasn’t much to see here either with both teams needing to cram in as much as they can. It didn’t help that a lot of the match was spent on the team’s arrival in the back, which to be fair might be more interesting than an Ever Rise match.

Post match the beatdown is on with McAfee taking the camera to film everything as a proper heel can. Lorcan and Burch even manage the elevated DDT to Dain. McAfee carries the camera to the apron and makes everyone say cheese. Post break McAfee and company are in the ring with McAfee declaring themselves the four best men in the history of wrestling. They are not a bunch of scumbags because they are professionals.

They declare themselves the Kings of NXT and promises to destroy the Undisputed Era. Lorcan pulls out an Undisputed Era banner and we hear about how stupid all four of them were. The Era won a bunch and were over with these stupid, stupid fans. Dunne talks about Roderick Strong teaching him that you need to trust the right people.

Last week, Dunne needed to teach Strong the exact same things. McAfee talks about how big Dunne’s arms are now that he is back and brings up Strong turning on Dunne years ago.

Then the Undisputed Era became the big stars of the promotion and everything was built around them. No one was supposed to become bigger than the Undisputed Era, including Lorcan and Burch. They aren’t happy with the Era being treated than two veterans than them, but it’s time to honor the Era. They’re ready to raise the banner….but decide to put it into a trashcan instead.

They throw it in, declare the Era dead, and light it on fire. McAfee and company head to the back towards their car but Dain jumps them. The beatdown is on again with Dain being beaten down without much effort. They get in the car and leave, with McAfee reminding us that they’re the greatest and you suck. As is the case with anything McAfee related, this was great as he is one of the best talkers going today. Imagine that: someone who learned to talk elsewhere is better than WWE grown talents.

We go to House Gargano, where Johnny Gargano now LOVES wheels. He is the first Triple Crown Champion in NXT history and now the first ever two time North American Champion. Hold on though as he gets a phone call from Ghostface, who is in his house. Actually he is next to Gargano and playing the Game of Life with him. Johnny talks about how the one big knock against him is that he can’t hold onto a title, so next week he’s defending a title against a worthy opponent. They finish the game, and of course Johnny wins, because Johnny always wins. Dancing ensues.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Toni Storm

Shotzi charges in and shoves Storm away before avoiding a charge in the corner. A kick to the face looks to set up a springboard but Shotzi falls on her face to cut off the momentum. Shotzi takes her down by the legs and WELCOME TO THE BALL PIT connects. Storm sends her into the corner though and gets two off a running hip attack. Back up and Storm snaps off a suplex for two before kicking Shotzi down for daring to try a comeback.

The neck crank goes on before Storm switches over to a front facelock to keep Shotzi in trouble. A suplex gives Storm two and we take a break. Back with Shotzi making the comeback, including something like a reverse Sling Blade and some strikes to the face. The running reverse Cannonball hits Storm but she counters an enziguri into the rolling German suplexes.

Storm Zero is blocked though and Shotzi gets two off her own suplex. A headbutt gives Storm a close two but Shotzi catches her on top. Shotzi hits something close to a DDT to drop Storm face first onto the apron. Storm is out of it on the floor but hold on as Candice LeRae, with Shotzi’s tank, pops up on screen. The distraction lets Storm grab a rollup for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: C+. It takes a lot to make you believe that someone like Storm is in danger but they made it work with Shotzi. That is pretty impressive as Storm feels like one of the biggest stars around and Shotzi is starting to move up the ranks. This was a story advancing loss though, which is about as good of a result as you could have had. Shotzi vs. Candice should be good enough when we get there and Storm will be perfectly good when she gets a chance.

Post match Candice says she can’t put up with Shotzi any longer….so here’s a monster truck so Candice can crush the tank. Ghostface is in the back as Candice says that makes them even for last week. Shotzi screams a lot.

Legado del Fantasma tries to jump Jake Atlas in the parking lot but he whips out a pipe to beat them down and drive away. Santos Escobar seems impressed.

It’s time for another live Thatch As Thatch Can, with a lesson on reversals. See, anyone can catch a hold but what matters is that you can reverse anything someone tries. We see how to counter a front facelock into a top wristlock, which makes the student tap quite a bit. The student doesn’t approve and glares at Thatcher, so they switch places next time. However, Thatcher takes him down into an ankle lock for a lot of tapping. Cue Austin Gray to jump Thatcher from behind and knock him to the floor a few times though.

Xia Li is embarrassed by her loss last week and it’s time to turn things around. She gets a letter, which makes her more upset. Xia asks William Regal for a match against Raquel Gonzalez over last week’s dishonor, with Regal reluctantly agreeing.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream.

Rhea Ripley wants to face Io Shirai as well because it’s time to get her title back.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Dream’s hand/arm is still in a cast. Ciampa shoves him down into the corner to start before working on the arm. The threat of a big stomp sends Dream outside with Ciampa following, only to get sent into the barricade. Dream gets dropped ribs first onto the barricade, setting up a running knee to the face to rock him again. Ciampa isn’t done by dropping him onto the announcers’ table for a bonus, meaning now the arm can be sent into the announcers’ table.

Back in and Dream gets sent over the corner and out to the floor, where he crashes into the barricade. Ciampa isn’t about to let Dream leave so it’s back inside for a German suplex into a running knee to the face. More stomping to the arm sets up a face first drop onto the turnbuckle and we take a break. Back with Dream blocking a superplex attempt and getting two off a spinebuster. We hit the chinlock, with Dream driving the cast across the face. Dream goes up top but gets caught in a top rope superplex, triggering the canned THIS IS AWESOME chants.

Ciampa is sent outside but manages to block a dive. Dream tries again and this time takes Ciampa down in a big crash. They head inside again where Ciampa suplexes Dream right back over the top for another fall to the floor. Dream hits a superkick and grabs a chair, which the referee takes care of in a hurry. Ciampa uses the distraction to knee Dream’s top rope cast shots out of the air, setting up Willow’s Bell. The Fairy Tale Ending finishes Dream at 13:34.

Rating: B. This worked well and Ciampa is seemingly back to being a face, at least for tonight. That is kind of the right feeling for him as it’s not like there is a top face at the moment with Finn Balor gone. Hopefully Balor doesn’t have to drop the title, but if he does, Ciampa would seem to be a nice choice to go back to as champion. That and it’s nice to see Dream lose anytime these days.

Overall Rating: B. They had a long form wrestling show here with only one match not getting twelve minutes. That’s not like NXT and while it isn’t something I would need to see every week, it worked rather well as a one off show. There was good stuff in between the matches as well, making this quite a nice edition of the show. I’m good with no Takeover at the moment, but they have the most natural WarGames setup in the world right now and you almost have to imagine one is coming, though they’re rapidly running out of time. Anyway, rather good show this time.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Ember Moon – Fireman’s carry kick to the head

Kushida b. Cameron Grimes – Hoverboard Lock

Ever Rise vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick went to a no contest when Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch and Pete Dunne interfered

Toni Storm b. Shotzi Blackheart – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Velveteen Dream – Fairy Tale Ending

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

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

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

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