NXT
Date: April 26, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things got weird last week as Joe Gacy suddenly had a cult (minus his one regular follower) and sent them after Bron Breakker. That’s your NXT Title match for next week and….yeah I’m not sure what to expect there. Other than that, we need to start building up the rest of the card and that will probably be done tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

They go right at the brawling with Lyons getting the better of things and taking her to the ground for some right hands. Legend sends her crashing out to the floor though and a ram into the steps makes it worse. Back in and Lyons gets a sunset flip for two but Legend is back with a spinning side slam for the same. The neck crank has Lyons in trouble but she is back up with the kicks to the leg. There’s a snap suplex to drop Legend and a German suplex does it again. The spinning kick to the chest finishes Legend at 5:02.

Rating: D. This was rough, didn’t flow well and was just a mess as these two, especially Legend, just is not ready for live TV. I completely get why they want to put both of them on television, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Lyons is ahead of Legend at the moment, but I wouldn’t leave her out there for a longer match either. At least it was relatively short, though that about the extent of the positives.

Post match Natalya runs in to jump Lyons but Cora Jade makes the save.

Tony D’Angelo isn’t worried about facing Xyon Quinn….because he isn’t cleared to compete for some reason. Instead, he gets to face Von Wagner, who is going to be sleeping with the fishes. Right Santos Escobar?

Roderick Strong gives the rest of Diamond Mine a pep talk and has even gotten the Creed Brothers a match next week…..with the Viking Raiders. Cool with the Brothers.

Von Wagner vs. Tony D’Angelo

They start a bit fast with neither being able to get very far. Wagner gets him into the ropes for some choking to take over as the fans are behind D’Angelo. A show to the face keeps D’Angelo down and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo fighting out of a chinlock and hammering away.

The fisherman’s neckbreaker is broken up with a toss to the floor but here are Legado del Fantasma to go after Wagner. Cue the Wise Guys (as commentary calls them) to cut them off so Santos Escobar comes in to take out D’Angelo’s knee. Back in and a big boot finishes D’Angelo at 10:02.

Rating: C-. I keep hoping that they will pull the plug on Wagner as he’s just another generic big man doing generic big man things. D’Angelo is at least someone they have put some effort into so maybe there might be something there, but at least they protected him in the loss. I’m still not into the D’Angelo vs. Escobar stuff whatsoever though.

Toxic Attraction mocks Roxanne Perez over her cheating win last week but she’s ready for Mandy Rose. Tonight. Rose is ready to teach her a lesson.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen give Fallon Henley a pep talk before she gets to fight Elektra Lopez. Sofia Cromwell comes in and distracts Jensen, but he gets snapped back into reality.

Nathan Frazer comes out for his debut match but Grayson Waller jumps Frazer’s unnamed opponent. Chase U distracts Waller so he says to get in here and fight him. Chase U comes to the ring and Frazer jumps Waller to clear the ring. Apparently Frazer’s opponent was Guru Raaj if you’re into the least interesting trivia available this week. You couldn’t have Frazer win in a minute or so and then do the Waller stuff?

The Women’s Breakout Tournament begins in two weeks, featuring Arianna Grace, better known as Santino Marella’s daughter Bianca.

Tiffany Stratton freaks out because Sarray pulled her hair three times last week. Grayson Waller comes in to rant about Nathan Frazer. Stratton rants about Frazer’s bad hair and accent, with Waller agreeing about how horrible accents are.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon

Cater armdrags Leon to start but it’s off to Feroz for a hurricanrana and some dancing. Back in and Carter catches her with a kick before handing it off to Chance for a springboard crossbody. A seated abdominal stretch has Feroz in more trouble until she fights up and hits an elbow to the face. The tag brings in Leon to clean house and Chance is knocked to the floor. Carter gets caught in an Octopus but Leon misses a Lionsault. That lets Chance come back in for the 450/neckbreaker combination and the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. This was fine enough, but egads cut it out with the name changes. All this did was make me have to erase Catanzaro over and over because that’s who I see out there. It isn’t like there was some reason for the change other than Vince McMahon has a new thing, making it all the more annoying of a move.

Post match the winners dance, because at least half of the women in this division must dance.

Brooks Jensen has been jumped and Josh Briggs knows it was Legado del Fantasma. Briggs and Fallon Henley leave to fight as Jensen tells the medics he can go.

Kay Lee Ray lights her baseball bat on fire and names herself Alba Fyre, because Vince McMahon has to change ALL THE NAMES, because if you skip a few weeks and are confused, THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!

Legado del Fantasma vs. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley

Handicap match as Brooks Jensen isn’t here. Briggs and Henley clear the ring to start and it’s the women officially getting things going. Lopez misses an elbow so it’s quickly off to Briggs to run over Del Toro and Wilde. Del Toro is suplexes into Wilde and Lopez gets kicked in the head.

We settle down to Briggs getting double teamed as Mr. Stone gets on commentary to suggest that Von Wagner took out Brooks Jensen. An electric chair splash gets two on Briggs, who manages to kick Wilde into the corner. The double tag brings the women back in so Henley can hit a running shoulder. A running kick doesn’t quite work but gets two on Lopez anyway. Everything breaks down and the women are chased off, leaving Briggs to get caught in the Russian legsweep/big boot combination for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. Briggs looked good here and Henley got to show some fire, which makes me think there is some hope for their trio. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Briggs and Jensen split up after Jensen sells his soul for Cromwell, because modern WWE could somehow screw up the country boy tag team trope. This needed a bit more time to get good but it worked while it lasted.

Natalya is ready to beat up Cora Jade and put the locker room ON NOTICE. Lash Legend says it isn’t over with Nikkita Lyons next week and then win the Breakout Tournament.

Kiana James is smart and bringing corporate strategy to the Breakout Tournament. I guess the modern day Alexandra York is a way to go.

Solo Sikoa vs. Trick Williams

Cameron Grimes is on commentary. Williams sends Sikoa shoulder first into the corner a few times to start but Sikoa reverses into an armbar of his own. Some kicks put Sikoa down and Williams adds a slam for a bonus. The running neckbreaker gets two as Grimes talks about the various things he has done around here over the years. Sikoa fights up though and the fired up Sikoa hits a belly to back suplex. The running splash in the corner sets up the Samoan drop and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin on Williams at 5:08.

Rating: C+. Williams continues to hold his own in the ring despite being little more than a mouthpiece for someone who doesn’t need one. Sikoa is someone who has the tools but needs ring time, so letting him slowly progress is a good thing. While he probably won’t win the North American Title next week, it’s nice to see him getting a chance and not feeling like he is in over his head.

Post match Grimes gets in the ring to argue with Carmelo Hayes but Sikoa superkicks him down before the three of them face off for the North American Title next week.

Malik Blade gives Edris Enofe a pep talk in the mirror in a scene straight out of Cool Runnings (nearly copying the dialogue).

Legeado del Fantasma are fired up over their win but they want to get rid of Tony D’Angelo and his associates.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Viking Raiders

Erik knocks Blade around to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Enofe comes in to try his luck and gets blasted in the face with a knee for two. The fans are behind Erik as he works on the armbar. It’s back to Blade as commentary seems to quote Lose Yourself and Cool Runnings back to back. A double high crossbody gets two on Ivar and that’s enough of being beaten up for him. House is cleaned and it’s off to Erik for a full nelson slam backbreaker. The Viking Experience finishes at 4:45.

Rating: C. The ending wasn’t really in doubt but NXT might have something with Blade and Enofe. They’re young, they work well together and their matches aren’t too bad. Give them some time to develop and maybe they can be the next “it” team around here. NXT is supposed to be developmental and these two seem to be developing so well done.

Post match the Creed Brothers come out for a staredown.

Wes Lee is on the beach and talks about taking is months to get back to the Tag Team Titles. Losing was hard, but it was even worse to have them taken away. He could whine and complain or he could knuckle up and makes the waves that he is destined to make. I’ve heard far worse promos.

Tony D’Angelo introduces us to his associates: Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan and Channing Lorenzo, better known as Stacks. D’Angelo wants Santos Escobar at Spring Breakin.

Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here. Rose takes her down with a wristlock to start but Perez nips up and grabs a victory roll for one. Back up and Perez starts biting the finger, as Barrett is panicking over the manicure. A ram into the steps has Rose in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Rose taking over again and putting on a backbreaker with Perez bent over the knee. That’s broken up and Perez starts the comeback with a Russian legsweep into a standing moonsault for two (which isn’t innovative offense). A crossbody gets the same but Rose hits the jumping knee for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C-. I get why it had to happen this way but I wouldn’t have had Perez losing in her second match on NXT. She is someone who came in and had a little buzz so don’t have her lose so fast. Rose is the bigger star, but at least have Toxic Attraction interfere to cost Perez the match.

Post match Wendy Choo appears to chase off Toxic Attraction….and a net falls onto them. Choo and Perez spray them with silly string. This was worse than Perez losing.

Sloan Jacobs is 19 years old but she spent years fighting with her sisters so she’s ready to overcome the odds in the Breakout Tournament.

Spring Breakin rundown.

Here is Joe Gacy, with druids, to talk about the strides they have made to embrace change. Now he knows that Bron Breakker has been hurt and left on the sidelines so now Gacy can be crowned NXT Champion. Cue Rick Steiner to interrupt and say Breakker is cleared to compete, so the druids get in the ring. Cue Breakker to clean house, because I guess he was having a sandwich while Rick came to the ring. Gacy hits the handspring clothesline and drops Breakker before posing with the title to end the show. This wasn’t good, but it was miles ahead of last week’s nonsense. If this is as bad as it gets anymore, it should be ok.

Overall Rating: C-. This show could have been worse, but the bad parts were really bad and that brings things down a lot. They went with faster matches and got a lot of people on the show this week but it didn’t have anything you needed to see. Spring Breakin doesn’t feel like a show that needed to exist and that is becoming more obvious each week. Not their worst (especially after last week’s Gacy/Breakker stuff) but it really didn’t work very well.

Results
Nikkita Lyons b. Lash Legend – Spinning kick to the chest
Von Wagner b. Tony D’Angelo – Big boot
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – 450/neckbreaker combination to Feroz
Legado del Fantasma b. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley – Russian legsweep/big boot combination to Briggs
Solo Sikoa b. Trick Williams – Superfly Splash
Viking Raiders b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Viking Experience to Blade
Mandy Rose b. Roxanne Perez – Jumping knee

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

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NXT
Date: April 19, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things are both picking up and being let down around here. While Pretty Deadly and some other imports are a nice upgrade, the NXT Title picture is leaning more into B movie territory as Joe Gacy becomes more of a Bond villain parody. Hopefully the things in the middle can make it better so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Pretty Deadly winning the Tag Team Titles and Joe Gacy telling Bron Brakker he needs to make a sacrifice.

Here is Pretty Deadly for a chat. They have dominated England and decided it was time to come to America and dominate here as well. And it wasn’t even that hard! Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans (with the graphic ignoring their first names, which has me worried). Drake says Pretty Deadly wouldn’t have won had they been here and it is time for the Veterans to win the titles. Cue Legado del Fantasma to brawl with the Veterans though and all four of them go to the back.

As the brawl is on, cue Bron Breakker through the crowd to tell Joe Gacy to get out here right now and see what he is willing to sacrifice. A recording of Gacy pops up on screen, saying he isn’t hard to find and all Breakker has to do is come fine him. Breakker goes off in search.

Over the weekend, Carmelo Hayes promised to get the North American Title back.

Santos Escobar laughed at Hayes, saying his place is in the back of the line.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes laugh off what Escobar says and a match is ready for this week.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray

Stratton’s theme song is now about being Daddy’s Little Rich Girl. They go toe to toe to start with Sarray taking her down and into a Muta Lock, sending Stratton straight to the rope. Stratton avoids the running dropkick and hits a hip attack, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Sarray hits a German suplex into a middle rope double stomp. The Sunray dropkick sends Stratton outside so Sarray sends her inside for another German suplex. That’s broken up with a clash of heads though and the corkscrew Vader Bomb finishes for Stratton at 4:20.

Rating: C. The more I see Stratton in the ring, the more I like her. She isn’t going to be the next star but she is seeming more and more confident out there. The gymnastics background helps a lot and she is rather athletic. Give her something with a bit more to it than the Daddy’s Little Rich Girl deal and she could go somewhere. Sarray….I’m not sure even NXT sees it anymore.

Bron Breakker is looking for Joe Gacy but hears his dad’s voice saying “BRONSON (Breakker’s real first name) UP HERE”! Breakker finds the cage his dad was trapped in but it’s just a recording of Gacy and Harland torturing Rick Steiner two weeks ago. The hunt continues.

Pretty Deadly runs into Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta backstage and the women would like a match. Things get rather suggestive, but it turns out that the match is for Dexter Lumis/Duke Hudson, which has Pretty Deadly running off. This is up there with the worst things on NXT at the moment.

Grayson Waller blames Sanga for not winning the North American Title because Sanga screwed up the perfect plan. Andre Chase/Bodie Hayward come in to say this is teachable moment and brings up Ben Franklin, which has Waller asking who Franklin ever beat. Cue Sanga to chase Waller to the ring for their scheduled match.

Sanga vs. Grayson Waller

Waller’s shot to the back earns him a toss across the ring and there’s another to bring him back out of the corner. Sanga does it over and over until Waller just grabs the rope to save himself. That doesn’t work for Sanga, who drops an elbow on the back for two. Waller bails to the floor and has to escape a chokeslam. He goes up the aisle but runs back in for the running Stunner and the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. Good. NXT (and WWE as a whole) has WAY too many intimidating looking monsters and doesn’t need another one being built up with almost no chance of going anywhere. Waller is much closer to being a star and giving him a win over another lumbering monster is a good idea. Not a great match, but the result was a sigh of relief.

Video on Cora Jade meeting Natalya last week and getting beaten up. Now Jade wants to take Natalya out.

Roxanne Perez (Rok-C) talks about growing up as a gamer and being told that her character would be the closest thing she would come to making it in WWE. Now she is making her debut next week to make everything real.

Perez is ready for next week but Toxic Attraction comes in to say the butterflies you feel around them are real. Just don’t set your bar too high because you’ll never make it. Perez doesn’t seem impressed so Toxic Attraction thinks we should make the debut tonight instead. Perez says she can figure something out.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

The Veterans do seem to have lost their first names as Legado hits a flip dive to take them out before the bell. Back in and Gibson fights out of the Legado corner, allowing Drake to hit an enziguri. Wilde fights out of the corner and brings del Toro in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Gibson gets caught with the tornado DDT, setting up the big boot/Russian legsweep combination to finish Drake at 3:56.

Rating: C+. This was fun while it lasted, much like calling the team the Grizzled Young Veterans as the name change curse strikes again. Other than that we had a fast paced match between two teams who can work that style well enough. Neither has any real chance of getting near the titles soon, but that’s NXT/WWE for you.

Wes Lee is feeling lost since everything happened but Xyon Quinn comes in to say he needs to teach Lee a lesson. Lee knows he belongs in the ring and maybe that can bring some peace to the chaos. Thank goodness this isn’t a Jaxson Ryker situation where Lee is getting punished because someone else did something stupid.

Santos Escobar vs Carmelo Hayes

Trick Williams is here too. They start fast with Hayes sending him into the corner but Escobar comes back with a missile dropkick. The distraction lets Hayes hit a quick clothesline and the confidence starts going. Hayes slips a bit but is fine enough to kick Escobar in the face. A neckbreaker connects and we take a break with Escobar in trouble.

Back with Hayes working on the leg and grabbing a half crab, despite his own back being banged up. Escobar fights up and takes him down for two more as Hayes’ back is in trouble. That means a delayed vertical suplex drops Hayes onto his back to leave both of them laying again.

Hayes can’t hit something out of the corner so Escobar unloads with right hands. That earns him a face first drop onto the top turnbuckle and Escobar runs him over a few times. Escobar hits a big dive to the floor but here are Tony D’Angelo’s goons to take out Escobar’s knee. The top rope ax kick gives Hayes the pin at 13:41.

Rating: B-. They were starting to roll until the ending when the over the top stuff brought it back down. Escobar might be a bit too old for WWE’s tastes but he can still get out there and work well with anyone. Hayes continues to be one of the smoothest stars in NXT and I could go for seeing more of him near the top of the card soon. Would Hayes vs. Breakker wound Summerslam weekend be that insane?

Post match Hayes challenges Cameron Grimes for the title at Spring Break In in two weeks. Grimes comes out to say it’s on but here is Solo Sikoa to jump Hayes and Williams from behind. Sikoa says he has next and walks off, with Grimes not saying no.

Bron Breakker gets out of an elevator and continues looking for Joe Gacy, seemingly finding the evil headquarters. Gacy pops up in a mirror but when he turns around, there is no Gacy anywhere. Breakker breaks the mirror and screams WHERE ARE YOU, because somehow they have dragged BRON BREAKKER into this dumb horror movie storytelling garbage that they just love to do.

Diamond Mine is happy that Ivy Nile is over in NXT UK because she can dominate. Roderick Strong talks about how the team has struggled in the last few months. Strong is ready to start making examples out of people and if they don’t agree, they’re enemies of Diamond Mine.

Natalya vs. Tatum Paxley

Natalya shoves her down to start and then grabs a headlock takeover. Paxley comes back with the wristlock but Natalya reverses into one of her own and flips her over into an armbar. Back up and Paxley sends her outside, where Natalya grabs a suplex to take over. Paxley fights back inside and grabs a suplex of her own but Natalya runs her over again. The Sharpshooter finishes Paxley at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash to establish Natalya as being a thing in NXT. You know what you’re getting with her and she is going to be one of the better stars as long as she is here. Then you have Paxley, who has barely been wrestling for a few months now and was fine enough. This could have been a lot worse for her so there is definitely potential there.

Tony D’Angelo had nothing to do with Santos Escobar being attacked earlier but does find Legado del Fantasma’s car.

Nathan Frazer is coming.

Duke Hudson doesn’t want to dress like Dexter Lumis but does try talking strategy with him. The problem is Lumis doesn’t flinch no matter what Hudson says, though Indi Hartwell says it’s written all over his face. Just try and speak his language. This results in Hudson mugging in Lumis’ face but Hartwell says Hudson isn’t saying anything. Persia Pirotta is confused too.

Xyon Quinn vs. Wes Lee

Quinn gets knocked to the floor to start but drops Lee onto the apron for an early two. An elbow to the face puts Lee down but he manages a small package for two. A superkick rocks Quinn and Lee strikes him down but a slip lets Quinn get in a shot of his own. The running fist finishes Lee at 3:30.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one and it seems that Lee is going to be little more than a jobber for the time being (and probably the rest of his time around here). I’m higher on Quinn more than most people but he does seem fairly limited in the ring so far. The good thing for him is that his look is going to carry him for a long time and maybe he can improve along the way.

Natalya is sick of people coming to the main roster to go after her so she came here instead. Nikkita Lyons pops up to put Natalya on notice and is coming for her after she gets rid of Lash Legend. Natalya threatens her with the Sharpshooter but Lyons says she’s flexible.

We look at Ikemen Jiro being tossed into the crowd by Von Wagner. Jiro is out for about a month due to injuries and Wagner has been fined/suspended.

Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne

The rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Perez grabs a rollup for two and Jane does the same to even things up. They trade more cradles for two each before Perez snaps off some armdrags. Jayne sends her into the corner and hits a superkick but Wendy Choo pops up on screen. She has, ahem, remodeled the Toxic Attraction lounge, allowing Perez to hit the Code Red for the pin at 2:14. Vic Joseph: “ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED FOR ROXANNE PEREZ!” Nice debut for Perez and they got her in and out fast.

Legado del Fantasma finds a boot on their car and a dead fish on the hood.

Joe Gacy is watching Bron Breakker and says it’s time to end this. How in the world did he get access to that much surveillance equipment?

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Dexter Lumis/Duke Hudson

Pretty Deadly is defending and take over on Lumis to start. An atomic drop has Prince in trouble so it’s Hudson coming in as the fans keep chanting for Lumis. That doesn’t last long as Pretty Deadly goes to the floor to put their arms around Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell, earning themselves a double beating. Hudson and Lumis hit a double suplex and the champs are in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Lumis still in control but Wilson pulls Prince out of the way of a corner charge. The chinlock goes on but Lumis fights up and brings Hudson back in to clean house. Prince grabs a quick two and they collide to put himself and Hudson down. Lumis gets knocked off the apron but Hudson grabs a powerslam for two. Back up and a Wilson distraction lets Prince hit a running boot for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I don’t think there was ton of drama on the ending and thank goodness for that. Pretty Deadly might not be the greatest team in the world and they certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel, but I’ll take them over wacky tag partners who happen to work well together. The Creed Brothers seem destined to take the titles from Pretty Deadly, so maybe that is where we are headed soon enough.

Joe Gacy pops up on the platform and says he’s right here because he isn’t a hard man to find. Cue Bron Breakker to go up to Gacy, who has the Hall of Fame ring. Breakker can have the ring back in exchange for a title match in two weeks. Deal, so Gacy puts the ring in Breakker’s pocket. Then Gacy shoves Breakker off the platform, because Breakker not only stood there when Gacy had the ring in front of him, but then stood there as Gacy shoved him down. Then a bunch of guys in hoods show up to surround Breakker to end the show.

This story had been getting more and more annoying all night long and now it goes over the edge. Breakker, who looks like a can’t miss prospect, has spent the whole night looking like a moron because he can’t find Gacy, literally stands there and gives Gacy everything he wants before being shoved off a platform with no resistance. Then Gacy suddenly has minions, because of course he does. It feels like a bad B movie plot and I’m terrified if this is the best they can do with Breakker so soon.

Overall Rating: C-. I wanted to like this show. There were good parts to it throughout and some nice action, but it’s a case where the everything else ruined what good they had. This show was full of dumb angles and characters (a dead fish on the car, Wendy Choo, the Breakker/Gacy stuff) doing dumb things and it killed what positives the show had built up. It came off like someone saying “this isn’t good enough so let’s add some spice” without thinking about how bad that spice would make things. This was a big step back after some better weeks and I’m really disappointed.

Results
Tiffany Stratton b. Sarray – Twisting Vader Bomb
Grayson Waller b. Sanga – Rolling Stunner
Legado del Fantasma b. Gibson/Drake – Russian legsweep/running big boot combination to Drake
Carmelo Hayes b. Santos Escobar – Top rope ax kick
Natalya b. Tatum Paxley – Sharpshooter
Xyon Quinn b. Wes Lee – Running punch
Roxanne Perez b. Jacy Jayne – Code Red
Pretty Deadly b. Duke Hudson/Dexter Lumis – Big boot to Hudson

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: April 12, 2022
Location: Capitol Sports Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s another huge week around here as we have a series of title matches. This includes a guaranteed new champion as the vacant Tag Team Titles are on the line in a gauntlet match. Other than that, there are two title matches as the North American and Women’s Titles are on the line as well. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Bron Breakker retaining the NXT Title over Gunther to send him to Smackdown, only to have Joe Gacy and Harland kidnap Breakker’s father Rick Steiner. Because of course they did.

North American Title: Cameron Grimes vs. Solo Sikoa

Grimes is defending and misses a running kick to the face to start. Sikoa’s waistlock is countered into an armbar and Sikoa can’t do much to get out of it. The hold is finally broken up so they shake hands, though Grimes says Sikoa’s Bloodline can kiss his grits. An enziguri knocks Sikoa to the floor and the apron flip dive takes us to a break.

Back with Grimes hitting a bridging German suplex for two but the Cave In misses. Sikoa hits the running Umaga Attack in the corner for two and it’s time to slug it out. Grimes’ flipping powerslam gets two but Sikoa knocks him down again. The Superfly Splash is broken up by an invading Trick Williams, allowing Grimes (not sure if he saw Williams) to hit the Cave In to retain at 13:11.

Rating: C+. The ending should tell you where some stories are going, though Grimes retaining is a good sign. He finally won something and now setting up his title reign with a win gives me some hope. Grimes will have to beat Hayes in a regular match at some point so they might as well get there now.

Post match Williams and Carmelo Hayes beat Grimes down.

We go over the gauntlet match but Grayson Waller/Sanga interrupt so Waller can brag about how easy of a win it is going to be.

Video on Pretty Deadly attacking the Creed Brothers again last week. The Creeds demand revenge.

The Creeds draw their numbers and seem happy.

Here is Bron Breakker for a chat and he isn’t happy with what Joe Gacy and Harland did to Rick Steiner. Gacy pops up on screen and says they beat up Steiner but then let him go, which started teaching them about Breakker himself. They still have Rick’s Hall of Fame ring, which they throw in a fire, leaving Breakker stunned/silent. Throw the feud in with it if you can.

We look at Toxic Attraction winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles back last week.

Toxic Attraction brags about their win, with Mandy Rose promising to beat Dakota Kai tonight because the team is that good.

Von Wagner destroys Jacket Time in the back. That should take care of his match with Kushida

An angry Bron Breakker gets in his car and leaves.

Here are Robert Stone and Von Wagner to say Jacket Time is done. Hold on though as here is Ikemen Jiro to go after Wagner on his own.

Von Wagner vs. Ikemen Jiro

Jiro is banged up but slugs away on Wagner anyway. Wagner runs him over but Jiro is back up with the jacket punches. That’s too much for Wagner, who hits him in the face and hits the Death Valley Driver for the pin at 2:57.

Post match the attractive yet still unnamed woman tells Wagner to do more, which sees Jiro tossed from the ring and into the crowd.

Nikkita Lyons is ready to step up around here but Lash Legend kicks her in the face.

Video on Pretty Deadly, who dominated the United Kingdom and can do it here too. They started with the Creed Brothers and it’s time to win the Tag Team Titles.

Pretty Deadly draw their numbers and dance off.

Women’s Title: Dakota Kai vs. Mandy Rose

Rose is defending and has the rest of Toxic Attraction with her. Kai goes straight at her to start but gets taken down, allowing Rose to pose. A crucifix gives Kai two and she hits a dropkick. Kai kicks Rose to the floor and there’s a big dive to take out the team. We take a break and come back with Rose working on a bodyscissors before choking in the corner.

The chinlock goes on but Kai fights out and hits a Russian legsweep for two. Rose misses a pump kick but manages a spinebuster for two of her own. Kai keeps up the pace with a small package for a knee fall, setting up the Kairopractor. Toxic Attraction offers a needed distraction though, allowing Rose to hit the running knee to retain at 10:48.

Rating: C. NXT has somehow managed to turn Rose into a dragon that needs to be slayed, though I don’t need it to be anytime soon. Rose is starting to feel like a major player as champion and that could work for a pretty long while longer. Beating Kai might not be some huge game changer, but it is another win under Rose’s belt before someone takes the title from her.

Post match Wendy Choo pops up to spray Toxic Attraction with water guns. Barrett: “How old is Wendy Choo?” Better question is how old is whoever wrote this.

Joe Gacy doesn’t like social media and the court of public opinion. He is the only one who can carry NXT because Bron Breakker is too emotional. Now he is going to control Breakker’s life and tear it all down, but he’ll keep one thing. He pulls the Hall of Fame ring out of the fire and puts it on, because Gacy is a full on cult guy these days.

Tony D’Angelo comes up to Legado del Fantasma and offers an envelope to Santos Escobar as a peace offering. Escobar takes the envelope and puts it back in D’Angelo’s pocket.

Here is Cora Jade for a chat. Wrestlemania weekend was big to her but the best part was having her parents in the second row (Jade: “Working on front row guys.”). She held her own at Stand & Deliver but now she NEEDS to win the Women’s Title. When she was eight years old, she promised to be a champion and now she is going to work hard to be the best ever. Cue Natalya to interrupt and Jade is stunned.

Jade goes all fangirl as Natalya is happy to be back in the building. Jade talks about being ten years old and talking to Natalya on Twitter after a show in Indiana. Natalya remembers the night and knows she pointed to the right girl after that show. She dubs Jade as the future of the women’s division….but the future is bleak. Natalya slaps her in the face and puts on the Sharpshooter, making Jade tap. Having Jade act like she is a five year old meeting Santa Claus and then getting beaten up isn’t a good idea, though Natalya putting someone in NXT over is.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are fired up for the gauntlet match, with Fallon Henley yelling at them to go do it.

Nathan Frazer is coming.

Draco Anthony vs. Xyon Quinn

Anthony drives him into the corner to start but Quinn reverses for some shoulders to the ribs. Back up and Anthony blocks the Siva Tao, earning himself the running right hand to the face. Another punch knocks Anthony sillier and a third finishes at 2:56. Basically a squash.

Natalya comes in to see the women’s roster and, after accepting a challenge from Tatum Paxley, tells them that they’re all on notice. Noted.

Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell decide that Dexter Lumis and Duke Hudson should team up, though the guys aren’t into it. I knew it. I knew it. I KNEW IT! They have to take the stupidest story they have and turn it into something even worse because they can’t let ANYTHING ever go.

Tag Team Titles: Gauntlet Match

The titles are vacant coming in and there are five teams entered. The Creed Brothers are in at #1 and Legado del Fantasma are in at #2. They start fast with Wilde hitting a big dive to the floor to drop both Creeds and the fans are behind Legado. We settle down to Mendoza hitting some running clotheslines on Julius, setting up a springboard flip dive to give Wilde two. Julius gets up for the tag though and everything breaks down with Legado getting caught in stereo ankle locks.

Those are broken up and Julius is sent face first into the middle buckle. There’s a springboard missile dropkick to the back, setting up a 450 to give Wilde two. Brutus pulls Mendoza to the floor, leaving Julius to hit an Angle Slam. An assisted spinebuster sets up the basement lariat to give the Creeds the pin at 4:33.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen (with Fallon Henley) are in at #3, though Henley and Elektra Lopez get in a shoving match during the entrances. The teams actually involved get in a brawl as we take a break. Back with Briggs and Jensen in control and taking apart the announcers’ table. The double powerbomb sends Brutus through the table, leaving Julius to get punched in the face.

Brutus is back up (because powerbombs through tables are shrugged off) but gets knocked down again, leaving Julius to get sitout powerbombed for two. A top rope knee/Dominator (or close enough) combination gets two more with Brutus making the save. Julius brings Brutus back in, though Briggs and Jensen bring him over the top. The high/low is broken up though and Julius’ sliding lariat is good for the pin at 13:23 (total).

Grayson Waller (still banged up) and Sanga are in at #4. Sanga gets an easy cover for two on Julius, who slips out of a chokeslam and starts swinging away. Waller comes in to dance a bit and we take a break. Back again with Brutus finally throwing Waller down and making the tag off to Julius for a breather. Brutus starts cleaning house, including a suplex on Sanga. It’s back to Julius for the basement lariat to finish Sanga at 19:49.

Pretty Deadly is in at #5 to complete the field and now I get to try to figure out their new names, because of course they have new names. Deadly starts dropping knees and Julius gets caught in the wrong corner. Some right hands set up a failed suplex attempt but it’s Wilson coming back in for a double suplex.

Julius fights out of the corner and brings Brutus back in, only to get caught in the corner with a running elbow. A gutbuster drops Brutus and Julius is sent hard into the steps. Everything breaks down and a double headbutt puts Brutus and Wilson down. Prince gets in a cheap shot on Brutus though and Spilt Milk (Hart Attack with a running neckbreaker instead of a clothesline) gives Deadly the titles at 27:55.

Rating: C+. This is one of those formulas that WWE loves in gauntlet matches, as the Creeds basically beat most of the existing tag division before the new team beats them in the end. It was a very long match, but the Creeds surviving so much was getting to be a lot by the end. You can only have them take so much before it’s hurting the teams they’re beating and that took place here. At the same time, Pretty Deadly are fine choices for champions and I’m glad to see them getting their shot on the main NXT rather than just the UK version. It worked over there and it can over here too.

The Creeds are spent to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped this a lot and the three title matches felt like big deals, though the prospect of Bron Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for any length of time doesn’t do much for me. I do like some of the new stars coming in, as one of the best things about the old days of NXT was the rapid turnover of talent. You need to bring in new people and if that means taking away some of the longer running NXT UK stars, so be it. I liked this show for the most part and the ending makes me even more interesting going forward, so call it a success this week.

Results
Cameron Grimes b. Solo Sikoa – Cave In
Von Wagner b. Ikemen Jiro – Death Valley Driver
Xyon Quinn b. Draco Anthony – Running punch
Mandy Rose b. Dakota Kai – Running knee
Pretty Deadly won a gauntlet match last eliminating Creed Brothers

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

We’re done with Stand & Deliver and while a lot of things happened at the show, the bigger story came on Raw, as Bron Breakker defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the NXT Title. That should open up a few new doors in the main event scene and I’m curious to see which one they take first. Let’s get to it.

Here is Stand & Deliver if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Stand & Deliver, plus Bron Breakker getting the title back last night on Raw.

Here is Breakker to get things going. After waiting out some WE WANT ZIGGLER/NO WE DON’T chants, Breakker talks about the things that he got to do over the weekend. He went to Wrestlemania for the first time and got to see some of the biggest stars. It made him realize that he was going to headline Wrestlemania one day, but also that he wasn’t going to let Dolph Ziggler leave Dallas with OUR NXT Title.

Now the title is home…and here is Imperium to interrupt. Gunther says that was a nice story but it doesn’t mean anything until Breakker faces Gunther one on one. That’s cool with Breakker so the match is set for tonight. Cue the Creed Brothers behind Imperium and we take a break.

Creed Brothers vs. Imperium

Joined in progress with Julius suplexing Barthel and sneering down at him. It’s off to Aichner for an armdrag into an armbar, plus some knees to the arm. Brutus punches his way out of a slam attempt but gets shouldered down hard. Barthel comes back in and gets gator rolled, allowing the tag off to Julius for an exchange of headlock takeovers. Aichner hits a Regal Roll and grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

That doesn’t last long as it’s quickly back to Brutus, who gets kicked in the head. Some forearms get Brutus out of trouble and he sends Barthel outside. Aichner is back up with a slam to send Brutus’ legs into the ropes though and we take a break. Back with Aichner still working on Brutus’ leg until a belly to belly cuts him off. The tag brings Julius in to clean house but a cheap shot from behind saves Barthel.

The double running dropkick in the corner is loaded up but only Barthel (who is bleeding from the eye after an injury from Saturday has been opened up) hits, as Aichner walks away instead. That leaves the Creeds to hit a kind of torture rack slam into the sliding lariat for the pin on Barthel at 11:38.

Rating: C. You can see the Creeds getting more and more confident in the ring as they are starting to look more Steinerish every week. That is the kind of formula that is always going to work and they looked good here. I liked what we had here, but Imperium splitting isn’t exactly an appealing prospect for the individual members not named Gunther.

Post match the Creeds celebrate but two guys in hoods come down and nail them with chairs. They unmask as….Pretty Deadly, former NXT UK Tag Team Champions. I like them in the UK, but I’m not sure how well they’re going to do here. The fact that they name themselves Elton Prince (formerly known as Lewis Howley) and Kit Wilson (Sam Stoker) doesn’t bode well for them either.

Toxic Attraction is ready to get their Tag Team Titles back. They aren’t just Toxic Attraction, because they are THE attraction.

Here is Cameron Grimes for his first chat since winning the North American Title. Grimes says that they finally did it and he knows his father is looking down and smiling ear to ear because his boy did it. People talk about climbing the ladder to success in this business and he has worked hard to prove his dad right. That’s how he got here, as the new North American Champion. He isn’t going to become complacent though, because this title is going to go up and down on multiple trips TO THE MOON!

Cue Solo Sikoa to interrupt and congratulate Grimes on the promises he made to his father. Now we get to the hard part of keeping the title, because championships run through Sikoa’s blood. Man to man, Sikoa issues the challenge and Grimes says he respects that. Challenge accepted, with Sikoa pulling him in off the handshake but not getting violent.

Joe Gacy, with Harland, talks about the need to have someone you can trust. Family is inherent to success and not having it only leads to self destruction.

Draco Anthony is watching Gacy in the back when Xyon Quinn comes in to tell him to not watch that. Anthony says not to tell him what to do and a match is teased.

We recap Dexter Lumis/Indi Hartwell being named a hotter couple than Duke Hudson/Persia Pirotta at Stand & Deliver.

Tiffany Stratton is mad about Sarray costing her a match last week and promises to destroy her. And the necklace.

Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta are here too. Barrett thinks the votes on Saturday were rigged (North Korea is mentioned) as Lumis hits the Thesz press and some running elbows to start. Joseph brings up Ezekiel debuting on Raw, with Barrett thinking he means Ezekiel Jackson (which did cross my mind when the Titantron video aired on Monday) as Hudson takes over and stomps away.

The chinlock goes on as Barrett is now on about Beth Phoenix not being a real minister so Lumis and Hartwell might not even be married. Lumis fights out and hits the spinning legdrop while getting what he would consider fired up. A running corner clothesline sets up the spinebuster as we shift to a long shot of Pirotta’s face. Hudson heads outside and Lumis follows him so the women can cause a double posting for the double countout at 4:55.

Rating: D+. This feud continues to be just a step above a bad infection on the level of enjoyment. The wrestling isn’t good, the story continues to be stupid, and Lumis/Hartwell stopped being interesting a LONG time ago. I’m not sure what NXT sees in this going forward but it is far from good and they need to come up with something better for everyone else involved.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez aren’t worried about facing Toxic Attraction again tonight.

Gunther tells Marcel Barthel to not worry about Fabian Aichner because the NXT Title match is what matters tonight. Barthel doesn’t seem happy.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Toxic Attraction is challenging. Jayne tries to choke Gonzalez to start and Dolin makes a blind tag, only to have her crossbody pulled out of the air. Kai comes in for a double stomp and a dropkick gets two. Dolin gets in a cheap shot though and Jayne adds a clothesline so Kai can get caught in the wrong corner. A ducked right hand allows the hot tag to Gonzalez though and it’s time to clean house.

There’s a fall away slam to Jayne but she counters a Vader bomb into the Tree of Woe. Gonzalez’s bad knee is banged up again and we take a break. Back with Gonzalez sending Jayne to the floor so Kai can tag herself back in. The running kick to the face rocks Dolin and Kai does it again for two. Everything breaks down and some double teaming lets Dolin hit a running neckbreaker to drop Kai. Gonzalez gets kicked to the floor before Kai can kick out at two.

A Codebreaker into an STO gets the same and this time Gonzalez makes another save. The big boot drops Jayne but Gonzalez’s knee gives out and she can’t follow up. Gonzalez tries a powerslam but gets reversed into a flipping Stunner. Cue Wendy Choo but Mandy Rose follows her out and sends her into the steps. The Chingona Bomb is loaded up but Jayne breaks it up with a chop block. Kai gets kicked to the apron and it’s Toxic Shock to give us new champions at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This got going in the middle but I’m rather confused by the ending. Other than Gonzalez possibly going to the main roster, why bother giving them the titles if you are going to change them again three days later? What’s kind of amazing is that the three day reign is far longer than their original reign, which didn’t even last a day.

Joe Gacy and Harland talk about how chaos can control you while still mentioning family. This is going somewhere isn’t it?

AJ Galante is here to introduce Tony D’Angelo as the new Don of NXT. D’Angelo comes to the ring for some bragging and Galante has a special card with D’Angelo’s blood. If D’Angelo breaks the code, may he burn forever. Galante puts a ring on D’Angelo’s finger, some wine is consumed and that’s that. I think I get the BORING chants during the segment.

MSK is glad to get their titles back after five months and now it is time to defend them. Grayson Waller (with his arm in a sling) and Sanga come up for the challenge. Game on for next week.

Dakota Kai is mad and throws over a bunch of tables.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

This could be rough. They go with the power lockup to start until Lyons hits some elbows and a running clothesline. The kick misses in the corner though and Lyons bangs up her foot. A pump kick gives Legend two and we hit a chinlock with Legend’s knee in the back. Legend’s running flip splash gets two but she misses…I don’t think you can really call it a charge but she hits the corner and Lyons can power up. Lyons kicks away and powers her into the corner for a superplex and a near fall. Back up and Lyons hits another kick into the splits splash for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D. Yeah what were you expecting here? Lyons is better than Legend but that’s not exactly an impressive feat. Legend just does not feel like she is ready to be out of the Performance Center but here she is on national TV. It’s hard to screw up a charge into the corner yet she managed to make it happen. Not a good match, and I don’t think that’s a surprise.

Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante are leaving when they run into Legado del Fantasma. Santos Escobar says stay out of Legado’s business and they’ll be fine.

Kushida is ready for revenge on Von Wagner for Wagner attacking Ikemen Jiro and RIPPING UP HIS JACKET!

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Gunther

Gunther is challenging. Feeling out process to start as Gunther thinks better of a test of strength. Gunther drives him up against the ropes for a shot, only to get headlock takeovered down. Back up and Breakker shrugs off a chop but can’t shrug off a big boot. Breakker gets to his feet and drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs.

Some right hands and a spear drop Gunther but Breakker hurts his shoulder trying the gorilla press powerslam. Another chop puts the champ on the floor and the bad shoulder is sent into the steps. We take a break and come back with Gunther staying on the shoulder. Breakker escapes and grabs a German suplex, setting up the running clothesline for the double knockdown.

Gunther is right back on the arm though and puts on a keylock. Breakker slams his way to freedom and there’s an overhead belly to belly. Gunther cuts off a charge with a dropkick though and the powerbomb gets two. The top rope splash connects for the same and Gunther hits that hard clothesline for two more. With nothing else working, Gunther goes up top but gets speared out of the air. The gorilla press still doesn’t work so Gunther chops away, only to have Breakker punch right back. Gunther’s sleeper is escaped though and it’s a big clothesline into the gorilla press powerslam to retain the title at 13:07.

Rating: B. This came out of nowhere and yet they had a hard hitting power match with Breakker fighting through the injury and eventually overcoming Gunther. That being said, this is the kind of a match that should be built up a long time in advance. Maybe Gunther is main roster bound, but otherwise this is a very strange decision. One other note: the fact that Breakker has lost before makes another loss seems that much more possible. It helps with the drama and that is a great addition.

Post match Breakker celebrates but Rick Steiner pops up on screen to say he’s proud. It just so happens that he is tied up and in a cage, with Joe Gacy saying maybe they can teach the old dog some new tricks. If Gunther isn’t being called up now, this is a rather head scratch inducting choice.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped a lot but egads there wasn’t much to get into on this show. They hit the ground running on this show, but it felt like they were trying to get a lot onto one card. The title change was a little weird and Legend doesn’t belong on TV. Throw in Lumis/Hartwell/Hudson/Pirotta continuing and there wasn’t much to like here outside of Breakker vs. Gunther. I’m curious to see how things go in the future, but it seems that there might be some roster changes coming sooner than later.

Results
Creed Brothers b. Imperium – Sliding lariat to Barthel
Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson went to a double countout
Toxic Attraction b. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai – Toxic Shock to Gonzalez
Nikkita Lyons b. Lash Legend – Splits splash
Bron Breakker b. Gunther – Gorilla press powerslam

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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Stand & Deliver 2022
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Somehow this is NXT’s first time on the road in over two years. It might not be Takeover, but it is one of NXT’s rare big shows and the card could look worse. NXT hasn’t had the chance to do something like this very often and at some point you need to just let them go out there and do their thing in front of a lot of people. Let’s get to it.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting in the lower level and facing the Titantron.

Kickoff Show: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Toxic Attraction

Toxic Attraction is defending and are in matching green/black gear. Jayne goes after Gonzalez’s injured knee to start but Gonzalez drops her throat first across the top. It’s off to Kai for a crucifix and a near fall on Dolin as the fast start continues. As Barrett tries to figure out how, Gonzalez adds a swinging neckbreaker so Kai can get two. Dolin gets in a cheap shot from behind to take over but Kai slides between her legs to make the tag.

House is cleaned and a big boot into the spinning Vader Bomb gets two. Kai and Jayne kick each other down and we get the loud NXT chant. Toxic Shock (high/low) gets two on Kai, which seems to be a big deal (though I’m not sure I remember the team using it before). Cue Wendy Choo to throw her drink in Dolin’s face, allowing Gonzalez to add a big boot. Back inside, Kai’s scorpion kick sets up the Chingona Bomb for the pin and the titles at 7:57.

Rating: C. The title change was what mattered here but the bad part was how scripted everything felt. It came off like everything here was timed and staged all the way through and that isn’t a good thing. The match wasn’t supposed to be a classic or anything, but they got the important part right.

The opening video features a lot of the people on the show talking about how they are standing to deliver on their promises. I’ve heard worse ideas.

North American Title: Santos Escobar vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is defending in a ladder match (because of course) and Sanga, the rest of Legado de Fantasma and Trick Williams are all here too. Only Hayes and Grimes get entrances in what I’m sure won’t mean a thing. Hayes talks trash to everyone else and gets beaten down until we settle to Grimes hitting a running kick to Escobar in the corner. Williams’ interference is cut off so we’re down to Escobar vs. Hayes for a change.

Grimes breaks that up though and takes turns beating on Hayes with Sikoa. It’s time for the first ladders to be brought in, with Escobar dropkicking one into Grimes. Waller sends Sanga to get the big ladder so Sikoa dives onto Sanga, earning a dive from Escobar. Grimes and Hayes hit dives of their own, leaving Waller to climb up to little avail. Back in and Sikoa crushes Waller with a ladder in the corner but Escobar crushes Hayes in front of Waller, making a bit of a sandwich.

Sikoa adds the running Umaga attack to crush everyone, which doesn’t seem that smart given the BIG LADDERS that he’s crashing into. Grimes cuts Sikoa off and avoids a superkick, leaving Sikoa’s leg tied in the ladder. Hayes is back up with a superkick to drive the ladder into Grimes but gets caught in Waller’s fireman’s carry. That’s fine with Hayes, who jumps onto the ladder and kicks Waller down. It’s Sikoa making a save but Escobar goes up top to slug it out on the ladder.

That means a sunset bomb to drive Sikoa into the ladder in the corner, because that’s the kind of crash you need to see. Grimes’ flipping powerslam plants Escobar…so Williams loads up a ladder of his own. Sanga comes in and chops the braces in half, leaving Wilde and Mendoza to grab a piece of the ladder each. Lopez hits a big dive off the top and it’s time to bridge some ladders between the ring and the barricade.

Sikoa tries a double Samoan drop on Wilde and Mendoza but just falls forward instead. Williams is back in and tries his own climb, which opens up a whole new bag of weird rules. That’s broken up as Grimes tilts the ladder over and out onto the pile on the floor for the big crash. Waller, Escobar and Grimes slug it out on top of the ladder until Waller is left alone, only to have Escobar make the save.

Another big knockdown leaves Sikoa to go up with Grimes making the save this time. In your “well that was dumb” moment of the match, Waller goes up on a ladder on the floor but elbows the bridged ladder only as Williams pulls Hayes out of the way. The crash leaves Waller laying, allowing Waller to go up and pull down the title for the win at 21:06.

Rating: B. This was the latest big match with everyone flying around and little more than one stunt after another. Some of the sports were good, but there is only so much you can get out of having five people (plus seconds) going nuts for twenty minutes. It was certainly fun and hopefully Waller is ok, but this was just another entry on a long list of ladder matches over the years.

Tommaso Ciampa talks about the long road he took to get here and everyone has helped him survive. Things like winning a title are great but having his wife suffer five miscarriages was a lot, though his daughter helps a lot. Together they made black and gold, so let’s do it one more time. He turns his chair around, showing the dates of the beginning and end of his NXT career.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Tommaso Ciampa

D’Angelo comes to the ring in a car with real like mobster AJ Galante (from a Netflix series). Ciampa one ups him though with a pretty cool highlight package of his career, which is one of the best in NXT history. In his own nice tribute, Ciampa fist bumps commentary, spits water like HHH and poses like Shawn Michaels because he knows who helped get him here.

Ciampa starts fast with a spinebuster but D’Angelo knocks him down and stomps away. That’s not going to work for Ciampa, who takes him outside and sends him into the barricade, setting up Ciampa’s apron applause. The floor mat is pulled back but D’Angelo is able to stomp away back inside as Ciampa takes too long. The chinlock goes on, prompting the fans to ask about the location of their pizza.

Ciampa fights up but misses the running knee, allowing D’Angelo to hit a Falcon Arrow. The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up so D’Angelo grabs a rollup (with trunks) for two more. Back up and Ciampa chops D’Angelo out of his singlet and then dropkicks him out of the air for a bonus. They slug it out with Ciampa getting the better of things so D’Angelo whips out the crowbar.

With that taken away, D’Angelo hits him low for two. Ciampa is back with Willow’s Bell into the Fairy Tale Ending for two so here’s the Gargano Escape (no name mentioned of course). D’Angelo makes the rope so they head outside, where D’Angelo hits a DDT onto the exposed concrete. Back in and D’Angelo kicks him in the head for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C+. This was a weird one as while it made more sense to have D’Angelo go over, it was still hard to see Ciampa losing on his way out of NXT. It also doesn’t feel exactly right for D’Angelo to get the big win over Ciampa, but the farewell did feel like a special moment. It helps that the match was good, though I’m not sure how far D’Angelo is going without getting a bit more serious.

Post match Ciampa gets the big sendoff….and here’s HHH for the surprise appearance, his first on TV since his heart issue. HHH hugs Ciampa and says something to him, leaving Ciampa to get the moment. Granted it’s with HHH’s music and Titantron, but it is a moment.

Chase University is here.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Creed Brothers vs. Imperium

Imperium is defending. Lee kicks Barthel into the corner to start and it’s Carter coming in to fire off his own kicks. Aichner comes in as well though and runs MSK over but Brutus comes in to run Aichner over as well. Carter gets Pounced against the ropes and the Creeds start throwing their suplexes.

MSK finally gets it together and kicks Brutus down before a combination stomp the chest gets two on Barthel. That doesn’t last long as Barthel is back up with a middle rope elbow, meaning Carter needs to be saved as well. Everyone but Lee gets sent outside so Lee hits the big dive, followed by a Spiral Tap for two back inside.

MSK gets creative by double superplexing Julius onto Imperium to send them outside. Brutus is fine enough to come off the top with a cannonball to Imperium but gets sent into the steps. Barthel tries to come back in but Lee hurricanranas him into a sitout powerbomb from Carter to give MSK the titles back at 11:32.

Rating: B-. It was a fun match and they had a bunch of big spots, but there is only so much that you can get out of another match with all those people running around. What we got here was good and MSK getting the titles back is a way to go, but the Creed Brothers are going to get the titles sooner rather than later.

Nikkita Lyons loves music and knocking people out. She’s a whole lotta woman ready to do a whole lotta whoopin.

Cameron Grimes is in tears over his win, which honors his father.

Joe Gacy and Harland are in Daley Plaza, where Gacy talks about how the Kennedy assassination brought people together. Gacy wants to bring people together and hopes they do so willingly rather than having to result to violence.

We look at the Women’s Tag Team Titles changing hands on the Kickoff Show.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Mandy Rose is the champion and the star, Cora Jade is the underdog who has always wanted to be champion and Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai are two of the best in the world and want another title reign.

Women’s Title: Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Rose

Rose is defending (with a redesigned title) in our third multi-challenger match in less than two hours. Jade comes out with a fleet of skateboarders, but Rose tops her by descending down like an angel (or Shawn Michaels in 2009). Everyone goes after Rose to start (just like Carmelo Hayes in the opener) and the champ gets kicked out to the floor. Shirai and Ray go after Jade, who gets pulled outside, setting up the double suicide dives.

Back in and we get the Shirai vs. Ray showdown, with Shirai having to roll her way out of the KLR Bomb. Rose pulls Shirai to the floor and gets to pound on Jade, including a suplex for two. Jade low bridges Rose to the floor and it’s Ray hitting a big dive. Shirai adds a moonsault to the floor before taking Ray back inside for a stomp. A missile dropkick gets two on Ray with Rose making a save. Everyone gets back inside, with Ray grabbing a Koji Clutch on Rose and Shirai putting Jade in a Texas Cloverleaf at the same time (with Shirai falling backwards to crank Jade’s back very hard by mistake).

Both holds are broken up and Jade hits a running springboard stomp to Rose’s back. Shirai 619s Jade to the floor and adds a missile dropkick to Rose. A German suplex gives Shirai two and a super C4 to Rose gets the same, with Jade diving in off the top for the save. Sliced Bread gives Jade two on Rose but Shirai knocks Jade down. The Moon Over Moonsault hits Jade but Rose hits a running knee to pin Shirai and retain the title at 13:28.

Rating: C+. The more I think about this, the more I like Rose retaining the title. She isn’t a top of the world worker, but that isn’t what they’re going for with her. Instead, this is more about Rose driving everyone crazy and holding onto the title while still being a good enough worker. The other three put in most of the work, but Rose is the right choice to retain here and is turning into a nice long term evil champion.

We recap Dexter Lumis/Indi Hartwell vs. Persia Pirotta/Duke Hudson in a showdown over who can be the best dressed. After a montage of the guys getting clothes from a western store, Lumis/Hartwell win a fan vote 89% to 11%. This was as dumb as you would expect.

Gunther vs. LA Knight

Gunther doesn’t like Knight running his mouth so much so they’re going to fight about it. They fight over a lockup to start until Knight wins a slugout and takes him to the floor. That goes better for Gunther, who hits an apron powerbomb and poses inside. The chinlock keeps Knight in trouble but he avoids a corner clothesline and hits a jumping neckbreaker.

Gunther knocks him down again though and the Boston crab goes on. Make that an STF as Gunther is smothering him so far. Knight manages a suplex for a breather, setting up the slingshot shoulder. Some stomping away in the corner sets up a slam into the jumping elbow and the running superplex gets two on Gunther. Back up and the big chop is blocked, setting up Gunther’s sleeper. That’s reversed into a Burning Hammer for two but Gunther catches him on top. A clothesline knocks Knight off the top and it’s the big splash to crush him. The powerbomb gives Gunther the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a classic and there wasn’t much drama to it, but Knight was good enough to make Gunther break a bit of a sweat. Gunther is on his way to something a lot bigger in NXT and beating Knight can get him closer to the title picture. I don’t think there was any real doubt about the winner, but it was a good way to get Gunther on the card.

We recap Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler for Ziggler’s NXT Title. Ziggler came down to NXT and took the title from Breakker while bragging about all of his star power. Now Breakker wants to take the title back for the REAL NXT.

NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker

Ziggler is defending and has Robert Roode in his corner. Breakker goes after Roode to start and then jumps Ziggler, only to get cheapshotted down. The spinebuster/belly to belly plants Ziggler though and there’s the overhead belly to belly. The spear is loaded up but Roode grabs Breakker’s leg, setting up the big ejection (allowing Ziggler to pull off a turnbuckle pad behind the referee’s back).

Breakker is fine enough to hit a belly to back suplex, only to get crotched on top. Ziggler puts on the chinlock and a jumping elbow sets up chinlock, the sequel. Back up and Breakker fights out but gets caught on top. That means a chinlock with a bodyscissors, including Ziggler flipping over in a spot he hasn’t used in a long time. Breakker fights up again and fires off the series of shoulders. The super hurricanrana gets two and a big spear gets the same with Breakker looking frustrated by the kickout.

Ziggler knees him down but the superkick is countered into a suplex. The gorilla press powerslam connects…but Roode is back to pull Ziggler out. Breakker hits a running flip dive to the floor (with his foot getting caught on the top, thankfully not leading to a big crash) but Breakker comes back in with the Fameasser and Zig Zag for two of his own. The top rope elbow gets two more on Breakker, who hits another spear. The gorilla press powerslam is loaded up, only to have Ziggler rake the eyes. Breakker gets sent into the buckle and a superkick retains the title at 16:12.

Rating: B-. Well ok. This seemed to be the biggest layup of the weekend but they went in another direction. Breakker didn’t lose clean, but it’s weird to see him losing in any way at this point. Ziggler retaining is certainly a way to go and he has done some good things as champion, but I’m not sure if this was the right move.

Overall Rating: B. This isn’t a Takeover and isn’t close to being one, but it was the kind of show that made me want to see more from NXT and that is a great thing to see. NXT has taken some long steps forward and I’m liking it a lot more than was just a few months ago. At some point you have to go out there and get in front of some people and that is what they did here. The fact that they delivered made it even better.

Results
Cameron Grimes b. Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, Santos Escobar and Solo Sikoa – Grimes pulled down the title
Tony D’Angelo b. Tommaso Ciampa – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
MSK b. Creed Brothers and Imperium – Hurricanrana/powerbomb combination to Barthel
Mandy Rose b. Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade – Running knee to Shirai
Gunther b. LA Knight – Powerbomb
Dolph Ziggler b. Bron Breakker – Superkick

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NXT
Date: March 8, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s a special show as we have Roadblock, because this company likes to hit you over the head with the Road To Wrestlemania, or in this case Stand & Deliver, motif. The main event is a triple threat for the NXT Title between champion Bron Breakker, Dolph Ziggler and Tommaso Ciampa, but we are also going to get more of the women’s Dusty Classic. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the triple threat title match.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Raquel Gonzalez/Cora Jade vs. Wendy Choo/Dakota Kai

Choo takes Jade down for some peek-a-boo and we pause so she can take a nap, with commentary whispering. An elbow misses for Gonzalez but she grabs an airplane spin to put Choo in trouble. Jade’s running elbow in the corner gets two but Choo drives her into the other corner. Kai elbows her down and starts alternating stomping/choking in the corner. It’s back to Choo for an elbow but Jade blocks some suplexes attempts.

Jade gets sent to the apron for a baseball slide to the floor from Choo. Kai goes out after her but Gonzalez joins them to glare. Cue Toxic Attraction to take out Kai’s leg with a club, plus send it into the post as we take a break. Back with Gonzalez not being able to get up on the apron as Jade clotheslines Choo. Kai comes back in and gets kicked in the face, allowing the tag to Gonzalez.

That earns her a kick to the face but Kai starts hearing Voices before trying the running boot in the corner. The Chingona Bomb is loaded up but Gonzalez’s knee gives out. Now the running boot connects and Choo hits her top rope Vader Bomb into a top rope double stomp (which did not look to connect very well) from Kai for the pin at 13:58.

Rating: D+. This was rough, from Choo sleeping (and commentary whispering because that joke needs support) to Kai losing her mind at various times to one of the only teams with some chemistry losing in the semifinals. I’m not wild on this tournament in the first place and now having to deal with the nonsense that Choo is stuck with is going to make it even worse.

Tommaso Ciampa is ready to win the NXT Title for the third time. Dolph Ziggler and Bron Breakker can fight it out to be 2A and 2B, but there has never been a bigger gap between #1 and #2.

Sarray watches Tiffany Stratton walk.

The Creed Brothers have been attacked in the parking lot.

Raquel Gonzalez gets checked out in the back.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

Stratton grabs a front facelock to slow Henley down to start but stops to check her nails. Henley fights back but gets muscled up into a Samoan drop. Some smoke starts to go off at the entrance though and here is Sarray to knee Stratton in the back of the head. Henley hits a Shining Wizard for the pin at 2:43.

Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs come out to celebrate with Henley.

Andre Chase yells at some of his students for screwing up last week. Bodhi Hayward did his job, even if he winds up with a black eye. One student asks about Hayward’s bad eye. Chase: “Jamie when did you graduate and become a f****** doctor?” Threats are made and Jamie leaves. Chase is way too good in this role.

We go to the barber shop, where Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are happy with what they are doing. Hayes is ready for his ladder match at Stand & Deliver but Williams is worried. Don’t worry though, because Melo don’t miss.

And now, the return of Lashing Out with Nikkita Lyons as this week’s guest. Legend recaps Lyons’ backstory, with Lyons talking about how her mom taught her not to be judgmental. Legend isn’t convinced and they argue about each others’ looks. Time is up though and arguing continues. At least it was short.

Imperium denies having anything to do with the Creed Brothers being attacked. MSK comes in to say they’ll take the shot if the Creeds can’t go.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen accuse Legado del Fantasma of attacking the Creeds. Elektra Lopez: “Don’t go accusing me because you can’t get laid.” Jensen says he’s working on it but Fallon Henley wonders if Briggs and Jensen actually did it. Of course not!

LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller

Last Man Standing. Knight jumps him in the aisle to start and the fight is on, with Waller being sent into the steps. They head inside for the first time, with Knight catapulting him throat first into the bottom rope. Waller is fine enough to hit a hot shot and kick Knight into the corner to take over. A neck snap across the top rope sets up the rolling Stunner for a seven count so Waller elbows him in the face.

Waller goes up top but Knight runs the corner and hits a superplex. The BFT plants Waller but he gets to his feet and hits a trashcan shot as we take a break. Back with the two of them fighting on the balcony until Knight knocks him off and into….wherever. Knight heads to the ring and it’s Sanga carrying Waller, who is mostly out of it. A chair to the back does nothing to Sanga, so he chokeslams Knight onto the apron. Some handcuffs come out but Knight cuffs Sanga around the post.

That means a jumping neckbreaker and slam can put Waller down as the fans want a table. Waller goes to the eyes and tries another rolling Stunner, only to be tossed over the top and through a ringside table. That’s not enough to finish Waller so Knight grabs a chair, which he throws back down to kick Waller in the chest instead. A trashcan is put over Waller, leaving Knight to go and beat on Sanga with the chair. Waller fights back and hits Knight with….something, setting up a top rope elbow through the announcers’ table. They’re both down but Waller uses Sanga to pull himself up and beat the count at 16:12.

Rating: C+. Of all the garbage street fight style matches I’ve seen over the last few months, this was the most recent. I’m not sure what else there is to say here, as they had the same kind of weapons based match that you constantly see around here but with Waller winning in the end. It was good enough, but I’m not going to remember it in a few days because it didn’t stand out.

Bron Breakker talks about what the NXT Title means to him and how much it motivates him in the ring. He is running through the roadblock.

Tony D’Angelo is in a restaurant and promises to become the new Don of NXT at Stand & Deliver.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic: Io Shirai/Kay Lee Ray vs. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro

Toxic Attraction is watching from the balcony, where Malik Blade and Ednis Enofe have beaten up their waiters and taken their place. Ray and Carter start things off with Carter getting the better of things, meaning Catanzaro can come in. Catanzaro and Shirai trade rollups for two each and it’s a big staredown in the middle. Carter and Catanzaro clear the ring and we take a break.

Back with Carter hitting a running shot to Shirai in the corner, allowing Catanzaro to come back in for a faceplant. Shirai hits a quick dropkick for two on Carter as everything breaks down. The neckbreaker/450 combination is broken up so Carter gives Ray a doomsday poisonrana, with Ray landing SQUARE ON HER HEAD. Shirai has to shove Carter into the corner for the break and thankfully Ray can still walk. Ray is up with the KLR Bomb to Carter, setting up the Moon Over Moonsault for the pin at 11:10.

Rating: C. Other than Ray getting dropped on her head (and popping right back up), this was another case of the thrown together team beating the established team. Granted the two singles stars are a good big more experienced than the other two here so it isn’t as big of a stretch. This whole tournament has just felt there though and that is not exactly making it prestigious.

Cora Jade jumps Mandy Rose as payback for Raquel Gonzalez getting jumped earlier in the night.

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta, with Duke Hudson, argue over who cost them their Dusty Cup match. A match is set up, with Hudson offering to help Pirotta train. She shoves him against the locker and kissing ensues.

Tiffany Stratton wants to break Sarray’s face.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Imperium

MSK is challenging in place of the injured Creed Brothers. Carter kicks Barthel in the face to start and it’s off to Lee for two off a rollup. Aichner comes in to slam Lee legs first into the ropes. It’s back to Carter, who gets chopped and clotheslined down to set up a chinlock. Carter fights up and kicks Barthel down, allowing the hot tag off to Lee to clean house. A moonsault sends Barthel outside and Carter hits a dive but Lee’s is cut off Aichner. Cue the Creed Brothers to beat up both teams for the DQ at 5:32.

Rating: C. The tag division has fallen so far in recent years and that was the case again here. MSK is a good enough high flying team and Imperium do well with their more scientific style, but you can only get much out of the four of them. The Tag Team Titles haven’t important in a long time and that was on display here, as this seemed to set up another triple threat title match.

Post match the beatdown is on, with Aichner nearly getting dropped on his head off a German suplex.

Draco Anthony and Harland have a staredown but Joe Gacy tells Anthony to let more people in. Xyon Quin comes in to tell Anthony to be his own man, with Gacy telling Anthony to think about it more. They’ll be waiting.

A-Kid is coming from NXT UK to NXT. This is a good thing.

Jacket Time is happy A-Kid is coming.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Breakker is defending and Ciampa gets knocked outside early. Back in and Breakker suplexes both of them down at once, with neither of them landing at the same time. This time it’s Breakker being sent outside, leaving Ziggler to get clotheslined down. Breakker gets back up so Ciampa clotheslines both of them over and over until Ziggler superkicks Ciampa to break up a diving…I think clothesline?

We take a break and come back with Breakker grabbing the Recliner on Ciampa but Ziggler puts Breakker in a sleeper to cut him off. The Fameasser and Zig Zag get two on Ciampa, leaving everyone down. Ciampa loads up Project Ciampa on Ziggler, sidesteps Breakker who completely mistimed the spear, and drops Ziggler for two.

Breakker is back in with a spear on Ziggler and the gorilla press powerslam connects, only to have Robert Roode run in and pull the referee out. Willow’s Bell and the Fairy Tale Ending hit Breakker, with Ziggler running in to throw Ciampa off and get two. Roode pulls Breakker out of the way of Ciampa’s running knee though and it’s a superkick from Ziggler to pin Ciampa for the title at 12:27.

Rating: B-. I like it as that ending should set them up for the next month. Breakker can get his rematch with Ziggler and beat a former World Champion to get the title back at the biggest 2.0 show yet. That’s not a bad thing and it isn’t like Ziggler pinned Breakker to get the title. Good action (though Breakker’s mistimed spear was a pretty bad miss) and an ending that sets them up well make this a nice main event.

Overall Rating: C-. The main event helped but there are so many things on here dragging it down. Between some of the dumb characters and sloppy wrestling and the women’s Dusty Classic feeling like something they are obligated to do, this was a pretty rough sit. There are so few things to get invested in or even like around here that it continues to be the weakest of WWE’s shows. At least Raw has the three hour excuse and Vince McMahon being nuts to throw things off. This is a show with a bunch of badly written characters and it is showing more and more. There are good parts, but those parts aren’t showing up as much.

Results
Wendy Choo/Dakota Kai b. Raquel Gonzalez/Cora Jade – Top rope double stomp to Gonzalez
Fallon Henley b. Tiffany Stratton – Shining Wizard
Grayson Waller b. LA Knight when Knight couldn’t answer the ten count
Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai b. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro – Moon Over Moonsault to Carter
MSK vs. Imperium went to a no contest when the Creed Brothers interfered
Dolph Ziggler b. Tommaso Ciampa and Bron Breakker – Superkick to Ciampa

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

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NXT LVL Up
Date: March 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Nigel McGuinness

NXT has started to change a bit now as it has a big show coming up next month. That is something they have been needing, though again I can’t imagine it makes much of a difference around here. This is the same dumping ground for lower level NXT stars who need to be in the ring and that isn’t exactly exciting stuff. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dante Chen vs. Javier Bernal

A lockup goes nowhere to start as they roll away from each other before Bernal grabs a headscissors on the mat. Back up and Chen slips out of an abdominal stretch attempt but gets rolled up for two. A belly to back suplex gets Chen out of trouble but his chinlock doesn’t last long. Bernal comes back with a crossbody for two, only to have Chen roll him up for the pin at 3:26.

Rating: C-. Two wrestlers had a match and one of them won. This felt like the kind of match you would put on for fifteen minutes at the start of an old school house show to fill in time. This wasn’t an interesting match whatsoever because neither of them have any kind of a character. They were people in trunks having a match and that isn’t going to get you very far when the match is just as generic as they are.

Respect is shown post match.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Erica Yan

They circle each other to start with Stratton cartwheeling out of an early wristlock, only to get taken down to the mat. A basement dropkick gives Yan two and we’re already in the chinlock. Stratton fights up and loses it because Yan pulled out some of her extensions, meaning the stomping is on in the corner. This time It’s Yan being knocked down and put in a chinlock for a change but she fights up just as fast. A Downward Spiral drops Stratton but she is right back up with a spinning slam. The standing moonsault into the corkscrew Vader Bomb finishes Yan at 3:52.

Rating: C. If this wasn’t better than the opener, at least it was something more interesting. Stratton and Yan stand out a bit more than the guys in the first match and that is at least a step forward. Stratton seems to be something of a project around here and even though she has one of the most generic gimmicks around, it is better than having nothing at all.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Legado del Fantasma

Elektra Lopez is here with Legado. Mendoza takes Blade into the corner to start but Blade armdrags him into an armbar. Enofe comes in off a blind tag though and hits a belly to back suplex. It’s off to Wilde, who gets rolled up for a fast two from Enofe as frustration is setting in. Blade comes back in and gets his leg taken out to put Blade in trouble in the corner.

A running forearm in the corner gives Wilde two and it’s Mendoza coming back in to stay on the leg. Mendoza grabs a half crab before cannonballing down onto the leg. That doesn’t work twice though as Blade kicks him over the top to escape, allowing the hot tag off to Enofe. A half crab has Mendoza in trouble until Wilde makes the save. Everything breaks down and a Lopez distraction lets Legado hit their Russian legsweep/running boot combination to finish Enofe at 8:44.

Rating: C+. Match of the night by far and that is not a surprise, as you had more talented wrestlers getting extra time. Blade and Enofe are making a completely decent tag team and that is always something that you can use. Legado is already established and they helped put together a solid enough match here, which is more than I would have expected.

Overall Rating: C. They did a bit better this week as you could see different kinds of wrestlers getting a chance to showcase themselves. The action wasn’t too bad either, though the opener was pretty dry. Stratton, Blade and Enofe are starting to develop though and the main event worked. As usual, completely watchable show, even if it doesn’t serve a very effective purpose.

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NXT LVL Up
Date: February 25, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Nigel McGuinness

It’s week #2 of this show, or week roughly #20 if you consider this to be the revamped 205 Live that it really is. Therefore the matches aren’t going to be anything of note but we might get some slight NXT star power around here. That is almost the only way to make the show feel important, though it is hardly consistent with what it offers. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Xyon Quinn vs. James Drake

Zack Gibson is here with Drake. Quinn can’t get a grab on him against the ropes to start so Drake mocks him a bit. A hammerlock works a bit better for Quinn, who stands up so Drake’s crossbody can bounce off of him. Drake bails to the floor and a Gibson distraction lets Drake get in a cheap shot. Back in and Quinn slugs away but has to power out of a sleeper. Quinn slams him off the top but Gibson offers another distraction, allowing Drake to grab a rollup for the pin at 4:47.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what happened to Quinn but he looked like someone who should have been a breakout star in the making. That hasn’t happened though, as instead he has fallen pretty far through the floor and can barely get on NXT these days. The match was a standard formula with the villains cheating with the numbers game and then picking up the win, meaning there wasn’t much to see here. Other than Quinn losing again.

Post match Quinn beats up Gibson to blow off some steam.

Sarray vs. Elektra Lopez

Legado del Fantasma is here with Lopez. Sarray tries to start fast and it’s a springboard armdrag to frustrate Lopez early on. That earns Sarray a grab of the hair and a wheelbarrow faceplant to plant her on her face. Sarray is back up with a rollup into a dropkick, setting up a double stomp. Another double stomp gets two but Sarray’s running dropkick against the ropes hits Joaquin Wilde and the distraction lets Lopez hit a spinning Dominator for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: C-. Another watchable enough match with Lopez getting to look good against Sarray, who is already seeming to drop down the ranks. I’m still not sure how much of a future there is in the whole transforming schoolgirl thing, but losing to the occasionally wrestling manager isn’t exactly a good sign for her immediate future.

Jacket Time vs. Joe Gacy/Harland

Well, I guess this does count as star power. Gacy and Kushida fight over wrist control to start with Kushida spinning around on Gacy’s back and handing it off to Jiro. After teasing a hug, the threat of the jacket punch sends Gacy backpedaling. The jacket punch connects on the second try, but it knocks Gacy into the corner for the tag off to Harland. Dominance ensues, with Harland driving him into the corner and knocking Kushida off the apron as a bonus.

It’s back to Gacy, who catches Jiro with a DDT to put him down. That doesn’t last long though as Jiro is up for the tag back to Kushida without much trouble. House is cleaned, with Kushida grabbing the Iron Octopus on Gacy. Harland makes the save but has to be held back from massacring Kushida. It’s back to Harland to run Kushida over and splash Jiro for the pin at 6:55.

Rating: C. This was about as good as you’re likely to get around here, as Gacy can wrestle a decent match and Kushida can work with anyone. Jiro may be annoying but his style works out fairly well most of the time. That leaves Harland, who thankfully isn’t getting a lot of ring time at this point. Not much of a match, but it felt a good bit bigger than the other two.

Overall Rating: C-. I still can’t get too mad about a show that lasts around thirty minutes but this isn’t exactly interesting stuff. Above all else, it is the kind of show that comes and goes without anything happening. I’m not sure how much good it is doing as far as developing or improving some of these people, but at least they are getting in the ring in front of people in some way. That’s an improvement, right?

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NXT
Date: February 1, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s time for a big tag match as NXT Champion Bron Breakker and Tommaso Ciampa are teaming up against Legado del Fantasma. That is part of the way to build things up for Santos Escobar’s upcoming title shot, but for now we get what should be a good tag match. Let’s get to it.

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

Imperium vs. Diamond Mine

The fans chant WALTER during Imperium’s entrance. Gunther isn’t having any of the posing to start and kicks Roderick Strong in the head before the bell. Brutus Creed suplexes Aichner to start but Aichner manages a Regal Roll in quite the power display. It’s off to Barthel for an armbar and the WALTER chants start up again. Brutus fights up and hands it off to Julius for some knees to the ribs.

That’s broken up in a hurry as Barthel hits a middle rope elbow to the face and it’s off to Gunther to kick Julius in the head. We take a break and come back with Brutus coming back in to get suplexed onto Barthel for two. Barthel gets over for a tag to Gunther so it’s all hands on deck to slow him up. Everything breaks down though and it’s Brutus wrecking Imperium, leaving him for a showdown with Gunther. The sleeper puts Brutus in trouble and it’s a powerbomb to give Gunther the pin at 11:56.

Rating: B. The Creeds are getting better and better by the week and that was on full display here. What mattered was letting people hit each other rather hard as Imperium gets to show off what they can do, but at the end of the day, this was all about Gunther. He is the kind of force that you do not get to see very often and if they can get around the fans chanting WALTER, he should be a big deal.

LA Knight is ready for Grayson Waller but Joe Gacy and Harland interrupt, suggesting that Knight has a problem. Knight offers to get together with them in the ring and maybe he can get two new restraining orders.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. They are ready to beat Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta in two weeks at Vengeance Day but here is Kay Lee Ray to interrupt. She isn’t getting her title match, so she brings in her baseball bat. Mandy tells her to put the bat down and the other two will leaves. Ray agrees, but Mandy would rather talk about her own modeling and fitness accomplishments.

That’s fine with Ray, who says she was holding the NXT UK Women’s Title for over 600 days while Rose was falling at Wrestlemania and sucking face with Otis. Mandy talks about how great she is and how she is what WWE wants and all the talent in the world will never replace her. Ray says that she’ll have her title match by the end of the night and slaps Mandy in the face. The bat is enough to chase off Toxic Attraction.

Cora Jade is ready to prove herself to Raquel Gonzalez, even if it means taking a beating. Gonzalez comes in and asks if she’s ready for the match, with Jade saying she’s in (I barely recognized Gonzalez with her hair down like that).

During the break, Toxic Attraction tried to leave but stopped for an interview. They went to get in their car with Mandy getting in last…but Ray is in the driver’s seat and kidnaps them. That parking lot man.

Cora Jade vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Jade is a bit tentative to start and gets tossed down without much trouble. That leaves Jade in shock at the pain so Gonzalez kicks away in the corner. A spinning Side Effect gives Gonzalez two more and she grabs an over the shoulder backbreaker. Jade is sat on top but manages to knock Gonzalez away this time.

Gonzalez tries another swinging Side Effect but gets reversed into….something we can’t see as the screen goes black, likely due to issues with Gonzalez’s top. Jade drives her into the corner for two and a rope walk hurricanrana rocks Gonzalez again. There’s an enziguri but Gonzalez finally just plants her with the Chigona Bomb for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. Issues with Gonzalez’s gear aside, this was designed to make Jade look tough and it did well enough. I’m sure they’ll be in the Dusty Classic together because it isn’t like there are a bunch of teams to put into the tournament in the first place. Hopefully Gonzalez can move up to the main roster soon enough though, as she seems ready.

Post match Gonzalez says “let’s go and win this”, meaning the Dusty Classic.

Sarraylor Moon is back next.

Video on Pete Dunne vs. Tony D’Angelo.

Sarray vs. Kayla Inlay

Sarray walks through the back as the schoolgirl and then comes into the arena in her regular gear, sans anything schoolgirl. That’s a relief, even if WWE is still way too into this transformation stuff. Inlay won’t shake hands to start so Sarray knocks her into the corner. That’s broken up but we get breaking news about Kay Lee Ray returning, with no sign of Dolin and Jayne. Sarray fights up and hits the running dropkick against the ropes. A high collar suplex finishes Inlay at 3:20.

Rating: C. The match was almost a squash, but it was also quite the relief that Sarray isn’t going to be wrestling as a schoolgirl. That would be the latest bad WWE idea, so seeing her transform was kind of a relief. As weird as that is to say, I’ll take it over what we seemed to be getting, as this was a slightly more fired up Sarray.

Video on Duke Hudson, who gives himself a hair cut and says he makes his own luck anymore.

Bron Breakker is warming up when Tommaso Ciampa comes in. Ciampa hands him the NXT Title and suggests that Breakker doesn’t know what he is in for. As for tonight, they’ll take it to Legado del Fantasma.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are ready for Cameron Grimes because Hayes is always looking down on him. Cue Grimes, who notes the TO THE MOON chants. Grimes says Hayes looks like Spongebob, which makes Trick Squidward. Williams talks a lot but Grimes isn’t sure what he said. Grimes asks which one he’s fighting and Hayes says he’s waiting. As Hayes and Williams leave, Grimes says it’s going to be a one star match, and that one star is going to the moon.

Malik Blade and Edris Enofe debate a team name and Enofe thinks they should ask Mandy Rose. Then Rose literally falls through the door and it’s Blade’s arms (Blade: “Thank you!”). Kay Lee Ray comes in and rips off Rose’s jacket, which has Enofe rather happy. He wants to go after them….but Blade needs a minute.

Diamond Mine is ready to face Imperium again after they win the Dusty Classic. The Grizzled Young Veterans come in to laugh at the prospects.

LA Knight vs. Joe Gacy

Harland is here with Gacy, who gets taken down by an early running neckbreaker. A spinning Rock Bottom gets Gacy out of trouble and it’s off to a neck crank. There’s a suplex to take Knight down again and it’s time to work on Knight’s knee. Knight fights up and hits a jumping neckbreaker into his powerslam, only to collide for a crash to the floor. Cue Sanga (Grayson Waller’s bodyguard) so Waller can hit his rolling Stunner. That’s enough to give Gacy a nine count so it’s the handspring clothesline to finish Knight at 4:14.

Rating: C-. So we have yet another heel with a bodyguard, who happens to be interfering in a match with a heel with a kind of bodyguard? Are they that out of ideas? Waller costing Knight a match is fine, but this was another short match that didn’t have the chance to get anywhere because it’s all about getting as many things on the show as you can in two hours.

Post match Waller yells at Knight, who lunges at him. That means a chokeslam from Sanga, with Waller saying if Knight can beat Sanga next week, maybe the restraining order is gone.

Robert Stone is very happy to have signed Von Wagner.

Wendy Choo vs. Amari Miller

Tiffany Stratton has offered Miller a shopping spree if she takes out Choo. The bell rings and Choo goes to the mat for a nap, followed by taking Miller to the mat for a nap on her leg. An elbow drop gives Choo two and then it’s time to get serious, with a pair of hard suplexes. A sleeper is broken up though and Miller gets two off a jawbreaker. Cue Tiffany Stratton to throw Miller a credit card, allowing Choo to hit Miller in the face for the pin at 3:24.

Rating: D. It’s still the dumbest thing going in wrestling and now they are doing the goofy stuff during the matches rather than having her be serious. The credit card thing wasn’t exactly a good idea either, as we continue to need humor/goofiness in every match. At least they kept it short, but Choo is yet another bad NXT idea that is likely to continue for a long time.

Post match Stratton yells at Miller, but Choo has made off with the credit card.

Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell are ready to win the Tag Team Titles, with Dexter Lumis seeming to approve. Josh Briggs comes in to ask for advice on women, with Indi saying non-verbal communication is a good thing. Lumis looks at her and they’re off to the hot tub.

Video on Draco Anthony.

Nikkita Lyons talks about growing up around music as her dad was a musician and her mom was a groupie. Now she is a singer/rapper but also an NXT star. This is IN NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM LIKE HIT ROW! NOT AT ALL!

Sarray, once again a schoolgirl, is interrupted by Dakota Kai, who warns her about how relationships can go south.

Draco Anthony vs. Andre Chase

Bodhi Hayward is in Chase’s corner. Chase takes over with few shots to the face into a neckbreaker. Anthony is back with a powerslam and cranks on the arms, only to have Chase fight up again. A Russian legsweep drops Anthony and it’s time for the spelling stomps. Anthony is back up and steals Hayward’s flag but Hayward won’t let him stomp on it. Instead, Chase unloads in the corner and the Downward Spiral finishes Anthony at 4:26.

Rating: C-. Another not exactly great match as the latest new NXT character (just wait, as I’d bet on getting another one before the show is over) loses in his NXT debut. It’s a bit weird seeing the war veteran as a heel but NXT is quite the strange duck at times. Chase is somehow getting this dumb character over and that is quite the accomplishment.

Mandy Rose is still running from Kay Lee ray but stops for a water at the food area. Ray shows up and pours spaghetti on her, followed by a cake to the head area. Then Ray stalks her with the baseball bat.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa

The rest of Legado is here too. Ciampa headlocks Mendoza to start but Wilde tags himself in and hits a dropkick. It’s back to Mendoza, who bails to the floor, allowing Breakker to come in and run the ropes. A Gator roll sets up a delayed suplex on Wilde, with Ciampa adding one of his own to Mendoza. We take a break and come back with Breakker getting caught with some running shots in the corner. The front facelock is countered with a suplex though and it’s back to Ciampa to fire off the running clotheslines.

Ciampa tags Brakker back in, despite Breakker favoring his arm. Something like a powerslam plants Wilde but Santos Escobar gets up for a distraction. Mendoza scores with a springboard missile dropkick and a Phoenix splash gets two. A spear cuts Mendoza down but Wilde makes the save. Wilde goes up but gets shoved HARD off the top and through the announcers’ table. The gorilla press powerslam finishes Mendoza at 11:24.

Rating: C+. Breakker is one of those guys that doesn’t need a ton of explanation. He’s a bit like Goldberg in that the idea seems to be flip a switch and watch him smash stuff. That’s a perfect case of “don’t think about this too hard” and it’s working. Escobar will be a good first victim and this was a fine way of setting that up, especially with Breakker possibly having a bad arm going in.

Post match Escobar stares down Breakker but here are Kay Lee Ray and Mandy Rose again. Ray threatens her and gets her title shot next week as a result. The KLR Bomb leaves Rose laying to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. I have almost no idea what to make of this show, but the biggest thing that comes out of it is how much is crammed in. The problem with that is the word crammed, as it feels so overstuffed. It is one character with a wacky gimmick after another and that gets tiring after a bit. So many things on here felt like it needed to be over the top or have some kind of a punchline and that gets old after a bit. Even the main event was immediately followed by Rose with cake on her clothes.

This was another way too busy show and I kept wondering what they were going to throw out there next to make me shake my head. It isn’t that these are all terrible ideas, but they keep coming one after another with little getting the time to sink in. There are stories in here that work, but then Mandy Rose is being stalked or Sarray is transforming or Blade and Enofe, who could be a good, young team, are stuck with sophomoric humor.

Overall, this show felt very, very much like a show designed by Vince McMahon or to appeal to Vince McMahon and that is rarely going to make for entertaining TV. It felt like yet another week where they were throwing anything out there and if it works, great, but if not, oh well. That’s not a great way to run a TV show and the wrestlers aren’t going to get much out of it other than a bunch of ideas that aren’t the best to put on their resumes.

Results
Imperium b. Diamond Mine – Powerbomb to Brutus
Raquel Gonzalez b. Cora Jade – Chigona Bomb
Sarray b. Kayla Inlay – High collar suplex
Joe Gacy b. LA Knight – Handspring elbow
Wendy Choo b. Amari Miller – Elbow to the face
Andre Chase b. Draco Anthony – Downward Spiral
Bron Breakker/Tommaso Ciampa b. Legado del Fantasma – Gorilla press powerslam to Mendoza

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: January 25, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the go home show for the Royal Rumble and I don’t think that is going to mean much for most of the people around here. NXT is in a different world than almost anything that happens on the main roster and in a way that’s a good thing, as they can do some positive stuff on their own. Let’s get to it.

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

MSK is next to the Dusty Cup and ready to win it again. Now they know what it takes to get back to the top of the mountain thanks to Riddle, but DON’T TOUCH THE CUP!

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Jacket Time vs. MSK

Carter and Kushida start things off with neither being able to get anywhere. It’s off to Lee, who immediately gets punched down by Jiro. Jacket Time takes him into the corner to start up the beating and it’s a double bulldog to give Kushida two. Jiro gets taken down in the corner though and it’s Carter hitting a Bronco Buster, which the fans don’t seem to like very much. Some double teaming takes Jiro down and we take a break.

Back with Jiro getting suplexed down, setting up a kick to the chest. There’s the running shooting star for two and it’s back to Lee, who gets caught in the belly to back kneeling piledriver for two. Lee fights up and brings in Carter to clean house. The push moonsault is countered into the Hoverboard Lock but Carter drives him into the corner for the Blockbuster Hart Attack and the pin at 11:32.

Rating: B-. This was the kind of match where they were supposed to go about 100 miles an hour and that’s what they did for a good bit. MSK needed to win to move forward, as there is a redemption story to them making the finals, if not flat out winning the tournament. Jacket Time might not be everyone’s thing, but they are at the level they should be at: a pretty low comedy team who gets good reactions and loses.

Respect is shown post match.

Zoey Stark tells Io Shirai she needs to find a new partner because Stark’s knee isn’t ready yet. Shirai doesn’t want to, but here is Tiffany Stratton to mock both of them. Stratton is ready to beat Shirai tonight, sending Shirai into a rant.

Video on Cameron Grimes wanting to beat Tony D’Angelo and move on to get the North American Title.

Legado del Fantasma is in the ring with Santos Escobar mocking Bron Breakker. People make fun of him because of his family and his poor math skills (Ha!) but he is already billed as a star. Escobar is a real star but here is Breakker to interrupt. Breakker gets in Escobar’s face and tells him to callate because the champ is speaking. Just issue the challenge already because he’ll accept it. Escobar says it’s on his time and leaves, only to have his goons jump Breakker. This goes as well as you would expect and Breakker stands tall.

Video on Boa vs. Solo Sikoa.

Solo Sikoa vs. Boa

No DQ and falls count anywhere with Boa jumping him with a kendo stick to start. A bunch of weapons are thrown in but Sikoa hits a Samoan drop. Everything but a single chair is cleared out so Boa wins a tug of war and beats Sikoa down again. A butterfly suplex onto a trashcan lets Boa set up a table at ringside but the delay lets Sikoa fight up. They fight into the back with Boa sending him into a ladder, which is then rammed into Sikoa’s chest.

Another shot misses though and Boa is rammed into a steel door. Sikoa goes outside and locks the door behind him so Boa opens the damaged garage door. Sikoa is right there with a blast from a fire extinguisher and they head back into the arena. Boa is sent into some chairs in the corner and a superkick takes him down again. The Superfly Splash is broken up with a crotching though and they head outside again. A Samoan drop sends Boa onto the announcers’ table and it’s a Superfly Splash to put Boa through another table for the pin at 8:04.

Rating: B-. I don’t know how big of a win this is going to be for Sikoa as he was beating Boa, but he had a hard fought match that felt like the end of this mini feud. Sikoa has the genetics and family name to make something of himself and the brawling style should work well. Boa….yeah I don’t get it, but he lost in the big match here so at least they didn’t go too far.

Video on Imperium, who talks about how it is time to move on from the past and fear the name of Gunther. WWE certainly feared the long form of the name.

Duke Hudson vs. Guru Raaj

Hudson starts fast and hammers away, setting up a side slam. A Razor’s Edge finishes for Hudson at 1:08.

Post match here is Dante Chen to say he’s coming for Hudson, albeit respectfully. Referees break it up but Hudson chop blocks him down.

Persia Pirotta likes Duke Hudson with short hair but Indi Hartwell tells her to focus. Kay Lee Ray comes in to suggest she wants to beat up Mandy Rose with a baseball bat. Or just pin her.

Legado del Fantasma is unhappy with Bron Breakker and the challenge is on….for him to face Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. He doesn’t have any friends so it’s not worries.

Indi Hartwell/Persia Pirotta/Kay Lee Ray vs. Toxic Attraction

Ray wants Mandy Rose to start but Jacy Jayne tags herself in instead. That’s fine with Ray, who drives her into the corner for the tag off to Hartwell. A kick to the head rocks Jayne so Rose comes in, only to get backbreakered by Pirotta. There’s a kick to the head and it’s back to Ray, sending Rose bailing to the floor.

Ray is left alone in the ring so it’s a huge dive to the floor to take all three down at once. Back in and Dolin gets caught in the corner for a beating, only to drive Hartwell into the wrong corner. Some Kawada Kicks knock Hartwell silly but she’s back with a side slam to Rose. Jayne breaks up the tag though and Dolin takes her down for two.

We take a break and come back with Hartwell still in trouble and Jayne hitting a running neckbreaker. They chop it out and knock each other down so the tag is off to Pirotta to clean house. Everything breaks down and it’s Ray superkicking Rose before grabbing the bat. The bat hits the steps and the post and Ray chases her to the back. That leaves Dolin to small package Pirotta for two, only to get kicked in the face. The fireman’s carry faceplant finishes Dolin at 13:53.

Rating: C. Take the challengers and the champions, put them in the same match and give one of the challengers a win to set up a title match later. That’s classic wrestling booking and it will work fine here. Toxic Attraction feel like vulnerable champions and Hartwell/Pirotta will be fine as challengers on the big show. Ray is the serious threat to Rose and while I don’t know if she will take the title, at least they have set her up well.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade can’t believe they have made it to the semifinals of the Dusty Classics and they could go all the way. Enofe seems interested in Toxic Attraction though and somehow he loses his shirt.

Earlier today, Raquel Gonzalez was training when Cora Jade came in to ask to be her partner again. That still won’t happen because Gonzalez can’t trust her. Jade loads up a slap but it gets blocked, with Gonzalez getting serious.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Andre Chase/Bodhi Hayward

Drake shoves Chase down to start so Chase flips him around by the wrist. The spelling stomps have Drake in more trouble and it’s time to alternate on the arm. Some Flip Flop and Fly stagger Drake again but Gibson pulls him to the floor. A spike shoulder breaker put Chase down but he’s fine enough to roll over for the tag off to Hayward. House is cleaned but it’s a double Codebreaker to finish Hayward at 5:10.

Rating: C. I like the Veterans, but I am long past the point of believing that they are going to be given a serious push, or even a major win, in NXT. At the same time you have Chase and Hayward and they have managed to get this stupid gimmick over. I absolutely would not have bet on that and well done on pulling off what should not have been possible. It might not go very far, but they have a something with it, at least for the time being.

Post match here is Von Wagner to jump Chase and Hayward. Robert Stone comes in to say Wagner is under new management.

Grayson Waller, with his bodyguard Sanga, is ready to take out LA Knight, who is still under a restraining order.

Odyssey Jones has undergone knee surgery and will be out of action until the fall.

Io Shirai vs. Tiffany Stratton

Shirai doesn’t see sure of what to think of Stratton. A wristlock has Stratton flipping away and she kicks Shirai down, leaving commentary stunned. The chinlock has Shirai in more trouble and even the fans chanting can’t bring her back up. They get to their feet with Stratton shouting a lot, only to get palm struck into the corner. A slam sets up the Moons Over Moonsault for the pin on Stratton at 4:17.

Rating: C. That’s how this kind of a match should have gone, as Stratton is still brand new and Shirai is one of the best ever around here. Stratton got in some offense before ultimately falling, though there was only ever going to be so much drama here. I’m not sure what to make of Stratton so far, but she has the athleticism to make something of herself, assuming she can get around the lame gimmick (see also most of this NXT).

Malcolm Bivens thinks Gunther is a stupid name. Bivens: “It should have been DUMBA**, in all caps!” This is a new beginning and it’s time for the team to take out Imperium, including Ivy Nile stretching him to his mother’s house.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams introduce Olliejayy for a musical performance.

Tony D’Angelo is ready for Cameron Grimes.

Tiffany Stratton is on the phone with her dad and complains about the referee. She runs into Wendy Choo, who thinks the referee had a point. Stratton slaps her cup away, sending Choo into some whining about her free refill. Someone was paid to come up with that.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Cameron Grimes

The winner gets Carmelo Hayes (on the balcony with Trick Williams) for the North American Title in the future. D’Angelo starts fast by snapping off a suplex, setting up a choke in the corner. Grimes gets planted down again and we take a break. Back with Grimes hitting him in the face but getting punched in the ribs. The waistlock goes on but Grimes fights up and hits a bunch of forearms.

D’Angelo is rocked for a change and Grimes hits his flipping powerslam for two. Back up and the threat of the Cave In sends D’Angelo outside. That’s fine with Grimes, who grabs a hat. Cue Pete Dunne with a 2×4 to hit D’Angelo in the hand, allowing Grimes to hit the Cave In for the pin at 11:35 (possibly while thanking D’Angelo at the same time).

Rating: C+. As has been the case with a lot of the matches tonight, I don’t think there was much drama here, but they got tot he point after some good action. Grimes can work well with anyone and it’s not like D’Angelo is awful in the ring. There was no reason to believe D’Angelo was winning here but they didn’t overstay their welcome, even with Dunne’s return.

Bron Breakker is leaving when Legado del Fantasma pops up in their SUV. Breakker is ready to fight but Tommaso Ciampa comes in to even the odds a bit. Breakker says the math checks out for him as Legado leaves to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The best thing I can say about this show is that it felt like one of the old NXT’s. This show felt like it had a bunch of things to accomplish and then went through them one by one, including setting things up for later. That’s one of the reasons NXT worked so well back in the day and it was working again here. While the show has some problems, it feels like it has a direction and that is what matters more than anything else at the moment.

Results
MSK b. Jacket Time – Blockbuster Hart Attack to Kushida
Solo Sikoa b. Boa – Superfly Splash through a table
Duke Hudson b. Guru Raaj – Razor’s Edge
Kay Lee Ray/Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell b. Toxic Attraction – Fireman’s carry facebuster to Dolin
Grizzled Young Veterans b. Andre Chase/Bodhi Hayward – Double Codebreaker to Hayward
Io Shirai b. Tiffany Stratton – Moons Over Moonsault
Cameron Grimes b. Tony D’Angelo – Cave In

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

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

AND

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