IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 18, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

It’s time to make this show live and double the length as well because of course it is. This is the first episode of the anti-AEW defense system and that means we’re in for a stacked show. That would include Velveteen Dream defending the North American Title against Roderick Strong and a street fight between Matt Riddle and Killian Dain. Let’s get to it.

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

An extreme closeup of HHH opens the show, with the boss talking about how this is the present and the future. He’s ready to show us what this is and we get a first person trip through the curtain to see the arena.

Mauro welcomes us to the show and the arena looks more vibrant than usual, though it may be the difference between a laptop and a TV.

Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a shot at Shayna Baszler at some point in the future. Candice goes right after Shirai to start but Io gets sent outside. Belair’s handspring moonsault gets two on Candice with Mia making the save. Shirai’s springboard missile dropkick gets the same on Belair with no one making a save. Belair slams Candice on the floor so Mia dives onto both of them, setting up the huge top rope moonsault from Shirai to send us to a break (that’s going to take some getting used to).

Back with Belair getting the worst of a Tower of Doom, followed by Candice grabbing a Black Widow on Belair until Shirai makes the save. Candice suplexes Shirai to the floor but walks into a reverse Alabama Slam into the buckle. Mia breaks up the KOD and hits Code Blue for two on Belair with Shirai making a save.

Belair spears Shirai and Yim down, setting up the KOD for two on LeRae. Protect Ya Neck sends Belair outside but Shirai sends Candice to the floor as well. Running knees in the corner rock Candice but Mia sends Shirai outside. Candice spikes Mia with a reverse hurricanrana and adds a Lionsault for the pin and the title shot at 9:59.

Rating: B-. This worked well with everyone working hard and some good near falls throughout. Candice winning is the absolute right call as she hasn’t gotten a shot at the champ yet and is the better of the two faces in the whole match. It would be a great underdog story to see Candice win the title and that’s how you want to present things from here. Great way to open things and show what NXT is about too.

Post match Shayna Baszler and her cronies come out to stare Candice down.

Quick Adam Cole video.

Video on Dominick Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee and their instant classic last month. They meet again next week.

Video on Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain to set up tonight’s street fight.

Sean Maluta vs. Cameron Grimes

Standing double stomp finishes Maluta at nine seconds.

Video on Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong.

Video on Damien Priest.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong

Strong is challenging. Dream takes him into the corner so Strong shoves him away, meaning it’s time to grapple to the mat. A clothesline puts Strong on the floor but Dream is ready for a springboard, sending Strong outside for some ranting and a break. Back with Dream hitting a dropkick for one and hitting an ax handle to put Strong on the floor. That means another ax handle but Strong is right back with a suplex onto the barricade.

Back in and we hit the chinlock, followed by another backbreaker for two. Dream is back up and tries the Sharpshooter but get knocked to the floor instead. A right hand sends Strong into the steps and we take another break. Back again with Dream slugging his way out of the top rope superplex and hitting another ax handle. The Dream Valley Driver gets two but Strong pulls him to the apron. A kick to the face has Dream hanging over the middle rope and Strong ties the arms in the ropes.

Strong hits a series of running shots to the face and it’s another backbreaker into a tiger bomb for two. The Strong Hold goes on so Dream makes the slow crawl to the ropes. Cue the Undisputed Era and of course the ref gets bumped. There’s another Dream Valley Driver but Dream has to knock the Era off the apron. End of Heartache gets a great near fall and Dream hits another Dream Valley Driver. Cole superkicks Dream off the top though and it’s another End of Heartache to give the Era all the titles at 22:30.

Rating: B. I know it’s all about the moment but the match never hit that other gear that Dream matches can get to. Maybe it was the obvious ending but other than that near fall off the first End of Heartache, there wasn’t much here to get excited about. You can see where they’re going with WarGames, but this Undisputed Era Holds All The Titles deal isn’t all that interesting.

We move to the WWE Network and recap the title change.

We recap the four way. Baszler vs. LeRae is in two weeks.

Pete Dunne vs. Arturo Ruas

They trade arm holds to start and it’s an early standoff. With the wrestling out of the way, it’s time for a slugout with Dunne nailing a clothesline. Dunne misses the stomp to the arm and Ruas cartwheels over for a kick to the face. Ruas is back with more kicks to the chest and another to the knee keeps Dunne down.

Another kick is blocked by a grab of the knee for some toe manipulation. The dragon screw legwhip sets up more strikes to Ruas, followed by the stomp to the fingers. The X Plex gets two on Ruas, who is right back with more strikes to the face. Dunne enziguris him and grabs the triangle, meaning it’s time to bend the fingers back for the tap at 6:41.

Rating: C+. The technical stuff was good here though I’m still having issues getting used to seeing Dunne having regular matches. The fact that he is around regularly now is a great sign for the future as Dunne has seemed ready to break through every ceiling there is in WWE and having him presented more often is a great thing.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

Li goes straight to the kicking to start and Aliyah gets knocked down in a variety of ways. A kick to the leg sets up a spinning kick to the back of the head to finish Aliyah at 1:50. That was quite the surprise as I was expecting Aliyah to get beaten up until she won with a cheating rollup or something. Well done on going with a surprise.

Denzel DeJournette vs. Kushida

Hold on though as here’s Imperium, minus Walter, to beat down Denzel. The fans want Walter and here he is to a MONSTER pop. Walter introduces the team and promises to make anyone who disrespects them pay the price to the ring general. Cue Kushida, who says this is his time. The rest of the team is cleared out but Walter rips off Kushida’s vest. That earns him a kick to the face but Kushida is smart enough to bail. This is where NXT can shine: take two stars you wouldn’t expect to see go at it and then pair them together. It helps when you have several all star teams worth of talent at your disposal.

Lio Rush vs. Oney Lorcan

The winner gets a Cruiserweight Title shot at some point in the future and hokey smoke Rush is allowed to exist again. Lorcan hits some running elbows in the corner and gets two off a Blockbuster. As the announcers explain that Lorcan is angry that Rush is getting this spot (explaining things we wouldn’t otherwise know as commentary should do), the half and half is blocked and Lorcan is sent outside. Three straight suicide dives hit Lorcan but he’s fine enough to whip Rush hard into the corner. Another shot to the face puts Rush on the floor but he’s right back in, allowing Lorcan to hit a gutwrench powerbomb for two.

The half crab works on Rush some more and a chop sends Rush to his knees. Rush is right back with a bottom rope springboard into a Stunner for a VERY close two but he tweaks his knee on a frog splash attempt. Lorcan is right on the leg and powerbombs him into another half crab. Lorcan switches into an STF but somehow Rush makes it over to the rope for another break. For some reason Rush slaps him in the face and Lorcan is all fired up, only to run into a standing Spanish Fly. The Dragon’s Call finishes Lorcan at 10:15.

Rating: C. It’s hard to imagine Rush not winning the title to kick the title’s run on NXT off in a hurry, though I’m not sure how wise it is to have Rush go away for six months and then hand him a title as soon as he gets back. Maybe that won’t be the case, but it’s hard to imagine Gulak retaining the title again.

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain

Street fight. Dain goes right at him to start and the fight is on with Riddle not being able to get much in. The Broton hits knees and it’s time for the weapons in a hurry. They fight into the crowd with Dain hitting his own backsplash and they brawl into the back. Riddle gets thrown into the side of a production truck but knees Dain. They fight over to Walter, who jumps Riddle despite not being touched.

Imperium, the Street Profits and the Forgotten Sons (who we saw during the brawl) all get in on it and it’s time to head into the arena again. Pete Dunne and maybe Danny Burch are in there as well with security breaking up Riddle and Dain. Security gets beaten up as well and more wrestlers get involved until Dain is left alone in the ring. That means a suicide dive onto a bunch of people to end the show. I won’t bother rating the match as it was just a few minutes before everyone else got involved, but that was certainly a hot angle.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a hard one to grade as it felt like two big episodes put together with some interesting stuff throughout. The problem though is the double length takes away a lot of what made NXT feel so special. It always had this feeling of getting a little taste and leaving you wanting more. Maybe it’s having so much content on Wednesdays but a lot of that feeling was missing here. I’m sure I’ll get used to it and they’ll get the hang of the feeling, but this felt long instead of special, which makes the show more like every other wrestling program around rather than the special one it became. It’s sad, but that’s wrestling.

Results

Candice LeRae b. Io Shirai, Bianca Belair and Mia Yim – Lionsault to Belair

Cameron Grimes b. Sean Maluta – Standing double stomp

Roderick Strong b. Velveteen Dream – End of Heartache

Pete Dunne b. Arturo Ruas – Bent fingers

Xia Li b. Aliyah – Spinning kick to the head

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain went to a no contest

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 21, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

So in a bit of a surprise, this is the start of the last of the one hour taping cycles. It’s also the start of the fallout from Takeover: Toronto and that means things could be in for a shakeup as we move towards Takeover: WarGames III, which is likely to feature Undisputed Era again. That’s not a bad thing as they’re becoming the Horsemen of NXT, but now they need opponents. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at Matt Riddle and Killian Dain brawling at Takeover.

Here’s the Undisputed Era, with new shirts, to get things going. Adam Cole says he did everything he promised to do in Toronto and the fans certainly seem to like him. If there was an NXT Mount Rushmore, it would be his face four times over. Roderick Strong says they all deserves to hold the gold.

The other three got screwed though, with Velveteen Dream pinning Pete Dunne, meaning the North American Title reign is on borrowed time. Kyle O’Reilly shows us a clip of Bobby Fish tagging himself in at Takeover but O’Reilly was pinned. As we ignore the referee not seeing the tag, which usually holds precedence in tag matches, they demand that William Regal come out here and make this right. With that not happening, Cole says they are two steps away from making NXT truly Undisputed.

As the team leaves, here’s Jordan Myles with his Breakout Tournament contract. Cole: “You’re joking right?” Cole threatens to break the smile off of Jordan’s face so Myles should go after Shayna Baszler instead. Or maybe go to NXT UK or 205 Live because they’re not on Cole’s level (I know it isn’t happening but seeing the look on Cole’s face if Walter’s music hit would be glorious). Myles hands the contract to Cole but drops it at his feet, which means the challenge is on.

Bronson Reed wants more in NXT but Shane Thorne interrupts him and the match is made for tonight.

Mansoor vs. Damian Priest

Priest isn’t wasting time this week as he pulls Mansoor off the top for a crash into the buckle before knocking him back into the corner. Mansoor’s forearm has no effect as Priest drops him with a single shot. The chokeslam is escaped and Mansoor gets in an enziguri, followed by a low bridge to the floor. There’s the running flip dive and a slingshot neckbreaker (pretty nice) drops Priest back inside. Priest has had it though and it’s a Razor’s Edge toss into the Reckoning for the pin at 3:14.

Rating: D+. Mansoor has some nice charisma to him and some of the offense looked good. Priest came off like a monster, but egads man you have a toss Razor’s Edge and you use Roll the Dice for a finish? It’s not that complicated to figure this out and hopefully he changes it to what makes sense. Find something else to use on bigger people but don’t use one of the most overdone moves ever for your finisher.

NXT to USA announcement.

Mia Yim vs. Vanessa Borne

Borne start fast with a Samoan drop and stomps away in the corner as we hear about Borne’s love of art. With Yim hanging over the ropes, Borne puts a sticker saying LOWER no the back of her jeans. That fires Yim up so she chops away in the corner, followed by a Cannonball. Protect Yo Neck finishes Borne at 2:50. Anytime Yim wants to go away, I’d be perfectly fine with it.

Post match here’s Shayna Baszler to say Mia took her to places no one has taken her to before. Mia has been to some dark places and now she can stand beside Shayna. Cue the other Horsewomen, with Shayna saying it’s a cold business but nice and warm under the dragon’s wing. Mia would rather fight and the beatdown is on. Do we really have to watch these two fight again?

Next week: Keith Lee vs. Dominick Dijakovic.

Video on Lee vs. Dijakovic, which was a heck of a big man fight. They had a history on the indies as well and since NXT does this kind of thing, we get to hear about it. As usual, well done with making a match feel epic.

Shane Thorne vs. Bronson Reed

Thorne’s rage against the Breakout Tournament continues. Some early kicks annoy Reed but Thorne bails out to the floor. Back in and the much bigger Reed sits on Thorne’s back to keep him in trouble. Thorne tries a leapfrog and gets powerslammed down, setting up a facewash in the corner.

A shot to the knee slows Reed down though and Thorne hammers away in the corner and there’s the running Cannonball (Good grief can we get a moratorium on that already? It feels like everyone uses it anymore.). Reed comes back with a Samoan drop into a backsplash (same as the Cannonball) so Thorne rolls outside. Back in and Reed goes up top but gets knocked back down, setting up the running knee to give Shane the pin at 5:15.

Rating: C-. Reed moves well for a big man and I like where he’s going. Thorne on the other hand felt like someone who was there because he had been around forever and they needed to do something with him. I’m not sure what it is but there’s something to him that makes me want to see more, so he’s fine for now.

Here’s Velveteen Dream on the couch. His shirt is $30, his glasses are $10 and retaining the North American Title by pinning Pete Dunne is priceless. The Dream winds up on top of anyone in the locker room because he likes it best on top. That’s where the spotlight is so the spotlight is now on Roderick Strong. If Strong wants a title shot, give Dream an experience he’s never had before.

Myles challenges Cole in two weeks.

Next week: the Street Profits Defend against Fish and O’Reilly.

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain

Riddle comes in through the crowd and jumps Dain before revealing taped up ribs. The forearms and strikes knock Dain into the corner and a kick to the head puts him on the floor. The forearm off the steps puts Dain down again but Dain elbows him in the head. Dain’s running crossbody crushes the ribs as he looks more and more like Bray Wyatt every day.

We hit the seated abdominal stretch to stay on the ribs and then Dain just stands on them for a bonus. Dain sits on the ribs (keeping it simple can work well) but Riddle somehow manages a release fisherman’s suplex. Riddle strikes away and gets in an exploder into the Broton. The seated elbows to the face have Dain in more trouble, setting up a German suplex for the double knockdown. Dain is back up with a shotgun dropkick into the corner, setting up the Cannonball (three matches out of four).

Riddle pops up with a Bro To Sleep and a powerbomb into a running knee for two. The spinning Broton hits knees though and Dain sends him shoulder first into the post. Riddle gets dropped onto the steps and a backsplash (two matches out of four) crushes him again. A Vader Bomb off the apron sets up three regular Vader Bombs inside to finish Riddle at 11:20.

Rating: B. Overuse of the same moves aside, this was another case of having two guys hit each other really hard until one came out on top. Dain needed the win to establish himself and Riddle gets to save face because his ribs were banged up. The match was the kind of hard hitting fight that NXT does very well without going to far or over the top with it. Good stuff here and a star is made.

Riddle charges after Dain to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Other than a good main event, this wasn’t a show built on the wrestling. What it was built on was setting up things for later and it did that quite well. I want to see where a lot of these stories go and that’s where NXT shines. This is the farewell tour for the old way of doing things and it’s nice to see them doing it the way they do it best.

Results

Damian Priest b. Mansoor – Reckoning

Mia Yim b. Vanessa Borne – Protect Yo Neck

Shane Thorne b. Bronson Reed – Running knee

Killian Dain b. Matt Riddle – Vader Bomb

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

TakeOver: Toronto
Date: August 10, 2019
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

We’re going north for this one with the second Takeover from Toronto. The second part is rather appropriate as the main event is a rematch (of a rematch) with NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against former champion Johnny Gargano in their second 2/3 falls match. A lot of the show centers around Cole’s Undisputed Era so there is certainly a theme. Let’s get to it.

There is no special narration for the opening video, which is your standard highlight package, though we do watch the crowd watching it from the arena. At least they’re not cutting back and forth between a normal video and the crowd watching shot.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era. The Profits won the titles in a four way ladder match in June and the Era say that was a fluke win. The champs have their always high energy entrance as the fans have the red solo cups. Dawkins takes O’Reilly into the corner to start and shouts that O’Reilly thinks he’s a joke. A takedown goes to Dawkins but it’s off to Fish, who gets run over with a big shoulder.

The champs start taking turns on Fish’s arm until a shot to Ford’s face gives Fish a breather. O’Reilly comes in but everything breaks down for a few seconds, with Fish walking into a double flapjack. O’Reilly gets knocked outside and manages to get Dawkins to follow him, allowing Fish to get in a surprise shot to take over for the first time. Some running/sliding knees to the ribs have Dawkins in trouble and O’Reilly adds a Samoan drop.

Mounted palm strikes set up a front facelock but Dawkins wins a slugout with O’Reilly. A backdrop lets Ford come in off the tag and it’s a standing moonsault for two. Ford hits the spinebuster but O’Reilly breaks up a People’s Elbow. Instead, Ford goes with a Rock Bottom for two on Fish. Dawkins gets knocked off the apron, leaving Ford to get caught with an elevated DDT into a wheelbarrow suplex for two.

We settle down to Ford being in trouble, including a superplex from Fish and a top rope knee to the knee. O’Reilly slaps on an Achilles lock with Fish adding a top rope headbutt and the fans are rather nervous. Dawkins comes back in and spinebusters Fish onto O’Reilly for the save. Ford makes the hot tag and everything breaks down.

A spinebuster/super Blockbuster combination gets two on O’Reilly and they’re all down again. The slugout is on with Dawkins and Fish being knocked outside. O’Reilly is sent to the floor as well, meaning it’s a big running flip dive from Ford. Back in and a spear from Dawkins sets up Ford’s frog splash to retain the titles at 15:50.

Rating: B+. I had the Street Profits retaining in my predictions and even I’m surprised that they pulled it off. Every sign pointed to the Era winning the titles here but I’m glad they didn’t. There was no need to have them get the belts back outside of setting up the Era having all of the titles as the Profits needed the win a lot more than the Era. It was a hot opener with an only slightly cooler ending, but the Profits winning is better in the long run.

Ricochet is here.

We recap Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae. Candice had tried to help Shirai win the Women’s Title but Shirai kept coming up short. Shirai snapped and turned on LeRae, saying that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Tonight is about revenge for LeRae and for Shirai to prove herself.

Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae

Candice starts the fight before the bell and it’s Shirai bailing to the floor. That means a baseball slide from Candice but Shirai suplexes her onto the announcers’ table to knock her silly. That’s only good for a nine so Shirai keeps pounding her down for a cocky near fall. The early chinlock goes on until Candice fights up with a headscissors, only to have Shirai land on her feet. A camel clutch goes on for a bit but Shirai misses a missile dropkick.

Candice hammers away in the corner and gets two off a brainbuster, setting up an Iron Octopus of all things. That’s broken up as well so Shirai tries the 619, which is countered into a neckbreaker. Candice is sent to the apron though and now the 619 hits the back of her head. That goes nowhere as Candice sends her outside for a suicide tornado DDT, which looked better than expected.

Back in and a top rope double stomp to the back gets two more on Shirai, who is right back with a Crossface. That’s reversed as well with Candice flipping over so Shirai puts her on her shoulders, only to get reverse hurricanranaed for two. Ms. LeRae’s Wild Ride gets two and the fans declare this to be awesome. Shirai catches her on top with a super Spanish Fly for another near fall and frustrated screaming ensues. A double underhook backbreaker plants LeRae again and the moonsault….gets two? With nothing else working, Shirai grabs a Koji Clutch to knock LeRae out at 15:00.

Rating: B. That was a good change of finisher for Shirai as something like a moonsault isn’t befitting a new heel persona. You need to have her do something a bit more sinister and they had set up all of the neck stuff throughout the match. Candice was always going to come up short here and it wouldn’t have made sense to have her win over the newly heel Shirai. They were both working here though and I was buying Shirai being angrier and more aggressive than usual here.

Here’s an unscheduled Matt Riddle through the crowd to call out Killian Dain for a fight. Dain comes through the crowd and the fight is on with Dain hitting a jumping kick to the head. Referees come out for the save with Dain stomping on Riddle’s bare foot. Riddle doesn’t care and they fight to the stage so Dain goes for the eyes. Some knees to the face put Dain down and Riddle takes care of security, including with a GTS to a guard. Dain uses the distraction to hit a crossbody, only to have Riddle jump on his back for a choke. They dive off the stage with Riddle being crushed through a table to finally wrap up a hot fight.

Evolve Champion Austin Theory is here.

We recap the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has held the title longer than anyone in its history and Roderick Strong pinned him in a tag match. Then just to mess with what seemed to be an obvious ending, Pete Dunne was added to the mix as a wildcard.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

Dream is defending and goes full Canada with his entrance, complete with an army of Mounties (and yes with the Mountie song of course), who then morph into Toronto Raptors dancers before Dream himself comes out. Strong says the other two don’t matter and it’s Dream being sent outside early on. Dunne clotheslines Strong down and it’s time to go after Strong’s fingers.

Dream is back in and tosses Strong but it’s the big showdown with Dunne. That lasts all of one stare though as Strong comes back in and gets punched in the face by the champ. A Bret Hart pose looks to set up the Sharpshooter but Strong slips away. That just means it’s time for Dream and Dunne to beat him up at the same time, with Dream holding the arm for Dunne’s stomp.

Strong is sent outside so Dream can gyrate the hips, earning himself most of a cross armbreaker. It’s too early for the Bitter End as Dream slips out, only to get crotched against the post (Mauro: “NOTHING BUT NUTS!”). The backbreakers start for Strong and the UNDISPUTED chants get going again. Back in and Dream finally gets the Sharpshooter but Dunne comes off the top with a double stomp to Dream’s back for the save. Dunne starts throwing suplexes and alternates with stomps onto both of them.

Strong and Dream get together to beat him up before fighting each other (duh). Dunne is back up as well and it’s a three way slugout for a triple knockdown. Dream and Strong get their fingers snapped but it’s a Dream Valley Driver to Dunne, an Olympic Slam to Dream and an X Plex to Strong to put everyone down. Dunne catches Dream up top and Strong joins them for an Olympic Slam to Dunne, which brings Dream down with them.

Strong is up first with a backbreaker to Dunne, who tries to grab a triangle. They go into the corner with Dream hitting a springboard Purple Rainmaker to Dunne for the break. You know, because he can do that. Back up and Strong grabs a Stronghold on both of them at once. That falls apart so Dream tries a double Dream Valley Driver, which is a bit too much for him.

Dunne snaps a pair of fingers and hits the Bitter End on Strong but Dream has the referee. The delayed cover is cut off as Dream grabs the referee’s hand at two. Dream gets sent outside as Strong grabs the Stronghold on Dunne. The save doesn’t take long and it’s the Dream Valley Driver on Dunne, with Strong coming back in for End of Heartache. Dream makes another save and steals the pin to retain at 17:25.

Rating: B+. I’m not sure what they’re going to do with the title now as Dream has held the thing for six months and doesn’t really have anyone left to fight for the thing. That being said, NXT knows how to build someone up in a hurry and there is a good chance that they could do just that at a moment’s notice. The cool thing is NXT has all the talent they could need to put together a challenger, but more importantly they know how to do it. The match here was quite good, though it never hit that next level.

We recap Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler. Mia grew up in a horrible situation and had to fight from the streets to get here. Baszler doesn’t think anything of her and thinks Yim is just a thug. Shayna has held the title for a long time now and thinks Yim is going to be just another challenger.

Women’s Title: Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Mia is challenging and comes out with a bunch of people in black with their faces covered to not the strongest reaction. Baszler goes to the arm to start but gets armdragged down a few times. Miz traps the arm between the steps and post for a dropkick and Baszler is in early trouble. Back in and Shayna takes her down for some left handed punches and a stomp on Mia’s left arm.

The champ stays on the arm by wrapping it around the bottom rope and then bending it at a rather disturbing angle. A pull of the hair gets Mia out of trouble so Shayna dropkicks her for two. Back up and they seem to get completely out of sync as they run the ropes for a bit. Mia sends her to the floor and shouts OK before hitting a suicide dive. A tornado DDT gets two but Baszler kicks her in the face for two with the fans not even teasing a reaction to the kickout.

Mia goes up top and traps Shayna’s arm for a super Code Blue and another near fall. Shayna pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch but Mia pulls the bad arm for the break. A stomp on the champ’s arm (Mia: “This is karma.”) looks to set up a cross armbreaker but Shayna rolls over into the Clutch again. Another pull of the arm gets Mia out, only to have Shayna wrap her legs around the neck for another choke and the tap at 14:42.

Rating: C+. I actually sighed in relief when Baszler retained. Mia tries and has a good story but I could never take her seriously with the name Head Baddie In Charge. She never felt like the big challenger who could take the title and I was almost dreading the idea of her taking the title. The problem now though is who can challenge Shayna for the title as she has almost completely cleaned out the division. That’s where they need to bring some people up, and NXT knows just how to do something like that.

Walter and Tyler Bate are here.

We recap Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. They’ve fought at the last two Takeovers with Gargano winning the vacant title and then losing it to Cole the next time. The idea here is Cole believes he belongs at the top and Gargano wants to earn his legacy by getting the title back. Each fall has a different stipulation: regular match, street fight, weapons filled cage.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano, in Wolverine inspired gear, is challenging and the first fall is a regular match. Cole is roughly 18x more popular than Gargano during the Big Match Intros. Feeling out process to start with an early Last Shot and Gargano Escape attempt missing for each. Cole can’t hit the Panama Sunrise either as Gargano sends him outside for a running dropkick through the ropes. Cole’s running knee hits steps and Johnny sends the knee into the apron. Back in and it’s Indian Deathlock to keep Cole’s knee in trouble and an enziguri makes it worse for the champ.

Cole is fine enough to pull Gargano outside for a wheelbarrow suplex onto the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a triangle choke to Gargano, who gets smart by grabbing the bad leg. An ankle lock is quickly broken up with Cole sending him face first into the middle buckle. The Panama Sunrise still doesn’t work as the leg gives out and Johnny sends him into the corner as well. Gargano’s rolling kick to the head and it’s a fisherman’s driver for two.

Cole misses a superkick in the corner and Johnny stomps on the leg again, setting up the Figure Four. The rope gets Cole out of trouble and it’s a German suplex for two on Johnny. Another Panama Sunrise is countered into a sunset driver to give Johnny two more. Cole STILL can’t get the Sunrise as the leg gives out but he’s fine enough to catch a diving Gargano in a gutbuster.

A Samoan driver gives Cole two and it’s a double clothesline for the double knockdown. Gargano is up first and hits the slingshot DDT for two but the slingshot spear hits a superkick. Cole’s fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two so it’s time for a chair. The referee throws that out and Cole gets in a low blow for two. Cole sits in the chair but Gargano gets up and takes it away, setting up a shot to Cole’s back for the DQ at 20:50.

Gargano shrugs and unloads with the chair as the second fall, a street fight, begins. Cole bails to the floor so Gargano throws the chair at his head and hits the slingshot DDT. They fight into the crowd with Gargano beating Cole all over the place, though he does stop for a picture with a fan’s phone. Gargano hits a superkick and they head back to ringside with Cole being driven through the timekeeper’s area.

They fight onto the announcers’ tables with Gargano backdropping his way out of a Pedigree to send Cole through the Spanish Announcers’ Table in the huge crash. Gargano throws Cole back inside, plus a table and some chairs. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Cole two but he stops to wedge a chair in the corner. That’s not a good idea as Gargano lawn darts him into the chair, setting up the Gargano Escape for the tap and the tie at 29:37.

The weapons cage lowers, showing off the barbed wire around the top. There is no escape here and you can only win by pinfall or submission. They slug it out with superkicks slowing down the kendo stick shots, only to have them beat each other senseless with the sticks. Stereo superkicks put both guys down and the fans find this awesome. A reverse hurricanrana sends Cole into a chair for another superkick and a near fall.

Cole gets in a chair shot to the back and a Backstabber with a kendo stick across the throat connects for two. Johnny gets in a blast with a fire extinguisher and hits a tornado DDT onto the open chairs, with Cole’s face hitting the open edge for a rather terrifying landing. Gargano goes up to try and grab a sledgehammer but has to stop for a spinning sunset bomb instead. Cole goes up top and throws a ladder at Johnny, who ducks to avoid a bad case of death.

Now the super Panama Sunrise gives Cole two and another one off the ladder gives Cole two more. The Last Shot in the chair only hits knee though and Gargano grabs the STF with the kendo stick. Cole bites his way to freedom so Gargano sledgehammers him in the ribs. Instead of following up, Gargano loads up two tables and climbs the ladder, only to have to come back down when Cole rolls away.

Instead Gargano hits a super Canadian Destroyer for two as these kickouts are getting comical. Gargano isn’t done and pulls out a bag of tools, including some wire cutters to cut some barbed wire down. Cole climbs onto the top of the cage and gets on the table bridged over the corner, right above the two tables already set up. Gargano puts the wire on his head and they dive off through a table (Mauro: “MAMA F’ING MIA!”), with Cole covering to retain at 51:05.

Rating: A-. This was way past the point of going long for the sake of going long with the kickouts and non-covers being ridiculous more than once. Gargano almost has to go up to the main roster full time now as there is nothing left for him to do. You can find something else for Cole to do as he has a bunch of people to defend against, but after seeing these two fight for about two and a half hours in three matches, I never need to see them together again. Crazy violence (the ending and the DDT onto the chair were nuts) and an awesome match, but it needed to be a good bit shorter.

Overall Rating: A. It exceeded my expectations with only the Women’s Title match not being very good, but it wasn’t really close to some of the Takeovers they’ve done before. What worries me the most are the rumors of the move to Fox Sports 1, as this could be the last of the great Takeovers under the classic formula. We can worry about that later though because this was another excellent show. I’m hoping they get the right amount of time and build to the next one so it can have some fresh matches, but what we got here was quite good and a way to wrap up the summer with a great show, though not as great as before.

Results

Street Profits b. Undisputed Era – Frog splash to O’Reilly

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Kofi Clutch

Velveteen Dream b. Pete Dunne and Roderick Strong – End of Heartache to Dunne

Shayna Baszler b. Mia Yim – Leg choke

Adam Cole b. Johnny Gargano – Crash through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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

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IMG Credit: WWE

It’s time to go north of the border for the next edition of one of the best series in wrestling history. Takeover has gone from a few specials for the minor league to some of the most must see wrestling events of the year. This one feels a bit different though as the build towards Takeover: Toronto hasn’t been the strongest in the world. Maybe the card isn’t as strong or maybe it feels a bit rushed, but it hasn’t felt as great on the way up. It’s still worth looking at though so let’s get to it.

Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

This is a grudge match after Shirai couldn’t beat Shayna Baszler to become Women’s Champion. Instead of blaming herself, she blamed LeRae, who had tried to help even the odds against the Four Horsewomen. Shirai snapped and beat the fire out of LeRae, who came back and did the exact same thing to her. This one is all about the violence and that could make for an intense match.

I’ll take Shirai to win here as she seems like someone who could be quite the challenger for Yim, assuming she wins the title. LeRae vs. Baszler seemed to be the way to go for a long time, but for some reason they never did it on the big stage. Maybe they still could, but I think Baszler is on her way up sooner, meaning that Shirai is a better choice for a challenger and the win here would get here there. LeRae will work as hard as she always does, but Shirai is going to be too much for her.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler(c) vs. Mia Yim

It makes sense to go here next. Baszler has dominated the NXT women’s division like no one other than Asuka in the title’s history. If she can somehow make it another three and a half months as champion, she will actually surpass Asuka’s record for most combined days as champion. However, in doing so, she has run through almost everyone there is to defeat, save for Yim, who is being billed as the underdog who has fought through everything to get here. That sounds like a setup and I think I know where this is going.

Yim winning the title seems to be the most likely ending here as Baszler may not be long for NXT. There is nothing left for her to do down there other than set records and given that she is in her late 30s, there is no reason to leave her down in NXT any longer. There are all kinds of reasons for her to come up to the main roster and putting Yim over for the title makes a lot of sense. Granted I’ve been saying this for months and have been wrong every time, but it has to connect at some point.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits(c) vs. Undisputed Era

It’s Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly representing the Undisputed Era here and that means we might be in for a big story. The idea seems to be the Undisputed Era holding all of the titles at the same time and you can’t do that with two of the titles missing. Unfortunately that means we can’t have the Street Profits holding the titles any longer, which is going to take away some of the spark that she show has had. They’re as entertaining as you can get, but I’m not sure what happens here.

The more I think about it though, I don’t think the titles change hands. NXT isn’t the place to have transitional champions and the Street Profits have only held the titles for about two months. I just can’t imagine NXT making the Undisputed Era three time champions, especially for the sake of setting up the group as the Four Horsemen of NXT. Odds are I’m wrong here and it’s more hope than anything else, but I’ll go with the champs retaining.

North American Title: Velveteen Dream(c) vs. Roderick Strong vs. Pete Dunne

This was set up as a singles match with Strong challenging Dream, but Dunne was thrown in to shake things up a bit. That’s exactly the case too, as I would have bet on Strong taking the title but now I have no idea where things are going. I can’t imagine Strong losing, I can’t imagine Dream losing and I can’t imagine Dunne losing. That’s a very impressive way to build to the match and they’ve done it well here.

I’ll go with Strong winning here as the Undisputed Era has to do something and get some extra gold. The Dream is ready to do something else as he has far longer than anyone else in history. Dunne is a complete wildcard though as he’s someone you could see as one of the top stars in the entire company one day. I don’t know if he’s going to be around NXT full time though and that leaves you with Strong, who needs his big singles win. I’ll take Strong here, but I’m completely lacking certainty.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Johnny Gargano

This might be why I’m not wild on the whole show. At the end of the day, we’ve seen this match headlining the last two Takeovers and Gargano has been in the main event scene for going on two years now. Eventually you need something fresh and it doesn’t feel like that is the case at the moment. The match is 2/3 falls as well, making it feel even longer.

I think they’ll stick with Cole here as Gargano is much better as the challenger instead of the champion and tends to lose the big matches. He’s already been there once and that’s about all he needs to cement his legacy. The build for it has been good (the final video from this week’s TV was outstanding) but both guys are ready for something new and there are more challengers for Cole than Gargano. It will be entertaining, but Gargano loses in the end, as he should.

Overall Thoughts

Here’s the thing about NXT: even if the show is one of the weakest in the history of Takeover, it’s still going to be one of the best shows of the year. That’s just how NXT works and they’re incapable of having a truly bad show. It’s going to be a great time and likely a blast, but you never can tell just how things are going to go. I’m more into the show than I was three days ago so the go home episode did well, but they’re going uphill this time around.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 7, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Toronto, which is probably the weakest Takeover they’ve done in a long time. The show is likely to be good, though I’m not exactly sure how interesting it’s going to be. We still have this show to help with the build though and they’ve pulled off some great final pushes before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

William Regal is in the ring for the contract signing for the Tag Team Title match. The Street Profits are out first but before the Undisputed Era joins them, Montez Ford gives the a New Age Outlaws style intro. That brings out “O’Reilly Auto Parts and Lawrence Fishburn Jr.”, with the Profits dancing to their music. Fish, who has to shrug off an AUTO PARTS chant, says the Profits need to cover their ears because Fish says they’re not on their level.

For once their autographs mean something because the Era wants them on those contracts. Before we get there though, Fish says they’re funnier than the Profits too. Kyle tells a joke: “The Street Profits are NXT Tag Team Champions.” Fish: “EVERYONE LAUGH!” Ford talks about how the Era has had their chance by being on TV every week and that they’ve beaten every team in NXT history. So what makes them think that losing is an option for the Profits?

The fans have seen them and believe in them so why is losing an option? As far as they’ve come, losing is not an option for them because all they can do is WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN! The Era is getting a beating in Toronto and that is undisputed. Everyone signs. Ford looked like a star here with an incredibly fired up promo. Couple that with the next level athleticism and he could break out in a hurry.

Video on the North American Title match. Velveteen Dream has been a pretty dominant champion but Roderick Strong beat him in a tag match to earn a shot. Then Pete Dunne was added in as a wild card and instantly felt like one of the biggest stars in all of NXT.

A member of Slipknot talks about the Takeover theme song.

Video on Shayna Baszler vs. Mia Yim. Mia grew up with a hard life and has fought all the way here. Baszler says it takes more than a great story to impress her. Every story with her ends in the same way: tap, nap or snap. Shayna earned her spot based on what she accomplished. Mia is here because a bunch of fans wanted her here. Mia took out the lackeys that gave Shayna an advantage so it’s one on one. Shayna: “Mia doesn’t deserve a title shot. She deserves a prison sentence.”

Joaquin Wilde vs. Shane Thorne

Wilde takes him down and flips over Thorne’s back, setting up some rhythmic shouting. Thorne flips out of a wristlock but Wilde flips up into a standoff. The high angle springboard wristdrag takes Thorne down and Wilde flips up again for two. Thorne is right back with a brainbuster before working on the arm some more. Wilde is right back with a slingshot clothesline and a middle rope elbow to the face. Back up and Thorne goes to the middle rope, earning himself a powerbomb right back down.

The rolling DDT is blocked and Thorne hits him in the face. Wilde loads up a monkey flip but kicks Thorne in the face instead, sending Thorne outside. The suicide dive over the corner takes him down again and it’s a running flip dive to drop Thorne for the second time in a row. That’s good for a nine count, with Thorne sliding back to the floor. Wilde follows him out and gets posted, setting up a running knee to give Thorne the pin at 7:23.

Rating: C. I can go with a Thorn push as I liked TM61, though it will be nice to not have to remember which is which. It’s been a long time since the team did anything so Thorne is basically starting over. That might be the best thing for him as well, as the team wasn’t exactly successful in the first place.

Video on Io Shirai vs. Candice LeRae, with Candice trying to give Io a fair shot at the Women’s Title. Shirai lost anyway and beat Candice down, saying she didn’t need help.

Harley Race tribute video.

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain

Fallout from Dain attacking Riddle after his last match. Dain seemed to like the idea as he jumps Riddle during the entrance and lays him out against the steps. No match for now.

Video on the Breakout Tournament, with the finals featuring Cameron Grimes vs. Jordan Myles. The finals are next week.

We look back at Fandango returning to reform Breezango.

Tyler Breeze asks Fandango where he has been. Fandango was in deep and realized that his fashion sense was way off. Fandango: “It was whack!” Breeze: “I don’t know what that means.” Fandango: “Bad.” Breeze: “BAD???” They need a makeover, like Breezango reimagined. Breeze likes the idea. Next week: Breezango vs. Forgotten Sons.

We look back at Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano. They’ve fought at back to back Takeovers with Cole winning the title at Takeover: XXV. They’ll be fighting again in Toronto in another 2/3 falls match, with a regular match, a street fight and a third stipulation to be decided if they go to the third fall.

Gargano has been looking at the pictures on the walls of the Performance Center, which have been eating away at him because he isn’t the best. What matters is what you do in NXT and he has something left to do. Some wrestlers talk about how Johnny is an inspiration and he’s been coaching a bit. Johnny says Shawn Michaels is Mr. Wrestlemania and Johnny wants to be Mr. NXT.

We see some clips of Adam Cole’s Bay Bay Championship Celebration Tour, with Cole beating a bunch of challengers because he’s that great. Back at the Performance Center, Seth Rollins gave Johnny a pep talk. Then Cole defended the title some more. Then Gargano talked to Finn Balor, who thinks Gargano is awesome. The fans are split on who will win and Regal won’t give an answer. Various wrestlers aren’t sure on who wins either. The story ends in Toronto.

This was a mini documentary and it did an outstanding job of selling me on the title match. The idea of Gargano wanting to take the respectful route and earn his legacy vs. Cole who thinks he’s earned all of this already was a great way to set up their differences and I’m buying the important of Saturday’s match a lot more. As usual, NXT knows exactly what they’re doing with these things and this was excellent.

Overall Rating: B. I know a lot of people aren’t going to be pleased with the show consisting one one lower card match but that’s not the point of a show like this. The point of this show was to make me want to see Takeover more and it did so very well. This hasn’t been the strongest build to a show they’ve done and giving us an hour long commercial for the show was a good idea. That was more important than having some midcard stories advanced and it’s a good sign that NXT knew what to do. I liked this more and it was what they should have done, because a wrestling show is about a lot more than the wrestling.

Results

Shane Thorne b. Joaquin Wilde – Running knee

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 3, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

Things took a bit of a turn last week with Io Shirai turning full heel on Candice LeRae. That could make for some interesting changes as we head towards Toronto with that match being a potential TV main event between now and then. Other than that it’s time for more of the Breakout Tournament so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Aaliyah vs. Mia Yim

Vanessa Borne is in Aaliyah’s corner. Aaliyah takes her down to start and yells a lot but misses an enziguri. Borne has to pull her out of the way of a rolling kick in the corner and Mia is in trouble again. A kick to the back and a knee drop (with a forward flip) keep Aaliyah down as the announcers drop Beatles lyrics.

Mia is right back with the Tarantula but walks into an enziguri. Something close to a surfboard has Mia in a different kind of trouble but she avoids another knee. Aaliyah gets sent into the corner for a Cannonball, followed by a toss to the floor for a double suicide dive. Back in and Protect Your Neck finishes Aaliyah at 4:52.

Rating: C-. Aaliyah still doesn’t look great most of the time but this was one of her better performances. What matters most is Yim heading straight for Shayna Baszler and the title in a match that I didn’t expect to be looking forward to. It seemed like Candice would be getting this spot but they’re making this work.

Post match Mia sends Borne into the steps and goes to commentary to say she’s coming to beat up Shayna Baszler. Oh and for the title too.

We look back at Shirai snapping last week and destroying Candice.

The Forgotten Sons storm into William Regal’s office and complain about their title shot. Regal says they got themselves disqualified so it’s to the back of the line with them. Threats are made but Regal has accepted the Street Profits’ idea for some challengers. Therefore, next week, Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan are getting a shot at the Profits.

We see Adam Cole going to Gargano’s Restaurant but the owner, Frank, doesn’t seem happy. Cole goes over to a wall of Johnny Gargano’s stuff and tacks up an autographed photo of himself. Cole gets his pizzas and leaves while pointing out the updated wall.

We cut to Cole bringing the pizzas to a wrestling school where Johnny recently spoke. Cole doesn’t think much of the students because Johnny lied to them. Johnny told them that they could achieve something but Cole can see that they’re not good enough. Cole brought them the pizzas because they need to take it home, sit on their couch and give up. Just accept that Johnny got lucky to win the NXT Title and give up already. Cole is an awesome jerk but I really don’t need to see him fight Gargano again.

Kushida vs. Jeff Parker

Kushida wrestles him to the mat without much effort to start and grabs a headlock. That goes nowhere so it’s time to work on the arm on the mat with an elbow going into Parker’s ribs. The threat of the Hoverboard Lock (now called the Sakuraba Lock) sends Parker over to the rope so Kushida kicks him in the arm. Now the Sakuraba Lock finishes Parker at 2:32.

Tyler Breeze doesn’t like the Undisputed Era taking credit for NXT’s success because this used to be NX-Breeze.

Killian Dain watches film.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Isaiah Scott vs. Cameron Grimes

That would be Shane Strickland vs. Trevor Lee. Scott says he’s confident and Grimes knows he’s the best in the world. They go technical to start with Grimes going for the arm as the fans know Scott’s signature chants. A quick trip to the floor goes nowhere so Scott comes back in with an armbar of his own. Grimes goes with some heavy forearms to escape so Scott cartwheels into a headscisccors to take over again.

The armbar goes on again but Grimes reverses into an armbar of his own. One heck of a clothesline drops Scott and it’s time to work on the arm a little more. Scott is back up with a hurricanrana out of the corner and a Downward Spiral gets two. The top rope stomp misses though and Grimes grabs a sitout powerbomb for his own two. Grimes gets sent outside and Scott nails a running flip dive. Back in and they trade strikes to the head until Grimes’ running flipping suplex takes Scott down. The standing double stomp finishes Scott at 8:32.

Rating: B. Grimes is the guy that I always heard great things about but never got the appeal. That changed here as these two had a heck of a match which made me want to see more of the tournament. Both guys looked like stars here and neither would have been hurt by the loss. Really good, action based match here and it worked.

Bianca Belair vs. Priscilla Zuniga

Belair shoves her in the face to start so Zuniga shoves her right back. That’s WAY too far for Belair, who takes off the earrings and takes Zuniga down for a beating. Some hair tosses set up shoulders in the corner and it’s a gorilla press, with squats. Two powerbombs into a reverse buckle bomb sets up the KOD to finish Zuniga at 2:13. This was ten miles ahead of everything Belair has done so far and showed off the crazy athleticism that the announcers kept talking about. She looked awesome here and had a fire she has never approached before.

Matt Riddle training video.

Tyler Breeze vs. Roderick Strong

Breeze works on the arm to start but Strong reverses into a headlock in a hurry. Back up and Breeze kicks him in the face but gets dropkicked right back down. They head outside with Breeze getting dropped back first onto the CORNER of the steps, followed by another backbreaker onto the barricade. Back in and Strong starts stomping at the back (makes sense) before grabbing something like a surfboard.

Breeze fights out of that as well and sends Strong outside for a running forearm from the apron. A Backstabber gives Breeze two back inside but Strong enziguris him on top. That means a superplex to bang up Breeze’s back even more but the Strong Hold is broken up. Most of the Supermodel Kick gives Breeze two and his own enziguri puts Strong down. Cue Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish so Breeze kicks Fish down, only to walk into End of Heartache for the pin at 11:23.

Rating: B-. Another well done instance of having one person get a victory and the other being protected in a loss. This doesn’t hurt Breeze at all and Strong looks better at the same time. I could see Strong taking the North American Title at some point and they’re giving him some credibility to move in that direction so far. I would say keep it up, but would you expect anything else from NXT?

Overall Rating: B. This was a show built around the idea of advancing stories while also making the stars already there look good. You need these kind of shows without a big main event for a change and this one worked quite well. Some of the Takeover card is starting to come into shape and given the atmosphere, it could be another great one.

Results

Mia Yim b. Aaliyah – Protect Your Neck

Kushida b. Jeff Parker – Sakuraba Lock

Cameron Grimes b. Isaiah Scott – Standing double stomp

Bianca Belair b. Priscilla Zuniga – KOD

Roderick Strong b. Tyler Breeze – End of Heartache

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 5, 2019
Location: Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s a special show this week as we get the mostly recap show from Takeover. That’s fine as they haven’t had time to do a new set of tapings yet, but we’ll also have the two matches taped before the show. It might not make for the best show in the world, but it’s a fine enough way to go about doing things until we can get to what really matters. Let’s get to it.

Here are Saturday’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Takeover, which was a completely average Takeover and one of the best shows of the year.

Opening sequence.

Keith Lee vs. Kona Reeves

Reeves goes for the arm to start and Lee isn’t all that impressed. A bigger wristlock sends Reeves bailing to the apron so Lee picks him up by one hand and brings him back in. Lee lifts him over his head and Reeves tweaks his knee on the way back down. The goldbricking lets Reeves get in a headbutt and a running boot in the corner. That’s enough to knock Lee onto the apron and it’s a chinlock because Reeves isn’t that bright.

Lee powers out of it so Reeves forearms him in the back of the head to cut off the comeback. Some right hands just wake Lee up though and it’s time for the left hands to put Reeves in trouble. Reeves gets in a quick Rock Bottom (not a bad one either) for two but Lee is right back with a series of strikes to the face. The big Pounce sets up the Limit Breaker for the pin at 6:10.

Rating: D+. I don’t think NXT knows what to do with Lee at this point as he’s incredibly talented but hasn’t had a major feud other than the rather good matches with Dijakovic. He could go for something more substantial, but watching him hurt Reeves was rather entertaining. At least NXT has given up on Reeves, which should have been the case a long time ago.

We look at Shayna Baszler successfully defending the Women’s Title against Io Shirai, who snapped after the match in what should have been a heel turn.

Shirai says she isn’t done with Baszler.

We look back at the four way ladder match with the Street Profits winning the vacant Tag Team Titles in a pretty cool moment.

The Street Profits dedicated their win to hard work and dedication. They even thank the cameraman, who has been here since day one.

We look back at Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream with Dream retaining the North American Title. They even took a selfie together.

Breeze says the match could have gone either way and he respects Dream. Hopefully Dream respects him too but what matters is that Breeze is back in NXT for good.

Damien Priest is coming.

Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair

It’s the rubber match no one was asking for. Belair takes her down to start with ease so Mia does the same thing to her. Mia misses an armdrag and Bianca stands on her hand while doing that abysmal catchphrase. A running faceplant drops Mia again and it’s time for the abdominal stretch to slow Yim down.

There’s a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster for two and it’s a bow and arrow to stay on the ribs. Belair drops down onto Mia’s back and even messes with the hair. Another drop lands on Mia’s raised knees but Bianca is right back with another running faceplant. The back is bent around the post but Mia pulls Belair shoulder post into the post to even things up.

A sloppy looking roll sends Belair into the steps, followed by Code Blue for two back inside. Belair is back up and ties her hair around her head so Mia can’t pull it, only to have Mia get in the guillotine choke. That’s broken up so Belair takes her into the corner, only to get caught with the Protect Ya Neck off the middle rope for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: C. I’m almost relieved that they seem to have cooled off on Belair, who still doesn’t click at just about anything. Mia is better and has grown on me a bit, though she doesn’t scream star. The trilogy didn’t exactly get my attention but for a match like this, on this kind of a show, it’s fine for a main event.

Drew Gulak doesn’t like that Marty McFly wannabe (Gulak: “Everybody knows Biff is the hero of the movie!”) showing off around here. Now he wants a submission match with Kushida. The match is set for next week.

Also next week: Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch.

A long video on Adam Cole taking the NXT Title from Johnny Gargano ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. I never know what to say about these shows as they’re only meant to be a placeholder/a recap for the maybe four people who watch NXT but not Takeover. We’ll get to what matters next week after the big show, that’s not the worst thing in the world. Now we can get back to normal and start the slow build towards Toronto, which should make for some good TV.

Results

Keith Lee b. Kona Reeves – Limit Breaker

Mia Yim b. Bianca Belair – Protect Ya Neck

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s History Of In Your House (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/05/31/new-paperback-kbs-history-of-in-your-house/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 29, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the go home show for Takeover and that means we should be in for some nice final push segments towards the show. The card feels a little thrown together but that has never stopped NXT from making these things work before. If they do things right, we could be in for another classic. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim

Rematch from three weeks ago where Belair won. Mia dropkicks her to the floor early on and Bianca isn’t sure what to do. Back in and Bianca takes her down with a double leg but gets reversed so Mia can hammer away even more. A Cannonball in the corner keeps Bianca in trouble but she comes back with a kick to the face for two.

It’s off to a double chickenwing to keep Yim down, followed by a delayed vertical suplex (with squats) to show off Belair’s power. Mia is right back with a Tarantula and an SOS for two so an annoyed Belair dropkicks her in the face. The cocky cover gets one but what looks like a Glam Slam is countered into a rollup to give Mia two. Belair forearms the heck out of her for one and it’s back to the double chickenwing.

That’s broken up as well and a shot to the face gives us a double knockdown. Code Red (that’s becoming WAY too popular of a move these days) gives Mia two more and Eat Defeat sends Belair outside. They chop it out on the ramp and dive back in at nine with Belair taking over again. Yim pulls the hair to get out of a powerbomb though and Protect Yo Neck finishes Belair at 10:08.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on either of them but the match was a good one with Belair thinking she was better than Yim due to being so much better of a pure athlete. Yim is the kind of person who is going to fight no matter what and that’s what she did here, which made for a good story being told. Belair continues to be really annoying, so at least she has the heel stuff down.

Long video on Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream, with Dream talking about how Breeze went to NXT and was overwhelmed so he’s back here to recapture his former glory. There is only room for one person to steal the spotlight here and that’s what Dream does. That’s a good story between two people who are rather similar at their cores.

We look back at Io Shirai saving Candice LeRae from the Horsewomen last week.

Shayna Baszler and the Horsewomen aren’t worried about Shirai because Shirai can’t bring weapons to Takeover. Baszler’s weapons, as in the Horsewomen, are right here.

Drew Gulak vs. Kushida

One fan tries to start a GULAK chant and thankfully gives up in short order. Gulak’s wristlock doesn’t last long as Kushida takes him down, only to get reversed into a hammerlock. Kushida rolls away from that as well and it’s a standoff. A grab of the leg sets up a half crab on Kushida, which is broken up in a hurry. Kushida switches to a triangle and Gulak slaps his leg, which looked a lot like a tap but doesn’t count here.

The hold is broken up again and it’s off to an also quickly broken Crossface. Kushida can’t keep an Octopus hold on either and neither can hit a hiptoss. Instead Kushida gets sent to the apron and snaps the arm over the top rope. Back in and Gulak’s arm is fine enough for a gutbuster, followed by something like an Octopus hold on the mat. That’s broken up as well and Kushida gets the hiptoss, this time into an armbreaker.

Since a hold can’t stay on for more than a few seconds, Gulak gets up and grabs an ankle lock. That’s reversed into another armbreaker which is reversed into another ankle lock. Kushida scores with an enziguri into the corner and the Hoverboard Lock goes on. Gulak rolls away but gets caught in a Downward Spiral. What looks to be a camel clutch is rolled into a rollup to pin Gulak at 8:15.

Rating: B. This was the human chess match which can be so fun to watch. These two were countering everything the other had and it was really entertaining to see where they were going from move to move. The ending felt like a clean version of Kurt Angle vs. Chris Benoit at Wrestlemania XVII with all those submission holds (they even had a Crossface and ankle locks) until someone got caught in a pin.

Post match Gulak yells but Kushida holds up three fingers.

Io Shirai isn’t worried about the Horsewomen but Candice LeRae comes up to say she has her back at Takeover.

Takeover rundown.

Video on Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. Johnny has worked hard to get here but Cole thinks that he deserves the title because of how great he is. Oh and pinning Gargano in the first fall in New York.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Forgotten Sons

Burch armbars Blake to start but a blind tag lets Cutler come in for a double back elbow. A double backbreaker gives Blake two but it’s quickly off to Lorcan for the chops. Jaxson Ryker offers a distraction though, allowing Blake to hit a clothesline. Ryker gets ejected (Mauro: “IT’S ABOUT TIME!” We’re not even two minutes into the match.) and here are the Street Profits to jump him. The Profits come in for the double DQ at 2:11.

Post match, with the fans chanting THANK YOU PROFITS, the fight is on with the Sons bringing in chairs. Cue the full Undisputed Era to beat everyone down and hit the pose. Cole grabs a ladder and the Era drives it into Ryker’s face. The ladder is set up on the stage and Cole sits on top of it, promising Johnny Gargano and Matt Riddle that Takeover will be Undisputed to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know if it’s the fast turnaround or that we’re coming off the previous awesome Takeover, but this one isn’t feeling like the biggest show in the world. I’m sure it’s going to be very good, but that’s not exactly the kind of level that you expect from NXT. This was a strong enough go home show, though I’m not exactly sold on the entire card.

Results

Mia Yim b. Bianca Belair – Protect Yo Neck

Kushida b. Drew Gulak – Rollup

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Forgotten Sons went to a double DQ when the Street Profits interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: May 8, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re suddenly racing towards Takeover, which is less than a month away thanks to the schedule changes. In this case we’ll be seeing Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole as part of the ongoing Johnny Gargano/Riddle vs. Undisputed Era issues. The Takeover card needs to start filling in but NXT knows how to do this in a hurry. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need them.

We get a quick main event preview.

Opening sequence.

Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair

The fans are behind Mia here, as expected. They trade armdrags to start and then block each others’ armdrag attempts, causing them to say they see each other. Belair knocks her down and tries that UN-DE-FEA-TED line until Mia kicks her in the head. A ram into the corner puts Mia down and it’s off to a cravate to keep her down.

Belair’s forearm to the back sets up an Alley Oop onto the top turnbuckle for two and she does that dance of hers. Mia doesn’t like being mocked so Belair slams her down again and grabs another cravate. A splash hits knees though and Yim dropkicks her into the corner. Mia tries a sunset flip but Belair sits down on it and wraps her hair around the ropes for the pin at 7:37.

Rating: C-. She’s an athletic freak but there is something missing about Belair and it shows in every match she has. It was missing again here and I still can’t put my finger on what it is. The cockiness makes perfect sense with how she’s dominated athletics for so long so that checks out. It might just be her rather weak talking abilities, as she rarely says anything memorable aside from the UN-DE-FEA-TED line.

The Forgotten Sons attacked the Viking Raiders at the Performance Center.

Shayna Baszler was coaching Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir at the Performance Center when Io Shirai ran in to attack her. A bunch of trainees broke it up.

Raul Mendoza vs. Riddick Moss

This is Moss’ return match after tearing his Achilles last year. He now follows the Riddick Regimen, which seems to be a workout plan. Moss powers him into the corner to start but Mendoza pushes him away, meaning it’s time for the posedown. Hang on though as Moss pulls out a massager and works on his shoulder for a second.

Mendoza handspring backflips over him and hits a springboard hurricanrana, setting up a running shooting star for two. Back up and Moss plants him down but hang on as we need some hydration. Moss charged into a dropkick to the knee to send him into the buckle and a headscissors does it again. A springboard corkscrew splash gives Mendoza the upset win at 4:40.

Rating: C. I liked the Regimen thing as it’s something that has been done before but Moss having various things to pull out made it better. That being said, Mendoza had to win a match at some point as he loses nearly every time he’s in the ring. He’s probably not going to be a top star but he’s a heck of a hand in the ring and needed something to keep him going.

We look back at Kushida’s debut last week. He’s in action again next week.

Matt Riddle vs. Adam Cole

Riddle easily wrestles him down but Cole bails to the floor before the Bromission. Back in and Cole isn’t sure what to do here so he grabs a headlock, which is reversed into one from Riddle. A backsplash to Cole’s back gets two and some rolling gutwrench suplexes make it even worse. The fans aren’t sure who to cheer for as Cole takes him down again for some knees to the back into a figure four necklock.

Back up and an elbow to the face drops Riddle so Cole calls him a joke and nothing. Riddle strikes away until a jumping enziguri staggers him, only to snap off a German suplex to put Cole down as well. It’s Riddle getting the better of things with running forearms in the corner and an exploder suplex, setting up a running kick to the chest for two. The deadlift German suplex gives Riddle two more but Cole is right back with a fireman’s carry backbreaker.

Riddle throws him up into a fireman’s carry but Cole spins out into a Backstabber. A strike off goes to Riddle and he takes Cole down for the Bromission, which is reversed into a fisherman’s buster. Cole is right back up with the brainbuster onto the knee but the middle rope Canadian Destroyer is blocked.

Instead he hits the Last Shot for two on Riddle and Cole can’t believe the kickout. Riddle is right back with a knee to the face and a GTS, followed by another knee to send Cole outside. Cue Roderick Strong, who gets kicked in the face as well, but the distraction lets Cole superkick Riddle’s head off. That’s good for two, but the kickout pulls Cole into the Bromission for the tap at 13:45.

Rating: B. They had a good story here with Cole not being sure what to do to beat Riddle but managing to survive the athleticism and get in some offense to break him down. The ending was a good way to advance the stories going forward and with the Undisputed Era showing some cracks, Riddle could be moving up the ladder fairly soon.

Cole and Strong are about to come to blows with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly playing peacekeepers. Cole and O’Reilly leave with Cole ranting about how he wins things by himself but Strong screws everything up to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. It wasn’t the most in depth show they’ve done but what we got was entertaining enough and should set up some more stuff going forward. That being said, they need to start getting ready for Takeover as the show is in less than a month and there hasn’t been a single match set up for it. I trust NXT to pull it off though as setting up five matches isn’t the hardest thing in the world.

Results

Bianca Belair b. Mia Yim – Sunset flip with a grab of the ropes

Raul Mendoza b. Riddick Moss – Springboard corkscrew splash

Matt Riddle b. Adam Cole – Bromission

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 27, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Percy Watson

It’s tournament time as the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic starts up next week. The question becomes what happens with everyone involved here, as there is often a case of big names teaming up to compete alongside the regular teams. It’s hard to make a tag team tournament interesting but NXT has done it before. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for a chat after losing his North American Title last week. He’s had an up and down year so far as he won the North American Title, became a member of the Raw and Smackdown rosters, and then lost the title to Velveteen Dream. He was Johnny Champion but then he was Johnny Failure again. Now he’s without a title again, so he needs to win another championship. He’s come to realize that the only reason he’s had any success around here….and here’s Tommaso Ciampa to cut him off.

Fans: “HE’S A CHAMPION!” Ciampa says the last few days have shown that Gargano is at his best when the two of them are together. They won on Raw and Smackdown but Gargano tried to defend his title alone last week and lost. This is destiny for the two of them because Gargano can get another title.

Last week William Regal announced the return of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which is where it all started for the two of them. Takeover: New York can be their moment and it can end the same way Takeover: Phoenix did: the two of them together as champions. Johnny shakes his hand and DIY is back. Cool moment as the saga continues.

Ricochet has been having fun on Raw and Smackdown but there are still issues that he has to deal with down here. The Undisputed Era will never attack you one on one but he has Aleister Black by his side now. They want in on the Dusty Classic.

DIY runs into Candice LeRae, who doesn’t want to see this again. Johnny says trust him, but she’s not convinced.

Vanessa Borne/Aliyah vs. Taynara Conti/Xia Li

Borne elbows Conti in the face so it’s some Portuguese yelling and a kick to Borne’s face. A missed kick lets Conti grab a legbar over the rope but Aliyah’s interference lets Borne take over in the corner. Something like a reverse Bronco Buster has Conti in trouble and a double northern lights suplex gets two. Conti kicks Aliyah away though and it’s off to Li for the hard kicks to the face. Since Aliyah isn’t very good it’s back to Borne, who puts Li near her knee for a running neckbreaker from Aliyah into a backbreaker on Borne’s knee (kind of hard to describe) for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: D+. It’s still amazing that Aliyah has been around for so long and still can’t do anything above basic. The other three were looking sharp here and their parts were good enough, but the thing just died when Aliyah was in there. The ending, which not a great move in the first place, was also out of nowhere and it made for a bad finish to a decent enough match otherwise.

Velveteen Dream arrives (sans belt) but gets cut off by the Undisputed Era. Adam Cole does the talking but Dream wants to know how big his mouth would be when his backup was gone.

Io Shirai and Bianca Belair argue over who should be #1 contender. I’d like to argue that Belair shouldn’t talk anymore.

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee

Lee now sings his own entrance music. Dominki’s headlock doesn’t work as Lee shoves him off for a leapfrog, only to have Dijakovic flip out of a hiptoss attempt. Dijakvoic tries a monkey flip but Lee sticks the landing, freaking Dominik out in a great visual. With the flips not working, Dijakvoic goes with a top rope forearm to the head, sending a growling Lee staggering around the ring.

One heck of a pounce sends Dijakovic flying but he’s right back with a sitout chokeslam for two. Lee is right back up and tosses Dijakovic through the air with ease. The discus big boot knocks Lee to the floor and just because he can, Dijakovic hits an Asai moonsault to take Lee down again. Both of them are down though and it’s a double countout at 6:50.

Rating: B. Well that was awesome. This was exactly the spectacle that it should have been and it was one of the more entertaining things I’ve seen in a good while around here. Sometimes it’s cool to have big guys do crazy athletic moves to each other than that’s what we got. You know we’re getting a rematch and I wouldn’t be surprised to see that set up a third match in New York.

Post match they have to be separated and Dijakovic says he’ll see Lee later.

Here are the brackets for the Dusty Classic:

Moustache Mountain

Street Profits

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Forgotten Sons

DIY

Undisputed Era

Ricochet/Aleister Black

Fabian Aichner/Marcel Barthel

In two weeks: Shirai vs. Belair for the title shot in New York.

Here are Sasha Banks and Bayley for a big surprise return. Sasha says it’s good to be back and talks about how their journey to the Women’s Tag Team Titles started right here in NXT. The last time they were together in NXT was the Iron Man match, which freaks out Izzy (in the front row) all over again. Bayley: “It’s ok, she’s different now!” They want these titles to be the most sought after in all of WWE. They’ll be back to defend the titles here so the NXT women need to step up.

Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler

Non-title and Shayna takes Yim down without too much trouble. A missed right hand hits the mat though and Baszler gets sent outside for a suicide dive. Yim stays on the hand by stomping it onto the steps, only to miss a kick into the steps to bang up the knee. Baszler stomps on the leg, ignoring Mia’s demands of “DON’T YOU DO IT!”. The Kirifuda Clutch is blocked so Baszler grabs the leg again to keep Mia down.

That’s broken up but Mia can’t follow up because of the leg. Mia demands that Shayna knee her in the head but switches to a rollup for two instead. A kick to the head (with the bad leg) stuns Shayna for a very delayed two and it’s Shayna right back with a gutwrench faceplant for two of her own. Yim’s sitout powerbomb gets the same but Baszler pulls her into the Kirifuda Clutch. With Shayna trapping the arm to protect her own hand, Mia taps at 8:03.

Rating: C. I really don’t get the hype with Mia. She has a unique look and can work well enough but I’ve never found myself invested in her. Then again with Belair vs. Shirai already announced for the #1 contenders match, it isn’t exactly a secret that Baszler is moving on to a bigger challenge. The wrestling was fine, but I was waiting for it to be over more than anything else.

Overall Rating: B-. The opening segment helped carry this as it was another good show. You can see a lot of the pieces starting to come together for New York but we have a few more weeks to really set things up. Odds are we’ll be seeing the final showdown between Gargano and Ciampa, plus Velveteen Dream defending against Cole. Throw in the other two titles on the line plus maybe Lee vs. Dijakovic or Riddle doing something and you have another outstanding show in the works.

Results

Aliyah/Vanessa Borne b. Taynara Conti/Xia Li – Neckbreaker into a backbreaker to Li

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Keith Lee went to a double countout

Shayna Baszler b. Mia Yim – Kirifuda Clutch

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2000 Monday Nitro and Thunder Reviews Part 1 (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/02/22/new-book-kbs-monday-nitro-thunder-reviews-volume-vii-january-june-2000/

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

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