NXT
Date: May 2, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We are in for the final night before everything changes up next week. The NXT roster was gutted by the WWE Draft and now we get to see everyone have one last night around here. This is going to include multiple champions, so we could be in for some last minute title changes, which could be quite the shakeup. Or WWE will just do something stupid. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the NXT Draft picks.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Drew Gulak

Lee, with Tyler Bate (as evened out by Charlie Dempsey), is defending. An early dropkick puts Gulak on the floor but he’s back in with a sunset flip for two. Back up and Lee takes him to the top, only to get knocked to the mat for a top rope clothesline. Gulak cranks on both arms at once but Lee slips out and wins a slugout. A German suplex out of the corner is blocked and Gulak heads outside, where he is taken down by a dive. Dempsey’s interference is cut off by Bate and the Cardiac Kick retains the title at 5:23.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have a lot of time here but they crammed in what they could for a nice opener. Lee is a great choice to open the show as he can excite the fans rather easily no matter who he is in there against. Gulak is going to be around as long as he wants to as he can always be a trainer, plus actively wrestling on the side. Nice opener here and I could have gone for a longer version.

We look at Carmelo Hayes retaining the NXT Title last week against Carmelo Hayes. After the match, the challenge was thrown out to Bron Breakker, who then wrecked Hayes and Trick Williams.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are ready to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles before they leave NXT for good after tonight. They’re leaving the place in darkness.

Here is Trick Williams for an angry chat. He has known Carmelo Hayes since high school and they have been friends for years. Last week he took a spear for Hayes and he would do it again in a heartbeat because it’s his instinct. Cue Bron Breakker to say Williams must be tougher than Hayes because he’s actually here. The match is on for Battleground, but Williams wants to face Breakker as well. Breakker does it on his time so they can fight next week.

JD McDonagh is ready to move up to Raw but Noam Dar comes in to tell him to take out Dragon Lee tonight. McDonagh says stay away from him or he’ll take the Heritage Cup with him to Raw.

Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne

Jayne knees her in the ribs to start and trips Dolin face first onto the apron. Back in and Dolin’s half nelson attempt is blocked and it’s a superkick to stagger her again. Dolin is back with a kick to the head though and an STO gets two on Jayne. They head outside again (where Dolin’s brother is watching in the crowd) and some Kawada kicks send Jayne’s head into the steps. They get back inside where Dolin is sent into the turnbuckle bar, allowing Jayne to hit a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 3:22.

Rating: C. Again they didn’t have much time here but this was about giving Jayne a pin over Dolin to even things up a bit. It was a quick beating and Dolin didn’t get in a ton of offense, but at least there were some shenanigans setting up the finish. There will probably be a rubber match at Battleground, but this feud has gone ice cold since Jayne got injured.

Post match Jayne keeps up the beating and even mocks Dolin’s brother for a bonus.

Axiom vs. Scrypts

Scrypts (no entrance) jumps Axiom to start but gets armdragged down. A northern lights suplex drops Scrypts again but he sends Axiom outside. The big dive drops Axiom and a top rope moonsault press gives Scrypts two back inside. Scrypts dropkicks him out of the air but Axiom knees him in the face for two. Axiom gets dropped again but he manages to superkick Scrypts out of the air as well. The Golden Ratio finishes Scrypts at 4:17.

Rating: C+. Now just move on to something else for Axiom already. He’s a talented guy who has been stuck in this weird/not interesting feud with Scrypts for a good while now. They did some nice things here with the flips and dives, but I’m still not sure what the point of Scrypts is supposed to be and I don’t know if NXT knows it either.

Post match Scrypts goes after Axiom and gets exposed as….well the fans chant Reggie but no name is given. This is up there with Doom’s reveal for non-surprises.

Earlier today, Brooks Jensen joined Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley at the bar and thanked them for dealing with him. They say he doesn’t need to apologize, but he did learn enough from Kiana James to help the bar make more money. Some women come up to hit on Jensen but he politely declines because he’s with his friends.

Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh

Lee works on the arm to start but gets driven into the corner. That doesn’t work for Lee, who hits some rapid fire dropkicks in the corner. Cue Noam Dar for a distraction though, allowing McDonagh to tie Lee up in the Tree of Woe. A charge misses Lee and sends McDonagh crotching himself into the post as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh holding a bodyscissors to keep Lee in trouble. Lee isn’t having that though and goes up top for a high crossbody, setting up the big flip dive to the floor. The top rope double stomp gives Lee two and they head to the apron, where McDonagh gets struck in the chest a lot.

They both crash down to the floor and beat the count, with Lee snapping off a fast German suplex. The poisonrana plants McDonagh again but he’s back with a hard clothesline as Noam Dar is here. Lee heads up but gets cut off by a super Spanish Fly. The brainbuster gives McDonagh two, only to have Lee Canadian Destroy him to the floor. Back in and the Devlin Side finishes Lee out of nowhere at 15:03.

Rating: B. These two got a lot more time and had a much better match, which shouldn’t be surprising given the talent involved. McDonagh gets a nice showcase on the way on the way out of NXT and onto Raw with some momentum. At the same time, Lee needs to win something around here and I’m not sure why he keeps losing so often. The talent is there, but those losses pile up.

Post match Lee and Dar brawl to the back.

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles because they’re a better team.

Joe Gacy is ready to sacrifice his body to Joe Coffey to get the Dyad a Tag Team Title match.

We look at various women being attacked in recent months.

Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey.

If Gacy wins, the Dyad gets a Tag Team Title shot against Gallus and the rest of Schism is here. Coffey knees him into the corner to start and stomps away but Gacy hits a knee to the face. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Coffey fights up and hits an elbow for two. Gacy’s belly to back gets the same but gets caught with All The Best For The Bells. The Dyad puts a foot on the rope though and Gacy hits the Upside Down for the pin at 3:21.

Rating: C-. Well Gacy wasn’t going to lose here, even if he should have. Putting the focus on the Dyad is a better idea than focusing on Gacy, though it wouldn’t surprise me to see that coming sooner rather than later. At the end of the day, Schism is still the same level of bad that they have been since they came in and I don’t see it getting any better anytime soon.

Sol Ruca (via phone), Tank Ledger and Hank Walker give Dani Palmer a pep talk. Oba Femi comes in to scare the guys.

Eddy Thorpe was training earlier when Damon Kemp came in to tell him to take out the trash. Kemp called him a young boy too, making a match seem imminent.

Dani Palmer vs. Tatum Paxley

Palmer flips around to start, including flipping out of a wristlock and into a rollup for two on Paxley. Back up and Paxley knocks her into the corner to take over, setting up a chinlock with a knee in the spine. Palmer slips out of an abdominal stretch attempt and avoids a splash, followed by something like a standing Sliced Bread to drop Paxley again. A frog splash gives Palmer the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C+. This was a showcase for Palmer and that’s what it needed to be. She has the athleticism and some charisma to go with it so there is certainly potential there. Paxley is far from a top star but she is someone who has been around long enough to have a bit of a reputation. That makes her perfect to put Palmer over to start and that is all it needed to be here.

Andre Chase is too banged up from facing Bron Breakker, meaning he can’t teach this week. Instead, Duke Hudson takes over the teaching and says we have no more pop quizzes. Hudson: “Duke University?”

Von Wagner and Mr. Stone are going through a photo album but Wagner doesn’t want to talk about one of the photos. Wagner leaves, and Stone sees a baby dealing with a lot of medical issues (presumably Wagner himself).

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter/Chance are challenging and both teams are main roster bound. The champs jump them to start fast and the fight is on the floor before the bell. Chance dives onto both of them and we get the bell, allowing Chance to sunset flip Fyre for two. Carter clears the ring and hits a few kicks from the apron as we take a break.

Back with Chance snapping off a hurricanrana to Fyre, followed by a flipping legdrop to the back of the head for two. A springboard moonsault/legdrop combination gets two on Fyre but she kicks Chance into the corner. The Backstabber/Swanton combination gets two, with Carter having to make the save.

Everything breaks down and the 450/neckbreaker combination hits Dawn for two more and it’s time for the big double slugout. Dawn gets sent outside and a super Spanish Fly gets two on Fyre. A high crossbody hits Dawn but Fyre is back in with a Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination (that looked sweet) to retain at 9:14.

Rating: B-. Another fun match here, but they didn’t do it any favors with the break in the middle. It still gets very old having that cut out such a big chunk of the match but what we did get to see worked well. Now I’m curious to see what happens to the titles, though I could go with seeing them unified with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Dijak blames Ilja Dragunov for the beating he received last week.

Apollo Crews runs into Trick Williams in the parking low and gives him a pep talk.

Here is Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell, with the fans telling her that SHE DESERVES IT (likely meaning the promotion to the main roster, not the walking boot and crutches). She talks about her path here and what it meant for her to become champion. Then she got hurt in a title defense, but the title reign wasn’t ending on the medical table. Now she is on the way to Raw, but the most important thing right now is NXT.

Starting next week, there will be a tournament to crown a new Women’s Champion, with the new champion being crowned at Battleground. Hartwell leaves the title in the ring….and Dexter Lumis pops out from underneath said ring. Dexter takes her away and Tiffany Stratton comes in to pick up the title. A bunch more women come in and the big brawl ends the show. Makes sense, as Hartwell doesn’t seem able to lose the title right now and you don’t want her getting beaten on the way to the main roster. It also gives a bunch of people something to do so this is the right way to go.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a very different kind of show, as NXT is finishing up a bunch of stars and there isn’t much that can be done with them as a result. Instead, you had some farewells and some things being set up for once everyone is gone. That doesn’t leave you with many options, but at least they got through the show with some good action and an important development in the end. The new NXT starts next week, but for now their latest finale went well.

Results
Wes Lee b. Drew Gulak – Cardiac Kick
Jacy Jayne b. Gigi Dolin – Spinning kick to the face
Axiom b. Scrypts – Golden Ratio
JD McDonagh b. Dragon Lee – Devlin Side
Dani Palmer b. Tatum Paxley – Frog splash

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 11, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

With no major special events in sight, it is time to start getting ready for the next big TV show. That would be two weeks away with Spring Breakin, which is going to need a main event. This week will see a four way match for the #1 contendership, with participants to be announced. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to get things going. Hayes wants to talk about Bron Breakker turning on him last week. There was no passing of the torch because Hayes took it. Hayes and Breakker are going to be facing off for a long time and Stand & Deliver was just a chapter in a long story. Tonight, Hayes is flexing his championship muscle and inviting Breakker into the four way #1 contenders match. That means he’s telling, not asking.

Cue Dragon Lee to interrupt, saying that Hayes is talented but he’s coming for the title. Hayes welcomes him to NXT and says never interrupt the champ. Lee gets a pass because he’s new around here, but here is JD McDonagh to interrupt. McDonagh promises to win the match and the title, but Hayes makes a leprechaun joke. Now it’s Grayson Waller, who says there are some stupid people here. Hayes says there are a lot of them’s but one him. This was your “hi, I want a title match” opening segment.

Kiana James and Fallon Henley argue again. Brooks Jensen is nowhere to be found.

Sol Ruca and Dani Palmer were making a TikTok video in the parking lot when Tiffany Stratton interrupted. Tiffany was NOT happy about them being in her space but left in a huff.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn vs. Fallon Henley/Kiana James

Henley/James, with Josh Briggs, are challenging. James jumps Dawn to start and the fight is on fast. It’s off to Henley, who gets tripped down and forearmed by Fyre. We see Brooks Jensen arriving as Henley jawbreaks her way to freedom and brings James back in. The champs are cleared out and we take a break.

Back with James in trouble but managing a belly to back suplex to Fyre. Henley gets the tag and trades kicks with Dawn for a double knockdown. Cue Jensen to try to bring in the loaded purse but the referee ejects him as Henley tells him to get out. Jensen shoves Briggs down and carries James off, leaving Dawn to get Backstabbered and Swantoned to retained the titles at 10:05

Rating: C. Henley and James have been bickering for months now and they are still doing just that. There is only so much that you can get out of that idea and we might be reaching that point. At the same time, Dawn and Fyre are looking like fairly good champions, even if there isn’t much to compare them to. Just get on with the Henley/James stuff already so everyone can move on to something else.

Video on Noam Dar and the Heritage Cup.

It’s time to present the Chase University MVP Award to Duke Hudson. After a speech from Andre Chase about Hudson saving the day, Hudson seems mostly grateful and does his own spelling chant. Cue Bron Breakker to interrupt, saying everyone wants to hear from him. Breakker doesn’t care that he is being rude, but he has realized that the title is a curse.

He doesn’t need the approval of these scumbags any longer, but for tonight, Hudson should be in the #1 contenders match. Breakker goes to leave, only to turn around and spear Chase in half. The Chase U flag is ripped in half. This didn’t feel like the start of a feud and it shouldn’t be.

Gigi Dolin is at her childhood home, which looks less than inviting. She talks about how she wanted to be loved and escape from this place. Jacy Jayne knew that and then attacked her anyway, but she will never break Dolin’s spirit.

Earlier this week, as shown by NXT Anonymous, Tony D’Angelo and Stacks attacked Pretty Deadly.

Javier Bernal vs. Eddy Thorpe

They go to the mat to start with Thorpe getting the better of things and hitting a crossbody. Cue Damon Kemp to watch as Bernal sends Thorpe outside. Back in and a suplex sets up a Boston crab on Thorpe, who slips out rather quickly. Thorpe’s double underhook swinging suplex finishes Bernal at 3:36.

Rating: C. This was little more than a way to get Thorpe some more exposure as he continues his start. Beating up a goon like Bernal is a fine way to go as the fans will react to it enough and Thorpe can get something out of it. Thorpe has potential, but he has to get some wins before that potential can start to be realized. These matches might not be great, but they’ll be helpful for him on the way up.

Gallus interrupted Tank Ledger’s photo shoot but as interrupted by Schism. The Dyad want a Tag Team Title shot.

Scrypts is ready to expose Axiom.

Sol Ruca vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton takes her down by the wrist to start before they take turns flipping over each other. Ruca actually falls for a handshake and is quickly taken down for a standing moonsault. The armbar keeps Ruca down but she fights up with some running shoulders. A flipping corner clothesline and a powerslam give Ruca two, with Stratton bailing to the floor. Ruca’s dive is cut off with a kick to the arm, setting up a Regal Roll. The moonsault gives Stratton the pin at 5:30.

Rating: C+. The athleticism was on display here but Ruca didn’t get to show nearly what she can do. That’s the right play in a match like this though, as this was about making Stratton look like a star. The flips looked great with that moonsault to finish being a thing of beauty. Stratton very well could be the next breakout star in the division so there is no reason to have her lose here.

Duke Hudson is fired up about bringing gold to Chase U.

The Creed Brothers want Gallus for the Tag Team Titles next week. With them gone, Tiffany Stratton comes in to say Indi Hartwell is scared.

Here is Cora Jade for a chat. Jade talks about how it is time to start humbling some people. Zoey Stark can do a lot of impressive things in the ring, but she’ll never be champion. Roxanne Perez is only famous for Jade turning on her and how long is she using what happened to her as a crutch? Gigi Dolin was close to winning the title but that title says Cora Jade.

Then there’s Tiffany Stratton, who has the tools but Jade runs this place. Lyra Valkyria is fearless but she should fear Jade. Finally there is Indi Hartwell, who isn’t in a fairy tale but rather Jade’s NXT. Cue Valkyria to interrupt and accuse Jade of being jealous. The fight is on and Jade bails fast. This was a weird mixture of compliments and insults but Jade seems to have a next opponent lined up.

Wes Lee is interrupted by Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak, who wonder how he would handle being tied up on the mat. Lee more or less says bring it and leaves.

Von Wagner vs. Ilja Dragunov

If Wagner loses, Mr. Stone (ringside) is done with him. Wagner jumps him to start as Booker compares Wagner to Shaquille O’Neal. Dragunov is back up with the Constantine Special and a suplex to drop Wagner again. Wagner gets in a slam off the top but Dragunov kicks him in the head to take over again. The Torpedo finishes for Dragunov at 3:23.

Rating: C+. That’s exactly what it needed to be, as there was no reason to believe that Wagner was going to be a threat to Dragunov. After months of Wagner losing every big match he had, he wasn’t going to beat a star like Dragunov for the sake of keeping his manager. This was more a matter of necessity to split up Wagner and Stone and if I get to watch Dragunov wreck someone, so be it.

Stone walks away from Wagner. Cue Dijak to stare Dragunov down and threaten violence.

Hank Walker gives Tank Ledger a pep talk.

Tank Ledger vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is here too. Ledger shoves him down to start but Coffey is right back in with an armbar. That’s broken up and Ledger hits a splash but what looks to be an Alabama Slam is broken up. They head outside with Coffey sending him into the steps, followed by All The Best For The Bells back inside. A second one finishes Ledger off at 4:25.

Rating: C. Much like Dragunov vs. Wagner, this wasn’t about drama as Ledger wasn’t going to win here, save for a very surprising upset. Coffey hasn’t been around for a good while and needed a win, but this wasn’t entirely dominant. Ledger got in a few shots here and showed some potential, but it isn’t close to his time yet.

Post match the Creed Brothers and Schism comes in to fight.

Roxanne Perez comes up to Tony D’Angelo and Stacks to say they’ll all win titles. Then Zoey Stark comes in to mock Perez, resulting in a match for next week. With Perez gone, Pretty Deadly jumps D’Angelo and Stacks.

Grayson Waller vs. Duke Hudson vs. JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee

The winner gets a title shot in two weeks. Hudson gets knocked to the floor to start, leaving Waller to take over inside. Back in and Hudson suplexes McDonagh and Waller at the same time but Lee low bridges him to the floor. The big flip dive drops Hudson again and McDonagh Asai moonsaults onto Lee. Waller’s rolling Stunner hits Hudson but he gets dropped as well. Everyone is down as we take a break.

Back with Lee hitting a bunch of dropkicks in the corner but Waller cuts him off. Hudson is back up to clean house, including a bionic elbow on Waller. A slingshot German suplex gets two on Lee but McDonagh hits Hudson with a poisonrana. Lee makes the save with a top rope double stomp, followed by another to bring McDonagh out of the corner. There’s the suicide dive onto Hudson and a running shot to McDonagh’s face for two. Lee powerbombs Hudson but Waller hits the rolling Stunner to steal the pin and the title shot at 12:45.

Rating: B. This was the all action match that you would expect here with a bit of a surprise result. Waller winning is an interesting way to go as he is the most established of the four stars but he just lost a huge match at Stand & Deliver. He’ll do for a first challenger for Hayes though and it came after a pretty great match. The four of them kept moving almost entirely throughout and Waller stealing the win suits him perfectly. Very good main event and the best thing on the show.

Waller drinks from a shoe and gets stared down by Carmelo Hayes to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Solid show here with matches that kept stories moving and got some people into new spots. What matters here is setting up a bigger show with Spring Breakin and they got the main event ready here. The rest of the card can be set up next week, but for now we had some stuff going on and a good main event. That’s a nice use of two hours, as tends to be the case for NXT.

Results
Alba Fyre/Isla Dawn b. Fallon Henley/Kiana James – Swanton to Henley
Eddy Thorpe b. Javier Bernal – Swinging double underhook suplex
Tiffany Stratton b. Sol Ruca – Moonsault
Ilja Dragunov b. Von Wagner – Torpedo
Joe Coffey b. Tank Ledger – All The Best For The Bells
Grayson Waller b. Dragon Lee, Duke Hudson and JD McDonagh – Powerbomb 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: March 28, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Stand & Deliver and there are a few spots that still need to be filled, albeit in multi person matches. Other than that, we get to find out if Grayson Waller vs. Johnny Gargano will be sanctioned or not, plus probably a lot more on Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

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

Battle Royal

Apollo Crews, Axiom, Dabba Kato, Hank Walker, Dante Chen, Xyon Quinn, Edris Enofe, Scrypts, Nathan Fraser, Jinder Mahal, Dijak, Charlie Dempsey, Quincy Elliott, Oro Mensah, Damon Kemp, Malik Blade, Odyssey Jones, Drew Gulak, Javier Bernal, Bryson Montana

The winner is the final entrant in the Open Challenge for the North American Title at Stand & Deliver, with champion Wes Lee at ringside. Scrypts flips in to hit Axiom as the bell rings, with Elliott being tossed out. The brawling ensues and Chen is kicked out as well. Montana is tossed and Kemp is kicked out as well. Enofe and Blade get together and send Dijak to the apron, where Jones gets rid of him.

Dijak pulls Jones to the floor and sends him into the steps before throwing him back in. That lets Mahal toss the banged up Jones, with Blade and Enofe fighting Mahal to the apron. Crews dropkicks Enofe out and Blade is sent as well, with Scrypts being tossed too. Mahal gets back in as Crews tosses Bernal out.

We take a break and come back with Dempsey tossing Walker but eliminating Gulak at the same time. Mahal is knocked out and we’re down to Axiom, Fraser, Kato and Dempsey. Everyone else gets together to get rid of Kato before knocking each other down. Axiom knocks Dempsey to the apron and then out, leaving us with two. They trade shots to the face until the Golden Ratio is cut off. Another superkick knocks Axiom silly but he sends Fraser to the apron anyway. Fraser skins the cat but gets superkicked anyway, which oddly brings him back in. Axiom tosses him out to win at 14:33.

Rating: C+. This was more fun than most battle royals, at least partially due to how fast they kept the pace. Axiom winning wasn’t a guarantee, as they had me wondering if someone would cost him the match and have him come back later in some way. It’s the right call though, as he has been chasing the title shot for a good while now.

Post match Lee gets in the ring and everyone in in the title match appears for a staredown.

Pretty Deadly, in matching hats, pick JD McDonagh to win the North American Title. More on this later.

Andre Chase thanks Tyler Bate for the great performance last week. They’re ready for Stand & Deliver, but Duke Hudson doesn’t seem thrilled.

Brooks Jensen is worried about his relationship with Kiana James but Josh Briggs says it’s cool. Cue James and Fallon Henley, with James saying she has gotten the guys a match tonight. If they win, they’re in the Tag Team Title match at Stand & Deliver. Henley is skeptical but the guys are happy.

Tyler Bate vs. Von Wagner

Chase U and Mr. Stone are here too. Wagner kicks him in the face to start and grabs a neck crank. Bate is sent into the corner but gets a boot up to cut Wagner off. A knee lift staggers Wagner again, setting up a middle rope elbow. There’s a rebound forearm into Bop and Bang. Stone grabs the leg though and Chase isn’t happy. Thea Hail jumps Stone and Hudson gives a half hearted low bridge so Bate can dive onto Stone. Back in and Bate drops Wagner, setting up the Spiral Tap for the pin at 4:04.

Rating: C. Nothing out of the ordinary here as Wagner is a punching bag and Bate is one of the more talented stars in NXT. It’s nice to see Bate getting a chance to do something for a change, even if sliding him into Chase U is a bit weird. For now though, he’s the ace in the tag match on Saturday and that should be enough.

Chase U celebrates but Schism pops up on screen with a video of how Chase U will be under Schism’s control. Some of the students seem to have already embraced the changes. Screwing up Chase U would be bad enough, but PLEASE don’t put even more focus on Schism. I can’t take it.

Roxanne Perez is looking for Shawn Michaels but he just stepped out.

Post break, Perez talks to Shawn, saying she is cleared to return. Shawn says her health is the priority though and defending the title in a ladder match isn’t the best idea. We can get a new champion crowned and she’ll get the first title shot. Perez talks about having anxiety, which has Shawn wondering if she is all cleared mentally instead of physically.

She needs to know that there are other chances but Perez wants to steal the show like he did at Wrestlemania. Shawn finally relents and lets her in the match but sends her away before he has a nervous breakdown. That’s a very different way to go and it could be interesting and/or a disaster depending on which way they take things.

Elektra Lopez vs. Valentina Feroz

Lopez powers her into the corner to start and it’s time to work on the leg. Feroz fights up and kicks her down, only to get pulled out of the air. Electric Shock (sitout chokebomb) finishes Feroz at 1:53.

Eddy Thorpe is ready to represent his people as an alpha wolf.

Eddy Thorpe vs. Myles Borne

Borne grabs the wrist to start before hammering away to stagger Thorpe a bit. A belly to belly cuts off Thorpe’s comeback but he kicks Borne in the face in the corner. Thorpe hits a jumping elbow for two and a Saito suplex makes it worse. Back up and Thorpe grabs a rolling neckbreaker for the pin at 2:55. Thorpe looked dominant in the second half but he gave up a god bit of offense here.

Pretty Deadly predicts problems for Johnny Gargano.

Gallus doesn’t care how many teams they have to face because they’ll win.

Indi Hartwell vs. Sol Ruca vs. Ivy Nile

The winner is in the Women’s Title ladder match at Stand & Deliver. Ruca and Nile brawl to start until Nile and Hartwell are sent to the floor. Ruca’s big flip dive connects but Nile grabs an armbar back inside. Hartwell makes the save and gets springboard splashed by Ruca for two. Ruca’s flipping splash this Nile in the corner but Hartwell is back with the spinebuster for two. The Sol Snatcher drops Nile but Hartwell kicks Ruca to the floor. The running forearm to the back of the head gives Hartwell the pin on Nile at 4:04.

Rating: C. I am having a really hard time caring about Hartwell and her “oh well, I guess I’m wrestling here, doesn’t matter if I do or not though” moroseness over the last several months. Putting her in the title match seems to designed to give the match another powerhouse, but dang it would be nice if she did something else. Or if Nile and/or Ruca got a chance of their own, which granted would be better served outside of a multi person ladder match.

Post match all of the women come out to stare each other down.

Pretty Deadly pick Tiffany Stratton to win.

Grayson Waller teases not making his match with Johnny Gargano unsanctioned.

We get a special video on Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes. They came in as part of the new NXT recruiting class and now it’s time for a showdown. Hayes has an incredible resume but he’s training harder than ever for this match. He even turned down extra celebrating time in order to hit the gym more. Breakker talks about all of the training that he does and isn’t worried about going to the deep water. Breakker has been doing this for years and Hayes isn’t going to have an answer for a Steiner Line. Hayes says he’s the king now give him his f****** crown. As usual, this was excellent, as WWE knows just how to put them together.

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Drew Gulak vs. Hank Walker

Charlie Dempsey is here with Gulak. Walker takes him down by the arm to start but can’t get a cross armbreaker. Back up and Gulak runs him over and hits a clothesline to the back of the head as Booker goes on an insane rant about how Walker doesn’t deserve to wear a singlet. Walker fights out of a crossface and hammers Gulak down, setting up a running shoulder for two. Gulak reverses a wheelbarrow slam into another crossface, which is reversed into an armbar. That’s broken up as well and a Dempsey cheap shot sends Walker into a small package to give Gulak the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. I don’t know if they’re going for some kind of everyman deal with Walker, but it isn’t quite working. The idea of presenting him as this run of the mill guy who is trying to hang with submission masters is weird to say the least and it isn’t exactly making me want to keep watching. Thankfully he isn’t beating them or anything, but it is still a strange way to go for someone who doesn’t really stand out.

Pretty Deadly talk tag teams and say they’ll see us Saturday.

Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen

If Briggs and Jensen win, they’re added to the Tag Team Title match. Jensen and Stacks lock up to start with Jensen grabbing a rollup for two. D’Angelo comes in to wrestle Briggs down as Fallon Henley and Kiana James are watching in the back. James takes credit for the match but Henley threatens to tell Jensen what she knows, which has James panicking. Briggs and Jensen hit matching sliding uppercuts and we take a break.

Back with Jensen getting caught in something like a Demolition Decapitator (not a Doomsday Device Booker) with Briggs having to make the save. Jensen gets over to Jensen for the tag as Henley and James are at ringside. For some reason Jensen wants back in for a Doomsday Device (spinwheel kick instead of a clothesline, which wound up being more of a hip attack than anything else) but D’Angelo makes a save. D’Angelo sends Briggs outside and it’s a double slam to finish Jensen at 9:55.

Rating: C+. I’m glad they didn’t add another tam to the title match and make it even messier, as six wrestlers in a match at once is enough. Other than that, this was almost entirely about the romance stuff as D’Angelo and Stacks had nothing to prove. Briggs and Jensen are a completely serviceable team and the James/Henley issues make them a bit more interesting. It’s nice to see an actual story, even if it has more than a few flaws.

Post match Henley wants James to tell Jensen the truth….so James kisses him. Joseph: “BROOKS IS ON BASE!”

Stand & Deliver rundown.

Here is Grayson Waller to decide if he will sign to make his match with Johnny Gargano unsanctioned. Vic Joseph hands him the contract (which Gargano left with him last week) and Waller gets in the ring, which is surrounded by security. Waller talks about what he has done during hi time in NXT, including Gargano getting the spotlight after Waller dove off the WarGames cage. That’s why he jumped Gargano during the farewell speech, and he hit his mark. Waller: “Johnny, you are the biggest mark in this business.”

Now Waller has Gargano begging him for a match at Stand & Deliver. Gargano is the greatest big match star in NXT history and is Mr. NXT, but just like Mr. Wrestlemania would do, Gargano is going to lose. Cue Gargano……’s music, because Gargano is a disguised cameraman. The big brawl is on, with security eventually holding them apart. Vic says it’s unsanctioned, though I didn’t see Waller actually sign the contract.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of a different show than Raw last night, as they had more action rather than focusing so much on talking. Granted it helps that this show was taped and they could probably make some time saving adjustments if needed. For now though, Stand & Deliver is looking good, though they need to be pretty tight to make everything work. Nice enough go home show though, and hopefully it pays off this weekend.

Results
Axiom won a battle royal last eliminating Nathan Fraser
Tyler Bate b. Von Wagner – Spiral Tap
Elektra Lopez b. Valentina Feroz – Electric Shock
Indi Hartwell b. Sol Ruca and Ivy Nile – Running forearm to the back of Nile’s head
Drew Gulak b. Hank Walker – Small package
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen – Double slam to Jensen

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NXT
Date: February 21, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are on our way to Roadblock and then Stand & Deliver, which means we should be in for some big stuff over the next few weeks. That includes this week, as Bron Breakker defends the NXT Title against Jinder Mahal. Ok so not everything can be the biggest deal in the world. Let’s get to it.

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

Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov

Before the match, Williams says that if pain makes Dragunov feel alive, he’ll be on cloud nine tonight. Williams hits him in the face before the bell so Dragunov starts angry. That means an angry headlock on the mat, with Williams having to bail to the ropes. Back up and Dragunov hits a running knee in the corner for two, followed by another such knee to keep Williams down. Dragunov goes up but gets kicked in the leg, allowing Williams to knock him to the floor. Cue JD McDonagh to watch as we take a break.

Back with Dragunov fighting out of a cravate and hitting a 61Line for the double knockdown. With McDonagh on commentary, Dragunov knocks Williams down again and drops a middle rope knee. An enziguri staggers Dragunov, who is fine enough to hit a powerbomb for two more. The Torpedo finishes for Dragunov at 13:09.

Rating: C+. Dragunov is probably going to become a pretty big deal around here as he has the talent and bizarre charisma that makes fans care about him. At the same time, Williams continues to be one of the biggest unsung heroes of NXT. He’s smooth in the ring and knows how to talk. It’s a great combination and compliments Carmelo Hayes while also being his own thing. Williams deserves some more attention, as well as praise.

Jinder Mahal brings up Bron Breakker getting shaken up by the fans booing him. Tonight, he’ll win the NXT Title.

Fallon Henley tries to get in touch with Brooks Jensen after last week. Josh Briggs says Jensen needs time and Henley was wrong about the whole thing. She needs to go apologize to Kiana James, which she reluctantly agrees to do.

Earlier today, Meiko Satomura held a training session in the Performance Center, with Roxanne Perez joining in. Perez was the only one to make it to the end…..of the warmup, which seems to have her quite shaken.

Here is Tyler Bate for a chat. He wasn’t sure about coming to the United States but the love he had received from most of the fans tell him that he made the right decision. Bate has faced some very tough challengers, and now it is time to join a mystical journey. Cue Schism to interrupt, with Joe Gacy seeming to offer him a spot on the team. Bate is going to turn that down but Gacy threatens m him with gang violence. Cue Chase U to chase Schism off.

Chase U vs. Dyad

We’re joined in progress with Hudson coming in to drop an elbow on Reid. Chase gets driven into the wrong corner though as Booker has flashbacks about Boogeyman abducting his wife. A hard clothesline gets two on Chase and we hit the chinlock. Reid’s shoulder breaker gets two on Chase and we’re right back to the chinlock. Chase fights up and Hudson comes in to clean house. It’s back to Chase as everything breaks down, with Reid hitting a suicide dive on Hudson as we take a break.

Back with Chase getting the hot tag and cleaning house, including taking down Reid and Fowler at the same time. Chase dives onto Fowler on the floor and hits a high crossbody for two on Reid. The Russian legsweep sets up the Spelling Stomps but we stop for Chase to get between Thea Hail and Ava. The distraction lets Hudson get caught with the double Codebreaker for the pin at 12:33.

Rating: C+. Just let them win something already! NXT was handed a crazy over act with Chase U and they lose over and over and over. Save for a one off Tag Team Title shot in a four way this month, I can’t remember the last time they won anything of note. Now they go down again, and to freaking Schism of all people. Pretty decent match, but the frustration continues.

Post break Hudson blames Hail for the loss. Hudson: “Is this a university or a charity?” Great, as we’re getting to the split.

Earlier today, Mr. Stone tried to fire up Von Wagner when Tony D’Angelo and Stacks came in to yell about him costing them last week. The result is a match between Wagner and D’Angelo, much against Stone’s wishes.

Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey don’t think much of Hank Walker. Gulak wants someone willing to hurt people, like Dempsey.

Sol Ruca talks about loving to try new things, often involving surfing or a skateboard.

Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell misses a clothesline to start and gets caught with a neckbreaker for two. Some low kicks give Jayne two and we hit the chinlock. Hartwell fights up but gets sent shoulder first into the post. With Hartwell in trouble, cue Gigi Dolin to jump Jayne for the DQ at 5:08.

Rating: C. That was a bit sudden for a Dolin comeback but this is likely headed to a showdown at Roadblock, Stand & Deliver, or both. It wouldn’t surprise me to see these two have some kind of a big street fight or something like that, which should let them beat the fire out of each other. That might be a lot better than trying to have them do a regular, long form match. Then you have Hartwell and she….well she certainly exists.

Back to the Meiko Satomura/Roxanne Perez training session, with Perez trying but running out of energy. Satomura approves of the effort though, saying that the win comes from the heart, not muscles. Their title match is in two weeks.

Zoey Stark isn’t happy with Meiko Satomura being handed a title shot or everyone accusing her of attacking Nikkita Lyons.

Gallus vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Non-title. Blade and Coffey take turns powering each other up against the ropes to start. Wolfgang comes in for the running uppercut but cue some guys in costumes, with a cake. Blade and Enofe hit something like a suplex into a Backstabber for two on Coffey. Wolfgang is back up with the running forearm into a powerslam for the pin on Enofe at 3:49.

Rating: C-. I still like Blade and Enofe but it doesn’t seem that WWE thinks very highly of them, as they were little more than cannon fodder here. Gallus aren’t the most inspiring champions but they can do the power stuff. Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus worked well enough in the UK so maybe they can make it work again here.

Post match the guys in costumes present the cake, which makes the two year anniversary of Pretty Deadly beating Gallus for the NXT UK Tag Team Titles. Gallus cleans house but the real Pretty Deadly comes in from behind to beat up Gallus with chairs. That’s a more aggressive side from Pretty Deadly and I think I like it.

Dabba-Kato says that while Apollo Crews has been looking to the future, he has forgotten his past. He is here to hurt Crews.

Stevie Turner interrupts the announcers and uses a randomizer to pick who she should talk about. It’s Lyra Valkyria, who has those weird feathers. The stream ends just as Vic Joseph is ready to ask his own question.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Von Wagner

Stacks and Mr. Stone are here too. Wagner powers him around to start, followed by a big boot to drop D’Angelo again. A clothesline cuts off D’Angelo’s comeback but Wagner misses a charge into the corner. D’Angelo hits a belly to belly and spinebuster, followed by a belly to back slam for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. This Wagner story needs to wrap up already, as he continues to be one of the driest stars that is regularly presented anywhere on wrestling TV. Other than an oddly shaped head, there is nothing about him that makes him stand out in the slightest. Let it go already and get someone with a brighter future in there instead.

Post match D’Angelo says he’s sick of Dijak and wants a Jailhouse Street Fight at Roadblock.

Nikkita Lyons has undergone successful surgery but doesn’t know what happened when she was attacked. Tiffany Stratton pops in to say she’s tired of Lyons’ whining, but Lyons thinks that sounds suspicious. Stratton’s solution: leave for a year and get better.

Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile agree they’re still a team, despite what Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre said. Paxley doesn’t seem so sure.

Carmelo Hayes praises Trick Williams for his efforts earlier when Tyler Bate interrupts. Bate talks about how there are going to be issues at times and Williams seems to improve. Hayes is glad that Bate’s journey has nothing to do with the NXT Title. Bate smiles a bit as Hayes and Williams leave.

Alba Fyre vs. Ivy Nile

Isla Dawn and Tatum Paxley are here too. Nile throws Fyre into the corner to start and hammers away for an early two. The comeback is on with Nile grabbing the Diamond Chain Lock, drawing Dawn to the apron. Paxley gets up as well, only to have Nile driven into her. The superkick and Alba Bomb finish Nile at 2:58.

Video on Bron Breakker.

Fallon Henley apologizes to Kiana James over the allegations of cheating. James didn’t tell her the truth because he wanted Henley to trust her. The apology is accepted, but James accuses Henley of being jealous of her relationship with Brooks Jensen. Either way, they’re good for now.

Wes Lee loved the open challenge so much last week that he’s going to do it again next week. It’s just who he is.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal

Mahal, with Indus Sher, is challenging and takes Breakker down to start. Breakker is back up with a shoulder and spinebuster but it is too early for the Steiner Recliner. With Mahal on the floor, Breakker busts out the big running flip dive to take out the villains. Indus Sher teases getting involved so here are the Creed Brothers to get rid of them.

We take a break and come back with Breakker being sent outside. A whip into the steps has Breakker in more trouble but he’s fine enough to hit a spinebuster back inside. Mahal bails to the floor before the spear can launch, allowing Mahal to hit a superkick into a suplex for two. Breakker is back with a spear and release suplex for two of his own, The Khallas is countered and another spear retains the title at 10:47.

Rating: D+. Yeah I’m not a bit surprised that this didn’t work. Mahal has never been a ring general and Breakker hasn’t even been wrestling for two years now. There was no one to lead here and the interest in any Mahal match is going to be limited at best most of the time. Pretty bad main event event here and Breakker needs to move on to anything else.

Carmelo Hayes pops up on stage for the showdown…..but Grayson Waller takes over the feed and says he’s the new Main Event, Showstopper and Mr. Stand & Deliver. No one can stop him, including Shawn Michaels, so maybe Shawn can meet him on the Grayson Waller Effect in two weeks. Again: I don’t know what they’re doing with Shawn vs. Waller, but unless they have a heck of a surprise to fight for Shawn, it’s going to feel like a letdown if he doesn’t fight Waller himself. That’s certainly what they have been teasing.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was up and down (with the main event being rather down) but what matters is they moved things forward towards both Roadblock and Stand & Deliver. This show has me wondering what they have planned for those events as NXT is doing a good job of setting things up for later. Pretty nice show this week, which saw more seeds being planted or getting to grow a bit on the way to the important stuff.

Results
Ilja Dragunov b. Trick Williams – Torpedo
Dyad b. Chase U – Double Codebreaker to Hudson
Jacy Jayne b. Indi Hartwell via DQ when Gigi Dolin interfered
Gallus b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Running forearm/powerslam combination to Enofe
Tony D’Angelo b. Von Wagner – Belly to back slam
Alba Fyre b. Ivy Nile – Alba Bomb
Bron Breakker b. Jinder Mahal – Spear

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: January 13, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shaw, Byron Saxton

As usual, LVL Up has me wondering what in the world I should be expecting. It might be a boring show, it might be a show with some slightly bigger NXT names or it might be a show that winds up being rather entertaining. It really is a show that could go anywhere, but it would be nice to have some more consistency. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Von Wagner vs. Oba Femi

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner, who powers Femi into the corner to start. A running shoulder drops Femi but he’s back with a running shoulder of his own. Wagner cuts him off with a clothesline though and starts in on the back. A belly to back suplex and elbow to the face put Femi down again and we hit the chinlock. Femi fights up and hits a running clothesline in the corner, earning himself a big boot. The Death Valley Driver finishes Femi at 4:13.

Rating: C. Nothing special to this one but Femi getting to be in there against a bigger name might mean something for him. At the same time, there is only so much to be gotten out of Wagner, who has not shown much in the way of variety so far. Maybe Wagner being here means WWE is giving up on him at the moment, which might be for the best until he can find something different in the ring.

Jakara Jackson is a goal (yes goal) digger and she needs to check Isla Dawn off her list tonight.

Jakara Jackson vs. Isla Dawn

They go with the grappling to start and Dawn takes her to the mat with a headscissors. Back up and Jackson grabs a headlock before dropkicking Dawn into the corner. Dawn isn’t having that and goes after Jackson’s hand, setting up the chinlock. A Meteora gives Dawn two so she yells at the referee (whom she has hurt before). The distraction lets Jackson get two off a rollup and a knee in the corner gets the same. Dawn uses the rope to block a suplex though and a Nightmare On Helm Street finishes Jackson at 5:25.

Rating: C. Decent showing from Jackson here but Dawn is the one who is going to be presented as something more important going forward. Dawn is going to be the new supernatural force, but thankfully she doesn’t go in that direction all of the time. Thankfully they didn’t waste it on what should be an easy win for her, meaning this made better sense.

Duke Hudson vs. Damon Kemp

Chase U is here with Hudson. Kemp struts to start and mocks Chase U (uh oh) and it’s Hudson cranking on his arm to stand up for his school. A knee to the ribs cuts Hudson off though and a fireman’s carry sets up the armbar on the mat. Hudson can’t flip away but he can power up and hit a hiptoss. Kemp is back up with a flapjack and neckbreaker, setting up a slingshot seated senton to the back for two. The chinlock goes on before some shots to the face just annoy Hudson. A running shoulder lets Hudson hit some spelling jabs and a running elbow (the Big Elbowski) finishes Kemp at 6:31.

Rating: C. You know what you’re going to get from a Hudson match, though changing from the big boot to the elbow to the face seems to be a bit of a downgrade. Speaking of downgrades, you have Kemp, who is lucky to make it on this show anymore. I was digging him as the amateur wrestler who didn’t care about anything good, but yet here he is, seemingly in NXT jail.

Overall Rating: C. Well, it was back to run of the mill this week, but it was nice to see some slightly different names around here. LVL Up, is the hardest show to predict each week, despite it doing so many of the same things. This was a pretty in the middle show, though it isn’t like the high end is that much better around here.

Results
Von Wagner b. Oba Femi – Death Valley Driver
Isla Dawn b. Jakara Jackson – Nightmare On Helm Street
Duke Hudson b. Damon Kemp – Big Elbowski

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NXT
Date: December 13, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

We’re done with Deadline and that means it is time to start the rather long road to Vengeance Day in February. Deadline saw the crowning of new Tag Team Champions and a pair of new #1 contenders. That should give us some places to go for the next few weeks and we should be in for some fun, though maybe not so soon after Deadline. Let’s get to it.

Here is Deadline if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Deadline.

Here is Roxanne Perez to get thing going….but Grayson Waller interrupts from the parking lot. Waller has the camera walk us into the arena where he brags about everything he can think of until Perez cuts him off. She says he wasn’t the only Iron Survivor but Waller isn’t impressed. Cue Bron Breakker to say Perez did a great job at Deadline and promises she’ll be the next Women’s Champion. Waller brags about outsmarting Breakker, who he’ll outsmart again for the title at Vengeance Day. Breakker chases Waller through the crowd, leaving Perez to get jumped by Mandy Rose.

JD McDonagh gets checked out and knows the medical report before it is read to him. The Creeds come in, with Julius not being happy about McDonagh going after his knee. Brutus promises to hurt him tonight, which McDonagh finds happy.

We cut back to Roxanne Perez pulling herself up and saying she wants her title shot tonight. Mandy Rose is in.

Stacks jumps Wees Lee in the back, with Tony D’Angelo approving. The fight comes into the arena and we’re having a match.

Wes Lee vs. Stacks

it isn’t specified but there is nothing to suggest Lee’s North American Title is on the line and Tony D’Angelo is in Stacks’ corner. Stacks starts fast but gets dropkicked to the floor for the big running flip dive (with Lee landing HARD). We take a break and come back with Lee in trouble, including a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. The half crab goes on but Lee fights up and starts slugging away. Lee gets the better of things and hits his backflip kick to the head for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. They kept this one fast and it was more about D’Angelo vs. Lee being set up for the future. D’Angelo wanting the North American Title is a nice fit for him and having Lee beat his lackey first makes sense. I’m still not feeling Lee as the midcard champion, but at least he has a feud going on.

Post match Dijak comes out to distract Lee, allowing D’Angelo to jump Lee from behind. The triple threat continues to seem likely.

Chase U runs into Duke Hudson shaking hands with Drew Gulak. Andre Chase thinks Duke might enter the transfer portal and even apologizes for last week. Worry not though as Hudson isn’t transferring and is ready for Damon Kemp.

Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Toxic Attraction

Kacy Catanzaro and Katana Chance are on commentary. It’s a brawl to start with Toxic Attraction mocking the champs on the floor. We settle down to Jayne faceplanting Nile so Dolin can get two. Nile fights back and they head outside, with one more distraction being enough for the champs to jump Toxic Attraction for the DQ at 2:25. This feels like a way to set up a bigger match down the line.

Post match the brawl stays on and the fans seem impressed.

Fallon Henley’s mom isn’t having a good day but Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen want her to be happy. 2023 will be their year.

Carmelo Hayes says he would have won the Iron Survivor Challenge with five more minutes, but Trick Williams shows him a shot of Axiom’s moonsault.

Odyssey Jones vs. Von Wagner

Malik Blade, Edris Enofe and Mr. Stone are here too. Wagner can’t get anywhere with some running shoulders to start but a big boot puts Jones down. The sleeper keeps Jones in trouble until he makes the clothesline comeback. Jones slams him hard and, after Stone’s distraction accidentally allows Enofe to kick Wagner in the head, a crossbody gives Jones the pin at 2:50.

Javier Bernal doesn’t like McKenzie Mitchell cheering for Ikemen Jiro against him tonight. Bernal tries to name his fan base, eventually settling on Big Body Believers. More good stuff from these two.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Javier Bernal

Jiro slugs away to start but Bernal is back with some right hands. A back elbow sends Jiro outside but he catches Bernal with a kick to the head. Jiro’s super hurricanrana sets up the Ikemen Slash for the pin at 2:59.

Post match Scrypts jumps Jiro and steals the jacket.

Wendy Choo is happy Cora Jade lost the Iron Survivor Challenge because Jade is bad. Choo even talks about the evolution of her drink throwing, which started with a bad experience at a slumber party. Oddly enough, this worked.

Here is New Day for their championship celebration. Xavier Woods brags about Kofi Kingston’s ridiculous list of accomplishments (with Kofi cutting him off before Booker T. gets any more annoyed) before we hear about Woods having the first ever NXT match (Against Big E!). He never won an NXT title though…..and now that has changed! The celebration is on but here is Pretty Deadly to interrupt, saying New Day RUINED CHRISTMAS! Woods insists they would never do that because Santa Claus (a fan in costume) is here!

After a SANTA chant, Woods talks about how it was a bad week for Pretty Deadly when England was knocked out of the World Cup and then they lost the titles. Sure Pretty Deadly can have a rematch, as long as they recite the Pledge of Allegiance. That’s too far but here are Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen, with an American Flag, to say they’ll say the Pledge for a title shot. We get the Pledge and, as Pretty Deadly looks near sickness, Kofi says they’ll find out about that title shot for Jensen and Briggs next week. Works for the country boys. Well that was out of nowhere.

The women’s division is in the back, talking about the Iron Survivor Challenge. Elektra Lopez talks a lot until Indi Hartwell jumps her, setting up a huge brawl.

Brutus Creed vs. JD McDonagh

Julius Creed is here too. Brutus starts fast but McDonagh takes it to the floor and goes after the arm. Said arm is rammed into the announcers’ table but Brutus gets in a shot to send McDonagh to the apron. McDonagh kicks Julius down and low bridges a charging Brutus to the floor. Cue Indus Sher to take a chair away from McDonagh, leaving him to hit a pair of Devil Insides (one outside, one inside) to finish Brutus at 4:15.

Rating: C. McDonagh continues to do very little for me in his new persona but at least he seems to be getting further and further away from the NXT Title picture. Beating a tag wrestler to help advance an already established tag feud isn’t a bad thing and McDonagh can still do enough good things. Just don’t let him move much further up the ladder and things will be fine.

Zoey Stark didn’t like a Nikkita Lyons Tik Tok reaction video from Deadline, so they’ll fight about it.

Lyra Valkyria is ready to debut.

Isla Dawn is ready to use some magic to get rid of Alba Fyre.

Amari Miller vs. Lyra Valkyria

Valkyria enziguris her to the floor to start and hits the dropkick through the ropes. Back in and Miller gets kicked in the ribs and face, setting up a northern lights suplex for two. A frog splash finishes Miller at 3:01.

Rating: C-. I’ve always liked Miller as she has one of the bubbliest personalities around, but she was nothing more than cannon fodder for the debuting Valkyria. Debuting her with a squash is the best way to go for her and it isn’t like Miller is going to lose anything by getting pinned. This went as it should have, though Valkyria didn’t quite live up to the incredible hype she had built up in recent weeks.

Axiom isn’t worried about Carmelo Hayes.

Kiana James comes up to Brooks Jensen in the back, with Jensen seeming rather nervous. Jensen is worried about Fallon Henley but here is James’ assistant with a Christmas gift for Jensen: a new dress shirt which actually fits. Ok then.

Toxic Attraction jumps Katana Chance and Kayden Catanzaro.

Duke Hudson vs. Damon Kemp

Chase U is here too. Kemp starts fast and hits a running neckbreaker before hammering Hudson in the face on the mat. Cue Drew Gulak to watch but Andre Chase isn’t having this. Hudson Hulks Up and starts the comeback, setting up the big boot for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C. Speaking of quick and to the point, we have Hudson winning here despite Gulak trying to get involved. It wasn’t a particularly good or bad match, but it felt like something that is going to be part of a bigger story later. Gulak getting to do something is a good sign, though having him vs. Chase could be rather entertaining.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is challenging and we get the Big Match Intros. Rose takes her down by the arm for two to start before Perez snaps off some armdrags. With Rose sent to the floor, Perez takes her down with a suicide dive. A whip into the steps cuts Perez off and bangs up her arm as we take a break.

Back with Perez fighting up but getting taken down by the arm again. Rose runs her over and grabs the Crossface but Perez makes the rope. Kiss From The Rose connects….for two, and Rose is stunned. The fans are split as Perez grabs a small package for two. Pop Rox connects and Perez is champion at 9:35.

Rating: C+. I was expecting a Cora Jade run-in to cut off the title change so well done on the surprise. Perez winning the title out of nowhere was a nice twist as you don’t want every major title change to take place at a big event, just for the sake of some variety. This worked well and felt like a big moment, as Perez gets the title to establish herself as the next big prospect around here. Rose can move back up to the main roster, even if she might not have the easiest time becoming a star there again.

Perez celebrates in tears and Booker T. can’t help but laugh in joy to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling here was up and down, but the best thing was that the show felt like it was put together differently. They were doing things in a hurry and it never got boring. I don’t need them to do that every week, but once in awhile it’s nice to switch things up, especially coming off a show when I wasn’t expecting anything to happen. This show worked, and I’ll take that when I came in without many expectations.

Results
Wes Lee b. Stacks – Backflip kick to the head
Toxic Attraction b. Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile via DQ when Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter interfered
Odyssey Jones b. Von Wagner – Crossbody
Ikemen Jiro b. Javier Bernal – Ikemen Slash
JD McDonagh b. Brutus Creed – Devil Inside
Lyra Valkyria b. Amari Miller – Frog splash
Duke Hudson b. Damon Kemp – Big boot
Roxanne Perez b. Mandy Rose – Pop Rox

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

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

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

NXT Title: Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

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

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

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

Video on Alba Fyre vs. Mandy Rose.

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

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

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

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

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

Indus Sher vs. George Cannon/Ariel Dominguez

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

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

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

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

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

JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

T-Bar is still ready to come back.

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

Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs vs. Dyad

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Tatum Paxley

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: November 8, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We are a little over a month away from Deadline and for reasons I don’t quite grasp, Von Wagner is next in line for the NXT Title shot. The good thing is that match is set for next week so it won’t drag down a major show, but we could be in for a rough two weeks. Hopefully the rest of the show can balance it out. Let’s get to it.

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

Joe Gacy vs. Cameron Grimes

Gacy, now in regular trunks instead of his full body gear, has the rest of Schism with him and gets knocked into the corner to start. Grimes fights his way out of some quick trouble and elbows Gacy in the face. Back up and Grimes slips out of a fireman’s carry and knocks Gacy outside as we take a break.

We come back with Gacy stomping away (he likes doing that) and we hit the Crossface. That’s broken up and Grimes gets in a knockdown. After stomping on Reid’s hand at ringside, Grimes hits a high crossbody for two. Gacy bails to the floor and there’s the big running flip dive to take out a bunch of Schism. Back in and an Ava Raine distraction lets Gacy hit the handspring lariat for the pin at 10:45.

Rating: C. It’s amazing to see how things are getting so bad for Grimes. One might think that it’s bad to feud with the lamest thing in all of NXT, as has been the case for Grimes for a long time now. Other than that, you had a pretty basic good guy vs. bad guy match with lackeys interfering. What else was there to get out of this?

Nathan Frazer tells Axiom that he’ll be out of action a bit longer due to his injuries. JD McDonagh comes in to say Frazer knows nothing about pain so Axiom mocks McDonagh for losing a lot. A match is made for later.

And now, to the Barber Shop with Carmelo Hayes not worrying about the haters saying he didn’t get his North American Title back. He and Trick Williams aren’t worried about Wes Lee and don’t care for their barber being something of a fan. Apparently the contract signing is in two weeks.

Scrypts is coming to watch NXT fall.

Sol Ruca vs. Elektra Lopez

Lopez gets knocked outside to start but she’s right back with a heck of a clothesline to take over. Ruca tries to fight back with some shots to the face and manages to stagger Lopez, only to get slammed off the top. A chokebomb finishes for Lopez at 2:58. Not quite a squash but Lopez didn’t feel like she was in danger.

Post match Indi Hartwell runs in to brawl with Lopez.

Duke Hudson and Thea Hail want to take Charlie Dempsey apart. Hudson will be at ringside tonight against that BESMIRCHING (chuckle) Charlie Dempsey but only for support.

We get a video call between Toxic Attraction with Jacy Jayne being worried about showing up because Alba Fyre might hurt them. Then Fyre (who Jayne thought was a cop) pulls her out of the car and promises to come for Mandy Rose next week.

Charlie Dempsey vs. Andre Chase

The rest of Chase U is here too. Dempsey takes him to the mat to start but Chase is back up with a front facelock. Chase can’t get an armbar but he can hit the spelling stomps. That’s broken up and Dempsey pulls him into a leglock, followed by an STF. That’s enough for Duke Hudson to throw in the towel at 2:48, despite Chase being right next to the rope.

Kiana James and her assistant come into Fallon Henley’s bar where Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are in lust. James is trying to buy the place (Wasn’t she trying to do that to Chase U for about thirty seconds a month ago?) but Henley isn’t interested. She has a lot of memories and isn’t taking the deal, as James wants to build an apartment complex.

Hank Walker vs. Stacks

Tony D’Angelo is here with Stacks. Walker gets taken down to start and hammered in the back as commentary talks about Logan Paul. A knee to the head gives Stacks two but Walker gets fires up and runs Stacks over. Stacks pokes him in the eye and gets two off a rollup before dropping Walker with a running knee to the back of the head for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: C-. What were you expecting here? Walker is a wrestling security guard and Stacks is a lackey to a Mafia boss. There was only so much to get out of something like this and they hit their ceiling pretty hard here. I still don’t quite get the appeal of Walker, as he’s a bit similar to Briggs and Jensen, but he’s unique enough to have a spot, as long as it doesn’t get much higher than this.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect with Von Wagner, with Mr. Stone, and Bron Breakker as guests. The fans writing in don’t seem to like Wagner and he doesn’t care what they think. Wagner brags about how great he is but Breakker says try jumping him face to face. Breakker lists off all of the people who have been impressed by him or taken out (Breakker: “Apollo Crews. There I said your name, you happy now?”) and violence is teased but they just stare at each other instead. And yeah it’s still Wagner so he still isn’t interesting.

Wes Lee wanted to win the Tag Team Titles last week but he’s ready to beat Carmelo Hayes next week.

Cora Jade isn’t scared of Wendy Choo, who doesn’t have any friends and no one cares about her.

Apollo Crews is in Nigeria as part of a WWE talent search but he hasn’t forgot about Bron Breakker.

JD McDonagh vs. Axiom

Axiom takes him down for an early double arm crank to start and McDonagh is looking frustrated early. McDonagh tries to fight up but can’t get anywhere with him. A trip to the floor has McDonagh even more annoyed and we take an early break as seething ensues. Back with Axiom hitting a heck of a springboard moonsault to the floor but he comes up holding his knee.

Back in and McDonagh gets caught in an armbar and has to go to the ropes for the break. McDonagh starts going after the leg but Axiom is able to get back up with a shot to the head for a double knockdown. It’s McDonagh up first anyway but his moonsault is pulled into a triangle choke.

That’s broken up as well but Axiom’s knee gives out on a superkick attempt. This time Axiom pulls him into a choke, which is reversed into a VERY bendy kneebar, which is enough for the referee to break the hold because Axiom is screaming so hard. Axiom begs him not to stop it but the doctors say it’s over at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was a technical vs. high flier match and a lot of fun for the most part. That ending was nasty (though not quite as nasty as when it happened to A-Kid in NXT UK) and a good way to make McDonagh look dangerous. I don’t need to see him get another title shot, but they are doing a great job of making him feel big.

Brutus Creed vs. Damon Kemp

The rest of Diamond Mine is here and we have a five minute time limit. Brutus jumps Kemp in the aisle to start the fight fast before heading inside for the bell. The fight is on fast with Brutus knocking him around and then outside. Kemp gets pulled back to the floor and hammered onto the announcers’ table before they head back inside. Brutus sends him shoulder first into the post before grabbing a chair. That’s taken away though and Brutus blasts him for the DQ at 2:46.

Post match Creed hits him with the chair again but Veer and Sanga are looking at Diamond Mine from the balcony.

T-Bar is still coming back and promises his form of justice.

Roxanne Perez offers an ear to Indi Hartwell if anything is wrong but Hartwell says there are no friends in this business. It doesn’t work that way.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter/Chance are defending. Chance takes Stark down to start but Stark sticks the landing on a monkey flip. Lyons comes in to work on Carter’s arm but Carter is back up with a running dropkick to send Stark outside. We take a break and come back with Stark holding Chance in a Stretch Muffler. That’s broken up and it’s back to Carter, who hits a big dive to take out both challengers at once.

Chance comes back in and kicks Lyons into the corner for the tag off to Stark. A suplex gets two on Chance, even with Lyons cutting Carter off from making a save. Chance Stundog Millionaires herself out of trouble and everything breaks down. Stark almost clothesline Lyons by mistake and Lyons even takes the bullet of a double superkick for her. A superkick drops Carter but the champs are back up and the 450/neckbreaker combination retains the titles at 11:04.

Rating: C. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to see in Starks and Lyons as a team as they seemed to be nothing more than two women thrown together to have an NXT team in the Women’s Tag Team Titles tournament. They’re ok enough but it feels like you could sub someone else into either spot with little to no change.

Post match respect is shown but Stark hits Lyons with a title to split the team up. This would be one of those splits that is supposed to be a big deal but they’ve been a team for….have they even had five matches together on TV?

Overall Rating: C. As has been the case for a pretty long time now, there isn’t anything that feels like a big deal right now. I’m sure there will be a new challenger for Breakker after he beats Wagner next week, and the way they are going, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a multi-man match at Deadline. What we got here was another ok show, but it felt like it was setting up more stuff in the future. That has to happen sometimes, but it happens a lot in NXT these days.

Results
Joe Gacy b. Cameron Grimes – Handspring lariat
Elektra Lopez b. Sol Ruca – Chokebomb
Charlie Dempsey b. Andre Chase when Duke Hudson threw in the towel
Stacks b. Hank Walker – Running knee to the back of the head
JD McDonagh b. Axiom via medical stoppage
Damon Kemp b. Brutus Creed via DQ when Creed used a chair
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Zoey Stark/Nikkita Lyons – 450/neckbreaker combination to Stark

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

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AND

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

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

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

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

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

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

R-Truth vs. Grayson Waller

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

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

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

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

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

Kiana James gives her assistant an envelope.

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

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

Thea Hail vs. Kiana James

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

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

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

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

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

Odyssey Jones vs. Javier Bernal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Stark

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

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

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

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

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

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

Valentina Feroz vs. Cora Jade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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NXT
Date: August 16, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s time for another special as NXT presents Heatwave. There are a few title matches here, including Zoey Star challenging for the NXT Women’s Title and Bron Breakker defending the NXT Title against JD McDonagh. Other than that we have a heck of a grudge match as Roxanne Perez faces Cora Jade. Let’s get to it.

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

Paul Heyman narrates the voiceover, hyping up the big matches in an old ECW style voice. He’s still got it.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Giovanni Vinci

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending and the fans seem to be behind him. An armdrag takes Vinci down and a chop rocks him in the corner. Back up and Vinci hits some rather loud chops before they hit stereo clotheslines for a double knockdown. We take a break and come back with Vinci pulling Hayes out of the air and hitting a slam, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two.

Hayes is right back with the Fade Away for a breather and a suplex into a cutter gives him two of his own. Vinci backdrops him to the floor and hits a heck of a springboard dive, followed by a double jump moonsault for two back inside, with Williams having to put a foot on the ropes. One heck of a clothesline connects but Vinci has to powerbomb Hayes onto an interfering Williams. The distraction lets Vinci powerbomb Williams but Hayes reverses into a hurricanrana to retain at 11:50.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice opener here as Hayes gets another win under his belt and looks smooth doing it. They’re creating a situation where a win over him is going to be a big deal and that is the point of something like this. Williams is good as the trash talking lackey and they compliment each other well. Vinci has the tools, but still needs to actually beat someone to get to the next level.

Toxic Attraction arrived earlier and ran into Bron Breakker, who seemed to catch their eyes.

Julius Creed watched the Diamond Mine’s eight man tag and there is something that has caught his eye.

Mr. Stone brags about Von Wagner, who promises to end anyone smaller or weaker.

Here is the Diamond Mine for a chat. Julius Creed talks about how much they have done to get this far and become the Tag Team Champions. There is someone trying to take Diamond Mine down though and that is…..RODERICK STRONG! That is immediately denied, with Strong saying that he would put the Creeds up against the Usos, with Julius saying the Usos can bring it. Brutus Creed asks if Julius is sure and then standing behind him.

We see a clip of Strong accidentally kneeing Julius, but Julius points out Tony D’Angelo tapping the mat, which he thinks was a signal to Strong. Again Strong denies everything….and here is Gallus (from NXT UK) to jump the rest of the Diamond Mine. Gallus looks at Strong and then beats them down too. Green lights come on with Gallus posing. Of note: that green light with the Diamond Mine down was what Apollo Crews saw in his vision last week. That’s certainly a way to go, and I like that Gallus didn’t bother siding with Strong in a swerve.

Roxanne Perez is ready to take out Cora Jade for good.

Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade

Perez starts fast and the beating is on. Jade gets knocked outside for a suicide dive but a second attempt is knocked away. Instead Jade hits a suplex on the floor and we take a break. Back with Perez fighting out of a double arm crank and hitting some running forearms.

They hit stereo running boots in the corner, setting up a Russian legsweep for two on Jade. A shot to the face drops Perez though and Jade grabs the stick, which is quickly taken away by Jade. Perez thinks about it too long though and a DDT onto the kendo stick finishes for Jade at 11:44.

Rating: C+. That was a bit of a weird ending as a DDT onto a stick doesn’t seem like the biggest knockout move, but at least they had a good enough fight. Jade is being primed to be something bigger around here and while she’s a step above Perez at this point, Perez is more than talented enough to be right there with her. This feud is likely far from over and that’s a good thing.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen get into a fight with Gallus and have to be separated.

Long recap of Tony D’Angelo vs. Santos Escobar, setting up one more fight for Legado del Fantasma’s future.

Bron Breakker is warming up when Apollo Crews comes in, looks at the NXT Title, and leaves.

Santos Escobar vs. Tony D’Angelo

Street fight. If Escobar wins, the rest of Legado is free, but if D’Angelo wins, Santos is gone for good. Legado walks in from the street and Escobar is wearing his mask. Before the bell, Escobar chairs D’Angelo down and scores with a hurricanrana through the chair for two. The chair is wedged into the corner and Escobar knocks him down again as Stacks takes out the rest of Legado on the floor.

The suicide dive is cut off with a trashcan lid to Escobar’s head though and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo crushing Escobar’s arm with the steps and then suplexing him on a pile of chairs on the floor. A Falcon Arrow and a trashcan lid shot to the head gets two on Escobar but he’s right back with a headscissors.

Legado drops Stacks on the floor and Escobar grabs a rollup for two on D’Angelo. Escobar tells Elektra Lopez to hand her a crowbar but D’Angelo runs her over and doesn’t think much of it. They get back in and look at each other before going after something. Escobar gets D’Angelo’s whistle but D’Angelo gets the crowbar and knocks Escobar silly for the pin at 12:41.

Rating: C+. Another not so great ending aside, this is the result that makes the most sense. This feud has gone on for what feels like the better part of ever and it is nice to see them FINALLY wrap things up. In theory this sends Escobar up to the main roster, where he should have been for a long time now. Either way, what matters is that the feud is over and they can both move on to ANYTHING else.

Indi Hartwell congratulates Kayden Carter and Katana Chance on their win but misses the good old days. A woman comes up and gives Hartwell a letter…..from Dexter Lumis. She’s rather happy, but NXT UK’s Blair Davenport comes up and takes it away. Davenport says she’s going to be NXT Women’s Champion. That’s a nice debut.

Video on Tiffany Stratton vs. Wendy Choo, which will take place again next week in a lights out match.

Women’s Title: Zoey Stark vs. Mandy Rose

Stark is challenging and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Rose gets knocked outside to start but manages to send Stark’s bad knee into the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with Toxic Attraction getting caught tripping Stark and ejected. Cue Nikkita Lyons to take them out but Rose grabs a half crab. That’s broken up and Stark strikes away, including a clothesline.

An enziguri gives Stark two and the flipping knee to the face connects, with Stark not being able to follow up. Instead Rose crawls to the floor and ties the bad knee up in the ropes. Back in and Stark grabs a rollup for two but Rose hits her running knee….for two more. With nothing else working, Rose puts Stark’s knee brace on and hits another running knee to retain at 11:40.

Rating: C. I’m not sure I get this one as Rose is running out of challengers to beat. They seemed to be building up to the Stark win here and then Rose just beats her again. That’s certainly one way to go, but I’m starting to wonder who takes the title from Rose. This seemed to be the most logical way to go and yet here we are with the reign continuing.

Quincy Elliott, the Super Diva, is coming and doesn’t mind being different.

Grayson Waller doesn’t like Apollo Crews but invites him on the debut of his talk show next week.

NXT Title: JD McDonagh vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending and uses a sledgehammer to break a table that says JD. Must not be a Scrubs fan. McDonagh spins out of a wristlock to start and forearms him in the face, only to get gator rolled into a delayed vertical suplex. The spear misses though and McDonagh gets in a shot of his own as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh hitting a neckbreaker over the turnbuckle to send Breakker crashing out to the floor. Breakker fights up again but misses another pear and goes shoulder first into the post. Something like a Crossface goes on but Breakker is right next to the rope. Breakker’s arm is fine enough to hit a Frankensteiner for two but McDonagh is back with a Spanish Fly.

A brainbuster connects for two and now it’s McDonagh getting frustrated. Breakker is back with the spear but McDonagh rolls outside. Another spear connects and Breakker takes the straps down but McDonagh pops up and smiles. A third spear into the gorilla press powerslam retains the title at 13:11.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much Breakker 101: he gets hurt, fights through it, and then wins with raw power in the end. That’s not the worst way to go, but at the end of the day it is something they’ve done more than once now. Breakker is still a project, but this feud didn’t do him many favors. He needs something to make him feel like a big deal again and this wasn’t it.

Post match Tyler Bate (with the United Kingdom Title, which is CURRENTLY VACANT ON NXT UK TV and being decided in a tournament WHICH INCLUDES BATE) comes out for the staredown. There’s your upgraded feud.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show for the most part, but at the end of the day, nothing really happened during the matches. It was one of those shows where they hyped up a bunch of matches and all of the champions retained, but then they made up for it with everything else. This show more or less said that NXT UK is done after they run out their current shows and honestly, that might be better for everyone. NXT needs the boost and it was certainly an eventful show, so well done on that front.

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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