This is a unique kind of show as it is going to be the big finale for NXT UK, which has been all but done for a very long time now. It is nice to have a show that actually seems to make it matter again though and I could go for seeing what they have in mind. There almost has to be at least one NXT UK star to leave with a title and there are a few options to make that work. Let’s get to it.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles: Katana Chance/Kayden Carter(c) vs. Doudrop/Nikki Ash

This was a match set up with a surprise return from Doudrop/Ash, who have lost all kinds of matches on the main roster so this is the best thing that they could do. For once I’m not being sarcastic there, as there is a good chance that they will actually be treated as something seriously in NXT. Then again there is only so much that you can get out of Doudrop/Ash, but I’ll take what I can get.

The champs retain here, as there is no reason to believe that Doudrop and Ash, who have been treated as major total failures on the main roster. Chance and Carter need to be built up as champions, especially when they didn’t beat the previous titleholders. The team will be fine by building them up with some wins, including some wrestlers who are on the main roster (despite how little they do there).

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes(c) vs. Ricochet

Now we have a returning star getting a shot at a title that he held during his time in NXT. That isn’t a bad way to go and Ricochet even sounded decent on the microphone while the match was set up. What matters here though is that Hayes is going to be made to look good against someone as talented as Ricochet, which is why you bring him in for this spot in the first place.

It should be a good match but there is no reason to believe that Hayes is losing so we’ll say he retains. Hayes is someone who has become a big star in NXT because he is one of the more consistent names around. I’m curious to see how well this goes and Hayes can keep up with Ricochet so they should be in for a heck of a match. It’s a good way to go and this has a lot of potential.

NXT Tag Team Titles/NXT UK Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers(c) vs. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs(c) vs. Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus

This is the first of three title unification matches and that means we have some options. To make it even better, we are going with elimination rules, meaning that while there are going to be a lot of people in the ring for even longer, there aren’t going to be champions who stole a pin to leave with all of the belts. I can always go with that more and it is making me happier with this match.

I’ll go with….dang I this I’ll take the Creeds to win the whole thing, even if I really want to say Gallus. Pretty Deadly isn’t likely to win the titles back and Jensen/Briggs have felt like a filler team since they won the titles. This is a match that will give the show the chaotic feeling that it has been needing and it is a good way to build up the Creeds (or Gallus) and that makes a lot of sense.

NXT Women’s Title/NXT UK Women’s Title: Mandy Rose(c) vs. Meiko Satomura(c) vs. Blair Davenport

I certainly wouldn’t consider this a dream match but it is a match with multiple possibilities. The biggest thing here is that Satomura does not seem likely to take the titles. While I can’t imagine she is there to give up the fall, there is little reason to have her win either. Satomura is a legend but she has served her main purpose as champion already. That leaves us with two options, neither of which is that thrilling.

I think I’ll take Rose winning here, as NXT is trying desperately to make her into as big of a deal as possible. Nikkita Lyons still seems to be the most likely candidate to take the title from her and that means she needs to keep her belt here. Davenport might be there to take Scorpion Rising so Rose can steal the pin, but either way I’ll go with Rose retaining here after probably the weakest match on the show.

NXT Title/NXT United Kingdom Title: Bron Breakker(c) vs. Tyler Bate(c)

This is an interesting way to go for Breakker as it is much more about competition/the title rather than something personal. That isn’t something he has done very often and it should be interesting to see how he does. Breakker is someone who can do all of the physical stuff (minus some hiccups here and there) and Bate is already an established star, so this should be a heck of a fight.

As much as I would be interested in Bate becoming the champion and getting the biggest win of his career, there is no reason to believe that Breakker is losing here. Breakker is the future of NXT (if not WWE) and giving him another win over an established star is the smartest way to go. Breakker wins here, and he does it after another classic from Bate, who is near the top of WWE when he is on his game under the bright lights.

Overall Thoughts

The go home show made me a lot more interested in this show than I would have been otherwise and that is where I am a few days out. What matters is giving us a bunch of good matches to establish the former NXT UK stars as big deals around here. That is going to be easier said than done, but they have made me interested in a show I didn’t care to see, so well done in continuing an NXT tradition, even as another ends.

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

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NXT
Date: August 30, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Worlds Collide and that means we should be in for the hard push towards the show. Since we currently have a two match card, I’m expecting quite a few matches to be added to the show this week. I’m not sure what that is going to be, but it almost has to happen. Let’s get to it.

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

Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews

Crews’ intro cuts off Waller’s pre-match speech, much to Barrett’s annoyance. Crews grabs a headlock to start as commentary talks about his random visions, which just aren’t going to be explained. Waller fights out but gets dropkicked down, allowing Crews to dribble an invisible basketball and dance a bit. The very delayed vertical suplex slam puts Waller back down but he seems to go to the eye to get a breather. A medic comes out to check on Crews and we take a break.

Back with Crews fighting out of a chinlock but his slingshot hilo is countered into a sleeper. Crews breaks out of that too and kicks him in the head but Waller gets in a shot of his own to slow him down. The rolling Stunner is almost countered into a spinebuster, only to have the second attempt connect to give Waller the pin at 11:13.

Rating: C. Waller’s push continues, even if it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. At the same time, Crews seems to be in NXT to put others over and that might be the best use for him. You could put him into a title hunt almost immediately or even bring him back t the main roster, but for now, this seems to be about it for him.

The Diamond Mine is ready to fight but Roderick Strong wants to talk about the security footage from a few weeks ago. Julius Creed doesn’t care, but here are Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley are ready for their tag match against Katana Chance and Kayden Carter.

Bron Breakker is in the locker room when Finn Balor pops up to say he made the NXT Title the standard. He’s also beaten people twice his size so don’t underestimate Tyler Bate.

Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Non-title. Nile takes Carter down for an early two and sunset flips her for the same. Chance comes in to roll Paxley up for two more, followed by a double clothesline for a double knockdown. As they’re both down, we see that Toxic Attraction has left the Toxic Lounge. Cue Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne for a distraction, which draws Nile away. The 450/neckbreaker combination finishes Paxley at 4:16.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one, but it does say something that NXT seems to have some teams that can be thrown out there every now and then. It wasn’t exactly a great match and was there for the sake of the Toxic Attraction run-in, but at least the champs got a win. Now just find some better challengers for the champs and start making them seem better.

Post match Chance and Carter grab the mic but Doudrop and Nikki Ash interrupt. They like the idea of a party, but they also want a title shot on Sunday. Sure.

Kiana James is in her office where she is ready for Zoey Stark tonight.

The Schism is ready for some ceremony involving Cameron Grimes.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams arrive but don’t want to talk about anything but Hayes’ opponent at Worlds Collide.

Here is Schism, with Joe Gacy being proud of the Dyad’s efforts. He’s so happy that they get smiley face pins to show how great they are. They are moving up the Schism’s tree, and yes there is a graphic. The Dyad is rather pleased with what they’re doing, but for now, Joe Gacy wants to talk about Cameron Grimes. He can never be happy without the Schism so here is Grimes to answer.

Cue Grimes, who says the team has been after him for a few weeks but he has realized he doesn’t need them. Gacy talks about how Grimes keeps failing and has not titles, but Grimes still isn’t interested. That makes Gacy bring up Grimes’ dead father, and that’s enough for the fight. Grimes cleans house, but walks into Gacy’s handspring…..hug? Grimes leaves and is rather confused. I’m rather confused as to why Gacy, who might be the worst thing in wrestling, is still around.

Roxanne Perez can’t believe Cora Jade turned on her and goes nuclear by blocking Jade’s number.

Tyler Bate is in the back when Finlay comes in to say there’s a call for him. Pete Dunne is on a tablet and says go unify those titles for NXT UK. Yes Dunne, not Butch.

Lash Legend/Pretty Deadly vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley

Henley goes after Legend to start but gets choked on the ropes for her efforts. Wilson comes in and gets slapped by Henley, allowing Briggs to come in for the big shoulder. It’s off to Prince, who comes off the top and lands in an atomic drop. Henley kicks Legend down and gets LAUNCHED over the top onto all three villains as we take a break.

Back with Briggs getting knocked down and pounded by Wilson, setting up some choking from the floor. The chinlock goes on but Briggs powers over and brings in Jensen to start cleaning house. Jensen and Prince knock each other down so Jensen goes for the tag, only to have Gallus come out. The women get in a fight, leaving Joe Coffey to kick Jensen into a rollup to give Prince the pin at 11:31.

Rating: C. this was all about getting Gallus out there and probably helping to set up the four way for both sets of Tag Team Titles at the pay per view. The distraction helps keep the champs looking ok and Henley vs. Legend was at least energetic. It’s still the weakest title match at the moment, but at least they seem to have a direction.

Shayna Baszler comes in to see Mandy Rose, who says she’ll be passing Baszler soon. Baszler tells her to unify the titles or nothing from the last year matters.

JD McDonagh twists the mic cube around and says people find him creepy, including Wes Lee. He doesn’t care about what people think or about things like feelings. Did you know McDonagh is weird? I don’t know if they made that clear enough.

Andre Chase vs. Charlie Dempsey

Chase U is here with Chase, as you might have guessed. They go with the grappling to start with neither being able to get very far. A test of strength results in them flipping down to the mat, with no one getting an advantage. Chase starts working on the arm to take over but Dempsey isn’t having any of that. Instead, Dempsey pulls him down into a string of holds, from a Fujiwara armbar into an STF into something like a Regal Stretch. Bodie Hayward annoys Dempsey though, causing him to let go and suplex Hayward on the floor. That’s enough of a distraction to let Chase grab a rollup pin at 5:11.

Rating: C. Not much of a match but it deserves some credit for the surprise ending. Dempsey was pushed as a killer in NXT UK but I like Chase actually getting a win. The whole Chase U act has figured out its ceiling and giving them a win like this isn’t the worst idea. There is always going to be room for someone like Dempsey and he’ll be fine, but Chase has a more unique talent and that deserves some attention.

Meiko Satomura runs into Alba Fyre (who Satomura beat to win the NXT UK Women’s Title) and they exchange respect.

Tyler Bate runs into Gunther, who tells him to bring the Bate that fought him in Cardiff to face Bron Breakker.

Kiana James vs. Zoey Stark

Stark starts fast and knocks her down, setting up a springboard corkscrew dive for two. A quick trip to the floor goes badly for James but she’s right back with an armbar inside. Stark fights up and hits a running knee for two of her own, setting up the flipping knee for the pin at 4:20.

Rating: C-. Another short match that didn’t have the time to go very far, but Stark winning gives her a nice boost back up. James is someone with charisma and a different kind of character but she hasn’t actually done much yet. She shouldn’t have started doing so here either, so this was the right way to go.

Post match Nikkita Lyons runs in to chase James off.

Blair Davenport is ready to unify the women’s titles on Sunday. Rhea Ripley pops up to say she has held both titles so do the same thing she did.

Nathan Frazer and someone else are reading WWE comic books. Frazer misses NXT UK and says the guy next to him wouldn’t know what that’s like. It’s Axiom, who agrees to face Frazer in a British rounds match under Heritage Cup rules at Worlds Collide. Then they trade comic books.

Gallus vs. Diamond Mine

Brutus has to fight out of early trouble and gutwrench suplexes Mark, allowing the tag off to Kemp for a waistlock. Everything breaks down and Diamond Mine tries stereo submissions to send us to a break. Back with Julius powering Joe up for a release slam, setting up the ankle lock. Mark trips Julius on the apron though and some shots to the back keep him in trouble.

Julius fights out of Joe’s chinlock and Wolfgang’s front facelock but still can’t make the tag. A missed charge allows the tag off to Kemp to clean house, but here is Roderick Strong with his phone. Kemp throws it on the floor for a stomping but the distraction lets Joe hit All The Best For The Bells for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C+. Much like the other six man, this was a bunch of waiting around until we got to the important stuff with the interference. You knew there was going to be someone getting involved somehow and in this case, it was Strong messing things up for his own team. Gallus are fine as the bullies and the Creeds are growing on me, so this was at least decent until the obvious ending.

Post match Pretty Deadly runs in for the brawl but the locker room clears out, with a bunch of referees getting in on it.

Bron Breakker is in the back watching when Ciampa sits down next to him. Ciampa holds the title and talks about what he helped make it mean. It’s Breakker’s world now and he has to defend the brand.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams interrupt a chat about Sunday’s show because Hayes wants an opponent.

Quincy Elliott is still coming.

Worlds Collide rundown, now with Pretty Deadly, Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen, Gallus and the Creed Brothers in a unification match.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams to demand to know who Hayes is facing at Worlds Collide. Hayes has already unified titles so this is nothing new for him. He isn’t a secondary champion and the lack of competition means he is not going to Worlds Collide. There is no one on his level or on a level beneath him. Then the lights go out and it’s…..Ricochet. Hayes: “Look he got a microphone. I don’t know if he knows how to use it though.”

Ricochet thinks Smackdown needs to be part of Worlds Collide. While he respect Hayes and all his title defenses, he can’t actually remember any of them. That’s why Ricochet is ready to give Hayes one to remember, which has Hayes ready to fight. Williams gets kicked down and Hayes springboards into a Recoil, leaving Ricochet to pose to end the show. Ricochet is a good choice as he means something around here and he probably wasn’t on a lot of radar. Just don’t let him talk that much.

Overall Rating: C+. The guest stars gave this a lot of energy and it made the show feel more important, at least for a week. They have taken Worlds Collide from a pretty one note show and turned it into something that could be quite the interesting mess. I’m more interested in where it goes now than I was coming into this week though and that means they did something right.

Results
Grayson Waller b. Apollo Crews – Rolling Stunner
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley – 450/neckbreaker combination to Paxley
Pretty Deadly/Lash Legend b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley – Rollup to Briggs
Andre Chase b. Charlie Dempsey – Rollup
Zoey Stark b. Kiana James – Flipping knee to the face
Gallus b. Diamond Mine – All The Best For The Bells to Julius

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: August 23, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re done with Heatwave and now it is on to Worlds Collide. NXT UK’s top names (and some others) have invaded and we are less than two weeks away from a bunch of showdowns between NXT and NXT UK, which does have potential. Odds are we get a lot of build towards this week so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Heatwave and Tyler Bate appearing at the end of the show.

Here is Bron Breakker to get things going. He talks about his win over JD McDonagh last week and gets to the point: Tyler Bate needs to get out here right now. Bate comes to the ring and congratulates Breakker on a hard fought win last week. With that out of the way, Bate says he’s the first and last United Kingdom Champion and with NXT Europe around the corner, he can think of nothing better than to unify these titles. Breakker is down and they hold up the titles, as tends to be the case.

Video on Gallus.

Fallon Henley had to be held back from Lash Legend in the back. Why would you want to be near her?

NXT UK Tag Team Titles: Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs vs. Gallus

Wolfgang and Mark Coffey are challenging for Gallus, with Joe Coffey and Fallon Henley as the seconds. Briggs gets taken into the corner to start the beating fast but it’s quickly off ot Jensen to pick up the pace. Jensen gets pummeled by Mark though and his mouth is busted, even as Wolfgang snapmares him over for two. The champs are in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Mark taking Jensen down and grabbing a front facelock to keep him down. That’s broken up and the hot tag brings in Briggs to clean house. Cue Lash Legend to jump Henley, with Pretty Deadly joining in. The champs go after Pretty Deadly and get counted out at 8:45.

Rating: C. That’s a surprise as I would have expected Gallous to get the win here and move on towards the title match with the Creeds. For now though, it seems that they might be setting up some kind of multi team match, which might be the more interesting way to go. Briggs and Jensen are still in over their heads, but at least they didn’t get squashed here.

Post match Diamond Mine runs in to go after Gallus and everyone has to be separated.

It’s time for Chase U, with special guest instructor Charlie Dempsey. A volunteer gets taken down and stretched with ease, before doing the same to Bodie Hayward, complete with some nose ripping. Andre Chase has to call him off because Dempsey doesn’t seem to get the point. Dempsey calls the class soft and leaves. I could go for more Dempsey around here.

Here is Grayson Waller for the debut of his Grayson Waller Effect talk show. After hyping up his Instagram, we get to the guest, with APOLLO…..Crews. We get some seat adjustment from Crews before Waller asks what happened to Crews’ accent. Crews brings the accent back, but he’s still a Nigerian warrior with or without it. He won the Intercontinental Title at Wrestlemania XXXVII but Waller would rather talk about Crews’ abilities to see the future (or whatever it has been in recent weeks).

Waller asks about Crews seeing Diamond Mine laid out and thinks he had something to do with it, which has Crews on his feet. We have a question from Grayson from Australia: what is going to happen when Crews gets run out of NXT? Apollo from Orlando has a question for Waller: how does it feel to be a low budget Miz? Waller brings up Crews’ kids, so Crews promises to win a title around here soon and punches him out. Crews is right about the low rent Miz, but this was some of Crews’ best talking to date as he sounded confident and like a normal person.

Pretty Deadly and Gallus have to be separated again backstage.

Video on Tyler Bate.

Mr. Stone and Von Wagner are ready to hurt Tyler Bate.

Javier Bernal vs. Cameron Grimes

Last week, Bernal annoyed a security guard, who wasn’t pleased. Schism is watching from the platform and wishes Grimes luck. Bernal claims an early poke to the eye to jump Grimes, earning himself a kick to the gut. Some more shots from Bernal are shrugged off and Grimes almost drops him on his head with a faceplant. The Cave In, plus a glare at Schism, finishes for Grimes at 2:31.

Video on Blair Davenport.

Video on Alba Fyre.

Blair Davenport vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell grabs an early headlock takeover and grinds away before being sent to the apron. A dropkick knocks Hartwell to the floor but she blocks a posting. Back in and a neckbreaker sets up a cobra clutch on Hartwell, before Davenport jumps on her back for a sleeper. With that broken up, Hartwell spinebusters her for two but Davenport pulls her off the top and hits something like a Snowplow for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly good as they were rather sloppy in multiple parts, especially the ending. What matters here is that Davenport got a win, even if Hartwell isn’t in the best place around NXT. Davenport seemed ready to break through in NXT UK and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her in the title picture here soon.

Post match Davenport says that she was #1 contender to the NXT UK Women’s Title so she’ll take the NXT Women’s Title instead. Cue Mandy Rose, who wants some respect on her name. Cue Meiko Satomura to say she’s the real champion instead of Rose. The challenge seems to be on but Davenport wants in on this. Satomura: “TRIPLE THREAT MATCH!”

Tiffany Stratton wants the winner of the triple threat match after she takes out Wendy Choo tonight.

Tony D’Angelo tells Legado del Fantasma that things are starting over tonight, even though they don’t look happy.

JD McDonagh, hanging upside down, seems ready to bounce back.

Wes Lee is creeped out by McDonagh but for now he’d rather talk to Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. They’re ready to face anyone and Lee is pleased.

Indi Hartwell is still sitting on the apron and says this is what rock bottom feels like. The problem isn’t Blair Davenport but Indi herself. She took a long look at herself but now she is right here four months later in the same position after Stand & Deliver. All she is doing is saying words….but here is Dexter Lumis.

We get the big hug, followed by a slightly less bigger hug. Dexter crawls to the floor and carries her out like he did in the old days. Wade Barrett is nearly sick as Dexter carries her to the door of the arena. Dexter hands her a letter, then walks outside and is arrested. The letter says “Goodbye Indi (for now). I (picture of a heart) love you).” That was so out there and nutty that it made me forget that it was Index.

Cora Jade insists that she is still better than Roxanne Perez.

Dyad vs. Legado del Fantasma

Everyone else you would expect is at ringside and Cameron Grimes is watching from the platform. Legado sends them outside to start but doesn’t like Tony D’Angelo. Back in and the Dyad hits something like Poetry in Motion to take over on Del Toro. An enziguri allows the hot tag back to Wilde as everything breaks down. What looked to be the Dyad’s former Ticket To Ride is broken up, only to have the second attempt connect for the pin on Wilde at 4:57.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t exactly working and that is often the case with two of the least interesting gimmicks on the NXT roster. Legado being annoyed at D’Angelo has been done to death and Schism is dull in general. Hopefully they’re kept apart, as the match wasn’t very good on top of making me grown when I saw the teams.

Javier Bernal is upset by his loss until he runs into a woman. The security guard (also known as Hank Walker from NXT LVL Up) tells him to respect women. Walker is really bad so I’m not looking forward to this.

Legado del Fantasma goes to the parking lot where Santos Escobar is waiting for them in the car. Family stays together, so they get in and leave with him.

Von Wagner vs. Tyler Bate

Mr. Stone is here with Wagner. Bate gets powered down to start and there’s the gorilla press drop to leave him laying. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Bate fights up, only to have the Tyler Driver broken up. Wagner gets sent outside for a dive from Bate though and Bate hammers away back inside. A clothesline drops Bate again but he comes back with a clothesline of his own. The rebound lariat is blocked so Bate goes with Bop and Bang. A rolling capo kick sets up a t-bone suplex and the Spinal Tap finishes Wagner at 6:08.

Rating: C. I’m not sure I get why Wagner got in so much offense on the new #1 contender as you would think Bate would be pushed stronger. Bate did win though so it isn’t some great tragedy, even if he didn’t get to do his big move. Wagner continues to be just another big guy around here and thankfully he didn’t do anything more than take a loss here.

Diamond Mine is ready for Gallus next week but Roderick Strong isn’t included as the Creeds don’t trust him. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen come in and a champions vs. champions match seems likely.

Wendy Choo vs. Tiffany Stratton

Lights Out meaning anything goes and Choo has to get out of bed. The lights are dimmed and the brawl is on, with Choo taking her outside for some rams into the corner. Back in and Choo hits a running shot in the corner before they go back outside for shots from….I can’t tell actually, and neither can commentary. Stratton gets in another shot to take over and we go to a break.

Back with Stratton missing a moonsault onto a chair onto Choo, who is back up with a suplex onto the chair. Choo puts on a reverse chinlock with a wrench over Stratton’s mouth but Stratton pulls hairspray from her purse to spray her way to freedom. A powerbomb onto a trashcan gives Stratton two and they both need a breather.

Back up and Choo hits her with a pillow, which is full of…..Legos. Stratton hits a fall away slam in the general vicinity of the Legos, followed by a toss to send her straight into the Legos for a better crash. Choo kicks some makeup powder into Stratton’s face though and a slam off the apron sends her through Choo’s bed. A top rope Vader Bomb gives Choo the pin at 13:02.

Rating: C+. I’m not wild on the result but they only did a few goofy things here and nothing that was too far out there. It was a bunch of different weapons and some of the spots were a bit more creative, so this could have been a heck of a lot worse. If nothing else, the feud seems to have been finally good so it’s nice to get done with this once and for all, even with Stratton losing.

Bron Breakker, Tyler Bate, Meiko Satomura, Mandy Rose and Blair Davenport all sign their contracts for Worlds Collide to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I was only getting into this one a little bit as it was kind of an off week for the show. The NXT UK people being around doesn’t have the same impact when they’re just being moved over from a dead show but at least Worlds Collide is looking good. I’m not sure where they go after that show is set, but this could have been a better built towards the bit card. Not their best show and pretty firmly in the middle.

Results
Gallus b. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs via countout
Cameron Grimes b. Javier Bernal – Cave In
Blair Davenport b. Indi Hartwell – Snowplow
Dyad b. Legado del Fantasma – Ticket To Ride to Wilde
Wendy Choo b. Tiffany Stratton – Top rope Vader Bomb

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.

I wish more people were able to miss it.

https://wrestlingrumors.net/tommyhall/kbs-review-heritage-spoilers-nice-wrestling-show/

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.

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NXT
Date: August 9, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re a week away from Heatwave and that means we need to get in the final push towards the show. In this case that means a few grudge matches, plus One Final Accord between Santos Escobar and Tony D’Angelo. Other than that, we have a bit of a twist with a rounds match between Wes Lee and Trick Williams. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Kayden Carter/Katana Chance winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles last week.

We get some rapid fire interviews from people wrestling tonight, including Trick Williams, Wes Lee, Cora Jade, Zoey Stark and Tony D’Angelo.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kiana James

Before the bell, we get a quick promo from Lyons and Zoey Stark, who are ready to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. James fights out of an early suplex attempt and cranks on the arm. That’s switched to the knee, which is crushed in the corner before James takes her to the floor for a whip into the steps. Lyons fights back up with a German suplex and most of a nip up but James gets to the ropes. Back up and Lyons kicks her in the face, setting up the splits splash for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C-. Nothing much to see here as Lyons gets a win to keep her on TV in a quick feud. James has a unique enough character but she still needs a win or two to make her seem important. That might be a little bit in the future, but at least she is getting in the ring on TV a bit more.

James jumps Lyons post match, because this feud is continuing for whatever reason.

Roderick Strong doesn’t like Apollo Crews watching film with the rest of Diamond Mine. A match seems to be made for tonight.

Lash Legend cuts off Malik Blade and talks about how amazing she was last week. This goes on so long that we just cut back to the arena.

Wes Lee vs. Trick Williams

Carmelo Hayes is here with Williams. This is a Rounds Match, meaning there are three six minute rounds with the first to two falls winning. You win by pinfall, submission or countout but a knockout or DQ instantly ends the match (it’s Heritage Cup rules if you watch NXT UK). They’re also both in boxing gloves, even though this isn’t a boxing match.

Round one begins with a lot of circling and then flailing but Williams hits a good shot. Lee slugs away in the corner and the round ends with Williams going down. They take the gloves off to start the second round and Lee grabs some armdrags. A slingshot dive to the floor connects for Lee but Hayes offers a distraction, allowing Williams to drop Lee for the first fall at 57 seconds of the round and 4:12 overall.

Round three begins during the break and we come back with the start of round four, with Williams still up 1-0 and wearing a boxing glove on his left hand. Lee grabs a rollup for the second fall to tie it up at 1:14 of the round and 9:32 overall, even with Williams’ feet on the ropes during the pin.

Williams blasts him with a left hand in between rounds and gets two at the start of the fifth round. Another shot to the face gives Williams two, followed by a suplex for the same. Lee fights back with some knees and a bulldog but stops to grab a boxing glove and knock Williams silly for the pin at 2:54 of the round and 12:44 overall.

Rating: C-. I usually like the rounds/Heritage Cup stuff but this was too wacky with the boxing being added. Just wrestle the gimmick match as is without adding in something else, as that’s too much for a match that fans aren’t likely to be used to in the first place. Lee winning was a bit of a surprise, though he could use the boost.

We go to Chase U where Andre Chase is talking to a woman we can’t see. Thea Hail comes and finds out that she has hurt Arianna Grace’s face. She and Bodie Hayward were doing something on the university’s campus and a ball hit Grace in the eye. Grace wants revenge so Chase makes a match for later. Actually she was thinking more along the lines of a lawsuit, which sends Chase into a rant about how this university solves things in the ring. Hail is excited for her first match and falls over something on the way out.

Carmelo Hayes is still in the ring to complain about Nathan Frazer interrupting the open challenge last week. Giovanni Vinci interrupts and says he’ll take that title shot right now. They’ll do it at Heatwave instead but the fight starts now, with neither being able to hit anything until referees break it up.

Video on Bron Breakker vs. JD McDonagh, with McDonagh playing more mind games and promising to wreck Breakker’s arm. Breakker is ready to hurt him but McDonagh says to never bet against an ace.

Lash Legend is still telling Blade about her match last week, with Edris Enofe now there too.

Thea Hail vs. Arianna Grace

The rest of Chase U is here with Hail. Grace takes her down and starts unloading with forearms but only hits Hail’s raised hands. Hail fights out of a chinlock and hits some elbows to the face, setting up a standing moonsault for two. Grace backs off while favoring her eye, only to sucker punch Hail. Wasteland (Barrett approves) finishes Hail at 3:50.

Rating: C-. Maybe it’s me not being a fan of the gimmick but I’m not getting into Grace whatsoever. The beauty queen thing isn’t clicking and feels like something that has been done better before. Hail losing is a bit depressing as well as she has done so well with the Chase U stuff. Not exactly a great match either, but Hail’s energy helped it a lot.

Apollo Crews is on his way to the ring and we seem to look into his mind’s eye, where a green video shows Diamond Mine down in a ring.

We look at Solo Sikoa beating Von Wagner in last week’s falls count anywhere match.

Sikoa has a PCL injury and he’s out 4-6 weeks. Cameron Grimes comes up to say congratulations. Sikoa says he’s coming for the North American Title next week but Grimes doesn’t seem to like being compared to him.

Apollo Crews vs. Roderick Strong

No Diamond Mine with Strong. They go with the grappling to start with Crews wrestling him down before crews drives him into the corner. Back up and Strong grabs his first backbreaker before dropping him onto his back again. Crews knocks him back and goes up, only to give into a dropkick to cut him down in a hurry.

Back with Strong working on a reverse chinlock before kneeing away at the ribs. A missed charge in the corner lets Crews make the clothesline comeback. The middle rope Blockbuster and a wheelbarrow suplex give Crews two but Strong suplexes him onto the apron. Another backbreaker is shrugged off and Crews muscles him into a fireman’s carry gutbuster. The spinebuster finishes for Crews at 15:23.

Rating: B-. Commentary was calling this a match of the year candidate for NXT and while that might be a bit much, it was certainly good. Crews is someone who can go move for move with just about anyone and Strong isn’t going to have a bad match most of the time. The problem is that everything else Strong does is about as uninteresting as you can get around here and it was hard to bring myself to get into anything he was doing.

Lash Legend is still talking until Malik Blade finally cuts her off to say she lost. Legend is offended by the interruption but Pretty Deadly comes in to defend her honor. A match is made.

Sanga is trying to give Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz advice but Katana Chance and Kayden Carter come in to offer them a title match. Feroz and Leon aren’t sure about this but Sanga offers to help them find inner peace.

The Diamond Mine are doing another film story on Apollo Crews’ suggestion. They see something that they don’t like but Roderick Strong comes in to yell at them for not being out there. Julius Creed yells about someone getting involved in the big tag match last week and is going to deal with it next week. Strong doesn’t want to hear about that and breaks Damon Kemp’s laptop.

We have one final accord between Santos Escobar and Tony D’Angelo. The meet outside the building and….sit down at a table to talk. They have the same argument they have had over and over about which family is better and how neither of them have accomplished anything. Escobar offers one final match between the two of them: if D’Angelo wins, Escobar is gone, but D’Angelo gets to keep the rest of Legado del Fantasma. If Escobar wins though, Legado is free. The match is on, and it’s a street fight. This was a long segment that could have been set up in a much faster segment.

Tiffany Stratton goes into her locker room where Wendy Choo (dang it) is waiting. Choo has night vision goggles on and turns the lights out, allowing her to beat up Stratton. Choo says this isn’t over, making me wonder WHY THE HECK IS THIS NOT OVER. There is NO reason for this to keep going, and stop acting like Choo is the heroine in any of this with her one “prank” and sneak attack after another.

Malik Blade/Edris Enofe vs. Pretty Deadly

Prince gets caught in the wrong corner for some early double teaming to start but a toss into an elbow cuts Blade down. Pretty Deadly goes to pose on the floor but here are Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley to chase them back inside. The hot tag brings in Enofe to clean house as everything breaks down. A quick Spilled Milk finishes for Prince at 4:32.

Rating: C. Pretty Deadly winning is fine enough, though it would be nice to have Blade and Enofe win a match every now and then. The good thing is that they are continuously on TV and not getting squashed, so they are being at least somewhat protected. I could go for another of these on a bigger stage, or at least without the interference in the middle.

Cameron Grimes doesn’t like being mocked for being knocked down during last week’s main event. The Schism comes up to offer their condolences and Grimes might be a bit more interested.

Nikkita Lyons gives Zoey Stark a pep talk before her match.

Video on Toxic Attraction, with Jacy Jayne liking rock music and Gigi Dolin playing by her own rules.

Apollo Crews is happy with his win but Grayson Waller comes in to ask why Crews is here. A match seems likely.

Zoey Stark vs. Cora Jade

Mandy Rose is on commentary. Stark armdrags her down to start and fires off some knees to the ribs. Jade gets in a few shots of her own, including a knee to the face for a needed breather. We take a break and come back with Jade cranking on the neck but missing a shot with her stick. Stark grabs a German suplex to get out of trouble before they slug it out.

Jade tries to jump over her in the corner but gets superkicked down for two, with Rose wanting Jade to make a comeback. A hammerlock DDT gives Jade two and something like Sliced Bread connects for the same. Jade goes for the stick but Roxanne Perez pops up to take it away. Stark hits another superkick and flips Jade into a knee to the face for the pin at 11:04.

Rating: C+. I liked that finisher from Stark and Jade is already finding her rhythm as a heel. The good thing is that they are continuing to figure out what they are doing with this women’s division and it feels like there are multiple directions they could go on any given week. That’s more than most women’s divisions can say so well done.

Post match Perez chases Jade off and Rose gets laid out by Stark’s flipping knee (with Rose going DOWN on contact) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This one wasn’t working for me so well as a lot of the first half was pretty lame. Things got better later on in the show but I’m only kind of interested in what they have on tap for Heatwave. NXT tends to do well with the big shows though so there is a good chance they make it work. Not a great show this week, but next week is the one that matters.

Results
Nikkita Lyons b. Kiana James – Splits splash
Wes Lee b. Trick Williams 2-1
Arianna Grace b. Thea Hail – Wasteland
Apollo Crews b. Roderick Strong – Spinebuster
Pretty Deadly b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Spilled Milk to Enofe
Zoey Stark b. Cora Jade – Flipping knee to the face

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

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NXT
Date: August 2, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s a big title night this week as there are three championships on the line. The mot interesting one might be the Women’s Tag Tam Titles, which are guaranteed to see new champions crowned as the titles are vacant coming in. In addition to all that, there is a Falls Count Anywhere match between Solo Sikoa and Von Wagner. Let’s get to it.

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

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Toxic Attraction vs. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Katana Chance/Kayden Carter

For the vacant titles under elimination rules. Paxley takes Leon down to start and it’s a rapid string of tags until Leon is gorilla pressed onto the pile at ringside. Feroz hits a big flip dive and it’s Paxley getting suplex/high crossbodied inside for two. Nile isn’t having that and runs Feroz over for the first elimination in short order. Jayne knees Nile in the head for two but Paxley suplexes Chance for the same.

Back up and Chance springboards over Paxley and hits a headscissors faceplant for two of her own. Jayne comes in and trips Paxley down for the elimination, leaving us with Carter/Chance vs. Toxic Attraction. Dolin elbows Carter down for two and everything breaks down for a four way knockdown. Chance dives on Dolin on the floor, leaving Dolin to get caught with the 4t0/neckbreaker combination for the pin and the titles at 12:06.

Rating: C. Not exactly great stuff here and a lot of that was due to having too many people in there without enough time. There were eight people to start and you can’t get very far with everyone trying to get in there and do their thing. Chance and Carter have been chasing the titles for a long time now so it was time to have them win the things. If nothing else, it is nice to have them in a division where they might have challengers so we could be in a good place going forward.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen, with Fallon Henley, are fired up for their next title defense when the Schism interrupts. Joe Gacy talks about Cameron Grimes and gets a match with Jensen for later.

Here are Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams for a chat. It’s Hayes’ birthday so let’s have an open challenge for the North American Title.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Giovanni Vinci

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending. Hang on though as Hayes said the next person in the ring gets the shot so Nathan Frazer runs by Vinci and gets the shot instead. Frazer appearing in Vinci’s freeze frame was funny.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Nathan Frazer

Hayes, with Williams, is defending and Vinci is on commentary. Frazer takes him down to start and slides under the ropes to crotch Hayes against the post. Fans: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Back up and Hayes hits the Fade Away to take over, setting up a springboard spinning clothesline for two. Frazer fights back and forearms away before raining down some right hands.

It’s too early for the Phoenix splash so Frazer is back with a superkick. The low superkick gets two, with Williams almost having to come in for the save. Frazer sends him outside and hits a dive, which knocks over Vinci’s drink. That earns Frazer a shove off the top and Hayes hits Nothing But Net to retain at 5:41.

Rating: C. Hayes is so smooth in the ring that anything he does is worth a look. He makes it look easy out there and that is not something you can find every day. Frazer is someone who should feel like a bigger star but just doesn’t for some reason. It’s still fun to see him though and if he can figure out that missing piece, everything could work in the future.

It’s time for a summit between JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker, with Wade Barrett running things. McDonagh isn’t impressed with Breakker’s physique because it is little more than a road map of things he can hurt. Breakker talks about how he has studied McDonagh’s history and knows how smart McDonagh is. McDonagh is going to challenge his mind, but everyone has a plan until Breakker breaks him in half.

Barrett offers McDonagh the contract but he wants Barrett to sign first because Breakker looks scared. Breakker isn’t buying that and signs, but McDonagh says that this won’t end in violence. It will end in blood though, so he stabs himself in the had and signs with his own blood. Breakker is a bit disturbed but holds up the title anyway. Weird ending, but better than whatever McDonagh was doing last week.

The Creed Brothers are working out when Apollo Crews comes in. Crews is given an open invitations to train anytime but he tells them to have their eyes open against the D’Angelo Family tonight. Everything seems cool and Crews leaves, with Damon Kemp coming in. Roderick Strong is running late this week but he’ll be there for the match.

Toxic Attraction is livid and Mandy Rose can’t believe McKenzie Mitchell wants an interview right now.

Mandy Rose vs. Sarray

Non-title and joined in progress with Rose breaking up the running dropkick in the ropes. Rose slams her head first onto the mat but Sarray is back up with a springboard wristdrag. A fisherman’s suplex (Vic: “That plex is almost perfect!”) gets two on Rose. That isn’t going to work for Rose though, who is back up with a running knee for the pin at 4:14 shown.

Rating: C. I don’t know what it is but something about Sarray just misses most of the time. Other than that running dropkick against the ropes, I can’t think of a single thing she does in the ring that makes her stand out. Rose winning a near squash is a bit weird to see, but it makes sense to put her on television for an easy win for a change.

Post match Rose grabs a chair for some horrible shots to the leg keep Sarray down. Zoey Stark runs in for the save.

Tiffany Stratton does her gymnastics and thinks her hard work is why people are so obsessed with her. She hated losing that battle royal and everything she does is pretty.

Axiom is happy with his time in NXT so far but Duke Hudson comes in to call him short. Hudson beats him up all the way into the arena. Axiom is left laying but gets back up to issue the challenge for right now.

Axiom vs. Duke Hudson

Hudson runs him over to start but Axiom is back up with some kicks to the leg. A Razor’s Edge attempt is countered and Axiom grabs a rollup for the pin at 2:08. Nice enough feel good moment here.

Wes Lee doesn’t like Trick Williams because Williams thinks he’s a boxer. They can fight next week in a rounds match between wrestler and boxer next week.

Tag Team Titles: Creed Brothers vs. D’Angelo Family

The Creeds, with Damon Kemp, are defending. Julius headlocks Stacks to start and hands it off to Brutus for a suplex. Commentary seems to be rhyming as Stacks gets ax handled in the chest. D’Angelo comes in and cuts Brutus off as we take an early break. Back with Stacks working on a half crab but Julius crawls over for the tag to Julius.

House is cleaned and it’s back to Brutus, who gets caught by the arm to put the champs in trouble again. Stacks grabs an armbar but some forearms get Brutus out of trouble. Julius comes back in but a collision with D’Angelo gives us a double knockdown. Everything breaks down and D’Angelo grabs the crowbar. Cue the returning Santos Escobar to knock D’Angelo silly, setting up the basement lariat to retain the titles at 10:41. Roderick Strong never showed up.

Rating: C+. That ending with Escobar’s hand popping up and grabbing the crowbar was great, but it doesn’t hide the fact that the Creed Brothers are really uninteresting. They’ve come a long way and are good enough in the ring, but man alive they can take the interest out of a match in a hurry. That being said, I’ll take a year of them straight over another 15 seconds of this Legado vs. D’Angelo nonsense that has gone on WAY too long.

Roxanne Perez is tired of having to deal with Cora Jade in recent weeks, but then the title being thrown in the trash was even worse. The challenge is on for Heatwave.

Cora Jade knows she’s the talk of the town so she’s not in for Perez’s challenge. Mandy Rose comes in and wants Jade’s help taking out Zoey Stark. If she does, Jade gets the title shot instead. Jade will think about it. This has been your weekly reminder that NO ONE TALKS LIKE THIS, as Rose kept using the official names of the shows and speaking like she reading off a script.

Video on Von Wagner.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are really happy with their win.

Brooks Jensen vs. Joe Gacy

All of the associates are here too. Jensen punches him down to start but Gacy is back up with chops in the corner. Gacy knocks him down again and does his headstand in the corner. The Dyad goes after Fallon Henley so Josh Briggs gets between them. Cue Pretty Deadly for a distraction, allowing Gacy to hit the handspring clothesline for the pin at 2:58.

Post match Gacy rants about Cameron Grimes. Fan: “GACY LIKES PINEAPPLE LIKE PIZZA!”

Tony D’Angelo rants about Santos Escobar, who calls to laugh about everything. D’Angelo challenges him for one more match, mano a mano. This is the worst feud going in wrestling today and by going, I mean KEEPS GOING ON AND ON AND ON.

Lash Legend vs. Alba Fyre

Joined in progress with Legend running her over and grabbing the over the shoulder backbreaker. We get a tweet from Roderick Strong congratulating the Creed Brothers on retaining the titles and telling Apollo Creed to stay out of Diamond Mine business. Fyre fights out of the corner so Legend grabs the baseball bat. That earns her a superkick and the Swanton gives Fyre the pin at 3:28.

Rating: C-. And they’re done right? As in there is no reason for these two to every fight again and Fyre can move on to anyone else. Legend continues to be pretty awful at this stuff and while she hasn’t been featured as much lately, she is still one of the worst things going in wrestling today. Fyre did her thing and looked like her usual smooth self, but that is only going to do so much against someone like Legend.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes leave and run into some women (perhaps their lady friends) whose car has broken down. Williams: “Y’all got some jumper cables?”

Nikkita Lyons doesn’t think much of Kiana James because everyone tries to put her in a box of what a woman should be. They can fight next week.

Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner

Falls Count Anywhere with Mr. Stone in Wagner’s corner. They waste no time in fighting to the floor, where Sikoa hits a quick backsplash for two. Back in and Sikoa hits a running Umaga Attack in the corner to send Wagner right back to the floor. Wagner gets in a few shots of his own and it’s time to throw some weapons inside. Sikoa gets dropped onto a chair so Wagner heads outside and loads up the announcers’ table.

That takes too long so Sikoa reverses into a Samoan drop onto said table. They fight outside, with Sikoa being thrown into the women’s car from before the break. Wagner sends him into a dumpster and goes to leave but Sikoa pops up. Sikoa fights back and they run into Cameron Grimes as he is leaving the arena.

Back inside and Wagner suplexes him through a table for two but Sikoa pops back up. They head into the ring where Sikoa hits a Samoan drop before grabbing the chair. Wagner gets chaired down and Rock Bottomed onto the steps but Stone’s distraction breaks up the Superfly Splash. That means they head outside where a pair of superkicks set up a Superfly Splash through the table to give Sikoa the win at 12:25.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual good brawl, but there is something so tiring about people taking one big hit after another and just popping up like nothing happened. Get put through a table backstage? Easy kickout and you’re up a few seconds later. Same with chair shots to the back and a Rock Bottom onto the steps. Those are the kinds of things that feel like they should put someone down for a pin, but in a match like this they barely have any impact. That can get old fast and that was the case again here, though Sikoa continues to look ready for the main roster. Second best splash through a table I’ve seen lately.

Overall Rating: C. There is something odd about having a show with three title matches being headlined by a midcard brawl, but that’s another story for another time. This show was a good example of NXT’s problems, as they do have good stuff, but the uninteresting/bad stuff is among the least interesting in wrestling today. Stuff like Legend, the D’Angelo/Escobar story and Joe Gacy drag this show way down and that makes for a long night most of the time. Not an awful show or anything close, but the best parts were only so good and there isn’t much that got my attention.

Results
Kayden Carter/Katana Chance b. Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon, Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile and Toxic Attraction last elimination Toxic Attraction
Carmelo Hayes b. Nathan Frazer – Nothing But Net
Mandy Rose b. Sarray – Running knee
Creed Brothers b. D’Angelo Family – Basement lariat to D’Angelo
Joe Gacy b. Brooks Jensen – Handspring lariat
Alba Fyre b. Lash Legend – Swanton Bomb
Solo Sikoa b. Von Wagner – Superfly Splash through a table

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

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

It’s the first show of the new regime and I’m not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. NXT seems a bit more planned out that Raw and Smackdown so it might be a little while before the impact takes hold. Maybe they have a few surprises or at least ideas this week though so let’s get to it.

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

Here is the recently returned Zoey Stark for a chat. She is REALLY happy to be back and talks about being on the shelf since October after tearing her ACL and MCL. The doctors told her it would be over a year before she could return, but she worked in that trainer’s room so hard and beat the expectations by four months. Now she is the #1 contender for the Women’s Title and only has Toxic Attraction standing in her way. Cue Cora Jade on the platform to say she is already sick of Stark.

Jade was ready to be champion but Stark had to take HER MOMENT, just like Roxanne Perez did. They bicker about Jade trashing the Women’s Tag Team Titles but here is Toxic Attraction to interrupt. Mandy Rose is looking forward to becoming the fourth longest reigning Women’s Champion tomorrow when she surpasses Paige. Stark wants her title shot tonight, but instead has to settle for Gigi Dolin. This was just an “I’m back” promo, with Jade being annoying to keep her presence going.

Grayson Waller is ready to take out Wes Lee.

Tony D’Angelo and Family are ready to destroy the Diamond Mine.

Wes Lee vs. Grayson Waller

Waller takes him down to start and gets two off an early rollup. Lee is back with a victory roll for two of his own and there’s a double stomp to Waller’s back to set in the frustration. They run the ropes until Waller kicks him in the chest. That doesn’t do much to Lee, who dropkicks him to the floor and follows with a suplex.

We take a break and come back with Waller hitting a fireman’s carry flipped into a sitout powerbomb for two. Waller starts slapping him in the face, which has Lee fired up and unloading with shots to the face. Lee goes up top but gets shoved off for the big crash down to the floor. Waller yells at the referee and it’s Trick Williams in the crowd (in a hoodie and boxing gloves) with a shot to the back of Lee’s head. Lee dives back in to beat the count but the rolling Stunner gives Waller the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C. Lee continues to be in a weird spot as he is around almost every week but doesn’t ever really do anything important. Granted that is part of the “finding himself” story, but it isn’t exactly making him feel like a big deal. Waller is still a rather good villain, though he doesn’t come off as anything more than a midcard pest most of the time. He could also go with a better finisher than something that requires being outside to start most of the time.

The Schism talks about how Joe Gacy has opened their eyes to a new world. Now they want Cameron Grimes to join them, because Gacy can be the father figure that Grimes needs.

Arianna Grace is bragging about how much people were enjoying watching her in the battle royal last week when Indi Hartwell knocked her out. Hartwell’s gear is atrocious but here she is to say Grace would have done the same thing. Grace talks about how she would never do that as a former beauty queen and can’t stand this negative energy. Grace hasn’t shown me anything on LVL Up and I don’t see an improvement here.

Apollo Crews vs. Xyon Quinn

Crews dropkicks him down to start but Quinn is back up with some shots to the head. Quinn grabs a chinlock before elbowing Crews in the face for another knockdown. Crews fights back up but gets dropped again as he can’t get anything going. An enziguri gets Crews out of trouble though and he grabs a quick spinebuster for the pin at 5:37.

Rating: C-. I like Quinn a good deal but it’s becoming clear that he doesn’t have much to him besides a great look. He is long past the point of feeling like he is going to be something for the time being and while that is sad, it also isn’t surprising. Then you have Crews, who looks like a star and has much stronger of a resume, but the lack of personality is still holding him back. He’s miles ahead of Quinn though and that didn’t leave much doubt here.

Toxic Attraction isn’t worried about Zoey Stark but here is Sarray to say she wants a shot. Mandy Rose is ready for her revenge next week.

We look at Von Wagner beating Solo Sikoa down last week at Smackdown.

Solo Sikoa wants a falls count anywhere match with Wagner next week. Yes more brawling/hardcore stuff, but at least they have the slightest logical reason to go that way.

Gigi Dolin vs. Zoey Stark

The rest of Toxic Attraction is here and their early distraction lets Dolin jump her from behind. Some knees to the ribs and an elbow to the face rock Stark and we hit the bow and arrow hold. Stark fights up and hits a superkick, followed by a fireman’s carry flipped into a knee to the face for the pin at 2:50. Short and to the point here.

Post match Mandy Rose goes after Stark and gets chased to the floor. Cue Cora Jade to kendo stick her down but Roxanne Perez returns to make the save.

JD McDonagh is here….as a fan.

Wendy Choo has nightmares about losing to Tiffany Stratton. She wakes up and promises that this isn’t over with Stratton and next time won’t be so nice. How has anything about this feud been nice???

JD McDonagh is in the crowd and tells a fan to eat his popcorn slowly because people die eating it all the time. Next up he goes to talk to the timekeeper, who has an important job and talks about how you can break a hand with a hammer. Ring announcer Alicia Taylor has a great voice, but then there is Wade Barrett. McDonagh talks about how the calcium deposits from bare knuckle boxing can hurt your joints so watch out for that.

Then we have Vic Joseph, who said some bad things about McDonagh’s family last week. McDonagh thinks he could break Joseph’s collarbone with his bare hands…but he won’t. Instead, McDonagh gets in the ring and calls out Bron Breakker, who is happy to oblige. Breakker is ready to face him in three weeks and knocks McDonagh down, which has McDonagh smiling.

Chase U is ready for Andre Chase to face Giovanni Vinci. Thea Hail wants to do the fighting for him but Chase himself has this. Nathan Frazer comes in and gets to be the Chase U flag bearer.

We look back at Axiom’s debut with a comic book theme.

Roxanne Perez has a lot going on, including being half of the Women’s Tag Team Champions. She has no partner though, and hands the belt over to Alundra Blayze. Next week, it’s a fatal four way elimination match for the vacant titles.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Andre Chase

Chase armdrags him into an armbar to start and grabs a sunset flip for two. Some rollups get two each on Vinci and it’s right back to the armbar. Vinci fights up but gets distracted by the flag waving, allowing Chase to send him into the post. We take a break and come back with Chase being dumped out to the floor.

Back in and Chase hammers away, setting up a belly to back suplex for the double knockdown. The spelling stomps look to set up a double underhook something but Vinci powers out. A backslide doesn’t work for Vinci as Chase grabs a butterfly powerbomb for two more. The Fratliner is broken up though and Vinci clothesline him down. The sitout Last Ride finishes for Vinci at 12:24.

Rating: C+. This is a good example of how you use someone who has been built up into a little something to get a bigger prospect over. Vinci has done well in NXT so far, but he hasn’t won much to make him feel like a big deal. Chase might not be a top star, but the fans love him and the charisma is impossible to ignore. Beating him feels like it matters and that is what made this better than something like the Quinn vs. Crews match.

Post match the beating continues but Nathan Frazer makes the save.

Diamond Mine is ready for the D’Angelo Family.

Yulisa Leon is talking to Valentina Feroz when Sanga comes in. Sanga gives them a pep talk for next week’s Women’s Tag Team Title match.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance want the titles they have been chasing. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley come in to gloat and trash talking ensues. Elektra Lopez comes in to say Diamond Mine will lost to the D’Angelo Family tonight and the brawl breaks out.

Arianna Grace vs. Indi Hartwell

Hartwell takes her down by the arm to start and works on a headlock. That’s reversed into a chinlock with Grace’s knee in her back before Grace plants her down. A rollup with feet on the ropes gets caught, allowing Hartwell to boot her in the face for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C-. Grace is still pretty new at this, but the former beauty queen deal doesn’t exactly sound inspiring. I haven’t cared for what I’ve seen of her so far and this didn’t help make things better. At least Hartwell has a bit more star power, even if she hasn’t done much lately. Not a very good match, but at least Hartwell got a boost out of the mess she has been in lately.

Mr. Stone and Von Wagner are ready for Solo Sikoa next week.

Kiana James has a PowerPoint presentation about Nikkita Lyons being terrible in the ring. We see Lyons’ childhood as the daughter of a musician. Lyons doesn’t even have a great vocabulary. James is going to further investigate Lyons, but she already doesn’t care for her.

Video on Alba Fyre vs. Lash Legend.

D’Angelo Family vs. Diamond Mine

Tony D’Angelo drives Roderick Strong into the corner to start but gets armdragged down for his efforts. Everything breaks down and it’s a huge brawl, with Brutus Creed going for an ankle lock on D’Angelo, who gets pulled outside to safety. Julius dives off the apron to take them all down though and we take a break.

Back with Kemp hitting a jumping knee on Wilde and sending him outside. A swinging slam to Del Toro is broken up with a chop block though and Kemp is down. Kemp’s knee gets slammed into the mat and Stacks grabs a quickly broken half crab. Kemp kicks his way to freedom and brings in Julius Creed to clean house. Julius runs the corner to superplex Del Toro and a German suplex drops D’Angelo. Brutus comes back in to run over the Family but Cruz and Del Toro hits their Russian legsweep/big boot combination. Strong knees Brutus by mistake though and D’Angelo fisherman’s suplexes Brutus for the pin at 11:38.

Rating: C+. The Diamond Mine continues to fall apart and it’s hard to imagine that they’re a thing much longer. This wasn’t so much about the D’Angelo Family winning as much as it was about the Diamond Mine losing, so they did have the logic right. I’m curious to see where the split goes, and at least they had a pretty good match to help us get there.

Alundra Blayze doesn’t know who is winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles next week. Toxic Attraction comes up to say they’ll win but Blayze says they have to earn them. This annoys Toxic Attraction to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. While it wasn’t the best show, it was nice to see something a show that felt nice and steady again. This show touched on a variety of feuds and angles while also moving some stuff forward. They need are starting to set up their next big show so they even have a direction. Now just get things set up and pay them off at that show and they’ve gotten somewhere in the right way, just like NXT of old.

Results
Grayson Waller b. Wes Lee – Rolling Stunner
Apollo Crews b. Xyon Quinn – Spinebuster
Zoey Stark b. Gigi Dolin – Fireman’s carry knee to the face
Giovanni Vinci b. Andre Chase – Sitout Last Ride
Indi Hartwell b. Arianna Grace – Big boot
D’Angelo Family b. Diamond Mine – Fisherman’s suplex to Brutus

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: July 19, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

The focus is on the women again this week as we have a battle royal for the #1 contendership to the Women’s Title. Other than that, we are probably going to be getting a lot more attention on Cora Jade betraying Roxanne Perez last week. And maybe Bron Breakker can do something. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of last week, with Cora Jade turning on Roxanne Perez and costing her the Women’s Title.

Cameron Grimes vs. JD McDonagh

Grimes shoulders him down but McDonagh kicks at the knee. That doesn’t bother Grimes, who kicks him in the chest and hits a backdrop. A whip into the corner has McDonagh on the apron and a big boot puts him on the floor. Back in and Grimes hits a high crossbody to rock McDonagh again, but here is Joe Gacy on the platform for a distraction as we take a break.

Back with Gacy still looking down and McDonagh blocking a suplex from the apron. McDonagh goes back to the knee and kicks away at it in the corner, only to get caught in a swinging Side Effect. Another shot to the knee slows Grimes down so he enziguris his way out of trouble. McDonagh goes for the leg again so Grimes knees him in the face. Grimes is knocked to the apron but McDonagh headbutts him, with Grimes’ knee getting caught in the ropes. That’s enough to slow Grimes down so the Devlin Side can finish Grimes at 13:24.

Rating: B. This is the kind of match you knew you would get from these two, as McDonagh and Grimes are capable of doing very good things in the ring. I could go for about 183% less Gacy, but he’s the junk mail you get in your box every day anymore. Other than that, they had a really good opener here and McDonagh is instantly established on the show.

Nikkita Lyons is ready to win the battle royal tonight.

Tiffany Stratton is OFFENDED that she has to be in the battle royal tonight but she’ll win anyway.

Here is Cora Jade for her big explanation. After coming close to using the start of Hulk Hogan’s Bash At The Beach 1996 speech, Jade talks about how she has been the featured star of the women’s division since she got here. People have been talking about how great she is at such a young age. Then she found the perfect partner in her best friend, Roxanne Perez. Everything was great and they won the Tag Team Titles, but not THIRTY MINUTES LATER, Perez wanted to do something more by winning the Women’s Title.

That was so disrespectful so it was time to do something about it. That’s why Jade didn’t mind turning on her last week and hitting her with the title. Now Perez is gone with a broken heart but they are still the Women’s Tag Team Champions. The titles mean nothing to her in the new Generation of Jade, so she throws it in the trash at ringside. Logical, to the point, everything was fine here and that’ snice to see for a change.

Xyon Quinn likes what Jade did but now he has something to look forward to next week: a one on one match with Apollo Crews. Sure Crews can throw weight around in the gym, but he couldn’t do it on the main stage. Now the X Factor gets to take Crews out.

Indi Hartwell wants to win the Women’s Title.

Roderick Strong vs. Damon Kemp

They trade headlock takeovers to start with Strong getting the better of things early on. Back up and Kemp grabs a suplex before a gutwrench suplex makes it worse. Strong is back with some knees to the ribs to put Kemp down as commentary talks about Strong’s failings as the leader of Diamond Mine. Kemp gets in some more suplexes, but we cut to the D’Angelo Family on screen laying out the Creed Brothers. Kemp is distracted enough that Strong can hit a jumping knee for the pin at 5:56.

Rating: C. I’m oddly curious about how this Diamond Mine split is going to go, even if Strong is hardly the most interesting person. Kemp continues to seem like he could work well in some kind of a role and I could go for more of him. For now though, it is likely going to be about the team’s split rather than anyone standing out and that might not draw the most interest.

Pretty Deadly, in their cowboy gear, is ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen ware ready to keep the Tag Team Titles and then Fallon Henley is winning the battle royal. She tells them to focus, because keeping the titles is harder than losing them.

Diamond Mine is banged up but Roderick Strong is ready to fight the D’Angelo Family.

NXT UK Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen

Briggs and Jensen, with Fallon Henley, are defending. Jensen knocks Prince into the corner to start for some clotheslines and a backdrop as everything breaks down early. A cheap shot has Briggs in trouble but he knocks Prince outside….and right into Henley. The champs panic as Henley is down and we take a break.

Back with Prince taking Jensen down for a chinlock and keeping him from getting over for the tag to Brigs. That doesn’t last long as Jensen gets over to Briggs for the tag so house can be cleaned. Stereo crossbodies put Briggs and Wilson down, with Prince handing Wilson a title belt. Then Prince slides Briggs the other belt so the referee doesn’t see Henley grab Wilson’s title. The tug of war lets Briggs and Jensen hit a High/Low to retain the titles at 11:34.

Rating: C+. Briggs and Jensen have finally picked up a little something to move them forward and that is a good idea. They have the gimmick and abilities to make something interesting so giving them some titles was the right move. I’d like to see how far they can go, but the fact that NXT set up a team and then developed them is a great sign.

Joe Gacy says it is time for the Dyad to reveal themselves but there is no going back. And of course it’s the Grizzled Young Veterans, who he baptizes as Jagger Reid (James Drake) and Rip Fowler (Zack Gibson). They might be named the Schism.

Bron Breakker is looking for JD McDonagh.

Wes Lee is still on his quest to find himself and now it’s time to go after Grayson Waller and then Trick Williams.

Here is Bron Breakker for a chat. He can respect someone coming to him and asking for a title shot like Cameron Grimes, but then there is someone like JD McDonagh who jumps him from behind. Breakker knows who McDonagh is and here is McDonagh on the screen. McDonagh talks about how he knows Breakker is tough and will fight through anything, but McDonagh knows how to hurt people.

That bad shoulder Breakker has is comprised of eight major muscles, which McDonagh draws on a mannequin. Breakker is tired of the lesson and tells McDonagh to come down here and fight him. McDonagh says in due time and watch that shoulder. Breakker threatens to take the shoulder and beat McDonagh over the head with it for a line that could only work coming from a Steiner.

Von Wagner and Solo Sikoa got in a fight backstage at Smackdown, with Wagner beating him up outside the building.

The Diamond Mine is fired up and ready to take out the D’Angelo Family. The Family has two choices, both of which involves getting beaten up.

Axiom vs. Dante Chen

Axiom is a masked man who looks like a superhero, complete with special effects that make him look like he moves in a blur. They fight over wristlocks until Axiom takes him down by the arm. Chen sends him outside but Axiom comes back in with a tornado DDT. A jumping kick to the face finishes Chen at 2:56. Not the greatest debut but the superhero deal should work fine.

Lash Legend brags about her greatness.

Giovanni Vinci grants a fan a picture (with the fan not in it) but Chase U arrives and gets in the way of Vinci’s car. They go inside but don’t move their bus, leaving Vinci annoyed. This was funnier than it should have been.

We go to the barber shop where Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams aren’t impressed with Hayes’ potential challengers. Williams will be watching Wes Lee vs. Grayson Waller next week though.

Toxic Attraction isn’t impressed with the battle royal but Ivy Nile, Kiana James and Alba Fyre come in to say they’ll win.

There’s a new QR code, which links to a woman wearing boots and walking somewhere.

Cameron Grimes is leaving and an unseen interviewer (sounds like Jeremy Borash) won’t take no for an answer on asking questions. Grimes snaps and yells about how he wants to go home, but Joe Gacy pops up to say he gets it.

Tony D’Angelo accepts the Diamond Mine’s challenge for next week.

Battle Royal

Alba Fyre, Nikkita Lyons, Tiffany Stratton, Fallon Henley, Lash Legend, Indi Hartwell, Ivy Nile, Kiana James, Elektra Lopez, Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, Sloane Jacobs, Valentina Feroz, Yulisa Leon, Wendy Choo, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Tatum Paxley, Amari Miller, Arianna Grace

For the next shot at Mandy Rose and commentary confirms that Zoey Stark is behind the QR codes. Everyone glares at Jade, who walks outside and gets beaten up by Nile. Miller is out first and Grace is kicked out as well. Fyre and Legend eliminate each other and brawl to the back, because basketball related feuds run deep.

Stratton knocks Choo out but she lands on her pillow and gets back in. Stark tosses Leon and Feroz and James kick Henley out. Stratton hits Choo in the face with a cup to get rid of her as well and we take a break. Back with Carter and Chance putting Nile out but getting knocked out as well. Paxley dives onto the two of them to save Nile and eliminates herself in the process. Stratton dumps Hartwell and we’re down to Stratton, Lyons, James and Stark.

James drives Lyons into the corner but gets kicked in the face for the easy elimination. Stratton dumps Lyons, leaving her alone with Stark. A clothesline puts Stratton over the top but only one foot hits, allowing her to get back onto the apron. Stratton backdrops Starks to the apron but they both get back inside. Stark forearms Stratton out….but Jade comes back in through the crowd and….gets backdropped out as well to give Stark the win at 13:10.

Rating: B-. This was better than I would have expected and a lot of that is due to the division actually having some depth. There were twenty women involved in this with three more watching (and Roxanne Perez not included), most of which have some kind of defining characteristic. That’s a heck of a lot more than most women’s divisions can claim and that’s pretty impressive. As for the match, Stark winning is a fine way to go as she’s a fresh challenger for Rose, though I wouldn’t have had the brand new heel get tossed like a goon.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty nice show this week with the opener and main event both working well. NXT is turning back into a good show, though there are still some parts that need ironing out. What matters most is that they have developed people up and down the card rather than just in the main event, which is more than WWE can say. Now just get things a little tighter and you could have something here, though they have already come a rather long way and should be proud of their success.

Results
JD McDonagh b. Cameron Grimes – Devlin Side
Roderick Strong b. Damon Kemp – Jumping knee
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Pretty Deadly – High/Low to Wilson
Axiom b. Dante Chen – Running boot to the face
Zoey Stark won a battle royal last eliminating Cora Jade

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: July 12, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the week after the Great American Bash and we still have a title on the line this week. This time around, we have the Women’s Title on the line as Roxanne Perez is going to be challenging Mandy Rose for the NXT Women’s Title in an attempt to become a double champ. In addition, we have the fallout from JD McDonagh attacking NXT Champion Bron Breakker last week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the Great American Bash.

Roxanne Perez has been attacked in the parking lot (THE PARKING LOT STRIKES AGAIN), with Cora Jade and medics checking on her.

Giovanni Vinci vs. Apollo Crews

They fight over a lockup to start and neither gets very far. Crews slips out of a slam but gets shouldered down. Some forearms from Crews rattle Vinci though and Crews is up with AJ Styles’ drop down into a dropkick. They head outside with Crews being dropped onto the barricade and we take a break.

Back with Crews making a comeback on Vinci, including a splash in the corner and some rolling German suplexes. Crews goes up but dives into a suplex, with Vinci pulling him out of the air (dang) for two. Hold on though as Vinci grabs a fan’s phone for a distraction, allowing Xyon Quinn to run out of the crowd and deck Crews. Vinci grabs the sitout Last Ride for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C+. The screwy ending aside, this was a good win for Vinci as he needed to do something to set him apart from the rest of the field. Beating Crews means more than beating a lot of NXT stars and the ending sets up Crews vs. Quinn while Vinci can move on to something else. Nice match here and well put together.

Cora Jade isn’t impressed by Toxic Attraction jumping Roxanne Perez and is ready for some revenge. I’m sure.

Tiffany Stratton is getting her nails done and vents about FINALLY being done with Wendy Choo. Now she wants to know who leaves with the Women’s Title. The nail work isn’t great but she’ll spare them a bad review.

Here is Cameron Grimes for a chat after his loss to Bron Breakker last week. He didn’t get robbed and he even caved in Breakker’s chest but he didn’t win the title. Now he has lost the North American Title and the NXT Title shot but maybe that’s just life. Instead of going to the moon, he crashed into the sun….and here is JD McDonagh to interrupt. McDonagh says that after Grimes lost last week, he became old news. Now it’s all about McDonagh, who wants that meat head Bron Breakker. Grimes wants McDonagh to look at him when he talks, so McDonagh headbutts him. That’s enough for Grimes to chase him off.

The Creeds and Damon Kemp are going over footage from last week’s match and respect is shown. Kemp would love to run it back and the Creeds are in if he is. The Creeds leave but here is Roderick Strong to say that isn’t what you do. Kemp cost them the titles so next week, Strong is teaching him a lesson.

Grayson Waller blames Wes Lee for his loss last week and wants to teach him a lesson.

Roxanne Perez is still getting checked out.

Tatum Paxley vs. Kayden Carter

Katana Chance is here too. Paxley takes her down by the arm to start but Carter is back with a running dropkick to the floor. That brings out Ivy Nile to check out Paxley and send her back inside, where Carter ties up the legs. Paxley grabs the rope so Carter pulls her away….and right into a small package to give Paxley the fast pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. I could go for more of Paxley as she and Nile could be a little something if they’re put together. One of the bigger issues with the NXT women’s division is that they have a bunch of people but a lot of them don’t have much to make them stand out. If Paxley teaming with Nile is her thing, then it gives her a step up on a lot of the rest of the new class.

Joe Gacy is ready for the Dyad to reveal themselves next week.

Sanga is watching the intro from last week’s show where he splashed Duke Hudson in a pool. Hudson comes up and complains, setting up a match.

Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen are in the bar celebrating their Tag Team Title win when Pretty Deadly, dressed as cowboys, come in. Pretty Deadly calls the place a dump and a fight is teased, but Henley sets up the match for next week.

Duke Hudson vs. Sanga

Hudson drives him into the corner to start but can’t whip him around. Instead Sanga runs him over with a shoulder out to the floor so Hudson grabs a neck snap across the top. Back in and Hudson rips at the chest hair before hitting a big boot (Wade: “Yes Duke!”). Sanga doesn’t seem to mind and hits a chokeslam (Wade: “No Duke!”) for the pin at 2:58.

Mr. Stone and company don’t think much of Solo Sikoa being from the streets because Von Wagner is a real athlete.

Solo Sikoa is ready to fight.

Toxic Attraction mocks Roxanne Perez for getting hurt, but they didn’t do it.

Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner

They fight on the floor to start before getting inside for the opening bell. Since they’re so angry, Wagner grabs a headlock before shouldering him down. Sikoa’s shoulder just annoys Wagner but a slam works a bit better, setting up a running headbutt for two. There’s a backsplash to send Wagner outside and we take a break.

Back with Sikoa fighting out of a chinlock but getting booted in the face. Sikoa hits a belly to back suplex to start the real comeback and starts striking away. There’s the Samoan drop and a running Umaga attack in the corner, sending Wagner outside. Sikoa goes with him and they fight up the aisle for the double countout at 10:34.

Rating: C. The fighting stuff was ok, but there was a bit too much wrestling in there for what they seemed to be trying to do. Sikoa not losing to Wagner is encouraging, though I would like to believe that this isn’t the best Sikoa can do right now. Fighting Wagner is quite the downgrade and it seems like we’ll be seeing it again soon. How great.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams go to the penthouse with some ladies. The hot tub is visited.

Lash Legend dribbles a basketball and shouts about Indi Hartwell. The ball rolls away and is stopped by a red baseball bat.

Chase U has gone to London but Andre Chase isn’t happy with being named as the seventh best school. Chase threatens to beat Glenn up for writing this and throws him out.

Lash Legend vs. Indi Hartwell

Legend jumps her to start and they head outside with Hartwell being driven into the apron. Back in and Hartwell gets draped over the top rope before being bent over Legend’s back for some cranking. Cue Alba Fyre on the platform, with Legend’s basketball, for a distraction, allowing Hartwell to try a springboard….I have no idea as Hartwell comes crashing down to the mat in a horrible slip. Legend rolls her up but gets reversed into another rollup for the pin (or close enough) to give Hartwell the pin at 3:32.

Rating: D-. That ending alone is a downgrade, but Fyre stealing a basketball is pretty lame even for modern wrestling stories. What’s worse is that Fyre, who could have been a star on the main roster a year ago, is now tasked with bringing Legend along. The botch wasn’t on Legend, but it’s not like this was going anywhere before Hartwell fell down. Hartwell continues to be directionless at the moment and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Post match Fyre chases Legend off with the bat.

A bunch of women talk about Roxanne Perez, including her lack of a boyfriend.

Tony D’Angelo wants to know where Legado del Fantasma’s loyalties lie. You mean he can’t tell yet?

Solo Sikoa and Von Wagner are still fighting outside.

The QR code is back, this time taking you to a Wordle style puzzle. The word is either _ _ _ OC or O _ _ _ C. Havoc?

Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade

Legado del Fantasma (minus Santos Escobar) is here too. Enofe and Stacks start things off with Blade coming in for some quick double teaming. Stacks gets over to D’Angelo for a suplex on Enofe and the villains take over. That doesn’t last long either though as the hot tag brings in Blade for a spinebuster on Stacks as D’Angelo sends Enofe into the steps. Blade gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle and it’s a swinging fisherman’s suplex to give D’Angelo the pin at 5:20.

Rating: C-. This D’Angelo/Legado stuff has completely stalled and it doesn’t help when they are trying to have D’Angelo as a serious guy. He’s the definition of a gimmick guy and that doesn’t shine at all when he is in the ring. There is something there with him, but they need to move on to something else with him in a hurry.

Nikkita Lyons doesn’t know who attacked Roxanne Perez, though people are accusing her. If she can, she’s ready to take the title shot though.

Axiom likes comic books and wears a mask. He’ll debut next week.

NXT Title: Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is challenging, or at least she is in theory as she isn’t here. Toxic Attraction laughs it off but here is Cora Jade to say we’re having a title match. Mandy says not so fast and gives Perez a ten count, but here is Perez, with ribs taped, to answer. Jade tries to talk her out of it but says go do it. Perez comes in swinging and gets a ROXIE TWO BELTS chant. Rose isn’t having that and goes to the injured ribs to take over, with Perez being knocked outside.

We take a break and come back with Rose working on a bodyscissors but Perez fighs up and hits a running uppercut in the corner. Pop Rox is blocked as Rose gets to the floor, where Perez hits a dive. Pop Rox connects on the floor and Perez gets her back inside….but Cora jade hits Perez with the Women’s Tag Team Title. That’s enough for Rose to hit the running knee and retain at 9:18.

Rating: C. They telegraphed that ending pretty hard but that isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it is easier to just go with the story that makes sense, even if the pieces are laid out in front of you. Jade and Perez splitting up is an interesting way to go since they are still the Tag Team Champions, but I can certainly go with the idea of getting rid of those belts if that happens to be a side effect. As for the match, it was what you would expect with an injured star coming after Mandy Rose, who continues to be completely adequate in the ring.

Post match Jade yells at Perez a lot and tries to hit her with the skateboard….but it breaks beforehand, leaving Jade to use the pieces to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show wasn’t the best but it was setting things up for the future, which is a good thing to see. The problem is they didn’t have a very good show to get there and that made for a pretty dull night. The good thing is that it came off a rather strong show last week so things going down a bit was understandable. Now just get back to closer to last week next time and we should be ok.

Results
Giovanni Vinci b. Apollo Crews – Lifting sitout powerbomb
Tatum Paxley b. Kayden Carter – Small package
Sanga b. Duke Hudson – Chokeslam
Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner went to a double countout
Indi Hartwell b. Lash Legend – Rollup
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Edris Enofe/Malik Blade – Spinning fisherman’s suplex to Blade
Mandy Rose b. Roxanne Perez – Running knee

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