IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 31, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

With less than two weeks to go before the next Takeover, it really feels like this show has snuck up on us. The show should be fun, but it hasn’t had the most amount of time to build up. Last week’s major announcement saw Pete Dunne added to the North American Title scene though and that’s never a bad thing. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Jaxson Ryker vs. Tyler Breeze

Ryker goes with the power to start by throwing Breeze around so Breeze punches away and stomps Ryker down in the corner. That just earns him a release Rock Bottom as Ryker starts in with the power. A backbreaker gets two and then a backbreaker gets nothing as it’s almost all Ryker so far. Breeze hits a quick knee though and a victory roll finishes Ryker at 3:21.

Rating: D+. The fluke ending was a surprise but if it means we don’t have to deal with Ryker as the unstoppable monster for as long, it’s going to be an improvement. Breeze has needed a win like this and it’s nice to see WWE treating him like something that matters instead of a punching bag on the main roster.

Post match the beatdown is on but Fandango makes his return and cleans house.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes

Reed shoves him down to start and we’re already in the chinlock. Grimes is right back up with a headlock so Reed shoves him off and hits a hard elbow. The clubbing forearms in the corner put Grimes on the floor and Reed is dim enough to chase after him. Back in and Grimes hits a running clothesline before grabbing an armbar. Since it’s just an armbar, Reed is out in a hurry with a powerslam and a Samoan drop. The backsplash gets two with Grimes having to put a foot on the rope. It’s off to a slow motion slugout with Reed taking the straps down but walking into the standing double stomp to give Grimes the pin at 5:55.

Rating: C. I wasn’t a big fan of Grimes when he was in TNA and he’s managing to turn me around a little bit here. I never would have guessed on that one and yet he’s making it work. Reed is someone who can go somewhere with his size and power so he’s going to be fine. This tournament has improved after what seemed to be a dull future. Nice enough match here and Grimes has impressed me.

Quick look at Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole.

Matt Riddle wants Killian Dain to fight him face to face. He’ll get to do that next week.

Here’s a ticked off Shayna Baszler for a chat. Mia Yim has been sending a message by attacking Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke and Baszler has heard it. That’s why Yim has lost before she’s even gotten on the plane to Toronto. Next week, Baszler is putting the street rat to sleep. Cue Mia to say Baszler looks really unfamiliar right now. Mia has nothing to lose so the street right is bringing a fight Shayna can’t rain for. Baszler promises to prove that Mia is street trash and holds up the title. I’d still prefer Candice LeRae in this spot but as long as they don’t call Mia the Blazian Baddie or Head Baddie in Charge, she’s fine.

Candice LeRae wants to face Io Shirai at Takeover. William Regal: “Can’t blame you.” The match is made and Regal asks her to go home.

Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong

Strong takes him to the mat to start but Dunne slips out and it’s a staredown from one knee each. Back up and Strong takes him into the corner for some right hands but you just don’t do that to Dunne. Pete fights out of the corner and stomps on the arm, followed by a kick to the elbow. Strong’s arm is fine enough to catch Dunne on top and hit a torture rack backbreaker to take over.

A regular backbreaker gets two but Dunne is back up with some kicks to the leg. Strong hits a dropkick to cut him off but bangs up his own leg in the process. They head up top with Dunne throwing him down and hitting a middle rope missile dropkick to a kneeling Strong. Dunne flips over Strong out of the corner and hits the X Plex. The PK gets two and Dunne kicks him in the head again.

A sitout powerbomb gets two and they’re both down. Strong heads outside so Dunne goes to the middle rope, allowing Strong to drop him back first onto the apron. The belly to back faceplant gives Dunne two but he’s right back with an enziguri. The Bitter End is blocked and Strong hits the Angle Slam. Dunne grabs a DDT and they’re both down again.

They slug it out with Dunne getting the better of it and heading up top for a sunset bomb….which doesn’t quite work as Strong lands on Dunne instead of the mat. Strong is fine enough to hit a jumping knee to the face and a Tiger Driver 99 for two. The Strong Hold attempt is countered into a triangle choke and Dunne bends the fingers for the tap at 16:03.

Rating: B+. Dunne has as much star power and potential as there is around here and it’s very nice to see him getting a chance in regular NXT. If he’s sticking around for good, it seems like a matter of time before he’s on the main roster and tearing it up there too. This was a rather good performance from both guys with Dunne getting a win to reestablish himself around here.

Post match Velveteen Dream comes in and teases a belt shot to Dunne but smiles at him without really loading it up. Strong stares at Dream and leaves, allowing Dunne to snap Dream’s fingers and hit the Bitter End to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event helped this show a lot as the build to this Takeover is still lacking a little bit. What they have is working well enough but nothing really pops off the page. Dunne helps that a lot because he feels like a bigger star than almost anyone else in NXT. That’s the case because he’s been very well protected over the years and believe it or not, that does wonders for anyone and it’s done that for Dunne. Next week can fix some of the problems, but Toronto just isn’t clicking as well as it could.

Results

Tyler Breeze b. Jaxson Ryker – Victory roll

Cameron Grimes b. Bronson Reed – Standing double stomp

Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong – Dunne bent Strong’s fingers back

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 24, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix

The rapid build towards Toronto continues and you can see most of the card already set up from here. The NXT Title match is going to be rather gimmicky and that could make for some fun. Other than that, it seems to be a show heavily focused on the Undisputed Era, which could be a good or bad idea. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the end of last week’s show, with Johnny Gargano attacking Adam Cole again. This caused General Manager William Regal to make another 2/3 falls match between the two, with Cole, Gargano and Regal getting to pick a stipulation each.

Opening sequence.

Breakout Tournament Semifinals: Jordan Myles vs. Angel Garza

The fans are behind Garza here but there are some Jordan chants. Garza offers a handshake to start but pulls it away to enhance the cockiness. Feeling out process to start and they go into an exchange of arm holds. Myles gets the better of it with an armbar, followed by a heck of a dropkick to give us the big smile. Another dropkick sends Garza outside but the slingshot dropkick is easily blocked as Garza plays some possum. Myles is sent into the steps and barricade, meaning it’s time for GARZA TO TAKE OFF HIS PANTS.

Back in and Garza hits a backbreaker for two and we hit a fish hook camel clutch. Garza tries to crash down onto his back but gets reversed into a sunset flip for two. A superkick takes Myles down again as the cockiness is strong with Garza. Myles isn’t about to be sent into the corner and sends Garza in instead, followed by some rapid fire kicks to the chest. A running discus clothesline in the corner looks to set up a springboard clothesline but Garza dropkicks him out of the air for two. Myles is right back with a low superkick and with a crazed look on his eyes, a German suplex finishes Garza at 8:26.

Rating: C+. I liked the match more than Myles’ previous effort but this still wasn’t the most thrilling match in the world. Also, Myles over Garza? Really? I’m really not sure I get that as Garza has more natural charisma than he knows what to do with. He’s all but guaranteed to be a star around here, though it wouldn’t shock me to see him move up to 205 Live in a hurry.

Shane Thorn of all people storms the announcers’ table to ask why she isn’t in the tournament after being around here for years.

Johnny Gargano says Adam Cole made it personal and this isn’t about the title anymore. His pick for the stipulation: Street Fight.

Xia Li vs. Bianca Belair

Belair drives her straight into the corner to start and a Glam Slam plants Li. The handspring moonsault to the back sends Li to the apron so Belair pulls her right back in. There’s a standing fall away slam but Li gets out of a delayed vertical suplex. Belair runs her down though and the KOD finishes Li at 3:01.

Rating: D+. Total squash here and a better use of Belair than what they’ve done recently. I still don’t want to see her near the title but if she’s gotten a little better, at least it should be a bit easier. Just don’t let her talk and everything should be fine with the whole thing. Mia Yim might need a new challenger if she wins the title and Belair will want revenge on top of everything else.

Video on Killian Dain, including his attack on Matt Riddle last week.

Mia Yim attacked Jessamyn Duke and said something censored while crushing her shoulder in a locker.

Here’s Velveteen Dream, in a Hollywood Hogan inspired jacket, for a chat. The only way he’s losing the title is the day he dies and he wants to go straight to h*** because it would feel like that without the title. He’s heard that Roderick Strong can go all night long as well, but if Strong gets the experience he’s looking for, it won’t end well for him. Dream wants to experience Strong though so here he comes.

Strong knows Dream is scared and can see it in his eyes. All it would take is one match for Strong to take the title so give him what he wants. The title is coming to the Undisputed Era and that is undisputed. Strong drops the mic….and here’s Pete Dunne. Strong comes up to him and gets his fingers snapped, sending him running. Dunne stares at the title and Dream isn’t sure what to do.

Post break Strong demands that William Regal give him a North American Title shot. Regal says he was talking to NXT UK GM Johnny Saint and Dunne is going to be around here for a bit. Strong isn’t happy and Regal makes it worse by announcing Dunne vs. Strong vs. Dream for the title at Takeover.

Kacy Catanzaro vs. Io Shirai

Shirai wastes no time in hitting a dropkick into the corner. The fireman’s carry shoulderbreaker connects but here’s Candice LeRae to jump Shirai at 27 seconds.

Shirai bails before Candice can break her apart with a chair.

Adam Cole likes the way that Takeover is shaping up for the Undisputed Era. They can be draped in gold, which has Cole thinking about Gargano. His stipulation: a one on one wrestling match.

Next week: Tyler Breeze vs. Jaxson Ryker and Pete Dunne vs. Roderick Strong.

Damien Priest vs. Keith Lee

Anything that involves me hearing more of Lee’s entrance theme is a good idea. The fans sing it after the bell to make it even better. Priest grabs a headlock to start until an exchange of shoulders breaks even. Some kicks to the arms and legs go well for Priest but he has to duck a rather impressive looking spinning kick from Lee (just dang man…..you shouldn’t be able to do that).

Another shoulder works well for Lee but Priest knocks him down again. For some reason Priest tries a suplex, which goes as well as you would expect. Instead he clotheslines the heck out of Lee for two and it’s off to the chinlock. Lee doesn’t waste time getting back up so Priest tries another suplex. This one goes just as well so Priest settles for a high crossbody and his latest near fall. Priest does his archer pose but Lee grabs his hand and starts slugging away.

Lee’s own hard clothesline drops Priest, who comes right back with a Falcon Arrow (makes sense) for two. They slug it out again until Lee hits the big Pounce. Priest tries to leave but gets sent back inside, only to catch Lee with a knee to the face. A big running flip dive is loaded up…..and Lee catches him out of the air. Lee can’t do anything with him and gets kicked into the steps but EGADS LEE SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT. Back in and Priest kicks him in the head, setting up the Reckoning for the pin at 9:31.

Rating: B. I had a good time with this one and that’s all it needed to be. Lee does some crazy impressive stuff and Priest is quite the striker and athlete in his own right. It wouldn’t surprise me to see these two fight again and that is a rather nice idea. You had to have one of them lose here and while I would have gone with Priest, there is nothing wrong with having Priest move forward like this.

Overall Rating: B-. What mattered here was keeping the show moving and advanced a bunch of stories at the same time. The interesting thing here though is how many things are going on. Takeover is either going to be more than the five matches or there are going to be a lot of matches on the shows before and after. Either way, things are looking good around here, though maybe not as good as NXT UK. Now who would have seen that coming?

Results

Jordan Myles b. Angel Garza – German suplex

Bianca Belair b. Xia Li – KOD

Io Shirai b. Kacy Catanzaro via DQ when Candice LeRae interfered

Damien Priest b. Keith Lee – Reckoning

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT UK
Date: July 24, 2019
Location: Download Festival, Leicestershire, England
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Aiden English

The build towards Takeover: Cardiff continues as we now have some challengers coming up for Walter. First up is Trent Seven, who is fighting for the injured Tyler Bate, taken out at Walter’s hands. Odds are Bate gets the shot at Cardiff, but that doesn’t mean this is a nothing match. Seven has been awesome as of late and this could be quite good. Let’s get to it.

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

Trent Seven arrives and is ready to knock Walter’s head off.

Opening sequence.

Kenny Williams vs. Noam Dar

Grudge match after a few weeks of issues. Feeling out process to start with Dar taking him down by the arm and grabbing a front facelock. That’s escaped in a hurry for a standoff and some nice applause. They grapple a bit more until Dar tries a school boy, only to have Williams be ready for it and ruffle his hair. Dar bails to the floor and catches Williams with a shot to the head to take over for real this time.

Vic thinks punching Williams in the face to take over was the turning point of the match as we hit the chinlock. Williams gets back up and hits a superkick to start the comeback. Dar is sent outside for the suicide dive and a top rope back elbow to the face keeps Dar in trouble. The springboard spinning crossbody misses though and Dar grabs a fisherman’s buster for two.

The ankle lock is broken up and Williams nails a rebound lariat for a double knockdown. Williams tries to hit the ropes but gets pulled down into the kneebar. That’s broken up as well in a bit of a surprise and Williams loses his shoe. With the referee getting rid of it, Dar kicks him low and nails the Nova Roller for the pin at 10:10.

Rating: C+. I liked this one more than I was expecting to as Williams looks to have the skills to go somewhere and Dar feels like a star. This was a good way to continue the feud and I wouldn’t complain about seeing them fight again. If nothing else, this was a good way to have a story going without a title, which the smaller shows tend to be a lot better at than the major shows.

The Grizzled Young Veterans don’t want to talk. Everyone has come after them and they have won every time because they’re locker room leaders. So what could anyone ask them about?

We look back at Kay Lee Ray surprising Xia Brookside to win the #1 contenders battle royal. She’s getting the title shot on August 31 at Takeover: Cardiff.

Jinny/Jazzy Gabbert/Kay Lee Ray vs. Xia Brookside/Toni Storm/Piper Niven

Ray hides from Storm to start so it’s Jinny taking over to start until Toni shoves her away. It’s off to Jazzy vs. Piper with Jazzy managing to knock her down. Since Jinny is willing to come in and take over, Niven runs her over instead. Xia comes in for a dropkick to Ray but walks into a gordbuster. Jazzy adds a big slam as the fans are staying with this one. That’s enough to bring Kay back in for the choking as Xia is a rather good choice to take a beating like this.

A good looking tornado DDT takes Ray down though and it’s back to Toni. Ray runs off again so Toni settles for a German suplex on Jinny. Everything breaks down and Toni hits a dive onto all three. Niven cannonballs off the apron onto them and Xia hits her own big dive from the top. Back in and Piper crossbodies Jazzy (nearly crushing Toni in the process) but Jazzy is fine enough to catch Xia on top. The middle rope X Factor gives Jinny the pin on Brookside at 7:36.

Rating: C. I can always go for a good six person tag and that’s what we got here. They had enough of the feuds going together at once and Xia has another reason to come after Jinny in the future. Jazzy vs. Piper could be a heck of a hoss fight in the future and Toni vs. Ray is already set. Not bad for less than eight minutes.

Trent Seven vs. Walter

Non-title. Trent dives on him to start and sends Walter into the barricade before the bell. They get inside for the first time to officially start but Trent sends him right back out for a baseball slide. Walter is back up and tries the powerbomb but gets backdropped on the floor instead.

Back in and Seven hammers away until Walter snaps off a German suplex. Seven’s chop to the chest just annoys Walter, who slams Seven right back down. The half crab sends Seven bailing to the rope as Walter is looking disgusted at him for not quitting. A missed big boot in the corner lets Seven chop him in the back of the neck, followed by a heck of a clothesline.

More chops annoy Walter, so he knocks Seven down again. Seven is all but out on his feet but manages a backfist to the face to put Walter on the floor. Walter tries to come back in on the top so Seven chops him even more, setting up a top rope superplex for two. They head outside again with Walter hitting a big boot and this time the apron powerbomb connects.

Seven is done so Walter powerbombs him again for no cover. There’s another powerbomb and cue the rest of Imperium to stare at the stage. Walter hits yet another powerbomb and the referee tells him to finish the match. The fourth and fifth powerbombs connect until the referee FINALLY stops it at 14:14.

Rating: B. This was a rather good storytelling device along with a hard hitting fight. They’re setting up Bate as the last hope to fight Walter and that’s going to be an incredible match, especially when he hits the Tyler Driver. Seven made Walter look like an absolute monster here and it was a rather good piece of business. As usual, Seven is a valuable asset and I’m sure he’ll be back.

Overall Rating: B+. This show hit on all three matches with the midcard feud, the women’s feuds and the big emotional main event stuff all working well. They’re really starting to click around here and Takeover could be an outstanding show given what else is going to be set up for the show. For once I have nearly full confidence in them to not mess this up, and that’s some rare air to be in.

Results

Noam Dar b. Kenny Williams – Nova Roller

Kay Lee Ray/Jinny/Jazzy Gabbert b. Toni Storm/Xia Brookside/Piper Niven – X Factor to Brookside

Walter b. Trent Seven via referee stoppage

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 17, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s weird to say this but NXT is in a little bit of a funk. I don’t know if it’s the Breakout Tournament or Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole III not being the most inspiring story in the world, but the last few shows haven’t been the most thrilling the world. They’re not bad by any stretch, but when your standards are this high, anything but great is jarring. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Matt Riddle vs. Arturo Ruas

Ruas is formerly known as Adrian Jaoude, with Mauro mentioning that he has a new identity. They go into an MMA striking battle to start with Nigel listing off their stats. Riddle takes him to the mat and they trade waistlocks into a standoff. Ruas gets in a powerslam but can’t get a full cross armbreaker. Instead Riddle tries his own but Ruas rolls out into another standoff. Back up and Riddle scores with a kick to the ribs so Ruas double legs him down. Another battle of kicks goes to Riddle and it’s the Final Flash knee strike. Riddle pounces on him until the referee stops it at 3:41.

Rating: C. Uh, shouldn’t pounding away with right hands until the referee calls it off be a DQ instead of a knockout? This was a nice change of pace between two people who know what they’re doing so I can go for a little something different. Riddle needs some competition though and a story would help him go a long way. The charisma and skills are there so give him somewhere to go with them.

Post match Killian Dain runs in and wrecks Riddle, including sending him shoulder first into the post and slamming his head onto the floor. A backsplash to Riddle’s back makes it even worse and Dain takes Riddle to the stage…..for another running backsplash THROUGH the stage. Well that worked.

The Street Profits don’t take kindly to the Undisputed Era thinking they deserve the titles more than the Profits. If the Profits aren’t serious, why can’t the Era just beat them? Come see how serious they are because they’re going to keep the titles. Dawkins: “And that is undisputed.” Ford’s shocked face is great.

We look at Mia Yim attacking Marina Shafir in the parking lot last Saturday.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Dexter Lumis vs. Bronson Reed

Lumis is Samuel Shaw and Reed is Jonah Rock. Reed says he’s from Australia and a usual night out for him is a fight fight at a pub. Why does no one talk about Australian strong style? Lumis frames his hands to look at Rock, who reaches his hand out at Lumis for a scene straight out of a character loading screen. The much bigger Reed runs him over but an elbow lets Lumis put him on the floor.

Lumis’ running flip dive misses but he lands on his feet, leaving Reed to run him over. Back in and Lumis sends him throat first into the bottom rope and hammers away. The neck crank goes on for a bit until Reed is back up with forearms to the face. The announcers talk about Lumis enjoying pain as Reed gets two off a backsplash (common move tonight). Lumis is right back up with a belly to back suplex and spinning legdrop, only to miss the Swanton. Reed slams him down and a top rope splash finishes Lumis at 5:52.

Rating: C. Lumis seems like someone who could be interesting if he was given some promo time and maybe a few vignettes. Reed is someone you get the idea of immediately and he looked good in the ring. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him work before but there’s some potential there and I was pleased with a short match here.

Here are the updated brackets:

Bronson Reed

Cameron Grimes

Angel Garza

Jordan Myles

Tyler Breeze thinks he might need some backup against the Undisputed Era. Cue the Forgotten Sons to say he’s not a real man. Breeze: “Oh I’m a real man. Check out his beard.” Breeze thinks Jaxson Ryker is Buddy Murphy and doesn’t seem worried.

We look at the debut of evil Io Shirai last week, when she said she didn’t need any friends.

Next week: Kacy Catanzaro vs. Io Shirai.

Kushida vs. Apollo Crews

Welcome home for Crews and he gets quite the reaction, even though he was never a big star in NXT. They shake hands to start with Kushida taking him to the mat and Gator Rollins him for two. Back up and they trade flips to dodge until Crews nails a dropkick to take over. Kushida slides to the floor and gets the chase going, allowing him to catch Crews with a handspring double heel to the face. Crews is fine enough to hit a pop up gutbuster and the chinlock is on. A Stinger Splash sets up a heck of an overhead belly to belly suplex for two on Kushida.

Back up and Kushida catches him with a kick to the arm in the corner as the setup for the Hoverboard Lock begins. The Tajiri handspring elbow connects and a basement dropkick has Crews in even more trouble. Crews powers out of an armbar attempt and some rolling German suplexes keep Kushida rocked.

He’s fine enough to Downward Spiral crews into the middle rope but Crews hits a jumping enziguri to put both guys down. Kushida catches him on top with another double heel shot to the head and pulls Crews down into a cross armbreaker. With that not working, Kushida rolls into the Sakuraba Lock for the tap at 10:45.

Rating: B. This worked quite well with Kushida getting to show off some more, though I can understand the criticisms from people saying he’s not that interesting. So far all he’s had are one off matches that get to showcase his skills, but he needs either some serious competition or something personal to challenge him. Crews is still very talented, assuming you don’t expect him to have some kind of character behind him.

Post match Kushida offers Crews respect and we get another WELCOME BACK chant.

Keith Lee isn’t happy with his tenure so far as he’s had a lot of starts and stops. He has yet to see any of the opportunities that were promised to him and he’s been passed by for all the new talents. Right now we’re in the middle of a tournament with eight people fighting for a title shot. Now there’s Damien Priest running around and getting all this attention so maybe he should change the narrative. I fully support more Keith Lee.

Next week: Lee vs. Priest.

Here’s Adam Cole for his first NXT Title defense but first, a chat. Cole talks about being on the Bay Bay Championship Tour as of late and he’s been able to show the world what power is. It is now undisputed that there is a power switch happening in NXT. He’s never said he won’t be a fighting champion so let’s have a title match right now, against this man. We see a clip of Johnny Gargano at his training school and showing a student the NXT Title. You know where this is going.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Twan Tucker

Tucker is challenging and doesn’t look nervous. Cole insists that he’s alone here and it’s one on one. Tucker didn’t come alone though and here’s Gargano to charge the ring and go after Cole. No match of course.

Gargano superkicks him to the floor and hits a dive to the floor. They go into the crowd with Gargano hammering away and whipping Cole through various things. Referees break it up and Cole holds up the title so Gargano dives on him again and hammers away. They get into the ring and it’s the Gargano Escape to make Cole tap to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Yeah this was way better than the previous weeks with some good wrestling and a few things being set up for later. The main thing here is trying to make Gargano vs. Cole feel more important….but I’m just not feeling it. We’ve done that so many times now and you could say this is their fifth match after three falls in the first one. That’s quite a bit to take and NXT rarely goes there. They do seem to be setting up the Undisputed Era dominance, though I’m not sure how interesting that would be. At least we had something good here though and NXT feels back on track.

Results

Matt Riddle b. Arturo Ruas via referee stoppage

Bronson Reed b. Dexter Lumis – Top rope splash

Kushida b. Apollo Crews – Sakuraba Lock

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: July 10, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

With about a month to go before Takeover: Toronto, it’s time to start getting things set up for the big show. In this case, that includes more instances of Adam Cole being a jerk about pizzas as we wait for Johnny Gargano to show up again and deal with him. As for tonight though, we have Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch getting a shot at the Tag Team Titles. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s Io Shirai, clad in all black with a new darker entrance, to explain her actions. She says she doesn’t need any friends or any of us and that’s it.

Velveteen Dream is having a press conference, where he doesn’t approve of a question about his next challenger. Another question about Roderick Strong getting a title shot but Strong isn’t ready to experience him one on one. No more questions.

Damien Priest vs. Blanco Loco

Blanco is from Mexico, New York, which is a real town. Priest kicks him in the face and hits a toss Falcon Arrow for a big crash. A big clothesline has the squash going in full force and another one makes it even worse. Priest kicks him in the head and hits the Reckoning (Roll the Dice) for the pin at 1:38.

Killian Dain watches film, but this time he talks about being able to tell us stories. His house was set on fire with his family still in it. There were tanks and soldiers on every street corner and he can’t hear out of one ear because of a car bomb. He’s the only surviving male member of his high school class. The difference is that he hasn’t forgotten. He wants us to know who he is and why he’s doing what he does. He’s going to breathe on our face because everything he had was taken from him. Now he’s taking what he wants. Awesome promo, and Dain has the work ability to back it up.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Boa vs. Jordan Myles

Boa is a Chinese wrestler who has never wrestled on NXT TV and Myles is ACH. They shake hands to start and it’s Boa taking him down with a headlock. Myles spins out of an armbar and flips a lot before dropkicking Boa down. The armbar goes on for a bit, followed by a rollup with a camera cut that might have been an edit. Boa is right back with a kick to the chest and an ax kick to the same chest makes it even worse.

Another kick sends Myles into the corner and a butterfly suplex gets two. Boa squeezes the chest (how constricting) but tries to switch into a cross armbreaker, which is quickly reversed into a rollup. Myles tells him to come on and fires off some kicks with don’t seem to really come close to hitting Boa. A basement dropkick to the side of the head sets up the Midnight Star (450) for the pin on Boa at 8:21.

Rating: C-. I’ve never been a big fan of ACH and this didn’t do much to change my mind. It always seems that he’s putting on a performance instead of having a match and is much more about the flashiness than trying to make this seem real and it doesn’t work well for me. He’s crazy athletic and his high flying looks very good, but the overall package misses for me. Boa has a good look and seems aggressive, but he’s going to need to show a bit more fire.

Shayna Baszler has heard Mia Yim’s story over and over and that’s not enough to impress her. Besides, the story always ends the same against her: tap, nap or snap.

Video on Keith Lee and his journey through NXT so far. The company has been put on his back but he always winds up on top. He’s entering his second year and he has to reach the peak. Limitless isn’t enough anymore so he will become infinite.

William Regal announces that Apollo Crews will be back next week to face Kushida.

Also next week: Adam Cole defends the NXT Title.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

The Profits are defending. Ford and Lorcan start things off with Ford having to spin out of a wristlock into an armbar. Dawkins comes in and puts on a front facelock, which he describes as being out here rolling. Everything breaks down early on and the Profits stack them up on the ropes so Ford can dive over Dawkins onto both of their backs. Things settle back down for a second before a double suplex to Dawkins sets up a Crossface from Burch. Ford comes in for a quick save so Burch goes with a bunch of right hands to Dawkins’ face. Burch misses a charge though and it’s a double tag to Ford and Lorcan.

Ford gets to clean house and an assisted Sliced Bread #2 has Lorcan in trouble. Burch makes a save and comes in to take over. A half and half suplex gets two on Ford and a German suplex sends him right into the corner for the tag to Dawkins. House is cleaned and it’s a big knockdown so we can get a breather. Lorcan and Ford are up for the slugout until Ford hits a great looking flip dive onto Burch on the floor. Lorcan’s dive is cut off and the spinebuster into the frog splash finishes Burch to retain the titles at 9:59.

Rating: C+. The Profits aren’t the best team in the world but you can feel the energy when they’re out there that no one else can offer. That alone is more than enough to keep the titles on them for the time being and make for quite the entertaining matches. This was rather fun and hard hitting as Burch and Lorcan continue to be good for some of the better tag matches on the show no matter what.

Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly come out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This wasn’t their best effort, though it’s still a perfectly watchable show. The tournament is up and down at best and the opening squash was just fine. They need to get to the build to Takeover, though you can see most of the card from here. I’m sure it’s going to get better as we get back to the regular build, but the summer has been lacking a little bit.

Results

Damien Priest b. Blanco Loco – The Reckoning

Jordan Myles b. Boa – Midnight Star

Street Profits b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – Frog splash to Burch

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Aaliyah vs. Mia Yim

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kushida vs. Jeff Parker

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

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

Killian Dain watches film.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Isaiah Scott vs. Cameron Grimes

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

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

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

Bianca Belair vs. Priscilla Zuniga

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

Matt Riddle training video.

Tyler Breeze vs. Roderick Strong

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

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

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

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

Results

Mia Yim b. Aaliyah – Protect Your Neck

Kushida b. Jeff Parker – Sakuraba Lock

Cameron Grimes b. Isaiah Scott – Standing double stomp

Bianca Belair b. Priscilla Zuniga – KOD

Roderick Strong b. Tyler Breeze – End of Heartache

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 26, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re rapidly approaching Takeover: Toronto and that means things need to start coming together in a hurry. One such match that needs to be taken care of is a big main event on this week’s show as Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defends against Io Shirai in a cage match. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Shirai vs. Baszler, which is a rematch from Takeover: XXV when Shirai snapped and attacked Baszler after losing clean. Now most people would call that….never mind.

Opening sequence.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Joaquin Wylde vs. Angel Garza

That would be DJZ vs. Garza Jr. Garza starts with some mind games but Wylde is right there to shove him back, giving us an early standoff. What looked to be a tilt-a-whirl is countered into a faceplant to give Wylde two but a tilt-a-whirl faceplant gives Garza the same. Hold on though because GARZA TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! A running knee to the ribs in the corner keeps Wylde in trouble and a powerbomb into a release X Factor gets two. The straitjacket chinlock goes on and Garza adds a knee to the back, only to have Wylde backflip out into the same hold.

Rating: C+. These are always hard to rate as they’re people having a match. I don’t know anything about them in NXT and they don’t really have characters so it’s just about who wins. It was a good match though and that made it a lot better. Just letting two guys go out there and fly is going to work most of the time and it did here.

Video on Kushida, who is excited to be here and wants to see what’s waiting for him.

Street Profits vs. Forgotten Sons

Non-title and the Profits come through the crowd for the always high energy entrance. Before the match, the Profits talk about handing out free smoke and offer to make this a title match. Ok then.

Tag Team Titles: Street Profits vs. Forgotten Sons

The Sons are challenging and it’s Cutler taking Ford into the corner to start. With Ford down on the ropes, Cutler hiptosses Blake onto his back, followed by an Angle Slam/neckbreaker combination for two. Ford is right back up and slides over for the tag off to Dawkins as everything breaks down. The spinebuster into the frog splash looks to finish but Jaxson Ryker pulls Ford out for the DQ at 2:21.

Post match the beatdown is on until Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch come in for the save. The Sons bail with Ryker pulling them back. Lorcan and Burch pick up the titles but hand them back, saying the Profits owe them.

Someone who looked like Killian Dain is watching footage.

Vanessa Borne and Aaliyah don’t get why we’re applauding Mia Yim for being poor. They just can’t understand it because they’re so pretty. They’ll teach Mia a lesson as long as she keeps the bandanna over her face through the whole match.

Nykos Rykos vs. Keith Lee

Nykos tries to go after Lee and gets sent flying with one of the biggest Pounces I’ve ever seen. The Limit Breaker is good for the pin at 1:07. Lee continues to be impressive.

Adam Cole went to the Download Festival in England and defended the title against Dave Mastiff. Once he was back home, he went to Gargano’s Sandwich Shop, which we’ll see more of later.

Women’s Title: Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai

Baszler is defending inside a cage and there are no seconds here. We get the Big Match Intros and Baszler is looking extra confident due to being inside the cage. The early punches have Shirai in trouble but it’s too early for the Kirifuda Clutch. A stomp to the head has Shirai in more trouble but she’s up in time to stop an early escape attempt. Shirai can’t get out either though as Baszler pulls her right back down. A whip into the cage starts a SHAYNA chant and it’s off to a neck crank.

Baszler kicks her in the back for two and sends Shirai face first into the cage for a nasty crash. Shirai ducks a charge to send Baszler into the cage though and a pair of dropkicks into the steel have Baszler in actual trouble for the first time. A German suplex gives Shirai two and the running knees in the corner make it even worse. Shirai goes all the way up top but Baszler is right back up to throw her down.

That’s not enough for an escape either as Shirai pops up with a German superplex and a delayed two. That means an escape attempt but Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir hold the door closed. Shirai slips out of a Kirifuda Clutch and hits a double stomp but Shafir locks the door. Instead of covering, Shirai goes up but has to deal with Shafir. Cue Candice LeRae to cut off Shafir but Duke opens the door to pull Baszler.

Candice dives onto Duke and Shirai moonsaults down onto Baszler to put everyone down. They both try for the crawl and Shirai almost makes it until Baszler dives over with the Clutch. Shirai grabs the door to slam it into Baszler’s head for the break….but Baszler falls out of the cage to retain at 13:32.

Rating: B-. It never had the top level urgency but the lack of gimmick matches around here makes this feel so much more important. It’s been a good while since we’ve seen a cage match in NXT and that changes a lot about the atmosphere. I’m not sure what Shirai does from here but she’s lost just about every way you can now so it’s either LeRae or Yim next.

Post match Candice helps Shirai up….and gets laid out as Shirai snaps and beats the heck out of her. Shirai finds a chair and beats on Candice even more, albeit with some pretty weak chair shots. A suplex onto the open chair crushes Candice to end the show. Shirai: “I don’t need friends.”

Overall Rating: B. The card had a little bit of everything here including two title matches, which is a big deal on any card. Couple that with a fun squash and the tournament match and there wasn’t much missing from the whole thing. Shirai as a heel is something different and it gives Candice something to do other than going after the title. That might be what’s next for Candice but there is time to get there before Toronto. Rather good show this week as things are actually getting better.

Results

Angel Garza b. Joaquin Wylde – Butterfly Stunner

Street Profits b. Forgotten Sons via DQ when Jaxson Ryker interfered

Keith Lee b. Nykos Rykos – Limit Breaker

Shayna Baszler b. Io Shirai – Baszler escaped the cage

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 19, 2019
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

We’re back in Full Sail for the first real fallout show from Takeover and that means one thing: the Undisputed Era is going to get to have their big moment. Therefore, expect a lot of BAY-BAY’s and a tease of what is to come at Takeover: Toronto. I know it’s a pretty quick turnaround but the Summerslam show usually feels like their biggest of the year. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here’s the Undisputed Era to open things up. Cole: “Told you so.” Cole talks about how he promised that this would be the Undisputed Era’s year and now, they’re going to start turning NXT into an Undisputed Image. Maybe this is how the show should start every week. We see a new opening sequence, featuring the Undisputed Era’s various highlights over the years, which the fans seem to like.

Kyle says he threw it together last night and Cole says that is why they run this place: they have all the power. Next up, it’s time to come after the Tag Team Titles so the Street Profits need to shine them up. Then they’ll have all the power and no one, not even HHH himself, will be able to touch them. Cue Velveteen Dream to say he’d like to touch Cole. NXT has risen to the heights it has reached because Dream Over. That NXT Title would look great next to the North American Title but Strong isn’t happy.

This brings out Matt Riddle, who says he beat Strong and Cole too. Riddle knows he’s an insanely good looking stallion but Cole calls him stupid for not realizing that he’s in the Undisputed Era. Now it’s Tyler Breeze interrupting to say he doesn’t care what is undisputed or who is better looking (Breeze: “Which, me by the way.”).

What he cares about is the Era trying to take credit for building NXT, which Breeze helped to do before the Era was even here. Therefore, it’s a six man tag with the three of them against any three members of the Era tonight. NXT doesn’t usually do these long form openings but it’s understandable given the big title change at Takeover. Cole deserved this kind of a platform and he already has three challengers set up. Just don’t make a habit of this.

Next week: Io Shirai vs. Shayna Baszler inside a cage.

Video on Baszler vs. Shirai, which has been going on for a good while now. Baszler beat Shirai at Takeover, sending Shirai over the edge (which apparently wasn’t a heel turn, despite having every trait of a heel turn).

Raul Mendoza vs. Damian Priest

That would be the former Punishment Martinez. Damian big boots him into the corner to start and drops Mendoza with a forearm. Another forearm to the back of the head rocks Mendoza, who annoys Priest with a shot tot he face. Damian ducks a springboard but gets caught with an enziguri. A rope walk dropkick sends Priest outside and he looks rather angry. Mendoza’s suicide dive is countered into a chokeslam onto the apron and a Roll of the Dice finishes Mendoza at 2:13. He’s going to need a better finisher but Priest looked good so far. Might have sold a bit too much though.

William Regal announces the Breakout Tournament between eight men who have never appeared on NXT TV before. The winner will receive a title shot against a champion of their choosing. The participants are:

Jordan Myles (ACH)

BOA

Cameron Grimes (Trevor Lee)

Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (Shane Strickland)

Dexter Lumis (Samuel Shaw)

Bronson Reed (Jonah Rock)

Angel Garza (Humberto Garza)

Joaquin Wilde (DJZ)

They actually list the indy names for a change. The tournament starts next week.

Video on Mia Yim, who grew up in Los Angeles during a lot of race riots. She was born to fight and wrestling was an escape. This is just the beginning and she’s coming for the Women’s Title. Just get a better nickname.

Taynara Conti vs. Xia Li

We go old school with the test of strength to start and Conti takes her down into a rollup for two. Conti gets in a few judo throws but has to avoid spinning kicks to the head. A kick to the leg puts Li down and lets Conti say that Latinas do it better. More kicks give Conti two and the kickouts get on her nerves. It’s off to a double arm crank until Li fights up and sweeps the leg (I would make a Karate Kid reference but I’ve never actually seen it). A kick to the head knocks Conti cold for the pin at 4:35.

Rating: D+. The match wasn’t anything great but it’s a good example of how to mix up the card. This was all about striking and throws while the previous match was a power display from Priest. Then you have the main event, which is going to be a mixture of styles. They’re throwing a bunch of different things out there instead of just doing the same stuff over and over again and it makes a difference.

The Street Profits are outside and ready to face the Forgotten Sons next week. The fans hold up their red cups.

Undisputed Era vs. Tyler Breeze/Matt Riddle/Velveteen Dream

It’s O’Reilly on the outside for this one and Riddle takes Cole down without too much trouble. The threat of a kneebar has Strong in to take Riddle into the corner and the stomping is on already. Riddle’s suplex gets two on Strong and it’s off to Dream for the first time. That means a hip swivel and a top rope ax handle to Fish, followed by a Lionsault (with knees to Fish’s face) for two.

It’s off to Breeze, who dropkicks Cole down without much trouble. Riddle comes back in, even though Dream wanted the tag. Cole misses the jumping enziguri and gets kneed in the face as everything breaks down. Riddle’s exploder sets up the Broton but Fish gets in a cheap shot. Strong hits the backbreaker on Riddle and it’s time for the chops in the corner. Cole’s knees to the back set up a chinlock but Riddle powers up in a hurry. A suplex is countered into a messy looking Backstabber for two on Riddle and it’s back to Strong.

The second chinlock doesn’t work as well and it’s Cole’s middle rope Canadian Destroyer getting kneed out of the air. Breeze comes in off the hot tag and it’s time for the strikes all around. The Beauty Shot hits Fish but Strong makes the save. Dream tags himself in but they manage a double superkick to put Cole on the floor. Strong knees Breeze into Dream though and it’s the End of Heartache to pin Dream at 9:16.

Rating: B. They set up a few things here as you could go with Riddle challenging Cole for the title, or possibly Strong coming after Dream, or even both. Throw in Dream and Breeze still having issues and that’s a potential rematch down the line. There’s something so nice about having all these options and NXT knows how to set them all up at once.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a storyline show with a good main event and that worked out quite well all things considered. NXT knows how to mix things up and give us something good throughout the show, which is exactly what they did here. Everything accomplished something and they have a bunch of directions to go, plus stuff to look forward to next week. As usual, NXT is the most efficient show around and that’s why it’s so easy to watch.

Results

Damian Priest b. Raul Mendoza – Rolling cutter

Xia Li b. Taynara Conti – Spinning kick to the head

Undisputed Era b. Tyler Breeze/Velveteen Dream/Matt Riddle – End of Heartache to Dream

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: June 12, 2019
Location: APGFCU Arena At Hartford Community College, Bel Air, Maryland
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re on the road again for the first regular show as we head towards Toronto in August. I’m not sure what to expect going forward, but we have about two months before the next Takeover, which should be enough time to set up something great. Hopefully things get back to normal around here, though even their off weeks are still good. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

The announcers run down tonight’s double main event of Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. the Undisputed Era and Kushida vs. Drew Gulak in a submission match.

Io Shirai/Candice LeRae vs. Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke

Shayna Baszler is watching from the ramp. Shirai has a banged up shoulder so Candice starts by running Shafir into the corner for a jackknife rollup for two. Back in and Shafir hits a kick to the face so Duke can come in for a kick to the back. It’s back to Shafir for a judo throw and something like a torture rack but with Candice bent around the back instead of the shoulders.

That’s broken up but Shafir kicks Shirai off the apron to keep Candice in trouble. Candice manages to send Duke into Shafir and an enziguri allows the hot tag to Shirai. The 619 hits Duke and a springboard missile dropkick makes it worse. Shirai hits the Baszler arm stomp on Duke but Baszler pulls her away from the moonsault. That’s fine with Shirai, who moonsaults onto Baszler instead. Candice dives onto Shafir and Duke and the match is thrown out at 5:45.

Rating: C+. There was some energy to this one and the match worked well as we’re supposed to ignore Shirai losing her mind at Takeover. Candice continues to be rather spunky and the kind of person you want to see win. This felt fun and I had a rather good time with it, so you can call this a very nice surprise.

The huge brawl continues post match with Baszler getting involved as well. Referees have trouble breaking it up and can’t quite get them apart.

We look back at Tyler Breeze vs. Velveteen Dream at Takeover.

Dream talks about how it’s solid and dependable, but he doesn’t mean the title. Get ready for the next experience.

We look back at Drew Gulak vs. Kushida from two weeks ago.

Drew Gulak vs. Kushida

Submission match. Kushida goes with a bodyscissors to start as the announcers get in their MMA terms. Gulak has to cover up and Kushida spins around his back to show off a bit. Back up and Kushida starts in on the arm before sending Gulak outside without much trouble. The armbar goes on but Gulak reverse slams his way out of trouble. The Gory Stretch goes on with both of Kushida’s arms being bent backwards until they almost touch each other.

That’s broken up so Gulak goes with something like a Boston crab to switch over to the back instead. An armtrap headlock (Mauro: “As annoying as a robocall.”) keeps Kushida down before Gulak switches over to a regular armbar. Kushida gets out of that as well and it’s a hiptoss into a basement dropkick. A springboard tornado DDT sets up the cross armbreaker but Gulak gets a foot on the rope.

They roll around into what would have been a pinfall reversal sequence in a regular match but this time Gulak gets into an ankle lock. Kushida escapes again and takes it to the apron for some kicks to the chest. They slug it out back inside with Kushida hitting a handspring elbow. Kushida headscissors him down and slaps on the Hoverboard Lock for the quick tap at 10:07.

Rating: B. This never hit the higher level I was expecting but they can only do so much with ten minutes. Some of the grappling was awesome here though and the counters were starting to get really good. What matters most here though is Kushida getting this kind of a push as he continues to look awesome every time he’s out there.

Post match Kushida applauds him and Gulak shakes his hand.

Aaliyah and Vanessa Borne don’t like the idea of Mia Yim thinking she should get a title shot. They don’t think she looks like a champion so they’ve got her some books, including books on fashion, English and grammar. If she can’t read, how can she use the books? We really need smarter heels around here.

In two weeks: Shirai vs. Baszler for the Women’s Title in a cage.

We look at Mansoor winning the battle royal at Super ShowDown and his post match speech. The latter was good, the former not so much.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Kyle O’Reilly/Roderick Strong

Lorcan and O’Reilly grapple to start with Kyle taking him to the mat for a broken up leglock. With that not working, they hammer on each other in the corner until O’Reilly kicks him in the face. Everything breaks down and it’s a big slugout with the Era being sent outside for the running dive from Lorcan.

Burch sends O’Reilly into the half and half suplex from Lorcan with Strong having to make a save. It’s back to Strong for the loud chops in the corner and the first backbreaker keeps Lorcan in trouble. A running knee to the back makes it even worse and Lorcan’s throat is catapulted into the bottom rope. The chinlock goes on but Strong lets go so he can knock Burch off the apron in a smart move. Another slugout goes to O’Reilly but Lorcan is right back with a running Blockbuster.

That’s enough for the tag off to Burch so house can be cleaned. A powerbomb into the Crossface has O’Reilly in trouble but Strong makes a quick save. O’Reilly hits a Dean Ambrose rebound lariat for two with Lorcan diving in for a save. Everything breaks down and it’s a four way knockdown. Cue Jaxson Ryker, who beats up security on the way to the ring. The distraction lets Burch roll O’Reilly up for the pin at 9:45.

Rating: B. Anytime they want to completely stop with this Ryker stuff, I’d be completely ok with it. He doesn’t exactly fit with what they’re going for at the moment and having him be the big Frankenstein monster in the ladder match felt completely out of nowhere. It’s not that he’s a bad character or addition, but keep him out of this division at the moment.

Overall Rating: B+. Three good matches, storyline advancement and a big main event set up for two weeks. It’s too early to know where things are heading for Toronto but unlike the main roster, I have every confidence that NXT can make something like that work. Just keep giving us shows like this and my head might stop hurting a bit after Monday and Tuesday nights.

Results

Candice LeRae/Io Shirai vs. Marina Shafir/Jessamyn Duke went to a double disqualification when all four brawled on the floor

Kushida b. Drew Gulak – Hoverboard Lock

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Kyle O’Reilly/Roderick Strong – Rollup to O’Reilly

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Keith Lee vs. Kona Reeves

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

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

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

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

Shirai says she isn’t done with Baszler.

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

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

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

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

Damien Priest is coming.

Mia Yim vs. Bianca Belair

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Keith Lee b. Kona Reeves – Limit Breaker

Mia Yim b. Bianca Belair – Protect Ya Neck

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

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

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

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