NXT LVL Up
Date: December 9, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton, Matt Camp

This show is finally starting to figure a little something out and that can make things a lot more tolerable week to week. What matters around here is building some people up so that they have some clue as to what they’re doing when they go to the regular NXT show. I’m not sure how long that might take, but at least they’re trying. Lets get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Odyssey Jones vs. Damon Kemp

Kemp flips over him to start and gets hit in the face for his efforts. Jones starts cranking on the wrist before dropping a knee on the arm. Back up and Kemp snaps the arm over the top, setting up a loose crossface chickenwing. Jones can’t quite power out and drops down, allowing Kemp to put on something like a seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up as well and Jones hits the corner splash, setting up a Boss Man Slam for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C-. What the heck happened to Kemp? Maybe it was just me but I was getting into his heel stuff against Diamond Mine and now he’s jobbing on LVL Up. It’s quite the sudden fall and it isn’t like Kemp had some horrible moment. Jones is someone who has grown on me a bit since his return and maybe he can be as good as he has been hyped up as being.

Valentina Feroz gives us a subtitled promo about wanting to prove herself to her fans in Brazil. In English, she’s ready for Sol Ruca.

Valentina Feroz vs. Sol Ruca

Feroz works on a headlock to start but Ruca grabs the arm and fires off some shoulders. A tilt-a-whirl slam gives Ruca two and she grabs a headlock of her own. Feroz can’t fight out so it’s a cravate to hold her in place. Back up and a wheelbarrow faceplant gives Ruca two but Feroz charges into an elbow in the corner. Ruca goes up to the middle rope…and does an inverted backflip, grabbing Feroz with a cutter on the way down for the pin at 4:35.

Rating: C. This is a match where the only thing that is going to matter is that finisher. It’s the kind of move that you don’t see very often but it makes you take notice when you do. Ruca needed something to make her really stand out and a sweet looking finisher like that could be just the ticket. It isn’t enough to carry her, but it’s a big upgrade.

Trick Williams vs. Ikemen Jiro

Williams likes the jacket and shoves him down a few times to start, only to have Jiro nip up each time. The frustrated Williams jumps over Jiro in the corner and pulls him down by the jacket in some smart thinking. A running neckbreaker gives Williams two and we hit the chinlock. Jiro fights up and knocks Williams down, setting up a middle rope moonsault for two. The Ikemen Slash is broken up though and it’s the Trick Kick to give Williams the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. I know Carmelo Hayes gets all of the attention but Williams is quite good at what he does every time he is out there. Williams is perfect as the enforcer/hype man, but he can do things on his own too. That is going to give him much more of a future around NXT and based on what we have seen from him, that is good news.

Overall Rating: C. This was back to the run of the mill shows and that isn’t a good thing. You had the big flipping cutter from Ruca but other than that, there was nothing here that stood out in the slightest. The action was just ok, though Williams did well in the chance he was given. Total middle of the road show here and that’s not exactly a compliment.

Results
Odyssey Jones b. Damon Kemp – Boss Man Slam
Sol Ruca b. Valentina Feroz – Middle rope inverted moonsault into a cutter
Trick Williams b. Ikemen Jiro – Trick Kick

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

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

Here is Deadline if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Deadline.

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

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

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

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

Wes Lee vs. Stacks

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

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

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

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

Tatum Paxley/Ivy Nile vs. Toxic Attraction

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

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

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

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

Odyssey Jones vs. Von Wagner

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

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

Ikemen Jiro vs. Javier Bernal

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

Post match Scrypts jumps Jiro and steals the jacket.

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

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

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

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

Brutus Creed vs. JD McDonagh

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

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

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

Lyra Valkyria is ready to debut.

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

Amari Miller vs. Lyra Valkyria

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

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

Axiom isn’t worried about Carmelo Hayes.

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

Toxic Attraction jumps Katana Chance and Kayden Catanzaro.

Duke Hudson vs. Damon Kemp

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

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

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Deadline
Date: December 10, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

What we have here is something of a concept show, as two of the five announced matches are Iron Survivor Challenges. Those are going to take up the better part of an hour between the two of them, even though they’re just #1 contenders matches. We also have a pair of title matches and a grudge match to give it that NXT feel though, so let’s get to it.

The opening video is about the value of time, including in the Iron Survivor Challenges.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

So we have five entrants and a twenty five minute time limit. Two people start things off and another enters every five minutes. You get a point for a fall (nothing to suggest you can lose points) and whomever you beat goes to a penalty box for a minute and a half. The most points in twenty five minutes wins and is the new #1 contender.

Roxanne Perez is in at #1 and Zoey Stark is in at #2 and we have a nifty scoreboard at the bottom of the screen. They take their time to start until Perez grabs a bridging rollup for two but has to fight out of an attempted backslide. Stark takes her into the corner with the power but can’t get very far as they seem to be taking their time to start. Perez working on the arm doesn’t get her very far and a rollup only gets two as Kiana James is in at #3.

James kicks Stark down for two with Perez making the save. With James knocked down, Perez drops Stark with a shot to the face in the corner but gets caught with an enziguri. James is left alone in the ring but Stark trips her down, only to get sent hard into the post. Back inside and James cranks on both of Perez’s arms but Stark makes the save. Perez is back up, only to get caught with Starks’ spinning knee to the face to give Stark the first fall at 9:33.

Stark – 1
Hartwell – 0
Jade – 0
James – 0
Perez – 0

With Perez in the penalty box, James and Stark clothesline each other down and Cora Jade (in red for a change) comes in at #4 to steal some near falls. Perez is out and hammers on James, setting up a rollup for two. A suplex gives Perez two on Stark but Jade breaks up Pop Rox and steals the pin on James at 12:39.

Jade – 1
Stark – 1
Hartwell – 0
James – 0
Perez – 0

Perez nearly gets her showdown with Jade but Stark breaks it up and beats on both of them. James is back in and drives some shoulders into Starks’ ribs in the corner before suplexing Jade. Perez and Stark break it up as Indi Hartwell completes the field. Hartwell, with the fans behind her, goes after Stark and kicks Perez down for a fall at 16:00.

Hartwell – 1
Jade – 1
Stark – 1
James – 0
Perez – 0

Stark, Jade and Hartwell slug it out until James and Stark fight to the floor. James moonsaults off the barricade onto Stark as Perez is out of the box. A high crossbody gives Perez two on Hartwell with Jade making the save. Jade misses a running elbow against the ropes but Starks is back in to deck Perez. That’s fine with Perez, who rolls Stark up for the pin at 18:39.

Hartwell – 1
Jade – 1
Perez – 1
Stark – 1
James – 0

Things slow down a bit as Hartwell and Perez slug it out, only to have Stark run back in to break it up. Everyone gets knocked down as the referee keeps talking to Perez. A dive takes Hartwell down but Stark and the brawling continues. Back in and Perez hits Pop Rox to pin Jade at 23:02.

Perez – 2
Hartwell – 1
Jade – 1
Stark – 1
James – 0

Everyone starts going for falls but no one can get anything thanks to all of the saves. James takes Stark up top for a super Spanish Fly but Jade is back in to steal the near fall. With that not working, Jade DDTs Perez and covers, only to have time expire at 25:00 with Perez winning with two points.

Rating: B-. Well it was certainly an energized match and there can be some nice storytelling involved with everyone trying to steal a fall here and there. I think I like the concept, but at the same time it makes it more a case of running out the clock at the end. Perez winning is the right call and it’s a good introduction to the concept, but I’m not sure I’d call it a classic.

Booker T., Perez’s mentor, is very emotional about the win and it’s kind of great.

Post a few videos, Booker is actually in tears and has to look away from the camera. Well that’s awesome.

Ivy Nile, with Tatum Paxley, knows the Creed Brothers aren’t happy with her over the way she revealed Julius’ injured ribs but she wants the best for them. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter interrupt and a title match seems imminent.

Video on Alba Fyre vs. Isla Dawn. Fyre had the Women’s Title won but the debuting Dawn cost her the match. Now it’s time for revenge.

Alba Fyre vs. Isla Dawn

Fyre starts fast and hammers Dawn out to the floor to start with stomping ensuing. Back inside and Dawn gets in a few shots of her own to take over, allowing the removal of a turnbuckle pad. A running knee gives Dawn two and she cranks on the armbar for a bit. Dawn hits a top rope Meteora for two but Fyre sends her outside for a dive.

Fyre fights up again and hits the Gory Bomb on the floor but Dawn stares at her back inside. That earns Dawn a hard planting and a Swanton…as the referee is convulsing and spitting up black good. Fyre drops dawn again for two from another referee but Dawn sends Fyre into the buckle. Dawn’s reverse DDT finishes at 9:52.

Rating: C. That was about as deflating of a twist as I could have imagined, as this supernatural stuff is one of the most annoying tropes that WWE will just not drop. At this point, I’m hoping Fyre gets to go up to the main roster, as she isn’t looking likely to get a serious push around here. I get the idea of having Dawn win her first big match, but they had to go that way?

New Day is impressed by Pretty Deadly coming over here and dominating, but it’s time for New Day to become Triple Crown champions. Now hit the theme music.

Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. Pretty Deadly

Pretty Deadly is defending and the fans are WAY into New Day here. Woods and Prince start things off as the fans want new side plates on the title belts. Woods hit a heck of a chop in the corner before trying some leapfrogs. A legsweep drops Prince and a backsplash gets two on Prince so it’s off to Kofi vs. Wilson. Kofi sticks the landing on a monkey flip and it’s time for a reverse hip thrusting dance off, with Kofi seemingly winning the fan vote.

It’s back to Prince, who gets dropkicked out of the air by Woods as this is one sided so far. New Day take turns hitting shots in the corner, setting up the Honor Roll for two. The dives on the floor have the champs down again but a cheap shot gives them a breather back inside. A running elbow sends Kofi to the floor where a posting ensues. Kofi can’t get over for the tag but a double knockdown is enough for the dive off to Woods as Wilson comes in to get beaten up.

Everything breaks down and Woods hits a running crotch attack to Wilson, with a dropkick to Prince at the same time. Back in and Woods and Wilson slug it out as everything breaks down again. We get a title brought in and….all four try the Eddie Guerrero throw the belt to someone else for the knockdown treatment (that was great), leaving the referee not buying any of this. A real belt shot gets two on Woods and the champs are frustrated. Trouble In Paradise drops Wilson on the floor though and it’s the Midnight Hour to give New Day the pin and the titles at 14:04.

Rating: B. This was a BLAST as they didn’t even bother trying to do anything seriously whatsoever. Instead they had New Day go out there and have a good match against the young team. Pretty Deadly has already established themselves as something special and it’s not like losing to New Day is some devastating loss. This was all kinds of fun and I had a great time with everything they were doing here, including the title change.

Coming January 10: Countdown To The New Year.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance run into Malik Blade/Edris Enofe/Odyssey Jones. They seem to get alone but once the guys leave, Toxic Attraction come in to mock the champs for offering Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley. Cue Paxley and Nile for the brawl, with the guys coming back in to break it up.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge

Same rules as the women’s version with JD McDonagh in at #1 and Axiom is in at #2. McDonagh goes after Axiom’s recently injured leg to start but Axiom is right back to send him to the floor for the big dive. Back in and Axiom blasts him with a clothesline to the back of the head for two. A running basement dropkick in the corner rocks McDonagh again but he’s back with a discus lariat. McDonagh hits a sitout powerbomb for two and it’s Carmelo Hayes in at #3 to go after McDonagh before kicking Axiom in the head. Hayes is right back up and suplex cutters McDonagh onto Axiom for the pin on Axiom at 7:12.

Hayes – 1
Axiom – 0
Gacy – 0
McDonagh – 0
Waller – 0

McDonagh and Hayes slug it out with neither being able to get very far. A double knockdown gives us a breather as Axiom is back in. Axiom hits a double high crossbody and kicks away at both of them. The other two get back up though and they’re all knocked down until Grayson Waller is in at #4. Waller hits the rolling Stunner on Axiom and McDonagh for the pin on Axiom at 10:13.

Hayes – 1
Waller – 1
Axiom – 0
Gacy – 0
McDonagh – 0

Then Waller pins McDonagh at 10:16.

Waller – 2
Hayes – 1
Axiom – 0
Gacy – 0
McDonagh – 0

Hayes and Waller slug it out with neither being able to take over. Another double knockdown gives us a breather until Axiom is out….but he goes back into the penalty box to beat up McDonagh. One heck of a beating ensues, with Axiom slamming the door on McDonagh to leave him in the box (where he’s down but free to go). Hayes superkicks Waller and rolls Axiom up for two but Waller is back in to drop both of them. Waller goes outside to yell at Booker but Axiom rolls him up for the pin at 14:16.

Waller – 2
Hayes – 1
Axiom – 1
Gacy – 0
McDonagh – 0

Axiom hits the Golden Ratio to pin McDonagh at 14:22.

Axiom – 2
Waller – 2
Hayes – 1
Gacy – 0
McDonagh – 0

Joe Gacy is in at #5 to complete the field and stops to mock Waller in the penalty box. That means a Rings of Saturn to Axiom for the fall at 16:15.

Axiom – 2
Waller – 2
Gacy – 1
Hayes – 1
McDonagh – 0

Gacy hits the Upside Down to pin Gacy at 17:13.

Axiom – 2
Gacy – 2
Waller – 2
Hayes – 1
McDonagh – 0

Gacy drops McDonagh and Waller at the same time, setting up the running flip dive to the floor. Axiom is out of the box so he goes on top of it for a moonsault onto everyone not named Hayes. Now it’s Hayes back in for a Crossface on Waller, who has to tap at 19:25.

Axiom – 2
Gacy – 2
Hayes – 2
Waller – 2
McDonagh – 0

Back in and Axiom rolls Gacy into a triangle choke but Hayes makes the save with an ax kick. Hayes points to Booker off the kick but McDonagh cuts him off. The Devlin Side drops Axiom on the floor but McDonagh headbutts Hayes out of the air. Another Devlin Side hits Hayes and there’s a third to Gacy.

McDonagh can’t cover anyone but can Devlin Side the returning Waller, with everyone else making the save to leave all five down. McDonagh is in the middle of the ring so everyone kicks him in the face. Gacy takes Waller outside and Rock Bottoms him onto the steps. Back in and Gacy hits a Bubba Bomb onto Hayes, setting up the Rings of Saturn.

That’s broken up by McDonagh so Gacy gets the Rings on Axiom again as we hear that it’s sudden death on a tie. Hayes hits a Codebreaker on Gacy but McDonagh sends Hayes into the corner with 1:00 left. Axiom’s springboard flipping DDT hits McDonagh and Hayes adds the top rope ax kick, with Waller making the save. Waller steals the pin on Axiom at 24:33.

Waller – 3
Axiom – 2
Gacy – 2
Hayes – 2
McDonagh – 0

The chase is on and Waller escapes at 25:00. Vic Joseph: “We are never going to hear the end of this.”

Rating: B. This was the energized race against the clock that I was hoping for and a very different presentation than the first match (which was also good). Waller stealing the pin in the end and running away was a great visual and made sense as everyone else was either ineligible to be pinned or running around. I had a lot of fun with this and they cranked it up about five notches, so well done on making this a very entertaining and at times dramatic match.

Drew Gulak is here to live up to his potential and if he sees someone who catches his eye, there is something to strength in numbers. Damon Kemp comes up to talk about facing Duke Hudson on Tuesday. Gulak doesn’t seem impressed and politely excuses himself.

We recap Apollo Crews challenging Bron Breakker for the NXT Title. Crews has wanted to win the title to prove himself, while Breakker sees the similarities between the two. They seem to respect each other but both want the title.

NXT Title: Apollo Crews vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending. Feeling out process to start with not much happening in the first minute. They fight over a test of strength and that’s good for a standoff as neither seems to know what to do here. They go to the mat with both of them headscissoring their way out of a headlock takeover, meaning another standoff. A fight over a standing switch turns into a fight over a hiptoss which sends them both into the ropes.

Crews shoves him to take this up a notch, followed by the AJ Styles drop down into a dropkick. The standing moonsault gives Crews two and a slingshot hilo is good for the same. Breakker is back up with a suplex into a standing moonsault for two of his own. Crews is knocked outside and that means a big no hands flip dive because Breakker can do that. Back in and Crews hits a jumping knee to knock Breakker out of the air, leaving Crews looking mad.

Crews’ eyes bug out (with a closeup) and he hammers away, setting up the rolling German suplexes. Multiple powerbombs give Crews two more and a frog splash gets the same. Breakker fights back up to drop Crews, setting up the Steiner Bulldog for two of his own. The straps come down but Crews slips out of the gorilla press powerslam and hits his own for another near fall. They slug it out with Crews getting the better of things and firing off some kicks. Breakker slips out of a slam though and hits the spear for the retaining pin at 14:21.

Rating: B-. They had an idea here with the mirroring each other, but then that just stopped cold and they went to the finish. It was good while it lasted and Breakker is coming along, but this really didn’t feel like a big victory for him. Crews is a good choice for a challenger, though that flat of a finish wasn’t going to help anyone.

The posing is on but Grayson Waller rolls in with the Stunner.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s definitely not a Takeover, but for the new generation of NXT, this worked out very well. There wasn’t a bad match on the show (the ending to Dawn vs. Fyre was bad but that’s a one off moment) and the rest of the show was good to very good. I liked almost everything on here and they got the new concept match right. Awesome night here and being out in two and a half hours made it better still. Not a classic, but it’s an easy watch with good stuff throughout and that’s a nice way to go.

Results
Roxanne Perez won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Isla Dawn b. Alba Fyre – Reversed DDT
New Day b. Pretty Deadly – Midnight Hour to Prince
Grayson Waller won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Bron Breakker b. Apollo Crews – Spear

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: December 6, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Deadline and I’m not exactly expecting much tonight as a result. The card is mostly set, though we do need to determine the final entrants in each Iron Survivor Challenge. That means a pair of triple threat matches and they at least have some stakes going in. Let’s get to it.

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

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Axiom vs. Von Wagner vs. Andre Chase

The rest of Chase U is here with Chase. A running boot rocks Wagner at the bell but he’s fine enough to headlock both of them at once. That’s broken up and a double shoulder puts Wagner on the floor. Axiom loads up a dive but gets rolled up for two by Chase. That’s enough for Wagner to get back up and send them both outside as we take a break. Back with Chase hitting a top rope superplex on Axiom near Wagner, who was either out of position to get knocked down or was trying to help with the crash.

Either way, Axiom heads to the floor and it’s a slugout between Chase and Wagner. A Russian legsweep drops Wagner to set up the spelling stomps, followed by a tiger driver to give Chase two on Axiom. Wagner comes back in but gets triangle choked by Axiom. That’s broken up and Wagner plants Chase for two. Chase DDTs both of them at once but Axiom shoves Chase to the floor and superkicks Wagner for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced and that’s one of the best things that can be said about something like this. On top of that, at least Chase didn’t take the fall, even if it would be nice for him to actually win something for a change. The fans are into him and for some reason that seems to be enough for NXT for whatever reason. Also it was someone other than Wagner, which is a positive.

Julius Creed’s knee is cleared for him to compete but Ivy Nile asks the trainer to check his ribs. Those are banged up, and he won’t be able to compete because of them. Brutus Creed isn’t happy, but Nile says she’s protecting Julius.

Cora Jade is ready to do whatever it takes to become #1 contender.

Bron Breakker is about to go fishing when Apollo Crews shows up at the doc to join him. Crews compliments the boat and Breakker shows him how to cast. They praise each others’ athleticism, with Breakker admitting he copied the standing moonsault from him. Crews asks if this really calms you down, with Breakker talking about the pressure that comes from being champion.

Crews catches a fish, earning some praise from Breakker, before throwing it back. They agree that Deadline should be a good one and shake hands. Crews says today wasn’t Breakker’s day with fishing and Saturday won’t be his day at Deadline either. These vignettes have been different enough to make the feud interesting and that’s a nice change of pace.

Bryson Montana is in the ring for a match but Indus Sher takes him out. Cue Montana’s opponent.

Javier Bernal vs. Bryson Montana

Actually hang on as Bernal has a sudden hamstring injury so he’s out. Indus Sher says they won’t fight the Creed Brothers unless they’re 100%, so the challenge is turned down for now. Cue the Creed Brothers but Ivy Nile and some referees hold them back. No match.

Duke Hudson is trying to console Andre Chase when a very excited Thea Hail runs in to say she’s facing Isla Dawn tonight. Hudson doesn’t think it’s a good idea because Dawn is scary, but Chase says go do it. Chase isn’t happy when Hudson questions his decision.

Sol Ruca danced on Tik Tok at a live event but Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs and Malik Blade/Edris Enofe got in an argument behind them. A tag match was set.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Xyon Quinn

Stacks is here with D’Angelo, who is getting quite the positive reaction here. Quinn drives him into the corner to start but D’Angelo slugs away at the ribs. A suplex drops Quinn again Quinn’s Samoan drop sends D’Angelo outside, only to run him over back inside. D’Angelo hits something close to John Cena’s ProtoBomb for the pin at 1:49.

Post match D’Angelo says he’s back and he wants Wes Lee and the North American Title. Cue Lee to say the Don is back and the champ is ready for him. Dijak took Lee out recently though so if D’Angelo wants the title, he’ll have to wait until Lee takes care of some business. That doesn’t work for D’Angelo, who says his business comes first. Dijak pops up on screen to say he’s going to decimate NXT and take the title. Then Stacks jumps Lee, who shoves Stacks down and bails from the numbers advantage.

Last week, Hank Walker talked to Charlie Dempsey and says he wishes he could have followed in his father’s footsteps. Walker wants respect and they can do this if they need to. Dempsey says he’ll show Walker that he doesn’t belong.

Scrypts looks at his debut match and talks about how he needs to change things up, starting with the chosen ones. He writes his name down while surrounded by crinkled papers.

Hank Walker vs. Charlie Dempsey

Dempsey slaps him in the face to start so Walker takes him into the corner. There’s a big hiptoss to send Dempsey flying and a slam makes it worse. Dempsey grabs a gutwrench suplex but here is Drew Gulak of all people for a distraction. The Kimura keeps Walker in trouble abut he fights out and hits a Thesz press. That’s fine with Dempsey, who dragon screw legwhips him down but a half crab attempt is broken up. Dempsey cranks on the knee instead and ties up the face at the same time to make Walker tap at 4:02.

Rating: C. This was quick and to the point, as there is no reason to believe that Walker, who is little more than a brawler, could hang with a technical monster like Dempsey. I’m glad to see Dempsey taking someone apart, and having him do that to Gulak in a technical off could be very entertaining. Or Gulak mentors him, which might not be the best idea as Gulak last won anything….when?

Zoey Stark talks about timing and knowing how none of the people in the Iron Survivor Challenge can touch her.

Grayson Waller is ready to win the Iron Survivor Challenge because everyone is scared of him going in.

And now, Pretty Deadly as Santa and an elf in a Christmas set in the ring, for the real meaning of Christmas. They both sit in the throne (yeah there’s a throne) and read the book, which talks about their bulging sacks overflowing. They’ll never lose the titles and never be bruised so they have a Merry Christmas hug….and here is New Day to interrupt.

Kofi Kingston talks about how Pretty Deadly has beaten everyone, so let’s have a title match at Deadline. The fight is on and New Day clears the ring without much effort, including having presents put on Pretty Deadly’s heads. That’s a big surprise and Pretty Deadly will benefit from the win.

Isla Dawn is ready to hurt Thea Hail.

Javier Bernal is going to leave and suddenly remembers he’s in pain when McKenzie Mitchell shows up. No, he is NOT scared of Indus Sher, who don’t want any of him. He accuses Mitchell of being biased and wants someone more fair. Cue Ikemen Jiro, who Bernal trusts. Jiro calls him a chicken and Bernal isn’t pleased.

Thea Hail vs. Isla Dawn

Chase U is here too. Dawn shoves her down to start and hits a running shot to the back. Hail fights up and slugs away, including a running shot in the corner. There’s a t-bone suplex to Dawn, who is right back with a sitout reverse DDT. A second one finishes Hail at 2:50.

Post match Alba Fyre pops up to go after Dawn but gets held back by referees. Fyre charges anyway and a referee gets misted by mistake.

Kiana James is ready to be smart and win the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Lyra Valkyria is here next week.

Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

Odyssey Jones is here with Blade and Enofe. Jensen gets knocked into the corner to start and Blade hits a heck of a dropkick for two. That’s broken up and it’s Jensen working on the arm as Kiana James’ assistant shows up with a letter for Jensen. Blade hits a big moonsault on the floor onto Briggs (and almost misses), leaving Enofe to hit an old Dean Ambrose standing top rope elbow for two on Jensen. Von Wagner shows up to brawl with Jones and it’s the high/low to give Briggs the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C. It might not be the best idea to have multiple people getting involved or interfering in a match that doesn’t even last three minutes. I like both teams but it would be nice to have Blade and Enofe win something for once. The tools are there, but eventually they just feel like losers and that is a hard stigma to overcome.

Respect is shown post match.

Roxanne Perez is ready to prove herself because she keeps getting screwed over. But how do you prepare for a match that has never taken place before? She looks in a mirror to talk herself up and seems to buy it.

Shawn Michaels runs down the concept of the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Iron Survivor Qualifying Match: Indi Hartwell vs. Wendy Choo vs. Fallon Henley

In the back, Brooks Jensen opens the envelope from the assists, which contains VIP tickets to Deadline from Kiana James. Hartwell starts fast but Choo headlock takeovers Henley. A double rollup gives Hartwell two as Toxic Attraction is watching. Back up and Henley flips both of them down at once, with Hartwell being sent outside. Hartwell kicks Henley down on the floor though and we take a break.

We come back with Choo in the Tree of Woe with Hartwell kicking away, only to get rolled up by Henley. With Choo free, Hartwell is sent outside and Henley is suplexed, with Hartwell having to make the save. The Tower of Doom leaves everyone down and Choo splashes Henley. Then Hartwell sends Choo outside, decks Henley, and steals the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. Hartwell was the focal point of the match and is the most established star so her going forward makes sense. I still like Henley a lot but she might be better suited as the manager/friend of the team rather than a featured star. You know what you’re getting with Choo, though to be fair she has toned down A LOT of the silliness and it’s a big improvement. Hartwell was the right call here though.

Toxic Attraction says of course they’ll be at Deadline but Indi Hartwell comes in to say Saturday is her night.

Deadline rundown.

Here is Grayson Waller for the Grayson Waller Effect, with the rest of the Iron Survivor entrants (JD McDonagh, Carmelo Hayes, Axiom and Joe Gacy) as his guests. Waller insults all of them but Hayes says he’s ready to show that he is the A Champion again. McDonagh asks about Hayes losing the North American Title twice, but Hayes says that doesn’t matter right now. McDonagh is sure he can go 25 minutes, which Waller would never understand.

Waller shrugs that off and asks Gacy about this group. Gacy says individuals are selfish and will step over each other to get what they want. Axiom talks about how you have to evolve to win and that is where he excels. Hayes: “NERD!” We get a question from a fan: which spot would you want to enter the match?

Axiom says first or second so he can maximize his falls, but that doesn’t appeal to anyone else. Gacy promises that he’ll win but Hayes says he won’t miss. Waller says you never know when someone is going to strike first, earning himself a headbutt from Gacy. The fight is on and everyone but Waller heads to the floor, leaving Waller (with camera) to flip dive onto everyone else. The big brawl ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This could have been worse, as they did make the Iron Survivor Challenge feel like a big deal. That is kind of hard to do when it’s nothing but a heavily gimmicked #1 contenders match, but they pulled it off here. There wasn’t much else of interest on the show and Deadline is looking like a pretty unimportant card, but they made the featured matches feel bigger and that’s the important thing.

Results
Axiom b. Von Wagner and Andre Chase – Golden Ratio to Wagner
Tony D’Angelo b. Xyon Quinn – Belly to back slam
Charlie Dempsey b. Hank Walker – Leg trap crossface
Isla Dawn b. Thea Hail – Sitout reverse DDT
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – High/low to Enofe
Indi Hartwell b. Fallon Henley and Wendy Choo – Running forearm to the back of Henley’s head

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: November 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

This week is about the past and the future, as a group of Hall of Famers, led by Shawn Michaels, will announce the participants in the Iron Survivor Challenge. That would be quite the segment and it will determine most of the Deadline card. The main event is a rather big six woman tag so let’s get to it.

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez

Hartwell powers her around to start but Perez dropkicks her down. The chinlock goes on to slow Hartwell up but she fights up and sends Perez crashing out to the floor. Back in and a boot to the face drops Perez and a hard clothesline gives Hartwell two. A sideslam sets up the chinlock but Perez is up rather quickly.

Perez forearms away and sends Hartwell face first into the middle buckle as the comeback is on. A running basement dropkick sends Hartwell into the corner, where she comes out with a belly to back suplex to cut Perez off. Perez is fine enough to send her outside, setting up the high crossbody back inside. Hartwell is back up with a big boot but Perez kicks her in the ribs and grabs Pop Rox for the pin at 9:05.

Rating: C+. Perez continues to become a bigger and better star every week. She’s young, she’s good, and she continues to string together solid matches. What matters is Perez is being treated as something important and it wouldn’t surprise me to see her move up the ladder rather quickly. Perez even taking the Women’s Title is a possibility and that’s pretty impressive for someone who hasn’t been around that long.

Thea Hail and Duke Hudson interrupt Andre Chase, with Hudson apologizing for messing up last week (Chase: “I know, I was there!”). Hudson has gotten a petition together to get Chase into the Iron Survival Challenge but Grayson Waller comes up to suggest Hudson isn’t on the up and up. Hail has to be held back but Hudson has this.

Dijak vs. Dante Chen

This is Dijak’s return after a pretty long NXT absence. Dijak grabs him by the throat to start and sends Chen into the apron. A sitout chokeslam (Hard Justice) plants Chen and some hard forearms to the back knock him even sillier. Dijak elbows away in the corner but Chen comes back with some right hands. The double chop and a pump kick rock Dijak, who shrugs them off and hits Feast Your Eyes for the pin at 3:49.

Rating: C. This was mostly a squash and Dijak already looked better than he ever did on the main roster. Dijak ran through Chen, shrugged off whatever was thrown at him, and finished with his hard knee to the face. That’s what this needed to be, as Dijak isn’t someone who needs to be complicated. Just let him do his impressive looking stuff and he’ll be fine.

Post match Dijak says this is his place to dominate and he promises to run through everyone.

JD McDonagh came to the Diamond Dojo earlier today and the Creeds weren’t impressed. They’re ready for Indus Sher and argue with McDonagh about how sure they can do it. McDonagh continues to be a pest.

We go to the Hall Of Fame panel, with Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Alundra Blayze and Molly Holly picking the five entrants for both Iron Survival Challenges. They all praise the roster and discuss some possible entrants in the men’s match, but the announcement will be made later.

Grayson Waller vs. Duke Hudson

The rest of Chase U is here with Hudson. Waller grabs a headlock to start but Hudson powers him into the corner. A side slam connects as we see the Hall of Fame panel…paying absolutely no attention to the match whatsoever. Hudson gets whipped into the corner and the cravate goes on.

That doesn’t last long as Hudson makes the powered up comeback, including an overhead belly to belly. They head outside where Hudson almost boots Hail, only to say that he can stop it whenever he needs. Chase, who Hudson booted last week: “YOU CAN STOP IT WHENEVER YOU NEED???? Back in and the rolling Stunner finishes for Waller at 5:21.

Rating: C. This was about the storyline development with Hudson letting the big boot reveal slip. Chase is smart enough to figure that out and now the question becomes where things go from here. Waller should be beating Hudson on his way to something bigger, though I’m not sure if he’s going to make it to the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Javier Bernal has a special announcement: BIG BODY TUESDAY, complete with his own merchandise! You can get his Big Body Baseball Bat, which was requested by Adam Judge! Mitchell: “You mean Aaron Judge?” Bernal: “Adam is his middle name!” There is also the Big Body Pillow (McKenzie: “Already trademarked.”) Bernal: “Men want to be me and women want to be with me.” McKenzie: “Absolutely not.” Therefore we have a cologne, which she says smells like rotten eggs. Axiom comes in and a match is set. Bernal and Mitchell have some great chemistry together.

Kiana James vs. Fallon Henley

Henley kicks her down to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with James working on the arm, including ramming it into the top rope. The Codebreaker on the arm gets two and the arm cranking continues. Henley fights up and manages a one armed takedown, followed by a head of a shot to the face. The chase is on around the ring but James manages to grab the bag for a distraction, with Henley being sent into the post. The 401K finishes for James at 9:39.

Rating: C+. The arm stuff was nicely worked in here and even played into the finish to make it better. Henley losing again is a bit much, but it is nice to see James getting elevated for a change. Both of them have the talent and now the question is which one gets to move up to the next level first.

Malik Blade is crushed at Von Wagner ripping up his sweater but Edris Enofe and Odyssey Jones (in a Godfather shirt) tell him to use it to fire himself up. Blade can go with that but he wants to do this himself.

The Hall of Famers talk about the women and are rather pleased with some of their options.

Nikkita Lyons/Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Toxic Attraction

Hold on though as Zoey Stark jumps Lyons from behind and takes out her leg. Toxic Attraction looks on and smiles. No match.

Lyra Valkyria (the former Aoife Valkyrie from NXT UK) is coming and runs through the woods while losing her feathers.

Elektra Lopez is ready to make her own empire. If you bet against her, you’ll go broke.

Javier Bernal vs. Axiom

Axiom takes him down by the arm to start and hits a dropkick to send Bernal outside. We take a break and come back with Axiom wrapping the leg around the post. Some dropkicks to the knee keep Axiom in trouble and a hart slam jars the knee even more. Axiom manages a sunset flip and pulls Bernal into a choke, which is countered into a sitout powerbomb for two. The Figure Four stays on the leg until Axiom turns it over to send Bernal to the rope. Back up and Axiom hits the Golden Ratio superkick for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C+. Axiom is someone who can make things look good in the ring, but there is something a little less than interesting about calling your finishing move the Golden Ratio. Bernal talking so much trash and then losing suits him well, and if they keep it as goofy as they have so far, it can go well. Just don’t try to make him into something he isn’t.

Nikkita Lyons is cleared for the six woman.

Pretty Deadly is excited because next week is…..CHRISTMAS!

Apollo Crews is at a diner when Bron Breakker interrupts. Breakker looks at the menu but doesn’t see Crews being ready to win the title. Breakker puts his own pressure on himself but Crews says he’ll have the speed and strength advantage. They’re both ready and things never quite get personal. Very minor note that no one else will care about: Crews’ pen was from a Chase bank. That is the kind of realistic thing that made the segment feel more normal, as I’m surprised WWE didn’t have the pen branded with their own logo. It’s nice to see something feel spontaneous rather than totally staged.

Julius Creed vs. JD McDonagh

Brutus Creed is here with his brother. McDonagh grabs a headlock to start and Julius can’t even suplex his way to freedom. Julius can power his way out of it though and the toss has McDonagh in trouble. The chase around the ring results in Julius being dropkicked off the apron as we take a break.

Back with McDonagh holding a bodyscissors as Indus Sher is out to watch. Julius fights up and knocks him outside for a heck of a clothesline but can’t German suplex him off the apron. Instead McDonagh hits an apron moonsault before going after Julius’ knee. Said knee is cranked around and taken to the floor, where McDonagh grabs a chair. The big swing is loaded up but Veer Mahaan takes it instead, which is a DQ…I think on McDonagh, giving Julius the win at 10:33.

Rating: B-. The ending was a little weird but McDonagh not beating someone else is rather nice to see. Indus Sher vs. the Creeds is being treated as a big deal and while it’s not the most interesting, they are putting the work in to make it better. Julius continues to feel like a top star ready to break out and giving him singles matches like this will make that more likely.

Video on Isla Dawn’s debut.

Dijak is leaving when the D’Angelo Family interrupts. Tony has a business proposal and Dijak seems interested.

Von Wagner vs. Malik Blade

Blade strikes away to start and rains down some right hands in the corner. Wagner powers out but seems to be favoring his knee as Blade sends him outside. Some rams into the announcers’ table have Wagner in more trouble but he avoids a frog splash. The fireman’s carry neckbreaker finishes Blade at 2:41 as Wagner’s monster push continues.

Post match Wagner stays on him but Edris Enofe and Odyssey Jones make the save.

Here are the Iron Survivor Challenge participants:

Men
Carmelo Hayes
JD McDonagh
Grayson Waller
Joe Gacy

Women
Zoey Stark
Cora Jade
Roxanne Perez
Kiana James

The final spots will be determined in triple threat wild card matches next week.

Toxic Attraction vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance/Nikkita Lyons

Jayne and Carter start things off but everything breaks down in a hurry. Triple superkicks send Toxic Attraction to the floor and Carter/Chance hit back to back dives. We settle down to Carter rolling Rose up for two but Jayne offers a distraction. Rose gets in some running knees to Carter and the villains take over in the corner. A spinebuster gives Rose two and we hit the bodyscissors.

Carter kicks her away and brings in Chance to fire away at Dolin but gets suplexed down. Lyons makes the save and everything breaks down again. We settle back down to Chance getting suplexed but grabbing a rollup for two on Rose anyway. Everyone else comes back in and Dolin sends Carter into the steps. Lyons suplexes Jayne but Rose gets in a cheap shot and the bad knee gives out. A not so great looking high/low finishes Lyons at 9:04.

Rating: C+. This felt like a house show main event with the thrown together group taking on the established villains. That worked out well enough as Toxic Attraction feels like such a team that should be difficult to stop. Lyons coming back and going after the title one day seems all but inevitable, but for now she needs to focus on Zoey Stark, which is likely coming at Deadline.

A pleased Zoey Stark looks down from the platform to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. When I think about this show, it felt like two hours of checking things off a list. It felt like several matches, angles and feuds were advanced in the span of one night and that is nice to see. In other words, it came off like something that was planned in advance and then everything came together. That kind of attention is nice to see and makes it feel like an old school edition of NXT. Good stuff here, and Deadline is mostly together, even without being officially announced yet.

Results
Roxanne Perez b. Indi Hartwell – Pop Rox
Dijak b. Dante Chen – Feast Your Eyes
Grayson Waller b. Duke Hudson – Rolling Stunner
Kiana James b. Fallon Henley – 401K
Axiom b. Javier Bernal – Golden Ratio
Julius Creed b. JD McDonagh via DQ when McDonagh used a chair
Von Wagner b. Malik Blade – Fireman’s carry neckbreaker
Toxic Attraction b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance/Nikkita Lyons – High/lot to Lyons

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 LVL Up
Date: November 11, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

For once we’re actually coming off of a decent show, mainly because there were some slightly bigger stars. It also helps when the matches are laid out a bit better, as it seems like more effort is included. There is only so much time on this show so you have to take what you can get. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley vs. Lash Legend/Jakara Jackson

Legend hammers on Nile to start but Nile kicks her in the head to break that up. Jackson comes in and gets suplexed down, allowing Paxley to come in for a standing twisting moonsault. Something like a reverse X Factor plants Jackson again but she takes Paxley over for the tag to Legend. The beating continues until Jackson works on a backbreaker before switching to the leg. That works so badly that Paxley slips over for the tag off to Nile so house can be cleaned. Nile sends the villains together so Paxley can dive on Legend. That leaves Nile to flip into the Diamond Chain Lock and finish Jackson at 4:46.

Rating: C. I still don’t’ get why Nile isn’t getting more of a chance on the main NXT show as she is far better than just about anyone on this show. Legend has settled into a point where she is just bad instead of being a disaster, while Jackson is just the latest person on the roster, which doesn’t exactly make her mean much so far.

Javier Bernal isn’t worried about Ikemen Jiro and promises to beat him up.

Ikemen Jiro vs. Javier Bernal

Bernal isn’t having any of this handshake stuff to start so he shoves Jiro down. That doesn’t go so well as Jiro armdrags him, only to get kicked backwards. Jiro is sent to the apron and a hard forearm knocks him down again. Back in and a slam into some elbows get two on Jiro, setting up the chinlock. Jiro fights up but gets taken down with a clothesline as this is one sided so far. A dragon screw legwhip gets Jiro out of trouble and he fires off the jacket punches. There’s the Tarantula to Jiro but the Ikemen Slash misses, allowing Bernal to roll him up (with trunks) for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C. This was almost a squash until Jiro’s comeback didn’t work out so well. That isn’t a surprise either as Bernal has been featured on NXT a bit more lately, meaning he isn’t going to be losing to someone who has been around here for such a long time. Bernal is starting to figure out his heel stuff too and if that works out, good for him.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade/Odyssey Jones vs. Xyon Quinn/Lucien Price/Bronco Nima

That’s a different kind of main event around here. Price shoves Odyssey on the apron to start so Enofe headlock takeovers Price down. The rather large Price shoves him into the corner and hands it off to Nima. A dropkick cuts Nima off and it’s Blade coming in, only to get sent into the corner. Quinn comes in but Blade rolls over to Jones for the showdown.

Everything breaks down and the good guys clean house until Quinn gets in a cheap shot on Jones. That doesn’t get him very far though and it’s Nima coming in to beat up Enofe instead. Quinn splashes Enofe for two but a dive through the legs allows the hot tag off to Jones for the house cleaning. Everything breaks down (again) and Blade’s splash off of Jones’ shoulders finishes Price at 6:40.

Rating: C+. This was a fun match with the good guys working well together and having some people to beat up, albeit after breaking a sweat. What matters most here is that it felt like something different on this show after doing the same things over and over. Just mix it up a bit and see how much more fun the show can be.

Overall Rating: C. I had enough fun with this show for it to be ok and that’s all you can ask for with something like this. The main event was enough of a change of pace to make things better and after the months of the same formula, that is really nice to have for once. I have no reason to believe it is going to last, but one night of ok is better than nothing.

Results
Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley b. Lash Legend/Jakara Jackson – Diamond Chain Lock to Jackson
Javier Bernal b. Ikemen Jiro – Rollup with trunks
Odyssey Jones/Malik Blade/Edris Enofe b. Xyon Quinn/Lucien Price/Bronco Nima – Splash to Price

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

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AND

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

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

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

NXT Title: Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker

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

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

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

Video on Alba Fyre vs. Mandy Rose.

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

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

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

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

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

Indus Sher vs. George Cannon/Ariel Dominguez

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

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

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

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

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

JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

T-Bar is still ready to come back.

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

Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs vs. Dyad

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Tatum Paxley

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

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

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

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

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

R-Truth vs. Grayson Waller

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

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

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

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

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

Kiana James gives her assistant an envelope.

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

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

Thea Hail vs. Kiana James

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

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

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

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

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

Odyssey Jones vs. Javier Bernal

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

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

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

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

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

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

Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Stark

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

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

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

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

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

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

Valentina Feroz vs. Cora Jade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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: December 28, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s time for one of those things that you don’t get to see very often in WWE, as we’re getting a contract signing between Carmelo Hayes and Roderick Strong. Other than that, odds are we’ll be hearing a lot more from Grayson Waller, because he is on this show as much as a Steve Austin Raw in 1998. Let’s get to it.

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

They aren’t wasting time this week because here is Grayson Waller to get things going. Waller flips around a lot and talks about having a great Christmas. This included flying himself to Detroit to Monday Night Raw, where he met AJ Styles. We see a clip of their showdown last night, before Waller talks about how he is supposed to face Dexter Lumis tonight. That isn’t going to happen, so he insults Indi Hartwell too. Cue the returning Odyssey Jones and we have a replacement match.

Odyssey Jones vs. Grayson Waller

Jones throws him around to start and then steps on Waller’s back. A big side slam gives Jones two and we take a break. Back with Waller hitting a low superkick and a middle rope elbow gets two. Jones fights up but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Waller to hammer away. Waller grabs the buckle to block a powerbomb….but the buckle pad comes off so the powerbomb gets two. That means Jones can miss a charge into the buckle, allowing Waller to hit his rolling Stunner for the pin at 7:36.

Rating: C. It’s nice to see Jones back as he is certainly one of the more unique people on the show. Sometimes you need someone out there throwing people around with raw power and size, which he does quite well. Then you have Waller, who is still the focal point of the show. It’s good to see him get in the ring, but it’s clear that he isn’t exactly a general out there. I still don’t quite get what WWE sees in him, but he’s pretty clearly here to stay.

Post match, AJ Styles pops up to say he’ll be here next week.

Raquel Gonzalez and Cora Jade both want to fight Mandy Rose, but here are Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray to say they want to fight her too. Rose just happens to pop up on screen behind them and says she’ll get a tag match made for tonight, with the winning team getting to challenge her in a triple threat at New Year’s Evil.

Grayson Waller isn’t happy with AJ Styles interrupting him and runs into MSK. They can shut up.

Xyon Quin says Elektra Lopez needs to pick sides.

Here is MSK for a chat. They haven’t been here since Halloween Havoc, which wasn’t a great night. No one gets higher than them, but here is Riddle on screen to say he is with them in spirit. That’s enough for them to call out Imperium, as they had planned to do. Cue Imperium to shout in their respective languages, which does not sit well with MSK, who want subtitles.

Imperium insults them in English, so MSK issues the challenge for right here and right now. That’s too far because Walter pops up on screen, saying that he is proud of Imperium as champions. That isn’t the case for MSK, so here is Riddle to pop up on screen and ask for a six man. Walter is game and the match is set.

We look back at Harland wrecking Brian Kendrick.

Joe Gacy reminds Harland that it wasn’t his fault because Kendrick started it.

Edris Enofe is happy with his win over Von Wagner, who comes in to say Enofe got lucky. Malik Blade comes in to have Enofe’s back and a match seems to be set.

Harland vs. Brian Kendrick

Hold on though as there is no Kendrick. Cue Andre Chase to say this is a teachable moment! Gacy likes education and mentions Harland being in a university….until he was expelled. As for Chase, thank you for being Kendrick’s replacement!

Harland vs. Andre Chase

Chase gets shoved outside in a hurry and the beating continues on the floor. Back in and Chase is sent face first into the mat over and over, which is good for the stoppage at 1:00.

Post match, one of Chase’s students hits the ring to check on him but gets attacked as well. Harland then kidnaps him.

Legado del Fantasma asks Elektra Lopez where her loyalties lie. She doesn’t say but here is Solo Sikoa to accidentally run into them. They want an apology but we get a match instead.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

Both are making their NXT debuts though they have been on 205 Live. Stratton takes her down with an armbar to start and then slams Henley to cut off a comeback attempt. An awkward looking handspring elbow sets up a Downward Spiral to finish Henley off at 2:35.

Tony D’Angelo warned Pete Dunne not to mess with him and then smashed Dunne’s hand. Maybe Dunne will listen to him next time.

It’s time for the contract signing between Roderick Strong and Carmelo Hayes, who hasn’t been seen so far. Malcolm Bivens thinks it might be due to the higher gas prices, but here are Hayes and Trick Williams anyway. Williams talks trash that Strong doesn’t understand, so Bivens translates. Strong threatens Hayes, with Bivens translating again, while also pointing out that Williams and Hayes are outnumbered. Williams goes on a rant, but Bivens doesn’t get paid enough to translate all night.

Wade Barrett, running this whole thing, has no idea what anyone has said so let’s just sit down. Hayes says Strong shouldn’t play with him or he’ll get put on a t-shirt. Next week, he’s unifying the titles and becoming the true A Champion. Strong promises to walk out as a two time North American Champion after he unifies the titles.

Hayes is going to be carried out though, which does not sit well with him. Both of them sign and the match is official. They throw the contract at each other and Barrett bails. Hayes leaves but Bivens yells at Williams to draw him back in. That means the Creed Brothers can put him through a table as the Diamond Mine stands tall. Bivens’ translations and Barrett being lost were funny, but I don’t like Strong’s chances next week.

Video on the tag team division with a lot of teams wanting the Tag Team Titles.

Solo Sikoa vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar chops away to start and rolls him up for a fast two. Sikoa is getting a bit too frustrated early on and misses a stomp to make it worse. Escobar takes him back down into an armbar and then switches into an abdominal stretch. That’s reversed with a hiptoss and a running headbutt gives Sikoa two. Escobar is knocked outside, where the rest of Legado offers a distraction. That means Sikoa gets posted hard we take a break.

Back with Sikoa fighting up but getting taken right back down with a Russian legsweep. Escobar stands on his back to keep it in trouble, setting up a half crab with a knee in said back. A basement dropkick rocks Sikoa again but he’s fine enough to hit a toss gordbuster. There’s the Samoan drop but Sikoa has to deal with the rest of Legado. That means a chop block to Sikoa, setting up a super hurricanrana. Cue Xyon Quin, so Escobar takes him down with a dive and yells a lot. Escobar heads back in, where Sikoa superkicks his head off. The Superfly Splash gives Sikoa the upset pin at 13:32.

Rating: C+. This is what some of the NXT rookies need to be doing: having a match with the established names and getting some ring time. The 3-4 minute matches aren’t getting them very far but this is where they can grow and learn. Escobar isn’t going to be hurt by the loss and Sikoa gets a rather nice win under his belt. Good use of TV time here.

New Year’s Evil rundown.

Harland and Joe Gacy take Andre Chase to the roof and leave him there.

Solo Sikoa wants to know who is left but gets jumped by Boa, who gives him a Tongan Death Grip. The cameraman gets taken out too.

We look at Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker.

Von Wagner vs. Malik Blade

Wagner powers him into the corner to start but Blade hits a kick to the ribs. That earns Blade a big toss into the air for a bigger crash as the beating is on. A lariat blasts Blade but he comes back with some dropkicks. Blade’s springboard crossbody drops Wagner again but he grabs a high Angle Slam. The double underhook spinning slam finishes Blade at 4:02.

Rating: C-. I’m still not sure I get it with Wagner, who is another pretty generic power guy. That’s about all he showed us here too, as he didn’t do anything that set him apart from anyone else. Blade is fitting in rather well as the jobber to the stars who can still give you a nice enough match. Now please try to find some way to make Wagner more interesting.

Post match Wagner goes after him again but Edris Enofe makes the save.

New Year’s Evil rundown.

Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai vs. Cora Jade/Raquel Gonzalez

The winning team gets to challenge Mandy Rose for the Women’s Title next week. Shirai flapjacks Jade to start and tells her to bring it. Jade grabs a cradle for two of her own before snapping off a hurricanrana. The running knee smashes Shirai against the ropes and it’s off to Gonzalez for the power. Ray comes in to kick away at the ribs but Shirai has to come in and save her with a dropkick. Shirai’s Asai moonsault takes Gonzalez out again and we take a break.

Back with Ray stomping away on Jade but not being able to hit the KLR Bomb. The comeback bid doesn’t last long as Jade gets knocked down, but Gonzalez saves Jade from the Moon Over Moonsault. Instead Ray hits a big dive onto Gonzalez and Shirai 619s Jade. There’s a missile dropkick for two on Jade, who comes back with an enziguri to Ray.

The hot tag brings in Gonzalez to clean house, including the spinning Vader Bomb. There’s the Chingona Bomb but Jade tags herself in. The argument is on and Jade knocks Gonzalez outside, allowing Jade to roll her up. Gonzalez breaks that up…and knocks Jade onto Ray for the pin at 10:02.

Rating: C. That was a mixture of good action, some sloppiness in parts and a stupid ending designed to wedge in the “these two don’t get along” theme. That’s one of WWE’s favorite tropes though and it’s no surprise to see it here again. Either team could have won here, but Jade and Gonzalez are the more logical pick.

Post match, Mandy Rose pops up to say her plan is working and she’ll see them at New Year’s Evil.

Overall Rating: C. The show took a bit of a step back this week as it was a collection of things happening without much of a main story. The women’s tag didn’t feel bigger than anything else but rather just went on last, which doesn’t make it that much better. Nothing on here was particularly good and while there was less Grayson Waller, there wasn’t much else worth seeing. Granted that very well might be a Coronavirus thing, but it wasn’t exactly a fun watch this week.

Results
Grayson Waller b. Odyssey Jones – Rolling Stunner
Harland b. Andre Chase via referee stoppage
Tiffany Stratton b. Fallon Henley – Downward Spiral
Solo Sikoa b. Santos Escobar – Superfly Splash
Von Wagner b. Malik Blade – Double underhook spinning slam
Raquel Gonzalez/Cora Jade b. Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai – Rollup to Ray

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: October 26, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s another special show this time around with Halloween Havoc. Last year’s edition did rather well but now we need to see if they can do the same with the new cast. The main event is Tommaso Ciampa defending the NXT Title against Bron Breakker, plus a bunch of Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal matches. Let’s get to it.

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

Chuckie as in from the Child’s Play movies, welcome us to the show and runs down part of the card.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark

Shirai/Stark are defending in a ladder match, with Chuckie giving us another intro. It’s a brawl to start with Toxic Attraction being sent outside. Some ladders are thrown inside and it’s Hartwell/Pirotta going up, only to have the champs break it up with some dropkicks. Jacy Jayne kicks the ladder and breaks one of the metal pieces in the middle. Since that doesn’t work, Jayne just shoves the ladder over, leaving Stark and Dolin to kick each other over. Hartwell and Stark slug it out on top of the ladder but Pirotta sets up the big ladder.

That sets up a bunch of crashes until Pirotta has to pull Shirai down. Shirai gets dropped onto the top turnbuckle and Dolin gets powerbombed hard onto a bridged ladder in the corner. Jayne tries to go up but Shirai pulls her down onto a ladder, setting up a Lionsault onto Jayne onto the ladder. Now it’s Hartwell planting Stark onto the ladder but Shirai knocks Hartwell off the ladder. Hartwell then knocks the ladder over, sending Shirai back of the head first onto the bridged ladder. With that terrifying crash out of the way, Dolin runs up and wins the titles at 12:23.

Rating: C+. That must be the best ladder match I’ve seen in at least 22 hours. It felt like they went to the ending really fast after Shirai’s landing and at least the right team won. I don’t think there was any real doubt in the idea that Toxic Attraction was going to win here and they didn’t bother going in another direction. This had some brutal crashes, but it’s only so exciting when the most recent WWE match before this was a ladder match as well. At the very least, it’s nice to have a non-thrown together team holding the titles.

Commentary is dressed as…..themselves. Wow that’s a missed opportunity.

We now join Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams as they search through a haunted house for the North American Title, which the Way stole last week. They can’t believe they’re doing this, which I can certainly understand. We cut to Johnny Gargano and Dexter Lumis in the house, with Gargano saying he Home Aloned the heck out of this house. He even had help from the zombie referee from last year! Back to Williams and Hayes, with Hayes not interested in just getting a replica title. More on this later.

Video on Kay Lee Ray, who breaks a bunch of things.

Grayson Waller (who isn’t the host) is here as Dracula and promises the women will be in revealing outfits. Cue Joe Gacy to complain about things and now it’s time for him to deal with someone.

Joe Gacy vs. Malik Blade

Gacy jumps Blade to start as we cut to Harland walking around backstage in a Michael Meyers style. Another shot puts Blade down but here is Harland to grab Blade by the throat. That’s not a DQ, so Gacy hits the handspring lariat for the pin at 2:18.

Gacy talks to Harland post match.

We go to the NXT Halloween party, with Waller liking what he is seeing (the fact that a lot of the wrestlers aren’t in any kind of special costume tells you a lot about the current state of NXT). Cameron Grimes, dressed as an astronaut, hits on two women but calls them extraterrestrials instead of angels, much to their dismay. Waller gives him a pep talk.

Malcolm Bivens issues a Diamond Mine open challenge.

Odyssey Jones vs. Roderick Strong

Non-title in a rematch from a recent 205 Live. Strong kicks away at Jones, who throws him down with ease. A choke doesn’t get Strong very far so he goes with some kicks to the face instead. Jones fights back up but has to deal with the rest of the Diamond Mine, allowing Strong to hit some jumping knees. A bit one to the jaw makes Jones fall forward for the pin at 4:12 (the exact same finish as their 205 Live match).

Rating: C-. I think we can get closer to writing off Jones, as this wasn’t exactly his finest hour. It’s also not a good thing to see the same finish between the same people on two different WWE shows, even if 205 Live isn’t exactly important. The show is still broadcast by WWE, but they couldn’t even change the endings. WWE being lazy isn’t a surprise, but at least make it seem like you’re trying?

Imperium, with subtitles, promises to win the Tag Team Titles. How you have subtitles on a live interview is beyond me.

We go back to the Halloween party where no one recognized Von Wagner, Cameron Grimes promises to be in Duke Hudson’s poker room next week, and Robert Stone, as Elvis, gets put through a table by Xyon Quin. The latter makes everyone celebrate.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez is defending and comes to the ring on a motorcycle. This is Spin The Wheel Make The Deal, so Chuckie gets to spin. That would be Chuckie’s Choice, so let’s have a Trick or Street Fight. Rose starts fast with the kendo stick but gets knocked outside where Gonzalez, in lime green for quite the visual, misses a boot against the post. Some kendo stick shots rock Gonzalez again and we take a break.

Back with the fight still on at ringside, where Rose puts Gonzalez in an announcers’ chair and locks her in place with a kendo stick. Rose shoves the chair over unloads with the kendo stick again. Gonzalez, now in a hockey mask for no apparent reason, is back up with a fire extinguisher to blind Rose. A gorilla press….doesn’t quite get Rose over the middle rope so Rose gets rolled under the bottom rope instead.

Back in and Rose gets dropped face first onto some chairs in the corner so it’s time for the steps. Rose kicks those into Gonzalez’s face for another near fall but Rose can’t get her up in a double underhook. Gonzalez is back up with a spear through the table in the corner for a very near fall. Cue a woman in a Grim Reaper costume to hit Gonzalez in the back with a shovel, allowing Rose to knee her in the face the pin and the title at 11:08.

Rating: C. It was all smoke and mirrors, but that’s exactly what they needed here. Rose is not exactly a polished worker but doing all of the weapons stuff hides so much of that. This was by no means a great match and the ending was designed to protect Gonzalez. That might be a bit annoying, but it’s all about Toxic Attraction in NXT now and this was as good of a way to get there as they had.

Post match Toxic Attraction poses with their titles and the Grim Reaper is….Dakota Kai. Makes sense.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are still scared in the haunted house. Post break, they run into an old woman and a guy with his face painted and keep moving. Andre Chase pops up and the three of them see Lumis in a mirror. They turn around and Lumis isn’t there, but then he appears so running ensues. Williams and Hayes find the title, but Williams says it’s never this easy in the movies. Hayes grabs the title and everyone shows up, with Gargano saying Lumis’ house is weird. Next week, they’ll do it at Gargano’s place. Everyone gives a collective thumbs up to seemingly finish things up.

Grayson Waller is in the ring to talk about exclusive content on social media when LA Knight arrives (in the same costume). Knight had car trouble, but wants to know how Waller knew about it (that’s a classic angle from back in the day). Not that it matters as the debuting Solo Sikoa, a martial artist, clears the ring.

Bron Breakker is warming up with Chuckie watching from a locker.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Imperium

Imperium is challenging and we Spin The Wheel to Make The Deal of….Lumberjack O’Lantern (as chosen by a fan’s spin). The lumberjacks come out, in costumes, with Vic Joseph calling Wade Barrett “Stu” by mistake. Aichner throws Carter around to start so it’s off to Barthel to kick Lee in the face. Imperium gets sent outside where the lumberjacks jump them, meaning it’s a double dive from MSK.

We take a break and come back with Aichner being knocked outside again, setting up a moonsault for two on Barthel. Aichner picks up both champs at once to plant them down and take over, but the Imperial Bomb is broken up. Lee hits a big dive to take out Barthel and a bunch of lumberjacks, leaving Carter to cutter Barthel off the top and out to the floor as well.

That’s enough for the referees, who eject the lumberjacks, which makes this a rather unique lumberjack match. Another Imperial Bomb is broken up and Carter hits a middle rope Canadian Destroyer to knocks Barthel silly. The push moonsault gets two and it’s a brainbuster to drop Lee. The Imperial Bomb gives Imperium the titles back at 13:12.

Rating: C+. It was a good run for MSK, though you can’t keep the titles on them when the fans are booing the heck out of them every single week. It was better once they got rid of the lumberjacks as things settled down a lot, but Imperium getting the titles back isn’t exactly inspiring. They do their thing really well, but when your gimmick is that you are ultra serious, it is a little hard to get excited.

Chuckie introduces us to a video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker. Ciampa won the title back to start the new NXT and now Breakker is accepting the challenge for the title shot. This is all about power and force vs. experience, which makes for an interesting showdown. Chuckie taking shots at Breakker’s dad is a great Easter egg for older fans.

NXT Title: Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker

Ciampa is defending in a God Of War costume. A big shoulder puts Ciampa on the floor to start so he comes back in for a headlock. That’s fine with Breakker, who suplexes his way to freedom in a hurry. Ciampa goes to the ribs to slow Breakker down though and we hit the bodyscissors.

We take a break and come back with Ciampa hitting a middle rope ax handle to the back for two. The waistlock stays on the ribs but Breakker fights up and hits some forearms to the face as the LET’S GO CIAMPA/DOG BARKS dueling chants are on. A running shoulder puts Ciampa on the floor again but he grabs Willow’s Bell for two more. Breakker snaps off a Frankensteiner into a butterfly powerbomb for two of his own.

They slug it out with Ciampa getting the better of things. The fight heads outside, where the floor bad has been pulled back. A DDT onto the exposed concrete knocks Breakker silly (while possibly busting him open). and the Fairy Tale Ending gets two. Ciampa knees him in the face a few times and hits another Fairy Tale Ending to retain at 13:50.

Rating: B-. They had a good match, but it’s going to take some time to process Breakker losing that close to clean. I do get the idea that he isn’t ready yet (and he probably isn’t), but dang it was a little jarring to see him get pinned. Ciampa going on as champion is not a bad thing and I can imagine USA wanting to keep the title on a star rather than a project. It’s just kind of surprising to see Breakker lose so soon, even if it probably is the right call.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off rough but did settle down and got a good bit better by the end. Halloween Havoc is a tricky show to pull off and they did it well enough here, though there were some things that needed to be tweaked. They leaned pretty heavily into the goofy at times, though Chuckie being around all night was a nice touch. The title changes more than made it feel big, though your mileage on Toxic Attraction may vary. Still though, it certainly felt like an important show and that’s what they were going for. Maybe a bit too over the top at times, but it worked more than it didn’t.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark and Persia Pirotta/Indi Hartwell – Dolin pulled down the titles
Joe Gacy b. Malik Blade – Handspring lariat
Roderick Strong b. Odyssey Jones – Jumping knee to the face
Mandy Rose b. Raquel Gonzalez – Running knee to the face
Imperium b. MSK – Imperial Bomb to Lee
Tommaso Ciampa b. Bron Breakker – Fairy Tale Ending

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.