NXT
Date: January 3, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We’re in the New Year and that means we have one more week before New Year’s Evil, because the scheduling around here is a little weird. Tonight we have another face to face deal between Grayson Waller and Bron Breakker, as has been the case before. Other than that, we’ll probably get some more matches announced for next week. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of the greatest moments of 2022, which certainly had a lot of changes around here.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Apollo Crews

Trick Williams is here with Hayes, who gets dropkicked down to start. Back up and Hayes hits the springboard spinning clothesline to take over, setting up the fade away springboard legdrop for two. Crews is fine enough to hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two of his own and a string of suplexes have Hayes rocked. An apron moonsault to the floor drops Hayes again and we take a break.

Back with Hayes having banged up Crews’ knee during the break, meaning it’s time for a half crab. Crews fights up and hits an enziguri for a breather but Hayes grabs a suplex into a cutter. Melo Don’t Miss misses though and Crews hits a middle rope flipping DDT. The standing moonsault misses though and Melo Don’t Miss doesn’t miss for the pin at 14:21.

Rating: C+. The more I watch Hayes, the more I wonder why he has been spinning his wheels around here for so long. Let him either get into the title hunt or move up to the main roster and see what he can do. He’s way too smooth to be doing this over and over, but maybe this win is a step up for him.

Post match Axiom is back with a high crossbody to Williams and Hayes, meaning we’ll start his scheduled match with Williams after a break.

Axiom vs. Trick Williams

Joined in progress with Hayes working on the arm until Axiom fights up. A springboard dropkick gives Axiom a breather and a springboard crossbody gives him two. Axiom gets in another shot to the face, setting up the Golden Ratio for the pin at 3:10.

Rating: C. This didn’t have the time to go very far, but the weird thing is seeing Williams lose clean. Maybe it’s seeing him featured more on LVL Up but it is almost odd to see him losing here. That being said, Axiom is a bigger deal in NXT than Williams and he needed the win more so it makes sense.

Post match the beatdown is on but Apollo Crews runs in for the save.

Schism wants a Tag Team Title shot and wonders why New Day is ducking them. That would be due to Schism looking like extras from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. They argue over which team is more of a family and a match between Kofi Kingston and Joe Gacy seems to be set.

Last week, Dijak kidnapped Stacks and beat him up as a threat to Tony D’Angelo. Stacks offers a match but Dijak says this is just the beginning. He leaves the key to the handcuffs and walks off.

Chase U and Drew Gulak and company don’t see eye to eye on some training methods.

Dijak vs. Stacks

Tony D’Angelo is here with Stacks, who has a big bruise on his ribs. Dijak is smart enough to go right after those ribs, with a hard knee getting two. A big boot gets two more on Stacks until Feast Your Eyes finishes Stacks at 3:43.

Rating: C. I love watching a lackey get beaten up as it is exactly why you have them around. Dijak needed a convincing win and he beat up Stacks to get one, even if Stacks had already taken a beating. Nothing match, but it sets up Dijak vs. D’Angelo as part of the three way North American Title feud.

Post match Dijak goes after Stacks again but D’Angelo makes the save and throws out the challenge for next year.

Javier Bernal interrupts Oro Mensah’s interview to plug his Feliz Javidad Christmas album, because he’s awesome enough to release a Christmas album in January. A match is made for tonight instead.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. It’s time to get away from 2022 and apparently speak in ways that no normal human would ever consider. They want the Women’s Title, but here is Indi Hartwell to interrupt. She thinks there should be some fresh blood in this division but Cora Jade interrupts. Jade doesn’t think much of Hartwell, who loses everything. Nikkita Lyons, Zoey Stark and Wendy Choo get in their own interruptions until Thea Hail pops up to declare a GIRL FIGHT.

All of the women come out and the fight is on, with Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre (facing off tonight) fight off. Roxanne Perez pops up on the balcony to announce a 20 woman #1 contenders battle royal for next week. The fight is on and we cut to Fyre and Dawn fighting outside. This was every “I want a title shot/No I WANT A TITLE SHOT/insults abound” segment you’ll ever see, and thankfully everyone was in their designated place with their microphones ready for such a spontaneous moment. Rather horrible segment indeed.

Post break and the brawl is still on between Dawn and Fyre. Referees can’t break it up but Fyre knocks a pipe away from Dawn. They fight onto a platform and Dawn is knocked off onto a pile of 2x4s and chairs, with referees saying it’s over. Fyre puts her in a chair and tries to wheel her to the arena, meaning it’s time to ring the bell!

Alba Fyre vs. Isla Dawn

Extreme Resolution match (anything goes) and Fyre hammers away, setting up the Gory Bomb for an early two. Back with dawn using a wrench on Fyre’s finger until Fyre fights back and they go outside. Fyre sets up a table and Swantons onto Dawn (table doesn’t break), followed by a Gory Bomb through the table (table breaks) for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: C-. I have no idea what to think of this as it was barely a match. They brawled, they did a big spot in the back, they came to the ring, they went to a break, they came back, they did another big spot, the match ended. I do like that Fyre got a win as she was on a bit of a losing streak, but odds are we’ll see more from this feud.

Grayson Waller is very confident about beating Bron Breakker because he can outsmart him.

Long video on Indus Sher vs. the Creed Brothers.

Javier Bernal vs. Oro Mensah

Bernal jumps him from behind to start and grabs a belly to back suplex for two. A clothesline gets Bernal out of trouble and we hit the Tarantula. With that broken up, Mensah hits the running spinwheel kick in the corner for the pin at 3:34.

Rating: C-. This felt like a match where NXT realized they needed to do something with both of them and threw the match out there. Mensah has more or less vanished from the ring as of late and Bernal is hilarious in the back but not much once the bell rings. Mensah might as well have won on a coin flip so it works as well as anything else.

Kiana James interrupts Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen/Fallon Henley to congratulate Henley on the win last week. James tells Jensen to text her later, which doesn’t sit well with his friends.

Someone has filmed Katana Chance and Kayden Carter meeting with the medical staff without their knowledge.

Andre Chase vs. Drew Gulak

The rest of Chase U and Hank Walker are here too. Chase goes technical to start and gives a clean break as Gulak makes the rope. Gulak offers a similar rope break before armbarring Chase down. We cut to the back where Charlie Dempsey takes his arm out of a sling and comes to the ring as Gulak suplexes him for two. Chase is back up with a Russian legsweep into the Spelling Stomps. The Figure Four goes on, sending Gulak to the ropes. Back up and Gulak hits him in the face to crank up the intensity. The Gulock makes Chase tap at 4:29, with Gulak taking his time letting go.

Rating: C+. This was more storyline advancement than anything else and it went well enough. Gulak going heel as the evil shooter could be interesting and if it gives Chase a new foil, or at least something to do, I’m all for it. Chase and company need to be used for something, as they are crazy over and it would be a shame to not let them try a little upgrade for the team.

Wes Lee likes Dijak and Tony D’Angelo fighting each other and might show up for commentary next week.

Kofi Kingston vs. Joe Gacy

Xavier Woods is on commentary and says Big E. is certainly an NXT Tag Team Champion as well. Booker (at least I think this is what was said): “Big E. is finished, just like New Day at the end of this NXT run.” Kofi starts fast with a spinning top rope crossbody but Gacy crotches him on top.

Gacy starts hammering away as Booker wants New Day out of NXT. Some backbreakers have Kingston down and we hit the reverse chinlock. Kofi fights up and makes the comeback, including something like a snap Angle Slam for two. Woods and Schism get in an argument on the floor, leaving Kofi to hit the flip dive. Back in and Gacy’s swinging Rock Bottom is countered, setting up Trouble In Paradise for the pin at 6:02.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird match here as Kofi only felt like he was in a bit of danger to one of the more established NXT heels. That being said, Gacy has cooled off a ton and there is no reason to believe that he is going to beat a former WWE Champion. That’s part of the problem with Kofi and Woods being in NXT though: they’re such bigger stars than almost anyone else here that it is hard to buy anyone giving them a real test. Finally, heel Booker isn’t so much a good villain but rather an annoying guy who sounds out on his own planet. That’s not a good thing and hopefully it gets dropped fast.

Drew Gulak celebrates in the back when Charlie Dempsey comes up. Next week: Dempsey vs. Hank Walker.

Pretty Deadly yells at New Day about how they’re done jumping through hoops to get another title shot. Next week, Pretty Deadly will run a three team gauntlet to get their shot. Works for New Day.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect, with Bron Breakker as the guest. Waller thinks he’s going to outsmart Breakker again next week but here is Breakker to interrupt. Breakker is rather happy to be here and agrees that Waller has outsmarted him a few times. Waller is a bit surprised and it’s made worse as Breakker talks about how Waller is great at getting under everyone’s skin.

Breakker gets up and talks about all the times Waller has gone viral but Waller brings up Breakker’s dad. That’s too much so Waller gets punched to the floor, leaving Breakker to grab Waller’s phone. The big flip dive (with phone) takes Waller out to end the show. I still think the title changes next week, but this even things up a bit.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t really feeling this one as it showed one of the bigger problems with NXT these days: nothing comes off as a big story. Waller vs. Breakker is the top story but it isn’t like it is miles ahead of anything else. The show is very well balanced, but that might not be a good thing as it doesn’t make anything feel must see. They might want to fix that, though it isn’t like the show was a disaster. Just kind of there, but next week is the important one anyway.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Apollo Crews – Melo Don’t Miss
Axiom b. Trick Williams – Golden Ratio
Dijak b. Stacks – Feast Your Eyes
Alba Fyre b. Isla Dawn – Gory Bomb through a table
Oro Mensah b. Javier Bernal – Running spinwheel kick in the corner
Drew Gulak b. Andre Chase – Gulock
Kofi Kingston b. Joe Gacy – Trouble In Paradise

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: December 20, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We are almost done with the year and won’t have another live show until January, as this week and next week are taped in advance. The big story coming out of last week is Roxanne Perez winning the Women’s Title from Mandy Rose, who is already gone from the promotion in a surprise. That is going to lead to some fallout so let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long recap of Perez winning the Women’s Title over Rose last week.

Opening sequence.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Axiom

Trick Williams is here with Hayes. Feeling out process to start with Axiom’s headlock being countered into a headscissors. Back up and Axiom misses a kick to the head but grabs a northern lights suplex for two. Hayes’ springboard cutter misses hard though and we take a break. We come back with Axiom in control and grabbing a waistlock. That’s reversed into a crossface but Axiom slips away without much trouble.

A springboard crossbody gives Axiom two and we hit the triangle choke. Hayes slips out and kicks him in the head a few times but Axiom manages to get up top. That’s broken up and Hayes grabs his hand, allowing him to climb as well. With their hands still locked up, both are standing on top, where Axiom snaps off a super hurricanrana. Axiom loads up the Golden Ratio but Williams pulls him down from behind. Hayes’ Codebreaker sets up Nothing But Net for the pin at 12:41.

Rating: B-. Hayes continues to look as smooth as you can get around here and I have no idea why he and Williams haven’t been on the main roster for a long time now. They’re that good at what they do and putting both of them on the main roster would clear up some room for someone else in NXT. Good match, as Axiom continues to do his thing, but it isn’t as polished as Hayes’.

Post match, Axiom moonsaults onto Williams and wants more from Hayes.

Grayson Waller wants his title shot tonight, because if Roxanne Perez doesn’t have to wait, he shouldn’t either. The fact that Bron Breakker isn’t here tonight because he is in North Carolina on a media tour is a detail.

Tony D’Angelo is ready for his North American Title match next week and Stacks is rather pleased. Stacks has an assignment though: tell Dijak to stay out of their business and he’ll get the next shot. Grayson Waller shows up and asks if they have seen Bron Breakker. That’s a no, so Waller says if they do, tell Breakker Waller is looking for him.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Zoey Stark

Lyons jumps Stark during her entrance and the fight is on outside. The bell rings and Lyons knocks her outside, where Stark is fine enough to get in a posting. Starks grabs a chinlock back inside but Lyons fights up and hits a German suplex. A superkick rocks Lyons but she is out of the way of a springboard shot to the head. Lyons grabs a Samoan drop for two and another superkick staggers Starks this time around. A rollup has Starks in trouble but she reverses into one of her own and grabs the rope for the pin at 5:31.

Rating: C. You can only get so much out of this kind of a brawl when it only gets so much time. Lyons losing via screwiness likely sets up a rematch, maybe with less in the way of rules. Odds are that is going to mean we see Lyons moving up the ladder, which seems to be the a big goal for NXT in the women’s division.

Cora Jade is mad about losing the Iron Woman Challenge but Wendy Choo comes in for the brawl.

We go to Fallon Henley’s bar, where Henley is worried about not being able to pay the interest to keep the place. Kiana James and her assistant come in and think they could buy the place for some improvements. James knows how much money they owe in taxes and can’t wait to do what she wants with it. Henley calls her a b**** and we’ll have a match next week with the bar on the line. Sure, as we seem to be in Glow.

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

Chance/Carter are defending. Dolin and Carter start things off with Carter being sent into the corner fast. It’s quickly off to Nile to grapple Jayne down but a right hand drops Nile hard. Carter tags herself in and sends Jayne outside, leaving the champs to hit the big double dive to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Carter hitting a running dropkick to Dolin in the corner but landing on Nile for two. Back up and Nile is caught on top, where Chance snaps off a super hurricanrana. Dolin comes in to go after Paxley’s arm but Carter makes the save. Jayne misses a running Cannonball in the corner but manages to slip out of the Diamond Chain Lock. Chance gets shoved off the top and Carter gets caught in the Diamond Chain Lock, only to flip backwards into a cradle to retain at 10:09.

Rating: C+. The match was very energetic and fast paced, but there is only so much you can do with this much stuff going on at once. Carter and Chance winning again will help boost their reign, but I’m not sure who is going to be their next real challengers. Toxic Attraction can only get so much out of going after the titles and we seem to have officially passed that point. Get some new challengers, whoever that might be.

Oro Mensah thinks music and wrestling go together.

Booker T. has a sitdown interview with Roxanne Perez about winning the Women’s Title. It was a mixture of emotions and she was overwhelmed (as was Booker, as shown in clips). We see some clips of Perez training at Booker’s school, plus some clips of what Perez has accomplished in nine months in NXT. She remembers asking Booker a lot of questions, which he seems to think is a good thing. Booker talked about what titles meant but you had to deal with butterflies. He’s a two time Hall Of Famer and she’s taking her first steps, but she knows she’s ready. The father/daughter stuff here is so sweet.

Here is Apollo Crews for a chat. He thought he would be here as the new NXT Champion. The vision was clear: he would capture the title that he came back here to win but he is never out of championship contention. At New Year’s Evil, Grayson Waller faces Bron Breakker, but three weeks later, it’s Vengeance Day.

Cue Carmelo Hayes to say he’s the next in line for a title shot and he’s fine with beating Crews. That’s not what Crews was expecting from someone as great as Hayes. They point out that neither is NXT Champion but Crews says there is always someone better than you. In Hayes’ case, that’s Crews. Jawing ensues. Anything involving Hayes being moved up in any way is a good thing.

Pretty Deadly brings New Day their Christmas presents but they want a title shot. New Day isn’t convinced and says that just doing the Pledge of Allegiance isn’t enough to get a title shot (inflation you see). Get the rest of their Christmas list (including a Tyler Breeze selfie stick) and we’ll see.

Alba Fyre is on her way to the ring but gets sprayed by Isla Dawn’s red mist.

Odyssey Jones, Malik Blade and Edris Enofe are ready to go out on the town but run into Ava Raine. They invite her out too, but she says the team is just filling in the voids in their lives with temporary feelings. Schism comes in to mock them further before walking off.

Indi Hartwell vs. Elektra Lopez

Lopez hammers her to the floor early on and sends Hartwell shoulder first into the post. Back in and we hit the chinlock, with Lopez cranking away. Hartwell fights up and hits a kick to the head for two. Lopez is sat on top, where she pulls out a well hidden pair of brass knuckles. Hartwell’s belly to back suplex is broken up with a right hand to the face and Lopez gets the pin at 3:34.

Rating: C-. This was quick and to the point, with Lopez getting a win to help her rebuild. Lopez is someone who seems like she could be a force in the division, but that isn’t going to happen if she keeps losing so many matches. At least they have a start here, with a win over Hartwell being a decent first step.

Alba Fyre is cleared for her match.

Wes Lee is ready to face any and all comers, starting with Tony D’Angelo.

Alba Fyre vs. Sol Ruca

Hold on though as Isla Dawn jumps Fyre on the floor before the bell and uses the bat to crush her hand in the steps. No match.

It’s Christmas at Chase U, with the students giving Andre Chase gifts. The fact that Chase is allergic to fruit makes the long list of people with fruit cakes leave (after one heck of a rant from Chase of course). Duke Hudson doesn’t seem to know that it’s Christmas so he tricks a student into leaving and steals his #1 Professor plaque for Chase.

Josh Briggs, Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen are ready to take New Day’s Tag Team Titles. Kiana James and the assistant come in, with James wishing Jensen luck. Jensen seems flattered. Henley: “Really?”

Drew Gulak is training when Hank Walker comes up to ask for any advice. Gulak likes his moxie and invites Walker to attend (but not participate in) his seminar next week.

Tag Team Titles: Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen vs. New Day

Briggs and Jensen, with Fallon Henley, are challenging. Kofi takes Jensen into the corner to start and we hit the dancing. That doesn’t work for Briggs, who chops him down and cuts off the jumping back elbow. A powerslam gives Jensen two so it’s off to Woods to pick up the pace. Woods knocks Jensen into the corner for the running forearm, allowing Kofi to hit one of his own. Jensen manages to get over for a tag to Briggs though house is cleaned to send us to a break.

Back with Woods enziguring his way out of trouble so Kofi can come back in. A springboard spinning crossbody hits Jensen but the SOS is blocked. Jensen’s powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana but Briggs comes in to clean house. A moonsault hits Kofi (or mainly his face) to give Briggs two but Kofi is back with a poisonrana to Briggs. Trouble In Paradise drops Briggs again and Kofi dives onto Jensen. The Limit Break gives Woods the retaining pin at 10:08.

Rating: C+. I don’t think anyone was buying New Day losing the titles in their first defense but at least Briggs and Jensen gave them a pretty good match. It helps to give the NXT teams a nice rub from one of the most successful teams of this generation and that is what New Day is here to do. Solid main event here and hopefully the next of many from New Day.

Stacks talks to Dijak…..’s dressing room door before going inside to give him Tony D’Angelo’s message.

Grayson Waller wants Bron Breakker in the ring next.

Diamond Mine isn’t happy with their loss but they made great strides anyway. Indus Sher comes up to ask about their match with the Creed Brothers. Sher wants the Creeds to prove themselves, which Julius will do next week against JD McDonagh.

Here’s what is coming next week.

Grayson Waller, in a rather large zip up jacket, wants Bron Breakker out here right now because no one can do what Waller does. Breakker’s car arrives in the parking lot (that’s some amazing timing) and he comes to the ring for the spear….which knocks himself out. That zip jacket was covering a metal plate, because Waller is a Back to The Future III fan. Waller promises that he’ll outsmart Breakker again at New Year’s Evil to win the title.

Overall Rating: B-. This show had a good series of matches with only one of them not working so well. At the same time it set up stuff for the future, including a battle for the bar next week. The show is starting to find its groove and they did well here, with nothing terribly bad and building up matches for the future. Not a bad use of two hours whatsoever.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Axiom – Nothing But Net
Zoey Stark b. Nikkita Lyons – Rollup while grabbing the rope
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Toxic Attraction and Ivy Nile/Tatum Paxley – Rollup to Nile
Elektra Lopez b. Indi Hartwell – Right hand with brass knuckles
New Day b. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen – Limit Break to Briggs

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 LVL Up
Date: December 2, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

We’re into the final month of the year and much like the rest of the months, that isn’t likely to mean anything significant. I’m never sure what to expect in any given week on this show and I’m really not sure how much thought is put into the show week to week either. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Oro Mensah vs. Myles Borne

Mensah kicks out of a wristlock to start but gets wrestled to the mat for a quick two. Back up and a quick anklescissors takes Borne down, setting up a running crotch attack against the ropes. Borne is able to catch him on top though and some covers get some twos. We hit the chinlock on Mensah, followed by a quick belly to belly to give Borne another near fall. A northern lights suplex gets the same but Mensah hits his own suplex to start the comeback. Mensah nails a running forearm, setting up the running spinwheel kick in the corner to finish Borne at 6:10.

Rating: C-. This was mainly about Borne out wrestling and more or less dominating until Mensah hit one or two moves and hits finisher for the pin. Mensah just isn’t that impressive for the most part while Borne has come a LONG way after a few pretty lame early matches. Not much to see here, but it was mostly a Borne squash until the ending switched everything up.

Tavion Heights, a former Olympic wrestler, is ready to debut against Stacks.

Tavion Heights vs. Stacks

Tony D’Angelo is here with Stacks. Heights nips his way out of some headlock attempts but Stacks cuts him off with a dropkick. Stacks has to slam his way out of an armbar and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Heights snaps off a powerslam, setting up a gutwrench suplex for two. Not that it matters as Stacks is back up with a knee to the back of the head for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: C. Heights is someone who looks like he has some potential but he has a long way to go. Putting him out there for an early match like this against someone with a bit of success like Stacks isn’t the worst way to go and they did things decently enough here. It’s fine enough for a debut, even with Stacks handling most of the work.

Thea Hail vs. Sol Ruca

The rest of Chase U is here with Hail, who flips around a lot and grabs a wristlock. The fans are behind Chase U, even as Ruca takes her down into an armbar. That’s broken up so Hail armdrags her for one before they’re back up for a quick standoff. Ruca powers her down though and hits a cartwheel splash for two, setting up the bodyscissors.

We hit the abdominal stretch to keep up the variety of rib work, followed by what should be the required surfboard. Hail fights up and shakes the ropes a lot, setting up a backsplash for two. Ruca jumps over her and tries a Matrix, only to get rolled up to give Hail the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. Ruca is one of the craziest athletes I’ve ever seen and that was on display again here. Sometimes you just need to let someone use their natural abilities and make themselves look great, which is what they’re doing with Ruca. At the same time you have Hail, who is the most enthusiastic ball of energy that you are going to see in NXT these days. Fun match here, but more a showcase of what Ruca can do.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This show is starting to find a bit of a groove as they are now focusing on building people up rather than just throwing out random matches. You can see where people like Ruca, Borne and even Hail are starting to come along. If this show actually helps develop people then cool, but they would be much better served by putting in some more extensive time on the Florida house show circuit. For now though, decent show this week.

Results
Oro Mensah b. Myles Borne – Running spinwheel kick in the corner
Stacks b. Tavion Heights – Knee to the back of the head
Thea Hail b. Sol Ruca – Crucifix

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

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AND

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

NXT LVL Up
Date: November 18, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Byron Saxton

We are on the way to Survivor Series and for once there was something a little different here last week. Granted it was just a six man tag but after the months of the same formula, a little change was nice to see. There is no reason to believe that will stick this week, but at least they made things better once. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Thea Hail vs. Dani Palmer

The rest of Chase U is here with Hail and this is Palmer’s debut. Palmer even shakes hands with Chase U to start so she seems rather nice. They fight over arm control to start, with Hail getting the better of things off an armbar. A springboard wristdrag keeps Palmer in trouble before we get the armbar sequel. Back up and Palmer flips her over to set up a standoff in a bit of a surprise. Palmer manages to grab an abdominal stretch, which Hail breaks away from to start the comeback. A neckbreaker spun into a faceplant gives Hail the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C. This was a nice to meet you match from Palmer, who is another gymnast who can do her stuff well enough already but has nothing to suggest that she is ready as a wrestler whatsoever. That being said, a fair few WWE stars have started out as gymnasts and done well in wrestling, so maybe that is where we are going here. Granted there is no way of knowing where Palmer is after less than five minutes, so this is hardly the definitive note on her career.

Oba Femi, a rather large man from Nigeria and the University of Alabama is ready for his debut and wants to make his family proud.

Oba Femi vs. Dante Chen

Commentary talks about Femi’s power records at the Performance Center so he seems to have something behind him. Femi powers Chen to the ropes to start but can’t get out of a headlock. An uppercut drops Chen and Femi launches him into the corner, setting up a one armed sideslam for two.

The bearhug goes on, followed by another uppercut for another two, and a second bearhug as Femi doesn’t have the most varied offense so far. Chen manages to power out of the bearhug and Femi misses an elbow. A missed charge into the corner doesn’t do much for Chen, who is right back with a top rope chop to the head for two. The double chop finishes Femi at 5:33.

Rating: D. What the….IT’S DANTE CHEN! You have this guy who looks great, gets hyped up, has his power game praised, and DANTE CHEN beats him? Chen has languished for so long in the depths of NXT that I don’t think many people remember he works here. You can’t have Femi grab a bearhug or a powerslam and pin him? Femi doesn’t need to become the next Bobby Lashley right now, but what the heck was the point in having him lose?

Oro Mensah vs. Stacks

Tony D’Angelo is on commentary. Stacks takes him down by the arm to start but Mensah comes up and cranks away on the arm right back. Some armdrags have Stacks bailing to the floor, followed by a running crotch attack on the ropes. Back in and Stacks takes him down before going after the arm, including a Fujiwara armbar.

Mensah slips out so Stacks grabs another armbar. That one is broken up as well and Mensah strikes away, setting up a springboard missile dropkick. D’Angelo offers a distraction though, including a crutch shot to the neck. A running knee to the back of the head (basically a Stomp with the knee) finishes Mensah at 5:40.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what happened to Mensah but he came in hot and then went pretty cold a few weeks later, to the point where he is stuck on this show instead of doing anything else. Stacks is a bigger deal than Mensah and should have won, but it’s still weird seeing Mensah fall pretty quickly. If nothing else, D’Angelo should be healthy soon and that should open up some more doors for both of them.

Overall Rating: D+. Well this was incredibly frustrating and that is because of one match. NXT has a history of doing things like this with people who look great, even if it is on a show that has no meaning whatsoever. Anyway, the show was the usual style, though I do like having some NXT midcarders show up as the main event. It gives the show a bigger feeling, though apparently not at that DANTE CHEN level. Annoying show, and all because of one not so bright decision.

Results
Thea Hail b. Dani Palmer – Neckbreaker into a faceplant
Dante Chen b. Oba Femi – Double chop
Stacks b. Oro Mensah – Running knee to the back of the head

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NXT LVL Up
Date: November 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Matt Camp

It’s a pay per view weekend and that means a grand total of very little on this show as Crown Jewel has no connection to NXT. LVL Up doesn’t have much to offer most weeks but maybe we can get in a nice match to take up some of the time. The show is usually at least decent so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Ivy Nile vs. Sol Ruca

The fans approve of Nile as she works on the wristlock to start. Ruca trips her down and Nile actually grins a bit, only to have it cut off by Ruca’s headlock takeover. Nile is back up with a sunset flip but a jumpless X Factor gives Ruca two. A rather muscular deadlift suplex gets two on Nile but she is back with an armbar in the corner. The arm is fine enough to hit a side slam and a flipping splash connects on Nile in the corner. Nile isn’t having that and suplexes her over, setting up the Diamond Chain Lock (dragon sleeper) for the tap at 4:55.

Rating: C. I still like Nile a god bit and it is nice to see her getting wins, but almost all of her recent LVL Up matches have felt the same. You would think she would be ready for some far better competition on the main NXT show but for some reason she is stuck down here. Ruca continues to be the same thing: very athletic with nothing that makes me care about her as a wrestler.

Myles Borne is ready for Hank Walker, who he seems to like.

Myles Borne vs. Hank Walker

Borne takes him down by the arm to start as we hear about these two knowing each other as teenagers. A Pounce (with a Monty Brown reference from commentary) sends Borne outside but he comes back in to forearm in the corner. The armbar has Walker down but he gets a boot up to stop a diving something designed to land on a raised boot. The comeback is on but Borne snaps off a northern lights suplex. Back up and Walker runs him over with a flying shoulder for the pin at 4:16.

Rating: C. Walker has grown on me a bit and he’s doing enough of a southern/country powerhouse deal to make it work. Borne has come a LONG way in a short time and is having better matches every time he’s out there. That’s what some ring time can do and while he isn’t a big deal yet, he is at least getting better.

Oro Mensah vs. Xyon Quinn

Quinn powers him up against the rope to start but gets armdragged into an armbar. That works so well that Mensah does it again but Quinn hits him in the back. Mensah is fine enough to send him outside for the slingshot dive but Quinn stays on the back with some rams into the apron. A backbreaker and knee to the back give Quinn two, followed by a swinging neckbreaker for the same. The bearhug stays on the back but Mensah breaks it up and hits a springboard moonsault press. Mensah’s running spinwheel kick in the corner finishes Quinn off at 6:07.

Rating: C+. That might be a little high but it’s cool to see a complete match like this one. They had a story, Quinn worked on the back to wear Mensah down, Mensah made a comeback, and the action was fine throughout. It’s one of the better things I’ve seen around here in a good while and after some of the weaker efforts, I’ll absolutely take that.

Overall Rating: C. That’s one of the better LVL Up’s I’ve seen in a bit with the main event being a very nice surprise. There is talent here, but it helps when they had some of the more developed LVL Up stars around here. Mensah has been on the regular NXT show since coming over and Nile has been ready for a serious NXT feud for a long time now. That made for a better show and I’ll always take that kind of change.

Results
Ivy Nile b. Sol Ruca – Diamond Chain Lock
Hank Walker b. Myles Borne – Flying shoulder
Oro Mensah b. Xyon Quinn – Running spinwheel kick in the corner

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Halloween Havoc 2022
Date: October 22, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

We’re back to the themed shows and this one has some potential, if nothing else for the set alone. How WWE waited twenty years to bring this back is beyond me, but we could be in for a very fun show this week. Or it’s going to be a big crossover between NXT and Chucky because he has to be around every year. Let’s get to it.

Chucky (oh here we go) welcomes us to the show and runs down the card.

Hosts Shotzi and Quincy Elliott welcome us to the show.

North American Title: Oro Mensah vs. Wes Lee vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Von Wagner

Ladder match for the vacant title. It’s the normal brawl to start with Frazer sending the villains outside for the big dive onto Wagner. The first ladder is brought in but Mensah and Frazer get together to take Hayes and Lee down. With that broken up, Lee gets the ladder and starts cleaning house, including driving it into Wagner’s ribs in the corner. Wagner cuts off a climb but Mensah is there to go up. Frazer takes the ladder down but Lee rides a ladder down onto Frazer for the big crash.

Back up and Hayes hits Melo Don’t Miss into the ropes on Lee but Frazer hits a springboard reverse Spanish Fly (that was cool) onto the ladder. Wagner is back up with a chokeslam but Lee kicks him to the floor. Trick Williams comes in to turn the ladder over on Mensah, who lands on the top and dives onto everyone else. Williams and Mr. Stone use the chance to go up, with Williams hitting him with a shoe.

That’s enough to knock Williams down but he shoves the ladder over and Stone crashes to the floor. Wagner is back in to throw a ladder at Frazer and Mensah but Frazer is back up to put Wagner on a ladder. That means a frog splash to drive Wagner through the ladder for the big crash at ringside. Lee takes Hayes down and grabs the big ladder but Wagner picks him up and LAUNCHES HIM over the top and onto (not through) the announcers’ table.

Wagner goes up but Frazer springboards in to cut him off. With Wagner sent over the barricade, he does the big horror movie rise but gets laddered down again. Frazer and Mensah go up the ladder and slug it out until Frazer comes crashing down. Hayes is back in to pull Mensah into another ladder but Lee takes him down. This time it’s Lee going up but Hayes cuts him off on a ladder bridged between the rope and the standing one. Lee drops Hayes and manages to get up top for the win and the title at 16:03.

Rating: B-. It was a good brawl, but as usual, they’re running out of things to do in a ladder match. It doesn’t help that this was just a collection of people thrown into the match rather than having any reason to be mad at each other. What matters here is having a bunch of people fly around and do their big spots to get the crowd going and that worked.

Last night, Alba Fyre challenged Mandy Rose to meet her in a graveyard, so Toxic Attraction jumps in the car and rides off.

We arrive at the graveyard, where Toxic Attraction is more than a little scared. They start walking around and head into a spooky old house and are all scared, with Jacy Jayne being left alone and finding what looks to be an old theater. Someone moves behind her and she screams.

We move over to Gigi Dolin, who winds up in the dining room where she finds….Chucky. Then someone in a mask with red hair jumps her and the fight is on, with Dolin using whatever she can to fight back. A door to the head rocks the woman, who is (shockingly) revealed as Alba Fyre. Dolin opens a refrigerator, finds someone inside, and is knocked inside by Alba. We cut to Mandy Rose, who kicks a monster low but gets jumped by Fyre as well. A baseball bat shot misses and Rose takes the bat away, only to get dropped again. Fyre says she isn’t like everyone else drives off. More on this later….I guess?

We recap Grayson Waller vs. Apollo Crews. Waller cheated to beat him but Crews used his psychic powers to see Waller getting hurt, which wound up happening. They have since Spun the Wheel, with the Deal being a casket match.

Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller

Casket match. Waller elbows him down to start but Crews does an Undertaker situp and stare. Crews takes it outside and moonsaults off the apron onto Waller, with the brawl heading up the ramp. A suplex drops Crews so hard that Booker says we’re watching “Nathan” Waller.

They fight over to the announcers’ table, where Waller gets in a shot with a pen to take over. They go to the top where Waller shoves him off and through the lid of the casket. Waller thinks he’s won….but then the lights go out. They come back up to reveal Crews coming down the aisle with the druids and another casket. Back in and Crews unloads on Waller, including a gutbuster to put him in the casket.

Waller fights out again and slams the casket lid on Crews’ head but they both wind up inside. They both fight out until Waller sends him back inside for the rolling Stunner. Waller does the Undertaker throat slit and tries a Tombstone, only to be reversed into a gutbuster. That’s not enough to put Waller in, so Crews slams him from the apron into the casket and wins at 12:35.

Rating: C. I looked at the clock about eight minutes into this and couldn’t believe they hadn’t been going fifteen already. This felt far longer than it should have because the casket deal was a weird stipulation to choose. Crews winning is more than a little weird, but you can imagine Waller has bigger things in store for him anyway.

We go to Chase U, where Andre Chase isn’t happy with his students’ lack of knowledge about Halloween Havoc 1995. They also have a new student in Duke Hudson, who shows up Bodie Hayward. Chase expects more from Bodie.

Alba Fyre is on her way back, with Mandy Rose in the backseat.

Pretty Deadly and Kayden Carter/Katana Chance are backstage and ready to retain their Tag Team Titles.

Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez

Weapons Wild, more or less meaning street fight. Perez busts out a skateboard, which is what started the whole thing. The fight is on with Jade being taken down and put on the skateboard for a trip to the floor. Jade is back with some kind of spray to the face and a swing into the barricade.

Back in and Cora blocks her from grabbing a chair and puts a trashcan over her head. They head back to the floor where Jade puts on a reverse chinlock. That’s let go but Jade misses a chain shot, allowing Perez to dive on her and hammer away. Pop Rox is blocked back inside and they brawl to the floor again. The fight heads through the crowd and up into the balcony, where a Russian legsweep takes them down and through a table below. Back in and Perez hits Pop Rox onto a pile of chairs for the pin at 12:23.

Rating: C+. The right person won so they definitely went in the right direction and the personal nature of the feud was well set up. It was good enough, though neither looked overly comfortable using the weapons. Perez feels like she could be the next big thing and Jade is a heck of a prospect in her own right so this was a pair of strong options, but Perez is ahead of her and might even be in line for a title shot. Nice stuff here, with the right person going over.

NXT Deadline is on December 10.

Here is Shotzi, in Beetlejuice gear, to talk about how great tonight has been. She brings out Quincy Elliott, as a banana, for some puns. Lash Legend interrupts and says she should be hosting before Elliott says she’s not fabulous enough to host. Shotzi lays her out with a DDT and spanks a dancing Elliott.

Schism talks about trying to welcome more people to the hold and ask the person in the red hoodie if he/she is ready to reveal themselves. We’ll do that Tuesday. Then they all put on yellow masks.

We recap Damon Kemp ripping apart the Diamond Mine and Julius Creed agreeing to fight Damon Kemp for Brutus Creed’s future. Therefore, it’s an ambulance match with Roderick Strong still in a wheelchair lurking around.

Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp

Ambulance match for Brutus Creed’s career. Creed chucks pumpkins at him to start and hits a dropkick at the bell. A German suplex makes Kemp drop his chair and they crash out to the floor. They’re already at the ambulance and Creed throws him in but Kemp uses a crutch to block the door. Some crutch shots put Creed down and a suplex on the floor makes it worse.

A steps shot rocks Creed again but he gets away from Kemp without much trouble. Kemp slams the ambulance door on him but Julius kicks it into his face. They head back inside where Kemp plants him on the steps, meaning it’s time to pose. The fight heads outside where Julius ties him into a wheelchair with a crutch and rolls him around as the fans want a pumpkin used.

Instead Kemp puts him in a rolling cart to head towards the ambulance. Creed is sent inside, has the door slammed on his hands, but fights out again. They head back to ringside (again) with Julius unloading on him with chair shots. A powerbomb onto a stretcher lets Julius take him to the ambulance for the win at 12:05.

Rating: C+. It was a good brawl and the pumpkins (which acted more like dodge balls) were a fun addition at first, but it begs one question: why did this need to be an ambulance match? You have two former college wrestling stars and your solution is to put them in the second “win by putting someone into something and closing it” match of the night? What they did was good and Creed looked dominant in his win, but I could have gone for something a bit more suited to their skills.

The ambulance leaves and we see Alba Fyre, with Mandy Rose, arriving. Here we go.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre

Fyre is challenging and starts fast but gets shoved off the top to the floor. Back in and Rose slams her down for two before forearming away. With that broken up Fyre kicks her in the chest to take over. A spinebuster out of the corner gives Rose two but Fyre plants her down hard again.

Back up and a swanton plants Mandy but here is Toxic Attraction to pull the referee. Fyre kicks Jacy Jayne into the referee, meaning no one is there to count after Fyre hits the Gory Bomb. Toxic Attraction goes high/low on Fyre and the running knee is enough to retain the title at 7:05.

Rating: C. And yes, Rose wins again. I like her a good bit and she has come MILES over this run, but it’s time to wrap it up. You can only have Toxic Attraction save you so many times to set up the running knee and we are long past the point of it being a fresh ending. Rose has mowed down so many people already and it is getting old fast. I don’t know if Toxic Attraction is going to the main roster, but Rose can stand to lose the title by now.

Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark and Edris Enofe/Malik Blade are ready to win the Tag Team Titles.

We recap the NXT Title match. Bron Breakker is champion, JD McDonagh (who Breakker has already beaten) won a #1 contenders match and Ilja Dragunov is here because he never lost the NXT UK Title. Now it’s a three way for the title, with Austin Theory teasing a Money in the Bank cash-in.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov

Breakker is defending and goes after McDonagh to start. Dragunov wants to beat on McDonagh as well but the delay lets McDonagh fight back up. With Dragunov on the floor, McDonagh slugs away on Breakker in the corner before Dragunov takes Breakker’s face. The slugout is on with McDonagh getting frustrated and whipping him into the corner. Breakker is back in with the belly to belly and sends McDonagh outside but charges into Dragunov’s boot to the face.

Everyone gets back inside and Dragunov knocks the other two into the corner, setting up a big Coast to Coast. Breakker is back up to slug it out with Dragunov and McDonagh applauds as they both go down. That’s too far for the other two as they knock McDonagh back and forth before tossing him outside. Breakker and Dragunov clothesline each other and McDonagh is back in to slowly go up top.

The delay is enough for Breakker to Frankensteiner him into a powerbomb from Dragunov and they’re all down again. It’s McDonagh up first to send them outside for the big moonsault to the floor. Back in and Dragunov powerbombs Breakker for two but McDonagh is in with a 450 for two on Dragunov. Breakker manages to German suplex both of them at the same time and then hits the gorilla press powerslam on Dragunov.

McDonagh steals the cover and gets two but Breakker isn’t happy with the thievery. With McDonagh on the floor, Breakker’s spear is cut off with Dragunov’s jumping knee. A top rope backsplash sets up the Torpedo but McDonagh grabs the referee at two. Dragunov chases McDonagh to the floor and walks into a Spanish Fly. McDonagh tries to crush Dragunov’s ankle on the steps but misses, allowing Dragunov to hit a Torpedo off the steps. Back in and Breakker spears Dragunov to retain at 23:50.

Rating: B+. This had everything you could want in this sort of triple threat, save for maybe an interesting champion. Breakker has the tools, but other than being strong, athletic and a Steiner, what is there to know about him? I get why he is in a prominent spot, but it would be nice to develop the other side of him a bit more. McDonagh was there for some aerial stuff and Dragunov took the pin for reasons I don’t quite get, but Breakker needs someone else to come after him and I’m not sure who that is. Carmelo Hayes maybe?

Overall Rating: B. The show was mostly good, but aside from maybe the main event, there is nothing worth going out of your way to see. That describes NXT in a nutshell for the last several months: good, but don’t expect anything that is going to feel must see. NXT needs some kind of hot story or angle to spice things up a bit, because the show is only going to be so good with what they’re doing at the moment.

This show was a good example, as they more or less turned Halloween Havoc into something closer to Extreme Rules. It has good enough work and results, but nothing that blew me away. Fix that and NXT is that much better. If nothing else, stop overthinking these things and let the wrestlers showcase themselves instead of playing to some stipulation. For a special it was good, but it didn’t give me much to get behind with NXT going forward.

Results
Wes Lee b. Oro Mensah, Carmelo Hayes, Nathan Frazer and Von Wagner – Lee pulled down the title
Apollo Crews b. Grayson Waller – Crews shut Waller in the casket
Roxanne Perez b. Cora Jade – Pop Rox onto a pile of chairs
Julius Creed b. Damon Kemp – Creed shut Kemp in the ambulance
Mandy Rose b. Alba Fyre – Kiss From A Rose
Bron Breakker b. Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh – Spear to Dragunov

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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It’s that time again as we get another WCW event being used better by NXT than by WWE. Halloween Havoc is a simple concept that can be done rather well with a cool set and some rather gimmicky matches. As luck would have it, the second one of those is already guaranteed and the first is all but guaranteed so we should be in for a pretty fun, and maybe even eventful, night. Let’s get to it.

Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller

We’ll start with a match that we don’t know yet, as this is going to be Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal. Crews has suddenly developed the power of foresight and keeps seeing Waller in varying states of pain so now they’re having a match as a result. Waller is one of the hotter prospects in NXT and Crews is able to work well with just about anyone so, gimmick depending, this should be good.

I’ll take Waller to win here, as there isn’t much of a need for him to lose. Crews is someone whose legacy is already established and he can take a loss here and there without having many consequences. On the other hand you have Waller, who seems like he could be ready to break through to the next level, if not the main roster. Waller goes over here, probably with a goofy enough stipulation.

Julius Creed vs. Damon Kemp

This is an ambulance match and somewhere along the line, NXT managed to turn this into a decent feud. The Diamond Mine is all but split and now we get to see what happens when Julius gets a big singles match, which happens to be for his brother Brutus’ career. At the same time, Roderick Strong is in a wheelchair and seems to have had a change of heart, which sounds like a red flag if I’ve ever seen one.

While Julius winning would be the logical way to go, this seems too primed for a surprise swerve from Strong, who will likely wipe out Brutus’ career by helping Kemp. Julius seems more ready to be the breakout singles star from the team, though it might be a bit early to pull that trigger. I’ll still go with Kemp winning via Strong shenanigans, as it seems like a prime way to end an ambulance match.

Cora Jade vs. Roxanne Perez

Here we have a Weapons Wild match, which is the 38^th different way to say “street fight”. These two have turned what was little more than another tag team split into a decently heated rivalry, with Jade doing better than I would have expected. That being said, Perez seems like she has star written all over her and could quickly become the next next big thing in NXT.

I’ll go with Perez here, as she has lost a few matches to bigger names and could use the win in the match that matters the most for her. It is clear that WWE sees something in her and it would be ridiculous to have her lose again. I know Jade is on her way up as well, but there is something in Perez that you do not see very often and she needs the win here more than Jade right now.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Oro Mensah vs. Carmelo Hayes vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Von Wagner

For the vacant title and oh goody it’s a ladder match. At least there are only five people involved this time so things might be a little less insane than usual. There is no way to guess what is coming in a match like this as the whole thing is designed to be little more than chaos with one person doing a dive and then another doing a bigger one. That doesn’t give me much to work with, but it could still be fun.

Since putting the title back on Hayes would be a waste of time and I can’t imagine Wagner or Mensah getting it, I’ll take Lee to win here in a bit of a surprise. Frazer would make more sense, but ladder matches can be a way for title wins that don’t make a lot of sense otherwise. It’s certainly not my favorite kind of match but at least the dives should be good and Hayes is always worth a look.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose(c) vs. Alba Fyre

I know I’ve been saying Rose has to lose the title at some point….but Rose has to lose the title at some point right? She has been champion for about a year now and is rapidly approaching Shayna Baszler for second all time. I’ve liked a lot of what Rose has done as champion and she is better than she is often given credit for, but dang she has held that thing for a long time.

In a pick I expect to be wrong, I’ll take Fyre to win the title here, on the grounds of “well, someone has to beat her”. I can’t imagine waiting around for Nikkita Lyons to be ready for the belt and Rose is running out of steam as champion. She has improved by leaps and bounds, but after so long with the title, losing isn’t going to hut her. Fyre wins here and takes the title in a different direction, even if I’m almost sure I’m wrong.

NXT Title: Bron Breakker(c) vs. JD McDonagh vs. Ilja Dragunov

Is it just me or is this kind of a flat title match? While it has picked up some in the last week or two, with the big segment this week being an upgrade, the tease of a Money in the Bank cash-in doesn’t exactly instill me with confidence. It will be nice to have Dragunov around, but Breakker has already beaten McDonagh so there is only so much interest in him in the first place.

This really could go any way but it seems that they are teasing a McDonagh win enough that I’ll say he wins through some kind of shenanigans. Breakker really doesn’t need to be champion at the moment as he has held the thing for about six and a half months. Dragunov already had his title reign (which granted he never got to finish) and that leaves McDonagh with nothing major on his resume. I’ll take McDonagh, even if that leaves us with NXT Champion JD McDonagh and….egads. And no, no cash-in.

Overall Thoughts

This show isn’t exactly inspiring but there is enough good on there to make it work. One of the problems right now is that there isn’t a big story that makes NXT feel must see. There is interesting material, but nothing on there is something I’m overly interested in watching. That needs to change soon too, as the interest really needs to go up. We should be in for a hard worked show though and that is usually enough to carry NXT as far as it needs to go.

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: October 18, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T, Vic Joseph

It’s the go home show for Halloween Havoc and that means it is time for the final push towards the show. In this case that means we have some main roster stars in some Pick Your Poison matches for Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez. Other than that, we need one more night to set up the triple threat NXT Title match, which certainly needs the help. Let’s get to it.

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

Rhea Ripley vs. Roxanne Perez

The rest of Judgment Day is here with Ripley, who is Cora Jade’s pick to face Perez. The fans are glad to see Rhea and think she is going to kill Perez, rather enthusiastically really. Perez goes for the wristlock to little avail and the spinning headscissors doesn’t work. A chop just makes Ripley mad so she headbutts Perez in the ribs. Ripley forearms her into the back and is starting to look rather comfortable.

A quick hurricanrana sends Ripley outside but she moves before Perez can dive. Instead Perez tries another hurricanrana off the apron, earning herself a HARD face first drop onto the apron as we take a break. Back with Ripley holding her in a waistlock and driving in forearms to the back of Perez’s head. Perez fights up and fires off some kicks to the leg but an armdrag is blocked.

One heck of a missed charge sends Ripley shoulder first into the post, setting up Perez’s suicide dive. Perez slips out of a superplex attempt back inside and grabs a super hurricanrana for two. Another charge is countered into a faceplant for two and Ripley is stunned off the kickout. Riptide and Pop Rox are both broken up so Dominik Mysterio distracts Perez, allowing Riptide to give Ripley the pin at 12:47.

Rating: B-. Perez is looking more and more like a star every day as she is hanging in there with big names, from Bayley on Smackdown last week and Ripley here. Ripley winning, especially via cheating, is a fine way to go and she got to look dominant again in doing so. What mattered here was making Perez look good and they pulled that off rather well.

The OC aren’t sure about teaming with Cameron Grimes. Then Grimes pulls out a bunch of money and now they’re ready to go to the moon.

Here are Tony D’Angelo and Stacks, with the former having a mystery opponent. We’ll see who that is….after a break.

Grayson Waller is ready to get rid of Apollo Crews. Then Chucky from Child’s Play pops up on screen to taunt him about Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal. Waller is freaked out.

Stacks vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Now there’s a surprise and the fans are rather glad to see him. Stacks grabs a headlock to start and hammers away to little effect. Nakamura remembers that he’s fighting Stacks and kicks away without much trouble. Some right hands actually put Nakamura down though and the chinlock goes on. That’s broken up and Nakamura wins the strike off without much effort. The sliding German suplex gives Nakamura two but he can’t keep a cross armbreaker. Stacks is back up with another shot but Nakamura kicks him in the head. Kinshasa sends Stacks outside, followed by another to finish him off at 5:22.

Rating: C. Nakamura being back is a nice surprise, but it’s more than a little weird to see Stacks getting in that much offense on him. This actually wasn’t a squash, but rather Stacks being overwhelmed by someone on a much higher level. I’m not sure I get the story here, though hopefully it doesn’t involve Stacks being split off on his own.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom reminisce on their best of three series when Von Wagner, with Mr. Stone, comes in. Wagner mocks them and gets a match with Frazer as a result.

Sonya Deville vs. Alba Fyre

Deville has Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin with her. Neither can hit a kick to start so Fyre headbutts her into the corner. Deville pulls Fyre off the middle rope though and the crash is good for two. A faceplant drops Deville though and Fyre goes up top. That doesn’t work as she has to beat up Toxic Attraction, with Deville accidentally helping by kicking Dolin in the face. A rollup gives Fyre the pin at 2:09.

Post match Toxic Attraction gets back in to go after Fyre, with Mandy Rose making her return to say she she’s ready for Fyre. That’s enough for Fyre to come back with the bat on the other two, before shoving an invading Rose out to the floor.

Oro Mensah and Wes Lee are in the back when Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams come in to start a brawl. They fight into the arena and you know what that means.

Oro Mensah/Wes Lee vs. Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams

We’re joined in progress with Lee headlocking Williams, who fights up with some forearms. Hayes comes in and gets missile dropkicked down by Mensah. Williams trips Mensah down though and Williams gets to stomp away. That doesn’t last long and it’s Lee coming back in to strike away on Hayes. Everything breaks down and Hayes hits a top rope ax kick to finish Lee at 2:52. Short and to the point here, which was “these people are in a ladder match on Saturday so here they are”.

Post match the brawl stays on, with Nathan Frazer running in. Some dives leave everyone laying.

Schism doesn’t like Cameron Grimes running from them over to the OC. No one is stopping them of course.

Bron Breakker is ready to go through JD McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov. As for tonight, he is looking forward to being on the KO Show, because he knows something is going to happen.

Schism vs. OC/Cameron Grimes

Grimes throws Reid around to start and kicks him in the face so it’s off to Fowler, who has about the same luck. Fowler gets taken into the corner and Anderson comes in to work on the arm. Some elbows from Gallows make it worse but a blind tag brings in Reid, who knees Anderson from the apron. Anderson gets beaten down on the floor, meaning it’s time for some Schism hugs. Back in and Anderson wins a slugout with Reid, which is enough for the hot tag to Grimes. Everything breaks down and Schism is knocked outside and we take a break.

We come back with Grimes crossbodying Gacy for two but getting elbowed back down. Grimes can’t quite suplex his way to freedom but he can crawl through Fowler’s legs and bring Gallows in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Reid has to save Fowler from the Magic Killer. Gacy hits Grimes with a backbreaker but Anderson drops him with a neckbreaker. Grimes hits a Cage In and the Magic Killer finishes Reid at 11:56.

Rating: C+. Now LET IT BE OVER. There is no reason for Grimes to be dragged down any more than he already has been by this stupid feud and it needs to end. Gacy is fine enough as a midcard heel but Grimes is someone who could be a big deal in more than one place. That isn’t going to happen with Schism so move on already.

Veer Mahaan isn’t going to say what he said to Sanga last week. Sanga comes in and is ready to talk.

Video on Katana Chance/Kayden Carter vs. Zoey Stark/Nikkita Lyons.

We get the contract signing for the Women’s Tag Team Title match, with Lyons and Stark signing while saying they’re ready to take the titles. Carter and Chance sign as well, saying they’re a real team.

We get a split screen interview between Julius Creed and Damon Kemp, with Julius being ready to fight for his brother’s career. He isn’t intimidated by Kemp and is ready to take him out in an ambulance for what he did to Diamond Mine. Kemp says Creed may be great, but he’s also jealous. That has Julius chuckling, because Kemp isn’t willing to put in the work to be great. Kemp says this is about violence and not skill, but Julius promises to put Kemp in an ambulance on Saturday before storming off.

Shotzi is back to host Halloween Havoc again this year. The fans are rather glad to see her again and she is ready to be all weird and evil. She needs a co-host though so here is Xyon Quinn to say it should be him. Quincy Elliott is here to say the same, so let’s just have a match for the gig.

Quincy Elliott vs. Xyon Quinn

Joined in progress with Quinn hitting a clothesline as Shotzi sits in on commentary. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Elliott is back up with a running elbow. Quinn tries a Samoan drop but Elliott falls on him. Elliott’s splash misses though and Quinn tries for a chair, only to have Hank Walker cut him off. Back in and Elliott hits a splash, setting up a Banzai drop for the pin at 2:53.

Thea Hail is upset over her loss to Kiana James and freaks out in need of a rematch. Andre Chase says they’ll talk about it later and goes over the history of Halloween Havoc, with moments like Hulk Hogan beating Ric Flair, Goldberg vs. Diamond Dallas Page, Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero and Mandy Rose winning the NXT Women’s Title. Their homework is to watch Halloween Havoc, but Chucky pops up on screen to threaten them via swearing, because that is a teachable moment. Hail: “What the F***???” Chase and Bodie Hayward are stunned. As usual, funny stuff.

Pretty Deadly sign their contract for the Tag Team Title match next week. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade aren’t so sure that Pretty Deadly is leaving with the titles.

Cora Jade vs. Raquel Rodriguez

This is the other Pick Your Poison match. Rodriguez backs her into the corner to start so Jade chills on the top. Jade gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle and the chops against the announcers’ table make it worse. Back in and Jade manages to get in a few shots before grabbing the baseball bat. Rodriguez takes it away so Jade slaps her in the face. That’s enough for a bat shot to Jade and the DQ at 2:43.

Post match Roxanne Perez comes in and beats Jade up to send her running. Rodriguez puts Perez on her shoulder to celebrate.

Halloween Havoc rundown.

Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs are hosting a party in the back to watch the KO Show and put down some bets on what various people are going to say about Saturday. Sol Ruca walks by on her hands and it’s time to drink. This was a weird collection of cameos.

It’s time for the KO Show for the big finale. Without any introductions, here are Bron Breakker, JD McDonagh and Ilja Dragunov for a chat. Owens talks about how Shawn Michaels wanted him here, oddly enough to keep the peace. McDonagh is asked why he stirs the pot so much but McDonagh says Breakker and Dragunov are the ones who attacked each other last week. Dragunov doesn’t think much of Breakker and promises to take the title from him on Saturday. Breakker: “Over my dead body.”

Owens tries to calm things down, but he doesn’t want McDonagh as the NXT Champion. Owens: “I talked to his mom earlier and SHE doesn’t want him to be NXT Champion!” Dragunov says McDonagh can be great but NEVER a champion. Breakker wants Dragunov in the same category, but Dragunov brings up Breakker actually losing his title.

The challenge is on for right now so Owens takes his leave. Dragunov clears house….and Austin Theory comes out, points at the title, and holds up the briefcase to end the show. Now there’s a twist, and it might be a good thing for Theory. Better this than losing over and over on Raw/Smackdown and eventually becoming a lame champion who is seen as a failure when he doesn’t get over with the title. Good segment overall, as this match needs all the help it can get.

Overall Rating: C+. They were flying through this show and the guest stars didn’t exactly do much, which made the show a bit strange. I get that they were trying to hype up Halloween Havoc and fight back against AEW at the same time, but maybe advertise these names a bit better? The other thing here was that they were moving from one match to another as fast as they could here and little had a chance to set in. I’m not overly excited about Halloween Havoc, but the last segment did make me more interested in the main event. Pretty good show, but I’m not sure how much impact it had.

Results
Rhea Ripley b. Roxanne Perez – Riptide
Shinsuke Nakamura b. Stacks – Kinshasa
Alba Fyre b. Sonya Deville – Rollup
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams b. Wes Lee/Oro Mensah – Top rope ax kick to Lee
OC/Cameron Grimes b. Schism – Magic Killer to Reid
Quincy Elliott b. Xyon Quinn – Banzai drop
Cora Jade b. Raquel Rodriguez via DQ when Rodriguez hit her with a baseball bat

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NXT
Date: October 4, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Sudu Shah, Wade Barrett, Byron Saxton

We’re coming up on Halloween Havoc near the end of the month and the card seems to be set. They still have a few things that need to be done to get ready for the show though and we will probably get some more of that build this week. We also have some guest stars coming in this week from Smackdown so things should be feeling bigger. Let’s get to it.

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

Here is Pretty Deadly, dressed as very stereotypical British men (complete with red robes and powdered wigs), for a state of the Commonwealth address. They talk about how back in the day, some pilgrims came from the United Kingdom (Prince: “Hello.”) and now as a result, they are here. All of the other teams have been training in the Performance Center to be as good as they are, including the Boring Brothers and Cheap Denim. Therefore, they should be the Tag Team Champions for all time!

Cue the Brawling Brutes, who are tired of how Pretty Deadly have been complaining everywhere. Pretty Deadly claims they were hacked (By Kevin Nash! Kevin Patrick! Kevin Owens!) but get cleared out anyway. As usual, Pretty Deadly is one of the funnier things in NXT, as long as you don’t take them seriously in the slightest.

Earlier today, Alba Fyre attacked Toxic Attraction so the six woman tag is off for tonight, with Fyre and Mandy Rose taken out.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Oro Mensah

Trick Williams is here with Hayes. Mensah snaps off a suplex to start and they head outside. Hayes gets in a cheap shot to take over and chops Mensah down back inside. Back up and Mensah kicks away, including a shot to the head to knock Hayes away. A missed charge slows Mensah down though and the top rope ax kick finishes for Hayes at 5:30.

Rating: C. Hayes is a bigger deal than Mensah, but you would think that they might not want to have Mensah lose in one of his first matches as part of NXT. Granted Mensah has almost no chance of winning in the ladder match so it isn’t going to lead anywhere, but this was a bit of an odd way to go. I can always appreciate more from Hayes, though Mensah not losing would have made sense too.

Brutus Creed isn’t cleared to compete because of his shoulder. Duke Hudson comes in to laugh at him and gets a match with Julius Creed as a result.

North American Title Match Qualifying Match: Von Wagner vs. Andre Chase

Carmelo Hayes is on commentary. Wagner throws him around with the straight power to start but Chase is back with some right hands. Mr. Stone offers a distraction but gets taken down by Thea Hail. Chase grabs a rollup for two but gets caught with a Death Valley Bomb for the pin at 3:31.

Rating: C-. While I can see the point in having Hayes win the opener, this one feels a lot more questionable. Chase has been on a roll as of late while Wagner seems to have long since stopped being anything around here. I guess they need a power guy in the ladder match, but they had no one else other than Chase to get him in there?

Post match Wes Lee jumps Carmelo Hayes.

Sanga wishes Nathan Frazer luck in his qualifying match. With Frazer gone, Veer Mahaan comes in to stare at Sanga.

Lash Legend is ready for Wendy Choo.

Grayson Waller has his security ready to deal with Apollo Crews’ visions.

Wendy Choo vs. Lash Legend

Choo goes after her to start and they head outside, where Legend spins her into a backbreaker. Back in and a side slam gives Legend two but she misses an elbow, allowing Choo to strike away. Some more kicks put Legend down and Choo’s top rope Vader Bomb is good for the pin at 3:46.

Rating: D+. Given that it was a Lash Legend match, this could have been a heck of a lot worse. I’m not a big fan of Choo, but she is miles ahead of anything Legend can do right now. Hopefully this wraps it up for both of them though, because there is no reason to have it keep going. WWE keeps trying with Legend and it keeps not working, so at least they’re consistent.

Wes Lee is ready for Halloween Havoc but wants Grayson Waller first. He’ll have to settle for a match with an invading Stacks.

Gallus promises to be back and they’re coming for Bron Breakker.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance know they are different but they work great together.

Toxic Attraction vs. Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark

For a future Women’s Tag Team Title shot. Lyons powers Dolin into the corner to start so it’s off to Stark vs. Jayne. Stark knocks her outside without much trouble so Dolin comes back in, earning a springboard spinning crossbody. Toxic Attraction is sent outside for a breather and we take a break.

Back with Lyons in trouble but she kicks her way to freedom. The hot tag brings in Stark to go after Dolin. A superkick into a German suplex gets two on Dolin as everything breaks down. Jayne gets to clean house for a change but she walks into the flipping knee from Stark. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 10:23.

Rating: C. I like Toxic Attraction, but the title picture needs some fresh blood. WWE sees something in Lyons and Stark as a team so this isn’t the biggest surprise. I don’t know if they win the titles, but at least a fresh team is being added to the mix. Lyons feels like she is going to be a major priority for the women’s division at some point, but for now she will have to settle for going after these titles.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to get some more gold because he fought so hard to become champion and then never lost it. He’s ready for JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker if that is what it takes to get back where he wants to be. Dragunov continues to feel like a star.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect with Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez. They talk about how they want to fight each other, with Perez saying they wanted to come into WWE together and be what the Four Horsewomen were to them. Jade accuses her of showing her true colors but Waller interrupts to reveal that in two weeks, they are going to get to pick your poison, meaning select each others’ opponents. Oh and their Halloween Havoc match is going to be Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal.

Waller even goes up to the stage to spin the wheel, comes up on Weapons Wild (sounds street fightish). The women fight in the ring so Waller comes back, only to be pulled underneath by Apollo Crews. Waller comes out and yes his eyes are red like in Crews’ vision last week. This is the right role for Waller, as he is rather good at being the annoying pest who never shuts up.

The Schism yells at an unseen member of the team in a red hoodie. The person failed at their mission and need to be better.

Julius Creed vs. Duke Hudson

Creed knocks him down, grabs a suplex and hits the basement clothesline for the pin at 48 seconds.

Post match Brutus Creed comes out and beats on Hudson as well. Damon Kemp pops up on the platform to say it’s going to be different at Halloween Havoc. Kemp makes it simple: if Julius can beat him at Halloween Havoc, Brutus can get another match, with Brutus saying he just needs five minutes. Kemp says Brutus’ career is on the line at Halloween Havoc, which Brutus accepts on Julius’ behalf. Julius makes it even bigger by saying it’s an ambulance match. Kemp is in.

JD McDonagh is ready for Ilja Dragunov and Bron Breakker at Halloween Havoc.

Hank Walker’s security buddies fire him up. Quincy Elliott comes in to do the same and dancing ensues.

Axiom is ready to win his trilogy with Nathan Frazer.

Xyon Quinn vs. Hank Walker

Walker armdrags him down a few times but Quinn is back with some shots to the face. We hit the quickly broken chinlock so Walker can hit the Thesz press. Some right hands have Quinn in more trouble but that’s broken up. Quinn’s running fist finishes Walker at 2:10.

Post match the beating is on until Quincy Elliott, makes the save. And adds a spank to Walker.

Cameron Grimes comes up tot he red hoodied Schism person with a warning about Joe Gacy. Cue Schism to beat Grimes down and to praise the hoodied one for doing well. The person in the hoodie is officially on the team. No identity given.

Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs and Malik Blade/Edris Enofe give the Brawling Brutes a pep talk but get in their own argument. The Brutes say either team can get a shot after they win the titles, but get serious.

Bron Breakker is ready for Halloween Havoc but Javier Bernal comes up to suggest it’s a bad idea. Oh and that Breakker isn’t very good. A match is set for next week.

Tag Team Titles: Brawling Brutes vs. Pretty Deadly

The Brutes are challenging. Wilson hammers on Holland to start but can’t get him up for a suplex. A dropkick/butterfly suplex combination drops Wilson so Butch can come in to bend the fingers. Prince comes in and gets dropped with a clothesline, leaving Wilson to get caught with some Sheamus style forearms to the chest.

We take a break with the champs in trouble and come back with Butch fighting out of a chinlock but getting driven into the corner. Butch slips away again and makes the tag to Holland for the house cleaning. A powerbomb out of the corner gets two on Wilson and it’s back to Butch, who misses a running knee in the corner. Prince tosses Wilson at Butch for a Codebreaker (cool) with Holland having to make the save.

Everything breaks down again and Holland sends Prince outside, leaving Butch to try a cross armbreaker on Wilson. Prince makes the save by stacking Wilson up for two but Butch is back with the Bitter End. Prince puts a foot on the rope so Holland sends him outside. The kick to the head into the Northern Grit connects but here is Imperium for the distraction. Prince uses said distraction to send Butch into the apron and Spilled Milk retain the titles at 12:25.

Rating: C+. They had some good drama in the end but this was less of a match and more waiting for Imperium to show up and cost the Brutes the titles. That’s a fine way to go with Extreme Rules coming up in less than a week so they did the right thing all around. Pretty Deadly might not be good, but they are just right for what they are and that’s enough.

The brawl continues on the floor and goes to the back to….not end the show as Edris Enofe/Malik Blade and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen come out to stare at the champs to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show didn’t have the best wrestling, but it did a nice job of getting things ready for Halloween Havoc. That’s what matters a lot more at the moment and NXT did a nice job of building the show up. Now I want to see it more than I did before and the next few weeks should be entertaining as well. Efficient show this week, even if it might not have been their best.

Results
Carmelo Hayes b. Oro Mensah – Top rope ax kick
Von Wagner b. Andre Chase – Death Valley Bomb
Wendy Choo b. Lash Legend – Top rope Vader Bomb
Nikkita Lyons/Zoey Stark b. Toxic Attraction – Splits splash to Jayne
Julius Creed b. Duke Hudson – Sliding lariat
Xyon Quinn b. Hank Walker – Running punch
Pretty Deadly b. Brawling Brutes – Spilled Milk to Holland

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: September 27, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Things got shaken up in a big way last week as Ilja Dragunov debuted to add quite the wild card. JD McDonagh is the new #1 contender to Bron Breakker’s NXT Title but Dragunov is going to be put into a top spot rather quickly. This should be interesting on top of everything else around here so let’s get to it.

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

Here is Ilja Dragunov to get things going. He has beaten a monster to win gold before and now he is ready to do it again. This time it isn’t Gunther though, but rather Bron Breakker. Cue JD McDonagh to call Dragunov a sneaky, dirty little rat and to say that he hopes Dragunov’s ankle is healed.

McDonagh offers to end Dragunov’s career but here is Breakker to interrupt. Breakker says the title isn’t going anywhere but McDonagh has an idea: Dragunov vs. Breakker with McDonagh being there for to face the winner. That doesn’t work for Breakker, who says if his math is correct, McDonagh has a 33 1/3 chance of winning (BIG pop for that). Breakker will see them at Halloween Havoc.

Gallus and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen are in a fight in the back.

Mandy Rose hopes Alba Fyre is watching.

The Schism is ready to hurt Cameron Grimes.

Fallon Henley vs. Mandy Rose

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Rose knocks her into the corner to start and grabs an abdominal stretch before grabbing an abdominal stretch. Henley hiptosses her way out of it and hits a swinging faceplant for two. Back up and Rose shoves her off, setting up the running knee for the pin at 5:35. Barrett: “Rose keeps knocking them out with those American thighs.”

Rating: C-. This was kind of a dry one as Rose spent a good chunk of time on the abdominal stretch. Henley is still one of the most energetic and charismatic women on the roster but she isn’t in the title hunt and shouldn’t have been any kind of a threat to Rose. There are bigger challengers for Rose out there and this was a way to keep her looking strong before she gets to them.

Post match Rose says this is Alba Fyre’s last warning. Fyre pops up on screen to say she’s more of a visual person, and then lights the words AND NEW on fire. Good thing she had that ready.

Apollo Crews has a vision of Grayson Waller with terrified eyes.

Ilja Dragunov runs into Xyon Quinn, who says Dragunov has a lot of hype. Quinn wants a chance to run with the ball but Dragunov doesn’t think he’s that bright. A match seems likely for later tonight.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Wes Lee vs. Tony D’Angelo

Stacks is here with D’Angelo. Feeling out process to start with D’Angelo getting the better of things. Lee knocks him to the floor though, where Stacks says give him some time to cut off Lee’s dive. That earns Stacks a dive instead so he gets inside, where the referee ejects him as we take a break. Back with D’Angelo grinding away on a chinlock but Lee fights up and sends him into the corner…..and D’Angelo is hurt. The referee calls the match at 8:42 with Lee winning via stoppage.

Rating: C. That’s never something you want to see and hopefully D’Angelo is back to full health very soon. The match leading up to the injury wasn’t all that great and the result means very little, as I can’t imagine either of these two being a major threat to winning the title. Kind of a run of the mill match here until the ending took everything they had away.

It isn’t clear what happened to D’Angelo but commentary thinks it is a knee injury.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams don’t care about Wes Lee but here is Oro Mensah to interrupt. Hayes thinks they can do good things for Mensah but at Halloween Havoc, it is every man for themselves. Works for Mensah.

Sol Ruca is still coming.

And now, a day in the life of Pretty Deadly. They wake up at 10am and have breakfast in bed, then choose their wardrobe at 11am. Then at 2pm it’s time to spend an hour working on their hair. After some tea, they go to the gym (wearing their titles of course) where they keep working out. Then they sleep next to each other. For you old OVW fans, I had no idea that the Heartbreakers were still a thing.

Amari Miller vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is a rather athletic surfer. Miller takes her down by the arm to start but Ruca is back up with a headscissors. A sunset flip gives Ruca one and a dropkick gets two as the fans aren’t exactly thrilled here. Miller takes her back down and grabs a cross arm choke but Ruca is back up. A knockdown out of the corner sets up a flipping legdrop to the back to give Ruca the pin at 3:44.

Rating: C-. Ruca is a very athletic woman and has a good look. That is the extent of what could be said about her based on this and that isn’t enough to get much from yet. So far, the only thing I know about Ruca is she surfs and is athletic. One of those things makes her stand out and she is going to need something else to make me interested in her.

Gallus and Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen are still fighting.

Cameron Grimes vs. Joe Gacy

The Dyad is here with Gacy. Grimes kicks away at the ribs to start so Gacy heads outside, where he rams Grimes into the apron. That’s enough for Grimes, who fights up and hits a flip dive to take the Dyad down. Back in and Gacy grabs a swinging Rock Bottom for two on Grimes but he slips out of a second one. The superkick drops Gacy but the Dyad offers another distraction. That’s enough for Gacy to hit the handspring lariat for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. Nothing to see here, other than Gacy getting another win because of course he does. For the life of me I do not get what WWE sees in him but we are going to be seeing him for a long time to come. I would hope that this doesn’t lead to Grimes joining the team, but maybe he can find a friend to help deal with the numbers game.

Grayson Waller is frustrated with Apollo Crews, including what was wrong with his eyes in that vision. So Crews’ visions are now able to be seen by everyone? Doesn’t that mean it isn’t his vision? Anyway, Waller is going to have extra security for his talk show next week because that isn’t going to happen.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Kayden Carter

Zoey Stark and Katana Chance are here too. Feeling out process to start with Carter taking her down and shaking a bit. Back up and Lyons knocks her into the corner, setting up the running headscissors out of the corner. Something like a Michinoku Driver gives Lyons two but Carter knocks her down. The running kick to the face in the ropes gets two on Lyons but she is right back with a spinning kick to the head. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 4:14.

Rating: C. Lyons and Stark are likely to get the next Women’s Tag Team Title shot and that means one of them needs to pin one of the champs on the way there. It would not surprise me to see Lyons move up to a much higher level on her own one day, but the Tag Team Titles makes enough sense. Keeping Lyons matches short is a good idea as she gets to be flashy and get out, which works well for her.

We look back at Chase U beating Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams last week.

This week at a pep rally, Chase told his students that he has a North American Title qualifying match next week against Von Wagner. He’s ready to move on to win the title and opens the floor for questions. Someone named Dave (ahuh) asks why we should believe that Chase can beat Wagner. Chase: “YOU THINK THAT’S A FIVE STAR QUESTION???” Chase promises to win. So there is WWE’s take on the AEW media scrums.

Nathan Frazer talks about being tied up with Axiom and compares it to his soccer career.

Xyon Quinn vs. Ilja Dragunov

They fight over a headlock to start with Dragunov getting the better of things with a headlock takeover. The abdominal stretch goes on but Quinn slips out and sends him into the corner for a running shot to the face. There’s a backbreaker to Dragunov and a splash gets two. Dragunov hits a jumping enziguri and muscles him over with a suplex, setting up a hard right hand on the mat. The Torpedo Undisclosed Location finishes Quinn at 4:54.

Rating: C+. What matters here is getting Dragunov in the ring and giving him a win to establish him. The fans knew who he was but he needed to beat someone to get his feet wet around here. Dragunov is such a ball of energy in the ring and he’ll get over through pure energy, while Quinn….dang he seemed like a solid prospect and then just fell apart.

Wendy Choo doesn’t like Lash Legend’s voice and won’t apologize for standing up for herself. Legend doesn’t like her either so next week they’ll try to shut each other up.

Brutus Creed vs. Damon Kemp

Brutus starts the brawl in the aisle and they head inside for the opening bell. They fight over some grappling to start with Kemp grabbing a cravate. Creed fights up and gets two off a cradle, which is enough for Kemp to grab a chair and unload for the DQ at 3:03.

Rating: C. This was more about moving a story forward as Kemp is getting ready for the big showdown with Julius Creed. That being said, the more I see of Kemp, the more I like him. He has the amateur style and is becoming a rather nasty heel so this was a nice beatdown for the ending. Brutus got beaten up, but there are bigger deals for Kemp coming down the line.

Kemp wants Julius Creed too. Where is Julius for the save anyway?

Quincy Elliott gives Sanga a pep talk in the back, which Sanga appreciates. With Sanga gone, Xyon Quinn comes in but Elliott doesn’t see the X Factor in him. Then Quincy leaves.

Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons are ready to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles but Toxic Attraction comes in to laugh at them. A fight is teased and here is Alba Fyre to even things up (and start a fire). Toxic Attraction bails.

Gallus vs. Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs

Pub Rules match, meaning street fight, with Joe Coffey banned from ringside. It’s a brawl to start with a fight on the floor and another inside. Gallus feels the need to bring out a table as I feel the need to praise Jensen’s Badstreet USA shirt. Jensen grabs his own table but instead it’s time for s a bunch of chair shots to drop Gallus as we take a break. Back with Gallus in control and a bunch of weapons in the ring.

Some belts are brought out to whip Jensen and Briggs, with a few fans being rather terrified. Jensen and Briggs fight up and get in their own whipping but since it’s pub rules, some glasses are broken over Gallus as well. Mark is put upside down in a trashcan so here is Joe Coffey, who gets booted off the apron and through a table. Wolfgang goes through a table as well and it’s a High/Low to Mark (still in the trashcan) for the win at 11:34.

Rating: C-. This felt like a low level house show main event where they had a street fight for the sake of saying they had a street fight. There was nothing here that hasn’t been done better elsewhere and Gallus got beaten up pretty easily. I don’t know what kind of a future Briggs and Jensen have, but it’s better than whatever Gallus has to look forward to. Dull match and really not worthy of a main event spot.

Gallus is held back by security and punches a referee. Cops come in to arrest the trio to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. This was a very up and down show and I wasn’t getting into a lot of it. There was nothing on here that was particularly good or worth seeing, but it did move a lot of things forward. That is one of the places where NXT shines: it feels like they know where they want to go and how they want to get there, which is a lot more than some shows can say. Halloween Havoc is over a month away and you can see a lot of the matches from here. If they can find a better way to set things up then great, but for now, they are at least doing something right in the areas of structure. Not a great show, but it was well put together.

Results
Mandy Rose b. Fallon Henley – Running knee
Wes Lee b. Tony D’Angelo via referee stoppage
Sol Ruca b. Amari Miller – Flipping legdrop
Joe Gacy b. Cameron Grimes – Handspring clothesline
Nikkita Lyons b. Kayden Carter – Splits splash
Ilja Dragunov b. Xyon Quinn – Torpedo
Brutus Creed b. Damon Kemp via DQ when Kemp used a chair
Brooks Jensen/Josh Briggs b. Gallus – High/low to Coffey

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.