NXT
Date: January 30, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Vengeance Day and that means a lot of talking for the matches that are already set. One of them has a bit of a twist though, with #1 contender Trick Williams also set to team with Carmelo Hayes in the semifinals of the Dusty Classic. That could make for a busy Sunday so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams vs. LWO

Hayes armdrags Wilde down to start and snaps off a dropkick. Williams comes in for a dropkick of his own so it’s off to del Toro for a double back elbow. A comeback is cut off with some shots to the knee but Williams gets over to Hayes anyway. The LWO sends them right back to the floor though and stereo dives connect as we take a break.

Back with Hayes fighting out of a chinlock and hitting his half of a double clothesline. Williams comes back in for a double release Rock Bottom and it’s back to Hayes, who gets caught in the Tree of Woe. The LWO take him down again with stereo missile dropkicks and everyone is down. Hayes and del Toro kick it out until del Toro misses a phoenix splash. Williams comes back in and hits the jumping knee for the pin on Wilde at 12:33.

Rating: B-. So there’s your setup for the main event at Vengeance Day, as there’s a very good chance that Williams can’t win because of something that happens in the tournament final. As in the tournament final that he was in because of Hayes, meaning Hayes costs him the title. Or maybe he wins everything and Hayes is jealous. Either way, it makes things more interesting and we should be in for something good.

Post match Oba Femi runs in to jump the LWO and takes out Dragon Lee for trying to make a save.

Ava tells Ridge Holland that he can’t fight Gallus himself. Lexis King comes in with a gift basket for Ava, who didn’t realize they have a meeting. Ava makes King vs. Holland for tonight. Works for Holland.

Tatum Paxley talks to a picture of Lyra Valkyria, saying she’ll always be there for her. Valkyria comes to say she got all of Paxley’s messages but doesn’t get why Paxley attacked Roxanne Perez last week. Paxley says she’ll always be there for Valkyria.

Tatum Paxley vs. Roxanne Perez

Lyra Valkyria is on commentary and we’re joined in progress with Paxley firing off an assortment of kicks. A hanging butterfly suplex gives Paxley two and she sends Perez outside, with Valkyria not being sure why Paxley is doing any of this. Back in and Pop Rox finishes Paxley at 2:20 shown.

Arianna Grace is with Wren Sinclair and says she is a role model around here. Fallon Henley comes in to say she doesn’t buy this and wants a match with Grace later.

Elektra Lopez vs. Lola Vice

Lopez spars her down and the fight is on to start with the two of them heading outside. Back in and Vice fires off some kicks to send her into the corner. More kicks to the back give Vice two but Lopez powerbombs her out of the corner. An annoyed Lopez strikes away and hits a swinging Rock Bottom for two. A spinebuster is broken up though and Vice kicks her in the head for the pin at 3:32.

Rating: C+. This was quick and to the point with Vice getting a pretty strong win by knocking Lopez silly with that kick. Lopez is on her way to Smackdown and Vice is probably going to get into the title match sooner than later so they needed to cover both of these things. Not a great match, but it was intense while it lasted.

Joe Gacy comes to see Dijak and sits down without permission. Gacy says Dijak can’t get rid of him and plays a recording suggesting that he has been here before. Dijak wrecks him again.

Ridge Holland vs. Lexis King

Holland elbows him in the face to start and we take a very early break. Back with King going after the knee but getting hit in the face for his efforts. King cheap shots him in the corner though and chokes away before we hit the chinlock. A running clothesline to the back of the head gives King two but Holland fights up again. The Coronation is blocked and Holland hits him in the back of the head for two but cue Gallus for a distraction. That’s enough for a hanging Coronation to finish Holland at 9:38.

Rating: C. King is still not great in the ring but at least he’s getting the character stuff down. You also need to give him some wins like this to build him up and it’s not like Holland is going to lose much in defeat. Holland already has to deal with Gallus while King gets to move on to something of his own so this was a nice way forward for both of them.

Post match Gallus comes in to beat down Holland.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are still unsure about Ilja Dragunov but Hayes gives him a pep talk. Hayes promises to show that he’s had Williams’ back since the beginning.

Here is Chase University, minus their sweaters (and Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail), for their final goodbyes. Chases knows he’s a hothead and he has no one to blame but himself, but he thanks everyone for letting him live his dream. Duke Hudson talks about what he has learned from the school and wants everyone to remember how it was. This means a tribute video, which may have been made by threatening students, and yes it is set to Tell Me A Lie.

Chase thanks everyone, but here are Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail to interrupt. Jayne says if you want something done right, ask a woman. Chase: “We’re out here saying our final goodbyes.” Jayne: “Are you?” She talks about how she came into this place a bit toxic but she needed friends. Maybe she could actually change, and maybe she could help fix the problem. She looked inside her comfort zone and the school is NOT closing.

We see the Ladies Of Chase U Calendar…..which will have Chase U out of debt and moving into the future. Chase jumps up and down in happiness and Jayne hugs him. There is something hilarious about how simple of a solution that is and hopefully they get back to doing what worked with Chase U.

The D’Angelo Family is ready for OTM at Vengeance Day.

Brooks Jensen comes up to Fallon Henley to talk about old times but she leaves to go have her match, leaving Jensen a bit disappointed.

Chase U celebrates a lot but Lexis King interrupts. A match between King and Riley Osborne is teased but Joe Gacy and Dijak brawl in to break it up.

Fallon Henley vs. Arianna Grace

Wren Sinclair is here with Henley. Grace offers her a hand to start and gets caught in a wristlock for her efforts. Some armdrags put Grace down again and a big right hand rocks her again as we take a break. Back with Henley fighting out of a chinlock and getting two off a rollup. Henley sends her outside and gets in a shot of her own, only to have Jakara Jackson come in to distract the referee. Cue Lash Legend to kick Henley in the face to give Grace the pin at 8:41.

Rating: C. Henley is definitely moving up the ladder a bit around here and it seems that she has a feud coming up with Meta Four. I could go for her winning something else but at least she has something going on here. Grace on the other hand continues to be more annoying than anything else but at least she didn’t get a dominant win.

OTM is ready for the D’Angelo Family at Vengeance Day.

Dijak and Joe Gacy are fighting way above a dumpster, with Dijak knocking him down into it for a nasty thud.

Baron Corbin praises Bron Breakker for his Royal Rumble performance and seems to be warming up to the Wolf Dogs name.

Heritage Cup: Von Wagner vs. Noam Dar

Dar, with Meta Four, is defending and Mr. Stone is here with Wagner. Round One begins with Dar’s kicks being shrugged off and Wagner snaps off a nice armdrag. Wagner powers him into the corner and slowly walks around as Stone plays cheerleader. The tape comes off of Wagner’s hand and he hammers away until the round ends.

Round Two begins with Wagner going after Oro Mensah, allowing Dar to hit the Nova Roller for the pin at 22 seconds of the round and 3:57 overall. We take a break and come back with Wagner hitting a rather delayed vertical suplex. Mensah offers a distraction but here are Fallon Henley and Wren Sinclair to brawl with Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. The women leave as Dar’s kneebar can’t get the tap before Round Three ends.

Round Four begins with Wagner punching him in the face for two but Dar is back with some elbows. Wagner fights out again but the Death Valley Driver is broken up. Instead Wagner scores with a jumping knee to the face but misses a charge into the post. That’s enough for Dar to roll him up and retain at 1:53 of the round and 10:10 overall.

Rating: C. The seemingly never ending reign continues for Dar and the matches are getting less interesting. Wagner didn’t seem like one of the strongest challengers but Dar has held the title for the better part of ever. Either find something else for him to do or get rid of the title altogether, because this stopped working a long time ago.

Post match Dar mocks Stone’s kids in the front row so Wagner puts Mensah through the announcers’ table.

Ava yells at Dijak for putting Joe Gacy in a dumpster and wants a No DQ match with Gacy….who pops out of the dumpster to say he’s in. The match is on.

Vengeance Day rundown.

Here is Trick Williams for a face to face showdown with NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov. Cue the champ, who says he’s ready to whoop that Trick, but Williams thinks Dragunov has been playing him the entire time. Williams thinks Dragunov faked his injuries to avoid the match but Dragunov says there’s no way because he’s ready to hurt himself to retain the title.

Dragunov says Williams might want to be more worried about Carmelo Hayes but Williams says he’ll win twice on Sunday. Williams wants Hayes left out of this so Dragunov threatens him with destruction. They shake hands and have a staredown but cue Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker to jump them. Carmelo Hayes runs in for the save so Dragunov and Williams can stare each other down again to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. There wasn’t a must see match on the show, but they did a good enough job of making me want to see Vengeance Day. The action worked well and they set up some more things for the pay per view and it was a fairly solid go home show. The ending segment was probably the best part of the show as they’ve done a nice job of setting up a story that could go in a few different directions. Solid show here, even if there was only so much more that could be done with the title match.

Results
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams b. LWO – Jumping knee to Wilde
Roxanne Perez b. Tatum Paxley – Pop Rox
Lola Vice b. Elektra Lopez – Spinning kick to the head
Lexis King b. Ridge Holland – Hanging Coronation
Arianna Grace b. Fallon Henley – Big boot from Lash Legend
Noam Dar b. Von Wagner 2-0

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: January 23, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the last NXT before the Royal Rumble and that might actually make a difference around here. Around here that might make a difference as there very likely will be some NXT representation in the Royal Rumble matches. I’m curious to see who that might be, but we also have some more work to do towards Vengeance Day. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Roxanne Perez becoming the new #1 contender to the Women’s Title last week.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Baron Corbin/Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer/Axiom

The fight starts before the bell with Frazer and Axiom sending them outside for stereo suicide dives. Some dropkicks against the barricade have Corbin and Breakker in trouble as the bell rings. Corbin gets caught with a missile dropkick for two back inside, followed by Frazer armbarring Corbin. That doesn’t last long as Corbin is up with a boot to the face so Axiom comes in. With Corbin knocked outside, Axiom tries a hurricanrana but gets powerbombed onto the announcers’ table. Breakker hammers on Frazer inside as we take a break.

Back with Corbin coming in for a belly to back suplex on Axiom. Breakker comes in for a belly to back suplex…but he tosses Axiom over his shoulder and pulls him into a cutter (that’s a new one). Axiom gets up and brings in Frazer to clean house, including sending the villains to the floor for a huge dive. Back in and some frog splashes get two on Breakker but he powerbombs Axiom onto Frazer to get a breather.

Corbin comes back in for Deep Six to Frazer and a brainbuster for two on Axiom. A toss powerbomb gets the same on Axiom but Frazer makes the save. Axiom manages a super Spanish Fly into Frazer’s phoenix splash for two on Breakker as Corbin makes the save this time. Back up and the spear gives Breakker the pin on Frazer at 12:02.

Rating: B. They went wild with this one and it wound up being pretty great, with Breakker and Corbin not being able to keep up at first but then cutting them down with raw power. That’s a classic formula and as usual, it was awesome to see the power guys having enough of the speed and tearing them apart. Axiom continues to be a gem when he gets on a roll and that was the case here from bell to bell.

Josh Briggs interrupts Ilja Dragunov, who isn’t pleased. Briggs is trying to prove himself and Dragunov asks if this is what Briggs really wants. Trick Williams comes in to break it up but Briggs says he wants to talk to the man who will be NXT Champion after Vengeance Day. That’s not cool with Trick and a match seems likely.

Wren Sinclair is very nervous about her debut match but Fallon Henley comes in to calm her down.

Ava walks out of Shawn Michaels’ office….and so does William Regal! Ava is rather excited and Regal congratulates her on becoming the youngest GM in WWE. He’s always around for advice. She’s more or less been the GM for weeks now so they might as well make it official and save Regal/Shawn for special moments.

Wren Sinclair vs. Lash Legend

The rest of Meta our is here with Legend, who powers her into the corner to start. Some early armdrag attempts are blocked by Legend and she takes Wren to the mat for some rams into the mat. Legend grabs a not great torture rack but Wren reverses into a failed sunset flip attempt. Wren gets sent into the corner but tries another sunset flip, this time with Jakara Jackson’s interference not working. Jackson tries to cheat again, with Wren again managing a rollup for two. Legend finally chokebombs her for the pin at 2:59. Wren was trying here but it was more a showcase for Legend.

Post match Meta Four goes after Wren but Fallon Henley makes the save.

Earlier today, OTM invaded the D’Angelo Family’s restaurant, with Jaida Parker attacking Riz.

We look at Joe Gacy and Dijak brawling last week.

Elektra Lopez is looking for Lola Vice.

Dijak vs. Joe Gacy

Gacy jumps him from behind to start and the brawl is on before the bell. Dijak grabs a chair but gets knocked down, only for Gacy to miss a chair shot. A spinning boot drives Gacy through a wall and a chokeslam puts him through the announcers’ table. Gacy gets back up and chokes Dijak until they’re separated. No match.

Arianna Grace gives another inspirational speech to…no one. Elektra Lopez comes in and still can’t find Lola Vice, though Grace finds the invasion rude.

Lexis King says the main event is coming soon.

Mr. Stone and Von Wagner went to the University of Central Florida football stadium (where Wagner played college football) for training for the Heritage Cup shot. Stone’s kids are there to help.

Lexis King vs. Trey Bearhill

Bearhill knocks him into the corner to start but misses an elbow. King kicks away and fires off a superkick to the ribs to cut off a comeback attempt. A running forearm to the back of the head sets up the Coronation to finish Bearhill at 2:22. This was a nice quick win to give King some momentum.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams to keep his eyes on the prize and asks why he’s fighting Ilja Dragunov’s battles. Williams says he knows what he’s doing.

Noam Dar and Oro Mensah are in the ring for Supernova Sessions and, after their usual jokes, bring out Lola Vice as their guest. Vice talks about how her friendship with Elektra Lopez has expired because Lopez is a leach. Cue Lopez to say she wants to know the real Vice. Lopez says she’s real while Vice got here because of how she looked dancing on Instagram. A match is made for next week.

The D’Angelo Family swears revenge on OTM.

Chase U is having various things repossessed, which makes Riley Osborne leave. Duke Hudson loses his trophy and Andre Chase loses his podium. Next week, they officially say their goodbyes. Chase: “Class dismissed.” Mr. Feeny did it better but I’ll be sad to see the team go.

Dragon Lee vs. Scrypts

The rest of OTM is here too. Lee takes him down with a headlock to start as Oba Femi comes out to the platform. Scrypts gets sent to the floor for the big running flip dive, followed by a slingshot dropkick back inside. That’s enough for Scrypts to head outside, where Lee flips out to follow. Back in and Scrypts hits a high crossbody for two but Lee fights up with a running forearm. A German suplex and powerbomb don’t work for Lee so he knees Scrypts in the face. The running flipping clothesline hits Scrypts but here is the D’Angelo Family to brawl with OTM. Lee grabs a quick Operation Dragon for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C+. This was a lot of flipping around and that’s what it was supposed to be. Lee gets a win to boost his chances of a North American Title shot and Scrypts can hang with him with some acrobatics of his own. OTM vs. the D’Angelo Family should be fine for a Vengeance Day title match so they probably set up two such matches in one here.

Post match Femi says he’ll give Lee the title shot at Vengeance Day.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are disappointed in their loss in the Dusty Classic but Brinley Reece comes in to offer a rather motivational speech. She wants them to come up with five things they liked and didn’t like about last week’s match so they can go over them next week. Sure why not.

Lyra Valkyria is watching something when Tatum Paxley comes in to say she’s so excited to be Valkyria’s partner. Valkyria says she doesn’t have time to do this but Paxley says they’re on the same page. The latter sounds a bit…unnerving.

Blair Davenport vs. Karmen Petrovic

Davenport runs from the kicks to start and manages a quick middle rope double stomp to the back. Petrovic fights out of a chinlock and fires off some forearms, followed by a spinning kick to the face for two. Davenport is right back with a dropkick into the corner though and a knee to the face finishes Petrovic at 3:13.

Rating: C. They didn’t have time to do anything here and that’s one of the worst things to happen to any match. Davenport getting the win is the logical way to go here as Petrovic isn’t on her level, but Petrovic’s kicks did look sharp. I’m not sure what is next for Davenport but this should get Petrovic out of her way.

Ridge Holland got beaten up by Gallus last week because he doesn’t have any friends. Therefore, he’ll fight Gallus on his own.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Josh Briggs vs. Trick Williams

Ilja Dragunov is on commentary. Briggs elbows him in the face to start and then does it over and over again in the corner. Williams is back with a rather high dropkick but a chokeslam gives Briggs two. Dragunov tells Williams to do something as we take a break. Back with Briggs still in control, at least until Williams slugs away. Some kicks to the face and a flapjack plant Briggs but he’s back with a backbreaker. They fight to the floor…where Briggs accidentally kicks Dragunov in the face. Back in and Dragunov tries to go after Williams but Carmelo Hayes cuts him off. Williams grabs a quick victory roll for the pin at 7:38.

Rating: C+. As has been the case on this show, the important part is who got the win, as Williams continues his road towards the title shot against Dragunov at Vengeance Day. Briggs is still finding himself in the new role and it’s not like losing to Williams is a crushing defeat. There is something to Briggs, but he needs to get a few wins sooner rather than later.

Post match Briggs clotheslines Williams and Dragunov has to be held back. Hayes comes in to hold Williams back as well.

Thea Hail is crushed over Chase U closing, but Jacy Jayne says it’s not over yet. Lexis King comes up to offer a shoulder to cry on. Riley Osborne comes in to chase King off (Hail approves) and asks Hail for a private chat later. Hail is cool with that…and then loses it when Osborne leaves. Jayne tells her to chill.

Video on the No Quarter Catch Crew.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams to realize that llja Dragunov is coming for him.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Here is Ava to emcee the contract signing between Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez. Roxanne says they respect each other and this is a Stand & Deliver main event months early. Everyone has seen the rise of Valkyria while Perez has had to chase a title she never lost. When she wins at Vengeance Day, she’ll make Valkyria walk down the same road Perez had to. Valkyria has been watching Perez, who had a great run, but she has been replaced. Perez thinks Valkyria is overconfident and wonders what happens when Valkyria gets booed because the people turn on her.

They both stand up and sign before an aggressive handshake and staredown…well don’t end the show, as Tatum Paxley sneaks up on Perez and puts her through the table. Valkyria shouts at Paxley, saying to stay away from her to end the show. There’s only so much they can do here with two women who have no reason to hate each other, so the Paxley twist at least opens something up.

Overall Rating: B-. If there was a quintessential NXT show, this would be in the running. They covered all kinds of stuff, set up future matches/shows and had a good opener to kick it off. They didn’t miss much of anything around here and it was the kind of show that flew by with few complaints. It might not have been great, but it did everything it needed to do in just over two hours.

Results
Baron Corbin/Nathan Frazer b. Axiom/Nathan Frazer – Spear to Frazer
Lash Legend b. Wren Sinclair – Chokebomb
Lexis King b. Trey Bearhill – Coronation
Dragon Lee b. Scrypts – Operation Dragon
Blair Davenport b. Karmen Petrovic – Knee to the face
Trick Williams b. Josh Briggs – Victory roll

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: January 16, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

We are on the way to Vengeance Day and that means we have some things to cover. There will be more than a few of those this week, as we have more of the Dusty Classic, a battle royal to determine a new #1 contender to the Women’s Title, and probably something involving the NXT Title. Then again we might have to see something change if Carmelo Hayes is too banged up from his Smackdown appearance. Let’s get to it.

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

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams vs. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe

There’s your answer about Hayes. Blade and Hayes start things off, with an exchange of dropkicks going nowhere. Williams comes in and dropkicks Enofe so it’s back to Blade, who is dropkicked right down. We settle down to Enofe being sent into the ropes and managing a low 619. Everything breaks down and Blade and Enofe hit running flip dives to the floor as we take a break.

Back with Hayes in trouble as Enofe hammers away, only to have Hayes flip out of a belly to back suplex. It’s off to Williams, who Rock Bottoms Blade for two. Everything breaks down and Blade drops a top rope elbow for two on Williams. Enofe is punched out of the air, meaning it’s a Codebreaker into the Flash Knee to finish Blade at 12:09.

Rating: C+. This was another step in what should be a bigger story down the line. Hayes and Williams are likely on a collision course for a heck of a showdown, perhaps at Stand & Deliver, and this could be a good way to help get them there. Other than that, I still think Blade and Enofe have a bunch of potential yet here they are, losing in the first round of the tournament. Kind of a shame, but maybe they could get another chance down the line.

Fallon Henley is ready to win the battle royal because it’s Stand & Deliver season.

We look at Dragon Lee winning and losing the North American Title, with Oba Femi cashing in his title shot to take the title last week.

Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice are ready to win the battle royal. Tatum Paxley pops up to say she’ll win so the two of them can’t.

Here is Oba Femi for a chat. He told you all he would be a champion and now here he is. He was tested as a Nigerian prince and an NCAA athlete, and now he has already made his mark here to win a championship. Femi says he will face everyone but here is Dragon Lee to interrupt. Lee says the title represents opportunity and he wants his shot tonight. That’s going to be a NO, because the open challengers are now closed. Lee asks about Vengeance Day, which Femi will consider.

Eddy Thorpe was happy with his win over Dijak when Tre Bearhill came in to talk about their culture. Dijak came in and seemingly got a match with Bearhill for later.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are ready to win the tournament but Ilja Dragunov comes in to say he is now clear. Dragunov is ready to defend the title against Williams at Vengeance Day, but Hayes says that’s the finals of the Dusty Cup. Uh oh.

Tatum Paxley/Lyra Valkyria vs. Lola Vice/Elektra Lopes

Paxley is dressed like Valkyria because she is a bit odd. Valkyria jumps over Lopez in the corner and grabs a rollup for two before the villains are sent outside. Back in and Vice kicks Paxley down for two as the beating begins. Paxley slips out of the corner and hands it off to Valkyria to clean house as everything breaks down. Paxley tags herself back in so Lopez kicks her down….and right onto Vice for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C. This is a weird story and I’m not sure where it’s going. Or now though, There is something to having Vice hanging around with the contract. At the same time, the battle royal is coming up in the near future, though that potential cashing in is quite the distraction and it’s going to be happening sooner than later, no matter how out there Paxley may be.

A bunch of women want to be #1 contender but Arianna Grace’s speech scares them off.

Ridge Holland vs. Joe Coffey

The rest of Gallus is here with Coffey. Holland shoves Coffey around to start and drives Coffey into the corner. Coffey is right back into a knockdown and an elbow drop for two. Holland hits a heck of a clothesline into Northern Grit for the pin at 2:25.

Post match the beatdown is on and no one makes the save, despite the camera looking at the entrance.

NXT Anonymous show the women of Chase U having done something to help save the school. Jacy Jayne approves and asks of one (Jasmine) of them wants to have some drinks.

Kelani Jordan is ready to win the battle royal. Brinley Reece loves her energy.

Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker aren’t on the same page about who won their previous match. Breakker has apparently spent four weeks thinking of Woof Dogs for their team name. On top of that, Breakker was thinking about the team in the shower….and Corbin is cutting him off right there. Maybe they can be called the Wild Boars?

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: LWO vs. Chase U

Zelina Vega and Andre Chase are here too. Osborne and Wilde trade armdrags to start so del Toro comes in to take Osborne into the corner. That doesn’t last long as it’s off to Hudson for a side slam. Hudson clotheslines them out to the floor and Osborne hits a big dive as we take a break.

Back with Osborne hitting a flip dive onto both of them for a breather. The tag brings in Hudson to clean house, at least until del Toro snaps off a poisonrana. A blind tag brings in Wilde, who hits a missile dropkick on Hudson. Wilde grabs a suicide tornado DDT to plant Hudson on the floor, setting up a phoenix splash for the pin at 9:43.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced match here, with Chase U continuing its downward spiral. I’m not sure how much further it could go but Chase almost has to either lose the school or put the whole thing on the line at some point. That’s the real story here, as the LWO mainly feels like a team just looking for something to do here.

Riz is worried about having her first match in the battle royal but the D’Angelo Family reminds her of some previous battles.

Joe Gacy joins commentary.

Last week, Mr. Stone and Von Wagner talked about New Year’s resolutions, when Noam Dar and Oro Mensah came in. Wagner wants a shot at the Heritage Cup and math ensues, with the match not quite being made yet.

Dijak vs. Tre Bearhill

They run the ropes to start until Bearhill snaps off a backdrop. Dijak is back with a suplex and the suplex toss to really take over. Some elbows in the corner rock Bearhill, but he suplexes Dijak into the corner. Dijak fights back but goes outside to yell at Gacy, who gives him a headbutt. The distraction lets Bearhill jump him, only to have Dijak come back with the cyclone boot for the pin at 4:38.

Rating: C. I’m not sure what Bearhill’s appeal is supposed to be but somehow it seems like Dijak vs. Eddy Thorpe may be continuing, with Bearhill as the next proxy. Dijak gets to beat someone else up for a change, meaning he is probably on the way to a big loss. Just hopefully not to Gacy.

Post match Gacy goes after Dijak and they brawl up the aisle, while Lexis King comes in to go after Bearhill.

Josh Briggs runs into JBL, who picked him for the Iron Survival Challenge qualifying match. JBL wants Briggs to show who he really is.

Video on the No Quarter Catch Crew.

Trick Williams apologizes to Carmelo Hayes but says he’ll work both matches at Vengeance Day. That seems to appease Williams.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at Cora Jade suffering a torn ACL, which will put her out of action for nearly a year.

Battle Royal

Kiana James, Izzi James, Brinley Reece, Kelani Jordan, Roxanne Perez, Arianna Grace, Karmen Petrovic, Lola Vice, Elektra Lopez, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend, Wren Sinclair, Riz, Fallon Henley, Thea Hail, Blair Davenport, Gigi Dolin, Jaida Parker, Stevie Turner, Tatum Paxley

The final four have a four way for a future Women’s Title match. Riz and Parker fight to the floor to start, leaving Dolin to eliminate Jackson. Back in and Legend knocks out Riz and Parker as the ring is clearing out quickly. Jordan has to save herself from an elimination but is knocked onto the announcers’ table (not eliminated) as we take a break. Back with clips of Jordan doing a Kofi Kingston impression to make it back into the ring.

Turner is out and Reece follows her, only Vice dump Lopez. Then Paxley tosses out Vice, who is rather displeased. Lopez and Vice brawl to the back and Davenport low bridges Dolin out. Hail kicks Davenport out so Davenport pulls Petrovic outside and drops her. Back in and Legend eliminates Paxley, leaving Grace to pose a bit. Grace tosses the still out cold Petrovic but spends too much time posing and is tossed by Hail.

We take a break and come back with Hail cleaning house, only to be cut off and eliminated by Dame. Legend and Dame collide for a double knockdown, with Dame being tossed shortly thereafter. Sinclair manages to get rid of Legend but James throws her out, meaning we’re down to James, Perez, Jordan and Henley, with the match turning into a regular four way.

Henley and James take over but Perez knocks Henley outside for a suicide dive. Jordan and Perez trade rollup for two each but Henley is back in with a middle rope neckbreaker. James spinebusters Henley for two of her own and everyone is down. James hits the 401K to send Jordan outside, leaving Perez to jump James from behind. Perez snaps off a super hurricanrana on James but Jordan hits a frog splash fort two. A quick Pop Rox gives Perez the pin on Jordan at 22:39.

Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird one, but what matters here is that the women’s division’s depth was on display. It’s interesting to see what happens when you have this many women put together in one match with some slightly different rules and that was the case here. Perez is mainly a safe pick but safe might be just what they need at the moment.

Overall Rating: C+. I liked the show well enough, as they were doing a nice job of getting things better for Vengeance Day. They have some things cooking and hopefully they can all be paid off when Vengeance Day arrives. This show helped set some of those things up and now we have to wait and see where they go. The good thing is that NXT has reached a point where you believe they cam make that happen, which is a heck of a lot better than they were doing before.

Results
Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Flash knee to Blade
Tatum Paxley/Lyra Valkyria b. Lola Vice/Elektra Lopez – Paxley fell onto Vice
Ridge Holland b. Joe Coffey – Northern Grit
LWO b. Chase U – Phoenix splash to Hudson
Joe Gacy b. Tre Bearhill – Cyclone boot
Roxanne Perez won a battle royal last eliminating Kelani Jordan

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NXT
Date: January 2, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s New Year’s Evil and that means we have a stacked show. In this case that means the NXT Title will be on the line as the injured Ilja Dragunov is defending against Trick Williams, plus the finals of the Breakout Tournament. We should be in for a big card tonight and NXT tends to do that well so let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at the major matches and talks about how this is a new year, meaning new beginnings.

Women’s Title: Lyra Valkyria vs. Blair Davenport

Valkyria is defending after Davenport won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. They fight over a lockup to start with neither being able to get very far. Valkyria grabs a cravate for little success, as Valkyria gets in a knockdown. A top rope double stomp and neckbreaker give Davenport two but Valkyria jawbreaks her way to freedom.

The high crossbody misses so Valkyria grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two. Valkyria heads up top again but gets pulled down with a super Falcon Arrow for a nasty crash. They head outside, where Davenport’s hard knee crashes into the announcers’ table. Back in and Davenport misses another double stomp, setting up a Samoan driver to retain Valkyria’s title at 8:24.

Rating: C+. This was a way to give Valkyria a nice title defense and clear out Davenport from the list of challengers. In that sense it worked well, even if this didn’t quite feel like a major match following the Iron Survivor Challenge. Valkyria very well may be in for a showdown with Cora Jade and this should take care of one of the biggest roadblocks on the way there.

Post match cue Lola Vice to try to cash in her title shot but Tatum Paxley makes the save. Elektra Lopez comes in to go after Paxley and everything is broken up.

Ilja Dragunov is too banged up and the NXT Title match is off. Well that must be going somewhere.

No Quarter Catch Crew vs. LWO

Dragon Lee is out so Cruz del Toro and Joaquin Wilde are teaming with….Carlito. Del Toro runs the ropes to start and snaps off a headscissors to Gulak as the fans are more interested in Carlito. Wilde comes in to take down Gulak and Kemp, leaving Borne to come in as everything breaks down. The Crew is sent outside for a CRAZY high dive from Wilde (yeah he had a springboard but dang that was impressive).

Back in and Gulak blasts Wilde with a clothesline to take over, followed by Kemp coming in to work on the leg. Wilde is able to flip away though and the hot tag brings in Carlito to blow the roof off the place. Everything breaks down again and Kemp catches Carlito with a backbreaker for the delayed two. Wilde goes up top for a heck of a corkscrew dive, leaving Kemp to get Backstabbered. A Phoenix splash gives del Toro the pin at 8:32.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of “it was what it was”, as the Carlito debut was designed to give the fans a big moment and that’s exactly what happened. The Crew is little more than a bunch of midcard bullies and here we had someone standing up to them for a win. It even had that insane dive (look that up) and it was an entertaining match throughout.

Trick Williams, with Carmelo Hayes, isn’t happy over the title match being canceled but Grayson Waller, the original Iron Survivor, comes in. Hayes says Williams wants a fight tonight and puts up Williams’ title shot against Waller, leaving him pleased and Williams annoyed.

Riley Osborne is writing an essay about what it would mean to become the next European star.

Roxanne Perez vs. Arianna Grace

They fight over arm control to start with Grace taking her down and offering a handshake. Back up and Perez gets in a crossbody but an O’Connor roll is blocked. A catapult sends Perez throat first into the middle rope but she has to fight out of a chinlock. Perez makes the fired up comeback and hits a running knee, followed by the right hands in the corner. Pop Rox finishes Grace at 5:10.

Rating: C. This didn’t get much time but Grace isn’t on Perez’s level yet anyway, meaning there was only so much to get out of this one. Perez is in a bit of a weird place here as she is doing more building others up rather than going near the title scene. I’m not sure what is next for her but she needs something bigger. Grace continues to be good enough in her role, but the beauty queen deal doesn’t seem to have the brightest future.

Post match Grace yells at her again so Perez snaps and grabs a crossface. Perez won’t let go and the decision is reversed.

Ava announces that the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic starts next week. Can we tone it down with the tournaments for a bit?

Video on Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley before their big fight tonight.

Blair Davenport is banged up when Nikkita Lyons comes in to say she wants revenge. A fight is broken up but a match seems likely.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley

The loser becomes the winner’s servant or ranch hand. Henley starts fast and knocks Stratton into the corner. They go outside, with Henley hammering away even more, only to be sent shoulder first into the post. We take a break and come back with a double clothesline to put both of them down. A crucifix bomb gives Henley two but she has to avoid a Prettiest Moonsault Ever attempt. Instead they crash out to the floor, where Stratton grabs a chair. The referee takes that away and the distraction lets Henley hit the Shining Wizard for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: C+. They had the aggression showing here and the ending was enough of an upset that I was surprised by the result. Henley getting to humiliate Stratton should be a lot of fun and works better than the opposite, but that’s the biggest win of Henley’s career by a wide margin. It’s a big upset and that made things more interesting in this case.

Baron Corbin interrupts Bron Breakker and pitches being a team in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Breakker laughs him off but Corbin points out that no one else wants to be Breakker’s partner. Breakker realizes they’re both rather horrible people so sure why not.

Video on Oba Femi.

Cora Jade gets annoyed at Gigi Dolin sitting in her locker and they have to be held apart.

We get a sitdown interview with Ridge Holland, who talks about how this is his redemption story. His first run in NXT ended with his double leg injury so then he joined the Brawling Brutes on Smackdown. Then he got hurt again and had his twin sons, only to come back here again and injure Ilja Dragunov. There was no malicious intent and he’s not a monster who tries to hurt people. He knows how fast things can be taken away but he’s still here to prove himself. Things end without controversy.

Breakout Tournament Finals: Oba Femi vs. Riley Osborne

In the back, Thea Hail gives Osborne a pep talk and is WAY too excited over a high five. Osborne kicks him in the head to start and we hit the front facelock. That earns Osborne a choke shove out to the floor as Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne come out to watch from the crowd. Femi drops Osborne again and we take a break.

Back with Osborne caught in a bearhug until Femi plants him with a Rock Bottom backbreaker. The bearhug goes right back on before Femi knocks him hard into the corner. Osborne avoids a charge into the post though and the pace gets to pick up. A headscissors into a corkscrew moonsault gives Osborne two but the shooting star press hits knees. Femi grabs a toss powerbomb into a pop up powerbomb for the pin and the tournament at 9:42.

Rating: C. Yeah I’d say that worked, as this was about getting Femi over as a new star. He ran through everyone in the tournament and won the whole thing in the end, which made him feel like a killer. Someone with that size and power should be fine for a long time and I’m curious to see where he goes from here. Osborne should be good to go for a nice while as well and they’re both off to solid starts.

OTM is ready to win the Tag Team Titles next week because the champs are no longer hungry.

Kiana James and Izzy Dame are ready to be a perfect partnership.

Trick Williams yells at Carmelo Hayes for making a decision about the Grayson Waller match. Hayes believes in him, but Williams is doing this one by himself.

Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne are upset over Riley Osborne’s loss but Duke Hudson and Andre Chase come in to say they’re ready for the Dusty Cup. Jayne cuts that off and says Chase needs to be focused on his debt so Osborne and Hudson will be in the tournament. Hail really approves.

Tatum Paxley is very happy that Lyra Valkyria is still Women’s Champion but scares Valkyria as well.

Axiom and Nathan Frazer are going to be in the Dusty Cup together, but Frazer again screws up by insulting established teams. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade pop in to not be pleased.

The D’Angelo Family is ready for OTM and introduce the woman who has been doing business for them as Adrianna, shortened to The Riz. They go to their car but Joe Gacy is in the trunk. Apparently someone else was supposed to be in there but Gacy might have dealt with him.

Grayson Waller vs. Trick Williams

For an NXT Title shot. Waller knocks him into the corner to start and a suplex gets two. Williams is back up and knocks him to the floor, followed by going over the announcers’ table. Back up and Waller hits a quick clothesline (Waller: “I just whooped you Trick.”) and we take a break.

We take a break and come back with Waller dropping elbows to the back and grabbing a half crab. With that broken up, Waller talks more trash and gets hit in the mouth. The rolling Stunner is cut off by another shot to the face and they go to the corner. A middle rope Rock Bottom gives Williams two but Waller’s rolling Downward Spiral gets two more. Williams grabs a jumping neckbreaker and here is Carmelo Hayes. Williams isn’t pleased…but here is Kevin Owens to deck Waller. That’s enough to set up Williams’ flash knee for the pin at 13:06.

Rating: C+. So why was Owens there in the first place? Waller wasn’t scheduled so why did Owens show up? Anyway, at least they didn’t do anything crazy like get rid of Williams as #1 contender, which would have been incredibly frustrating after the build. I’m not sure when the title match is going to take place, but we might be waiting a bit if they’re dragging things out. Beating Waller is fine, but that’s not what they were building here and the switch hurt.

Overall Rating: C. This was quite the disappointment, as it was billed as a big deal but the men’s title match didn’t happen, the Women’s Title match was just ok, the tournament final was fine and nothing really stood out. It felt like they punted this week and that’s never a good thing on such an important event. Not an awful show, but a rather disappointing one given what it looked like it was supposed to be.

Results
Lyra Valkyria b. Blair Davenport – Samoan driver
LWO b. No Quarter Catch Crew – Phoenix splash to Kemp
Arianna Grace b. Roxanne Perez via reversed decision
Fallon Henley b. Tiffany Stratton – Shining Wizard
Oba Femi b. Riley Osborne – Pop up powerbomb
Trick Williams b. Grayson Waller – Flash knee

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NXT LVL Up
Date: December 22, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Blake Howard, Byron Saxton

We’re going into the Christmas weekend and I’m not sure what that is going to mean around here. With NXT taped in advance for a few weeks, either this show or next week’s show is likely to be a bit different than the norm. Last week’s show had a nice surprise in the main event so maybe they can keep it up here. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Axiom vs. Damon Kemp

This should be good. Kemp wrestles him to the mat to start and Axiom needs an early breather in the corner. Axiom tries to wrestle his way out before settling for a dropkick instead. Back up and Kemp drops him hard out to the floor, followed by some nice stomping back inside.

A waistlock and then a bearhug have Axiom in trouble, followed by a swinging slam (thankfully with a Norman Smiley reference on commentary). Axiom is back with another dropkick, with Kemp getting smart by heading outside. Naturally that means a suicide dive from Axiom as we actually get a LVL UP chant. The Golden Ratio finishes Kemp at 6:18.

Rating: C+. Axiom continues to feel like the definition of someone who could go somewhere if given the chance, but for now he seems to be settling to be the guy who can get a nice match out of anyone. That’s not a bad role to fill either and Axiom does it rather well. Kemp should be fine as the technical star and putting him in there with the rest of the Catch Crew is a nice fit for him.

Javier Bernal welcomes the new interviewer to NXT and has his own Christmas list. He runs into Mr. Stone, who is on the naughty list. Everyone else, pay attention.

Roxanne Perez vs. Brinley Reece

Reece grabs a headlock to start before shifting into a headscissors. Back up and Perez can’t armdrag her over so Reece grabs a drive into the corner. A running shoulder to the ribs staggers Perez and a TKO gets two. We hit a chinlock with a knee in Perez’s back but Perez is back up with a basement dropkick. The middle rope spinning crossbody sets up Pop Rox to finish Reece at 4:53.

Rating: C. This was a bit of a surprise as Reece, who hasn’t done much around here so far, got in all kinds of offense on an established star in Perez. That is where you can see younger wrestlers benefit from being around here and it is nice to see Perez giving her a boost. Do that more often and the show could get that much better, while the bigger name wrestlers get to stay in the ring as well.

Here is Javier Bernal for a chat. He wishes us a very Javi Christmas and wants to help someone backstage, so get someone out here.

Javier Bernal vs. Von Wagner

And Wagner is dressed as Santa Claus. Bernal bails to the floor to start but comes back in to jump Wagner as he tries to throw his hat to the crowd. Instead, Bernal throws the hat at Stone and hits a bulldog for two. We hit the chinlock but Wagner fights up, meaning the destruction is on. With the hat back on, the Wagner Bomb finishes Bernal at 4:05.

Rating: C. This was a good example of a fun main event and they didn’t do anything strange here. Bernal is a loud mouth and the fun Christmas guy got to beat him up. The hat made for a nice little joke in the match and it was completely fine. Who knew Wagner would be a success as more of a Sid type?

Wagner throws out candy to the fans to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The wrestling was only so good, but it’s another episode where they seemed to be putting the effort in here and that makes all the difference in the world. You had some bigger names and a fun main event, which made things that much better. It’s just a case of actually trying and it isn’t like they’re lacking the resources to make this work. Nice job here and I could go for more of this as a quick show every week.

Results
Axiom b. Damon Kemp – Golden Ratio
Roxanne Perez b. Brinley Reece – Pop Rox
Von Wagner b. Javier Bernal – Wagner Bomb

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NXT
Date: December 19, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re closing in on New Year’s Evil and the two big title matches are already set. There are some other things that need to be followed up on as well though and we might find out a few of them this week. This is a taped show, which can take away some of the energy that is usually around. Let’s get to it.

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

Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton

They start fast with Henley knocking her outside to keep up the beating. Back in and Henley elbows her in the corner but gets knocked out to the floor in a big crash. Stratton gets to beat on her a bit as well but Henley rains down some right hands in the corner. A hurricanrana takes Stratton down again, only to have her come back with a spinebuster for two. They go to a pinfall reversal sequence….and Henley gets a sunset flip for the completely clean pin at 3:51.

Rating: C. I’ve been wanting Henley to get a better push for a long time now and she might just be getting that here. That’s by far the biggest win of her career and I could go for her getting to do some more in the future. It’s nice to see some fresh blood in the division and Henley is pretty much set for a long time around here anyway so the loss won’t hurt her.

Post match Stratton jumps her and drags Henley to the back. Stratton rubs a mop over her face and covers her with garbage in a rather mean moment.

Trick Williams congratulates Carmelo Hayes on his Smackdown win but they talk about who actually attacked Hayes last week. Hayes suggests they turn the New Year’s Evil match into a triple threat match but Williams doesn’t get the thinking. That doesn’t seem to be happening, though Hayes says it doesn’t matter who wins as long as they have the title. Williams: “It does matter.” Williams hopes it’s cool and Hayes seems to be ok, though some of the enthusiasm is lacking.

Here is Ilja Dragunov to talk about how he doesn’t know how he got in the middle of this Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes mess. He didn’t have that on his 2023 Bingo card, but he’ll start 2024 by defeating Williams, no matter how popular he is. Cue Ridge Holland to interrupt, saying he needs to prove himself again in NXT. Holland wants Dragunov to help him get there, perhaps by winning the NXT Title. He isn’t going to beg for a title shot so he wants to prove himself. He’ll face everyone to get to Dragunov, and then he’ll be worthy of a shot. Dragunov is tired of all this so he’ll face Holland tonight.

Lexis King knows he’s already the breakout star around here, but he’ll win the Breakout Tournament if he has to.

Trick Williams doesn’t like Ilja Dragunov giving away title shots but Dragunov says he’s the champ so get over it. Makes sense.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Dion Lennox vs. Lexis King

King wastes no time in taking him into the corner for a running clothesline. A knee to the ribs keeps Lennox in trouble but he fights back with some shots to the face. King heads outside where he grabs the contract and tries to grab the contract. That’s not going to work for Lennox, who takes King back inside, where the Coronation gives King the quick win at 2:57.

Post match Tre Bearhill chases King off.

Eddy Thorpe talks about his feud with Dijak and wants to settle it in NXT Underground.

Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail vs. Kiana James/Izzi Dame

Riley Osborne is leading the cheers in the Chase U student section as Jayne takes Dame into the corner. A rollup gives Dame two as Hail is very fired up on the apron. Dame clotheslines her way out of trouble and hands it off to James for some knees to the ribs. It’s back to Dame or another clothesline but Jayne gets in her own shot, meaning it’s the hot tag off to Hail. House is quickly cleaned, including a springboard bottom rope backsplash for two. Osborne approves as Hail Kimuras James…but Dame came in off a blind tag. A big boot finishes Hail at 3:51.

Rating: C. The idea of Hail having a crush on Osborne and her excitement messing with her attention is an interesting way to go and I’m curious to see where that goes. James and Dame aren’t the greatest team but at least they have been together for a few weeks now and could be built up with some kind of a business relationship. Not exactly a great match but at least they kept it moving.

Roxanne Perez is annoyed at Kiana James and Izzi Dame and gets in a fight with Arianna Grace over them.

Andre Chase is gambling with OTM and wins a lot of money, but offers to put up the money double or nothing over a tag match between Chase U and OTM next week. Scrypts says as a bonus, if OTM wins, they get a Tag Team Title match, which they can apparently authorize. The D’Angelo Family’s associate comes in and says everything is on. Hudson doesn’t look convinced and Chase doesn’t seem to have the best idea.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. ???

Lee is defending against a to be determined member of the No Quarter Catch Crew, but here is Gallus to interrupt, with Joe Coffey saying he wants in on this too. Works for Lee.

North American Title: Dragon Lee vs. Joe Coffey vs. Charlie Dempsey

Lee is defending and gets sent to the apron to start. Back in and Coffey throws Lee but misses a middle rope elbow. Dempsey gets headbutted own but Gallus’ distraction earns them an ejection. Coffey grabs a suplex on Lee and we take a break. Back with Lee grabbing a hurricanrana and knocking Dempsey into the corner. Dempsey fights up and drops Lee but has to slug it out with Coffey.

With Coffey getting the better of things, he goes up top but gets uppercutted out of the air. That leaves Dempsey to suplex Coffey, who is suplexing Lee at the same time. Back up and Lee DDTs Dempsey but gets headbutted into the corner for two more. Dempsey is knocked outside so Lee can knee Coffey in the head for two. Lee is knocked to the floor this time so Coffey hits a dive…as a smiling Joe Gacy pops out from underneath the ring. Gacy pulls Coffey under the ring, leaving Dempsey to tabletop suplex Lee for two. Lee is able to come back with Operation Dragon to retain at 12:12.

Rating: C+. The action was good and they had an exciting enough match, but I’m not a fan of just throwing someone in there to make it into a triple threat. It felt like they were just adding something for the sake of adding it to make it different. Lee getting wins is a good thing, but have him beat one of the Catch Crew and then one of Gallus in separate matches rather than changing what they announced in the first place.

Post match Gacy runs off but the No Quarter Catch Crew jump Lee. Cue the LWO for the save.

Trick Williams rants to Carmelo Hayes about Ridge Holland because if he wins, it might make New Year’s Evil a triple threat. Hayes: “Someone should have thought of that!” They need a way to take the title from Dragunov.

Cora Jade announces her return to the women’s locker room and takes over Karmen Petrovic’s locker. With Jade gone, Petrovic comes in and isn’t pleased. Gigi Dolin tells her to go after Jade.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Luca Crusifino vs. Tavion Heights

Heights, the amateur wrestler, takes Luca down without much trouble and then suplexes him for a fast two. A neckbreaker gives Luca the same and another neckbreaker gets another two. Back up and Heights grabs a powerslam, followed by a spinning belly to belly for the pin at 3:27.

Rating: C. These two have been on NXT LVL Up for months now and it is clear that Heights is someone WWE wants to push in a big way down the line. He’s one heck of an athlete and has the amateur wrestling background which should take him a pretty long way. At the same time you have Luca, who has an interesting gimmick with the wrestling lawyer deal, but then he doesn’t really do anything with it and that stops having any kind o an impact.

Video on Lyra Valkyria vs. Blair Davenport, focusing on their paths here, with Valkyria fighting the right way and Davenport doing anything to get to the top. They meet in two weeks at New Year’s Evil.

Valkyria is ready when Nikkita Lyons comes in to say she’ll deal with Tatum Paxley for Valkyria, but she wants the Women’s Title too.

The Meta Four is happy this season because Noam Dar isn’t scared of Josh Briggs.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Tatum Paxley

Lyons takes her to the floor to start and fires off the chops until Paxley sends her hand into the steps. Back in and Paxley is right back on the arm, including a Fujiwara armbar. That’s broken up and Lyons kicks her in the head, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. Something like a German suplex puts Paxley down again and a kick to the chest makes it worse. Lyons hits the splits splash for the pin at 3:20.

Rating: C. Well that happened. Paxley did something interesting last week when she went after Lyra Valkyria but then got wrecked by Lyons here. Whatever she had last week is more or less squashed immediately, which isn’t the most thrilling development. Lyons is back and seems ready to move into the title picture, but I can’t get my head around how ridiculous her new gear looks. It’s like some genie outfit that didn’t get finished and it’s a big distraction.

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger are ready for Gallus.

Fallon Henley is livid at Tiffany Stratton, who has never had to work a day in her life. Henley swears revenge and storms off. Josh Briggs is ready for his Heritage Cup Title match but asks to do it on his own. Jensen isn’t thrilled but agrees.

Tank Ledger/Hank Walker vs. Gallus

Hank works on Mark’s arm to start but it’s quickly off to Wolfgang so Walker comes in to work on the arm. Wolfgang gets sent into the corner for a splash but tags out and offers a fast distraction. Walker is knocked out to the floor and comes up holding his shoulder, meaning Wolfgang has a target. Back in and Mark gets kicked away, allowing Ledger to tag himself in, but the referee says no because he was WAY too far down the apron. Therefore no tag, meaning Mark can kick Walker in the face for the pin at 3:59.

Rating: C. That’s certainly points for a creative ending, as I wouldn’t have thought of that happening in WWE, even if it is by the standard rules of wrestling. I’m really not seeing it with Ledger and Walker, as their every man deal isn’t working. Gallus isn’t exactly great, but they’re the better option here and could be put back into the title hunt sooner than later.

Joe Gacy is watching Gallus from the Chase U student section.

Dijak is in for NXT Underground against Eddy Thorpe.

Tiffany Stratton calls Fallon Henley a servant in society and swears Henley will NEVER be her. Henley will always be trash, so they can fight at New Year’s Evil. When Stratton wins, Henley can become her servant.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Ridge Holland vs. Ilja Dragunov

Non-title. Dragunov’s running shoulders stagger Holland but his running shoulder puts Dragunov down. A hard clothesline drops Dragunov again but he’s back up with some hard chops in the corner. An Alabama Slam drops Dragunov, who shrugs it off and rolls some German suplexes.

We take a break and come back with Holland striking away to take over, including a clothesline to knock Dragunov out of the corner. A suplex is countered into a DDT and the H Bomb knocks Holland silly. Holland gets in another shot of his own and tries a suplex but settles for something like a DDT. Hold on though as Dragunov is badly shaken up and the referee calls in the medics, with the match being stopped at about 10:30.

Rating: B-. They were having a good match here and then they went with the rather scary ending. Having what is hopefully a storyline injury in a match is one thing, having a neck injury from the hands of Holland is quite another when he might have accidentally ended Big E.’s career in the same way. I’m really not a fan of this and while the crowd reacted very well, that doesn’t necessarily make it a good idea.

The arena goes silent as Dragunov is taken out on a stretcher, with the title being laid on him, and he is wheeled out to end the show. Of note: this has been reported to be a storyline injury rather than a legitimate injury.

Overall Rating: C. Ignoring everything at the end, this was a rather flat episode with nothing that stood out, save for the surprise of Henley beating Stratton in a heck of an upset. Other than that though, you had a few matches featuring rookies or lower level talent, which didn’t make for the most entertaining show. Granted it was a taped show, but that didn’t exactly make for a good week. We have another of these next week and that’s not exactly compelling after this less than stellar effort.

Results
Fallon Henley b. Tiffany Stratton – Sunset flip
Lexis King b. Dion Lennox – Coronation
Kiana James/Izzi Dame b. Jacy Jayne/Thea Hail – Big boot to Hail
Dragon Lee b. Joe Coffey and Charlie Dempsey – Operation Dragon to Dempsey
Tavion Heights b. Luca Crusifino – Spinning belly to belly
Nikkita Lyons b. Tatum Paxley – Splits splash
Gallus b. Tank Ledger/Hank Walker – Jumping kick to Walker
Ilja Dragunov vs. Ridge Holland went to a no content when Dragunov was injured

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Deadline 2023
Date: December 9, 2023
Location: Total Mortgage Arena, Bridgeport, Connecticut
Commentators: Booker T., Vic Joseph

This is a show built around a theme match with the Iron Survivor Challenge. It’s something like a gauntlet Iron Man match (with a penalty box) with the winners getting a future title shot. For a bonus, we also have the NXT Title on the line as Ilja Dragunov defends against Baron Corbin. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom

This is a rematch after their previous attempt on NXT was broken up by a big fight breaking out. Axiom headlocks him down to start, which Frazer reverses into one of his own. Back up an Frazer snaps off a headscissors but Axiom sticks the landing to give us another standoff. Axiom takes it to the mat again but misses a running kick to the chest. Frazer knocks him into the corner for a heck of a chop and then does it again for a bonus.

A cobra clutch slows Axiom down a bit and Frazer grabs the bodyscissors, which is broken up almost immediately. The moonsault into the reverse layout DDT gives Frazer two and things slow down a bit. Axiom is right back with half and half suplex into a running kick to the chest for two.

Frazer is sat on top for a forearm to the floor, meaning Axiom can hit a top rope moonsault to take him out again (getting roughly 348% of the contact Charlotte would hit). Back in and Frazer hits the superplex into the Falcon Arrow for two, only to miss the phoenix splash. A rather hard superkick rocks Axiom though and Frazer goes up top again. This time Axiom catches him though it’s a super Spanish Fly into the Golden Ratio for the pin on Frazer at 10:53.

Rating: B. This feels like they were given the instruction “go out there and kill it”, which is pretty much what they did. That’s how you get things going for a crowd, though I’m almost worried about how many people they’re going to overshadow. Axiom getting a win surprises me a bit as he tends to come up short, but dang they had a good one here and I could go for seeing more of them, either together or apart, in the future.

We open the show proper with Shawn Michaels, who wants to know if we’re ready. Cue CM Punk, in a Bret Hart hoodie but doing the Shawn Michaels pose at the entrance. Punk apologizes for cutting Shawn off before getting to say SUCK IT but Shawn would rather talk about that hoodie. Punk points out that Bret and Shawn made up and since Punk and HHH made up, this is all about healing. He talks about growing up watching Shawn, and now he’s able to take a picture with him, which he does. We get the tease of Punk joining NXT…and that’s it in a rather fun but not exactly substantive cameo.

The opening video looks at the rise of the next generation, who will get their chance to emerge in the Iron Survivor Challenges.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee

Lee is challenging and has Dominik’s dad Rey in his corner. Well on commentary but the man just had knee surgery so give him a break. Lee starts fast and knocks him to the floor for the big running flip dive. Back in and Dominik manages to catch Lee’s leg on the top rope to slow things way down. A DDT onto the apron doesn’t go so well and Dominik crashes down to the floor in a heap. Dominik whips him hard into the corner and we hit the chinlock to keep Lee in trouble.

Lee fights up and catches Dominik on top, meaning it’s a top rope double stomp to the apron to the floor for a nasty crash. Some running forearms have Dominik in trouble and a superkick in the corner makes it worse. A nice dropkick cuts Lee off but they trade strikes to the face. Lee’s sitout powerbomb doesn’t go so well so Dominik powerbombs him for two instead. The 619 misses for Dominik and now Lee’s sitout powerbomb gets two. Back up and Destino gives Lee the pin and the title at 10:40.

Rating: B-. Good opener here and Lee winning the title is the right call. At the end of the day, Lee is being presented as one of the future stars of WWE and he has to win something to get there already. Dominik has done some great things with the title but it might be time for him to move up the ladder. Good stuff here though and Lee gets a nice moment to start the show.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

25 minute time limit, two start, another comes in every five minutes. Anyone can get a pinfall, submission or DQ at any time with 1 point per fall. That fall also sends the defeated wrestler to the penalty box for 90 seconds, most points in the end gets a Women’s Title shot at New Year’s Evil. Fallon Henley is in at #1 and Blair Davenport is in at #2.

They go with the pinfall reversal sequence to start and neither can get anywhere. After a minute plus of reversals, Davenport hits a running knee for two and takes over for good. The double arm crank goes on but Henley kicks her away and it’s Tiffany Stratton in at #3. The entrance takes its sweet time before Stratton comes in to take over on both of them.

Some clotheslines puts Henley down and we hit the double Fujiwara armbar from Stratton and Davenport. Somehow that isn’t a submission so Stratton beats up Davenport. Another kick to Henley gets two, followed by an Alabama Slam or two. Davenport breaks up the cover though and pins Henley at 9:45.

Davenport – 1
Henley – 0
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0
Legend – 0

Henley goes to the penalty box as Kelani Jordan is in at #4. Jordan cleans house and hits the split legged moonsault for two on Davenport as Stratton makes the save. Henley is back in and strikes away at Stratton, including a Shining Wizard for the pin at 12:10.

Davenport – 1
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0
Legend – 0

Jordan and Henley trade some near falls until Henley grabs an armbar into an armbar. Stratton comes back in and Davenport pops back up. All four go into the same corner and it’s Lash Legend in at #5 to complete the field. Legend powerbombs Stratton and Henley out of the corner and then superplexes Jordan and Davenport. A chokeslam hits Stratton and a powerbomb hits Henley….for a double pin, and two points, at 16:13.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 1
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0

Jordan is back up with a double knee to send Legend outside. Jordan’s Asai moonsault mostly misses and she takes a nasty crash into the announcers’ table. Davenport is back up to deck Legend but here is Meta Four to block the door to the penalty box. Henley tries to climb out but Stratton shoves her through the announces’ table, followed by a big flip dive onto everyone else. Back in and Jordan goes after Legend before double stomping Jordan for two. Henley makes the save with five minutes left and Davenport double stomps Jordan for the pin at 20:10.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 0
Jordan – 0

Legend picks up Henley and Davenport at the same time but Stratton dropkicks them all down. Jordan comes back in and Henley takes down everyone not named Davenport. A high crossbody gives Jordan two on Legend with Stratton making another save. The Prettiest Moonsault Ever pins Legend at 23:12 to get Stratton on the board.

Legend – 2
Davenport – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 1
Jordan – 0

Jordan 450 Stratton and Davenport for two as Henley makes the save and covers both of them for two each. We have a minute left and some holds are broken up before Davenport German superplexes Jordan. A running knee gives Davenport the pin on Henley at 24:45.

Davenport – 3
Legend – 2
Henley – 1
Stratton – 1
Jordan – 0

Davenport runs the clock out to win at 25:00.

Rating: B-. This took some time to get going but they hit a groove once everyone was in there. Davenport winning is a good call as Jordan and Legend aren’t ready yet, Henley isn’t at that level and Stratton doesn’t need the title again. The concept takes some time to sink in but they got the drama going here and had a nice match as a result.

Post match Davenport calls out Lyra Valkyria who comes out….and is jumped by Cora Jade in a surprise return. Jade holds up the title.

Carmelo Hayes tells Trick Williams that he has the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge. Williams tells him to take care of Lexis King, which Hayes doesn’t seem to like.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Lexis King

King might have attacked Hayes’ friend Trick Williams but has implied Hayes was involved so Hayes is fighting to prove his innocence. Hayes takes him down to start and hammers away, with King bailing out to the floor. Back in and Hayes starts in on the hand, including stomping it onto the steps. King is fine enough to knock him back outside for a dropkick through the ropes and start working on the back.

A kick to said back and a running clothesline to the back of the head gets two, setting up a pair of backbreakers for the same. King offers him a handshake but Hayes lips him of and fights up. They go to the top and crash out hard to the floor for a double knockdown. Back in and Hayes drops King for two of his own but King manages a Jackhammer of all things for the same. King hits another backbreaker but Hayes is up with a Codebreaker. Nothing But Net finishes King clean at 11:13.

Rating: C+. This was ok but never got into the next level. I’m more than a bit surprised that King just lost clean as Hayes is a bigger star, but King is still brand new around here. That’s quite the loss to take so early, but there is a good chance that he’ll be involved in something bigger rather soon. Good enough stuff here, though hardly anything great.

Post match King says he didn’t attack Trick Williams, but he thanks Hayes for that PLE spotlight. Hayes is frustrated as he leaves.

Cora Jade says people aren’t happy she is back but she gave everyone four months of. She’ll be here on Tuesday.

Vengeance Day is on Sunday February 4.

Trick Williams is proud of Carmelo Hayes, who tells him to win tonight.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge

Same rules as the women’s edition, including the title match coming at New Year’s Evil. Dijak is in at #1 and Josh Briggs is in at #2, with Briggs grabbing a rollup for an early two. They trade some leapfrogs until Briggs grabs a quickly broken headlock. An exchange of shoulders goes nowhere either so Briggs knocks him into the corner for some shots to the face. A hard running shoulder gives Briggs two but Dijak knocks him into the other corner. The toss suplex drops Briggs and High Justice gives Dijak two. A big boot gives Briggs the same but Feast Your Eyes gives Dijak the first fall at 5:01.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 0
Bate – 0
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Tyler Bate is in at #3 and kicks away at Dijak, setting up a running uppercut in the corner. The airplane spin goes on but Briggs comes back in to go after Dijak. One heck of a clothesline gives Briggs the pin on Dijak at 7:03.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Bate – 0
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Bate is rammed up against the penalty box but comes back with a springboard uppercut to drop Briggs. Another uppercut is blocked though and Briggs hits a splash for two more. Dijak is back in…and gets rolled up by Bate for the pin at 9:03.

Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Bate – 1
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Bate punches Briggs but Dijak is yelling at the referee, meaning it’s only a near fall. A huge jawbreaker hits Bate as Trick Williams is in at #4. The fans go coconuts as Williams runs over everyone, including using Briggs as a launchpad to knock Dijak out of the air for two as Bate makes the save. A very long airplane spin, complete with bate putting his hands on his hips, cuts Williams off and the Tyler Driver 97 gives Bate the pin on Williams at 13:57.

Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0
Breakker – 0

Dijak gets to run some people over until Bron Breakker is in at #5. The spear pins Briggs at 15:13.

Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Breakker – 1
Williams – 0

Another Breakker spear pins Bate at 15:27.

Bate – 2
Breakker – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Another Breakker spear pins Dijak at 15:43.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 2
Dijak – 1
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

That leaves Breakker and Williams, with Breakker grabbing the Recliner. The other three brawl in the penalty box and break out (as their times expire), leaving Williams to make a rope. Williams hits a Rock Bottom on Breakker, who falls out to the floor. A huge Williams dive takes everyone out but Dijak big boots him for the pin at 18:00.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 2
Dijak – 2
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Breakker is back up with a super Frankensteiner to send Dijak into a sitout powerbomb from Bate, who gets the pin at 18:35.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 2
Briggs – 1
Williams – 0

Breakker hits a heck of a gutbuster for two on Bate and a super flipping World’s Strongest Slam gets the same as Briggs makes the save. Briggs and Dijak get up and start cleaning house, setting up stereo moonsaults for stereo pins on Breakker and Williams at 21:09.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 0

Bate hits a heck of a springboard tornado DDT to Dijak, setting up the big no hands dive to the floor. Briggs decks Bate with a right hand but Dijak takes them both down back inside. Breakker and Williams are back in, with Breakker posting Williams to cut him off. A spear through the barricade drops Williams again but Dijak chokeslams Breakker onto him. Back in and Williams rolls Briggs up for a fast pin at 23:49.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 1

Feast Your Eyes hits Williams but here is Eddy Thorpe to jump Dijak instead. Williams steals a cover for the pin on Dijak at 24:29.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2
Williams – 2

Williams rolls Bate up for the pin at 24:40.

Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Williams – 3
Briggs – 2

Williams knees Breakker for the pin at 24:57.

Williams – 4
Breakker – 3
Bate – 3
Dijak – 3
Briggs – 2

Williams runs the clock out to win at 25:00.

Rating: B. The last minute and fifteen seconds or so was up there with the most ridiculous endings I’ve ever seen to a wrestling match….and that might be a good thing. Williams was beaten up like he owed people money throughout the match and then basically did a crazy Mario Kart style final lap where he caught up with everything. I’m not sure if it was good, but it was absolutely not boring and I’ll take that every day.

Brooks Jensen tries to cheer up Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley when Meta Four comes in to be obnoxious. A fight breaks out.

Kiana James is driven from WWE Headquarters to the arena.

We recap Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez. They have been fighting for months so it’s time to lock them inside a cage. James talks about being a winner but Perez is ready to end her.

Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James

Inside a cage (pinfall/submission only, with escaping not counting for a change) and James arrives. They fight before the bell with James getting the better of things but Perez slugs away. James goes for a climb but Perez dropkicks the cage for a smart breakup. Back up and James sends her into the cage, setting up a reverse chinlock.

With that broken up, a heck of a spinebuster gives James two. Perez fights up again and hits a quick dropkick to start the comeback. There’s a ram into the cage and it works so well that Perez does it a few more times. They both fight up until Perez gets pulled down, setting up a powerbomb off the bottom rope for two.

Perez is right back with a good looking Pop Rox for two but another attempt is blocked. James tries to leave and brings a chair back in, only to get kicked down. Perez goes to the door again but here is Izzi Dame to slam the door on Perez’s head. The Deal Breaker with the chair finishes for James at 11:30.

Rating: C. This never really broke through to the next level and the few good spots they had didn’t make up for the weaker stuff. The feud didn’t feel like it needed to keep going after Halloween Havoc and this, which felt like the blowoff, didn’t exactly work. It wasn’t a terrible match or even bad, but it was fairly disappointing.

We preview the Men’s Breakout Tournament.

Here’s what’s coming on NXT.

We recap Baron Corbin challenging Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Title. Dragunov wants to make the title special but Corbin just wants to be champion. Corbin has beaten Dragunov as well so he has a claim to a title shot. Dragunov has been playing some last minute mind games though and we’re ready for a fight.

NXT Title: Baron Corbin vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov is defending and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Back up and Dragunov strikes away, including a running knee in the corner. A clothesline puts Corbin on the floor and Dragunov follows for a German suplex. Corbin is fine enough to hit a hard drop onto the announcers’ table, meaning he can taunt Dragunov with the offering of stopping it.

Dragunov tries to fight up but gets dropped face first onto the top turnbuckle. Corbin puts him on top but gets knocked down, only to avoid a top rope backsplash. A top rope clothesline gives Corbin two and a release Rock Bottom has Dragunov in more trouble. Dragunov enziguris his way out of a chokeslam and nails a running knee to put Corbin down.

Now the top rope backsplash can connect but Dragunov is too banged up to cover. They slug it out until Dragunov drops him with a heck of a right hand. Corbin gets struck down in the corner where a running boot to the face makes it worse. Dragunov can barely follow up again but manages a running boot to the face (he likes that) on the apron. They go up top though, where Corbin hits a release chokeslam for two off a nasty crash.

A dragon sleeper goes on but Dragunov backflips out and Death Valley Drivers him into the corner. Back up and a quick Deep Six gives Corbin two, followed by his own Death Valley Driver. A brainbuster gives Corbin two but Dragunov muscles him up for a jackknife of all things (it took a few attempts but he got there). Coast To Coast hits Corbin but leaves Dragunov holding his ribs again. Back up and End of Days is countered into a DDT and a pair of H Bombs knock Corbin silly. One more H Bomb….doesn’t leave Corbin down so Dragunov hugs him and hits the Torpedo Moscow to retain at 20:58.

Rating: B. As usual, a Dragunov match leaves you feeling that he would rather die than lose. That was on full display here and while he didn’t quite hit his top level, he had me wanting to see him keep fighting until he won. That’s a heck of a performance, which includes Corbin. I know he gets some major heat from a lot of people, but Corbin is able to do all kinds of things in the ring and do them at a high level. Good stuff here, with Dragunov getting another nice win.

Trick Williams, followed by Carmelo Hayes, comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This wasn’t a great show, but it was a nice use of three hours, not counting a heck of a Kickoff Show match. That’s all you can ask for out of something like this and it worked well all things considered. The Iron Survivor Challenge matches can take some getting used to but once you figure out the system, the drama can be great at the end. With only the cage match being a bit disappointing, I liked this show a good bit and NXT closes out the year pretty well, with New Year’s Evil mostly set.

Results
Axiom b. Nathan Frazer – Golden Ratio
Dragon Lee b. Dominik Mysterio – Destino
Blair Davenport won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Carmelo Hayes b. Lexis King – Nothing But Net
Trick Williams won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Kiana James b. Roxanne Perez – Deal Breaker with a chair
Ilja Dragunov b. Baron Corbin – Torpedo Moscow

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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We’re wrapping up the big WWE shows of the year with this, which is another show built around a concept match. In this case that would be the Iron Survival Challenge, which is kind of like a gauntlet Iron Man match with a penalty box. Either way, it’s for a future title shot and we have a men’s and women’s version. The rest of the card is looking good enough so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

This match was supposed to happen this week on NXT but that fell apart due to a big brawl. They’re fighting over Axiom not being the nicest friend following a recent Frazer loss. It helps that they have a history and should be able to have a good match with each other in their sleep. That should make for a heck of a way to get the crowd warmed up so they do at least have the right idea.

I’ll go with Frazer to win here, as Axiom has a tendency to never win anything and he probably won’t again here. Frazer is the more successful of the two and it would make sense to have him get the win to start the night. I still think Axiom continues to be someone who should be able to move up the ladder a bit, but for now he is probably losing to Frazer.

Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez

We’ll start the main card with a pretty big one, as Perez is looking for revenge inside a cage. I’m not sure why this feud needed to keep going after Halloween Havoc but here we are with one more big fight. Perez is already one of the more established names in the division while James has that one Women’s Tag Team Title reign with Fallon Henley in a story that feels like it was forever ago.

I see no reason for Perez to lose here outside of some major interference so we’ll go with Perez winning. She should be on her way to something bigger and a definitive win over James is a good way to set things up. James will get in some offense here, but I can’t picture someone as good as Perez coming up short in what should be the big blowoff match for the feud. Perez wins in a fight.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Lexis King

This is the next big step in one of the more interesting stories taking place in NXT at the moment. The question right now is whether or not Hayes was working with King in some way to take out Trick Williams but he’s fighting Lexis here to prove his loyalty to Williams. What matters here is finding out if Hayes is telling the truth and there is a good chance we find that out here.

This almost has to be King’s to win so we’ll go there. King is still brand new to NXT and there is no reason to have him lose here. What matters is getting the story advanced, which could go in a few different ways. What won’t matter is anything that happens if King loses here, so we’ll go with him getting the win, likely through some kind of shenanigans. The end game seems to be Hayes vs. Williams, and Hayes losing here can be a step towards the eventual showdown.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. Dragon Lee

Unfortunately this is the replacement match after Wes Lee announced that he has suffered an injury so bad that he will be out of action for 8-12 months. As a result, Dominik’s father Rey Mysterio announced that he was bringing in Dragon to come after the title instead. This will be the latest attempt to do something with Dragon, who is rather talented and seems to be a big prospect who has to win something at some point.

Given all of the circumstances, I’ll take Dragon to win the title here, as he has to win something at some point. You can put the title back on Dominik if he needs it, but Dragon can’t keep losing over and over. It’s not a bad thing to give us a cool title change here and that might be the idea. If nothing else you don’t want to see Dragon losing so many times, which he did clean this week on SmackDown for whatever reason. For now though, I’ll go with the upset title change and likely be wrong.

NXT Title: Ilja Dragunov(c) vs. Baron Corbin

This is a match that should sound kind of lame on paper but they have turned it into something that much better than expected. Dragunov turned the tables on Corbin’s mind games this week and now the question is what happens when Dragunov is allowed to get violent. At the same time, Corbin is doing some of the better stuff he has done in recent years and I’m actually wanting to see them fight.

We’ll go with a pretty easy winner here and have Dragunov retain the title. What matters here is having a big fight and give Dragunov a run for his money, but I can actually imagine Corbin winning the title in a big surprise. Corbin winning a title like this would be a big career moment for him, though I can’t bring myself to say he does it here. Dragunov wins, though the more I think about it, the more I could see a title change being possible.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge

As usual in a match like this, the best thing to do is eliminate some of the potential winners. In this case, we can knock out Kelani Jordan (too new) and Fallon Henley (talented, but nowhere near the title picture). That leaves Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend and Blair Davenport, all of whom could come away with this thing. The interesting thing is I could see it going any of those ways and that makes for some promising prospects.

I’ll go with Davenport getting the win and the title shot. Stratton has been done and Legend feels like it would be little more than a one off challenger for Lyra Valkyria. Davenport seems like she could be someone who could be a big threat to take the title and that means she should get the win here. While Stratton is always a possibility, it makes more sense to go with Davenport for a change.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge

With the whole process of elimination idea again, we’ll get rid of Josh Briggs, who feels like the most random choice to put in this match. I kind of want to drop Bron Breakker, who has already had the big title run but he’s too big of a star to leave out. That gives us a pretty stacked group of options and that should make for a good match, as the more potential winners you have, the better it should be.

The more I look at the field, the more Tyler Bate sticks out to me so we’ll go with him in something of an upset. Trick Williams is busy dealing with Carmelo Hayes and/or Lexis King, Breakker has been champion too long in the past and Dijak just doesn’t feel like a potential winner. Bate vs. Dragunov could make for a heck of a fight on a big TV show, but Bate has to get a title shot to make that a possibility. He can d it here by winning the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Overall Thoughts

Despite two of the matches being the same concept, this show has a decent amount of variety. The Iron Survivor Challenges will be the focal point, but the NXT Title match could be a great fight and there is a cage match to go with some violence. Throw in the storyline match between King and Hayes and we should be in for a solid show. NXT specials like this have been mostly good and while it’s not going to be Takeover, it could go rather well.

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 5, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Deadline and that means we have one spot left in both of the Iron Survivor Challenge matches. Those will likely be filled in tonight and that should make for some interesting matches to get us to Saturday. Other than that, the rest of the Deadline card could use a final push so let’s get to it.

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

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Thea Hail vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James

Jacy Jayne is here with Hail. Perez and James brawl to start, which continues a fight they had at the Performance Center earlier this week. With James down on the floor, the other three fight over a test of strength until James and Perez brawl outside. Henley hits a suicide dive but gets dropped by James as we take a break.

Back with the Tower Of Doom (with Hail getting the worst of things) but Perez crossbodies James down. Pop Rox is broken up so Perez knocks James to the floor again. The announcers’ table is loaded up with Perez and James crashing off the barricade and through said table. That leaves Henley to Shining Wizard Hail for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: B-. This was more about Perez vs. James and that is not a bad thing, especially with Henley getting one of the bigger wins of her career. She hasn’t had the greatest success rate but she seems like she is capable of doing so much. That leaves Hail in the cold, but she has the whole Chase U ordeal in front of her anyway. Good opener here, as they kept the action going.

Lyra Valkyria is ready for whomever comes out of the Iron Survivor Challenge. Lola Vice comes in to tease cashing in her title shot tonight, though Tatum Paxley pops in for a threat of her own.

Here is Wes Lee, on a cane, for a chat. He was looking forward to winning the North American Title back but the fans supporting him will not bring back the feeling in his legs. He is going to need surgery and time and he isn’t sure when you will see him again. No matter what though, he will be back. This is not a goodbye, but a see you later.

Cue Dominik Mysterio to say Lee is hurt again and he’ll have to be gone for so long. Dominik says he’ll have a night off but Lee says not so fast. Rey Mysterio pops up on screen to say that Dominik will be defending the title at Deadline, with Rey there in person. Dominik will be defending against….Dragon Lee, who comes in to chase Dominik off. Well that’s awful, and hopefully Lee is back to full health sooner than later.

Kiana James is in the trainer’s room and wants to get her hands on Roxanne Perez again. Cue Perez for the brawl.

The Men’s Breakout Tournament begins next week.

Tatum Paxley vs. Lola Vice

Elektra Lopez is here with Vice. They go with the grappling to start and Vice takes her down for a hip attack to the head. Paxley catapults her throat first into the ropes for two and a spinebuster out of the corner gets the same. The body scissors keeps Vice down but she pulls Paxley into a quickly broken kneebar. Vice strikes her into the corner for a hip attack and two, followed by a spinning kick to the head for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C. They kept it quick and to the point here with Vice picking up a win, but at least Paxley got in some offense of her own to keep it from being a squash. The point here was building Vice up on the way to her title match though and that worked well enough. If nothing else, a good kick to the head is a nice way to make a champion feel threatened.

Of note: during that match, commentary announced that Wes Lee’s recovery time from back surgery is 8-12 months.

Last week, Axiom and Nathan Frazer didn’t quite agree on Frazer’s loss and agreed to fight again. Granted they’ll be friends afterwards.

Baron Corbin isn’t worried about Ilja Dragunov tonight.

NXT Anonymous shows a video from October 17 of Trick Williams leaving Carmelo Hayes, who texted someone after he left.

Joe Gacy annoys commentary.

Alpha Academy vs. Meta Four

Dar backs Gable up to the ropes to start but gets slammed down for his efforts. Mensah comes in and gets chopped a few times, followed by an armdrag into an armbar. It’s off to Dupri for a suplex to Legend before Otis comes in to suplex Mensah and Dar. Everyone brawls on the floor and we take an early break.

Back with Gable suplexing Dar and it’s back to Otis to wreck more people. Mensah gets crushed with an elbow so it’s back to Legend….who slams Otis in quite the impressive feat. Dupri comes in and suplexes Legend for two, only to have Otis catch Legend on the floor. That leaves Dupri to dive onto the pile, leaving Gable to ankle lock Dar for the tap at 11:07.

Rating: B-. This was a fun match and they kept things going the whole time. That’s all you need from a match like this, with Legend slamming Otis being a rather awesome moment. Gable beating Dar in the end should set him up for another Heritage Cup win and my goodness it is long overdue or him to win the title, as Dar has held that thing for the better part of ever.

Gallus ran into Tank Ledger and Hank Walker at the bar, where a challenge was made for next week.

Ava leaves Shawn Michaels’ office and announces that Kiana James vs. Roxanne Perez is on for Deadline. To make sure it’s violent, we’ll put them inside a cage.

All five entrants in the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge (Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, Blair Davenport, Kelani Jordan, Fallon Henley) are in the ring to say why they are going to win. Stratton says she is the favorite in the match and the future because she sees four participation trophies and one winner. Jordan knows she’s an underdog but no one here has ever been in an Iron Survivor Challenge either.

Legend doesn’t like any of them but she’s been training with Noam Dar and knows about winning multiple falls. Davenport brings up the women she has injured and threatens to be even more vicious. Henley offers to beat them all up. They all argue, Byron Saxton gets annoyed that they’re arguing, and the big brawl breaks out. This was to the point and Legend continues to be one of the most annoying humans in wrestling history.

Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer

They start fast and trade flips with neither being able to get very far. Axiom catches him with a sliding German suplex but dives into a nice superkick for two. Frazer is sent outside for the big dive but the Iron Survivor Challenge women fight to the ring and it’s a no contest at 2:06.

The brawl continues until Nikkita Lyons runs out to deck Davenport.

Andre Chase hosts a Chase U assembly to explain the situation. Chase himself put them in this position and the school is officially on academic probation. Any students who enrolled after the investigation began will no longer be eligible for financial aid. Thea Hail wants to know how much Chase owes, with Chase saying it’s hundreds of thousands of dollars. It’s a loan plus interest because he went through a third party.

Chase promises to get the school out of debt and we get some suggestions to make money. Like a bake sale! A car wash! A crash course on avoiding financial crisis (a male student suggests this and Jacy Jayne has to get Thea Hail’s attention back)! Chase promises the debt will be paid. This is a story that is going to see more and more revealed week by week and that makes it more interesting. We still need to know who Chase owes and how Tony D’Angelo/Stacks tie into everything, though that might be one in the same detail.

Trick Williams wants answers from Carmelo Hayes about the footage from earlier. Hayes will answer after this.

Lexis King says the camera always finds him but he’s not going to interfere in Carmelo Hayes’ match, because he doesn’t mess with his friends’ matches.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Tyler Bate vs. Joe Coffey vs. Eddy Thorpe

Thorpe is coming in with bad ribs so Coffey goes right after them. Hayes cuts that off, leaving Bate and Coffey to slug it out. Coffey swings Bate to no avail so it’s Hayes coming back in for a springboard spinning clothesline to Thorpe. Everyone goes to the corner, with Thorpe hitting a double high crossbody. All four are down and we take a break.

Back with Thorpe stealing a cover on bate for two with Coffey making the save. Thorpe’s brainbuster gets the same on Bate with Coffey saving again. Thorpe goes to the floor to drop Bate again but charges into a spinebuster onto the steps. Back in and Hayes grabs a top rope sunset flip to Coffey to send Bate flying. A Codebreaker hits Bate for two but Coffey knocks Hayes out of the air. Bats grabs a quick Tyler Driver 97 to pin Coffey and go to Deadline at 11:10.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the earlier match in that they kept things moving and didn’t waste time with a bunch of filler. Bate is always a safe choice to put near the title picture as he can be elevated into a main event spot out of nowhere. Hayes already has Williams to worry about and Coffey vs. Thorpe could be a nice feud as well. Good stuff again here, with the right choice for the winner.

Post match Bate promises violence on Saturday, when Dijak interrupts. After kicking the still injured Thorpe down again, Dijak threatens Bate but Bron Breakker interrupts. We get the usual threats but here is Josh Briggs to say he likes being underrated. Trick Williams comes out as well and the brawl is on.

Post break, Williams asks Carmelo Hayes if he sent the text to Lexis King to take him out. Hayes again denies it and says he would never work with King. To prove it, Hayes will take King out at Deadline (again through Ava, who seems to be some new liaison to Shawn Michaels).

Here are Baron Corbin and Ilja Dragunov for a face to face chat. Corbin promises to win the title and mocks the size difference. Dragunov is ready to fight but says he’s containing himself because if he lets himself go now, there will be no title match at Deadline. Dragunov accuses Corbin of wanting the title to keep up his obsession with materialistic possessions. That sends Corbin into a nice rant about how he’s been around for eight years through ups and downs.

Corbin knows Dragunov is about to lose it because he misses his family and tells Dragunov to do something about it. He even loads up the table in the corner so Dragunov can drop him but nothing happens. Corbin calls him a coward, so Dragunov….hugs him, saying that the only person who can destroy the dragon is the dragon himself. Corbin is confused to….well almost end the show, as the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge participants brawl to ringside. Breakker spears Williams through the table to end the show.

That was a very different way to do things and I really like Dragunov turning the tables on Corbin. At the same time, there might be something in a Corbin face run down the line. That promo about always being here no matter what had a lot of potential in it and I could see people cheering him if he did more like that at some point.

Overall Rating: B+. I’ve said this many times before but this is where NXT shines. They ha a bunch of things to cover here and did every single one of them, from making me want to see where everything is going. They added to the two Iron Survivor Challenges, unfortunately had to change a title match, pushed the rest of the card and furthered some stories for after Deadline. That is one heck of a way to spend two hours and they even had a bunch of good wrestling. Very nice show this week, and hopefully Deadline can live up to the hype.

Results
Fallon Henley b. Thea Hail, Roxanne Perez and Kiana James – Shining Wizard to Hail
Lola Vice b. Tatum Paxley – Spinning kick to the head
Alpha Academy b. Meta Four – Ankle lock to Dar
Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer went to a no contest when the Iron Survivor challenge women brawled at ringside
Tyler Bate b. Carmelo Hayes, Eddy Thorpe and Joe Coffey – Tyler Driver 97 to Coffey

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

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AND

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NXT
Date: November 28, 2023
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re in the final week of the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches with Jerry Lawler as the guest picker this week. In addition to that, with about a week and a half to go before Deadline and the rest of the card could use some more firming up. That should come this week with the NXT Title match hopefully getting some extra attention. Let’s get to it.

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

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza

D’Angelo and Stacks are defending and it’s a brawl in the aisle to start. We settle down with D’Angelo beating up Carrillo, including a belly to belly for two. Garza gets in a cheap shot though, allowing Carrillo to hit a springboard spinning kick to the head. A tackle gets D’Angelo out of trouble though and Stacks comes charging in, only to get caught in the wrong corner. Stacks fights out and hits an uppercut into a German suplex from D’Angelo. The PowerPlex is cut off though and a double slam off the top rope drops Stacks as we take a break.

Back with Stacks fighting out of trouble and handing it off to D’Angelo as everything breaks down. Everything breaks down and a spinebuster gives D’Angelo two on Carrillo. A distracted referee lets Garza hit Stacks low, setting up a Jay Driller for two, with the kickout hitting Garza low as well. D’Angelo comes back in with the Bada Bing Bada Boom to retain at 12:25.

Rating: B-. It’s nice to see the champs get a win, though Garza and Carrillo felt like they could have gotten the title shot at Deadline, or at least been more than challengers of the week. I’m not sure who is up next for the champs but they looked good enough here. The tag division has a lot of teams but I’m not sure how many of them I can imagine being serious threats to the belts right now.

Some wrestlers aren’t sure if Ilja Dragunov’s success equal up to all the things Baron Corbin has. Dragunov comes in and doesn’t seem to appreciate Nathan Frazer’s take on things. Dragunov knows how to fix this.

Jerry Lawler picks Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker and Kelani (which sounds like it was dubbed in) Jordan vs. Kiana James for Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches.

Video on Johnny Gargano.

Josh Briggs is fired up for the Iron Survivor Challenge but Lexis King comes in to take some credit for his success and, after slightly hitting on Fallon Henley, mocks Brooks Jensen. King vs. Jensen is set for later.

Nikkita Lyons is back in training and is here tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Kiana James vs. Kelani Jordan

James stomps away in the corner to start but Jordan dropkicks her way out of trouble. A headlock slows James down on the mat until she grabs the hair to escape. They head outside where Jordan is dropped onto the announcers’ table and we take a break. Back with James snapping off a spinebuster but Jordan grabs a Playmaker for two. James hits a quick 401k….but Roxanne Perez pops in to ring the bell. That’s enough of a distraction for Jordan to knock James down and hit the split legged moonsault for the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C+. I’m still not entirely sure why James vs. Perez is continuing but that’s what we’re getting out of this one. Jordan continues to feel like a long term project for NXT and that is not a bad idea. She’s athletic and can do well enough in the ring but is lacking experience. Get that through to her and they could have something.

Video on Cameron Grimes.

The Alpha Academy isn’t happy with what happened in the Heritage Cup match last week and now they want revenge. That can come in a six person tag next week.

NXT Anonymous has released a video showing Lexis King following Trick Williams on the night of Williams’ attack. We don’t see King do anything physical though.

We get a press conference from Chase U, with Andre Chase talking about the ongoing investigation. There are allegations of gambling and misusing funds, leaving the university in debt. Chase says it’s all true and he’ll do whatever he can to get things back on track. He takes some questions but won’t say how much he owes. It’s all his fault and he’ll address the student body at the next assembly. Well that’s rather specific and again I’m not sure how smart it is to have Chase get in trouble when the team was as popular as they have been.

Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker

Thorpe has taped up ribs. Breakker slams him down to start and grabs a quick gator roll. Something like a powerslam puts Thorpe on the floor, where Breakker sends him into the barricade. A fireman’s carry gutbuster has Thorpe in more trouble and we take a break. Back with Thorpe slipping out of a torture rack and striking away but getting whipped hard into the corner. Thorpe fights back with some suplexes but Breakker spears him down for the pin at 10:13.

Rating: C+. It’s not much of a surprise that Breakker, one of the most successful stars in the history of NXT, was able to get into the big #1 contenders match. This was actually a bit better than I was expecting, as Breakker had a target with the ribs and focused on it. Sometimes it’s fine to go as basic as you can and that’s what they did here.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes are ready for revenge on Lexis King but Williams says they can wait for after the Iron Survivor Challenge.

The women’s locker room breaks into a fight over next week’s Last Chance matches to qualify for the Iron Survival Challenge.

Video on Bronson Reed.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Nathan Frazer

Non-title and Dragunov explodes on him to start. Frazer gets knocked hard into the corner to start before Dragunov grabs a waistlock. Frazer is back up with a hard shot of his own into a springboard missile dropkick to put Dragunov down for a change. The phoenix splash misses though and Dragunov hits a powerbomb into the H Bomb…but pulls up at two. Another H Bomb finishes Frazer at 5:26.

Rating: C+. That was a bit weird as Dragunov more or less squashed him. Frazer isn’t a major star but he’s big enough that he should be able to make Dragunov work a bit. That being said, it takes Dragunov look like more of a killer to run through Frazer like this so well done on boosting up the champion.

Post match Baron Corbin pops up on screen to mock Dragunov, who he will meet face to face next week.

Lyra Valkyira knows all of the challenges that could come out of the Iron Survivor Challenge. Fallon Henley pops in to say she’s going to win but someone (Tatum Paxley maybe?) appears from behind the curtains to say Valkyria would beat Henley anyway.

Karmen Petrovic talks about how martial arts teach you to trust your instincts. Her instincts tells her to beat up Arianna Grace.

Meta Four is in for the match with Alpha Academy.

Joe Gacy is underneath the ring because he’s beneath us and wants our attention.

Karmen Petrovic vs. Arianna Grace

Grace powers her into the corner to start and offers to let Petrovic kiss the ring. Petrovic is right back and offers to let Grace do the same. A rollup gives Petrovic two….but here is Joe Gacy from underneath the ring to steal the ring bell. We take a break and come back with Grace bouncing Petrovic’s head off the mat, setting up a chinlock. Petrovic fights up and grabs a choke but Grace goes to the eye. A fireman’s carry slam finishes Petrovic at 9:06 (without a bell because Gacy has to be a thing).

Rating: C. Grace needed to win here as she has been presented as someone who could become a player but hasn’t really gotten much momentum going yet. Beating Petrovic only has so much value but it’s better than not winning. I’m still not wild on Grace as the pageant queen as it isn’t a great idea, though it should do for now.

Gacy rings the bell in the crowd.

Wes Lee is ready for all of his opponents tonight because he needs to go to Deadline and get the North American Title back.

Brooks Jensen vs. Lexis King

Jensen starts fast with a rolling kick to the head and they’re already on the floor for a slugout. We take a break and come back with King hammering away as Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes watch in the back. Hayes goes to deal with something as King grabs the chinlock. Jensen powers him into the corner and grabs a suplex or the break. A missile dropkick gets two on King but here is Hayes to go after King. The distraction lets King grab the Coronation fr the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. This felt like one of those random house show matches you get from time to time in NXT, as Jensen has had almost no singles success. What mattered here was getting King a win, as he seems to be ready to become something pretty big around here. They’re still polishing the details, but what matters here is getting him another win.

Video on the Iron Survivor Challenges.

Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Wes Lee

If Lee wins, he gets a North American Title shot at Deadline (against Dominik Mysterio, on commentary) but if he doesn’t, he never gets another shot. Reed cleans house to start and we take a break less than a minute in. Back with Reed getting triple teamed out to the floor, followed by Grimes being sent outside as well.

Lee gets the better of things but Reed is back in to wreck them both. Grimes can’t sunset flip Reed but Gargano catapults Grimes head first into a low blow to put Reed down. Everyone is back up until Lee sends Reed outside. Gargano sends Grimes outside for a knockdown of his own and the fans approve.

The slingshot spear gets two on Grimes but Lee is back in to take over. Reed is back in as well and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee. Grimes’ high crossbody gets two on Reed, who is right back up to pick all three of them up for something like a triple Samoan drop (geez). The other three are able to powerbomb Reed out of the corner, leaving Grimes to grab his flipping powerslam for two on Lee.

The Gargano Escape goes on but Lee saves Grimes for a change. That doesn’t work for Reed, who buckle bombs Lee and backsplashes the other two. Reed takes Lee to the middle rope and gorilla presses him onto the other two. Cue Ivar to jump Reed though and they fight to the back, leaving the other three in the ring. Grimes hits the Cave In on Gargano but the Cardiac Kick gives Lee the pin at 17:19.

Rating: B+. Now this was more like it as they had almost nonstop action for a pretty long TV match. Reed came off like an absolute star here and they even had a logical and productive way to get rid of him. Lee winning is hardly a surprise but he feels like he earned the win. That should help him a lot on the way to Deadline, but he almost has to win there.

Roxanne Perez and Kiana James are brawling in the parking lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was another show that got things done and helped build up Deadline, plus some other things not for the show. The qualifying matches were to the point and the main event was very good. Throw in King and Dragunov both looking strong, plus Chase U’s story getting a pretty big step forward and this was another good show. That has been a theme for NXT as of late and I could go for a lot more of it.

Results
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Humberto Carrillo/Angel Garza – Bada Bing Bada Boom to Garza
Kelani Jordan b. Kiana James – Split legged moonsault
Bron Breakker b. Eddy Thorpe – Spear
Ilja Dragunov b. Nathan Frazer – H Bomb
Arianna Grace b. Karmen Petrovic – Fireman’s carry slam
Lexis King b Brooks Jensen – Coronation
Wes Lee b. Johnny Gargano, Bronson Reed and Cameron Grimes – Cardiac Kick to Grimes

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.