NXT
Date: May 25, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s time for the big fight night with a Takeover: Stand & Deliver rematch between NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Finn Balor. Kross took the title from Balor last month and it is time for Balor to get his rematch. This is being treated as the big dream rematch and hopefully they live up to the hype. Let’s get it.

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

The opening video looks at Kross vs. Balor and makes it feel like the biggest match in a pretty long time.

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon vs. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai

Blackheart can’t roll Gonzalez up to start so it’s off to Moon, who can roll Gonzalez up for two. Kai comes in and sends Moon into the corner but Blackheart makes a blind tag. A running splash in the corner sets up the reverse Sling Blade to Kai and it’s back to Moon for two off the standing moonsault. Blackheart puts on a Texas Cloverleaf but Gonzalez breaks it up from behind, setting up some big elbows.

We take a break and come back with Moon and Gonzalez coming in off a double tag, meaning Moon can come in and clean house. Some slingshot knees to the ribs set up the middle rope Codebreaker but Kai cuts Moon off on the way back up. Blackheart has to make a save and then comes in to kick away at Kai. A fireman’s carry facebuster gets two on Kai but something like a Doomsday Device is broken up. Moon pulls Kai into a modified STF until Gonzalez makes the save. Gonzalez’s lifting powerbomb is countered though and Moon grabs a modified Eclipse. The Dominator/sliding cutter finishes Kai at 10:26.

Rating: C+. Energetic match here and I’m a bit surprised by the ending. The match would seem to have been there to also set up Moon as the next challenger to Gonzalez, which would be a good way to go. Kai being there to take the fall for Gonzalez is a formula which could work if they are going to be a team, so nice job of setting things up for the future and keeping the right people strong.

Post match Gonzalez jumps them both so Moon can be choked on the rope. Gonzalez sends Blackheart into the barricade, the post, and the barricade again. Moon vs. Gonzalez works for me.

Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are ready for the Grizzled Young Veterans and promise a round three. They both throw chairs and Thatcher wants to break some limbs.

NXT is excited to have fans back.

Video on Bobby Fish vs. Pete Dunne, with Dunne injuring Fish at Takeover: WarGames.

Bobby Fish vs. Pete Dunne

Oney Lorcan is here with Dunne. Fish goes right after him at the bell and tries for the leg. That earns himself a heck of a chop and a kneebar from Dunne, who is fine with cutting someone to pieces. Dunne cranks on the arm a bit before taking Fish into the corner. The chinlock is countered into a Fujiwara armbar but Dunne fights back up.

That’s fine with Fish, who drops him arm first onto the top. Dunne gets sent outside and we take a break. Back with Dunne working on the leg before switching over to the arm. Fish fights up and hits a spinebuster but gets taken right back down by the arm. Dunne sends him outside to drop him again, but Fish manages an exploder suplex into the ropes back inside.

Some knees to the ribs have Dunne rocked in the corner but he snaps off a German suplex. There’s a big kick to the head but Fish hits a jumping elbow for two. The seated armbar goes on but Dunne rolls through into the Bitter End (what a sweet counter) to put Fish away at 12:12.

Rating: C+. That’s the only way to go here as Fish is going to mostly be a good hand around here. Dunne seems primed for a main event run so there wasn’t much of a choice to this one. There is nothing wrong with a competitive match where you know how things are going to go and they made it work.

Post match Lorcan jumps Fish and stays on the arm, including putting him on the apron to stand on it, with the arm being bent down towards the floor.

We look at Bronson Reed winning the North American Title last week.

Mercedes Martinez is ready to start her road to redemption. Boa is behind her, unseen.

Hit Row knows this is the land of opportunity and it is time to go gold. They’re watching the champions and are ready to put an L on their heads like they’re Mario’s brother. Everyone is on notice and if you didn’t know, now you know.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Zayda Ramier

Martinez’s entrance has some Glacier elements. Ramier gets taken down in a hurry but she moonsaults over Martinez in the corner. Some shots to the face give Ramier a quick two but Martinez knocks her down. Some rolling butterfly suplexes give Martinez two and there’s a spinebuster for the same. Ramier manages a hurricanrana into a choke but Martinez drives her into the corner for the easy break. A press slam off the top sets up a running knee into the Air Raid Crash to finish Ramier at 3:22.

Rating: C. This was more competitive than I would have bet on but Martinez survived everything that was thrown at her to win in the end. That’s all this needed to be, through Ramier got in a little bit of offense to give her a bit of a rub as well. She might turn into something later, so that was a nice bone to her here.

Post match the lights go out and we get a lot of red smoke. The blue lights come back up and Tian Sha’s symbol is on Martinez’s hand.

Ted DiBiase is in the back and the Robert Stone Brand comes up to him. DiBiase throws money at them and walks away.

Here are Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase for the Million Dollar Faceoff. Grimes talks about how he hasn’t always had money and how he looks up to DiBiase. Money lets Grimes treat people horribly and get away with it, because he has so much money to do whatever he wants. DiBiase says he likes Grimes because he is looking for the best person to personify the Million Dollar Man.

It isn’t all about money, because there is also everything that happens in this ring. Grimes has lost his focus since he got his money….and here is LA Knight to interrupt. Knight talks about how much of an opportunity there is here because he is perfect for something like this. Grimes says Knight needs to stay out of this talk between millionaires but DiBiase wants to hear what he has to say.

Knight talks about needing DiBiase as the final piece of the puzzle. That sounds appealing to DiBiase, who praises Knight’s million dollar body and mind but Grimes says this is between himself and DiBiase. Knight needs to leave, but he decks Grimes instead. DiBiase says Grimes is never going to get it and laughs before leaving with Knight. This is intriguing, for the talking possibilities alone.

Indi Hartwell is looking for Dexter Lumis but runs into Ever-Rise instead. Drake Maverick tries to calk things down and says Lumis was in that room over there a few hours ago. Hartwell goes in and finds a room with the walls covered in pictures of sad things, mainly themed around broken hearts. One of them has Dexter with a knife through his heart, leaving Hartwell freaked out.

Frankie Monet vs. Cora Jade

Monet takes her into the corner to start and the chops are on in a hurry. Some running knees to the back set up a running hip attack in the corner, followed by the running knees to the face. A hard knee drops Jade again but she gets in some forearms, which surprise Monet more than anything else. Jade grabs a Russian legsweep for two but a spear cuts her off. The yet to be named Road To Valhalla (Beth: “That looked familiar!”) finishes Jade at 3:08.

Rating: C. Another effective squash here, with Monet looking confident and dominant at the same time. Jade’s offense meant nothing and served to make Monet all the more angry so she could finish things off. Monet feels like a complete product already, but a little more seasoning never hurt anyone.

The Grizzled Young Veterans want the Tag Team Titles so they’ll be watching MSK’s Tag Team Title defense next week.

We look at Bronson Reed winning the North American Title and talking about how much it means for Australians.

Walter yells at Imperium about how Alexander Wolfe is gone for good and now it is time to show how sacred the mat is again. They start by making up for losing the Tag Team Titles to Breezango.

Here is Bronson Reed to celebrate his title win. After soaking in some tears, Reed talks about how the title represents being willing to fight for what you want. Now that he has this, try to take it from him. Cue Legado del Fantasma (this could be interesting), with Santos Escobar talking about how this business was born to him. That title has Escobar’s attention and it is why he took the Cruiserweight Title in the first place. He likes being the champion of Mexico and the United States (Joaquin Wilde: “What about Canada?” Escobar: “I told you Canada doesn’t count!”) so the beatdown is teased, but MSK runs in for the save.

William Regal sets up a triple threat match for next week between Kyle O’Reilly, Johnny Gargano and Pete Dunne, with the winner getting an NXT Title shot at Takeover.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross

Kross, with Scarlett, is defending. Balor starts kicking at the leg and grabs a headlock for some early control. Kross sends him outside but they switch places, with Kross being frustrated as we take a break. Back with Kross kicking away at the legs and planting Balor for daring to try a comeback. Some shoulders to the ribs and more to the back have Balor in trouble in the corner and there’s a big shot to the back to make it worse.

Kross sends him flying again and a German suplex has Balor reeling. Balor finally manages to take him down though and rolls into the jumping double stomp. Kross knocks him outside but Balor manages to tie things up in the ring skirt. That means a bunch of stomping to the back and we take another break. Back again with Kross hitting a powerslam for two but Balor grabs something like the Nightmare on Helm Street.

Another double stomp is pulled into a rear naked choke and Balor takes his time to get to the rope. They head outside with Kross sending him into the barricade over and over to stay on the back. Once back inside, Balor manages a quick DDT into the Sling Blade. With Kross being sent back outside, it’s a big flip dive to take him down…for all of a few seconds, as Kross drops him onto the announcers’ table.

Back in and Balor hits a double stomp into the shotgun dropkick but the Coup de Grace misses. A release German suplex drops Balor and there’s a Doomsday Saito to put him down again. The running elbow is countered into a cradle for two but Balor’s seated abdominal stretch is countered into some forearms to the back of the head. Balor slips out and hits his own forearms to put Kross in trouble for a change.

A straitjacket choke has Kross in trouble and Balor switches over to a triangle choke. Kross grabs the referee to save himself though and there’s a powerbomb to put Balor down hard. A forearm to the back sets up the running elbow to the back of the head, setting up a bunch of stomps to Balor’s head. The Krossjacket Choke ends Balor at 22:41.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but the last few minutes were the intense stuff you would expect from these two. I’m curious if Balor sticks around NXT at this point, as there is nothing left for him to do and the main roster could certainly use him. They didn’t get to the same level that they did at Takeover, but this was quite good for a big time TV main event.

Kross and Scarlett pose as Balor rolls away to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This show was another good one up and down but it wasn’t quite to the same level as some of their recent efforts. The action was good and the main event felt important, but the rest of the show was just kind of there. The good thing is that they have started the build towards Takeover though, which is coming up pretty quickly. NXT are the masters of slow and steady, though this one, while good, was more of the former.

Results

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez – Dominator/sliding cutter combination to Kai

Pete Dunne b. Bobby Fish – Bitter End

Mercedes Martinez b. Zayda Ramier – Air Raid Crash

Frankie Monet b. Cora Jade – Road To Valhalla

Karrion Kross b. Finn Balor – Krossjacket Choke

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: May 4, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

The big story this week is the return of Finn Balor for the first time since he lost the NXT Title to Karrion Kross back at Takeover: Stand & Deliver. That alone should be interesting as we get to see what is next for him. In addition, the Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line as Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart defend against the Way. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap sets up tonight’s Women’s Tag Team Title match, plus Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff.

Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff

Falls count anywhere. Ruff charges into an elbow to the face to start but he’s right back up with a failed crucifix bomb attempt. Instead Scott knocks him down but the JML Driver is countered with Scott being knocked to the floor. The suicide dive is blocked as well and Scott slams him back first into the apron. Scott sends him into the barricade and hits a heck of a delayed top rope superplex for two (Ruff being small can make for some great crashes).

Ruff is sent outside where he counters a kick from the apron to tie Scott’s legs in the ropes. That means a running dropkick to knock Scott to the floor as well, but Scott is fine enough to chop Ruff out of the air. Scott whips out a toolbox and we take a break. Back with Ruff hitting a flip dive off the stage to take Scott down again. They go back into the ring with Scott reversing another superplex into the super crucifix bomb for two.

To get even scarier, Ruff busts out a poisonrana off the apron to the floor. Scott catches him against the barricade though and hits the Confidence Boost on the floor for two. Ruff comes back with a toolbox shot to the knee and puts on a kneebar with I believer a wrench to crank on the leg even more. That’s broken up so Ruff hits the great looking spinning cutter out of the corner. Scott it sent outside again and another diving cutter connects but Ruff climbs up onto the set. The big dive lands on…..AJ Francis, who catches Ruff and throws him down rather hard. Back in and the JML Driver finishes Ruff at 15:24.

Rating: B. This got some time and had the right result, with Ruff getting in everything that he could for a long time. Ruff is someone who has made the absolute most out of his TV time as he has gone from a guy who was just there to a former North American Champion who can put on some rather good matches. I had fun with this and Ruff got to showcase himself again before the right person won.

Post match, Ruff celebrates with his entourage, including Francis and an unnamed man and a woman.

The Way comes in to see William Regal, but he’s busy talking to Scarlett. Austin Theory looks at her and says those are the biggest he’s ever seen and knows they have to be real. Her nails of course.

Asher Hale vs. Cameron Grimes

Hale is Anthony Henry of Evolve fame. Grimes runs him over to start and goes to the hard strikes in the corner. Hale’s kick to the leg earns him an uppercut back down but a dragon screw legwhip slows Grimes down. A missile dropkick gives Hale two but Grimes knees him down. The swinging sitout Side Effect sets up the Cave In to finish Hale at 3:04.

Rating: D+. Not quite a squash here but what matters here is Grimes getting more TV time and capitalizing on his momentum from the Ted DiBiase stuff. I’m not sure what is coming next from the two of them but at least Grimes is getting to do something great. I love NXT making something for him and turning it into something interesting, which you don’t get to see very often.

Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro aren’t worried about Tian Sha because they want the Tag Team Titles. Frankie Monet comes in and thinks they’re so adorable.

Cameron Grimes celebrates with Ever-Rise. They aren’t thrilled when he goes to the VIP room. NXT has a VIP room?

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Timothy Thatcher/Tommaso Ciampa

Before the match, the Veterans rants about how much they don’t like Thatcher or the shoes off deal. Thatcher and Ciampa interrupt the catchphrase though and we’re ready to go. Ciampa and Drake lock up to start with Ciampa taking him down for a headscissors. Thatcher comes in to send Drake into the corner for the tag off to Gibson, who comes in to lock up for a bit.

That means Thatcher can take him to the mat and start working on the shoulder before switching to a chinlock. Drake’s save is cut off and Ciampa takes him down, meaning the rapid fire forearms to the chest put the Veterans on the floor. We take a break and come back with Drake pulling on Thatcher’s ear and handing it off to Gibson for a cravate. That’s broken up and it’s back to Ciampa for the chops in the corner (with Thatcher holding the tag rope in the air and standing on the apron like a statue).

Ciampa hits a running knee to Drake’s head for two, steps on and bites his finger, and hands it back to Thatcher. Everything breaks down again with Drake and Thatcher crashing out to the floor. Thatcher wins a strike off with Gibson but can’t get the Fujiwara armbar. Instead, Gibson plants Thatcher with a DDT for two but someone steals Barrett’s shoe somewhere in there and throws it inside. Ciampa offers a distraction and Thatcher hits Gibson in the head, setting up the Fujiwara armbar for the tap at 14:27.

Rating: C+. Good fast enough paced match here with both teams looking good, even if the shoe thing was a bit of an eye roll inducer. I could go for Thatcher/Ciampa as a high level team as it isn’t like they can’t hang in the ring. There are enough teams out there to make things interesting and hopefully both of these teams get some more TV time in the near future.

Joseph to Barrett: “Your shoe’s off! YOU HATE GIBSON!”

The Way yells at William Regal about the upcoming North American Title defense against Bronson Reed. It’s still on, as is Austin Theory vs. Karrion Kross next week.

Isaiah Scott and company brag about his win and leave the building.

Video on Sarray and Zayda Ramier.

Here are Karrion Kross and Scarlett for a chat. Kross says he isn’t going to be afraid of anyone and wants to give the people what they want. Let’s give them a fight so we’ll start next week against Austin Theory. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to say Kross is the NXT Champion and that is the match O’Reilly wants. He thinks Kross wants it too….but here is Pete Dunne to interrupt. Dunne asks if they are having a laugh and starts to throw his hat in the ring but here is Finn Balor to cut him off as well.

Balor goes after Kross and gets knocked down so Dunne goes after Kross as well. Kross sends him outside and kicks O’Reilly into the corner. Balor shotgun dropkicks Kross into O’Reilly in the corner as security comes in. A Kross clothesline drops Balor and a security guard gets suplexed. Kross is left alone but here is the Way to jump him from behind. Theory gets suplexed but some superkicks put Kross down for a few seconds. Gargano adds a belt shot to finally leave Kross laying. This did a rather nice job of making Kross look like a monster and lining up the challengers.

During the break, Gargano and Theory (favoring his shoulder) left, despite Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae having a match later.

Zayda Ramier vs. Sarray

They trade headlocks to start with Sarray knocking her down off a running dropkick. Back up and Sarray gets pulled into an STF to put her in some trouble. That’s broken up and Sarray pulls her into something like a Muta Lock. Since that can’t last long, Sarray hits a running dropkick against the ropes and a missile dropkick puts Ramier down again. Sarray snaps off a hard t-bone suplex for the pin at 4:39.

Rating: C. This was a much more impressive match from Sarray, who didn’t exactly impress me last week. They had more of a squash this time around with Ramier only getting in a little offense before getting crushed in the end. What matters is Sarray looked better, though there is still a long way to go with making her a star around here.

Walter yells at Imperium via video in German. Alexander Wolfe isn’t happy and walks off.

The Diamond Mine is still coming.

Sarray checks on Zayda Ramier when Toni Storm and Zoey Stark get in a staredown. Storm storms off and Stark checks on Ramier as well.

Jake Atlas vs. LA Knight

Knight says the fans just saying his catchphrase doesn’t make them cool. As for Atlas, Knight is going to hit him so hard that Atlas is going to need an atlas to tell him where he is. Knight gets taken down into an armbar to start but sends Atlas into the corner for some stomping. Atlas nails a running dropkick to send Knight outside but the suicide dive is cut off with a forearm. A slingshot shoulder drops Atlas but he is back with a German suplex for two. Atlas kicks away but Knight ducks a big one and hits the bulldog driver for the pin at 3:05.

Rating: C-. Not much to this one but Atlas got in some offense before Knight won, as he should have. Knight has all of the charisma that you could need and he is backing it up well enough in the ring. All they need to do is having him talking and doing well enough with the wrestling, which is what we got here. In addition: NXT is smart enough to put people on shows like this and keep them in fans’ minds until they have something to do. That can be rather important long term and it doesn’t happen enough today.

Indi Hartwell is panicking over not getting Dexter Lumis back but Candice LeRae hides a drawing he has left her. She also closes the blinds because Dexter is looking in (into the women’s locker room that is).

Toni Storm talks about how Zoey Stark is the flavor of the month but she is rapidly losing that flavor. Storm bought her into this business and now she is going to take her out. I miss these “talk to the camera” promos as they don’t happen enough these days.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar talks about tradition and says last week was part of a premonition. He is going to regain his Cruiserweight Title and he’s doing it soon. Joaquin Wilde says MSK won the Tag Team Titles but they didn’t beat Legado del Fantasma. Raul Mendoza issues the title challenge but here is Kushida on screen to issue a challenge to Escobar for a Cruiserweight Title match next week. Escobar says he’s on. It’s great seeing Kushida finally getting to do something.

We get a sitdown, split screen interview between Raquel Gonzalez and Mercedes Martinez. Raquel says the title means she is the baddest woman in this division and she has pure power. Martinez talks about how she has been around for a long time but Gonzalez isn’t intimidating her (Gonzalez: “Not yet.”).

They promise to beat each other up next week and Martinez says she paved the roads that Gonzalez has come down. Gonzalez: “Am I not gritty?” Martinez calls her cookie cutter but Gonzalez says she has accomplished in a year than Martinez ever did. Gonzalez says Martinez is the next challenger, but she won’t be the last. That was a good closing line and Gonzalez sounded a lot more natural than Martinez here.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon find Frankie Monet’s dog in their tank. The dog is sent on but the tank is now unusable due to, uh, various things now in it.

Cameron Grimes is going to the VIP room but he isn’t on the list. The entire room has been rented out, and here’s a long white limo. Ted DiBiase gets out and says he has bought the whole club. DiBiase hits the catchphrase and laughs before going inside. Grimes: “THAT WASN’T EVEN FUNNY!” It was a little funny.

Next week: Kushida vs. Santos Escobar for the Cruiserweight Title in a 2/3 falls match, plus Raquel Gonzalez defends the Women’s Title against Mercedes Martinez.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: The Way vs. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart

The Way is challenging in a street fight so they start fast, with Barrett saying where we’re going with this one, we don’t need rules. They go straight for the weapons, with LeRae pulling out a bunch of chairs but Moon (in street clothes for some reason) kicks her down. Some trashcans are thrown in and Indi is double teamed in the corner. A basement dropkick sets up Blackheart’s running backsplash and Moon puts a trashcan over a seated Indi.

That sets up the stereo basement dropkicks for two with LeRae making the save. Candice gets dropped with a double trashcan lid shot and it’s time for another table. Hartwell breaks that up and drops Blackheart onto the apron before setting up four chairs at ringside. Moon puts her face first into the chairs and Hartwell is set in a chair on the four chairs. Blackheart’s dive is cut off with a blast from a fire extinguisher though (as it could have been rather nasty otherwise) and we take a break.

Back with Moon dropkicking LeRae down and sending her shoulder first into the post. The Dominator/sliding neckbreaker combination gets two on Hartwell and LeRae is laid onto a ladder bridged between the ring and apron. Blackheart’s top rope backsplash drives her through, leaving Moon to drive Hartwell through a table in the corner for two. Back up and Hartwell kicks a ladder into both champs and then holds up a ladder with Blackheart laid across.

That lets Candice hit a Lionsault onto Blackheart onto the ladder but Moon is back up to kick away. A spinebuster onto the ladder plants Moon for two but Blackheart is back up to send Hartwell into the barricade. Hartwell is put onto the announcers’ table for the BIG splash off of the tower and they’re both done. LeRae plants Moon back inside and Hartwell is somehow back up to put Moon through a table on the floor. That leaves LeRae to hit Blackheart with brass knuckles. The Wicked Stepsister onto a chair finishes Blackheart for the pin and the titles at 15:38.

Rating: B. This was a wild fight and that’s what they needed to do here. The women’s tag team division isn’t a strong one in the first place so going with the title change here was the right move. Moon and Blackheart were thrown together for the tournament so there was no need to keep them together long term. The Way at least feels like a regular team (they even have a name) so let them get a bit more established to build up the titles somewhat. Also, well done on not having Dexter Lumis involved here. He and Hartwell are kind of interesting, but this wasn’t about that story.

Overall Rating: B. The opener and main event were both very good, stuff was announced for later, and the two not so great matches were about three minutes long each. This is where NXT tends to shine: building up a lot of different stuff, almost like a buffet, rather than one big main course and hoping that’s enough. Nothing stands out above the rest, but it makes for a better show with a solid average throughout rather than being so up or down. Rather effective effort here, as they used the tried and true NXT formula.

Results

Isaiah Scott b. Leon Ruff – JML Driver

Cameron Grimes b. Asher Hale – Cave In

Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Fujiwara armbar to Gibson

Sarray b. Zayda Ramier – T-bone suplex

LA Knight b. Jake Atlas – Bulldog driver

The Way b. Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart – Wicked Stepsister onto a chair to Blackheart

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: April 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

The Tuesday escapades continues with the return of Adam Cole for the first time since his loss at Takeover. That could be interesting, though if nothing else it is kind of a relief that he is not heading up to the main roster. Other than that, we have a pretty big six man tag to fill out the wrestling side of things. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Dakota Kai vs. Mercedes Martinez

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Martinez gets taken to the mat to start but bounces out of a headscissors and slaps her in the face. Back up and Martinez hits a spinning spinebuster (it seems like we get three of those per show these days) for two but Kai grabs a Rock Bottom backbreaker for the same. The running boot in the corner misses though and Martinez hammers away.

Something like a Razor’s Edge Dominator out of the corner gets two but Martinez gets drop toeholded into the corner. The running boot sends Martinez outside and we take a break. Back with Kai sending her outside again and hitting a kick to the ribs on the way back in. A Codebreaker through the ropes drops Martinez again but she is back up with a running shot in the corner.

Martinez takes her down with a delayed butterfly suplex and cranks Kai down by the arm. Kai rolls outside so Martinez throws her back in, where Kai grabs the referee’s leg. That lets Gonzalez take a swing but Martinez knocks her down instead. Back in and Martinez puts Kai in a fireman’s carry but Gonzalez comes in for the DQ at 12:28.

Rating: C+. This was a fine way to set up Gonzalez vs. Martinez down the line as Martinez beat up Gonzalez’s friend. That should make for a fine big time TV match as Martinez can have a good enough match with anyone. She certainly did here too as the power was a good way to keep Kai from running around with all of her kicks. The wrestling was fine but the storytelling was more important, and better.

Post match the beatdown is on with Martinez being laid out.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon have to worry about the Robert Stone Brand tonight and then they can deal with the Way. Hold on though as here is a delivery woman with some flowers for both of them. Frankie Monet comes up and introduces herself before reading the card, which says they’re from Dexter Lumis. Moon and Blackheart try to give each other the flowers.

Earlier today, Cameron Grimes went to look at a ring (as in jewelry) for a special someone (Grimes: “ME!”). The jeweler says he has something special for him….and we’ll see it later.

Here are the Grizzled Young Veterans for a chat. They accuse MSK of ducking them in a regular tag match because the Veterans need the titles. Cue Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt, with Ciampa says they’re grizzled and veterans. After dubbing himself Toothless Timmy, Thatcher mocks the IF YOU HATE GIBSON SHOES OFF chant and the fight is on, with the Veterans being cleared out.

Drake Maverick and Killian Dain are ready for their match tonight against Imperium, but Maverick is convinced that Dain is turning on him to join Imperium. Dain says you gotta have faith, and Maverick is stunned at the George Michael reference.

Quick Tian Sha vignette.

Shane Strickland says if Leon Ruff wants to play this game, they can play it for his life.

Toni Storm vs. Zayda Ramier

Before the match, Toni talks about how Zoey Stark is going to be a footnote in her legendary career. Tonight, every time she slaps this rookie, she is going to imagine that it’s Stark. Storm throws her around by the hair to start and Ramier is in early trouble. There’s a backbreaker with Ramier being bent over the knee, followed by a German suplex to make it even worse.

Cue Stark for a distraction though, allowing Ramier to get in a quick knockdown. A shooting star press (which lands perfectly despite Storm being in the middle of the ring, to the point where I though Ramier was going to leave it two feet short) finishes Storm for the huge upset at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This was a squash until Storm slipped on a banana peel at the end. Storm isn’t going to be hurt by a dirty loss and the angry promos on Stark should be good. It isn’t likely to lead to Ramier becoming a bigger star, though stranger things have happened in NXT. I’m not sure if she should try the shooting star from that distance again, but it worked out in the end.

Bronson Reed runs into Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae on the way to the ring. Austin Theory pops up and asks why they’re standing in the dark.

LA Knight saw a twinkle in the eye of Indi Hartwell and knows that means she had a twinkle in her loins. He has references and after Dexter Lumis lets her down, come talk to him, because that is just a fact of life. Knight leaves and Ever-Rise comes up to ask if the interviewer has a question about their social media event. She doesn’t.

Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed

If Reed wins, he gets another North American Title shot. The rest of the Way is here and Indi Hartwell is completely not in this. Barrett: “Don’t go around breaking young girls’ hearts.” As commentary is astounded at the Billie Jean reference, Theory gets knocked to the floor with straight power. Back in and Theory’s jumping shoulder is swatted out of the air, followed by another shoulder to leave Theory hanging from the bottom rope by his feet.

Theory crashes to the floor as Reed goes after Johnny Gargano, allowing Theory to come back with a dropkick inside. Reed is knocked outside this time so Theory fakes an injury, leaving Gargano to add a superkick. One heck of a dive takes Reed down and a missed charge sends him into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Reed caught in a chinlock. That’s broken up in a hurry and Reed tosses him around again, setting up the splash in the corner. Theory is back with a neckbreaker for two as commentary points out Hartwell not being interested in the match. For some reason Theory tries a Samoan drop, which goes as well as you would expect. Reed’s version gets two but Theory manages a TKO for two of his own.

They’re both down so here is Dexter Lumis, with Hartwell walking away (because of the flowers to Blackheart and Moon). Lumis ges on the apron with Hartwell saying he talks too much. Lumis shoves Hartwell out of the way of a charge and takes the shot himself. Reed knocks Theory over and hits the Tsunami for the pin and the title shot at 12:24.

Rating: C. There was a lot going on here but what matters the most is Reed getting another shot. I was surprised when he lost the first time so giving him the title in the rematch could make up for things. That Tsunami looks great (and Barrett’s call makes it even better) and it should be enough to carry him to the title as it isn’t like Gargano needs the thing anymore. As much as I’d love to see Theory get a push of his own, he works well as the clueless moron who happens to be crazy athletic.

Johnny Gargano is nervous.

MSK thanks Kushida for his help and tonight they’re taking out Legado del Fantasma.

The Way blames Dexter Lumis, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon for the loss. Indi Hartwell gets rather annoyed and storms off, with the team thinking she is going to deal with this.

Finn Balor is back next week after recharging in Mexico.

Imperium vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

Alexander Wolfe is here with the team. Drake refuses to walk in front of Dain out of the possibility of pain and agony. Dain starts fast with a clothesline to send Barthel outside. Back in and Maverick hits some dropkicks to Barthel’s leg but Maverick gets sent into the wrong corner. With Dain being held out of the corner, some double teaming puts Maverick down and we take a break.

Back with Maverick still in trouble as Barthel sneers down at him. Maverick kicks him in the leg but Aichner comes in to swing him around by the jeans. A shot into the corner gives Maverick a chance but Barthel pulls Dain off the apron, meaning there is no one for the tag. Maverick looks crushed and a kick to the back of the head makes it even worse. Dain comes in and starts wrecking things but gets knocked outside….where Wolfe won’t hit him with a chair.

Barthel doesn’t like the indecision but here’s Maverick to hit a dive. Dain throws Maverick at Aichner but Wolfe won’t let Dain send Barthel into the post. Instead Dain gets sent into the steps as Maverick hits a high crossbody on Aichner….who rolls through, setting up the European Bomb for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C. Imperium as a whole is a great concept and something that works well. Imperium without Walter is a team that is good at everything they do but the interest and spark aren’t there. It has shown badly every time they are out there without him, including here as it just wasn’t that engaging of a match. They are more than fine with everything else, but it was hard to care at all about what they were doing.

Pete Dunne says no one is talking about him because he has everyone shaken. Kushida stepped to him and got taken out. If he wanted to be Cruiserweight Champion, it wouldn’t take long. Or maybe he gets on a plane and goes back to the UK to take his title back from Walter. The North American Title could be interesting too, and then there is Karrion Kross. Dunne isn’t scared of Kross because he doesn’t need smoke and mirrors to get the job done. Everyone should fear him. Rather awesome promo here, as Dunne can bring the intensity.

Back at the jewelry store, Cameron Grimes buys a watch, but it isn’t ticking (Grimes: “Karrion Kross would hate this!”). He’ll take it anyway, but here is someone with the same watch. That would be…..TED DIBIASE, who laughs at Grimes and leaves, causing Grimes to scream a lot. Yep that was great.

Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Non-title and non-match as we get some more flowers and cupcakes delivered to the champs…so here is the Way to jump them from behind. The beatdown is on and Robert Stone holds up the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

We get a sitdown interview with Adam Cole talking to a Sports Illustrated reporter. After being told that the interviewer is waiting on Cole to get off the phone, Cole talks about how he has been better, like during his 403 day reign as NXT Champion. It wasn’t him who forgot what the Undisputed Era was about but people will remember him. Kyle O’Reilly was back not long after Takeover and wrestled in the main even that night, which Cole finds interesting.

O’Reilly has been here for four years and people are just now starting to notice him. As for the NXT Title picture, Karrion Kross is good, but is he great? He got injured during his first title win. Was that a freak accident or is he just not ready? Kross hasn’t had to deal with Cole yet and when he does, that title is coming home. Cole berates the interviewer for making him sit outside in the heat and making him wait before leaving. We see Kyle O’Reilly watching on a monitor and shaking his head.

We see what looks like a UFC style training montage for something called the Diamond Mine.

Next week: the Way challenges Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart for the Women’s Tag Team Titles in a street fight and Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott in a falls count anywhere match.

MSK/Kushida vs. Legado del Fantasma

Joaquin Wilde takes Kushida down to start but stops to dance, allowing Kushida to grab him by the arm. Lee comes in and gets taken down for a double basement dropkick as Legado takes over. Back up and Lee manages a dropkick of his own, allowing the tag to Carter to take over on Mendoza. MSK cleans house with Escobar being knocked outside as we take a break. Back in and some double teaming into a basement dropkick hits Wilde, setting up the handspring kick to the face to send him outside.

We take a break and come back with Carter in trouble for a change, including being taken down to the mat by the arm. Carter gets kicked down into the corner and a snap suplex gets two. A belly to back suplex is escaped though and Kushida comes in to clean house, including a basement dropkick to Wilde. Everything breaks down and the push moonsault gets two on Wilde as Mendoza makes the save.

Kushida holds the ropes so MSK can hit stereo dives but Escobar sends Kushida into the steps. A powerbomb puts him through the announcers’ table and a whip sends Carter into the steps. That leaves Lee on his own and the triple teaming is on in a hurry. A moonsault gives Wilde two but Lee manages to avoid a dropkick and send Wilde and Mendoza outside.

Escobar misses a frog splash as the medics check on Kushida. Lee kicks all three down as Carter is back up on the apron for the hot tag. Carter is knocked down and it’s Kushida coming back in and getting dropped with the Phantom Driver. The Russian legsweep/running boot combination finishes Carter at 13:27.

Rating: B. This started slowly but got a lot better in the end to make it a heck of a main event. I’m surprised that they actually went with it as the big finale to the show, but it isn’t like there was anything bigger going on. That’s a good sign for everyone and you have two more title matches set up immediately. They cranked up the violence and intensity here, which was more than I would have expected from this match. Nice job with this one and it did what it needed to do.

Post match Legado holds up the titles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event picked this one up a little bit, but what matters most here is the fact that they did this without most of their main event stars. Cole had an interview and O’Reilly just nodded after said interview ended, meaning this was mainly a show built around the lower level stories. That is not a bad thing whatsoever and it is a great sign to see these people manage to make the show work so well.

Results

Mercedes Martinez b. Dakota Kai via DQ when Raquel Gonzalez interfered

Zayda Ramier b. Toni Storm – Shooting star press

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Tsunami

Imperium b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – European Bomb to Maverick

Legado del Fantasma b. MSK/Kushida – Russian legsweep/Running boot combination to Carter

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

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NXT
Date: April 13, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re officially on a new night now and that means things should be getting all the more interesting. This is also coming off of Takeover: Stand & Deliver and we have quite a few changes to deal with tonight. The good thing is Raw left a pretty low bar for this show to clear. Let’s get to it.

Here are both nights of Takeover if you need a recap.

Here are Karrion Kross and Scarlett to interrupt. Kross says time comes for everyone and promised to get the title back. Finn Balor went on a tear as NXT Champion but he couldn’t control Kross and Kross controls everything. He is going to hold this title until he says otherwise because no one is going to out train or out wrestle him. It doesn’t matter what you have done before or how many zeroes are on the end of your check, because everyone pays the toll. They went with the straightforward push here and it worked pretty well.

We get a video on Takeover (which starts with Michael Cole sounding like he is talking about Wrestlemania so we might have seen a bit of a production botch there).

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

MSK is defending. Dain takes Wes Lee down to start and it’s quickly off to Maverick for a missile dropkick. Lee gets Maverick into the corner without too much trouble though and it’s Carter coming in with a Bronco Buster. Carter is sent outside though and we take a break. Back with Carter German suplexing Maverick but it’s quickly back to Dain, meaning the double teaming begins.

The champs manage to knock Dain down and the Final Flash gives Lee two. Carter comes back in and tries a sunset flip, but Dain picks up Lee and Falcon Arrows him while also sitting on Carter’s chest. Dain tries to powerbomb Maverick onto Nash but only hits the mat, allowing Carter to come back with a springboard twisting cutter. Dain is sent outside, leaving Maverick to take a Hart Attack with a Blockbuster. Carter dives onto Dain (while almost leaving it short and barely clearing the apron) as Lee pins Maverick to retain at 10:25.

Rating: C. Completely fine match here and a good way to check off MSK’s first title defense. It played to the formula of Dain being the (mostly) unstoppable monster so MSK went after Maverick in a smart move. They could hold the titles for a nice reign and have the exciting matches they are capable of, which will work out rather well for a lot of teams.

Post match MSK leaves and here is Imperium (minus Walter) to lay out Dain.

Robert Stone (in his bedazzled gloves) is trying to get a Women’s Tag Team Title shot for Aaliyah and Jessi Kamea but Mercedes Martinez comes in, demanding her money. She grabs Aaliyah by the throat but Kamea comes in to issue the challenge for tonight.

Long video on the ridiculously long Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole Takeover main event.

We get some post match footage of the two of them being taken away on stretchers, with Cole shouting at O’Reilly as they were wheeled away. William Regal shakes his head as they are taken towards the ambulance.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Jessi Kamea

The rest of the Robert Stone Brand is here with Kamea, who jumps Martinez to start. The forearms to the back and choking on the ropes don’t do much to Martinez, who is right back with a jumping knee to the face. The Air Raid Crash finishes Kamea at 1:52.

Post match Martinez grabs Stone and chokes him against the barricade, where he finally pays her off from a few weeks back. Martinez goes to the announcers’ table and says she’s coming for Raquel Gonzalez. That’s good enough to make my eyebrows go up.

The Way still thinks William Regal have it out for him but they are ready for their eight person tag. Indi Hartwell wants to take care of some, ahem, business with Dexter Lumis. Everyone puts their hands in for THE WAY….and then Austin Theory walks the wrong way.

Isaiah Scott is in his studio and doesn’t think much of Leon Ruff. It is time for him to move on but he can’t do that. Tonight, they are done.

Here is Legado del Fantasma for a chat. Santos Escobar talks about how the team came together a year ago and the cruiserweights have become must see as a result. His father was a champion, he is a champion and his son will be a champion, so tonight it is an open challenge for a title shot.

Cruiserweight Title: Kushida vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar, with Legado del Fantasma, is defending. Kushida, now in trunks instead of jeans, dropkicks Escobar to the floor before the bell. Back in and Kushida knocks him to the floor again but the threat of a dive has Escobar backing up. Instead, Kushida poses as we take a break. Back with Kushida in trouble on the floor and being sent into the steps for his efforts. Escobar gets creative by putting on a Liontamer on the steps, with Kushida almost grabbing the post to hang on.

They get back in with some Kawada kicks giving Escobar two and the armbar goes on. Escobar switches to a double arm crank but Kushida fights up and strikes his way to freedom. The hiptoss into the basement dropkick gets two and Kushida kicks him in the arm. Escobar is sat on top for a running kick to the arm and a butterfly superplex brings him back down.

Another suplex gives Kushida two but Escobar blocks the Hoverboard Lock. They trade kicks to the head and they’re both down again. Back up and Escobar grabs a Backstabber but they go into a pinfall reversal sequence with Kushida getting a rollup for the pin and the title at 11:04.

Rating: B-. They surprised the heck out of me here and it was quite the good match to get us there. I’ve been a big Kushida fan for a good while now but I haven’t been thrilled with how he has done in NXT. At some point he needed to win something and that is what he did here. I’m not sure how much of a future he has as champion, but winning and losing it fast is better than nothing.

Tommaso Ciampa says he and Timothy Thatcher didn’t win every fight in the Dusty Classic but they won every battle. Thatcher likes the new challenges and says they’re coming. Ciampa throws down his chair and leaves.

William Regal congratulates Kushida on his win but here is Jordan Devlin to say that was a nice win over Escobar….but all Escobar did was climb a ladder. Devlin is still the best wrestler around here and would take the title if he wasn’t heading back to the UK. He’ll be back though, and Kushida says anytime.

Here is Dakota Kai to introduce new Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez. Raquel talks about how she has been working harder and training more than ever before. Kai noticed that and gave her chance, which is why she debuted in Portland and went on to win the title. Io Shirai was a great champion, but the Raquel Gonzalez has begun.

The lights go out and here is the debuting Franky Monet, complete with dog, to interrupt. She introduces herself as La Reina Loca and says this place is now shinier, bougier and a whole lot better. Gonzalez says if Monet ever interrupts her again, she’s shove the dog up Monet’s something in Spanish (I think you can figure it out). Monet calls her something in Spanish and promises to see Gonzalez every Tuesday.

That’s enough for Monet….and here’s Rhea Ripley for a surprise. She comes to the ring, stares at Gonzalez, and clinks the titles together. We get the big congratulatory hug but now it’s Bianca Belair coming in as well as I feel like I’m writing some fan fiction. They pose together and we see a photo of the three of them in NXT as they all pose with their new titles. This was really, really cool and a special moment.

Pete Dunne says he had a classic at Takeover and if anyone wants to come at him, bring it on. For now though, it is time for him to go get a title.

Video on Sarray, who is coming to the women’s division. She debuts next week.

William Regal is happy Sarray is coming but has to go into his office to talk to Roderick Strong and Strong’s wife Marina Shafir. Strong hands him an envelope, which seems to be his resignation. Strong says he’s done and Regal says he is welcome back anytime.

Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott

Ruff starts fast and sends him to the floor where he snaps Scott’s arm to make it worse. Back in and Scott’s arm is fine enough for a slam and a middle rope elbow to a seated Ruff’s back gets two. Ruff is back up with some running shots to the face and a stomp….mostly misses but it was close enough to be passed off as a running knee.

Scott catches him with a middle rope Russian legsweep though and Ruff heads outside. A kick to the face from the apron drops Ruff and we take a break. Back with Scott chopping away but Ruff fights up and gets to the top for the cutter. Scott bails to the floor but Ruff is right there with the big flip dive (and sticks the landing). They go back to the apron and then up top with Ruff snapping off a heck of a super hurricanrana.

Scott is back up with a fireman’s carry but Ruff turns it into a headscissors into the corner. Another hurricanrana gets a VERY close two on Scott but another super hurricanrana is countered into a face first drop onto the top turnbuckle. A flipping slam (kind of a half nelson flipped forward, kind of like a smaller One Winged Angel) finishes Ruff at 11:07.

Rating: C+. I had a lot of fun with this one and it was really just some of the botches that held it back. The thing that keeps catching my attention here is how much Leon Ruff has gotten out of this run. He basically stumbled into the whole thing and while he is not going to be some big star or a main eventer, he is getting every single thing he can out of this chance. Good for him for going from nothing to something, as not everyone gets to do that. Scott winning is a good sign for his future, and I’m curious to see where he goes next.

Zoey Stark is proud of her win over Toni Storm but Mercedes Martinez comes in and asks why we’re talking about a rookie. Tensions are teased.

Walter narrates a video about Imperium, promising that the group will expand and continue to dominate, because the mat is sacred.

Isaiah Scott implies that it is over with Leon Ruff….who jumps him from behind and sends Scott head first into the lockers. Ruff rolls an anvil case at Scott’s head and says that it isn’t over until he decides it is. Well that was out of nowhere.

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon/Dexter Lumis/Bronson Reed vs. The Way

The Way has some issues figuring out their posing before the bell. Theory drives Lumis into the corner to start but Lumis hits a Thesz press into some right hands. That’s enough for Theory to bring in LeRae so Blackheart joins her. LeRae gets taken down and it’s off to Moon so Gargano comes in….and gets knocked down by the women. Lumis comes in and stares at Hartwell but LeRae breaks that up as we take a break.

Back with Reed running Theory and Gargano over, setting up a double splash in the corner. The double Samoan drop gets two and all four women come in for the brawl. Hartwell spinebusters Moon and LeRae superkicks Blackheart. For some reason, LeRae dives at Reed, who literally brushes her off after she crashes to the mat. Theory dropkicks Reed and the women start hitting some dives onto the men. Blackheart has Reed throw her onto the pile at ringside for the big crash.

Back in and Lumis Silences Gargano, with Hartwell not breaking it up. Instead she drops down next to Lumis, who checks on her, allowing Theory to hit Lumis in the head. Hartwell throws Theory outside and drops down in front of Lumis again, so Lumis carries her off, with Hartwell smiling at the camera and giving a thumbs up.

Reed punches Theory in the face and Moon climbs onto Reed’s shoulders for the Eclipse on Theory. LeRae sends Moon to the floor though and Gargano crotches Reed on top. Reed drops Gargano onto Theory so LeRae goes up and loads up a superplex on Reed. After LeRae winds up hanging out of the air, Blackheart breaks it up, leaving the Tsunami to finish Theory at 11:04.

Rating: C+. This was one of the most against the grain matches in recent memory and I think I liked it. They kept things moving, they did about half a dozen different things throughout, and the action never got that ridiculous. It really wasn’t like most NXT matches but it kept me interested and the Hartwell thing was so over the top that it worked in the end. Certainly not a great match, but it was fun and that is what they were trying for here.

Reed poses with the women while the Way is in shambles to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I don’t know if it was Raw being so bad or this show being that much better, but I had a blast with this one. It felt like stuff happened and they hit the ground running, but above all else, this show came off like someone (or likely a few people) had a plan and executed it. You do not get that on Raw most of the time and they could absolutely learn a few lessons from NXT. This show was all kinds of fun, and the trio of new champions posing with their titles was a genuine feel good moment. This is how you follow up a big show and it made me want to watch more going forward.

Results

MSK b. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Maverick

Mercedes Martinez b. Jessi Kamea – Air Raid Crash

Kushida b. Santos Escobar – Rollup

Isaiah Scott b. Leon Ruff – Flipping slam

Bronson Reed/Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon/Dexter Lumis b. The Way – Tsunami to Theory

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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Takeover: Stand & Deliver Night Two
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re back here after a heck of a first night and the card here might look even better. The main event is the showdown over the NXT Title as Finn Balor defends against Karrion Kross, who never lost the title in the first place. Other than that, we have multiple title matches and an unsanctioned match between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole. Let’s get to it.

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

Kickoff Show: Breezango vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

The winners get a future Tag Team Title shot against MSK. Breeze grabs Dain’s wrist to start and brings in Fandango, who is knocked away without much effort. Dain isn’t having any of this and runs Fandango over before handing it off to Maverick for…we’ll call it dancing I guess. Fandango manages a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two on Maverick and it’s back to Breeze for the same off a suplex.

Maverick is driven into the corner and Breeze knocks him down with a right hand. A legdrop gets two on Maverick and we hit the chinlock. Maverick fights up and slips over for the tag to Dain, meaning house can be cleaned. A fall away slam/Samoan drop plants Breezango for two as everything starts to break down. Dain is finally sent outside but Maverick catches Fandango up top for a super hurricanrana. That lets Dain come back in and powerbomb Maverick onto Fandango for the pin at 8:37.

Rating: C. Pretty standard match here and while Maverick and Dain aren’t likely to win the titles, I’ll take them over the rather middle of the road Breezango. There is no reason to give them another shot at the moment, as the team hasn’t done much of anything since losing the titles. Maverick and Dain are at least fresh, and MSK surviving the monster is a good way to get their reign started.

Poppy sings a song to open things up.

Cruiserweight Title: Jordan Devlin vs. Santos Escobar

Ladder match to unify the two titles. They go straight to the slugout at the bell but Devlin can’t hit the early Devlin Slide attempt. Devlin sticks the landing on a tilt-a-whirl attempt so Escobar elbows him in the back. That’s fine with Devlin, who knocks him down to set up a standing moonsault. Escobar is knocked outside and that sets up an Asai moonsault to drop him again. It’s time for the first ladder and thankfully Devlin is ready for the attempted baseball slide.

Devlin knocks Escobar down with the ladder instead and goes for the belts but Escobar is back in for a hard ram into the ladder instead. A whip into the corner into the ladder has Devlin crashing out to the floor. Escobar hits some running knees against the barricade and the cockiness is ramping up. It’s time for another ladder, with Escobar leaning it up against the barricade. Back in and Devlin tries to stop Escobar from getting the titles but Escobar is ready for him with a ladder shot.

A running dropkick sends the ladder into Devlin’s ribs in the corner and let’s get another ladder. This one is sat on the top rope but Escobar spends too much time talking trash and slapping Devlin in the face, meaning it’s Escobar being sent into the ladder instead. A dropkick to the banged up ribs puts Devlin down again though as the fans are behind Escobar. For some reason Escobar catapults Devlin at the ladder and he manages to get his hand on the titles, allowing him to dive down with a DDT to lay Escobar out again.

Devlin is sent outside though and Escobar’s suicide dive sends him into the standing ladder. Back in and Escobar’s double underhook is countered into a backdrop onto the ladder and they’re both down again. The Devlin Slide is countered into a jumping knee to the face but Devlin is right back with the Spanish Fly. The slingshot cutter drops Escobar again and a ladder is set up in the corner. For some reason Devlin climbs there and, after knocking Escobar down, hits a great looking moonsault from the very top of the ladder.

That’s enough for Devlin to go up but here is Legado del Fantasma to turn the ladder over (with Devlin falling to the floor in a hurry, which looked rather scary). After the beatdown, Escobar sends Legado to the back and goes up, but Devlin throws a ladder at him for the save. The super Spanish Fly off the ladder leaves them both laying again. They both go up and slug it out on top of the ladder until Escobar knocks him off and through the ladder in the corner. That’s enough for Escobar to pull down the titles and win at 18:07.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the fire out of each other and that’s what you want out of a ladder match. You could feel the energy here and they were going with the classic formula of a lot of flips and dives off of the ladder. Sure a lot of it didn’t make sense (such as where Devlin put the ladder in the first place) but egads it was a fun spectacle, which is what you’re going for in a match like this. The ladder exploding at the end was a great visual too and it capped off a heck of a fun match.

Post match Escobar celebrates with Legado and his son in a nice moment.

MSK is proud to win the Tag Team Titles but don’t agree on who wins between Finn Balor and Karrion Kross.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Blackheart and Moon are defending and come out in their tank because that’s what they do. It’s a brawl to start until LeRae starts hammering on Blackheart. Some pulling of the hair lets LeRae take her down and we hit the armbar. Hartwell comes in for some shots of her own but it’s quickly back to LeRae for a few more stomps. Shotzi manages to kick her down though and the hot tag brings in Moon to clean house. She throws in a SUCK IT (for Road Dogg) and nails a running splash in the corner to LeRae.

Hartwell’s distraction breaks up the Eclipse though but Blackheart comes in to turn it into a Tower of Doom. We settle back down to Hartwell spinebustering Moon for two but Shotzi comes back in for a suicide dive onto the Way, which does not exactly land very well. Moon dives onto LeRae and it’s a Dominator/sliding cutter combination to give Blackheart two back inside. LeRae knocks Moon off the apron and it’s a flapjack/Downward Spiral combination for two on Blackheart. Moon tags herself back in though and it’s a double Eclipse to set up Trip to the Ball Pit to retain the titles at 10:23.

Rating: C. These titles still don’t feel important, but it was absolutely the right call to have the champs retain. You need to establish the titles a bit before you have another title change and Moon/Blackheart are fine enough for the current champs. This was fine for a pretty big TV match, but it’s not like the titles have any kind of history or importance so far. That can come later, but it makes for some pretty uninteresting early title matches.

We recap Bronson Reed winning the Gauntlet Eliminator to become #1 contender to the North American Title.

Gable Stevenson (with Stephanie McMahon), an NCAA Heavyweight Champion in wrestling and an Olympian, is here.

North American Title: Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is defending and has Austin Theory with him. Reed cartwheels away from him to start and Gargano seems a bit stunned. A fall away slam sends Gargano flying but he manages to get in a shot to the head. The slingshot spear….bounces off of Reed, who chops Gargano down with ease. Back up and Gargano gets smart by going for the knee to knock Reed outside.

The baseball slide takes Reed down but he pulls the slingshot dive out of the air. Gargano sends him ribs first into the announcers’ table (which is moved by the impact) and it’s time to head back inside for the left hands in the corner. A middle rope splash crushes Reed again and Gargano grabs a cobra clutch. Gargano goes up again but dives into a powerslam to give Reed a breather. A chokeslam plants Gargano and Reed muscles him up for a suplex into a Death Valley Driver.

Reed takes him to the corner for a superplex but Gargano reverses into a Backstabber for two. A missed backsplash lets Gargano grab a crucifix for two more but Reed gets him into an electric chair. That’s countered into a poisonrana, sending Reed out to the apron. One Final Beat onto the ramp is countered into a Razor’s Edge over the top and back inside for the big crash. The Tsunami only hits mat though and Gargano nails a low superkick for a close two. Reed blasts him with a clothesline so Theory gets up to block another Tsunami attempt.

Gargano tries a super hurricanrana but Reed jumps down instead (that seemed like a botch but Reed saved it in time) and plants Gargano with a powerbomb. Theory puts Gargano’s foot on the ropes and Gargano heads to the floor, allowing Reed to CRUSH Theory with a suicide dive. Back in and an Air Raid Crash gets two on Gargano so Reed goes up again. Reed debuts and misses a moonsault though, allowing Gargano to hit One Final Beat….and one more Final Beat to retain at 16:12.

Rating: B. Who knew Reed had this in him? This was a cool idea where the face was the monster and trying everything he could to overcome the odds. The problem is that Gargano is awesome at Takeover and that makes it rather hard to actually beat him. Gargano is in a weird place where there is little for him left to do in NXT but it would seem to be a career crushing promotion. Hopefully he drops the title in a big moment, as he probably will, but I’m not sure how it goes after that.

We recap Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor for the NXT Title. Kross was forced to vacate the title due to an injury and Balor won it, meaning it’s time for a showdown.

Oney Lorcan, Pete Dunne and Danny Burch are here.

NXT Title: Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor

Kross is challenging and has Scarlett with him. They stare each other down to start and Kross shoves him around with ease. Balor goes after the arm and gets kneed in the ribs for his efforts. A headlock works a bit better for Balor but Kross shoves him around with straight power….so Balor slaps him in the face. Balor gets driven into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs but Kross misses a charge. That lets Balor pull the arm around the top rope and the armbar goes on.

Kross powers up again and ties Balor in the Tree of Woe for a running knee to the ribs. Balor is back with another armbar but the powerbomb counter is countered into a DDT to the arm. A hammerlock has Kross’ arm in more trouble and Balor takes him into the corner. Balor hits a spinning kick to the ribs and Kross crumples to the mat. That’s fine with Balor, who hammers away at the ribs until Kross kicks him in the ribs. Kross loads up an Oklahoma Stampede but Balor reverses into a Nightmare on Helm Street to put both guys down.

Kross is back up to hit a powerbomb for two more and can’t believe the kickout. Balor is right back on the ribs and shoulder with the abdominal stretch, followed by the Sling Blade to drop Kross again. Back up and Kross runs him over again but charges into the Pele kick. The shotgun dropkick sends Kross into the corner and the Coup de Grace connects….but the cover is reversed into a choke.

Balor rolls out and hits the jumping double stomp, setting up something like an abdominal stretch on the mat. Kross reverses that and unloads with forearms to the back of the head. A German suplex drops Balor again, followed by the Doomsday Saito. The running forearm to the back of the head gives Kross the pin and the title back at 17:09.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but by the end they had the right idea with Kross just being able to be violent enough to put Balor away. It was a clean win as it should have been with Balor giving it everything he had but not being able to put Kross away. I’m glad to see Kross win the title back because he never lost it, and hopefully this is enough to send Balor back up to the main roster, assuming he wants to go.

Franky Monet’s dog finds her again.

Santos Escobar is proud of his win and is ready to expand his legacy.

We recap Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly. Cole turned on the Undisputed Era and broke up the team by attacking O’Reilly. This did not exactly sit well and O’Reilly is ready to beat him up as revenge for everything that Cole has caused him to do since the team began. The match is unsanctioned, meaning anything goes.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

Anything goes and they both have new music. They stare each other down to start and O’Reilly slugs away to start as we’re off in a hurry. A running big boot in the corner hits Cole and they’re on the floor in a hurry. O’Reilly sends him into various things on the floor and they head back inside, only to have Cole knock him off the top and back to the floor in a crash. Cole gets in a whip to the barricade and loads up a bunch of chairs.

Some of the chairs are sent inside and another one, with the Undisputed Era logo on the back, is cracked down onto O’Reilly’s back. They head inside again with Cole hitting a neckbreaker onto a chair and glaring down at O’Reilly. The neck crank goes on before Cole plants him again and tells O’Reilly to get up. That’s fine with O’Reilly, who hits a jumping knee.

Cole pump kicks him in the face but O’Reilly is right back with the Muay Thai knees. O’Reilly knocks him to the floor and sits him in a chair for the running knees from the apron. Back in and O’Reilly busts out a chain but gets caught in a hanging neckbreaker onto said chain. They grab the chain and slug it out with O’Reilly getting the better of things and loading the chain around his leg. The Figure Four, with the chain around the leg, has Cole in even more trouble until he turns it over. O’Reilly turns it right back over and the chain is tied to the top rope.

Back up and O’Reilly gets a running start but Cole uses the chain to clothesline him down. A German suplex drops O’Reilly and he lands in a chair, allowing Cole to hit a Shining Wizard for two more. They head outside again with Cole trying the brainbuster onto the steps but O’Reilly reverses into a guillotine. With Cole out on his feet, O’Reilly knees him in the chest but takes too long loading up his own brainbuster. Cole drives him into the barricade, only to get knocked down again.

O’Reilly loads up the announcers’ table and they slug it out on top until O’Reilly hits a brainbuster (THUD) onto the table. Cole staggers beyond the barricade and grabs a TV monitor to blast O’Reilly in the face. It’s back inside with Cole busting out a toolbox, including a wrench. That’s blocked as well so O’Reilly hits a rebound lariat. O’Reilly ties the chain around Cole’s arm and tries a cross armbreaker, followed by a triangle choke.

Cole breaks that up and they sit in some chairs and slug it out, including trash talk for a bonus. A low blow cuts O’Reilly down and Cole superkicks him for two. With nothing else working, Cole wraps the chair around O’Reilly’s neck and shoves there referee down for daring to break it up. The Panama Sunrise connects but there is no referee. They go up the ramp with Cole throwing a chair at O’Reilly’s head for a nasty crash. Cole drives him into the barricade but O’Reilly is back with a guillotine choke….and they go crashing through the ramp.

Cole is up first and kicks a hole in the side of the ramp to pull O’Reilly back out. O’Reilly gets in the ring and falls right back out, allowing Cole to hit the brainbuster onto the steps. That gets two back inside as this is full on ridiculous Cole Takeover match. The Last Shot misses though and O’Reilly pulls him into a heel hook. Cole is in trouble but wraps the chain around his hand to knock O’Reilly cold.

Another Panama Sunrise is countered and O’Reilly hits his own fireman’s carry neckbreaker. The knee pad comes down and a Last Shot to Cole….gets two. Oh come on already. O’Reilly loads up a Pillmanization on the ankle but Cole gets up and catches him with a chair on top. A chair is turned upside down but O’Reilly gets in his own low blow. O’Reilly wraps the chain around his leg and drops a knee to Cole’s neck to drive it into the chair for the pin at 40:18.

Rating: B. Yeah it was a good brawl and they beat each other up but GOOD GRIEF STOP LETTING COLE GO ON FOREVER LIKE THIS. There is a place for a long match but you could have probably cut out nearly twenty minutes of this thing and had just about the same match. This just kept going and I was getting annoyed at it for going on so long. It felt like they had a long checklist of things that they had come up with and needed to get through instead of doing what made sense for the match. I really didn’t have fun with this one and it was ALL because of the length.

Cole gets taken away on the stretcher and O’Reilly just stares at him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. That main event sucked the life out of this show for me and that is not a feeling I’m used to around here. This show probably should have been done fifteen minutes earlier and that is a much bigger problem when you are on your second two plus hour show in a row. It’s still very good and I liked it a lot, but enough with the long main events. Everything else made sense and went the right way with some awesome matches though, and it’s another awesome Takeover to go with what we had last night. I don’t need another two night Takeover, but for a one off, it went very well.

Results

Santos Escobar b. Jordan Devlin – Escobar pulled down the titles

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. The Way – Trip to the Ball Pit to Hartwell

Johnny Gargano b. Bronson Reed – One Final Beat

Karrion Kross b. Finn Balor – Running forearm to the back of the head

Kyle O’Reilly b. Adam Cole – Middle rope knee with a chain

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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This is a different kind of Takeover as the whole thing is spread over two nights. That has caused a few issues with the build to the show as it is a little bit difficult to focus on two shows at once. Throw in the fact that this means we have twice as many matches as usual for a Takeover and I’m not sure how something like this is going to go. Then again, you don’t bet against Takeover so let’s get to it.

Night One

Kickoff Show: Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

Stark continues to be one of the more interesting cases in NXT at the moment as it is clear that they see something in her (because it’s there) but she keeps losing to one big name after another. At some point that is going to stop working out for her and the stock is going to drop, meaning she needs to win something. I’m just not sure if she is going to get that win here.

I think I’ll go with Storm to win here, as she has been kind of floating since the feud with Io Shirai, meaning she is going to need something to get her back on track. Beating Stark is not exactly the kind of thing that is going to be the big saving grace for her, but it is going to help her out a bit. Stark is going to get a win of her own someday, though I’m really not sure when that is going to be the case.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Legado del Fantasma

This is for the vacant titles thanks to Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch being injured. We’re starting off with a confusing one here too as I have no idea who is winning the titles. You really could go with all three as possible winners and that is a great thing to see. MSK would seem to be the likely winners here as they were guaranteed a title shot thanks to winning the Dusty Classic….but things have changed since then.

As much as I want to pick Legado as the team who could pick up the titles because the other two seem like the likely winners, I’ll go with MSK winning the titles here for a nice feel good moment. I’m not sure if that is the best idea though as the Veterans need to win something after coming up short time after time, but MSK seems popular enough that a win would be a nice energy boost to the show.

Gauntlet Eliminator: Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Dexter Lumis vs. LA Knight

This is something similar to a Royal Rumble, but you are eliminated by pinfall or submission and the winner gets a North American Title shot against Johnny Gargano on night two. In theory that eliminates the heels from getting their shot, but stranger things have happened around here. I would assume that we only have three potential contenders, and only two of them are interesting.

Unfortunately I think we’re getting Lumis here, as he has been tied up with Gargano and the Way for a few weeks now. Reed is the most interesting choice and Ruff has a history with Gargano, but Lumis makes the most sense here. Grimes is on a roll and could feud with a few people in the match. Scott is already feuding with Ruff and Knight….well I’m not sure you can call his stuff with Reed a feud just yet. Lumis goes over here and moves on to the title shot on night two.

Pete Dunne vs. Kushida

Yes please. I think I might need a bit more than that, but this one feels like possibly the most intriguing match on the entire card. Kushida is someone who is capable of busting out a great match at the drop of a hat and Dunne is Dunne, so how can this one be bad? These two have been having issues for weeks now and that sounds like a good enough reason for the two of them to spend fifteen minutes trying to break the other’s arm off.

While Kushida needs a win to get some footing underneath him, Dunne is a far bigger star and is going to win here. He is someone who could become a top star around here in the blink of an eye and it makes sense to have him go over here. This very well could steal the show and the entire Takeover, but it is more about getting us to the inevitable, which is Dunne getting the win.

United Kingdom Title: Walter(c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Speaking of matches that could steal all of Takeover, we have these two who are more than capable of doing just that. This time around it is for Walter’s title, as his seemingly never ending reign continues. Now the problem with this one is they have announced Walter’s next title defense, but that isn’t exactly the point here. What matters is Walter is back in the ring and that is a great thing for everyone.

Of course Walter wins here, because they aren’t going to end the epic title reign on a different continent in a match that feels a bit thrown together. Walter is someone who can have a classic with anyone he faces and if we get the old Ciampa here, these two could do something incredible. I know Ciampa isn’t as great as he has been before, but even a mostly there Ciampa is a sight to behold.

Women’s Title: Io Shirai(c) vs. Rhea Gonzalez

This is an interesting one as the champ issued the challenge for a change. You might not realize it but Shirai has been champion for about ten months now and has all but cleared out the division. Thankfully NXT is good at bringing in fresh talent and that is exactly what they are doing with people like Gonzalez (among others). This was the main focal point of last week’s NXT and it feels like a main event.

I’ve been betting that Shirai will lose the title for the better part of ever now and I’ll do that again here, as there just aren’t many people left to take it from here (save for maybe Xia Li, but I’m not sure how much someone with her current gimmick needs the title). They need to pull the trigger on someone eventually (though Shirai is doing fine in this role) and Gonzalez makes more sense than probably anyone else. Gonzalez wins here and ends a sneakily epic reign from Shirai.

Night Two

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon(c) vs. The Way

These titles are still brand new and one of the best ways to make them mean something is to have them on the line. Granted there still are not very many established teams to go after them, but at least the Way has a name. Blackheart and Moon don’t feel like long term champs, but losing in one of your first defenses seems like a quick drop (pun intended), even at a show like this.

Now the question is will they drop them here and I’ll go with not yet. I think the Way does get the belts eventually, but it isn’t happening so soon. It is just a little too early for the titles to change hands twice and NXT would be smart to have the titles sink in with Blackheart and Moon for a bit. The Way isn’t a team that needs to have multiple titles, so hopefully the titles don’t change here, because they really don’t need to yet.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano(c) vs. Gauntlet Eliminator Winner

This is a follow up from the previous night as the winner of the Gauntlet Eliminator (Lumis, assuming my completely accurate picks are right) gets a shot at Gargano. I’m not sure how much I like this idea as it can make for a hard match to set up in advance, but at least they have something going here between Gargano and Lumis. That sets up a rather scary possibility of even more of a focus on Lumis, though they have pulled back a bit in recent weeks.

I think I’ll go with Lumis winning here, as it has been teased long enough that it probably needs to just happen already. Gargano is fine in his role as champion, but it feels like he has held the title for the better part of ever at the moment. The title probably needs some fresh blood and while Lumis isn’t the most exciting or interesting blood, he certainly would be fresh. Now just get it over with already.

Cruiserweight Title: Jordan Devlin(c) vs. Santos Escobar(c)

It’s a special situation as both are champions, meaning there are two titles. Since Shawn Michaels is helping to run NXT and it has been at least a month since the last one, it is time to put the belts above the ring and have a ladder match. That makes things both a little more interesting and less interesting at the same time, as I wasn’t sure who was going to actually take the fall here. Throw in the ladder though and things are a little bit different. Someone has to stick around though and I think I know what that means.

I’ll go with Escobar to win here, as not being able to pull down a title from above the ring is not going to crush his momentum. Devlin still seems to be the guy who is going to go after Walter (and likely take the title from him) so getting him away from the Cruiserweight Title is a necessary step. I’m also not sure I can imagine him sticking around in America and NXT UK doesn’t need a Cruiserweight Title so let Escobar have it for good.

Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly

This is unsanctioned and I believe the words “oh boy” are appropriate. These two have some great chemistry together and it should be awesome to see them beat the living fire out of each other. I know the working theory is that it should be time to see Cole go to the main roster and while I’m not sure I believe that is the case, getting beaten by O’Reilly in a big blowoff feud would be a great way to go.

So yeah give me O’Reilly here, mainly for the reason that Cole absolutely does not need to win this match. O’Reilly has yet to have the big singles win and Cole has won everything he needs to win in all of NXT. I wouldn’t mind seeing Cole show up on the main roster as a post WrestleMania surprise, but I’m hoping that we see him go down to O’Reilly after one heck of a fight.

NXT Title: Finn Balor(c) vs. Karrion Kross

We’ll wrap it up with another match that could go either way. In theory the loser here should be on their way to the main roster, as Balor has already been a main roster star and Kross was pretty much ready for the main roster the day he debuted. I don’t know how well the gimmick would work there, but at least it would make sense to have Kross and Scarlett up there. Someone has to lose though and that makes it hard to figure out.

I actually think I’ll take Balor to win here, as NXT is going to want to keep some star power down there because the show moving over to another night. Hopefully the match is the hard hitting struggle that it should be, but I have no idea who goes after the title once Balor retains. Granted he probably doesn’t win here because it is a complete coin flip, but yeah we’ll go with Balor here.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not completely sold on the idea here as it feels like a pair of shows put together rather than one great Takeover. That could mean a bit of a downgrade, but if there is one thing that I have learned about Takeover over the years, it is that NXT knows how to figure out a way around anything. There is enough good stuff on the card to believe that they could pull it off and hopefully that is the case here.

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

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NXT
Date: March 24, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

We are two weeks away from Takeover and that means it is time for NXT to do what it does best by hammering home the big push towards the special. This time around that means we are going to be seeing William Regal dealing with Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly for getting into a fight earlier in the week. I think you know where this is going. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of Karrion Kross attacking Finn Balor, his partner last week, and setting up their Takeover main event for Balor’s title.

Adam Cole came to work today, flanked by security.

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Zoey Stark/Io Shirai

Gonzalez shoves Stark away to start and says this is her house. The armbar goes on to keep Gonzalez in control until Starks flips her way to freedom. Stark works on her own armbar and hits a running kick in the corner, followed by a knee to the face. Gonzalez isn’t having that and blasts her with a clothesline and hands it off to Kai, who is dropped onto Stark for two.

Stark takes her down for some right hands to the head though and Shirai comes in for the first time. Kai’s pump kick misses and Shirai stomps her down in the corner, setting up the slingshot double knees to the chest. Gonzalez’s distraction lets Kai roll her up a few times, only for Shirai to show her how it’s done with her own near fall. It’s back to Stark for a running uppercut in the corner but Kai pulls her down by the hair. Gonzalez comes back in but gets kneed in the chest in a hurry. Kai tags herself in for a reverse powerbomb/enziguri combination for two.

We take a break and come back with the double tag bringing Kai and Shirai, one of whom cleans house (I’ll let you guess which). There’s a pair of 619s to the villains and a missile dropkick puts Kai down. Stark adds a springboard dropkick of his own, followed by Stark’s slingshot dive onto Gonzalez. Stark posts her as well but misses a 450 back inside. Instead, Gonzalez powerbombs her down, knocks Shirai off the apron and hits another powerbomb for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C. They accomplished a few things here, including making Gonzalez look like a killer. Shirai is going to be in trouble she she has to defend the title and that is a good thing for Takeover. Stark continues to look very good in the ring just by rubbing elbows with stars but she is going to have to win something at some point.

Post match Gonzalez and Shirai pull themselves up for the staredown. Kai offers a distraction though and Gonzalez lays her out with a big boot. The powerbomb onto the announcers’ table leaves Shirai laying.

We look at Adam Cole coming to Kyle O’Reilly’s Brazilian jiu jitsu training center and getting in a fight. William Regal has promised punishment.

O’Reilly arrives with security and Roderick Strong tells him to take out Col. O’Reilly doesn’t seem to want the help or advice. Strong looks sad and says O’Reilly and Cole can both go to h***.

LA Knight isn’t worried about Bronson Reed tonight because Reed made a mistake last week.

Jordan Devlin knows tonight’s match is huge because it involves someone who has been a top star in Japan, England and America and is universally respected. That is quite the star, and tonight he is facing Kushida! Devlin likes Kushida, but he is going down tonight.

Bronson Reed vs. LA Knight

Reed shoves him around to start and then sends Knight flying with a backdrop. A powerslam sets up the chinlock on Knight and there’s an elbow to the face to take him down again. The chinlock keeps Knight in trouble before Reed switches to a double arm crank. Make that a waistlock but Knight fights up and makes it over to the apron. There’s a neck snap to slow Reed down and Knight stomps away.

Knight’s rhythmic pointing takes us to a break and we come back with Reed fighting out of a chinlock. That’s broken up so Knight stomps him down into the corner and slowly hammers away. A missed charge into the corner lets Knight hit a jumping neckbreaker for two more. Reed fights up again and shrugs off a kick to the face, meaning it’s time to run Knight over again. The chokeslam plants Knight again but he’s up in time to break up the Tsunami. Reed shoves him off though and finishes with the Tsunami at 12:09.

Rating: C-. It’s interesting that they are having Knight lose so soon, but more important than that is Reed, who is looking like a heck of a monster face. That Tsunami is one of the best looking splashes I’ve seen in a long time and I’m curious to see where Reed can go from here. He needs a big win, but giving him this kind of a squash is a good sign for his future.

We look at Danny Burch’s injury, causing the Tag Team Titles to be vacated. As a result, MSK, the Grizzled Young Veterans and Legado del Fantasma will face off for the vacant titles at Takeover.

Video on Walter, who is a monster and coming to NXT, at least for the time being. Other wrestlers talk about how worried they are because of him.

Oney Lorcan vs. Karrion Kross

Kross has Scarlett with him and Lorcan goes straight at him to start. Lorcan gets in a few shots to the face and they head outside, with Kross driving him into the barricade. Back in and Kross kicks him outside again, this time for a suplex on the floor. They head back in again with Lorcan’s chops earning him….a third trip out to the floor, just in case the first two didn’t connect.

Lorcan manages to dropkick him into the corner but Kross explodes out of the corner with a clothesline for two. We take a break and come back with Kross firing off shoulders in the corner. A cross armbreaker doesn’t get Lorcan anywhere as Kross breaks out and hits a t-bone suplex out of the corner.

The neck crank goes on as Kross talks about being glad Danny Burch was hurt last week. Lorcan gets fired up and avoids a charge to send Kross shoulder first into the post. A DDT on the arm has Kross panicking a bit so Lorcan wins a slugout by taking out the leg. The Blockbuster misses though and Kross kicks him in the face. The Doomsday Saito into the running elbow to the back of the head finishes Lorcan at 9:17.

Rating: C+. This was the perfectly logical match to have and as usual, Lorcan’s offense can work on anyone while still looking good. That is what we had here and Kross survives anyway, as he also gets a boost on the way to Takeover. I’m really not sure what they are going to do with Kross, but I am starting to get the praise.

Post match Kross says he would like to take a moment to address the actions of Finn Balor. Last week, Balor’s actions included malice. Kross promises pain because there is no stopping what is next, which is him. Cue Finn Balor, who says Kross showed him his weakness last week. Balor says Kross fight with emotions last week and that makes him sloppy and vulnerable. At Takeover, Balor is going to exploit those weaknesses and walk out NXT Champion because Balor can’t control himself and will drown without emotions. The staredown is on.

William Regal announces his plans for the North American Title match at Takeover. Next week there will be a twelve person battle royal with the final six remaining going on to a gauntlet eliminator match at Takeover Night One. The winner of that will move on to get the shot at Gargano on Night Two.

Kushida has accepted Jordan Devlin’s challenge for tonight.

Yesterday, Drake Maverick got on Imperium’s nerves and got a match with Walter as a result.

Walter vs. Drake Maverick

Non-title and Walter hits a powerbomb into the half crab for the immediate stoppage at 27 seconds.

Post match Imperium poses but here is Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt. Ciampa isn’t wasting time and challenges him to a UK Title match at Takeover. The brawl is on and Walter takes Ciampa’s necklace, which incenses him. One heck of a chop leaves Ciampa laying and Walter accepts the challenge.

Pete Dunne is ready to dominate the locker room and wants the North American Title.

Jessi Kamea is injured so Robert Stone pays off Mercedes Martinez to take her place. Mercedes agrees but wants the other half after the match. Stone agrees, but after Mercedes leaves, admits he has no more money. Oh dear.

A panicked Johnny Gargano goes to see William Regal and recaps the NXT Title situation for Takeover. Regal tells him to chill.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon vs. Mercedes Martinez/Aaliyah

Martinez and Aaliyah are challenging and have Robert Stone in their corner. Martinez throws Moon around to start but she snaps off a headscissors. Blackheart gets in the figure four necklock over the rope but Stone gets up on the apron to throw a quick fit. That’s enough for Martinez to get in a clothesline on Shotzi, followed by a fireman’s carry gutbuster.

Aaliyah comes in and even kicks Moon off of the apron without much trouble. It’s back to Martinez, who is quickly send into the corner, allowing the hot tag. House is cleaned in a hurry and a powerbomb gets two on Aaliyah. Blackheart plants Martinez with a tornado DDT and the Eclipse finishes Aaliyah at 4:02.

Rating: C-. I’m not sure what you were expecting here but it was only so good. This was mainly there to give the new champs their first defense. It wasn’t exactly a great match and the Eclipse at the end didn’t look great, but they kept it moving and didn’t try to stretch out into some unnecessary drama.

Cameron Grimes comes in to see Roderick Strong and suggests they restart the Undisputed Era. Strong hits him in the face.

Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart are proud of their win when the Way comes in. The challenge is issued and accepted.

Takeover rundown.

Jordan Devlin vs. Kushida

Non-title. Devlin takes him down in a hurry and hits a standing moonsault for an early two. That’s fine with Kushida, who hiptosses him into a basement dropkick before starting in on the arm. Kushida cranks on it with his feet and then his arms before sliding between Devlin’s legs to the floor, Devlin is waiting with an Asai moonsault (that was as crisp and well timed of a sequence as I have seen in a good while). We take a break and come back with Devlin holding a chinlock but getting caught with a jawbreaker. Kushida hits him in the face and bulldogs the arm down but the Hoverboard Lock is countered into a cradle for two.

Devlin nails his slingshot cutter, though he is still badly favoring the arm. Said arm gives out on the Devlin Slide attempt so Kushida goes up top. Devlin catches him with forearms but here is Legado del Fantasma for the distraction. Kushida gets in a kick to the head and superplexes him into the cross armbreaker. Legado pulls Devlin to the floor, which isn’t enough for a DQ. Devlin dives back in and sends Kushida into Legado, setting up a bridging O’Connor roll (meaning no need to use the bad arm) to pin Kushida at 9:26.

Rating: C+. Is it any surprise that these two could have a good match together? This was a rather nice display from both as Kushida took apart the arm but Devlin is on another level at the moment and took out the cruiserweight legend. I’m really not sure where they go with the unification match, but Devlin winning would not surprise me as he seems to have a lot more upward potential.

Post match Kushida goes after Legado and takes down Wilde and Mendoza. Santos Escobar gets in the ring for the staredown with Devlin….and we have a Shawn Michaels. He slides a ladder in the ring and points, leaving both guys to hold up their titles.

Adam Cole runs into Shawn as he leaves and glaring ensues. I’d be down for that.

We get the big showdown between Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly, with William Regal in charge and a lot of security. Regal rants about everything that has gone on between the two of them, even down to having the police involved. He has a contract for the two of them to be in an unsanctioned match in the co-main event for Night Two of Takeover so he would like them to sign in peace.

Cole takes the pen but has a story first. He asks Regal to imagine he was blind but then one day could see everything. That is what you call a revelation and Cole had one of those when he saw O’Reilly joining forces with Finn Balor. He thought O’Reilly had lost his mind but then it all came clear.

O’Reilly is just a lapdog on the sidelines but that is not Adam Cole. He is nothing like O’Reilly, who has lost sight of what the Undisputed Era was about. The team was about being the best and that is Cole. Does O’Reilly think he would be here without Cole? There is no team without Cole because he had the title run and sold the shirts and without him, O’Reilly is nothing. Everyone but O’Reilly knows that Cole wins at Takeover so Cole signs.

O’Reilly says they have known each other for a long time and didn’t care who they stepped over on their way to the top. Then O’Reilly grew up and started taking some accountability for his actions. There are no more sneak attacks or 4-1 beatdowns and since then, the team became better. They became stars but only one of them became a better person. Cole is the same a****** who came here three and a half years ago and that makes O’Reilly believe the Undisputed Era meant nothing. He wants to believe they can be cool again but now he won’t hesitate to put Cole down for good.

Cole used his friends to get to the top and O’Reilly is not surprised. No one is going to be surprised……LOOK ME IN THE EYES…..when O’Reilly beats Cole into a pulp. O’Reilly goes to sign, with Cole calling it a death warrant. The contract is signed and the table it turned over but they are held apart to end the show. Awesome promos from both guys with both of them making sense and selling how much they want to hurt the other.

Overall Rating: B. They hit the gas on the build towards Takeover here and that is the kind of show where NXT tends to shine. There are a lot of things to cover on the way there with a pair of shows but this one did a nice job of setting things up in a hurry. Next week will be the big hard sell for the shows, but they did a rather nice job here of making me want to see Takeover. Well done, as this was right in NXT’s wheelhouse.

Results

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark – Powerbomb to Stark

Bronson Reed b. LA Knight – Tsunami

Karrion Kross b. Oney Lorcan – Running elbow to the back of the head

Walter b. Drake Maverick via referee stoppage

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. Mercedes Martinez/Aaliyah – Eclipse to Aaliyah

Jordan Devlin b. Kushida – Bridging O’Connor roll

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

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AND

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

NXT
Date: March 10, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

This is one of the most stacked shows that NXT has had in a long time, with a pair of title matches to cap off the show. In addition though, General Manager William Regal is making two major announcements this week, both of which could be quite the game changers. Or they are either short term or not overly interesting ideas. Let’s get to it.

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

The champions and the challengers arrived earlier today.

Here’s William Regal to make the big announcements to start the show. First up, we go to a video on the history of Takeover, which is coming back over Wrestlemania weekend….for two nights, Wednesday and Thursday, on USA and Peacock respectively. This one is called Takeover: Stand And Deliver, which is at least better than Vengeance Day. Back in the arena, Regal has asked the women’s division to stand in the aisle. These women have proven themselves over and over, week in and week out, so Regal would like Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to come to the ring.

They got cheated out of their Women’s Tag Team Titles last week, so Regal is making his own move. Therefore, the two of them are the first ever NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions. Kai is rather proud and thanks Regal before bragging about running through the tournament to win the titles. Cue Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon to say if we have champions, we are going to have some challengers. Regal agrees and makes the match tonight. Well that was fast. These titles absolutely do not need to (and should not) exist, but at least it was fast.

Women’s Title: Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm

Storm is challenging and takes her up against the ropes for an early slap. They go to the mat to slug it out with Shirai being knocked into the corner. Shirai manages a shot to the ribs and hits a slingshot double stomp to the back. A rollup gives Shirai two and we hit the abdominal stretch with an elbow into Storm’s ribs. They head outside with Shirai being whipped into the steps as we take a break.

Back with Shirai hitting a flapjack, followed by the springboard missile dropkick for two. Storm nails a sliding clothesline into a bridging German suplex for two of her own. Another sliding clothesline against the ropes but Shirai backdrops her onto the apron. That’s enough to send Storm to the floor and there’s the big moonsault to drop her again.

Back in and another moonsault is broken up, setting up a sitout powerbomb out of the corner for two. Shirai snaps on a Crossface but Storm makes it over to the ropes in a hurry. Another moonsault misses and now Storm Zero connects for a rather near fall. Shirai is right back with the Crossface….and Storm actually taps at 12:00.

Rating: B-. I was surprised by the ending, though I do like the idea of Shirai having another finisher. She has been the champion for a very long time now and I’m not sure who is going to take the title from her this time around. Storm losing actually threw me here and I’m not sure where the two of them go from here.

Finn Balor wants tonight to be him and Adam Cole one on one and face to face for that title.

LA Knight says he’s ready to debut next week but here’s Bronson Reed to grab him by the throat. Drake says this is his time and I think we have a showdown for next week.

Pete Dunne vs. Jake Atlas

Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are here with Dunne. Atlas starts with a cartwheel and gets hammerlocked down to the arm for his efforts. Back up and Atlas snaps off a hurricanrana, followed by a springboard armdrag. Dunne isn’t having any of this and kicks the arm in. There’s a knee to the arm to put him down again and the armbar goes on. Atlas is right back with a snap German suplex for two and a discus lariat drops Dunne again. The cartwheel DDT is broken up though and Dunne snaps the fingers into the armbar to make Atlas tap at 4:26.

Rating: C-. This was all about making Dunne look like a monster who picked Atlas apart. Dunne not having any time for Atlas’ flips and ripping him to pieces was great. I’m not sure what is next for Dunne, but he is the kind of guy who could face anyone in NXT today and have a great match. This wasn’t a squash, but it was a heck of a beating.

Post match Dunne says he made his name in the UK but he is the best technical wrestler in the world today. Prove him wrong.

Imperium says that they are awesome and want Timothy Thatcher to join them.

Leon Ruff is tired of being told that he lucked into the title so now he’s ready to prove that Isaiah Scott is in for another rough landing.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Moon and Blackheart are challenging. Shotzi wastes no time in grabbing the Cloverleaf on Kai, which is pulled into the middle of the ring. Kai finally makes the rope so they can both hit kicks to the face at the same time. We take a break and come back with Gonzalez dropping Kai into a double stomp onto Blackheart. Back up and a quick enziguri allows the hot tag off to Moon to clean house.

Moon picks Kai up for a powerbomb and spins her down into a faceplant (that didn’t look good), followed by the middle rope Codebreaker on Gonzalez. Blackheart dives onto Gonzalez and Moon throws Kai back in. Kai nails a running boot to the face in the corner and Gonzalez comes in for a gorilla press into Kai’s bicycle kick.

Gonzalez knocks Blackheart off the apron but Moon slips out of a powerslam and brings Blackheart back in. Blackheart dives onto Gonzalez off the top as everything breaks down. Moon comes back in but Gonzalez blocks the Eclipse with straight power. A hurricanrana sends Gonzalez and Moon to the floor though, leaving Blackheart to roll Kai up for the pin at 12:16.

Rating: C+. The match was kind of all over the place but the title change on the night the titles debuted is certainly an exciting way to go. Moon and Blackheart had potential as a team so it’s nice to see them getting a chance as a team. It’s a better fit for the titles anyway and maybe this can finally get Moon some momentum after the first few months of her rather uninspiring return.

Adam Cole talks about how he got rid of the dead weight in the Undisputed Era. Then he played Finn Balor like a fiddle because it was always about getting the NXT Title back. Tonight, the next reign begins.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon get a standing ovation in the back but the Way walks off. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell find Johnny Gargano, who is looking for Austin Theory. They can’t believe he paid off the therapist last week. Gargano says he did it to show Theory that Dexter Lumis does not care about him. Theory comes in and starts to cry, before ripping his shirt off and saying that Lumis has crossed the line. Storming off ensues.

Video on WWE working with Girl Up.

Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter

They start fast with Carter kicking her down and hitting some clotheslines. A scissors kick into a running boot in the corner gets two on Li but Carter misses a charge. Cue Kacy Catanzaro on crutches as Li loads up the leg in the corner. Li says this is for Catanzaro, who hits her with the crutch for the DQ at 2:04.

Post match Boa comes in and blocks the crutch shot from Catanzaro. Carter gets in a cheap shot on Boa so she and Catanzaro can escape.

Jordan Devlin says his travel ban is lifted and he is coming back for Takeover because the Cruiserweight Champion should be on the card.

Video on Zoey Stark, who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and used wrestling as her escape. It lets her focus and then she got a job here through hard work. It’s cool to see her getting some focus like this because she certainly impressed in her early matches.

Santos Escobar yells at William Regal about Jordan Devlin and stays backstage during Legado del Fantasma’s match.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Before the match Zack Gibson asks what it feels like to be Santos Escobar’s goons. What they did to Wes Lee’s hand is going to be nothing compared to what they do to these two. Gibson gets knocked to the apron to start so Drake comes in and gets knocked into the wrong corner. A hiptoss into the ropes sets up a splash for two on Drake. Back up and an enziguri gives Drake a breather….and we’ve got astronauts ala Breezango last week. It’s MSK though, and the distraction legs Wilde sunset flip Drake for the pin at 1:43.

Post match MSK take off the helmets and smash Legado’s hands. Breezango runs in as well and the beatdown is on. With Legado done, dancing ensues.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez are livid but they were the first champions. Io Shirai comes in to challenge Gonzalez, who says be careful what you wish for.

Timothy Thatcher is asked about Imperium but here’s Tommaso Ciampa to interrupt. Ciampa doesn’t want to put the cart before the horse and since they’re against Imperium, it’s a tag match next week. Thatcher doesn’t seem sure about this.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Finn Balor

Balor is defending. They start fast with the takedowns to the mat and an exchange of headlocks. Balor holds a headlock for a bit and then Cole holds one for a bit, followed by a standoff to send us to a break. We come back with Cole unloading in the corner Cole unloading in the corner but walking into a dropkick. Balor grabs a chinlock for a bit so Cole fights up, only to have his leg dropkicked out.

A shinbreaker can’t quite set up a half crab so Balor settles for a double stomp to the chest instead. The Nightmare on Helm Street gets two on Cole and he gets kicked outside, where he manages a quick pump kick. Cole loads up the steps but Balor manages a suplex onto the ramp to send us to another break. Back with Balor hitting a brainbuster onto the knee for two but the Panama Sunrise misses. Balor nails the Sling Blade, only to miss the Coup de Grace.

Cole’s superkick gets two and he grabs a Crossface of all things. They roll into the middle with Balor in trouble until he rolls back to escape. Cole is right back with the Crossface so Balor goes to the rope this time around. Cole kicks the knee out and the Last Shot connects for two, followed by the Panama Sunrise for the same. Another Last Shot is countered with a toss to the floor and Cole winds up in front of Kyle O’Reilly. The distraction lets Balor hit the big flip dive and 1916 on the floor knocks Cole silly. Back in the Coup de Grace retains the title at 20:07.

Rating: B+. They surprised me again as I would have bet on Cole taking the title here. That being said, I’m kind of glad that they didn’t because Cole as champion has been done, even if he was transitioning it to O’Reilly at Takeover. Balor is all but guaranteed to face Karrion Kross so they’re both set. As for the match, what else were you expecting? They’ve had great ones before and they had time on the big stage here. How else was this going to go?

Post match O’Reilly gets in the ring so Cole begs off but his low blow is blocked. O’Reilly shouts that Cole did this to him but referees break up the brainbuster onto the steps. The fight heads up the ramp and Balor is left in the ring….with Karrion Kross behind him. Kross asks what took him so long and the staredown ends the show.

Overall Rating: B+. If there is one thing that NXT knows how to do, it is turn on the jets and crank things up on the big stage. That is what they did here as this show was billed as a big deal and then wound up being a big deal. There were two major announcements, three title matches and a bunch of stuff set up for Takeover. That’s a heck of a way to use two hours and I had a great time with this. Awesome show and Takeover is looking great already.

Results

Io Shirai b. Toni Storm – Crossface

Pete Dunne b Jake Atlas – Armbar

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai – Rollup to Kai

Xia Li b. Kayden Carter via DQ when Kacy Catanzaro interfered

Legado del Fantasma b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Sunset flip to Drake

Finn Balor b. Adam Cole – Coup de Grace

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: March 3, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph

The big story around here continues to be the complete implosion of the Undisputed Era after Adam Cole turned on the team and left them laying. Finn Balor is involved as well and that could make for some interesting situations. On top of that, the Women’s Tag Team Titles are on the line tonight as Shayna Baszler/Nia Jax are defending against Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s brawl between Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Finn Balor.

Last night, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch got into an argument with Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher, setting up a non-title match for tonight. This is due to Wes Lee’s broken hand, meaning MSK’s Tag Team Title shot is being postponed.

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher

Non-title. Thatcher and Burch start things off with Thatcher taking him to the mat for an armbar. Back up and Thatcher takes him right back down into another armbar, setting up an elbow drop to the arm. They get up again and this time it’s an exchange of uppercuts, with Thatcher knocking him into the corner for the tag off to Ciampa. Lorcan comes in as well and they strike it out as well until Lorcan grabs him by the head.

A headlock takeover is countered with a headscissors, followed by a running knee to send Lorcan outside. Burch gets knocked outside as well and Thatcher uppercuts the heck out of him. Back in and a heck of a discus lariat drops Lorcan, followed by a flapjack into Thatcher’s uppercut.

Thatcher grabs a chinlock but Lorcan goes to the eyes and the knee to put Thatcher down for a change. A clothesline sends Thatcher outside, where he grabs his neck as we take a break. Back with Thatcher (whose neck seems fine) fighting out of Lorcan’s half crab and kicking Burch away, allowing the hot tag to Ciampa. House is cleaned in a hurry and it’s back to Thatcher for the uppercuts. Ciampa fires off chops and Thatcher comes in again for some forearms.

Everything breaks down and stereo forearms to the chest have Lorcan and Burch bailing to the floor. Burch hits Thatcher in the head though and there’s the half and half suplex from Lorcan. Everyone goes down again and the NXT chants are on strong. Thatcher crawls over to Ciampa but here’s Imperium on the stage. Ciampa is knocked down and the elevated implant DDT finishes Thatcher at 13:14.

Rating: C+. This got some time and the Imperium deal has me interested, but it wasn’t the most thrilling match in certain parts. Thatcher and Ciampa are fine as a team and it’s nice to see the champs getting a win, even if it wasn’t exactly clean. Good opener though, and about as good of an option as they had given the injury to Lee.

Post match Ciampa does not look happy with Thatcher.

Here is a ticked off Roderick Strong to call out Adam Cole. He gets Finn Balor instead, who says that Cole isn’t coming out here for him. Strong blames Balor for the team falling apart but Balor says the title is what split them up. Balor knows how to get Cole out here and challenges Cole for a title match next week. That doesn’t bring Cole out, so Balor tells Strong to get a killer instinct. The fight is on until referees break it up.

It’s time to go to a psychiatric hospital where the Way is having group therapy. Johnny Gargano says Dexter Lumis has been affecting all of them, with Austin Theory not even being messed up by Lumis kidnapping him. Theory says nothing happened because it was just two dudes hanging out.

Gargano asks Indi Hartwell what she is doing on the notepad, which would be doodling the words “MRS. INDI WRESTLING LUMIS”. Gargano snaps, demanding to know why Lumis isn’t in jail. The therapist thinks Gargano has some deep seeded issues, sending Gargano into a complete meltdown. Gargano is thrown out but he’ll be outside if anyone needs him. More on this later.

Cameron Grimes wants to change the name of the CWC into the Cameron Grimes Auditorium, which he can absolute afford. William Regal comes in to say he has a potential lawsuit on his hands. Regal tells Grimes to chill and tonight it’s Grimes vs. Bronson Reed. Grimes is not pleased and offers Regal money because….everybody has….a price. Grimes: “THAT D*** TED DIBIASE!” Oh man that is going to be a great cameo when it happens.

Aliyah vs. Ember Moon

Jessi Kamea, Robert Stone and Shotzi Blackheart (with tank) are here too. Moon works on the arm to start but Aliyah flips up and hits a forearm to the jaw. That gets a rather annoyed look from Moon, who lets Aliyah try it again. That earns her a belly to back slam and it’s time to go to the floor. Moon….I believe kicks her in the face but the rapid camera cut makes it hard to see.

Either way it gets two back inside (with the replay showing that it was a dropkick which hit clean, making the camera cut pretty pointless) but Aliyah gets in a shot of her own for two of her own. We hit the chinlock with a knee in Moon’s back but she’s right back up with a spinebuster. Stone and Kamea’s interruption earns them a double clothesline from Blackheart and the Eclipse finishes for Moon at 4:53.

Rating: C. I can go for both the Eclipse being back and Moon/Blackheart staying friends after the tournament ends. The women’s tag team division could certainly use some more depth so why not let them see what they can do. Aliyah continues to astound me as she has barely progressed whatsoever in years now. She’s passable in the ring but you would think that being in developmental this long would mean a little more development no?

Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa say what happened with Imperium is in the past, where it is going to stay. How long has Ciampa had hair on his head?

Video on Io Shirai vs. Toni Storm before their title match next week.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler vs. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai

Kai and Gonzalez are challenging. Jax throws Kai around with ease to start and there’s a running splash in the corner to make it worse. Baszler comes in for a pat on the head, which does not sit well with Kai. It doesn’t seem to matter to Baszler, who takes her down to the mat, only to miss the stomp to the arm. Baszler knocks Kai down again and out to staredown as we take a break.

Back with Kai hitting the running kick to Baszler’s face in the corner. Baszler takes her down by the leg though and hands it off to Jax for the power. A gorilla press drop leaves Kai thudding onto the mat so Baszler can get two. Kai kicks out the leg though and the hot tag brings in Gonzalez for a big dropkick. A powerslam gets two on Baszler but the powerbomb is broken up. That means Jax comes in for the showdown and they go straight to the slugout.

Jax gets the better of things and it’s back to Baszler for two off a forearm. The Kirifuda Clutch is broken up though and Gonzalez kicks her in the face. Kai hits her own kick to the face for two more but something like a GTS is blocked. The Kirifuda Clutch has Kai in trouble but she crawls over for the tag off to Gonzalez. The referee gets bumped as Gonzalez goes after Jax and the two go over the announcers’ table. Baszler grabs the Kirifuda Clutch on Kai as Adam Pearce sends a second referee in to call the knockout at 13:15. Commentary makes a big deal out of Kai not being legal.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much drama to this one but the action was good enough. That’s kind of the problem with having these NXT teams challenge for the titles: it is almost impossible to imagine an NXT star beating the main roster wrestlers, especially when Jax and Baszler are already scheduled to defend the titles against Lana and Naomi at some point in the future. For a one off match, it was fine enough though.

It’s back to therapy, with Theory thinking Lumis wants a friend and Hartwell wanting to be that friend. Candice LeRae doesn’t buy it, even as Gargano texts her what to say to the therapist. The therapist checks the door and here’s Gargano to ask if anyone wants something from Uber Eats. That’s enough of Gargano, so the therapist wants to know what really happened when Lumis abducted Theory. Things get tense and we’ll be back later.

We go to Isaiah Scott’s recording studio, where he wants to talk about life opportunities. Leon Ruff had a North American Title shot handed to him but Scott had to scratch and claw to get his shot. This is NXT in the CWC and that makes it Swerve’s House. Ruff doesn’t want to go to war with someone who cares less than him because Swerve is just different. He doesn’t care anymore.

Here’s LA Night for his in-arena debut. Knight has waited way too long to step into this ring, look into that camera and say “let me talk to ya”. He isn’t going to stand out here talking about childhood dreams because he’s the one man revolution. Some people might say he’s the Tom Brady of wrestling but Brady wishes he was half the man that he is. Just like old Tommy Boy, Knight isn’t a first round draft pick but bet every dollar you have to your name that he will be the one setting trends and records.

Knight has been looking around NXT and sees your Johnny Gargano, Kyle O’Reilly, Adam Cole and Finn Balor. They all have their kicks, flips and dives so bring all of them to your front door. He isn’t here to do anything fancy and while you might not like the way he does it, he gets the job done. Knight is the last of a dying breed (ugh) and some people might be saying that he is the best of all time.

When his coronation takes place, don’t call him the GOAT. No, call him LA Knight, and that is just a fact of life. Bronson Reed comes out for his match and Knight isn’t pleased about being cut off but leaves in peace. I’ve always liked Knight’s promos but please not another last of a dying breed. There have been way too many of them in wrestling over the years.

Bronson Reed vs. Cameron Grimes

Grimes throws his money around during his entrance and offers Reed a payoff. That earns him a shot to the face so Grimes has to try and pick up his money (smart man). The powerbomb is broken up but Grimes is thrown outside as we take a break. Back with Grimes nailing an enziguri and managing the flipping crossbody for two. A crossface doesn’t last long on Reed so Grimes knees him in the head.

Reed fights up again and hits something like a Thesz press minus the press. Grimes hits a Superman punch but gets knocked down by a clothesline. That’s enough for Grimes so he tries to leave, only to get taken down by a suicide dive (ouch). It’s enough to knock Grimes’ hat off so here’s LA Knight for a distraction and a crotching. Grimes hits the Cave In for the pin at 8:28.

Rating: C. These guys are both doing rather well right now and it’s nice to see Grimes getting a win, even one like this. He has struck gold with this money deal and while it won’t last forever, it is one of the best things going in wrestling today. Reed vs. Knight could be interesting as Knight could use a first feud. Just let Knight talk a lot and he’ll be fine.

William Regal is yelling at Adam Pearce over the ending to the Tag Team Title match.

Kayden Carter isn’t happy about what Xia Li did to Kacy Catanzaro and it’s time for revenge.

We look at Karrion Kross destroying Santos Escobar and Legado del Fantasma last week.

Back to therapy where Theory talks about being in a really small room with Lumis. Theory ate cereal and watched cartoons all day because Lumis isn’t a bad guy. The therapist doesn’t get how Theory can imagine Lumis as a nice guy because she talked to Lumis this morning. She couldn’t make him stop talking and Lumis said he couldn’t wait to get rid of Theory.

Lumis found him rude, loud, and obsessed with cutting off the bottom half of his shirts to show off his average abdominal muscles. Theory runs out screaming and crying but the Way brings him back in. Gargano yells at the therapist but then thanks her for making everything work after the rest of the team leaves. Gargano tells Theory that they’re going to Chuck E. Cheese to calm him down.

Ever-Rise vs. Breezango

Breezango is still around? Actually hang on as Legado del Fantasma jump them during their entrances (astronauts this time around) and leave them laying. Legado chases Ever-Rise off too so Santos Escobar can jump both of them from behind. Escobar beats them both up and gets inside, saying do not mistake last week for weakness. If you do that, then this is what awaits you. No match if that wasn’t clear.

Here is what’s coming next week, including the Women’s and NXT Title matches.

Video on Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole.

In response to the ending of the Women’s Tag Team Title match, William Regal promises a game changing announcement next week.

Finn Balor vs. Roderick Strong

Non-title. They lock up to start and go to the mat with Balor grabbing a quickly broken chinlock. Back up and Strong goes for the arm but Balor blocks it for a good bit. Balor grabs the arm as well but Strong manages a backbreaker to send us to a break. Back with Strong sending Balor into the buckle and chopping away. Balor kicks him down though and stomps away before cranking on the arm even more. A big crank has Strong on the apron for a breather but Balor is right back with the armbar.

Balor pulls on the arm even more until Strong comes back with a powerslam. Another backbreaker connects for two but Balor comes back with something like an Anaconda Vice. Strong gets out and hits a running clothesline, setting up the belly to back faceplant. The running forearms against the ropes set up Strong’s Angle Slam into a tiger bomb for another near fall.

Strong goes for the Strong Hold but has to counter Balor’s counter into a rollup. The fireman’s carry gutbuster is loaded up but Balor spins into a double stomp to the chest to put Strong down again. A Pele knocks Strong into the ropes and there’s the shotgun dropkick into the corner. The Coup de Grace into 1916 finishes Strong at 13:46.

Rating: B. This worked well as they took their time getting going but then picked up the pace really well. Balor is money right now and he is helping to bring everyone else up with him, which is one of the best things that the champion can do. I liked this match a lot and Strong looked, well, strong, in defeat.

Adam Cole comes out for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Good show this week as it did the most important thing by building up next week’s big show. I’m looking forward to the two title matches and we got a solid enough show setting things up. NXT has figured out how to make this work far better in recent weeks and I want to see where these things go. I’m not sure where this leaves April’s Takeover, but I can live with a big time weekly show

Results
Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Elevated implant DDT to Ciampa
Ember Moon b. Aliyah – Eclipse
Nia Jax/Shayna Baszler b. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez – Kirifuda Clutch to Kai
Cameron Grimes b. Bronson Reed – Cave In
Finn Balor b. Roderick Strong – 1916

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NXT
Date: February 17, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s the fallout show from Takeover: Vengeance Day, which was certainly a noteworthy show. Not only do we have two new Dusty Classic winners, but the big story came at the end, as the Undisputed Era seemed to split up. That might be long overdue, but you could also say it was too soon. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Long recap of Takeover, including Adam Cole turning on the Undisputed Era.

Commentary talks about the show but here’s Kyle O’Reilly to interrupt. He has watched the clip time after time and doesn’t understand. The Undisputed Era was supposed to be different but then Cole kicked him in the face. Kyle needs to know what is going on so Cole can come out here and tell him. Now yes Kyle will probably punch him in the face, but get out here.

Cue Roderick Strong, which doesn’t make Kyle very happy. Strong says Cole did everything based solely off of emotion and he knows Cole regrets….and Kyle doesn’t want to hear it. He wants Cole himself out here and doesn’t need Strong playing peacekeeper. Strong gets on the apron but Kyle keeps shouting for Cole to get out here.

Cue Finn Balor, which only makes Kyle even madder. Balor says O’Reilly may want Cole but he’ll have to get in line. Balor knew that he shouldn’t have accepted O’Reilly’s hand on Sunday but here are Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch to jump Balor and Strong. Pete Dunne joins in and O’Reilly gets beaten down as well, with Balor grabbing his leg.

Earlier today, Santos Escobar said the Karrion Kross match wasn’t happening tonight because he doesn’t like being threatened.

William Regal isn’t happy and says Escobar can face Kross next week or be stripped of the Cruiserweight Title. Also tonight, Lorcan/Burch/Dunne vs. Balor/O’Reilly/Strong.

The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

Johnny Gargano has missing posters for Austin Theory, who is still gone after being kidnapped by Dexter Lumis at Takeover. Johnny even sits in on commentary for a bonus. Candice LeRae gets taken into the corner and then knocked outside as we take a very early break. Back with the Way getting caught by stereo kicks to the face but Indi Hartwell finally kicks Ember in the face to take over.

The front facelock goes on but we cut to the parking lot where a white van pulls up. Back in the arena and Ember slips off of Hartwell’s shoulders but walks into a side slam for two. LeRae comes back in to crank on both arms and hands it back to Hartwell to forearm Moon in the face. Moon gets sent outside for a springboard dive from LeRae, but we cut back to the van again. That’s enough for Gargano to go check it out as we take a break. Back with Shotzi coming in off the hot tag to clean house but Hartwell drops her with a clothesline to put everyone down.

We cut back to the parking lot where Gargano can’t get in the van, which doesn’t seem to have anyone inside. LeRae hits a low superkick for two on Blackheart and everything breaks down. Hartwell hangs Moon in the ropes as Gargano is back with the still tied up (and in his underwear) Theory. LeRae goes to celebrate, leaving Moon to roll Hartwell up for the pin at 16:28.

Rating: D+. Well that was long and they had multiple parts of the match dedicated to the Lumis/Theory stuff, which is certainly going to continue because everything Lumis does has to go on forever. Moon and Blackheart get back on the winning track, as apparently they are continuing as a team. Maybe they could face the Women’s Tag Team Champions, assuming the titles come here, where they would make more sense.

Pat McAfee joins us from his plane, saying that he told us so about Adam Cole. Feel free to tweet him about how awesome and right he was.

Kushida says he is glad he faced Johnny Gargano and wants to do it again. Bronson Reed comes in and says he was impressed but he might need to beat Kushida to get his own title shot. That’s cool with Kushida and Reed leaves. Cue Malcolm Bivens, who suggests Kushida wrestle tonight.

Leon Ruff vs. Isaiah Scott

Ruff armdrags him down a few times but Scott grabs the rope to avoid another one. A dropkick sets up an armdrag into an armbar to have Scott down for a bit. That’s a short bit though as he’s back up with a running boot to the face and a powerbomb backbreaker. A hard running dropkick in the corner puts Ruff on the floor and Scott kicks him in the face again.

Back in and we hit the bodyscissors as Scott is getting rather cocky. Ruff fights up with some chops and an elbow to the face, followed by the spinning cutter out of the corner. Scott has to grab the rope for the save, which is a little closer than I would have expected. Some forearms rock Scott again and a double stomp to the back keeps him in trouble. The crucifix bomb gives Ruff the surprise pin at 5:25.

Rating: C. I’m hoping this is the kind of loss that is going to shake Scott up a bit because he has lost time after time around here. You would think that WWE would want to push him a bit based on his podcast alone but nothing has clicked so far. I do like that Ruff wasn’t just a goon who loses everything after his big story was over.

Post match Scott beats the heck out of Ruff, including a release Death Valley Driver into the corner. Scott says Ruff is handed everything while he has to scratch and claw for everything. This is Swerve’s time and Swerve’s house? Where is his North American Title shot opportunity?

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Aliyah/Jessi Kamea

During the entrances, we see Carter and Catanzaro getting beaten down by Xia Li last week. We also get a chat from the two of them, who want Li back but also want a win tonight. Catanzaro spins out of a fireman’s carry and armdrags Kamea into the corner. Stereo kicks to the head get two and it’s already back to Kacy for a flipping anklescissors for two.

Cue Boa for a distraction so Kamea can get in a forearm and it’s off to Aliyah to hammer away. A combination wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter gets two on Carter but she’s over for the tag to Catanzaro in a hurry. House is cleaned and a neckbreaker/top rope splash combination finishes Kamea at 2:34. Catanzaro continues to look more and more comfortable every week.

Post break, Kacy goes to talk to Xia Li, who grabs her hand and marks it, meaning they’re on for next week. Well so much for Catanzaro’s rise, as this is going to hurt.

Malcolm Bivens thinks Kushida should face Tyler Rust tonight.

Here’s Beth Phoenix in the ring to present the Dusty Classic trophy. After a video on both tournaments, here is MSK for the first presentation. The team is rather fired up and call out Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan for their title shot on March 3. They promise to win the titles but there is something else that needs to be done. Beth brings out Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez to present them with….apparently the same trophy as we only have one.

They’re proud of their win but here are Shayna Baszler and Nia Jax to interrupt. MSK even holds the ropes for the, but Jax scares them off. Kai introduces Gonzalez to the champs, including saying that Shayna ran away after Rhea Ripley beat her up. Gonzalez brings up beating Ripley in the Last Woman Standing match but Baszler laughs at the idea of Kai being tough.

Kai offers to kick Baszler’s head off but Jax says she is here to honor Dusty Rhodes. They worked together in NXT and remembers him calling her a big bad*** b****. Gonzalez says Dusty never met her and gets in Jax’s face. Shayna says they’ll be back in two weeks for some humiliation. Gonzalez promises to put her boot so far up Jax’s hole that we’ll never find it. MSK found popcorn somewhere in there. This was kind of a mess, and the single trophy thing was a little amusing.

Balor and O’Reilly seem to argue in the parking lot but we can’t hear them.

We see the still amazing Cameron Grimes Is Rich music video.

Grimes has wrecked his car but who cares? He’ll just buy another one.

Toni Storm jumped Io Shirai during a photo shoot and kicked her in the face.

Kushida vs. Tyler Rust

Malcolm Bivens is here with Rust. Kushida goes for the arm to start but gets shoved into the corner. That means it’s time to go after the arm again, only to have Rust take him down by the arm as well. Back up and Kushida nails the handspring elbow, setting up a bridging rollup for two. That earns him a shot to the face from Rust but Kushida manages an enziguri from the apron.

Back in and Kushida gets pulled off the top rope for a crash and it’s time for more Rust arm cranking. Kushida is sent outside and we take a break. We come back with Kushida striking away but missing a running kick. He goes to Rust’s arm again though and some Kawada kicks put Rust right back in trouble. Rust doesn’t seem to mind and grabs a front facelock suplex into an ax kick for two.

Two more kicks to the head get two more and Bivens is annoyed at the kickout. Rust grabs a rear naked choke before switching to something like a bow and arrow. That’s countered into a rollup for two and Kushida kicks him in the arm again. Kushida has to elbow his way out of a fireman’s carry and the Hoverboard Lock goes on for the tap at 11:16.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here as Kushida manages to get back on track after a heck of a match on Sunday. I’m still not sure what they’re doing with Rust at the moment, but he is having some pretty good matches and keeping himself out there. The midcard is getting beefed up around here and that is always a good thing.

Video on Zoey Stark.

We look at LA Knight debuting at Takeover.

Knight knows that everyone thinks he’s already the best NXT star of all time. He’ll be the biggest star ever around here and that is just a fact of life. If he’s exactly the same thing as he was as Eli Drake, was there a point to the change other than owning the name?

Zoey Stark vs. Valentina Feroz

The bad name generator is back. Stark grabs a suplex and then drives her into the corner as the beatdown is on in a hurry. Feroz avoids a stomp though and judo throws her down for two but Stark is back with some knees to the ribs. A release hot shot in the corner sets up a kick to the face into a half nelson suplex to rock Feroz again. The running kick to the face into a flip over knee to the face (something like a belly to back suplex flipped into a GTS) for the pin at 2:40. Stark looked good enough but needs some more polish.

Scarlett says Santos Escobar is out of time and Karrion Kross says Escobar’s destiny has been decided. Even if Escobar doesn’t show up next week, Kross will catch up with him anyway. Tick tock.

Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch vs. Finn Balor/Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly

Lorcan drives O’Reilly into the corner to start but he’s right back with some forearms to the face. Balor comes in to work on the arm, with O’Reilly coming back in to stay on said arm. It’s already back to Balor as Strong seems to be ignored on the apron. Lorcan finally drives Balor into the corner but Balor armbars Burch down without much trouble. Strong comes in to cut off the left out idea and armbars Burch as well.

It’s off to Dunne to work on the arm as well, only to have Strong hit a running kick to the face for two. Strong gets sent outside where Lorcan and Burch throw the steps around for no apparent reason. The distraction lets Dunne go after Strong but he snaps Dunne’s throat across the top. The tag brings in O’Reilly to strike away but Dunne blasts him with a forearm.

We take a break and come back with O’Reilly fighting out of a chinlock to dragon screw legwhip Dunne into the corner. Lorcan comes in but gets backslidden for two. O’Reilly manages a clothesline and, after bouncing off the rope, rolls over for the hot tag to Balor. House is cleaned in a hurry with Balor and Dunne being left in the ring. Dunne scores with an enziguri but Balor scores with the Sling Blade. Burch tries to bring in a title belt but the referee stops him only to get bumped.

Cue Adam Cole as the referee gets bumped again and there’s a bicycle kick to O’Reilly. A brainbuster onto the steps drops O’Reilly again but Strong cuts Lorcan off. Strong picks up the title. That earns him a Pele kick from Balor (who didn’t see who it was), allowing Dunne to hit the Bitter End on Balor for the pin at 12:03.

Rating: B-. Good stuff here and the important thing is they set up a few different angles. Odds are this sets up Cole vs. O’Reilly and Balor vs. Dunne II, both of which could be nice matches to counteract the power of Shaquille O’Neal on March 3. I’m not sure if they would do both of those on the same show, but the future is looking pretty bright, which is always nice to see.

Post match everyone else leaves so here’s Cole to superkick Balor and hold up the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was a show that set things going forward for the next few months after Takeover and there is nothing wrong with that. It also set up a few people into some slightly higher levels and hopefully that extends into the future. Throw in McAfee being back and this should be a fun way to go in the next few weeks. NXT is picking up a bit again and that’s worth a smile.

Results

Ember Moon/Shotzi Blackheart b. The Way – Rollup to Hartwell

Leon Ruff b. Isaiah Scott – Crucifix bomb

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter b. Aliyah/Jessi Kamea – Neckbreaker/top rope splash combination to Kamea

Kushida b. Tyler Rust – Hoverboard Lock

Zoey Stark b. Valentina Feroz – Flip into a knee to the face

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch/Pete Dunne b. Roderick Strong/Kyle O’Reilly/Finn Balor – Bitter End to Balor

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.