IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 11, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things are starting to get back to normal after Halloween Havoc and that means we need to start the build for the next Takeover, which has yet to be officially announced. I’m not sure what to expect from the show, but we still have a lot of building to do for whenever the show is taking place. Let’s get to it.

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

Veterans Day video, as usual.

Here’s North American Champion Johnny Gargano in the ring with his Wheel of Challengers. It’s exactly what it sounds like, with a bunch of legitimate challengers and Leon Ruff being written in as an option. Gargano talks about losing his titles in his first defense every time but tonight it’s going to be difference. After starting a SPIN THE WHEEL chant, the wheel is spin and believe it or not, it winds up on Ruff, albeit after spinning backwards to get there.

North American Title: Leon Ruff vs. Johnny Gargano

Gargano is defending and kicks him in the face to start, followed by stomping Ruff down in the corner. The beating is on in various corners and Gargano throws in a little dance. Gargano sends him outside as the cockiness is high, partially because Ruff is holding his knee. Hold on though as Damian Priest is in the crowd to distract Gargano, who mocks him with the arrow.

Priest comes out from around the fence to scare Gargano inside for two off a rollup. Gargano hits a heck of a clothesline into the Lawn Dart but stops to glare at Priest again, which isn’t that bright. Ruff uses the distraction to hit a crucifix bomb for the pin and the title in a huge upset at 3:36.

Rating: C-. I like it! Ruff isn’t going to be the next big thing or the long reigning champion but points for throwing a big surprise in there to keep Gargano vs. Priest going. It plays up the idea that anything can happen and gives the show a bit of a spark, which has been missing in a bad way as of late. They surprised me here and that’s a nice feeling to have again.

Priest cracks up and Ruff (Ruff: “I’M THE CHAMPION???”) is stunned as Gargano screams at the referee. Barrett: “THE CURSE IS BACK!!! IT’S REAL!!!” Ruff puts on the title, which falls down because he’s so skinny.

Post break Ruff can’t believe it but Priest says Gargano is going to come through the curtain and beat him up. Priest pulls out his keys and says go get in the black Challenger and get out. Gargano comes through the curtain and has to be held back from Priest. They argue a lot with Priest saying that was his idea and Gargano blaming him for the loss.

Earlier today, Jake Atlas attacked a member of Legado del Fantasma with his club and called out Santos Escobar for the title shot.

Cruiserweight Title: Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas

Escobar is defending and has the rest of Legado del Fantasma with him. Feeling out process to start until Atlas scores with a dropkick to put him on the floor. Back in and it’s time for Atlas to win a chop off, earning himself a knee to the ribs. Escobar takes him to the mat and wraps his leg around Atlas’ neck for some stretching. That’s broken up so Escobar slams him down to counter a headscissors attempt and some stomps keep Atlas in trouble.

We hit the chinlock with Escobar cranking on the arm for a bonus. As usual, the chinlock makes Atlas come back to his feet so Escobar sends him to the apron. The rest of Legado tries to get in some club shots but Atlas takes him down. Some club shots put Legado down and a springboard Blockbuster gives Atlas two. Escobar bails to the floor and we take a break. Back with the rest of Legado being ejected and Escobar choking in the corner. The frog splash gives Escobar two but Atlas starts the real comeback.

A suplex into a superkick gives Atlas two but Escobar shoves him off the top and into the announcers’ table. Escobar slides outside and sends Atlas into the steps as the confidence is growing. Atlas makes it back inside and sends Escobar outside this time, only to get caught in the ropes on a suicide dive attempt. It knocks Escobar down enough to set up a small package for two back inside but a jumping superkick gives Escobar the same. Atlas hits a Regal Roll though and goes up top, only to have the cartwheel DDT blocked. The double underhook facebreaker finishes Atlas at 15:01.

Rating: B-. That was the most fire that Atlas has ever shown and it helped a lot. Atlas is still a long way from being a big deal but he has come along rather well in recent weeks. That being said, it is a good idea to have Escobar get some wins like this as it makes him seem like someone who can get a big win without a ton of help from his goons. You need to have some wins like that here and there and that’s what Escobar got to do here.

Dexter Lumis draws a picture of Cameron Grimes running away from the zombie referee. It seems to get some good reviews.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about what her tank meant to her before Candice LeRae destroyed it. The tank represented freedom, family and members of the military, so no they aren’t even. Now it’s time for her to beat LeRae up. Fair enough, but that seems like a fairly flimsy reason to care about a toy tank.

Raquel Gonzalez vs. Xia Li

Hold on as here’s Boa to say Li isn’t here tonight so they can’t have a match. Gonzalez kicks him in the head and beats the heck out of him, including the powerbomb to leave him laying. She says everybody better get her name out of their mouth. Gonzalez leaves and a bunch of red lights come on. An older man comes out and Boa bows to him, with the old man handing him a letter. Ok then.

August Grey was being interviewed when Timothy Thatcher jumped him from behind. The brawl was on with Grey being sent through Lumis’ picture from earlier. Lumis showed up for a staredown with William Regal joining them. I think you know where this is going.

Toni Storm vs. Candice LeRae

During her entrance, Candice talks about loving the sound of hearing the tank crushed last week. They trade headlocks to start with Storm taking her down to the mat. Back up and Candice gets caught in a wristlock but manages to reverse into one of her own. Storm takes her down to the mat with an armbar but Candice is back up with a hair pull to take over.

Now it’s Candice with her own headlock as this isn’t exactly in high gear yet. There’s a suplex to get Storm out of trouble and she hits a basement dropkick to start the comeback (despite not exactly being in much trouble). They head outside with Candice avoiding a hip attack into the steps to send us to a break. Back with Candice hitting a Backstabber but missing a Lionsault. Storm scores with a headbutt to put them both for a bit, allowing the fans to start some rhythmic stomping.

A German suplex drops Candice and the running hip attack connects in the corner. There’s a sliding lariat against the ropes and another in the middle of the ring has Candice rocked again. A fisherman’s suplex gives Storm two so she goes up top, only to miss the guillotine legdrop. Candice kicks her in the face for two but Storm knocks her into the corner. Storm misses a charge though and Candice grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes for the pin at 10:14.

Rating: C+. They beat each other up rather well and I can go for more of Candice cheating to win, but at the same time it’s weird to see Storm taking a loss. She would seem to be one of the most can’t miss prospects in all of NXT, though at least it wasn’t a clean loss here so it isn’t some horrible tragedy.

Post match Storm goes after her again but the Ghostface attacker comes in. Shotzi Blackheart comes in for the save but gets double teamed down. The Ghostface is revealed as….Indi Hartwell, which shouldn’t be that big of a surprise, just like the tag match likely taking place next week.

Breezango says it took them five years to get the titles but they pulled it off. They don’t like Pat McAfee because he isn’t even a wrestler. Tonight, they’re taking the titles back because they can do it again. I doubt it, but it was the serious promo they should have been cutting here.

Dexter Lumis vs. Timothy Thatcher

Lumis goes with a Thesz press to start and knocks Thatcher outside early on. Back in and Thatcher goes for the leg but gets kicked away into another standoff. Lumis rides him on the mat for a bit until Thatcher goes for the ankle again with a little more success. There’s a suplex to drop Lumis again but he crawls over to Thatcher without much effort. A front facelock has Lumis in more trouble and it’s back to the ankle to make it worse.

Lumis’ choking doesn’t get him very far as Thatcher is right back with a bow and arrow (always nice to see). Back up and Lumis gets in a spinebuster into a dropkick as the ankle seems ok. Lumis is favoring his arm as he sends Thatcher outside but follows him anyway. They slug it out on the floor with the bad arm being sent into the post as we take a break. Back with Thatcher getting two off a butterfly suplex before slapping on another armbar.

That’s broken up as well so Thatcher tries another suplex, with Lumis reversing into a belly to back of his own. Lumis nips up into a spinning legdrop and grabs a bulldog out of the corner. Thatcher catches him on top but Lumis shoves him off and this a Swanton. Cue Cameron Grimes on the apron so Thatcher sends them together and pulls Lumis into a cradle for the pin at 13:34.

Rating: C-. The wrestling was fine but sweet goodness WHAT IS THE OBSESSION WITH LUMIS??? He’s here week after week and I don’t remember a match where I’ve been overly interested with or impressed by him. For some reason NXT seems to think he’s some kind of awesome star for I just do not get it no matter what he does. At least Thatcher got the win though.

Post match Grimes stays on Lumis and puts a burlap sack over Lumis’ face. Lumis gets beaten to the floor, where Grimes puts him in a chair for the Cave In. Yeah I’m still not interested in Lumis. Grimes yes, Lumis no.

Johnny Gargano goes to William Regal’s office and thinks the decision should be reversed. That isn’t happening so Gargano snaps and admits to rigging the wheel. Regal says the decision stands and shuts the door in Gargano’s face, meaning it’s time to yell some more.

Tommaso Ciampa talks about being around NXT for a long time. He trained with some legends like Killer Kowalski and Harley Race, who were really tough men. They never took liberties because they didn’t need to. Now he looks around the NXT locker room and everyone will tell you how tough they are. Maybe it’s the world we live in today, where you complain and get rewarded. There are actions without consequences so maybe he is the last of a dying breed. Two weeks ago he told us that this 2020 locker room culture is going to change and he is that change. Ciampa turns the chair over as he leaves. I’m intrigued.

We get a Prime Target on Io Shirai vs. Rhea Ripley. Rhea talks about walking into Raymond James Stadium at 23 years old and being ready for Wrestlemania….but then it didn’t happen, and the match took place in front of no fans with no energy and no emotion. Then she got beat as well and it wasn’t what she expected. Then two months later, Io Shirai won the Women’s Title in a triple threat match, also involving Ripley.

Shirai talks about not being able to have regrets and failed as champion, which every challenger has learned. She stops momentum and defeats the best and now that Rhea has taken months to recover from Wrestlemania, Shirai is ready to be her nightmare. Ripley talks about how she doesn’t quit and is ready when the lights go on. The title match is next week. It doesn’t have the biggest build, but Ripley getting a shot feels like an important deal no matter what.

Here are the Kings of NXT for a chat. McAfee talks about how great it was to take out Killian Dain last week and even though he is stuck in Orlando, it has been a great day. Not only has he traded tweets with Tom Brady and found out that his business is worth $150 million, but now he gets to watch Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch destroy Breezango while he dominates that commentary desk. McAfee goes over to sit next to Stupid Joseph and Bad News Barrett.

Cameron Grimes is VERY pleased with what he did and is off to celebrate.

Finn Balor is back next week.

Tag Team Titles: Breezango vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Burch and Lorcan are defending with Pete Dunne at ringside and Pat McAfee on commentary. The champs jump Breezango to start as McAfee talks about losing in the Super Bowl to “Drew Brees and his dumb baby.” Breeze manages to catapult Burch into the barricade as we settle down to a regular match. It’s Breeze getting caught in the wrong corner but managing to block a suplex and drive Burch over for the tag to Fandango.

Lorcan comes in and blocks a suplex to take over on Fandango but everything breaks down. They head outside with the champs both getting superkicked as we take a break. Back with McAfee off commentary and double tags bringing in Fandango and Lorcan as the pace picks up. Fandango starts cleaning house and hits a hiptoss into a neckbreaker on Burch. The Falcon Arrow gets two on Lorcan as everything breaks down again.

Breeze tries a flip dive to the floor but Dunne pulls Burch out of the way. Fandango dives onto them instead but Lorcan crotches him back inside. McAfee offers a distraction but here’s Drake Maverick to kick Lorcan off the top. Maverick dives onto McAfee as well, leaving Fandango to hit the Last Dance for two on Lorcan. Dunne runs Maverick over and then knocks Breeze off the apron so Fandango can’t make a tag. Burch comes in off a blind tag and it’s a headbutt into the elevated DDT for the pin to retain the titles at 9:59.

Rating: C+. The action helped overcome the fact that there was no drama to the match, but it was good to get the rematch out of the way. McAfee and company are looking like they could be a big deal around here for a long time to come and it’s not like Breezango are serious threats to get the titles back. This was a good enough match to make the point and Maverick being willing to fight for his friend works out well, especially if this foursome’s failure sets up the Undisputed Era coming in for the war.

Post match Maverick dives onto Burch and goes after the other three, earning himself a big group beatdown. Dunne X Plexes him onto the announcers’ table and Fandango’s save attempt earns him a beating as well. Breeze is held up and McAfee adds the Punt to leave him laying. McAfee takes over the camera to say that they’re the greatest and these three suck to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This is a fine example of a show where there was a lot more going on than just the wrestling. What mattered here were things like stories being moved forward (in a Takeover direction) and setting things up for the future. I liked what we got here rather well and they’re starting to get some of that momentum back. Balor returning next week should help and things are looking up on the way to Takeover, assuming they bother announcing it in the near future.

Results

Leon Ruff b. Johnny Gargano – Crucifix bomb

Santos Escobar b. Jake Atlas – Double underhook facebreaker

Candice LeRae b. Toni Storm – Rollup with feet on the ropes

Timothy Thatcher b. Dexter Lumis – Rollup

Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch b. Breezango – Elevated DDT to Fandango

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: November 4, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Halloween Havoc and now the question is where do we go from here. There is no Takeover scheduled at the moment but it wouldn’t surprise me to see a Survivor Series weekend event. I’m not sure if they have the matches set up for that so far, but we do have a new North American Champion in Johnny Gargano. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a narrated recap of last week’s Halloween Havoc, which did have some great moments.

Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai

Raquel Gonzalez is in Kai’s corner. Moon takes her down by the arm to start but gets reversed into a headlock on the mat. Kai armbars her down for a change, which is reversed into a headscissors as the countering continues. A flip over doesn’t work for Kai as Moon grabs a double underhook to hold her down. Back up and the arm twisting continues until Kai pulls her down by the hair. Moon nips up and does the same, meaning it’s time for a shove off.

Moon sweeps the leg and hits a running backsplash and ties her up in the corner. That’s fine with Kai, who pulls her shoulder first into the post and pulls on the arm. It’s time to stomp the arm down in the corner and the short armscissors goes on. Moon gets in a kick to the face to leave Kai’s head hanging over the apron. A running kick to the face rocks Kai again but Moon misses a suicide dive to send us to a break.

Back with Moon getting two off a spinebuster but a victory roll face plant gives Kai the same. Kai hits a good kick to the head, only to have Moon come right back with a Codebreaker out of the corner for two of her own. Moon slaps on a Crossface in the middle of the ring until Kai rolls her up for a pinfall reversal sequence.

Kai finally slaps on the Fujiwara armbar with Moon having to go to the rope for the break. They slap it out again with Moon getting the better of things and sending her hard into the corner. Gonzales gets up to break up the Eclipse though and it’s a fireman’s carry into a kick to the head to finish Moon at 16:21.

Rating: B-. Kai continues to look great and Moon continues to be someone who seems ready to break through to the next side but never actually getting there. They got some time here though and that’s not something you really expect to see from these two most of the time. Good stuff here, but it never quite hit the next level.

Kai says she isn’t the woman Moon remembers.

Cameron Grimes seems very shaky after last week but insists that he’s fine enough to beat Kushida. A referee comes up to say his match is next so Grimes runs off screaming ZOMBIE.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about how great last week was but now he’s ready to face a star in Toni Storm. This is a huge test for her so welcome to the Ball Pit.

Kushida vs. Cameron Grimes

Kushida wastes no time in taking him to the mat by the arm and cranks away. Back up and Grimes sends him into the corner, only to get hiptossed into a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Back up and Grimes uses his leg to crank on both arms before stomping it down for a bonus. Grimes gets up again and hits him in the face before working on Kushida’s arm for a change. You don’t do that to Kushida though as he takes Grimes down and stomps on the arm again.

The armbar doesn’t last long this time though as grimes gets up and hits a shot to the back, only to have his German suplex countered into a victory roll for two. Back up and Grimes drops him throat first onto the top rope. We take a break and come back with Kushida hitting a springboard elbow to the face into a basement dropkick. Kushida grabs both arms but the stomping is countered into a rollup for two. The jumping forearm sets up a sitout powerbomb for two more on Kushida and they’re both down.

Grimes puts him on top but gets crotched down, setting up the Hoverboard Lock slam for another double knockdown. Back up and Kushida sends him into the corner with the referee getting bumped, meaning there is no one to see Grimes tap to the Hoverboard Lock. Grimes is back up with his running flip powerslam so here’s the zombie referee to send Grimes running around, setting up another Hoverboard Lock for the tap at 14:08.

Rating: C+. I’m split on this one as it’s great to see Kushida built up as a thing around here (a North American Title shot wouldn’t shock me) but at the same time….dang it Grimes just lost because he was scared of a zombie referee. The match was good stuff until the ending but that wasn’t the kind of ending I was hoping for. I rolled my eyes at the zombie deal and that’s not how you should be feeling after a pretty good match.

Video on Toni Storm, who is ready to use Shotzi Blackheart as a stepping stone to the top of the division. This is the new her and she’s more Toni.

Io Shirai knows that she has to face Rhea Ripley to really be the best. She’s ready.

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick vs. Ever Rise

Dain throws Parker around to start and it’s off to Maverick, who takes Parker down without much effort. A running backsplash crushed Parker but it’s Maverick getting caught in the wrong corner. The armbar goes on but Maverick fights up and sends him outside for a breather. Martel breaks up the hot tag though as we cut to the parking lot where Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch and Pete Dunne arrive. Actually hold on as here they are in the arena for the big beatdown and a no contest at 3:52.

Rating: D+. You can only get so much out of this and that was pretty obvious here. The action itself wasn’t much to see here either with both teams needing to cram in as much as they can. It didn’t help that a lot of the match was spent on the team’s arrival in the back, which to be fair might be more interesting than an Ever Rise match.

Post match the beatdown is on with McAfee taking the camera to film everything as a proper heel can. Lorcan and Burch even manage the elevated DDT to Dain. McAfee carries the camera to the apron and makes everyone say cheese. Post break McAfee and company are in the ring with McAfee declaring themselves the four best men in the history of wrestling. They are not a bunch of scumbags because they are professionals.

They declare themselves the Kings of NXT and promises to destroy the Undisputed Era. Lorcan pulls out an Undisputed Era banner and we hear about how stupid all four of them were. The Era won a bunch and were over with these stupid, stupid fans. Dunne talks about Roderick Strong teaching him that you need to trust the right people.

Last week, Dunne needed to teach Strong the exact same things. McAfee talks about how big Dunne’s arms are now that he is back and brings up Strong turning on Dunne years ago.

Then the Undisputed Era became the big stars of the promotion and everything was built around them. No one was supposed to become bigger than the Undisputed Era, including Lorcan and Burch. They aren’t happy with the Era being treated than two veterans than them, but it’s time to honor the Era. They’re ready to raise the banner….but decide to put it into a trashcan instead.

They throw it in, declare the Era dead, and light it on fire. McAfee and company head to the back towards their car but Dain jumps them. The beatdown is on again with Dain being beaten down without much effort. They get in the car and leave, with McAfee reminding us that they’re the greatest and you suck. As is the case with anything McAfee related, this was great as he is one of the best talkers going today. Imagine that: someone who learned to talk elsewhere is better than WWE grown talents.

We go to House Gargano, where Johnny Gargano now LOVES wheels. He is the first Triple Crown Champion in NXT history and now the first ever two time North American Champion. Hold on though as he gets a phone call from Ghostface, who is in his house. Actually he is next to Gargano and playing the Game of Life with him. Johnny talks about how the one big knock against him is that he can’t hold onto a title, so next week he’s defending a title against a worthy opponent. They finish the game, and of course Johnny wins, because Johnny always wins. Dancing ensues.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Toni Storm

Shotzi charges in and shoves Storm away before avoiding a charge in the corner. A kick to the face looks to set up a springboard but Shotzi falls on her face to cut off the momentum. Shotzi takes her down by the legs and WELCOME TO THE BALL PIT connects. Storm sends her into the corner though and gets two off a running hip attack. Back up and Storm snaps off a suplex for two before kicking Shotzi down for daring to try a comeback.

The neck crank goes on before Storm switches over to a front facelock to keep Shotzi in trouble. A suplex gives Storm two and we take a break. Back with Shotzi making the comeback, including something like a reverse Sling Blade and some strikes to the face. The running reverse Cannonball hits Storm but she counters an enziguri into the rolling German suplexes.

Storm Zero is blocked though and Shotzi gets two off her own suplex. A headbutt gives Storm a close two but Shotzi catches her on top. Shotzi hits something close to a DDT to drop Storm face first onto the apron. Storm is out of it on the floor but hold on as Candice LeRae, with Shotzi’s tank, pops up on screen. The distraction lets Storm grab a rollup for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: C+. It takes a lot to make you believe that someone like Storm is in danger but they made it work with Shotzi. That is pretty impressive as Storm feels like one of the biggest stars around and Shotzi is starting to move up the ranks. This was a story advancing loss though, which is about as good of a result as you could have had. Shotzi vs. Candice should be good enough when we get there and Storm will be perfectly good when she gets a chance.

Post match Candice says she can’t put up with Shotzi any longer….so here’s a monster truck so Candice can crush the tank. Ghostface is in the back as Candice says that makes them even for last week. Shotzi screams a lot.

Legado del Fantasma tries to jump Jake Atlas in the parking lot but he whips out a pipe to beat them down and drive away. Santos Escobar seems impressed.

It’s time for another live Thatch As Thatch Can, with a lesson on reversals. See, anyone can catch a hold but what matters is that you can reverse anything someone tries. We see how to counter a front facelock into a top wristlock, which makes the student tap quite a bit. The student doesn’t approve and glares at Thatcher, so they switch places next time. However, Thatcher takes him down into an ankle lock for a lot of tapping. Cue Austin Gray to jump Thatcher from behind and knock him to the floor a few times though.

Xia Li is embarrassed by her loss last week and it’s time to turn things around. She gets a letter, which makes her more upset. Xia asks William Regal for a match against Raquel Gonzalez over last week’s dishonor, with Regal reluctantly agreeing.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa vs. Velveteen Dream.

Rhea Ripley wants to face Io Shirai as well because it’s time to get her title back.

Velveteen Dream vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Dream’s hand/arm is still in a cast. Ciampa shoves him down into the corner to start before working on the arm. The threat of a big stomp sends Dream outside with Ciampa following, only to get sent into the barricade. Dream gets dropped ribs first onto the barricade, setting up a running knee to the face to rock him again. Ciampa isn’t done by dropping him onto the announcers’ table for a bonus, meaning now the arm can be sent into the announcers’ table.

Back in and Dream gets sent over the corner and out to the floor, where he crashes into the barricade. Ciampa isn’t about to let Dream leave so it’s back inside for a German suplex into a running knee to the face. More stomping to the arm sets up a face first drop onto the turnbuckle and we take a break. Back with Dream blocking a superplex attempt and getting two off a spinebuster. We hit the chinlock, with Dream driving the cast across the face. Dream goes up top but gets caught in a top rope superplex, triggering the canned THIS IS AWESOME chants.

Ciampa is sent outside but manages to block a dive. Dream tries again and this time takes Ciampa down in a big crash. They head inside again where Ciampa suplexes Dream right back over the top for another fall to the floor. Dream hits a superkick and grabs a chair, which the referee takes care of in a hurry. Ciampa uses the distraction to knee Dream’s top rope cast shots out of the air, setting up Willow’s Bell. The Fairy Tale Ending finishes Dream at 13:34.

Rating: B. This worked well and Ciampa is seemingly back to being a face, at least for tonight. That is kind of the right feeling for him as it’s not like there is a top face at the moment with Finn Balor gone. Hopefully Balor doesn’t have to drop the title, but if he does, Ciampa would seem to be a nice choice to go back to as champion. That and it’s nice to see Dream lose anytime these days.

Overall Rating: B. They had a long form wrestling show here with only one match not getting twelve minutes. That’s not like NXT and while it isn’t something I would need to see every week, it worked rather well as a one off show. There was good stuff in between the matches as well, making this quite a nice edition of the show. I’m good with no Takeover at the moment, but they have the most natural WarGames setup in the world right now and you almost have to imagine one is coming, though they’re rapidly running out of time. Anyway, rather good show this time.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Ember Moon – Fireman’s carry kick to the head

Kushida b. Cameron Grimes – Hoverboard Lock

Ever Rise vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick went to a no contest when Pat McAfee, Oney Lorcan, Danny Burch and Pete Dunne interfered

Toni Storm b. Shotzi Blackheart – Rollup

Tommaso Ciampa b. Velveteen Dream – Fairy Tale Ending

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 28, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s time to rekindle an awesome tradition (assuming that still counts twenty years later) with Halloween Havoc. For the life of me I don’t know why it took WWE this long to bring the idea back but here we are, with a pair of Spin The Wheel Make The Deal matches for a title each. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at tonight’s card, while also showing the awesome WCW Halloween Havoc pumpkin set. Cool intro at least.

There’s also a themed set, with a big (inflated and smiling) pumpkin and various leaves and branches everywhere. It looks rather good actually.

Here’s Shotzi Blackheart, with…..something shooting pyro and howling a lot to….well just kind of exist.

North American Title: Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano

Priest is defending and gets a live musical entrance. This is the first Spin The Wheel, Make The Deal match and for some reason, Gargano HATES wheels. He also hates pumpkins, as he stabs the inflatable pumpkin on the way to the ring. With that evil out of the way, Shotzi spins the wheel (which thankfully isn’t digital like it was a few weeks ago) for a…..Devil’s Playground match.

We don’t actually get any rules for the match but Priest starts hammering away in the corner. A toss around the ring has Gargano in more trouble and it’s a Stinger Splash into a spinwheel kick for two. Gargano gets to the apron and tries the slingshot spear but Priest catches him in a front facelock. Instead, Gargano hammers away at the ribs as the announcers seem to say this is hardcore. Gargano whips out a kendo stick and we take a break.

Back with Gargano sticking away at Priest, who pulls out a nightstick to block a kick to the head. South of Heaven gets two and Priest sends him outside for a suicide dive. The chokeslam onto the barricade is countered and Gargano hits a Sliced Bread onto the steps. That’s good for two and Priest is right back up with a Broken Arrow onto the announcers’ table (showing that Vic is dressed as Where’s Waldo).

They fight over to part of the set, with Gargano knocking a skeleton into a standing coffin. That earns him a bunch of strikes from Priest but Gargano whips out a fire extinguisher to blast Priest again. Gargano pours trashcan onto Priest, which just does not seem like a good idea.

We take another break and come back with the fight up by the Wheel but Priest can’t powerbomb him to the wheel. Instead Gargano is back up with a superkick but Priest hits a spinning kick of his own. Priest is back up…and here’s a guy in a Ghostface killer mask (from Scream) to deck Priest, allowing Gargano to hit a tornado DDT off the wheel. Ghostface hands a smiling Gargano a tombstone to knock Priest off the platform and Gargano gets the title back at 20:55.

Rating: B-. I’m not sure what to say about this one as the Ghostface deal was a little bit weird. The rest of the match was a good enough hardcore brawl with both guys using various things fairly well. The set is a nice touch and makes things look that much better, though they only used it in the second half of the match. Gargano almost had to win here, though I’m curious to see who is under that mask for Priest to face next.

Gargano poses near the Wheel as Ghostface is gone.

We go to the commentators, with Joseph as Waldo and Barrett as his favorite wrestler: BAD NEWS BARRETT, complete with gavel.

We look back at the end of last week’s show with Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch winning the Tag Team Titles, thanks to help from Pat McAfee.

Cameron Grimes is panicking about his match with Dexter Lumis but here’s William Regal to say there’s a van waiting to pick Grimes up. Grimes would rather go to the ring but Regal says it’s time to go to the parking lot. Grimes: “That’s the most dangerous place! That’s more dangerous than the Bah Mitzvah Triangle!” Regal: “After you.”

Here are McAfee, Lorcan and Burch for a chat. McAfee talks about how they don’t get along on much but they all know that some fans of the Internet Wrestling Community (many of which are here tonight) are stupid. After McAfee had his first match and stole the show, Adam Cole didn’t congratulate him but rather posed over him. McAfee made some mistakes that night and when he was on his way back to Indianapolis, all he could think about was Cole. He was too busy to come back and deal with Cole himself though, so it was time to make some phone calls.

First up was Ridge Holland, who just wanted a Mercedes to do what McAfee wanted. Then after Holland attacked Cole at Takeover, Holland broke his leg in 700 pieces. With that out of the way, it was time to call Lorcan and Burch, but they couldn’t be bought. They lost to the Undisputed Era and then it was time to talk about making a deal.

Cue Kyle O’Reilly….and here’s Pete Dunne after him, carrying a pair of chairs. Dunne hands O’Reilly one of the chairs….and then blasts him with the other, because Dunne is with McAfee and company. The beatdown is on, with Dunne using the chair to snap O’Reilly’s arm, followed by the elevated DDT onto the chair (or close to it at least) from the champs. This could make for a rather entertaining WarGames. Also, well done on tying in the Holland deal and explaining it while Holland is gone. What mattered here though was McAfee, who was fantastic and is already one of the best celebrity heels ever.

Grimes is still trying to talk his way out of the match with Lumis but Regal lets him go outside on his own. After going outside, it’s off to a rather creepy van, with an even creepier person in the passenger’s seat. The back door opens though and it’s MICHAEL HAYES, with BADSTREET playing, saying it’s time to go. They get in the van and drive off, which is never a good sign.

Santos Escobar vs. Jake Atlas

Non-title and the rest of Legado del Fantasma are here too. Escobar (with half of his face painted and some Rey Mysterio Halloween Havoc 1997 tribute tights) starts fast by whipping Atlas into the corner but Atlas gets in a shot. Some trash talk from Escobar earns himself a shot to the face and right hands in the corner. There’s a backdrop and a discus forearm gets two on Escobar. The Cartwheel DDT connects but Legado puts Escobar’s foot on the rope. Atlas dives onto both of them but Escobar gets in a headbutt. The double underhook facebuster finishes Atlas at 3:29.

Rating: C-. It was fun while it lasted but it didn’t last long. I do like the idea of having Atlas take it to Escobar while he could before ultimately falling to the numbers. What we got here did work well enough though and I could go for more of Atlas. He has come a long way in a short amount of time and it wouldn’t shock me if he got a title shot sooner or later.

Ember Moon doesn’t like Dakota Kai getting involved in her match. Kai has grown up a lot while Moon was gone but the kicks won’t be enough.

Shotzi tells us to stick around and howls some more.

Back with Shotzi sending us to the Haunted House Of Terror.

Dexter Lumis vs. Cameron Grimes

Cinematic time with Grimes looking rather nervous to go near a house. He says that he’s coming for Lumis and is NOT scared. Grimes keeps watching and Lumis is shown watching from a tree. It’s time to go inside where Grimes finds….a mounted deer and a tricycle riding itself. Grimes: “YOU GOT KIDS???” Now it’s a scary referee terrifying Grimes but here’s Lumis to grab him by the throat for some choking. A window is broken as Grimes gets away to hide in a bathroom. There’s a woman in the shower, which certainly gets Grimes’ attention (Grimes: “I didn’t realize that Lumis had a sister.”)

Grimes goes to join her and it’s a demon woman who might be from the Ring. Grimes staggers out and Lumis reaches through a window with the Silencer. That’s broken up as well so Grimes grabs a stick of some kind but the demon woman scares him. Another woman jumps onto his back so Grimes runs outside and throws her off a bridge. The referee, a woman and someone else show up to chase him off to the van….with Lumis driving him away. To be continued.

Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

They are ready to tear into each other before the bell and the slugout is on with Rhea throwing hands in a hurry. Gonzalez takes her into the corner but Rhea blocks a right hand and hits a headbutt. They go nose to nose to shout at each other and then shove each other a bit. The slap off sets up another slugout until Rhea slips out of a suplex. Neither can get a fireman’s carry so Rhea goes with a running dropkick to the floor. A dropkick through the ropes puts Gonzalez down again, but she catches a dive and hits a powerbomb against the barricade.

Back from a break with Gonzalez working on something like a Gory Stretch until Rhea counters into a sunset flip. A clothesline gives Gonzalez two but Rhea is back up with some knees to the face. Rhea scores with a basement dropkick to the back of the head for two and stomps her down to set up the Prism Trap. That’s broken up though and Gonzalez grabs a spinning powerslam for two.

Gonzalez takes it up top but has to knee her way out of the super Riptide. They slap it out again until Gonzalez hits a running choke throw off the top for two more (with Rhea’s face looking completely stunned on the landing). The powerbomb is countered into a headscissors into the middle buckle though and now it’s Riptide for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B. It wasn’t their cage match but again it felt like a fight and that’s what they were going for here. These two beat the heck out of each other and it’s nice to see someone who isn’t physically dominated by Ripley for a change. I’m not sure what is left for Ripley but other than the title, what else could she really want in NXT?

Cameron Grimes is running back to the arena. How did he know the way back?

Drake Maverick is Hollywood Hogan, complete with 2.4 inch pythons. He and Killian Dain have tag team gold on their mind, though he thinks that McKenzie Mitchell is Mean Gene. Maverick: “Come on McKenzie. It’s Halloween.” The Giant and the Yeti show up to repeat the big double hug (albeit from the wrong sides) but Dain as the Shockmaster (egads) walks in for the save. Drake isn’t happy with some of Dain’s issues with the team and puts on the helmet, only to fall over. Dain: “He fell on his a***!” Ok that was good.

Grimes is back at the arena, suggesting that they could have gotten to the house with a brisk walk rather than using the van.

After a quick chat with the announcers, Grimes is back in the arena and in the graveyard, where the demon woman is back as well. The other demon woman joins her and Grimes shouts that they better stop because he’s Cameron Grimes. Lumis pops up behind him in the ring and Lumis throws him into the corner. A spinebuster plants Grimes as commentary wants to know where the smoke is coming from. The demons get in the ring and grab Lumis’ legs but more of them are coming in as well. Grimes hits a Cave In on one of the demons but Lumis throws another one at him. The Silencer finishes Grimes at 36:55.

Rating: D. The house stuff was good but it was dragged down by the fact that it was Dexter Lumis. I know I say this every week but egads he’s one of the least interesting people I’ve seen NXT push since Kona Reeves. Grimes was the star of this though as he has more charisma and energy than he knows what to do with and thankfully NXT is featuring him a lot more. If nothing else just have him do the Cave In a lot because that’s awesome.

Video on Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai and all of the matches they could have.

Tommaso Ciampa does not recognize this NXT because it has been out with the old and in with the new. This isn’t Monopoly and we aren’t taking turns. If you’re hungry, come to the top. Everyone wants to blame someone else for what they don’t have and it’s all the same message. It’s the brass ring and the glass ceiling and Ciampa has heard it all before. He was never handed anything and this all begins with Velveteen Dream. The 25 year old prodigy is oozing the it factor. If you hit Ciampa with a cast once, shame on him, but if you hit Ciampa with a cast twice, you’re a dead man. Ciampa’s star power is awesome.

Women’s Title: Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai

Shirai is defending and Poppy plays her to the ring. Shotzi spins the wheel and it’s…Tables, Ladders and Scares. Shirai starts fast and hits a suicide dive to the floor as the title is raised up. Candice comes back with a table….and finds a bunch of severed body parts. Shirai hits her with a bloody arm but gets sent into a ladder (with orange rungs of course). They fight over to the announcers’ table with Candice hitting her in the face (or arm as the replay shows) with a laptop.

Candice bridges a ladder between the ring and the announcers’ table but Shirai throws a chair into the general area of her head. Some running knees against the steps have Candice in more trouble so Shirai grabs more chairs. A chair shot takes LeRae down and we take a break. Back with two tables (with chalk outlines) having been set up (over the severed body parts) and both women throwing in a ladder. Shirai gets knocked down and Candice’s ladder is set up in the corner but Shirai grabs a butterfly backbreaker.

Candice rolls away from the moonsault though and Shirai crashes onto the chairs. A chair is set up and Candice asks if she remembers this, but Shirai suplexes her onto the open chair. Shirai is back up with the running knees in the corner but they only hit ladder, which then falls onto her for a negative bonus. Candice gets caught on top though and Shirai loads up a pair of chairs. The big crash is broken up but Shirai wraps a chair around Candice’s leg and twists it around in a creative spot.

The 619 misses though and Candice hits her in the back with a chair. Mrs. LeRae’s Wild Ride through the tables leaves them both laying….and here’s the Ghostface again. Whoever is it (is looks to be a woman) helps Candice to the top of the ladder but Shotzi runs in to give Ghostface an electric chair off the ladder and onto the chairs. Shirai grabs her own ladder and goes up as well but Candice shoves her down. The ladder is turned over to send Candice through the bridged ladder at ringside and Shirai retains at 16:29.

Rating: B. Your tastes may vary here but they beat the absolute fire out of each other for a long time here. I was actually surprised when Shirai retained but it was a great way to get there. Shirai winning here makes her seem like a bigger star as champion and that’s a lot better than having her be the person who gives the title to Candice so Rhea can chase it. This was one of the most violent women’s matches I’ve seen in a very long time and it was a rather good one at that.

Post match Shirai poses and here’s Gargano to check on Candice.

Overall Rating: A-. Now that felt like a special show and the atmosphere did all kinds of great things. They had the cool set, the creepy (at times) atmosphere and two bookend matches to make it that much better. Throw in the Ghostface deal (which is likely Indi Hartwell) and you had a heck of a night. If you get rid of the Dexter Lumis push, this is one of the best shows in a very long time but otherwise, it’s just a long time. Check out that main event, but McAfee’s promo should come first. This was the NXT that I’ve liked for a long time and hopefully it leads to more, as it hasn’t been this sharp for a good while.

Results

Johnny Gargano b. Damian Priest – Tombstone to the head

Santos Escobar b. Jake Atlas – Double underhook facebuster

Rhea Ripley b. Raquel Gonzalez – Riptide

Dexter Lumis b. Cameron Grimes – Silencer

Io Shirai b. Candice LeRae – Shirai pulled down the title

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 14, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Things are in a weird place at the moment as Finn Balor is out recovering from his broken jaw and some of the returning and newer stars are doing what they can to get over again. I’m not sure how that is going to go but it is a transitional time at the moment. Maybe things can get better again in the near future though because it has been a rough time. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here’s the Undisputed Era for a chat before their match. Kyle O’Reilly says he’ll be cleared next week but Adam Cole still has broken ribs. They never got their hands on Ridge Holland but if they had, he would have been in the same hospital bed he is in right now. It’s time for the Golden Prophecy to return and tonight, they’re becoming #1 contenders to the Tag Team Titles.

Undisputed Era vs. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan

The winner gets a title shot next week. Strong headlocks Lorcan to start but gets taken down into a headscissors on the mat. Burch comes in and works on O’Reilly’s arm but it’s off to Fish to pick up the pace. A slingshot hilo misses Burch though and he uppercuts Fish down. It’s time to work on Fish’s arm, followed by a double Russian legsweep. O’Reilly tries to come in but gets suplexed onto Fish for two.

We hit the armbar on the mat to keep Fish down and it’s a seated armbar for a change. Some chops get Fish out of trouble though and we see Breezango sitting near the top of the arena as we take a break. Back with Fish chopping out of the corner but getting pulled into a Boston crab. That’s broken up as well but Fish comes in off the top….with a missed headbutt.

The hot tag brings in Burch to clean house, including a pop up powerbomb for two on O’Reilly. A Samoan drop plants Burch but he fights out of a fireman’s carry. The double middle rope dropkick puts the Era down and Lorcan is back in to run O’Reilly over. The Era counters the double submission into a rollup for two but it’s the spike DDT for two on O’Reilly. Lorcan is rammed into Burch though and O’Reilly hits a jumping knee for the pin at 13:28.

Rating: C+. Good, action based match here with the Era getting the win to move on. That being said, I really don’t need to see the Era getting another title shot after they have long since established themselves as the top team in NXT history. They had a good match here though and it worked out well, though I’m almost scared to see how it is going to go against Breezango.

We look at Finn Balor undergoing surgery to repair his broken jaw. He’ll be out for a bit but should not have to vacate the NXT Title.

Video on Ember Moon, who has been out for a long time now but came back, wanting her Women’s Title again. She has to go through a who’s who to get there and if that is what she has to do to get to Io Shirai, so be it. They’re betting a lot on Ember’s star power and I’m really not sure it’s there.

Jake Atlas vs. Ashante Adonis

Adonis grabs a sunset flip for two to start and they trade a few grapples. With that not going anywhere, Adonis kicks him in the face to set up a strike off. Cue Legado del Sol though and it’s a rollup to give Atlas the pin at 1:45.

Post match Legado jumps Adonis but Atlas makes the save. Santos Escobar comes out to glare at them so the trio heads to the ring, with Isaiah Scott coming in with chairs to make Legado think twice about it.

Candice LeRae calls herself the uncrowned Women’s Champion and Johnny Gargano wants to know why Dexter Lumis is getting a North American Title shot. Gargano: “HE DRAWS PICTURES! AND KIDNAPPED A GUY!” Gargano isn’t worried about Austin Theory because it’s time to teach him a wrestling lesson.

Johnny Gargano vs. Austin Theory

Gargano takes him down into a front facelock to start but Theory pops up with a headlock. That earns Theory a dropkick and it’s Gargano chopping him into the corner. The armbar goes on and it’s Theory in more trouble early on. Gargano takes him to the match but the threat of the Gargano Escape sends Theory over to the ropes. Back up and Theory hits a hard clothesline into a standing moonsault for two.

Gargano takes him into the corner but Theory kicks away from the apron and hits a rolling dropkick to take over. The slingshot spear gets Gargano out of trouble though and we take a break. Back with Gargano working on an abdominal stretch but Theory slips out and hits a quick suplex. Theory hits a slingshot stomp to the chest and another suplex plants him.

A superkick into a brainbuster onto the knee gets two but Gargano gets up a boot in the corner. Gargano goes up to the middle rope but his crossbody is pulled out of the air. Theory stacks Gargano up for two and it’s time to slug it out. Gargano hits a heck of a superkick, which sets up the Lawn Dart into the corner. One Final Beat finishes Theory at 14:17.

Rating: B-. This got some time and Theory loses to someone who he has no business beating. They’re doing something nice with Theory by having him rubbing elbows with bigger names and getting the chance to show that he can hang with them for a bit. He’ll need some kind of a change in the future to make him into a star, but the base is starting out rather well.

Raquel Gonzalez is ready to face Rhea Ripley in two weeks so here’s Rhea for the near brawl, with agents holding them back.

Tommaso Ciampa is not happy with Velveteen Dream and is coming for him.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Candice LeRae

The winner gets a Women’s Title shot at Halloween Havoc. They lock up to start with Shotzi pulling on the arm and sliding underneath a clothesline. The reverse Cannonball against the ropes misses so Shotzi settles for a kick to the head instead. A shoulder to the ribs puts Shotzi outside but they switch places, with Shotzi hitting a suicide dive (possibly getting caught in the ropes on the way) to take over again.

Back in and Candice grabs a jawbreaker but walks into a fireman’s carry facebuster onto the knee. Candice knocks her down and hits a Hennig necksnap for two. The seated armbar keeps Shotzi down and it’s off to the neck crank for a change of pace. Candice knocks her into the corner and they head to the apron, with Shotzi being sent into the post before she can knock Candice silly. A running faceplant sends Shotzi face first into the apron and we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting a dropkick into the corner and a reverse Sling Blade to drop Candice again. Now the running reverse Cannonball to the back connects but the top rope backsplash hits Candice’s raised knees. Candice catches her on the ropes with a release German suplex, followed by a low superkick for two. Shotzi is back up with a tiger suplex for two, only to get caught with a Backstabber.

The Lionsault gives Candice two but Candice is back with Cattle Mutilation, albeit with Candice sitting down instead of laying on her face. Candice makes it over to the rope but gets sent into the corner. Shotzi goes up for a top rope Thesz press but Candice rolls outside before the top rope backsplash. With Candice rolling outside, Indi Hartwell slips her an object and it’s a knockout shot to pin Blackheart at 15:38.

Rating: B. That’s the best match I’ve ever seen from the two of them and that’s a great sign for the future. Blackheart gets cheated out of the win and assuming Candice wins the title at Halloween Havoc, a Takeover rematch with Blackheart would make a lot of sense. As for this one, these two beat the heck out of each other and it was very good stuff, especially for two people who haven’t reached that level before, at least around here.

Earlier today, Drake Maverick had a marketing presentation for Killian Dain, completely with costumes (Drake: “Fishnets are in!”) and a team name of the Furry and the Fury. It’s all going to fit together tonight when they face Imperium. Dain: “WE HAVE A MATCH TONIGHT???”

Video on Toni Storm.

Robert Stone is here with Aliyah to talk about how great the Robert Stone Brand is. And then this.

Toni Storm vs. Aliyah

Storm gets the rockstar entrance and headbutts Aliyah down to start. A running basement dropkick gives Storm two but Aliyah gets in a running dropkick in the corner for two. Aliyah’s swinging neckbreaker gets two and we hit the double arm crank. Storm fights up and snaps off a German suplex into the corner, setting up the running hip attack. There’s the running clothesline into Storm Zero for the pin at 2:29. Storm feels like a star and that’s all that mattered here.

William Regal isn’t happy with how Candice LeRae became #1 contender but he’s thinking of upping the stakes in her title match with Io Shirai. In addition, in two weeks, it’s Raquel Gonzalez vs. Rhea Ripley. Xia Li, with Boa, comes up and says she needs to compete. Regal says he’ll take it into consideration.

Drake Maverick/Killian Dain vs. Imperium

Dain still doesn’t like the whistling entrance and throws Drake into the ring for trying to dance. Aichner gets thrown down to start and Dain pulls Maverick over the top (that’s a tag) and onto Aichner for two. A hard clothesline takes Maverick down though and the beating is on in the corner. Barthel comes in, hits him in the face a few times, and hands it back to Aichner.

A quick low bridge allows the hot tag to Dain, who can’t quite suplex them both at once. Aichner manages a spinebuster to allow Barthel to add a kick to the chest. Dain is right back up and gets over for the tag to Maverick. That’s about all of the good things for the team though as Maverick gets taken down in a hurry and it’s the Imperial Implosion (no longer the European Bomb) for the pin at 3:48.

Rating: C-. They’re keeping these matches short and that is the right idea for a team like Maverick and Dain. There is a nice enough idea for the team but you are only going to be able to keep them out there for so long, at least at this point. They can grow into that in the future, but for now it isn’t working. Then there’s Imperium, who shouldn’t be allowed around that long either, though for fear of having everyone around fall asleep.

Post match Dain leaves so it’s Ever Rise running in to go after Maverick. Dain comes back in for the save, saying that no one hits Maverick but him. And there’s your big turning point.

North American Title: Damian Priest vs. Dexter Lumis

Lumis is challenging. They fight over a lockup to start with Lumis being sent into the ropes and coming back with a glare to make Priest back off. An armdrag into an armbar has Lumis down before Priest hits a quick Old School into a crossbody. Back up and Lumis hits a Thesz press to hammer away so Priest kicks him in the face. The running jumping elbow in the corner sets up the Broken Arrow for two on Lumis.

We take a break and come back with Lumis hammering away and grabbing a bulldog out of the corner. A spinebuster gives Lumis two more but Priest is back up with a kick to the head. The Downward Spiral gets two and it’s an ankle lock (remember that Lumis missed time with an ankle injury) to have Lumis in big trouble. He finally kicks away though and grabs a belly to back suplex for a double knockdown.

Lumis nips up and jumps into a legdrop for two but the Swanton misses. A heck of a clothesline sets up a missed spinning kick to the head so Lumis hits the Side Effect into Silent. Priest gets his foot in the rope but here’s Cameron Grimes for a Cave In on Lumis (Priest didn’t see it). South of Heaven retains the title at 12:08.

Rating: C-. In case you didn’t have enough proof of it before, Dexter Lumis is not interesting. His whole deal seems to be that he stares at people and I have no idea why that is supposed to be enough to make me interested in him. Grimes can probably get something out of him, but he is one of the few who could. This didn’t work very well, but a lot of that is on trying to make Lumis seem important.

Post match Grimes goes after Lumis but Priest makes the save, telling Grimes to stay out of his business. Gargano pops up to chair Priest down, but here’s William Regal to say they will both get title shots at Halloween Havoc. There’s more though, so here’s Shotzi Blackheart to announce that the matches will be…..SPIN THE WHEEL MAKE THE DEAL. That was one of my favorite gimmicks back in the day so this is a great surprise.

The show had a four minute overrun, which isn’t the norm around here.

Overall Rating: B-. This is where NXT TV shines: they had goals they needed to accomplish and then did just that, which is one of the most important things that they can do. They had good (not great) matches tonight, but what matters the most is that Halloween Havoc is feeling fun. Takeover: 31 felt like something that we had to do just because it was there. This is coming off as something they have set up to make into a cool show, which is where NXT tends to be best. Good show here, and it felt like a return to what works for them.

Results

Undisputed Era b. Danny Burch/Oney Lorcan – Jumping knee to Lorcan

Jake Atlas b. Ashante Adonis – Rollup

Johnny Gargano b. Austin Theory – One Final Beat

Candice LeRae b. Shotzi Blackheart – Right hand with brass knuckles

Toni Storm b. Aliyah – Storm Zero

Imperium b. Drake Maverick/Killian Dain – Imperial Implosion to Maverick

Damian Priest b. Dexter Lumis – South Of Heaven

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: October 7, 2020
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Takeover: 31 has come and gone and not a lot has really changed. The big stories coming out of the show include Ember Moon and Toni Storm returning, but the surprise ending saw Ridge Holland jump into the main event scene by attacking Adam Cole. I’m curious about where that is going to be heading so let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Takeover.

Opening sequence.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Kushida

Fallout from an argument in the locker room. They trade slaps to the face to start and it’s Kushida taking him down to the mat for the grappling. Kushida hits the basement dropkick and bulldogs the arm down, only to have Ciampa hit his own dropkick to break up a handspring. The chinlock into a backbreaker makes Ciampa smile and a neckbreaker cuts off Kushida’s comeback attempt.

Another chinlock stays on a little while longer Ciampa takes him to the apron for Willow’s Bell but has to kick Kushida outside instead. We take a break and come back with Ciampa chopping away in the corner and knocking him from the top to the apron. Kushida sends him arm first into the buckle and stomps on the hand to stagger Ciampa.

A German suplex into a kick to the head sets up a triangle until Ciampa powerbombs his way to freedom. Back up and they slug it out until Ciampa gets two off a suplex. The Fairy Tale Ending doesn’t work because of Ciampa’s banged up arm so it’s time for Kushida’s stomps to the back. The Hoverboard Lock goes on, drawing in Velveteen Dream to hit…Ciampa by mistake, drawing the DQ at 14:34.

Rating: C. They had me worried that one of them would take a fall here but seeing Velveteen Dream out there again immediately rather than taking some time off after the Takeover beatdown doesn’t exactly have me interested. Dream is firmly to the point of a heavy sign and that’s never a good thing. Good match, but the ending was a soul crusher.

Post match Kushida hammers on Dream, including a dive to the floor.

Here’s Ember Moon to a nice reception for a chat. Moon talks about how long she has been gone but she got on her motorcycle and found clarity. Now she has found Ember’s law (yes she knows it’s corny) and it says no one is walking over her. She wants the Women’s Title so here is Io Shirai to interrupt. Before anything can be said though, here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt….but Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai jump her from behind. Moon runs in for the save so here’s William Regal to make a tag match main event.

Drake Maverick arrived earlier today and said he and Killian Dain have been planning for their tag team future. Dain comes in and says they aren’t a team, but Drake already has a match for them. He even has some great music for them.

Shirai says she didn’t help Moon because it’s not her problem. Her problem is defending the Women’s Title. Fair point.

We look at the ending to Takeover with Ridge Holland leaving Adam Cole’s body laying at ringside.

The Undisputed Era says Kyle O’Reilly has nothing to be ashamed of but since Ridge Holland broke his ribs, he has some paying to do. And that is undisputed.

Drake Maverick/Killian Dain vs. Ever Rise

Maverick and Dain’s music includes whistling, so you know it’s special. Dain starts but chops Maverick in the chest for the tag instead. Parker grabs Maverick by the hand and brings Martel in, allowing Maverick to come back with a dropkick. Martel shouts that Dain doesn’t like Maverick and Dain seems to agree. A cheap shot annoys Dain though so he comes in and decks Ever Rise before pulling Maverick to the ropes. That means it’s time for Dain to clean house but Drake tags himself in. A big knee rocks Parker and Dain powerbombs Maverick (Drake: “WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”) onto Parker for the pin at 4:03.

Rating: C-. I know it’s a little ridiculous and the wacky tag team partners has been done to death, but it’s not like the tag division has anything going for it at the moment. See what you can find with these two and maybe it can go a little somewhere. Drake’s charisma alone should carry him a long way and Dain is a good monster so why not.

Post match Drake struts/dances in celebration so Dain knocks him out instead. He does carry Drake to the back though so he isn’t all mean.

We look at Toni Storm returning at Takeover.

Toni Storm talks about being gone for the longest time in her career so she could clear her head. She needed a change of scenery and this is a new Toni Storm.

The Garganos were walking their dog and Candice thinks they deserve rematches. Johnny has a plan….but Indi Hartwell has sent them a big TV. Johnny: “FREE TV!”

Austin Theory vs. Leon Ruff

Theory walks into a cutter for a quick two and Ruff hits a dropkick into a neckbreaker. A clothesline gives Ruff two more but he slips on the ropes and walks into the ATL to give Theory the pin at 1:51.

Post match Theory brags about how great he is, mainly because he had the time to warm up. This is a warning to everyone: he is the future of NXT and no one can do anything about it. Cue someone to disagree.

Austin Theory vs. Dexter Lumis

Lumis throws him into the corner and hammers away to start. It’s a Thesz press into some right hands to keep Theory in trouble, meaning it’s time to head outside. We take a break and come back with Theory hitting a belly to back suplex for two. The crossface chickenwing goes on, followed by a standing moonsault for two on Lumis. That just seems to annoy Lumis, so Theory grabs a front facelock to keep him down.

Theory hits a snap suplex for two and a stomp to the chest is good for the same. Lumis is right back up with a spinebuster to cut Theory off and the comeback is on. A slingshot suplex gives Lumis two but Theory snaps off a dropkick. Lumis just pops up and hits a Rock Bottom into the Silencer for the win at 12:04.

Rating: C. I like Theory quite a bit, but I don’t know if there has ever been an NXT wrestler I don’t get as much as Lumis. The whole thing just misses for me on every level and I don’t really see that changing no matter what he is going to be doing for the time being. For some reason NXT loves the idea of pushing the heck out of him though, no matter how little sense it seems to make.

Post match Cameron Grimes runs in with the Cave In to plant Lumis.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez don’t like Ember Moon coming in here and trying to jump the line. As for Rhea Ripley, no one is getting the Women’s Title shot but them.

Cameron Grimes attacked Dexter Lumis for not answering him last week. Don’t mess with him because he’s going to the moon.

Video on Finn Balor defending the NXT Title against Kyle O’Reilly at Takeover. Both of them were injured, with Balor having his jaw broken in two places.

Video on Damian Priest.

Priest says anyone who wants the North American Title can come get a Reckoning.

Ridge Holland vs. Danny Burch

Holland grabs a quick nerve hold to start but gets taken down with a wristlock. Back up and Burch hammers away in the corner, setting up a middle rope dropkick to drop Holland again. A German suplex sets up a Crossface but Holland pops back up with the Northern Grit for the pin at 2:06.

Post match the beatdown stays on so here’s Oney Lorcan for the save. He knocks Holland outside and there’s the slingshot dive….and Holland’s leg buckles. Oh dang that doesn’t look good.

Gargano is watching the TV, which had a USB included. There is a clip from the battle royal of Indi Hartwell saving Candice LeRae over and over. They might be starting to like her.

Timothy Thatcher hurts a lot of people while talking about how you aren’t defined by your losses.

Holland gets taken out on a stretcher and throws up the thumbs up, which makes me think that this is worse than it seems: he’s an Orange Cassidy fan.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Xia Li

Shotzi’s tank is now Halloween themed. Shotzi starts fast with the reverse Sling Blade but Xia fires off the knees to the face. They both wind up on top with Shotzi knocking her down, setting up the top rope backsplash for the in at 1:48. Nothing wrong with getting her on TV before Halloween Havoc.

Post match Boa brings Xia a letter, which seems to make her nervous.

Rhea Ripley/Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Moon has new music and wristlocks Kai down to start. A backsplash gives Moon two and there’s a suplex to take Kai down again. Gonzalez comes in but can’t hit a powerbomb. She can however take Moon into the corner so Kai can come back in and strike away. Kai is sent outside for a suicide dive, followed by Ripley’s running Cannonball onto Gonzalez. Back in and Ripley kicks Kai in the face, only to get kicked outside by Gonzalez.

We take a break and come back with Gonzalez choking Ripley, who comes back with a kick to the head. Kai comes back in with a cravate but Ripley throws her away again. The hot tag brings in Moon to start cleaning house. The sliding Downward Spiral gets two on Kai, who comes right back up with a kick to the face.

Gonzalez’s powerslam gets two but Ripley is back in with a powerbomb for two on Kai. The Kairopractor gives Kai two on Ripley so Moon comes back in with a discus lariat. Rhea clotheslines Gonzalez to the floor but gets kicked in the face by Kai. Moon is back up with a powerbomb of her own to Kai and Gonzalez and Ripley fall over the announcers’ table. Back in and the Eclipse finishes Kai at 11:51.

Rating: C+. This accomplished its main goal of getting Moon back in the ring and having her hit her big finisher for the pin. You can also add in Gonzalez and Ripley getting to do their thing, making this a pretty enjoyable main event. Moon doesn’t exactly feel like a major star, but it’s better than leaving her to rot on the main roster again.

Overall Rating: C+. This was one of the weaker NXT’s I can remember in a pretty good while. Some stuff happened, but it felt like a show that just came and went for the most part. Nothing on the show really stood out, which is probably going to be due to the champs being stuck in interviews without having anything going on. Pretty skippable show this week, though coming off such a fast Takeover, it’s probably fair for them to have a breather.

Results

Tommaso Ciampa b. Kushida via DQ when Velveteen Dream interfered

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick b. Ever Rise – Dain powerbombed Maverick onto Parker

Austin Theory b. Leon Ruff – ATL

Dexter Lumis b. Austin Theory – Silencer

Ridge Holland b. Danny Burch – Northern Grit

Shotzi Blackheart b. Xia Li – Top rope backsplash

Rhea Ripley/Ember Moon b. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai – Eclipse to Kai

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 30, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

It’s the go home show for Takeover, though I’m not sure you would realize that the show is coming up so soon based on the last few weeks. That has been a combination of the last of time before the show and the Coronavirus outbreak, neither of which are exactly good things. I’m not sure what that means for Sunday but NXT knows how to do a last minute build. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Dakota Kai vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Raquel Gonzalez is here with Kai. Shotzi doesn’t care for the trash talk to start and takes her down for some early hammering. Back up and Kai misses a kick to the chest, allowing Shotzi to roll her up for two. WELCOME TO THE BALL PIT has Kai in trouble and Shotzi hits a Codebreaker to the arm for two more. Shotzi takes her down by the leg and puts on….I guess you would say a Gory Stretch with the legs tied up on the mat.

Kai is face first on the mat so Shotzi pops up to drop down onto her back for a pretty unique hold. Back up and Kai knocks her into the corner as the pace slows down a bit. A faceplant gives Kai two of her own and it’s time for some choking on the ropes. Kai misses a charge and gets sent into the ropes though, only to have Gonzalez offer a distraction. A backbreaker plants Blackheart and we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting a dropkick into the corner and scoring with a reverse Sling Blade. The reverse Cannonball against the ropes hits Kai’s back again but she gets up some knees in the corner. They head to the apron for a slugout with Shotzi scoring with a kick to the head. Sliced Bread onto the apron drops Kai, though Shotzi landing on her own head didn’t help things. Thankfully she’s ok so Gonzalez trips her down, drawing out Rhea Ripley to jump Gonzalez from behind. Back in and Shotzi avoids the running kick in the corner, setting up a rollup to pin Kai at 13:33.

Rating: C. That landing was rather scary but Shotzi got back up so it was all fine. The more I see of Shotzi, the more I like her and this was one of the bigger wins of her career. Above all else, she looks and seems different, which is going to help more than anything else. Kai continues to be rather good as well, making this a nice match which was brought down by having a bit too much going on with the interference.

We get a sitdown interview between Santos Escobar and Isaiah Scott. Isaiah talks about how he’s the only person to beat Escobar in NXT and he’ll win the title on Sunday. Escobar calls Scott a loose end that he’ll tie up at Takeover. The match will be fair, but Scott doesn’t seem convinced. Why does Escobar always have the bag of tricks or Legado del Fantasma? Escobar calls those excuses but Scott says he’s ready to showcase what he is really capable of. It’s time to reveal Escobar as a fraud, but Escobar says he’ll expose Scott as a failure. This got me a little more interested in the title match so it did what it was supposed to do.

We get a new video from the mystery person, this time riding a motorcycle and then looking at a flier for Takeover. They put that in their pocket and we cut to the scene from last week with the titles. We’ll find out who it is at Takeover.

It’s time for a Prime Target on Kyle O’Reilly, who took to wrestling like a fish takes to water. He loves NXT but he would be doing this for $5 every other weekend if that’s all he could do. The Undisputed Era is the best thing that ever happened to him and we get comments from Adam Cole, who is so proud of Kyle for trying to become champion. O’Reilly talks about how everything has been building to this Sunday. This is just a second wave of the Golden Prophecy and that is undisputed.

Tegan Nox has torn her ACL again. I’m not convinced she is ever wrestling again and that’s horrible.

Candice LeRae and Johnny Gargano aren’t sad about Nox’s injury (Gargano: “She broke our TV, you tore her ACL. It’s even.”), but they are focused on achieving destiny on Sunday. It starts tonight with their mixed tag and they insult the interviewer after she leaves.

Here’s Cameron Grimes to say he had all of the chances last week but it was all taken away in a Gauntlet Eliminator. That couldn’t have been William Regal’s idea because Regal would come up with a better idea. So tonight it’s time for the Cameron Grimes Stepping Stone To The Moon match. Here’s our first opponent.

Cameron Grimes vs. Joey Pistachio

Pistachio apparently was in the 85 pound NCAA weight class and gets Caved In at 9 seconds. I think that’s MLW’s Ariel Dominguez, and given that his vest said Ariel Dominguez, I might be onto something here.

Grimes has another opponent but Ridge Holland jumps him from behind and takes his place.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ridge Holland

Ridge throws him around with a suplex and unloads with stomps, eventually getting DQ’d at 33 seconds. That worked, as Holland looked like a monster.

Austin Theory isn’t happy because he should have been in the Gauntlet Eliminator last week. He was 22 at Wrestlemania and Kyle O’Reilly is just now getting his NXT Title shot. Maybe O’Reilly should be catching up to him.

Kushida talks about how hard it was to move everything to America, including his family, but now the setup is complete and he can concentrate on the ring. Velveteen Dream will be his stepping stone at Takeover because the new Kushida is vicious.

Kushida vs. Tony Nese

Nese poses to start so Kushida kicks him in the face but Nese snaps the throat across the top. Back in and Kushida kicks him in the face, only to get caught in the pumphandle powerslam. That’s countered into an armbar, with Kushida bulldogging the arm down. A bunch of stomps set up the Hoverboard Lock to make Nese tap at 2:13.

Post match here’s Velveteen Dream on the screen. He thinks the spotlight will be too bright for Kushida on Sunday, but that’s where Dream puts on his best performances.

Cameron Grimes wants to know where William Regal is but runs into Dexter Lumis, who he calls a freak. Great, more Lumis.

Here’s Adam Cole to talk about how dominant Undisputed Era has been but what matters is people knew that if you crossed the team, you would pay. Then they lost those titles, but nothing has changed. They are the same Undisputed Era who won the first WarGames match in WWE history and they have dominated NXT like no one other. Austin Theory wants to talk trash about Kyle O’Reilly, so come say it to his face. Cue Theory, with Cole saying he can come face him right now or wait there so Cole can come face him.

Adam Cole vs. Austin Theory

Cole chops away to start and then stomps Theory down in the corner. A neckbreaker puts Theory down but the threat of a pump kick puts him on the floor. Cole follows him outside to hit the pump kick and then sends Theory hard into the steps. Back in and Cole scores with another kick to the face, setting up a neckbreaker for two. There’s a suplex and Cole really doesn’t seem impressed.

A dropkick to the leg in the ropes sets up a chinlock, with Theory trying to fight up, as he should. An elbow to the jaw cuts Theory down again but he gets to the apron for the rolling dropkick. We take a break and come back with Theory stomping away in the corner and grabbing a chinlock. A standing moonsault gets two on Cole but he makes the comeback with some shots to the face.

Another kick to the head rocks Theory again and the Backstabber gets two. Cole kicks him in the face again and hits the fireman’s carry backbreaker for another near fall. The Panama Sunrise is blocked and Theory hits the spinning torture rack powerbomb for his own two. Theory starts the trash talk as they slug it out from their knees. Cole superkicks him to the apron and then nails another one. The Last Shot finishes Theory at 13:09.

Rating: B-. This was a good way to really move towards Cole’s face run. It had started earlier on but this was about as clear cut as you can get, which is a smart way to go. There is nothing left for the Undisputed Era to accomplish as a team so having them work more on their own but being able to come together when they can is a good idea. It’s better than having them go to the main roster and see whatever kind of nonsense WWE can come up with for them. Theory looked good here too, and it’s a rather smart move to have him in there with one of the best in NXT.

Post match Cole says O’Reilly is ready for the title.

Damian Priest and Io Shirai laugh off the idea that Johnny Gargano and Candace LeRae are the power couple of NXT. Tonight is a preview of Takeover because they’re keeping their titles on Sunday and winning tonight. Io agrees that they are the rockstars. Priest: “That’s cool as h***.” Shirai: “He’s not bad.”

Kayden Carter vs. Xia Li

They go straight to a pinfall reversal sequence and it’s an early standoff. Carter gets two more off a rollup and hits a springboard spinning dropkick to put Li on the floor. Li pulls her out for a big crash and it’s time for some aggressive stomping back inside. The kickout draws some yelling and Carter comes back with a basement superkick for two. They go into another pinfall reversal sequence with Carter getting the pin off a sunset flip at 3:22.

Rating: C. Just a match here as they continue to build up the women’s midcard. I can always go for more of Carter and Catanzaro so it’s working out well enough in a short match. They packed a nice bit of action into the match and Carter might be a nice little something in the future.

Shawn Michaels emcees a sitdown interview with Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly. They shake hands and Finn offers some respect for Kyle becoming #1 contender. Shawn knows Balor is great but he might be facing the best kept secret in wrestling. Balor talks about how Kyle might only be a secret to the fringe wrestling fans but he knows exactly who O’Reilly is. Kyle calls Balor a fighting champion, even when he is facing certain defeat, like he is at Takeover.

Finn brings up the Undisputed Era and Kyle says he’s coming alone because it’s about him and not the team. Shawn sticks with the Undisputed Era idea and says there is no power struggle between himself and Adam Cole. Kyle wants the Prince at Takeover and Balor says there is going to be no room for luck on Sunday.

Things get more serious as Balor says there is a difference between a one night win and a win that changes your life. Kyle thinks it’s BS to consider him the underdog and he’s ready to blow up Balor’s kneecaps. Balor gets the last word, saying Kyle could be champion if he was facing anyone else. Good here as usual, though I’m not sure how much bigger it made things.

Takeover rundown.

Candice LeRae/Johnny Gargano vs. Damian Priest/Io Shirai

Priest and Shirai clear the ring before the bell until the men start things off. Gargano makes him miss to start until Priest hits a big boot. There’s a big side slam to put Johnny down again and it’s off to the women. A flapjack puts LeRae down so Gargano gets in Shirai’s face. That brings Priest in to kick him in the head, meaning Shirai can hit the double knees in the corner. Shirai climbs onto Priest’s shoulders to dive onto LeRae and we take a break.

Back with LeRae cranking on the neck and cockily kicking her in the head. Shirai snaps off a German suplex and brings in Priest to clean house. The running elbow in the corner gives Priest two but Gargano slips out of a Razor’s Edge. Priest and Gargano exchange kicks to the head with Priest being knocked into the corner for the tag back to Shirai. A springboard missile dropkick hits LeRae and we hit the Crossface.

Gargano makes the save and LeRae hits a quick backsplash to Shirai. The butterfly backbreaker drops LeRae but Gargano breaks up the moonsault. Instead Priest puts Gargano down and Shirai moonsaults him for…no count because the referee is good at his job. LeRae breaks up the Reckoning with a low blow and Gargano adds One Final Beat for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. They kept things moving here and Gargano pinning Priest is as good of an ending as they had here. That seems to be the less secure of the two title changes and Gargano needed the win a bit more. The match was good stuff too with Shirai and Priest getting to showcase themselves rather well.

Post match Gargano grabs both titles and hands one to LeRae to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show had a hard task in front of it and yet they still managed to pull it off for the most part. They had to manage to give a hard sell to a show that isn’t exactly thrilling and has almost no time to be set up in the first place. It went well enough, but they had a hard climb starting in loose rocks. That is going to be the case on Sunday as well, and this show only did so much to get there. It wasn’t a great show, but it had a lot to pull off and they did it well enough.

Results

Shotzi Blackheart b. Dakota Kai – Rollup

Cameron Grimes b. Joey Pistachio – Cave In

Cameron Grimes b. Ridge Holland via DQ when Holland would not stop attacking

Kushida b. Tony Nese – Hoverboard Lock

Adam Cole b. Austin Theory – Last Shot

Kayden Carter b. Xia Li – Sunset flip

Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae b. Damian Priest/Io Shirai – One Final Beat to Priest

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 23, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips

NXT has their backs up against the wall at the moment as we are less than two weeks away from Takeover, there is one match announced so far, and apparently the company has been rocked by the Coronavirus. I’m not sure what that is going to mean but we are getting two #1 contenders crowned tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

In Memory of Road Warrior Animal.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Shotzi Blackheart, Candice LeRae, Xia Li, Kacy Catanzaro, Raquel Gonzalez, Dakota Kai, Kayden Carter, Rhea Ripley, Aliyah, Gia, Marina Shafir, Catalina, Raven, Ellie, Adrian, Rita, Emily, Indi Hartwell

The winner gets a shot at Io Shirai at Takeover. There is no Tegan Nox as Candice LeRae attacked her knee earlier today. I know I’m not going to be able to get everyone listed here as Gonzalez and Ripley have a staredown at the bell. That goes nowhere as everyone starts brawling everywhere else. Ripley tosses Gia without much trouble as commentary talks about William Regal trying to expand the competition for this match.

Raven gets tossed out and Ellie (I don’t know who these people are either) is gone as well. Ripley eliminates Shafir and Gonzalez gets rid of Adrian. Gonzalez isn’t done and eliminates a woman whose name we don’t hear. There goes Rita at Gonzalez’s hands as well and Rhea kicks Emily (they’re just getting single names here so it isn’t like you should know who these people are) out too. Gonzalez tosses Catalina but can’t get rid of Hartwell.

Aliyah sends Catanzaro to the floor but the feet don’t touch, allowing Catanzaro to do a Kofi Kingston style save, involving a backflip, walking on her hands, and pulling herself up by her feet. Back from a break with Kacy having to save herself again but Hartwell kicks her off the steps…and onto the barricade. Carter tries to help but gets eliminated, so Catanzaro stands on Carter’s shoulders for the save and gets back in. Ripley and Gonzalez gets in the big slugout but eliminate each other, leaving Kai panicking over her lack of an insurance policy.

We’re down to LeRae, Blackheart, Catanzaro, Hartwell and Kai, with Catanzaro swinging around the post to save herself again. A hurricanrana gets rid of Hartwell to get us down to four. Candice and Kai get together to finally get rid of Catanzaro and it’s time to double team Blackheart. Shotzi gets rid of Kai in a hurry and sends LeRae to the apron. LeRae gets back in so it’s a step up enziguri, only to have Blackheart miss the running charge into the ropes.

A neckbreaker drops Shotzi and LeRae sends her to the apron. Shotzi hits a kick to the head to get back in and goes up top but LeRae is right there again. They both go over the top and wind up on the apron, with Shotzi kicking her down onto the steps. LeRae manages a monkey flip to send Shotzi to the floor for the win at 15:06.

Rating: C-. It got some time and that isn’t the best idea in this case. The problem here was they had a bunch of people included to increase the numbers (probably indy wrestlers or Performance Center students), but it didn’t matter for the most part. Rhea and Raquel threw them out in a hurry to build them up and then just went out together, which didn’t make for the most exciting conclusion. Candice was the fairly obvious winner once we got near the end, though at least the ending was good.

Damian Priest is ready to beat Johnny Gargano at Takeover and he’ll warm up against Austin Theory tonight. Sarah Schriber is invited to the after party too.

Fandango, in a deerstalker hat, is in front of a dry erase board with a bunch of tag wrestlers around when William Regal comes up. After a warning from Regal about bad British accents, Fandango gives us his idea: we team up members of four teams (as in one member from four teams) in a tag match and the winning members’ teams face off to become #1 contenders for the Tag Team Titles.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Fallout from Ciampa attacking Atlas a few weeks back. The threat of an early Willow’s Bell sends them outside with Atlas getting in some shots against the steps. Atlas pulls the ring skirt back and tries the catapult into the ring but Ciampa gets away in a hurry. Back in and Ciampa hits a hard clothesline but Atlas comes back and hammers away with right hands.

Ciampa is knocked outside for a middle rope moonsault, followed by a Blockbuster back inside. The cartwheel DDT misses though and Willow’s Bell gives Ciampa the…one count as he pulls off. Ciampa yells a lot before finishing with the Fairy Tale Ending (now spinning Atlas around to land on his back instead of his face) at 4:48.

Rating: C. This was all about making Ciampa look like a killer and that’s what they accomplished. Ciampa could be put into almost any level on the card and look good so I’m not sure why they are having him waste time with Atlas over a few different weeks. This should be it though and Ciampa can move on to something bigger and better.

Video on Ridge Holland, who is rather strong and rough.

Video on tonight’s Gauntlet Eliminator, set to a new Corey Taylor (of Slipknot) song, with all five participants saying they are ready to win.

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong vs. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza

The winning team will then meet off in another tag match with their usual partners for a future Tag Team Title shot. Aichner throws Strong down to start and then brings in Mendoza, who is taken into the corner for the tag to Burch. The beating continues but Aichner’s distraction lets Mendoza pull Burch off the middle rope. Back from a break with Burch fighting out of Aichner’s chinlock but getting suplexed down hard. Mendoza stomps away in the corner and we hit the cobra clutch on the mat.

Aichner breaks up a sunset flip on Mendoza and even knocks Strong off the apron in a smart move. Therefore there is no one for Burch to tag so Aichner blasts him with a clothesline. The hot tag brings in Strong anyway and it’s time to start picking up the pace. An Angle Slam gives Strong two on Aichner but Mendoza gets in a cheap shot from the apron. Aichner hits a spinebuster for two but Strong kicks him in the face. Burch hits the Tower of London out of the corner to finish Mendoza at 8:49.

Rating: C-. This was a messy match, but that was kind of the point given that they aren’t regular partners. I’m a bit surprised to see Legado del Fantasma losing here as they seemed to be the next challengers, though maybe we are going to see Breezango win a big match before dropping them. Or I’m still really bad at fantasy booking, as I have been for years. Either way, this feels like a match thrown together because some partners might be missing due to illness.

Austin Theory is ready for Damian Priest but Johnny Gargano comes up to give him a bit of a pep talk anyway. Maybe Gargano will throw him a bone if Theory softens him up for Takeover.

Austin Theory vs. Damian Priest

Non-title. Priest works on the arm to start and then shoves Theory away without much effort. Theory seems to know he’s in a fight and then definitely knows he’s in a headlock. Back up and Priest goes up top for Old School before jumping down with a high crossbody to change things up. Theory is right back with a belly to back suplex into a standing moonsault for two as the pace slows a bit. Priest gets knocked outside in a heap and we take a break.

Back with Priest hitting the running elbow in the corner and the toss Falcon Arrow gets two. Priest misses the spinning kick to the head and Theory grabs a spinning torture rack slam (not a Blue Thunder Bomb Tom) for his own two. They head outside with Theory slipping out of a chokeslam onto the apron. The spinning kick connects this time though and there’s the powerbomb onto the apron to rock Theory. Back in and the Reckoning finishes Theory at 11:06.

Rating: C+. I like both guys and they both looked good here, as they should. Priest is infinitely better as a face than a heel. Just let him go out there and show off all of his cool stuff where we are supposed to cheer for it this time. That being said, the Reckoning isn’t exactly the most suitable finish for a monster of his size and athleticism. He can do something cooler looking, so maybe he should switch it up.

Post match Johnny Gargano runs in and superkicks Priest to set up their title match a bit more.

We get a night vision video with a distorted voice talking about titles. Someone wipes the dust off of a case holding some NXT Titles. The voice talks about coming back for what belongs to them and the person breaks the case to pick up one of the titles. The date of Takeover ends the show. Karrion Kross already? That seems a little optimistic but not impossible.

Video on Isaiah Scott.

Ridge Holland vs. Antonio de Luca

The much bigger Holland knocks him down to start but ducks his head to get kicked in the face. A Pounce sends de Luca flying though and an overhead belly to belly does the same. Holland headbutts him over and over in the corner (that was brutal) and Northern Grit finishes de Luca at 1:33. That worked.

Io Shirai is ready for Candice LeRae, who comes in to interrupt. Candice doesn’t think much of Shirai and Johnny Gargano comes in to yell as well. Damian Priest comes in and decks Gargano, likely setting up a mixed tag next week.

Next week: Shotzi Blackheart vs. Dakota Kai.

Gauntlet Eliminator

This is a hybrid of a Royal Rumble and a gauntlet match. There are five entrants and two start. Another comes in every four minutes and it’s pinfall/submission only for eliminations. The winner faces Finn Balor for the NXT Title at Takeover. Kyle O’Reilly is in at #1 and Kushida is in at #2, though neither get entrances. O’Reilly takes him to the mat to start and it’s time to hit the grappling. Kushida goes for the arm but O’Reilly gets in a bodyscissors until it’s a standoff to give them a breather from the grappling exchange. Kushida goes for the arm again but gets his legs tied up and they head to the rope.

Back up and Kushida gets in a hiptoss into the basement dropkick before cranking on the arm on the mat. That’s broken up as well so Kushida kicks away at the arm to mix things up a bit. They slug it out until it’s Bronson Reed in at #3. Reed wastes no time in throwing Kushida at O’Reilly and then fireman’s carries both of them at once. That’s broken up so Kushida kicks Reed in the ribs and then in the head.

O’Reilly goes for a cross armbreaker on Kushida but lets go to take Reed down by the leg. For some reason Kushida breaks that up for the Hoverboard Lock on O’Reilly until Reed breaks that up with a suplex to Kushida. Reed knocks Kushida outside and goes up top, only to be forearmed in the head by O’Reilly. Kushida knocks O’Reilly outside but here’s Velveteen Dream with a Dream Valley Driver to take Kushida down. Reed adds the Tsunami to get rid of Kushida at 7:48.

Timothy Thatcher is in at #4 and gets knocked off the apron as we take a break. Back with all three slugging away, with Thatcher going for Reed’s arm. Reed suplexes Thatcher down and it’s Cameron Grimes in at #5 to complete the field. Thatcher blocks Grimes’ kick to the face and goes for his arm but Reed knocks them both down. Everyone is down for a bit with Thatcher and O’Reilly being the first up for a slugout on the apron. O’Reilly knocks Thatcher off the apron and hits a running knee, with Reed catapulting Grimes onto the two of them.

Back in and Reed hits a Death Valley Driver for two on Thatcher and a powerbomb gets the same on O’Reilly. Grimes comes back in and gets sent down in a hurry, followed by a suicide dive onto everyone else. We take another break and come back with Thatcher and Grimes double teaming Reed. O’Reilly gets back in as Reed knocks the other two down. A Rock Bottom sends Thatcher onto Grimes for two and Reed goes up top. The Tsunami “misses” Thatcher (read as it hit Thatcher’s legs as he rolled away) so O’Reilly adds a top rope knee to Reed’s back for the pin at 21:37.

Thatcher and O’Reilly exchange ankle locks until Thatcher suplexes him down. Thatcher isn’t done and grabs Grimes’ leg before belly to bellying him down as well. O’Reilly goes for Thatcher’s arm but gets caught in a sleeper. That’s fine with O’Reilly, who ankle locks Grimes at the same time. That’s broken up by the sleeper so O’Reilly kicks off of Grimes to backflip onto Thatcher for two. O’Reilly strikes away at Thatcher and gets two off a backslide, followed by a rollup for the pin to get rid of Thatcher at 25:24.

We’re down to Grimes vs. O’Reilly with Grimes hitting a quick Cave In For two. Grimes yells about O’Reilly not being the star of the Undisputed Era and hits the flipping powerslam for two. O’Reilly is right back with a leg crank but Grimes kicks him in the face. Another Cave In misses and the knee seems to go out. O’Reilly grabs a heel look for the tap at 27:49.

Rating: B-. There was a lot to unpack here but what matters is they managed to make a new singles star, even if it is only in the short term, in O’Reilly. They needed someone fresh to go after the title and that’s what we got. That could be a heck of a match and O’Reilly has been on the big stage elsewhere before.

The problem here though is he didn’t exactly beat the biggest stars. The best illustration I heard about this match is that it felt like a North American Title #1 contenders match. Maybe that’s due to Coronavirus or maybe it’s due to trying someone new, but they might need O’Reilly to get one more big win next week. What we got was fine, but I’m not sure if it’s enough to carry it to the main event of a Takeover.

Post match Adam Cole and Roderick Strong come out to celebrate so here’s Finn Balor for the staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. The big, long main event helped here as they are trying to slap things together as well as they can because their backs have never been this far up against a wall. What we could wind up seeing should work because it’s NXT, but dang they are stretching with some of these things. O’Reilly vs. Balor has my attention though and they could absolutely tear the house down. Couple that with a mystery return story and they could be fine. That’s a lot of could’s though, and that scares me.

Results

Candice LeRae won a battle royal last eliminating Shotzi Blackheart

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Fairy Tale Ending

Danny Burch/Roderick Strong b. Fabian Aichner/Raul Mendoza – Tower of London to Mendoza

Damian Priest b. Austin Theory – Reckoning

Ridge Holland b. Antonio de Luca – Northern Grit

Kyle O’Reilly won the Gauntlet Eliminator last eliminating Cameron Grimes

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 16, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

Things are back to normal around here as the show is back on Wednesday after heading over to Tuesday for a few weeks due to the NHL Playoffs. They aren’t wasting time either as we have two title matches tonight with Damian Priest defending the North American Title against Timothy Thatcher and Imperium getting their rematch for Breezango’s Tag Team Titles. 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 outstanding show.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Io Shirai

Non-title. Feeling out to start with Shirai missing a running big boot and Shotzi getting away from a monkey flip. Blackheart grabs a jackknife rollup for two and starts in on the arm. An armbar sends Shirai over to the ropes for the break and she knocks Shotzi outside. That means a Lionsault can take Shirai down and it’s back inside for a delayed two. We take a break and come back with Shotzi sending her into the corner and hitting a running knee.

They slug it out until Shirai pulls her down into a Crossface but Blackheart makes the rope this time. The running backsplash against the ropes connects and a tiger suplex gives Shotzi two. Blackheart keeps the grip and flips forward into Cattle Mutilation, which is broken in a hurry as well.

Shirai hits a flapjack into the 619, followed by the missile dropkick for two. Back up and Blackheart runs the corner to hit a super hurricanrana for two more but Shirai crotches her on top. A German suplex onto the apron knocks Blackheart mostly silly so Shirai hits the moonsault (with the legs only hitting Shotzi) to put her out of her misery at 14:21.

Rating: B-. The more I see of Blackheart the more I like her and she was getting to hang with the champ in along match here. They’re pushing her as something special and it wouldn’t shock me to see her get a pretty big time title match one day. They were beating each other up here and it was a heck of a match all around, especially with the time helping them out.

Respect is shown post match.

Video on Tommaso Ciampa destroying Jake Atlas.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Desmond Troy

Troy is formerly known as Desmond DeJournette. Ciampa takes him down with ease to start and hits a running corner clothesline. The stomping is on and there’s the catapult face first into the bottom buckle. Willow’s Bell finishes at 1:52.

Post match Ciampa grabs a chair but here’s Jake Atlas for the challenge for next week. Ciampa smiles.

Drake Maverick arrived earlier today and is ready to team up with Killian Dain against the Undisputed Era. They are a TEAM, even though Dain hasn’t talked to him all week and punched him in the face a few times. Maverick: “Do you have his number?”

Finn Balor talks about winning the NXT Title four years after losing it. People are asking how this reign will be different than the last. The first reign was all about building the brand and being the brand. Now the brand needs him because it is not the most important title in the game. We see shots of Walter, Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre, with Balor saying the line starts here. You better look both ways before you cross the Prince.

Here’s Austin Theory for a chat. He is a first ballot Hall of Famer and last week against Bronson Reed was just a fluke. For now though, he has another match on his hands.

Kushida vs. Austin Theory

Kushida goes straight for the arm to start but Theory takes him down and pounds away. Kushida is back up with a kick to the arm and it’s a hiptoss into a basement dropkick. A kick to the head sends Theory to the floor, where he forearms the post by mistake. Back in and Kushida hammers away, setting up the Hoverboard Lock makes Theory tap at 3:28.

Rating: C. Well that was surprising as Kushida seems to be the kind of guy who is there to put people over rather than get a clean win like this. That being said, Kushida was my favorite New Japan guy so I can certainly go for seeing more of him like this. I’ve been hoping to see him get a push and this is better than nothing.

Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae complain about having to sit in the guest room because Tegan Nox broke their TV. Candice calms things down and talks about a #1 contenders battle royal next week, which she can win to get a Women’s Title shot at Takeover. Gargano looks up a new TV, deciding on a 100 inch plasma screen 3D model. Candice: “O….k.”

Tag Team Titles: Breezango vs. Imperium

Imperium is challenging and jump the champs before the bell. We officially start with Aichner slamming Fandango down and bringing Barthel in to send him into the corner. An uppercut keeps Fandango in trouble and Barthel jawbreaks him for good measure. Aichner comes in with a belly to back suplex and a hard clothesline gets two. Barthel’s butterfly suplex gets two and the double running dropkicks in the corner have Fandango mostly done as we take a break.

Back with Fandango elbowing Barthel in the face and finally bringing Breeze in to start cleaning house. Running forearms abound and Breeze grabs a half crab. Barthel tries to interfere but gets sent to the floor, leaving Aichner to hit a Regal Roll on Breeze. Back up and Breeze catches Aichner with a Cheeky Nandos kick for two with Barthel making a save. Aichner catches Breeze coming off the ropes and muscles him over with a suplex.

Fandango makes the save though and is smart enough to drag Breeze over for the tag. Everything breaks down and Fandango saves Breeze from another suplex on the floor. Back to back superkicks put Imperium down but the Last Dance misses. Aichner German suplexes Fandango for two but he’s back with a tornado DDT. It’s back to Breeze, who is quickly caught in the European Bomb. Fandango breaks it up though and a hurricanrana finishes Aichner to retain at 14:28.

Rating: C+. The match had good action but sweet goodness the tag division has fallen a long way. Breezango aren’t exactly feeling like the next big thing and Imperium is so nothing without Walter around. They need to find some new people around here soon and it’s rather boring to watch at the moment.

Jessi Kamea/Xia Li vs. Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro

Carter takes Li down with an armbar to start and it’s Kacy coming in with a slingshot hilo for two. Li takes Kacy into the corner and kicks away though, allowing Jessi to come in with a running corner clothesline. Kacy fights up without much trouble though and it’s Carter coming in to clean house. It’s quickly back to Kacy for a bicycle kick into a crucifix into a jackknife cover to pin Li at 3:55.

Rating: C-. The point here was to push Carter and Kacy as good friends who work well together, with commentary even mentioning a possible Women’s Tag Team Title shot in the future. Oddly enough, this reminded me of Bobby Heenan in WCW, where he would hype up anyone he could, even if it didn’t seem possible. It at least shows some effort, and I’ll take that over commentary ignoring the match to talk about anything but the stuff in front of them.

Post match respect is shown but Li walks away instead.

Drake Maverick finds Killian Dain, who isn’t interested in teaming together.

Tegan Nox says if Candice wants to believe that she (Tegan) is the one who changed, so be it. It’s better than listening to Gargano complain about a $200 TV that he broke so he can watch himself lose every week. Nox is going to win the battle royal and next time, it’s going to be different with Shirai.

Undisputed Era vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

It’s Bobby Fish/Roderick Strong for the Era. And there’s no Dain, leaving Maverick on his own. Maverick gets driven into the corner to start but gets a boot up in the corner. The middle rope dropkick gets two on Fish but Maverick gets cut off with a backbreaker. We see Dain watching from backstage as Strong hits another backbreaker for two more.

A third backbreaker connects as Dain is still watching in the back. William Regal comes up to Dain and says that’s his partner out there. Cue Dain in the arena as Maverick is thrown outside….and he throws Maverick back in and goes to leave again. Strong yells at him so Dain gets inside and cleans house. Fish brings in a chair for the DQ at 9:42.

Rating: C-. The wrestling wasn’t the point here and that’s fine, though they had kind of made the point a good bit before they started doing anything to get to the ending. Maverick vs. Dain is an interesting deal, though I’d lean more towards Maverick earning Dain’s respect and turning into an actual team. As mentioned earlier, the show needs some more teams so why not these two?

Post match the Era leaves so Maverick yells at Dain, saying they’re a team. Dain knocks him out again.

Tommaso Ciampa jumps Jake Atlas in the parking lot and Kyle O’Reilly of all people gets in Ciampa’s face to get rid of him.

William Regal says we need a new #1 contender so next week, it’s the first ever Gauntlet Eliminator. Five unnamed men will be involved with two starting. Every four minutes, another name will enter and it is elimination rules with pinfall or submission only for eliminations. Whoever wins gets the title shot at Takeover.

North American Title: Damian Priest vs. Timothy Thatcher

Thatcher is challenging and goes straight to the arm to slow Priest down. Priest fights up but gets headlocked to the mat. That’s broken up as well so Thatcher headbutts him in the arm to make Priest clutch at the arm a bit. Priest tries to kick away but another shot tot he arm puts him on the floor. Thatcher follows him and fights out of a powerbomb attempt, allowing him to send Priest into the steps. A suplex on the floor makes it worse for Priest and we take a break.

Back with Thatcher hitting the uppercut so Priest slug away until a chop cuts him off again. The toss Falcon Arrow gives Priest two and he kicks Thatcher in the head to put him in trouble. The springboard flip dive misses so Thatcher goes after the armbar again. This time Priest fights up but Thatcher kicks the leg out and gets the half crab. That’s broken up so Thatcher goes with the Fujiwara armbar, with Priest using the legs to make the rope. The arm is fine enough to hit a Flatliner into the South of Heaven chokeslam for two. Priest has had it and goes up top for a super spinwheel kick, setting up the Reckoning to retain at 12:48.

Rating: B-. This was all about Priest getting his first achievement as champion and it worked out well. Thatcher gets to get his feet wet at a somewhat higher level and he did just fine in the role. Both guys have a nice future ahead of them, but Priest’s future is a lot closer than Thatcher’s at the moment. Good match, though the spinwheel kick should have been the pin.

Overall Rating: B-. Another good show here as you kind of have to expect from NXT, but nothing compared to last week’s instant classic. To be fair though, this was a much more laid back edition by design as last week’s was supposed to be the huge edition. NXT is starting to roll again, but dang that is a fast turnaround in between Takeovers. I’m curious as to what we are going to see on the card, because nothing has been specifically announced so far. Anyway, another win this week.

Results

Io Shirai b. Shotzi Blackheart – Moonsault

Tommaso Ciampa b. Desmond Troy – Willow’s Bell

Breezango b. Imperium – Hurricanrana to Aichner

Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro b. Xia Li/Jessi Kamea – Jackknife cover to Li

Killian Dain/Drake Maverick b. Undisputed Era via DQ when Fish used a chair

Damian Priest b. Timothy Thatcher – Reckoning

Remember to check out my website at kbwrestlingreviews.com and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: September 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix

It’s time for the sequel to last week’s four way Iron Man match with Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole for the NXT Title. This could be a classic if they’re given the time and actually have a finish instead of setting up something for Clash Of Champions. I’ll give NXT the benefit of the doubt not to do that twice in a row though and hope for the best. Let’s get to it.

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

Quick recap of last week’s Iron Man match.

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Adam Cole

The title is vacant coming in and they’re not wasting time tonight. After the Big Match Intros, it’s a battle over a headlock to get things going. Cole takes him down into an armbar but Balor reverses into one of his own and slaps on a headscissors on the mat. That’s broken up and Cole hits a basement dropkick, followed by some chops against the ropes. The fireman’s carry backbreaker gets two on Balor and we take a break.

Back with Balor working on a chinlock and then slamming him into an elbow drop for two. Balor knocks him into the corner and hits his own basement dropkick for another near fall. Cole is back with some shots to the face and a pump kick to put Balor down. A Backstabber gives Cole two of his own and a Shining Wizard cuts off Balor’s shotgun dropkick. The Last Shot misses though and Balor hits a double stomp to the ribs to take over again.

Some hard stomping puts Cole on the floor but he’s back up with a superkick for the double knockdown. Back from another break with Cole grabbing a Figure Four to work on the knee. Balor finally escapes and hits the shotgun dropkick. The Coup de Grace connects for a delayed two (because of the bad knee) and commentary LOSES IT at the kickout to really sell the impact.

Cole goes back to the Figure Four but this time Balor makes the rope. A superkick into the Last Shot gives Cole two and there’s the shocked face that Cole does so well. Back up and Balor drives him into the corner for the reverse 1916. Cole crotches him on top and it’s a super 1916 to give Balor the pin and the title at 23:16.

Rating: A-. That’s the right call as we just got done with a year plus Cole reign and Balor has been needing a big win to get himself back on track in NXT. I would have bet on him being the next big challenger to Karrion Kross anyway so this makes a lot of sense. It was also a heck of a match which got some time and had the knee injury working as a story throughout. Nice job here and thank you for not having any kind of a surprise twist.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Mercedes Martinez and grabs the cage.

William Regal congratulates Balor for the win and Cole shakes his hand as well. The face turn continues.

Robert Stone finds Shotzi Blackheart’s tank and is ready to hit it with a pipe. Cue Shotzi to hit him in the face but Aliyah pops up to knock Shotzi through a curtain…and right into Io Shirai. Aliyah panics and the fight heads into the arena where the beatdown is on. Stone tries to come off the top but gets punched out of the air. Shirai hits the moonsault to Aliyah and Shotzi hits the top rope backsplash to Stone….but picks up the Women’s Title, which Shirai doesn’t like.

We go to the Gargano House where Candice LeRae is nervous about dinner with Tegan Nox. Johnny Gargano says it’s cool but the nerves are still there. Nox shows up and Johnny puts on his good face before letting her in. He teases being annoyed at her but says it’s just a joke before bringing Nox inside. LeRae hugs her and Nox is nervous as the two stare at her.

Timothy Thatcher has a film study on Damien Priest, who mistakenly thinks life is a party. It’s time to do some work.

Velveteen Dream vs. Ashante Adonis

Dream doesn’t seem worried to start and strikes away but Adonis pops back up and hits a DDT into a nipup. Adonis hammers away but Dream gets serious and pounds him down. The Dream Valley Driver is good for the pin at 1:35.

Post match Dream grabs the microphone but Kushida, who Dream attacked a few weeks ago, runs in to jump him before Dream can say a word. Referees try to break it up but Kushida manages to pull him shoulder first into the post. A cross armbreaker in the corner makes Dream tap, because that’s what you do in a brawl.

Video on Breezango winning the Tag Team Titles but getting jumped by Imperium last week. Breezango took the only nice accessories they had so Imperium want the titles back next week.

Back at the Gargano House, Johnny realizes he’s making this weird and leaves the two women alone. Candice thinks Nox should admit to her mistakes but Nox isn’t sure what those are. Nox asks what she’s talking about so Candice explains the Gargano Way and thinks Nox is jealous. That’s not what’s going on but Candice offers to show her the way.

Bronson Reed vs. Austin Theory

Reed works on a headlock to start before sending Theory flying with a shoulder. A bottom rope springboard elbow gets two and Reed flips him back in from the apron. We hit the big chinlock until Theory fights up and tries a sunset flip. Reed sits down on his chest for two and sends Theory outside, meaning it’s a cannonball off the apron as we take a break.

Back with Reed fighting out of a chinlock and hitting the Jagged Edge for two. Reed sends him into the corner but Reed hits a forearm into a rolling Blockbuster for two of his own. Theory tries the TKO but collapses under the weight. Reed adds the top rope splash to the back for the pin at 10:49.

Rating: C+. This might have been a bit longer than it needed to be but they both looked good, which shouldn’t be a surprise. Reed has come out of nowhere and turned into something rather good while Theory looks to have all the tools in the world minus experience. I could go for more of both of them and that’s a good sign for the future.

Cole says Balor was the better man and they went through the same Iron Man match. Balor better be ready though because if Cole gets another shot, he’s taking the title. Total face promo from Cole here.

Mercedes Martinez wants to be locked in a cage with Rhea Ripley so she can show who the real animal is.

Roderick Strong vs. Killian Dain

Fallout from Dain saving Drake Maverick from the Undisputed Era and Bobby Fish is in Strong’s corner. Strong goes after Dain to start and the monster doesn’t like that. He knocks Strong around the ring and hammers away in the corner until a leg lariat puts Dain on the apron.

A Rock Bottom from the apron takes Strong down but Fish kicks the ankle out and we take a break. Back with Reed throwing him across the ring and hitting the running crossbody for two. Fish pulls Strong out of the way of the Vader Bomb so Dain drops Fish from the apron. The distraction is enough for Strong to hit a jumping knee to the face for the pin at 7;35.

Rating: C. Dain is someone else who should be an easy layup and they’re finally starting to get the hang of him. It’s better late than never, but it’s weird to see a monster like him getting beaten like this. It’s interesting to see the Undisputed Era showing some differences and that could go in several different directions, which is always a good option.

Post match the beatdown is on until Drake Maverick makes the save with a pipe. Maverick is beaten down as well but Dain gets the pipe to chase the Era off. Maverick slowly gets up and offers a handshake but Dain punches him out.

Back at the dinner, the ladies toast a new beginning until Candice throws a salad at her. Nox eats some lettuce and throws a drink at Candice, so here’s Johnny to interrupt. That earns him a bowl of spaghetti over the head so Candice throws something at Nox, only to hit and break the TV instead. Nox bails and Candice chases after her as Johnny looks at the broken screen.

Damien Priest thinks Timothy Thatcher is ugly and his game plan is pretty easy: hit Thatcher in the face and make him uglier than he already is. Priest promises a sweet Reckoning for Thatcher before the celebration can continue. Of course the interviewer is invited to join in.

Next week: Thatcher vs. Priest for the North American Title, Imperium challenges Breezango for the Tag Team Titles and Io Shirai vs. Shotzi Blackheart in a non-title match.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Rhea Ripley

In a cage with Robert Stone at ringside. Martinez goes for some weapons to start but Rhea is right there to jump her from behind. A table and some chairs go inside the cage with them and Ripley closes the door herself. Martinez sends her into the steel but Ripley does the same and then sends her in again for a bonus. The fisherman’s suplex gets Martinez out of trouble and she powerbomb Rhea out of the corner as we take a break.

Back with Ripley throwing a chair at Martinez’s face to catch her on top. The running dropkick sends Martinez into the cage and her HEAD gets caught between the cage walls. Rhea pulls her out (without ripping off an ear) and hits a top rope superplex for a delayed two. Martinez is back with a spinebuster and they’re both down again.

It’s Rhea up first and she grabs the Prism Trap until Martinez grabs the kendo stick to break it up. Stone tries to interfere but gets caught climbing, allowing Ripley to beat him up on top of the cage. Martinez catches her up top though and grabs a super neckbreaker to put both of them down again. The table is set up in the middle of the ring and Ripley loads up a fisherman’s superplex. That’s countered into a super Riptide (dang) through the table to finish Martinez at 14:21.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match and a lot of that has to do with the atmosphere. You had two big, strong women beating the heck out of each other for a good while in a hard hitting fight. That’s what they advertised this as being and Ripley looked like the star that she most often does. The big spots all worked and the ending looked great. I’m not sure what more you could ask for here, aside from maybe no Stone interference as he felt out of place, but other than that, this was a heck of a fight and felt like a main event.

Overall Rating: A-. To coin a phrase, this was NXT. This felt like the old days of the classic shows with the big matches delivering (to put it mildly) and the undercard working as well. What mattered the most about the undercard stuff was not only did they build things for the future, but they built reasons for these people to dislike each other for the future.

You had Thatcher’s film session, the Gargano House dinner, Breezango and Imperium’s dueling promos and the Shirai/Blackheart staredown. Those are different (enough) ways to set up feuds for the future and they made me want to see some of the matches. This was the tightest show NXT has put together in a long time and if this is what they can do unopposed, load up the moving truck and get the directions to every Tuesday night.

Oh and one more thing that helps a bit here: the evolution of Damien Priest. He has turned into this guy who is all about the party and the celebration, but there was no big moment and announcement of the change. Instead, you just saw him starting to act differently and NXT didn’t treat you like a moron who needed every tiny detail explained to you. That’s just who Priest is now and people are going with it because it was an acceptable evolution of where he went. Commentary isn’t beating you over the head with it and he’s rolling along with the change. Little things like that make a show so much easier to watch.

Results

Finn Balor b. Adam Cole – Super 1916

Velveteen Dream b. Ashante Adonis – Dream Valley Driver

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Top rope splash

Roderick Strong b. Killian Dain – Jumping knee

Rhea Ripley b. Mercedes Martinez – Super Riptide through a table

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

http://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2019/08/26/new-book-and-e-book-kbs-complete-2004-monday-night-raw-reviews/

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: August 26, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix

We’re past Takeover: XXX and that means it’s time to get back to a little more normal around here. Karrion Kross is the new NXT Champion, Keith Lee is gone and Tommaso Ciampa is back so…maybe the normal isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. This could be an interesting show, including a Tag Team Title match. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Takeover recap.

Here are Scarlett and Karrion Kross, with his arm in a sling, to open things up. Kross told us that he would become NXT Champion and that on the way there, everyone would suffer. That’s what he did at Takeover but when you go to war, you expect casualties. Hence his separated shoulder, which is going to prevent him from defending the NXT Title.

There are obstacles on the path, but to him, the obstacles are the path. Kross lays the title down and Scarlett puts the hourglass next to it. Kross says this changes nothing because everyone pays the toll. Tick tock. Well dang. This could get interesting in a hurry. That’s horrible to hear for Kross though as no one deserves that kind of an injury just after they reach the peak (so far) of their career.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium vs. Breezango

Breezango is challenging and jump the champs during the entrances. We get the opening bell with Breezango cleaning house until Barthel armbars Breeze down. That earns him a dropkick though and we take an early break. Back with Fandango fighting out of a chinlock but getting double teamed back down. That doesn’t last long as Fandango gets over for the hot tag to Breeze as the pace picks up.

A jumping knee rocks Barthel but Breeze has to avoid running into the referee. The delay lets Barthel hit a suplex, only to dive into the Beauty Shot for two. Aichner makes the save and comes in to pound away as he is known to do. Breeze knees him down though and Fandango tags himself in for the guillotine legdrop to Aichner. Barthel pulls him to the floor though, meaning Fandango hits a dive. That earns him a hard suplex on the floor though and we take a break.

Back with Fandango still in trouble as Aichner hits the middle rope moonsault for two. Breeze makes the save but gets uppercutted out to the floor as Barrett mentions wrestling with Breeze all the way back in FCW. Aichner and Barthel’s double team hits each other though and Breeze superkicks them both. Fandango comes in with the double Last Dance for the pin and the titles at 15:17.

Rating: C. They had to do something like this at some point as Breezango have lost and lost over the years. Throw in the fact that Imperium have been pretty worthless champions since they won the belts. It isn’t that they’re bad in the ring or anything close, but they haven’t been interesting and they have been downright forgetful at times. This was a necessary change and they picked a good night to do it.

The new champs dance on the announcers’ desk.

Damian Priest says the after party is still going. Cue Timothy Thatcher who seems to want a title shot.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Jake Atlas

Ciampa jumps him at the bell and unloads on him in the corner. Willow’s Bell finishes at 52 seconds.

Post match Ciampa destroys Atlas even more, including sending him knees first into the steps a few times. Ciampa even catapults him throat first into the bottom of the ring, meaning we need a stretcher job as the fans chant for Ciampa anyway. Since he’s extra evil, Ciampa pulls Atlas off the stretcher with another Willow’s Bell on the floor.

Candice LeRae talks about her friendship with Tegan Nox over the years, including going to a castle in Wales. Now Nox doesn’t get her anymore though, as Nox wasn’t there when Candice needed her. LeRae is going down the right path now and LeRae can do things the Gargano Way too. If she doesn’t want to though, just stay out of LeRae’s way. Has LeRae always been able to talk like this?

Bronson Reed thinks he should get the first NXT Title shot since he has beaten Damien Priest. Cue the returning Austin Theory to say Reed is taking some steps in the right direction and maybe he can have a title shot by the time he’s about fifty five. Reed slaps the taste out of his mouth.

Mia Yim vs. Mercedes Martinez

Hang on though as here are Robert Stone and Aliyah to say not so fast. Mercedes isn’t getting in the ring after that powerbomb from Rhea Ripley last week…and here’s Shotzi Blackheart to run Stone over with the tank again. We have a replacement.

Mia Yim vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shotzi takes her down to start and hits Welcome To The Ball Pit but Yim is right back with a running hurricanrana. Mia rolls her up for two and they both catch kicks to the ribs. They set them down so Yim gets in a cheap shot and hammers away in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip out of the corner has Shotzi in more trouble with the knee banged up. Yim grabs a bow and arrow but Blackheart is back up with a discus forearm. That earns her a quick suplex as Yim throws her down again. Yim goes up but gets pulled down, setting up a backsplash to the back. A top rope backsplash finishes Yim at 4:31.

Rating: C-. The more I see of Shotzi, the more I like her. She has gone from looking like another strange wrestler with weird hair to being one of the more charismatic women in the division. I can’t imagine that she is going to be near the top of the division anytime soon, but there is nothing wrong with having a star in the making. Not the greatest match, but it’s a big win for Blackheart and that’s a good sign.

William Regal has a decision on the NXT Title.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez say they’re a team but Kai promises to become NXT Women’s Champion. As for tonight, Gonzalez is ready to settle things with Rhea Ripley.

Here’s Regal to announce a solution to the NXT Title. It is a shame that Kross had to vacate the title and Regal wishes him the best on his long recovery. As for the title though, there will be a four way match next week (on Tuesday) to crown a new champion. The four of them can all claim to be the best ever in NXT and they could all claim to be the face of NXT. Those four are Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor and Adam Cole. Oh and for a bonus: it’s a four way, sixty minute Iron Man match.

Barrett is so excited that he will be back next week to call the match.

Cruiserweight Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Santos Escobar

Escobar is defending and is on his own this week. Scott wastes no time in hurricanranaing him out to the floor and we take an early break. Back with Escobar working a headlock but getting reversed into something like a Gory Stretch. That’s broken up so Scott goes for the short armscissors which sends Escobar to the floor. Escobar catches him with a toss from the apron into the Plexiglas though and Scott is in trouble.

A drop onto the steps gives Escobar two back inside and the pace slows down a bit. Scott manages to grab a knuckle lock and they both go to the middle rope. That means an attempt at a jumping hurricanrana from Scott but Escobar reverses into a super sitout powerbomb for another near fall as we take another break. Back with Escobar hammering away against the ropes but Scott reverses and unloads in the corner. A backbreaker sends Escobar outside again and the Fosbury Flop takes him down.

Back in and the rolling Downward Spiral gives Scott two more but here is the rest of Legado for the distraction. A jumping superkick gives Escobar two so here is Breezango to take out Legado. Scott’s jumping knee to the face gets two and a bridging German suplex is good for the same. The House Call gives Scott another two and a flipping slam out of the corner gets yet another near fall. Escobar bails to the floor and puts on a mask, which seems to be loaded. A headbutt knocks Scott silly to retain the title at 16:45.

Rating: B-. They did a nice job here and the false finish off the Legado interference was well done. Escobar cheating on his own to retain gives him another way to keep the title and that’s a good thing for him. You can have the goons if you want but at some point you have to win on your own, which he did here (cheating included). Scott could get a rematch and that’s a good thing, mainly because I’m not sure who else there is to go after the title.

Johnny Gargano is ready to go after the title and remind everyone who he is. He has been the Iron Man for years and next Tuesday, he’ll have the title to prove it.

Finn Balor says he’ll rise to the occasion. Next week the four cornerstones are ready to fight but he’ll prove that he is the centerpiece.

Kyle O’Reilly vs. Drake Maverick

Fallout from the Undisputed Era interrupting Maverick’s match and Bobby Fish/Roderick Strong are here too. Maverick unloads on him to start and dropkicks the knee to send O’Reilly outside. The big flip dive from the top takes out the rest of the Era but O’Reilly is back with the strikes inside. Maverick’s comeback is cut off with a whip into the corner and the striking continues. A quick Underdog attempt is countered though and O’Reilly rolls into an Achilles Lock. Maverick hammers away but can’t get out, forcing the tap at 3:27.

Rating: C-. This wasn’t bad while it lasted and that’s a good sign for Maverick. Even when he’s losing (in other words, every time he isn’t on 205 Live), he has a lot of energy going in the ring and that’s something you can always go for. The match was more about O’Reilly than anything else, but Maverick looked good in defeat.

Post match the beatdown is on but O’Reilly tries to call off the troops. Cue Killian Dain (who Maverick was facing when the Era interfered two weeks ago) for the save. Maverick pulls himself up but Dain beats him up as well.

We look back at the Women’s Title match at Takeover.

Rhea Ripley is ready for Raquel Gonzalez.

Adam Cole is glad to be done with Pat McAfee and is ready to get his title back. He is the Iron Man and that is undisputed.

Io Shirai/Rhea Ripley vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Ripley throws Kai aside to start and gets the big lockup with Gonzalez. A headbutt rocks Gonzalez so she shoves Ripley into the corner, where Shirai tags herself in. The middle rope hurricanrana sends Gonzalez outside and we take a break. Back with Ripley swinging away at Kai but getting pulled to the floor by Gonzalez. That means a ram into various things and they head back inside to keep up the beating.

Kai grabs a rollup for two and slaps on a seated abdominal stretch. Gonzalez comes back in but gets kicked in the head by Rhea, allowing the hot tag to Shirai. Everything breaks down and Shirai hits the running knees in the corner to Gonzalez, followed by a 619 to Kai. A scorpion kick gets Kai out of trouble but Shirai blocks the Kairopractor. Shirai’s German suplex gets two but Gonzalez takes her back into the corner.

Shirai tries to dive over for the hot tag but the referee doesn’t see it, meaning she is taken back over to keep up the beating. Cue Mercedes Martinez to pull Ripley off the apron and Gonzalez plants Kai with a spinning powerslam for two. Ripley is back up to take the tag but she trips on her way in and gets kicked in the face. Gonzalez’s powerbomb finishes Ripley at 10:03.

Rating: C. Things are getting interesting in this division as they have multiple stories going on but they are starting to tie together at the same time. Gonzalez pinning Ripley, even with some cheating, is going to be a good deal as she and Kai continue the Diesel/Shawn formula. Throw in Kai and the title plus Martinez and you might have some good things going on in a hurry.

Overall Rating: B-. So last week’s show was rather slow paced and didn’t have much going on. This was the polar opposite and that is a great thing, because they hit the ground running coming out of Takeover. Now that being said, it is a shame to see this happen after Kross’ injury because that is never a good thing to see. Almost everything else worked well though with a title match, a return, and the announcement of a huge match for next week. Solid, energized show here and if the in-ring product was better, they could have had a great one.

Results

Breezango b. Imperium – Last Dance to Aichner

Tommaso Ciampa b. Jake Atlas – Willow’s Bell

Shotzi Blackheart b. Mia Yim – Top rope backsplash

Santos Escobar b. Isaiah Scott – Headbutt with a loaded mask

Kyle O’Reilly b. Drake Maverick – Achilles lock

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Rhea Ripley/Io Shirai – Pumphandle powerbomb to Ripley

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