WrestleCon Supershow 2022
Date: March 31, 2022
Location: Fairmont Hotel, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Veda Scott

This is one of the biggest and most interesting shows of Wrestlemania Weekend as you do not know what you are going to get on any given show. Some of the matches are going to be announced in advance, but sometimes you are just going to get some wrestlers without opponents. This is the non-WWE ticket I make sure to get every year and this was no exception. Let’s get to it.

I was in the arena for this show, sitting opposite the main screen about five rows back.

One more note: after the show was over, the fans would be allowed to vote on their choice for best match. The wrestlers in that match would split $5,000, which seems to be a legitimate prize. It worked for Kip Allen Frye and it should work here too.

We open with the traditional graphic for the show as we wait on the feed to start. The music that was being played in the arena still going on in the background does help a bit.

The video starts with a look at Mark Hitchcock, a graphic designer who worked for WrestleCon but passed away on his honeymoon. The show is named in his honor, though the introduction of the tribute isn’t included here.

Mike Bailey vs. Bandido

Bad start to the show: ignore Bret Hart’s music starting for no apparent reason, plus the ring announcer introducing Bandido as Bailey’s video plays on the wall. Commentary talks about how they’re supposed to be impartial, but Veda might be about to marry Bailey in a few months. They start with the handshake but then start the fast pace with neither being able to hit much of anything.

With that not working, they wind up on the apron less than a minute in with Bandido missing a baseball slide, allowing Bailey to jump to the top for a moonsault out to the floor (that was some sweet timing). They walk around the ring with Bailey firing off some kicks to the chest. Back in and they chop it out until Bandido drops back to avoid a shot to the face, allowing him to nip up in a great looking sequence.

Bandido grabs a delayed vertical suplex….and by delayed I mean he holds Bailey up for 64 seconds before dropping him for a double knockdown. Back up and Bailey hits a running shot to the mask but Bandido grabs Three Amigos into the Eddie dance. There’s the frog splash to give Bandido two but Bailey counters the X Knee. The bouncing kicks rock Bandido, who is right back with a pop up cutter to put both of them down again.

They go to the floor and trade back to back to back to back dives (because of course) and they need a breather. It’s time for the required fight on the apron, including the chop off. Bailey takes him down and hits the moonsault double knees on the apron, only to miss the Ultimate Weapon (taking a rather hard landing on his knees). A big spinning faceplant sends Bailey out to the apron again, where a pop up cutter kind of drops Bailey face first.

Back in and the 21 Plex gives Bandido two and the kickout leaves him stunned. Bailey kicks him down and misses the Ultimate Weapon but settles for moonsault knees to the ribs. Shooting star knees to the ribs gets two and the Flamingo Driver (similar to the One Winged Angel) gives Bailey the same. Bandido is back up with some running knees and a release 21 Plex, setting up the super moonsault World’s Strongest Slam for the pin at 16:21.

Rating: B. This is a show where I’m going to be a good bit lighter on the ratings as this is all designed to be a bunch of one off matches. That was on display here, as they were doing everything they could and trying to fit in a bunch of spots. In that regard, they had a heck of a match here that had the crowd fired up, even if Bailey’s idea of selling his knee is grabbing it in between flips. Bandido continues to be amazing in just about everything he does and this was a lot of fun.

Post match fans throw money in the ring and, after seemingly realizing that it is cash instead of garbage, Bailey seems really taken aback. They split the money and show respect as Veda Scott takes some jabs at how expensive everything is at the hotel (hence why I stayed out of the restaurant).

And now, here is Bret Hart as a special ambassador. Bret comes to the stage, thanks the fans for being here, and wishes us a good night. He might have been out there for thirty seconds.

Mia Yim vs. Athena

Athena is better known as Ember Moon and is the hometown girl. We get a dueling chant before the bell with Athena dancing to her own chants. They mirror each other to start before going to a test of strength with Athena taking her down. Yim’s bridge holds up so they go to an exchange of wristlocks instead. Athena hits some cartwheel knees to the ribs and we’re already in a chinlock.

That’s broken up and Yim drives her into the corner before hitting a dropkick out to the floor. Athena has a seat at ringside and the chase lets her post Yim rather hard. Some right hands set up something like a standing Crossface, followed by Athena’s running forearm in the corner. Yim is back with the Tarantula but Athena breaks that up and hits a quick Downward Spiral.

The Koji Clutch goes on and is broken up just as fast, setting up a Boston crab from Yim. Back up and they hit stereo crossbodies for a quick double down. Yim is fine enough to hit a running big boot in the corner, setting up a Cannonball for two. The package piledriver is countered into an Alabama Slam so Athena goes up.

That’s broken up with a super hurricanrana attempt, which is countered into a super hurricanrana, which is countered into a super sitout powerbomb for two. The stunned Athena shoves Yim into the referee, meaning it’s time to grab a chair. That’s taken away and the distraction lets Yim hit the package piledriver for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: B-. Athena isn’t someone who has been around very much lately but she can still go in the ring. Yim would fit the same description, as she can have a good to quite good match with anyone but for some reason neither are in a major promotion at the moment. I could go for either of them somewhere else, as this was a good, back and forth match that kept me interested.

Post match Athena gets a nice show of respect.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Tomohiro Ishii

This is going to hurt. Feeling out process to start with Thatcher using the height advantage to grab a quickly broken nerve hold. A headlock takeover works a bit better for Thatcher but Ishii is back with a Kimura, sending Thatcher straight to the ropes. They forearm/uppercut it out until Thatcher snaps off a belly to belly for two. A short armscissors keeps Ishii down as Scott puts over Thatcher’s abilities to hurt people in so many ways.

Thatcher kicks him to the apron but Ishii is back in with a suplex (not the brainbuster for some reason) for two. We get the big slugout until Ishii punches an enziguri out of the air. Thatcher is fine enough to snatch an ankle lock, which is reversed into another ankle lock. That’s broken up as well and now the enziguri can connect, setting up a cross armbreaker to put Ishii in more trouble.

A Fujiwara armbar sends Ishii over to the ropes again (you don’t see him do that very often) but he’s back with a clothesline into an enziguri. The sliding lariat gets two but the brainbuster attempt is countered into the Fujiwara armbar. Ishii counters that as well, setting up the brainbuster for the pin at 12:52.

Rating: B. This is a good example of a match where you know what you’re getting when you sign up for it and that is what we got here. Ishii and Thatcher know how to hurt people and they make it look really easy to do so. I could go for Thatcher showing up somewhere else as he is the kind of person wrestler that can always be added to a roster for some depth. Ishii is long established and he gave you what you’re needing here. Good, hard hitting match.

Scott talks about how there are matches that make her want to get in the ring and compete, whereas that one makes her glad to have this comfy chair.

Johnny WrestleCon vs. Taya Valkyrie

This is a Dirty Dishes match with the loser having to do the dishes for the rest of their lives. Before the match, Taya says they have been married for about five years and when they first got married, Johnny was so nice. Shopping trips, nice dinners, even making the bed. So what happened? Johnny has gotten so lazy that he can’t clean up after himself and can’t even, ahem, clean himself in certain areas.

As proof of how much of a slob he is, Taya has brought THEIR DIRTY DISHES to the show, with a bunch of people bringing them out. Johnny: “YOU BROUGHT OUR DISHES TO DALLAS???” Johnny laughs at the idea of Taya having to be right all the time and says ring the bell.

Feeling out process to start as the fans shout about JOHNNY DISHES. Johnny chills on top and they shout at each other until Taya hits a heck of a chop. Taya gets shoved down into the corner but she knocks him into another corner for some running knees. And now, it’s time for some dirty dishes (Ian: “Can’t they just hire someone to clean them?”) but Johnny smashes a plate over Taya’s head.

The flipping neckbreaker gives Johnny two as the fans dub him JOHNNY DOGHOUSE. A coffee cup is broken over Taya’s head but she kicks him to the apron. Johnny knocks her down again and busts out some sponges to rake the skin off of Taya’s back. Some Clorox to the back makes it even worse but Taya is back up with a spear. Two bottles are broken over Johnny’s head for two (Scott: “Why is he kicking out??? JUST DO THE D*** DISHES JOHNNY!”) and it’s time to spray some more cleaning stuff in Johnny’s face.

The cookie sheet is brought in but Taya hits La Mistica into the broken glass. Johnny blocks a kick and knocks Taya down into the splits, setting up some hip gyrations. That doesn’t do much for Taya, who hits him low and puts a bucket on his head for a DDT. A Canadian Destroyer with the bucket on Johnny’s head gets two but the referee gets taken down. Therefore the Road To Valhalla gets no cover, allowing Johnny to hit him in the face with a glass.

Johnny puts the bottles on her stomach and hits Starship Pain, which winds up being a rather bad idea. Hold on as Johnny grabs a mic and asks for a kitchen sink to be brought in. We get a rather large sink brought in but a Skull Crushing Finale (nice) onto the sink is countered with a Stunner. Taya hammers away and hits him with a bunch of plates, setting up the curb stomp onto the sink for the pin at 14:31.

Rating: B. This one is much more about the fun than the quality and that is the kind of match you need to have at the WrestleCon Supershow. Seeing the two of them go completely over the top and have that much fun with a match is all you could expect here. It was a novelty match but I had a blast with it both live and watching it back. Good stuff here that didn’t take itself seriously in any way.

Johnny: “I HATE DISHES! But I love you.”

The ring announcer explains how to vote on the Match of the Night and the $5,000 prize.

We have another WrestleCon ambassador: Jushin Thunder Liger, and yes the fans seem to like him. I met him earlier in the day so this was a cool surprise again. Liger shows up, takes some bows, and leaves.

Michael Oku/Laredo Kid/Rey Horus vs. Josh Alexander/Black Taurus/Ace Austin

Lucha rules and Ring Of Honor’s Cary Silkin is on commentary but I can’t hear a word he’s saying. Taurus misses a charge to start and gets armdragged down by Kid. A headbutt into a snap powerslam drops Kid and it’s off to Horus, who gets smacked in the face. Horus knocks Taurus (and yes commentary plays up the rhyme) to the floor for the big dive, meaning it’s off to Oku for a running kick to Austin’s face.

Alexander comes in and kicks Oku in the face to even things up, setting up a powerbomb onto the knee. Everything breaks down and Alexander and company clean house, leaving Taurus to hit a pop up Samoan drop on Oku. Silkin’s mic is fixed as Oku manages to stack up all three opponents and half crab (his finisher) all of them at once). Horus is back in with the satellite DDT on Taurus, setting up the huge dive over the post to take out Austin.

That doesn’t keep Austin down as he’s back up with some flips on the apron to kick away at Horus and Kid. Oku takes Austin down so Taurus hits a huge corkscrew suicide dive. Back in and Taurus hits a running crucifix bomb (cool) on Kid as commentary actually tries to keep track of who is legal. Alexander Death Valley Drivers Kid and Horus at the same time but Oku dives in with a top rope splash.

Austin hits Oku with a spinning slam but Horus catches him with a Spanish Fly for two. The Tower of Doom is loaded up but the people come crashing down instead (on purpose), leaving Taurus to hit a super gorilla press on Horus. Oku makes the save though and it’s back to back to back top rope splashes to finish Taurus at 13:08.

Rating: B. Much like the previous match, this is what you should have expected when you saw this match added to the card. They didn’t bother with the tagging and such and it would have been ridiculous to try and do so. I haven’t seen much of Oku but he seems to be pretty good at this wrestling thing. The other five were all awesome and it was a treat to see Alexander live, even if he was replacing Jonathan Gresham. Heck of a match here, again.

BUY THE HIGHSPOTS VIDEO NETWORK! No really, it’s a heck of a deal for about $10 a month.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Biff Busick

This is going to hurt too. You might remember Busick as Oney Lorcan from NXT but he’s a bit more fun outside of WWE. They start slowly as Scott talks about Busick being busted open in a match earlier today. Suzuki grinds away on a headlock before switching over to a leglock as he has a thing about hurting limbs.

The threat of a Kimura doesn’t quite click as Suzuki gets caught in a headscissors, which is broken up for a standoff. Busick grabs a slam but has to escape an armbar over the ropes. They head outside with Busick being sent face first into the announcers’ table as Busick is busted open (again).

Back in and Suzuki drives an elbow into Busick’s head, setting up the Kimura. Suzuki switches to another armbar, allowing Busick to make it over to the ropes. The running elbows stagger Suzuki and it’s a half and half suplex into a half crab. Make that an STF as Busick goes Samoa Joe. Suzuki gets the legs free and makes the ropes, setting up a running kick to the chest. The chop off is on, with Busick staggering a lot more than Suzuki. Busick’s half and half doesn’t mean much as Suzuki hits another chop, setting up the Gotch style piledriver for the pin at 14:37.

Rating: B-. This was another good one but it felt a bit too much like the Ishii vs. Thatcher match. That being said, it was a hard hitting fight as Suzuki hurting people is always worth a look. Busick is someone else who didn’t quite get to be himself in WWE, though the lite version was still pretty good while it lasted. Another hard hitting match here and I had fun with it.

Team PCO vs. Team Onita

PCO, NZO, Jimmy Wang Yang, Barry Horowitz, Dirty Dango
Atsushi Onita, Rock N Roll Express, Juice Robinson, Colt Cabana

So this is….a choice. The ten person tag is the signature WrestleCon Supershow match as the captains get to pick their teams. Before the match, NZO gets in his catchphrase because…well why else is he here? Horowitz, who looks even more ancient than he is, comes out to We Are The Champions for a nice touch. Ian would also like to know how PCO could possibly know Dango but forgets all about that when Cabana comes out, turning Ian into a cheerleader for his former broadcast partner. Onita also has his chainsaw carrier with him for a bonus.

Cabana and Horowitz start things off with Cabana hugging one of his heroes. Horowitz tries to lock up but Cabana grabs the hand for a pat on the back instead. Robinson and Dango come in with Robinson working on a wristlock. A sunset flip gives us a crazy balancing act from Dango, who manages to turn it into some dancing. Cabana isn’t having that and comes in to catapult Robinson’s head up for a low blow (always funny) to take over.

It’s off to NZO to take Dango down and walk on his back, before handing it off to Yang for some COWBOY S***! Yang hammers away with some right hands in the corner and it’s off to PCO. Robinson tries to chop with him for some bizarre reason before handing it to Onita. The mist staggers PCO and they brawl to the floor for a pretty horrible DDT (with Onita losing him on the way down). Back in and Morton gets the tag, only to have NZO break up the double….uh, something.

Dango gets to pound Morton into the corner and hip grinds on his head for a bit. NZO misses a charge into the post though and the hot tag brings in Gibson so everything can break down. PCO cleans house and hits some suicide dives, setting up the Deanimator for two on Robinson. The chair is brought in but the PCOsault only hits mat, meaning Onita can come in. They mistime…something, until Onita kicks the chair into Dango’s face. The mist sets up a Stunner to give Onita the pin at 12:18.

Rating: D+. I know the match looked good on paper and was probably a funny idea, but this didn’t work whatsoever in execution and it was a huge misfire. A bunch of the people were either so broken down that they couldn’t move or just looked sad out there. This match tends to be the big showcase of the WrestleCon Supershow but this came off like a joke and that was more disappointing than anything else.

Post match Onita mists Yang and beats him into the crowd. That leaves Dango to get the Fandango music….and Summer Rae of all people comes to the ring to dance with him for some old times’ sake.

Rottweilers vs. Briscoes

You really can feel the energy when the Briscoes come out, as they are one of the most charismatic teams you will ever find. Hold on though, as we need to get to one of the most infamous moments of the weekend. Homicide seems to flip off a fan at ringside (though he might have been aiming at the Briscoes) but then Low Ki starts shouting at the fan. Said fan (in the front row) slams something against the barricade and Low Ki drops to the floor to get in his face.

The referee has to hold Low Ki back and Low Ki threatens to f*** the fan up. The rest of the fans egg Low Ki on and he goes outside again as the fan is taken out by part of the production team. With the fan gone, Low Ki sits in his front row seat before getting back on the apron. The bell FINALLY rings and commentary gets to talk again, as they were mostly silent during the whole thing.

Hold on again though as Homicide grabs the mic and says put that CENSORED in the front row. Homicide: “I F***** YOUR GIRL LAST NIGHT!” Low Ki says put him in the front row and adds an “oh good you’re back.” The fan shouts something else at Low Ki, who points out that he’s the one in the ring (though he’s on the apron at the moment) while the fan is the one paying to watch (fair point).

I actually got to talk to Low Ki the next day and he said that the whole thing was real, to the point where even the locker room wasn’t sure what happened after the show. Apparently the fan flipping him off was the point of no return and while Low Ki was working a bit, he was still mad about the whole thing.

With ALL of that out of the way, Mark and Low Ki trade arm control to start. Low Ki tries to roll out but Mark holds back, only to get pulled into an armbreaker over the ropes. With that broken up, Low Ki kicks him out of the corner and it’s Jay coming in for a running big boot. The Rottweilers are sent outside where they throw in a bunch of chairs. Jay likes this idea and grabs the mic, saying let’s make this No DQ. Doesn’t work for Homicide (brother) so Mark gets a running start and flip dives onto the Rottweilers on the floor.

The bell is rung on Low Ki’s head (right in front of the unruly fan) but Mark chairs Jay by mistake. We settle down to the Rottweilers elbowing Jay until Mark makes the save with a chair (as we seem to have hit No DQ by default). Everything breaks down and Jay superkicks Low Ki, who might have lost a tooth. The Doomsday Device is broken up but Homicide is sent to the floor, leaving Low Ki to have his Jay Drilled. The Froggy Bow gives Mark the pin at 12:00.

Rating: B-. Once we got all of the insanity out of the way, the match wound up being the pretty good stuff that you would have expected. You don’t see a bad Briscoes match and they were doing their usual stuff here, albeit against a team that you have to be an old school ROH fan to remember. The problem with that was the thing at the beginning, which took me completely out of the match and is all I could remember about the thing. Kind of a shame, but if Low Ki was going for memorable, he certainly got it.

Overall Rating: A-. Ten man tag and pre-main event fiasco aside, this was a heck of a show that did exactly what it was supposed to do. We got a bunch of solid wrestling with a nice mixture of things to make it work. The WrestleCon Supershow is designed to be a big mash up of all kinds of fun and wacky matches and that is what we had here. Heck of a show, but skip that ten man tag and the Low Ki stuff, as it really drags things down.

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NXT
Date: August 24, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Takeover has come and gone and I have no idea what to expect next. Everything is about to be turned upside down around here and there is a good chance that we are going to be seeing something completely different going forward. That might be a good thing, but it is certainly going to be an eventful thing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

Ted DiBiase and Cameron Grimes arrive and we follow them into the ring. DiBiase talks about how people have wanted to see what he wanted around here. He is here because he saw something in Grimes, who kept getting back up. That is why he is now the Million Dollar Champion, which the fans seem to like. Grimes talks about how DiBiase drove him nuts when he got here, which DiBiase says was a test.

Instead of learning, Grimes got distracted by the money and the stuff, and now he has the accomplishment to back it up. At Takeover, the two of them took care of LA Knight and now he has the title to prove it. Now though, it is time to go TO THE MOON, and Cameron Grimes Bucks are launched at the crowd. Beth to Barrett: “You can buy a new gavel!”

We get the long Takeover recap video.

Ridge Holland vs. Timothy Thatcher

Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa are here too. An exchange of shoulders doesn’t get them anywhere so Holland goes with the slam to send Thatcher’s legs into the ropes. Back up and a running elbow gives Holland two but a belly to belly gives Thatcher a breather. A knee to the ribs cuts Holland down again and it’s time to work on the arm.

Holland grabs Thatcher’s arm and grabs a clothesline though and we take a break with Thatcher on the floor. Back with Thatcher winning a slugout and hitting his own slam to send the legs into the ropes. The half crab goes on but a rope is grabbed in a hurry. Holland knocks a jumping enziguri out of the air and Northern Grit finishes Thatcher at 10:36.

Rating: C+. I can go for watching these two beat each other up as they know how to make things look physical. Holland is a good power guy and Thatcher is someone who can work well with anyone. You could mix these things up into various combinations and that is the way to keep a story moving for a long time to come.

Post match Ciampa comes in to save Thatcher but Oney Lorcan and the returning Danny Burch runs in for the big beatdown. Holland hits Thatcher in the arm with his club and gets in a shot to the throat as well. This is feeling like the groundwork to WarGames.

Carmelo Hayes is used to facing bigger people but he dubs himself the overdog instead of the underdog. This is a long time coming and he has put in the work to get here. If he wins tonight, it is still one match at a time and he will wind up with gold. Hayes sounds confident on the mic and if he can back it up in the ring with some personality, he should be fine.

Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis are ready to get married and have been making sandcastles on the beach. Lumis pulls out a wedding invitation with the wedding set for September 14. Beth: “WE HAVE A DATE!”

Kayden Carter/Kacy Catanzaro vs. Jacy Jayne/Gigi Dolin

Dolin rolls Carter up for two start but gets kicked in the head. Catanzaro and Carter tease double dives to the floor but bounce back in for some dancing. Dolin takes Catanzaro into the corner though and the beatdown is on, with Jayne calling her a little girl. Another shot to the face gets two on Catanzaro but she manages to get over to Carter for the hot tag. House is cleaned for a bit until Carter takes Jayne over to the corner for the neckbreaker/450 combination for the pin at 4:18.

Rating: C-. This was another fine win for Catanzaro and Carter, though calling them the Tik Tok Tag Team and showing their Tik Tok videos before the match doesn’t give me the most hope. They have turned into a pretty nice team over the last few months though and I’m curious to see how their eventual Tag Team Title shot goes.

Raquel Gonzalez knows it isn’t over with Dakota Kai because Kai is that tough. She has been waiting for Kay Lee Ray too and she can bring it. Cue Frankie Monet and company to say she doesn’t wait in line. She’s coming for the shine and the title.

Video on Kay Lee Ray.

We get a sitdown interview with Odyssey Jones, who knew he would get here one day. He just didn’t know how well it would go once he got here. Taking off the football helmet is a big change and his name comes from his energy. He isn’t thinking beyond tonight’s title match because he can’t look beyond Hayes.

Kay Lee Ray vs. Valentina Feroz

Ray goes after the arm to start and lifts Feroz off the mat with the arm cranking. Some forearms have no effect and it’s a gordbuster to drop Feroz again. Ray beats on her in the corner and Feroz’s feathers are falling off. A dropkick slows Ray down but she is right back with a superkick. The Gory Bomb finishes for Ray at 2:53. As it should have been.

Mandy Rose offers Gigi Dolin and Jayce Jane some advance. They shrug and follow her.

Here is new NXT Champion Samoa Joe for a chat. Joe talks about facing the most dominant NXT Champion of all time and taking him down at Takeover. Now he is the first ever three time NXT Champion but he is here to fight instead of celebrating. Someone needs to come out here and face him, so here is Pete Dunne to say he wants the next title match. Go get William Regal and have the match made.

Cue LA Knight to say Joe is running from the only megatstar in NXT and it would have taken him 43 seconds to dust Karrion Kross. He wants to be the first challenger and that means he will be the last challenger. Dunne to Knight: “Take one more step and I swear I’ll break every one of your fingers.”

Now it’s Kyle O’Reilly to say that Samoa Joseph, Peter Dunne and La (pronounced as one word, not two letters) Knight aren’t here to get a title shot. He mentions winning the Undisputed Finale but here is Ridge Holland to jump him from behind. Dunne and Joe are about to fight but Tommaso Ciampa runs in to go after Dunne, though Joe grabs the belt first. Holland comes in to headbutt Ciampa and Joe takes out Knight. I could go for a lot of this.

Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase are leaving when Grimes tries to give him the title back. DiBiase says it belongs to Grimes and hands it back…..but he switched it out for a replica and is keeping the real thing as he drives off. Grimes, with a smile: “That Ted DiBiase.” That’s a pretty perfect ending and hopefully they don’t keep the title around now that Grimes has gotten everything he needs out of it.

Duke Hudson jumps Kyle O’Reilly in the back but O’Reilly fights back and they have to be separated.

Breakout Tournament Finals: Carmelo Hayes vs. Odyssey Jones

William Regal is at ringside. The much smaller Hayes gets driven into the corner and sat on top for a bat on the chest. Hayes tries running the ropes but stops when he realizes what is waiting on him. Jones powers him into the corner again and a big toss sends him flying and then rolling out to the floor. Back in and Hayes scores with an enziguri but his springboard is knocked out of the air.

We take a break and come back with Hayes working on the leg in the corner. Jones misses a charge and gets caught in a sleeper to slow the big guy down. The fans are split as Hayes scores with a pump kick and a springboard clothesline but can’t put the big man down. An ax kick gets two on Jones but he is right back with a shoulder breaker. Jones misses a charge into the post though and a top rope ax kick puts him down again. Hayes can’t hit it twice in a row and gets crushed with the splash. That’s not quite enough though as Hayes grabs a crucifix for the pin at 10:32.

Rating: B-. Good showing here from Hayes, who looks very polished every time he is in there. Jones is going to be fine as he can go be an enforcer for just about anyone and make them look better. There wasn’t a bad choice here and both of them will likely be around for a good while to come. NXT needs some fresh talent too so this is something they should be doing.

Post match Regal hands Hayes his contract for a future title shot. Hayes says Jones is no joke but he isn’t sure who he is going to face first. He called his shot here and when he calls his shot, he doesn’t miss.

Pete Dunne, Ridge Holland, Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch are ready to hurt Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa.

Boa vs. Xyon Quinn

Boa kicks away in the corner to start but stops to look up at Mei Ying. The distraction lets Quinn hit a forearm for the upset pin at 1:13.

Quinn is smart enough to leave through the crowd instead of walking near Ying.

Johnny Gargano is in William Regal’s office and asks for a favor: stop the Dexter Lumis/Indi Hartwell wedding. They get in an argument over Gargano going nuts and how to pronounce bananas. LA Knight comes in to yell a lot and Regal throws both of them out. Regal: “Buffoons.”

Malcolm Bivens is overseeing a training session with Diamond Mine and the Creed Brothers. Next week, Roderick Strong is issuing another open challenge and he hopes Kushida is watching.

Hit Row vs. Legado del Fantasma

Legado starts the brawl before the bell and Top Dolla is triple teamed until B Fab makes a save. Ashante Adonis and Swerve pull Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde outside and the brawl is on. We settle down to Adonis hitting back to back monkey flips with Mendoza and Wilde being sent outside. A dropkick (which seems to miss) sends Wilde outside and it’s a flapjack on the floor to make it worse.

Legado needs a breather on the floor and we take a break. Back with Swerve caught in the Legado corner for a series of running clotheslines. A suplex drops Scott again and something like the old McGillicutter gets two. Scott counters a sunset flip and gets in a stomp to the chest, allowing the hot tag off to Dolla. Everything breaks down and Dolla carries ALL THREE members of Legado around at the same time (e pluribus gads), setting up a World’s Strongest Wasteland.

Adonis comes back in and gets caught with a double basement dropkick for two. Swerve and Escobar drawl in the ring as Dolla flip dives onto the rest of Legado. That leaves Swerve to 450 Escobar for two but Legado is sent outside. B Fab gets in a slap but here is Electra Lopez to hit B Fab with a pipe. Lopez throws the pipe to Swerve, but it’s a swerve so Escobar can roll him up with tights for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B. Some of that is for Top Dolla carrying around three grown men at the same time. The action was good throughout and they evened the numbers in the end too. These teams are getting a nice feud going and they could be in for a pretty major match down the line. Keep this thing going, probably including the eventual title showdown with Escobar vs. Swerve.

Overall Rating: B-. This was still the traditional NXT, but there are some new faces showing up. That isn’t a bad thing as NXT has really been needing a freshening up, but they need to get the transitional period down. Overall, a rather fun show with a mixture of stuff to make the two hours and change go by pretty quickly. They have the talent to make this work, but they are going to need to execute it really well over the next few weeks.

Results
Ridge Holland b. Timothy Thatcher – Northern Grit
Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter b. Gigi Dolin/Jacy Jayne – 450/neckbreaker combination to Jayne
Kay Lee Ray b. Valentina Feroz – Gory Bomb
Carmelo Hayes b. Odyssey Jones – Crucifix
Xyon Quinn b. Boa – Forearm
Legado del Fantasma b. Hit Row – Rollup with tights to Scott

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NXT
Date: July 27, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things got serious around here last week as NXT Champion Karrion Kross attacked William Regal to close the show. Samoa Joe is ready to destroy him as a result and that is all this needs to be. We are less than a month away from Takeover and that means it is time to start getting the card ready. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video recaps the end of last week’s show, as Karrion Kross left William Regal laying.

Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher vs. Pete Dunne/Oney Lorcan

Thatcher and Dunne get things going with neither being able to get very far on the mat. Ciampa and Lorcan come in with Ciampa grinding on a headlock. A shot to the face knocks Lorcan outside and the beating continues back inside. Ciampa wants Dunne, who comes in and blasts him with a clothesline. Everything breaks down for a second with Ciampa and Thatcher pounding away with forearms to the chest. Everyone heads outside with Dunne and Lorcan being sent into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Dunne surfboarding Thatcher so Lorcan can fire off more chops. Thatcher slips away and brings in Ciampa so everything can break down. Lorcan is sent outside, leaving Ciampa to go after Dunne’s arm. Thatcher and Lorcan brawl on the floor but the returning Ridge Holland takes Thatcher down. Lorcan is able to save Dunne and it’s the Bitter End to finish Ciampa at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was about people hitting each other hard and laying things in, which is why you have this match in the first place. The return is a nice twist too as we never got to see what Holland can do. Having him as the big bruising villain works out well and he could become a player around here in a hurry. Good brawl here, but the surprise is the important part.

Post match Lorcan and Dunne hold Ciampa back as Thatcher gets destroyed by Holland. The villains stand tall.

Carmelo Hayes is ready to win the Breakout Tournament.

Hit Row is ready to take apart Legado del Fantasma, with Top Dolla throwing in some Spanish.

Here is Samoa Joe to set up a table and chair in the ring. He knows Kross isn’t going to come do anything himself, so he would like William Regal out here right now. Cue Regal, with Joe saying he knows Regal is going to fire Kross. Joe has a better idea though, and it is in three steps.

First up, he presents Regal with his resignation as part of NXT management. Step two is another piece of paper, which needs Regal’s signature to bring Joe back to the main roster. Regal signs, which brings us to step three: signing Joe vs. Kross for Takeover, which Regal does as well. Regal didn’t say a word (at least not one we could hear).

Josh Briggs is ready to win the Breakout Tournament.

Earlier today, LA Knight and Cameron Grimes were on the golf course. Grimes is busy washing Knight’s (golf) balls and then gets confused by which club to use (Grimes: “Driver? I’m your driver!” Knight: “That’s a sand wedge.” Grimes: “Sandwich? Now you’re hungry?”). Grimes even throws out a $5,000 bet on Knight hitting it into the trees. Knight does just that and then yells at Grimes for mentioning it.

Breakout Tournament First Round: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs

Hayes is a cruiserweight and Briggs is a giant. Briggs slams him down to start so Hayes is back with some rights and lefts in the corner. A dropkick sends Briggs face first into the middle buckle and it’s time to go after Briggs’ knee. That just earns Hayes a backdrop to the floor for the crash. Back in and Hayes catches him with a springboard legdrop for two, setting up the front facelock. Briggs gets in a shot of his own though and we take a break.

Back with Duke Hudson, who faces the winner in the next round, on commentary as Briggs gets two off a splash. Hayes counters a powerbomb attempt with a hurricanrana into the corner, followed by a pair of enziguris. A Codebreaker gives Hayes two more and he hits a running boot in the corner. Briggs shows him how to hit a big boot and a chokeslam gets two. The side slam is countered into a faceplant and Hayes does it again for good measure. A top rope Fameasser gives Hayes the pin at 10:43.

Rating: B-. This was a power vs. speed match and that is wrestling 101. Hayes is someone who made an impact when he debuted a few weeks ago and he looked good again here. The high flying is effective as Hayes looks polished, which is what you could use in a tournament like this. Briggs is going to be fine as an enforcer of some kind and I’m sure he will be around in the future.

Frankie Monet is ready to take the Robert Stone Brand to the next level. Maybe they can even win the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter come up to say not so fast, because you can’t create chemistry like theirs.

Back on the golf course, Cameron Grimes imitates a commentator and LA Knight hits his ball into the water. Grimes cracks up, until Knight sends him after the ball. He finds the ball, but here is Ted DiBiase in a golf cart. DiBiase talks about how people like Knight are always going to hold people like Grimes down. Grimes was born to be a champion and DiBiase sees him as a fighter. Think about that. The wheels continue to turn on this one and that’s a good thing.

Here are Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez for a chat. Gonzalez talks about destroying Xia Li last week and wonders who is next. Bring them on, because no one is stopping her. Kai says Gonzalez is the most dominant woman in NXT history and lists off the greats of the women’s division.

This division is great because of one woman (though Kai doesn’t say who) and asks who is woman enough to challenge Gonzalez at Takeover. Kai says Gonzalez will be champion as long as she has Gonzalez’s back and posing ensues. Gonzalez turns around….and gets kicked in the face. Kai holds up the title and the fans seem to approve. This works.

Adam Cole thinks NXT is nuts right now, including Bronson Reed calling Cole his rebound. That’s not what Cole is because he is at the top of the mountain. Tonight, Reed is falling off of that mountain because he isn’t good enough. Cole doesn’t care about Reed’s fourteen year journey and tonight is another sad chapter.

Zoey Stark comes up to Io Shirai to ask for some partner bonding time. Shirai doesn’t seem convinced but eventually gives in.

Mandy Rose talks to Gigi Dolin and Jayce Jane until she has to throw the cameras out.

Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter vs. Jessi Kamea/Frankie Monet

Robert Stone is here with Kamea and Monet. Kacy takes Kamea down for an early two and brings in Carter for a rollup. Monet comes in for a DDT out of the corner to take over on Carter, including the running knees in the corner. Rights and lefts keep Carter in trouble, with Monet getting to shout. Hold on though as Stone throws in his purse (yes purse) to get her attention. The distraction lets Carter hit a pump kick, setting up the neckbreaker/450 combination for the pin at 3:29.

Rating: D+. I get what they’re going for with the story but egads did they need to have Monet take a fall here? There was no way to have this set up Kamea taking a fall? Or anything but Monet taking a pin? That feels like something they would do on Raw and that is not a good thing these days.

Wade Barrett had a sitdown interview with Malcolm Bivens and Roderick Strong. The Diamond Mine was perfect for Strong, because he was tired of the drama of the Undisputed Era. Bivens talks about how great of a talent Strong is and anyone, including William Regal, can understand that. Barrett asks about the Cruiserweight Title and Bobby Fish, so Strong promises to end Fish next week.

We look at Dakota Kai turning on Raquel Gonzalez.

Kai leaves without saying a word.

Hit Row vs. Imperium

Ashante Adonis and Top Dolla for Hit Row. Adonis starts with Marcel Barthel, who takes him into the corner. It’s quickly off to Fabian Aichner, who gets dropped with a neckbreaker for one. Dolla comes in for a jumping knee to drop Aichner and Adonis comes back in for a dropkick. Another neckbreaker is countered into a belly to back suplex but B Fab breaks up the double dropkick in the corner. Adonis uses the distraction to take Aichner down again and we take a break.

Back with Adonis having his spine bustered but he kicks Barthel away anyway. The ankle lock cuts off the hot tag though and Aichner adds an elbow to the back for two. The beating continues, including Barthel grabbing a butterfly suplex for two of his own. Adonis finally manages a backdrop though and the hot tag brings in Dolla to clean house. Dolla knee lifts Aichner and a side slam putts him down again. Adonis plants Barthel but here is Legado del Fantasma to take Adonis out. Dolla chases them off and the European Bomb finishes Adonis at 12:23.

Rating: C. Not the best match but you’re not going to have Imperium in there for something energized. I’m not wild on Hit Row losing but at least it wasn’t a clean loss. Hit Tor vs. Legado will be pretty awesome once we get there and Hit Row isn’t going to lose any kind of momentum as long as they can keep talking.

Post match Legado comes in for the beatdown until Swerve makes the save.

The Way is looking for Austin Theory, with Johnny Gargano saying he ran away from home. Indi Hartwell gets a present, which is a drawing of Dexter Lumis with the Way. Gargano freaks out and says no way, even as Hartwell asks them for a chance. Gargano: “NO CHANCE!” A match is set up with Gargano vs. Lumis, with Lumis’ inclusion in their lives seemingly on the line. Hartwell goes to find Lumis.

It’s back to the golf course where the Grizzled Young Veterans pop up to ask if they can pick up the pace. Just let LA Knight hit the ball into the woods again so we can move on. Cameron Grimes makes another bet on who can get it into the hole next, with $20,000 on the line.

Knight hits the ball into the water again, so Grimes busts out a gold ball and, after hitting Knight low with the club, knocks it into the hole with one shot (and hits Knight in the head with the club on the way back). Grimes blames Knight for the club shots so the Veterans bail in the golf cart. As usual, this feels like Knight and Grimes were given a script saying “hijinks on a golf course” with a few bullet points and told to fill in the gaps. It’s the best thing on this show because it doesn’t feel forced. This is how these two would act on a golf course and it works as a result.

Adam Cole vs. Bronson Reed

Reed runs him over to start and sends Cole flying with ease. That lets Reed sit on his chest for two, and then stay there despite the referee not counting due to a foot under the rope. A superplex is loaded up but Cole slips out and kicks the knee. We take a break and come back with Cole working on the knee, including a dragon screw legwhip.

Reed gets up and runs Cole over again to get a breather. A suplex drops Cole and Reed punches him in the corner, only to get kicked in the face for two. Reed chops away until Cole gets in a shot of his own. The Panama Sunrise gets two and Cole is stunned by the kickout. Back up and Reed blasts him with a clothesline to set up a powerbomb. The Tsunami misses though and the Last Shot gives Cole the pin at 11:19.

Rating: B. Another power vs. speed match here, with Cole being just smart enough to make the difference. Cole is primed for a huge match against Kyle O’Reilly at Takeover and Reed seems likely for the main roster. The good thing for Reed is that his size and that splash are going to be more than enough to carry him anywhere he needs to go, so this loss doesn’t do much damage.

Post match Cole poses, but here is Kyle O’Reilly to chair him down. A brainbuster onto the steps leaves Cole out cold to end the show. I’m not sure how popular that made O’Reilly.

Overall Rating: B+. The wrestling was good here and the antics on the golf course made it even better. This show felt much more NXTesque as they seem to know where they want to go and are taking steps to get there. Not only did stuff happen on this show, but stuff happened that advanced the stories and got us closer to a Takeover card. That’s where NXT shines and it is great to have that feeling back, even if it is just for a week.

Results
Oney Lorcan/Pete Dunne b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Bitter end to Ciampa
Carmelo Hayes b. Josh Briggs – Top rope Fameasser
Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter b. Frankie Monet/Jessi Kamea – 450/neckbreaker combination to Monet
Imperium b. Hit Row – European Bomb to Adonis
Adam Cole b. Bronson Reed – Last Shot

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

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NXT
Date: June 29, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the go home show for the Great American Bash and a lot of the card is either set or all but set. They still have a few hours to get the rest of it ready and that should work out well, though I’m not sure how much they are going to put on the show. Samoa Joe still has people to choke out too so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Io Shirai/Zoey Stark

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot next week. Moon and Shirai starts in on Gonzalez, who runs them both over with straight power. Blackheart comes in to springboard armdrag Gonzalez but Kai makes the save. Everything breaks down and they all brawl on the floor, setting up dives from Shirai and Moon, followed by a heck of a springboard dive from Stark to take everyone out.

We take a break and come back with Gonzalez in control over Blackheart and Shirai, including some running shoulders in the corner to the former. Shirai gets in a shot of her own though and Stark gets the hot tag to start cleaning house. A 619 rocks Kai and Shirai adds a springboard missile dropkick for two. Blackheart hits a reverse Sling Blade for two on Shirai and Moon comes in for stereo kicks to Kai and Shirai. A tiger suplex gives Blackheart two on Kai with Gonzalez making the save.

That means a quadruple teaming on Gonzalez until Kai makes the save, meaning it’s time to load up the Tower of Doom. Gonzalez breaks that up as well and Kai hits a heck of a top rope double stomp on Blackheart. Shirai is back up with a moonsault onto Gonzalez and Kai at the same time but Moon is back in with the Eclipse to Stark. Kai hits Moon with a running kick to the face for two, only to get palm striked down by Shirai. The Moon Over Moonsault finishes Kai to give Shirai the pin at 14:08.

Rating: C+. Believe it or not, a team with less than five matches together as team is getting a shot at the titles. I know that’s hard to fathom, but this is Shirai and Stark’s third match together, putting them ahead of some other challengers. The match was action packed enough and Gonzalez looked like a monster, which is exactly how she should be presented.

The Way jumps Karrion Kross in the back. Referees break it up and Kross swears revenge.

The Breakout Tournament is coming back in two weeks. Cool, though we don’t get any brackets.

Bronson Reed is happy with the tournament being back but Hit Row comes in to ask how he got the title. That would be hard work, but Top Dolla (or Dolla King according to Reed) wants the title on the line tonight. Swerve Scott is getting said shot.

Here are a ticked off Karrion Kross and Scarlett, with Kross daring Johnny Gargano to come out and face him. The JOHNNY WRESTLING chants bring out Gargano, to say he isn’t afraid. Gargano doesn’t have the sword that Kross was talking about, but he has talent. He’s smarter than Kross and here is Austin Theory to jump Kross from behind. Kross fights back and sends Gargano into the barricade. The steps are loaded up but security and Samoa Joe break it up. Kross tells Joe he’s doing a h*** of a job and Scarlett says they’ll pay for that.

The battery is at 61%.

The Way bails in their car, with Gargano waving goodbye.

Roderick Strong vs. Asher Hale

Strong grabs a headlock to start and wrestles Hale to the mat without much effort. Back up and Hale grabs a choke, only to get sent face first into the buckle. A Rock Bottom backbreaker plants Hale and a hard shot to the face puts him down again. Strong cranks on both arms arms at once for the tap at 3:05.

Rating: C. This was a fine debut squash for the team as Strong is likely to be the star. Let him get in there and show off his new style with a bit of the old mixed in with the backbreaker. They got in and out with a name who has been slightly established on 205 Live, which is about as good as that show is going to get at the moment. Not bad and I’m curious to see where the team goes.

Post match, Malcolm Bivens says the Diamond Mine is open for business.

Cameron Grimes vs. Ari Sterling

Speaking of people established on 205 Live, we have Sterling who has done the same. Sterling snaps off a hurricanrana but Grimes cartwheels to safety. Grimes tells him to kiss his grits and sends Sterling to the floor, where a trip drops Grimes face first onto the apron. A springboard moonsault to the floor takes Grimes down and he drops a knee to the back inside. Sterling’s standing corkscrew moonsault gets two and he goes up top, only to miss a shooting star to a standing Grimes. The Cave In finishes Sterling at 2:45. Simple come from behind win here and it did what it was supposed to do.

Post match here is LA Knight to laugh at Grimes. The fans think Knight sucks and Grimes agrees before challenging Knight for the Million Dollar Title next week. That’s not happening….but hang on as Knight has an idea. Knight has been having problems with the little things, so he’ll put the title on the line. When he wins though, Grimes is going to be his butler. That’s fine with Grimes, who has no problem being a butler. Not that it matters though, as he’s winning the title and taking it TO THE MOON! Nothing wrong with dusting off a classic idea.

Io Shirai and Zoey Stark are ready for the Tag Team Title shot but here is the Way to interrupt. They don’t think much of the challenge, with Candice LeRae saying Shirai can be a sore loser.

Here’s Kyle O’Reilly to say that all he wants is to fight people who make him a better fighter. That’s why he is facing Adam Cole again next week, because they went to war before. Cue Cole, but here is Samoa Joe to make sure this doesn’t break down. Cole says O’Reilly is obsessed with him, with O’Reilly recapping their feud and accusing Cole of being the one who is obsessed.

Cole laughs it off and talks about how he is the real star around here and everyone knows it, even O’Reilly’s wife. That is too far for O’Reilly, who tells Cole to never mention her again. He was in the Undisputed Era with Cole and now it disgusts him. Violence is teased but Joe says not now. O’Reilly isn’t listening and pulls Cole into a heel hook. Cole: “GET HIM OFF ME!” Joe walks away so security breaks it up.

Tian Sha is ready for revenge on Jake Atlas and Mercedes Martinez.

The battery is at 71%.

Hit Row fires up Isaiah Scott, who promises to win the North American Title.

Tian Sha vs. Jake Atlas/Mercedes Martinez

Atlas and Martinez jump Boa and Xia Li to start with the guys staying in the ring. Boa gets dropkicked down for two and it’s off to the women. Li kicks Martinez in the back but can’t grab a suplex. Instead Martinez rolls her up for two and hits a backdrop to send Li rolling outside. We take a break and come back with Atlas making the hot tag to Martinez to clean house.

Martinez grabs a butterfly superplex for two with Boa having to break up the cover. Atlas comes in for a belly to back suplex/middle rope clothesline combination to get rid of Boa. That leaves Martinez standing but Mei Ying stands up on stage. Martinez goes for the staredown, allowing Li to get in a shot from behind. Li kicks Martinez in the head for two….and the referee stops it anyway at 8:24 (Martinez was covered but kind of rolled up in the fetal position so her shoulders wouldn’t go down. That looked really, really bad.).

Rating: C-. That ending looked awful as Martinez is either a great actress or was knocked absolutely senseless. Hopefully she’s ok because Li’s kick looked great and it made her feel like a monster. Tian Sha is an interesting group and I’m curious to see just what they do next, as there are a few options.

Here are Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher for a face to face sitdown chat with MSK. Ciampa talks about how the champs are the underdogs next week, because Thatcher has never held gold in NXT and he is hungry. Nash Carter starts to cut Ciampa off but everyone gets up with the chairs being thrown away. MSK knows they are the young guns but they’re ready to fight. That means a slap to Ciampa, with Thatcher having to be held back. Ciampa gets in Carter’s ear to say keep the titles shiny, because only tonight is free.

William Regal is excited about the Great American Bash. Sarray comes up to say she would like a match with Toni Storm. Regal will consider it.

The battery is at 81%.

Karrion Kross and Scarlett are leaving when Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory jump him. Gargano slams the car door on Kross, who pops up and chokes him out. Kross and Scarlett drive off, with Samoa Joe popping up to drag Gargano back inside.

Great American Bash rundown.

North American Title: Bronson Reed vs. Isaiah Scott

Scott, with the rest of Hit Row, is challenging. Reed headlocks him to start but has to fight out of a triangle choke. Back up and Reed swats a crossbody out of the air, setting up a gorilla press drop. Reed pulls Scott off the apron to set up a splash as it’s all champ so far. Scott goes after the leg and tries a sunset bomb to the apron, only to have Reed sit on his chest in a smart counter.

We take a break and come back with Scott driving Reed into the ropes for a German suplex. The half nelson doesn’t last long so Scott settles for a choke, earning himself a flip over into a crash. Scott is back up with a shot to the face, earning himself a heck of a clothesline. Reed plants him with a Death Valley Driver for two and it’s time for the Tsunami. Hit Row offers a distraction but Top Dolla is sent crashing through the barricade. Reed tosses Ashante Adonis onto him but the distraction lets Scott hit the House Call. The 450 onto Reed’s back is enough for the pin and the title at 13:12.

Rating: C+. As much as I’m surprised Reed lost the title, I’m all the less surprised that Scott won it. Hit Row has come in with some momentum and they needed something to validate their status. That’s what a win like this can do and it makes the team feel that much more important. Good enough match too, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Reed on his way up to the main roster sooner rather than later.

A celebration ends the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was an interesting show as they were pushing a lot of what was left for the Bash while also doing a little something of their own. The Bash is a hue card at the moment, almost feeling like a mini Takeover. If NXT can deliver on something like that, they are going to be fine next week. This week’s show worked well, but it didn’t quite handle the balancing act as perfectly as they could have.

Results
Io Shirai/Zoey Stark b. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon and Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez – Moon Over Moonsault to Kai
Roderick Strong b. Asher Hale – Double arm crank
Cameron Grimes b. Ari Sterling – Cave In
Tian Sha b. Mercedes Martinez/Jake Atlas – Kick to Martinez’s head
Isaiah Scott b. Bronson Reed – 450

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

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NXT
Date: June 15, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett

We’re past a pretty lackluster Takeover and that means it is time to start getting ready for the rest of the summer. I’m not sure what that is going to included but William Regal was teasing some kind of a big change. That could mean multiple things, though there are some rumors of what it could mean, most of which are rather intriguing. Let’s get to it.

Here is Takeover if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Takeover.

Here is a serious looking William Regal for a chat. Regal talks about being with NXT from the beginning, including starting at the commentary desk for the first Takeover. NXT has grown throughout the last few years and they have gone around the world, including to his hometown of Blackpool. Regal gets a bit emotional as he talks about everything that NXT has done for everyone involved here. He thanks everyone who took them to San Jose and Houston and Brooklyn and Portland, but now there is so much chaos around here.

Regal doesn’t think he is capable of giving us what we deserve anymore, so it is time for…..him to be interrupted by Karrion Kross and Scarlett. Kross says he knew this was coming because he was going to control NXT with chaos and violence. He wants Regal to leave and admit that Kross has won…..and here is the returning Samoa Joe.

That makes Kross look a little worried and Regal says Samoa Joe should be the new General Manager. Joe understands what is going on but he is absolutely not accepting the job. Regal has cast a large shadow for seven years and Joe made his job a nightmare. Now though, he would like to make sure that Regal receives the respect that he deserves.

Regal finds this intriguing, but says Joe cannot be a competitor and cannot lay his hands on anyone…..unless he is provoked. Joe accepts, and asks why Kross is still in this ring. Joe: “Tick tock, young champion.” The fans sing the Goodbye Song as Kross and Scarlett leave. This is quite the nice moment, as Joe is a great way to counter Kross, especially if he can have a match one day.

The Grizzled Young Veterans are ready to take out Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher.

Imperium vs. Breezango

Barthel shoulders Breeze down to start but a quick jawbreaker gets him out of trouble. It’s off to Fandango for a dropkick but Aichner pulls him into an armbar. Some chops in the corner look to set up a sunset flip so Fandango is back with a legdrop. Breeze loads up a bit dive but only hits mat, allowing Fandango to hit his own big flip dive. Back in and Fandango gets crotched on top and it’s an uppercut off with Aichner.

We take a break and come back with Aichner hammering away at Fandango and planting him with a slam. Barthel comes back in and grabs a cobra clutch but Fandango kicks him away. A backdrop allows the hot tag off to Breeze to….get dropped with a clothesline. Not that it matters as Breeze grabs a small package for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C. I’m a bit surprised by the finish but Breezango continues to be one of the weakest teams around. I’m not sure what Imperium is going to be doing, though the wrath of Walter seems to be a real possibility. I can’t imagine MSK having to worry about either team, but at least we got a decent tag match here.

Post match Imperium lays out Breeze and drapes an Imperium flag over him.

Regal is breaking up a fight between Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole and says they can fight at the Great American Bash. Until then, they can pick their own opponents to fight next week. Joe comes in and gets shoved away by Cole, who is promptly choked out. With that broken up, Joe says that when Cole wakes up, he can give Mr. Regal an answer.

We see an image of a battery charging and it reaches 1%.

Santos Escobar does not like Bronson Reed putting him through a wall. Reed has revealed a weakness but now it is going to be one on one. This time, he’ll pick Reed up and let gravity do the rest on the way to the title.

Cruiserweight Title: Kushida vs. Trey Baxter

Baxter, better known as Blake Christian, is challenging and promises to show that he is all heart. Feeling out process to start with Baxter grabbing a rollup for two. A running hurricanrana sends Kushida to the corner and there’s an enziguri in the corner. Kushida gets draped ribs first over the top rope and sent to the floor for a big dive. Cue Kyle O’Reilly to watch from the stage as we take a break.

Back with Kushida scoring with an atomic drop but missing a running kick to the face. An enziguri doesn’t miss but Baxter hits a handspring kick to the face. Baxter is back with a Spanish Fly into a springboard 450 for two more. They head up top with Kushida hitting a super flying armbar, setting up the Hoverboard Lock to retain at 10:27.

Rating: C+. Another good open challenge title match here but Kushida vs. O’Reilly should be a heck of a match whenever we get there. That is the kind of a match which could tear the house down in a hurry, though I’m not sure how much of a chance that Kushida would have to keep the title. O’Reilly needs to win something, but it’s still the Cruiserweight Title. That is something that works great for someone new like Baxter (because his name is Trey Baxter) and he got a good rub out of this one.

Post match Kushida shakes Baxter’s hand but O’Reilly gets in the ring to say he wants to face Kushida next week. Kushida is ready.

Frankie Monet is going to be back in the ring next week but she goes over to Jessi Kamea and Aliyah, saying they would have won their most recent match if Robert Stone hadn’t gotten involved. Stone comes in and Monet says the team would have won if they had listened to Stone a bit more.

Mercedes Martinez talks about how she got taken down by Tian Sha but she isn’t going to be held down. If Boa wants to come after her, come get her. She and Xia Li are 1-1 so come on for round three.

Here is Ted DiBiase to present the Million Dollar Title to LA Knight. DiBiase shows us a video on Knight, who arrives in a rather nice car. Knight comes to the ring and loads up LET ME TALK TO YA but cuts himself off. Instead he would rather talk to DiBiase, because it is rare that you get to meet your heroes. Knight watched DiBiase growing up and he always wanted to be DiBiase when they were wrestling in the backyard. He needed DiBiase here tonight just to say thank you and they shake hands.

It would be the honor of Knight’s life to have DiBiase officially crown him the Million Dollar Champion. DiBiase puts the title on Knight’s shoulder and they take turns laughing. The fans still want Cameron Grimes but Knight says he has everything that he wants. Now it’s time to get rid of everything he doesn’t need, and he decks DiBiase. Knight shouts that this is his title and now he is the only true Million Dollar Champion. Cameron Grimes makes the save and clears Knight out in a hurry.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez are ready for to get the Tag Team Titles back.

The battery is now at 11%.

Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter

Carter sends Kai into the ropes for a double knee to the face. Kacy holds Kai in place for a running dropkick to the side of the head. It’s off to Gonzalez to pull Carter by the hair but some double teaming puts Gonzalez on the floor. Carter hits a huge dive onto both of them and we take a break. Back with Gonzalez working on a backbreaker on Catanzaro, setting up Kai’s running knee in the corner. A running pump kick sends Catanzaro to the floor but she gets over for the tag off to Carter a moment later.

Carter gets to clean house and a nasty running kick to the face gets two on Kai. Gonzalez hits a messy spinning side slam for two on Carter and an assisted Codebreaker gets the same. Everything breaks down again and Catanzaro’s hurricanrana off the apron sends Gonzalez face first into the apron. Back in and a neckbreaker/450 combination gets two on Kai with Gonzalez making the save. Carter is sent hard into the barricade and the GTK finishes Catanzaro at 12:27.

Rating: C-. This was a bit too much on the sloppy side and that hurt what they had going on here. Catanzaro and Carter are a fine team for a spot like this as Gonzalez and Kai needed a win to build them up a little bit. It wasn’t exactly a red hot match, but it did what it was supposed to.

Ever-Rise isn’t happy with Hit Row breaking their house on the Takeover Kickoff Show but they have rebuilt.

The battery is now at 21%.

Here is Io Shirai to say that she is back. She says that her next target is….and here is Candice LeRae to interrupt. Candice talks about how she is no longer an uncrowned champion and Shirai picked the wrong time to come back. Cue Indi Hartwell to jump Shirai from behind and the beating is on. The announcers’ table is loaded up but here is Zoey Stark for the save.

William Regal and Samoa Joe are leaving but are asked about how they feel tonight has gone. Regal…..is cut off, as we jump to MSK eating popcorn as Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher are on their way to the ring. Thatcher comes back and angrily steals some popcorn.

The Diamond Mine is opening next week.

William Regal and Samoa Joe are trying to give an update on the evening when the Way comes in to mock the JOE chants. They’re glad he’s here but Joe tells them to get out. Pete Dunne comes in for a heck of a staredown with Joe.

Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Tornado Tag. It’s a brawl to start with Thatcher and Ciampa taking them down into stereo forearms to the chest. The stereo holds send the Veterans to the floor and the chase is on. Back in and the Veterans get in some cheap shots to take over, meaning the beating can be on. Thatcher is sent face first into a light tower but he is fine enough to come back in for a standing sleeper on Drake.

That is broken up but Ciampa is back in with a chinlock of his own. Ciampa is taken outside for a whip into the barricade, leaving Thatcher to get taken down in a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. Ciampa is back up to send the Veterans into the barricade, setting up a running hip attack into the two of them. Back in and Thatcher and Ciampa hit some running shots to the face in the corner as we take a break.

We come back with Thatcher getting knocked into the Koji Clutch so Gibson can stomp away. Ciampa makes the save (after unloading on Drake’s head that is) but accidentally kicks Thatcher in the face. A Doomsday Device is broken up though and Ciampa hits a super Air Raid Crash on Gibson as Thatcher has Drake. Somehow Gibson kicks out so it’s Ciampa and Drake chopping it out on the apron.

The running Doomsday Device on the floor plants Ciampa so it’s time for Thatcher and Gibson to slug it out inside. An exchange of holds doesn’t work but Drake is back in for a running boot in the corner. A Backstabber hits Thatcher so Ciampa runs in for the save. The Veterans double team Ciampa on the floor and put him (mostly) through the top of the announcers’ table. Ciampa is back up with the Air Raid Crash to drop Gibson onto said table. Back in and some hard slaps set up Angel’s Wings into an ankle lock/armbar combination for the tap at 17:27.

Rating: B. This was a fight and that’s exactly what they were shooting for here. What mattered here was it felt like they wanted to win at all costs, which is not something you see enough of in wrestling. I’m a bit surprised at the result as the Veterans really need to win something at some point, but at least they had a pretty awesome showing in defeat. Thatcher and Ciampa moving up the card works too, so this was a pretty solid match all together.

William Regal is pleased with Samoa Joe’s first night around here. Joe says that was the first night of many as Regal gets into his car and……drives off with no problem to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The return of Joe was the big story here and the rest of the show was build around it. What matters is they have something fresh which might make people interested, which has been lacking around here as of late. It’s a good show with a solid main event, plus some things being set up for later. NXT still has some work to do, but this was a nice start.

Results
Breezango b. Imperium – Small package to Aichner
Kushida b. Trey Baxter – Hoverboard Lock
Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez b. Kacy Catanzaro/Kayden Carter – GTK to Catanzaro
Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Ankle lock/armbar combination to Drake

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

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AND

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT is excited to have fans back.

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

Bobby Fish vs. Pete Dunne

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mercedes Martinez vs. Zayda Ramier

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Frankie Monet vs. Cora Jade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NXT Title: Finn Balor vs. Karrion Kross

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Pete Dunne b. Bobby Fish – Bitter End

Mercedes Martinez b. Zayda Ramier – Air Raid Crash

Frankie Monet b. Cora Jade – Road To Valhalla

Karrion Kross b. Finn Balor – Krossjacket Choke

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

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

AND

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

NXT
Date: May 18, 2021
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s time for a big main event with the North American Title being defended inside a cage. Johnny Gargano has to defend against Bronson Reed, which could set up a heck of a Tsunami to crush Gargano for good. That could be quite the match as you have two talented people in there, plus a lot of other things on the show. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a look at the cage match.

Toni Storm vs. Zoey Stark

Stark starts fast and drives her into the corner to hammer away, setting up a springboard missile dropkick. They head outside with Storm getting knocked around until she manages to whip her into the steps. The running hip attack crushes Stark against the steps and Stark barely beats the count. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Storm boots her down for two.

Stark grabs a backslide for two and nails an enziguri to put both of them down as we take a break. Back with Stark reversing Storm Zero into a hurricanrana for two, followed by a half nelson suplex for the same. Storm is back up with Storm Zero for two and shock exists. That’s fine with Storm, who grabs a judo throw and spins it over into a DDT, which drops Stark on her head (that was TERRIFYING) for the pin at 11:30.

Rating: C+. They got me with the finish as I was thinking Stark was going to win after surviving Storm Zero. Granted I would hope they could come up with a better way to do it than by dropping Stark on her head, but at least she seems to still be alive. Storm really needed the win, and if she can get a less disturbing finisher, she should be good to go.

Post match here is Frankie Monet to stare at Storm.

Legado del Fantasma is ready for MSK but Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher come in to say not so fast. Thatcher goes into Spanish to say…..I believe “the cat does not have shoes.” Ciampa: “That makes perfect sense.” The match seems to be made for later.

Cameron Grimes comes up and says park his car, but he’s in Ted DiBiase’s spot. He gets a match with the valet, who happens to be Jake Atlas, for later.

The Way is at a spa, where Indi Hartwell admits that Candice LeRae was right about everything, including Dexter Lumis. As you might have guessed, Lumis is giving her the massage, though she can’t see him due to the cucumbers over her eyes.

We get a Prime Target on Karrion Kross vs. Finn Balor II. Kross was feeling the injuries from the match for weeks and can’t believe Balor survived as long as he did. At the end though, Kross left with the title. Balor says getting back up is how you keep going though and it’s time to go. Pat McAfee is ready for the rematch and Paul Heyman says everyone is interested in the match, even Roman Reigns. As for a spoiler….it’s a little too close to call. Next week, it’s round two. More greatness from these videos, as usual.

Cameron Grimes vs. Jake Atlas

Before the match, Grimes says everyone is glad to see Ted DiBiase, but he has a video on the REAL DiBiase, including all kinds of bad things happening to him over the years. Atlas dropkicks him to the floor before the bell and we take a break. Joined in progress after a break with Grimes hammering away but charging into a boot to the face. A springboard armdrag sets up a running enziguri in the corner, followed by the middle rope hurricanrana for two.

Grimes clotheslines him down and grinds an elbow into the chest in the corner. Atlas sends him chest first into the corner and snaps off a German suplex….as Ted DiBiase arrives in his limo. Something misses off the top and Grimes snaps off the flipping powerslam. The Cave In is loaded up but we’ve got Ted DiBiase in person, allowing Atlas to grab a rollup for the pin at 4:51.

Rating: C-. The action wasn’t the point here and Grimes losing to Atlas in this kind of situation isn’t going to hurt him. Grimes vs. DiBiase continues to be one of the best things going on in all of wrestling today and I want to see where it keeps going. I’m not sure if it is going to be but they have me wanting to see it every week.

Post match Grimes gives chase but DiBiase is in the limo, saying that Grimes will never be a Million Dollar Man. Ranting ensues again.

Bronson Reed is ready to make everything he has put into his career worth it by winning the North American Title. He has been around the world but now he is going to be here, winning the title and telling his wife that they did it.

We get a sit down interview with Pete Dunne, talking about how he can win any title he wants at any time. He has never had a bad match and even when he loses, people leave the ring a different person. Dunne talks about being influenced by British style and everything he has put together over the years (with the required Fit Finlay reference). The fans’ influence makes a huge difference and he can’t wait to see what is next.

Alexander Wolfe vs. Killian Dain

The rest of Imperium (minus Walter) and the still scared Drake Maverick are here too. Dain punches him into the corner to start but gets kicked and uppercutted for his early efforts. Some uppercuts from Dain allow him to send Wolfe into the corner. Fabian Aichner knocks Maverick off the apron and there’s a German suplex to Dain. Marcel Barthel throws in a chair but Wolfe takes too long, allowing Dain to hit a running crossbody for the pin at 1:49.

Post match, Imperium turns on Wolfe and beats him down, setting up the posing.

Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai are done with Mercedes Martinez and are ready for the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Ever-Rise come in (with coffee mugs) to say Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are the #1 contenders. They plug their show, but Gonzalez doesn’t watch it. Matt Martel says that sounds like she wants to hit him….and she does, dropping him with one slap. These guys are good.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher

Wilde dances at Ciampa to start, who takes him outside for a ram into the barricade. Back in and we hit the front facelock on Wilde, setting up the chinlock. Thatcher comes in for a hammerlock on Mendoza, followed by a headscissors from Ciampa. Mendoza fights up and raises a boot in the corner to cut Ciampa off. Thatcher comes back in for a headlock into an ankle lock.

With that still on, Ciampa comes in with his own to Wilde but stereo rollups get….no count because two of the people are illegal. Stereo enziguris put everyone down and we take a break. We come back with Ciampa hitting a string of running clotheslines in the corner. Mendoza breaks up the hanging DDT on Wilde as we see Mendoza’s busted nose being checked on during the break. Ciampa gets punched and chopped in the corner but Mendoza misses a charge into the post.

The hot tag brings in Thatcher to hammer away in the corner, with Ciampa getting to do the same. Legado gets Ciampa into the corner for a clothesline and some moonsaults get two. Thatcher breaks up the Russian legsweep/boot combination and Wilde nails the big running flip dive. Back in and the hanging DDT gets two on Wilde with Mendoza making the save. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans to jump Ciampa though and now the boot/Russian legsweep is good for the pin at 15:41.

Rating: C+. What we got was good but we got quite a bit of it as this match felt long. Legado is a solid team, though it’s weird to have heels who fly around like they do. At the same time though, it sets up the Veterans vs. Ciampa vs. Thatcher, which more than works for everyone involved. Legado likely gets a title shot too so that is a well used match.

Bobby Fish says his business is with Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan. The torn tricep was a long recovery, but now he is back and there is a debt to be paid. First up is Pete Dunne because they have unfinished business. Next week, they can finish it.

Back at the spa, the Way’s credit card is declined. They think it is Austin Theory, but the spa employee called the credit card company and found out that it was something about a florist three weeks ago. Indi Hartwell puts the pieces together and realizes that Dexter Lumis still loves her. Hartwell runs off screaming this over and over as Candice LeRae is stunned. Beth: “Forget Bennifer! INDEX IS BACK!!!”

Johnny Gargano is ready to prove that Bronson Reed is not on his level. Gargano stops the unstoppable inside of a steel cage.

Aliyah vs. Sarray

Sarray starts fast with a springboard armdrag into a basement dropkick but Jessi Kamea grabs a leg. Aliyah gets in a few shots of her own but walks into a spinning kick to the face. There’s a German suplex into a missile dropkick from Sarray, followed by a running dropkick against the ropes. The high collar suplex finishes Aliyah at 2:25.

Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon are ready for the Way again and it’s time to get gritty and wild. Howling ensues (Moon: “That’s what she said.”).

Hit Row vs. Ariya Daivari/Tony Nese

That would be Ashante Adonis/Top Dolla, with the former taking over on Nese to start. Dollar hits a World’s Strongest Slam/Wasteland at the same time and it’s already back to Adonis for the corner stomping to Daivari. A superkick drops Nese and Dolla has to calm Adonis down. Something like an AA into a neckbreaker gives Dollar the pin on Daivari at 2:20.

Post match, Hit Row brags about the win, with Isaiah Scott promising to watch the North American Title match.

William Regal announces Legado del Fantasma vs. MSK for the Tag Team Titles in two weeks. There are going to be some new stars in the cruiserweight division, and also next week it’s Dakota Kai/Shotzi Blackheart vs. Ember Moon/Raquel Gonzalez.

Here’s what’s coming next week, including Frankie Monet’s debut, Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase in a Million Dollar Faceoff, plus Balor vs. Kross II.

North American Title: Johnny Gargano vs. Bronson Reed

Gargano, with Austin Theory, is defending inside a cage. An early escape attempt doesn’t work for Gargano as Reed pulls him back and shoves Gargano out of the air without much trouble. Reed sends him into the cage a few times and drives his face into the steel to make it worse. A missed charge hits cage, but the slingshot spear doesn’t work because of the cage.

That lets Reed snap off a hanging DDT but Theory is there to cut off a climb attempt. Gargano superkicks the knee out and we take a break. Back with Reed hitting a super Samoan drop for a delayed two. That means it’s time to go up but Gargano powerbombs him back down. It’s too early for Gargano to escape though as Reed pulls him back in and sits on his chest. A powerbomb is countered with a grab of the cage though and Gargano hits a poisonrana to put both of them down.

One Final Beat is countered with a toss into the cage but Theory slams the door on Reed’s head. Now One Final Beat can give Gargano two so it’s time to go up. Reed is right there to catch him with a superbomb but makes the mistake of climbing, allowing Theory to cut him off. Gargano gets headbutted off the top and Theory gets punched down. The splash to the back sets up the Tsunami to give Reed the title at 15:25.

Rating: B. This was exactly how such a match should have gone, with Reed overcoming the obstacles/odds and winning clean in the end. There was no fluke here either, as that Tsunami is one of the best looking finishers going today. Gargano was a good choice as champion because he could do something like this, but is more than enough of a legend to be back just fine in a few weeks. Solid main event here, and a good example of how a telegraphed finish isn’t a bad thing.

Pyro goes off for the celebration to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Pretty awesome show here as they had a bunch of nice stuff capped off by the big main event, which more than delivered. I can always go with watching NXT get to do their thing and show how a good show is supposed to be put together. They have things set up for weeks now while delivering this week as well. That’s an efficient two hours and it was worth the watch here as usual.

Results

Toni Storm b. Zoey Stark – Judo throw spun into a DDT

Jake Atlas b. Cameron Grimes – Rollup

Killian Dain b. Alexander Wolfe – Crossbody

Legado del Fantasma b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Russian legsweep/running enziguri to Ciampa

Sarray b. Aliyah – High collar suplex

Hit Row b. Tony Nese/Ariya Daivari – Fireman’s carry flipping neckbreaker to Daivari

Bronson Reed b. Johnny Gargano – Tsunami

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

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

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

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

Isaiah Scott vs. Leon Ruff

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

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

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

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

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

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

Asher Hale vs. Cameron Grimes

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

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

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

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

Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Timothy Thatcher/Tommaso Ciampa

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video on Sarray and Zayda Ramier.

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

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

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

Zayda Ramier vs. Sarray

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

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

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

The Diamond Mine is still coming.

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

Jake Atlas vs. LA Knight

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

Isaiah Scott b. Leon Ruff – JML Driver

Cameron Grimes b. Asher Hale – Cave In

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

Sarray b. Zayda Ramier – T-bone suplex

LA Knight b. Jake Atlas – Bulldog driver

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

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

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

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

Opening sequence.

Dakota Kai vs. Mercedes Martinez

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quick Tian Sha vignette.

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

Toni Storm vs. Zayda Ramier

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

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

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

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

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

Austin Theory vs. Bronson Reed

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

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

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

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

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

Johnny Gargano is nervous.

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

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

Finn Balor is back next week after recharging in Mexico.

Imperium vs. Killian Dain/Drake Maverick

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jessi Kamea/Aliyah vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

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

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

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

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

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

MSK/Kushida vs. Legado del Fantasma

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Results

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

Zayda Ramier b. Toni Storm – Shooting star press

Bronson Reed b. Austin Theory – Tsunami

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

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

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

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

It’s the go home show for Takeover: Vengeance Day and it’s still tournament time with three more Dusty Classic matches before we can finally wrap up the brackets for the time being. These things have dominated NXT TV for a few weeks now and I can’t wait for the them to wrap up so we don’t have to spend so much time on them every week. Let’s get to it.

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

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: MSK vs. Legado del Fantasma

Joaquin Wilde and Wes Lee start things off and go to the mat for some arm cranking. Wilde takes over on the leg but gets pulled into an armbar. That’s enough for the early tag to Nash Carter, who hits a Bronco Buster in the corner. Carter dropkicks Wilde into the corner and it’s off to Raul Mendoza to crank on the arm. Some double kicks have Mendoza in the corner and Lee stays in, only to get caught with a double suplex.

Wilde is hiptossed onto the ropes to set up a moonsault for two but Lee is over for the tag to Carter to pick up the pace again. Wilde isn’t having this though and knocks both of MSK outside as we take a break. Back with Lee cleaning house and kicking Mendoza out to the floor. A backdrop puts Wilde on the floor as well and it’s the push moonsault to take Legado out. Lee adds the big flip dive but he tries another one and gets kicked in the head.

Back in and Mendoza walks the rope for a missile dropkick, setting up Wilde’s reverse hurricanrana. Mendoza grabs a swinging suplex for two and puts Carter in a fireman’s carry. That lets Wilde use Carter’s back for a 450 but Lee small packages him in a hurry. Mendoza is smart enough to drop Carter onto the cover for two and MSK is in more trouble. The Russian legsweep/big boot is broken up though and the spinebuster/Blockbuster combination finishes Wilde at 12:58.

Rating: B-. There were good parts here but it didn’t have the best flow or chemistry throughout. The good thing is that MSK can wrestle the high flying style and hang in there just fine. MSK has looked good in the tournament so far and it’s nice to see someone getting a push right out of the blocks instead of having to go through a bunch of squash matches to get there first.

Mercedes Martinez talks about how it has taken twenty years to get here and now she is going to show the world what she can do.

Xia Li vs. Cora Jade

Boa is here with Li as well. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro come out to try and talk sense into Li, but she has a spinning kick to the face to give Jade for the pin at 46 seconds. Li’s entrance was about three times that long.

Post match Li beats on Jade some more, so Carter goes up to yell at Tian Sha for ruining Li. That sends Li up to throw Carter off the stage and then Sha chokes Boa. Li beats up Catanzaro as well. Having a little extra backstory has made this story work a good bit better.

William Regal is happy with the Dusty Classic but finds Scarlett in his office. She wants Santos Escobar’s time to be up next week. Regal agrees.

Here’s the Way, with Johnny Gargano in a wheelchair because of his broken arm. Gargano says this is the result of Kushida’s attack last week and we see a clip of Kushida kicking the arm. After Candice LeRae moves her hands from over Gargano’s eyes and the Way turns him back to the camera, Gargano says this is ruining his life. He is a known power walker but now he can’t swing his arms. And he hates wheels! Anyway, Gargano can’t defend the NXT Title on Sunday and Kushida should be suspended.

Cue William Regal to say Gargano was medically cleared yesterday but Gargano has an X-RAY showing the longest bone in his arm. The arm is broken horribly but Regal says that’s of a fight arm and Gargano’s left is in the sling. Also, if it’s that bad, Gargano would be in extreme pain.

Regal says Gargano has two options: he can either have Austin Theory as the surrogate to defend the title tonight or just forfeit the title outright. Gargano begs for more time but Regal says we can just ask Kushida, who is in the ring. Kushida cleans house, including superkicking Gargano who popped to his feet. That earns him a superkick back into the chair as Kushida clears the ring.

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: The Way vs. Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon

We’re joined in progress with Ember working on Candice’s arm and handing it off to Shotzi for a backsplash. The shoulders in the ribs keep Candice in trouble but she avoids a charge and brings in Hartwell. A side slam gets two on Blackheart and Candice comes back in to work on an armbar. It’s already back to Hartwell, who mocks Ember but manages to drag Shotzi back to the corner.

Candice elbows her down for two more and the armbar goes on again. This time Blackheart jawbreaks her way to freedom and it’s straight back to Moon to pick up the pace. Candice gets knocked into the corner so Blackheart kicks Hartwell for two more. Blackheart gets knocked to the floor though and Candice walks the ropes for a hurricanrana to send Moon into Blackheart outside.

We take a break and come back with Shotzi coming in off the hot tag and starting to clean house. The running reverse cannonball to the back gives Shotzi two and Moon is back in. Moon’s knees are laid up for a bulldog to Candice and another near fall as frustration sets in. This time it’s Ember getting caught in the wrong corner, with Hartwell holding Moon up for Candice’s Lionsault.

A shot to the face is enough for the hot tag back to Blackheart though and things pick up all over again. Everything breaks down but Candice drops Shotzi, setting up Hartwell’s top rope for her own two. That goes to Shotzi though, and it’s an Eclipse to Candice. Hartwell covers Candice for protection so Blackheart’s top rope backsplash hits both of them for the pin at 14:17.

Rating: C-. This gave us the right and fairly clear ending but they didn’t have a smooth match out there. It had multiple botches and both teams didn’t look all that great. Then again, it isn’t like they have much experience together so you can only expect so much. The ending made sense with Hartwell wanting to save Candice more than win, even if it might not appeal to Candice herself. Blackheart and Moon work well enough as a team, but this was none of the four’s best night.

Post match Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai come out for the staredown. William Regal comes in to say the winners will also get a future Women’s Tag Team Title shot. I thought they had said that before. Oh well.

Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa talk about the hard match they had last week. Tonight they have the Grizzled Young Veterans, which is a better name for them. They’re winning tonight and then doing the same on Sunday. Class dismissed, and Ciampa storms off, leaving Thatcher smiling a lot.

Santos Escobar isn’t worried about Karrion Kross. He isn’t apologizing either, even when a nervous Wilde and Mendoza come in. Escobar tells them to go pay Kross a visit.

Video on Finn Balor being untouchable as NXT Champion, which got Pete Dunne’s attention. The two have been going at it since, with Dunne even breaking Balor’s fingers. Now it’s time for the big showdown on Sunday.

Kushida vs. Austin Theory

No entrance for either of them and the slugout is on early. Johnny Gargano offers a quick distraction so Theory can take over, including a good looking dropkick. Kushida’s hiptoss is blocked so he throws Theory down and nails the basement dropkick. Theory gets taken down by the arm, which has Barrett fuming over Kushida’s hatred of all things arms. More kicks to the arm set up Kushida tying the arms around his legs and dropping backwards.

The arm is twisted around some more and then snapped down over Kushida’s shoulder, followed by a kick to the shoulder. Theory manages to knock him off the apron though and we take a break. Back with Kushida still in trouble and Theory sending him flying with a fall away slam. The referee checks on Kushida, which seems a little premature, especially since he grabs a rollup for two.

Kushida hits a springboard back elbow into a release German suplex. It’s time to work on the arm some more, this time with a Stunner of all things to send Theory outside. Kushida follows and gets run over but manages to slap on a cross armbreaker on the apron. That’s enough for Gargano to nail the superkick for the DQ at 11:57.

Rating: C. The ending was the right call as this was much more about setting up Takeover than the match itself. I could go for a lot more of Theory and Kushida, either on their own or against each other because they really are that good. Theory has all the tools you could hope for and you don’t get that kind of a talent very often. Go with what works, like Kushida vs. Gargano on Sunday.

Post match the beatdown is on with Gargano going to get a chair to break Kushida’s arm. As he goes around the ring though, someone pulls Theory underneath the ring. Gargano comes back and pulls out Dexter Lumis, who scares Gargano up the ramp. Theory is scared into the Hoverboard Lock from Kushida, who does the same thing to Gargano for a bonus. Lumis comes in to Silence Theory at the same time so Kushida can pose with the title.

Toni Storm talks about beating Io Shirai in the Mae Young Classic. She can do it again and after Sunday, it’s Toni Time.

We get an Imperium video, introducing everyone on the team.

Karrion Kross has taken out Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Next week it’s Escobar’s turn.

Cameron Grimes is back, in a rather nice car. He pays security a lot of money to park it and then walks into the arena, where he hands some wrestlers some money as well. Grimes (now with glasses) gets in the ring and tells people to get up, promising a reward for anyone who does (Vic: “Sit down Barrett.”). Two months ago, Timothy Thatcher left him laying and injured so Grimes has been out of action.

While he has been hurt, he started playing a lot of video games and that meant trips to Game Stop. It was so great that he invested and now he has SO MUCH MONEY. Then he invested in Dogecoin and now he’s even MORE RICH. The clothes start to come off as Grimes rants about how William Regal can kiss his grits. I could absolutely go for this as it’s an angle that works every time and Grimes is perfect for the thing. Also, how often do we get something this topical?

Johnny Gargano says Kushida better be ready for Takeover because that’s Johnny’s world.

Io Shirai talks about winning the Women’s Title in a triple threat match and she can do it again. She is a different person than when she lost to Toni Storm and now this title reign will never end.

Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Timothy Thatcher/Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

Before the match, Zack Gibson says these two are as dumb as they look. When have either of them ever had a team end well? The Veterans are winning the trophy so they will be recognized as….whatever Gibson was going to say before Ciampa kicked James Drake in the face. It’s a big brawl on the floor before the bell with the Veterans beating them down and then switching places so the beating can continue.

They finally get inside for the opening bell with Gibson taking Thatcher down and bringing in Ciampa. The stomping ensues again so it’s back to Thatcher, who allows the tag off to Drake. Thatcher gets knocked into the corner and Gibson comes back in, allowing Drake to pull Ciampa to the floor. Ciampa is sent into the steps and then double teamed onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Ciampa still down after being checked by the medics during the break. Gibson takes Thatcher down into a chinlock for a bit before loading up a Doomsday Device. That’s broken up though and Ciampa blasts Drake as Ciampa gets back on the apron. There’s the hot tag and house is cleaned, including a bunch of clotheslines. Some German suplexes have the Veterans down again and Ciampa gets two on Drake.

We settle back down with Drake having to power Ciampa into the corner to block the Fairy Tale Ending. Gibson and Ciampa slug it out with Gibson hitting him in the throat, setting up a swinging suplex. Drake comes in and uses Ciampa as a launchpad to take Thatcher down, followed by the Doomsday Device. Thatcher breaks that up as well but the Veterans put him down on the floor. Willow’s Bell is blocked and the Ticket To Mayhem hits Ciampa for the pin at 11:39.

Rating: C+. The ending helped but the injury spot felt pretty wedged in. Ciampa was right back up like nothing was wrong later and it’s not like the Veterans beating Ciampa and Thatcher is some huge upset. I’m not sure why they needed the injury deal when some simple cheating would have worked just fine, but it’s not like it ruined anything. The Veterans moving on makes sense and as long as that works, there isn’t much to complain about here.

Post match MSK and the Veterans glare at each other.

Commentary stands up and hypes Takeover, with everyone in each match coming to the stage for a staredown. Finn Balor and Pete Dunne stare each other down in the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show did a nice job of setting up Takeover, though I never need to think about the Dusty Classic again. Adding in the prize for the women helped, though it wasn’t exactly a groundbreaking change. The wrestling was good here and I’m glad Gargano vs. Kushida is back on, plus the Grimes stuff has me giddy with how fun it could be. Nice show here, but Takeover is the main course on Sunday.

Results

MSK b. Legado del Fantasma – Spinebuster/Blockbuster combination to Wilde

Xia Li b. Cora Jade – Spinning kick to the face

Shotzi Blackheart/Ember Moon b. The Way – Top rope backsplash to LeRae

Kushida b. Austin Theory via DQ when Johnny Gargano interfered

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Tommaso Ciampa/Timothy Thatcher – Ticket to Mayhem to Ciampa

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