NXT
Date: May 17, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re officially on the road to In Your House and that means more of Joe Gacy vs. Bron Breakker because of course it does. Other than that we have more of the women’s Breakout Tournament, which at least started out somewhat ok. Tonight we have more first round matches so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Carmelo Hayes/Trick Williams vs. Solo Sikoa/Cameron Grimes

Before the match, Hayes and Williams promise to take the North American Title back at In Your House. Grimes kicks Hayes in the face to start and Sikoa drops a backsplash on Williams to start fast. Williams is back with a jumping clothesline on Grimes and Hayes adds a springboard crossbody. It’s a double tag to bring in Williams and Sikoa with Sikoa getting taken down as we take a break.

Back with Hayes holding Sikoa in a chinlock, which is broken up without much trouble. The tag brings Grimes back in to clean house, including the double hurricanrana. There’s a high crossbody to Hayes but Sikoa tags himself in to break up the Cave In. Sikoa drops Hayes and the Cave In hits Williams, setting up the Superfly Splash to finish Hayes at 9:59.

Rating: C+. Four talented people were put into a match and two of them won, with the #1 contender to the North American Title taking the fall. I’m sure this won’t set up a triple threat match for the title, because that is never something WWE would do. The action here was as good as you would have expected and it was a solid choice for an opener.

Post match Sikoa hands Grimes the North American Title, albeit with quite the stare.

Pretty Deadly certainly isn’t scared of the Creed Brothers.

Video on Thea Hail training at the Performance Center. She has been decent enough on LVL Up. Oh but first she needs to graduate high school.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Lash Legend vs. Tatum Paxley

Legend powers her into the corner to start but gets caught in a headscissors. That’s escaped with a nip up and Paxley can’t get an electric chair. Paxley’s leg is messed up so Legend wraps it around the bottom rope to make it worse. A stretch muffler goes on but Paxley pulls herself up and manages a rollup for two. The electric chair still doesn’t work so she grabs a suplex, only to hurt her knee again. A standing spinning moonsault gives Paxley two but she STILL can’t get the electric chair (try something else already). That lets Legend hit the pump kick for the pin at 3:54.

Rating: C-. I don’t think it’s any real secret that this tournament is going to end with Legend and/or Nikkita Lyons in the finals so running through Paxley was a mere formality here. Legend has improved a lot and not letting her talk is the best thing NXT could have gone, but she still has a long way to go. Certainly not an awful match here though and that is a big upgrade for Legend.

Tony D’Angelo and company are ready for Legado del Fantasma tonight.

NXT is returning to live touring in Florida this summer. That is great to hear for them as the wrestlers need the reps.

Duke Hudson is talking about how he took some time off…and Bron Breakker walks by, saying to play his music.

Here is Breakker in the ring for a chat. Breakker talks about how Joe Gacy left him in a field and now wants him to join Gacy’s cause. That earns Gacy an offer of kissing a certain part of Breakker, but here is Gacy to interrupt. Breakker says he doesn’t trust him but Gacy says the people want Gacy vs. Breakker, one on one. That’s fine with Breakker, who says the match is on but Gacy wants to raise the stakes. It should be Breakker destroying Gacy and hurting him every way he can. That gives Gacy an idea: if Breakker gets disqualified, he loses the title. Deal. Sure why not, as it’s not like anything else in this feud has mattered.

Indi Hartwell is tired of feeling sorry for herself so she wants to face Mandy Rose.

Wes Lee says Xyon Quin isn’t medically cleared but Lee is waiting on him. Nathan Frazer comes in for a challenge for tonight. Lee says there is a lot of pent up aggression so he doesn’t want to hurt Frazer. The match seems to be on.

Viking Raiders vs. Creed Brothers

Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp are here with the Creeds. The Creeds start fast and knock the Vikings outside early on. We settle down to Erik running Julius down and the Raiders be clubberin. The armbar goes on, followed by a clothesline and the front facelock. Julius fights up and brings Brutus in to clean house, including a dropkick to knock Ivar off the top. Brutus hits a top rope cannonball to the floor (and lands hard on his feet) as we take a break.

Back with Brutus getting two on Erik and taking him into the corner to keep up the beating. Erik breaks that up and dives over to Ivar to make the tag, meaning house can be cleaned. Everything breaks down and a spinebuster gets two on Erik. Brutus is sent outside and it’s back to Ivar, setting up a middle rope World’s Strongest Slam for two, with Brutus making the save.

A German suplex drops Erik and Julius runs the top, only to have a superplex attempt broken up. Ivar misses the top rope splash, allowing Brutus to grab an Oklahoma roll for two as Erik makes a save of his own. Everyone slugs it out so Kemp gets in the apron, allowing Strong to offer some interference. Julius breaks that up, only to have the Raiders double powerbomb Julius for the pin at 13:01.

Rating: B. This was about four big, strong guys beating on each other and throwing around some suplexes, which is all it should have been. They didn’t waste time here and the ending plays into the story that was set up in their first match. It’s another case of the #1 contenders losing, but at least the Raiders winning isn’t a total stretch.

Post match, the Diamond Mine seems ready to split.

Legado del Fantasma is ready for Tony D’Angelo and company.

Tiffany Stratton gives Grayson Waller a pep talk.

Bron Breakker is ready for Joe Gacy but Duke Hudson interrupts. A match is set for later tonight.

Grayson Waller vs. Andre Chase

Bodhi Hayward is here with Chase. Waller pounds away to start but Chase is back with a neckbreaker. That earns him a big boot though and Waller gets in some right hands. This does not sit well with Sarray, the honorary Chase U flag bearer, and neither does a suplex from Waller. A side kick gives Waller two but Chase catapults him into the corner. The spelling stomps set up a backdrop but Waller lands on Hayward by mistake. The distraction lets Waller hit the rolling Stunner for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C. Chase is still one of the most entertaining people in NXT but he shouldn’t be going over someone like Waller. NXT certainly sees something in Waller and he is almost good enough to be on the main roster today (and might already be ready). Let Chase stay around here where he can pop the crowd with a funny line every so often and things will be fine.

Toxic Attraction doesn’t think much of Kayden Carter/Katana Chance/Indi Hartwell have been talking about them. Revenge is promised.

The Diamond Mine argues in the back with the Creed Brothers walking away. Roderick Strong tells Damon Kemp to deal with this. With Kemp gone, Pretty Deadly comes in to say the Creeds aren’t winning no matter what.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James

James takes her down to start and goes after the arm but Perez grabs some armdrags. A backbreaker puts Perez in trouble but she reverses a Boston crab into a rollup for two. Another spinning backbreaker drops Perez again as she can’t get any kind of momentum. Perez finally manages a headscissors for a breather and a Russian legsweep gets two. James hits a side slam but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Perez to hit Uproxx for the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this one as James was getting a bit repetitive with her side slams and backbreakers. Much like the Legend match though, there wasn’t a lot of drama in Perez winning, as she is someone who could be a star in short order around here. James has an interesting enough gimmick to go a little somewhere, but it might be a lot better suited as a manager.

Malik Blade and Edris Enofe mock the Tony D’Angelo vs. Santos Escobar war. D’Angelo’s goons come in and the match is set for next week.

Cora Jade congratulates Roxanne Perez on her win but Elektra Lopez comes in to promise to beat Alba Fyre next week. Jade and Perez aren’t impressed.

Wes Lee vs. Nathan Frazer

Feeling out process to start and they go to a rather early standoff. Frazer misses the threat of a superkick and gets sent to the apron, with Lee knocking him to the floor. They switch places again and it’s Frazer hitting a heck of a suicide dive. Back in and Lee grabs a German suplex for two but Frazer catches him on top. A superplex attempt is countered into a crossbody for two and they’re both down again. They hit stereo crossbodies for a double knockdown and they need a breather. Not that it matters as Von Wagner runs in to kick Frazer in the face for the DQ at 4:22.

Rating: C+. The match was the usual spot fest style of entertaining and that’s not a bad thing, but it feels like the kind of a match that I’ve seen half a dozen times this month alone. Throw in Wagner being the big focus at the end and it doesn’t make things much better. I still feel sorry for Lee, as he is stuck trying to start from scratch after something that wasn’t his fault.

Post match Wagner beats up Lee as well, setting up a big gorilla press toss onto the announcers’ table.

Wes Lee and Nathan Frazer run into Sanga, who says they did well for men their size. Lee takes that personally but Frazer isn’t getting involved. Sanga doesn’t want to get involved in this but a match is set for next week.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Santos Escobar

Feeling out process to start with D’Angelo running him over and stomping away. Escobar fights back but his dive is cut off, allowing D’Angelo to do more mob stereotypes as we take an early break. Back with Escobar hitting a kick to the face to put D’Angelo on the floor, setting up a heck of a suicide dive.

A dropkick takes D’Angelo down and another puts him on the apron as well. D’Angelo grabs a belly to belly into the corner and they both go up top, where Escobar snaps off a super hurricanrana. The fans chanting knocks the sound out and here is the rest of Legado for a distraction. D’Angelo’s goons come in to take care of them, but Escobar uses the distraction to knock D’Angelo cold for the pin at 12:42.

Rating: C. I cannot put into words how little I care about this whole gang wars story. It isn’t my kind of thing and I haven’t gotten interested in anything they’re doing. The worst part is how out of sync it feels with just about everything else on the show and that makes it stick out so much. Escobar and D’Angelo are talented enough that they don’t need the other the top stuff, yet here we are again.

Joe Gacy, with his minions, talks about how Bron Breakker’s lack of control will cost him the NXT Title, allowing Gacy to control the brand (yes the brand) and the world. Maniacal laughter, apparently from on top of a rather high building, ends the show.

Overall Rating: C. It was a very up and down show this week, as some good action was drowned out by some pretty uninteresting stories. I still have no idea why Breakker vs. Gacy is continuing or how some of these things are the best ideas that NXT has, but we are full steam ahead towards In Your House. Hopefully that means a change of pace for a lot of things, as the action is only going to carry it so far.

Results
Solo Sikoa/Cameron Grimes b. Trick Williams/Carmelo Hayes – Superfly Splash to Hayes
Lash Legend b. Tatum Paxley – Pump kick
Viking Raiders b. Creed Brothers – Double powerbomb to Julius
Grayson Waller b. Andre Chase – Rolling Stunner
Roxanne Perez b. Kiana James – Uproxx
Nathan Frazer b. Wes Lee via DQ when Von Wagner interfered
Santos Escobar b. Tony D’Angelo – Right hand with brass knuckles

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: May 10, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

While things should have changed last week with NXT Champion Bron Breakker beating Joe Gacy at Spring Breakin, Gacy’s minions beat Breakker down and kidnapped him. Since wins and losses don’t matter around here, Gacy vs. Breakker continues while the women’s Breakout Tournament begins. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a recap of last week’s title match, plus the post show beatdown and Gacy and Company taking Breakker into a field with a sack of his head. They seem to leave him there as Gacy is all nutty.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Roxanne Perez/Wendy Choo

Toxic Attraction is defending against the criminals. Choo dives in off the top from behind to take the champs down and it’s Perez starting with Jayne. That’s fine with the champ as Perez gets sent into the corner, allowing Jayne to do some of the most blatant spot calling I can remember (she grabbed Perez’s head and talked to her).

Jayne makes the mistake of talking too much trash though and it’s Choo coming in to clean house. Choo sends them outside and holds the ropes open so Perez can hit a double dive as we take a break. Back with Jayne taking Choo down but the tag off to Perez doesn’t take that long. A Russian legsweep gets two on Dolin as everything breaks down. Mandy Rose gets in the ring so Choo goes after her, allowing Jayne to hit a superkick on Perez for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: C+. Choo’s gimmick is still horrible but she can wrestle a somewhat exciting match. That kind of makes me wonder what in the world the point is in trying to have her be this goofy thing that is impossible to take seriously. If she was having matches like this in regular gear, she would be downright useful, but it is a little hard to buy her as anything important based on how she is dressed in the ring (and what she does out of it).

Post match Toxic Attraction beats Choo down.

Grayson Waller and Tiffany Stratton went shopping.

The Creed Brothers aren’t happy with Roderick Strong interfering against the Viking Raiders last week. Strong says the win is what matters but next week the Creeds are going to face the Raiders again. That’s cool with Strong, who is bringing in someone who has been wanting to join the team for a long time now: Damon Kemp. The Creeds say that new members are supposed to be a group decision, so they’ll talk about this later.

Here is Joe Gacy, with minions, for a chat. Gacy says that Bron Breakker has to take the next step in his journey all alone. He started his own journey here months ago and allowed anyone to be a part of real change. Two men, the minions, separated themselves from the pack and have proven their worth to him and themselves. Now Breakker can be a part of this change and receive eternal joy. Otherwise, affliction and hardship await those who resist. And that’s it, because Gacy is just another cult leader that has been done time after time.

Sarray, a schoolgirl again, talks to Chase University and since Bodie Hayward speaks Japanese (Chase: “We got a foreign language department?”), he translates that Sarray wants to team with Chase in a mixed tag. Chase is in.

This week at the Performance Center, Ivy Nile had an exercise challenge, starting with pushups. More on this later as some participants drop out early.

Here are the eight Women’s Breakout Tournament participants and we’ve got brackets:

Nikkita Lyons
Arianna Grace

Fallon Henley
Sloane Jacobs

Roxanne Perez
Kiana James

Lash Legend
Tatum Paxley

Everyone gets introduced with a quick bio graphic.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Fallon Henley vs. Sloane Jacobs

Henley misses a charge in the corner to start, allowing Jacobs to try a dropkick that is left a big short, meaning Henley has to lean into it for the near fall to make sense. Cue Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs to cheer Henley on as Jacobs kicks her in the face for two. Back up and Henley manages a clothesline for a double knockdown, setting up a running knee to finish Jacobs at 4:16.

Rating: C-. They did the right thing by having Henley go forward, but the brackets would suggest that she is going to get wrecked by Nikkita Lyons in the second round. Henley has fit in rather nicely with the country boys and that is a good starting point for her. Jacobs isn’t even 20 years old yet so she has a long way to go, but at least the base seems to be there so far.

Respect is shown post match.

Legado del Fantasma doesn’t feel bad about kidnapping AJ Galante last week. Now it’s time to start the car again.

Cruz del Toro goes to start the car but Tony D’Angelo and company jump him and beat him down. Then they put him in another car trunk and drive off.

Alba Fyre vs. Amari Miller

Fyre grabs a rollup to start as we go split screen to see Ivy Nile putting her contestants through burpees to get rid of even more. Miller comes back with a Regal Cutter for two but Fyre superkicks her for the same. Fyre plants her again with the Firebomb (Gory Bomb) and hits a Swanton for the pin at 3:38.

Rating: C. Fyre looked good here, but that isn’t hard when you’re one of the best in the world. I know WWE felt the need to change everything about her but at least the red hair is about as much of a trademark as you can get. It wasn’t quite a squash as Miller has a bit of standing around here, though Fyre should be either in the title scene or on the main roster like yesterday.

Solo Sikoa won’t let Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes in the building.

Cora Jade is ready for Natalya and isn’t that little girl that Natalya remembers.

Here is Solo Sikoa for a chat. He likes what he did to Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes and wants the North American Title. Cue Cameron Grimes to say that once he beats Hayes, Sikoa is next. That’s cool with Sikoa, who walks away, but here are Hayes and Williams to beat Grimes down. Sikoa slowly leaves, then turns to look back and very eventually makes the save.

Legado del Fantasma calls Tony D’Angelo and company and threats are made. Santos Escobar throws in a “f*** you” to end the call and D’Angelo breaks things.

Nathan Frazer is excited to be here when Xyon Quinn comes in. Quinn says something Frazer doesn’t understand when Wes Lee comes up too. Frazer says he thought it was some American thing and leaves, which seems to set up Lee vs. Quinn.

Tiffany Stratton/Grayson Waller vs. Andre Chase/Sarray

Sarray transforms, but it also changes Bodhi Hayward into a schoolgirl and changes Chase’s sweater to blue. The guys start things off with Waller working on the wristlock. A shot to the face annoys Chase so it’s off to Stratton, who has to run away from Sarray. That lets Stratton get her into the ring for a forearm to the face, only to have Sarray take her down by the leg. The Muta Lock goes on, with Sarray having to grab the hair for the escape.

Chase and Sarray hit the spelling stomps and we take a break. Back with Waller beating on Chase until a suplex gets him out of trouble. Everything breaks down again and the Sunray dropkick hits Waller. That leaves Sarray to get planted though and Stratton hits the twisting Vader Bomb….for two as Hayward blasts the air horn. Stratton dives on him (Stratton: “THAT’S A TEACHABLE MOMENT!”) but gets rolled up by Sarray for the pin at 10:26.

Rating: C+. Chase U has rapidly become one of my favorite things in all of NXT and that is due to the efforts that Chase has put in. He has turned a totally dumb story into something I like to see every week and that is a rare thing to see. It is all in the performance for him and I could go for more of that and people like him. Waller and Stratton were fine here and Sarray winning….I just can’t imagine it’s going to stick this time. She has fallen too far and the still lame transformation stuff is making it worse.

Ivy Nile has people doing lunges.

Mr. Stone says if people step to Von Wagner, they are going to get hurt. Ikemen Jiro comes in and attacks him and they get separated.

Indi Hartwell is sad about Dexter Lumis (whose name we can’t say) being gone when Toxic Attraction comes in. Mandy Rose talks about how she can’t imagine what Indi is going through….because no one would ever leave her. Go find Wendy Choo and cry with her. Hartwell shakes her head a lot.

Women’s Breakout Tournament First Round: Nikkita Lyons vs. Arianna Grace

Grace hits her in the face to start and manages to take Lyons down early on. Something like an Anaconda Vice has Lyons in trouble but she’s back up with some superkicks. A release German suplex sends Grace flying and a spinning kick to the face drops her. The splits splash finishes for Lyons at 3:08.

Rating: C. They kept this one short with Grace getting in some offense before falling tot he bigger star. There is nothing wrong with pushing the heck out of Lyons as she has the physical gifts and intangibles to go a long way. Grace looked good in the short term, but you can only get so much out of her selling a lot in a three minute match.

Ivy Nile gets rid of more people with the battle ropes and pullups. Nile outlasts the one remaining person and doesn’t look happy.

Video on Cora Jade vs. Natalya, and yes that really is the main event.

The Viking Raiders are in on a rematch against the Creeds.

Natalya vs. Cora Jade

Feeling out process to start with Jade spinning out of a wristlock and taking Natalya down early. The threat of some kind of a hold has Jade slipping out, only to send Natalya to the floor. We take a break and come back with Jade escaping a surfboard, setting up a running knee in the ropes. A tornado DDT gets two on Natalya but she is fine enough to suplex Jade hard into the corner.

Jade’s knee is crushed in the ropes so Natalya wraps it around the post. That allows Jade to pull her face first into the post and Sliced Bread gets two. With nothing else working, Jade grabs the Sharpshooter but Natalya powers out as Jade’s knee can’t hold up. Natalya grabs the Sharpshooter and Jade passes out at 14:06.

Rating: B. They were managing to pull me in here, and while I get the idea of Jade hanging in there to fall in the end, I’m not sure that’s the best way to go. Is Natalya really important enough that Jade can’t beat her? I know WWE seems to think of her as a legend and yeah I think I just answered my own question.

Post match Jade wakes up and Natalya helps her to her feet for the big hug to end the show. Please, not another tag team.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event pulled this one over the line and while it took time, I’m glad it actually got there. NXT continues to push some rather uninteresting stars and characters though, from Choo to Gacy to D’Angelo and company to Sarray to Natalya and it doesn’t help me through the show. There are good and interesting people on here who could use the TV time, but the bad names are bringing things WAY down and it’s making parts of the show a chore rather than entertaining. Side note: has there ever been a full, regular show that has a woman in every match? That might be a first.

Results
Toxic Attraction b. Roxanne Perez/Wendy Choo – Superkick to Perez
Fallon Henley b. Sloane Jacobs – Running knee
Alba Fyre b. Amari Miller – Swanton
Andre Chase/Sarray b. Tiffany Stratton/Grayson Waller – Rollup to Stratton
Nikkita Lyons b. Arianna Grace – Splits splash
Natalya b. Cora Jade via referee stoppage

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: May 3, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s Spring Breakin, which is somehow a name that has never been used before. It’s one of those big time shows that has a pair of title matches included, capped off by Joe Gacy challenging Bron Breakker for the NXT Title. The show is looking stacked enough to be good so let’s get to it.

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

Pretty Deadly is by the pool to welcome us to the show, while admiring their Tag Team Titles. After running down the card, they jump into the pool and we’re ready to go.

North American Title: Cameron Grimes vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Carmelo Hayes

Grimes is defending and Trick Williams is here with Hayes. Sikoa and Grimes take turns chopping Hayes and a heck of a backdrop sends Hayes bailing to the floor. Back in and Hayes is hiptossed into Sikoa but pulls him in for a hurricanrana. Hayes hits a springboard clothesline on Sikoa but Grimes takes him down, setting up a high crossbody to Sikoa for two of his own. Back up and Hayes takes both of them down as we go to a break.

We come back with Sikoa headbutting Hayes down but the backsplash hits raised knees. Hayes goes up but Sikoa catches him, only to have Grimes charge at both of them. The Tower of Doom gives us a HOLY CENSORED (at least some of the time) chant before switching to the more family friendly THIS IS AWESOME. It’s time for the three way forearm off with Sikoa getting the better of things, setting up a double running Umaga Attack in the same corner. Grimes gets powerbombed onto Hayes but the Superfly Splash is broken up.

Grimes hurricanranas both of them at the same time and hits a poisonrana for two on Hayes. The Cave In is countered into something like a Codebreaker to give Hayes two of his own but Sikoa superkicks Hayes out of the air. Sikoa hits the Superfly Splash on Grimes for a VERY close near fall, which looked like three as Hayes might have been a split second late with the save. With that not working, Sikoa loads up the Samoan drop on Hayes but Grimes comes in off the middle rope with the Cave In for the retaining pin on Sikoa at 14:09.

Rating: B. That near fall was crazy close and they might have let it be close enough for it to be a pin. They were rolling near the end of this though and I was way into the thing, which isn’t something you get to say very often in NXT. It was also something of a coming out party for Sikoa and he has a future around here. Great match and they started very hot this week.

Mandy Rose went tanning earlier today but Wendy Choo runs in (wearing full costume of course) to sabotage things. The rest of Toxic Attraction shows up and finds her completely burned, but they’re going to go to the beach without her. Rose screams at the sight of herself in the mirror.

Nathan Frazer can’t believe he’s here and it’s like every birthday and Christmas rolled into one.

Roderick Strong gives the Creed Brothers a pep talk at Diamond Mine practice. He also makes it clear that he’s in charge of the team, which doesn’t sit well with the Creeds.

Indi Hartwell is sad that….well she doesn’t say, but she is touching her empty ring finger. Here is Duke Hudson to tease kissing her, but they both snap backwards, with Hartwell saying “oh h*** no” and Hudson saying “you wish”. Ok then, though it’s not like they have anything else for these two to do.

Nathan Frazer vs. Grayson Waller

Feeling out process to start with Frazer grabbing a headlock but Waller fights up. A dropkick sends him to the floor though, only to run up the aisle before Frazer can dive. They slug it out in the aisle before heading back to the ring for more slugging. Waller breaks up Frazer’s dive and hits a slide underneath the ropes for a right hand on the floor. A beach ball is added, which Waller tears apart to become my (and Cesaro’s) new favorite as we take a break.

Back with Frazer making the comeback and knocking Waller off the apron. The suicide dive drops Waller again and a superkick cuts off the rolling Stunner. A superkick gives Frazer two but Waller punches him down into the corner. Frazer goes up but gets knocked down so Waller heads up as well. Cue Andre Chase (who has been seen in the crowd throughout the match) with an air horn for a distraction to knock Waller off the top. Frazer’s Phoenix splash finishes Waller off at 12:38.

Rating: C+. Waller looked better here, as he feels like someone who knows how to be a villain. On the other hand, you have Frazer, who did look good, but felt like someone who is a more polished version of someone we’ve seen a dozen times. Frazer feels like a very modern wrestler while Waller felt like someone with some upward potential. Neither looked bad, but Waller was better.

Fallon Henley is in the Breakout Tournament and loves horses, including her own, Luna. These vignettes are good as they tell you a little something about the women to give you an introduction. The fact that Henley has been around for months makes it a little late, but I’ll take what I can get.

We get the sitdown meeting between Legado del Fantasma and Tony D’Angelo and company. Santos Escobar respects him but not as a businessman. They both want the same things, but argue over who controls the NXT pie. Eventually they agree to peace though and share a toast. The mafia leaves and Escobar says start the car, which seems to have some hidden meaning. This is one of those things fans are probably going to love or hate without much in between ground.

The Viking Raiders are ready to hurt the Creed Brothers…but Pretty deadly interrupts to say they want to see the Raiders smash the Creeds. Just remember though: the Creeds are damaged goods. The Raiders warn them over the interruption and threaten to change their focus, which gets Pretty Deadly to back off.

Joe Gacy warns us of what happens if he doesn’t win the NXT Title tonight. He is change.

Nikkita Lyons/Cora Jade vs. Natalya/Lash Legend

Legend throws Jade into the corner to start but misses a charge so Jade can slug away. Natalya comes in and trades some rollups with Jade for two each. Lyons comes in and gets headlocked to the mat but Natalya is right back up. The wristlock doesn’t work well for Lyons and it’s off to Legend to take over. Legend hits a Cactus Clothesline on Lyons and the partners are outside to check on both of them as we take a break.

Back with Natalya dropping Jade for two more and a snap suplex gets the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Legend comes in for some shouts to the ribs in the corner. Jade fights up (as Natalya very clearly told her to on camera) and gets over for the tag to Lyons. House is cleaned, including the running Blockbuster for two on Natalya. Legend comes back in to take Lyons down for some knees to the ribs but Natalya kicks her down by mistake. Lyons gets over to Jade, who comes in with a top rope backsplash for the pin at 13:24.

Rating: C. That’s on a bit of a sliding scale as Legend is not ready for anything complicated yet, but this was a mostly watchable match with Natalya being the glue to hold it together. Other than that, you have Jade bouncing around and Lyons adding some charisma. It’s not great or even very good, but this felt like it could have been a disaster and was completely watchable.

Tatum Paxley likes powerlifting, and presumably winning the Breakout Tournament.

Toxic Attraction goes to the beach, where Wendy Choo and Roxanne Perez steal their shoes and car. To recap, Choo has injured Mandy Rose and then stole a car. I’m supposed to cheer for her because….reasons?

Creed Brothers vs. Viking Raiders

The Raiders start fast and take both Creeds down, setting up the Viking Experience for two on Julius. Brutus fights back up and hits a release gutwrench suplex on Erik. That doesn’t last long as Ivar takes both of them down and we go to a break. Back with Brutus suplexing his way out of a headlock and bringing in Julius to slam Erik. An exchange of suplexes gives Ivar two and he drops Erik onto Brutus to make it worse.

Ivar’s middle rope splash gives Erik two because the Creeds like to kick out of a lot of stuff. Ivar goes up again but Julius runs the corner for a top rope superplex. Erik is back up for the belly to back suplex/top rope legdrop combination. Brutus and Ivar fall to the floor, leaving Roderick Strong to run in for a cheap shot on Erik (Julius didn’t see him). The basement lariat finishes for Julius at 12:52.

Rating: C. I’m getting a bit over the Creeds being able to kick out of everything, but the ending seems like a way for them to break away from Strong and end the Diamond Mine for good. The Creeds are all but guaranteed to win the titles soon and them crushing Pretty Deadly should be good. As usual, the main roster contingent did their jobs well here, with a win over the Raiders feeling like an accomplishment for the Creeds.

Post match the Creeds see the replay and aren’t happy with Strong.

Santos Escobar and AJ Galante meet in the parking lot. Then Escobar jumps him and the rest of Legado kidnaps him, because that’s what you do in the NXT parking lot.

Alba Fyre likes fire.

Earlier this week, Brooks Jensen is told that normally his injury recovery time is about 10-12 weeks, but since the muscles in his hand are so strong (ahem), it will be 6-8 weeks.

Bron Breakker throws a comically large on/off switch to start his music.

NXT Title: Joe Gacy vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker, in apparently the same singlet that Rick Steiner wore to the first Raw (ignore that it is a different color and design), is defending. Gacy gets powered to the floor to start but comes back in with a cheap shot. The chinlock goes on for a bit before another shot knocks Breakker to the floor.

We take a break and come back with Breakker getting pulled off the middle rope, allowing Gacy to flip himself upside down in the corner (as Bray Wyatt rolls his eyes somewhere). An armbar doesn’t last long as Breakker is back up and drops him onto the top. Some shoulders set up a running clothesline but the overhead belly to belly is blocked. Gacy hits a reverse DDT for two but Breakker is right back with a Steiner Bulldog for two.

Breakker misses a charge into the corner but stops himself (in a nice call back to the Dolph Ziggler feud), setting up a Frankensteiner. A not great looking belly to belly gives Breakker two but he misses a charge, allowing Gacy to hit an Alabama Slam. Gacy’s sitout powerbomb gets two more but the handspring lariat misses. Breakker spears him down to retain the title at 11:02.

Rating: D+. Yeah this missed and it missed pretty hard. Gacy never felt like a threat and they were on different pages at times. I’m still not sure why Gacy is seen as some kind of a major player in NXT as he is turning into more and more of a Bray Wyatt knockoff every day. This whole feud has felt like a major waste of time for Breakker and now he needs to move on to almost anyone else.

Post match Breakker poses but two masked men pop up on the apron behind him….and that’s the show, with Breakker not seeing them.

Overall Rating: C. This show started off well and then hit a hard wall, mainly around the time they started focusing on the goofy stuff. That’s what drives me crazy about NXT: they have the talent and the ability to put on a good show, but then you get around to the stuff they seem to enjoy doing and it all falls apart. You have Perez and Choo as criminals, plus a turf war between the mob and Legado. That stuff is so goofy that it could be fun, but they can’t even get that stuff to work right. The first hour was good enough to carry the show, but it was just barely enough to make up for the bad.

Results
Cameron Grimes b. Solo Sikoa and Carmelo Hayes – Middle rope Cave In to Sikoa
Nathan Frazer b. Grayson Waller – Phoenix splash
Cora Jade/Nikkita Lyons b. Natalya/Lash Legend – Top rope backsplash to Legend
Creed Brothers b. Viking Raiders – Sliding lariat to Erik
Bron Breakker b. Joe Gacy – Spear

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

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NXT
Date: April 26, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things got weird last week as Joe Gacy suddenly had a cult (minus his one regular follower) and sent them after Bron Breakker. That’s your NXT Title match for next week and….yeah I’m not sure what to expect there. Other than that, we need to start building up the rest of the card and that will probably be done tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

They go right at the brawling with Lyons getting the better of things and taking her to the ground for some right hands. Legend sends her crashing out to the floor though and a ram into the steps makes it worse. Back in and Lyons gets a sunset flip for two but Legend is back with a spinning side slam for the same. The neck crank has Lyons in trouble but she is back up with the kicks to the leg. There’s a snap suplex to drop Legend and a German suplex does it again. The spinning kick to the chest finishes Legend at 5:02.

Rating: D. This was rough, didn’t flow well and was just a mess as these two, especially Legend, just is not ready for live TV. I completely get why they want to put both of them on television, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. Lyons is ahead of Legend at the moment, but I wouldn’t leave her out there for a longer match either. At least it was relatively short, though that about the extent of the positives.

Post match Natalya runs in to jump Lyons but Cora Jade makes the save.

Tony D’Angelo isn’t worried about facing Xyon Quinn….because he isn’t cleared to compete for some reason. Instead, he gets to face Von Wagner, who is going to be sleeping with the fishes. Right Santos Escobar?

Roderick Strong gives the rest of Diamond Mine a pep talk and has even gotten the Creed Brothers a match next week…..with the Viking Raiders. Cool with the Brothers.

Von Wagner vs. Tony D’Angelo

They start a bit fast with neither being able to get very far. Wagner gets him into the ropes for some choking to take over as the fans are behind D’Angelo. A show to the face keeps D’Angelo down and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo fighting out of a chinlock and hammering away.

The fisherman’s neckbreaker is broken up with a toss to the floor but here are Legado del Fantasma to go after Wagner. Cue the Wise Guys (as commentary calls them) to cut them off so Santos Escobar comes in to take out D’Angelo’s knee. Back in and a big boot finishes D’Angelo at 10:02.

Rating: C-. I keep hoping that they will pull the plug on Wagner as he’s just another generic big man doing generic big man things. D’Angelo is at least someone they have put some effort into so maybe there might be something there, but at least they protected him in the loss. I’m still not into the D’Angelo vs. Escobar stuff whatsoever though.

Toxic Attraction mocks Roxanne Perez over her cheating win last week but she’s ready for Mandy Rose. Tonight. Rose is ready to teach her a lesson.

Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen give Fallon Henley a pep talk before she gets to fight Elektra Lopez. Sofia Cromwell comes in and distracts Jensen, but he gets snapped back into reality.

Nathan Frazer comes out for his debut match but Grayson Waller jumps Frazer’s unnamed opponent. Chase U distracts Waller so he says to get in here and fight him. Chase U comes to the ring and Frazer jumps Waller to clear the ring. Apparently Frazer’s opponent was Guru Raaj if you’re into the least interesting trivia available this week. You couldn’t have Frazer win in a minute or so and then do the Waller stuff?

The Women’s Breakout Tournament begins in two weeks, featuring Arianna Grace, better known as Santino Marella’s daughter Bianca.

Tiffany Stratton freaks out because Sarray pulled her hair three times last week. Grayson Waller comes in to rant about Nathan Frazer. Stratton rants about Frazer’s bad hair and accent, with Waller agreeing about how horrible accents are.

Kayden Carter/Katana Chance vs. Valentina Feroz/Yulisa Leon

Cater armdrags Leon to start but it’s off to Feroz for a hurricanrana and some dancing. Back in and Carter catches her with a kick before handing it off to Chance for a springboard crossbody. A seated abdominal stretch has Feroz in more trouble until she fights up and hits an elbow to the face. The tag brings in Leon to clean house and Chance is knocked to the floor. Carter gets caught in an Octopus but Leon misses a Lionsault. That lets Chance come back in for the 450/neckbreaker combination and the pin at 5:58.

Rating: C. This was fine enough, but egads cut it out with the name changes. All this did was make me have to erase Catanzaro over and over because that’s who I see out there. It isn’t like there was some reason for the change other than Vince McMahon has a new thing, making it all the more annoying of a move.

Post match the winners dance, because at least half of the women in this division must dance.

Brooks Jensen has been jumped and Josh Briggs knows it was Legado del Fantasma. Briggs and Fallon Henley leave to fight as Jensen tells the medics he can go.

Kay Lee Ray lights her baseball bat on fire and names herself Alba Fyre, because Vince McMahon has to change ALL THE NAMES, because if you skip a few weeks and are confused, THAT’S YOUR PROBLEM!

Legado del Fantasma vs. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley

Handicap match as Brooks Jensen isn’t here. Briggs and Henley clear the ring to start and it’s the women officially getting things going. Lopez misses an elbow so it’s quickly off to Briggs to run over Del Toro and Wilde. Del Toro is suplexes into Wilde and Lopez gets kicked in the head.

We settle down to Briggs getting double teamed as Mr. Stone gets on commentary to suggest that Von Wagner took out Brooks Jensen. An electric chair splash gets two on Briggs, who manages to kick Wilde into the corner. The double tag brings the women back in so Henley can hit a running shoulder. A running kick doesn’t quite work but gets two on Lopez anyway. Everything breaks down and the women are chased off, leaving Briggs to get caught in the Russian legsweep/big boot combination for the pin at 4:48.

Rating: C. Briggs looked good here and Henley got to show some fire, which makes me think there is some hope for their trio. That being said, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Briggs and Jensen split up after Jensen sells his soul for Cromwell, because modern WWE could somehow screw up the country boy tag team trope. This needed a bit more time to get good but it worked while it lasted.

Natalya is ready to beat up Cora Jade and put the locker room ON NOTICE. Lash Legend says it isn’t over with Nikkita Lyons next week and then win the Breakout Tournament.

Kiana James is smart and bringing corporate strategy to the Breakout Tournament. I guess the modern day Alexandra York is a way to go.

Solo Sikoa vs. Trick Williams

Cameron Grimes is on commentary. Williams sends Sikoa shoulder first into the corner a few times to start but Sikoa reverses into an armbar of his own. Some kicks put Sikoa down and Williams adds a slam for a bonus. The running neckbreaker gets two as Grimes talks about the various things he has done around here over the years. Sikoa fights up though and the fired up Sikoa hits a belly to back suplex. The running splash in the corner sets up the Samoan drop and the Superfly Splash is good for the pin on Williams at 5:08.

Rating: C+. Williams continues to hold his own in the ring despite being little more than a mouthpiece for someone who doesn’t need one. Sikoa is someone who has the tools but needs ring time, so letting him slowly progress is a good thing. While he probably won’t win the North American Title next week, it’s nice to see him getting a chance and not feeling like he is in over his head.

Post match Grimes gets in the ring to argue with Carmelo Hayes but Sikoa superkicks him down before the three of them face off for the North American Title next week.

Malik Blade gives Edris Enofe a pep talk in the mirror in a scene straight out of Cool Runnings (nearly copying the dialogue).

Legeado del Fantasma are fired up over their win but they want to get rid of Tony D’Angelo and his associates.

Edris Enofe/Malik Blade vs. Viking Raiders

Erik knocks Blade around to start and the beating is on in a hurry. Enofe comes in to try his luck and gets blasted in the face with a knee for two. The fans are behind Erik as he works on the armbar. It’s back to Blade as commentary seems to quote Lose Yourself and Cool Runnings back to back. A double high crossbody gets two on Ivar and that’s enough of being beaten up for him. House is cleaned and it’s off to Erik for a full nelson slam backbreaker. The Viking Experience finishes at 4:45.

Rating: C. The ending wasn’t really in doubt but NXT might have something with Blade and Enofe. They’re young, they work well together and their matches aren’t too bad. Give them some time to develop and maybe they can be the next “it” team around here. NXT is supposed to be developmental and these two seem to be developing so well done.

Post match the Creed Brothers come out for a staredown.

Wes Lee is on the beach and talks about taking is months to get back to the Tag Team Titles. Losing was hard, but it was even worse to have them taken away. He could whine and complain or he could knuckle up and makes the waves that he is destined to make. I’ve heard far worse promos.

Tony D’Angelo introduces us to his associates: Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan and Channing Lorenzo, better known as Stacks. D’Angelo wants Santos Escobar at Spring Breakin.

Mandy Rose vs. Roxanne Perez

Non-title and the rest of Toxic Attraction is here. Rose takes her down with a wristlock to start but Perez nips up and grabs a victory roll for one. Back up and Perez starts biting the finger, as Barrett is panicking over the manicure. A ram into the steps has Rose in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Rose taking over again and putting on a backbreaker with Perez bent over the knee. That’s broken up and Perez starts the comeback with a Russian legsweep into a standing moonsault for two (which isn’t innovative offense). A crossbody gets the same but Rose hits the jumping knee for the pin at 9:55.

Rating: C-. I get why it had to happen this way but I wouldn’t have had Perez losing in her second match on NXT. She is someone who came in and had a little buzz so don’t have her lose so fast. Rose is the bigger star, but at least have Toxic Attraction interfere to cost Perez the match.

Post match Wendy Choo appears to chase off Toxic Attraction….and a net falls onto them. Choo and Perez spray them with silly string. This was worse than Perez losing.

Sloan Jacobs is 19 years old but she spent years fighting with her sisters so she’s ready to overcome the odds in the Breakout Tournament.

Spring Breakin rundown.

Here is Joe Gacy, with druids, to talk about the strides they have made to embrace change. Now he knows that Bron Breakker has been hurt and left on the sidelines so now Gacy can be crowned NXT Champion. Cue Rick Steiner to interrupt and say Breakker is cleared to compete, so the druids get in the ring. Cue Breakker to clean house, because I guess he was having a sandwich while Rick came to the ring. Gacy hits the handspring clothesline and drops Breakker before posing with the title to end the show. This wasn’t good, but it was miles ahead of last week’s nonsense. If this is as bad as it gets anymore, it should be ok.

Overall Rating: C-. This show could have been worse, but the bad parts were really bad and that brings things down a lot. They went with faster matches and got a lot of people on the show this week but it didn’t have anything you needed to see. Spring Breakin doesn’t feel like a show that needed to exist and that is becoming more obvious each week. Not their worst (especially after last week’s Gacy/Breakker stuff) but it really didn’t work very well.

Results
Nikkita Lyons b. Lash Legend – Spinning kick to the chest
Von Wagner b. Tony D’Angelo – Big boot
Katana Chance/Kayden Carter b. Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz – 450/neckbreaker combination to Feroz
Legado del Fantasma b. Josh Briggs/Fallon Henley – Russian legsweep/big boot combination to Briggs
Solo Sikoa b. Trick Williams – Superfly Splash
Viking Raiders b. Malik Blade/Edris Enofe – Viking Experience to Blade
Mandy Rose b. Roxanne Perez – Jumping knee

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: April 19, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

Things are both picking up and being let down around here. While Pretty Deadly and some other imports are a nice upgrade, the NXT Title picture is leaning more into B movie territory as Joe Gacy becomes more of a Bond villain parody. Hopefully the things in the middle can make it better so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at Pretty Deadly winning the Tag Team Titles and Joe Gacy telling Bron Brakker he needs to make a sacrifice.

Here is Pretty Deadly for a chat. They have dominated England and decided it was time to come to America and dominate here as well. And it wasn’t even that hard! Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans (with the graphic ignoring their first names, which has me worried). Drake says Pretty Deadly wouldn’t have won had they been here and it is time for the Veterans to win the titles. Cue Legado del Fantasma to brawl with the Veterans though and all four of them go to the back.

As the brawl is on, cue Bron Breakker through the crowd to tell Joe Gacy to get out here right now and see what he is willing to sacrifice. A recording of Gacy pops up on screen, saying he isn’t hard to find and all Breakker has to do is come fine him. Breakker goes off in search.

Over the weekend, Carmelo Hayes promised to get the North American Title back.

Santos Escobar laughed at Hayes, saying his place is in the back of the line.

Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes laugh off what Escobar says and a match is ready for this week.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Sarray

Stratton’s theme song is now about being Daddy’s Little Rich Girl. They go toe to toe to start with Sarray taking her down and into a Muta Lock, sending Stratton straight to the rope. Stratton avoids the running dropkick and hits a hip attack, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up and Sarray hits a German suplex into a middle rope double stomp. The Sunray dropkick sends Stratton outside so Sarray sends her inside for another German suplex. That’s broken up with a clash of heads though and the corkscrew Vader Bomb finishes for Stratton at 4:20.

Rating: C. The more I see Stratton in the ring, the more I like her. She isn’t going to be the next star but she is seeming more and more confident out there. The gymnastics background helps a lot and she is rather athletic. Give her something with a bit more to it than the Daddy’s Little Rich Girl deal and she could go somewhere. Sarray….I’m not sure even NXT sees it anymore.

Bron Breakker is looking for Joe Gacy but hears his dad’s voice saying “BRONSON (Breakker’s real first name) UP HERE”! Breakker finds the cage his dad was trapped in but it’s just a recording of Gacy and Harland torturing Rick Steiner two weeks ago. The hunt continues.

Pretty Deadly runs into Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta backstage and the women would like a match. Things get rather suggestive, but it turns out that the match is for Dexter Lumis/Duke Hudson, which has Pretty Deadly running off. This is up there with the worst things on NXT at the moment.

Grayson Waller blames Sanga for not winning the North American Title because Sanga screwed up the perfect plan. Andre Chase/Bodie Hayward come in to say this is teachable moment and brings up Ben Franklin, which has Waller asking who Franklin ever beat. Cue Sanga to chase Waller to the ring for their scheduled match.

Sanga vs. Grayson Waller

Waller’s shot to the back earns him a toss across the ring and there’s another to bring him back out of the corner. Sanga does it over and over until Waller just grabs the rope to save himself. That doesn’t work for Sanga, who drops an elbow on the back for two. Waller bails to the floor and has to escape a chokeslam. He goes up the aisle but runs back in for the running Stunner and the pin at 3:25.

Rating: C-. Good. NXT (and WWE as a whole) has WAY too many intimidating looking monsters and doesn’t need another one being built up with almost no chance of going anywhere. Waller is much closer to being a star and giving him a win over another lumbering monster is a good idea. Not a great match, but the result was a sigh of relief.

Video on Cora Jade meeting Natalya last week and getting beaten up. Now Jade wants to take Natalya out.

Roxanne Perez (Rok-C) talks about growing up as a gamer and being told that her character would be the closest thing she would come to making it in WWE. Now she is making her debut next week to make everything real.

Perez is ready for next week but Toxic Attraction comes in to say the butterflies you feel around them are real. Just don’t set your bar too high because you’ll never make it. Perez doesn’t seem impressed so Toxic Attraction thinks we should make the debut tonight instead. Perez says she can figure something out.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

The Veterans do seem to have lost their first names as Legado hits a flip dive to take them out before the bell. Back in and Gibson fights out of the Legado corner, allowing Drake to hit an enziguri. Wilde fights out of the corner and brings del Toro in to clean house. Everything breaks down and Gibson gets caught with the tornado DDT, setting up the big boot/Russian legsweep combination to finish Drake at 3:56.

Rating: C+. This was fun while it lasted, much like calling the team the Grizzled Young Veterans as the name change curse strikes again. Other than that we had a fast paced match between two teams who can work that style well enough. Neither has any real chance of getting near the titles soon, but that’s NXT/WWE for you.

Wes Lee is feeling lost since everything happened but Xyon Quinn comes in to say he needs to teach Lee a lesson. Lee knows he belongs in the ring and maybe that can bring some peace to the chaos. Thank goodness this isn’t a Jaxson Ryker situation where Lee is getting punished because someone else did something stupid.

Santos Escobar vs Carmelo Hayes

Trick Williams is here too. They start fast with Hayes sending him into the corner but Escobar comes back with a missile dropkick. The distraction lets Hayes hit a quick clothesline and the confidence starts going. Hayes slips a bit but is fine enough to kick Escobar in the face. A neckbreaker connects and we take a break with Escobar in trouble.

Back with Hayes working on the leg and grabbing a half crab, despite his own back being banged up. Escobar fights up and takes him down for two more as Hayes’ back is in trouble. That means a delayed vertical suplex drops Hayes onto his back to leave both of them laying again.

Hayes can’t hit something out of the corner so Escobar unloads with right hands. That earns him a face first drop onto the top turnbuckle and Escobar runs him over a few times. Escobar hits a big dive to the floor but here are Tony D’Angelo’s goons to take out Escobar’s knee. The top rope ax kick gives Hayes the pin at 13:41.

Rating: B-. They were starting to roll until the ending when the over the top stuff brought it back down. Escobar might be a bit too old for WWE’s tastes but he can still get out there and work well with anyone. Hayes continues to be one of the smoothest stars in NXT and I could go for seeing more of him near the top of the card soon. Would Hayes vs. Breakker wound Summerslam weekend be that insane?

Post match Hayes challenges Cameron Grimes for the title at Spring Break In in two weeks. Grimes comes out to say it’s on but here is Solo Sikoa to jump Hayes and Williams from behind. Sikoa says he has next and walks off, with Grimes not saying no.

Bron Breakker gets out of an elevator and continues looking for Joe Gacy, seemingly finding the evil headquarters. Gacy pops up in a mirror but when he turns around, there is no Gacy anywhere. Breakker breaks the mirror and screams WHERE ARE YOU, because somehow they have dragged BRON BREAKKER into this dumb horror movie storytelling garbage that they just love to do.

Diamond Mine is happy that Ivy Nile is over in NXT UK because she can dominate. Roderick Strong talks about how the team has struggled in the last few months. Strong is ready to start making examples out of people and if they don’t agree, they’re enemies of Diamond Mine.

Natalya vs. Tatum Paxley

Natalya shoves her down to start and then grabs a headlock takeover. Paxley comes back with the wristlock but Natalya reverses into one of her own and flips her over into an armbar. Back up and Paxley sends her outside, where Natalya grabs a suplex to take over. Paxley fights back inside and grabs a suplex of her own but Natalya runs her over again. The Sharpshooter finishes Paxley at 4:55.

Rating: C. This was just a step above a squash to establish Natalya as being a thing in NXT. You know what you’re getting with her and she is going to be one of the better stars as long as she is here. Then you have Paxley, who has barely been wrestling for a few months now and was fine enough. This could have been a lot worse for her so there is definitely potential there.

Tony D’Angelo had nothing to do with Santos Escobar being attacked earlier but does find Legado del Fantasma’s car.

Nathan Frazer is coming.

Duke Hudson doesn’t want to dress like Dexter Lumis but does try talking strategy with him. The problem is Lumis doesn’t flinch no matter what Hudson says, though Indi Hartwell says it’s written all over his face. Just try and speak his language. This results in Hudson mugging in Lumis’ face but Hartwell says Hudson isn’t saying anything. Persia Pirotta is confused too.

Xyon Quinn vs. Wes Lee

Quinn gets knocked to the floor to start but drops Lee onto the apron for an early two. An elbow to the face puts Lee down but he manages a small package for two. A superkick rocks Quinn and Lee strikes him down but a slip lets Quinn get in a shot of his own. The running fist finishes Lee at 3:30.

Rating: D+. I wasn’t feeling this one and it seems that Lee is going to be little more than a jobber for the time being (and probably the rest of his time around here). I’m higher on Quinn more than most people but he does seem fairly limited in the ring so far. The good thing for him is that his look is going to carry him for a long time and maybe he can improve along the way.

Natalya is sick of people coming to the main roster to go after her so she came here instead. Nikkita Lyons pops up to put Natalya on notice and is coming for her after she gets rid of Lash Legend. Natalya threatens her with the Sharpshooter but Lyons says she’s flexible.

We look at Ikemen Jiro being tossed into the crowd by Von Wagner. Jiro is out for about a month due to injuries and Wagner has been fined/suspended.

Roxanne Perez vs. Jacy Jayne

The rest of Toxic Attraction is here too. Perez grabs a rollup for two and Jane does the same to even things up. They trade more cradles for two each before Perez snaps off some armdrags. Jayne sends her into the corner and hits a superkick but Wendy Choo pops up on screen. She has, ahem, remodeled the Toxic Attraction lounge, allowing Perez to hit the Code Red for the pin at 2:14. Vic Joseph: “ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED FOR ROXANNE PEREZ!” Nice debut for Perez and they got her in and out fast.

Legado del Fantasma finds a boot on their car and a dead fish on the hood.

Joe Gacy is watching Bron Breakker and says it’s time to end this. How in the world did he get access to that much surveillance equipment?

Tag Team Titles: Pretty Deadly vs. Dexter Lumis/Duke Hudson

Pretty Deadly is defending and take over on Lumis to start. An atomic drop has Prince in trouble so it’s Hudson coming in as the fans keep chanting for Lumis. That doesn’t last long as Pretty Deadly goes to the floor to put their arms around Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell, earning themselves a double beating. Hudson and Lumis hit a double suplex and the champs are in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Lumis still in control but Wilson pulls Prince out of the way of a corner charge. The chinlock goes on but Lumis fights up and brings Hudson back in to clean house. Prince grabs a quick two and they collide to put himself and Hudson down. Lumis gets knocked off the apron but Hudson grabs a powerslam for two. Back up and a Wilson distraction lets Prince hit a running boot for the pin at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I don’t think there was ton of drama on the ending and thank goodness for that. Pretty Deadly might not be the greatest team in the world and they certainly aren’t reinventing the wheel, but I’ll take them over wacky tag partners who happen to work well together. The Creed Brothers seem destined to take the titles from Pretty Deadly, so maybe that is where we are headed soon enough.

Joe Gacy pops up on the platform and says he’s right here because he isn’t a hard man to find. Cue Bron Breakker to go up to Gacy, who has the Hall of Fame ring. Breakker can have the ring back in exchange for a title match in two weeks. Deal, so Gacy puts the ring in Breakker’s pocket. Then Gacy shoves Breakker off the platform, because Breakker not only stood there when Gacy had the ring in front of him, but then stood there as Gacy shoved him down. Then a bunch of guys in hoods show up to surround Breakker to end the show.

This story had been getting more and more annoying all night long and now it goes over the edge. Breakker, who looks like a can’t miss prospect, has spent the whole night looking like a moron because he can’t find Gacy, literally stands there and gives Gacy everything he wants before being shoved off a platform with no resistance. Then Gacy suddenly has minions, because of course he does. It feels like a bad B movie plot and I’m terrified if this is the best they can do with Breakker so soon.

Overall Rating: C-. I wanted to like this show. There were good parts to it throughout and some nice action, but it’s a case where the everything else ruined what good they had. This show was full of dumb angles and characters (a dead fish on the car, Wendy Choo, the Breakker/Gacy stuff) doing dumb things and it killed what positives the show had built up. It came off like someone saying “this isn’t good enough so let’s add some spice” without thinking about how bad that spice would make things. This was a big step back after some better weeks and I’m really disappointed.

Results
Tiffany Stratton b. Sarray – Twisting Vader Bomb
Grayson Waller b. Sanga – Rolling Stunner
Legado del Fantasma b. Gibson/Drake – Russian legsweep/running big boot combination to Drake
Carmelo Hayes b. Santos Escobar – Top rope ax kick
Natalya b. Tatum Paxley – Sharpshooter
Xyon Quinn b. Wes Lee – Running punch
Roxanne Perez b. Jacy Jayne – Code Red
Pretty Deadly b. Duke Hudson/Dexter Lumis – Big boot to Hudson

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NXT
Date: April 6, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

We’re done with Stand & Deliver and while a lot of things happened at the show, the bigger story came on Raw, as Bron Breakker defeated Dolph Ziggler to retain the NXT Title. That should open up a few new doors in the main event scene and I’m curious to see which one they take first. Let’s get to it.

Here is Stand & Deliver if you need a recap.

We open with a long recap of Stand & Deliver, plus Bron Breakker getting the title back last night on Raw.

Here is Breakker to get things going. After waiting out some WE WANT ZIGGLER/NO WE DON’T chants, Breakker talks about the things that he got to do over the weekend. He went to Wrestlemania for the first time and got to see some of the biggest stars. It made him realize that he was going to headline Wrestlemania one day, but also that he wasn’t going to let Dolph Ziggler leave Dallas with OUR NXT Title.

Now the title is home…and here is Imperium to interrupt. Gunther says that was a nice story but it doesn’t mean anything until Breakker faces Gunther one on one. That’s cool with Breakker so the match is set for tonight. Cue the Creed Brothers behind Imperium and we take a break.

Creed Brothers vs. Imperium

Joined in progress with Julius suplexing Barthel and sneering down at him. It’s off to Aichner for an armdrag into an armbar, plus some knees to the arm. Brutus punches his way out of a slam attempt but gets shouldered down hard. Barthel comes back in and gets gator rolled, allowing the tag off to Julius for an exchange of headlock takeovers. Aichner hits a Regal Roll and grabs a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker.

That doesn’t last long as it’s quickly back to Brutus, who gets kicked in the head. Some forearms get Brutus out of trouble and he sends Barthel outside. Aichner is back up with a slam to send Brutus’ legs into the ropes though and we take a break. Back with Aichner still working on Brutus’ leg until a belly to belly cuts him off. The tag brings Julius in to clean house but a cheap shot from behind saves Barthel.

The double running dropkick in the corner is loaded up but only Barthel (who is bleeding from the eye after an injury from Saturday has been opened up) hits, as Aichner walks away instead. That leaves the Creeds to hit a kind of torture rack slam into the sliding lariat for the pin on Barthel at 11:38.

Rating: C. You can see the Creeds getting more and more confident in the ring as they are starting to look more Steinerish every week. That is the kind of formula that is always going to work and they looked good here. I liked what we had here, but Imperium splitting isn’t exactly an appealing prospect for the individual members not named Gunther.

Post match the Creeds celebrate but two guys in hoods come down and nail them with chairs. They unmask as….Pretty Deadly, former NXT UK Tag Team Champions. I like them in the UK, but I’m not sure how well they’re going to do here. The fact that they name themselves Elton Prince (formerly known as Lewis Howley) and Kit Wilson (Sam Stoker) doesn’t bode well for them either.

Toxic Attraction is ready to get their Tag Team Titles back. They aren’t just Toxic Attraction, because they are THE attraction.

Here is Cameron Grimes for his first chat since winning the North American Title. Grimes says that they finally did it and he knows his father is looking down and smiling ear to ear because his boy did it. People talk about climbing the ladder to success in this business and he has worked hard to prove his dad right. That’s how he got here, as the new North American Champion. He isn’t going to become complacent though, because this title is going to go up and down on multiple trips TO THE MOON!

Cue Solo Sikoa to interrupt and congratulate Grimes on the promises he made to his father. Now we get to the hard part of keeping the title, because championships run through Sikoa’s blood. Man to man, Sikoa issues the challenge and Grimes says he respects that. Challenge accepted, with Sikoa pulling him in off the handshake but not getting violent.

Joe Gacy, with Harland, talks about the need to have someone you can trust. Family is inherent to success and not having it only leads to self destruction.

Draco Anthony is watching Gacy in the back when Xyon Quinn comes in to tell him to not watch that. Anthony says not to tell him what to do and a match is teased.

We recap Dexter Lumis/Indi Hartwell being named a hotter couple than Duke Hudson/Persia Pirotta at Stand & Deliver.

Tiffany Stratton is mad about Sarray costing her a match last week and promises to destroy her. And the necklace.

Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta are here too. Barrett thinks the votes on Saturday were rigged (North Korea is mentioned) as Lumis hits the Thesz press and some running elbows to start. Joseph brings up Ezekiel debuting on Raw, with Barrett thinking he means Ezekiel Jackson (which did cross my mind when the Titantron video aired on Monday) as Hudson takes over and stomps away.

The chinlock goes on as Barrett is now on about Beth Phoenix not being a real minister so Lumis and Hartwell might not even be married. Lumis fights out and hits the spinning legdrop while getting what he would consider fired up. A running corner clothesline sets up the spinebuster as we shift to a long shot of Pirotta’s face. Hudson heads outside and Lumis follows him so the women can cause a double posting for the double countout at 4:55.

Rating: D+. This feud continues to be just a step above a bad infection on the level of enjoyment. The wrestling isn’t good, the story continues to be stupid, and Lumis/Hartwell stopped being interesting a LONG time ago. I’m not sure what NXT sees in this going forward but it is far from good and they need to come up with something better for everyone else involved.

Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez aren’t worried about facing Toxic Attraction again tonight.

Gunther tells Marcel Barthel to not worry about Fabian Aichner because the NXT Title match is what matters tonight. Barthel doesn’t seem happy.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

Toxic Attraction is challenging. Jayne tries to choke Gonzalez to start and Dolin makes a blind tag, only to have her crossbody pulled out of the air. Kai comes in for a double stomp and a dropkick gets two. Dolin gets in a cheap shot though and Jayne adds a clothesline so Kai can get caught in the wrong corner. A ducked right hand allows the hot tag to Gonzalez though and it’s time to clean house.

There’s a fall away slam to Jayne but she counters a Vader bomb into the Tree of Woe. Gonzalez’s bad knee is banged up again and we take a break. Back with Gonzalez sending Jayne to the floor so Kai can tag herself back in. The running kick to the face rocks Dolin and Kai does it again for two. Everything breaks down and some double teaming lets Dolin hit a running neckbreaker to drop Kai. Gonzalez gets kicked to the floor before Kai can kick out at two.

A Codebreaker into an STO gets the same and this time Gonzalez makes another save. The big boot drops Jayne but Gonzalez’s knee gives out and she can’t follow up. Gonzalez tries a powerslam but gets reversed into a flipping Stunner. Cue Wendy Choo but Mandy Rose follows her out and sends her into the steps. The Chingona Bomb is loaded up but Jayne breaks it up with a chop block. Kai gets kicked to the apron and it’s Toxic Shock to give us new champions at 10:29.

Rating: C+. This got going in the middle but I’m rather confused by the ending. Other than Gonzalez possibly going to the main roster, why bother giving them the titles if you are going to change them again three days later? What’s kind of amazing is that the three day reign is far longer than their original reign, which didn’t even last a day.

Joe Gacy and Harland talk about how chaos can control you while still mentioning family. This is going somewhere isn’t it?

AJ Galante is here to introduce Tony D’Angelo as the new Don of NXT. D’Angelo comes to the ring for some bragging and Galante has a special card with D’Angelo’s blood. If D’Angelo breaks the code, may he burn forever. Galante puts a ring on D’Angelo’s finger, some wine is consumed and that’s that. I think I get the BORING chants during the segment.

MSK is glad to get their titles back after five months and now it is time to defend them. Grayson Waller (with his arm in a sling) and Sanga come up for the challenge. Game on for next week.

Dakota Kai is mad and throws over a bunch of tables.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Lash Legend

This could be rough. They go with the power lockup to start until Lyons hits some elbows and a running clothesline. The kick misses in the corner though and Lyons bangs up her foot. A pump kick gives Legend two and we hit a chinlock with Legend’s knee in the back. Legend’s running flip splash gets two but she misses…I don’t think you can really call it a charge but she hits the corner and Lyons can power up. Lyons kicks away and powers her into the corner for a superplex and a near fall. Back up and Lyons hits another kick into the splits splash for the pin at 4:40.

Rating: D. Yeah what were you expecting here? Lyons is better than Legend but that’s not exactly an impressive feat. Legend just does not feel like she is ready to be out of the Performance Center but here she is on national TV. It’s hard to screw up a charge into the corner yet she managed to make it happen. Not a good match, and I don’t think that’s a surprise.

Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante are leaving when they run into Legado del Fantasma. Santos Escobar says stay out of Legado’s business and they’ll be fine.

Kushida is ready for revenge on Von Wagner for Wagner attacking Ikemen Jiro and RIPPING UP HIS JACKET!

NXT Title: Bron Breakker vs. Gunther

Gunther is challenging. Feeling out process to start as Gunther thinks better of a test of strength. Gunther drives him up against the ropes for a shot, only to get headlock takeovered down. Back up and Breakker shrugs off a chop but can’t shrug off a big boot. Breakker gets to his feet and drives him into the corner for some shoulders to the ribs.

Some right hands and a spear drop Gunther but Breakker hurts his shoulder trying the gorilla press powerslam. Another chop puts the champ on the floor and the bad shoulder is sent into the steps. We take a break and come back with Gunther staying on the shoulder. Breakker escapes and grabs a German suplex, setting up the running clothesline for the double knockdown.

Gunther is right back on the arm though and puts on a keylock. Breakker slams his way to freedom and there’s an overhead belly to belly. Gunther cuts off a charge with a dropkick though and the powerbomb gets two. The top rope splash connects for the same and Gunther hits that hard clothesline for two more. With nothing else working, Gunther goes up top but gets speared out of the air. The gorilla press still doesn’t work so Gunther chops away, only to have Breakker punch right back. Gunther’s sleeper is escaped though and it’s a big clothesline into the gorilla press powerslam to retain the title at 13:07.

Rating: B. This came out of nowhere and yet they had a hard hitting power match with Breakker fighting through the injury and eventually overcoming Gunther. That being said, this is the kind of a match that should be built up a long time in advance. Maybe Gunther is main roster bound, but otherwise this is a very strange decision. One other note: the fact that Breakker has lost before makes another loss seems that much more possible. It helps with the drama and that is a great addition.

Post match Breakker celebrates but Rick Steiner pops up on screen to say he’s proud. It just so happens that he is tied up and in a cage, with Joe Gacy saying maybe they can teach the old dog some new tricks. If Gunther isn’t being called up now, this is a rather head scratch inducting choice.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped a lot but egads there wasn’t much to get into on this show. They hit the ground running on this show, but it felt like they were trying to get a lot onto one card. The title change was a little weird and Legend doesn’t belong on TV. Throw in Lumis/Hartwell/Hudson/Pirotta continuing and there wasn’t much to like here outside of Breakker vs. Gunther. I’m curious to see how things go in the future, but it seems that there might be some roster changes coming sooner than later.

Results
Creed Brothers b. Imperium – Sliding lariat to Barthel
Dexter Lumis vs. Duke Hudson went to a double countout
Toxic Attraction b. Raquel Gonzalez/Dakota Kai – Toxic Shock to Gonzalez
Nikkita Lyons b. Lash Legend – Splits splash
Bron Breakker b. Gunther – Gorilla press powerslam

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Stand & Deliver 2022
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Somehow this is NXT’s first time on the road in over two years. It might not be Takeover, but it is one of NXT’s rare big shows and the card could look worse. NXT hasn’t had the chance to do something like this very often and at some point you need to just let them go out there and do their thing in front of a lot of people. Let’s get to it.

I was in attendance for this show, sitting in the lower level and facing the Titantron.

Kickoff Show: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez vs. Toxic Attraction

Toxic Attraction is defending and are in matching green/black gear. Jayne goes after Gonzalez’s injured knee to start but Gonzalez drops her throat first across the top. It’s off to Kai for a crucifix and a near fall on Dolin as the fast start continues. As Barrett tries to figure out how, Gonzalez adds a swinging neckbreaker so Kai can get two. Dolin gets in a cheap shot from behind to take over but Kai slides between her legs to make the tag.

House is cleaned and a big boot into the spinning Vader Bomb gets two. Kai and Jayne kick each other down and we get the loud NXT chant. Toxic Shock (high/low) gets two on Kai, which seems to be a big deal (though I’m not sure I remember the team using it before). Cue Wendy Choo to throw her drink in Dolin’s face, allowing Gonzalez to add a big boot. Back inside, Kai’s scorpion kick sets up the Chingona Bomb for the pin and the titles at 7:57.

Rating: C. The title change was what mattered here but the bad part was how scripted everything felt. It came off like everything here was timed and staged all the way through and that isn’t a good thing. The match wasn’t supposed to be a classic or anything, but they got the important part right.

The opening video features a lot of the people on the show talking about how they are standing to deliver on their promises. I’ve heard worse ideas.

North American Title: Santos Escobar vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes is defending in a ladder match (because of course) and Sanga, the rest of Legado de Fantasma and Trick Williams are all here too. Only Hayes and Grimes get entrances in what I’m sure won’t mean a thing. Hayes talks trash to everyone else and gets beaten down until we settle to Grimes hitting a running kick to Escobar in the corner. Williams’ interference is cut off so we’re down to Escobar vs. Hayes for a change.

Grimes breaks that up though and takes turns beating on Hayes with Sikoa. It’s time for the first ladders to be brought in, with Escobar dropkicking one into Grimes. Waller sends Sanga to get the big ladder so Sikoa dives onto Sanga, earning a dive from Escobar. Grimes and Hayes hit dives of their own, leaving Waller to climb up to little avail. Back in and Sikoa crushes Waller with a ladder in the corner but Escobar crushes Hayes in front of Waller, making a bit of a sandwich.

Sikoa adds the running Umaga attack to crush everyone, which doesn’t seem that smart given the BIG LADDERS that he’s crashing into. Grimes cuts Sikoa off and avoids a superkick, leaving Sikoa’s leg tied in the ladder. Hayes is back up with a superkick to drive the ladder into Grimes but gets caught in Waller’s fireman’s carry. That’s fine with Hayes, who jumps onto the ladder and kicks Waller down. It’s Sikoa making a save but Escobar goes up top to slug it out on the ladder.

That means a sunset bomb to drive Sikoa into the ladder in the corner, because that’s the kind of crash you need to see. Grimes’ flipping powerslam plants Escobar…so Williams loads up a ladder of his own. Sanga comes in and chops the braces in half, leaving Wilde and Mendoza to grab a piece of the ladder each. Lopez hits a big dive off the top and it’s time to bridge some ladders between the ring and the barricade.

Sikoa tries a double Samoan drop on Wilde and Mendoza but just falls forward instead. Williams is back in and tries his own climb, which opens up a whole new bag of weird rules. That’s broken up as Grimes tilts the ladder over and out onto the pile on the floor for the big crash. Waller, Escobar and Grimes slug it out on top of the ladder until Waller is left alone, only to have Escobar make the save.

Another big knockdown leaves Sikoa to go up with Grimes making the save this time. In your “well that was dumb” moment of the match, Waller goes up on a ladder on the floor but elbows the bridged ladder only as Williams pulls Hayes out of the way. The crash leaves Waller laying, allowing Waller to go up and pull down the title for the win at 21:06.

Rating: B. This was the latest big match with everyone flying around and little more than one stunt after another. Some of the sports were good, but there is only so much you can get out of having five people (plus seconds) going nuts for twenty minutes. It was certainly fun and hopefully Waller is ok, but this was just another entry on a long list of ladder matches over the years.

Tommaso Ciampa talks about the long road he took to get here and everyone has helped him survive. Things like winning a title are great but having his wife suffer five miscarriages was a lot, though his daughter helps a lot. Together they made black and gold, so let’s do it one more time. He turns his chair around, showing the dates of the beginning and end of his NXT career.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Tommaso Ciampa

D’Angelo comes to the ring in a car with real like mobster AJ Galante (from a Netflix series). Ciampa one ups him though with a pretty cool highlight package of his career, which is one of the best in NXT history. In his own nice tribute, Ciampa fist bumps commentary, spits water like HHH and poses like Shawn Michaels because he knows who helped get him here.

Ciampa starts fast with a spinebuster but D’Angelo knocks him down and stomps away. That’s not going to work for Ciampa, who takes him outside and sends him into the barricade, setting up Ciampa’s apron applause. The floor mat is pulled back but D’Angelo is able to stomp away back inside as Ciampa takes too long. The chinlock goes on, prompting the fans to ask about the location of their pizza.

Ciampa fights up but misses the running knee, allowing D’Angelo to hit a Falcon Arrow. The Fairy Tale Ending is broken up so D’Angelo grabs a rollup (with trunks) for two more. Back up and Ciampa chops D’Angelo out of his singlet and then dropkicks him out of the air for a bonus. They slug it out with Ciampa getting the better of things so D’Angelo whips out the crowbar.

With that taken away, D’Angelo hits him low for two. Ciampa is back with Willow’s Bell into the Fairy Tale Ending for two so here’s the Gargano Escape (no name mentioned of course). D’Angelo makes the rope so they head outside, where D’Angelo hits a DDT onto the exposed concrete. Back in and D’Angelo kicks him in the head for the pin at 13:10.

Rating: C+. This was a weird one as while it made more sense to have D’Angelo go over, it was still hard to see Ciampa losing on his way out of NXT. It also doesn’t feel exactly right for D’Angelo to get the big win over Ciampa, but the farewell did feel like a special moment. It helps that the match was good, though I’m not sure how far D’Angelo is going without getting a bit more serious.

Post match Ciampa gets the big sendoff….and here’s HHH for the surprise appearance, his first on TV since his heart issue. HHH hugs Ciampa and says something to him, leaving Ciampa to get the moment. Granted it’s with HHH’s music and Titantron, but it is a moment.

Chase University is here.

Tag Team Titles: MSK vs. Creed Brothers vs. Imperium

Imperium is defending. Lee kicks Barthel into the corner to start and it’s Carter coming in to fire off his own kicks. Aichner comes in as well though and runs MSK over but Brutus comes in to run Aichner over as well. Carter gets Pounced against the ropes and the Creeds start throwing their suplexes.

MSK finally gets it together and kicks Brutus down before a combination stomp the chest gets two on Barthel. That doesn’t last long as Barthel is back up with a middle rope elbow, meaning Carter needs to be saved as well. Everyone but Lee gets sent outside so Lee hits the big dive, followed by a Spiral Tap for two back inside.

MSK gets creative by double superplexing Julius onto Imperium to send them outside. Brutus is fine enough to come off the top with a cannonball to Imperium but gets sent into the steps. Barthel tries to come back in but Lee hurricanranas him into a sitout powerbomb from Carter to give MSK the titles back at 11:32.

Rating: B-. It was a fun match and they had a bunch of big spots, but there is only so much that you can get out of another match with all those people running around. What we got here was good and MSK getting the titles back is a way to go, but the Creed Brothers are going to get the titles sooner rather than later.

Nikkita Lyons loves music and knocking people out. She’s a whole lotta woman ready to do a whole lotta whoopin.

Cameron Grimes is in tears over his win, which honors his father.

Joe Gacy and Harland are in Daley Plaza, where Gacy talks about how the Kennedy assassination brought people together. Gacy wants to bring people together and hopes they do so willingly rather than having to result to violence.

We look at the Women’s Tag Team Titles changing hands on the Kickoff Show.

We recap the Women’s Title match. Mandy Rose is the champion and the star, Cora Jade is the underdog who has always wanted to be champion and Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai are two of the best in the world and want another title reign.

Women’s Title: Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray vs. Mandy Rose

Rose is defending (with a redesigned title) in our third multi-challenger match in less than two hours. Jade comes out with a fleet of skateboarders, but Rose tops her by descending down like an angel (or Shawn Michaels in 2009). Everyone goes after Rose to start (just like Carmelo Hayes in the opener) and the champ gets kicked out to the floor. Shirai and Ray go after Jade, who gets pulled outside, setting up the double suicide dives.

Back in and we get the Shirai vs. Ray showdown, with Shirai having to roll her way out of the KLR Bomb. Rose pulls Shirai to the floor and gets to pound on Jade, including a suplex for two. Jade low bridges Rose to the floor and it’s Ray hitting a big dive. Shirai adds a moonsault to the floor before taking Ray back inside for a stomp. A missile dropkick gets two on Ray with Rose making a save. Everyone gets back inside, with Ray grabbing a Koji Clutch on Rose and Shirai putting Jade in a Texas Cloverleaf at the same time (with Shirai falling backwards to crank Jade’s back very hard by mistake).

Both holds are broken up and Jade hits a running springboard stomp to Rose’s back. Shirai 619s Jade to the floor and adds a missile dropkick to Rose. A German suplex gives Shirai two and a super C4 to Rose gets the same, with Jade diving in off the top for the save. Sliced Bread gives Jade two on Rose but Shirai knocks Jade down. The Moon Over Moonsault hits Jade but Rose hits a running knee to pin Shirai and retain the title at 13:28.

Rating: C+. The more I think about this, the more I like Rose retaining the title. She isn’t a top of the world worker, but that isn’t what they’re going for with her. Instead, this is more about Rose driving everyone crazy and holding onto the title while still being a good enough worker. The other three put in most of the work, but Rose is the right choice to retain here and is turning into a nice long term evil champion.

We recap Dexter Lumis/Indi Hartwell vs. Persia Pirotta/Duke Hudson in a showdown over who can be the best dressed. After a montage of the guys getting clothes from a western store, Lumis/Hartwell win a fan vote 89% to 11%. This was as dumb as you would expect.

Gunther vs. LA Knight

Gunther doesn’t like Knight running his mouth so much so they’re going to fight about it. They fight over a lockup to start until Knight wins a slugout and takes him to the floor. That goes better for Gunther, who hits an apron powerbomb and poses inside. The chinlock keeps Knight in trouble but he avoids a corner clothesline and hits a jumping neckbreaker.

Gunther knocks him down again though and the Boston crab goes on. Make that an STF as Gunther is smothering him so far. Knight manages a suplex for a breather, setting up the slingshot shoulder. Some stomping away in the corner sets up a slam into the jumping elbow and the running superplex gets two on Gunther. Back up and the big chop is blocked, setting up Gunther’s sleeper. That’s reversed into a Burning Hammer for two but Gunther catches him on top. A clothesline knocks Knight off the top and it’s the big splash to crush him. The powerbomb gives Gunther the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t a classic and there wasn’t much drama to it, but Knight was good enough to make Gunther break a bit of a sweat. Gunther is on his way to something a lot bigger in NXT and beating Knight can get him closer to the title picture. I don’t think there was any real doubt about the winner, but it was a good way to get Gunther on the card.

We recap Bron Breakker vs. Dolph Ziggler for Ziggler’s NXT Title. Ziggler came down to NXT and took the title from Breakker while bragging about all of his star power. Now Breakker wants to take the title back for the REAL NXT.

NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler vs. Bron Breakker

Ziggler is defending and has Robert Roode in his corner. Breakker goes after Roode to start and then jumps Ziggler, only to get cheapshotted down. The spinebuster/belly to belly plants Ziggler though and there’s the overhead belly to belly. The spear is loaded up but Roode grabs Breakker’s leg, setting up the big ejection (allowing Ziggler to pull off a turnbuckle pad behind the referee’s back).

Breakker is fine enough to hit a belly to back suplex, only to get crotched on top. Ziggler puts on the chinlock and a jumping elbow sets up chinlock, the sequel. Back up and Breakker fights out but gets caught on top. That means a chinlock with a bodyscissors, including Ziggler flipping over in a spot he hasn’t used in a long time. Breakker fights up again and fires off the series of shoulders. The super hurricanrana gets two and a big spear gets the same with Breakker looking frustrated by the kickout.

Ziggler knees him down but the superkick is countered into a suplex. The gorilla press powerslam connects…but Roode is back to pull Ziggler out. Breakker hits a running flip dive to the floor (with his foot getting caught on the top, thankfully not leading to a big crash) but Breakker comes back in with the Fameasser and Zig Zag for two of his own. The top rope elbow gets two more on Breakker, who hits another spear. The gorilla press powerslam is loaded up, only to have Ziggler rake the eyes. Breakker gets sent into the buckle and a superkick retains the title at 16:12.

Rating: B-. Well ok. This seemed to be the biggest layup of the weekend but they went in another direction. Breakker didn’t lose clean, but it’s weird to see him losing in any way at this point. Ziggler retaining is certainly a way to go and he has done some good things as champion, but I’m not sure if this was the right move.

Overall Rating: B. This isn’t a Takeover and isn’t close to being one, but it was the kind of show that made me want to see more from NXT and that is a great thing to see. NXT has taken some long steps forward and I’m liking it a lot more than was just a few months ago. At some point you have to go out there and get in front of some people and that is what they did here. The fact that they delivered made it even better.

Results
Cameron Grimes b. Carmelo Hayes, Grayson Waller, Santos Escobar and Solo Sikoa – Grimes pulled down the title
Tony D’Angelo b. Tommaso Ciampa – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
MSK b. Creed Brothers and Imperium – Hurricanrana/powerbomb combination to Barthel
Mandy Rose b. Io Shirai, Kay Lee Ray and Cora Jade – Running knee to Shirai
Gunther b. LA Knight – Powerbomb
Dolph Ziggler b. Bron Breakker – Superkick

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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Welcome back to not quite Takeover and we have an especially big card. Rather than having the usual five match card, this one already has seven, plus some mixed tag thing that doesn’t seem to be an official match. NXT is starting to get somewhere in recent weeks and now they need to translate that to a big show. Granted that might be easier said than done but you never can tell around here. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Women’s Tag Team Titles: Toxic Attraction(c) vs. Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez

This was added to the show on Tuesday as Kai and Gonzalez reunited in a moment that might not have been as emotional as WWE was hoping it to be. That being said, they are a team with some history and that is more than almost anyone else in the division (assuming there is one) at this point. It isn’t like there are any other challengers so maybe this will work out.

I’ll go with new champions here, as Toxic Attraction aren’t exactly awash in challengers and it would be weird to do the big reunion and then have the new faces just lose in their first match back together. The match probably won’t be much, but new champions is always a good way to get the crowd going. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the champs retain, but it makes more sense to do the switch given how they set it up.

Tommaso Ciampa vs. Tony D’Angelo

I’m not sure what to make of Ciampa at this point but I don’t think that’s what they’re going for here. Either way, it seems like Ciampa is done with NXT after this match (barring a big surprise) and that could mean he’s going up to WWE or just heading elsewhere. I’d like to believe it’s to the main roster, but you never can tell around here. D’Angelo is an interesting choice for a final opponent and that could go either way.

As much as I don’t want to, I’ll go with D’Angelo winning here, as Ciampa seems like the kind of guy who would put someone over on his way out of the territory. Ciampa has done it all in NXT and has nothing left to prove, so they might as well let him make someone on his way out. The match should be good enough as Ciampa can carry the majority and D’Angelo is decent, but this is going to be the big NXT farewell for one of its legends.

LA Knight vs. Gunther

While it isn’t official, it would not surprise me at all to see this be Knight’s NXT farewell. He was ready for the main roster the day he arrived and there is no reason for him to not move up to the main roster. Granted that has been the case for a lot of NXT stars who have either not shown up yet or have been complete misfires up there (often not their fault), but it might be the case again here.

That being said, Gunther seems ready for the NXT Title picture almost immediately and there is almost no way Knight has a chance here. I could see Knight getting in some good shots and maybe even the BFT, but Gunther isn’t and shouldn’t be losing in NXT for a LONG time to come. Knight is a good meal for him at this point, because Gunther should be devouring him after breaking a bit of a sweat.

Tag Team Titles: Imperium(c) vs. MSK vs. Creed Brothers

The tag team division is trying to fight back after it went into a coma for so long but it isn’t quite there yet. Imperium are great heels but you need something to spice the division up a bit. I’m not sure if the Creeds winning is that spark, but it isn’t like MSK was lighting the world on fire as champions either. There are a few ways this can go and somehow that has made this match a lot more interesting than I would have expected.

I’ll go with the Creeds winning here, with the attackers showing up next week to be their first challengers. There is always the chance that the attackers show up here, but ultimately I think this is about the Creeds winning the titles, as there is no real reason not to have Imperium keep the belts. That leaves MSK to get the belts back and…yeah I think we’ve all been through enough of that for a long time. Creeds win, I think.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes(c) vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Santos Escobar vs. Solo Sikoa vs. Grayson Waller

Naturally it’s a ladder match because that’s how things go in WWE/NXT/AEW/pretty much everyone these days. I’ve never been a fan of these big multiman ladder matches as a new champion didn’t pin the old champion and it’s so many of the same things that has been done time after time. There are multiple possible winners here though and it should be exciting, but it’s a little hard to get invested in this happening again.

Since he has found a pretty good story in recent weeks, I’ll go with Grimes to take the title here. Grimes has been a fan favorite for a long time now and needs a win that actually matters (the Million Dollar Title barely counted). I really don’t want them to take the title off of Hayes, who has been outstanding, but I don’t see how they can keep having Grimes lose, especially after some of his recent promos. I’d like Hayes to win and I’d be happy if he did, but Grimes REALLY needs this or he might never break through.

Women’s Title: Mandy Rose(c) vs. Cora Jade vs. Io Shirai vs. Kay Lee Ray

This is a tough one as you have Rose as the star NXT clearly wants to push as the big thing, but you also have Shirai and Ray who are two of the best around and Jade as the sentimental favorite. That makes things a bit complicated, not to mention that this is the THIRD multi-challenger title match on a seven match card. That’s not the best structured card, but I’m not sure if Rose can handle a big time singles title match.

As much as I’d like it to be Ray, I think they keep it on Rose here. Shirai and Ray cross each other off and Grimes/Jade both winning on the same show (plus a certain other likely title change) seems to be a bit too many good feelings. Rose retains here and drops the title to one of them in a few weeks, which isn’t the worst thing in the world as she is really starting to get a feeling for what she is doing.

NXT Title: Dolph Ziggler(c) vs. Bron Breakker

I think we can cut to the point with this one, as this is the biggest layup on the show by a few miles. Breakker is obviously the next big thing and close to a prodigy at this point and NXT wants to give him the win on the big stage, though it might have been more interesting to have this be his first win. They could have held the title on Ciampa for a little while longer and then done the same setup for this one and Breakker gets the really big moment.

That being said, there is no logical reason to not put the title back on Breakker here so of course we’ll go with him winning. The good thing is that Ziggler is the kind of a guy who can walk Breakker through a match and make him look better than anyone else ever could. That’s why Ziggler is in NXT and like him or not, this has been a great idea for both NXT and Ziggler himself.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not sure when it happened but NXT has become a rather entertaining show. This card actually looks pretty good, though it could use a match or two taken off. They’ll probably have to rush through a lot to get everything in on time. It’s no Takeover, but what we have here should be an entertaining show with the hope for some very cool/emotional moments if they pull the right strings.

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NXT
Date: March 29, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the go home show for Stand & Deliver and the card is all but set. We still have some matches that need a final push though and that is where this week’s show comes in. If nothing else, there is one spot left in the North American Title ladder match and it gets filled in this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Imperium vs. LA Knight/MSK

LAMSK (spelled like it sounds) jumps Imperium from behind to start and they start fast, with Knight and Barthel trading wristlocks. Barthel gets taken down and MSK hits a neck crank into a basement dropkick. A cheap shot finally takes Knight down though and Barthel kicks him in the chest. The fans want Gunther and receive him almost immediately, with some kicks tot he back keeping Knight in trouble. It’s already off to Aichner for a slam into the ropes for two and the beating villains continue their alternating beatdowns.

Knight finally fights his way over to the ropes for the tag to Lee. Everything breaks down and Carter hits a dive, leaving Knight to stare Gunther down. We take a break and come back with Knight and Barthel coming in off the double tag, allowing Knight to clean house in a hurry. The big jumping elbow gets two, with Aichner making the save. Carter hits a running dropkick in the corner as Knight and Gunther fight into the back. That leaves Aichner to kick Lee in the face and blast Carter with a clothesline for the pin at 12:11.

Rating: C+. MSK losing doesn’t mean much here as the Tag Team Title match is more about the Creed Brothers than MSK, who are just kind of there too. It was nice to see Knight get to stand toe to toe with Gunther before their showdown on Saturday. That could be a nice fight and if they allow Knight to shine a bit, he could have a breakout performance. Fast paced opener here and I can always go for a good six man tag.

Post match the Creed Brothers come out for the three way staredown.

Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray are ready to win the Women’s Title, even if it means beating one another. Ray throws out some good luck in Japanese, which Shirai returns in English.

Dakota Kai goes hunting for Wendy Choo but only finds Wendy’s stuff destroyed.

Earlier today, Ivy Nile told Tatum Paxley to work harder if she wants to be in the Diamond Mine.

Ivy Nile vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton takes her down without much trouble and hits the standing moonsault for two. Nile is right back up with a clothesline and Stratton backs off. That doesn’t last long as Stratton sends her into the ropes for a running hip attack to the back. A headlock takeover doesn’t last long on Nile so Stratton sends her face first into the mat. Nile is ticked off though and hits Stratton in the face. A running shot in the corner sets up a double arm crank until Nile sends her face first into the mat. Stratton is ticked off and comes back but here is Sarray for a distraction, allowing Nile to grab the dragon sleeper for the tap at 3:26.

Rating: C. This was little more than a squash for Nile until Sarray used her teleporting powers to get involved. What matters here is that Nile gets to beat someone else up as you have to imagine she is coming for the Women’s Title sooner or later. The match might not have been great, but Nile is a force and Stratton is growing on me.

Tommaso Ciampa is in his usual spot in the back and talks about how this is his place to connect with the people. The people and NXT have been his haven through a lot of troubles, including five miscarriages (egads) before his miracle daughter was born. They created the Black and Gold together, but now they are going to do it one more time. Ciampa stands up and the dates 9/9/15 – 4/2/22 (his debut to his final match) are written on the chair. I’m really curious about what is next for Ciampa, because going to the main roster almost seems impossible for him.

We get a video on Dolph Ziggler’s accomplishments in WWE.

Ziggler talks about coming to NXT as usual, but this time he is going to be staying a bit longer. He has been doing this time after time and how everyone wants him for media because everyone knows who he is. We see some clips of Ziggler’s path here as he talks about how everyone KNOWS Bron Breakker is taking the title from him at Stand & Deliver, just like the KNEW he would do it at Roadblock. He’s the star, and he’ll prove it again. Good video here, but it feels like Breakker’s likely title win would mean a lot more if he was winning it for the first time rather than regaining it.

Video on Cora Jade, talking about how she wanted to win the title and be like other NXT Women’s Champions (“Charlotte….don’t really like her”). She even has her notebook from high school where she wrote about wanting to follow her dreams as a wrestler instead of taking notes in math class. Yes the odds are against her, but she was never much for math anyway.

Legado del Fantasma vs. Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen

Elektra Lopez and Fallon Henley are the seconds. Barrett talks about how Jensen’s love life can get him in trouble, allowing him to reference Will Smith. Briggs throws Wilde into the air for a crash onto the mat to start, followed by a fall away slam to make it worse. Briggs comes in but gets kicked in the ribs by Mendoza. A springboard is cut off though and Briggs drives him into the corner, setting up a double shoulder.

Jensen gets knocked outside though and Wilde hangs sideways off the post (that was impressive) before dropping straight down into a splash. Some running corner clotheslines knock Jensen silly again and a double suplex gets two. The chinlock is broken up though and the hot tag brings in Briggs to clean house. Lopez offers a distraction though, allowing Legado to knock him down. Henley goes after Lopez and Wilde’s 450 is cut off with a grab of the throat. The chokeslam sets up a high/low for the pin on Wilde at 5:36.

Rating: C. This is how you treat a team like Briggs and Jensen: let them go out there in their jeans and boots with their country girl manager and beat up some heels. It’s a formula that has worked for years and it worked again here. Odds are you can book the six person tag from here and that is an upgrade over Jensen’s dating issues.

Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta argue over their respective men and agree to a Texas sized showdown in Dallas, as judged by the NXT Universe. That’s going to be stupid isn’t it?

Cameron Grimes is nervous about his last chance match tonight because he needs this. Grimes wants to make his promise to his father come true.

Here is Toxic Attraction for a chat. Mandy Rose isn’t happy with Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray adding themselves to the Women’s Title match but no she is not scared or worried. The three of them have dominated the women’s division for six months so now it is time to do it again at Stand & Deliver. Before we get there though, we have to talk about Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai, who failed in the finals of the Dusty Classic. They pull some of Choo’s stuff out of their backpack, revealing that the three of them took her out.

There is no one left to go after them and they are THE attraction around here. Cue Dakota Kai to go after them but the numbers game takes her down. That brings out Raquel Gonzalez for the real save and Toxic Attraction bails. Kai and Gonzalez have the big reunion and seem to be the next challengers as they hold up the titles. I’m not sure how epic of a reunion that is but there isn’t anyone else to go after the belts.

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams are excited for the ladder match when Grayson Waller and Sanga come in. Waller is ready to take the title but Hayes says he goes viral just by showing up. Glaring ensues.

Von Wagner vs. Bodie Hayward

Robert Stone and Andre Chase are here as seconds and Jacket Time is doing their own commentary. Hayward knocks him down to start but hold on as we cut to the attractive woman who has been appearing as of late. Jacket Time loses their mind over her as Wagner takes over inside with some shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

Hayward comes back with a running forearm but gets caught in a fall away slam. Wagner misses a running boot in the corner though and Hayward hits a running shoulder to put him down. Hayward isn’t having that though and runs him over, setting up something like a release AA for the pin at 3:41.

Rating: C-. Hayward is energetic in the ring but the Chase University bits are what matter most in the whole act. That makes things a little complicated as the matches aren’t worth seeing but the fans still like him. As for Wagner, he’s another big guy who does his thing and doesn’t seem to be getting very far as a result.

Post match Wagner jumps Jacket Time and rips up Ikemen Jiro’s jacket.

Tony D’Angelo is ready to take Tommaso Ciampa out of the chain and give him his last match in NXT. Then D’Angelo is taking over NXT as the new don.

Joe Gacy vs. Draco Anthony

Harland is here with Gacy, who shoulders Draco down to start. Back up and Anthony grabs an armdrag but stops to stare at Harland. That lets Gacy come back with a DDT and a chinlock, with trash talk included. Said trash talk lets Anthony…well nothing actually as Gacy hits a swinging Rock Bottom. Anthony fights up and hits a running elbow in the corner, setting up a suplex for two. Gacy slips out of another suplex (with Anthony falling down), followed by the handspring lariat to finish Anthony at 3:56.

Rating: C-. Gacy beat Anthony up here and Harland didn’t even need to help him win. Hopefully this doesn’t lead to Gacy gaining a following, as I could see Anthony turning on Xyon Quinn when Xyon is here to help him next time. Gacy just isn’t that interesting, with Harland being the latest in a long series of angry looking bodyguards.

The Steiner Brothers are going into the Hall of Fame, allowing commentary to FINALLY say that Rick Steiner is Bron Breakker’s father.

We get a video on Bron Breakker, who talks about how this is the biggest match of his life. His first title win was about proving himself but then he lost the title in a big surprise. Dolph Ziggler is here but he leaves as fast as he can every time. NXT is Breakker’s life and at Stand & Deliver, Ziggler has nowhere to run and hide. Breakker feels like a ticked off force in the vein of his uncle and that is a very good thing.

Stand & Deliver rundown, with Toxic Attraction defending the Women’s Tag Team Titles against Dakota Kai/Raquel Gonzalez added to the Kickoff Show.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Sloane Jacobs

Lyons slams her down to start but Jacobs is back with a Codebreaker to the arm. A suplex drops Jacobs though and there’s a Samoan drop to make it worse. Some kicks to the head set up the splits splash to finish Jacobs at 1:46 (with Jacobs looking bored as she is pinned).

Post match Lash Legend pops up to rat at Lyons and a challenge is issued for sometime after Stand & Deliver. Can we challenge Legend to never talk again?

Malcolm Bivens promises that the Diamond Mine is going to win everything at Stand & Deliver. The Creeds are left alone and get a text from whoever attacked them, saying they’ll be watching on Saturday. The area code is 781, which is from Boston (not mentioned here).

Cameron Grimes vs. Roderick Strong vs. A-Kid

The winner is in the North American Title ladder match. They all start fast with each one having to make a save. Strong can’t get a Boston crab on Grimes but A-Kid can’t get his sleeper. Grimes misses the Cave In, giving us a three way stand off. A monkey flip sends A-Kid into a hurricanrana to take Strong down and a dropkick puts Strong into the corner. Back up and A-Kid springboards into a wristdrag/headscissors combination to put the other two in trouble as we take a break.

Back with Carmelo Hayes on commentary and the rest of the ladder match entrants appearing to watch. Strong powerbombs A-Kid onto Grimes but can’t get a double Stronghold. Grimes is back up with a high crossbody on Strong and a swinging Side Effect on A-Kid. It’s A-Kid back on his feet to spike Grimes with a DDT and everyone is down. The three way slugout is on with Strong getting the better of things and powerbombing A-Kid onto Grimes. The End of Heartache drops A-Kid but Grimes hits the Cave In for the pin on Strong at 10:53.

Rating: B-. They went with the fast paced offense here and that is a good idea in a match like this. All of the other challengers coming out to watch made for a nice atmosphere and Grimes winning was the right call. You can have A-Kid and Strong go after the title later, but Grimes’ deal with his dad is the right trigger to pull at the moment.

Post match everyone involved in the ladder match promises to be champion, triggering a huge brawl to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I’m not sure when it happened but this show has gotten a lot more watchable in recent weeks. Above all else, it feels like a lot of the characters are starting to fit into their roles. They also aren’t throwing three or four new people out there almost every week so the wrestlers who are already around can develop a lot more. The show is still far from perfect, but I had a much easier time with this one than almost any NXT that I can remember in recent months.

Results
Imperium b. LA Knight/MSK – Clothesline to Carter
Ivy Nile b. Tiffany Stratton – Dragon sleeper
Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen b. Legado del Fantasma – High/low to Wilde
Von Wagner b. Bodie Hayward – Fireman’s carry slam
Joe Gacy b. Draco Anthony – Handspring lariat
Nikkita Lyons b. Sloane Jacobs – Splits splash
Cameron Grimes b. Roderick Strong and A-Kid – Cave In to Strong

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NXT
Date: March 22, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Stand & Deliver is coming up soon and now we have the main event set, as Bron Breakker will get his rematch against Dolph Ziggler for the NXT Title. Other than that, we have some qualifying matches for the North American Title ladder match and the finals of the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Let’s get to it.

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

Trick Williams and North American Champion Carmelo Hayes arrive and don’t care about who make it into the ladder match.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Roderick Strong vs. Solo Sikoa

Malcolm Bivens is at ringside. Strong grabs a choke to start as Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams join commentary. Sikoa fights out and the strike off is on, with Strong getting knocked down against the ropes. Back up and Strong knocks him down again to take over, setting up the reverse chinlock. That’s broken up and Strong chops up against the ropes with a knee to the ribs getting two.

A powerslam gives Strong two more and here is Santos Escobar sauntering down to ringside. Sikoa tosses his way out of the corner to start the comeback though and some right hands set up a headbutt to put Strong down again. The Samoan drop gets two and Malcolm Bivens is starting to panic. Sikoa gets crotched on top but Strong’s superplex is broken up. The Superfly Splash sends Sikoa to Stand & Deliver at 9:18.

Rating: C. This was pretty simple and to the point and the right person won. Strong might not be the most interesting star in the world but he is going to give you at least a decent match every time. That is the kind of guy you can use on a show full of inexperienced guys and he was doing hit thing again here.

Persia Pirotta and Indi Hartwell bickered about men earlier today, setting up Pirotta and Duke Hudson being at ringside for Dexter Lumis’ match tonight.

Tony D’Angelo vs. Dexter Lumis

Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta and Duke Hudson are here too. Dexter scares him into the ropes to start but the early Silencer is broken up. D’Angelo hammers away until a fall away slam sends D’Angelo flying. A slam into the jumping legdrop gets two and we hit the chinlock until D’Angelo jawbreaks his way to freedom.

They fight outside with D’Angelo sending him into the steps and doing Tommaso Ciampa’s pat on the back as we take a break. Back with Lumis hammering away, setting up a bulldog and a belly to back suplex. A double clothesline puts both of them down so D’Angelo goes over to his crowbar. Pirotta tries to take it away from him but the crowbar gets swung into Lumis’ face. The swinging fisherman’s neckbreaker finishes Lumis at 10:32.

Rating: C. The stuff with the woman continues to be one of the dumbest things going on around here and this didn’t help things. D’Angelo’s gimmick is still as over the top as it gets in NXT, but he can have a pretty good match and is certainly dedicated to what he is doing. He also needs the boost on the way to Stand & Deliver so they had the right idea here.

Post match D’Angelo talks about how Tommaso Ciampa knew he was done last week and the new Don of NXT arrives at Stand & Deliver. Cue Ciampa through the crowd with the Fairy Tale Ending to lay D’Angelo out. Stand & Deliver might be Ciampa’s final chapter in NXT and he’s writing his own fair tale ending.

Robert Roode isn’t happy that people have forgotten what he has done around here. Dolph Ziggler wants Roode to take out Bron Breakker tonight before Stand & Deliver.

Grayson Waller is ready to go to Stand & Deliver and will take out A-Kid to get there.

Elektra Lopez vs. Fallon Henley

Legado del Fantasma, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs are all here. Lopez jumps her to start and stomps away against the ropes. A toss by the throat sends Henley flying and we hit the double arm crank with feet in Henley’s back. Hold on though as the guys brawl on the floor, allowing Henley to get in an elbow for two. Lopez isn’t having that though and it’s a Blue Thunder Bomb to give Lopez the pin at 3:42.

Rating: C-. The lack of Briggs and Jensen talking made this that much better, as Henley continues to be worth a look and Lopez is getting the near monster vibe down. You can pencil in the six person tag pretty soon and that is not a bad use for everyone involved in this whole thing. The match wasn’t great, but Lopez threw Henley around well enough to make it work.

Draco Anthony is in the back when Xyon Quinn comes in. Anthony gets a call from Joe Gacy, who basically invites him to join the cult. Quinn says Anthony knows what he has to do.

Wendy Choo has had a lot of orange soda and is ready to win the Dusty Classic. Dakota Kai wasn’t sure about the team but now she knows it was the right thing to do.

Robert Roode vs. Bron Breakker

Dolph Ziggler joins commentary as Roode runs Breakker over to start. Breakker shows him how to shoulder someone down and then it’s a powerslam to drop Roode again. They go to the floor for more brawling until a Ziggler distraction lets Roode stomp away back inside. A suplex drops Breakker but he’s right back up with a certainly not Steiner Line. Breakker misses a charge into the post thanks to Ziggler, which is enough for an ejection.

We take a break and come back with Roode hitting a Scott Steiner style elbow drop into the pushups. This means it’s time for commentary to say they know who that’s referencing without actually saying it. Breakker fights up and takes him into the corner for a top rope Frankensteiner, only for Roode to come back with a spinebuster for two.

The Glorious DDT is broken up but a spear is cut off with a knee. The second attempt at the spear cuts Roode down for two. Breakker’s gorilla press doesn’t work and the Glorious DDT gives Roode two. Back up and Roode heads to the middle rope, only to dive into Breakker’s powerslam for the pin at 15:10.

Rating: C+. Again, putting someone as new as Breakker into a match like this with someone as talented as Roode is a good idea. Let people like Roode and Ziggler walk Breakker through the match to help with the inexperience, which you can still see at times. There are points where Breakker doesn’t seem to know what to do so having a veteran out there can help bring him back on track. It’s a good idea and he made it through a fifteen minute match as a result.

Post match Ziggler superkicks Breakker and says the title stays with him until he gives it away.

Indi Hartwell is checking on Dexter Lumis when Persia Pirotta and Duke Hudson come up. Pirotta says Hudson can beat anyone so Dexter….goes over to his sketch pad, where somehow he draws a picture of Gunther (in two colors despite using one marker).

We go back to Chase U where Bodie Hayward gives a speech on fortitude about Von Wagner attacking him. A student raises his hand, earning himself a profanity laden rant. Chase asks where Hayward learned to talk like that, with Hayward saying it was from Chase himself. After a second of thought, Chase says that’s one of the most beautiful things he’s ever heard and yells at the student too. This continues to be one of the funniest things going in NXT.

North American Title Ladder Match Qualifying Match: Grayson Waller vs. A-Kid

A-Kid starts fast with a springboard hurricanrana and an armdrag into a dropkick. Waller takes him down, only to get hurricanranaed again. There’s a dropkick to send him outside so Waller tries the rolling Stunner, only to get reversed into a choke. That’s reversed into a suplex and now the rolling Stunner connects for the pin on A-Kid at 2:48. Well it was nice while it lasted with him.

Post match Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams pops up to say the three losers in the qualifying matches can have a triple threat for the final spot. That means it’s A-Kid vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Roderick Strong. Williams suggests he’ll be with A-Kid’s mom tonight so A-Kid kicks him in the head.

Robert Stone and Von Wagner are ready for next week when the attractive woman who has been around Stone in recent weeks comes up, saying they need to talk business.

Creed Brothers vs. Grizzled Young Veterans

The Veterans talk about jumping the Creeds before the match and then do just that. Brutus says ring the bell and then suplexes Drake around without much trouble. The Veterans get Brutus into the corner to start hammering away but it’s off to Julius without much effort. A Stretch Muffler sends Gibson straight to the ropes so Drake can come back in.

Brutus gets knocked off the apron but Julius slugs away at both of them. Gibson grabs the leg though and Drake takes over again, meaning Julius can get forearmed down. What looks to be a Doomsday Device is loaded up but Julius slips out and Drake tweaks his knee. A shot to the knee sets up Brutus’ sliding lariat for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C. They have something with the Creeds but like so many others around here, the team needs some more polish (and some better looking gear). The good thing is they have time to fix things up, even though it seems likely that the Creeds get the Tag Team Titles in the near future. As for the Veterans…dang they could have been a heck of a team around here but it isn’t likely to ever happen.

Post match a camera pops up in Diamond Mine’s locker room, showing two people trashing it. Texts appear on screen, saying the Creed Brothers can’t find them, so enjoy the view.

Gunther vs. Duke Hudson

The rest of Imperium and Persia Pirotta are here. Gunther grabs a headlock to start but Hudson slips out and fires off some right hands. Hudson’s elbow cuts off a charge as the camera cuts are on in rapid fire. Some chops cut Hudson down and Gunther cranks on the neck. There’s the big chop to rip Hudson’s skin off (that thing echoed) and the fans are VERY impressed. The sleeper is broken up and Hudson hits a big boot. A slingshot German suplex (that’s a new one) gets two and Gunther isn’t having any more of this. He unloads on Hudson in the corner and it’s a big boot into a powerbomb to finish Hudson at 3:52.

Rating: C+. That chop alone is worth the bonus points here as Gunther basically mauled Hudson. That’s a lot better than focusing on Hartwell vs. Pirotta again and it’s always nice to see Gunther getting to smash someone. Hudson is someone worth a look most of the time, but he had no business hanging in there with Gunther any longer than he did here.

Post match Gunther says he’s the toughest competitor around here and doesn’t like someone like LA Knight….and that’s enough for Knight to come to the ring. Gunther cuts off the catchphrase and says Knight needs to listen. Knight threatens to knock Gunther’s block head off his dad body before suggesting a match at Stand & Deliver. Instead of issuing the challenge though, Knight hits him in the face so the beatdown is on, with MSK running in for the save. Imperium is cleared out in a hurry.

Video on Cameron Grimes being disappointed in himself. His dad passed away just after Grimes signed to NXT and now it is time for the most important match of his career. Carmelo Hayes made the announcement of the triple threat match fifteen minutes ago and Grimes had time to get a video made, complete with clips of his dad edited in?

Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Wendy Choo/Dakota Kai vs. Io Shirai/Kay Lee Ray

Toxic Attraction is at ringside. Ray and Choo exchange chops to start until Choo gets a near fall off a rollup. Kai comes in to kick Ray in the face for two but it’s off to Shirai to take over. The 619 is loaded up but only hits Choo’s raised pillow. Kai is sent outside anyway and Ray dives onto Choo. Shirai does the same to Kai and we take a break.

Back with Ray in trouble and getting taken off the top in a big crash. Shirai comes in for the save and everything breaks down, with Ray hitting a top rope flip dive. Kai kicks Ray down though and Choo hits the top rope Vader Bomb. Shirai dropkicks Kai into the cover for the save and then butterfly backbreakers Kai down. The KLR Bomb sets up the Moons Over Moonsault for the pin on Choo at 10:18 to give Ray and Shirai the tournament.

Rating: C+. They went with the right choice here as it was the better and more talented team winning over the underdogs. That’s how you have to go to make the tournament sound more legitimate, even if the whole thing felt like some thrown together requirement. Choo was more tolerable here as she wasn’t doing as much shtick (pillow spot aside) and got to show how good she can be in the ring when you ignore the ridiculous gimmick. I can go with that, and maybe now they can find something else for her.

Post match confetti falls but Toxic Attraction gets in the ring, with Mandy Rose saying Ray and Shirai won’t be winning the Tag Team Titles. Ray and Shirai say they’re ready to take out Toxic Attraction, but instead of going after the Tag Team Titles, they’ll use their title shot to make the Women’s Title match a fatal four way (because that’s a thing that can be done apparently). The brawl is on with Cora Jade running in to help clear out Toxic Attraction to end the show. It’s a weird way to get there but I’ll take the four way over the worthless Tag Team Titles.

Overall Rating: C+. The show had more bad than good, but the bad continues to be some really dreadful stuff. The good thing is we have Stand & Deliver all but set and that is going to make the next few weeks a lot better. They moved a lot of stuff forward this week and helped set up the big show’s card so it was certainly a productive week, which is more than you get around here sometimes. Good enough show and the better stuff seems ready to come.

Results
Solo Sikoa b. Roderick Strong – Superfly Splash
Tony D’Angelo b. Dexter Lumis – Fisherman’s neckbreaker
Elektra Lopez b. Fallon Henley – Blue Thunder Bomb
Grayson Waller b. A-Kid – Rolling Stunner
Creed Brothers b. Grizzled Young Veterans – Sliding lariat to Drake
Gunther b. Duke Hudson – Powerbomb
Kay Lee Ray/Io Shirai b. Wendy Choo/Dakota Kai – Moons Over Moonsault to Choo

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