IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: April 15, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Byron Saxton

After today’s record setting number of releases, it might be nice to have things get back to normal, meaning we’re in an empty arena with a different set of commentators. Last week saw Johnny Gargano win the final battle against Tommaso Ciampa, but the question now is what happens with Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux, who were watching at the end of last week’s show. 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 ladder match and Gargano vs. Ciampa showdown.

Finn Balor vs. Fabian Aichner

Marcel Barthel is here with Aichner. Balor headlocks him to start but Aichner reverses into one of his own as they’re going technical to start. Aichner tosses him into the corner and slowly stomps away but Balor is back with a basement dropkick. Balor sends him outside and into the barricade as we take a break.

Back with Barthel grabbing the leg so Aichner can get in a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Some hard whips into the corner make Balor’s back even worse and Aichner gets two off a clothesline. Balor hits a Sling Blade but has to deal with Barthel, allowing Aichner to hit a toss powerbomb. The running knee to the steps only hits steps though and Balor Sling Blades Barthel. A dropkick sends Barthel through the barricade and Balor avoids a moonsault back inside. The John Woo dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace and 1916 to finish Aichner at 11:48.

Rating: C+. Balor’s path towards Walter continues and that could make for a heck of a fight as soon as we eventually get there. It was a good enough back and forth match as well, with the two of them beating on each other until Balor finally came through in the end. Imperium continues to be some very good villains and hopefully we can get to the big showdown with Walter soon enough.

Video on Raquel Gonzalez vs. Tegan Nox, which takes place later tonight.

Charlotte talks about how awesome she is and how she has dominated the past, present and future of wrestling. She has already defeated the past and present, but what about the future? Charlotte wants to face Mia Yim, who was actually her first opponent in NXT. Now she wants Mia to have the first title shot. Then it’s on to anyone else William Regal lines up and Charlotte will beat them all. Io Shirai wasn’t mentioned by name.

Xia Li vs. Aliyah

This was supposed to take place a few weeks back but Io Shirai jumped Xia. A kick to the chest puts Aliyah on the floor to start but she uses a referee distraction to kick Li down as well. More kicks and a chinlock keep Li in trouble but Aliyah misses a charge into the corner. A running fish and dropkick both drop Aliyah again and the spinning kick to the back gives Li the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D+. This was more competitive than I would have bet on but it told a decent enough story: Li is better and a dangerous striker who shrugged off whatever Aliyah had and beat her in the end. You don’t need a complicated match structure every time and this was a good example.

Video on the tournament for an Interim Cruiserweight Championship. It’s a round robin format for a change with the winners of the two four man blocks meeting for the title.

Interim Cruiserweight Title Tournament Group B: Isaiah Scott (0-0) vs. Akira Tozawa (0-0)

They fight over wrist control to start with Tozawa flipping out of a wristlock and snapping off a hurricanrana, with Scott landing on his feet. A chop makes Scott stand up straight and a pump kick puts him on the floor. Scott is back up with a rather missed headscissors to the floor (his feet grazed Tozawa’s face and Tozawa flipped forward anyway) to send us to a break.

Back with Tozawa’s running flip dive off the apron taking Scott down and a missile dropkick gives Tozawa two. The Octopus goes on but Scott breaks out in a hurry, meaning Tozawa goes to a guillotine instead. Scott muscles him up into a suplex for another break before muscling him up into a German suplex. The House Call gets two but Tozawa sends him hard into the corner. Trouble in Paradise drops Scott again and the top rope backsplash gives Tozawa the pin at 11:26.

Rating: C+. They were hitting each other rather hard here and the ending was a surprise. I can go with Tozawa winning, though having him beat Scott clean is a little surprising. That being said, it is a round robin tournament so the loss isn’t game over. I like Scott a lot and hopefully he winds up going somewhere soon.

Tozawa – 1-0

Scott – 0-1

Post match Tozawa says he’ll keep winning.

Video on Hijo del Fantasma, who is coming to become the new Cruiserweight Champion.

Tegan Nox vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Gonzalez has Dakota Kai with her and starts fast by lifting Nox up by the arm. A shoulder drops Nox again and Gonzalez holds the arm just to be safe. The backbreaker drops Nox again and we hit the chinlock with a knee in the back. That’s broken up so Gonzalez sends her into the corner, allowing Kai to get in a cheap shot for two. Cue Shotzi Blackheart to take care of Kai so Gonzalez goes after Shotzi, allowing Nox to grab the rollup for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: C-. Not great here but I like the idea of setting up some new names in the women’s division. With Charlotte on top of the division, she is going to need some new challengers and Nox challenging Charlotte, who might have to focus on those knees, could be great. You can pencil in the tag match too and that’s fine.

We get a biography video on Keith Lee. He has been doing this for a long time now and stood out in Evolve because he was a bigger guy who could do a lot of impressive things. Now he’s here doing the same, and has gone on to appear at Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble. Then he won his first singles title to start the year because his time is just starting.

Dexter Lumis vs. Tehuti Miles

Miles continues to get some big intros, complete with a cool hat. Lumis stands in the middle to stare at him and Miles isn’t sure what to do. A hard forearm to the back drops Miles as the slow, creepy beatdown is on. Some dropkicks stagger Lumis but he hits a spinebuster into a head and arm choke (called the Anaconda Vice) for the tap at 1:45. Lumis’ blank stare is still good.

Adam Cole is not here for his scheduled showdown with Velveteen Dream. Whether he accepts it or not, Dream does not deserve a shot at the title and what matters at the moment is protecting Cole’s reality. The reality of the world right now is no one deserves a shot at the NXT Title.

Here’s Velveteen Dream and he’s looking a bit upset. He says this was typical Cole and of course he doesn’t believe Cole. Dream does respect Cole for thinking of himself as the mastermind and leader of the Undisputed Era. The one thing Cole is is the last remaining champion of the Undisputed Era.

Cole might even be the best NXT Champion of all time, but he needs to understand the words Dream Over. Cue Finn Balor, who says he doesn’t know or like Dream but he doesn’t like hearing anyone else being called the greatest NXT Champion of all time. Ignorant comments will get you a date with the Prince. Dream says Balor can be a gentleman and pick him up next Wednesday.

Malcolm Bivens is interested in the main event because the winners are losing the Tag Team Titles to his men.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Matt Riddle/???

Riddle is defending with a mystery partner chosen by his regular partner Pete Dunne. That partner would be….the debuting Timothy Thatcher. It’s Bobby Fish and Roderick Strong for the Era here for a different pairing. Riddle and Fish start things off and the trash talk is on in a hurry. Fish gets annoyed so they go to the mat in a hurry where he can’t get a rollup. Instead, Riddle slams him down to send Fish bailing as we take a break.

Back with Thatcher tying Strong up and grabbing a bow and arrow to induce screaming. Strong gets out and brings Fish back in to grab Thatcher’s leg and stomp down on it to take over. Thatcher reverses into a hold of his own and drags Fish over to Riddle. That means a suplex into a running kick to the chest for two, followed by the Broton for a bonus. The rolling gutwrench suplexes have Fish rocked and Thatcher adds his own to Strong.

An assisted moonsault gives Riddle two but Thatcher gets pulled to the floor. That lets the Era take Riddle into the corner so Strong can hit a backbreaker. The double teaming continues on the floor….as Dexter Lumis is watching from the top of the arena. An assisted Angle Slam plants Riddle and we take another break.

Back again with Fish hammering away at Riddle and grabbing the front facelock. Riddle finally gets in a fisherman’s suplex for the hot tag to Thatcher. Some spinning belly to belly suplexes have the Era in trouble and a Fujiwara armbar sends Strong bailing to the ropes. Fish comes in for some strikes to slow Thatcher down and a running forearm gets two. A knee to the face gets the same but Riddle breaks up the High/Low. The Fujiwara armbar is enough to retain at 22:12.

Rating: B. Thatcher debuting was quite the surprise but he turned out well enough and that’s all you can ask for. It’s a long form title match that was probably supposed to be the Takeover match against the Grizzled Young Veterans (or a triple threat) and it’s nice to have that big match feeling like this. Riddle continues to look good and it’s not like the Era is going to put in a bad performance.

Post match, Thatcher doesn’t dance.

Tommaso Ciampa says he is done with all of this and yes, Johnny Gargano was the better man. He gets jumped from behind though, sending the camera flying, and it’s Killer Kross, who says tick tock. There is also a woman’s boot shown standing next to Ciampa.

Overall Rating: B. This was a pretty good show where the individual parts don’t add up to the whole picture. The point here was getting things to feel normal again and that’s what they did here. They covered a lot of things all around the card here though with a bunch of stories being advanced and some matches being set for the next show. I liked a lot of where this show was going and hopefully they can continue that in the future.

Results

Finn Balor b. Fabian Aichner – 1916

Xia Li b. Aliyah – Spinning kick to the back

Akira Tozawa b. Isaiah Scott – Top rope backsplash

Tegan Nox b. Raquel Gonzalez – Rollup

Dexter Lumis b. Tehuti Miles – Anaconda Vice

Matt Riddle/Timothy Thatcher b. Undisputed Era – Fujiwara armbar to Strong

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 11, 2020
Location: WWE Performance Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix

It’s a special episode this week as we’re in the Performance Center instead of at Full Sail due to an event at the university. We’re getting ready for Takeover, assuming the show stays on the schedule given the Coronavirus. Either way, we’re in for some good stuff on the way to the show so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

The arena looks great and other than the PERFORMANCE CENTER sign, you wouldn’t know it wasn’t Full Sail.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Cameron Grimes

Grimes is challenging and tries for a leg pick to start. That’s blocked with straight power and Lee isn’t all that impressed. An Irish whip doesn’t work for Grimes either so he hits Lee in the face, only to get knocked hard out to the floor. Lee follows him out but Grimes escapes the powerbomb by grabbing the ropes and stomps him in the face for a unique counter.

The suicide dive is pulled out of the air though and Lee nods at him before trying the powerbomb again. Grimes grabs the rope again so Lee knocks his leg out this time instead. Back in and Grimes’ hat is knocked off the post but a superplex is broken up. Grimes nails a high crossbody but can’t cover off the impact.

Back from a break with Lee powering out of a waistlock and crushing Lee with a crossbody. The Spirit Bomb is escaped and Grimes hits the Superman forearm. A superkick rocks Lee and Grimes kicks him in the head again. There’s a rather impressive bridging German suplex to give Grimes two and he slips out of the Spirit Bomb again. Not that it matters as the Pounce sets up the Big Bang Catastrophe to retain the title at 11:57.

Rating: B-. Grimes got to show off here and Lee was on his usual ridiculous level. It was nice to see Lee switching things up a bit and fighting a smaller opponent rather than the usual monsters. What we had here was good, though I’m still curious about what we’ll be seeing at Takeover. Maybe it means another Lee vs. Dijakovic match, but you never can tell.

Post match here’s Damian Priest to jump Lee with a pipe. Dominick Dijakovic runs him off and helps Lee up but Lee powerbombs him instead. It isn’t clear if Lee saw that it was Priest who jumped him.

The #1 contenders ladder match at Takeover will be a six way. I don’t think the number had been confirmed until now.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim

Kai has Raquel Gonzalez in her corner. Yim kicks her down to start and grabs some early near falls but Kai is back up with a slap to the face. That earns her a running basement dropkick and Yim hammers away for two. Gonzalez trips Yim down though and drops her onto the apron as we take a break.

Back with Yim getting in a shot to the knee, plus a superkick to the jaw. A running neckbreaker gives Yim two but Kai sends her throat first into the middle rope. The Kairopractor gets two so Kai goes with the Kawada kicks, only to get rolled up for two more. Kai’s running boot in the corner misses so Yim powerbombs her out of the corner. Gonzalez breaks up the pin so the referee yells at her, meaning there’s no count off Kai’s rollup. Yim Codebreakers Kai for the pin at 9:42.

Rating: C. Yim winning here was a surprise as Kai has been a much bigger deal as of late. That being said, there are still four spots to be filled in and it wouldn’t surprise me to see Kai get one of them. Gonzalez is a good enforcer though I’m not sure what she is going to be able to do on her own. She’s fine at the moment though and doesn’t need to mix things up just yet.

Post match Gonzalez powerbombs Yim to leave her laying. Yim gets a big ovation as she gets up. Off a single powerbomb? Really?

Tommaso Ciampa arrives and doesn’t think much of doing things Johnny Gargano’s way tonight.

We get another creepy video of various signs of destruction, including the words “tick tock”.

Kushida vs. Raul Mendoza

They go straight to the forearm exchange to start until Mendoza dropkicks him into the corner. A springboard is knocked out of the air though and Kushida hits a springboard flip dive to the floor. Back in and Mendoza grabs a swinging suplex to put him down, setting up a Lionsault for two. Kushida scores with a Tajiri elbow but a rolling DDT is blocked. Instead Kushida hiptosses him down into a basement dropkick (ala Jay Lethal) before going up. Mendoza is right there to catch him so Kushida grabs the Hoverboard Lock up there. With that broken up, Kushida flips him down into a cross armbreaker for the win at 4:00.

Rating: C+. I’ve been a Kushida fan for a long time and while he’s nowhere near what he was in New Japan, at least he got to show up here and win a match for a change. Mendoza continues to be one of the best hands in the whole company as you can put him out there against anyone and get at least a watchable match. That’s a very valuable thing to have on your roster and why Mendoza appears on so many shows.

Tyler Breeze was at the Performance Center earlier today and talks about how the Performance Center built the wrestlers. Austin Theory comes in to say he used to watch Breeze on Breaking Ground when he was in high school. Breeze doesn’t seem impressed so he takes a picture of Theory. Breeze: “You look great, for a flash in the pan.”

Here’s Rhea Ripley for a chat. She isn’t going to be intimidated by Charlotte because she loves the idea of knocking the Queen down. Cue Charlotte (fans: “YOU DON’T GO HERE!”) to say that Rhea has guts….and there’s a GO BACK TO RAW chant. Charlotte doesn’t think the bright lights or 80,000 people in the stands are going to distract Ripley.

It’s going to be Charlotte that takes Ripley out of her game because she’s going to take Ripley into deep waters. Charlotte gets in the ring and the fight is on in a hurry, with Charlotte kicking her in the face (painful considering those heels are tall enough to ride the scrambler at the fair) and putting on the Hartbreaker around the post. That’s probably your story of the match.

Video on Walter vs. Finn Balor. Finn holds up a passport, suggesting that he’s coming to NXT UK.

Mia Yim is in the parking lot when a car drives up. Two masked men jump out and kidnap Raul Mendoza. Probably the same guys who kidnapped Samoa Joe in TNA about ten years ago.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Tegan Nox vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Nox has a bad shoulder coming in so Purrazzo goes right after it. A takedown by the arm gets two but Nox sends her into the corner for the Cannonboar. Purrazzo is right back with a bicycle kick into the Fujiwara armbar but Nox reverses into a crucifix for two. The Shiniest Wizard finishes Purrazzo at 2:27.

The Undisputed Era comes out for a match but hold on though as here’s Velveteen Dream in the crow’s nest. Dream holds up the tights with Strong’s family on the, saying they’re just tights and Strong is just dumber than he looks. He wants a title shot at Takeover but Cole says he hasn’t earned anything. Didn’t Dream lose last week inside that cage? Next week, Cole is officially the longest reigning NXT Champion of all time so they can end this tonight. Dream snaps his fingers though and it’s time for a match.

Tag Team Titles: Broserweights vs. Undisputed Era

Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish are challenging for the Era and the rest of the team is at ringside. Riddle and Fish start things off and I try to keep the song out of my head. Fish gets slammed down in a hurry and Riddle does a bit of a dance. Everything breaks down in a hurry and the champs hit stereo gutwrench suplexes to send us to a break. Back with Riddle kicking at O’Reilly’s chest and forearming at his head, only to get sent to the apron.

A Fish distraction lets O’Reilly get in a kick to the face to knock Riddle outside. We settle down to Riddle in trouble and not being able to strike his way to freedom. Fish’s slingshot hilo gets two and it’s a double suplex to start on the back. Riddle shrugs off some kicks though and it’s off to Dunne to clean house. That includes taking out O’Reilly’s leg and X Plexing him into a failed Cross armbreaker attempt.

Instead it’s a triangle choke to send Fish straight into the ropes and outside, allowing Riddle to nail a big running flip dive onto the Era. Strong and Cole try to interfere again but get ejected, with Riddle miming all the cheating that they did. We take a break and come back with Dunne blocking another hilo and making the second hot tag to Riddle. More striking abounds, plus a pair of Brotons for two.

Everything breaks down and the champs flip out of stereo German suplexes so they can kick the Era in the heads. We settle down to Fish escaping the Bro to Sleep but walking into the Final Flash. A blind tag lets O’Reilly come in with a top rope knee to the ribs for two with Dunne making his own save. Cue the Grizzled Young Veterans as Riddle knees Fish again. The referee is with the Veterans though, meaning it’s a backdrop to send Fish onto the two of them. That leaves O’Reilly to get kneed in the head, setting up the Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination to retain the titles at 20:01.

Rating: B. Another good match between these four, which isn’t all that surprising. All four can do the striking and the champs have that weird chemistry that you just stumble upon from time to time. That’s the kind of thing you can’t build up and NXT is capitalizing on it as they should. Solid back and forth match here, with the Veterans waiting in the wings for the Broserweights.

Here’s Tommaso Ciampa, who wants to know why Johnny Gargano did everything he did. Gargano pops up on screen to talk about how horrible of a person Johnny is, but since Ciampa knows the building well, he storms to the back and the fight is on. They fight down the hallway with Ciampa hitting him with a framed poster. It heads into the medical area with both guys beating up other people to keep the fight going.

Gargano throws him through the window of the gym door and they fight into the exercise equipment, with Gargano throwing him over a big tire. Gargano grabs a weight but Ciampa kicks it away and grabs some smaller ones. He THROWS them at Gargano but destroys a mirror instead, sending Gargano down another hall. They finally make it into the arena and Ciampa hits a running chair shot to the side of the head.

Gargano is back up though and they go up to the crow’s nest with Ciampa following him. They slug it out up there with Gargano pulling him into the Gargano Escape. The referee gets knocked down and Gargano superkicks Ciampa, who pops right back up with the Air Raid Crash off the balcony and through the announcers’ table to end the show. This was a lot of fun as they used their environment, which isn’t something you get to see them do very often. I know the two of them have done this to death, but sweet goodness they can take it to another level at times.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this one rather well as, aside from the big main event angle, there was nothing that would suggest that this was anything more than a regular Full Sail show. It was another solid episode as the focus shifts towards Takeover, though right now everything seems up in the air. The good thing is they might just be able to do the show at the Performance Center or Full Sail if necessary, but dang things are all over the place at the moment. Anyway, rather awesome show this week as NXT gets going towards Tampa.

Results

Keith Lee b. Cameron Grimes – Big Bang Catastrophe

Mia Yim b. Dakota Kai – Codebreaker

Kushida b. Raul Mendoza – Cross armbreaker

Tegan Nox b. Deonna Purrazzo – Shiniest Wizard

Broserweights b. Undisputed Era – Bro to Sleep/enziguri combination to O’Reilly

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: March 4, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s a big night around here with a pair of steel cage matches. First up Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai are in for a big fight, as Nox is still out for revenge after Kai attacked her back in November. Other than that, we have Roderick Strong vs. Velveteen Dream in a heck of a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Mauro previews the show.

Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai

Inside a cage with Raquel Gonzalez in Kai’s corner. Nox slugs away to start and takes Kai down to hammer her upside the head. The Shiniest Wizard misses but Kai can’t send her into the cage. A middle rope crossbody isn’t even worthy of a cover and Nox pounds away even more. Kai sends her into the corner though and chokes with a boot, followed by a ram into the cage for two.

Nox is back up and hits some running shots in the corner, onto to have the Cannonboar (yes Boar) hit knees. We take a break and come back with Nox sending Kai into the cage over and over, much to the fans’ delight. A tabletop suplex gives Nox two but Kai is back with the Kairopractor for her own two. Kai gets evil and goes after Nox’s knee brace but Nox kicks her away. It’s time for the climb, with Kai catching her on top, only to get chokeslammed right back down.

Instead of leaving, Nox climbs back down and hits the Cannonboar. Nox goes all the way up again and this time it’s a high crossbody of the cage. Nigel says that was a 20 foot drop, putting Kai at about 8’4. It’s time to go for the door but Gonzalez holds it shut, only to have Kai miss a running kick and knock the door into Gonzalez’s head. The Shiniest Wizard connects for two and Nox is STUNNED.

Gonzalez tries to come in this time but Nox kicks her in the face. Kai chases Nox up top so Nox kicks her down as well. Nox tries to climb down so Gonzalez tries to pull Kai out. That’s fine with Nox, who kicks the door onto Kai’s knee but Gonzales pins her against the cage with the door. The delay lets Kai escape at 16:10.

Rating: B-. The interference got annoying because the stipulation was built around the idea of Gonzalez not being able to interfere. Then she just did anyway, making the cage a rather pointless detail. There’s a good chance they do this one more time, perhaps in a ladder match in the tournament final at Takeover?

Finn Balor thanks Walter for sending Imperium to make the first move. That forced his hand and Walter will see him sooner than he thinks.

Rhea Ripley was in Raymond James Stadium (home of Wrestlemania XXXVI) and talks about how cool it is to have an NXT Title on the line. She started wrestling in front of 50-100 people and now she’s here. All she ever wanted to do was help people but she needed to find herself first. She changed everything and now she is ready to accomplish what she wanted. People called her a mini Charlotte when she got to WWE and now she wants to beat the real Charlotte.

#1 Contenders Qualifying Match: Chelsea Green vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Robert Stone introduces Chelsea. Green kicks her away to start but Shotzi takes her down for the Jeff Hardy legdrop between the legs. An enziguri drops Green again but she avoids a charge and gets caught with a Backstabber. Green kicks her in the ribs for two, followed by a missile dropkick to the apron. I’m Prettier (not Unprettier) finishes Blackheart at 2:24. I’m not sure I would have gone with Green over Blackheart for the ladder match. I’m also not sure how many people are going to be in the ladder match, as I thought it was just two but that might not be the case.

Here’s Keith Lee for a chat. After greetings and salutations, Lee talks about men invoking his name, including Dominick Dijakovic, who wants to fight forever. Or people like Damian Priest, who wants to live forever. Cue Cameron Grimes, who says Lee should be talking about him. Lee’s jacket comes off and Grimes has made the gravest mistake of his career.

The fans keep booing Grimes before he can get a word in, until Lee says he’d like to hear this. Apparently William Regal has granted Grimes a title match next week, so Lee shoves him out of the ring. Lee tells him to bring it next week. The fans didn’t like Grimes here.

Austin Theory is ready to win all of the titles but Isaiah Scott comes up to say not so fast. They’ll fight tonight.

The Undisputed Era is warming up.

Undisputed Era vs. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch

Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish here. Fish and Lorcan strike it out to start but everything breaks down in a hurry. The Era is sent outside and Lorcan hits a double Blockbuster off the steps to send us to a break. Back with Fish hitting Lorcan in the face again and having to throw in some knees to cut off the comeback attempt. Fish’s slingshot hilo hits raised knees though and it’s off to Burch to slug away. An RKO drops O’Reilly but Fish comes back in with a blindside shot to the face.

Burch gets beaten up in the corner and the chinlock goes on. That lasts as long as you might expect and it’s Burch getting up for a shot to the face. O’Reilly misses a big kick to the head though and Burch dives over for the hot tag. Lorcan comes in and gets to clean house, including a running Blockbuster to send O’Reilly outside. The big running dive over the top takes down Fish and O’Reilly and Lorcan takes him them back inside for running elbows in the corner. That’s not a good idea against the Era though as they come back with the High/Low to finish Lorcan at 11:50.

Rating: B. Burch and Lorcan are great gatekeepers as they can have good matches against anyone and make their opponents look good. The Era is in a weird place at the moment though as they’ve held the titles for the better part of ever and there’s no need for them to do so again. That being said, what else is there for them to do at the moment?

Post match the Era says they want their titles back. Adam Cole is taking care of business and tonight Roderick Strong is shutting up Velveteen Dream. Cue the Broserweights with Matt Riddle saying they’re down with a rematch. The Grizzled Young Veterans jump them from behind and throw the Broserweights off the stage. The Veterans don’t want to hear about rematch clauses because they’re going to be the Tag Team Champions.

Video on Austin Theory.

Austin Theory vs. Isaiah Scott

Feeling out process to start with Theory’s headlock not getting him very far. Scott takes him into the corner and hits a quick dropkick. A jumping kick to the face in the corner drops Theory and we take a break. Back with Theory hitting a slingshot rolling dropkick to take over, only to get caught with a discus lariat. A jumping Downward Spiral gives Scott two but Theory counters a hurricanrana into the buckle bomb.

RP1 (leg trap brainbuster onto the knee) gives Theory one but Scott pulls him into a cross armbreaker. With that broken up, Scott pins one arm behind Theory and stomps the other one down, giving us a SNAPPING sound that made me cringe harder than anything in wrestling has in years. Theory is fine enough to pull Scott off the top and hit a one armed ATL (Austin Theory Launch, a TKO) for the pin at 10:59.

Rating: C+. Theory is one of those guys where you can see everything WWE loves in a wrestler wrapped into one. It isn’t surprising me that he is getting this kind of a push and he’ll be around for the time being. The different names for his moves are going to help too. Scott continues to feel like he has potential but can’t get very far for whatever reason. He’s far from in danger, but he feels like he’s running on a treadmill.

We get a series of creepy visuals, mainly involving death. Killer Kross maybe?

Mauro sat down with Johnny Gargano at the Performance Center and asks what happened with Tommaso Ciampa at Takeover. Johnny says he was the only wrestler to show up at the premiere of Mauro’s documentary in New York, which Mauro says meant more to him than Johnny could ever know. Johnny talks about some of Mauro’s (complimentary) statements about him but Mauro doesn’t know him at all.

Mauro would like to think that he knows him but people want to know about the sneak attacks on Ciampa. That makes Johnny a lot more serious and says that it can’t be a sneak attack when you’re wearing a powder blue sport coat. No one has any idea what Johnny has seen, gone through or felt, but Mauro wants to know. Johnny gets up and nearly gets in Mauro’s face before sitting back down. Mauro asks why again and this time Johnny stands up and puts his hand on Mauro’s shoulder, saying that Mauro knows why.

If Mauro admits it though, he’s admitting he’s a liar. Mauro admits that they haven’t talked since Takeover: Portland so Johnny yells at him for calling him Johnny Turncoat. When Ciampa came back, Mauro couldn’t help but say Daddy’s Home. Johnny wants Mauro to look in the camera and say he’s a liar but Mauro walks off. Johnny: “No Mama Mias now!” Gargano grabs the camera and says next week at the Performance Center, they do things his way. This was a level of intensity that you don’t see from Johnny very often (if ever) and he feels like he’s on the verge of madness all over again.

Video on Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong.

Next week: Keith Lee defends against Cameron Grimes and the Undisputed Era gets their Tag Team Title rematch, all from the Performance Center.

Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong

Inside a cage ant they go straight at it at the bell with Strong sending him into the cage. Dream is right back with a crossbody but it’s too early for the Dream Valley Driver. They slug it out again with Strong getting the better of it, including the first backbreaker. Strong yells that Dream did this and starts with the running forearms. A backdrop sends Strong into the cage but here’s Marina Shafir (Strong’s wife) to slip him a kendo stick.

Shafir leaves and we take a break. Back with Strong going up but getting hit low, allowing Dream to grab a Boston crab. Strong grabs the rope and thankfully the referee does nothing, but Dream lets go anyway. The breather lets Strong grab the Stronghold but Dream slips out as well. Another Dream Valley Driver is broken up so Dream dropkicks him into the cage.

There’s a superkick to make it worse but Strong pulls him face first into the cage. They fight over the kendo stick with Strong using it for a pumphandle backbreaker. Strong goes up but Dream pulls the pants down (fans: “A******!”) for the save. Dream stays on the top with him and that means a super Angle Slam to put them both down.

Neither can dive through the door and now the Dream Valley Driver connects. Dream hits a second one and goes all the way to the top, only to have the rest of the Undisputed Era come out. Cole manages to get inside so Dream slams him off the top. Strong gets over to the door again so Dream grabs him, looks at Cole….and shoves Strong out to give Strong the win at 13:00.

Rating: B. This was both hard hitting and entertaining while setting up the next Takeover main event. Strong was fighting to get rid of Dream once and for all, but the ending says that Dream has his sights on something bigger (likely the guy he left himself inside the cage with, plus that guy’s shiny title). The match was a good fight but the ending was all about setting up something new and that’s a nice combination.

Post match Dream locks the cage with himself and Cole inside and the beating is on. Dream starts throwing Cole at the cage to knock the rest of the Era out, followed by using the stick to beat them up. Strong gets tied in the Tree of Woe and it’s another Dream Valley Driver to send Cole into the chair. Dream grabs the title and poses a lot to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a solid show up and down as the focus moves towards Tampa. I like a lot of where the show looks to be going and that’s hard to do on such a short turnaround time. It also helps that there was nothing bad here with a bunch of good matches and an intense promo from Gargano. Couple that with the potential of Balor vs. Walter (which might be more likely for Dublin) and things are in a good place. The doldrums that they were in for a few weeks have been shaken off and that’s quite the relief going forward.

Results

Dakota Kai b. Tegan Nox – Kai escaped the cage

Chelsea Green b. Shotzi Blackheart – I’m Prettier

Undisputed Era b. Oney Lorcan/Danny Burch – High/Low to O’Reilly

Austin Theory b. Isaiah Scott – ATL

Roderick Strong b. Velveteen Dream – Dream pushed Strong out of the cage

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Takeover: Portland
Date: February 16, 2020
Location: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

We’re back with the big show and making the Sunday debut, which hopefully isn’t a trend. This is the first Takeover since November and it’s going to be an interesting one since we are only about six weeks away from the next one. As usual they’ve done a good job with building the card so let’s get to it.

Poppy performs the theme song live.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Dominick Dijakovic

Lee is defending. They stare each other down to start and neither can get anywhere off a headlock. Lee goes with a hurricanrana to pop the crowd for the first time and shrugs off some shoulders for a bonus. The cyclone boot works a bit better and puts Lee on the floor, setting up the Fosbury Flop, which Lee catches in a powerbomb. That’s escaped as well and Dijakovic suplexes him onto the apron.

Back in and Dijakovic talks trash and slowly pounds Lee down but Lee blocks a suplex. Instead it’s a release German suplex to drop Dijakovic on his face but Dijakovic is back with another cyclone book. A corkscrew moonsault gives Dijakovic two and it’s time to strike it out again. An exchange of standing clotheslines puts them both on their knees and neither can get up. Lee is on his feet first and heads up top but Dijakovic is right there wit him with a super spinning Samoan drop for two. That looked awesome, though it wasn’t the top rope Feast Your Eyes that commentary called it.

Lee is back up with a Pounce into the corner and it’s time to head outside. Dijakovic gets knocked into a chair and Lee chops him rather hard but Dijakovic puts him in the chair for a superkick. It’s time to show off again though as Dijakovic hits a springboard flip dive onto Lee in the chair and they head back inside. Back in and the Big Bang Catastrophe is countered, as is the sitout chokeslam.

Rating: A-. This is the definition of spectacle, as the match was built around the idea of one huge spot after another until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. That’s always incredible to watch and neither comes out looking anything close to bad. It was an awesome match and somehow not even their best one ever. It’s going to take someone special to take the title off of Lee and that’s a great situation to be in.

Lee helps him up post match, as he should.

We recap Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox. They were best friends and went through everything, including knee rehab together. Then Kai didn’t make it onto the WarGames team but was added as a replacement. Therefore, she turned on Nox and went after her bad knee in a rather evil moment. Tonight it’s a street fight.

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox

Street fight. Kai jumps her during the entrances and they fight through the barricade with Kai hitting a DDT on the floor. They head inside for the opening bell and a two count on Nox, meaning it’s time to bring in the weapons. Nox hits a crossbody off the steps to knock the cricket bat away from Kai and adds a Cannonball against the steps. A table is pulled out but Kai cuts her off with a kick to the face.

Nox is back with a trashcan though, including a nasty German suplex to put Kai onto the can for two. The Kairopractor gives Kai her own two but Nox sends her face first into the apron. They go to the top with Nox chokeslamming her down and busting out a Molly Go Round for two. Nox puts Kai’s head in a chair and loads up a Punt of all things but Kai slips away and throws the chair at her to send Nox outside.

Rating: B. They made the right call with Kai winning here as there was nothing to be gained with Nox winning. Gonzales being the big surprise is a different way to go and it keeps Nox looking like the great sympathetic face that she is. You can imagine that this isn’t done yet, or at least Nox isn’t done with trying to get revenge.

Gonzales helps Kai up and Kai isn’t sure what is going on.

We recap Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano. It’s a battle of old vs. new as Balor is one of the legends around here and Gargano has taken up the NXT mantle in his absence, leading NXT to new heights. Balor doesn’t like what NXT has become and is back to show that he’s still the best while also taking out Gargano late last year in the process.

Finn Balor vs. Johnny Gargano

They go technical to start with Balor not being able to take over on the arm and getting rolled up for two instead. Balor takes him down with a headscissors and even does some pushups at the same time for a bonus. Gargano fights out and gets a headlock on the mat before kicking Balor in the chest. The rolling kick to the head stuns Balor again but he’s back up with a whip into the corner for some running chops.

Balor goes to the apron but Gargano follows him out and hits a spear to knock them outside. Gargano loads up a running dropkick, only to have Balor Sling Blade him down. Back in and Balor grabs an armbar while rubbing his forearm over Gargano’s face. The chinlock/armbar stays on until Gargano fights up and pulls Balor down by the arm. Gargano goes to the apron but gets his leg snapped over the top rope.

Balor works on the leg and stomps on it in the corner, followed by the cannonballs down onto said leg. Gargano can’t quite kick him over the top so he pulls Balor back inside and gets two off a small package instead. Back in and Balor ties up the leg again until Gargano fights his way up one more time. An enziguri and dropkick put Balor on the floor but the suicide dive is countered. 1916 is blocked though and Gargano sends him into the steps, setting up the running flip dive off the apron.

The Lawn Dart is broken up and Balor hits a Nightmare on Helm Street for two. Gargano gets in a superkick followed by the Lawn Dart and they exchange kicks to the head. They slug it out with Gargano getting the better of it from the apron. The slingshot spear is blocked but the slingshot DDT connects for two. Back in and Balor cuts off the running superkick with the Sling Blade. That works so well that they do it again and Balor dropkicks him into the corner.

The Coup de Grace misses and Gargano pulls him into the Gargano Escape. That’s reversed into a standing double stomp but 1916 is countered into the Gargano Escape again. This time Balor dives for the rope and bails to the floor, allowing Gargano to hit the John Woo dropkick into the barricade. Gargano loads up the announcers’ table but Balor knocks him down, setting up his own John Woo dropkick off said table. Back in and the Coup de Grace connects hard, setting up a heck of a 1916 to finish Gargano at 27:19.

Rating: A-. These guys beat the heck out of each other and Balor won definitively, which should set him up for a huge match in Tampa, say against Lee perhaps. Gargano shrugging off the knee work was the only significant problem as it was fun to watch these two beat each other up until Gargano could keep going any longer. Heck of a match and Balor continues to look like a huge star around here.

Roderick Strong is ready to destroy Velveteen Dream on Wednesday. That’s next week though because tonight, the rest of the Undisputed Era is ready to prove why they are the best in the world.

We recap Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair for the Women’s Title. Ripley became the biggest deal in the division and finally ended Shayna Baszler’s title reign. Belair won a battle royal and doesn’t like Ripley overlooking her to face Charlotte at Wrestlemania.

Women’s Title: Bianca Belair vs. Rhea Ripley

Ripley is defending and goes for the arm to start but gets reversed into a waistlock to the mat. That doesn’t last long though as Rhea is up with clotheslines and a dropkick but Belair grabs a cravate. A standing moonsault gives Belair two and she nearly drops Ripley on a Jackhammer attempt.

Belair goes full He Nan with a seated full nelson but Belair powers out again. The standing Cloverleaf is countered as Belair sends her shoulder first into the post. A spinebuster gives Belair a few near falls and she puts Ripley on top. That means an exchange of hard slaps to the face until Belair uses the hair whip to take over. The gorilla press drop shows off Belair’s power but the KOD is countered.

Ripley kicks her in the chest but Belair pops up with the spear for the double knockdown. They slug it out from their knees but Ripley avoids the hair whip. Belair backdrops her over the top so Belair hits a big running flip dive. Ripley gets in a whip to the steps but blocks a sunset bomb back inside. That’s fine with Ripley, who switches to the Riptide to retain at 13:33.

Rating: C+. Belair continues to be an athletic freak and she’s grown on me in recent months. Her problem at the moment is that she is developing a reputation for not being able to win the big one, though it’s hard to imagine that she won’t be Women’s Champion one day. Ripley now has a clear path to Wrestlemania and Charlotte, which should be a heck of a showdown.

Post match Charlotte runs in and decks Ripley. She accepts the match at WrestleMania and sends Belair into the steps for a bonus.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era vs. Broserweights

The Broserweights are challenging after winning the Dusty Classic. They drive out in a golf cart with the trophy in the back, plus matching “How Much Fish Could Bobby Fish Fry If Bobby Fish Could Fry Fish?” shirts. Matt Riddle isn’t done and leads the fans in a singalong of the line, drawing the champs up to start the fight. Riddle kicks at O’Reilly to start so it’s off to Fish, who gets suplexed down. Dunne comes in and blasts Fish with a clothesline before stomping on the arm.

Fish is sent outside for the middle rope moonsault but Fish sweeps the leg back inside. That allows the tag off to O’Reilly as the champs take over for the first time. O’Reilly twists the leg around the ropes and Fish kicks the other leg out to keep Dunne down. The champs collide though and it’s off to Riddle to clean house. That means kicks and Brotons to both, plus a Bro To Sleep into a German suplex for two on O’Reilly.

Some knees to the face give Dunne two on O’Reilly but Dunne kicks the post by mistake. Riddle knees O’Reilly again and the Final Flash sets up a release German suplex. O’Reilly strikes him right back and they both go down to a nice reaction. Back up and Riddle gets in a spear on O’Reilly but Fish is back in with a chop block to Riddle. Double knees put the champs down and it’s Dunne coming back in to strike it out with O’Reilly.

Dunne reverses O’Reilly’s ankle lock into one of his own but gets reversed into a Scorpion Deathlock. Fish sleepers Riddle at the same time but Riddle knees O’Reilly and drops back onto Fish for the double escape. What looked to be a Doomsday Device is broken up and O’Reilly t-bone superplexes Riddle down.

O’Reilly kneebars Riddle but Dunne bends Fish’s fingers and stomps onto O’Reilly’s for a save of his own. Things settle down with Dunne bending O’Reilly’s fingers but Riddle is drawn in to accidentally spear Dunne. Chasing the Dragon gets two and the fans are WAY into the kickout. Riddle is back up and makes a blind tag so it’s time to knee a lot of people. The Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination gives us new champions at 16:58.

Rating: A-. This is the kind of wild tag match that makes NXT work so well and that’s the kind of match you can always use on any show. I’m a bit surprised by the title change but the Undisputed Era has held the titles for the better part of ever so having them drop the things to a new team is a good idea. NXT doesn’t have the deepest tag division in the world so this is the right way to go, if nothing else as the Undisputed Era continues its slide.

We recap the NXT Title match between Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole. Ciampa had to vacate the title due to a neck injury and now he’s back to get the title he never lost. Cole is on the verge of becoming the longest reigning champion in the title’s history but Ciampa is coming for Goldie because daddy’s home.

NXT Title: Adam Cole vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Cole is defending and we’re ready to go after the Big Match Intros. Ciampa puts him against the ropes and mocks Cole’s pose, followed by a headlock for a bonus. It’s too early for Willow’s Bell so Ciampa goes with another headlock. That stays on for a bit until Ciampa gets up and chops him in the corner. Cole’s Backstabber misses so he kicks Ciampa down instead and gives himself the applause.

Ciampa throws him over the announcers’ table though and now we get the real self applause. A jumping enziguri misses Ciampa and he drops Cole across the barricade. That means a running knee to the head and a bunch of chops in the timekeeper’s area. The big running knee makes it worse and Ciampa even hugs a fan. Ciampa misses a kick though and gets suplexed into the edge of the announcers’ table for a delayed two. Cole kicks him in the face for two more but takes too long going up, meaning he has to block a sunset bomb.

A Backstabber out of the corner sets up a chinlock but Ciampa is up again. The Panama Sunrise is countered with a dropkick and they both need some time to get up. Ciampa grabs a torture rack bomb for his own two but Cole is right back with the fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. Cole ties him in the corner but a sunset bomb is countered into the super Air Raid Crash for the VERY near fall and Ciampa is stunned. They head outside again with Ciampa powerbombing him onto the announcers’ table (again, not through), followed by another to put Cole through it.

Back inside and Cole hits a quick superkick, only to get caught with Project Ciampa for two. They slug it out with Cole knocking him to the floor but a suicide dive is kneed out of the air. Back in again and Cole snaps off the brainbuster onto the knee for two as the fans are split again. They slowly fight up with Cole getting the better of it and hitting a Last Shot. Ciampa is smart enough to roll straight to the rope though, meaning it’s time to head to the apron.

Another Air Raid Crash onto the apron puts them both down on the floor but Ciampa can’t hit the Fairy Tale Ending. Cole can hit a Panama Sunrise off the announcers’ table though and Ciampa is….not done as he’s back up for Willow’s Bell. The Fairy Tale Ending connects for two and Ciampa has nothing left. Cole changes pace with a Crossface but Ciampa reverses into one of his own. It’s too close to the rope though and Cole bails outside after the break.

Cue Roderick Strong for a distraction though and O’Reilly and Fish take Ciampa down with a High/Low on the floor. That’s only good for two as well so Ciampa hits Willow’s Bell on Strong and nails a big corkscrew dive onto the other three. Back in and Cole hits a quick Last Shot for two and I let out an “oh come on”. The ref gets bumped and Ciampa hits another Fairy Tale Ending for no count so here’s Johnny Gargano (Where was he five minutes ago?) to throw the title to Ciampa….and then hit him with it instead. Cole retains the title at 33:23.

Rating: B+. I enjoyed it but these Cole main events are getting out of hand on a ridiculous level. They could have cut out probably seven to ten minutes of kickouts here and done the same thing, which isn’t a good sign. That being said, the action was good and Gargano vs. Ciampa part whatever number we’re at should be good with a new twist on the whole thing. This pretty much leaves Velveteen Dream as the most likely challenger to Cole in Tampa as there aren’t many other ways to go, save for Lee dropping the title in a hurry. Anyway, entertaining main event that could have been better with a few cuts.

Overall Rating: A. It never ceases to amaze me that this is probably considered one of the weaker Takeovers and it’s still an incredible show. There’s nothing close to bad on it and several very good matches, though it didn’t have the big blow away one. You can piece together some of Takeover and it wouldn’t surprise me to see a few cameos from NXT UK to really bump up the quality. What we got here was great though and it was an awesome show as Takeover continues to be the untouchable one.

Results

Keith Lee b. Dominick Dijakovic – Big Bang Catastrophe

Dakota Kai b. Tegan Nox – Toss onto a table

Finn Balor b. Johnny Gargano – 1916

Rhea Ripley b. Bianca Belair – Riptide

Broserweights b. Undisputed Era – Bro To Sleep/Enziguri combination to O’Reilly

Adam Cole b. Tommaso Ciampa – Belt shot to the head

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

This is a different kind of show for more ways than you almost ever see. In this case, we have a show on a Sunday, a Takeover without a major event from WWE and a six match card. I’m not sure if those things are better or worse for what we’ll be seeing but NXT has not been as strong as usual of late. This is where they get their reputation from though so let’s get to it.

Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley(c) vs. Bianca Belair

I’m not sure what to expect from this one and that’s a hard thing to pull off. What makes this so much better is the fact that while they are certainly teasing Charlotte vs. Ripley at WrestleMania, they might be going a swerve in the form of a triple threat match with Belair vs. Ripley vs. Charlotte. Now I’m not sure how great that would be, but it’s a possibility.

That being said, I don’t think it’s a possibility that is going to become a reality so we’ll say that Ripley retains here. NXT clearly sees something huge in her and I don’t think they’re going to take the title off of her in her first Takeover defense. Unless there is something surprising like Charlotte interfering to cost Ripley the title, and I’m not sure I see that happening, I think we’ll be seeing Ripley retain.

Tag Team Titles: Undisputed Era(c) vs. Broserweights

The Undisputed Era is reaching the Shayna Baszler point of “someone has to beat them”. Granted that has been the case for a long time now and yet it never seems to end. Now that’s an interesting point as you start to wonder who that team is, because there isn’t a very deep tag division in NXT. Hence the Broserweights being put together to get this spot after winning a handful of matches.

I’ll take the Undisputed Era to retain here, as I think we’re coming up on the dream match at Takeover: Tampa where DIY takes the titles off of them. The Broserweights can keep teaming together, but there isn’t a need to switch the titles here. The Undisputed Era has held them for so long now that another six weeks isn’t going to matter, so switch them in Tampa instead of here.

Johnny Gargano vs. Finn Balor

Here’s your showcase match and it’s a very good one at that. The story makes perfect sense here as you have the former star against the new one, with Gargano needing to prove that he’s as good as he seems to be. Balor is someone with main roster credentials and having Gargano beat him would be a huge moment for him. You could see this one going either way though and that’s what makes it fascinating.

I think I’ll go with Balor here, as there is a case for both of them. First and foremost, Balor is Balor and someone who brings instant main roster credibility to NXT. At the same time though, Gargano has one of the best resumes and legacies in NXT, but he also has a reputation for losing. He’s a lot better when he’s losing though and it’s not like another loss is going to hut him that much. Gargano winning wouldn’t shock me, but I’ll take Balor.

Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox

This is a good example of a match where the extra time for the build may have hurt it a bit. The whole thing is built on Kai being the most horrible person ever by taking out the adorable Nox’s already injured knee. The problem is that was three months ago and a lot of the steam has gone away. The heat will be back as soon as we see a clip of the attack, but it doesn’t feel as important as it once did.

Again you could go either way here, but if they want Kai to go anywhere, she needs to win here so I’ll say that. Nox is someone who has that underdog/never say die aspect to her and that is going to be enough to carry her a long way. Kai is still new to this massive heel turn deal and having her lose (again) wouldn’t leave her with much to do going forward. Let her win here and see where she can go with it.

North American Title: Keith Lee(c) vs. Dominick Dijakovic

I don’t think I’m alone when I say this is the match a lot of people have wanted to see again. These guys showed a completely new aspect to big man matches and they were some of the most exciting things I’ve seen in a long time. I had wanted them to do it on a bigger stage and that is what they are getting here, with a title on the line to boot.

I’ll take Lee to retain, as he seems in line to become the next big thing in NXT. Therefore, you don’t take the title off of him here (barring what would be a very surprising turnaround to give him the title shot at Takeover: Tampa), though Dijakovic winning it would hardly be the worst thing in the world. But yeah Lee retains here, as it is going to take a Herculean effort to get the belt off of him.

NXT Title: Adam Cole(c) vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This is the match that got me into the show because Ciampa’s promos have been outstanding. He never lost the title and pinned Cole to win WarGames so there is already a story built in. Should Cole retain, there is a strong chance he sets the record for the longest NXT Title reign in history, which is a pretty big deal given the history the title has. I’m more curious what happens if Ciampa loses though, as this is pretty much his life.

I think we’re going to find out though, as I’ll take Cole to retain. It leaves open the question of who is left to fight him (though a certain Dreamy one would seem to be an option) but for now, Ciampa doesn’t get Goldie back. I’m not sure if he ever does, but I don’t think he does here. It’s another coin flip (dang NXT is good at setting those up), though I’m going with Cole retaining.

Overall Thoughts

I’m not sure what to expect from this show as the television shows haven’t been as great lately. What matters the most though is that we’ll get down to just the wrestling here and that’s where NXT shines. I do not believe they are capable of a bad (or even average) Takeover and I don’t see this one going any differently. Just give us a good show and everything will be fine. Make it a great one and NXT is back, which is what I’d bet on happening.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: February 5, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness

With less than two weeks to go before Takeover, the entire card seems to be set. However, there are some things beyond Takeover which also need to be taken care of and that includes Wrestlemania. Therefore, we have a guest star this week as Charlotte is here to answer Rhea Ripley’s Wrestlemania challenge. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here are the Broserweights, in a golf cart, with the Dusty Classic trophy in the back. You can tell Matt Riddle is in a good mood as he’s wearing a tie. They’ve been celebrating ever since and tonight it continues because the trophy is in a golf cart. Dunne can’t believe that he’s in a tag team with Riddle, who says it’s meant to be. Riddle wants to know how they’ll get to Portland but here’s the Undisputed Era to interrupt.

O’Reilly: “You’re Matthew Riddell and Peter Dune.” They’re ready to fight now but here’s Roderick Strong to pull them back. Fish: “There are much bigger fish to try than you too.” Riddle: “Bobby Fish just said fish!” He gets in a fish tongue twister but Dunne says not to worry about how many fish Bobby Fish could fry if Bobby Fish could fry fish. Riddle turns it into a song and does a Randy Savage spin for a nice touch. Dunne promises to smoke the Era in Portland.

Angel Garza vs. Isaiah Scott

They start fast and miss a clothesline each, meaning it’s an early standoff. Scott tries to cartwheel around but gets kicked in the ribs to put Garza in control. That’s fine with Scott, who springboards back up for a hurricanrana to send Garza outside. Garza is read for the dive so Scott puts on the brakes and kicks him back to the floor. Scott’s running flip over the ropes is superkicked down and we take a break. Back with Garza hitting a reverse powerbomb, allowing him to TAKE OFF HIS PANTS.

A superkick gives Garza two but Scott reverses a slingshot reverse suplex. Scott slaps him in the face but his springboard is superkicked out of the air (ok not much air as it was off the bottom rope). Garza tries a headscissors out of the corner, which is flipped forward into something like an Iconoclasm for two. It’s time to go up again but this time Garza throws his pants at him for a distraction. Scott doesn’t seem to mind and hits the House Call for two but Garza crotches him on top. The Wing Clipper finishes Scott at 10:38.

Rating: C+. The high flying was good here but I’m not sure how far Scott is going to get at this point. He seems tailor made for a big push but for some reason he keeps losing time after time. The action worked here though as they kept the movement up and the pants thing was a good spot at the end. Garza winning here was the only choice they had after Raw, but maybe he shouldn’t have been facing Scott.

Post match, Garza says he took out his cousin and Rey Mysterio, so now he wants his Cruiserweight Title back.

The Undisputed Era beat up some people for not knowing where Tommaso Ciampa is. Strong even messes up someone getting a haircut, because people get haircuts backstage at NXT.

Video on Mercedes Martinez.

Sgt. Slaughter is here for your random cameo.

Dominik Dijakovic vs. Killian Dain

Oh yeah Dain is a thing. These two got in each other’s faces earlier today at the Performance Center over who should get the next shot at Keith Lee. Dain goes right at him with the shoulders in the corner but Dijakovic fights out in a hurry and hits a middle rope elbow to the head. A clothesline puts Dijakovic over the top though and the SHAVE YOUR BACK chants start up. Dijakovic doesn’t seem to like hairy backs either and hits a flip dive off the steps, turning the chants into FEAST YOUR EYES. Back in and the discus lariat is cut off by Dain’s crossbody to send us to a break.

We come back with Dijakovic flipping out of a belly to back suplex and elbowing Dain hard in the face. The suplex slam into the chokebomb gets two on Dain but he’s right back up to catch Dijakovic on top. Dain’s superplex puts them both down but Dijakovic wins a battle of boots to the face for two. The moonsault misses and the Vader Bomb is broken up, meaning it’s Feast Your Eyes to finish Dain at 8:15.

Rating: B-. This was a hoss fight and another good example of what Dijakovic can do. There are so many times where I look at one of his matches and wonder how I’m seeing this stuff. He and Keith Lee took it to another level but these two more than held their own, making it a heck of a match.

Post match we’re told that Dijakovic gets a title shot in Portland so here’s Lee for the staredown.

Kushida doesn’t know where Ciampa is so the Undisputed Era throws him in a crate. Bronson Reed comes in to stare them down so it’s a jumping knee to the head.

We get a split screen sitdown interview between Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor. They were ready to fight at Takeover: WarGames and Gargano has been counting the days for three months. Finn says he’s been counting the days for four years because he’s sick of Gargano being called the next Finn Balor. Gargano says he’s the first Johnny Gargano and Balor needs this match as much as he does. Balor doesn’t need this match because he doesn’t get paid by the hour but he’s going to take his time and enjoy this.

That’s what Johnny has been looking for: the NXT Finn Balor, not the Finn Balor who lost to Bobby Lashley like seventeen weeks in a row on Raw. Balor isn’t here for the Match of the Year, because he’s here for the last match of Gargano’s life. Gargano promises to take the NXT flag that Balor dropped and drive it through his heart. Balor: “I don’t have a heart.” Heck of a heated exchange here and I want to see these two fight.

Video on Kacy Catanzaro.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Kacy Catanzaro

Martinez starts fast by shrugging off a waistlock and planting her with a spinebuster. A one armed delayed suplex….is broken up and Catanzaro hits a basement dropkick. Catanzaro grabs a hurricanrana for two but her springboard is broken up with a hard forearm. Martinez takes it to the floor and posts her, followed by a whip into the barricade. Back in and the fisherman’s buster finishes Catanzaro at 2:59. They got some stuff in here and Catanzaro looked good in defeat.

Rhea Ripley (listed as NXT Women’s Champion rather than NXT Champion) is ready for Charlotte and Bianca Belair.

The Undisputed Era gets jumped by Ciampa and the fight heads into the arena. Cole is sent into the announcers’ table over and over, which is good for some applause. The rest of the team catches up with them and beats down Ciampa. They get inside but the Broserweights come in for the save. Security breaks it up so here’s William Regal to make a six man. The fight breaks out again and they head to the back.

Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Breeze

Non-title. Devlin jumps him during the entrance and the beating is on in a hurry. We take a break and come back joined in progress with Devlin elbowing him in the corner but getting kicked in the ribs for his efforts. A basement superkick gives Breeze two and he wraps Devlin’s knee around the post. Breeze drops a knee to the knee and cranks on the leg to keep Devlin down.

That doesn’t work very well as Devlin gets back up with a backbreaker, only to get dropkicked in the face. The neck crank goes on for a bit, followed by a clothesline to put Devlin on the floor. Devlin is right back up again and this time it’s a moonsault to take Breeze down again. Back in and the release Rock Bottom into the standing moonsault gets two on Breeze as we take a break.

We come back with Devlin standing on Breeze’s face (not fair to the gorgeousness), only to charge into a boot in the corner. Back to back dropkicks have Devlin in trouble and a clothesline gives Breeze two. Devlin pops up for a high crossbody, with Breeze rolling through for two more.

A standing Spanish Fly gets two on Breeze and they’re both a bit winded. Devlin tries the moonsault but hits raised boots, allowing Breeze to slap on a half crab. He has to pull it back to the middle but lets it go for some reason, setting up the Supermodel kick for a rather close two. The slingshot cutter gives Devlin two and that’s enough for him, meaning it’s the Devlin Side to put Breeze away at 15:33.

Rating: B. This took some time to get going but once it found its footing, they were off to the races. They’ve got something with Devlin, who has been great in almost everything that he’s done and looked very good here too. This is also the closest Breeze has looked to his old self around here and I could certainly go for more of him. Devlin was the star here though and I think they know it.

Charlotte arrives.

Here’s Bianca Belair for the big showdown. She’s on her way to Portland to become the new NXT Women’s Champion but here’s Charlotte to interrupt in a hurry. We get the big welcome home reaction and she says there is nothing like a Full Sail WOO. Charlotte respects the heck out of Belair but Bianca isn’t the Queen.

Rhea doesn’t like the disrespect and the saying around here is WE ARE NXT. Belair jumps Charlotte and they put her on their shoulders for a double faceplant. Rhea and Bianca trash talk each other until Belair leaves. Charlotte didn’t accept or decline Ripley’s challenge. Good segment here and I want to see where this goes.

Undisputed Era vs. Tommaso Ciampa/Broserweights

Roderick Strong is the odd man out but the other three jump the Era on the stage and the fight is on before the bell. Dunne X Plexes O’Reilly onto the apron and Ciampa kicks Fish in the face. Strong gets beaten down in the aisle and the limping Ciampa goes inside with O’Reilly going after the knee as the bell rings. Ciampa elbows him down and it’s Riddle coming in to strike away at Fish.

The MMA exchange doesn’t exactly work so Dunne and Cole come in. Dunne gets pulled to the floor though and Strong is back up to drop Dunne onto the apron. Back in and the Era takes turns on Dunne in the corner until he sends Fish to the floor and dropkicks O’Reilly to the floor, allowing the diving tag to Riddle (Ciampa’s arm wasn’t exactly extended there). Riddle starts cleaning house with strikes and throws into the back to back Brotons.

The Era needs a breather on the floor and we come back with Riddle getting knocked into the Era’s corner, allowing Cole to come back in for a chinlock. O’Reilly slaps on a guillotine choke but Riddle lifts him up without too much effort. Riddle no sells a German suplex, O’Reilly no sells a German suplex, Riddle hits him in the head and O’Reilly kicks him in the head for a double knockdown.

Dunne gets the hot tag and starts wrecking Cole, including X Plexing O’Reilly onto him for two. The Panama Sunrise is cut off by a forearm but Cole is right back with a brainbuster onto the knee for his own near fall. Dunne ducks a double kick from O’Reilly and Fish and the hot tag brings in Ciampa. Project Ciampa gets two on O’Reilly with Fish making the save. We get the big showdown between Ciampa and Cole but a kick to the head breaks it up in a hurry. Everyone starts hitting each other in the head/face but Strong comes in to break up the Fairy Tale Ending for the DQ at 13:41.

Rating: B. I could have gone for the clean pin at the end here but this was mostly all action throughout and they pulled me in near the end. If nothing else it was nice to see that Ciampa hadn’t hurt his knee again and that he got back in and started taking over. Strong interfering is fine enough, but it could have been a better ending and that slows it down a bit.

Post match the beatdown is on, including Chasing the Dragon to Dunne on the floor. Riddle takes High/Low and Ciampa gets End of Heartache. The Era goes NWO and paints an X on Ciampa’s back (ala Ciampa with the table last week)….but we’ve got three rings on the screen. Those rings would be like the Velveteen Dream’s glasses and he’s back, diving off the top onto the Era and beating all of them up at once.

The Era gets taken out and Dream rips off his gear, revealing Rick Rude style tights with Strong’s family painted on, plus an old school hip swivel. Dream clears the ring and the fans go coconuts to end the show. It’s a cool moment, though I wouldn’t have done the circles thing last week. Why telegraph it at all?

Overall Rating: B+. This is more like it with segments and matches that built towards Takeover. It’s a case of things being better when they have something to focus on and that’s always a good thing. The wrestling was quite strong tonight as well and overall, it was a heck of a show that flew by. Takeover is looking rather stacked, even with six matches at the moment. Hopefully they don’t overdo it, but what we have so far should be great.

Results

Angel Garza b. Isaiah Scott – Wing Clipper

Dominick Dijakovic b. Killian Dain – Feast Your Eyes

Mercedes Martinez b. Kacy Catanzaro – Fisherman’s buster

Jordan Devlin b. Tyler Breeze – Devlin Side

Tommaso Ciampa/Broserweights b. Undisputed Era via DQ when Roderick Strong interfered

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Worlds Collide
Date: January 25, 2020
Location: Toyota Center, Houston, Texas
Commentators: Tom Phillips, Nigel McGuinness

It’s a big night in Texas, and not just because I finally remembered that the show isn’t called When Worlds Collide. This is NXT vs. NXT UK and the card is actually stacked, with a bunch of matches that could be awesome. If they live up to the hype, it’s a show of the year contender. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Mia Yim vs. Kay Lee Ray

Non-title. Mia knocks her into the corner to start and hits a Cannonball for two. Ray gets chopped against the ropes but Mia takes her down by the leg and gets two off a kick to the head. A faceplant gives Ray her own two and the chinlock goes on. Mia fights up and chops her way out of the corner so Ray superkicks her for two. The Swanton misses though and Yim scores with her own superkick.

The springboard DDT gives Yim two more and Ray gets hit with a suicide dive. Ray is right back up with a top rope flip dive of her own and they’re both down on the floor. Back in and Code Blue gets two but Ray is right back with Eat Defeat for her own near fall. It’s Yim’s turn now and a Batista Bomb give her two more. A Canadian Destroyer is good for the same but they go to a series of rollups. Yim gets two more but gets reversed, with Ray grabbing the rope for the pin at 9:18.

Rating: C+. It was good action and a fine finish, though I still can’t bring myself to care about Yim. She just isn’t interesting and there is nothing that she can do to fix that. Maybe she’ll catch fire later on but so far it has been a lot of dull stuff from here where they push her well but nothing clicks. Ray is better, though I’m still waiting on her to step up to another level.

The opening video features narration by Winston Churchill, talking about how we will fight everywhere over video of Imperium and the Undisputed Era. The rest of the card gets some attention as well, but the eight man tag is the focal point, as it should be.

The announcers welcome us to the show.

Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov

Dragunov comes out to some near silence. Balor grabs a headlock to start and takes Dragunov down, only to get reversed with a headscissors. Dragunov starts slugging away but gets sent outside for a baseball slide through the ropes. Back in and Dragunov knocks him down, setting up a backsplash for two. The armbar is broken up as Balor makes the rope but he misses his apron enziguri.

Balor bails to the floor so Dragunov hits a crossbody from the apron. A top rope ax handle misses though and Balor stomps away, setting up an elbow for two back inside. Balor stomps away in the corner and the fans are VERY pleased. A running chop gets two and we hit the chinlock to keep Dragunov down. 1916 is countered into a suplex though and Dragunov hits a running knee in the corner.

Dragunov hits a bunch of knees to the chest and a big one to the face gets two. Balor is one step ahead of him though and hits the jumping double stomp to the ribs. They slug it out until Dragunov hits an enziguri. The Pele is caught but Balor is back with a Nightmare on Helm Street.

The Sling Blade looks to set up the John Woo dropkick but Dragunov grabs a bridging German suplex for two more. Dragunov’s discus lariat puts Balor on the floor for another crossbody. Back in and Balor is draped over the ropes for a missile dropkick to the side of the head. Balor’s nose is busted but he’s fine enough to get his knees up to block a backsplash. The John Woo dropkick sets up the Coup de Grace into the 1916 for the pin at 13:50.

Rating: B. The best sign of the match is that they overcame an apathetic crowd to start. The fans did not care about Dragunov and were cheering Balor throughout, but the important part here is that they got the fans caring. Dragunov isn’t ready to defeat someone like Balor so the loss isn’t a bad thing, but what matters is that he was competitive and they had a heck of a match. Really good opener.

The Broserweights and the Grizzled Young Veterans are in the front row. They’re told that the winners will receive a Tag Team Title shot at Takeover: Portland and Gibson isn’t pleased. He’s seen the Broserweights’ resume and there’s nothing there. The Veterans should win the tournament because they’re the best team in the world.

Matt Riddle talks about how they should be happy over the new prize for the winners. Dunne is stone faced, but Riddle says that’s his happy face. Dunne: “I’ll be blunt.” That makes Riddle VERY happy and we even have to pause for his mini celebration. Dunne promises to smoke the Veterans next week because it’s their trophy to win. Riddle came off like a star here.

Cruiserweight Title: Isaiah Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks vs. Angel Garza

One fall to a finish with Garza defending. The fans are behind Scott and all four grab hands to start. Garza asks for a pause so he can TAKE OFF HIS PANTS but it’s a triple suplex to cut him off. Devlin Rock Bottoms Scott and Banks and moonsaults onto both of them. Scott is back up with the rolling Downward Spiral on Banks, followed by the dropkick to Devlin. Devlin and Scott go outside so Garza hits the big flip dive, leaving Banks to hit a stomp from the apron.

Banks kicks at Scott’s chest back inside but Garza joins in, earning himself some Banks kicks as well. Scott kicks Garza into the corner but gets suplexed into a different corner as banks continues to dominate. Scott is sent into Garza in the corner and Banks hits a suicide dive on Devlin. Back in and Banks sends Devlin into the corner onto the other two. Devlin is back up with a crazy spinning tornado DDT on Scott and a Spanish Fly to Garza, only to have Banks dive in with a double stomp for the save.

They slug it out from their knees until Garza sends Banks into Devlin. That means GARZA CAN TAKE OFF HIS PANTS before catching Banks’ crossbody. Devlin can’t hit a hurricanrana on Garza, who holds them both up at once. Scott dives in with a double stomp to Devlin and everyone is down. The House Call to Garza is broken up by Devlin but Banks is back up with a Canadian Destroyer to plant Devlin and everyone is down.

Garza and Scott go up top but get pulled down with a double super Spanish Fly from Devlin. Banks is right back up with the Slice of Heaven into the Kiwi Crusher for two on Devlin to put everyone down again. Banks tries a headscissors out of the corner but Scott flips him forward into something like an Iconoclasm for two. Garza hits a reverse hurricanrana on Scott and the Wing Clipper connects, only to have Devlin headbutt him down. The Devlin Side finishes Scott for the pin and the title at 12:08. Devlin’s celebration is awesome as he looks like he just won the World Title in the main event of Wrestlemania.

Rating: B. I had this one wrong but I can go with this as the Cruiserweight Title doesn’t mean anything on NXT. Devlin has needed a big win for a long time now and that’s the right call here. He’s lost several big matches now so giving him a major win and a title is a good move, especially when there isn’t much for Garza to do with the title in NXT. If nothing else, this might put Devlin on 205 Live, though I’d get a chuckle out of him just never showing up there and having 205 Live pretend the show serves any purpose (like it does now).

Post match Devlin says he told you all and you should believe him. Never bet against the Ace.

Keith Lee, Mia Yim, Chelsea Green and Robert Stone are here.

We recap DIY vs. Moustache Mountain. There isn’t much of a story but they’re both the signature teams of their brands so it’s time to have a dream match.

DIY vs. Moustache Mountain

This could be good. Maybe. Possibly. Gargano and Bate start things off with Gargano taking him down for an armbar. A headlock keeps Bate down and he can’t power out of a front facelock. He can however flip out of a hurricanrana attempt and try the Tyler Driver 97, only to have Gargano slip out this time. Gargano misses the rolling kick to the head so Bate grabs his leg on an attempted kick to the ribs.

Bate is nice enough to put the foot down and it’s a double tag to Seven and Ciampa. They have a moustache off and then a pose down with Seven conceding the second round. Ciampa takes him t the mat but the flip over armbar is countered into a rollup for two. Bate comes back in and he’s willing to pose with Ciampa. We go old school with a test of strength and the taller Ciampa gets the better of things.

They flip over to the mat and bridge up at two each. Bate loads up Bop and Bang but gets hit in the face in a hurry. Ciampa knees Bate to the floor and Gargano superkicks Seven out with him. The Brits are sent over the announcers’ table and DIY have a seat on the apron. Back in and Gargano mocks Bate’s pose before kicking him in the back of the head for two. Ciampa elbows Bate down and we’re off to the chinlock.

Bate finally fights up and flips out so he can tag Seven in for the chops. A DDT drops Gargano and the powerbomb into the Seven Star Lariat gets two on Ciampa. Another lariat is blocked with a jumping knee to the face, which may have knocked out Seven’s tooth. Gargano is back in with a Downward Spiral/DDT combination, followed by the slingshot spear for two on Bate.

Willow’s Bell hits Seven and Gargano’s slingshot DDT gets two on Bate. Gargano and Seven fight to the floor and Ciampa knees Bate in the head. Project Ciampa and the Tyler Driver 97 are countered so Bate hits the rebound lariat instead. Now the Tyler Driver 97 can connect for two with Gargano making the save and kicking Ciampa into a rollup for another two on Bate. Everyone is down until Bate muscles Gargano up into a suplex.

The standing shooting star press gets two and it’s off to the airplane spin. That’s reversed into the Gargano Escape and it’s Ciampa coming in with the flip over armbar to Seven at the same time. Both are reversed into stereo airplane spins, setting up a belly to back suplex/clothesline combination for two on Gargano. Bate is knocked down in the middle so Seven has to save him from Meet In The Middle.

DIY tries it anyway but walk into Bop and Bang, setting up the Birminghammer for two on Ciampa. A double Birminghammer hits Ciampa so Bate goes up for Spiral Tap, with Ciampa pulling Seven into the path to steal his own near fall in a great spot. They slug it out with DIY getting the better of it and superkicking Bate out of the air. That leaves Seven to take Meet In The Middle for the pin at 22:54.

Rating: A-. The beginning felt like it was going to be a comedy match but then things got serious and they beat the fire out of each other for the next fifteen or so minutes. Moustache Mountain can hang with anyone, including DIY, but it only makes sense to have DIY go over here when they’re likely going after the Tag Team Titles over Wrestlemania weekend. Either way, incredible stuff here with no clear winner almost the entire way through.

Post match, respect is shown.

Mercedes Martinez and Dakota Kai are here….and Tegan Nox jumps Kai from behind. They fight to ringside until security breaks them up, much to the fans’ annoyance.

We recap Toni Storm. They’re old rivals with Storm having beaten her twice and now wanting a shot at the new champ. Storm leads the series 2-1 so Ripley wants to even things up and keep her title.

#1 contender Bianca Belair is here.

NXT Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm

Ripley is defending. They fight over a lockup to start and the fans are split. That goes nowhere so Storm forearms away, only to get blasted with a chop. A staredown sets up some clotheslines from Ripley but she walks into a superkick in the corner. Storm suplexes her into the corner and Ripley needs a breather on the floor. With her neck seemingly ok, Storm grabs a suplex for two and it’s off to an STF variation. That’s broken up so Storm hits a DDT for two more.

The chinlock doesn’t last long but some shots to the back have Rhea in more trouble. They slug it out with Ripley getting the better of it and kicking her into the corner. The standing Cloverleaf goes on but Ripley can’t get it on in full because of her neck. Riptide is countered into a crossbody to give Storm two. Storm’s German suplex drops Ripley on her head for two more but they hit heads for a double knockdown. It’s Storm up first but she misses a frog splash, setting up Riptide for the pin to retain Rhea’s title at 10:09.

Rating: C. Well that was….short. I’m not sure if Ripley was actually banged up in there or not because that’s a pretty fast ending to what could have been a much longer match. What we got was nice enough and Ripley winning is the best way to go, but that was very short for what could have been a longer match. The fans weren’t exactly into it though and that disappoints me a good bit.

During the previous match, Johnny Gargano was doing an interview when Finn Balor jumped him. Tommaso Ciampa and Moustache Mountain made the save.

We recap Imperium vs. Undisputed Era. The Era jumped them at the end of Takeover: Blackpool II and then Imperium cost them their Dusty Classic match. They’re the big faction in both companies and it’s time for a showdown.

Undisputed Era vs. Imperium

The medics come in and take him to the floor so it’s Walter vs. Cole instead. Walter throws him down so Cole decides to slap him for some reason. The threat of the big chop sends Cole bailing into the corner but Walter gets knocked into the Era’s corner. Walter is right back up with a leapfrog over Strong into a big boot, meaning Aichner can come in to stand at attention. Cole saves Strong from a powerbomb and takes over on Barthel with some elbows to the head.

It’s O’Reilly unleashing the strikes in the corner and Strong blasts Barthel so hard in the jaw that it brings Walter in for a few seconds. There’s the slingshot hilo from Fish and Cole slaps on the chinlock. O’Reilly kicks Walter on the apron and Walter just glares at him. The distraction lets Barthel get in a Russian legsweep though and it’s Walter coming in, meaning O’Reilly hits the panic button. The strikes are countered into a German suplex but O’Reilly reverses the powerbomb into a guillotine.

Just to show off, Walter suplexes Strong and O’Reilly at the same time. Barthel elbows O’Reilly in the face for two and it’s Aichner putting on a chinlock. It’s back to Walter for a running seated senton and the LOUD chop takes the spirit out of O’Reilly’s eyes for two. The running double dropkick in the corner rocks O’Reilly again but he dives around Walter for the tag off to Strong. He chops it out with Walter and actually knocks him into the ropes for the running elbows.

That’s broken up with a single clothesline so Aichner comes in. A heck of a tiger bomb sets up the Strong Hold but Aichner is out in a hurry. White Noise gives Barthel two but Fish gets away and brings in Cole to pick up the pace. The Panama Sunrise is blocked so it’s a fireman’s carry neckbreaker for two on Barthel instead. Walter comes back in so everyone but Cole pounds him down at the same time.

The announcers’ table is loaded up but Walter fights them off and loads up another table. O’Reilly and Strong have to break up a powerbomb and it’s the Angle Slam to put Walter through the table in a huge crash. Back in and it’s an exchange of strikes to the face, including Cole superkicking Aichner out of the air. Cole hits the brainbuster onto the knee to Barthel for two and the running knee to the face gets the same. Aichner comes back in and gets kicked down in a hurry.

O’Reilly gets Barthel in a kneebar but a crawl makes the rope. The hold is still on so Aichner moonsaults in to break it up. Aichner gets beaten down on the floor but Walter is back on the apron. An enziguri allows the hot tag to Walter to wreck everything in sight. Cole hits a superkick but the Last Shot is broken up with the huge chop.

The powerbomb hits Strong and the frog splash crushes him but Cole breaks it up with the Last Shot. Aichner and Barthel break that up at two and everyone is down again. Everyone gets up for the staredown and the fight is on. Walter gets taken down by High/Low and Strong flip dives over the top onto Cole, O’Reilly and Barthel. Aichner follows that with a dive of his own but Fish’s moonsault misses Walter. The powerbomb finishes Fish at 29:53.

Rating: A. Even with one of the eight people out of the match, these guys put on a clinic with great drama throughout with the Era using a strategy of divide and conquer. The problem with that is they had no answer for Walter, who came back up and wrecked the place, which is how you should have presented him here. It’s going to take a monster to take the title from Walter and I’m not sure who that is right now. This was a showcase for everyone involved though and the match was great up and down. Hopefully Wolfe is ok though because that’s the most important thing.

A highlight package wraps us up.

Overall Rating: A. The women’s match is the only thing on here that isn’t great and even that was completely watchable. This is one that actually lived up to the hype and that is hard to do given how good the show was looking on paper. It even added something to the future because NXT is smart enough to do something like that. This show flew by at about three hours total, making it an easy sit with some amazing matches. Check this one out for sure.

Results

Finn Balor b. Ilja Dragunov – 1916

Jordan Devlin b. Angel Garza, Isaiah Scott and Travis Banks – Devlin Side to Scott

DIY b. Moustache Mountain – Meet In The Middle to Seven

Rhea Ripley b. Toni Storm – Riptide

Imperium b. Undisputed Era – Powerbomb to Fish

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

Leave it to NXT to make it work. A few months back, it was announced that we would not be having a Takeover during Royal Rumble weekend. Instead we were getting a Worlds Collide special, which didn’t exactly have people excited. The previous editions hadn’t been anything interesting, but this one was different. This time we’re getting NXT vs. NXT UK, which hasn’t been done before. As luck would have it, NXT UK is on a roll at this point and it should be a blast as a result. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Kay Lee Ray vs. Mia Yim

This is non-title and that’s a good thing as I don’t have to worry about Yim winning a title. I’m not sure what it is about her but something has fallen way down with her and it’s almost impossible to make myself care about what she does. Ray hasn’t blown me away as champion yet either, but she can do more interesting things than Yim so far.

As for the match, I’ll go with Ray as well, since I just can’t imagine them having a champion lose in a non-title match without some surprise plan to make a surprise turn into Yim in NXT UK. The match should be a fine way to warm up the crowd (note to WWE: ONE Kickoff Show match can do that very well) but it isn’t something that I’m exactly excited to see in the first place.

DIY vs. Moustache Mountain

And we have a dream match that you never knew you needed to see. DIY is one of the best tag teams that NXT has ever seen and Moustache Mountain is the biggest tag team that NXT UK has ever seen. We could be in for a match of the year candidate here and that’s only if they’re having an off night. I know DIY might not be at their peaks but sweet goodness we could be in for an awesome one here.

I’ll take DIY, who have said that this is just a one off reunion, but I think you know where they’re heading at Takeover, likely over Wrestlemania weekend. Moustache Mountain is going to be tearing the house down too though and I’m drooling over the idea of the false finishes that Gargano and Bate could have. Throw in Ciampa and my goodness this could be something incredible. But yeah DIY wins here.

Finn Balor vs. Ilja Dragunov

The more I think about this one, the more interested I am in seeing these guys beat the fire out of each other. Balor is a star and Dragunov has more raw intensity than anyone I’ve seen in a long time (never look into his eyes). This one doesn’t need to be that long as they’re going to beat the fire out of each other, though I’m not entirely sure which way they’re going to go.

As much as I want to say Dragunov wins in an upset here, I can’t go against Balor, not when he’s primed for a match against Gargano at Takeover. Dragunov is the kind of guy who can come back from a loss in the blink of an eye but he’s not ready to beat someone the caliber of Balor. The upset wouldn’t shock me here, but I just can’t go with Dragunov in this spot.

Cruiserweight Title: Angel Garza(c) vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Isaiah Scott vs. Travis Banks

This is one of those matches where you could see several possible outcomes. Garza is such a ball of charisma who can do all kinds of things in the ring (though I’m still not wild on his finisher) but the other three are all serious threats. That’s how you can tell there’s a good match to be had here: you really could see any of the four walking out as champion, which isn’t something that happens very often.

I’ll go with Garza to retain here, though much like so many other matches on this show, I could see it going multiple ways. Someone taking the title over to the UK wouldn’t be a bad idea as it isn’t doing anything in NXT at the moment, but odds are it stays down in Florida, where there are several challengers ready to come after it. Then again that’s the same in the UK so I’ll move on before I change my mind again.

NXT Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm

These two are turning into a thing and that’s great for everyone involved. The two of them work well together and while Ripley has turned into the big star on the bigger stage, Storm has had her number more often than not, which gives the match a good story. We already know they can make the action work, so going with the story that makes sense is what matters in the end.

While I expect Storm to come over to NXT full time (assuming she wants to), this is Ripley’s to win. There’s no need to give Storm another win over her and Ripley has become a major star in a hurry down in NXT. Given that she already has a title defense set up for next month in Portland, it would be very out of the NXT nature to have her lose here. Ripley wins to even the feud.

Imperium vs. Undisputed Era

Back on the August 21, 2019 episode of NXT, the Undisputed Era stood on the stage where Adam Cole mentioned NXT UK. There was nothing I wanted to see more than Imperium come out, just for the sake of seeing Cole’s head explode at the thought of what he had gotten himself into. Well, since NXT is awesome, that’s what we’re getting now and it’s going to be great.

I’m going with Imperium getting the win here, as they get to make up for part of losing the overall competition to NXT. Imperium is one of the coolest things going in WWE today and giving them the big win like this should be a great step up for them. You can even have Roderick Strong take the fall without a champion getting pinned. What more could you ask for than that in a situation like this? These guys are going to tear the house down and it’s going to be outstanding in a modern dream match that I’ve known I’ve wanted to see for a long time now.

Overall Thoughts

When did this turn into such a great looking card? This thing is absolutely stacked and blows away a lot of recent WWE shows. I’m actually looking forward to this one and have every confidence that they’re going to blow us away. You have multiple matches on here that could show up on a lot of lists near the end of the year and that doesn’t happen every day. This is going to rock and I’m really excited for it.

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: January 22, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix, Mauro Ranallo

It’s the go home show for When Worlds Collide but it’s also time to start building things up for Takeover: Portland. I’m not sure where everything is going for that show, but tonight we have more from the Dusty Classic and the North American Title on the line with Roderick Strong defending against the banged up Keith Lee. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Undisputed Era

Non-title. O’Reilly takes Gibson down to start so Gibson takes him into the corner for a slap. That just earns him a string of forearms to the face and a kick to the ribs, only to have Gibson drag him over for the tag to Drake. Fish comes in as well and snaps Drake’s knee around the ropes, setting up the rapid fire strikes into the slingshot hilo for two.

A double snap suplex gets two on Drake but he fights up and makes the tag off to Gibson. This time it’s the Veterans getting in their own blind tag to knock the Era outside. We take a break and come back with Fish getting the hot tag to strike away, only to miss a good looking moonsault. Drake catches him with a running corner dropkick and Gibson muscles him up with Helter Skelter for two.

A low bridge puts Drake on the floor though and it’s O’Reilly hitting a running knee off the apron to take him down again. Back in and it’s time to pick Gibson apart but Drake comes back in for the save. Drake hits a step up enziguri on Fish and it’s a series of strikes to put Gibson and O’Reilly on the floor. That leaves Fish and Drake to strike it out until Fish comes back in for a bunch of kicks to drop Drake….but here’s Imperium. They’re up on the perch above the ring and the distraction lets the Veterans hit Ticket To Mayhem for the pin on O’Reilly at 13:00.

Rating: B. Good, solid match here with a not so great distraction finish. That’s understandable as you don’t want to have the Era lose clean, even if it’s to another awesome team. It’s one of the problems with tournaments involving bigger names but they did what they could here while also advancing When Worlds Collide for a bonus.

Post match the rest of the Era comes in to chase off the Veterans and are rather annoyed.

Video on Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm for When Worlds Collide.

Video on Shotzi Blackheart, who eliminated Shayna Baszler from the battle royal last night.

Toni Storm vs. Io Shirai

Shirai takes her down to start and works on the ankle until Toni can spin her way out. That’s turned into a standoff and Storm offers a handshake, only to pull it away in a move that will never go away. Storm kicks her in the chest for two but can’t hit a German suplex. Instead Shirai sends her throat first into the ropes and hits a running boot to the head for a bonus.

Back in and Shirai chokes in the corner before working on a reverse chinlock with a knee in the spine. A quick slugout goes to Shirai, who takes Storm down into a headlock to keep her in trouble. Shirai pulls her down by the hair and we take a break. Back with Shirai hitting a double stomp to the ribs but she charges into a boot in the corner.

Storm’s comeback starts with a reverse German suplex and a clothesline gets two. Storm Zero is blocked though, leaving Storm to hit an even harder clothesline for two more. Shirai kicks her into the ropes but the 619 is blocked. A dropkick sends Shirai outside and the dive is loaded up….so Bianca Belair can hit Storm for the DQ at 11:00.

Rating: B-. Another good match with a worse finish as Belair wants to weaken Storm before Saturday’s title match, presumably so that she can face Ripley at Takeover. That being said, wouldn’t she want to have Storm take as much of a beating as she could here and then run in for the beatdown? Either way, just don’t let her talk and we’ll be fine. The match was solid, with Storm getting to show why she’s as celebrated as she is and Shirai being allowed to show off a lot in her own right.

Post match Belair keeps up the beatdown but here’s Rhea Ripley to go after Belair. Shirai is back in with a springboard missile dropkick to Ripley though, setting up an Asai moonsault to take out Belair and Ripley. Storm gets to hit her dive, though the crowd REALLY does not like her picking up the Women’s Title.

Undisputed Era isn’t happy but they’re focusing on taking care of Keith Lee tonight. They’ll deal with Imperium later.

Ilja Dragunov is ready to take out Finn Balor at When Worlds Collide.

Finn Balor vs. Joaquin Wilde

Balor wastes no time in taking him down and stomping away, though he does ask if this hurts. More kicking sets up the John Woo dropkick in the corner and it’s the Coup de Grace (with Wilde halfway across the ring) into 1916 for the pin at 2:03. Total squash.

Shayna Baszler isn’t worried about Shotzi Blackheart because she’s going to be Shayna Three Times.

Video on DIY.

Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Shayna knocks her down to start but doesn’t follow up to get in Shotzi’s head a bit. A kick to the leg puts Shotzi down and that means a pat on the head. Shotzi takes her down by the leg but Shayna shows her how it’s really done and goes to an armbar. Back up and Shayna cranks on the arm even more, only to get low bridged out to the floor in a nice callback to last week.

Back in and Shotzi misses a springboard so Shayna dumps her over the top as we continue the anything you can do theme. They get back inside with Shayna hammering her down into a front facelock. A DDT out of the corner gives Shotzi a breather so Shayna forearms her hard in the head.

Blackheart doesn’t seem to mind and hits a few kicks to the head, followed by a faceplant for good measure. The reverse Cannonball hits Baszler in the ropes and a not incredibly looking Sliced Bread sends Shayna into the apron. Back in and Shotzi tries a top rope backsplash but gets caught in the Kirifuda Clutch. A lot of fighting doesn’t work for Shotzi and she taps at 6:23.

Rating: C+. There was some good storytelling here with Shotzi as the newcomer who was taught that Shayna was still a boss around here. There isn’t much of a reason to keep Shayna around NXT anymore, but that has been the case for months now. Shotzi has potential though and the green hair is more than enough to keep her noticed.

Shayna takes her time letting go to teach Shotzi a lesson.

Tegan Nox wants revenge on Dakota Kai. They were best friends and then turned on her so it’s time to fight. Kai saying that Nox is due for another injury is a great heel line. They fight next week.

Video on Moustache Mountain.

Angel Garza isn’t worried about his four way title defense at When Worlds Collide. This is his house and he doesn’t care who he is facing.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinals: Broserweights vs. Imperium

The winners get the Grizzled Young Veterans in the finals. Aichner charges straight at Dunne and takes him to the mat but it’s back up for an early standoff. Barthel comes in and takes Dunne down as well, leaving Dunne to drive him into the ropes for a blind tag from Aichner. A headlock doesn’t work that well on Dunne, who is right back with a hard clothesline to put Aichner halfway back to Italy.

Riddle comes in for an assisted spinning senton and a gutwrench suplex puts Aichner into the corner for the tag to Barthel. Another gutwrench suplex sets up a Broton but Barthel gets the knees up and kicks away in the corner. That doesn’t last long either as Riddle knocks him back and gets over to Dunne, who dropkicks Aichner’s knee out. Dunne gets in some kicks to the head and a crucifix bomb gets two on Aichner.

An X Plex on the apron plants Aichner again but here’s Walter to distract Dunne, allowing Barthel to get in a cheap shot from behind. Back from a break with Barthel going up but diving into a hard forearm to knock him out of the air. It’s still not enough for the hot tag so Dunne loads up a moonsault out of the corner, only to have his knee give out (might have been a smart way of covering for a botch). Dunne knocks the two of them down though and now it’s the hot tag to Riddle so house can be cleaned.

Riddle stomps on Aichner’s hand and a double kick to the chest gets two. Aichner shoves Riddle into Dunne though and then sends Riddle shoulder first into the post. The double running dropkicks in the corner get two on Riddle and it’s a wheelbarrow/diving DDT combination for the same. Dunne is loaded into Aichner’s delayed suplex but it’s reversed into a keylock.

Riddle locks Barthel’s ankle at the same time before going with a jumping knee to the face. Dunne lets go of the hold and kicks Aichner in the head, setting up a double spear to Aichner. The Jackhammer gets two but Aichner is right back up to catch Riddle on top. Barthel shoves Riddle into a brainbuster but Riddle hurricanranas his way out of the European Bomb. The Final Flash into a powerbomb into another knee sets up the BTS/enziguri combination to finish Aichner at 14:43.

Rating: B+. Riddle and Dunne work very well together and the best thing is that it gives them something important to do. There are so many people in NXT at the moment and they need something to fill in their time. Aichner and Barthel have become one of the most dependable tag teams around WWE today and I was completely wrong about them to start. Heck of a match here and the finals sound awesome.

Post match the Veterans come out and insult the Full Sail fans for thinking the Broserweights have a chance. They’re taking the trophy back to Liverpool, but Riddle says he didn’t understand what Gibson just said. Dunne points out that the Veterans always lose to him so it’s time to do it again. Good little hype segment for next week’s finals.

North American Title: Keith Lee vs. Roderick Strong

Lee is challenging, the rest of the Era is at ringside and we get Big Match Intros. Lee starts fast and knocks Strong into the corner for a forearm to the face. Another forearm knocks Strong down and there’s a big toss to send him outside as we need an early break. Back with Lee hitting a crossbody but stopping to glare at the rest of the Era. The distraction lets Strong hit a dropkick to Lee’s injured knee (from last week).

The leg gets sent into the steps as Strong has an easy target. Strong sends the knee hard into the steps and they go back inside with Strong kicking away at the knee and ankle. A half crab goes on but Lee powers up to kick Strong away. Some cannonballing down onto the leg keeps Lee down, so he uses the good leg to kick Strong over the top and out to the floor. It doesn’t seem to do much though as Strong comes back in for the ankle lock.

That’s broken up with more power so Strong hits an enziguri and the running forearms as Lee is against the rope. A big one to the back of the head drops Lee and sends us to a break. Back with Lee getting two off a powerslam and something between a one armed gorilla press/a spinebuster connects for the same. Strong needs a breather on the floor but Lee throws him right back in, only to glare the Era away. You don’t glare at that many people though as Fish gets in a shot to the knee so Strong can hit a DDT for two.

Lee hits a headbutt to the chest but falls down as well for a double knockdown. It’s Lee up first but he gets caught on the ropes, meaning it’s a shot to the knee to set up a super Angle Slam. Somehow that only gets two with Lee sitting up for the kickout. Lee gets fired up and Pounces Strong over the top and onto the rest of the Era in a nasty looking crash. Back in and a big running clothesline puts Strong down for two more but the middle rope moonsault misses.

The ankle lock, with a grapevine this time, goes on so Lee does a big crawl over to the rope. A slugout goes very badly for Strong so the Era gets on the apron, only to get knocked back down. The Sick Kick gets two on Lee but he’s right back up with the Big Bang Catastrophe (new name for the fireman’s carry Jackhammer) for the pin and the title at 20:28.

Rating: B+. These guys beat the heck out of each other with Lee looking like the unstoppable monster that he should be. At some point you need to just let him run loose and win something like this and NXT got the timing right. After his success at Survivor Series, you can’t wait another three weeks from now to give him something so this is the right call and it came in a great match. Lee crushing challengers for a bit should be awesome and this was exactly what they should have done.

Post match here’s Imperium and it’s time for the revenge. The fight is on to end the show with Walter hitting one of those great chops on Cole, who sells it at a near Mr. Perfect level.

Overall Rating: B+. It’s a very good show with some awesome stuff up and down the card. Some of the finishes at the beginning weren’t great though and they brought down some of the other good stuff that they had going on. What mattered here though was they made me want to see When Worlds Collide. The problem with that though is they were trying to build that show up but they were also trying to do their regular stories and it didn’t mesh all that well. In other words, it’s a solid show that could have been a great one if they had one goal in mind.

Results

Grizzled Young Veterans b. Undisputed Era – Ticket To Mayhem to O’Reilly

Toni Storm b. Io Shirai via DQ when Bianca Belair interfered

Finn Balor b. Joaquin Wilde – 1916

Shayna Baszler b. Shotzi Blackheart – Kirifuda Clutch

Broserweights b. Imperium – Bro To Sleep/enziguri combination to Aichner

Keith Lee b. Roderick Strong – Big Bang Catastrophe

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

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

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

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

IMG Credit: WWE

NXT
Date: January 8, 2020
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Beth Phoenix, Nigel McGuinness, Mauro Ranallo

It’s back to Full Sail for the first time this year after things went in a bit of a different direction last week. This time around it’s time to crown a new #1 contender to the North American Title. In addition to that, it’s time to start the annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which can be a bit hit and miss. Let’s get to it.

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

We get a quick preview, talking about Rhea Ripley’s first appearance as Women’s Champion and looking at the Dusty Classic.

Here’s Rhea Ripley to soak in the YOU DESERVE IT chants. She talks about memories, including being in this ring to become the new Women’s Champion. Cue Toni Storm to cut her off though and she has a question: “Remember that time when I beat you?” Toni promises to win the NXT UK Women’s Title at Sunday’s Takeover and she likes the idea of having two titles. The challenge is thrown out for When Worlds Collide and Rhea wastes no time in accepting.

Cue NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray to say Toni isn’t winning on Sunday but here’s Io Shirai to cut them all off. She points at the Women’s Title and says it’s hers but here’s Bianca Belair because it’s been too long since she choked in a title match. Belair says she has 2020 vision and knows she’s better than everyone. Now it’s Candice LeRae and the fight is on. William Regal sends in word to make a six woman tag. That’s a very main roster style booking and I really hope that’s not going to be the norm. At least it didn’t take long though.

Candice LeRae/Toni Storm/Rhea Ripley vs. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai

The bell rings and Storm hits a dive onto all three villains as we take an early break. We come back with LeRae hitting some running elbows in the corner, only to dive into a superkick for two. Shirai hits a flapjack and a running dropkick to the side of Candice’s head to set up a chinlock.

A seated abdominal stretch keeps LeRae in trouble and it’s off to another chinlock. Candice finally gets up and low bridges Belair to the floor but Belair dives around the side and cuts off the tag in a smart move. Storm breaks up a cover and everything breaks down and everyone is on the floor/mat as we take another break. Back again with Candice hitting her reverse hurricanrana on Ray, only to have Belair throw her back into the corner.

A missed charge knocks Shirai off the apron though, meaning it’s Storm coming in off the hot tag to clean house. Shirai sends her into the corner though and grabs a butterfly backbreaker to drop Storm. The moonsault is loaded up but Belair tags herself in, only to have Shirai springboard in with a missile dropkick to break up the KOD. Shirai walks out and Ripley comes in for a big boot to Belair. Riptide is good for the pin on Belair at 16:16.

Rating: B-. Good match here as they set up a bunch of people to come after Ripley while also giving Storm vs. Ray a needed boost. I’m curious to see where Ripley goes as you have to build up her challengers in the right way. She’s big and dominant, which makes it a little difficult to set up a challenger. It can be done, but it has to be done the right way. Storm is a good choice for the first one though, even if it’s at a special instead of Takeover.

Post match Toni and Rhea stare each other down but Candice picks up the title and looks at it as well. Everything winds up being ok though as Candice hands it over to Rhea and everyone poses.

Help victims of the Australian wildfires. Nothing wrong with that.

Tommaso Ciampa wants the NXT Title back because he was the best NXT Champion of all time. It was the best 238 days of his life but then it was stopped. He’s coming for Adam Cole, which is a match they have to do sooner or later.

Keith Lee is ready to become #1 contender tonight with a big Pounce.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Forgotten Sons vs. Imperium

Cutler/Blake vs. Aichner/Barthel. During their entrance, Imperium says this is the first step to dominating NXT. The Sons start fast and take Aichner, with a face mask on, down for an early two. Aichner takes Blake into the corner though and it’s Barthel hanging him upside down over the middle rope for a double running dropkick. A DDT gets Blake out of trouble and it’s off to Cutler and Aichner for the slugout. Cutler’s butterfly backbreaker gets two and it’s a very fast Boston crab as Cutler is showing some fire early on.

That’s broken up and Cutler is sent outside with Blake making a blind tag. Blake raises his knees to block a moonsault but his moonsault gets the same fate to put them both down. It’s Blake going to the middle rope and getting tossed into a delayed vertical suplex from Aichner (awesome) for two. Cutler dives back in and it’s a knockdown to put everyone down at once. Blake dropkicks Barthel into the corner and then dropkicks Aichner out of the air. The reverse DDT/middle rope stomp is broken up though and it’s the European Bomb for the pin on Blake at 5:11.

Rating: B. This was a heck of a match as they only went five minutes but never stopped the entire time. The Sons got to showcase themselves rather well here, even though it isn’t likely going to go anywhere for them. They just went out there and had an exciting match and that’s a great use of five minutes.

Matt Riddle talks about how he and Pete Dunne don’t know each other very well, which makes them perfect for the Dusty Classic. They posed at each other and the team was born.

Gallus is ready to win the Dusty Classic.

Austin Theory vs. Joaquin Wilde

Wilde slugs away to start and anklescissors him out of the corner, only to get dropped throat first across the top rope. A slingshot stomp and a fisherman’s suplex give Theory one and it’s off to a cobra clutch. Wilde fights up and hits a hurricanrana to put Theory on the floor, only to have Theory roll back in with a rolling dropkick. A TKO finishes Wilde at 2:59. Theory looked good again and Wilde was working hard as usual.

Damian Priest is ready to make his name live forever.

Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic First Round: Undisputed Era vs. Gallus

Non-title and it’s Kyle O’Reilly/Bobby Fish vs. Wolfgang/Mark Coffey. The rest of the Era is at ringside as well. Wolfgang runs O’Reilly over to start so it’s off to Coffey for a slugout. Fish comes in as well and gets powered into the corner, setting up a big toss right back out of it for a crash. It’s already back to Wolfgang and it’s something like a double monkey flip into the corner to keep Fish in trouble.

With Fish having been destroyed thoroughly so far, it’s O’Reilly coming in so he can get whipped around as well. Wolfgang’s running backsplash gets two and a clothesline puts the Era on the floor. All four members get on the apron for a staredown and we take a break. Back with the Era double kicking Wolfgang down for two. Fish’s chinlock doesn’t work either as Wolfgang flips him forward for the escape. Fish pulls Coffey off the apron to break up a tag so, of course, the tag goes through about five seconds later.

Coffey gets to come in and start cleaning house with backdrops but more kicks take him down for two. Running knees in the corner have Mark in more trouble until he ducks a running big boot, causing O’Reilly to kick Fish by mistake. Everything breaks down again and some shots to the face put the Era on the floor. Wolfgang throws Mark onto the Era but Cole gets in a cheap shot onto Wolfgang. That’s enough to set up High/Low to finish Wolfgang at 12:25.

Rating: B-. Another entertaining match here with the Era using the numbers game to win as there was no Joe Coffey to even things up a bit. I’m curious to see how the Era is going to do in the tournament as you don’t want your champions losing but there are ways around it, which should be interesting to see. Good match though and that’s always nice to see in the tournament or not.

We look back at Finn Balor turning on Johnny Gargano and laying him out. Gargano then returned and cost Balor the NXT Title, plus gave him a beating with a chair.

Video on Flash Morgan Webster/Mark Andrews.

Here’s Johnny Gargano for a chat. He isn’t wasting time this week and talks about everything Finn Balor did to build this place. Then Balor put him out for three months, which made Johnny Takeover miss a Takeover. Yeah Balor did a lot of things around here, but then he bailed as soon as he got that phone call. Gargano got his in August but he turned it down because he wanted to stay here.

When Balor left, Gargano took up the NXT mantle, threw out Balor’s game plan, and took NXT to new heights without him. That must eat Balor up, but here’s Balor to interrupt. Balor says maybe we should call him Johnny Promo because that’s all Johnny can be cleared to do. That being said, if Johnny wants his Takeover moment, go talk to Regal and Balor will see him in Portland. If Johnny can make it that far. Another match where you had to go there and going with the logic is the right call.

Cameron Grimes is ready to cave people in.

Video on the Grizzled Young Veterans.

We’ve covered most of the Dusty Classic teams but there is one left. Kushida needs a partner and he’s got…..ALEX SHELLEY as the Time Splitters are reunited next week.

Mia Yim vs. Kayden Carter

Yim blocks an early armdrag attempt and runs Carter over to start. A springboard dropkick works better for Carter but she can’t hit a running hurricanrana. Instead Yim counters it into a sitout powerbomb for two and a basement dropkick gets the same. We hit the bow and arrow hold to make it worse for Carter but she’s back up with some right hands against the ropes. A running boot to the face gets two and a low superkick gives Carter the same. Carter goes up but dives into Protect Yo Neck to give Yim the pin at 3:46.

Rating: C-. Just a match here as Yim gets some momentum back. She’s fine in a place like this but going up any higher than this doesn’t quite work for her. Maybe it’s her promos and backstory that don’t work for me but Yim has a pretty firm ceiling. I still like Carter though and she could be something if she is given a push.

Post match Yim helps her up but Chelsea Green debuts and jumps Mia. Robert Stone (Robbie E.) appears on the ramp and says 2020 will be the year of the Robert Stone Brand, starting with Green as his first signing. Green does her Tessa Blanchard pose.

Dominik Dijakovic is used to getting past obstacles and this match is nothing but a formality.

Video on Ciampa vs. Cole.

Keith Lee vs. Damian Priest vs. Dominik Dijakovic vs. Cameron Grimes

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a North American Title shot in two weeks. Lee invites us to bask in his glory as everyone stares at each other to start. Grimes goes after Lee and gets tossed into the corner. Dijakovic does the same to Priest and it’s time for Lee and Dijakovic to start beating people up. We get the huge staredown with Lee leapfrogging him so Dijakovic grabs the rope before things go too fast.

Lee misses a spinwheel kick and it’s another staredown until Grimes and Priest jump them both. Priest BLASTS Grimes with a right hand but Dijakovic tries his toss suplex on Priest…..so Lee catches him. He’s not done though as Lee SWINGS PRIEST AROUND LIKE A WEAPON, including a powerbomb onto Dijakovic’s back for two. Every time I think these two can’t do more things to impress me, they surprise me again.

Everyone winds up on the floor but Priest goes back inside, leaving Lee to get double teamed. He fights that off and tells Priest to dive on him, but Priest is too smart this time. Lee gets distracted though and now Priest dives onto all three of them to send us to a break. Back with Priest heading back inside for the showdown with Lee….who deadlift superplexes him off the apron.

Dijakovic moonsaults onto Lee’s back but Grimes grabs a bridging German suplex for two. Grimes goes up so Priest hurricanranas him into Lee’s arms, so Lee hands him off to Dijakovic for Feast Your Eyes. The Pounce puts Dijakovic on the floor but Priest grabs the Reckoning, only to have Dijakovic break it up with a big boot through the ropes. Back in and Priest kicks it out with Dijakovic until a double big boot puts them both down.

Rating: B. This was a well put together match and the right choice. Dijakovic and Priest are good and Grimes has a different style but Lee has been the star for a long time now. He needs to actually win something though and the North American Title should work just fine. As long as they actually pull the trigger for once though, and there is good reason to believe they will.

Lee celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This was one of those shows where they built up some obvious stuff and didn’t have anything bad, making it a rather awesome two hours. I’m not as big of a tournament fan as some are but the action was good enough to make it work. Couple that with Lee’s coronation (or as close as he’s going to get to one at the moment) being set up and some major matches being scheduled and we should be in for a nice future to go with a good present here.

Results

Rhea Ripley/Toni Storm/Candice LeRae b. Kay Lee Ray/Bianca Belair/Io Shirai – Riptide to Belair

Imperium b. Forgotten Sons – European Bomb to Blake

Austin Theory b. Joaquin Wilde – TKO

Undisputed Era b. Gallus – High/Low to Wolfgang

Mia Yim b. Kayden Carter – Protect Yo Neck

Keith Lee b. Cameron Grimes, Dominik Dijakovic and Damian Priest – Spirit Bomb to Grimes

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

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

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

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