Jaida Parker VS Michin: Street Fight
NXT kicked off this week with a Street Fight between Michin and Jaida Parker. This contest started off hard-hitting and it only grew as the match went on. Steel chairs, kendo sticks, belts, nuts and bolts, and even hammers were all used and we also got a crazy sequence where Michin did a suicide dive into a pair of steel chairs before Jaida Parker went crashing through the barricade after failing to connect with the Hypnotic. Late on though, Jaida was able to deliver one through the bleeding Podium/Platform Area before Miss Parker nailed The HBIC with another Hypnotic to finally score the win! This match was crazy, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Grade: B+
Hank and Tank VS New Catch Republic, Brinley Reece VS Izzi Dame, Roxanne Perez and Lola Vice Come Face-to-Face
Arianna Grace tried to get Karmen Petrovic to feel sorry for her before Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx walked in and called both of them losers. Je’Von Evans then had a video promo where he explained why he’s going to leave NXT Heatwave as the new NXT Champion before Kelani Jordan then explained why she will retain her NXT Women’s North American Championship this Sunday. It was then time for some Tag Team action as Hank and Tank took on New Catch Republic. This was actually quite a fun match, I always enjoy the energy that Hank and Tank bring whilst Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate are great at what they do. This was also a pretty competitive bout, with both teams getting in plenty of offense, but in the end, it was the NCR who picked up the win before the two teams shook hands afterwards.
Grade: B-
Shawn Spears explained why it’s his time to be NXT Champion before Oro Mensah got both good and bad news from Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner. Brinley Reece was then out next as she had a match scheduled against Izzi Dame. Izzi dominated this match for the most part, using her clear power advantage to take her opponent down, but there was also some story to this too as Tatum Paxley arrived, clearly fixated on Miss Izzi Dame. In the end, Dame was able to score the win with “I Drive” before Pax again tried to get close to her “new friend”.
Grade: C+
Duke Hudson revealed to the rest of Chase University that Ridge Holland did in fact cheat to help them win a couple of weeks ago. This disappointed everyone in the class to the point where Andre Chase demanded Ridge not to come to Toronto this weekend! I didn’t see any of this coming, but whether Holland listens to Mr. Chase is another thing entirely! Lola Vice was then in the ring as she was about to come face-to-face with the NXT Women’s Champion, Roxanne Perez. Roxanne made it clear to Lola that this is her world and no one will take her Title off of her after all the sacrifices she’s put in. Vice then respond with a passionate and emotional promo about all the sacrifices she’s had to take too before Perez laughed this off and Vice floored a security guard to end the segment. This all came from nowhere, but I thought Lola Vice told her story well, and this makes her the clear Babyface heading into NXT Heatwave! The biggest positive I have about that match is I’m not sure who’s going to leave Toronto as the Champion!
Grade: C+
Myles Borne VS Oro Mensah, Carlee Bright VS Wendy Choo, Jazmyn Nyx VS Karmen Petrovic
Ethan Page explained why he’s fit to be a Champion before Damon Kemp looked like he was getting pushed aside in the No Quarter Catch Crew. Lexis King then took the mick out of Eddy Thorpe’s music taste (NXT is so bizarre) before it was time for Oro Mensah to clash with Myles Borne. This match didn’t go on too long, and whilst the action was fine, it wasn’t exactly “must see”. However, the ending was interesting as Damon Kemp’s attempt to help ultimately distracted Borne and allowed Mensah to hit his finisher and score the win! Okay.
Grade: C
We got a great video package hyping up both Oba Femi and Wes Lee, and I have to say, I cannot wait for this match, I think it’s going to rule! Gallus then got into a brawl with Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe before Edris Enofe and Malik Blade tried to convince Brinley Reece that they still want to hang out with her. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson then arrived and shouted down the camera at OTM! Wendy Choo was then out as she was about to go one-on-one with Carlee Bright. This was a pretty one-sided affair with Wendy dominating Carlee throughout before Choo made her tap out with a nasty-looking submission! There wasn’t much to talk about here, but Wendy Choo is looking good since she’s returned!
Grade: C+
Trick Williams cut a really good promo about why he can’t and won’t lose the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave before Shawn Michaels had an interesting video promo where he talked about the recent actions of one Brooks Jensen. To be fair, this has been going on for a while now so it’s good someone addressed it! It was then time for the Main Event match of the night as Jazmyn Nyx clashed with Karmen Petrovic. This was a totally fine encounter, both women are decent enough in the ring, but neither of them quite feel ready yet to start thinking about chasing Championship Gold. In the end, it was Jacy Jayne’s distractions that proved crucial as it allowed Nyx to drop Petrovic with the Pele Kick to score the W!
Grade: C+
NXT Championship Contract Signing
After Axiom and Nathan Frazer spoke, Ava booked Arianna Grace and Karmen Petrovic in a Tag Team match against Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx, and Sol Ruca got her own video promo, we headed down to the ring for an NXT Championship Contract Signing. Trick Williams, Ethan Page, Shawn Spears, and Je’Von Evans all got their time to speak their mind and they all came to the same conclusion that they will leave Toronto as the NXT Champion! The interesting thing to note though was both Page and Spears attempted to create a wedge between Williams and Evans, and whilst it ultimately resulted in the Heels ended the segment through a pair of tables, I think it might just have worked because Je’Von’s eyes were clearly on the NXT Title more than they were on Trick. Remember that for this Saturday because if that is the case, this segment worked!
