NXT Women’s Championship: Tiffany Stratton VS Kiana James
This week’s edition of NXT kicked off with the NXT Women’s Championship on the line as Tiffany Stratton looked to retain her title against Kiana James. Both Tiffany and Kiana are Heels and what I found interesting about this contest is both women played the Heel role, something I quite liked. The match itself was decent, it was shorter than I expected it to be, but there were still some decent bits in it. Kiana James nearly picked up the win after hitting the 401K, but in the end, Stratton racked the eyes of her challengers before she hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever to pick up the victory. As Tiffany was celebrating, Becky Lynch appeared on the screen and challenged The Center of the Universe to a match for the NXT Women’s Champions in next week’s Main Event. They’ve been teasing a feud for a while between Stratton and Lynch, but I am quite surprised that the match is taking place next week and not at No Mercy.
Grade: C+
Ilja Dragunov VS Oro Mensah, Duke Hudson VS Nathan Frazer: NXT Heritage Global Invitational (Group B), Dabba-Kato VS Tyler Bate
Carmelo Hayes and Wes Lee had an awkward confrontation in the NXT Parking Lot before Diamond Mine were restoring the Diamond Dojo. The Creed Brothers then said they’d invited the whole of the NXT Tag Team Division before the NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo walked in. Julius Creed thanked The Family for having Ivy Nile’s back a few weeks ago before Edris Enofe and Malik Blade appeared and called their shot regarding the NXT Tag Team Titles. Ilja Dragunov was then in the ring as The Czar was about to take on Meta-Four’s Oro Mensah. This match was actually a lot more competitive than I expected as Oro Mensah got in plenty of offense. Unfortunately for “Main Man” Mensah, he got too cocky and he paid for it as Dragunov delivered Torpedo Moscow to get the victory. After the match, Wes Lee arrived and told Ilja that he’s going to have to wait to get his hands on Carmelo Hayes because he’s got the next shot. The Czar didn’t agree with this before the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes arrived and told them that next week, it’s going to be Dragunov-Lee, and the winner will face the A-Champion for the gold at No Mercy. I’d be surprised if that match ends clean next week.
Grade: B-
Dominik Mysterio was reading a referee’s rule book (I’d quite like to know what’s in that) before Nathan Frazer was interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell. Nathan said he’s desperate to win back the NXT Heritage Cup which is why he’ll “never slow down”. Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne were then hanging out backstage and Thea put on black makeup to emphasise the fact that she’s “hanging out with the wrong crowd”. Gigi Dolin then arrived and said the same thing before Blair Davenport walked past and dissed them all which I liked. Someone who didn’t like this though is Thea Hail as she challenged Gigi Dolin to a match. All of this gets a thumbs up from me. It was then time for the second round of matches in Group B of the NXT Heritage Global Invitational as Australia’s Duke Hudson went one-on-one with Jersey’s Nathan Frazer. Both of these guys are Babyfaces, but there was also a different energy to the contest as we know Duke Hudson knows how to “play dirty” whilst Nathan Frazer couldn’t afford anything other than a victory. Meta-Four watched on trying their best to look like they were from Arendelle and I thought this match was solid but way too short. It can’t have gone more than 4 minutes and after Nathan reversed “The Duke’s” attempt at a Razor’s Edge, Frazer hit the Phoenix Splash to pick up the win and get his first points on the board. If I’m being honest, I really don’t know how to grade this match.
Grade: C
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger were chatting away to The Creed Brothers in the Diamond Dojo before Bronco Nima and Lucien Price walked in and said they would happily run through every tag team in NXT. Scrypts was also here. Tyler Bate’s music then hit as The Big Strong Boi looked to prove why he’s called that when he took on Dabba-Kato. This was another short match that saw Dabba-Kato beat up his opponent, only for him to eventually lose to Tyler Bate. Tyler picking up Kato and delivering the airplane spin to him was mightily impressive, but the rest of this was a bit pointless. Also, the former Commander has gone from an imposing force to someone who can’t even buy a win which isn’t great.
Grade: C
NXT North American Championship Number 1 Contender Match: Dragon Lee VS Mustafa Ali, Axiom VS Butch: NXT Global Heritage Invitational (Group A), Gigi Dolin VS Thea Hail
Dominik Mysterio, wearing a custom purple and black referee shirt, walked past Carmelo Hayes and told the NXT Champion that he’s about to go out there and pick his opponent for No Mercy. Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez were then seen watching the TV as Lyra put over Dragon Lee whilst Roxanne did the same for Mustafa Ali. Kiana James then walked in in a foul mood before her and Perez got into a brawl. Baron Corbin then announced that he’s going to be on commentary for tonight’s Main Event before Dominik Mysterio’s music hit as the NXT North American Champion was about to be the Special Guest Referee for the match between Dragon Lee and Mustafa Ali where the winner would earn a shot at Dom’s title at No Mercy. This was a good match, both guys pulled out some cool moves, and I overall enjoyed it. Dragon Lee’s Powerbomb is awesome whilst Mustafa Ali hitting a Jackhammer was pretty cool. Dominik Mysterio behaved himself as the referee until right at the end when he counted a little bit slowly for a cover by Dragon Lee before he did the fastest 3-count ever when Ali rolled Lee up. Ali celebrated as he knew this was a big victory, but he also didn’t want to win that way so he punched “Dirty” Dom in the face before he shook Dragon Lee’s hand. I fully expect this to lead to another Triple Threat match at No Mercy, but I’m more intrigued and confused as to what role Mustafa Ali is playing. One moment he’s a Heel, and the next he’s a Babyface.
Grade: B-
Ilja Dragunov found Trick Williams backstage and told Trick that he lied to his friend Carmelo Hayes last week because Melo’s got no chance of beating The Czar. Drew Gulak, Charlie Dempsey, and Damon Kemp were then all training before Myles Borne walked in. Drew wasn’t very happy about this and told him that he made a big mistake in accepting Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen’s offer for a 6-man tag team match. Eddy Thorpe was then complaining about Dijak before Axiom made his NXT Global Heritage Invitational debut in a big Group A match against Butch. This was definitely the best match of the tournament so far as both guys went at one another. A win here for Axiom would’ve put him in a good position in Group A whilst a win for Butch would steer him well clear of the rest. To my surprise (and Axiom’s I think), Alicia Taylor announced a 2-minute warning before time expires (each match has a maximum time limit of 12 minutes) and this meant the two superstars picked up the pace and in the final 10 seconds, Butch delivered the Bitter End, but Axiom somehow kicked out in a moment that shocked me. The match ended in a draw and leaves Group A wide open.
Grade: B-
Von Wagner apologised to the announce table for “what he was going to put him through” before The Family talked about how stacked the NXT Tag Team division is. Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo then walked in and said they’re coming for the NXT Tag Team Championships before a massive brawl broke out between all of the teams. Rather interesting, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen weren’t here. Thea Hail then stormed down to the ring without the usual “pep in her step” as she was about to face Gigi Dolin in singles action. Thea Hail was definitely wrestling with a “darker persona” in this one and she used that to great effect against a former 2-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion. Gigi was able to get out of the first Kimura Lock by Hail, but Blair Davenport arrived out of nowhere and dropped Dolin on the outside before Thea locked in another Kimura Lock, forcing Dolin to tap. Unlike most Gigi Dolin matches, the pace of this contest didn’t feel slow, which is a good thing. I also quite like the dynamic between Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail, mainly because it’s realistic, but also because Jacy felt a bit lost in the shuffle before this. I also think Blair Davenport’s cool and she should be able to beat Gigi Dolin when that match eventually comes around.
Grade: C+
Ivy Nile returned to the Diamond Dojo to see it had become a complete mess. However, The Creed Brothers were clearly happy about it. Lyra Valkyria was then giving Kelani Jordan some advice before Dana Brooke walked in and got jealous about this. Lyra and Dana will have a match next week and Valkyria should win that pretty comfortably. Tiffany Stratton then cut a promo on Becky Lynch in the NXT Parking Lot and it was a pretty good one. Stratton-Lynch feels like the biggest match in the NXT Women’s Division since Io Shirai-Raquel Gonzalez at Stand and Deliver (2021), and it should be good, as long as Tiffany retains her title.
Bron Breakker VS Von Wagner: No Disqualification Match
It was then time for the Main Event as Bron Breakker and Von Wagner went to war in a No Disqualification Match. I believed for a while that Von Wagner’s best-ever match in NXT was against Solo Sikoa last year. That match was a Falls Count Anywhere Match, and this contest proved that Von clearly likes stipulation matches because this one was even better. Baron Corbin was on commentary and did a decent job putting both guys over whilst still talking down to them and yeah, this was good. Bron was in control for the most part, but that changed when Wagner sent him crashing through the wall that holds up the podium/platform area. Bron then got back up and got Powerbombed through the announce table in a really cool spot before Von threw him back into the ring. As Wagner was about to go for his finisher, Mr. Meaner than Evil went low before he delivered a devastating Spear to pick up the victory. And then, in one of the most unbelievable things I’ve seen in a long time, Bron Breakker set Von Wagner’s head up on the steel steps before he picked another steel step up and crushed Wagner’s head. The feed then cut to black and all you could hear was the crowd in shock and medical professionals checking on Wagner. This was a terrific way to end the show, it makes Bron Breakker look like a piece of s whilst Von can eventually come back and be one of the biggest Babyfaces on the entire show. Also, Vic Joseph’s selling of this on commentary was excellent, as was Baron Corbin’s who’d talked all night about how Breakker was only going to impress him if he tried to end Wagner’s career.
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