Axiom VS Mustafa Ali
After we saw video promos from both Dominik Mysterio (including Rhea Ripley) and Dragon Lee (including Rey Mysterio), NXT kicked off with Axiom and Mustafa Ali trying to prove why they deserve to be next in line for the NXT North American Championship. I rate both of these guys very highly and they delivered a really good match. Some of the best bits included Axiom hurricanranaring Mustafa from the ring apron onto the announce table, Ali hitting a Jackhammer, Axiom hitting a Canadian Destroyer, and multiple amazing Tornado DDT’s. Scrypts, Bronco Nima, and Lucien Price showed up at one point, but they didn’t really get involved which was definetly the right move. In a pretty even match that would have massive implications for both guys, Ali got a “little dirty” and pulled at Axiom’s mask before he sent him crashing to the outside. The Disruptor then chucked his opponent back into the ring before he hit a beautiful 450 to get the victory. One of the main reasons why I like Mustafa Ali so much is because whilst he is a very likeable Babyface, he wouldn’t and doesn’t hesitate to use some Heel tactics when needed. After the match, Ali looked down the camera and said he’s going to start a campaign to become the new NXT North American Champion. What he means by a campaign, I have no idea.
Grade: B
Blair Davenport VS Kelani Jordan, Noam Dar VS Tyler Bate: “NXT Heritage Cup”
The Schism had attacked a bunch of different wrestlers in the back on their hunt for The Creed Brothers. Kelani Jordan then made her way down to the ring (alongside Dana Brooke) as she was looking to find her killer instinct against Blair Davenport. I thought Kelani calling out Blair was the wrong decision and it proved to be correct as Davenport controlled the proceedings for the most part before she picked up the win with a massive knee strike to the face. After the match, Dana Brooke decided to chase BD with a belt before she nearly hit Jordan “on accident”. This was a typical “it wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t good” type of a match, but Dana Brooke getting angry at Kelani Jordan after she nearly nailed Jordan with a belt made Dana look stupid.
Grade: C
Von Wagner told McKenzie Mitchell that what Bron Breakker said about him last week hurt. Von then said that Bron’s “gonna get tabled” which seems to be his new catchphrase. I’m not sure Roman Reigns is a fan of this one. The NXT Heritage Cup was then “on the line” as Noam Dar took on Tyler Bate. I’m still not a super fan of these Rounds Matches, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t still be good. After a pretty even first round, Tyler Bate quickly hit the Tyler Driver 97 early in Round 2 to go 1-0 up. After the third round took place in the ad break, Round 4 saw Noam Dar target the leg of Bate and it ended up resulting in the Big Strong Boi having to tap out with around 40 seconds to go. Round 5 was then pretty competitive as it was pretty much all or nothing, and in the end, Tyler Bate rolled up Supernova 11 to pick up the shock victory. What I now want to know is whether this means Tyler is a 2-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion or not.
Grade: B-
Ilja Dragunov calls out Trick Williams, Bron Breakker VS Von Wagner
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger were trying to come up with tag team names (it should be Hank the Tank) before Schism arrived and beat them up because they didn’t know where The Creed Brothers are. This definitely feels like Star Wars or Marvel. Ilja Dragunov was then interviewed backstage and he said he’s going to the ring to call out Trick Williams. Carmelo Hayes was watching this from the locker room before Dijak came in and told Melo that he’s proved himself to everyone except the NXT Champion. Wes Lee then walked in and got in the face of The A-Champion before Dijak and Wes got into an altercation which resulted in Dijak laying out the former NXT North American Champion. It was later announced that Dijak and Lee will have a match next week to determine who will challenge Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave. Whilst this feels a bit rushed, either guy would be able to have a classic with Melo. Ilja Dragunov then stormed down to the ring and he called out Trick Williams like he said he was going to do. Trick Willy arrived and the two had a pretty good promo exchange where both guys put one another over whilst also saying why they’re better. I particularly liked it when Trick said the line “You beat Gunther, you beat Breakker, you’ve beaten everyone except HIM”. Williams also challenged Ilja to a match at NXT Heatwave which Dragunov responded by saying “At Heatwave, your career’s going to die!” I’m a fan of both of these guys and they should have a pretty fun match, particularly if their brawl from a couple of weeks ago is anything to go by.
Grade: B-
Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey weren’t impressed with their match against Hank Walker and Tank Ledger being called off before Damon Kemp walked in and tried to sell himself to them. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen then walked in and they said they’d fight Gulak and Dempsey. Rey Mysterio was then talking to Roxanne Perez before he went over to see how Thea Hail was. When Thea asked Rey a question about Dominik, Mysterio replied by saying that he will always love his son no matter what. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson walked in, but Hail was still not at all happy with her teacher. “Badass” Bron Breakker then made his way down to the ring as he was about to go one-on-one with Von Wagner. This match was totally fine, I don’t really have much to say about it which is a good and bad thing at the same time. I do always enjoy Bron Breakker’s intensity and he showed it once again as he nailed Von with a Spear to get the victory. After the match, Bron tried to hit the Military Press Powerslam on Mr. Stone, but Wagner saved his manager before he sent Breakker crashing through the announce table to the delight of the NXT Universe. This was an effective end to the segment.
Grade: C+
Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen VS Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey, Ivy Nile VS Kiana James
Eddy Thorpe talked about how spirits will help him overcome Dijak (I really didn’t get what he was going on about) before Lyra Valkyria walked into Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley and the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio’s locker room and she actually stood up to Rhea which completely surprised me. The Schism were now trying to get an answer from The D’Angelo Family, but the NXT Tag Team Champions cared more about taking the mick and saying things like “Tiffany Stratton’s going to star in the next Barbie movie” and “Wes Lee and Dragon Lee are long lost cousins”. The Dyad did not find this funny at all and warned Tony D and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo that they’ll be coming for those NXT Tag Team Titles soon enough. It was then time for some tag team action as Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen looked to pick up a victory against Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey. Myles Borne accompanied the Heels to ringside, but he was quickly sent to the back by Drew Gulak who wasn’t at all impressed with the fact that his student didn’t bring any water. This match was ok, nothing particularly stood out as good or bad, but it was important as Damon Kemp helped Gulak and Dempsey pick up the victory by taking out Jensen. It’s kind of strange that Briggs and Jensen went from being a mainstay on NXT to being gone for weeks before they come back and play second fiddle to their opponents.
Grade: C
Dana Brooke was still annoyed with Kelani Jordan for not showing a killer instinct. Jordan rightly reminded Dana that she’s still only had 3 matches and that she’s still learning day by day. Brooke then said that she’s going to fight Blair Davenport next week and that should only go one way. Ivy Nile then returned to NXT TV after a few weeks away as she faced Kiana James. It was kind of hard to focus on the in-ring action as pretty early on, The Schism arrived and Joe Gacy, Ava, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reid (as well as their followers) all surrounded the ring and started slamming their hands on the ring apron. Now I feel like this story’s turned into Lord of the Rings (or something like that). In the end, Ava’s attempt at tripping Nile was enough as James hit the “Deal Breaker” to get the victory. After the match, Schism were threatening Ivy Nile (with what I don’t know) before Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo ran down to make the save. This feud is very odd and whilst that’s a good thing, it shouldn’t be happening in the first place.
Grade: C
We got a video package of Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo texting each other about honouring their Grandad. All I know is Los Lotharios should be the ones to dethrone The D’Angelo Family when the time is right. Meta-Four then found Tyler Bate and “politely” asked if Tyler would give back the NXT Heritage Cup to Noam Dar. Nathan Frazer then walked in with the real Heritage Cup and told Noam Dar that he could have Bate’s cup back and get a rematch for the real Heritage Cup at NXT Heatwave if he admits that the other ones a fake. Whilst Dar didn’t exactly do that, he said enough to convince Bate to give it back. This was all really odd and kind of made earlier’s match a bit pointless, but it looks like it may be leading to Frazer-Bate which I’m all for. Tiffany Stratton then cut a promo about why she loves the colour pink before she said she hasn't thought about who's going to be her next challenger. I bet we get a Battle Royal. Trick Williams was then leaving the NXT Performance Center before Wes Lee drove past and told Trick to tell Carmelo Hayes that he’s coming for him after he’s done with Dijak. Williams told Wes that he could do it himself before Damon Kemp Drew Gulak, and Charlie Dempsey started making fun of Trick Willy. I like that NXT is playing into the whole “Trick is Melo’s sidekick” role, especially as Williams is more than good enough to be his own star and even his own Champion.
NXT North American Championship: Dominik Mysterio VS Dragon Lee
Rey Mysterio decided to do his entrance for some reason before it was time for Dragon Lee to challenge Dominik Mysterio for the NXT North American Championship. Dominik Mysterio deserves a lot of credit because whilst his character is obviously miles upon miles better than his previous character(s), Dom’s also improved quite a lot in the ring to the point where you feel like he should be main eventing shows, particularly when he’s defending his title. I also think Dragon Lee is a very talented wrestler, but it does feel like he loses too much. He nearly got the win here after hitting the Powerbomb (which seems to have gotten weaker every week) before Rhea Ripley clocked Lee with her Women’s World Championship (whilst the referee was distracted with Rey) and “Dirty” Dom hit a nice Michinoku Driver to get the victory. After the match, Rhea Ripley celebrated in Rey Mysterio’s face before Lyra Valkyria attacked her from behind and Dragon Lee dropped Dominik to leave the Babyfaces standing tall to close the show. This was actually good all round because Dominik rightly retained his title whilst you sent the crowd home with a positive last view. Also, having Rhea Ripley VS Lyra Valkyria is a really interesting way to go that should majorly be beneficial for everyone involved. You either have the match on a main roster stage which is a massive opportunity for Lyra, or you have the match on NXT and that’s a way to get more people to tune it.
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