Kelani Jordan Starts the Show, Jaida Parker VS Michin
After a recap of what went down at NXT Battleground, NXT properly kicked off with Kelani Jordan as Kelani celebrated being the first-ever NXT Women’s North American Champion! Jordan said it’s her responsibility to bring prestige to the Title before Jaida Parker came out and basically said it was a fluke. Michin then attacked Jaida from behind which lead into the first match of the night! This was a decent contest between a veteran in Michin and a rising star in Miss Parker. What was interesting to note is Parker probably had the edge here until The O.C.’s Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson appeared. This actually played into the finish as Anderson grabbed a steel chair off of Jaida Parker before Michin managed to sneak the win via a roll-up. To be fair, all of this was basic stuff, but I do think Kelani Jordan as Champion worked and this Michin-Parker feud is definitely far from over!
Grade: C+
Gallus VS Wes Lee and New Catch Republic, Brinley Reece VS Wendy Choo, Cody Rhodes and Trick Williams Interact
New Catch Republic called out Gallus and said they would have Wes Lee’s back before Thea Hail went mad at the rest of Chase University and made great points as to why Ridge Holland should be given a chance. Gallus then headed down to the ring as it was time for them to face the trio of Wes Lee, Pete Dunne, and Tyler Bate. This was a decently fun contest that really highlighted Wes and Tyler as two great performers. Some of the dives here and sequences were really well done, and it very much looked like the Babyfaces had the edge. However, you could argue that Lee maybe went a little bit too far with his offense and it ultimately cost him as Joe Coffey managed to hit All the Best for the Bells to score a massive victory! I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect this outcome!
Grade: B-
Jaida Parker ranted to OTM about Michin and The O.C. backstage before Brinley Reece was getting hyped up by a nervous Edris Enofe and Malik Blade. We then got a really good video following Sol Ruca’s time in Las Vegas (this is worth watching) before Wendy Choo finally made her long-awaited return in a match against Brinley Reece. However, this was a much different Wendy Choo as she was dressed in black, had face paint on that looked like something from The Nightmare Before Christmas, and she overall seemed way more aggressive. And it all worked! Choo looked great here, it feels like now she has a real edge, and the clothesline she delivered before she then made Reece tap out was awesome! So yeah, this was a great return for Wendy!
Grade: B-
We got recaps of Oro Mensah attacking Ethan Page before Roxanne Perez told Byron Saxton and Mr. Stone that they will have to wait to hear what she has to say. Cody Rhodes’ music then hit as The American Nightmare had some things to say. Cody got in a few words about how he’s going to make AJ Styles say “I Quit” on Saturday before the Undisputed WWE Champion was joined by the NXT Champion, Trick Williams. The crowd erupted for this, showing that Trick is still as over as ever before, and Williams wanted to ask Rhodes how he deals with being the hunted, rather than the hunter. In the end, Cody announced that there will be a 25-Man Battle Royal next week to determine Trick’s next challenger, but the interesting note is that some of those competitors will be from different locker rooms! This was actually a really good segment because it not only brought eyes onto the show and gave people reasons to tune in next week, but this only helps elevate Trick Williams for both now and in the future. And as the NXT Champion, that is key for Trick!
Grade: B
Dante Chen VS Lexis King: Singapore Cane Match, Eddy Thorpe VS Tavion Heights, Je’Von Evans VS Shawn Spears
Dante Chen said he would finish his feud with Lexis King for good before Wendy Choo starred down Carlee Bright. Dante then attacked Lexis King during his entrance as it was time for the Singapore Cane Match. I was stunned at how much fun this match was, like it was genuinely very entertaining and I was legitimately laughing. Like, some of the strikes were just ridiculous and the bruises and marks on both men, especially Chen’s arm, were nasty! But still, it was a lot of fun and quite creative, and amazingly, after all of the Singapore Canes that were used, Lexis used “The King’s Cane” to low blow Dante before he hit The Coronation (whilst holding his Cane) to score the victory. Seriously, I look forward to talking about this match again at the end of the year!
Grade: B+
Cody Rhodes gifted Jacy Jayne his old “Dashing” face mask before Michin told The O.C. that she’s now first in line for Kelani Jordan’s NXT Women’s North American Championship. Vic Joseph then got scared at something (we didn’t see what) before Eddy Thorpe finally returned to NXT as he went one-on-one with Tavion Heights. This was actually a much more competitive match than I thought and Tavion managed to get in quite a lot of offense. However, I guess that fits in well with Eddy’s character, and of course, Thorpe was eventually able to score the win with the DDT! I could definitely see Eddy Thorpe challenging for Championship Gold soon!
Grade: C+
Charlie Dempsey made it clear that Tavion Heights could be a really good addition to No Quarter Catch Crew (I agree) before Stevie Turner gave some information to both Ava and Mr. Stone! Je’Von Evans then headed down to the ring as it was time for him to fight Shawn Spears in the Main Event match of the evening! This was a good contest between a rising star in Evans and a proper veteran in Spears. It also felt like a big match for Shawn in particular who hasn’t really done much of note since his great return a few months ago. Of course, Je’Von did a lot of bouncing, but he ultimately went too far with it and injured his rib cage on the table. This ultimately led to the finish where Spears hit C4 to pick up the biggest win since his return to the company!
Grade: B-
Roxanne Perez Addresses the State of the NXT Women’s Division
After Axiom and Nathan Frazer got a warning from The D’Angelo Family and Cody Rhodes caught up with a few old friends, Roxanne Perez headed to the ring to address the state of the NXT Women’s Division. Roxanne said that it’s clear that she is by far the best female in NXT before she asked Ava to come out to congratulate her. To be fair, the NXT General Manager did do that before Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx arrived to state their claim to being the best. Meta-Four’s Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson also then appeared and said they wanted a piece of the NXT Women’s Championship before Lola Vice arrived and started her claim too. To be honest, this wasn’t the most interesting segment, but the fact that Lola kind of saved Roxanne Perez a little as the two stood tall in the ring to close the show was at least intriguing!
Comments