NXT Tag Team Championships: The D’Angelo Family VS The Dyad
NXT kicked off this week with the D’Angelo Family putting the NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against The Dyad. This match was alright, I like watching Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler as they’re tag team specialists whilst there is something about Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo that just works. Joe Gacy, Ava, and all of the Schism followers were also at ringside to stop any “funny business” from going down, however, they failed miserably when Ivy Nile made her way down the entranceway. As all of those guys focused on Nile, two masked men (I wonder who they were) attacked The Dyad before Tony D hit a cool move to pick up the victory. Like I said before, I thought the match was pretty decent, but I’m just not a fan of The Creed Brothers still being involved on NXT TV. Also, whilst this is only a minor issue, it’s a little bit of a shame that The D’Angelo Family were playing secondary in their first title defense.
Grade: C+
Blair Davenport VS Dana Brooke, Drew Gulak VS Trick Williams, Baron Corbin Promo
Eddy Thorpe revealed that the reason why he dances is because it keeps him close to his family. I appreciate that Thorpe said this as it makes more sense now, but it still feels like he should’ve said it from the start. He also said he’s ready for Dijak which is a bold statement. Carmelo Hayes was signing autographs before Wes Lee found him and told him that he’s going to see him at Heatwave. The NXT Champion told Wes that he should focus more on Dijak. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson were talking about Mr. Chase’s idea to get Thea Hail a match with Jacy Jayne. Thea wasn’t very impressed and she clearly still isn’t very happy with the Professor. I did like that The Duke went from supporting Chase to quickly “throwing him under the bus” as soon as Hail had a problem with him (Chase that is). Blair Davenport then looked even more badass than before as she had her hair in braids and the reason for this was because she was about to go one-on-one with Dana Brooke. Dana Brooke is currently trying to put over a more “chaotic” character which isn’t really working right now, mainly because her matches haven’t been great. This match was the same as it had some sloppy moments where both women were struggling to get on the same page. One thing I did like though is when Dana went over to the timekeepers' area, instead of picking up a chair, she picked up the ring bell which I thought was quite creative. It didn’t work out very well for Miss Brooke though as Kelani Jordan stopped her from using it before BD hit two nice-looking Knee Strikes to get the victory. Luckily for both of these women, I’m more lenient in NXT and I was also glad that Blair Davenport won because she’s cool.
Grade: C
Carmelo Hayes was still signing autographs before Dijak came up to him and told him he should keep one of those pictures for himself because he won’t have the NXT Championship come next week. Melo then reminded Dijak that he’s the only one going to Heatwave as it stands. Hayes’ buddy Trick Williams then made his way down to the ring as he was about to face Drew Gulak in singles action. I had a lot of respect for Drew Gulak for what he did on both the main roster and 205 Live, but I think respect him even more now that he’s come down to NXT, and he’s still putting other people over. He made Trick Williams look pretty good here, but that is also partly because Trick Williams is a really good performer. Trick Willy definitely feels like a star in the making and after Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen arrived to take out Charlie Dempsey and Damon Kemp, Williams hit “Whoop that Trick” to get the victory. Trick then looked down the camera and sent a message to his NXT Heatwave opponent Ilja Dragunov. Solid stuff.
Grade: C+
Baron Corbin was storming through the NXT Warehouse before Sarah Schreiber made her on-screen return by asking Corbin a question. I was so stunned that I don’t even know what Baron said! We then got a video package for Dabba-Kato and I like this guy, but he lost a lot of credibility when he lost to Scrypts (still one of if not the worst booking decision of 2023). Baron Corbin was then in the ring as he cut a good promo about how he can say what he wants now because he’s being himself and the whole of the NXT locker room is soft. There is legitimate truth to the first statement before Von Wagner interrupted him. Mr. Stone wasn’t at all impressed by Baron’s comments before Von had a great line where he mentioned a bunch of Corbin’s gimmicks before he said “I can’t remember the other 8 because they all sucked!” The two then agreed to have a match at Heatwave next week before the two brawled. As Wagner attempted to send Corbin through the announce table, security broke it up. I enjoyed this segment, I thought both guys cut good promos. My only negative is this is the second time that Baron Corbin’s just gotten a match on a big NXT show and whilst I’m not at all against Baron being on the show, it feels like he should be building these feuds weeks in advance. It’s also a big test for Von Wagner and I’m intrigued to see how he performs.
Grade: B-
Dijak VS Wes Lee: NXT Championship Number 1 Contenders Match, Joe Coffey VS Tyler Bate, Jacy Jayne VS Thea Hail
The Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley put out a challenge for Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria to face her and the NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio in a mixed-tag team match at Heatwave next week. That should definitely get eyes on the show and it also should be good fun. Mustafa Ali then had a video promo where he said that North America isn’t being represented well, especially as Dominik Mysterio is a “convicted criminal!” Ali then said that he is the NXT North American Champion that the people need and that he can inspire millions of people to believe that they can do things “the right way”. Mustafa’s closing line was “In Ali We Trust”, and my god was this good! I genuinely believe that Ali is one of the few guys in this entire company that can do anything well and this very much felt like something out of a movie. Also, Ali calling Dominik a “convicted criminal” and saying he will inspire people to do things “the right way” tells me that he’s 100% going to be a Heel down the line (which I love).
Grade: A- (Let me be happy)
It was then time to find out who would be facing Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave next week as Dijak and Wes Lee battled to become the new Number 1 Contender. Wes Lee and Dijak had an amazing match at NXT Vengeance Day back in February and whilst this wasn’t nearly as good, I still had good fun watching it. Some of the moves that were hit by both men were so impressive and Dijak’s “superhigh” High Justice was probably the pick of the bunch. Wes kicking out of it only made it stand out more. In the end, Eddy Thorpe arrived to distract Dijak and that was enough for the Kardiak Kid to hit the Kardiak Kick to get the victory and book his place at NXT Heatwave. Thumbs up from me, and whilst I don’t feel like it was necessary to have Thorpe show up, it protects Dijak in defeat which is smart.
Grade: B-
Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria agreed that they should try and learn more things about each other so they could get on the same page heading into their match with Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio next week. That makes sense and we then got a video to show us why Joe Coffey and Tyler Bate were about to have a match. Before that, we got a cool video promo from Ilja Dragunov who continues to look awesome whilst also putting his rival(s) over before it was time for that match between two former NXT Heritage Cup Champions. This match was ok, I don’t have many things to note other than it ended (I think) in a no-contest as Dabba-Kato arrived and beat up both men. Gallus were able to save Coffey from any further damage so Kato took his frustrations out on The Big Strong Boi by hitting his really cool finishing move. Dabba-Kato VS Tyler Bate could be a lot of fun, but it’s a feud that the former Commander has to win.
Grade: C+
Baron Corbin was in the NXT Parking Lot before Bron Breakker came up to him and told him he’s not finished with Von Wagner. Corbin then told Bron that whilst “you might intimidate everyone in NXT, I’m not everyone.” That was another good line from Mr. Corbin who’s been on a role lately. We then got another edition of “Hard Hitting Home Truths” with Nathan Frazer which was quickly interrupted by Meta-Four and more importantly, Noam Dar. I think Nathan Frazer is one of the most exciting wrestlers to watch in all of WWE, but I’ve never liked these segments and there’s a reason, it just doesn’t work. Meta-Four are also quite annoying to listen to and the only decent thing about this was Frazer pressing the “Fraud Button” every time Dar lied (which was a lot). A dejected and angry Thea Hail then stormed her way down to the ring as she was ready for her match with Jacy Jayne. This match was totally fine, the action was solid enough and there weren’t really any mistakes made which is always a good thing. Earlier in the match, Jacy decided to expose the turnbuckle which smartly played into the finish as when Jayne went to throw Thea into the exposed steel, Andre Chase got up on the apron and “reinstalled” the padding. Hail, not knowing it was exposed in the first place, got angry with Mr. Chase and this allowed Jayne to roll her up and get the 3 count. I liked this ending, I thought it was smart and furthers the dissension in Chase U quite well.
Grade: C+
NXT Championship Contract Signing
We got a really cool and dramatic video for Los Lotharios which has made me really excited for the future before Wes Lee stormed up to Carmelo Hayes with the contract for Heatwave. Melo didn’t seem that interested in signing it at that point in time so Wes cleared the table that Hayes had been signing autographs on and just walked off with it! We then got a video where Tiffany Stratton says she’s going to appear at NXT Heatwave next week before Wes Lee made his way down to the ring, dragging the table with him so he could use that as the table for the contract signing. I thought that was very, very clever. Carmelo Hayes then arrived and the two men then went on to have a really good prom segment where they talked about the fact that they are the two greatest NXT North American Champions in history. Wes also reminded Melo that he technically won the NA Title from Hayes, even though Carmelo was quick to remind him that whilst he may have become the Champion, he never beat the Champion (in a great line). Wes Lee then talked about how he’s been told he “can’t” do this or he “can’t” do that for his whole life which is why the A-Champion then said, “At Heatwave, it’s not going to be Melo Don’t Miss, it’s going to be Melo Can’t Miss!” Both men then signed the contract before Wes Lee just jumped onto the table, breaking it in half whilst landing on his feet in a very cool visual. I liked this, it’s really cool to see two guys who elevated the North American Championship getting this spotlight. I do feel like it’s maybe been a little bit rushed, but I’m not against it as it makes NXT Heatwave feel like a big deal which is what it should be.
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