Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov come face-to-face, Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee VS Los Lotharios
This week’s edition of NXT kicked off with the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. Carmelo seemed very annoyed about his loss to The Judgment Day last week and he laid the blame on Ilja Dragunov. Dragunov then arrived and told Melo that he stopped Damian Priest from cashing in last week as he wants to fight Hayes for the NXT Championship, not anybody else. After a back-and-forth promo where the A-Champion said some cool lines and the Czar seemed incredibly fired up, the two starred face-to-face in a pretty intense showdown. I liked this, Carmelo Hayes is on another level right now whilst Ilja Dragunov is such a good promo. Melo’s line “For one of us, it’s going to be Champagne. For the other one of us, it’s going to be just pain” was particularly awesome. I am very much looking forward to their match after this.
Grade: B-
Mustafa Ali found Wes Lee backstage and he wasn’t impressed with the NXT North American Champion for putting his belt on the line against Dominik Mysterio in tonight’s main event. Lee told Ali that he’s got this and he’ll see him in Texas. The Disruptor didn’t seem so sure. We then saw Tony D’Angelo getting all of his belongings back before he left prison and was met by Channing “Stacks” Lorenz. I couldn’t believe it when I saw that this story’s been going on for nearly 2 months! It was then time for the first match of the night as NXT Heritage Cup Champion Nathan Frazer teamed up with Dragon Lee to take on Los Lotharios. Straight away, I have to mention that Nathan Frazer’s theme song has changed, and that seems like more of a crime than whatever Tony D did. This match started off decently and the first thought that came to my head was how it was nice to see Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo again after months upon months of not doing anything. Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon watched from ringside and they had the best seats in the house as the match picked up immensely near the end. Both Angel and Humberto hit beautiful Moonsaults which wasn’t quite enough to pick up the victory whilst Dragon Lee hit an amazing Dragon Bomb, but Carrillo somehow kicked out in a brilliant near fall. However, in the end, Los Lotharios were no match for Nathan Frazer’s quickness as he took both of them out with a dive before Lee hit a new move onto Humberto to get the victory. After the match, Angel shouted at Humberto till his cousin had enough and pushed him over. Carrillo then walked off through the crowd. The action in this match was really good, maybe even great. However, having Los Lotharios lose which will potentially lead to them splitting up doesn’t feel right, and also, who’s idea was it to change Nathan Frazer’s theme song?
Grade: B
Gigi Dolin VS Kiana James, Axiom and Scrypts VS Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, Tony D’Angelo’s Homecoming
Baron Corbin cut a promo in an eerie woods setting where he ended up staring back at himself. I didn’t really understand what was going on, but I’m happy that Corbin’s being given an edge (if that’s what the point of all of this is). We then got a clip from NXT Anonymous which showed Booker T telling Roxanne Perez that she needs to be careful about what she asks for when it comes to having a rematch against Blair Davenport. We then cut back to the commentary team and Booker was not at all impressed by this! It was then time for a rematch from NXT Gold Rush as Gigi Dolin took on Kiana James. I’m always more lenient when it comes to matches in NXT because a lot of these performers are learning with every match. That’s why, even though the action between Gigi and Kiana wasn’t great, I wasn’t going to be too harsh about it. However, the ending was stupid. James went to grab her bag before Dolin and James started playing “Tug of War” with it like you do with a pillow when you’re like 3 years old. It then got even worse as the referee took the bag of Dolin before the former 2-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion started fighting him over it which allowed KJ to hit the 401K to get the victory. I’m really stunned as to who thought this was a good idea. It made both of them (particularly Dolin) look crap.
Grade: D
Ivy Nile climbed up a ladder to take down the Diamond Mine flag that’s been there for nearly 2 years. This was actually quite sad as there’s been at least 6-or-7 people that have sort of represented this group. Eddy Thorpe was then being interviewed backstage before Meta-Four walked in and Lash Legend announced that Supernova Sessions has to be cancelled again due to Noam Dar’s mental health struggles. Thorpe and Oro Mensah then got into an argument before they agreed to have a match. It was then time for Bronco Nima and Lucien Price to make their NXT TV debuts as they faced off against Axiom and Scrypts. Scrypts barely made it into the ring as he left Axiom to do the work before the former Reggie attacked his “partner” from behind. Scrypts then watched on as Nima and Price destroyed Axiom before they picked up their debut win. This match wasn’t long and I didn’t really get to see if Bronco Nima and Lucien Price are any good. When you take into consideration that the team that’s been getting video packages for weeks weren’t even the main focus in their tag team debut, that’s not a particularly smart decision. However, I’m slightly in a more positive mood regarding this whole segment because I’m very glad that Axiom and Scrypts are no longer a team in any capacity.
Grade: C
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo and the rest of the D’Angelo Family were all in the ring ready to celebrate as The Don made his return to NXT after months. Tony D embraced all of his Family before we got a video showcasing the plan that Stacks had to trick Gallus. Whilst this was cool and made a lot of the previous segments tie in together, one piece didn’t make sense to me. I don’t understand how Joe Coffey could’ve believed that Stacks was the one who rated out the Don if he did it. Might have to get Benoit Blanc to take a look at this! Anyway, Gallus then arrived and Joe Coffey was not at all impressed before The D’Angelo Family challenged Mark Coffey and Wolfgang to a title match for NXT The Great American Bash. The two teams then got into a brawl which D’Angelo and Stacks won before The Don and The Underboss held up the NXT Tag Team titles which isn’t a great sign for them.
Grade: C+
Elektra Lopez VS Thea Hail, Eddy Thorpe VS Oro Mensah, Blair Davenport and Roxanne Perez Sit-Down Interview
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were walking backstage before they were approached by the Schism. Joe Gacy and Ava said some things before Ilja Dragunov walked in and got annoyed with Gacy before a brawl broke out. This was all done to set up a 6-man tag team match for next week which should be interesting. Thea Hail was then in the ring as she was about to go one-on-one with Elektra Lopez. This match can’t have gone much more than 60 seconds as Thea Hail reversed a move from Elektra into the Kimura Lock which forced Lopez to tap out. Thankfully, La Madrina didn’t tap out straight away, but it’s also fair to say that Lopez hasn’t really done anything since she split up with Legado Del Fantasma. After the match, Thea Hail called out Tiffany Stratton for a rematch. Tiffany answered the challenge and accepted it as she believes it’s going to be the easiest title defence ever. However, Hail wanted it to be a Submission Match which Stratton quickly rejected before she was forced to accept after Chase U’s Star Pupil locked in the Kimura Lock. I’ve been really impressed with Tiffany Stratton and Thea Hail throughout their program. Whilst I’m a little bit disappointed that it’s going to be a Submission Match at The Great American Bash as I don’t enjoy that stipulation, it should only benefit Tiffany Stratton in the long run.
Grade: C+
Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio were talking backstage before Tony D’Angelo walked past and said to Dom “Jimmy from the yard says hi”. I have no words. Rhea Ripley then found Lyra Valkyria and told her that she’d better not be wrong in regards to calling her a badass. This must be being done for a reason and I think it’d be pretty cool if Lyra joined The Judgment Day as a sort of protégé to Rhea. Also, they could go and win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. We then found out Gable Steveson is making his decision next week regarding his future and I really don’t get this guy. Meta-Four then made their way down to the ring as Oro Mensah was looking to teach Eddy Thorpe a lesson. This match was totally fine, it wasn’t anything to write home about, but it also wasn’t bad at all. For whatever reason, I can’t get into matches with either of these guys in so it wasn’t going to change when the two faced each other. However, I did laugh at Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson tossing a “lifeless” Noam Dar into the ring which distracted the referee before Dijak attacked Thorpe. This allowed Mensah to deliver his finisher to get the win. Meta-Four winning is a good thing and I like Dijak so this was all fine.
Grade: C
Dana Brooke and Kelani Jordan were doing Gymnastics together because they like it before Cora Jade smashed her kendo stick onto the lockers for some reason. Jade must really hate Gymnastics or something. We then got a sit-down Interview segment between Blair Davenport and Roxanne Perez and I have to say, I’ve always enjoyed these and this was no different. Having two rivals in different rooms, but on the same screen is such a cool look and I thought both women delivered their lines well. Roxanne Perez came across as the likeable underdog Babyface that she should be whilst Blair Davenport said that Roxy “can’t cope in the new NXT”. Davenport also put over Perez’s amazing first year in NXT and it’s amazing to think that whilst the Prodigy has achieved basically everything there is to achieve in NXT, she’s still the rookie compared to BD. Also, Blair called Roxanne a “Stupid Girl” which made me laugh a lot.
Grade: B-
NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee VS Dominik Mysterio
It was then time for the main event of this week’s NXT as Wes Lee put his NXT North American Championship on the line against The Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio. This match started off at a slower pace than what you would expect from a Wes Lee title defence, but it definitely picked up in the final 3-to-5 minutes. Dominik hit the 619 for a near-fall, but he missed when going for the Frog Splash. He then got frustrated and walked off with the NA title, only to get dropped by a suicide dive from the Kardiak Kid. Wes then threw Dominik into the ring before he nailed him with the Flying Corkscrew, but Finn Balor then arrived out of nowhere to distract the referee. Damian Priest then tried to attack Wes with the NXT North American Championship, but Lee ducked and nailed Senor Money in the Bank with the Kardiak Kick. However, as Wes went to the corner, Rhea Ripley smashed him in the head with her Women’s World Championship before Dominik Mysterio crawled over and pinned Wes Lee to become the brand-new NXT North American Champion. This absolutely stunned me and I really don’t know how to feel about it. I’m honestly not upset with Wes losing the belt as he was protected immensely in defeat. He needed all four members of the most dominant faction in WWE today to beat him and if that doesn’t make the Kardiak Kid look good, I don’t know what will. I’m also not annoyed that Dominik Mysterio won the NXT North American Championship as I’m all for The Judgment Day having all the belts and you couldn’t really have Dom beat Gunther for the Intercontinental Championship. However, my problem lies surround Mustafa Ali. It felt like destiny that Ali was going to beat Wes for the NA Championship at NXT The Great American Bash and now that’s definitely not happening. I’m now also worried that Ali is once again going to be thrown to the waste side in order for another storyline to take place. However, I also want to believe that this could all be leading to Mustafa Ali being a major player on both Raw and SmackDown in the future. I guess I won’t really be able to fully know how good or bad this booking decision is/was until later down the line.
Comments