NXT Heritage Cup: Noam Dar VS Chad Gable
This week’s edition of NXT kicked off with Noam Dar putting his NXT Heritage Cup on the line against Chad Gable. The first round was pretty evenly matched before a trip from Oro Mensah allowed Noam to hit the Nova Roller to score the first fall in Round 2. Round 3 mostly took place in the ad break whilst Round 4 was another close encounter. Gable, knowing he needed to score a fall in the 5th round, ran at Dar straight away before he hit the Chaos Theory to make it 1-1 after just 20 seconds into Round 5. After that happened, Lash Legend started to distract the referee which allowed Noam to nail Chad right in the back of the head (I thought this was much more well done than Dar’s usual cheating methods). We then headed into the deciding round and I really enjoyed the final 3 minutes of this contest, especially the ending as Master Gable continued to hold Dar in an ankle lock to the point that the Heritage Cup Champion had to tap out. However, Supernova 11 tapped out after the ball rang meaning this match ended in a tie and when that happens, the Trophy stays with the Champion. I thought this was really well done from all involved and after the contest, Maxxine Dupri slapped Lash Legend before Legend fell into the arms of Otis (Lash was not happy).
Grade: B
NXT Women’s Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Xia Li, Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo VS Edris Enofe and Malik Blade, Carmelo Hayes VS Josh Briggs: Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match
JBL appeared on the screen to tell us that he’s picked Carmelo Hayes VS Josh Briggs, and Blair Davenport VS Thea Hail as his two Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Matches before we saw Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and the rest of The Family ready to celebrate the NXT Tag Team Championships being back with them. Trick Williams then found Carmelo Hayes and told Melo that he’d be in his corner tonight. However, Hayes turned him down saying he has to do it alone. Lyra Valkyria was then making her entrance as she was supposed to put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Xia Li. However, that didn’t happen as Xia just booted Lyra right in the head to the point where the medical team had to take Valkyria to the back. Whilst this was done for storyline reasons, it made Xia look incredibly dumb whilst also making NXT look a bit silly for planning to have their big Women’s Championship match on second.
Grade: C-
Due to the attack on Lyra Valkyria, the following match was brought forward as Edris Enofe and Malik Blade were back on tele in Tag Team action against Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo. Both of these teams are fun to watch so I enjoyed it for what it was, even if there were little to no stakes involved. It is a slight shame that Enofe and Blade are put in the position of “losers” because they are pretty good, but Angel and Humberto picking up the victory with a new finisher was the right decision. It’s also worth mentioning that Garza and Carrillo spoke into the camera and said they’d see Tony D and Stacks soon.
Grade: C+
We saw Lyra Valkyria getting checked out by the medical team before Josh Briggs told Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley that he doesn’t want them at ringside tonight. Carmelo Hayes’ music then hit as it was time for the former A-Champion to attempt to qualify for this year’s Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge at the expense of Josh Briggs. I enjoyed this match, I thought it was good fun, and it was nice to see Briggs getting to showcase his talents. I’ve said for a while that I think Briggs deserves more of a spotlight and facing Hayes is certainly a good start. However, it still felt obvious that Melo was going to win so I was incredibly surprised that Josh Briggs pinned Carmelo Hayes after some interference from Lexis King. Whilst I am happy for Briggs, Melo really has to be in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline and if that’s not the plan, I really would’ve had either Axiom or Nathan Frazer beat him in this match.
Grade: B- (It was still a fun match even with the Ending)
Wes Lee Challenges Dominik Mysterio, Blair Davenport VS Thea Hail: Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match, Charlie Dempsey VS Eddy Thorpe
Lyra Valkyria made it clear to McKenzie Mitchell that her match with Xia Li for the NXT Women’s Championship would still go ahead before we got this fantastically hilarious segment that I’m calling “Dinner with The Stones”. Von Wagner showed up at Mr. Stone’s house having already eaten half of the brownies that he’d brought over for dessert before Stone’s kids appeared and called Wagner “Uncle Von”. Stone’s children then talked about being picked on school before Wagner asked for the name of the kids which delighted the young Stones as they wanted to see Von beat up some school kids. “Robert” and his Wife then brought over the Brownies and “Uncle Von” and the kids were absolutely ecstatic like they’d just seen Santa. I loved “Dinner with The Garganos” back when Johnny and Candice first turned Heel, but this might have been even better. Wes Lee then made his way down to the ring to cut a really good Babyface promo regarding his run as the NXT North American Champion. Wes said that Title gave him a sense of belonging which is why he needs it back. This brought out Dominik Mysterio who told Lee that he could have a match for the Championship if he beats three former Champions next week. I thought this was good stuff from Wes Lee and Dominik and the idea of Mysterio putting roadblocks in Wes’ way is a smart move. However, later in the show, the three competitors were revealed to be none other than Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, and Johnny (Freakin) Gargano. I’m sorry, but Grimes and Johnny Wrestling make absolutely no sense whatsoever and that’s coming from someone who’s a big fan of both guys’ work (especially in NXT).
Grade: A- for “Dinner with The Stones”, B- for Wes Lee’s Promo, C- for the 3 Competitors
We then got a big video package recapping the downfall of Chase University before Thea Hail seemed worried about Mr. Chase. However, Jacy Jayne told her that she’d be there for her no matter what so that’s not a very good sign. Tiffany Stratton then congratulated Josh Briggs backstage which seemed to bother Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen quite a lot before it was time to see who would join Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend in the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge as Blair Davenport and Thea Hail collided. This was an okay match, but I felt like it should’ve been better. If anything, that’s a good thing because it shows how highly I rate Blair and Thea compared to other women in the Division. Still, it could’ve been better, and after Thea Hail got distracted by the Chase U Student Section staying silent, BD nailed Hail with the Knee to get the victory. I’m glad Davenport’s going to be in the match, I just hope that Hail finds a way in too.
Grade: C
We then got a terrific video package narrated by Baron Corbin where Baron talked about how Ilja Dragunov lives in a small apartment with nothing/no one important other than the NXT Championship whilst Corbin lives in a mansion with his Wife, Children, and anything he wants. I thought this was really well done in establishing Corbin as the “dick Heel” that he always should’ve been. Eddy Thorpe then returned to in-ring action as he went one-on-one with Charlie Dempsey. This was the definition of a nothing match as little happened, there were no stakes involved, and Thorpe ended up winning with a roll-up. After the match, Myles Borne and Drew Gulak jumped Thorpe before the three Heels stood tall. I really don’t think this did much for anyone (in a good or a bad way).
Grade: C
NXT Women’s Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Xia Li
After Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo attacked Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo and Arianna Grace said she was going to get revenge on Karmen Petrovic, it was Main Event time as Lyra Valkyria put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Xia Li. Thankfully, the match did take place this time and it was okay. However, it felt quite short and it was certainly a bit anticlimactic. Despite multiple attempts, Xia couldn’t connect with her devastating Roundhouse Kick during the match, but Lyra could and that ultimately set up the finish as The Morgen dropped Li with a Fisherman Buster to get the victory. Whilst it is nice to see Xia back on TV, she’s lost two big matches in two days and that isn’t going to help her cause going forward. Also, this match wasn’t as dramatic and tense as it maybe should’ve been given how this feud has been set up/played out.
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