Toxic Attraction kick-off the show, Cora Jade VS Wendy Choo
This week's edition of NXT started with Toxic Attraction. Mandy Rose celebrated the fact that she retained her championship last week “all on her own” before Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne announced that they are coming for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter then came out and called out all 3 members for pretending that they are actually good. They then went into the ring and got laid out by Toxic A. Overall, this was ok.
Grade: C
Wes Lee was walking in the parking lot before Tony D’Angelo nearly ran him over. That’s at least how it looked on the TV camera. D’Angelo reminded Lee of what he did to him before Lee told the Don that he knows where to find him. Grayson Waller then came up to Duke Hudson and asked him when he is going to stop this “Chase U” act before Hudson told his fellow Aussie that this isn’t an act and that he bleeds Red and Black. Waller was a smart person to use in this segment. After this, it was time for a match between Cora Jade and Wendy Choo. I was surprised to see this match happen so early in their story, but I guess it frees the two up for the Iron Survivor Challenge at NXT Deadline in two weeks. The match itself was pretty decent actually, Jade and Choo are definitely two of the best workers in the Women’s division in NXT. The ending saw the referee take away Jade’s kendo stick from Choo but as the referee’s back was turned, Cora Jade threw Choo’s drink into her before she finished Wendy off with the DDT. A good win for Cora and after the match, Wendy Choo started crying so I’m definitely intrigued to see where this goes next.
Grade: C+ for the match
Lots of backstage segments, Kiana James VS Ivy Nile
A video aired for Apollo Crews who was sitting in a diner talking about how he gets the opportunity to do what he has always wanted in a couple of weeks at NXT Deadline. He then had a vision of him holding the NXT Championship. Interesting. Kiana James then talked to McKenzie Mitchell backstage and she vowed to beat Ivy Nile in her matchup coming up. As James left, Javier Bernal came in with a list of over 1 thousand potential opponents including Axiom, Elon Musk and Drake (the rapper). For whatever reason, I actually quite enjoy these Javier Bernal backstage segments with McKenzie. The students of Chase U were then talking backstage before Pretty Deadly came up to them and asked Duke if he would like to join in their poker game. We already know how much Duke loves to play poker, but he said no as “it’s against school policy”. He then ended up getting into a brawl with the NXT Tag Team Champions before officials broke it up. We then got the match between Ivy Nile and Kiana James and if you’re trying to get into wrestling, don’t watch this match. I like Ivy Nile, but it just feels like she’s getting left behind by some of her fellow competitors and as for James, she still hasn’t got any better.
Grade: D for the match
Scrypts makes his debut
After Ivy’s win, the Creed Brothers came out and told Indus Sher that they are coming for them. Nile clearly wasn’t happy about this, but I don’t really know what she’s going to be able to do about it. Isla Dawn then cut a video promo and I really liked this because there was a surprise in it. For weeks now, technical difficulties have happened during matches/segments and I had assumed it was Scrypts but in fact, it was Isla Dawn all along. That was really cool and I hope WWE does more stuff like this. Mr. Chase was then going through a paper with a Chase U student before Duke Hudson came in and told Mr. Chase that he had got a tag team title match for them against Pretty Deadly later on in the night. It was then time for the debut of Scrypts. I can tell you that I would never have guessed who Scrypts is in a million years. He faced Guru Raaj in a squash match, but it wasn’t a big, dominant squash match. In fact, it was a high-flying showcase and he got the win with a top rope cannonball. After the match, he left a note on his opponent with the word “Scrypts” on it. After all the super serious videos that have aired for this character, for it to be the former Reggie is a bit disappointing. Let’s see how he gets on.
Grade: C
The Schism’s thanksgiving message, Zoey Stark VS Sol Ruca
The Schism were in the ring and all four members cut a promo about how thanksgiving isn’t a good thing. Ava Raine then invited a fan to come into the ring before Joe Gacy put him through a table. Even though I haven’t written much about this, I actually enjoyed it. Trick Williams was then talking to McKenzie Mitchell backstage before Wes Lee got into his head about Carmelo Hayes needing Trick Williams to win. This was a funny segment and Williams told Lee that he wouldn’t be out there for his North American Championship match with Carmelo Hayes. After this, Bron Breakker was out on a boat fishing whilst talking about the pressures of being the NXT Champion. What I liked about this is it made Breakker feel more like an actual human being rather than just being the guy NXT has put everything into over the past year. Zoey Stark then came out to have her first match as heel in NXT. She took on Sol Ruca and I actually enjoyed this. Zoey Stark is experienced so she was able to help make Ruca look good and that’s exactly how the surfer came across. Ruca hit some great moves and she really showcased her athleticism. My only criticism with this is the fact that Stark didn’t dominate which is strange because she’s the one who’s just changed her character. After Stark got the win with her finisher, Nikkita Lyons came out and the two former tag team partners brawled before Stark managed to escape. I’d expect these two to either be in the Iron Survivor match or to have a 1-on-1 match at Deadline.
Grade: B for the Schism, B- for the women’s match
NXT Tag Team Championships: Pretty Deadly VS Andre Chase and Duke Hudson
Edris Enofe and Malik Blade asked Von Wagner if he wanted to come out and party with them, but Wagner said he doesn’t want to become mediocre. I would say that’s an improvement for him. After this, Wagner punched Enofe before he ripped the sweater off of Malik Blade. What an arse! I’m guessing we are going to get Wagner VS Jones down the line. Charlie Dempsey was then working out whilst talking about playing cards. He also said he likes traditional, old-school wrestling which is fair enough. After this, the NXT Tag Team Championships were on the line as Pretty Deadly looked to retain against Chase U’s Andre Chase and Duke Hudson. This match was so much fun, the fans were cheering on both Mr. Chase and Duke Hudson throughout the match whilst Pretty Deadly used their evil tactics to get ahead. Andre Chase was beaten up a lot in this match and as Elton Prince was thrown to the outside, he “accidentally” bumped into Thea Hail which meant Duke went over to check if she was ok. Him doing that cost his team as Mr. Chase attempted to make a tag but there wasn’t anyone there. In the end, Duke Hudson attempted to do a double team with his teacher, but unfortunately for him, his big boot ended up hitting Andre Chase and this allowed Pretty Deadly to chuck Hudson into the steel steps before they hit Spilt Milk to retain their tag team titles. This was superb, Pretty Deadly are maybe my favourite in all of WWE right now. They are genuinely brilliant. As for Chase U, they continue to be a fun act and they remind a bit of the team of Rusev and Aidan English. No-one expected it to happen yet no one is complaining that it did. If NXT continue to tell this story correctly, Chase and Hudson should be the ones to take the titles from Pretty Deadly.
Grade: B+
NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee VS Carmelo Hayes
After a backstage segment were Nikkita Lyons aligned herself with Katana and Kayden in their fight against Toxic Attraction as well as an altercation between Indi Hartwell and Roxanne Perez, it was time for Wes Lee’s first defense of the North American Championship as he took on the main that made that title what it is, Carmelo Hayes. This match was brilliant, both men are tremendous professional wrestlers and this really is worth watching. At one point in the match, Carmelo Hayes was dropped on his head about 3 times in under 15 seconds. Lee hit a really cool looking Double Knees for a near fall before he jumped onto Trick Williams who had ran down to try and help his best buddy, Carmelo. In the end, Wes Lee hit this ridiculous move that I can’t even explain before he finished Hayes off with a Michinoku Driver to retain his championship. After the match, Dominik Dijakovic appeared and he layed out Wes Lee with the “Feast Your Eyes”. Even though Melo lost, he still looks and comes across as a star. In my opinion, he should win the Iron Survivor match at NXT Deadline before he goes on to beat Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship. As for Wes, this wasn’t just a statement win, this was a statement performance. He looked incredible and it now seems like he has a big feud coming up against the former T-Bar. Will he win that feud, only time will tell.
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