Indi Hartwell VS Tiffany Stratton, Andre Chase VS JD McDonagh
This week’s NXT started with a video of a brawl between Grayson Waller and Bron Breakker. Waller got under Breakker’s skin and a bunch of trainers and superstars had to break the two up. The show then properly started with a match between Indi Hartwell and Tiffany Stratton. Hartwell attacked Stratton during her entrance and the match stayed fast throughout. Both women are strong and athletic so they did work pretty well together and I actually thought this match was pretty decent. In the end, Stratton outsmarted Hartwell by faking an injury before she punched Indi straight in the face. Tiffany then dropped Mrs. Lumis before she hit her excellent-looking moonsault to get the win. This match showed why Indi Hartwell is one of the most experienced wrestlers on NXT and it also showed that Tiffany Stratton hasn’t lost a step since her injury.
Grade: B-
Jacy Jayne was backstage and she made it clear that even though her kick to Gigi Dolin was an accident, she was glad that it happened. She then vowed that something unexpected would happen in the main event. We then went to the Diamond Dojo where some of Drew Gulak’s guys were working with the Creed Brothers. The Creed’s won out and this annoyed Drew so he had a go with Julius. Julius won this exchange too and this frustrated Gulak even more so he pushed him. Chase University were then out to celebrate Thea Hail’s first-ever victory on NXT. Mr. Chase said he was delighted with the courage that Thea had shown before he awarded her a certificate. JD McDonagh then returned to NXT and said it was sad to see participation awards being handed out now. JD then dissed both Chase University and Thea Hail and this ticked off Andre Chase so the two had a match. Both McDonagh and Chase brought out their usual, entertaining offense and it looked like either man could be about to pick up the victory. However, Duke Hudson left the ringside area and this slight distraction allowed JD to get the victory with the Devil Inside. Like the first match, I like the people involved and they did a good job.
Grade: B-
Fallon Henley and Kiana James VS Diamond Mine, Drew Gulak and Hank Walker VS The Creed Brothers
Kiana James and Fallon Henley both had their own game plan heading into their tag team match with Diamond Mine’s Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley. As the match started, Henley aggressively tagged herself in which already set a bit of a precedent. Henley didn’t seem too interested in being best buddies with James and she sort of did her own thing. However, Kiana James clearly wanted to put some effort in so she kept playing dirty to ensure her team could get the victory. In the end, it worked as James held onto Paxley whilst Henley delivered the Shining Wizard to Nile to get the victory. In terms of action, this wasn’t great. In terms of story, it was actually pretty well done. James is a clear heel who will cheat to get the victory, but that doesn’t bother Brooks Jensen as he just wants to see Kiana and Fallon do well.
Grade: C
The New Day were backstage before they were approached by Edris Enofe and Malik Blade. They asked the New Day if they could maybe be added to the Tag Team title match at Vengeance Day before the Dyad walked in and demanded the same thing. The New Day then announced that there will be a New Day invitational next week where the winning team would be added to the match with Gallus and Pretty Deadly at Vengeance Day. We then went to Melo’s Barbers, but it was Apollo Crews that was sitting in the chair. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams then walked in and Hayes was not happy about Apollo sitting in his chair. The two then cut a promo on one another before they decided to fight one another at Vengeance Day in a 2-out-of-3 falls match. This makes sense as they needed Melo to be on the big show. It was then time for another tag team match as Drew Gulak and Hank Walker teamed up to take on the Creed Brothers. I thought this match was pretty decent, the Creeds are an excellent team and Drew Gulak is one of the best mat technicians in the world. However, my biggest takeaway from this match was Hank Walker. You could tell that he’d been training with Gulak as he looked so much better than he has before. In the end though, Charlie Dempsey came out and that seemed to distract Drew which left Hank to go it alone against the Creeds. This cost them as Brutus was able to pick up the win with the Brutus Bomb. After the match, the Creeds thanked Ivy Nile for sticking with them before Indus Sher (with Jinder Mahal) came out and challenged them to a match for next week's show. Ivy Nile accepted so the match is official. I do think it’s harsh that they’re not going to get on the Vengeance Day card, but they should get more time as a result of it.
Grade: B- for the match
Elektra Lopez VS Wendy Choo, Bron Breakker and Grayson Waller
Gigi Dolin was being interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell and she also took decided to diss her tag team partner. We then went to a nice fancy Italian restaurant (I’m pretty sure it was the one that Indi and Dexter went to) and saw Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo celebrating their “new” partnership. It definitely looks like the two are moving more into being faces. It was then time for another women’s bout as Elektra Lopez took on Wendy Choo. This match was alright, it wasn’t anything special, but it did tell a good story. Before the match, Elektra had asked Valentina Feroz if she would come and watch from ringside and the whole reason for this was Lopez wanted to show Feroz how to win. This happened as Elektra picked up the win by striking Choo with a pair of Brass Knuckles.
Grade: C
Josh Briggs was celebrating with Fallon Henley before Brooks Jensen came up to them and told Fallon that he’d spoken to Shawn Michaels and got her and Kiana a tag team title match for Vengeance Day. Briggs seemed stoked by this, but Henley wasn’t impressed as she thought this was going to be just a one-time thing. Elektra Lopez and Valentina Feroz were then walking backstage and Feroz questioned why Elektra would do Wendy Choo dirty like that. Lopez laughed this off, saying she only cares about winning. That’s a pretty fair point. McKenzie Mitchell was then meant to have an in-person interview with Stevie Turner, but Turner announced that she was doing it from her office. She then answered a bunch of “Super Stevie Chats” before she announced that she was making her NXT in-ring debut next week. Grayson Waller was then out and he wasted no time calling out Bron Breakker. He also revealed that under his coat, he was wearing his NXT Championship that he brought last week. He then called himself the “uncrowned Champion”. Bron Breakker then stormed out of his locker room and barged past superstars and security. The two then brawled in and out of the ring and it eventually got broke up before Bron tried to spear Waller. However, Grayson moved out of the way and Breakker went smashing through the barricade like he was in “Hole in the Wall”. I thought this was well done, Breakker’s always been angry and Waller knows exactly how to expose it. I’m really looking forward to their steel cage match next Saturday.
Grade: B
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Alba Fyre, Lots of segments
The Gallus Boys were in a pub and they made it clear that they were going to show America what everyone in Europe knows before the KC’s put their NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships on the line against Alba Fyre. However, Alba Fyre did have an ally as Sol Ruca came out to be her tag team partner. Alba clearly wasn’t interested in getting help meaning Sol had to tag herself in to be a part of the action. As the match rolled on, Fyre started to trust Ruca so she made the tag herself. In the end, Fyre was taken out and Chance and Carter picked up the victory with the neckbreaker/450 Splash combo. Chance and Carter are a good tag team whilst I think it’s fair to say that Alba is the best female talent on the roster. I’m also fully on the Sol Ruca hype train! After the match, Isla Dawn came out and Fyre just walked past, almost motionless. Kiana James and Fallon Henley were then standing on the platform and Henley announced that she had thought about it and she has decided that she will team up with James to take on the champs at Vengeance Day. I’m guessing that’ll be the pre-show match.
Grade: C+ for the match
Dijak was once again sitting in a dark room before Wes Lee came in and told him that he wouldn’t be handing the title over to Dijak before he told the former T-Bar that stupid decisions had got him to where he is today. Cora Jade was then being interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell and she found a feather in her locker. Before she could say anything else, we cut straight to the parking lot to see Nikkita Lyons holding her leg in pain. A bunch of women were walking past the scene including Elektra Lopez and Valentina Feroz and there was also a car that drove past (I don’t think she got run over). Indi Hartwell also ran over to help Lyons which automatically makes her a suspect in the wrestling world. I’m intrigued to see where this goes, however, I don’t hold out as much hope as when Alesteir Black was attacked. Andre Chase and Thea Hail were then backstage before Andre Chase had a right go at Duke Hudson for walking out on his match from earlier on in the night. The Duke said the reason he did that is he went to Shawn Michaels and asked if they could be in the tag team invitational tournament. After some comedy about the New Day, Hudson announced that they were in it. It’s worth mentioning that the New Day Invitational was announced after the Chase VS McDonagh match. Either this was just an accidental mistake or this was done for a reason.
The NXT Women’s Championship Summit
The Main Event saw Booker T host a championship summit between Roxanne Perez, Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin. Dolin and Jayne spent the whole time complaining at each other and talking about the other's insecurities. Roxanne was happy to see this as it helps her chances of retaining the titles whilst Booker T was laughing his head off. As Jacy and Gigi looked like they were about to fight, they smiled and attacked Roxanne Perez. Toxic Attraction beat down the champion before they dropped Roxy through the table. The two then both held a part of the NXT Women’s Championship which rules both of them out of winning the title. To be positive, I’ve seen way worse than this. I thought all three women did their jobs well. However, it was really obvious what was going to happen and it made Roxanne Perez look a bit dumb. I’m sure she’ll have the last laugh at Vengeance Day though.
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