NXT Tag Team Championships Number 1 Contender’s Turmoil
After Ava told security that she needs them to make sure no unwanted people get into the building, NXT kicked off this week with a Tag Team Turmoil to decide who would face Axiom and Nathan Frazer for the NXT Tag Team Championships at NXT Heatwave. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade started this match off against the New Catch Republic, and the action was totally decent which resulted in the Main Roster stars advancing. More Main Roster talent then appeared as Legado Del Fantasma showed up, and this was probably the best little match of them all as all the transitions were smooth. In the end, a Tyler Driver 97 helped the good guys advance again before they were met with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Once again, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate were rolling as they managed to sneak away with a roll-up win as OTM laughed at The Good Brothers. The final team to arrive were Chase University, and not only were Andre Chase and Duke Hudson working great as a team, but it was Ridge Holland who ultimately played the biggest role as after he took a bullet for his new mentor, Mr. Chase hit his diving crossbody onto Bate meaning Chase U are heading on a little field trip! Nice!
Grade: B-
Ethan Page Promo, Joe Coffey VS Wes Lee, Tony D’Angelo VS Nathan Frazer: NXT Heritage Cup
Roxanne Perez got into an argument with Karmen Petrovic in the Women’s Locker Room before Axiom agreed to have Nathan Frazer’s back in his NXT Heritage Cup match. Ethan Page then came down to the ring to cut another good promo about how he clearly deserves to face Trick Williams for the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave because of what went down last week. Page then brought Ava out who actually agreed with what the Heel was saying before Shawn Spears appeared to make it clear that when he beats the NXT Champion tonight, he will be the one heading to Heatwave. This brought out Trick Williams who said he’ll face anyone, any time before he was jumped by the Heels, only for Je’Von Evans to make the save. Once again, “All Ego” is good on the mic.
Grade: B-
The New Catch Republic weren’t happy with Ridge Holland backstage before Tyler Bate accepted Hank and Tank’s challenge for a match next week. Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner then talked about which one of them is better at their “job” before Wes Lee took on Joe Coffey. This match actually didn’t go very long, and that wasn’t a bad thing as the pace of the match flowed nicely due to the speed of Wes Lee. In the end, The Kardiak Kid scored the win with the Kardiak Kick before Oba Femi responded with a promo that just adds to their match at Heatwave! I think that match is going to rule!
Grade: C+
Tony D’Angelo explained why he has no fear of losing his NXT Heritage Cup before Duke Hudson wanted to look at some photos regarding Ridge Holland’s involvement in his match last week. However, the rest of Chase U then arrived super pumped so Duke decided not to. It was then Championship time as Tony D’Angelo put his NXT Heritage Cup on the line against one-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, Nathan Frazer. This match started off quick and honestly quite surprising, with Frazer nicking the first fall after just 40 seconds whilst Tony D made it 1-1 just a minute and a bit into the second! Rounds 3 and 4 mostly took part in the ad break, with Round 5 seeing D’Angelo saved by the bell following a Phoenix Splash from Nathan. In the final round, both men went at one another before The Don finally scored the win with his new finisher. All of this was good!
Grade: B-
Roxanne Perez VS Karmen Petrovic, Damon Kemp VS Tavion Heights, Arianna Grace VS Sol Ruca
Trick Williams told Je’Von Evans that he wanted to go solo in the show’s Main Event before Roxanne Perez arrived to take on Karmen Petrovic. Lola Vice joined commentary to the delight of Booker T as we got a decent little match. You knew who was going to win, this was literally done to give the NXT Women’s Champion some momentum, but it was still worth being on the show overall. In the end, The Prodigy scored the victory with Pop Rox before Vice floored Perez with a back fist and walked out of the arena holding the NXT Women’s Title which is never a good sign!
Grade: C+
We got a really interesting moment with Meta-Four where Oro Mensah talked about his difficult childhood, and I’m now starting to wonder if this was the start of a Face turn for the group?! Anyway, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson attacked OTM which resulted in Michin brawling with Jaida Parker before Lola Vice arrived at Ava’s office with the NXT Women’s Championship as she demanded a Title match for NXT Heatwave. No Quarter Catch Crew then made their way down to the ring as Damon Kemp was about to go one-on-one with Tavion Heights. There wasn’t much to this match, it was just a lot of technical mat wrestling, and it ended pretty quickly with Heights getting the victory. Myles Borne didn’t seem happy about this, but the same could not be said for Charlie Dempsey who welcomed Tavion in as an official member of the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Grade: C
Kelani Jordan cut a promo about being excited to find out who her next challenger is going to be before Jaida Parker challenged Michin to a Street Fight. Izzi Dame then tried to get into the heads of Brinley Reece, Edris Enofe, and Malik Blade whilst Tatum Paxley was lurking behind the door. Axiom and Nathan Frazer then made it very clear that they're still not fully on the same page yet before Arianna Grace and Sol Ruca clashed in what was a sort of Number 1 Contender’s Match. This was weird to me as Sol kept slipping, and either she was just having an off night, or this was part of the story. Whatever it was, it didn’t exactly help the match flow very well and then it just ended with Ruca winning via the Sol Snatcher. I mean, Jordan-Ruca for the NXT Women’s North American Championship at Heatwave should be a lot of fun, but I don’t know, this just didn’t work for me.
Grade: C-
Trick Williams VS Shawn Spears
After Ava confirmed to Roxanne Perez that she will be defending her NXT Women’s Championship against Lola Vice at NXT Heatwave and Jacy Jayne, Jazmyn Nyx, and Fallon Henley all agreed that they needed to create opportunities for themselves, it was Main Event time as Trick Williams took on Shawn Spears. The action here was decent, both guys can go in the ring, and the crowd were certainly into it. However, this was all about the things going on on the outside. Not only did Oro Mensah once again attack Ethan Page (who was on commentary), but Brooks Jensen once again managed to break into the arena before he threw Vic Joseph’s candy straight at Vic. As security tried to pull him away, Jensen “accidentally” managed to take out Trick Williams and this allowed Shawn Spears to hit the C4 into the corner to score the massive win! The show then went off the air with Ava announcing a Fatal 4-Way for the NXT Championship at Heatwave!