Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio kick off the show, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Ilja Dragunov VS Schism
Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley arrived with the new NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio and Dom was barely able to say anything as he kept getting booed out of the building. Rhea Ripley also spoke about Lyra Valkyria and The Judgment Day’s dominance before Wes Lee came out and said he refuses to let Mysterio ruin the legacy that he created. Mustafa Ali then arrived and he was pissed off over the fact that Dominik had stolen his opportunity before he insulted the former Champion. Lee then got into the face of Ali before Dom and Rhea continued to “stir the pot”, resulting in Ali “accidentally” punching Wes Lee in the face. The Kardiak Kid and the Disruptor then brawled as “Dirty” Dom escaped. This was a good opening segment where you could understand where everyone was coming from. It was later announced that it’s going to be a triple threat match at NXT The Great American Bash which should be fun, particularly if they allow Wes and Ali to do their thing.
Grade: B-
Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo were being interviewed backstage before they were interrupted by Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. The two teams agreed to have a match later on in the show. Lyra Valkyria then talked about how she wants to fight Rhea Ripley because she needs to know where she stands in the Women’s Division before it was time for the opening match of the night as the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Ilja Dragunov teamed up to take on the Schism. This was a solid tag team contest, Schism are a good team to watch whilst Melo and Dragunov are two of the best in the entire company. Trick Williams also played his part too, but he was then taken out of the contest after accidentally getting sent crashing into the steel steps by the Czar. This looked to put Schism in control, but two masked men (probably the Creeds) took out Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid before Carmelo Hayes tagged himself in and hit Nothin’ but Net onto Joe Gacy to get the victory. My only negative towards this was it’s a shame that Schism and particularly Joe Gacy can’t seem to hold onto any sort of momentum.
Grade: C+
Von Wagner VS Javier Bernal, Gable Steveson makes his decision, Cora Jade VS Dana Brooke: Kendo Stick Match
Tiffany Stratton had a video package where she praised herself before she said it’s her job to make sure that Thea Hail doesn’t ruin NXT. This whole thing was really well done. Von Wagner then made his way down to the ring as he was about to face Javier Bernal. This match only went about 2 minutes and it saw Wagner win in a complete squash match. After the match, Von put Big Body Javi through the announce table to the delight of the crowd before he got his soul knocked out of him courtesy of a Bron Breakker Spear. I was surprised to see Bron as I thought his loss against Dragunov was the end of him in NXT. However, Mr. Meaner than Evil is clearly sticking around for a bit longer and he could actually really help develop Von Wagner into a likeable Babyface. The only sad thing about all of this is Javier Bernal is great, and he should be treated a lot better.
Grade: C
Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov were speaking in the NXT Warehouse before Trick Williams came up to them and he was furious with Ilja. Melo then tried to calm down his buddy, but Trick wasn’t having any of it. Gable Steveson was then in the ring as it was time for him to “make his decision”. Gable talked about how he could go and win another College State Title or, he could go and become a 2-time Olympic Gold Medallist in Paris next year. Baron Corbin then arrived and told Steveson that he doesn’t belong in WWE before Steveson challenged him to a match for the Great American Bash. Gable then decided to chuck Corbin around for some reason. This wasn’t great, Steveson hasn’t shown any sort of quality since he arrived in WWE whilst Baron Corbin has come back looking exactly the same as before his videos started. Also, I don’t get how this match is on The Great American Bash card and Corbin can’t afford to lose right now so all of this seems off.
Grade: C-
Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio were talking backstage and Dominik didn’t seem too confident about his chances at retaining his NXT North American Championship at NXT Great American Bash. Dana Brooke then came out dressed as Catwoman as it was time for her to face Cora Jade in a Kendo Stick Match. Basically, this was a no-DQ match where they just used a bunch of Kendo Sticks. I thought this match was ok, but the fact they only properly used one weapon (Cora tried to introduce a Steel Chair) sort of made this feel quite repetitive. Also, the crowd are still way more behind the Resident Mean Girl and Dana Brooke only beat Jade because of a bit of help from Kelani Jordan. Brooke also kicked out of Jade’s DDT at one point which seems like a massive mistake and I’m not sure this match did much for either competitor. However, I will be more lenient with my grade because some of the hits Cora and Dana took looked painful.
Grade: C
The D’Angelo Family VS Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, Blair Davenport and Roxanne Perez Brawl, Supernova Sessions
Carmelo Hayes found Ilja Dragunov in a backstage locker room and he warned his Great American Bash challenger that Trick is planning to call him out. Dragunov told Melo that whilst he respects him as the NXT Champion, he will break Williams if he does do that. With every passing segment in this show between Carmelo Hayes, Ilja Dragunov, and Trick Williams, it felt more and more like a mixture of West Side Story and Blood Brothers. Damon Kemp then found Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey and said they should all work together before the D’Angelo Family took on Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. Scrypts was on commentary for the most part until he was taken out by Axiom and I thought the match itself was fine. I like the pairing of Tony D and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, but I’m still not sure about Nima and Price. They look the part, but in their two matches so far, they’ve been the second wheel in the contest which seems a bit odd. They also lost here after D’Angelo hit “Bada Boom” before Gallus appeared on the screen and warned the D’Angelo Family that they have no chance of taking the NXT Tag Team Championships on Sunday. I’m still not sure who’s going to win that match which is a good thing.
Grade: C
Dijak laughed at the fact that Eddy Thorpe thinks he’s in “Championship Contention” because he won one match and I totally agree before we got a video of Roxanne Perez attacking Blair Davenport in a garage (the shopping kind). This was really weird and a bit messy. I like that NXT are giving Roxanne an edge because that will only improve her character, but some of the stuff that was used was ridiculous, and also, the people that were watching were just standing there.
Grade: C
Supernova Sessions returned as Meta-Four welcomed their guest, Noam Dar! Dar still isn’t responding to anything, but that all changed when Lash Legend handed him the NXT Heritage Cup Trophy. This literally brought Noam Dar back to life like he was in a video game before Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee arrived. Nathan was holding the actual Heritage Cup before they all got into an argument before Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon took out Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. This wasn’t very good and that’s mainly because Lash Legend is still really bad on the mic which sucks because she’s actually a decent wrestler. There’s also going to be an 8-person tag team match on the Kickoff Show this weekend and I still need someone to explain why Noam Dar hasn’t got a rematch for the Cup that he didn’t even lose in the first place.
Grade: C-
Rhea Ripley VS Lyra Valkyria, Trick Williams calls out Ilja Dragunov
After a brilliant video package hyping up Thea Hail that felt right from a Rocky movie and an argument from Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo in the parking lot, it was time for the main event as Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley went one-on-one with Lyra Valkyria. I thought this was a good main event and definitely the match of the night. Rhea Ripley’s transition from the last time she was in NXT (properly) to now is amazing whilst Lyra Valkyria clearly has a bright future ahead. There was a great bit where the Valkyrie took out Dominik Mysterio to the delight of the crowd and she even had a few near-falls of her own. However, Lyra wasn’t ever going to win this match and it showed when Rhea nailed her with the Riptide to get the victory. After the match, the Eradicator told Valkyria to prove her right by beating Jacy Jayne convincingly in their next contest. I think it’s safe to say that Lyra’s stock has risen a lot because of this match even though she lost, and I could genuinely see Valkyria becoming Rhea Ripley’s protégé down the line.
Grade: B-
Trick Williams stormed down to the ring and called out Ilja Dragunov which the Czar happily answered. The two men then brawled and whilst Trick Willy started on top, it quickly resulted in him getting pummelled by a psychotic Ilja Dragunov in a way only JD McDonagh could match. As Dragunov went to hit Williams with Torpedo Moscow, Carmelo Hayes ran in and took the “bullet” for his friend. Ilja then praised Melo’s loyalty but told him that’s all he’s going to have left after he takes his NXT Championship from him at NXT The Great American Bash. This was cool, it made Ilja Dragunov feel like a complete lunatic, but what’s even better is the fact that Dragunov didn’t even want to do it. After a build that’s been decent, but not had too much to it, this really upped the excitement and drama for what has the potential to be flubbing great!
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