Dijak VS Joe Gacy: Asylum Match
After Lexis King did a pretty decent job at hyping up NXT Roadblock, the show properly started with an Asylum Match between Dijak and Joe Gacy. This match was a little bit mad, with your normal wrestling weapons involved, but there were also the likes of boxing gloves, straight jackets, and even doors being used at different points. Personally, I enjoyed this match and the craziest spot actually came when Dijak did a moonsault off the top of the cage onto Gacy. Towards the end of the match, Joe Gacy was blinded by duct tape and despite initially getting straight back up after Feast Your Eyes, a second FYE from Dijak was enough to put Gacy down for the 3 count. This was good fun and it continues Dijak’s superb run of quality matches.
Grade: B
NXT Tag Team Championships: Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker VS Chase University, Shawn Spears Debuts
Tony D’Angelo welcomed Luca Crusifino into The Family before Fallon Henley was talking to Riley Osbourne about Thea Hail. Blair Davenport then walked in to say that “Thea isn’t even Riley’s type” (which is actually quite funny given they’re together in real life) and this ultimately set up a match between Blair and Fallon because why not?! Tatum Paxley then told Lyra Valkyria that she’d do anything for her before it was time for the first Championship match of the night as Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against Chase University. I thought this was a pretty decent contest between two fun teams and I have to give a shout-out to Andre Chase as him coming out and still putting in a performance like this despite his Dad passing away on the weekend is incredibly impressive and commendable. Near the end of the match, Bron Breakker sent Duke Hudson flying over the announce table, and despite a strong effort from Mr. Chase to win the match by himself, an End of Days from Corbin followed by a Breakker Spear was enough for “The Wolf Dogs” to retain their Gold.
Grade: B-
Carmelo Hayes said he’d hand-picked his own security for tonight (he probably should’ve done that last week) before Shawn Spears made his way down to the for his “NXT Debut” as he took on Uriah Connors. As you would expect, Spears completely dominated his opponent in a match that ended relatively quickly after Shawn delivered the C4. After the match, Shawn Spears took shots at Ridge Holland before Ridge ran down to attack his rival, only for referees to eventually arrive to stop him. What I found interesting about this is how Spears wanted Holland to attack/injure him.
Grade: C+
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: The Kabuki Warriors VS Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley, Blair Davenport VS Fallon Henley, No Quarter Catch Crew Promo
Josh Briggs questioned Brooks Jensen’s decision to go after Oba Femi backstage before Dijak walked past and said the words “Brooks is a dead man walking!” Ilja Dragunov then said he couldn’t wait for tonight’s Main Event after Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo introduced himself before it was time for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships to be on the line as The Kabuki Warriors returned to NXT to take on the team of Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley. What I found funny about this match is Kairi Sane and Tatum Paxley were basically trying to prove why they’re the more crazy of the two, and I love that, especially as Asuka was on the apron! In terms of the in-ring action, it was decent, I rate Tatum and I’ve always said that as long as Lyra is in the ring with people better (or of a similar ability) than her she can have a good match. It was also great to see “NXT Royalty” return, and in the end, an accidental Roundhouse Kick from the NXT Women’s Champion to Paxley ultimately allowed Sane to hit the assisted InSane Elbow to score the victory. After the match, Lyra Valkyria was shockingly attacked by Roxanne Perez who properly turned Heel in a vicious assault that ultimately resulted in The Morgen getting stretchered into an ambulance. Like I said last week, I’m a big fan of Roxanne’s current character. Also, this is actually genius when you think about it as Perez lost her NXT Championship last year by being stretched out of this very same event!
Grade: B (Match and Post-Match Angle Combined)
After we saw Lyra Valkyria being driven away in an ambulance (even Shawn Michaels was there), it was straight back to the in-ring action as Blair Davenport went one-on-one with Fallon Henley. I definitely view both Blair and Fallon in the top category of the NXT Women’s Division (along with Valkyria, Perez, and Kiana James) and I thought this was a decent contest, but the in-ring action wasn’t actually the important part of this. Instead, it was the return of Sol Ruca that proved crucial as she ultimately got revenge on the woman (Davenport) who injured her last June (I think) and this allowed Fallon Henley to score the victory. I’m really glad to see Sol Ruca back as she has a very bright future ahead of her (as long as she stays healthy).
Grade: C+
Jacy Jayne told Thea Hail that she’s busy next week when Thea announced that she’s got them a Tag Team match with Kiana James and Izzi Dame before Arianna Grace only accepted Gigi Dolin’s challenge for a match on the basis that if Grace wins, she gets to teach Gigi “how to be a proper lady”. I need this! Shawn Spears then told Kelly Kincaid that he’d see Ridge Holland next week before the No Quarter Catch Crew were in the ring to cut a promo. The faction confirmed that all four men are technically the Champion and any one of them can defend the Cup which is actually pretty interesting and could work quite well down the line. Unbelievably, the Heels were interrupted by none other than Mr. Regal who told the No Quarter Catch Crew to make sure that they defend the Cup with honour and pride. Charlie Dempsey (Regal’s real-life son) then through a shot at Regal, saying “I’ll defend this Cup better than you ever could!” This was pretty short, but I love Mr. Regal, and what an awesome moment for him and Dempsey.
Grade: C+
NXT Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match: Carmelo Hayes VS Tony D’Angelo
After a funny Noam Dar moment and Mr. Stone making it clear to Von Wagner that he needs to handle Lexis King alone, it was Main Event time at NXT Roadblock as Carmelo Hayes took on Tony D’Angelo in a match where the winner would earn a shot at Ilja Dragunov and the NXT Championship at NXT Stand and Deliver. Melo and Tony D know each other well so they were able to get on with things pretty quickly, and I thought this was decent, even though it probably could’ve been better. To be honest, Hayes dominated D’Angelo throughout this contest and it wasn’t until Trick Williams’ music hit that things started to change. This distracted Melo enough to the point where The Don of NXT was able to hit Forget About It to score the victory and earn his way onto Stand and Deliver. Carmelo Hayes was clearly furious about this, but it only got worse for him as Williams’ music hit again, and this time, Trick arrived and laid waste to both Melo and his security guards to send the crowd home happy. Melo is a star, Trick is a star, and Dragunov-D’Angelo should be an interesting contest.
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