Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo VS Pretty Deadly: Trunk Match
After a video opening Spring Breakin’ which featured a bunch of people that haven’t been seen on tv for weeks or even months, Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo took on Pretty Deadly in the first-ever “trunk match”. The rules for this match were pretty simple; anything goes and the only way to win is by shutting both of your opponents inside the car trunk. This match was good fun as lots of different weapons were used including bin lids and wheelbarrows. However, the best part of the match definitely came when Tony D dropped both Prince and Wilson into a ball pit before Stacks dived onto both of them whilst holding a surfboard. However, it was Pretty Deadly who got back on top as they delivered Spilt Milk to Stacks on the outside. They then through the Underboss into the trunk, but to win, you have to get both opponents inside. As Pretty Deadly brought D’Angelo over to the car, Stacks hit his opponents with a fire extinguisher before they locked Wilson inside. They then put Prince through the table and then locked him inside the trunk to get the win. All in all, I enjoyed this and the segment ended with D’Angelo and Stacks driving off.
Grade: B-
Andre Chase VS Bron Breakker, Cora Jade VS Lyra Valkyria
Tiffany Stratton seemed incredibly confident about her chances of winning the NXT Women’s Championship tonight before Duke Hudson fired up Andre Chase in a really well-delivered promo. However, it didn’t really help Mr. Chase as he was beaten pretty comprehensively by Bron Breakker. Breakker debuted his new gear in this match and he didn’t even allow Chase to hit the Chase U steps which actually felt quite tragic. Bron delivered the Military Press Slam to the founder of Chase University before he made him submit in the Steiner-Recliner. It was too short to say if it was good or bad.
Grade: C
We got a video showcasing Carmelo Hayes before Dijak attacked Ilja Dragunov backstage. This was a pretty brutal attack that saw Dijak trap the former NXT UK Champion in between the floor and the garage door. Lyra Valkyria then did her cool entrance as she was about to take on Cora Jade. This match has been over 3 months in the making and unfortunately, it wasn’t as good as it probably should’ve been. The match felt a bit sloppy and quite slow which was a shame and I wonder if that has something to do with the fact that Cora Jade hasn’t wrestled many matches this year. In the end, Jade used heel tactics to hit her DDT and pick up the win.
Grade: C-
NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes VS Grayson Waller
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks were still driving with Pretty Deadly in the back of the trunk before it was time for the NXT Championship to be on the line as Carmelo Hayes looked to successfully retain in his first defence as NXT Champion against the Arrogant Aussie, Grayson Waller. Even though this should have been the Main Event and even though neither guy had what you would call a “special entrance” the match itself was fantastic. Both Melo and Waller have arguably been the best two superstars in NXT for the past 20 months and they put on a hell of a show in this one. Hayes was pulling out a few new moves whilst Waller (and Hayes) were selling like champs. The best sequence in the match saw Grayson hit one of his greatest-ever Stunner’s, but unfortunately for Mr. Stand and Deliver, the champ rolled to the outside. However, this didn’t affect Waller as he put Melo on to the announce table before the Arrogant Aussie got his final viral moment in NXT when he jumped off the top rope and delivered an elbow drop to the A Champion. However, when Waller went to hit another Stunner, his knee went and this allowed Carmelo Hayes to hit Nothin’ but Net to retain his NXT Championship. After the match, Carmelo called out Bron Breakker and the former Champion responded by beating up both Hayes and Trick Williams. Bron then speared Melo through the podium/platform area for good measure to close out the segment. Great match, a great ending to Waller in NXT and the Hayes-Breakker feud feels a lot more personal than it did going into Stand and Deliver.
Grade: B+
Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley VS Brooks Jensen and Kiana James, Oba Femi debuts
It was Roxanne Perez’s turn to get a video package and she talked about he wants to be a role model for lots of young girls. We then got a really well-done video package showcasing the story between Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen, Fallon Henley and Kiana James before Joe Gacy went up to Joe Coffey backstage. Gacy challenged Coffey to a match for next week and if he wins, the Dyad get a match against Gallus for the NXT Tag Team Championships. When Coffey asked about what was in it for them, Ava appeared and said that if he wins, the Dyad will never get another title shot as long as the Gallus boys are champions. This all ended with a tease that Joe Gacy could be going for gold himself which would be pretty cool. It was then time for mixed tag team action as Josh Briggs and Fallon Henley took on Brooks Jensen and Kiana James. This match was alright, but what was better was the storytelling. Josh Briggs seemed reluctant to fight his best friend whilst Fallon Henley was more than happy to beat up Kiana James. The heels were in control before Brooks Jensen accidentally knocked James to the outside. When Jensen turned around, he was met with a huge clothesline from Briggs who got the victory. After the match, Kiana James told Brooks that “she never loved him” before Briggs consolidated his buddy. Whilst this story hasn’t been great and has been really rushed the past few weeks, this was a good ending to it.
Grade: C+
Dragon Lee was interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell backstage and Lee said he’s going to wrestle Noam Dar soon. Scrypts then appeared on the screen behind them with a message to Axiom. Interestingly, Scrypts spoke in his real voice. We then got a video for Indi Hartwell where we got to see different parts of her NXT run before “NXT Anonymous” filmed a video that showed Sol Ruca being attacked. However, we don’t know who by. Oba Femi then made his NXT TV debut against Oro Mensah. This match was short, Mensah didn’t do much and Femi was made to look good. To be fair to Oba, he had some decent moves up his arsenal and his powerbomb which finished the match was pretty special. I expect this guy to be pushed quite well by NXT. As for Oro Mensah, he’s done absolutely nothing since appearing in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc last year and I honestly don’t see it changing.
Grade: C
NXT Women’s Championship: Indi Hartwell VS Roxanne Perez VS Tiffany Stratton
Gigi Dolin appeared after the match to challenge Jacy Jayne to a match for next week’s show. She also said her brother is going to be in attendance. Drew Gulak then challenged Wes Lee for an NXT North American Championship match for next week which Wes Lee accepted backstage. Tyler Bate came up to Wes and offered to be in his corner next week to fend off Charlie Dempsey. The two men then sat back as they were about to watch Indi Hartwell defend her NXT Women’s Championship against both Roxanne Perez and Tiffany Stratton. The match started off ok, but it started to get a little sloppy when Tiffany Stratton delivered a dive to the outside. Stratton hit it well, but you could see Hartwell’s ankle bend in a way it really wasn’t supposed to. Hartwell was checked on by the medical staff whilst Roxanne and Tiffany battled it out in the ring. They did ok, but there were still a few sloppy moments before Indi Hartwell hobbled down to break up a pinfall. The Center of the Universe then hit her beautiful moonsault, but Indi Wrestling pulled her out of the ring before Mrs. Lumis smashed the Prodigy in the back of the head to retain her NXT Women’s Championship. Massive props to Indi for coming back out and finishing the match when you could clearly tell she was injured. Before the show went off the air, Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo were outside and it was implied that they “killed” Pretty Deadly. I would assume this means that Pretty Deadly are being called up to the main roster and if so, NXT is going to lose out big time as Pretty Deadly have been amazing in their NXT run. The same can also be said for both Grayson Waller and Roxanne Perez.
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