By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Halftime Heat
Aired live February 3, 2019 on WWE Network and social media
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Vic Joseph and Shawn Michaels were on commentary and welcomed viewers to Halftime Heat. They went right to ring introductions for the six-man tag match. There was a quick production mistake, as the screen read “Doors In 30:00”. Oops.
1. Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, and Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole. The babyfaces cleared the ring at the four minute mark. Black did struck his usual seated pose and then Ricochet and Dream struck their own poses. The heel trio came back and worked over the babyface trio at ringside.
Ricochet had an offensive flurry on Cole. Black tagged in and worked over all three heels until Gargano cut him off with a suicide dive at ringside. Dream leapt onto Gargano, then Ricochet performed a flip dive onto the heels. In the ring, Ricochet picked up a near fall on Gargano while Michaels spoke about how unbelievable the NXT talent is.
Later, Velveteen Dream performed a DDT on Gargano for a near fall. The live crowd chanted “this is awesome.” Michaels excitedly replied, “Yeah, it is.” He said awesomeness is what you get whenever NXT talent is around. Ricochet tagged in only to be turned inside out by a Gargano clothesline. Cole tagged in and caught Richocet going for a moonsault with a superkick and covered him for a two count.
At 12:30, the wrestlers all ended up in the ring and traded punches. Gargano performed a reverse huracanrana on Ricochet. Ciampa performed a suplex on Dream that took both men to ringside. Cole leapt from the ropes and performed a Canadian Destroyer on Ricochet for a near fall. The heels hit a triple superkick on Ricochet and had him pinned, but Black broke it up.
Dream checked in and fought all three heels until he ran into a double superkick. Black returned and hit Black Mass on Cole. Dream performed a Dream Driver on Cole, and Dream followed up with a Purple Rainmaker elbow drop on Cole and pinned him…
Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, and Aleister Black beat Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole in 16:15.
Powell’s POV: A fun match with the logical finish with the babyface trio going over. They did a really nice job of making the WWE Performance Center look like a television studio with a stage, entrance ramp, and several rows of bleacher seating opposite the hard camera along with seating on the floor. Michaels really gushed over NXT and he came off very sincere in his praise. The match was nothing you have to see from a storyline standpoint if you opted to watch the Super Bowl halftime show, but it was a good idea to bring back Halftime Heat and it will be interesting to see if it becomes an annual staple for either NXT or even the main roster. Back to the game…
Check below for the new Pro Wrestling Boom with Jason Powell and his guest Rich Bocchini (f/k/a Rich Brennan) discussing MLW SuperFight, working for Michael Cole in WWE, his trial by fire in NXT, being produced by Vince McMahon, and much more.
Would you be opposed to this type of NXT showcase match being featured on the WrestleMania card, to give perhaps the biggest audience the chance to see these NXT wrestlers?
Not opposed, but keep in mind that more people see Raw each week than see WrestleMania.