By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV Live Review
Taped May 18, 2019 in Bel Air, Maryland at APG Federal Credit Union Arena
Streamed June 12, 2019 on WWE Network
The NXT Slipknot theme aired…
Mauro Ranallo and Nigel McGuinness checked in on commentary. No Beth Phoenix at this house show taping…
1. Io Shirai and Candice LeRae vs. Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke (w/Shayna Baszler). Shafir and Duke now have their own unique music. They also have improved black and white ring gear. LeRae and Duke started off the match. LeRae quickly dominated her with speed causing her to tag in Shafir. Shafir got rolled up with a jackknife pin attempt. LeRae dominated both women. Shafir gained control after giving LeRae a thrust kick. Duke tagged in and gave Shafir a few kick variations like and axe and roundhouse kick.
Shafir tagged in and gave LeRae a judo hip toss for a two count. Shafir stretched out the body of LeRae by using her back as fulcrum to stretch LeRae. Duke gave LeRae a muay thai clinch knee to get a two count. LeRae shoved Duke into Shafir for a small window of opportunity to tag in Io. LeRae gave Duke an enzuigiri and tagged in Io for the hot tag. Baszler was seen rolling her eyes at the top of the ramp. Shirai took down Duke with a slingshot shotgun dropkick. Shafir trapped Duke’s arm in a chickenwing and hit Duke with Shayna Baszler’s signature elbow breaker. Io went for a moonsault on Duke but Baszler pulled Duke away. Io adjusted and hit Baszler with a moonsault. LeRae followed up with a suicide Dive on Duke and Shafir. The Bell rang after madness ensued with Nigel noting that there wasn’t an official ruling yet.
Io Shirai and Candice LeRae vs. Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke ended in an apparent no contest in about 5:50.
Io Shirai brawled with Shayna Baszler to the entrance area while LeRae brawled with the other two women…
John’s Thoughts: A huge improvement all across the board from Duke and Shafir from in-ring to look. That said they are still below average in terms of being ready for TV because their offense still seems scripted and a bit weak especially when you can help but compare their offense to Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler’s via their association. That observation aside, this was still a fun match that fowarded Shirai and LeRae’s ongoing feud with Baszler and Baszler’s goons. I can’t help but shake the thought of LeRae one day turing heel on Shirai though, which isn’t a bad route to take.
Velveteen Dream vs. Tyler Breeze highlights aired…
Velveteen cut a selfie promo bragging about being NA Champion. He also gloated about his own looks and ended the selfie promo by saying “Dream on”…
Highlights from Kushida vs. Gulak from a few weeks ago aired… [c]
A vignette aired for Damien Priest saying that he will [re-] debut next week…
2. Kushida vs. Drew Gulak in a submission match. Kushida was in defense mode early on by going in a BJJ octopus stance. This fended off Gulak’s ground game. Once both men got a vertical base, Gulak got Kushida to the ground. Kushida slipped out but Gulak also slipped out of Kushida’s holds. Kushida then rolled around Gulak’s back to showboat a bit. Mauro put over Kushida as a hybrid athlete given Kushida’s mastary of Japanese, submission, and lucha libre styles. Kushida got Gulak in an arm trap and hit Gulak with a modified Sacrifice Arm Breaker.
Kushida knocked off Gulak from the apron with double handstand boots. Kushida went back to Gulak on the ground with an armbar. Gulak escaped with a nice looking reverse body slam. Gulak followed up with another reverse body slam. Gulak twisted Kushida like a pretzel in a Gory Guerrero Especial. Gulak then locked Kushida in a modified leg twisting crab move. Kushida escaped. Gulak locked Kushida in a light but control Kesa Gatame. Gulak got Kushida to his feet and then worked on Kushida’s arm with a armbar.
Kushida escaped with some shortarm roundhouse kicks on Gulak. Kushida hit Gulak with a hip toss. Kushida then did a hip toss into a flip, into a dropkick on Gulak. Kushida then hit Gulak with a slingshot Tornado DDT into a Juji Gatame . Gulak escaped. Both men traded jackknife attempts. Kushida rolled through into an ankle lock. Gulak countered with his own Ankle lock. Gulak added some nice stomps into the lock. Gulak then used his body as a weight to keep Kushida from moving. Kushida fought through and went to the bottom rope for the break.
Gulak and Kushida brawled from the apron. Gulak put Kushida in the Electric Chair but Kushida countered with a huracanrana, sending Gulak back in the ring. Kushida and Gulak then traded forearms on their knees until they got to their feet. Gulak hit Kushida with a dropkick. Kushida hit Gulak with a Tajiri back elbow. Kushida used a huracanrana to surprise Gulak with a smooth transition into the Hoverboard Lock for the submission win.
Kushida defeated Drew Gulak via submission in 10:07.
Kushida celebrated his win and Mauro and Nigel gave their thoughts. Kushida congratulated Drew Gulak and asked for a handshake. Gulak just pointed at Kushida’s chest a bit and teased a confrontation. Gulak gave in and then showed Kushida the proper respect with a honorable handshake. Kushida celebrated afterward.
John’s Thoughts: A really good and different type of match than you would regularly see on WWE TV. A small part of me smiles on the inside whenever I can write the word “…Gatame” in one of my reviews due to my judo background. This was a treat to watch and different from their last submission based match that both men had. Gulak deserves a lot of credit in these last two matches in flushing out Kushida’s submission based offense. I also like that we’re seeing Minoru Suzuki/Zack Sabre Gulak vs. the Political Gulak more on NXT and 205 Live. Bonus points to the finish of this match being very MMA like in the quick and realistic tapout.
Vanessa Borne and Aliyah were cutting a promo outside of the WWE PC. Borne talked about how Mia Yim is saying she’s next in line for a Women’s title shot. Aliyah said that Borne and Aliyah are ahead in the line. Aliyah said Mia doesn’t look, talk, or read like a champion. Borne showed that she bought a fashion book, reading book, and grammar for dummies book to fix that. Aliyah said maybe then Mia can level up and get the respect of Borne and Aliyah… [c]
John’s Thoughts: Good promo from Borne and Boujee. There’s a chance that these two can end up being very similar to the IIconics, just with a bit of an edge. Sadly, I feel like their job these days is to be NXT’s designated women enhancement talent. Kinda like the IIconics were in NXT. It’s fine, but Aliyah’s just been in WWE forever.
Mauro Ranallon announced Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai for the NXT Women’s Championship in a steel cage match in two weeks (why does Shirai get a rematch?)…
Mauro Ranallo recapped Mansoor (a.k.a. Manny Faberino) winning the battle royal at WWE Super Showdown…
John’s Thoughts: It’s a bit odd seeing the very happy-go-lucky Manny Faberino play the role of the “local” Saudi hero when I’ve seen the guy wrestle for years in the Bay Area as a nerdy and quirky video game fanboy. Good to see the local SF Bay Area guy get the spotlight. Happy for Manny.
Nigel McGuinness hyped Adam Cole’s “Undisputed” Championship celebration for next week…
Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish made their entrance. Bobby Fish’s arm was in a sling. Fish gave Fish and O’Reilly a high five and then headed to the back…
3. “The Undisputed Era” Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. When did Lorcan grow his thick beard back? Anyway, Lorcan and O’Reilly started off the match. Lorcan came at Kyle with his usual stiff chest shots. Lorcan responded to a boot with a running uppercut. Lorcan and O’Reilly traded Strong Style forearms. Strong and Burch joined the party with their exchange. UE went outside and Lorcan hit both of them with his ugly but effect corkscrew plancha. Burch and Lorcan hit combo offense on O’Reilly for a two count broken up by Strong.
Strong escaped the corner by tossing Burch into Lorcan. Strong then lit up Lorcan in the corner with chops, followed by a backbreaker. O’Reilly and Strong then isolated Lorcan in their corner. Strong hit Lorcan with a basement Yakuza kick to keep Lorcan away from his corner. More isolation ensued. Lorcan almost made it to the corner but Strong and O’Reilly hit him with a gutbuster knee combo. O’Reilly went back to the MMA moves. Mauro noted that O’Reilly spent a lot of time in Japan to pick up such technique (he was heavily featured in NJPW). Lorcan got the hot tag after hitting O’Reilly with a blockbuster.
Burch cleaned house. Burch hit Strong with a shotgun dropkick and exploder. O’Reilly missed an axe and ate a headbutt from Burch. Burch smoothly converted a pin into a crossface. Burch staggered O’Reilly with a forearm. O’Reilly came back with a Nigel McGuinness rebound lariat. All four men took each other out. Suddenly NXT’s walking Boss Battle, Jaxson Ryker walked out. UE was distracted by Ryker which allowed Burch to shove Strong away and roll up O’Reilly for the win.
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch defeated Undisputed Era via pinfall in 9:42.
The referee and Robbie Brookside calmly walked Ryker to the back as Undisputed Era were shocked at their loss. NXT closed…
John’s Thoughts: A good match as expected and I like how the Ryker interference continues the storyline set up a few weeks ago when Undisputed Era destroyed the hell out of Ryker under a ladder on NXT TV. The followup to Ryker looking very weak a few weeks ago has been followed up very well with Ryker coming back in his last two appearances looking like a monster. The guy’s like a walking random boss battle. He’s NXT’s Mr. X (of Resident Evil 2 fame). Like I said, they haven’t done right by the Sons as an act but Ryker’s last few matches and appearances have done a good job building up the artist formerly known as Gunner. On top of that, UE’s protected because they lost via distraction and Burch and Lorcan get to sneak out a win that is usually hard for those two to get.
A really good house show edition of NXT that flowed well into their storylines. I think this one was better than their San Jose tapings that preceeded the NXT Takeover Los Angeles show. Go out of your way to watch this episode. What stood out in this episode was we got three very unique matches. Gulak vs. Kushida might not have been for everyone, but I feel like it would have been a Takeover Worthy match if Gulak were more credible because it was so unique. I’ll be by tomorrow with a NXT Hit List and member’s exclusive audio review.
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