By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV Live Review
Taped June 12, 2019 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
Streamed June 19, 2019 on WWE Network
The NXT Slipknot theme aired…
Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary…
Adam Cole and the rest of the Undisputed Era (Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish) all made their entrance. They all wore new yellow shirts. Cole said “told ya so”. Cole talked about how he claimed that in 2019 that the Undisputed Era will be draped in gold. Cole said the NXT Championship is the start of fulfilling that prophesy. Cole said the UE doesn’t start at the bottom, they start by taking from the guy at top. Cole said if you get in UE’s way, you’ll regret it. Cole said starting with the NXT Championship the UE is going to make NXT in the Undisputed image. Cole said he thinks the show should start like “this” every week. The NXT Slipknot theme aired on the Titantron just with solely Undisputed Era clips.
Kyle O’Reilly talked about how that video wasn’t a big deal because he just put it together last night. They shared a group. Cole said the UE has Undisputed Power. Cole called out the other champions and said he hopes they shine up the titles for O’Reilly, Bobby, and Roddy. Cole talked about how nobody from the locker room, Mr. Regal, to Triple H will be able to touch Undisputed Era once they get all the belts. Cole’s promo was cut off by Velveteen Dream making his entrance wearing one of his classic Prince suits. Dream said he would like to “touch” Cole. Dream said it’s adorable of the things Cole is saying. Dream said the only factor that matters in NXT is “Dream Over”. Dream said the NXT Championship would look amazing paired with the NA Championship.
Roddy cut in. Roderick said that Dream should “Dream on”. Strong said Dream shouldn’t be North American Champion. Strong was cut off by Matt Riddle who bragged about beating both Roderick Strong and Adam Cole in recent weeks. Cole said that Riddle keeps running his mouth. Riddle cut off Cole and said that Riddle knows that Riddle is good looking and a Stallion. Cole said Riddle is just jealous because Cole held every championship in NXT. Cole said Riddle is jealous of Strong for being a former champion. Cole said Riddle is jealous because Riddle drops the ball with his championship opportunities. Cole said Riddle can go back to writing online reviews for wrestlers from the Attitude Era. This threw mild Goldberg chants. Cole said that Era is over and everybody else is living in the Undisputed Era.
Cole was interrupted again, this time by Prince Pretty Tyler Breeze. Tyler said he was in the back listening to all of this while also talking to Mr. Regal. Tyler said he doesn’t care about “undisputed”, who’s better looking. Tyler said he’s better looking. Tyler said he only cares about UE trying to take credit for a brand before any of the UE idiots were even here. This drew an OG chant. Tyler said William Regal has booked Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle, and Tyler Breeze vs. Any Three Undisputed Era members in the main event. Breeze’s dream played to close the segment…
Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix checked in on commentary and recapped the last segment. Mauro hyped next week’s Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai cage match for the Women’s Championship…
A video package aired to hype Baszler vs. Shirai… [c]
John’s Thoughts: A solid championship promo to set up new feuds with the Undisputed Era. They didn’t necessarily set anyone on course for the main NXT title, but that can take time because it came off as Dream and Riddle going after Cole in theory. It was a good tone setter and a solid way to set your Teddy Long Classic six-man tag match between heels and babyfaces.
Next was the debut of the former Punishment Martinez as Damien Priest…
1. Damien Priest vs. Raul Mendoza. Nigel talked about how Priest is like a rock star. Priest manhandled Mendoza around the ring with throws and precision strikes. Priest no-sold Mendoza’s desperation punches and responded with a thunder clap. Mendoza managed to run circles around Priest and land a few clean kicks on Priest, but Priest didn’t fall to the ground. Mendoza gave Priest a missile dropkick to send him outside. Priest responded by giving Mendoza a Uranage on the ring apron. Priest gave Mendoza a Cyclone Kick followed by Cross Rhodes for the victory.
Damien Priest defeated Raul Mendoza via pinfall in 2:12.
John’s Thoughts: Simple and solid debut for Damien Priest. So much for Raul Mendoza’s steam after picking up his first ever WWE win in years but I get that Priest is the new hotness. Punishment also stands out in a good way with the way that he slightly changed up his look to look less goth and more rockstar.
The show cut to William Regal announcing the NXT Breakout Tournament between six new NXT Wrestlers: Jordan Myles (ACH), Boa, Cameron Grimes (Trevor Lee), Isaiah “Swerve” Scott (Shane Strickland/Killshot), Dexter Lumis (Samuel Shaw), Angel Garza (Garza Jr.), Bronson Reed (Jonah Rock), and Joaquin Wilde (DJZ)… [c]
John’s Thoughts: Really fun way to introduce a lot of new talent to NXT TV because Tournaments are never a bad idea. Also cool to see a lot of the talents from Impact, Lucha Underground, and other indies that I covered over the years get a chance to strive on the big stage. Some of the new name changes are a good and a bit funny too. Like Sam Shaw, who’s a tribute to the Serial Killer Dexter, has a new name that’s a bit on the nose. That and Trevor Lee’s from Cameron, North Carolina!
A Mia Yim profile vignette aired. Yim talked about being HBIC. She said people need to know her name. She said she grew up in SoCal around the 92 riots. Yim talked about how during that time in LA there were wars going on between the Koreans and Blacks which made things tough for a Asian and Black mixed kid (Awwww shoot! I can relate completely Gurl!!!!). Yim talked about how this caused her to be rejected by both black people and asians (I can relate too!). Yim said that taught her to fight on her own two feet. Yim said that wrestling is an escape from reality.
Yim talked about how the fans at the Mae Young Classic brought her to NXT and she’d be damned if she would let them down. Yim’s NXT highlights aired. Yim said after 29 years of wrestling life this is only the beginning. Yim said she’s the rose that grew from concrete. Yim said that Baszler be going after all these girls and Yim is here to be the protector for those who can’t fight back. Yim said she’s the hell and high water…
John’s Thought: Damn girl! That was the best Mia Yim package I’ve seen and best character profile I’ve gotten from her in the last five years of covering her in Impact and NXT. That was a real good story that really got to me because it was essentially the story of my life and the story of most Blasian kids who grew up in SoCal and well the rest of America. I personally had to learn to fight for myself with the same motivations too. Not to make this about me, but that was such a good and relatable video piece. More of this please!
Taynara Conti made her entrance wearing a Judo gi down the ramp before tossing it aside. Her opponent was Xia Li…
2. Xia Li vs. Taynara Conti. Li did some Wushu moves before the bell rang. Li and Conti started off with a test of strength. Both women traded rollup attempts. Conti used a Judo throw on Li. Conti looked a bit awkward in her acting and Li responded with rapid fire spinning kicks. Xia Li hit Conti with a Shotgun Dropkick. Conti slammed Li to the ground. Conti went for a few quick pins to no success. Conti hit Li with a meteora in the corner. Conti locked Li in a double arm butterfly stretch.
Conti curb stompped Li into the turnbuckle. Li came back with a sweep kick at Conti. Li then came back with a few jump kicks. Li leapfrogged Conti and hit Conti with an impressive double heel kick. This led to the pinfall win.
Xia Li defeated Taynara Conti via pinfall.
John’s Thoughts: Not a great looking match between two of NXT’s developmental prospects but there was hard work put in. Conti’s been in NXT for a while and has hit a progression wall. She really needs to work on developing a character she’s able to play because she’s very awkward in her acting making it hard to take her seriously. Li’s very green too, but I think she has higher upside because of her unique offense and glimpses of showing greatness. Conti’s offense is starting to stand out less, especially when you have Shayna Baszler and the Four Horsewomen of MMA showcasing the same moveset.
NXT cut to commercial… [c]
It was time for this week’s episode of “Street Talk” with Montez Ford and Angelo Dawkins. They were out in the streets at what looked like the front of a restaurant. Dawkins said this was a championship edition of their show. Dawkins hyped their upcoming match against Forgotten Sons. Ford was so hyped he dropped his crown causing Dawkins to go “ooooooooooooooooh”. The Street Profits were shown celebrating their title win while on top of a car and in front of the hype fans of Full Sail.
John’s Thoughts: Nice stuff that had a NBA Championship win feel to it.
Nigel McGuinness hyped some matches for next week including the debuts of Joaquin Wilde (DJZ) and Angel Garza (Garza Jr.)…
John’s Thoughts: Will DJZ “ba ba ba bahhhhhh” next week? I hope not. I also noticed that NXT has signed 2/3rds of the bane of my TNA reviewing existence, the Bro Mans (alongside Robbie E). For that matter, will Garza still rip off his pants and make the babyfaces look like idiots who get distracted by his pants.?
3. “Undisputed Era” Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong (w/Kyle O’Reilly) vs. Tyler Breeze, Velveteen Dream, and Matt Riddle. Matt Riddle and Adam Cole started off the match. Riddle easily dominated Cole with his MMA. It took a Roderick Strong distraction to give Cole the advantage. UE traded quick tags to isolate Riddle in their corner. Riddle fought out and gave Strong a series of gutwrench suplexes. Velveteen Dream hit Strong with an axe handle and did the hip swivel. Strong caught a flying Dream with a punch to the gut. Fish tagged in and hit Dream with Muay Thai clinch knees. Dream fought off the rest of UE and hit Fish with a bulldog.
Dream hit Fish with a lionsault for a two count. Tyler Breeze tagged in. Cole tagged in and dominated Breeze. Breeze surprised Cole with a dropkick and tagged Riddle back in. Riddle got a two count after a Fisherman Suplex. Mauro Ranallo noted that Matt Riddle has a win over Jon Jones in MMA. Madness ensued with all six men attacking each other at different parts of the ring. Matt Riddle hit Cole with his Senton combo. After distractions, Strong hit Riddle with a few backbreakers. Riddle and Fish had a kickboxing exchange with Fish dominating. Cole tagged in and mounted his methodical but effective offense on Riddle.
Riddle used palm strikes to escape a rest hold. Cole reversed a suplex into a backstabber. Roddy tagged back in and the isolation on Riddle continued. Strong manhandled Riddle with a back suplex. Strong then hit some aggressive ground and pound as he followed up with tagging Fish who hit Riddle with a slingshot swanton. Fish went into his offensive sequence on Riddle. Riddle escaped the corner and Tyler Breeze cleaned house with the hot tag. Tyler Breeze hit Fish with a Beauty Shot. Strong pulled Fish away to break the pinfall. Breeze wanted to do a flip dive but was distracted by Dream tagging himself in. A bunch of kicks ensued. Roderick Strong snuck in the ring and hit Velveteen Dream with End of Heartache for the victory.
Undisputed Era defeated Tyler Breeze, Velveteen Dream, and Matt Riddle via pinfall in 9:12.
The babyfaces showed frustration and that they might not be on the same page in the ring. The Undisputed Era stood tall to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A nice WWE TV style main event to put some heet on the heels while also protecting the babyfaces. They protected the babyfaces with the simple trope of them not being an actual team while UE is a well-oiled team. Bobby Fish got to stand out a bit in the ring more than usual in this unique UE configuration. Solid TV booking here.
Overall, a solid episode of NXT. Next week’s NXT is looking to be even bigger with the introduction of the new NXT wrestlers and the NXT Women’s Championship match. I’ll be by tomorrow with a NXT Hit List and member’s exclusive audio review.
>>Not to make this about me<<
Too late.