By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV Live Review
Taped June 12, 2019 in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
Streamed July 3, 2019 on WWE Network
Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary…
1. Mia Yim vs. Aliyah (w/Vanessa Borne). Mauro noted that Mia Yim was the first person to pin Bianca Belair in NXT as well as defeat Belair a second time right after. Aliyah mocked Yim’s entrance routine early on. Yim landed a slam on Aliyah but Aliyah quickly countered and laid punches on the back of Yim’s head. Yim came back with a shoulder block. Yim intimidated Aliyah causing Aliyah to fall back. Borne pulled Aliyah away to avoid Yim’s Koppou Kick. Aliyah got a two count on Yim. Aliyah then hit Yim with a facebuster.
Aliyah worked on Yim for a bit. Mauro made a Battle Angel Alita reference in regards to Aliyah. Yim got the upper hand with a tarantula. Aliyah came back with a enzuigiri. Aliyah then locked Yim in a modified surfboard. Aliyah hurt herself off a missed knee drop. Yim came back with a cannonball. Yim used kicks to set up a Belly to Belly on Aliyah. Aliyah rolled to ringside. Yim hit Aliyah and Borne with a suicide dive. Yim caught Aliyah and hit her with a fallaway slam. Yim hit Aliyah with the Protect Yo Neck for the victory.
Mia Yim defeated Aliyah via pinfall in 4:49.
Yim threw Borne into the steel steps afterwards. Yim then went to the commentary table to deliver a message to Shayna Baszler. Yim said she’s coming for that title and will “whoop dat ass”…
Highlights from Baszler vs. Shirai last week aired…
John’s Thoughts: A good match from both women. Aliyah is still the designated enhancement wrestler of the division but she has shown a lot of improvement (natural since she’s been in NXT since 2015 at the age of 19). Yim has really come into her own finally in WWE, showing some of the spunk she showed at the end of her Impact run. Yim is starting to live up to the badass hero moniker.
Cathy Kelley interviewed William Regal on an update of the health of Candice LeRae. Regal talked about Shirai doing dreadful things to LeRae. The Forgotten Sons interrupted Regal and complained about the Profits making it an impromptu title match. Regal logically thought this was a lame complaint and noted that the Sons made no sense in disqualifying themselves in a title match. Regal said the Sons are in the back of the line now. The sons left and Ryker said “we won’t forget this”. Regal booked The Forgotten Sons vs. Lorcan and Burch next week… [c]
The continuation of last week’s Adam Cole video package aired where he was talking to Roderick Strong on the phone and entering a sandwich restaurant called Gargano’s. Inside was some guy named Frank Gargano. This guy was an NXT fan because he wore a NXT shirt. The pictures on the wall make me think this is Johnny’s father. Frank gave Cole the four pizzas he ordered. Cole posted his picture next to the Gargano and LeRae pictures on the wall.
Adam Cole then went to a wrestling training center, presumably at Gargano’s hometown. Adam Cole gave a speech to the students and ended it by saying that Johnny Gargano is crap. Cole said Gargano was lucky and everyone can get lucky once. Cole talked about how he remembers that Gargano went to this training school and even brought the title to give the students a false sense of hope. Cole pointed out one of the students and told the student that he’ll never be NXT Champion. Cole told “Twan” to take a pizza and give it up. Cole told everyone to get out of this school, get out of this city, and find a new hero…
John’s Thoughts: Nice work from Cole to give him some heat. Not everyone could have pulled that douchebaggery off better than Cole and he did a good job. Nice touch of having Cole go around and film himself threatening and punking out Gargano’s family and friends.
2. Kushida vs. Jeff Parker. Parker looks like the weekly local enhancement talent. He had a martial arts headband on for some reason. Mauro noted Kushida’s MMA background and how he was the ace of the junior heavyweight division in New Japan. Kushida started off with ground chain wrestling. Kushida then hit Parker with a handstand back elbow. Kushida locked Parker in a double arm trap back drop. Parker blocked a Hoverboard Lock attempt. Kushida staggered Parker with a right hand. Kushida then locked Parker in the Hoverboard Lock (which they might have renamed the Sakuraba Lock) for the submission win.
Kushida defeated Jeff Parker via submission in 2:34.
Kathy Kelley interviewed Tyler Breeze about coming back to NXT and facing Roderick Strong soon. Breeze said he’s thinking about Undisputed Era and how they talk about power and championships. Breeze said UE is trying to take credit for the brand. Breeze said NXT was NXBreeze long before Undisputed Era step foot in the ring… [c]
John’s Thoughts: Well, that was a lame pun. Anyway, like what they’re doing with Kushida. Even though he’s not in any sort of program, NXT has done a solid job making Kushida look like a big deal by featuring him almost every week to some extent.
A Killian Dain vignette aired where Dain talked about everything being taken away from him. The video said that Killian Dain was “coming soon”…
Isaiah Swerve Scott (f.k.a Killshot, Shane Strickland) made his entrance. Scott talked about “Swerve” meaning confidence in his inset promo. Swerve no longer has Chaka Khan as his entrance theme (obviously). Cameron Grimes (f.k.a. Trevor Lee) made his entrance. Mauro noted that Grimes was trained by Matt and Jeff Hardy. Grimes talked about traveling the world to prove that he’s the best wrestler in the world…
3. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Cameron Grimes in a first round match of the NXT Breakout Tournament. Grimes and Scott started off the match with chain wrestling. Mauro noted that Scott has a military background. Phoenix noted that Scott looks up to Edge. Mauro and Nigel joked and mocked Beth for her being biased towards Edge with Nigel going “she’s married to him”. Scott gained the upper hand with a dropkick. Grimes escaped a headlock with a series of knees on Scott. Grimes locked in a resthold on Scott. Scott got up and Grimes came back with a lariat.
Grimes wrenched on Scott with a armbar into a hammerlock. Scott got up but took a forearm from Grimes. Grimes put Scott back in the chinbar. Scott escaped the hold with a right hand. Scott surprised Grimes in the corner with a Frankensteiner. Scott came at Grimes with a series of lariats. Scott was whipped to the outside but Scott used a handstand to land on his feet. Scott sidestepped Grimes and hit a unique twisting splash on Grimes. Scott hit Grimes with a Rolling Thunder Flatliner for the nearfall. Grimes turned a rollup into a deadlift power bomb for a two count. Grimes hit Scott with a Superman Forearm. Scott came back with his Killshot Kick. Scott hit Grimes with a Fosbury Flop.
Scott walked right into a Grimes roundhouse but he came back with a knee strike. Grimes hit Scott with his signature flying power slam. Grimes hit Scott with the running double stom:p for the victory.
Cameron Grimes defeated Isaiah Scott via pinfall in 8:32.
Highlights from the match aired followed by an updated bracket…
John’s Thoughts: A really fun Isaiah Scott style match. I won’t blame you if you aren’t fully into it because Scott matches tend to start off slow before they get good. Thankfully this got good in the last few minutes, but I’ve definitely seen better from him. One problem with Scott is how everyone hypes him up yet his slower startup during his matches make it hard to see the hype. Hopefully we see longer and more epic matches from Scott down the road. On the other side, I’m so happy to see Trevor Lee taken seriously after his years in TNA X Division and jobber hell. This guy has Daniel Bryan like potential
4. Bianca Belair vs. Diamante. Belair’s opponent is Diamante from LAX. Belair womanhandled Diamante because she is the designated enhancement wrestler. Belair hit Diamante with a military press while also doing squats. Diamante went for a huracanrana but Belair used her core to block it and hit Diamante with two power bombs. Belair hit Diamante with a reverse buckle bomb. Belair then hit her finisher the sitout Burning Hammer for the victory.
Bianca Belair defeated Diamante via pinfall in 2:11.
Highlights from the match were shown…
John’s Thoughts: They were calling her something different, but since there was no graphic and the name was hard to spell, I just used her indie name Diamante. Anyway, nice showcase for Bianca Belair who’s now without a program and in wheel spinning mode. I’d say call her up to the main roster, but I sure as hell don’t want to wish that on anyone given how the main roster is an inferior show at the moment.
A Matt Riddle video package aired showing Matt Riddle doing his MMA training. He was shown hitting and tossing the bags in his MMA gym. Riddle talked about winning national titles and fasttracking himself to UFC. He said he’s NXT now. Riddle talked about constantly training to become faster and stronger…
John’s Thoughts: NXT is finally getting back to doing the strong video packages. I guess when Triple H is busy with WrestleMania they stop these and put NXT in auto pilot. NXT auto pilot is fine, but NXT with the cool video packages really help these wrestlers build identities.
5. Roderick Strong vs. Tyler Breeze. Strong got the first takedown of the match. Beth noted that Strong is without the Undisputed Era at ringside. Both men then were pretty much even in the chain wrestling. Breeze got an advantage after a underhook into a neckbreaker. Breeze put the boots to Strong and yelled at the ref when the ref tried to separate him. Strong took advantage of the distracted Breeze with a series of boots. Breeze came back with a dropkick. Strong sent Breeze to ringside. Breeze dodged a wrecking ball dropkick. Breeze then worked on Strong at ringside. Strong tripped at ringside which caused Breeze to laugh.
Strong then hit Breeze with a nasty backbreaker on the pointed edge of the steel steps. Strong then gave Breeze a backbreaker on the pointed ringside barricade (a couple of violent backbreakers). Breeze fought out of the corner with punches but Strong came back with a dropkick. Strong locked Breeze in a side surfboard into a jawbreaker submission. Breeze escaped with a back elbow. Breeze hit Strong with a jawbreaker. Breeze hit Strong with an enzuigiri. Breeze then hit Strong with a superman punch from the ring apron to ringside. Breeze punched Strong and hit Strong with a side backstabber for the two count.
Replays of Breeze’s superman punch aired. Strong escaped a Breeze suplex. Strong staggered Breeze on the top rope with a enzuigiri. Strong hit Breeze with a knife edge chop. Breeze and Strong traded punches on the top rope. Strong gained the advantage with a roundhouse. Strong hit Breeze with a Superplex for a nearfall. Breeze used his boots to fend off Strong. Breeze used double boots to send Strong to the mat. Strong blocked but staggered off a Breeze enzuigiri. Breeze barely hit a superkick on Strong for a two count. Strong escaped an Unprettier attempt. Strong and Breeze traded strikes which ended with Breeze hitting Strong with an enzuigiri. Suddenly Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish ran out to distract Breeze. This distraction allowed Strong to hit Breeze with End of Heartache for the victory.
Roderick Strong defeated Tyler Breeze via pinfall in 11:22.
O’Reilly and Fish carried Strong up the ramp to celebrate. Nigel noted that Strong took advantage of the distraction and injured lower back of Breeze. The UE did their UE pose at the top of the ramp to close the show at 6:00 pm PST on the dot…
John’s Thoughts: The match had a handful of miscues, but Strong and Breeze did a good job making those miscues look natural in the match. I’m personally fine with them because it makes it seem more like a fight and less like a coordinated dance. The finish was cliche, but fine. Wrestling has it’s cliches and this cliche was used to protect Breeze while also setting up Strong for a potential North American Championship title shot. Here’s hoping we see more character from Breeze down the road because it’s a bit odd having him in this “old man veteran” role that he’s playing. I kinda want to see him replicate what Tyson Kidd did back in the day where he became a top tier heel after not succeeding as a veteran babyface.
While there were fadeaways to commercial breaks on this episode, those fadeaways led to video packages and then straight to the next in-ring segment. This was essentially 60 straight minutes of NXT. A jam packed episode, but it didn’t overstay it’s welcome. This was a good episode of NXT and I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this, especially with NXT going back to using vignettes to develop their wrestlers. Mia Yim is one wrestler who really benefited from her documentary video package. Matt Riddle and Adam Cole got some love here and it’ll give the viewer more reason to care about those characters the next time we see them. People are going to want to see Matt Riddle kick ass. People are going to want to see Adam Cole get his ass kicked for Cole intimidating Gargano’s family and friends. A good episode of NXT. I’ll be by in the next couple of days with my NXT Hit List and and Audio Review on independence day. Speaking of such. Have a Happy 4th tomorrow!
I believe that Diamante was using the name “Priscilla Zuniga”
I practically marked out for the Regal/Forgotten Sons bit. A character like Regal shouldn’t be taking threats lightly. At the end, when Ryker said “we won’t forget…” I so dearly wanted Regal to say something along the lines of “Good, because when you forget, you end up at the back of the line again.”