9/18 NXT TV results: Moore’s live review of Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship, Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a Street Fight, Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae vs. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair in a four-way for a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

NXT TV Live Review
Aired live September 18, 2019 from Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
Hour One on USA Network, Hour Two streamed on WWE Network

After the signature, NXT started off with a cinematic Triple H promo where he talked up NXT. Hunter ended the promo by saying “we are not your kind, we are here, we are live, Our NXT!”. The cinematic camera followed Triple H from the darkened room to the Full Sail Stage…

Mauro Ranallo checked in by himself on camera but once the camera cut away to Io Shirai, Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuinness also checked in on commentary…

1. Io Shirai vs. Bianca Belair vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae for a title shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. LeRae went right at Io early on and got tossed out of the ring by LeRae. Belair dominated LeRae with a moonsault after a Military Press Slam. Io recovered and attacked Belair with a slingshot dropkick. LeRae gave yim many chest slaps. LeRae then gave Shirai a paydirt to the hardest part of the ring. Yim hit LeRae and Belair with a suicide dive. Shirai hit all three women with a Golden Triangle Moonsault heading into commercial. [c]

LeRae hit the other three women with a Tower of Doom back from the break. LeRae then locked Shirai in a Octopus hold. Yim broke it up. Belair gave LeRae a Uranage. Shirai gave Belair an Implant Buster Backbreaker. Madness ensued. After a lot of action. Shirai went for her moonsault but was shoved off the top rope onto Belair who was at ringside. LeRae got Yim off the top rope and hit her with a poison rana. LeRae hit Yim with a Lionsault for the victory.

Candice LeRae defeated Mia Yim, Bianca Belair, and Io Shirai via pinfall in 6:34 of TV Time to become the number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship. 

After the match, Shayna Baszler, Marina Shafir, and Jessamyn Duke walked to LeRae at the stage to gloat in front of her. LeRae stood face to face with Baszler, not backing down.

Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, and Beth Phoenix checked in from the commentary table where they introduced an Adam Cole video package…

Adam Cole and Roderick Strong were shown getting ready at different parts of the arena… [c]

John’s Thoughts: A nice, eye-catching spotfest, with some of the strongest personalities on the NXT Roster. If you’re going to go into your network debut, you go in with four reliable wrestlers who can put on a great match. Good to see LeRae consistently getting a showcase more often these days after being “Johnny Gargano’s wife” for most of her run in NXT. I’m guessing they’re going with Baszler vs. LeRae in the October 2nd show head-to-head against AEW? That’s a good match and something I’ve been really anticipating going back to early in Baszler’s run.

Mauro Ranallo noted that NXT was the #1 trend on Twitter. He cut to a recap video package of the amazing Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic match…

They cut back to the commentators. Nigel advertised Keith Lee vs. Dominik Dijakovic for next week…

John’s Thoughts: They are going all in with their big matches. There’s also a bit of a content dump here on this episode. It’s still a bit surreal watching NXT as a main roster show as opposed to being the Developmental show…

Member of the Anoai family, Sean Maluta, made his entrance. He’s probably going to lose because his opponent is the artist formerly known as Trevor Lee, Cameron Grimes…

2. Cameron Grimes vs. Sean Maluta. Maluta ran right into Lee’s double stomp finisher for the loss.

Cameron Grimes defeated Sean Maluta via pinfall in 0:06.

A Roderick Strong and Velveteen Dream recap package aired…

John’s Thoughts: That brought a smile to my face. That was great. Poor Sean Maluta’s who’s very talented, but Lee’s upside is astronomical. I talk about Grimes having Daniel Bryan like upside, how great would it be if he could be the Daniel Bryan of NXT. Part of my smile also comes from having to review this guy’s matches over the past three years and seeing him in Impact undercard hell (though to Impact’s credit under Don Callis, they were about to pull him out of hell it seemed right before he left).

During the commercials, a Damien Priest vignette aired…

Roderick Strong made his entrance with 30 minutes left at the top of the hour. Nigel noted that Strong is trying to make himself the final piece in Adam Cole’s “draped in gold” prophesy. Alicia Taylor handled the formal ring introductions for the title match. Drake Younger was the referee for the match (now sporting a wolverine like beard)…

3. Velveteen Dream vs. Roderick Strong for the NXT North American Championship. Mauro noted that Strong is a former NXT Tag Champion and has won singles titles before WWE (via Ring of Honor). Dream took advantage of the rope breaks early on to fend off Strong’s power game. Dream then used his size to dominate the chain wrestling. Dream locked Strong in an armbar with a wide base. Strong reversed it into a hammerlock. After trading agility, Dream dumped Strong outside with a Northern Lariat. Dream stopped Strong in his tracks with his serpent pose. Dream retreated to ringside to recover heading into commercial. [c]

John’s Thoughts: Well… at lest WWE gave up their dumb ass edict of resetting matches if a commercial has to happen (though, I still want to see a match end during the commercial just once for the LOLs). While it is easier for me to review the shows now, it does feel a bit different to have these breaks during the NXT show.

Strong and Dream traded strikes back from the break. Dream dominated with some high risk axe handles against Strong. Strong countered by shoving Dream off the apron. Strong gave Dream a backbreaker on the ringside barricade. Strong then manhandled Dream at ringside heading up the ramp. Strong shoved Dream’s back into the apron. Strong locked Dream in a sleeper position. Dream broke it up by putting Strong’s shoulders on the mat, forcing Strong to kick out. Mauro reminded viewers to head over to the WWE network at the end of this hour.

Strong continued to manhandle Dream around the ring, focusing on Dream’s back with the strikes. Dream escaped Strong’s hold with a jawbreaker, but Strong hit Dream with a backbreaker right after. Strong tried to steal a win with a leverage pin but Drake saw the feet. Strong hit Dream with a Uranage into a Backbreaker for a nearfall. Dream countered Strong’s liontamer with a Sharpshooter, but Strong quickly escaped. Strong missed on a wrecking ball dropkick to the outside and Dream tossed Strong into the steel steps. [c]

Strong had Dream dominated with chops in the corner. Dream and Strong then brawled to the top rope. Dream fought off Strong with punches. Dream hit Strong with an axe handle. Dream hit Strong with a front and superkick for a nearfall. Strong escaped a Dream Valley Driver attempt. Dream rolled up Strong. Dream hit Strong with the Dream-DT (Twisted DDT) for a two count. Strong rolled away when Dream went for a Purple Rainmaker. Strong pulled Dream to the apron where both men traded moves. Strong kicked Dream to stagger him on the ropes.

Dream escaped a butterfly hold. Strong hit Dream with a V-Trigger (which Mauro used the street fighter name for). Strong trapped Dreams arms in the ropes like a crucifix. Strong hit Dream with many punches, a pendulum backbreaker, and a Tiger Driver for a two count. Strong locked Dream in the Stronghold (Walls of Jericho). Dream teased many times before getting the rope break. Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish then surrounded ringside. Nigel noted they were showing Strong support.

Dream hit Strong with a bunch of punches and a back body drop. Strong drop toeheld Dream into referee Drake. REF BUMP!!! Dream hit Strong with a Dream Valley Driver. Dream knocked Cole and Fish off the apron. Roderick Strong took advantage of the distraction and hit Dream with End of Heartache. Velveteen Dream kicked out at two for a great nearfall. Dream recovered and hit Strong with a Dream Valley Driver. O’Reilly distracted the referee so Adam Cole could hit Dream with a superkick during Dream’s Purple Rainmaker attempt. Strong hit Dream with End of Heartache for the victory.

Roderick Strong defeated Velveteen Dream via pinfall in 15:20 of TV Time to become the new NXT North American Champion. 

The commentators noted that Adam Cole’s prophesy is complete and Beth Phoenix said it isn’t right. Time for me to boot up my PS4…

John’s Thoughts: A bit of a different feel with the commercial breaks, but ultimately this was a Roderick Strong paced match which means it was break neck and fun to watch. The only bitter tasting part of this match was the weird WWE  Main Roster/TNA screwy ness with the Ref Bumps and shenanigans. I’d say it’s fine because the Undisputed Era stand out by their dirty tactics. UE has all the titles now and it’ll be interesting to see the storylines that can come out of it. I’m fine with Dream dropping the title and I hope he ends up adding some of the theatrics back to his matches and promos because that’s what brought him to the dance stemming from his evolution with Aleister Black.

(Switch over to the WWE Network…)

For some reason, my WWE Network was signed out (it was signed in yesterday) so I’m not sure what I missed, but I got the entrances of the next match…

4. Pete Dunne vs. Arturo Ruas. Ruas hit Dunne with a nice kick into a armbar. Dunne quickly countered with an armbar of his own that Ruas escaped. Both men then traded slugger right hands. Dunne knocked Ruas flat to the mat with a stiff lariat. Ruas pummeled Dune with nice flailing punches. Nigel noted that Capoeira was masked as dancing by slaves in Brazil to mask the fact that they were fight training from their slavers. Dunne tried to make a comeback but Ruas kicked Dunne back to the mat. Dunne countered Ruas with a Dragon Screw leg whip.

Dunne hit Ruas with a series of his signature moves ending with a stomp to the hands. Strong hit Ruas with an X Plex for a nearfall. Dunne hit Ruas with his signature reverse curb stomps. Ruas escaped Dunne’s triangle with a cartwheel into a nice Capoeira Cartwheel Kick. Ruas got a German with a bridge for a two count. Ruas missed another Cartwheel into a kick. Dunne suplexed Ruas into a triangle. Pete Dunne got Ruas in the joint manipulation and did his signature finger break spot on Ruas for the submission win.

Pete Dunne defeated Arturo Ruas via submission in 6:42

Pete Dunne did his signature shrug after the match…

What the F? We’re getting an unadvertised Oney Lorcan vs. Lio Rush match later on? And I think it’s for number one contendership to the Cruiserweight championship… [c]

John’s Thoughts: It was a little clunky for me to transition from my Chromecast to PS4 but the transition happened, this is only going to last two weeks. Anyway, a good match. Ruas is something special. The guy’s had a ton of matches on NXT already but he really turned the corner on TV when he showed a different side of him in the Evolve 10th Anniversary. Ever since then, he’s stood out with his unique Capoeira. Similar to how John Hennigan stood out with his Parkour, Ruas really stands out with his Capo. I hope he gets a chance to ascend up the NXT ladder. As for Dunne, he’s solid as usual. That’s three wins in a row I think where he’s won with his cliche finger break spot. I like NXT trying to get this over as a solid finisher as opposed to a groan-inducing setpiece from Dunne matches.

Dakota Kai is returning to NXT soon…

5. Xia Li vs. Aliyah (w/Vanessa Borne). Xia’s quickness dominated Aliyah. Aliyah did trip up Xia at one point but Xia didn’t relent and continued to kick Aliyah back to the mat. Xia Li dominated Aliyah with a tornado drop kick for the win.

Xia Li defeated Aliyah via pinfall in 1:50.

Li struck a Wushu pose after the match as Mauro noted that NXT is still trending on Twitter…

Oney Lorcan and Lio Rush were shown getting ready backstage. Mauro noted that Kushida was in action after the break… [c]

John’s Thoughts: A bit of a surprising win because I didn’t expect them to put over Li so strong. Poor Aliyah, forever enhancement wrestler. One thing I’m noticing differently from the Network and USA broadcast (I’m not sure if I’m reaching too far) is that we’re seeing more “Developmental” matches on the Network. I kinda hope we don’t see the end of these developmental matches once the full USA transition happens.

Developmental wrestler Denzel Dejournette was making his entrance for a match against Kushida but he was triple teamed in the ring by Imperium. This was the Imperium team of ALexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel, and Fabien Aichner. The crowd was chanting and really wanted Walter. Ask and you shall receive, Big Daddy Walter made his entrance to stand by his Imperium bretheren. The Imperium quartet all struck their Ringkampf pose in the ring.

Walter grabbed a mic and said that the ring is sacred. He said they were here to restore the honor and tradition to this sport. Walter then started speaking in his native tongue. Walter was cut off by Kushida who was dresssed up as Marty McFly. Kushida said “this is my time” on the mic. He said Walter’s time belings to Kushida. Kushida fought off The three Imperium underlings easily and was manhandled in the ring by Walter. Walter ripped off Kushida’s McFly jacket. Kushida managed to land a kick on Walter. He retreated the ring when all four Imperium members went back in the ring… [c]

John’s Thoughts: With Lio Rush and Imperium showing up on NXT in the second hour, I’m more excited with the Network portion than I was with the USA portion, but I’m looking through the lens of a regular NXT viewer where the first hour might appeal more to new NXT viewers. Kushida vs. Big Daddy Walter? Inject some of that into my veins please!

Oney Lorcan and Lio Rush made their respective entrances. Mauro congratulated Rush on not staying silent on social media and Mauro noted his own Mental Health struggles as a reference…

6. Oney Lorcan vs. Lio Rush  for a title shot at the WWE Cruiserweight Championship. Lorcan started off the match with his usual frantic rushes and blockbuster for a nearfall on Rush. Rush got Lorcan outside and hit him with a series of three suicide dives in a row. Rush managed to get Lorcan to his knees with a series of kicks. Lorcan got Rush down with a Dragon Screw. Lorcan staggered Rush with high impact shots. Lorcan draped Rush on the top rope and then gave Rush an uppercut. Rush beat the ten count and got back in the ring. Lorcan swung Rush around with an impressive sitout deadlift gutwrench suplex (yes, there were all those adjectives).

Mauro noted that Rush is Bobby Lashley’s former mouthpiece. Rush gave Lorcan a few strikes but Lorcan countered into a single leg crab. Lorcan gave Rush an aggressive body slam for a two count. Rush surprised Lorcan out of nowhere by countering a whip into a sitout springboard stunner. Lorcan dodged a Final Hour attempt. Rush landed and tweaked his leg. Rush escaped a suplex but sold the knee. Lorcan came back and gave Rush a power bomb. Lorcan put Rush in the single leg crab. Rush got out of the move for a bit, but Lorcan went right back to the half crab.

Lorcan trapped Rush by modifying the Crab into a side STF. Nigel noted that Rush was passing out but Rush did recover. Lorcan wrenched on the neck into a crossface. Rush freed his leg and got to the bottom rope. Lorcan called for his stiff nosebleed slaps. Rush dodged and hit Lorcan with CQC. Lorcan no-sold a punch and hulked up. Lorcan gave Rush his nosebleed punches. Rush countered a rushing Lorcan with a standing Spanish Fly. Lio Rush hit Oney Lorcan with a Final Hour (Five Star Frog Splash) for the win.

Lio Rush defeated Oney Lorcan via pinfall 10:46 to become number one contender to the WWE Cruiserweight Championship.

Mauro quoted LL Cool J by saying “don’t call it a comeback”. Highlights from the match aired…

Mauro then hyped up Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a street fight…

John’s Thoughts: That’s a blast in the past for me. I haven’t reviewed a 205 Live match in a while. This one also involved Lio Rush so it was old school 205. I’m guessing we’re starting to see 205 Live make the slow merge into NXT away from the main roster shows, but moreso this may be seen as a lateral move away from the McMahon/Dunne production to more of the Levesque/Borash production teams. I’m happy to see Rush back on TV and hopefully he doesn’t become his own worst enemy socially which is usually what puts him in doghouses (though I did ended up being on his side on this one because of WWE’s weird business practices). I’m also interested to see where they go with Rush as a babyface, though (Similar to TJ Perkins in Impact) I think Rush is much better as a natural heel, but Rush does have the offense to wow people as a babyface.

7. Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain in a Street Fight. Dain started the match off right away with a shotgun dropkick right after the bell rang. Riddle suplexed Dain around the ring. Riddle got a kendo stick and hit Dain with it. Dain backdropped Riddle into the barricade and got control with a few stick shots. Dain hit Riddle with a senton at ringside. Dain and Riddle brawled to backstage. The Forgotten Sons could be seen cheering on the brawl. Riddle and Dain then brawled to the production parking lot. Riddle got tossed into the NXT Semi Tuck. I think Big Daddy Walter was eating dinner. Walter attacked Riddle and Dain for interfering with his dinner.

First Imperium started to Brawl with Riddle and Dain but a bunch of the NXT roster then ran in and a brawled enused. The NXT locker room then made its way to ringside. An NXT chant ensued. Security guard then separated Riddle and Dain for some reason. Mauro noted that this is a street fight. Dain and Riddle then were fighting off the guards and the roster. Suddenly the NXT Roster brawled in the ring. Dain was the one left alone in the ring standing tall as the locker room continue to brawl at ringside. Dain gave a pile of the roster members at ringside a Suicide dive to close the show…

Matt Riddle vs. Killian Dain ended in an apparent no-contest in about 5:50.

The WWE credit signature flashed on the screen with about ten minutes left at the top of the hour…

John’s Thoughts: Again, a little wonky, if only because we’re not used to them being this “cute” with things on NXT Televison, but I guess this is some of the stuff we’re going to start seeing on NXT now and it isn’t fully a bad thing. It’s just going to take some getting used to, but these are some of the things that usually enhance the pro wrestling viewing experience. All that said, this was a fun brawl. I like it when pro wrestling shows that there is a world beyond the ring. I like these brawls in MLW with Contra Unit and I like them here with whoever. This had a bit of an attitude era Raw is War feel too it, which I guess is a good thing. What I don’t like is gaps in logic and NXT is usually flawless at that attention to detail, but Mauro even pointed out here that it made no sense for security to try to separate Dain and Riddle when they should have been focused on the rest of the locker room.

NXT always delivers, but this is not the NXT that I review weekly. It’s two hours now! RIP filling one-hour shows. Thankfully WWE filled out this week’s two hours of NXT really well. The first hour had a lot of good action and introductory fights. The second hour had a lot of the good surprises with Imperium and an unadvertised Lio Rush return. So far so good and NXT continues to deliver with every segment being meaningful. I’ll be by tomorrow morning with my member’s exclusive NXT Audio review with more thoughts on the show.