By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Taped earlier today in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
Aired June 10, 2020 on USA Network
[Hour One] NXT started off with a quick highlight video, airing highlights and reactions from the NXT Takeover: In Your House show…
Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, and Tom Phillips were on commentary. Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, and Roderick Strong made their entrance. Cole bragged about still being NXT Champion. Cole reminded viewers that the stipulation of the Backlot Brawl, if Cole won, was that Velveteen Dream can no longer challenge for the NXT Championship as long as Cole has the belt. Cole continued to gloat, talking about how nobody in WWE can beat him for the championship. Cole the addressed Dexter Lumis. Fish assumed Lumis was obcessed, especially after putting he and Strong in a trunk.
Strong talked about how much he didn’t like being put in trunks. Roddy then started yelling that he sees Dexter Lumis in the crowd, but every time Fish and Cole turn around, they can’t see Lumis in the crowd. Cole talked about how he’s having a match with Lumis later. He said he’s not only going to beat Lumis, but he’s also going to send Lumis back to the drawing board. Cole ended the promo by saying that was Undisputed. While UE was leaving, Tom Phillips talked about the Garganos vs. Yim and Lee. The camera then panned over to the crowd to show that Strong was right and that Lumis was staring creepily in the crowd…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Basic stuff here but they are shifting some focus over to Lumis. Is this main event going to somehow lead to a Lumis vs. Dream feud? I don’t see Lumis ready yet for the main title program given some of the absurd aspects of his character.
Roderick Strong was freaking out backstage while Cole and Fish were trying to calm him down. Keith Lee walked up to UE to taunt them a bit. Adam Cole told the Era to walk away as he yelled “In your dreams, big man!”. Keith Lee and Yim then walked over to the Gorilla Position to make their entrance to Full Sail…
1. Keith Lee and Mia Yim vs. Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae in a mixed tag match. Tom Phillips pointed out that Keith Lee’s face was taped up due to Johnny Gargano’s key attacks. Before the bell, LeRae bickered with Lee while Yim bickered with Gargano. The genders switched off once Lee jokingly lifted up LeRae a bit. The Garganos went for stereo huracanranas on their opponents. Lee and Yim then gave the Garganos the first half of the Super Collider followed by stereo lariats on the Garganos. Yim and LeRae then started off the match proper with Yim tossing around LeRae.
The Garganos tried to run away, but Lee got in the way. Yim then missed a suicide dive, but landed in Keith Lee’s arms for a cute moment. [c]
LeRae dominated Yim in the corner with her signature punch and slap combo. Yim got a bit of a breather after hitting LeRae with Seoul Food. Lee tagged in causing Gargano to have to get in. Lee hit Gargano with a Grizzly Magnum, he was selling his hand due to the hand injuries from last week’s NXT and at Takeover. LeRae made a blind tag, but Lee lifted up LeRae too. LeRae helped Johnny escape by poking Lee in the eyes.
Gargano hit Lee with a enzuigiri while LeRae hit Lee with a DDT. Yim entered the ring and gave LeRae a Dragon Suplex. Gargano broke up the pin attempt. Yim then punch and kicked Johnny. LeRae helped Johnny escape Yim’s suplex. Yim then gave LeRae and Gargano German Suplexes. LeRae hit Yim with Eat Defeat and a lionsault for a two count.
Yim pulled down the second rope to make Johnny spill to the outside. Yim then tangled LeRae in the ropes to hit her with roundhouse kicks. Keith Lee then accidentally Pounced Johnny into Mia. Johnny took advantage of a distracted Keith by hitting him with One Final Beat. Keith was DDT’d on LeRae, knocking her out. The referee wouldn’t count the pin because it was a mixed tag. Keith Lee then tried to carry Candice to safety, but Johnny rolled up Lee for the victory.
Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae defeated Keith Lee and Mia Yim via pinfall in 7:28 of on-air TV Time.
Johnny Gargano held up the hand of the knocked out LeRae, treating her like Bernie Lomax form Weekend at Bernies…
They aired a Damian Priest interview after his match against Finn Balor. Priest talked about how even though he lost he’s still going to live forever. Priest left, calling Mckenzie Mitchell cute…
McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview Cameron Grimes, but he kept bragging about beating Finn Balor. Grimes talked about how Priest is a loser and he has no fear in his eyes. Priest then entered the interview and Cameron tried to suck up to Preist. Preist then punched Grimes…
Tom Phillips hyped up Io Shirai appearing after the commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: It looks like this match was set up to put some heat behind Johnny after Johnny’s clean loss at Takeover. It was good in that sense. They were a bit too cute in trying to get intergender moments in a mixed tag. The match probably would have been better if they weren’t going for comedy and cute moments.
A highlight package aired for the Women’s Triple Threat this past Sunday for the NXT Women’s Championship. The highlight package included Io Shirai sound bites and Poppy’s Scary Mask song in the background. Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka were shown congratulating Io for winning…
2. “Indus Sher” Rinku and Saurav (w/Malcom Bivens) vs. Enhancement wrestlers. Saurav tossed around one enhancement wrestler while booting the other one off the apron. Rinku tagged in and gave the jobber two splashes in teh corner. Indus Sher hit their assisted leg drop finisher for the win.
Indus Sher defeated the enhancement wrestlers via pinfall in 1:05.
McKenzie Mitchell approached Drake Wuertz for an update on Cameron Grimes’s health. Drake was talking to Regal and Drake told Regal that Grimes is claiming that he has a broke jaw and can’t wrestle. Regal, who was on facetime via a tablet, told Drake to take him to speak with Grimes…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Not perfect, but leagues better than their debut. This was a simple and effective squash. Given how mediocre their first match was, I think it’s going to take a few more outings for Indus Sher to get credibility and seasoning. Hopefully it works out because NXT is in need of tag teams, and a monster heel tag team would help.
Cameron Grimes was chatting with two performance center female trainees. Grimes was bragging about how his jaw is fine and how he wants to hook up with the girls. Drake and William Regal saw this. Grimes tried to act like his jaw hurt when Regal yelled at him. Regal said Grimes wasn’t getting away from his match against Balor. After Drake and McKenzie left, Grimes yelled at the girls, telling them to go away and how he doesn’t want them to “go downtown” with him (that got a chuckle out of me)…
Tom Phillips sent things over to a Breezango promo. Breeze and Dango talked about all the different stripper costumes they wore. Dango said they do this because they want to entertain the fans. Breeze talked about how they can bring it in the ring. Breeze talked about how Dango made his debut in-ring WWE debut in a stadium. Dango said Breeze was a kid, but Breeze said he was 32. Breeze said the entertainment ends when they hit the ropes. They talked about how they are going to be all business when the beat Imperium next week…
John’s Thoughts: Some of the best stuff I’ve seen from Breezango in a while. It’s always a treat when Dango drops the Chaz Michael Michaels accent. I’m not the biggest fan of them continuing to do their jarring stripper act, but I like that they talked about how they are putting in an effort to separate that from their in-ring. What would be even better, is if Fandango ultimately turns on Breeze and the stripper act is buried for good.
Highlights from the Karrion Kross and Tommaso Ciampa match aired. Tommaso Ciampa was interviewed outside of Full Sail. The interviewer noted that Ciampa stayed for hours after Takeover was finish. The interviewer also asked Ciampa if Kross was too much for Ciampa to get ready for. Ciampa ignored the questions, got in a car, and drove off…
Tom Phillips hyped Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes for after the break…[c]
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Rhea Ripley about her recent loss at Takeover. Before Ripley could get a promo out, the disheveled Robert Stone walked up to Ripley. He was breathing heavily, asking Ripley if she was feeling it. Stone talked about how they are both losers. Stone said he’ll do anything for Ripley to help make the Stone Brand bigger than it’s ever been. Ripley said the the chances of Ripley joining the Stone Brand is one in a million. Stone did the Lloyd Christmas line of saying “but there’s still a chance”. Ripley then body slammed Stone in a laundry bucket…
[Hour Two] Cameron Grimes made his entrance for his match against Finn Balor…
3. Finn Balor vs. Cameron Grimes. Grimes hid behind the ropes early on. After he got back to the center of the ring. Balor locked Grimes in a hammerlock. Grimes shoved Balor out of the corner and then hit Balor with clubbing blows. Balor came right back with a running elbow strike. Balor kicked Grimes around on the mat. Grime came back with tackles in the corner. Balor tripped up Grimes and hit him with a roundhouse for a two count. Balor locked Grimes in a chinlock. Balor no sold Grimes’s chop and then gave Grimes his own chop.
Balor continued to chop and whip Grimes all around the ring. Grimes grabbed Balor’s leg and dragged him to the ground. Grimes then gave Balor an aggressive knee. Grimes went for a Sunset Flip, but Balor reversed the move into a shotgun dropkick. Grimes rolled to ringside, but Balor chased him and gave him chops. Grimes hit Balor with the Nigel McGuinness rebound lariat. Grimes then locked Balor in a headlock. The show cut to commercial.[c]
Grimes had Balor in a resthold back from break. Balor escaped. Grimes gloated a bit, but Balor slammed Grimes to the mat and hit Grimes with a running stomp. Balor hit Grimes with Sling Blade, followed by a Shotgun Dropkick. Grimes dodged a Coup De Grace and hit rolled up Balor for a two count. Grimes hit Balor with a Superman Forearm. Grimes reversed Bloody Sunday with a rollup. Balor hit Grimes with an Eye of the Hurricane elbow.
Grimes reversed Balor into a side slam. Balor dodged the Cave in and hit Grimes with a Bloody Sunday. Grimes kicked out at two. Balor hit Grimes with a Coup De Grace. Balor then hit Grimes with a 1916 for the win.
Finn Balor defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall in 9:02 of on-air TV Time.
Finn Balor went to the camera and challenged Keith Lee for the North American Championship whenever Lee is done with Gargano…
Tom Phillips advertised Dakota Kai vs. Kacy Catanzaro for after the commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I could have done without Balor getting his win back on Grimes, but Grimes showed again that he could turn the switch on at the end of matches to make the end of his matches compelling. Grimes is currently being put on a similar career path as Daniel Bryan where he’s hanging around the midcard as a comedy goof who shows main event flashes of brilliance. It’s going to be interesting the day they have him shed the goofiness and have him start wrestling in 20+ minute Takeover matches because the stretches he has at the end of his matches currently show that he’s capable of a Takeover worthy match. On the other side of the coin, Balor’s going after Lee? So…. who goes after Cole? Not Lumis right?
Kacy Catanzaro made her entrance. Her opponent was Dakota Kai who came out with Raquel Gonzalez. Kai’s hair was still shaded pink from her Hana Kimura tribute this past Sunday…
4. Dakota Kai (w/Raquel Gonzalez) vs. Kacy Catanzaro. Kai dominated the early shoving match. Catanzaro hit Kai with a trip and a slingshot senton. Catanzaro hit Kai with a huracanrana outside of the ring. Kacy hit Kai with a Koppu Kick. Kai recovered and ended up hitting Kacy with a Face Wash Kick. Kacy kicked out at two. Catanzaro rolled up Kai for a two count. Catanzaro then showed a mean streak by pummeling Kai in the corner. Kai surprised Kacy with a Scorpion Kick. Kai hit Catanzaro with the GTK (Detonation Kick) for the victory.
Dakota Kai defeated Kacy Catanzaro via pinfall in 2:26.
Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez put the boots to Catanzaro after the match. Kayden Carter ran out for the save and even managed to kick Kai. She couldn’t DDT Gonzalez and Gonzalez planted Carter with a choke slam. The heels gloated to end the segment…
Tom Phillips advertised El Hijo Del Fantasma for after the commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: There’s always a chance that Tegan Nox finds a way to get involved with this somehow, but what I brought up this past Sunday in the audio review that Jason and I did for Dot Net Members, is that I hope that they shuffle things up a bit because they’ve done Kai and Gonzalez vs. Nox for a little while now. It’s going to take a little work to shuffle things up because I don’t think NXT sees Kacy Catanzaro as a big time player yet. I expect Kai and Gonzalez to just tear through the two developmental talents Carter and Catanzaro.
A Timothy Thatcher vignette aired where he was in a ring, advising students. He talked about how the training will begin, next week…
El Hijo Del Fantasma was introduced as the new NXT Cruiserweight Champion. Mauro noted how Jordan Devilin can’t be happy about Fantasma being champion in the interim. Fantasma has a mic and soaked up “Hijo” chants. He spoke in spanish. Before he could complete a sentence, Drake Maverick made his entrance, no longer using Xavier Woods’s old theme. Drake Maverick entered the ring and congratulated Fantasma on being a great cruiserweight and for giving Maverick a great match. Maverick said he knows about how he got his job back last week, but Fantasma deserves to be talked about more because he is the new Cruiserweight champion.
The trainee crowd chanted “You Deserve it” to Fantasma. Maverick talked about how it was hard for him to think over the past few month due to having a lot on his mind. Maverick said now that he is a full-time member of the NXT roster, he knows he can beat Fantasma if Fantasma will allow it. Fantasma said “si”. Suddenly the two masked luchador ninjas surrounded the ring. Fantasma acted like he was on Drake’s side, but then turned on Drake. The three men put the boots to Drake.
The masked men revealed they were Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza. Fantasma hit Maverick with the Thrill of the Hunt (Samoan Driver). Fantasma then took off his mask to reveal face. Fantasma said, “My name is Santos Escobar, I am the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, and no one can touch me”. Wilde and Mendoza dove on Maverick. Escobar used his feet to do a neck snap move on Maverick. The three heels stood tall…
John’s Thoughts: There it is. A bit more basic than I would have expected, but I was right on the whole cheesy babyface thing being a smoke screen. The full-on Spanish was a ruse too as he was back to speaking his usual strong English once he unmasked. I’m looking forward to seeing what this guy can do because I can argue that Escobar can be the biggest hispanic star in the company given his promo skills and technical in-ring style. Another big breakthrough? DJ Zema F’n Ion is (presumably) no longer a Wrestling DJ. Hopefully the Air Horn chant is dead too, though it would work better as a heel.
Adam Cole was backstage talking with Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish. Roderick Strong was freaking out again over a drawing that Dexter Lumis sent them. Cole told Strong to calm down because he’s about to kick the crap out of Lumis. Cole walked away saying he’s about to break this foo in half. Strong looked out the door window and ran away because Lumis was on the other side staring at him…[c]
Beth Phoenix advertised The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions vs. Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart for the titles next week. They left it in question marks because the titles are being defended on Sunday at Backlash…
Creepy ass Samuel Shaw made his entrance, he’s Dexter Lumis now. Undisputed Era then made their entrance. Tom Phillips said he heard that Strong and Fish were trapped in Lumis’s trunk for 12 hours before falling asleep. Phillips said he heard they woke up at their homes somehow…
5. NXT Champion Adam Cole vs. Dexter Lumis in a non-title match. Lumis shoved Cole into the corner, Cole quickly turned the tide and gave Cole quick strikes. Lumis gave Cole gut punches. Lumis gave Cole a back elbow and slowly paced around the ring. Cole tripped up Lumis and put the boots to him. Cole called Lumis a dummy. Lumis got to his feet and tossed Cole like a basketball. Lumis did a creepy slide under the ropes and gave Cole an uppercut. Lumis hit Cole with a Haymaker.
Cole knocked Lumis off the apron with a pump kick.[c]
Lumis used punches to escape a headlock by Cole. Cole hit Lumis with a backstabber for a two count. Cole called Lumis a weirdo. Lumis no sold Cole’s punches. Cole got Lumis to the mat with a few neckbreakers. Lumis got to his knees and dared Cole to punch him. Lumis no-sold Cole’s punches and returned fire with his own right hands. Lumis gave Cole a corner clothesline and running bulldog. Lumis hit Cole with a slingshot suplex for a two count. Lumis blocked Cole’s superkick and hit Cole with a German Suplex for a two count.
Cole kicked Lumis’s shin with a kick. Lumis got back to his feet to block the Last Shot. Cole escaped a Kata Gatame attempt and hit Lumis with a superkick for a two count. Lumis ducked a Last Shot and hit Cole with a Spinebuster. Lumis hit Cole with a bit of ground and pound. Cole dumped Lumis to ringside. Cole ordered Strong and Fish to attack Lumis, but Lumis crawled under the ring and to the other side to nail Cole with a Spinebuster.
Cole blocked Lumis’s Swanton with the knees. Lumis caught a flying Cole. Cole kept his feet moving so lumis couldn’t lock in the Kata Gatame. Lumis knocked off Fish and Strong from the aprons. The distraction was enough to allow Cole to escape and hit Lumis with the Last Shot Shining Wizard for the victory.
Adam Cole defeated Dexter Lumis via pinnfall in 8:45 of on-air TV Time.
Cole stood over Lumis’s knocked out body and started gloating. Lumis then locked Cole in the Kata Gatame. Fish and Strong put the boots to Lumis to break up the submission. Velveteen Dream ran out for the save. Dream and Lumis then chased away Fish and Strong. Adam Cole then posed in the ring. Suddenly, the lights went off. A spotlight lit up and Scarlett [Bordeaux] was under the light and wearing a catsuit. Scarlett slowly walked to the ring and put a hourglass in the ring.
Scarlett turned around the hourglass so it would start to tick down. Karrion Kross’s logo appeared on the video wall. The show closed with a shot of Adam Cole staring at the hourglass…
John’s Thoughts: A fun television main event, but they never did enough for Lumis to make him look like he ever had a chance to beat Adam Cole. This is most likely going to lead to a tag team feud between Strong and Fish vs. Lumis and Dream. What was more interesting is they are setting up Karrion Kross as Adam Cole’s next challenger. To be completely honest, I can’t see Adam Cole getting out of that match as NXT Champion, can you? Especially after how they put Kross over at Takeover? How do they frame this, Cole as a babyface? Kross as a babyface (which I can’t picture at the moment).
An okay episode of NXT. Not as hot as the last few episodes and more of a comedown show after the Takeover. This looked like it was setting up new storylines and new feuds. I’ll have more thoughts on this show in my Member’s Exclusive audio review.
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