By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live October 5, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour One]A recap of last week’s segment featuring the tag teams of NXT aired. Vic Joseph noted that the 8 person tag team match has been changed into a tag team title match involving the four teams involved in the initial 8 person tag…
John’s Thoughts: There’s that Main Roster booking for ya! Last minute changes galore…
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
1. Ember Moon vs. Mandy Rose (w/Gigi Dolan, Jacy Jayne). Rose wore a unique, and sexy, leotard/shorts combo. Moon rallied early on with strikes and running offense. Moon put Rose in the Tree of Woe and pummeled Rose with kicks. the rest of Toxic Attraction took down Rose when the referee went for the separation. Moon hit Jayne with a suicide dive. Moon hit Rose with a power bomb on the apron. Dolan distracted Moon a bit which allowed Rose to catch her with a clubbing blow.
Rose caught Moon with a flapjack suplex for a two count. Rose worked on Moon with a body scissors. Moon got to her feet and Rose put Moon in an abdominal stretch. Moon escaped with a Judo hip toss. Moon followed up with an elbow and enzuigiri. Moon gave Rose a Magnum and high knee. Rose dodged an eclipse attempt. Rose caught Moon with a running knee for the clean win.
Mandy Rose defeated Ember Moon via pinfall in 4:33.
Wade Barrett noted that Ember Moon was still stuck in a rut with her latest loss…
John’s Thoughts: Not a surprising result here. Toxic Attraction are getting the PR push and Moon has been jobber to the stars since breaking up from her tag team with Shotzi Blackheart. You can tell WWE is really high on Toxic Attraction with how much they are putting them all over their NXT ads. I guess they are trying to tap into selling that sex appeal. The commentary team did stress that Moon is still in a bit of a rut and she cut that interesting promo a few weeks ago about turning things around. I hope they actually go through and turn that into a story.
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in on commentary. Joseph asked Beth if she was doing fine after Seth Rollins’s home invasion on their home. Beth said all they have to know is that “Adam” [Copeland] will take care of business…
The show cut to Santos Escobar and the rest of Legado Del Fantasma cutting a promo about dominating Hit Row. The promo ended with Escobar saying that Isaiah Scott can either run away to Smackdown or be a man and defend the North American Championship against him…
Odyssey Jones made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Well, the outcome of that match should be the most predictable right with Scott being on the main roster? Hopefully they allow Escobar and Scott to tear the house down in Scott’s last NXT match. Escobar and Scott can definitely go 20 minutes. These two have been wrestling for years, even before WWE, and have put on some good matches.
2. LA Knight vs. Odyssey Jones. Knight sidestepped Jones early on. Jones no sold Knight’s offense. Jones tossed Knight around the ring. Knight stalled a bit by running away. Knight managed to drape Jones on the second rope and work on Jones with methodical strikes. Knight hit Jones in the center of the ring with a series of elbow drops. Knight got a one count on Jones. Knight tried to body slam Jones, but Knight fell under Jones’s weight. Jones rallied back with lariats. Jones hit Knight with a few gutbusters. Andre Chase got on the apron to distract Jones. Knight hit Jones with a neckbreaker. Knight got the pinfall win after Jones made sure to shove Odyssey’s
LA Knight defeated Odyssey Jones via pinfall in 4:02.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Cameron Grimes who talked about love flying in the air with In-dex and even Cora Jade and Trey Baxter being an item. Grimes said he was going to find a girlfriend. Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland showed up and said nobody would be into Grimes. Dunne wanted to challenge Grimes to a match, but Grimes walked away to hit on random ladies in the backstage area…
Tommaso Ciampa made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I’m a bit surprised they gave Jones the loss here, but I’m happy they haven’t totally given up on LA Knight. I was joking in my head that LA Knight was being low key punished by Johnny Ace due to Knight pissing Ace off during Knight’s first run in WWE when Big Johnny signed him. I’m kidding of course. Jones continues to improve now that they’re slowing down his push. I liked the all black singlet this time as opposed to the colorful one. I think he needs to tone down his excitedness, and increase the intensity. Jones reminds me of a young Mark Henry and Mark Henry is maybe my favorite heel of all time. If Jones can get close to that, that would be great.
Kyle O’Reilly asked Von Wagner (Cal Bloom) backstage why he helped him last week. Wagner cut a horrible promo about having heart and taking opportunities. The promo was so bad that O’Reilly cut him off saying he doesn’t trust anybody after what he went through last year. O’Reilly asked Wagner to stay out of his way…
John’s Thoughts: Oh no! Poor Cal! How do you screw up on a pre-tape segment like that? I don’t blame Wagner, WWE is just setting up this guy to fail. Either that or they’re putting him next to O’Reilly to make O’Reilly’s promos look better (I kid, I kid)
Tommaso Ciampa hyped up Halloween Havoc happening in a few weeks. Ciampa said that he’s looking for a challenger and there’s a lockerroom of worthy opponents. Ciampa talked about how actions speak louder than words and he wonders who has the balls to step out there and try to take the NXT Title from Ciampa. The Scott Steiner siren blared as Bron Breakker made his entrance in street clothes. Breakker said he’s treated Ciampa with nothing but respect, but he doesn’t give a damn if he’s been here 4 weeks, 4 days, 4 months, he’s here for the NXT championship. He said he has the biggest balls in the locker room. Breakker challenged Ciampa to a title match at Halloween Havoc.
Ciampa said Breakker may want the title, but Ciampa needs the title. Ciampa said Breakker sees the title as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, but to Ciampa the title is bigger and better. Ciampa said that Breakker has til Halloween Havoc to go from an intern to PHD. Ciampa accepted Breakker’s challenge…
The commentary team checked in from the commentary table. Vic Joseph hyped the October 26 Halloween Havoc show…
Joe Gacy was in a dark room, continuing to use his buzz words. Gacy said that he’ll end up using the ring again as a safe space. He said he’ll show that conflict can be solved peacefully and that there can be two winners…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid segment for Ciampa and baby Steiner! Simple setup for the up-and-comer vs. the grizzled veteran. Ciampa has done an amazing job carrying NXT since the revamp. Breakker looks like a star in the making. This can be a great match. The outcome of that match isn’t the most obvious either. On the surface, Ciampa should be the shoe-in to win this first matchup between the two to tell the longer story, but Vince McMahon may be a bit impatient in wanting to rush the strap onto Steiner. On a side note, Bron Steiner REALLY REALLY sounds like his uncle Scott! It’s kinda cool!
Indi Hartwell and her friend were walking backstage talking about how many condoms Indi and Dexter went through presumably. They ran across a smoking room, which had Tian Sha, Boa and Mei Ying, in it…
Ikeman Jiro made his entrance with his awesome random anime music. Joe Gacy had random hippie music…
John’s Thoughts: So Joe Gacy is just a modern take of Juice Robinson’s old NXT Hippie gimmick. By the way! I totally agree with Beth Phoenix, Ikeman Jiro might have the best entrance music in WWE today. So wholesome!
3. Ikeman Jiro vs. Joe Gacy. Gacy ended up getting the advantage with methodical punches and a suplex. Joseph noted that Gacy was making mainstream headlines with his recent NXT appearances. Jiro reversed a suplex into a backbreaker and neck wrench. Jiro hit Gacy with jacket assisted punches. Jiro hit Gacy with a corkscrew Frankensteiner. Gacy sidestepped Jiro and hit Jiro with a handstand lariat for the victory.
Joe Gacy defeated Ikeman Jiro via pinfall in 3:08.
Gacy helped Jiro to his feet and gave Jiro a hug. As Gacy went up the ramp, he passed by a rough looking dude who looked like he just came out jail (?)…
A quick Cora Jade vignette aired to say that she was making her formal in-ring debut next (she has had matches before on NXT, but as enhancement talent)…[c]
John’s Thoughts: So WWE’s acknowledging Gacy’s right-wing mainstream buzz. That said, how does WWE harness that without coming off as douchey? They’re also introducing another new wrestler? I don’t like this new wrestler’s look. Just sayin’. Anyway, Jiro will be fine after the loss. I just hope we get more Jiro on television! The guy is a fun undercard act.
A Duke Hudson vignette aired. He’s a poker player now! He hyped up “Duke’s Poker Room” where he said he’ll take your money…
John’s Thoughts: Oh no! The WWE early 90s vocational gimmicks are roaring back. That, and is Hudson ripping off Johnny Swinger’s illegal casino gimmick from Impact Wrestling. And that gimmick sucks there too! (Johnny Swinger is amazing though!).
Cora Jade made her entrance. Out of nowhere, Franky Monet showed up and left Jade’s opponent lying with a Road to Valhalla. Robert Stone told Alicia Taylor that Franky Monet is Jade’s new opponent. For some reason, this was okay…
4. Cora Jade vs. Franky Monet. Monet dominated Jade early on and hit Jade with a meteora in the corner. Trey Baxter showed up to encourage Jade. Monet put Jade in a Camel Clutch. Monet hit Jade with a shortarm curb stomp. Jade rallied bit, but got nailed by a spear. Monet went for a Road for Valhalla, but Jade reversed it into a victory roll for the win.
Cora Jade defeated Franky Monet via pinfall in 2:08.
Baxter and Jade looked surprised and backgracked up the ramp…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed MSK who were getting ready backstage. Zack Gibson and James Drake showed up. Gibson said MSK politicked their way into a match where they can pin multiple opponents. MSK said the match should be an elimination match. Everyone agreed. The other two teams showed up and a brawl ensued…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Robert Stone being able to book matches on the fly was screwy, but an interesting way to give Jade the win. Jade is another wrestler on the roster with a lot of plucky babyface upside, but I think she might be the best based off her current presentation. I think that there might be some promise between the wholesome relationship between her and Baxter (as long as they don’t turn Baxter into a superhero). Monet looked good here, but at the same time It’s a bit odd that they’re having her lose so much so early in her WWE run. It’s all odd that she wasn’t drafted in the WWE draft because she’s main roster main event ready for the women’s division.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Tommaso Ciampa about accepting Breakker’s challenge. Ciampa called Breakker a blue chipper and said that their match at Havoc should be good. Joe Gacy showed up and said that Ciampa was putting toxic energy in the world. Gacy said he would like to be included in an opportunity for the NXT Championship. Ciampa said if Gacy can beat Ciampa next week, Gacy can be added to the match next week. Ciampa said next week the ring won’t be a safe space for Gacy…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place. Vic Joseph noted that Ridge Holland is the newest wrestler on Smackdown…
5. Pete Dunne (w/Ridge Holland) vs. Cameron Grimes. Grimes and Dunne started off with technical chain wrestling. Dunne got the upper hand with his joint manipulation. Grimes escaped and hit Dunne with a huracanrana. Grimes took down Dunne with a armdrag and armbar. Dunne took down Grimes with a running lariat. Dunne went back to the joint manipulation. After a few minutes, Dunne hit Grimes with a shotgun dropkick.
Grimes punched his way out of joint manipulation and then rallied back with clotheslines. Grimes hit Dunne with a leaping Yakuza Kick. Grimes hit Dunne with a crossbody for a two count. Dunne came back with a enzuigiri and a meteora to Grimes’s elbow. Dunne hit Grimes with a Buzzsaw Kick for a two count. Grimes hit Dunne with a deadlift German Suplex into a Bridge for a two count.
Dunne hit Grimes with an enzuigiri. Ridge Holland tried to get a cheap shot on Grimes, but Kyle O’Reilly ran out and attacked Holland. Grimes tried to hit a distracted Dunne with a Cave In, but Dunne backdropped Grimes and hit Grimes with the Bitter End for the win.
Pete Dunne defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall in 5:44.
O’Reilly tried to attack Holland after the match, but Pete Dunne got involved. Dunne hit O’Reilly with a Buzzsaw Kick while Holland slammed O’Reilly with the Northern Grit to leave him lying. Dunne did his signature shrug…
Tony D’Angelo will debut after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good match that would have been totally better if given 10 more minutes to tell a story. That said, this is regular TV. I hope Takeovers aren’t gone?!? Looks like Holland is sticking around a bit to finish his feud with O’Reilly (odd because Holland is taking a lot of losses out of the door of developmental). Dunne continues to be very protected. Even when he’s distracted, he’s picking up clean wins. Are they still building him up for a match against Joe? Or do they see him as a future NXT Champion? I don’t think Dunne has lost in close to a year (and when he was UK Champion, he didn’t lose for a year either). I think he might have taken his last loss when he was a henchman for Pat McAfee.
Hit Row cut a promo to respond to Legado Del Fantasma and hype up being drafted to Smackdown. It was a multi-cam promo. Isaiah Scott accepted Escobar’s challenge and teased taking the North American title to Smackdown for good…
John’s Thoughts: Better promo this week for Hit Row. Better than last week’s line read to introduce the show…
Entrances for the next match took place…
5. Tony D’Angelo vs. Malik Blade. D’Angelo was acting very “Italian”. D’Angelo worked on Blade with a prolonged headlock. D’Angelo went back to the headlock. D’Angelo hit Blade with a backbreaker. Blade hit D’Angelo with a dropkick. D’Angelo came back with a snug leg takedown for a two count. D’Angelo hit Blade with snug punches. Blade came back with a leaping spin knee. Blade hit D’Angelo with a lariat and crossbody. Blade got a one count off a Magistral. Tony hit Blade with a Belly To Belly Suplex. Tony hit Blade with a Northern Lights and a Fisherman Backbreaker for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Malik Blade via pinfall in 4:42.
The crowd gave D’Angelo cheers after the match…
John’s Thoughts: First of all, I agree, this gimmick is horrible! But at the same time, I can’t help but crack up. Tony D’Angelo is becoming a guilty pleasure with how bad this is. That said, I also give the guy credit for going all in with this stereotype character. I’m actually looking forward to more Tony D’Angelo for all the wrong reasons (I also just watched a more tasteful version of a non-Italian playing an Italian Stereotype in the netflix series, Vincenzo. Definitely watch Vincenzo! Great Netflix series, and great acting, with a great villain. My side netflix recommendation for ya’ll).
McKenzie interviewed Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams about the match being changed into an elimination match. Melo bragged about getting in a title match without using his contract. Trick said some rhymes and told us how he was bout it bout it…
Vic Joseph hyped the elimination tag team match…
Mei Ying and Boa made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Nothing too special from Trick, but his best rhyming promo so far. At least I could understand him. He’s still bout it bout it though.
An ad aired for the New Day and Undertaker Netflix game…
6. Mei Ying (w/Boa) vs. Indi Hartwell (w/Persia Perotta). Mei Ying shoved Hartwell down a few times. Ying hit Hartwell with a takedown and axe kick. Ying worked on Hartwell with slow and methodical offense. Ying hit Hartwell with a shortarm palm. Ying dragged Hartwell by the chin to ringside. Perotta pulled Hartwell away and got hit by Ying with a Yakuza Kick. Hartwell shoved Ying into the ringpost and back into the ring.
Indi Hartwell defeated Mei Ying via pinfall in 2:53.
Hartwell put back on her wedding ring and kissed it…
Lash Legend was in a random kitchen hyping next week’s iteration of her talk show. Tony D’Angelo showed up and asked to be on her show next week. She said she’ll think about it…
NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez made her entrance in street clothes…[c]
John’s Thoughts: So, is Tian Sha dead? They’ve been kinda floundering since their ace, Xia Li, was taken away. Boa’s bad in the ring and Mei Ying is the walmart version of Su Yung (And if that’s Karen Q in there, I feel bad, because Karen’s really talented). Let’s just break up this group and move on. Q might be better off on her own. Boa needs to find a way to improve in the ring, somehow.
A Diamond Mine promo aired where Malcolm Bivens hyped up the individual members of Diamond Mine. He hyped Hachiman as the teacher and coach of Diamond Mine. Bivens said that Hachiman has won more championships around the world than Tom Brady and can kick Tom Brady’s ass. Biven’s said that Ivy Nile is half woman half pitbull. Bivens hyped up Nile as a star on the NBC Titan Games show. Bivens said his favorites are the epitome of ruthless aggression, Brutus and Julius Creed. Bivens then called Roderick Strong the centerpiece of Diamond Mine. Bivens said if you get in their way you’ll regret it. Bivens ended the promo by saying “Diamond Mine! Forever!”…
Samantha Irvin interviewed Raquel Gonzalez about getting attacked by Toxic Attraction. Gonzalez talked about how Rose has been making waves for only a month, while Gonzalez has been doing it for about a year. Gonzalez said having the NXT WOmen’s title means you’re the best woman in the best women’s division in the business. Gonzalez said that if Rose tries to come after her again, she won’t be posing for instagram but rather for an arm cast.
Mandy Rose and the rest of Toxic Attraction made their entrance. Rose got the What treatment from the crowd, which she did push back against a bit. Rose called Gonzalez a desperate champion. Rose said Gonzalez isn’t going to stop Toxic Attraction. Gigi Dolan said Rose, Jayne and her are championship material. Dolan said you can’t help by stand in awe at Toxic Attraction.
Gonzalez said she stands in awe due to the staples in Dolan’s head for getting hit by the title belt. Jayne bragged about Toxic Attraction being all over the NXT ads on Raw and Smackdown. Jayne said they aren’t just Toxic Attraction, they are “The” attraction. Toxic Attraction surrounded the ring and were about to jump Gonzalez. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark ran into the ring to even the odds. Toxic Attraction backed down…
John’s Thoughts: I don’t think Rose and Dolan’s promos have been as good as they could be. Rose and Dolan are better speakers than the material they’re delivering. That said, I feel like that can be adjusted down the road. I actually like the potential behind a Raquel Gonzalez vs. Toxic Attraction feud as it has potential for more story depth than just a challenger of the month for the champion. It’s a bit tough though, but I wouldn’t mind seeing Toxic Attraction accumulate all of the women’s gold on NXT to build up for some up-and-coming babyface challengers. Heck, maybe young 20 year old Cora Jade can be the plucky babyface that takes the title off Mandy Rose in the right kind of story line? Maybe?
Kyle O’Reilly was icing his shoulder backstage. Von Wagner said that he and O’Reilly are against Ridge and Pete next week. He said that like it or not, he’s the only one that has O’Reilly’s back now…
Entrances for the tag team title match took place…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Yo! Someone help good ol’ Cal out! Is it just me or is this guy robotic? I don’t blame him either. WWE shoved him out on TV before he was ready. This reminds me of early Bobby Lashley promos (and Lashley is actually a really really good promo now after all these years, so it just takes time).
Raquel Gonzalez told Zoey Stark and Io Shirai that she didn’t ask for their help. Stark tried to play peacemaker. Indi Hartwell and Persia showed up to challenge the tag team champions…
Vic Joseph hyped up Tommaso Ciampa vs. Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc. Joseph also hyped Ciampa vs. Gacy next week where Gacy can win a spot in the Havoc tag team match. Isaiah Scott vs. Santos Escobar for the North American Championship and Kyle O’Reilly and Von Wagner vs. Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland was advertised for next week…
Entrances continued for the tag team title match…
7. “MSK” Wes Lee and Nash Carter vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen vs. Zack Gibson and James Drake vs. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in an elimination match for the NXT Tag Team Championships. MSK swarmed Gibson with Kicks with Gibson as the legal man. Melo tagged his way into the match. Melo hit Carter with an enzuigiri. Melo then hit Carter with a lariat. Trick tagged in and hit Carter with a running punch. Brooks tagged out Carter to confront Trick. Brooks took a gut punch and uppercut from Trick. Trick hit Brooks with a flying punch. Melo tagged in and caught Jensen with a pump kick. Jensen hit Melo with an atomic drop. Briggs tagged in and took down Melo with a lariat.
Brooks and Jensen attacked everyone. Barrett didn’t know who was legal at this point. Wes Lee took out Trick and Melo with a Tope Con Hilo. MSK hit Trick with a Blockbuster Bomb to eliminate Trick and Melo.
MSK eliminated Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes via pinfall in 3:55
[Overrun] Gibson gave Lee a lariat. Drake gave Lee a dropkick for a two count. The GYVs worked on Lee with methodical offense and quick tags. Lee sidestepped Drake and brought in Carter for the hot tag. Carter took down Drake with a dragon screw and German Suplex. Carter hit Drake with a PK and standing shooting Star for the two count. Carter hit Gibson with a superkick and took out the GYVs with an Asai Moonsault. The GYVs managed to hit Carter with teh Ticket to Mayhem, but Briggs got the blind tag.
Brooks and Jensen hit Gibson with a chokeslam-power bomb combo for the elimination.
Briggs and Jensen eliminated the Grizzled Young Veterans via pinfall in 10:33.
Briggs and Jensen hit Lee with a High Low combination for a two count. Briggs and Jensen hit Lee with a double team chokeslam. Carter took out Briggs to prevent them from hitting Lee with their finisher. Lee sat down on Jensen to pick up the pinfall win.
MSK eliminated Briggs and Jensen via pinfall in 12:30 of total match time to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Brooks and Jensen picked up the tag titles and handed them to MSK in a show of respect. After Brooks and Jensen left, Marcel Barthel and Fabien Aichner showed up and beat up MSK. Imperium left MSK lying. Brooks and Jensen stormed the ring, but Imperium retreated. Imperium did their Imperium pose at the top of the ramp while MSK yelled at them holding up their tag titles…
John’s Thoughts: A good tag team match to close the show. I thought that Trick and Melo actually looked good for the little bit of time they were in the ring. Melo in particular looks like a future star and Trick showed a bit of potential. Aside from that, the other two teams didn’t really gain anything other than making MSK continue to look dominant. Briggs and Jensen really look out of character. Josh Briggs in particular looks like he went to Party City and picked up a $20 “Country Boy” costume. Imperium looked solid in their post-match beatdown, but isn’t this like the 100th time we’ve seen Imperium do this to whoever the tag team champions are? Including MSK? Imperium always wins a few matches and always ends up losing to the tag team champions. Not sure what they can do to heat up Imperium sans Walter.
This was a better show this week, but still not appointment watching material. That said, I didn’t feel like I wasted my time either so that’s a plus right? I can probably still argue that Impact Wrestling is a better weekly show, and Impact is a bit “just okay” these days. At least for me, Von Wagner’s horrible promos and Tony D’Angelo are things to maybe check out? I don’t know. I’ll give the dot net member more thoughts in my weekly member’s exclusive audio review.
“You can tell WWE is really high on Toxic Attraction with how much they are putting them all over their NXT ads. I guess they are trying to tap into selling that sex appeal.”
Or maybe it’s just that everybody realizes that Mandy Rose has a shit ton of charisma, Gigi Dolan has star potential, and Ember Moo is a waste of a roster spot.
Pokemon Zero and Slow Lazy was awful. That kind of shit belongs in an AEW Casino Battle Royal or the PWG Neckbeard Barnrena.
Tony D’Angelo is a star if they refine the gimmick a bit.
Von Wagner looks like someone put Giant Gonzalez in a dryer.
Ha
NXT is on fire. Creating new stars. Throwing stuff to the wall to see what sticks. Appealing to the younger audience. I’m rooting for the entire roster.
Are you sure that’s Bloom’s kid??
He looks like the son of Great Khali and Eve Torres!
He could team with Lesnar as the Forehead Express.