By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT 2.0 TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live November 9, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour one] No teaser this week. Toxic Attraction made their entrance…
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix were on commentary…
1. “Toxic Attraction” Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolan, and Jacy Jayne vs. Io Shirai, Kacy Catanzaro, and Kayden Carter. Carter and Catanzaro now enter through the crowd and have EDM themed music. They were also handing out bracelets to the members of the crowd. Io Shirai couldn’t care less. Rose and Carter started off the match. Rose knocked Shirai off the apron for a cheap shot. Rose caught Carter with a back elbow and tagged in Dolan. Dolan hit Carter with a series of forearms and a PK to the back. Dolan hit Carter with a nice huracanrana.
Jayne tagged in and botched some slingshot move (feet caught on the top rope again). Carter recovered and tagged in Shirai. Shirai hit Jayne with a senton and got a two count. Jayne went for a kick, but Shirai hit Jayne with a Dragon Screw. Carter and Catanzaro tagged in for quick tandem offense. Jayne tackled Catanzaro to the corner and tagged in Rose. Catanzaro dumped Rose to ringside. Catanzaro hit Rose with a Corkscrew Plancha. Carter hit Jayne and Dolan with a dive at ringside. Rose recovered and caught a running Shirai with a spinebuster. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Rose had Catanzaro in her signature thigh squeeze. Catanzaro escaped and tagged in Shirai. Shirai gave Dolan a few elbows and a body slam after Dolan tagged in. Dolan reversed a cravate into a stunner. Rose tagged in and Shirai rallied at Rose with shoulder blocks and a flapjack. Shirai hit Rose with a meteora in the corner for a two count. Shirai hit Rose with her finisher moonsault. The rest of Toxic Attraction broke up the subsequent pin attempt. Dolan tagged in and missed an elbow drop on Shirai. Carter tagged in and rallied against Dolan and Jayne.
Carter hit Jayne with a dropkick and gave Dolan a splash at the same time. Carter hit Dolan with a superkick. Carter hit Dolan with a modified Sister Abagail. Jayne distracted Carter which allowed Dolan to yank her off the top rope. Dolan hit Carter with her Rollup Driver Finisher (I love that finisher!) for the win.
Toxic Attraction defeated Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, and Io Shirai via pinfall in 12:50.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Pete Dunne and talked about Tony DiAgnelo calling him out last week (amongst other wrestlers). Dunne said DiAngelo can do whatever he wants because that won’t make a difference if they ever face in the ring. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams showed up and taunted Dunne. Both sides bickered a bit. McKenzie Mitchell talked to the camera and noted that Melo vs. Dunne is a match people would definitely want to see.
The show cut back to Toxic Attraction leaving the ring. They crossed by Kay Lee Ray making her entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A better than expected opening trios match. Jayne may want to slow it down on diving through the ropes? Maybe? This is the 2nd or third time she’s caught her feet in between the ropes to botch a move. She is fine otherwise from what I see in the ring. Toxic Attraction are getting the huge push due to T&A appeal, which might work? We’ll see. I do like the talent of Toxic Attraction though. I was worried that Gigi Dolan, who built a name in the indies, with a character with a lot of sexuality integrated in it and thought that it would hold her back in NXT. Now that NXT is focusing on sex appeal, she’s the perfect candidate for the big push. Not to mention, she’s great in the ring with an innovative finisher. I like that Toxic Attraction got the win here. Good to not make them out to be chicken heels.
A cinematic skit aired that focused on MSK. They arrived at their location and found out that their location moved to a different place…
John’s Thoughts: I have know clue what MSK are talking about during these skits, but the skits are well shot and showing off their personality in a good way.
2. Sarray vs. Kay Lee Ray. Ray dominated Sarray with aggressive strikes. Sarray came back with an armdrag and double stomp. Ray hit Sarray with a series of forearms for a two count. Sarray came back with a whip and corner senton. Ray dodged and hit Sarray with a Spike DDT. Sarray kicked out. Sarray ran the ropes and rolled up Ray for a two count. Sarray seamlessly turned the move into a deep half crab. Ray got to the ropes for the break.
Sarray hit Ray with a Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Ray caught Sarray with a superkick. Sarray came back with a spin superkick. Ray avoided Sarray’s Face Wash dropkick. Ray hit Sarray with a Gory Bomb on the announce table. Ray hit Sarray with a Gory Bomb in the middle of the ring for the win.
Kay Lee Ray defeated Sarray via pinfall in 4:51.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Joe Gacy about challenging Boa. Gacy said he’s here to help Boa who seems ashamed which is why he wears a mask now. Gacy said he also wants to help Harland. Gacy reached out to TV Land and asked Harland to touch his hand and say that he’s doing “this for us”…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Nice return to Kay Lee Ray who seems to have changed up her ring style a bit. She tightened things up and is wrestling a bit more aggressively and frantic. I like that frantic style. It’s a style you usually see from Jon Moxley. Poor Sarray though. She was one of the biggest pushed and protected wrestlers in 1.0, and in 2.0 they have turned her into a mare gatekeeper.
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in on commentary. The commentary team hyped up WrestleMania ticket sales…
A video package aired that focused on Bron Breakker at the WWE UK Tour last week. The video ended with Breakker saying he’s coming to the states to kick Ciampa’s ass…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Boa vs. Joe Gacy. Gacy avoided a few kicks. Gacy put Boa in a side headlock. Boa hit Gacy with a sunset flip for a two count. Boa then hit Gacy with a shotgun dropkick. Gacy called for a time out and gave Boa a sidewalk slam. Gacy hit Boa with a suplex for a two count. Boa slammed Gacy into the corner to escape a cravate. Boa hit Gacy with a roundhouse. Boa hit Gacy with a few shortarm knees to the gut. Boa hit Gacy with a Butterfly Suplex. Boa caught Gacy with a big boot. The lights flashed for some reason. Boa then grabbed Gacy by the jaw and pressured him into the bottom rope. The referee called for the bell when Boa wouldn’t break due to the rope break.
Joe Gacy defeated Boa via DQ in 3:22.
Boa left the ring after the lights stopped flashing. Gacy chuckled after he picked up the DQ win…
The show cut to the Diamond Mine gym where the Diamond Mine were watching Kushida and Jiro challenging The Creed Brothers. Malcolm Bivens cut a promo talking down Jiro and Kushida and hyping up the Creeds beating them…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Welp, the end of that match was hokey. I hope they aren’t going with supernatural hocus pocus crap because that would just suck. All things considered, that was the best match I’ve seen from Boa in WWE. He’s still very delayed and seems a bit nervous, but he improved a bit here. I like the new facepaint look as it does look pretty badass. I actually like the booking of the finish because it puts over Boa as strong (if they are going to give him a push) and gives Gacy a win at the same time. I just didn’t like the weird light thingy.
McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview Solo Sikoa, the thrid Uso, but Grayson Waller walked up and said that LA Knight said the “Solo” in Solo Sikoa means he’s alone with no girls. LA Knight walked up to say he didn’t say that. Waller and Knight bickered. Sikoa talked about coming from the streets and how people settle their problems by fighting. Sikoa left…
Ikeman Jiro and Kushida made their entrance to Ikeman Jiro’s AMAZING entrance theme! Ohhhhh shoot! I love their new tag team name too! They are called “Jacket Time”. Kushida is back to dressing like Marty McFly pre-match, but wears the MMA gear during the match. Barrett said the name Jacket Time sucks. Vic Joseph implied that “The Corre” with two R’s wasn’t that great of a name…
John’s Thoughts: Ey man! Jacket Time yo! Combined with my guilty pleasure best entrance theme in all of pro wrestling. I also appreciate Vic Joseph’s Corre reference. I actually thought that group had potential. The Corre also had great entrance music (that changed like 8 times, two of those themes were great)
4. “The Creed Brothers” Julius and Brutus Creed (w/Malcolm Bivens, Roderick Strong, Ivy Nile, Hachiman) vs. “Jacket Time” Ikeman Jiro and Kushida. Julius dominated Jiro to start. Brutus tagged in and took a German Suplex form Jiro. Jiro got Brutus in a armbar and tagged in Kushida. Brutus hit Kushida with a fireman takedown. Julius tagged in and gave Kushida a body slam and suplex. Kushida managed to take down both Creeds with a lariats. Jiro tagged in and hit Brutus and Julius with Jacket punches. Jacket Time hit The Creed Brothers with handstand boots heading into the commercial.[c]
Kushida rallied against both opponents and cleaned house. Jiro tagged in and gave Julius stereo armdrags and a dropkick. Jiro hit Julius with a Swanton Bomb. Brutus broke up the pin. Julius ripped off Jiro’s jacket. Strong pulled down the second rope to dump Jiro to ringside. Jiro recovered but walked into Julius’s Gutwrench Power Bomb for the victory.
The Creed Brothers defeated Jacket Time via pinfall in 4:21 of TV-Time.
Odyssey Jones ran out to attack Roderick Strong first and clear the Creeds from the ring. Jones, Jiro, and Kuhsida stood tall in the ring…
John’s Thoughts: Another finish that protected both sides. It’s okay now, but I hope they don’t overdo the parity finishes (at least it’s better than parity win-loss booking). Other than that, it was a good tag team match. Jiro has a lot of odd charisma which works for him.
The unseen interviewer caught up with Toxic Attraction who continued to brag about being hot and being champions. Rose called out Kay Lee Ray for passing by them. Suddenly, Raquel Gonzalez pulled up with her Motorcycle. She said she’ll take care of them later and for Rose to keep the title warm for her. Raquel drove from the parking lot to the Performance Center ring…
[Hour Two] Raquel Gonzalez had a mic for a promo. Gonzalez said she came out with one thing on her mind. Gonzalez asked Dakota Kai to get her ass out here. Dakota Kai walked to the stage with a creepy laugh. Kai said it felt good hitting Gonzalez with the shovel. Suddenly, Cora Jade attacked Kai from behind. The referees ran out to pull both women apart. Gonzalez walked to Jade after Kai ran to the back. She said she understands Jade wants Kai, but Gonzalez wants her first. Jade wanted a fist bump, but Gonzalez shoved it aside…
The show cut to this week’s Andre Chase skit where he was teaching his students about Mental Toughness. His students were calling him out on some of his mishaps last week. Chase slapped “Gabriel” and called him a dumbass. Chase threw a chair and did one of his fits. Chase thanked the one student that defended him…
A montage aired that showed Cameron Grimes dominating the Duke’s Poker Room. Grimes was “in action” after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Again, is wished those zombies that ate chase would have killed his character. Instead, we get a poor-man’s version of Brian Myers’s “How to Be a Professional” skits from Impact, and those skits are actually good. I like what I’m seeing from Dakota Kai. She’s playing an unhinged character now and doing a great job at it.
The announce team hyped up the WrestleMania ticket sales…
The show cut to a cinematic skit of the Grizzled Young Veterans talking about mugging a man, taking his phone, and using the phone to doordash them free food. They did a timeskip and the GYV’s managed to complete their mission and eat free fried chicken. Zack Gibson said they were doing their weekly training and this week’s training was “Urban Training”…
John’s Thoughts: For some reason that gave me flashbacks of the old Cryme Tyme skits.
5. Cameron Grimes vs. Ru Feng. Grimes ducked an initial kick. Feng caught Grimes with a kick combo and a whip. Feng locked Grimes in an abdominal stretch. Duke Hudson showed up at ringside. Grimes escaped and rallied against Feng. Grimes hit Feng with a high crossbody. The announce team plugged Beth Phoenix releasing a music album soon (oh really? Nice. Hopefully she doesn’t call it “Hardcore Country”. I kid, I kid). Grimes hit Feng with the Cave In for the win.
Cameron Grimes defeated Ru Feng via pinfall in 1:46.
Hudson entered the ring and called out Cameron Grimes. The crowd gave Hudson the “What” treatment as he described Grimes’s night at Duke’s Poker Room. Hudson asked Grimes if it was luck, or if Grimes “Duke’d” him. Grimes bragged about beating Duke Hudson and said it was fun. Hudson called Grimes a stupid little hick. Hudson called Grimes a filthy troll who lives under the bridge.
Grimes changed his voice to his natural voice. He said he has been called a hick before. He said it may be because he’s hairy, smelly, or grimy; but Cameron Grimes holds it down in the ring, at the poker table, and wall street. He said he plays dumb sometimes, and last week he played Hudson. Hudson said no-one outhustles Duke Hudson. Hudson challenged Grimes to a “Poker showdown” next week. Grimes said “you’re on”…
The camera showed LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Grayson Waller getting ready at different parts of the PC for their upcoming match…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A promo segment that started rough, but got better in the end once Grimes started talking. I really liked Grimes talking in his natural voice and cut one of those promos that I’ve been hoping he’d cut for years, an inspired and non-cartoony promo. I still can’t wait until they go all-in, no pun intended, in turning this guy serious. He has it in him! I like his rationalization of his goofy voice being that he “plays dumb” sometimes. I hope WWE runs with that rationale.
Sikoa was the only one to get a televised entrance…
6. Solo Sikoa vs. LA Knight vs. Grayson Waller. Sikoa went at both opponents with punches. Waller and Knight agreed for a temporary alliance. Sikoa took down both opponents with a running lariat. The crowd gave Solo some Uso chants. Knight dumped Waller to ringside and punched him. Sikoa deadlift hip tossed Knight in the ring. Solo gave Knight Muay Thai knees. Waller dumped Knight to ringside by pulling down the top rope. Sikoa went for a brainbuster on Waller but Knight kicked Sikoa in the gut.
Waller and Knight teamed up and hit Sikoa with methodical offense. The crowd chanted LA Sucks. Waller and Knight dragged Solo to the top rope, but he managed to power bomb them both off. Solo gave Knight a big boot and gave Waller a Samoan Drop. Solo hit Waller with the Uso hip attack. Knight hit Solo with a neckbreaker. Waller hit Knight with cravate knees. Knight slammed Solo to the ground. Waller came back and gave Knight a cutter. Solo suplexed Waller out of the ring. Solo gave Knight a top rope splash for the win.
Solo Sikoa defeated LA Knight and Grayson Waller via pinfall in 5:00.
John’s Thoughts: Screw you crowd! Los Angeles doesn’t suck and is the best city in the world! I jest, they were talking about Knight. Anyways, the match quality was way better than I expected. Waller provides a lot of good energy in his matches. To bad his character is annoying as hell. Joe Uso is impressing me so far in what I see from him. He hasn’t shown much, but he’s shown that he has the fun Uso moves with nice Muay Thai integrated in. I kinda want him to grow the hair out and dye it black, just to add more to the Jay-Jimmy confusion. Speaking of Fatu’s, if WWE really wants to boost up their roster, they really need to bring in the hottest Fatu on the market, Jacob.
McKenzie Mitchell asked Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta about their next steps after losing the ladder match. Hartwell said she touched the title just like she touches Dexter Lumis. Toni D’Angelo showed up and handed Hartwell a dead fish. D’Angelo said that Dexter would get the message…
Elektra Lopez was walking to the ring from backstage and said she hopes Xyon Quinn is watching…[c]
A video aired of Tommaso Ciampa working the WWE UK tour. Ciampa talked about how Bron Breakker is impressing him.
7. Elektra Lopez vs. Erika Yan. Yan pressured Elektra into the corner. Elektra regained control and choked Yan on the second rope. Elektra hit Yan with a suplex. Lopez hit Yan with an ugly, in a kinda bad way, Blue Thunder Bomb for the win.
Elektra Lopez defeated Erika Yan via pinfall in 1:24.
Lopez said she wants Xyon Quinn now. Xyon Quinn made his entrance wearing street clothes. Lopez said Quinn turned everyone and her’s heads last week. Lopez asked Quinn to join Legado Del Fantasma. Quinn said Lopez is amazing, but he can’t get down with Legado. Joequin Wilde shoved Quinn which lead to Quinn clearing Mendoza and Wilde from the ring. Quinn caught both of Lopez’s punches and turned it into a back hug. Quinn walked away from the ring. Lopez held back Wilde and Mendoza. Beth said she senses sexual tension…
John’s Thoughts: Yo! Three matches this week’s NXT with non-Japanese Asian Representation (my guess from all their names is that they all may be Chinese. We all know Boa is). I’m happy for my fellow members of Chinese heritage and hope we get represented more in pro wrestling. Yan has a nice athletic look, so she might have potential. I think she looks great and took the loss great. As for Lopez, I’ve tried to give her the benefit of the doubt, but she’s had a handful of clunky matches in NXT. Maybe they might want to keep her off TV for a while so she can clean up some of the botches she makes?
An add aired for NXT Takeover Wargames appearing December 5th 2021…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Thank God. I thought we wouldn’t get takeovers anymore. My guess is that this is still in the PC, so that still sucks, but I hope that when travel gets more normal in the next year or so, that they get back to having Takeovers in arenas again. Some of the best WWE live events I’ve been to in years have been NXT live events.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Kyle O’Reilly about Von Wagner losing last week even though his feet were on the ropes. O’Reilly said he understands that the refs make mistakes sometimes. O’Reilly said that he was conteplating on going for the world or tag titles and decided to go for the tag titles with Von. Imperium showed up to taunt Kyle and then back down…
John’s Thoughts: Ugh. What a letdown. O’Reilly is a world title guy.
The commentary team hyped up next week’s advertised matches: Tony D’Angelo vs. Dexter Lumis and Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson in a “Poker Challenge”…
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams got a televised entrance….
8. NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. Pete Dunne in a non-title match. As usual, Dunne dominated Melo with the Joint Manipulation. Melo recovered and worked on Dunne with clubbing lows. Dunne recovered and hit Melo with a PK. Dunne went back to the joint manipulation. Dunne did his signature finger break spot to Melo.
Melo slammed Dunne’s head into the apron at ringside. Dunne blocked a suplex and hit Melo with an X-Plex on the apron. Dexter Lumis appeared to of nowhere and put on the headset. Joseph wondered if Lumis will actually talk on commentary. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Dunne had Melo in the joint manipulation in the center of the ring. Joseph tried to ask Lumis question, but Lumis stayed stonefaced. Beth joked that Lumis was focusing on the action. Dunne hit Melo with a running knee. Melo caught Dunne out of nowhere with a Codebreaker. Melo hit Dunne with a facebuster on the knee and a lariat. Melo hit Dunne with a Uranage for a two count. The announcers advertised Odyssey Jones and Jacket Time vs. Diamond Mine.
Dunne fought back with a few driving blows. Dunne hit Melo with a sitout power bomb for a two count. Dunne hit Melo with an enzuigiri. Melo came back with a pump kick. Dunne caught a flying Melo with a forearm. Melo reversed a suplex into a Brainbuster for a two count on Dunne. Melo and Dunne traded stiff punches to the head. Melo hit Dunne with a SWEET La Mistica into the GargaNo Escape. Dunne escaped and gave Melo flutter kicks.
Dunne gave Melo a dropkick. Trick tried to interfere and had his hands stomped on. Melo recovered and tossed Dunne throat first into the bottom rope. Dexter Lumis took out Trick at ringside. Melo got distracted by a random gloved hand that was emerging from the apron. Pete Dunne took advantage of the distract to hit Melo with the Bitter End for the win.
Pete Dunne defeated Carmelo Hayes via pinfall in 12:13 in a non-title match.
Johnny Gargano emerged from the apron and traded thumbs ups with Dexter Lumis to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Great NXT 1.0 style match! It was good to see Carmelo Hayes unleashed and Pete Dunne allowed to be Pete Dunne, and their styles meshed well. I actually like the screwy finish as it allows for a potential takeover match down the road, given 5-8 more minutes. As usual, Dunne picks up the clean win. I don’t think the guy has lost in about a year. His last lost might have been War Games last year when he was the stooge for Pat McAfee. Melo had one of his best matches to date here and I’m looking forward to some of his matches against other high-workrate guys in NXT. Maybe they can turn the North American Title into the workrate title?
I thought this was a good episode of NXT and NXT is starting to settle into a good groove telling good stories. This week felt less experimental, and more towards forwarding storylines. They are also doing more Jeremy Borash style cinematic skits which were a highlight of NXT about two years ago when he brought that technique over from the Matt Hardy Broken Universe. If NXT can push out a show like this episode consistently, maybe NXT can get back to being watchable weekly television?
Toxic Attraction feels like a better version of The Beautiful People.
Andre Chase looks like Kurrgan’s mini me.
I’m pretty sure that blonde long-haired student that spoke up for Andre Chase in his class was Dolph Ziggler. They purposely made sure you never see his face, but once or twice you can catch a slight glimpse of the side of the face…
Just fyi, I think Vic said Pete Dunne is undefeated in War Games matches during his entrance so that might not be his last loss either