By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT 2.0 TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live December 14, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour One] A highlight video aired recapping Johnny Gargano’s farewell-for-now speech, which included a subsequent beatdown by Grayson Waller…
Footage from “moments ago” showed Grayson Waller entering the WWE Performance Center, met by an angry crowd of fans booing him in the parking lot…
Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the no hold barred match aired…
1. Cameron Grimes vs. Duke Hudson in a No-Holds Barred Match. Grimes kicked Hudson with a Yakuza Kick when Hudson entered the ring. Grimes put a trash can on Hudson and hit him with a PK. Hudson recovered and put the boots to Grimes. Grimes recovered and hit Hudson with a moonsault for a two count. Hudson kicked Grimes when Grimes went for a chair. Hudson tossed the weapons far away. Grimes went for Hudson’s wig, but Hudson hit Grimes with a jawbreaker on the top rope to escape the hold.
Hudson hit Grimes with an impressive slingshot German Suplex. Grimes used a Yakuza Kick to block a chair shot. Hudson gave Grimes a thumb to the eye. Grimes reversed a Razor’s Edge with a huracanrana (looks like Grimes might have hit his own head on the comedown). Grimes went for a poetry in motion off a chair, but Grimes reversed it into a Uranage onto that chair. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
For some reason a poker table found it’s way into the match and was set up in the ring. Grimes hit Hudson with a crossbody for the two count. Grimes went for a Cave In, but Hudson reversed it into a power bomb through the table. Hudson went for the pin, but Grimes’s shoulders were propped up by the Table. The extra adjustment time allowed Grimes to kick out at two. Hudson grabbed clippers and tried to cut Grimes’s hair but Grimes recovered with a roundhouse. Grimes hit Hudson with a Poisonrana. Grimes gave Hudson a cave-in on a chair for the win.
Cameron Grimes defeated Duke Hudson via pinfall in 11:14 to win the no-holds barred match.
After the match, Grimes ripped off Hudson’s headgear to reveal that he’s bald now. Vic Joseph made a bunch of random poker puns while running through the match highlights…
John’s Thoughts: A much better match compared to their match at WarGames. This match was allowed to tell a bell-to-bell story and had some fun drama throughout. The last match was just way underwhelming for two guys as talented as these two. It should also be noted that at WarGames, these two had the unenviable task of following the really got tag title match on the show. Not sure if the poker table holding Cameron’s shoulder’s up was on purpose or not, but it added a nice layer of logic to the match. I ready for both guys to move on from this. Grimes has been more serious as of late and the upper card that just lost Johnny Gargano and Kyle O’Reilly could really use him. I have high hopes for Hudson too and hopefully he loses the poker guy gimmick. For some reason, they decided to recreate the Edge vs. Kurt Angle bald feud from back in the day with him.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Cora Jade about her match against Dakota kai later in the show. Jade said she’s excited that she’s medically cleared. Dakota Kai showed up and said she was hear to warn Jade that Raquel Gonzalez is using Jade to do all her dirty work and take all the credit. Kai joked that maybe her and Gonzalez can win the dusty cup one day or something. Jade called Kai “mom” and said she’s going to beat Kai, taking her one step closer to challenging for the Women’s Championship…
Grayson Waller was walking backstage and Vic noted that Waller will address his attack on Johnny Gargano after the break…[c]
A Briggs and Jensen skit aired where they are still acting like generic country boys. This was a continuation of last week’s skit where they joined Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter at a country concert…
Grayson Waller made his entrance to a myriad of boos. Waller soaked in “asshole” chants from the PC crowd. Waller talked about Gargano saying “you never lose if you bet on yourself”. Waller talked about Gargano talking about the crowd, the fans, and himself. Waller said he did what he said he was going to do last week, get all the views, trend, and that’s what happens when you bet on yourself. Waller told the production truck to replay footage of the Gargano beatdown via Waller’s phone camera footage. Waller said he cemented himself as THE NXT star last week. He talked about winning wargames and taking out an NXT legend last week.
He talked about how he was celebrating with celebrities all week while the fans are just complaining online. Waller read off angry tweets online. Waller berated Wade Barrett for his negative comments. Waller then talked to Vic Joseph. Waller pointed out that Joseph didn’t do a single thing when Waller attacked Joseph’s best friend, Johnny Gargano. Waller said he doesn’t needs friends or fans. He said the only thing he needs is himself, Grayson Waller…
Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett checked in on commentary. Barrett said he wanted to like Waller, but he can’t. Joseph said it was time to move on and recap MSK finding the Shaman, Matt Riddle. A replay aired of MSK finding Riddle and sharing their “stash” with him. The graphic said MSK and Riddle will appear later in the show…
Malcolm Bivens was at the Diamond Mine gym. He hyped up Roderick Strong vs. Bron Breakker. Strong asked Nile and the Creeds to stay backstage while he takes care of business by himself. The graphic said that Ivy Nile will also have a match after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Great stuff from Waller. Kudos to NXT for elevating Grayson Waller. It was not to long ago where he was the designated enhancement wrestler on 205 Live. They turned the guy heel, he takes the ball and runs with it, and they utilized Johnny Gargano’s departure to put more heat on the guy. NXT only had one chance to use Gargano’s departure to put heat on someone and it’s good that Waller is talking that heat and running with it. The guy is a potential big star in WWE and he’s seeming making WWE proud in their investment in him.
The show cut to Lashing out with Lash Legend where she interviewed Jacket Time. Karen Q’s random “susie-like” (from Impact Wrestling) character was also randomly there. Jiro said the secret to Jacket Time’s success is “Style Strong”. Lash talked about there being heat between the GYV and Jacket Time. Kushida said they are not to be underestimated. Kushida said the GYVs are like Grayson Waller. Jiro cut a promo in Japanese saying he’s going to wipe the floor with the GYVs. Jiro did his signature chest flash to draw cheers from the studio audience. Lash closed the show…
Nile was already in the ring while Amari Miller made her entrance…
2. Ivy Nile (w/Malcolm Bivens) vs. Amari Miller. Nile used a handstand to escape a headscissors. Miller managed to create distance from Nile. Nile pulled in Miller and hit her with a kidney punch. Nile used Tricep Pushups to torture Miller. Nile then did elevated pushups on Miller. Miller went for a few rollups to no avail. Nile stunned Miller with a gut punch. Miller went for a backslide which Nile escaped. Miller hit Nile with a back kick, snapmare, and heel kick. Miller hit Nile with a dropkick. Nile ducked a kick and hit Miller with a spinebuster. Nile rolled into a Dragon Sleeper for the tapout win.
Ivy Nile defeated Amari Miller via submission in 3:42.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Xyon Quinn about his loss to Santos Escobar last week and wondered what Elektra Lopez’s intentions were. Quinn said it didn’t matter what her intentions were because it led to Escobar’s win. Quinn said he runs it straight and Quinn said now that he knows the rules to Elektra’s game, game on. Quinn left. Robert Stone randomly showed up and said he’s sick and tired of all the disrespect from everyone. He said he’s going to be serious now. Von Wagner showed up and said he’s going to smash and beat more bodies into the ground next week, just because he can. He said if you have a problem with that you can say it to his face. McKenzie sent the show to the next segment…
Joe Gacy was with Harland outside somewhere. He told Harland not to be afraid to be who he is…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Nile continues to look impressive, offering something different from anyone on the WWE roster with her legit-badass look. Well, not completely different. She does remind me of Shayna Baszler when Baszler started in the california independents. Hopefully they don’t screw things up with Nile like they did to Baszler on the main roster (High hopes, I know).
Matt Riddle was hanging out with Wes Lee and Nash Carter backstage where they were looking through MSK’s stash bag. There were scissors, glasses, batteries, and earbuds in it. Somehow, a baseball bad fit inside their magic bag. Riddle pulled out a traffic cone, a John Cena replica US title, and Dragon Balls (yes, from DBZ). Riddle said all of these things were cluttering their minds. Riddle said they have to focus to regain the NXT Tag Titles.
Carter and Lee asked how they can clear their minds and let go. Riddle pulled out a scooter from MSK’s magic bag. Carter wondered how they fit the scooter in the bag. Riddle said to find what you’re looking for you need to dig deep. Carter and Lee pulled out scooters for themselves. Riddle said “now, we ride”…
Joe Gacy and Harland made their entrance next. Rapper Westside Gunn was shown in the crowd. Vic Joseph hyped up the Migos appearing at the Day 1 PPV coming up…
3. Harland (w/Joe Gacy ) vs. Guru Raj. Harland slammed Raj to the mat a several times. Harland grinded his elbow in the head of Raj. Raj tried to come back with punches, but Harland gave Raj a knee to the chest. Harland gave Raj a twisting Uranage for the win.
Harland defeated Guru Raj via pinfall in 1:03.
Gacy asked Harland if he feels better. Harland shook his head no and went back to slam Raj into the mat a few more times. Referees and trainers ran out to escort Harland to the back after telling him to stop.
LA Knight pulled up to the parking lot in a red car. The interviewer asked Knight about having enough of Waller and how Waller threw a hissy fit after being turned down by a lady last week. Knight called Waller an incel. Knight told Waller that if he wants a piece of Knight he can find him backstage…Yeah….
Cora Jade made her entrance. Mandy Rose also came out and joined the commentary table…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Standard big man debut for Harland, but not too impressive. At least yet. It’ll probably take time. Again, this guy has a lot of hype behind him given Paul Heyman dubbing him the next Brock Lesnar. I do hope they drop the “Harland” gimmick once he gets called up to the main roster though. It’s totally possible, that’s what WWE did for wrestlers like John Cena or Batista after they left OVW.
The camera cut to the security guards and referees escorting Harland and Joe Gacy down a stairwell. Harland shoved one of the guards down the stairs and everyone ran to the guard to check on his health…
John’s Thoughts: Uhm? Harland should go [back] to jail for that right? It was on TV. I know, pro wrestling. But it’s odd to see the announce team just go business as usual after seeing a man seemingly almost die.
[Hour Two] Dakota Kai made her entrance…
4. Cora Jade vs. Dakota Kai. Jade was selling her shoulder, complete with KTape. Kai gave Jade’s shoulder a Yakuza Kick. Kai pulled Jade in, slamming Jade’s shoulder into the ringpost. Kai gave Jade’s shoulder a PK. Kai continued to tortured Jade’s injured shoulder with an elbow stretch. Kai dominated Jade for a stretch, focusing on the injury. Jade attempted a one-armed comeback wtih forearms, but she was whipped into the corner.
Kai tangled herself in the ropes with a Yakuza kick and was dumped to ringside to give Jade a moment of respite. Jade gave Kai a huracanrana and knee in the corner. Jade gave Kai a missile dropkick for a two count. Kai recovered and gave Jade a backbreaker for a two count. Kai gave Jade a Face Wash against the bottom buckle for a two count. Kai gave Jade a twisting facebuster for a two count. Kai acted crazy at the crowd berating her. Kai pulled a shovel from under the ring. The referee yanked the shovel away from Kai. Due to Kai being shaken up, Jade rolled up Kai for the suprise win.
Cora Jade defeated Dakota Kai via pinfall in 6:27.
Kai took out Jade with a Yakuza Kick after the match. Raquel Gonzalez ran out and cleared Kai from the ring, chasing her to the back. Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne made their entrance. Rose used the distraction to blindside Jade. Rose gave Jade a shoulder breaker to leave her lying in the ring. Toxic Attraction held up their title belts while heading up the ramp…
Grayson Waller was gloating backstage. Tiffany Stranton showed up and said Waller is a terrible person. They wouldn’t show Straton’s face for some reason. Io Shirai showed up and threw a fit in Japanese in front of Waller. After Shirai left, Waller said “I think she likes me”…
Tony D’Angelo made his entrance, holding Pete Dunne’s mouthguard in a glass case…[c]
John’s Thoughts: WWE is clearly behind Cora Jade as a future face of the women’s division and she currently has that rocket strapped to her. For good reason, I agree that Jade has the potential to become a future WrestleMania headliner as a plucky babyface. I was afraid though that they would go into “Super Jade” mode by having her overcome the odds too many times. It would have hurt Kai to have lost cleanly with Jade selling the arm so much. They’re walking a fine line, but I’m okay with Jade getting the fluky but plucky win as opposed to her dominating Kai with a finisher.
Referees separated Kai and Gonzalez who were brawling in the parking lot. The lot was littered with kendo sticks, trash cans, and steel chairs…
Andre Chase made his entrance.
5. Tony D’Angelo vs. Andre Chase. The crowd was fully behind D’Angelo. D’Angelo punched Chase and worked on Chase with a bear hug. Chase escaped with a rope break. D’Angelo dominated Chase for a stretch. Chase managed to hit D’Angelo with a neckbreaker. Chase hit D’Angelo with his signature cheerleader stomps, which his “students” joined him in. D’Angelo went for some punches, but Chase hit D’Angelo with a smooth legsweep.
Chase worked on D’Angelo with a sleeper, which Tony broke by whipping Chase into the buckle. D’Angelo pulled Chase’s sweater over his head and gave him punches. D’Angelo hit Chase with a Fisherman Suplex into a Fisherman Backbreaker for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Andre Chase via pinfall in 4:15.
D’Angelo took a mic and cut a promo. He talked about how he’s backed up everything he said he was going to do in NXT. He said he’s the head of the class now for taking care of Chase. he said he also delivered on taking care of Pete Dunne. Pete Dunne made his entrance to interrupt the promo. Dunne said D’Angelo does a lot of talking for a geezer wtih no track record. He said he hopes D’Angelo has the same energy he’s showing face-to-face. D’Angelo said Dunne only has a face that his mother would love. D’Angelo said Dunne is missing something, his mouthpiece.
Dunne said he’s not here to talk. D’Angelo said they can settle business next week. He said he has to leave now to handle business with someone. D’Angelo tried to blindside Dunne, but Dunne saw it coming. Dunne did his finger break spot on D’Angelo. Dunne stompped on the glass case and broke it. Dunne then put the mouthguard that he stepped on and was on the ground, in his mouth… (ewww)
John’s Thoughts: Uhm? Did Dunne just put something that he stepped on and was all over the ground in his mouth? LOL. Anyway, D’Angelo’s best in-ring performance to date. Not much, but he’s one of those guys who just barely started wrestling and is already playing a great character. The in-ring will come in time, and kudos for him just wrestling only a handful of matches and not flubbing. Kudos to Chase for carrying D’Angelo too. Odd decision to go with the heel vs. heel matchup, but I do also understand that Chase is a tenured veteran. What is odd though is the crowd wants to cheer D’Angelo, but they keep slotting him as a heel.
Grayson Waller tried to give Bron Breakker a fist bump. Breakker told Waller to leave because he’s not welcome. Waller said real stars get their own locker room….
Boa made his entrance…[c]
The camera showed that the man who was shoved down the stairs by Harland was “The” Brian Kendrick….
John’s Thoughts: Oh! That was Kendrick. I thought that he was just some dude.
6. Boa vs. Edris Enofe. Boa dominated with methodical offense. Solo Sikoa was watching from a monitor backstage. Edris rallied back a bit and nailed Boa with a dropkick. Edris hit Boa with a Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Edris went for a dive, but he took a roundhouse from Boa. Boa got Edris to his knee with a jaw grab. Boa then hit Edris with a spinning back roundhouse for the win.
Boa defeated Edris Enofe via pinfall in 2:57.
Raquel Gonzalez was pacing in the locker room, yelling that it has to end! Raquel challenged Dakota Kai to a Street Fight…
Jacket Time made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Boa is slowly starting to win me over with his new persona. It’s put up or shut up with him because he’s been so unimpressive for so long. He’s finally starting to look decent in the ring where he was a bit too cartoony on offense in the past. His regular roundhouse finisher was also pretty boring before so I like him going with the new jaw grab and reverse roundhouse finisher. It’s certainly more impressive.
Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s collaboration with the Red Cross for their Tornado relief efforts…
Grayson Waller drove off in what I think was LA Knight’s red car, with a woman in the front seat. Waller said you’d like “this” view. LA Knight was shown lying on the pavement in pain after Waller drove off…
7. “The Grizzled Young Veterans” James Drake and Zack Gibson vs. “Jacket Time” Kushida and Ikeman Jiro. Kushida dominated Drake with chain wrestling. Gibson blind tagged in. The GYVs hit Kushida with a nice Tope-Legsweep combo. Kushida hit Gibson with a Sunset Flip, but Drake tagged in and slammed Kushida to the mat for the two count. The GYVs cut the ring in half on Kushida. The Creed Brothers showed up at ringside. Kushida fought out of the corner and tagged in Jiro who took out Drake with a wheel kick.
Jiro hit Drake with jacket punches. Jiro jumped over Drake and hit him with a German Suplex. Gibson tagged in and Drake caught Jiro with a back elbow. Jiro hit Drake with a jacket punch and took out both opponents with a crossbody. Kushida tagged in and hit Gibson with stereo cartwheel dropkicks with Jiro. Gibson hit Kushida with a Brainbuster for a two count. Kushida shoved Drake into Gibson after Drake tagged in. The GYVs got distracted by The Creed Brothers. Jacket Time hit the GYVs with stereo flip dives. Jiro hit Gibson with a Senton Bomb while Kushida held him in place to give Jiro the win.
Jacket Time defeated the Grizzled Young Veterans via pinfall in 6:09.
Carmelo Hayes walked up to Roderick Strong to taunt him. Bivens told Hayes to get out of the way. Trick Williams got nervous when he found one of Dexter Lumis’s caricature paintings lying around. It said “Trick vs. Lumis” on it…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Eh, Jacket Time is fun, but I kinda want to see Kushida in a more serious position than undercard comedy. Hey, even though it’s against the WWE youth thingy, can WWE sign Alex Shelley to reform the Time Splitters with Kush? That would definitely be a boost to the tag division. I know, we’ll never see that. Meanwhile, the GYVs still wrestle well, but this gimmick where they are cheaters that suck at cheating is horrid.
Wade Barrett announced Raquel Gonzalez vs. Dakota Kai in a street fight for next week. Vic Joseph announced that Cora Jade is day-to-day with a shoulder injury. Joseph also noted that LA Knight is being sent to the “hospital” (yes, they used the word hospital) with undisclosed injuries. Joseph said that Brian Kendrick has a possible cervical fracture after falling down the stairs and is already at the hospital…
Roderick Strong made his entrance with about 10 minutes at the top of the hour. Bron Breakker made his entrance. The show is slotted to have a 7 minute overrun according to the TV Guide…
8. NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong vs. Bron Breakker in a non-title match. Strong used a three point stance to keep Breakker at a distance. Strong took down Breakker into a front chancery. Strong was distracted by Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams showing up from the Crow’s Nest. Breakker took down Strong with a shoulder tackle. Breakker used an Alligator Roll to lift Strong into a Delayed Vertical Suplex. Strong recovered at ringside and hit Breakker with a Backbreaker heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Breakker whipped Strong to the corner but Strong came back with a knee and gutbuster. Strong went for a Stronghold, but Breakker sent Strong to ringside. Breakker hit Strong with a Frankensteiner in the ring. Breakker hit Strong with a Belly to Belly in the center of the ring.
[Overrun] Breakker tackled Strong into the corner. Strong recovered and gave Breakker chops. Strong hit Breakker with his signature drive by elbows. Strong hit Breakker with an Angle Slam for the two count. Strong hit Breakker with a Superplex. Breakker caught a flying Strong and planted him with a body slam. Breakker hit Strong with his Military Press Power Slam for the victory.
Bron Breakker defeated Roderick Strong via pinfall in 9:55 in a non-title match.
Tommasso Ciampa showed up and left Breakker lying with a Willow’s Bell. Tommaso Ciampa posed with the title belt to “Psycho Killer” chants. NXT closed…
John’s Thoughts: Decent TV match, but was taken down a notch due to the outcome not being in question whatsoever. Good win for Breakker and Strong did make him look good as expected. Looks like we’re building towards Ciampa vs. Breakker II sooner rather than later. Also looks like they are going with Carmelo Hayes vs. Strong as Hayes’s next feud. Maybe they can use that to dissolve the Cruiserweight title?
This was a good episode of NXT. NXT is a better show when they’re less experimental and building up characters. One of the highlights of this show was using the show to develop Grayson Waller as a top heel, which they did a consistant job at. I’ll be back in a little bit with my audio review of the show.
This was a rough read in places. I know you are probably writing quickly as you watch, but it would be good to go back and edit once the show is over.
Really good show until the jacket jobbers won a match. Still, NXT 2.0 is a huge improvement over the Bland and Yawn brand of 1.0.