By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT 2.0 TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live January 11, 2022 on USA Network
A recap aired of Bron Breakker’s path to the NXT Championship ultimately ending in Breakker beating Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT belt…
Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett were on commentary…
Samantha Irvin introduced Bron Breakker who made his entrance in street clothes and with his NXT title. Breakker soaked up dueling “You deserve it” and “no you don’t” chant. Breakker grabbed the mic and thanked Tommasso Ciampa for not only being a great champion, but a great human being. Breakkker said Ciampa congratulated him after his win and also paid respect to Breakker’s father Rick Steiner.
Breakker said what he likes about NXT is there are no rest or bye weeks and they get to keep wrestling for the fans every week. Breakker said he’s the freakin NXT Champion and he’ll prove why he’s champion every single week. As Breakker was making his exit, Santos Escobar made his entrance to head to his match. Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza were flanking him. Breakker and Escobar crossed paths. Xyon Quinn also made his entrance…
John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective first promo for Breakker as champion. Smart for him to thank Ciampa during the promo as it is a good first step in him winning over more of the “Black and gold” fans who could see Breakker as an enemy. Looking forward to Breakker’s first real feud. I know 2.0 does that thing where they end promo segments and have the next match entrances take place seamlessly, but I also wouldn’t mind a Escobar vs. Breakker feud. Escobar’s one of the best technical wrestlers in the world and he would definitely lead Breakker to another level in the ring. They can also play off both of them having legendary fathers in wrestling.
1. Santos Escobar (w/Joaquin Wilde, Raul Mendoza) vs. Xyon Quinn. Right after Quinn struck a fighting pose, he went right at Escobar. Elektra Lopez was shown atop the crow’s nest. Quinn dominated Escobar for a stretch. Quinn actually dominated the match up to the picture-in-picture.[c]
During the break, Escobar hit Quinn with the Arrow from the Depth’s of Hell. Escobar took down Quinn with a chop block. Escobar worked on Quinn with methodical strikes. Escobar mocked Quinn’s haka dance. This fired up Quinn who hit Escobar with a pounce. Quinn hit Escobar with a strike combination. Raul Mendoza got on the apron for the distraction which allowed him to hit Quinn over the top rope.
Escobar put Quinn in the Fireman Carry, but he got distracted by Elektra Lopez. Escobar went for an Arrow from the Depths of Hell, but he was punched by Quinn. While the referee was checking on Escobar, Quinn and Lopez were sizing each other up for a little sexual tension. Once Quinn turned his back thinking Elektra was on his side, Elektra punted him in the balls. This allowed Escobar to recover and nail Quinn with the Phantom Driver for the win.
Santos Escobar defeated Xyon Quinn via pinfall in 10:38.
The show cut to Tony D’Angelo cutting a promo to hype up his crowbar on a pole match…
A replay aired of Grayson Waller attacking AJ Styles on Raw the prior night…
Cameron Grimes was hyped to be “in action” after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Horrible feud, but the match was pretty good. Xyon Quinn looked really good here but you have to give a chunk of credit to Escobar for really being a ring general with his nice methodical pacing of matches. Quinn’s still a bit rough, but it’s experiences like this that would help in his development. Escobar is almost like a player-coach at this point in how he’s leading some of the rookies to better matches. Speaking of rookies and legendary families, are they going to move on to Breakker vs. Escobar?
Mandy Rose was shown at a poolside photoshoot in a green bikini. She talked about her big helicopter entrance and being the Champion…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Cameron Grimes vs. Damon Kemp. Kemb started with a Belly to Belly. Both men traded chain wrestling counters. Grimes hit Kemp with an armdrag. Malcolm Bivens showed up at the top of the ramp. Barrett wondered if Bivens was scouting for new Diamond Mine members. Kemp suplexed Grimes. Wade Barrett listed off the many wrestling stars that came out of the University of Minnesota, including Damon’s brother Gable Steveson. Grimes hit Kemp with a dropkick and a few strikes. Grimes hit Kemp with a crossbody. Grime gave Kemp a Cave In for the win.
Cameron Grimes defeated Damon Kemp via pinfall in 2:20.
Grimes went to the camera and said that 2022 is when he’ll go for gold…
The show cut to Harland and Joe Gacy backstage. Gacy thanked the “committee” for giving him and Harland a chance to wrestle in the Dusty Classic play-in match. He said he and Harland will remember this for the rest of the their lives. He said they are going to use the platform to demonstrate that it doesn’t matter of your size, skills, or experience, anyone can become winners of the Dusty Cup. Gacy said when Enofe and Blade step in the ring with them they will all be in a safe space. Gacy said Harland told him that even though they will be rivals against Enofe and Blade tonight, that does not make them rivals in life…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Simple showcase for Grimes to get him back on TV after a few weeks off. Damon Kemp (real name Bobby Steveson) is the brother of Olympic Gold Medalist and Raw star Gable Steveson. I wouldn’t mind seeing Kemp get a run with Diamond Mine which hopefully coincides with Diamond Mine seeing more success again. I guess he can fill the spot that Hachiman held, except he’ll wrestle way more. As for Grimes, I want to hear more promos from him and hope that the seriousness he took out of the Duke Hudson feud sticks. I hope his promo about going for gold eventually leads to him becoming NXT Champion (though it’s probably more likely he is heading towards the North American title).
A replay showed of Von Wagner beating up planted fans. Joseph noted that the “WWE disciplinary committee” has fined and suspended Von Wagner indefinitely.
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Joe Gacy and Harland vs Edris Enofe and Malik Blade in a Dusty Rhodes Classic Play-in match. Gacy hit Enofe with a back elbow and shoulder tackle. Gacy then hit Enofe with a forearm. Gacy hit Enofe with a swinging Uranage for a two count. Enofe armdragged Gacy to prevent a tag to Harland. Enofe tagged in Blade to isolate Gacy away from Harland. Blade and Enofe swarmed Gacy with nice tandem moves. Gacy managed to tag in Harland after dodging a corner splash. Harland slammed Blade against the bottom buckle.
Harland smashed Blade’s face into the bottom buckle. Harland turned Enofe inside out with a lariat. Harland kept smashing and bashing Blade’s face into the turnbuckle. The referee called for the DQ after Harland kept pummeling Blade after the five count.
Malik Blade and Edris Enofe defeated Harland and Joe Gacy via DQ in 3:14 to advance to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Blade and Enofe celebrated their win once they recovered…
John’s Thoughts: Interesting stuff. I thought it was for sure that they were putting Gacy and Harland forward (though they might do some sort of wild card thing to still get them in the match). Blade and Enofe looked really good and had amazing chemistry at first glance, especially during that spot where they were swarming Gacy with tandem kicks. I also liked the story of them trying their hardes to keep Harland out of the ring. The match also made Harland look good, who comes off as a beast.
An Imperium promo aired. Each member explained Imperium’s mission statement. Walter talked about how they work harder than everyone else. Barthel talked about how people in America live in gluttony and sloth. Thoughout the video they would splice in stock footage of Americans looking dumb, lazy, and unflattering. Aichner talked about Imperium not going on vacation. He said they build their success on pain and suffering. Barthel said they look down on the unkempt, uneducated, and unfashionable. He said they present themselves with class, elegance, and sophistication. Walter said they are not like you Americans. They all ended the promo with their “ring is sacred” motto…
John’s Thoughts: Great Imperium promo and the best they’ve come off as a unit in NXT. What helped here is Barthel and Aichner picking up their promo game in recent months. It also was a nice touch to splice in the stock footage which made the video come off like a German propaganda advertisement, which is what they were going for.
Entrances for the next match took place…
4. Pete Dunne vs. Tony D’Angelo in a Crowbar on a Pole match. My feed cut out at the beginning of the match. D’Angelo hit Dunne with a Belly to Belly Dunne slammed D’Angelo to the mat and went for the crowbar. D’Angelo pulled Dunne down and hit Dunne with a Falcon Arrow. The show cut to regular commercial. [c]
Vic Joseph clarified that the only legal weapon in this match is the crowbar. Dunne hit D’Angelo with a straight jacket neckbreaker. Barrett noted that WWE has strange matches sometimes and noted that one time he fought Randy Orton in an elevator. Dunne went into his usual joint manipulation. Dunne went for the crowbar, but was given a German Suplex. D’Angelo got the crowbar. Dunne dodged a crowbar shot.
[Hour Two] D’Angelo’s crowbar got stuck in the top rope which allowed Dunne to punt it and gain possession of it. D’Angelo avoided a few swings. D’Angelo baited Dunne and hit Dunne with a release suplex on the apron. D’Angelo tried to smash Dunne’s hand on the announce table with a crowbar, but Dunne got his hand out of the way. Dunne tossed D’Angelo around and hit him with a knee drop. Dunne gave D’Angelo a crossface with the crowbar.
Tony hit Pete with a crosbar assisted neckbreaker for a two count. D’Angelo stomped Dunne’s hand. Dunne went for another neckbreaker, but Dunne escaped and swarmed D’Angelo with kicks. Dunne blocked a suplex by landing on his feet. Dunne crossfaced D’Angelo’s teeth with the crowbar. D’Angelo managed to escape. D’Angelo tried to bring a chair in the ring, forcing the referee to drag the chair away. Dunne put D’Angelo into a Kimura with finger manipulation.
D’Angelo managed to get a rope break. D’Angelo shoved Dunne’s head into the bottom buckle. D’Angelo clocked Dunne in the face with the crowbar for the win.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Pete Dunne via pinfall.
John’s Thoughts: The match started a bit rough, with it being a bit hard to suspend disbelief with both guys obviously not trying to hit each other with the bar because it would kill a person. That said, the second half of the match was really good. Dunne and D’Angelo have great chemistry. Kudos to D’Angelo in his last too matches, coming off as really competent in the ring. I wonder? This might be Pete Dunne’s first loss in NXT in over a year? I wonder if that (combined with him being sighted at main roster dark segments) is a sign that he’s getting the callup.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Grayson Waller about his upcoming match against AJ Styles. Waller said he’s in the main event and that’s where he’ll stay. Waller said he’s on all the shows now and he might even show up on Smackdown to confront people like Roman Reigns or Shinsuke Nakamura. He said he’s going to created another “Grayson Waller Moment” tonight….
Persia Pirotta, Indi Hartwell, and Wendy Choo were getting ready backstage. Choo was just waking up, as usual…[c]
Mandy Rose was at another bikini photo shoot. She introduced a promo that focused on Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne who hyped themselves up…
Indi Hartwell and Persia were already in the ring. They were joined by Wendy Choo who brought her smoothie and pillow to the ring…
5. Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, and Amari Miller vs. Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta, and Wendy Choo. Miller hit Hartwell with a kick and dropkick. Miller almost crashed and burned on a suicide dive (thankfully Pirotta saved her life). Carter and Catanzaro hit Hartwell and Pirotta with dives. The camera showed Briggs and Jensen watching the match. Carter hit Hartwell with a shoulder breaker.
Carter dropkicked Pirotta off the apron. Choo tagged in. Choo did a sleepy dodged Miller’s lariat.. Choo then hit Miller with a few Belly to Belly suplexes for a two count. Everyone hit each other with signature moves to leave everyone lying. Barrett said Miller should pin Choo because Choo is asleep. Pirotta hit Miller with an F5. Hartwell hit a slingshot elbow drop on Miller for the win.
Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta, and Wendy Choo defeated Amari Miller, Kayden Carter, and Kacy Catanzaro via pinfall in 3:40.
MSK were backstage where they walked into the Dusty Rhodes cup. They talked about how they won in the past and will tear through all the tag teams. Past Dusty Rhodes Classic champion Dakota Kai showed up and told MSK that their success could lead to them breaking up. After she left Carter yelled “Don’t you dare put that evil on us” (I think he was quoting Michael Clarke Duncan from Talladega Nights)…
Solo Sikoa was taping up his fists for his match after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A bit of a rough match, but it got better when things settled down a bit. I don’t like the whole narcoleptic Susie Yung gimmick for Karen Q, but at the same time let’s see if she can make it work.
Kay Lee Ray showed up to Mandy Rose empty photoshoot areas and smashed everything with her bat like it was one of her smash rooms…
6. Solo Sikoa vs. Regular Boa. Boa was without his facepaint. Solo took down Boa and hit him with ground and pound. Boa gained control after tossing Solo into the ringpost. The crowd gave Solo “Uso” chants in support. Boa worked on Solo with knees. Boa hit Solo with a Butterfly Suplex for a two count. Boa was bleeding from the face. Barrett also pointed out that Solo was bleeding from the gums. Solo escaped a chinlock. Solo blocked a roundhouse and gave Solo clinch strikes.
Solo hit Boa with a senton. Solo took himself and Boa out to ringside with a lariat. Solo tossed Boa into the stairs. Boa tossed Solo into the ringpost and table. The referee counted to 10.
Solo Sikoa vs. Boa ended in a double countout in 3:47.
Solo and Boa brawled to the back (presumably for Boa to put on some facepaint)…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed AJ Styles about his thoughts on the Solo and Boa brawl. Styles said he loves that kind of passion that the stars have. He said it’s infectious to everyone except Grayson Waller. Mitchell said Waller is confident and thinks he has Styles in the palm of his hand. Styles said it’s just nervous confidence. Styles bragged about the Georgia Bulldogs winning the national championship and he’s going to ride that momentum to a Royal Rumble win. He said his path to WrestleMania will start with him shutting up Grayson Waller’s mouth…
A video package aired to recap the Carmelo Hayes vs. Roderick Strong Championship Unification match at New Years Evil…
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were shown entering the WWE Performance Center from the parking lot…[c]
Solo and Boa were still brawling at the WWE PC’s warehouse area. They were tossing each other through all the equipment. After Solo tossed Boa over a crate, Solo went to follow up but Boa shot a fireball in his face. Robbie Brookside, Norman Smiley, and some staff members went to check on Solo. Boa stood up to show that he magically had facepaint on…
John’s Thoughts: What? Oh lord. Magic fireballs and magic facepaint.
Vic Joseph noted that Von Wagner’s fine has been fully paid and his suspension has been lifted (Robert Stone’s doing?)…
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance. Williams said everyone should make some noise for the North American Champion. He said he and Melo go together like peanut butter jelly, Shaq and Kobe, Trick and big booty women. Melo took the mic. Melo said last week was one of the toughest challenges of his career with a tough opponent in Roderick Strong. He said he was calling for a moment of slience for Strong’s title run. Melo teased pouring a 40 oz beer out for Roddy but the bottle was empty.
Melo talked about how how numbers don’t lie and how Melo don’t miss. He said he’s the walking cheat code, history maker in physical form, and the most scintillating champion in NXT. Melo reiterated that when the North American Title is around his waist, that title is the A title. Melo said you can step up and get stepped on. He said that’s how it is and that’s how it’s going to be….
AJ Styles made his entrance and cross paths with Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes…
John’s Thoughts: Is this a Shawn Michaels thing? Where he teases feuds by having wrestlers cross paths? That what he did when he teased a feud with Adam Cole and himself? Anyways, good promo by Melo to continue to build his persona. I continue to also point out that Trick Williams is constantly getting better and has evolved quickly to a pretty decent talker.
Trick and Melo asked the doorman for their car keys back, but Cameron Grimes took them and was taunting Trick and Melo. Grimes said 2021 Grimes would be doing donuts with their car, but 2022 Grimes is going to keep it straight and that he’s coming for the NA Gold. He said he’s going to the moon (but not being as over the top with his pronunciation of “moon”)…
John’s Thoughts: Cameron Grimes looked nice in the clean suit. They’re walking a fine line with him being more serious yet still having some cartoony artifacts of his character over the last 6 years. I hope they find the right mix and hope they don’t give up on him gradually becoming more of a credible performer.
Entrances for the next match took place…
7. AJ Styles vs. Grayson Waller. There were dueling Waller and Styles chants with only a few chanting for Waller. Both men started the match with trading headlocks. Styles chopped Waller in the corner. Styles punted Waller in the hamstring and followed up with a backbreaker. Styles body slammed Waller and hit Waller with a crisscross knee. Waller gave Styles a few chops, but Styles came back with his own chops.
Waller hit Styles with a pinpoint jab. Styles dropkicked Waller to ringside. Waller tripped Styles off the apron. Waller gave Styles a neckbreaker on the second rope. Waller gave Styles a lariat right after a baseball slide. The show cut to picture-in-picture. [c]
Waller hit Styles with a side bicycle kick. Waller pulled up Styles by the hair and taunted him. Styles escaped and gave him a boot. Style hit Waller with a backfist lariat combo. Styles hit Waller with a diving punch. Styles hit Waller with a Ushigoroshi for a two count. Styles hit Waller with a slingshot forearm. Waller hit Styles with a jawbreaker on the top rope followed by a discus forearm. Waller hit Styles with a crossover elbow for a two count.
[Overrun] Styles avoided Waller in the corner and rolled him into a Calf Killer. Waller got to the rope for a break. Waller hit Styles with a modified Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Styles backdropped Waller to prevent him from using the Styles Clash. Styles hit Waller with a forearm. Waller avoided a Phenomenal Forearm. Waller hit Styles with a rolling stunner for a good nearfall. Waller avoided a Styles clash but walked into a Pele Kick.
Styles hit Waller with a brainbuster. Styles hit Waller with a Phenomenal Forearm for the win.
AJ Styles defeated Grayson Waller via pinfall in 14:15.
Styles took the mic after the match and called out Waller. He said he liked giving Waller that ass kicking. He said Waller is good, but not phenomenal. He said the night isn’t over because he wanted to introduce him to one of his friends. LA Knight made his entrance and Barrett noted we haven’t seen him since he was laid out in the parking lot.
Knight chased Waller around the ring and then chucked him into the announce chairs. Knight brawled with Waller some more and dumped him to ringside with a lariat. Knight’s theme played. Knight and Styles hugged in the middle of the ring before closing the show…
John’s Thoughts: A fun match that was given a good amount of TV time to really tell a good story. It was fun to see babyface Styles “unleashed”, and able to pull out a myriad of his varied moveset (most of his year with Omos required him getting beat up for long stretches a majority of his matches). Waller has the potential to be a big deal someday, with a deep moveset himself, and he really looked good in there with the former multi-time world champion. Cool to see Knight back. Interested to see what they do with him as a babyface. One thing you can count on from Knight is hard work so he should be able to do some good things with Waller as long as they get good TV time.
This was a good reset show. I assume New Years Evil was the endpoint of the last set of storylines and this week’s show focused on starting new ones. This show wasn’t bad and was elevated with AJ Styles being on it.
Dunne and Chaimpa both lose back to back weeks and show up on Main Event. I think they would make an interesting team on RAW