By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT 2.0
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired August 2, 2022 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match took place. The vacant titles were seated on the ramp on a podium…
1. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Valentina Feroz and Luisa Leon vs. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley vs. “Toxic Attraction” Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne in an elimination match for the vacant NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Paxley and Carter started off the match. Carter was quickly shoved to the Toxic Attraction corner to bring Jayne in for Carter. Paxley dominated Jayne a bit leading to Dolin being tagged in. Paxley managed to tag in Nile who gave Dolin clubbing forearm blows to the chest. Nile and Paxley traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Dolin.
Carter and Feroz tagged themselves in to put the other two teams back in the corner. Carter escaped an Octopus Hold from Feroz. Leon tagged in and hip tossed Feroz on Carter. Carter managed to hit Feroz with a superkick. Nile pulled Carter to ringside. Chance hit the Diamond Mine duo with a crossbody. Leon gave Feroz a military press on the four women at ringside. Leon hit the four women at ringside with a nice looking Tope Con Hilo. Leon got a two count off Carter.
Paxley tagged in and took holds from Leon. Feroz tagged in and crossbodied Paxley during a Leon suplex to get a two count off Paxley when Nile broke up the pin. Paxley tossed Feroz into a right hand punch from Nile. Nile eliminated Feroz for the first elimination at around 5 minutes.
Jayne caught Nile with a knee from the apron for a two count. Nile gave Jayne front kicks and punches leading to a rollup for a two count. Paxley and Chance tagged in. Chance gave Paxley a thrust kick. Paxley blocked a victory roll and gave Chance a deadlift suplex for a two count. Nile tagged in and gave Chance a superman forearm and thrust kick. Chance kicked out of Nile’s pin at two. Chance did a nice leapfrog reversal on Paxley and used a headscissors takedown from a handstand to get a two count on Paxley.
Chance hit Paxley with a codebreaker. Jayne tagged herself in and rolled up Paxley for the elimination. Paxley and Nile were eliminated at around 7:55.
Dolin hit Carter with a Bronco Buster while Jayne hit Chance wiht a cannonball. Jayne reversed a kick into a rollup for a two count. Dolin tagged in and hit Carter with a legsweep for a two count. Carter hit Dolin with a superkick after a victory roll for a two count. Carter gave Dolin a German Suplex after Chance hit Dolin with a top rope jawbreaker. Dolin hit Chance with a Back Suplex. Jayne tagged in and knocked Carter off the apron.
Toxic Attraction hit Chance with a high-low kick. Carter broke up Jayne’s pin. All four women took each other out with signature moves. Jayne and Chance traded fighting spirit strikes. Chance hit Jayne with Eat Defeat. Dolin pulled Carter to ringside to prevent Chance and Carter from hitting Jayne with their finisher. Jayne rolled up Carter for a two count. Jayne ate an overhead kick from Chance. Chance and Carter hit Jayne with their 450-Reverse DDT combo to give Chance the win on Jayne.
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter defeated Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin, Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile, and Valentina Feroz and Luisa Leon via pinfall in an elimination match in 12:09 to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Chance and Carter did their rave celebration in the crowd…
John’s Thoughts: A really fun tag team four way that showcased a lot of the women involved. Luisa Leon continues to be a hidden gem that impresses me every time she gets TV time, and they rarely give her TV time. She does these very innovative feats of strength and is also very agile. Feroz is really good too and getting better every time. Nile and Paxley were solid in what little we saw from them. I hope NXT gets back to showcasing Nile because Nile has that main event main roster potential with her Titan Games cred and unique look. Very cool to see Chance and Carter finally get the tag belts. It’s been a long time coming for them to the point where I almost thought they’d get called up without getting the NXT tag straps.
McKenzie Mitchell intervieweed Briggs, Jensen, and Henley. Mitchell wondered who they are going after next to defend their UK tag titles. Jensen joked about sill not having “his first” (virgin joke). Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reed showed up to say their usual rhetoric. Gacy talked about Brooks Jensen being a 2nd generation WWE wrestler (son of Bull Buchanon), and how Cameron Grimes didn’t have the same privilege because Grimes’s wrestler father was a journeyman. This segment will probably set up a match between Gacy and Jensen…
Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes made their entrance for a promo. Trick ran down their successes. Trick talked about how he and Melo be taking all the baby mamas. Trick also noted that it’s Carmelo’s birthday. Melo said he was going to have an open challenge for his title. Giovani Vinci ended up making his entrance. While Vinci was taking his time to do his elaborate photo entrance, Nathan Frazer sprinted to the ring to end up actually take the challenge. Vinci ended up joining Joseph and Barrett on commentary. Joseph noted that there are limited commercial interruptions during the first hour of this week’s show..
2. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT North American Championship. Frazer dominated early in the match. Frazer tripped up Melo and dragged him below the belt into the ringpost. Melo caught Frazer with a draping knee and slingshot legdrop, which they called The Fadeaway, for a two count. Frazer ended Melo’s momentum a bit with a jawbreaker, but Melo came back with a flying axe handle strike for a two count. Melo rolled up Frazer for a two count.
Frazer got a breather after hitting Melo with a catapult STO into the buckle. Frazer rallied at Melo with right hands and then hit Melo with flying lariats. Frazer pummeled Melo with ground and pound. Melo avoided a Phoenix Splash but then ate a Superkick for a two count. Frazer hit Melo with a suicide dive which sent Melo into the announce table, which spilled a drink on Giovani Vinci. While the referee was distracted, Giovani Vinci shoved Frazer off the top rope. This allowed Melo to hit Frazer with the top rope Scissors Kick for the victory.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Nathan Frazer via pinfall in 5:41 to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Giovani Vinci ended up taking a photo, via his weird photo effect…
JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker were shown heading to the ring from different parts of the Performance Center. The show cut to the first commercial of the night 30 minutes into the show…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Welp, that was a lot to type down due to the lack of commercial break. Anyways, solid North American championship match to give Hayes another win under his belt while also setting up a Giovani Vinci feud with Frazer. To Vinci’s credit, Frazer did steal his title shot on top of spilling drank all over him. If I were Vinci I’d be pissed off at all the unintentionally rude things Frazer was doing.
A sponsored spotlight package aired for Solo Sikoa to build up towards his match with Von Wagner…
Wade Barrett was seated down in the center of a press conference table in the center of the ring between JD McDonagh and Bron Breakker. McDonagh cut off Barrett during the introductions and said that he wants to talk about this match against Bron Breakker. McDonagh said that Breakker’s fire might be a source of fear to opponents, but to McDonagh it’s a stimulant. He said he wants to stomp out that fire. McDonagh said he doesn’t see Breakker’s muscles as a magazine cover, but rather as a blueprint. He said he’s going to rip the muscles off of Breakker’s bones and at Heatwave Alicia Taylor will announce him as new champion.
Barrett asked Breakker about how Breakker is going to deal with McDonagh. Breakker said that JD is special. He said that Breakker held a title for over a year while in the UK (Cruiserweight). Breakker said no offense to Ziggler, Ciampa, or Gunther, but JD might be the smartest wrestler he’s encountered. Breakker said that JD is attacking his mind. Breakker said everybody has a plan into he breaks them in half. Breakker said when the title is on the line, he’s an animal. Breakker said he likes that JD likes pain, becaues JD will have a lot of pain at Heatwave. JD said he thinks that Breakker believes coming out his mouth. JD said Breakker might be right, but while Breakker endures pain, JD welcomes it.
Barrett handed JD the contract to sign first. JD said he refuses because Breakker looks like he has apprehension. JD said that Breakker needs to sign first. Breakker said he doesn’t fear anything with a heartbeat. Breakker signed the contract first. JD took the contract back from Barrett. JD said this summitt isn’t going to end in violence, but it will end in blood. JD jabbed the pen into his index finger and then signed the contract with blood from hit index finger. JD then asked Breakker to shake his bloody hand. Breakker instead held up the NXT title…
John’s Thoughts: A good unique take on the contract signing concept. JD McDonagh has done a good job over the last three weeks establishing his calm and psychotic character. You don’t see that many calm and methodical heels out there to the point where it makes him stand out. Last week he came off as menacing due to physically threatening non-wrestlers. This week him stabbing himself with a pen added to that persona. Breakker did a decent job on his end of the sitdown promo. He still needs a little more to him than just being a bland meathead.
Brutus and Julius Creed were sparring. Apollo Crews showed up and wished the Creeds luck in their upcoming match. Crews said he’s a fan of the Creeds. The Creeds said they’re fan of Crews and that Crews can get a title shot if he wants down the road for the tag team titles. They talked about how they’re going to take care of D’Angelo and Stacks. Crews told the Creeds to watch their backs and to stay prepared. Crews left. Damon Kemp show up to tell the Creeds that Roderick Strong was running late…
Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were throwing a fit backstage. Mandy Rose joined them in the fit. McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview them, but they yelled at her to send her away. Mandy Rose made her entrance for the next match. Vic Joseph sent the show to picture-in-picture after hyping the Rose vs. Stark title match at Heatwave. Sarray made her magical girl henshin entrance during the break…[c]
3. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Sarray in a non-title match. The bell rang during the break. Wade Barrett reminded viewers how Sarray’s dropkick is the reason why we got the current version of Mandy Rose after Sarray broke Rose’s nose. Rose ended Sarray’s momentum and then got a two count. Both women took turns with rollups. Rose hit Sarray with a wheelbarrow slam for a two count. Rose went for several pin attempts until Sarray stopped her with a front dropkick. Sarray hit Rose with a springboard armdrag. Sarray hit Rose with a missile dropkick.
Sarray hit Rose with a Fisherman Suplex for a two count after the bridge. Rose came back with a spinebuster for a two count. Rose hit Sarray with her running knee finisher for the win.
Mandy Rose defeated Sarray via pinfall in 5:44 in a non-title match.
Rose got up to the camera and said that “This” is what awaits Zoey Stark. Rose brought a chair to the ring. Rose yelled at Sarray saying she won’t forget about Sarray breaking her nose. Rose jabbed a chair into Sarray and was about to pilmanize Sarray’s leg. Zoey Stark ran out and cleared Rose from the ring. Stark’s theme played as she stood tall in the ring.
A Tiffany Stratton promo vignette aired, showing Stratton do a gymnastics routine. She talked about putting in the work every day and said that everyone is obsessed with how good she is. She said that Tiffany Stratton doesn’t belong in the same sentence as “loser”. She said that people in the back seem to have a miserable existance. Stratton said everything she does is pretty. Stratton ended her routine and said it was time to go shopping…
Vic Joseph hyped up the NXT Tag Title match for later in the show…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Simple match to give Rose a credible win. I like the added touch of NXT reaching back to Sarray (I believe legitamately) accidentally breaking the nose of Mandy Rose. Rose did a good job during and after the match showing that as her motivation for wanting to injure Sarray.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Axiom (a.k.a. A-Kid) and talked about how he leaps from both the comics and the textbooks. Axiom talked about how he’s excited to be in NXT and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect to join NXT. Duke Hudson showed up and said that Axiom doesn’t belong here. Hudson said there are a lot of changes happening in NXT and it’s everyone’s ballgame. He said it isn’t Axiom’s because he’s undersized and undeserving. Hudson said he has good size and it’s like night and day between them. Axiom said he’s not afraid of Hudson. Hudson said “Good for you! You’re a nerd!”. Axiom slapped Hudson.
[Hour Two] Axiom and Hudson brawled throughout the WWE Performance Center. Hudson got the advantage once then got to the Gorilla Position. Hudson tackled Axiom to the apron and gave Axiom a spinebuster on the apron. Hudson gave Axiom boots and then gave Axiom a corkscrew sidewalk slam. Hudson took the mic at ringside and said that is why you don’t believe in your heroes, because they’ll always let you down. Axiom recovered and picked up the mic. He said Hudson is right and that things have changed, but Hudson is wrong in that Axiom can prove he deserves to be here right here and right now….
4. Duke Hudson vs. Axiom. A ref came out and the bell rang once both men agreed. Hudson gave Axiom a big booto to dump him off the top rope. Hudson gave Axiom boots at ringside. Axiom gave Hudson kicks to the shin. Axiom chop blocked Hudson with a dropkick. Hudson came back with a Uranage in the corner. Hudson was limping around the ring and he worked on Axiom with boots and elbow drops. Axiom reversed a Razor’s Edge into a huracanrana. Axiom then rolled up Hudson with a Victory Roll for the win.
Axiom defeated Duke Hudson via pinfall in 2:10.
John’s Thoughts: A good plucky win for Axiom, but I do feel that it’s a bit cliche to give Axiom the generic “underdog” treatment. Hopefully they’ve moved pass the generic part and hopefully the move on to making Axiom feel important. It will be tricky, because what exactly is a “Mathematical Superhero”. Duke Hudson looked good in defeat, but I also feel like he gets defeated way too much. At least he was overconfident and cocky here, which led to his downfall, but the guy is a good wrestler, good talker, and has a good look. Why isn’t WWE pushing this guy (Yes, I remember them calling him up too early with his TMDK tag partner Shane Haste, but Hudson has grown a lot as a talker and character to the point where he’s main roster ready now). For some reason, Hudson continues to job out to everyone.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee, who wore a Muhammad Ali shirt. Lee said he agrees that Trick Williams go the better of him last time, but he’s confused as to why Trick is calling himself the 2nd coming of Muhammad Ali. Lee showed pictures of Williams imitating Muhammad Ali. Lee said that next week he and Trick can have a UK style rounds match. Lee laid out the challenge and wondered if Trick will accept…
John’s Thoughts: WWE Heritage Cup Style match? The Heritage cup is similar to the Impact Wrestling Grand Championship where the matches are wrestled in rounds and via points. Unlike Impact, there are no judges and instead the winner is the person with the most pinfalls after three rounds.
Entrances for the tag title match happened. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions for the championship match…
5. “The Creed Brothers” Julius and Brutus Creed (w/Damon Kemp) vs. “The D’Angelo Family” Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Elektra Lopez, Joaquin Wilde, and Cruz Del Toro) for the NXT Tag Team Titles. Julius and Tony started the match. Julius dominated with side headlocks. Barrett noted that Julius took the pinfall last week leading to this title defense. Brutus and Stacks tagged in. Brutus dominated Stacks with an alligator roll and hip toss. Brutus took down Stacks with an axe handle strike. Julius tagged in and gave Stacks an elevated Atomic Drop. Tony tagged in and blocked a suplex from Julius. Tony hit Julius with an X Plex. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Brutus gave Stacks a Monty Brown pounce. Stacks came back with a lariat. Stacks slammed Julius’s arm into the steel steps. D’Angelo and Stacks traded tags to cut the ring in half on Brutus, while also working on Brutus’s left hand. Stacks and D’Angelo cut the ring in half for a few minutes. Brutus managed to tag in Julius who cleaned house. Julius dumped Stacks to ringside and hit Tony with a few lariats and Belly to Belly suplexes. Julius did a leapfrog and dropkick on Tony. Tony and Julius took each other out with running jump kicks. Stacks pulled Brutus off the apron to prevent the tag.
Brutus gave stacks a leg takedown and clubbing ground and pound. Elektra handed Tony a crowbar. Santos Escobar showed up and punched Tony with brass knuckles while the referee was distracted. Julius hit Tony with a Cartwheel Death Valley Driver into his Basement Lariat for the win.
The Creed Brothers defeated Tony D’Angelo and Stacks via pinfall in 10:46 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Elektra, Del Toro, and Wilde posed with Escobar at the ramp while Stacks and D’Angelo yelled at them from the ring…
John’s Thoughts: Good showcase for the Creeds with Santos Escobar returning to continue his singles feud with Tony D’Angelo. I’m surprised we didn’t get anything from Roderick Strong who they said was “running late”. I hope we get a Roddy promo or segment later because Roddy’s heel antics have been very entertaining week to week. Tony D’Angelo and Stacks were put in a tough position the last few weeks with Two Dimes (a.k.a. Cole Karter) getting released from WWE, forcing D’Angelo to wrestle tag matches. Looking forward to Escobar vs. D’Angelo because D’Angelo really shines in singles matches and I’ve felt that he’s been held back filling in for the role of Two Dimes.
The show cut to a Roxanne Perez promo package where she talked about how Cora Jade was her best friend. Clips of them before WWE were shown. The talked about how she was happy to see her friend succeed along with her and they were at the top when they won the tag team titles. Perez talked about how she cashed in her contract to help Cora Jade take care of her Toxic Attraction problem. She said it really hurt her when Jade betrayed her and she never thought her best friend would turn on her. He said that their friendship meant more than the title and now she doesn’t want to see Jade again. She said it hurt her to hear Jade call her a selfish bitch. Perez said that the sadness turned to anger when Jade threw the tag title in the trash can. Perez called Jade a bitch. Perez said it was time to settle this at Heatwave…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Cora Jade, who was holding a metal pipe. Jade said that Perez is just trying to pain Jade as the bad guy and is trying to use Jade to elevate her career. Jade said that she refuses Perez’s challenge. Mandy Rose showed up and asked Jade to help her take care of Zoey Stark. Jade pointed out that Rose proposed an idea that only benefits Rose. Rose claimed that if Jade can get rid of Stark, then the runner up of the battle royal, Jade, can get the title shot at Heat Wave instead.
Brooks, Jensen, and Henley made their entrance heading into break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The matches are clearly going to be Rose vs. Stark and Jade vs. Perez, but I do like the added possibility of there being an alternate Rose vs. Jade match. That won’t happen because of the heel vs. heel dynamic, but I like how it give Jade motivation to listen to Rose instead of just having Jade and Rose be buddy-buddy all of a sudden due to Jade being a heel now. Jade and Rose shouldn’t be friends yet due to the long feud they’ve had.
A Von Wagner spotlight package aired to hype up the Wagner vs. Sikoa match…
McKenzie Mitchell interiviewed Katana Chance and Kayden Carter about winning the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Chance cried and said they’ve been cheated and beaten alot, but have finally got the titles. Carter said that tough journey makes it all sweeter. Chance talked to the camera and said that the fans never gave up on them and now they’re champions…
Joe Gacy and The Dyad made their entrance…
6. Brooks Jensen (w/Josh Briggs, Fallon Henley) vs. Joe Gacy (w/Rip Fowler, Jagger Reed). Jensen hit Gacy with a backdrop and telegraphed punches. Joseph joked that Jensen’s jorts must give Barrett PTSD from John Cena. Gacy hit Jensen with a spike DDT. Jensen ate a palm and basement punch from Gacy. Gacy did the wannabe Bray Wyatt upside down thing in the corner. Gacy hit Jensen with a Uranage and Elbow Drop for a two count. Jensen clocked Gacy with a spinning wheel kick. Reed and Fowler stalked Henley at ringside. Briggs backed down Reed and Fowler. Pretty Deadly ran out. Jensen cleared Prince and Wilson from the ring. Gacy hit Jensen with the handstand lariat for the victory.
Joe Gacy defeated Brooks Jensen via pinfall in 3:00.
John’s Thoughts: That match was what it was. I guess we’re getting more of Briggs and Jensen vs. Pretty Deadly for the NXT Tag Titles? I still don’t understand why they dragged the UK Tag Titles here. Why not weave Briggs and Jensen into the Creeds and Pretty Deadly feuding? The Creeds and Deadly actually had a good program going on when Pretty Deadly were doing all the sneak attacks.
Joe Gacy cut a promo into the camera, continuing to ask Cameron Grimes if he can fill in as Grimes’s father figure. The camera cut to backstage where Grimes walked away confused after someone pointed out that Gacy was talking to Grimes…
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks were ranting backstage. Santos Escobar called and asked D’Angelo how his jaw feels. D’Angelo said that Escobar cost him two titles. Tony said that next time he sees Escobar, Escobar is done. Escobar said it’s clear that he can’t work for D’Angelo. D’Angelo said they need to settle things one on one, without anyone else around. Escobar said he agreed. D’Angelo said he knows the perfect place…
Alba Fyre made her entrance…[c]
Lash Legend made her entrance during the picture-in-picture…
7. Alba Fyre vs. Lash Legend. The commercial ended two minutes into the match. Legend had Fyre locked in a modified Torture Rack which she turned into a face buster on her knee. Legend hit Fyre with a Butterfly Suplex and followed up with a kip up. Vic Joseph aired a tweet from Roderick Strong where he congratulated the Creed Brothers while also telling Apollo Crews to stay out of Diamond Mine business. Fyre escaped a superplex attempt and hit Legend with a knee to send her down. Legend avoided the dive. Fyre avoided a bat shot from Legend and hit her with a few superkick. Fyre hit Legend with a Gory Bomb. Fyre then hit Legend with a Swanton Bomb for the win.
Alba Fyre defeated Lash Legend via pinfall in 5:31.
John’s Thoughts: Decent enough match and Legend didn’t look as bad as she usually does due to her inexperience. It makes sense to hide portion of her matches during commercials. I’m okay if they move on from this feud which was a bit disappointing. Positive from the match though, Legend is improving.
Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes were coaching each other about match strategy in the parking lot. They they ran across random sexy women, who were all in the same car. One of the ladies told Melo that their car was broken. Of coruse, Melo and Trick couldn’t resist… helping the ladies…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ok, it’s an obvious trap, but I like how Trick and Melo are so horny, that they can’t figure out the logic as to why this random car with a random set of girls would end up being broken in the middle of the parking lot. Maybe these ladies’ car got attacked by the legendary WWE NXT Parking Lot ninjas.
Nikkita Lyons cut a promo in her usual ratchet voice. She talked about how she’s proud of how she is and how Kiana James is trying to put her in a box of expectations of what a woman is supposed to be. Lyons challenged James to a match next week…
The commentary team announced the following matches next week: Cora Jade vs. Zoey Stark and Wes Lee vs. Trick Williams in a Rounds Match (Heritage Cup rules?)…
Entrances for the Falls Count Anywhere match took place…
8. Solo Sikoa vs. Von Wagner (w/Mr. Stone) in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Solo hit Wagner with a shoulder tackle and running senton at ringside. Solo dragged Wagner back to the ring and hit him with a body slam and running splash for a two count. Solo hit Wagner with the Umaga Hip Attack. Wagner turned the tables after tossing Solo into the steel steps. Wagner dragged chairs and the steel steps to the ring. Wagner hit Solo in the back several times with a chair. Wagner gave Solo a back suplex on a steel chair. Vic Joseph reminded viewers that after losing to Solo, Boa has been gone from TV (Wow… a Boa mention).
Wagner dominated Solo for a few minutes with methodical offense. Solo recovered and gave Wagner a Samoan Drop onto the announce table with the equipment still on it. Solo dragged Wagner to the parking lot. Trick and Melo were hitting on the random hot ladies. Solo tossed Melo into the back seat when he passed by him. Wagner recovered and gave Solo a Death Valley Driver into a trash can with a WWE logo on it. Stone claimed the match was done, but Solo recovered and chucked a bag of trash as Wagner. Solo tossed Wagner into a garage door and gave Wagner knees into the door.
[Overrun] Cameron Grimes was leaving to the parking lot, but Wagner tackled Solo into him. Wagner and Solo continued to brawl backstage. Wagner gave Solo a Back Suplex on a table with water bottle son it for a two count. Solo ordered Wagner to find a weapon. Solo found a fire extinguisher and shot it at Wagner. The action went back to the ring. Solo gave Wagner punches in the center of the ring. Solo followed up with a Super Kick and Samoan Drop. Solo worked on Wagner’s back with steel chair shots.
Solo gave Wagner a Rock Bottom on the steel steps. Wagner kicked out at two. Stone grabbed Solo’s leg to prevent Solo from flying. Solo gave Stone a headbutt to knock him off. This allowed Wagner to crotch Solo off the top rope. Sikoa shoved Wagner into the ringpost and followed up with two superkicks. Wagner laid on the announce table to recover. Solo got on the top rope and hit Wagner with a Uso Splash through the announce table. Joe Uso picked up the pinfall win.
Solo Sikoa defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 12:25 to win the Falls Count Anywhere Match.
Replays from the match aired. Solo posed from the apron while Wagner was writing in pain on the broken announce table. NXT closed…
John’s Thoughts: A good WWE PG style Hardcore Match. I was afraid that the match was going to be too much in the ring at the beginning, but they made sure to inject a bit of the parking lot and backstage area for the center portion of the match. I like NXT trying to do a little world building by having other wrestlers still doing their thing backstage. Wait? The whole random girls thing wasn’t a trap? Then why would random ladies just get a broken car in the middle of the Performance Center parking lot. I mean, if you’re lookin’ like ya’ll about to be hitting the night club, why are ya’ll driving around the random WWE gym? Anyways, good hardcore match and I like that they’re using these street fight wins to establish it as Solo’s specialty. It was a nice touch for Vic Joseph to point out Solo’s last win in this match against Boa.
Good edition of NXT. Lots of focus on in-ring this time. What was a bit tough to keep up with was WWE deciding to minimize commercial breaks again with the hamburger joint ads being integrated into the show. I was a bit weary of them deciding to put Von Wagner in the main event slot, but as long as he doesn’t have a mic in hand he’s solid. No huge signs of Paul Levesque’s full-power influence on the show, other than Duke Hudson and Axiom randomly bringing up that there are a lot of changes coming. I wonder if we’ll end up getting more of Shawn Michaels’s vison on NXT, which may involve lots of in-ring and melodrama. I wonder if the Trick Williams vs. Wes Lee match next week is a sign of that influence with them bringing over the NXT UK Heritage Cup rules? Either that or it’s going to be more of a sports entertainment-ish segment involving boxing.
Is Stark still injured.What’s with the brace?
My guess is she’ll always need it like Austin. Or at least for a few months.
>>. Wait? The whole random girls thing wasn’t a trap? Then why would random ladies just get a broken car in the middle of the Performance Center parking lot. I mean, if you’re lookin’ like ya’ll about to be hitting the night club, why are ya’ll driving around the random WWE gym?<<
It's called "WWE logic", which means it makes no sense but as a WWE viewer you're required to not question it…..
“It’s called “WWE logic”, which means it makes no sense but as a WWE viewer you’re required to not question it…..”
Like that time when Wardlow beat up 20 security guards simultaneously while gassing out?
Or that time when Tay Conti was trying to help her faction escape from a cage while they waited, and then they just walked right between the bars when she couldn’t get the key to work?
Wait just a minute now, that’s AEW emulating wrestling’s most incredulous moments courtesy of the legacy blunder of WWE and WCW.
Yes, trashing WWE logic while being an unabashed fan of AEW/Impact/whatever trash indy is the flavor of the month is just laughable at this point.