By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
The following is a flashback report of John Moore’s live review of the first edition of NXT 2.0, which premiered one year ago today.
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live September 14, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour One] A teaser aired to hype up the Fatal 4 Way for the NXT Championship. The intro teaser included words from each of the wrestlers involved in the match. During Knight’s promo, he met an overeager wrestler named Bron Breaker (Bronson Reichsteiner?)…
The new NXT Theme by Wale aired…
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in from the commentary table…
John’s Thoughts: So far the look of the new studio is okay so far. I like that it gives a bit of a nightclub feel.
1. LA Knight vs. Bron Breaker. Bron took down Knight with a clothesline, headlock, and shoulder block. Breaker worked on Knight with back suplexes. Knight gained control after a tackle and neckbreaker. Breaker staggered Knight with a elbow and a series of lariats. Breaker hit Knight with a Belly to Belly. Knight came back with a knee. Breaker deadlifted Knight into a Military Press into a Power Slam for the clean win.
Bron Breaker defeated LA Knight via pinfall in 3:41.
Breaker posed heading into commercial…[c]
John’ s Thoughts: Bron Breaker sounds like a name that came straight from ’90s WWF. He actually looked pretty decent and showed good energy. He showed similar energy to his father and uncle (I believe he’s the son of Rick Steiner, Bronson Rechsteiner). Good debut for Breaker, but why at the expense of one of the wrestlers wrestling later in the main event of the show?
Highlights from the Knight-Breaker match aired. Breaker was shown high-fiving developmental wrestlers backstage…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. “Imperium” Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen. Briggs and Jensen got an inset promo. Aichner took down Jensen with a lariat. Jensen came back with a power slam. Briggs tagged in and Briggs and Jensen took down Aichner with a shoulder block. Barthel tagged in and took down Briggs with an armdrag. Briggs came back with a body slam and standing splash. Barthel recovered and hit Briggs with a chest chop.
Barthel hit Briggs with a snapmare and running PK. Aichner tagged in and Imperium gave Briggs a double drive by dropkick. Briggs tagged in Jensen after hitting Aichner with a back suplex. Jensen tagged in and hit Aichner with several body slams. the commentary team noted that Jensen is only 20 years old. Jensen got a two count on Aichner with a small package. Jensen went high risk, but Aichner recovered and got on the top rope to drop Jensen with a Butterfly Superplex. Aichner picked up the pinfall over Jensen.
Imperium defeated Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs via pinfall in 3:55.
Hit Row were shown backstage cutting a group promo. They all hyped up B-Fab for her in-ring debut this week…[c]
John’s Thoughts: While Imperium hasn’t caught on as a tag team yet, let’s see if this latest attempt to heat them up works because they tend to get heated up for tag team matches, and quickly brought back down to size. They lack intrigue whenever Walter decides to head back to Europe. Let’s see if they can finally click. So far, two matches involving new faces. Is this a taste of the new direction already? Showcasing more of their developmental talent?
Hit Row made their entrance for B-Fab’s debut match…
3. B-Fab (w/Isaiah Scott, Ashante Thee Adonis, Top Dolla) vs. Katrina Cortez. Fab cornered Cortez and hit her with a few boots. The picture-in-picture showed Pete Dunne and Ridge Holland warming up backstage. Cortez fended off Fab with boots. Fab swatted away Cortez with a boot when Cortez went for a dive. Fab picked up the win after a neckbreaker.
B-Fab defeated Katrina Cortez via pinfall in 1:18.
Fab took the mic and said that people be saying that B-Fab can’t do it in the ring. She said all of Hit Row can do this. Fab was about to cut a promo about Legado Del Fantasma, and was cut off by Legado’s entrance theme. Legado Del Fantasma made their entrance with Elektra Lopez holding the mic. Lopez challenged Fab to a fight and said she doesn’t need a pipe this time to shut Fab’s mouth. Fab said she’s down because she wants to see Lopez work without tools for once. B Fab wanted to fight now. Lopez was about to enter the ring, but was blocked off by Santos Escobar. The segment ended…
Johnny Gargano, Odyssey Jones, and Cameron Grimes were standing in front of a champagne table. Austin Theory showed up to Gargano’s glee. Theory said he ran away, but he’s back to see Indi’s wedding. Theory said he brought a “priest”, Damian Priest. Gargano said it was nice, but Priest is not actually a priest. Theory asked for the no-look high five. Gargano said it was not time for a high five. Gargano gave his “son” a hug. Everyone was dressed up in serial killer themed clothes to match Lumis…
John’s Thoughts: I have to say, I kinda missed Theory. Not only is the guy good in the ring, but I get a kick out of his whole man-child son thing he has with Johnny. I feel like the Gargano Family segments haven’t been as funny without Theory.
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance with Hayes holding his championship contract. Joseph wondered if Hayes has chosen his championship match?..[c]
John’s Thoughts: Not the best debut. B-Fab was a bit B-rough. And this is coming from someone who really really sees a lot of upside in B-Fab. Fab has a great look, great promo skills, and great charisma. I don’t think you have to throw Fab in the ring. Honestly, I think B-Fab will B-Money if they have her play the role of manager. No joke, I think sky’s the limit for B-Fab and she may be my favorite member of Hit Row! I just don’t think everyone in WWE is obligated to be a wrestler.
NXT interviewer Samatha Irvin introduced Carmelo Hayes in the ring. Hayes got a “Melo” chant. Hayes talked about how he won the Breakout Tournament three weeks ago. He said he’s got tha juice now. He said he does have a target on his back now. Hayes said you aren’t going to catch Melo off guard now, so he called his boy Trick. Hayes presented Trick Williams as a bodyguard. Trick said he has the gift of the gab and the gift of the jab, and that’s why his words hit so heavy. Williams said that Hayes is a golden child of NXT, but he has a bone to pick with Melo. Trick said Melo has been acting humble recently.
Melo said Trick is right and now is not the time to hold back. Melo said he’s the “Chosen One”. He said when he shoots he doesn’t miss, and when he passes, Trick catches. Trick said that is how it’s going to be. Hayes and Williams were about to leave, but Duke Hudson made his entrance. Vic Joseph noted that Hudson has a scheduled match. Hudson told Hayes that he was lucky when he won in the tournament. Hudson entered the ring and was blindsided by Trick Williams. Hayes joined Williams in putting the boots to Hudson. Williams held Hudson in place while Melo hit Hudson with a springboard Bulldog. Melo’s theme played to end the segment…
Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne were praising Mandy Rose, who was off camera…
Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro made their entrance…
John’s Thoughts: Good promo by Hayes, who got a little bit of re-definition. His promo was better than it’s been in the past. Trick on the other hand, he was a bit rough. Both in his beatdown and in his promo. His promo stood out as rough because he decided to include a bit of a rap, and he’d just followed Hit Row, who are actually good a rapping (Ashanti Adonis isn’t the best rapper, but he’s better than Trick Williams!). Hopefully we don’t get a new person EVERY segment in the new NXT. They’ll burn through too many people that way. They will also put people on TV who aren’t ready for TV. No joke? I think Paul Levesque had things right when he kept most of these developmental acts in Dark Matches and the Florida Live Event loop.
Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne made their entrance…
4. Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro vs. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne. Carter took down Dolin with a Thesz Press. Catanzaro tagged in and held Dolin in place for Carter’s dropkick. Kacy hit Gigi with a Liger Kick. Kacy put Gigi in an Octopus Hold. The inset video showed Kyle O’Reilly shadowboxing in the locker room. Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne put the boots to O’Reilly to leave him lying in the locker room.
Carter and Jayne were in the ring at this point. Carter hit Jayne with a Scorpion Kick. Catanzaro was about to go for a top rope dive, but Mandy Rose ran out and shoved Catanzaro off the top rope.
Kayden Carter and Kacy Catanzaro defeated Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne via apparent DQ in 1:52.
The heels put the boots to the babyfaces and left they lying. Mandy Rose took off her hoodie to show that her face was fine and her nose wasn’t injured. Sarray ran out to help the faces clear the heels from the ring…[c]
[Hour Two] Apparently a match is happening?!?
5. Sarray, Kayden Carter, and Kacy Catanzaro vs. Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne. Kacy got a two count off Dolin. Dolin came back with a buzzsaw kick. Rose tagged in and put the boots to Kacy. The heels traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Kacy. Rose had Kacy in a body scissors submission which Kacy broke with a pin attempt. Rose caught Kacy and hit her with a fallaway slam. Jayne tagged in and hit Kacy with a body slam. Jayne hit Kacy with a senton for a two count.
Rose tagged in. Catanzaro crawled under Rose and tagged in Carter. Rose caught Carter with a back elbow. Carter came back with a running dropkick. Carter dropkicked Rose and Jayne at the same time. Carter used a victory roll into a kick for a two count. Jayne broke up the pin. Sarray dropkicked Dolin off the apron. Rose reversed Sarray into a wheelbarrow slam. Carter slammed Rose into a two count. Carter ran the ropes and ran right into Rose’s Bicycle Knee for the three count.
Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne defeated Kayden Carter, Kacy Catanzaro, and Sarray via pinfall in about 6:15.
John’s Thoughts: What was annoying was them randomly booking a match out of nowhere from a tag match. That’s some Vince McMahon Kevin Dunn work, right? Anyways, I hope it doesn’t become the norm because having Regal go out to book things adds more realism to the show. As for the match, surprisingly good! Lots of good action. Mandy Rose in particular looked good! I know she’s been improving since her program involving Otis, but she looked solid while in the ring with a handful of wrestlers with indie cred. I see a lot of potential in the Rose, Dolin, and Jayne trio, especially with Rose and Dolin.
Candice LeRae and bridesmaids were getting Indi Hartwell ready for her wedding…
Ridge Holland made his entrance for the next match…[c]
William Regal and McKenzie Mitchell were backstage. Regal announced that due to the attack by Holland and Dunne, Kyle O’Reilly was out of the main event due to not being medically cleared. Regal said that it’ll still be a 4-way and the new entrant is the debuting Von Wagner (Cal Bloom)…
8. Ridge Holland vs. Drake Maverick (w/Grayson Waller). Holland manhandled Maverick. Holand no-sold Maverick’s punch and shoved Maverick to the ground several times. Holland hit Maverick with the Northern Grit for the victory.
Ridge Holland defeated Drake Maverick via pinfall in 1:46.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Tommasso Ciampa about Kyle O’Reilly getting taken out of the match. Ciampa said things are different and everything can happen. Ciampa then talked about going after “Goldie” he said he spent 908 days waiting, since he lost the title, and tonight he gets his redemption.
Diamond Mine made their entrance…
Some guy was walking on the street. He had a thick Italian accent and there was Italian music in the background. He talked about being a former amateur wrestler. He said that there wasn’t a lot of money in being an amateur wrestler and NXT is where it’s at. The graphic said that Tony D’Angelo is “coming soon”…
6. Julius Creed and Brutus Creed (w/Malcolm Bivens, Roderick Strong, Hachiman, unnamed female wrestler) vs. Dan Jarmon and Travis Skelly. Brutus took down one of the guys wtih a gator roll. His opponent came back with a forearm, but he was quickly tossed out of the ring by Brutus. Brutus tripped the other opponent off the apron. Brutus Death Valley Driver’d the opponents into each other. Brutus rolled into a Gutwrench Bomb on the apron. Julius tagged in by slapping his brother. Julius suplexed the enhancement wrestler.
Julius forced one of the opponents to tag the other. The enhancement wrestler took down Julius with a dropkick, which got a chuckle out of Brutus. Julius fired himself up and body slammed the enhancement wrestler. Julius did a Death Valley Driver into a basement lariat for the win.
The Creed Brothers defeated the Dan Jarmon and Travis Skelly via pinfall in 2:45.
Highlights from the match aired. Malcolm Bivens said the Creed Brothers proved they can destroy anything on two legs. Bivens introduced the newest member of Diamond Mine “Ivy Nile”. Bivens said this women hasn’t had a carb since 2005. Biven said Nile was the star of NBC’s Titan Games. Bivens welcomed Nile to the team. Kushida made his entrance and said that “you talk to much” to everyone (that will make it’s way as a Botchamania intro). Bivens challenged Kushida on behalf of Strong for a Cruiserweight title shot. Kushida looked like he accepted…
John’s Thoughts: The Creed Brothers, so far, are the real deal and Diamond Mine is starting to heat up! We haven’t had a chance to see them sell or work a full match yet, but so far these squashes have been very fun and entertaining. I like that they are vicious and practical. I liked the nice touch of character of Brutus chuckling over Julius getting punked by the enhancement wrestler. The Creed Brothers have great expressions in the ring. They’re also allowing Malcolm Bivens to talk finally which is nothing but good. Because of how hot Diamond Mine is getting, will Strong get the title next week? Either that or we’ll get a screwy finish. Vince McMahon is booking things now (I’m kididng, I’m kidding).
Dexter Lumis was shown combing his moustache backstage…
Vic Joseph asked Beth Phoenix for a health update on Edge, but Beth deflected the question and said he was recovering…
Pete Dunne made his entrance heading into commercial..[c]
The rest of the entrances took place for the world title match. Ciampa stared at “Goldie” on the way to the ring which was on a pedestal. Barrett reminded viewers that Ciampa never lost the title when he had it, and he had to relinquish it due to injury…
7. Tommaso Ciampa vs. Pete Dunne vs. LA Knight vs. Von Wagner in a fatal-4-way for the NXT Championship. Knight dominated early on. Wagner took down Knight with a back suplex. Dunne worked on Wagner with joint manipulation. Dunne and Ciampa had a slugfest. Dunne put Ciampa in the joint manipulation. Ciampa avoided a stomp and gave Dunne a snapmare. Knight pulled Ciampa off. Ciampa dumped Knight to ringside. Dunne slammed Ciampa and worked on him with joint manipulation. Wagner gave Dunne a big boot.
Wagner turned Knight inside-out with a lariat. Wagner gave Knight an elevated Flatliner. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Knight tossed Wagner into the steel steps. Knight locked Ciampa in a headlock. Ciampa got to his feet and took down Dunne and Knight with chops. Ciampa took down Dunne and Knight with lariats. Wagner used a backdrop to block a Fairy Tale Ending. Knight came out of nowhere and hit Dunne with Blunt Force Trauma. Wagner broke up the pin. Ciampa hit Knight with Willow’s Bell. Dunne broke up the pin. Ciampa hit all three opponents with a Corkscrew Plancha. Joseph noted that it was uncharacteristic to see Ciampa leave his feet like that.
Dunne snapped Ciampa’s fingers and hit him with the Bitter End. Von Wagner hit Knight with an Angle Slam for a good nearfall. Dunne and Ciampa got Wagner to his knees and hit him with a sandwich elbow (a la DIY). Ciampa and Dunne traded Forearms. Dunne hit Ciampa with a snap German Suplex. Knight surprised Dunne on the top rope with a Superplex. Wagner hit Knight with a Underhook Slam. Ciampa kicked Wagner, gave Knight a Fairy Tale Ending, and picked up the pinfall win.
Tommaso Ciampa defeated LA Knight, Pete Dunne, and Von Wagner via pinfall in 7:55 of on-air time to become the new NXT Champion.
Ciampa posed with Goldie in front of the stage. Ciampa hugged the title belt to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A good TV in-ring main event. Not necessarily “Takeover Worthy”, but this isn’t a Takeover and there was enough action to keep the match interesting. Ciampa is not just the safest pick, but I think he’s the right pick too. It’s about damn time they got Ciampa back in the main event role. Ciampa can easily fill in the role of veteran champion that Joe filled. Ciampa is the most “sure-bet” of all the wrestlers, in terms of being a champion. They can also build towards an eventual Joe vs. Ciampa match down the road with the parallelism of Ciampa once having to relinquish his championship and Ciampa picking up the title due to Joe relinquishing his belt. Only think that didn’t click, at least yet, was Von Wagner, who kinda felt shoehorned into this match (though I’m okay with O’Reilly being written out of this match so they can build towards his eventual main event storyline. If they decide to go with O’Reilly down the road?).
A music video montage aired of the Indi Hartwell and Dexter Lumis love story…
Pachelbel’s Canon in D started playing as wrestlers were making their entrance to the in-ring wedding set…[c]
The ring was filled with wrestlers and Dexter Lumis. Indi Hartwell was led to the ring by her “dad” Johnny Gargano. The preacher told everyone that they may be seated. Apparently Lumis’s name is Dexter Gaylord Lumis (Meet the parents reference?). The priest conducted the ceremony. Gargano was acting goofy as usual. Gargano asked Theory if he brought the rings. Theory said “we’re in a ring, silly”. Ikeman Jiro then slowly took off his jacket to show that he had the rings in there. Jiro did this in a wholesome, but mildly sexual, way. Theory yelled “yeahhhhh, that’s my guy!”. Gargano asked Theory, “how do you know this guy?”. Theory said, “that’s my guy!”…
The priest asked if there were any objections. People raised their hands, but they put them down after Dexter showed them an axe. The priest asked Indi to share her vows. Hartwell said Lumis is misunderstood. He said people see him as a creep, but she sees him as a cuddly teddy beard. Hartwell said she finds it sweet that she follows her every move. She said people call him a freak, and she says “damn right he’s a freak”. She said “Dexter’s my freak”. Indi was about to reveal Dexter sneaking into her bedroom at night at the Gargano home, but Lumis motioned for her to be quiet.
Hartwell said Lumis never loses a staring contest. Hartwell said he understands her and she understands him. Hartwell said she loves Indi. The priest asked Lumis for his vows. Lumis gave a simple thumbs up (somewhere out there Orange Cassidy shed a tear). The priest started to berate Lumis for not putting effort into the vows. Lumis left the priest lying with the Kata Gatame. The crowd chanted for Damian Priest, but Gargano asked Regal to conduct the wedding. Regal didn’t want to do it.
Beth Phoenix got in the ring and said that she expected something like this to happen, so she got ordained as a minister last night. Beth Phoenix asked if it was time to cut to the chase. Andre Chase got up and tried to cut a promo, but he was dragged to his seat by Odyssey Jones. Beth Phoenix handled the “I do” portion of the ceremony. Indi said “I do”. Lumis didn’t say anything. Beth assumed it was a yes. Lumis put his hand on Beth’s mic and said “I…..do…….”. This popped everyone, especially Theory. Beth Phoenix pronounced Indi and Dexter as husband and wife. Indi and Dexter kissed and he held her in his arms to end the segment…
Bron Breaker congratulated Tommaso Ciampa backstage. Ciampa congratulated Breaker. They shook hands, but started grunting at each other to signal tension. The show closed…
John’s Thoughts: A pretty decent pro wrestling wedding, and a pretty fun one if you only watch WWE Television (I will probably give best wedding in the last few years to Brian Cage and Melissa Santos in Impact Wrestling w/ James Mitchell as the minister). What wasn’t great was there were a few jokes that didn’t click. I thought the star was Austin Theory, just for the goofy energy he brings. I wonder what Vince McMahon thinks of this manchild Theory as opposed to the bland Theory he had on the main roster many months ago? Anyway, this wedding was fine, and nobody got thrown into a cake, so trope subverted!
An “interesting” first episode of NXT 2.0. I’m not going to necessarily say it’s better than Paul Levesque’s NXT at it’s best, but at least it felt more meaningful then NXT has been in recent weeks. I’m not going to judge it either way because this felt like a new “beginning”. NXT really didn’t go with hot-shotting anything or doing new things here. It looked like their goal was to shoehorn a bunch of new developmental talent. I do think they’ve shown some people who aren’t ready for TV yet, so that’s a negative. On the plus side, it looks like we might get focused and fresh storylines in upcoming weeks.
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