By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired February 14, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] The show started off with an “…in memory of” graphic for the late Jerry Jarrett…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place. A split screen showed Jacy Jayne arriving at the performance center. She was wearing a shirt based off the scene where she smashed her foot into the face of Gigi Dolin last week..
1. Tyler Bate vs. Grayson Waller. Both men traded jabs to start the match. Waller ended up getting the upper hand. While he was torturing Bate, Waller got in the camera to mock Shawn Michaels. Waller gave Bate a DX crotch chop. Bate came back with stiff strikes. Waller escaped a side headlock with a back suplex for a two count. Waller went back to his methodical offense while also mocking Bate.
Waller worked on Bate with Clinch Knee Strikes. Bate escaped and hit Waller with a hip toss, dropkick, and T Bone Suplex. Bate hit Waller with a Standing Shooting Star Press for a two count. Waller begged for a time out and dumped Bate to ringside. Bate tripped up Waller and dragged him to ringside. Both men brawled at ringside. Waller even tried to use Booker T as a human shield at one point. Waller hit Bate with a lariat after a baseball slide. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Waller was dominating back from the break. Bate got to recover after hitting Waller with a lariat. Bate hit Waller with a diving uppercut and Gutwrench Suplex for a two count. Bate spun around Waller with a Helicopter Spin into a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Waller nailed Bate with a side Bicycle Kick. Waller hit Bate with a Blockbuster Unprettier for a two count. Waller tuned the horn to mock Shawn Michaels. Bate blocked Sweet Shin Music and hit Waller with Bop and Bang.
Bate hit Waller with a superkick. Waller got his hand on the bottom rope for the break. Waller rolled up Bate with a hand full of tights for a two count. Waller tried to get an arm leverage pin, but the referee saw it. Bate rolled up Waller for the victory.
Tyler Bate defeated Grayson Waller via pinfall in 11:56.
Josh Briggs was giving Brooks Jensen dating advise. Jensen said he’s never made it to first base. Briggs taught Jensen about the 90-10 rule on kissing. Briggs was about to practice kissing with Jensen, but Henley walked in on them. Jensen told Henley that he really needs this kiss with Kiana. Henley said that if Kiana fiddles with her keys, then it means she wants a kiss…
Jacy Jayne was shown heading to the ring from the Gorilla Position. The camera then caught commotion in the Gorilla Position booth. Waller was arguing with Shawn Michaels and Matt Bloom (Albert/Lord Tensai). Bloom dragged Waller away. HBK yelled to cut to commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A hard hitting match with the right amount of grit in it. Waller was great throughout the match in forwarding his feud with Shawn Michaels. What’s going to be the payoff? HBK’s retired (and I don’t count the Saudi Arabia match). The only person I thought HBK would come out of retirement for was Adam Cole (which they’ve teased a match many times when Cole was in NXT). Looks like they do have something meaningful for Waller during Mania weekend. Because he can still go, I wouldn’t mind HBK calling up his buddy X-Pac for a one-off with Waller? That’s just me fantasy booking though.
The show cut to the latest Apollo Crews “dear diary” cutscene. Crews tossed his diary on the floor when he was recollecting Vengeance Day. Crews then talked about how saddened he was not to hear from Daba Kato for the longest time. He said they’ve shared many big moments in their careers together. Crews said he’s now focused on revenge…
Back at the ring, Jacy Jayne made her entrance to new entrance music. Jayne took the mic and said that the Toxic Attraction story is over, and now the Jacy Jayne story has begin. She said she’s been the talk of all of NXT over the past week. She said “it’s all about me”. The crowd showered her with “Gigi’s better” chants.
She said she only regrets not pulling the trigger sooner. Jayne said she probably watched the end of last week’s show 100 times. She said 101 is better so she wants to watch it again. A video package recapping last week’s betrayal aired. A still shot was shown of Gigi’s bruised face afterward. Jayne continued to gloat about what she did to Gigi. Jacy said that everyone is making Gigi the victim, but Jacy is the victim, always having to carry the tag team.
Jacy joked that Gigi was Marty Jannetty. Jayne said it’s time to move on from Gigi. Jacy said what she’s saying next is the most important thing she has to say, “Screw you”. Jacy noted that the fans called Jacy the third wheel of Toxic Attraction. Jacy said Toxic Attraction became the most dominant female faction in WWE history and she’s the only one left standing from that group. Jacy’s theme played with Jacy continuing to gloat…
Footage from the NXT_Anonymous stalker showed Meiko Satomura arriving in the US at an airport…
Duke Hudson and Andre Chase were trying to encourage Thea Hail backstage who was freaking out over being kidnapped by The Schism last week. She tried to ensure her team that she was ok…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful promo from Jacy Jayne who has become the breakout star out of Toxic Attraction. There did seem to be some fire behind her words because there was some reality to what she was talking about. Mandy and Gigi were the two known names of the group and Jacy was the one no one knew about. She’s come a long away on the mic and it ready for prime time. That was a prime time promo. Jacy just threw her name into the hat to replace Mandy as the heel top dog of the division.
A Sol Ruca video package aired. She said she loves coming to training every week. She said she’s a free spirit which she got from her parents. Pictures of her parent’s were shown. She’s mixed race (Black-white). She talked about getting a college scholarship so she can also do fun hobbies. She talked about how the Sol Snatcher sucked when she first tried it, but she’s perfected it. Sol challenged Zoey Stark to a rematch. She said shen she falls, she gets right back up…
John’s Thoughts: Sol’s Black y’all! A bunch of us had fun on Twitter last week when NXT put up their Black History Month tweet and everyone was confused why Sol Ruca was on it. We also all learned that Kiana James is black too, but that’s less shocking.
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail (w/Duke Hudson, Andre Chase). The Dyad appeared in the Chase U student section to distract Hail a bit. Hail rolled up Stratton for the two count. Hal started to freak out when she saw Gacy at the Crow’s Nest. Stratton punched Hail from behind and got a two count. Hail dumped Stratton to the apron. Stratton yanked Hail into the ropes. Stratton hit Hail with a Slingshot Swanton for a two count.
Hail rallied back with axe handle strikes. Hail (barely) hit Stratton with a Low Suicide Dive (Stratton missed the catch). Ava Raine distracted Hail from the crowd. Stratton hit Hail with a hip attack, rolling senton, and Mero Sault for the victory.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Thea Hail via pinfall in 3:26.
Hail was shown panting in the fetal position…
Big Body Javi, Javier Bernal, showed up to the Diamond Mine dojo. Javi asked Tatum if she would be his “Javitine”. Tatum said she’s taken. Javi then asked Ivy Nile. Nile said she’d be his “Javi-tine”. Instead of taking the chocolates, Nile choked out Javi with a Dragon Sleeper. Off screen, Isla Dawn was trying to sow dissent between Nile and Paxley, saying that Nile is weighting Paxley down. Paxley said she’s not going to let Dawn get to her…
Axiom made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Weird random match. The work was fine, but I’m just not into this Thea Hail-Schism angle yet. Tiffany Stratton hasn’t been setting the world on fire since her return either. She’s sorta just spinning her wheels with no real program.
Damon Kemp made his entrance. A replay was shown of Kemp attacking Axiom two weeks ago…
3. Axiom vs. Damon Kemp. Axiom started the match with a jump kick and punches. Axiom hit Kemp with a Hesitation Dropkick. Kemp rolled away to avoid a roundhouse. Axiom caught Kemp with a Suicide Shoulder Block. Kemp turned the table with a Wheelbarrow Suplex. Kemp hit Axiom with Chained German Suplexes. Kemp sent Axiom to ringside with a right hand. Kemp ran through Axiom with a lariat at ringside. Kemp worked on Axiom with ground and pound.
Axiom rallied back with chops. Axiom hit Kemp with a dropkick. Axiom hit Kemp with a Gamengiri. Kemp rolled through Axiom’s crossbody into a two count. Kemp turned Axiom inside out with a discus lariat. Kemp hit Axiom with an Electric Chair Suplex for a two count. Axiom landed on his feet to block a suplex. Axiom hit Kemp with a running PK. Axiom hit Kemp with the Golden Ratio Superkick for the win.
Axiom defeated Damon Kemp via pinfall in 3:31.
Tweets were shown of Jensen’s and James’s date. Henley and Briggs were looking at the tweets. Henley said “I have to tell him”. Briggs asked “tell him what?”…
Bron Breakker was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good match for the limited amount of time given. Damon Kemp continues to make the most out of his TV time every time he’s given a chance. We saw Kemp really impress with his character work in his feud with Julius Creed, and the guy gets better in the ring every time he’s given a shot. He really shines when he’s in there with those stiff UK wrestlers like Axiom. Speaking of Bobby Steveson, where the hell is his more famous brother Gable?
A Twitter selfie video was shown of Grayson Waller being escorted out of the PC and ranting about Shawn Michaels…
[Hour Two] NXT Champion Bron Breakker made his entrance. He talked about how there’s a different feeling in the air. He said his next challenge feels bigger than the rest, “Me vs. Him”. Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher made their entrance. They came out to Jinder’s old (and awesome) entrance theme. Jinder said a great champion should always expect the unexpected. Jinder, Veer, and Sanga entered the ring. He said he is giving Bron respect because Bron has carried NXT on his back for about a year.
Jinder said Bron is the brand. Jinder said he knows the weight of being a Champion. Jinder said he understands the stress on awaiting a new challenge. Jinder said he relates to that weight of being a Champion, being a former WWE World Champion. Jinder asked Bron if being champion has met Bron’s expectations. Bron said “of course”. Jinder said Bron must be naive, with some small group of fans turning on Bron. A pocket of fans sung “Bron Breaker Sucks” in the tune of “John Cena Sucks”.
Jinder said he’s here to show Bron that the tides are changing. Jinder Mahal challenged Bron Breakker to a NXT Championship match next week. Bron said he’s a simple guy. Bron joked that Indus Sher and Jinder are the new 3MB. Jinder had to hold back Veer. Jinder called the 3MB comment a cheap pop. Jinder vowed to take the title from Bron and noted that the crowd won’t care for Bron, but the Maharaja will. Jinder’s theme played and Bron held up the title belt.
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter approached Roxanne Perez and Meiko Satomura backstage to apologize for snapping on Perez last week. They said emotions just got the better of them due to losing the tag titles. Perez wondered if they were trying to get out of their scheduled match? Carter said they aren’t because it’ll be an honor to face the final boss. Perez thanked Meiko for agreeing to team with her. Meiko said “I have my reasons”…
Wes Lee was shown walking around the backstage area. Dijak, Tony D’Angelo, and Stacks were shown around the corners…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A surprise promo from Jinder, but one of the better promos I’ve seen him deliver in a while. It wasn’t his copy-and-paste “I hate America” promo. His words had substance. No way he’s winning the title next week, but his cred as a former world champ is enough to have Bron grant him a match (I say no way Jinder wins, but we all said that before Jinder won the WWE title. Not to mention Dolph Ziggler randomly becoming NXT champ last year around this time).
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Indi Hartwell. Indi noted that she enjoyed Gigi getting her face smashed last week given how Toxic Attraction had terrorized the locker room. She said that Jayne is wrong about being the top of the division because she is behind Indi in the pecking order…
Wes Lee was already in the ring for his open challenge. Tony D’Angelo was heading to the ring to accept the challenge. Dijak appeared from behind and choked out Tony. Tony, Stacks, and Dijak brawled to the back. Von Wagner appeared behind Lee and gave Lee a cyclone boot. The commentators noted that it looks like Wagner has accepted the challenge…
4. Wes Lee vs. Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone) for the NXT North American Championship. Wagner tossed around lee. Lee tried to make a comeback, but was dumped to ringside. Von smashed Lee into the announce table. Stone kept coaching Von to take Lee in the ring. Von and Stone argued over how to deal with Lee. Lee made a comeback with right hands. Wagner came back with a lariat. Lee came back with boxine punches. Lee did a leg takedown, stomp, and standing moonsault.
Wagner hit Lee with a high flapjack and big boot for a two count. Wagner glared at the announce table. He was about to toss Lee to the table from the ring, but Lee escaped a Military Press. Lee hit Wagner with a a kick combo. Lee hit Wagner with The Cardiac Kick for the victory.
Wes Lee defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 4:42.
Stone had a look of disappointment at ringside…
Hank Walker met with Drew Gulak backstage, now wearing a wrestling singlet. He said his wrestling boots haven’t arrived yet so he hast to wrestle in regular boots. Gulak gifted Walker some of his boots. Gulak told Walker to get ready for his next match…
John’s Thoughts: A good quick win for the champ. I liked the touch of having a bunch of wrestlers fight their way to an open challenge as opposed to the usual way of there being a pre-determined challenger to an open challenge. Wagner eats yet another loss, but I think this is a part of the story from a few weeks ago where Stone called out Wagner for missing something. It looks like he’s in store for some character development.
The old WrestleMania ad aired featuring Stone Cold reenacting Gladiator…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Joseph announced March 7 as the Roadblock themed show…
Hank Walker and Drew Gulak were already in the ring. Charlie Dempsey got a televised entrance…
5. Charlie Dempsey vs. Hank Walker (w/Drew Gulak). Dempsey put Walker in a hammerlock. Walker no sold Dempsey’s right hands. Both men took each other out with headbutts. Booker noted that it is a bit nasty to wear another man’s boots. Walker managed to drag Dempsey to the center of the ring and put him in a Fujiwara Armbar. Dempsey reversed the move into his modified Regal Stretch. Dempsey locked in the hold for the tapout win.
Charlie Dempsey defeated Hank Walker via submission in 1:40.
Dempsey put Walker back in the stretch after the match for more punishment. Gulak teased helping Walker, but took a few steps back. Dempsey got up and demanded Gulak get in the ring. Dempsey and Gulak shared a glare on the apron. Both men then agreed to walk away together…
Von Wagner was tossing around chairs backstage and ranting about losing his title opportunity. Mr. Stone was calm. Stone said Wagner lost the match because he has no connection with him, the fans, or anyone. Stone said that Wagner continues to put up barriers. Stone kept yelling “Help he! Help you!”. Stone joked that Wagner is only famous for his “Come tuesday” meme (where he says it in a deep Minnesota accent). Stone kept reiterating “help me, help you”…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I really intrigued to see what the next steps are for Von Wagner because they are putting an effort into this revamp. I’m actually even more intrigued to see if Robert Stone can shift away from being a comedy manager and more serious. Again, he’s teased it before in TNA, but he always regressed into his old BroMans gimmick.
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were hanging out at the pub, drinking pints and playing pool. Kit Wilson and Elton Prince showed up. Pretty Deadly challenged Gallus to a game of billiards. Wolfgang said “it’s called Pool!”. Gallus ended up winning the 1st match. Gallus said Pretty Deadly can get rematches as long as they keep paying for the pints. Pretty Deadly lost 7 matches in a row (via montage). Prince even tried to guide the hips of Wilson. Prince was shocked at all the alcohol Gallus can consume. Coffey said they aren’t the new day and all Pretty Deadly had to do was ask for a title match…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Ilja Dragunov who said he recovered from his internal bleeding. He said the pain helped him feel alive. McKenzie noted that Ilja sent JD McDonagh to the hospital with a detached retina. In the ring, Trick Williams called out Ilja Dragunov for getting involved in his and Melo’s business last week. Trick said he’ll drop Ilja like a mix tape. The camera followed Ilja heading to the ring…
Ilja made his entrance in a business suit. Ilja said that Trick Williams is the life of the party. Ilja ate a surprise punch form Trick and quickly responded with an Enzuigiri. JD McDonagh made his entrance with a bandage on his eye. JD said that Ilja should have gone home and stayed home. JD said he’s going to have to show the people what he’s capable of.
JD said he’s going to beat Ilja so bad that he can’t hold his son. Trick punched Ilja in the back and dropped Ilja. Trick mocked Ilja’s finger waving. JD entered the ring, but backed down when Ilja got to his feet.
The wrestlers in the main event women’s tag team match were shown heading to the ring…[c]
Trick Williams met up wtih Carmelo Hayes in the locker room to brag about how he just dropped Ilja Dragunov. Melo warned Trick that Ilja is something different. Trick was still confident that he could take care of Ilja. Trick and Melo did a handshake and Wakanda Forever thing…
The show cut to a cinematic in front of the doorstep of Kiana James. Kiana and Brooks were in front of the door with Kiana fiddling with her keys. Brooks was going in for the kiss. Fallon Henley walked up to them for the cockblock. Henley said that James is cheating on Jensen with “Zack”, by telling Zack that she loves him. Kiana said she loves Zack, her brother. Briggs said “dude”. Fallon said she didn’t know.
Zack opened the door and said he fed the dogs while Kiana and Brooks were on their date. Kiana James entered her house in disappointment. Briggs shook his head and said “damn Fallon”…
John’s Thoughts: Damn Fallon indeed. Brooks was about to git him some. Poor boy got cockblocked by da homie. Has Fallon Henley never watched a romance drama, it’s always “the brother” (before we actually find out that she’s cheating). This is the most generic form of Lifetime TV drama, but I’m getting a kick out of it.
Entrances for the next match took place. Vic Joseph noted that Kayden Carter had one of her first WWE matches against Meiko Satomura in the Mae Young Classic…
6. Meiko Satomura and Roxanne Perez vs. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. Chance and Carter traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Roxanne. Perez blocked Chance’s huracanrana with a handstand. Perez managed to tag in Meiko. Meiko and Kayden shared a handshake. Carter tested Meiko with a slap to the chest. Meiko and Perez worked on their opponents with stereo moves.
Perez hit chance with a suicide Thesz Press. Meiko took down Carter with a diving axe handle. The show went to picture-in-picture.[c]
Chance had Perez in a standing Kesa Gatame. Chance hit Perez with a dropkick for a two count. Perez rolled up Carter for a two count, who just tagged in. Perez hit Carter with a Jawbreaker and tagged in Meiko. Meiko dragged Carter to the mat and gave her knees to the gut. Meiko hit Carter with stiff kicks. Meiko hit Carter with a Question Mark Kick. Meiko hit Carter with a follow through kick for a two count.
[Overrun]Meiko body slammed Carter and tagged in Perez. Perez hit Carter with a backflip for a two count. Carter blocked a legsweep and hit Perez with a backbreaker. Chance tagged in and hit Perez with a draping double stomp for a two count. Perez hit Chance with a Legsweep and tagged in Meiko.
Chance hit Meiko with a Sunset Flip and Codebreaker. Carter and Meiko brawled to the top rope. Chance hit Meiko with an Assisted Frankensteiner for a two count. Meiko stepped aside to avoid her opponents’ double team finisher. Meiko hit Carter with a Pele Kick. Perez tagged in and hit hit Carter with Pop Rocks (Code Red) for the victory.
Roxanne Perez and Meiko Satomura defeated Kayden Carter and Katana Chance via pinfall in 10:25.
Meiko took a mic after the match. Meiko said she gave Perez a favor, but would like a favor in return. Meiko pointed at the NXT Women’s Championship. Perez said it would be her honor. Perez held up the NXT Women’s Championship belt. Vic Joseph closed the show by saying that Meiko Satomura is going to be Perez’s “Roadblock” to WrestleMania Weekend…
John’s Thoughts: A good television match that didn’t overstay it’s welcome. I was kinda hoping we’d get 5 more minutes of match because we don’t see Meiko wrestle every week. Chance and Carter lose nothing in defeat. Yes, they’re the tag team that lost to two singles wrestlers, but it’s the two top singles wrestlers of the division. Speaking of, the way Vic Joseph closed the show was interesting. He kept stressing that Meiko Satomura is the “Roadblock”. Is this not going to be the Mania weekend match?
I thought NXT could have kept it simple and run with a Roxanne Perez vs. Meiko Satomura match Mania weekend with a UFC style build. Do they have someone else they have in mind to challenge Rok-C? Could it be someone from the Main Roster? Could it be what they did at Roadblock last year when Dolph Ziggler won the title to set up a rematch at Stand and Deliver? I guess we’ll see.
As for this week, solid show. It looks like they have a goal they want to get to with Stand and Deliver on the horizon. The Road Block theme works better as a bridge to the show (as opposed to the random Holiday themed show they had to shoehorn in the build to Vengeance Day). One other positive note this week. Technically it was a “holiday” show, and the holiday stuff was well done with the Brooks Jensen date and Javier Bernal’s Javi-tines Day skit. At least we didn’t get a random food fight.
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