By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired February 28, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
The show started off with the NXT roster brawling in the hallway. Wes Lee was in the ring for his open challenge. Everyone was brawling to get to the ring to accept the challenge. Vic Joseph noted that Blade and Enofe have broken from the pack.
Daba Kato took down Enofe and Blade on the ramp. Crews hit Kato with an axe handle to stop him from accepting. Nathan Frazer leapt past Crews and Kato to accept the challenge. For some reason his new ring gear reminds me of the Seattle Seahawks…
1. Wes Lee vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT North American Championship. Both men started the match with methodical chain wrestling. Vic Joseph noted that Shawn Michaels will appear to address Grayson Waller’s invitation to the Waller Effect talk show. After a few minutes, both men ended at a stalemate. Frazer rolled up Lee for a two count. Lee hit Frazer with a shoulder tackle for a two count. The match slowed down when Lee put Frazer in a Front Chancery.
Both men got to their feet. Frazer managed to backdrop Lee to ringside. Frazer missed a Triangle Moonsault. Lee missed a flip dive. Lee blocked Frazer’s dive with a Gamengiri. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Vic Joseph noted that Nathan Frazer hasn’t been wrestling since October. Both men took each other out with stereo crossbodies to invoke a “this is awesome” chant. Both men traded fatigued strikes. Frazer hit Lee with a Moonsault into a Modified Jackhammer (Similar to Axiom’s DDT sault). Lee shoved Frazer off the rope who landed on his feet. Frazer hit Lee with a Superplex into a Final Cut (which Joseph noted is a modified version of his trainer Seth Rollins’s signature superplex). Lee kicked out at two for a nearfall.
Frazer dropkicked Lee off the apron. Frazer crashed into the announce table when he went for a long distance plancha. Lee hit Frazer with a Flip Dive. In the ring, Lee hit Frazer with the Cardiac Kick (Mars Attack Kick) for the victory.
Wes Lee defeated Nathan Frazer via pinfall in 10:14 of on-air time to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Both men shook hands in respect after the match with the crowd chanting “Both these guys” at them…
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match to start the show! Even more fun, I like NXT playing around with the “Open Challenge” trope again by subverting it. Last time they had 3 people brawl (Dijak, Stacks, and D’Angelo). This time they had the whole roster bottleneck the Gorilla Position, which makes sense because it was always odd to see a wrestler do an open challenge and then have it look like there was already someone queued up to accept. Good to see Frazer back from his injury layoff. I don’t know why, but to me his new beard makes him look like a mini W Morrissey (Big Bill/Big Cass). Also good to see him return with a top quality match.
A JD McDonagh promo package aired. JD was narrating how a retinal injury works, complete with visual aid graphics. JD talked about how he’s coming after Ilja Dragunov. He said Ilja has the highest pain tolerance of anyone he’s ever fought. He said he will break Ilja’s will and send him home permanently…
Josh Briggs was hyping up Brooks Jensen in the locker room. Brooks was depressed. Briggs assumed Brooks broke up with Kiana. Brooks ensured Briggs that they were still together, but things are a bit off. Briggs said Brooks is just “stupid”, not as an insult, but because men are stupid, including Briggs. Briggs said that men just can’t fully understand women. Briggs said the Brooks of 6 months ago would be so happy to see the Brooks of today. Brooks pepped up. Briggs and Jensen left for their match…[c]
A Tyler Bate hype vignette aired…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Hank Walker about being involved in the brawl at the beginning of the show. McKenzie wondered if he was going after the title or Drew Gulak. Walker said that he wanted both. Axiom showed up and confronted Walker for kicking him in the brawl. Both men started to shove each other after Axiom noted that Walker wouldn’t have been able to beat Lee. Referees pulled apart both men…
Briggs and Jensen were already in the ring. Indus Sher got a televised entrance. Vic Joseph noted that due to their recent drama, Fallon Henley and Kiana James aren’t at ringside…
2. “Indus Sher” Veer Mahan and Sanga (w/Jinder Mahal) vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen. Briggs escaped a side slam and put Sanga in a headlock. Jensen hit Sanga with a facebuster and tagged in Briggs. Briggs held onto Sanga for a tandem move, but Brooks was distracted. Brooks finally tagged in, but Sanga was able to kick him a few times to regain control. Veer tagged in and hit Jensen with a high leaping elbow drop. Sanga tagged in and hit Jensen with an assisted draping Yakuza Kick.
Sanga put Jensen in a Million Dollar Dream, which Jensen escaped. Briggs tagged in and hit Sanga with a shoulder tackle. Briggs set up their tag team baseball slide punch, but Jensen was off on his timing due to being distracted. This allowed Sanga to slam Jensen. Veer tagged in and hit Jensen with the Million Dollar Arm Lariat for the win.
Indus Sher defeated Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs via pinfall in 3:29.
Jinder took the mic and said that The Creed Brothers have deprived the country of India a new NXT Champion. Jinder said that the Creeds overcome every obstacle in their live other than Indus Sher. Jinder asked the Creeds if they’re willing to finish this. Jinder said they’ve beaten the Creeds before, but at Road Block it would be ten times worse. Based off Vic Joseph’s comments, he made it sound like it was going to be The Creeds and a mystery partner vs. Jinder and Indus Sher…
After some highlights from last week, Gigi Dolin was shown walking backstage, heading to the ring…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Jensen was laying it on a bit thick, but it was ok and got the message across in terms of how distracted he was. I actually care about this story way more than when Henley and James were feuding over the bar. Good win for Indus Sher and I think WWE might have the best Indian stars that they’ve ever had in this trio, including Jinder. Credit to Jinder for doing some good mic work that supersedes his generic heel mic work from his time as world champ. Sanga we know is the complete package. Veer is looking good these days too ever since he switched over to the more suave and natural persona.
Footage was shown of McKenzie Mitchell in the doctor’s room setting up an interview with Nathan Frazer. When the Doctor was about to check on Frazer, Katana Chance ran in to tell the doctor to follow her to check on Wendy Choo. Both of them ran and McKenzie told the cameraman to follow the doctor. Oh no! In the most dangerous place in all of pro wrestling, the NXT parking lot, Wendy Choo was laid out on the parking lot concrete…
John’s Thoughts: To quote SpoonyExperiment’s classic TNA Impact review from back in the day: “It was NINJAS!”. Ninjas are attacking people in the NXT Parking Lots! My kayfabe continues to be that the ninjas that kidnapped Samoa Joe at Universal Studios Florida that one time are the ones beating up and kidnapping people in NXT.
Gigi Dolin made her entrance to the Toxic Attraction theme. Gigi told the production truck to cut the music because that’s the last time you’ll hear Toxic Attraction’s theme. Dolin talked about how this isn’t the first time she had her head kicked in by someone she trusted. She said Jacy will find out who Gigi Dolin truly is. Gigi said that Jacy is all about the superficial things like glitz, glamour, and money. Gigi said it was fun being the mean girl for a while.
She said for Jacy it was a way for her to channel her insecurity. Gigi said for her it was a way to channel her inner demons because she’s just been happy to survive. Gigi said that she trusted Jacy with this information, that the last person that betrayed Gigi was Gigi’s own mother. She said that her mom used her as a punching bag and caused her to run from hope. She said she wanted to prove to her little brother that they can escape that cycle of pain and she can make it in WWE.
She said she’s been knocked down time and time again and have gotten up. Gigi told Jacy to bring everything she has because she will take every bit of pain suffering and rage to hammer the final nail in the coffin of Toxic Attraction. Gigi’s new theme started playing…
John’s Thoughts: Wowzers! Good stuff. I didn’t expect a deep and emotional promo from Gigi, but she delivered it really well and seemingly from the heart. That story about her abusive mom hit hard in particular and did a good job to add pathos to her promo. I’ve been a huge fan of her heel mic work over the years, so this is uncharted waters according to what I’ve seen, but in her first babyface promo she did a good job. I want to see her succeed now. Let’s see how good she can do?
The show cut to a Chase U skit. Duke Hudson was chatting with random Chase U students. Thea Hail walked in to the classroom depressed. Duke Hudson apologized to Thea for snapping on her last week and that he thinks that Thea is a strong woman who can defend herself. Thea said Andre Chase would be happy to hear an apology too. Hudson said he’s not taking his comments back.
Andre Chase was about to teach the class, but The Schism appeared on the class television. They cut a promo to berate Chase U and terrorize Thea Hail. Joe Gacy said that all the students in the class need to join The Schism. The Schism burned Chase U sweaters in a dirt hole. After the promo finished, Duke Hudson raised his hand to ask a question. Andre Chase cut off Hudson and gave one of his Bobby Knight curse filled promos…
Meiko Satomura made her entrance for the next match. Vic noted that Meiko will face Zoey Stark after the break…[c]
A Dijak Promo aired. Dijak noted that Tony D’Angelo is public enemy number one for costing him the North American Championship twice. He said he’s going to beat up Tony and show that he’s s street rat who doesn’t know how to dish out High Justice. He said he’s going to lock Tony down for good. Dijak closed a jail cell…
Vic Joseph hyped Dijak vs. D’angelo in a Jailhouse Street Fight. Vic noted that the rules were of a No DQ match, but in order to win you have to put the opponent in a “Jail” cell and lock the door. Vic also hyped Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne for Road Block…
Roxanne Perez joined Vic and Booker at ringside. Booker was super hyped to have his student there as usual. Zoey Stark made her entrance. Vic aired a tweet from Charlotte Flair, who praised Zoey Stark for working a dark match last week…
3. Meiko Satomura vs. Zoey Stark. Meiko dominated the early chain wrestling. Meiko put Stark in a neck bridge during the Test of Strength. Meiko then trapped Stark in a gronded hammerlock. Meiko pinned Stark to the mat and converted to a headlock.
Stark reversed the hold and hit Meiko with an elbow. Meiko came back with a spin kick combination. Stark came back with a snapmare and basement lariat. Meiko caught Stark with a stiff roundhouse heading into the picture-in-picture.[c]
Stark kicked Meiko to the mat. Stark went for a slingshot dive, but Meiko kicked Stark pin-point in her injured knee during the leap. Meiko rallied with stiff strikes and a takedown. Meiko hit Stark with a Frog Splash for a two count. Meiko worked on Stark with Muay Thai Roundhouse Kicks.
[Hour Two] Stark avoided a cartwheel double knee strike. Stark hit Meiko with a slingshot corkscrew meteora for a two count. Meiko knocked Stark off the top rope wiht a Pele Kick. Meiko hit Stark with a Uranage for a two count. Stark hit Meiko with a few thrust kicks and a baseball slide kick for a two count. Meiko rolled away from Stark’s 450 attempt. Meiko hit Stark with a heavy Death Valley Driver. Meiko hit Stark with Scorpion Rising (Step-up Axe Kick) for the win.
Meiko Satomura defeated Zoey Stark via pinfall in 11:26.
Roxanne Perez faced off with Meiko Satomura after the match…
John’s Thoughts: Good match as usual from Meiko and Zoey. Scorpio Rising is one of my favorite finishers to watch due to how different it is. I wonder why we haven’t seen a similar finisher from other wrestlers. Anyways, what actually stood out in a bad way was Roxanne Perez on commentary. It wasn’t Von Wagner bad or anything, but it was moreso it felt like she was a bit nervous. She regularly sounds nervous in promos, so all this would take is time and practice (look! Lashley used to sound very nervous too and in 2016 it clicked for some reason). This isn’t a tough problem to fix and I assume she’ll get better in time, as long as she’s putting in the work in promo class (maybe she should also hit up WWE Executive William Regal, who’s really good at the art of the promo).
Vic Joseph and Roxanne Perez checked in from the commentary table. Vic sent the show to a replay of the end of last week’s NXT where Grayson Waller hijacked the production truck to call out Shawn Michaels. Vic then aired a tweet where Shawn Michaels accepted Waller’s invitation to the Waller effect show…
McKenzie Mitchell was in front of the Doctor’s office door. Tiffany Stratton showed up and noted that the number one piece of advice is to avoid the NXT Parking Lot (true!). Katana Chance and Kayden Carter showed up to point out that Stratton might have a motive to attack Wendy Choo due to them having a feud. Katana Chance challenged Tiffany Stratton to a match later…
Sol Ruca made her entrance for the next match. Zoey Stark was heading to the back, where she glared at Sol when they passed by…
Vic Joseph sent the show to the Montez Ford and Bianca Belair Titanic reenactment from Monday…[c]
Brutus and Julius Creed were in the hallway discussing who they should pick to team up with them against Indus Sher. They walked into Damon Kemp. Julius said that Kemp is a bad man, but it might take someone who’s calculated, sly, and remorseless to face Indus Sher. Kemp laughed at Julius Creed asking him for help. Kemp refused getting the boys back together.
Bron Breakker showed up and said he’s willing to team with the Creeds for having his back last week. Brutus was excited, but Julius acted pissed that Bron didn’t come a minute earlier before he embarrassed himself asking Damon for help. Julius then quickly turned around and all three men did Rick Steiner’s signature bark…
Elektra Lopez made her entrance accompanied by Valentina Feroz. A replay was shown of Lopez beating Indi Hartwell recently with brass knuckles…
4. Sol Ruca vs. Elektra Lopez (w/Valentina Feroz). Both women traded wristholds. Sol did a flip to escape the corner but she walked into a forearm by Elektra. Ruca hit Elektra with an X Factor. Elektra dropped Sol to ringside off the top rope. Sol kicked out of Elektra’s pin. Lopez backdropped Ruca for a two count. Lopez gave Ruca a knee to the gut. The camera cut to a despondent Feroz at ringside.
Ruca got to her feet and rallied with kicks and punches. Sol hit Lopez with a series of shoulder tackles and a dropkick. Sol hit Elektra with a vertical suplex. Lopez dodged a front flip splash from Ruca. Lopez pinned Ruca to the mat for a two count. Lopez went to get the brass knuckles in the turnbuckle, but there were no knuckles there. Feroz had already removed them. While Lopez was distracted asking Valentina for the knuckles back, Sol Ruca hit Lopez with the Sol Snatcher for the victory.
Sol Ruca defeated Elektra Lopez via pinfall in 4:56.
Lopez got in the face and shoved Feroz. Feroz punched Lopez out with the Brass Knuckles and left her lying…
John’s Thoughts: I was afraid a bit of this match sucking due to both women being pretty raw, but this wasn’t all that bad. Elektra is still not great at telling stories, but at least she isn’t fumbling as much as she has in the past. Sol Ruca continues to shine as a rising star. She has John Morrison and Kofi Kingston potential with all the stuff she can do. I’m actually looking a bit forward to the Feroz vs. Lopez feud, if only to see what Feroz can do now that she’s in a meaningful program.
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were hanging out playing pool and drinking pints at the pub. It was tough to hear what Mark was saying due to his heavy accent, but they talked about their tag title matches in the UK and I think they called Pretty Deadly a couple of “ballbags”. Mark continued to hype up Wolfgang who was eyeing up the perfect pool shot. Wolfgang ended up hitting his mark. Some rando bumped into Wolfgang. Wolfgang cracked a pint glass on the man and assaulted him…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Elton Prince and Kit Wilson, who bragged. Wilson did a Bully Ray impersonation by saying “Wolfgang… Get the [pool] tables”. McKenzie aired a tweet of Drew McIntyre praising his fellow Gallus countrymen. Kit Wilson invited Gallus to a “Civilized discussion” next week. Prince high fived Wilson and left McKenzie hanging…[c]
Entrances for the next match took place. The mobile phone sponsor were shown having a section in the crowd (NXT has been laying it a bit thick this week with their mobile phone sponsor). Booker joked that he wants to have a photoshoot with Tiffany. Vic joked that Sharmell wouldn’t be happy if she saw Tiffany’s photos on Booker’s phone…
5. Tiffany Stratton vs. Katana Chance (w/Kayden Carter). Chance hit Stratton with a slingshot delayed huracanrana. Chance rolled up Stratton for a two count. Stratton blocked a huracanrana and gave Chance a snake eyes on the top rope. Stratton escaped a butterfly stretch with double boots. Chance hit Stratton with a huracanrana. Chance hit Stratton with a double stomp. Chance hit Stratton with a spinning elbow drop for a two count.
Chance hit Stratton with a reverse leg lariat. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre appeared at ringside to distract Chance and Carter. This allowed Stratton to catch Chance and hit her with a rolling senton. Stratton hit Chance with a Mero Sault for the victory.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Katana Chance via pinfall in 3:38.
Booker joked that Tiffany is about to go “to the party”. Vic asked “what party”? Tiffany took the mic and said she doesn’t just want to be called “the best” but “NXT Women’s Champion”. She said she doesn’t care who’s winning next week, but Tiffany Stratton will be the next NXT Women’s Champion…
John’s Thoughts: Okay match while it lasted. Tiffany’s return from time-off has been odd as she’s been put in a bunch of meaningless and random short matches. I only bring this up because before her time off she was really having good, longer, and meaningful matches. This is a similar situation to Tony D’Angelo recently. Her post match promo was interesting. Are they setting up Tiffany to challenge Roxanne at Mania weekend? That’s “interesting” if only because Tiffany hasn’t quite developed the star power you think WWE would want to headline their Staples Center show with? It’s also interesting in that if Tiffany can pull out the same match she had against Wendy Choo multiple times, then Perez vs. Stratton could be a sleeper hit whenever that happens.
Josh Briggs confronted Brooks Jensen backstage. Brooks apologized for screwing up. Briggs said all he has is Henley and Jensen and Jensen needs to fix whatever problems he has between him, Kiana, and Fallon. Jensen apologized again. Briggs said Fallon already apologized to James last week and Jensen just needs to get his girl back. Jensen said he just doesn’t know what to say. Briggs said he understands that there are no do-overs. Briggs offered to talk to Kiana for Brooks. Both men hugged to close the segment…
Axiom made his cool motion blur entrance…[c]
A WWE Black History Month PSA aired…
Hank Walker was already in the ring, and wearing his singlet…
6. Axiom vs. Hank Walker. Axiom tried to put Walker in a Juji Gatame, but Walker powered out. Axiom put Walker in a quick sleeper, but ended up eating a Big Boot from Walker. Axiom came back with palms to the gut. Walker hit Axiom with a Flapjack for a two count. Axiom fended off Walker with chops and slaps. Axiom hit Walker with a Gamengiri and High Crossbody for a two count. Axiom worked on Walker with some Yes Kicks.
Vic noted that Axiom was being aggressive. Walker reversed Axiom with a Pounce. Walker hit Axiom with a few corner splashes. Walker turned Axiom inside out with a lariat. Axiom rolled up Walker for a one count. Axiom hit Walker with a running knee and switch kick. Axiom sent up and hit Walker with the Golden Ratio Superkick for the win.
Axiom defeated Hank Walker via pinfall in 3:43.
While Axiom was on the ramp, Scrypts was shown being a creeper at the ring entrance. Axiom walked up to Hank and patted him on the back, saying he is special and needs to keep up fighting like that. Scrypts disappeared…
John’s Thoughts: A nice short and sweet match. Nothing too special, but Walker continues to show improvement. It helps that “showing improvement” is a part of his character and character development. A bit weird seeing him in a basic singlet these days. I’m kinda missing the shirt and slacks days. Axiom seems to be treading water, but at the same time they are racking up wins with him and protecting him heavily. I would really like to see him had a killer match at the Staples Center show, so I hope he makes the card somehow. It looks like they’re setting him up for something against Scrypts, which would be “interesting”? (I just don’t care much about the former Reggie. Maybe the stiff striking Axiom can get the best out of the acrobat?).
The show cut to Grayson Waller cutting a promo on Twitter where he continued to brag about himself and trash talk Shawn Michaels. Waller wondered if we’re getting the Heartbreak Kid next week, or the Corporate Stooge HBK from the past few years…
Vic hyped the following segments for next week’s Roadblock Show: Shawn Michaels appearing on the Waller Effect Talk Show, Roxanne Perez vs. Meiko Satomura for the NXT Women’s Championship, Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne, Joe Gacy vs. Andre Chase, and Bron Breakker, Julius Creed, and Brutus Creed vs. Jinder Mahal, Veer Mahan, and Sanga, and Dijak vs. Tony D’Angelo in a Jailhouse Streetfight…
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance…[c]
Tyler Bate made his entrance to his new entrance theme (which is also a remix of Peter Gabriel’s sledgehammer. Though I think this version is better than is initial one that WWE made for him)…
7. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. Tyler Bate. Bate tried to take down Melo early, but Melo kept his distance and ended in a stalemate. Both men traded wristlocks. Melo escaped a hammerlock by running Bate to ringside. Bate took down Melo with a slingshot slam. Melo refused Bate’s handshake. Both men traded many rolling rollups. Melo escaped one rollup by booting Bate in the face. Melo blocked a Tyler Driver. Bate blocked a Codebreaker.
Bate showed some slippery evasion. Booker called it a “Bate and switch”Bate caught Melo’s right hand and rallied with European Uppercuts. Bate dumped Melo to ringside and hit him with a top rope clearing dive. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
[Overrun] During the break, Melo had hit Bate with an innovative springboard vertical Suplex. Melo put Bate in a wristhold back from the break. Bate escaped it with an axe kick. Bate hit Melo with a diving uppercut. Trick tried to distract Bate, but Bate knocked him off the apron with Bop and Bang. Bate slammed Melo to the mat and hit him with a Standing Shooting Star for the two count.
Bate blocked a Kick. Melo blocked Bop and Bang. Melo reversed a Helicopter Spin into a rollup for a two count. Bate caught Melo with a pump kick. Bate recovered and put Melo into a Helicopter Spin. Bate hit Melo with a Michinoku Driver for at two count. Bate hit Melo with Bop and Bang and turned Melo inside-out with a lariat for a nearfall.
Melo sent Bate into the corner with a drop toehold. Bate and Melo traded right hands in the center of the ring. Both men traded right hand rallies, which were stiff. Melo hit Bate with an underhook slam. Melo hit Bate with a Final Cut Suplex for a two count.
Melo went to the top rope, but Bate ran up with him and hit him with a Superplex. Trick got on the apron to distract Bate. Bate missed a Spiral Tap. Melo hit Bate with a Codebreaker. Melo hit Bate with Nothin’ But Net (Top Rope Bicycle Kick) for the win.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Tyler Bate via pinfall in 11:19.
Highlights from the match aired. Vic Joseph hyped up Shawn Michaels appearing on next week’s show. Melo got in the camera saying that there ain’t no road block standing between him and Stand and Deliver, because there’s one man left. Melo closed the show by saying “I am…him”…
John’s Thoughts: A good match that could have been better if given more time. Of course, they had to cut the match short-ish due to the time restraint, even with overrun (they’re allotted 7 minutes after the top of the hour). There was actually some fun stuff during the commercial break. If Melo becomes the NXT Champion, then Tyler Bate would be a good matchup down the road. Melo can have a good match with anyone, so there are a ton of matches and run-backs they can do if or when he’s champ.
This week’s NXT was WAY better than last week’s. I don’t know what the hell they were doing last week. The biggest barometer was the crowd reaction. Last week they were dead most of the show for good reason. Only really good matches were the opening and closing match. This week’s show looked great on paper and it delivered. It was a solid go-home to the Roadblock themed episode. Next week’s theme show looks hot on paper too, especially with HBK’s star power added to it.
That Gigi promo was fantastic, hit me in the feels a little. Also, thought it was kinda funny when Lopez was demanding the brass knuckles from Feroz, but the ref was staring at them the whole time and woulda seen her with them anyways lol. I’m not a religious NXT watcher, I feel like I missed a step in the story before Feroz snapped