By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live May 30, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One]Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer. Vic sent the show to a hype package for the show-opening Weaponized Cage Match…
The show cut back to the ring where there were weapons set up in the steal cage…
Gigi Dolin was making her entrance. She was jumped in the middle of her match by Jacy Jayne who womanhandled her all over ringside. At one point, Jacy was smashing the cage door on Gigi several times. The bel ran once both women were in the ring…
1. Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne in a Weaponized Cage Match. Jacy started the match by lashing Gigi in the back several times with a leather strap. Gigi recovered and hit Jacy with a trash can lid. Gigi hit Jacy with a spinning hook kick. Gigi got the leather strap and gave Jacy several lashes. Gigi put Jacy in a trash can and kicked it several times. Gigi also dropkicked the can into Jacy.
Gigi choked Jacy with the leather strap. Gigi grabbed an orange bat with rose “thorns” supposedly on it. Gigi pressured Jacy’s face with it. Jacy recovered, ducked a bat shot and gave Gigi a spinebuster on a trash can. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Jayne fishhooked Gigi with a metal chain. Gigi escaped and whipped Jacy into the corner. Gigi got a two count after a Side Russian Legsweep. Jacy recovered and gave Gigi a neckbreaker on a stack of chairs that Gigi set up. Gigi and Jacy traded Yay-Boo forearms. Dolin won the rally. Jacy escaped Gigi’s finisher attempt and slammed Gigi into the trash can. Jacy gave Gigi a superkick and a cannonball into the trash can.
Jacy set up a table. Gigi and Jacy traded counters. Jacy tossed Gigi into the cage wall and trapped her between the ropes and cage. Jacy dragged Gigi to the top rope. Gigi recovered and slammed Jacy’s head several times into the cage wall. Gigi gave Jacy a Super Choke Slam through the table. Gigi picked up the pinfall win.
Gigi Dolin defeated Jacy Jayne via pinfall in 12:32 in a Weaponized Cage Match.
John’s Thoughts: Finally, these women got to wrestle a full match with their last two matches being cut short due to injuries. The weapons allowed for them to have enough tools to keep this from being short. Good WWE-PG Lethal Lockdown. Here’s hoping both women can move on to other opponents because I feel like they’ve been linked together long enough.
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Booker said he was worried about Jacy. Vic sent the show to a NXT Battleground highlight package…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee about becoming having the most North American Title defenses after Sunday. He yelled and said he’s pumped. Wes was recollecting his run, but was interrupted by Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler for beating Joe Gacy. Tyler Bate joined Lee and the heels backed down. Bate reminded Lee that the North American Title pursuit is all business, but they’re still mates. Lee and Bate fist bumped…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Here’s hoping that fist bump means they’ve ditched the weird fabricated tension between Wes and Tyler. Now they can go back to hotboxing and meditating.
The show cut to Tony D’Angelo at the Police Department getting a mug shot…
Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang were hyping each other up backstage, discussing who will step up to face them. Mark Coffey started mocking Tony D’Angelo’s accent and arrest. This made Stacks show up and blame Gallus for snitching on Tony. Stacks said “Snitches get stiches” and attacked Gallus. Stacks was beat down due to the numbers…
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance. Trick hyped up Melo defending the title at his hometown. Melo said NXT Battleground was a real battle. Melo said he survived a Spear and got the “and still” with a Nothin’ But Net. Melo reiterated how Melo don’t miss. NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar interrupted and was flanked by Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, and Lash Legend.
Dar talked about also defending his championship. Dar said Melo beat Bron once, but he beat Dragon Lee twice. Trick mocked Dar’s accent and how Dar needed 3 other people to beat Dragon. Trick said interrupting Trick Melo gang is a Super No No. Melo said he respects that Dar is really like that, and is at a high level with his championship. Melo said that the highest level is the NXT Championship. Melo said Dar can’t beat him once.
Dar said he sees that as a challenge. Dar challenged Melo to a NXT Championship Match. Trick said Dar is just trying to catch Melo while he’s recovering from Battleground. Dar said that’s exactly what he’s doing. Dar said that Melo is just like a NBA player that limits his minutes and not have the stamina to go like Dar. Dar asked Lash what they call it in the NBA. Lash said it’s “Load Management”. Melo said he’s not about Load Management and he accepts the challenge…
John’s Thoughts: Good promo exchange with Dar hanging in there with the NXT Champion on the mic. He’s done it before, so it’s not surprising. I really like that Dar has a faction and hopefully he’ll elevate them all because of his all-rounder ability. Nice to have Lash Legend in there with the NBA reference because she was an actual WNBA player. What I’m not the biggest fan of is Noam Dar being fed to wrestlers in non-rounds matches. Yes, he’s a pest heel, but I don’t want him being pushed as a scrub.
Vic sent the show to the NXT Women’s locker room where Cora Jade was ranting about Lyra cheating in their match and how she should be champion. Cora had a black eye. Ivy Nile told Cora to suck up her injury and accept the loss. Cora came back by mocking The Creeds for losing and Nile getting beat up. Nile said they were fighting on Sunday, while Cora wasn’t on the show…
The Dyad made their entrance…[c]
Still shots from NXT Battleground were shown…
Axiom was in his turtleneck, watching the Dragon Lee vs. Noam Dar match from Battleground. Reggie showed up and tried to be friendly. Axiom wasn’t having any of it. Reggie said his given name is Reggie but “my people” call me Scrypts. Axiom said his family?
Reggie said his family didn’t and that’s a story for another day. Reggie said Axiom saved him from being emo in a cave after ripping his mask off. Reggie said he helped Axiom as a “thank you”. After Reggie left, Axiom let out an apathetic “any time”…
John’s Thoughts: So are they keeping his name Scrypts? When he mentioned “My People” I wondering if he’s referencing his real life struggle as a part of the Crips gang? I’m willing to see where this goes if they’re going to try to integrate some of his real life story. I stumbled across this video a few weeks ago, but before WWE, the PBS channel did a documentary on Reggie’s real life success story on how he used acrobatics to get out of the hood. I’ll post the documentary below.
Tyler Bate and Wes Lee made their entrance. Booker T kept stressing that he thinks Bate is a snake…
2. Wes Lee and Tyler Bate vs. “The Dyad” Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid (w/Ava). Lee and Bate traded quick tags to dominate Fowler. Fowler tossed Bate into Lee which Booker said made Bate look sus. Lee recovered and hit both Dyad members with a crossbody. Bate and Lee gave The Dyad stereo dropkicks.
Out of nowhere, WWE “Free Agent” Mustafa Ali appeared in the crowd wearing a leather jacket. Everyone’s attention was distracted as Mustafa walked down the steps heading into commercial.[c]
The show cut back to the Bate vs. Lee match. Mustafa Ali joined the commentary table. Booker T asked Ali what hair product he uses because his hair is smooth. Ali talked about how he was close to winning a Championship on Sunday and how he’s obsessed. Ali said he can appear on all three brands as a “Free Agent”. He said that allows him more championship options. Lee had hit Fowler with a DDT and hit Reid with a CQC combo into a double stomp.
Fowler avoided a Cardiac Kick and hit Wes with a throat punch. Wes fended off both men with right hands. Wes hit both opponents with a Double Cardiac Kick. Bate tagged in. Bate and Lee hit The Dyad with Stereo Spiral Taps. Lee hit Fowler with a Flip Dive. Bate hit Reid with a Tyler Driver 97 for the win.
Tyler Bate and Wes Lee defeated The Dyad via pinfall in 5:48 of on-air time.
Ivy Nile ran out and attacked Ava after the match. A brawl ensued between The Schism and Diamond Mine. Joe Gacy appeared and put the boots to Lee and Bate after jumping them. Mustafa Ali stormed the ring and cleared Gacy from it. Ali, Lee, and Bate stood tall to end the segment…
NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton was shown heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun closing sequence with the double cardiac kick and mirror spiral taps. Only thing missing was AJ Styles doing a springboard one in the middle. Anyways, when they set up the “free agent” designation, I wondered if that meant we’ll get a few guest runs of main roster members on NXT. Looks like that’s happening. Curious what Ali’s going to do? My guess is he’s going to team with Bate and Wes against the Schism for a six person tag for now. I kinda hope we get a chance to get the prime version of Mustafa Ali. Not Positive-Ali. Prime Ali was when he was doing all those cinematics, talking about how he tried to clean the police force as a Chicago Police officer. “Real” Ali is money and they’ve never tapped into that past 205 Live (though they were about to presumably, but Ali got that injury before Mania, which led to that story starting KofiMania).
A replay aired of the Chase U skit from this past Sunday, where Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak caused Thea Hail to walk out of class after calling her a failure. The show cut to this week where Gulak and Dempsey were holding a wrestling exhibition with Chase U. Hudson said he’ll pass Thea automatically after what Gulak and Dempsey did to her.
Hail begged for her to prove them wrong. Duke told her to give em’ hell. Hail entered the ring and said she can do this. Dempsey said he hopes she doesn’t cry this time. Dempsey and Hail squared off…
[Hour Two] NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton made her entrance for her Championship celebration. Vic Joseph noted that HBK hand picked 8 women that he thought was the best to compete in the tournament, and Tiffany is the last one to survive the Tournament. Tiffany said she’s not surprise she won and got to the tippy top of NXT. She said that the title was held by future hall of famers like Asuka, Rhea Ripley, Charlotte Flair, Bayley, and others.
She said she’s going to show everyone what it is to be a real champion. She said she’s the definition of a real champion. Tiffany said she would like to invite the locker room to recognize her as champion. No one took her up on her offer. Tiffany said no one wants to know the next challenger then? The women’s locker room came out after hearing that. Tiffany said everyone seems star struck. Tiffany said everyone is wondering her next challenger, but after seeing everyone at ringside, she thinks she’ll be champion a long time.
She said she might as well retire as champion. Tiffany pointed at various women and said they won’t be champion. She said she had a Tiffany epiphany, a number one contender battle royal next week. After the confetti sprayed, Fallon Henley, Thea Hail, Lyra Valkyria, and Roxanne Perez jumped Tiffany in the ring. The women’s locker room stood tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Tiffany’s delivery was fine, but the segment dragged a bit and the crowd wasn’t interested. Part of the reason was there wasn’t much of substance in Tiffany’s promo. What she should have done was be more scathing to both the babyfaces and fans. I liked her call out moment, but it just had to have a little more heat to come off as interesting. Lesson learned. I’m confident she can bounce from this because she is something special.
Oro Mensah, Lash Legend, and Jakara Jackson confronted Trick Williams to talk about Noam Dar being the favorite against his match against Melo. Jackson said that Trick and Melo, they look kinda all aight. Lash said they call Trick “Trick Willy”. Trick said in the looks department Trick-Melo don’t miss. Trick told them to git.
Oro said Melo should have taken the night off. Trick said he saw Oro help Dar on Sunday. He called Miss Jackson, the Distraction. Trick said Lash was another distraction and he mocked her for using a bucket. The heels continued to hype up Dar…
Noam Dar was shadow boxing in the locker room. Carmelo Hayes was getting mentally focused in another locker room…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Fun backstage segment. I loved the way Trick pronounced the word “bucket”. Trick, Lash, and Jakara all bounced well off each other. Oro may be great in the ring, but he’s weak on the mic. Hopefully hanging around all these talented characters can rub off on him.
Vic Joseph hyped up the Undertaker One Dead Man Show’s UK tour. Vic then talked about the number one contenders match for the NXT Women’s Title being approved for next week…
Dani Palmer was in the ring and said she had to find out who is the mystery women’s attacker. She talked about getting attacked and how Sol Ruca is out for a year after getting attacked. She said she’s not leaving the ring until she sees the attacker’s face.
On the big screen, the attacker was in a black hood, watching footage of all the attacks in a dark room. The attacker turned around and was about to take off her mask. The attacker actually came out from behind and beat down Dani. The lady unmasked to reveal Blair Davenport. Blair dumped Dani from the ring and she posed to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Like I guessed. It was either Blair Davenport or Stevie Turner (due to the hacker aspect). The digital aspects of the character has me praying that they don’t bring back Sami Callihan’s bad NXT hacker gimmick (which he got to bring to Impact and it wasn’t good). Hey, at least she doesn’t teleport. Blair is a nice addition to the women’s division. For years she’s been seen as a top women’s wrestler and was one of the initial standouts in AEW’s early women’s division. This is a good addition to also make up for some of the losses via the draft.
Eddy Thorpe was hanging out with Edris Enofe and Malik Blade. Eddy was disappointed at his last loss. Enofe and Blade said every loss is a lesson. Damon Kemp showed up and claimed that Thorpe was a cheater in their last match. Eddy had to be held back by Enofe and Blade. Vic noted that we’re getting Eddy Thorpe vs. Damon Kemp next week…
Joe Coffey made his entrance. Vic Joseph noted that Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were banned from ringside due to triple teaming Stacks. Stacks made his entrance. Stacks was selling a rib injury…
3. Joe Coffey vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. Stacks aggressively beat down Joe early on. Stacks slowed things down with a side headlock. Joe got to his feet and sent Stacks across the ring with a hip toss. Coffey sent Stacks to the corner with a power Irish Whip. Joe got a two count. Joe tossed Stacks again with a hip toss. Stacks turned the tables a bit with methodical strikes. Joe came back with a body slam.
Stacks knocked Joe off the apron with a dropkick. The show cut to regular commercial after Stacks gave Joe a right hand.[c]
Joe had Stacks in a body scissors. Vic said that NXT was trending number one on twitter. Vic noted that Joe was constantly calling Stacks “a rat” throughout the match. Stacks tried to rally with right hands and a DDT. Stacks hit Joe with a Flying Jalapeno and a neckbreaker. Stacks got a two count. Vic said he’s wondering if Tony D is watching this match. Booker said you don’t get TV in jail.
Joe recovered and hit Stacks with a Superplex for a two count. Stacks backdropped Joe. Stacks then sent himself over the top rope after a missed-botch lariat. Stacks then was sent into the steel steps after Joe sidestepped him. Joe hit Stacks with a flying double knife strike and turned Stacks inside out with a discus lariat for the win.
Joe Coffey defeated Channing Lorenzo via pinfall in 6:44 of on-air time.
Robert Stone berated Von Wagner for getting disqualified last week. Stone said Von could risk his free agent status. Von said he just put Luca in his place after running his mouth for weeks. Stone said Von has to see a therapist after whatever childhood trauma he has. Von said he’s not paying someone with his hard earned money. Stone said he’ll handle the bill. Von said he’d think about it…
The show cut to Ilja Dragunov in the hotel last Sunday. He got a call from his son and promised he’ll be ok after his match with Dijak. Ilja put on a fancy suit and gold ring and gold watch. The show cut to Ilja heading to the arena. Ilja wondered if it’s the pain that keeps searching for him or does he search for pain.
Ilja said maybe he’s the pain. He said it doesn’t matter because the world shall know pain. Ilja was shown backstage before the match making his orgasmic roars. Highlights from the Dijak vs. Ilja Dragunov match were shown…
Vic Joseph noted that Ilja Dragunov will make his NXT return next week…
John’s Thoughts: Nice cinematic piece. Less creepy compared to the weird bondage videos that set up the match (though Ilja still comes off as a horny masochist, and that isn’t a bad thing because kinks shouldn’t be shamed). That match was brutal on Sunday and I’m looking forward to Ilja’s next match. Hey, maybe after their BDSM segments we might get the Sadist-Mashochist tag team with Dijak and Ilja?
Cora Jade made her entrance…[c]
Ivy Nile made her entrance by herself…
4. Cora Jade vs. Ivy Nile. Cora stalled by claiming her black eye still hurts. Cora used this to get the upper hand and a side headlock on Ivy. Ivy escaped, blocked a hip toss, and hit Cora with a shortarm lariat. Ivy tossed around Cora with various tosses. Cora tripped Ivy and gave Ivy her signature Nelson “Ha Ha!”. Cora trapped Ivy in the ropes and smacked Ivy right across the mouth (she was aiming for the chest). Booker said Cora reminders her of Sensational Sherri.
Ivy recovered and hit Cora with a Karate combination. Ivy hit Nile with a jump kick. Cora got a two count off an inside cradle. Cora slammed Ivy to the mat by the hair. Cora missed a slingshot stomp. Ivy gave Cora a Gutwrench Suplex. Ava ran out for the attack, but Ivy saw it coming and gave her a Dragon Sleeper. Cora gave Ivy a high knee. Cora hit Ivy with the Dirty Deeds DDT. Vic said she’s calling the move “Jaded” (Wait? Did I hear that right?). Cora picked up the win.
Cora Jade defeated Ivy Nile via pinfall in 4:09.
John’s Thoughts: As much as I dislike the Mark Sterling character, he might have to give Cora a cease and desist, not Taya. I would rather go with the old Dean Ambrose Dirty Deeds name or Drew McIntyre Future Shock. Decent match, but I don’t like that Ivy Nile can’t catch a break, despite looking like a brick house. She has the potential to be WWE’s Jordynne Grace is presented correctly.
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger were hanging out backstage, talking about the injuries they got from their match together. Tank said Hank earned the win. Tank said he feels more connected to Hank. They asked each other favorite food, animal, and wing sauce. They said Chicken Parm, Honey Badger, and Bullalo Sauce in stereo.
Enofe and Blade showed up to hang out. Hank and Tank said Jaws were their favorite movie to show solidarity. Enofe and Blade failed at guessing each other’s favorite things. Enofe said they’re not gong to bond fight. Blade said it might help them…
The wrestlers involved in the NXT Title match were shown heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
An ad aired for NXT’s Great American Bash PLE on July 30th…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in and plugged the Great American Bash ticket pre-sale. They then aired a replay of Mustafa Ali making his NXT appearance (probably debut, because I don’t think he had an NXT run)…
McKenzie Mitchell was waiting backstage for Diamond Mine. She caught up with them. Ivy Nile took the mic and challenged Ava to a match next week. Julius challenged The Dyad. Julius said “Four roots, one stupid ass tree”. The Schism showed up and had to be pulled apart from Diamond Mine.
Ilja Dragunov’s NXT return, Damon Kemp vs. Eddy Thorpe, and the NXT Women’s Championship contender battle royal were plugged for next week…
Noam Dar, Lash Legend, Oro Mensah, and Jakara Jackson made their entrance with the Heritage Cup. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams also made their entrance. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions. Vic noted that this was Melo’s 2nd title defense in 3 days…
5. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. Noam Dar (w/Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson, Oro Mensah) for the NXT Championship. Melo dominated with a side headlock. Trick led the crowd in a “lock it in” chant for Melo’s headlock. Dar escaped and hit Melo with a roundhouse. Melo came back with a springboard lariat. Dar rolled to his corner people for a respite heading into the picture-in-picture break.[c]
[Overrun] Melo caught Dar with a draping gamengiri and springboard fadeaway leg drop. Dar managed to get Melo on the apron. Dar hit Melo with a slice kick to the calf. Dar dumped Melo off the apron and got a two count. Dar hit Melo with a basement forearm for a two count. Dar went to consult with his entourage. Dar hit Melo with a side arm suplex for a two count.
Dar hit Melo with Muay Thai clinch knees. Melo escaped with a rollup. Melo hit Dar with a La Mistica slam. Melo gave Dar a rally of right hands and a facebuster. Melo caught Dar with a Super and Pump kick. Melo hit Dar with a Pumphandle Slam for a two count. Lash and Jakara got Melo’s attempt. Trick jawed with the ladies at ringside. Trick saw Oro’s attack coming and laid him out with a right hand. The referee saw it and ejected Trick Williams from ringside.
Melo rolled up Noam for a two count. Noam hit Melo with a Judas Effect. Noam got a one count but moved right into a heel hook. Melo got to his feet and put Dar in a Crossface. Melo and Dar traded Yay and Boo forearms. Dar hit Melo with a spinning backfist. Melo came back with a Final Cut. Mensah crotched Melo on the top rope when Jackson and Legend distracted the ref.
Dragon Lee and Nathan Frazer ran out to confront Noam and Oro. Melo took out Noam and Oro with a crossbody. Melo hit Noam with the Nothin’ But Net Leg Drop for the win.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Noam Dar via pinfall in 11:21 to retain the NXT Championship.
Carmelo Hayes posed at the top of the ramp to close the show…
But wait? There’s more. After the WWE signature aired at the bottom of the screen, WWE “Free Agent” Baron Corbin attacked Carmelo Hayes from behind and beat him back in the ring. Baron Corbin planted Melo with End of Days. Baron Corbin posed with the NXT Title to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A good win to add another notch in the belt of the champion. I thought they creatively laid out all the moving pieces of interference outside in a creative way, most notably by having Dragon and Nathan run out to help a fellow babyface after Dar did them dirty. I really like the way Dar’s crew is looking. What I hope they put a stop to is having Dar job in non-Heritage matches. The Heritage Cup is credible, and we don’t want to make it look like the All-Atlantic championship of NXT (or what the TNT title is now).
As I expected and noted earlier, Brock Lesnar is an exception. The “Free Agent” designation might be WWE’s formal attention-to-detail to allow some of their main roster talent to make excursions to NXT. Let’s see if this leads to wrestlers having cameo runs like Dolph Ziggler and AJ Styles or longer excursions like Jinder Mahal and Apollo Crews. Solid NXT reset episode post Battleground.
Tiffany was a little rough tonight but that’s just a reminder that this is still AAA and that’s ok. She will learn as you said. Moving someone down (god please not Natty) as a surprise winner to the battle royal to have Tiffany work with would be how I would go
Melo and Trick remind me of Shawn and Diesel more all the time. I really enjoy the pairing
My prediction is that Jacy gets called up by Bailey to join DC. It would be symmetrical
Ali was treated like a star. How does he just not work on the main roster?
Totally, I’m giving Tiffany the benefit of the doubt because rough segments happen to the best of them. She’s way way ahead of most of her peers, even experienced onces. You might be right with the Trick-Melo thing. HBK treats the guy like a son. And as I said in my thoughts, Ali can work, but Vince never allowed him to be “real”. Hopefully we see that real Ali someday.
Some big surprises. Some really good in ring action. Some fairly bad acting. Overall another fun, fast 2 hours of NXT!!