By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live July 18, 2023 on USA Network
Highlights from last week’s NXT show aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrances. Trick took the mic and introduced Melo to the crowd. Melo said he wants to do his “I am him” thing this week, but last week was a “miss” for him. Melo talked about how he and Trick were about to beat one of the top teams in WWE, but Ilja Dragunov decided to “help” Melo. Ilja Dragunov made his entrance. Ilja now has a goatee.
Ilja said he didn’t want to get in Melo’s business, but if Damian Priest used his briefcase to take the NXT title to the main roster. Ilja said he wants to face Melo at Great American Bash. Ilja said Melo lost because he lost control. Melo said he had everything under control and stays mellow. Melo said he acknowledges how good Ilja is based on how he took it to Bron Breakker. Melo said he doesn’t know how Ilja can keep up that maniac pace.
Ilja said one thing he does more than everyone else, is give everything. He said when he steps in the ring everyone feels something. Ilja said Melo will see defeat at the Great American Bash. Melo talked about how he feels the weight of the championship, the animosity from the back, and the criticism from the world. He said he also feels everything.
Melo said it’ll be a fight at Great American Bash. Melo said no one is more than Ilja. Melo said in the end he’ll be swimming in W’s and Ilja will feel Melo at Great American Bash. He said he’ll hit different. Ilja said Melo better hit different or else Melo’s building will fall apart. Ilja said it doesn’t matter how great Melo think he is, The Mad Dragon will blow a fire Melo can’t control. Melo said he’ll blow the fire out and for one person it’ll be champagne, and pain for the other person. Vic Joseph hyped Great American Bash…
John’s Thoughts: A strong promo exchange to hype their upcoming title match. It was cool to see Ilja look more “professional” here and he really did well in a long promo. He’s usually crazy and over the top, but he really stood out well speaking more calmly. Melo continues to look like a strong babyface champion and he matches up well with whoever they put him in the ring with on the mic.
Wes Lee was in the Locker Room. He was approached by Mustafa Ali who berated Lee for allowing Dom Mysterio to get a title shot before him. Ali said he wants to face the greatest champion at Great American Bash. Lee said he’ll make it there. Ali said he’s already there, and Lee has to get there…
Vic hyped Wes Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio for the North American Championship…
Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza made their entrance…[c]
The show cut to footage of Tony D’Angelo getting his possessions back from lockup and getting released from jail. Stacks was outside to meet him. Stacks and Tony shared a hug. Stacks pointed out that Tony has a thick beard now…
Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee made their entrances. They both have new entrance music. Garza and Carrillo jumped Frazer and Lee before the bell…
1. Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee vs. Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza. Angel and Humberto swarmed Frazer early on. Frazer rallied back with punches and a Sunset Flip on Garza. Frazer and Garza showed off quick dodges. Frazer managed to land a dropkick on Angel for a one count. Dragon tagged in and got a two count on Angel after some tandem offense. Humberto tagged in and tried to rip off Dragon’s mask.
Luisa Leon and Valentina Feroz showed up at ringside to cheer on Nathan and Dragon. Humberto got a two count after a vertical suplex on Dragon. Angel and Humberto were dumped to ringside. Frazer went for a flip dive, but was caught by Angel and Humberto. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Frazer caught Angel with a jawbreaker. Angel caught Frazer at the pass to prevent a tag. Angel nailed Frazer with a superkick. Angel did his signature pants rip off. This allowed Frazer to tag in Dragon who hit Angel with a Dragon Screw. Humberto did a handstand on the ropes and ate a superkick from Dragon. Dragon hit Angel with a tornado DDT. Dragon got a two count on Angel.
Frazer dumped Carrillo to ringside. Carrillo put Frazer in Fireman Carry to block a baseball slide. Carrillo hit Frazer with Snake Eyes on the announce table . Carrillo and Garza did a Super Body slam to Dragon. Angel hit Frazer with a beautiful Triangle Moonsault. Carrillo hit his own beautiful moonsault on Dragon for a good nearfall.
Dragon put Humberto in the Tree of Woe and hit him with a double stomp. Angel caught Dragon with a superkick. Frazer hit Angel with Paydirt. Dragon hit Carrillo with a sitout Power Bomb for a nearfall that fired up the crowd. Carrillo turned Dragon inside out with a lariat. Humberto and Angel flirted with Leon and Feroz which allowed Frazer to hit both men with a dropkick and crossbody. Dragon hit Angel with Destino for the win.
Dragon Lee and Nathan Frazer defeated Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo via pinfall in 11:29.
Angel and Humberto argued at ringside. Humberto shoved Angel to the ground and walked away through the crowd…
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match. Both teams had the crowd at the palm of their hands. Only thing that made me cringe a bit was Angel’s pants rip that he’s been doing since his Impact days. I only cringed because it allowed his opponents to get the advantage. Angel and Humberto looked good in defeat and should be called back up immediately to the main roster. That said, the post match angle is teasing a breakup? Both cousins are great singles wrestlers so that could work.
The show cut to Baron Corbin in his truck, pulling up to the dark forest with tiki torches. This was a cinematic. Baron wondered what he got himself into. He said he was ok burning his past, because it’s evolve or die. He wondered, evolve to what? He said he needs to be feared, respected, and a champion. He said he needs to face his future and career.
He said “love me, hate me, save your f*cking opinions, i’m going to do this as me”. The random hooded man removed his hood and it was Baron Corbin. The segment ended with Baron Corbin staring at Baron Corbin.
Gigi Dolin made her entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: There we go, a Baron Corbin and Baron Corbin tag team! Queue the Spider Man pointing meme! I kid, I get that it was symbolic. I like me some Lucha Underground cinematics, so I was ok with that. I’m ultimately happy that Baron Corbin isn’t joining a cult because cults have a bad track record recently in wrestling. Looking forward to this more serious Corbin.
The show cut to NXT_Anonymous creeping around backstage. They took a video of Booker T coaching Roxanne Perez on how she needs to move forward after her last loss. Booker told Roxy to not give Blair Davenport a chance to beat her down…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Booker yelled, “This wasn’t no promo”. Booker was mad that someone recorded one of his private conversations. Booker said NXT needs more security…
Kiana James made her entrance…
2. Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James. Gigi gained control with a snapmare. Kiana came back with a rollup for a one count. Gigi hit Kiana with a huracanrana and a basement front dropkick. Gigi caught Kiana with a PK from the apron. Kiana tackled Gigi into the ringpost. Vic made sure to remind viewers that Smackdown is on FS1 this week. James worked on Gigi with methodical offense.
Gigi rallied back and hit Kiana with a high knee. Gigi hit Kiana with a high kick. Kiana slammed Gigi by the hair. Kiana grabbed her loaded purse. Gigi stole it and Kiana ducked a swing. The referee and Gigi played tug a war with the bag. This allowed Kiana to swoop in and hit Gigi with a 401k for the victory.
Kiana James defeated Gigi Dolin via pinfall in 3:43.
Footage from last week was shown where Bronco Nima and Lucien Price confronted Axiom and Scrypts. This lead to Scrypts challenging Price and Nima to a match. Price and Nima accepted. After Price and Nima left, Axiom told Scrypts he didn’t like that Scrypts assumed they were a tag team. Axiom said he’ll team with Scrypts this one time, but he’d rather do things alone…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The match was good while it lasted, but Gigi was made to look stupid by the end with the finish. I am higher on Kiana these days though because she is really good in the ring. Kiana is spinning her wheels and I hope they put her in an actual program again. As for Axiom, I agree with him, he should be high in the singles division, not tasked with trying to make Reggie seem more relevant.
The show cut to Ivy Nile taking down the Diamond Mine flag from the Diamond Mine dojo…
Booker T and Vic Joseph checked in from the commentary table. Vic introduced the Twitter post from Noam Dar where he’s still sad. His picture showed him drunk, disheveled, and holding a wine bottle in a brown paper bag…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Eddy Thorpe how he was supposed to be the guest on Super Nova Sessions last week. Before he could speak Oro Mensah, Lash Legend, and Jakara Jackason pulled up, rolling Noam Dar on a wheelchair. Noam was still disheveled, sucking on a lollipop, and wearing what looks like Jake Hager’s bucket hat.
Oro presented Thorpe with a Noam Dar picture as a consolation prize for Noam not being able to host him on Supernova Sessions. Thorpe ripped apart the picture. Both sides bickered…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Axiom and Scrypts vs. Bronco Nima and Lucien Price. Axiom reversed Nima’s power bomb into an armbar. Nima tossed Axiom in the corner. Axiom came back with an armdrag and dropkick. Scrypts tagged in. Scrypts did his usual flip dodges. Axiom tagged in when Nima got his hands on Scrypts.
While Axiom had Nima tied up in a submission, Scrypts betrayed Axiom by clubbing him in the back. This allowed Nima and Price to get the upper hand with power moves. Nima hit Axiom with a running high stomp. Price picked up the pin on Axiom.
Lucien Price and Bronco Nima defeated Axiom and Scrypts via pinfall in 2:19.
Scrypts was sitting on the top rope laughing. Scrypts, Nima, and Price walked together to the back. Booker talked about how Scrypts not wanting to hang out with Axiom cause Axiom ain’t from the hood (Oddly enough, that’s some expert analysis from Booker. I agree)…
Tony D’Angelo’s homecoming was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: That caught me off guard, and I like it! This could be a last ditch with Reggie, but this could work! As I mentioned before, there was a PBS documentary done on Reggie pre-WWE (On YouTube HERE). It talked about how he was an actual OG gangbanger from the Crips gang, who used Cirque Du Soleil to get out of the hood. In a strange way, this gives Price and Nima some street cred via association. I hope Reggie/Scrypts shakes up his look (and that means not going back to his old crap ass, swap meet ass mask). Based off NXT Level Up, I’m very high on Nima and Price. Hopefully we’ll see them get a full on match soon.
Vic Joseph plugged WrestleMania priority passes…
[Hour Two] There were pedestals, pictures, a snack table, and various items set up in the ring. Random people were in the ring that Vic said was Tony D’Angelo’s family members. Channing Stacks Lorenzo took the mic and talked about how he took care of Gallus last week. He introduced “The Don” Tony D’Angelo. Tony D’Angelo made his entrance to a “welcome back” chant.
D’Angelo said “I’m back baby!”. He soaked in “Tony D” chants. Tony gave a shout out to his main man Stacks. He talked about Stacks having a master plan to take down Gallus. Tony said Stacks should be a lead actor in Hollywood. Tony said everyone thought that Stacks was the rat, but a wise man told him “things aren’t always what they seem”.
Footage aired on the big screen of Stacks from two months ago of Stacks speaking to Tony at Jail, formulating the plan. Back at the arena, Gallus made their entrance. Joe Coffey said he needs to put a filter on what he’s seeing. Joe said Stacks and Tony are subhuman scum. Joe said Tony may be a free man, but he’s going to wish he’s back in jail.
Joe said he promises Tony that it’s safer in jail than in NXT. Tony said Joe’s face is of a man that had control, and lost it. Stacks said Wolfgang and Mark are going to lose the tag titles at the Great American Bash. Tony told Gallus to polish the titles real nice in preparation to losing them. Mark ask if Tony was trying to pull another scam. Mark said Gallus is dead serious on keeping the titles. Wolfgang said Tony D and Stacks aren’t even going to make it to the Bash. Gallus entered the ring. Joe was waving around a wooden baton.
Tony, Stacks, and the group of random people pulled out crowbars. Tony and Stacks hit Joe and Wolfgang in the gut with crowbars. Tony D and Stacks power bombed Mark through the snack table. Tony D and Stacks posed with the Tag Team Titles to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: There’s a lot you have to turn your brain off for this storyline, but Tony D continues to do a good job selling this act with a straight face. I actually wouldn’t mind Tony D and Stacks taking the titles off Gallus because Gallus hasn’t exactly been the most exciting champions.
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were confronted by The Schism backstage. Joe Gacy and Ava said their usual rhetoric. Ilja Dragunov showed up. Melo took exception to Ilja getting involved in Melo’s business. Ilja said Joe Gacy is insufferable. One of the cultists (Julius Creed?) shoved Joe Gacy into Ilja and a brawl ensued…
Duke Hudson and Thea Hail made their entrances…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The reason I assumed the cultist was Julius is from a segment from last week (posted below). When Joe Gacy and crew taunted Ivy Nile last week, there were two large cultists that glared at Ivy. One was tall and one was wide, so I assume it’s the Creeds “infiltrating” The Schism. Like I said when Sami Callihan made up an elaborate multi-month plan to infiltrate the Design cult in Impact; why would you put so much effort into infiltrating a mid-card cult? A cult that doesn’t have much success.
Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice made their entrances. Lola Vice is former MMA fighter Valarie Loureda. Lopez and Vice cut a picture in picture promo about their new alliance. Vic Joseph noted that Andre Chase was absent due to recruiting students for the Fall Semester…
4. Thea Hail (w/Duke Hudson) vs. Elektra Lopez (w/Lola Vice). Lopez hit Hail with a few body slams. Hail came back with an Exploder Suplex and cannonball. Vice got on the apron for the distraction. Lopez tried to power bomb Hail, but Hail reversed it into the Kimura for the submission win.
Thea Hail defeated Elektra Lopez via submission in 1:17.
Vic Joseph reminded viewers that Hail graduated high school just a year ago. Duke took the mic and said it was time to give Hail a “Hail yeah”. Hail said she made Lopez tap out just like she made Tiffany Stratton tap out. Hail asked for another chance at the title. Hudson calmed down Hail when she was about to call Stratton a bitch. Hail called Stratton out so she can kick her ass.
NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton made her entrance. Stratton said it’s rude to call out the champion. She said she’s superior to Hail. Stratton said Hail thinks she can conquer the world after learning one move. Stratton accepted Hail’s challenge. Hail said I’ll be the easiest title defense ever, duh. Hail said she wants to add one stipulation.
Hail wants to make it a submission match. Stratton said no and Hail can’t make the champ add such a stipulation. Hail put Stratton in the Kimura and Tiffany tapped out and cried in pain. Tiffany agreed to the Submission match so Hail could break the hold…
Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley were warming up backstage. Tony D and Stacks confronted Dom. Tony D told Dom that “Benny” from jail said hello. Dom said “Benny, what a guy”. After Tony D and Stacks left, Rhea Ripley called over Lyra Valkyria.
Rhea said she’s been hyping up Lyra to people in the locker room as a badass, but Jacy Jayne got one up on her. Lyra said she’ll prove Rhea that Rhea isn’t wrong about her. After Lyra left, Dom told Rhea that Lyra doesn’t want Mami’s wrong side…
John’s Thoughts: If we can somehow get Dom in the Tony D prison story, maybe I’ll start to get into this. TV needs more Prison Dom.
A Gable Steveson hype package aired. Gable talked about his options: Going back to college to win another championship, get another Gold Medal at the next olympics, or stay in WWE. It was announced that Gable Steveson will make his decision next week…
The Meta Four were making their entrance and trying to cheer up the drunk and despondent Noam Dar. Eddy Thorpe was already in the ring…
5. Oro Mensah (w/Lash Legend, Noam Dar, Jakara Jackson) vs. Eddy Thorpe. Thorpe hit Mensah with a high crossbody. Oro gave Eddy a chop, but Eddy took down Oro with a stronger chops. Oro came back with strikes and a lariat. Oro hit Eddy with a T-Bone Suplex for a few nearfalls. Oro grinded his forearm in the face of Eddy. The camera continued to show Noam being despondent.
Eddy rallied back with gut punches and chops. Eddie hit Oro with a back front kick combo. Eddy hit Oro with a German Suplex to dump him to ringside. Eddy hit Oro with a nice suicide dive. Lash rolled Noam Dar’s dead body into the ring. The referee struggled to roll Noam out. The distraction allowed Dijak to blindside Eddy with a Yakuza Kick. Thorpe beat the ten count at nine. Oro hit Eddy with a Spinning Heel Kick into the buckle for the win.
Oro Mensah defeated Eddy Thorpe via pinfall in 4:41.
Roxanne Perez and Blair Davenport were being mic’d up for a split screen interview…[c]
John’s Thoughts: That comedy might not be for all, but it cracked me up. Weekend At Bernie’s Noam Dar was riot. Feed me more of this. I love the Meta Four and I can see them being a fun comedy act on the main roster if they need a comedy act. Eddy loses nothing in defeat and it seems like the people in charge might be high on him. That’s not surprising because everyone, from Daly City to Japan, every time a booker gets their hands on Eddy Thorpe they always push him quickly. To me though, he’s like a male Zoey Stark, both in positives and negatives.
A training session skit aired between Kelani Jordan and Dana Brooke. Kelani was down on herself and Dana said they can cheer each other up doing flips. Both women talked down about Cora Jade. There was a bit of bad acting in this skit…
The show cut to Cora Jade watching the skit from the locker room…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from commentary and reminded viewers that Smackdown will be deferred to FS1 this week…
Vic then set up the split screen interview between Roxanne Perez and Blair Davenport. Vic addressed a mystery stalker filming the conversation between Perez and Booker. Davenport claimed it wasn’t her. Blair bragged about how she’s about to beat up Perez in her hometown in Texas at Great American Bash. Blair reiterated that the division is for grown women and not little girls.
Vic asked Roxy what it was going to take to beat Blair at Great American Bash. Perez said she’s sick and tired of being labeled an easy target. Perez said she’s never going to be 6 feet or overpowering, but since she lost the title there’s been a rage building in her and Blair added to that rage. Perez said she will have to control her anxiety in front of her family at The Bash. Perez said the WWE Universe will see a new side to Perez.
Blair wondered how Perez could fit big dreams in a small body. Blair talked about how Perez experienced Blair’s killer instinct. She said she’s going to hurt Perez. Blair said that after Perez loses she should take the short drive to her house because she doesn’t belong here anymore. Perez walked off set…
John’s Thoughts: Nothing to groundbreaking, but I do like that this feud is bringing out a more serious side to Roxanne Perez. Blair is correctly lampshading that WWE has been presenting Roxanne as a little girl and NXT is doing a good job to try to make her more than just a little girl.
Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley made their entrances…[c]
The following segments were advertised for next week: Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, and Ilja Dragunov vs. The Schism, Dana Brooke vs. Cora Jade in a Kendo Stick on a pole match, and Gable Steveson’s decision.
Wes Lee made his entrance. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions. As usual, the crowd had their fun booing Dom…
6. Wes Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio (w/Rhea Ripley) for the NXT North American Championship. Wes started the match with a side headlock. Wes had the lock in for about a minute before Dom escaped with an armdrag. Wes dumped Dom to ringside with a dropkick. Rhea blocked Wes from doing a dive by getting in front of Dom. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Dom hit Wes with the Three Amigos. Lee escaped the Third Amigo. Dom dodged a dropkick from Wes. Dom hit Wes with a 619 and Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Wes dodged Dom’s Frog Splash. Wes and Dom traded Yay Boo forearms. Dom hit Wes with a body slam. Dom pummeled Wes with forearms. Dom gave Wes a power whip into the turnbuckle.
Wes blocked Dom’s lariat with a big boot. Wes hit Dom with gut punches. Wes hit Dom with running axe handles. Wes hit Dom with a CQC combo and double stomp to the back. Wes caught Dom with a Chambered Hook kick and Tornado DDT. Rhea dragged Dom to recover at ringside. Dom went to the timekeeper to grab the title and walk to the back. Wes hit Dom with a Suicide Dive.
Wes caught Dom with a Spiral Tap. Finn Balor ran out to distract the referee. Damian Priest tried to hit Wes with the North American Title, but Wes hit Priest with the Cardiac Kick. Rhea Ripley ran in and hit Wes with the Women’s Championship. Dom hooked the leg for the win.
Dominik Mysterio defeated Wes Lee via pinfall in 10:30 to become the new NXT North American Champion.
The Judgment Day all posed on the ramp to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Maybe that’s why they went above and beyond last night to plug NXT? So people could see the title change? A solid match between Wes and Dom. Not the most epic of Wes’s title defenses, but it’s hard to top Wes’s past defenses because he’s faced so many top quality opponents. Because Judgment Day are such a focal point of WWE Raw, you had to think that Dom winning was a possibility. They went through with it, and it also allows them to have main roster star power at the Great American Bash. With Priest, Rhea, and Dom now having the gold and briefcase, might they find a way to get a belt on Finn to do a “Draped in Gold” story? We’ll see.
While Dom winning was a nice surprise, I don’t think they utilized him as well as they could have this week. I don’t think he appeared in-person until the 2nd hour, right? Last week, NXT did a good job showcasing Judgment Day at the beginning and end of NXT to keep viewers hooked on the show. What they probably should have done is open the show with Tony D’s homecoming and somehow have Prison Dom interact with Prison Tony. Overall show though, very entertaining. Notable ending, fun skits, and a fun tag team match in the middle of the show.
>Wes Lee vs. Dominik Mysterio for the NXT NA Title>>
Gee, wonder who wins that one…still have no interest in watching matches where the outcome is a given…
I like Gigi. But she is actually an awful wrestler
Also How is Vic not on raw and KP doing interviews on Main Event
Gigi really doesn’t offer anything other than being the 3rd person in a trio. And she’s not a good wrestler either.
Mixed bag as usual so far tonight. Thea Hail is growing on me, but Roxanne is just embarrassing. Melo, Trick, Ilja, Thea, Tiffany, Joey D, Stacks, Eddy Thorpe, and Blair have stood out tonight while the rest just seem like they don’t belong.
North America is Dom Dom country.
The Dom act is beyond cold for me. The title change is pathetic
The greatestturd saying someone is embarrassing. Oh the irony
Dom winning the NA title makes things very interesting and it was the right move because Judgment Day is starting to look super dominant lately, very Bloodline esque. They got the numbers on their side and I love it. Dom is becoming one if the NOT the best heel in the industry. Some people believe it or not have already put him past MJF. I like Rhea’s encounter with Lyra backstage and how she didn’t want to disappoint her. This could be setting up a future match between those two, or Rhea recruiting new girls into Judgment Day like some of us have wanted. I would prefer Blair Davenport and Tatum Paxley be recruited into JD though.
Judgment Day’s dominance has made me wonder though why we need to see Cora Jade leading her own big faction. We haven’t had a big female faction that’s dominated since Toxic Attraction. I think it’s time we set a new one up.
I’m still not liking Meta-Four right now, but I do like Jakara Jackson and Oro Mensah together. I think NXT can top this by putting together Scrypts, Bronco Nima, Lucien Price, and Kiana James together and have a new street tough faction. I put Kiana James in there because I like her too in the ring, but she needs a gimmick change and ever since I saw those pictures last week of her as a street thug, that’s the route that I’d like to see them go with her and drop that boring businesswoman gimmick. You put those four together they can be a new Judgment Day.
Gigi Dolin is hot and cold in the ring, she was a little better tonight, but I think that’s because Kiana’s so good. I think another idea is to have Gigi & Kiana team for tag team titles if Kiana turned face with her character.
Blair and Roxxy will be interesting as I’m glad that match is taking place at GAB. Thea Hail is just awesome, out of all of the NXT prospects, she’s going to be the most over with the crowd, now she added that “HAIL YEAH” which is cute and clever. They hit gold with her and I would make her champ if the plan is to have Tiffany Stratton join Trish and Zoey on the main roster after SummerSlam for those rumored NXT call ups.
Last thing, Cora Jade vs. Dana Brooke in that Kendo Stick match will be very interesting. I’ve been liking Dana with Kelani Jordan lately, although I think a heel turn is coming in the future. If Jade loses this one, it’s time to get her a faction, clearly!