By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live August 1, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT Great American Bash PLE aired…
The show cut to the Performance Center parking lot (oh no). Stacks got out of an SUV and was posing with the Tag Team Title. Because this is the most dangerous place in WWE, of course Tony D and Stacks got jumped. Gallus showed up and left Tony D and Stacks lying in the parking lot after a beatdown…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Jacy Jayne yelled at the commentators a bit and was already ringside. Lyra Valkyria was going through her televised entrance, but was jumped by Jayne. Jayne tossed Lyra in the ring and when Lyra got to her feet the bell rang…
1. Lyra Valkyria vs. Jacy Jayne. Lyra managed to get the advantage after giving Jayne some hands. Jayne came back with kicks for a two count. Lyra caught Jayne with a plancha at ringside heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Jayne and Valkyria traded rollups for two counts. Jayne followed up with a senton for a two count. Lyra blocked a kick and came back with a shove and leg lariats. Lyra caught Jacy with a wrecking ball kick. Lyra caught Jacy with a crossbody and Northern Lights for the two count.
Lyra worked on Jacy with Yes kicks. Jacy ducked a enzuigiri and gave Lyra a superkick and spinebuster for a two count. Jayne hit Lyra with a superkick. Lyra recovered and hit Jayne with a Crescent Kick and top rope splash for the win.
Lyra Valkyria defeated Jacy Jayne via pinfall in 9:26.
John’s Thoughts: Finally, I like that she changed up her finisher. The Crescent Kick works better as a setup for the big splash. I still don’t see fully what the higher ups see in Lyra, but it seems like they see her as a future women’s world champion, even having Rhea Ripley giving the strong endorsement. We’ll see. She’s good in the ring and has a pretty face.
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were hanging out in the locker room chatting. Trick congratulated Melo for his title defense. Melo was sorry that Trick had to take the bullet. Trick said it ain’t no trouble. Trick said he also wants to take Melo’s advice and do things for himself. Melo told Trick that’s great and to get dat bag. Trick said he needs to do things himself now.
Trick said Melo is the champion and beat the mad dragon. Trick said he needs to do his own thing and beat that dragon too. Trick said this wasn’t a break up, he just needs to take care of business. Melo said he respects that. Trick and Melo shared a friendly dap and hug…
Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio were shown heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ok, they’re building towards something with Trick. I like that over the past few months Trick has been getting layers of character development. I’m intrigued to see where they go? They can have it be a hard breakup that leads to a feud; but I’d also like to keep Trick-Melo gang on the main roster because they have such great chemistry. The amicable breakup can be nice and nuance too.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Tony D and Stacks who were in the medic room. Tony D said he wants all of Gallus tonight in a match. Stacks said it’s 3 on 2. Tony D said he’ll make a call to someone…
NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio and WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley made their entrance. Rhea gave Dom the “and still…” introduction. Dom said Mami is always right. Rhea yelled that Dom is more of a man than Wes Lee, Mustafa Ali, and everyone in the Performance Center crowd. Dom said that makes him the greatest luchador that ever lived. Queue Dragon Lee, who interrupted.
Dragon said he won’t let Dom disrespect the crowd or his heritage. Rhea said Dragon looks like “Rey Mysterio Jr. Jr.”. Dragon said he doesn’t like Rhea. Dragon said that Dom, the crowd, and everyone doesn’t believe Dom when he says he’s the greatest luchador. Dragon said Rey is the greatest of all time. Dom said he’s the best and he got the usual mega heat from the crowd.
Dragon struggled to get the words, but he ultimately said that Rhea has Dom’s cajones in her purse. Rhea said Dom’s cajones are bigger than Dragon’s cajones. Dragon challenged Dom to a title match next week. Dom accepted. Rhea said she’ll be at ringside. Dragon said he’s not coming alone either.
Rey Mysterio appeared on the big screen and announced that he’s going to be in Dragon Lee’s corner next week. Rey said Dragon is the future of Lucha Libre. Rey’s theme played as the crowd showered Dom with “That’s Yo Daddy” chants…
John’s Thoughts: Fun stuff as usual from Dom and Rhea. Both have their comedic timing down pat. Rhea has stepped up her game and complements Dom similar to how Trick helps Melo. Dom is doing great work controlling that overwhelming heat he gets. On the other hand, Dragon was okay, but it looks like he’s still struggling with English. Practice makes perfect! Hopefully he has dat Duolingo app downloaded. I see Dragon as the perfect person to take the title off Dom, but I’m surprised to see them rush to Rey being a part of the act so soon. Maybe they find a way to stretch it to the next PLE in September, in SoCal, where Rey and Dom are from.
Wes Lee barged into the locker room seething. Carmelo Hayes told Lee to not wallow in self pity. Wes talked about how Melo is at the top of the world while he’s clawing at the bottom for life. Melo talked about how he’s struggling to breathe now due to his match so Wes isn’t the only person strugglin’. Melo said people are lining up. Melo said Wes doesn’t understand it because he never lived it.
Wes said he knows how to be champion. Noam Dar and Oro Mensah showed up to lighten up the mood. Noam Dar said Wes and Melo would never be Heritage Cup Champion. Wes said that Dar isn’t even champion, it’s Nathan Frazer. Noam mocked Wes for losing twice to Dom Mysterio. Oro pie faced Wes and a pull apart brawl ensued…
Eddy Thorpe made his entrance…[c]
Still shots from the Great American Bash were shown…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Chase U and asked Thea Hail how she’s feeling about her loss. Hail sobbed and struggled to get her words out. Hail snapped at Andre Chase who said he was just looking out for her. Baron Corbin showed up and called Hail a little girl.
He told her that Hail tried and failed. Corbin said Hail should pack her bags and go. Andre got in Corbin’s face and called him a piece of shit. Chase said he’s not letting Corbin talk to Hail like that.Corbin said Chase can step up…
2. Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak. Both men took each other out with strikes. Dijak slammed Thorpe for a two count. Thorpe hit Dijak with a kick combination for a nearfall. Dijak blocked a Deadlift German and gave Thorpe a wristlock takedown. Dijak tossed Thorpe into the ringpost shoulder first. Thorpe reversed Feast Your Eyes into a German Suplex.
Thorpe hit Dijak with an elbow drop, but took the blunt of the pain due to an injured shoulder. Dijak dragged Thorpe’s injured shoulder into the ringpost and gave him a superkick. Dijak hit Thorpe with a Cyclone Boot for the win.
Dijak defeated Eddy Thorpe via pinfall in 4:23.
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks were backstage. Tony D was making his call to call in a favor. Tony said “he’s on his way”…
Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz vs. Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez was announced for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: As much as I would like to have seen Eddy and Dijak tear the house down with a 15 minute classic, I’m more happy that Dijak got to be put over strong. Eddy has the out with the injured shoulder if they want to run it back down the road. I just think WWE really needs to get behind Dijak because he has the potential to be a upper card player. I never get why they kept him buried in the undercard with his toolset.
Vic Joseph congratulated John Cena for being in the number one Netflix movie in the US, and the number one grossing movie worldwide for his new movie with Jackie Chan…
John’s Thoughts: Tai hao le John Cena, Hen Hao! If you really wanna make entertainment bank, you gotta get into that Chinese entertainment market. The reason why it’s grossing so much is because that’s just the formula with Chinese cinema.
Dana Brooke and Kelani Jordan were chatting backstage. Some bad acting ensued. Brooke talked about channeling all the negative comments and using that to take her to a dark place. She said she lost it and saw red. She said she kinda liked it. Jordan said Brooke is a badass. Brooke said the gymnastics training has been great, but Jordan needs to find her killer instinct…
John’s Thoughts: Uhm? Does anyone ever think “Killer Instinct” when talking about Dana Brooke?
Entrances for the next match took place…
3, Valentina Feroz and Yulisa Leon vs. Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice. Leon hit Lopez with a series of armdrags. Leon tagged in Feroz and tossed her on Lopez for a two count. Vice distracted Feroz to allow Lopez to get the advantage. Vice hit a pitch perfect tornado thrust kick and hip attack for a nearfall. Lopez tagged in and put Feroz in a Rear Naked Choke. Feroz escaped and gave Lopez an enzuigiri.
Feroz managed to bring in Leon for the hot tag. Leon gave Vice gutwrench suplexes. Feroz hit Vice with a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Lopez tossed Feroz to ringside. Leon hit Lopez with an axe handle strike. Vice hit Leon with a nice hook kick for the win.
Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez defeated Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz via pinfall in 3:33.
Carmelo Hayes and Wes Lee vs. Noam Dar and Oro Mensah was announced for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I think I might have just become a fan of Lola Vice? I won’t jump on the bandwagon so fast and I need to see more. My expectations were low, and yes she was limited in time here, but as a Tae Kwon Do practitioner myself, Vice threw two really good looking Tae Kwon Do kicks in a pro wrestling context. That tornado kick was the best Tornado Kick in wrestling this side of Speedball Mike Bailey. As for the match, ok, and nothing too big. I do like the progression I see from Leon and Feroz though who are on the come up.
Tiffany Stratton did her makeup on TikTok. She said she faced a little girl at Great American Bash, but that little girl did a number on her. She said she’s glad she moved past that. Stratton hyped something “fabulous” for next week…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place. I like Meta-Four’s entrance, which looked even better this past weekend when they were in the big arena…
4. Wes Lee and NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes vs. “The Meta-Four” Noam Dar and Oro Mensah (w/Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson). Lee jumped the gun by giving Noam and Oro a suicide dive. Oro and Noam got the upper hand and Melo took down both opponents with lariats. Melo and Noam made it to the ring to start the bell. Melo gave Noam a springboard Suplex. Noam couldn’t take off his tracksuit yet.
Booker T compared Trick Williams to Kato from Green Hornet in terms of being an entertaining side kick. Oro tagged in and took a springboard from Melo. Wes Lee tagged in and hit Oro with a backdrop. Vic said Wes seems more aggressive than usual. Wes and Melo cut the ring in half on Oro with quick tags. Lash dragged Oro to ringside to recover.[c]
Back from the break, Noam and Oro cut the ring in half on Wes Lee. For some reason, a graphic showed Noam Dar with the Heritage Cup, despite his cup being “fake”. Oro missed a Liger Kick and Lee responded with a front dropkick. Melo and Noam tagged in. Melo rallied with the hot hand. Melo hit Noam with an Atomic Drop, corner tackle, and superkick for a nearfall.
Melo ducked a lariat from Lash at ringside. Melo hit Dar with a La Mistica. Wes tagged in. Miss Jackson got in the way when Lee went for a dive. Wes went for it anyway and hit Noam with a Spiral Tap. Oro broke up the pin. Wes set up for a Cardiac Kick on Noam. For some reason, Melo shoved Noam out of the way and ate the Cardiac Kick (wha?). Oro hit Wes with a Superkick. Dar hit Wes with a running enzuigiri for the win.
Meta-Four defeated Wes Lee and Carmelo Hayes via pinfall in 10:34.
The crowd showered Wes with “You F’d Up” chants (which led to the censors kicking in). Meta Four posed at the top of the ramp. Melo and Wes argued in the center of the ring…
John’s Thoughts: A good match up until the finishing sequence. That finish was messy. They way they executed it made it look like Melo was taking a bullet for Noam, which was not how they wanted it to come off. These are four professionals, and even professionals mess up sometimes. I do like the possible Melo vs. Wes feud. That should be an instant classic on paper. I kinda like how Wes portrays his character. He’s erratic, but it makes him feel real. This was the stuff he was channeling when his character was having a breakdown due to Zack Wentz getting fired.
Bron Breakker cut a promo on Von Wagner. He said he was touched by Von Wagner’s childhood story. Breakker said he’s going to tell things like it is. Von is a nobody. Von’s dad is a nobody. A picture was shown of Wayne Bloom in a IcoPro shirt. Bron said that if Von comes after him, he’s going to make Von look worse than when he had that scar on his head as a kid…
“Burn the Ships” Baron Corbin made his entrance…[c]
Vic Joseph announced that Cody Rhodes will appear on the Today show on thursday…
Axiom confronted Rhea Ripley and Dom Mysterio backstage. Axiom took exception to Dom disrespecting Rey and how he can’t wait to see Dom get beat by Dragon Lee next week. Dom asked Axiom, didn’t he see him a few minutes ago praising ray. Axiom said that was Dragon. Dom asked, who are you? Mustafa Ali ran out to confront Dom in the parking lot.
Axiom didn’t like Ali cutting in. Ali ranted about feeling disrespected for six years. Ali told Axiom to run off to worry about Scrypts or the Heritage Cup and let him go after the North American title…
Chase University made their entrance…
5. Baron Corbin vs. Andre Chase (w/Thea Hail, Duke Hudson). Corbin blocked a Sunset Flip and gave Chase a knee. Chase used a rollup for a two count. Chase gave Corbin a jump kick. Corbin gave Chase a nasty Death Valley Driver at ringside. Vic noted that it’s odd that Hail is despondent at ringside. Corbin sent Chase into the turnbuckle. Corbin pummeled Chase with overhead blows.
Corbin tossed Chase into the barricade. Chase came back with a basement dropkick to the calf. Chase hit Corbin with a side Russian Legsweep. Chase hit Corbin with Chase U boots. Thea didn’t join in. Corbin recovered and hit Chase with a spinebuster. Corbin put Chase in a half crab and Hail threw in the towel out of spite (because Chase most likely would have broken out).
The referee didn’t see it, and Corbin approached her. Hail walked to the back. Baron Corbin recovered and hit Andre Chase with End of Days for the win.
Baron Corbin defeated Andre Chase via pinfall in 5:14.
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Vic plugged No Mercy ticket sales…
A travel log video was shown for Roxanne Perez’s homecoming this past Sunday in Texas. The tracked herself going to the hotel where she met up with her family. Her mom and sister praised Roxanne. They then cut to Roxanne Perez and Wes Lee at the Dreamcon Gaming Convention. This is where Perez was attacked by Blair Davenport. They then cut to Roxanne Perez’s day at the Great American Bash where the talked about ending Blair Davenport’s reign of terror…
The camera focused on the shoes of someone exiting a car. Vic assumed it was Tony D’s and Stacks’s mystery partner…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good match that gave Corbin a bounce back win while also adding layers to the Chase U universe. Chase U has been a joy to watch in NXT and it’s cool to see them have conflict as it adds depth to them. Thea Hail was great here in selling her despair and sulkiness against Andre.
The Meta Four were celebrating backstage. Noam said they were unstoppable. Lash pointed out that they beat the NXT Champion and best North American Champion. Tyler Bate showed up and talked about how a lot of us live under metaphorical rocks. He said he traveled to Tibet the past few weeks to meditate and stuff. Tyler Bate challenged Noam to a match next week…
It was time for the Schism “Interrogation” (oh lord). Joe Gacy introduced The Schism and had the random masked cultists lined up in the ring. He talked about having to eradicate bad roots, or something like that. Fowler and Reid were excited to see them get their comeuppance and implied that it was the Diamond Mine under the masks. Ava started taking off the cultists masks one by one. The first two were random developmental wrestlers.
The third guy was the returning Ikeman Jiro who started jumping around like a goof. Ava said Jiro wasn’t supposed to be in the mask. Fowler and Reid beat down the last two, assuming it was the Creeds. They took off the masks and it was random developmental wrestlers. Julius and Brutus Creed appeared on the big screen in their swimsuits. They were in front of a green screen acting like they were on the beach.
They clowned around a bit saying they were out of NXT. Julius sarcastically stressed that they were not in Orlando. After the Creeds checked out, The Dyad went back at the random developmental wrestlers. Joe Gacy took the mic and sent a “worldwide” announcement to Schism cult members to find the Creeds…
Gallus were shown heading to the ring. They also showed Tony D and Stacks heading to the ring…[c]
John’s Thoughts: That was as “eh” as I expected. Just end The Schism. We know Drake and Gibson don’t even want to be there! I’m also not big on them seeming doubling back on their “Loser leaves town” stipulation. Only think I kinda liked from that segment was Ikeman Jiro who we haven’t seen in a long time.
Cora Jade was ranting in the women’s locker room about losing to Dana Brooke. She said she was packing up and leaving. She also tossed away the fan mail she got…
The following matches were announced for next week: Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee for the North American Championship and Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner…
Entrances for the next match took place. Tony D’Angelo said he called in an “old friend”. Santos Escobar made his entrance as the mystery partner. All six men brawled to start off the match. The crowd gave Escobar “welcome back” chants…
6. “Gallus” Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang vs. Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Santos Escobar. Tony D’s team used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Wolfgang. Joe tagged in. Escobar, Tony D, and Stacks put Gallus in headlocks and hit them with stereo hockey punches. The face trio dumped Gallus all to ringside. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Gallus cut the ring in half on Stacks. Vic pointed out how Gallus has been outsmarted this entire feud. Vic announced Noam Dar vs. Tyler Bate for the “Heritage Cup” (they quoted it to point it out as counterfeit). Mark and Wolfgang dropped Tony D and Escobar initially but Escobar managed to catch the hot tag.
[Overrun] Escobar caught Mark with a crossbody. Joe and Wolfgang broke up Escobar’s victory roll. A brawl ensued between both teams. Escobar caught Mark with a gamengiri on the top rope. Escobar hit Mark with a Frankenstiner. Escobar gave Mark a knee in the corner. Tony D and Stacks hit their triple team back suplex finisher for the win.
Tony D’Angelo, Channing Lorenzo, and Santos Escobar defeated Gallus via pinfall in 9:19.
Tony D got Escobar to do the Italian “ehhh” hand thing. Tony D and Stacks posed with the tag titles to close the show…
But wait? There’s more. There was a post show stinger promo from Ilja Dragunov. A replay was shown of Ilja crashing into the NXT title last sunday to lose the match. Ilja said he’s not finished with Trick. He said Trick will look into his eyes to see wrath and fury. Ilja said that next week Ilja’s retribution begins and he won’t stop until Trick is completely terminated. The camera focused on Ilja’s red contact lenses to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A fun television main event. Nothing to write home about, but television main events don’t have to be epic encounters. There was nothing special about the Escobar return, but nice to see him back for the week as the main roster crossovers continue. I think it’s time to pull the plug on having Mark and Wolfgang be the face of Gallus as their personalities haven’t really resonated with the audience. Put Joe Coffey back in front and push him to the main event with Mark and Wolfgang as his goons.
I’ve noticed that Ilja is pretty good and getting even better at cutting English speaking promos. He also looks like a professional with his fancy suit and new goatee (though I can take or leave the red contacts). Trick Williams is in for treat, working with the mad dragon. Ilja makes all his opponents look great, even in loss; and he gives his opponents a badge of honor, in the form of turning their chests to hamburger meat. This week’s show was okay, but a little bit clunky at points. The camera just seemed to catch some missed timing, which is unlike NXT week to week.
What review?
It wasn’t seen on camera, but I think it was Oro Mensah who fucked up and that was who the chant was aimed. I think he was supposed to come off the top with some move and slipped.