By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live August 15, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening tag title match took place. Vic hyped a promo from Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley for later in the show. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions for the championship match…
1. Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo vs. “The Dyad” Rip Fowler and Jagger Reid (w/Joe Gacy, Ava, unnamed masked cultists) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Tony D managed to fight Reid back with right hands. Reid hid behind the unnamed cultists for a moment of respite. Fowler tagged in and took a body slam from Tony D. Stacks tagged in and worked on Fowler with right hands. Stacks hit Fowler with a dropkick. Tony and Stacks cut the ring in half on Fowler. Fowler managed to tag in Reid to swarm Tony D with alternating strikes.
Tony D reversed a suplex with a suplex of his own. Stacks reversed a power bomb into a side headlock takedown. Fowler went for an arndrag, but Stacks reversed it into a side headlock. Stacks and Tony D hit The Dyad with stereo hockey gut punches. Stacks and Tony dumped the dyad to ringside. Tony used a hip toss to throw Stacks into The Dyad. Stacks hit Fowler with a diving uppercut. Ava got on the apron for the distraction which allowed Fowler to hit Stacks with a ripcord knee.
Reid tagged in. The Dyad swarmed both opponents with dropkicks. Reid sent Stacks into the announce table by knocking him off the ring apron. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c].
Back from the break, The Dyad cut the ring in half on Stacks. Stacks got a visual pin on Reid, but the referee was distracted by a fired up Tony. The Dyad went back to cutting the ring in half on Stacks. Stacks landed on his feet during a suplex. He hit Fowler with a enzuigiri to bring in Tony off the hot tag. Tony D cleaned house with a rally of clotheslines. D’Angelo toosed Reid with a Belly to Belly SUplex. Tony stacked The Dyad together and stomped a mudhole on both of them.
Tony planted Fowler with a spinebuster. He then hit Reid with a Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Fowler blind tagged in and dragged Tony D to ringside. Reid caught Tony D with a suicide dive. Ivy Nile ran out to ringside and was confronted by Joe Gacy and the unnamed masked followers. Two other cultists showed up and took out Reid and Fowler.
One cultists hit Fowler with Julius Creed’s cartweel Death Valley Driver. Tony D hit Fowler with a Side Suplex for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo and Channing Lorenzo defeated The Dyad via pinfall in 13:24 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
John’s Thoughts: A good match as Tony D and Stacks continue to develop good chemistry together. On the other side, The Schism continue to look like idiots, being outwitted by two guys who are clearly The Creed Brothers. I can’t wait until they turn the page on The Schism because they are floundering at the moment. I give it to the Dyad for putting on good matches on their way out of the door, but at the same time it sets them up as lame ducks. I believe they even continue to tweet out recently that they are heading out of the door.
The show cut to a Eddy Thorpe promo vignette. He mentioned more things about his Native American culture. He talked about using dance to heal himself. He said when he feels the energy of the NXT universe when in the ring. He said he will face Dijak again and move forward with no fear…
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes was at an autograph table, signing autographs. Wes Lee showed up to taunt Melo a bit. Wes talked about how he will be the one to face Melo at Heatwave. Melo said that Wes can say that after he takes care of business against Dijak…
Blair Davenport made her entrance…[c]
Andre Chase was chatting with Duke Hudson backstage. Chase said he got Thea Hail a match against Jacy Jayne to get her back on track. Chase said he’s trying to make things right after “towelgate”. Thea Hail showed up and was still pouty. Chase said he just wants Hail to be happy and get back on track. Hail said this time, “don’t throw in the towel”. Chase didn’t like that Hudson didn’t have his back there…
Dana Brooke and Kelani Jordan made their entrances…
2. Dana Brooke (w/Kelani Jordan) vs. Blair Davenport. Davenport shoved Dana early on. Dana came back with her own shoves. Dana dumped Blair to ringside. Dana hit Blair with a crossbody and mounted punches. Davenport tackled Dana in the gut and gave her a draping double stomp to the back. Davenport hit Dana with a sliding roundhouse to the face. Dana rolled up Blair for a two count.
Dana escaped the ten punches in the corner and gave Davenport a sitout power bomb for a two count. This caused Dana to throw a bit of a fit. Davenport shoved Dana’s hip into the steel steps. Dana caught Davenport with a lariat. Dana tried to hit Davenport with a ring bell, but Jordan took it away from her. Davenport hit Dana with a right hand. Dana rolled up Davenport for a two count. Davenport came back with a running knee and Kamigoye for the victory.
Blair Davenport defeated Dana Brooke via pinfall in 3:39.
Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp, and Drew Gulak were warming up backstage. Miles Borne tried to hand Gulak a bottle of watter, but Drew slapped it away. The camera cut to Trick Williams doing resistance band bicep curls…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Thank goodness. A dominant win for Blair. I was afraid they were going to make Main-Roster Dana look competitive against the woman they are dubbing “The most dangerous woman in NXT”. Blair tearing through opponents allows her to bounce back after her recent war with Roxanne Perez. Bad acting aside, I’m intrigued to see where Dana’s apparent heel turn leads, because there might be some potential with her reinventing herself.
The show cut to Carmelo Hayes at his autograph signing. Dijak showed up to taunt Melo. Melo told Dijak the same thing he told Wes, to take care of business, then they can face at heat wave…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Trick Williams vs. Drew Gulak (w/Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp). Trick hit Gulak with a flying lariat. Kemp gave Trick a cheap shot right hand when the referee was distracted. Trick recovered and hit Gulak with a dropkick. Trick followed up with a pop up uppercut. Damon Kemp distracted the referee which allowed Dempsey to nail Trick with a German Suplex. Gulak followed up with a dropkick on Trick. Gulak put Trick in a modified Stretch Muffler.
Trick recovered and hit Gulak with a dropkick and flapjack. Trick hit Gulak with a running neckbreaker. Trick dragged up Gulak for a Bookend. Dempsey tried to trip Trick, but Trick saw it coming and gave him a boot. Trick hit Kemp with a diving lariat. Briggs and Jensen ran out to brawl with Kemp and Dempsey to the back. Trick caught Gulak with a spinning pump kick for the victory.
Trick Williams defeated Drew Gulak via pinfall in 3:58.
Trick got up to the camera and said “They may call you the Mad Dragon, but next week I’ll be draggin’ dat azz dawg” in regards to Ilja Dragunov…
A backstage interviewer tried to interview Baron Corbin backstage, but he brushed her away to head to the ring (I think the interviewer was Sarah Schreiber, who I haven’t seen on WWE TV in a hot minute)…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good momentum win for Trick heading into his match against Ilja Dragunov. He’s still green and needs to clean things up a bit, but that’s what developmental and the Performance Center is for.
A vignette aired saying that Dabba-Kato will “return soon”…
“Burn the Ships” Baron Corbin was in the ring. Corbin said he likes being able to say whatever the hell he wants and not have there be repercussions. Corbin bragged about running off Olympic Gold Medalist Gable Steveson. Corbin said the locker room is filled with “soft ass little bitches” who continue to prove Corbin right. Corbin said he’s burning the ships to usher in a new era.
He said it’s not a new era of NXT, but a new era of Baron Corbin. Corbin said he’ll get back to the main event where he belongs. Robert Stone and Von Wagner made their entrance. Stone said that every one disagrees with Corbin’s thoughts on the NXT Locker Room. Corbin thanked Stone for his irrelevant opinion. Corbin said Stone looks good now that he’s not dressed as a rip off Happy Corbin.
Stone said he knows Corbin wants to get back to the top of NXT, but there’s one guy standing in his way. The man that put Bron Breakker through a table, Von Wagner. Corbin said he saw Von do that because he watches the show. Corbin asked Von if he can talk for himself. Stone gave Von the mic. Corbin then said it was probably not a good idea to give Von a mic. Corbin said if Von wants to make it in the business, he needs to learn to talk on the stick.
Corbin talked about how on the first episode of Smackdown on Fox, he stepped up on the mic against The Rock. Corbin said that ability is what makes the big bucks. Corbin said otherwise, Von is just going to be a security guard with his arms crossed. Von said maybe he doesn’t talk a lot, or Corbin just talks too much. Von said he developed a friend ship with Stone and his fancy lingo. Von said Corbin give the same sob story every week.
Von said everyone is sick of it. Von said Corbin can come back next week with one of his many gimmicks: like Happy Corbin, Sad Corbin, Bum Ass Corbin, Burn the Ship Corbin, and Corbin’s 8 other forgettable gimmicks that sucked. Von said he’s moving up the ladder and Corbin is in the way.
Von said he has a reservation and table for one at Heatwave, and Corbin’s baled headed ass is going to get tabled. Corbin tried to cheap shot Von, but Von saw it coming and dumped Corbin to ringside. Corbin recovered and tackled Von into the apron. Security guards ran out to pull apart both men…
NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio and WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley were hanging out backstage. Rhea praised Dom and admonished Lyra Valkyria for attacking her last week. Rhea challenged Lyra and Dragon Lee to a match against Dominik and herself next week at the Heatwave themed show…
Wes Lee made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good promo on Corbin’s side, who had to be counted on to carry the back-and-forth (with a bit of help from Stone). Von Wagner is still a bad promo, but they’re leaning into it to the point where it’s becoming a term of endearment. Corbin was a weak promo before back in his early NXT days, and has developed into a dynamic character. Sometimes it just takes time a practice.
The show cut to Mustafa Ali standing behind a presidential pedestal wearing a suit. Ali said he was addressing the people of North America. He said the North American Championship has been held by individuals who aren’t worthy to represent the values of America. Ali talked about how Dominik Mysterio doesn’t respect family values and is a convicted criminial. Ali said he is what America needs.
Ali said he will inspire Americans across the nation to do incredible things the right way. Ali said he wants people to raise their heads and know the time for a new North American Champion is right now. He said people will take his hand and believe that “in Ali you can trust”…
[Hour Two] Dijak made his entrance…
4. Wes Lee vs. Dijak for a title shot at the NXT Championship on next week’s Heatwave show. Lee kept his distance from the stronger Dijak and poked at him with kicks. Wes kicked Dijak in the hamstring and slammed Dijak’s knee into the mat. Wes put Dijak in an ankle twist. Dijak used his other boot to escape. Wes tripped Dijak with a dropkick to the shin. Dijak dragged himself to ringside to avoid another submission. Dijak took his time at ringside to recover.
Dijak shook up Wes by dragging Wes’s arm across the top rope. Dijak worked on Wes with joint manipulation. Wes caught Dijak with a Liger Kick. Dijak grabbed Wes and tossed Wes into the ringpost. Dijak went back into methodical offense and joint manipulation. Wes got a moment of respite after ducking to send Dijak to ringside. Dijak caught Wes’s suicide dive and sent Wes like a lawn dart into the ringpost. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Dijak continued to wear down Wes back from the break. Wes got a moment of respite after a Tornado DDT. Wes tripped up Dijak and followed up with a dropkick. Wes hit Dijak with an impressive Uranage and meteora. Dijak kicked out at two. Wes went for a Cardiac Kick, but Wes’s shoulder gave up on him during the backflip. Dijak went for a Feast Your Eyes, but his leg gave out on him. Dijak recovered and hit Wes with a sitout chokeslam for a nearfall.
Both men sold their limb injuries. Dijak dragged Wes to ringside and gave him a giant swing into the steel steps. Dijak tossed Wes across the barricade for good measure. Eddy Thorpe showed up to confront Dijak at ringside. Dijak tried to give Thorpe a right hand which allowed Wes to nail Dijak with a huracanrana into the steel steps. Wes caught Dijak with a superkick and Cardiac Kick. Wes hit Dijak with the Final Flash (Spiral Tap) for the victory.
Wes Lee defeated Dijak via pinfall in 12:13 to earn a title shot at the NXT Championship.
John’s Thoughts: Strong effort from both men. Nowhere near the level of their PLE match from a few months ago, but given the commercial break and TV-nature, we shouldn’t have expected them to reach that high bar. This was still a different type of match though as it focused on both men giving each other a limb handicap. They’be been building back towards Dijak and Eddy Thorpe for weeks, which meant that Wes was the likely person going over.
Lyra Valkyria was watching the match backstage. Dragon Lee confronted Lyra and was excited about their match agianst Rhea and Dom next week. Dragon said Dominik has a stupid face. Lyra said that she and Dragon need to get on the same page like Rhea and Dom. Dragon said “tranquilo” not like that, because he’s taken. Lyra said she didn’t mean it that way. Lyra gave Dragon advice in in Galic and Dragon thought she was talking about tacos…
The show cut to twitter footage of Gallus confronting Tyler Bate at a mall. This was via the NXT_Anonymous twitter account. McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Tyler Bate about the footage. Bate said Joe Coffey is just bitter at Gallus losing the tag titles. Bate said he’s not going to let Joe Coffey’s anger become his. He said Joe needs peace and tranquility and maybe he just has to send Joe to peace and tranquility. Tyler Bate made his entrance to the NXT ring…[c]
An Ilja Dragunov promo aired. Ilja talked about how Trick’s fantasy won’t become reality next week. Ilja said he wants Trick to bring everything, because he’s bringing back the fire. Ilja said next week Trick will understand that Ilja’s more dangerous than you can imagine…
Wes Lee was shown walking out of Shawn Michaels’s office with a contract for his match against Carmelo Hayes for next week…
Gallus made their entrance. Vic plugged ticket sales for the No Mercy PLE at Bakersfield, CA…
5. Joe Coffey (w/Mark Coffey, Wolfgang) vs. Tyler Bate. Bate took down Joe with a side headlock takedown. Joe no sold a shoulder tackle with his Gallus pose. Joe gave Tyler a cheap shot after the distraction from Wolfgang. Joe hit Tyler with a sidewalk slam for a two count. Tyler powered out of a Full Nelson with arm curls. Joe rallied with European Uppercuts and body shots. Tyler hit Joe with a flying uppercut.
Tyler hit Joe with a knee lift and diving uppercut. Tyler hit Joe with a T-Bone Suplex and standing Shooting Star for a two count. Tyler hit Joe with a Helicopter Spin Michinoku Driver. Joe caught a flying Bate into a Deadlift Bridged German Suplex for a two count. Bate caught Joe with Bop and Bang. Both men traded shots. Joe blocked a Tyler Driver, but ate Tyler’s rebound lariat.
Bate caught Joe with a top rope clearing dive. Dabba-Kato ran out and hit Tyler Bate with a Big Boot for the apparent DQ.
Tyler Bate defeated Joe Coffey via apparent DQ in 4:04.
Kato was about to attack Joe, but Gallus dragged him to ringside. The segment ended with Dabba-Kato hitting Bate with a Sky High…
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough match in what little time we got. We know that Joe and Bate can give us 20 minute instant classics from their time in NXT UK, so this was only a small taste as to what both men can do. This was more a setup to reintroduce Dabba-Kato and presumably put him in a feud against Tyler Bate. Interested to see if Bate can carry Dabba to a good match as Dabba has shown flashes of potential. I’d also like to see Joe Coffey elevated up the card because he has been a reliable main event act in NXT UK.
Baron Corbin was interviewed in the parking lot. He said he respected that Von Wagner had the balls to confront him. Bron Breakker showed up and said he’s not done with Von Wagner. Corbin said it looked like Bron was done when Von laid him out through a table. Bron wished Corbin luck and said he’ll be watching next week’s match. Corbin said Bron may intimidate everyone in the locker room, but not Baron Corbin…
Nathan Frazer’s “Hard Hitting Home Truths” news segment was hyped for after the break…[c]
The show cut to this week’s Nathan Frazer’s Hard Hitting Home Truths news segment (modeled after John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight show). Frazer hyped up his upcoming match against Noam Dar and called Dar a fraud. His news report was “hacked” by Noam Dar and The Meta Four, who were sitting on a couch. Dubbed Supernova Sessons “Live: From the Moon”. Noam said Frazer is just throwing out conspiracy theories about him not being a champion. Frazer asked Noam who is the real champion.
Noam said it doesn’t matter, because Frazer never beat Noam, Frazer beat Oro. Frazer cut to footage of last week’s footage where Noam admitted that Oro lost the “real” cup. The Meta Four laughed it off. Frazer dragged out a red button to call out Noam’s “frauds”. Noam said he doesn’t tell lies. Frazer pressed the button.
Noam kept lying and Frazer kept pressing the button, which annoyed Noam and the Meta Four. Noam said Frazer’s a thief. Noam said he’s going to rip Frazer apart and take back what’s his. Frazer kept pressing the red button. Frazer closed out the show by saying that the Heritage Cup will stay in his trophy cabinet…
Vic Joseph hyped up next week’s rounds match for the real Heritage Cup…
Entrances for the next match took place. Thea Hail is still pouty and angry…
5. Jacy Jayne vs. Thea Hail (w/Duke Hudson, Andre Chase). Jayne used a few chops and Hail came back with armdrags and a headscissors. Hail hit Jayne with a low suicide dive. Hail continued to push back and Andre’s encouragement. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Jayne worked on Hail with methodical offense. Hail rolled up Jayne for a two count. Jayne came back with a shove and back elbow. Jayne got a two count after a senton. Jayne exposed part of the turnbuckle. Hail hit Jayne with a shoulderbreaker. Hail rallied with flying axe handles. Hail hit Jayne with a T Bone Suplex and Liger Kick. Hail hit Jayne with a springboard Trust Fall for a two count.
Jayne gave Hail a kick to the shin and a running knee. Hail ducked a discus lariat. Jayne got to the ropes to break a Kimura Lock. Jayne hit Hail with a superkick and spinebuster for a nearfall. Jayne gave Hail some paintbrush boots. Chase put back the turnbuckle to protect Hail. Hail yelled at Chase for getting involved in the match. The distraction allowed Jayne to roll up Hail for the victory.
Jacy Jayne defeated Thea Hail via pinfall in 4:39 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: NXT continues to great character development with Thea Hail who’s in a bit of a mental slump. She’s 19 and acting immature, something most of us can relate to one way or another. Good win for Jacy. I do want to see NXT spin back to spotlighting her. She’s just a victim of many other women getting the spotlight in NXT’s deep women’s division. A good problem for NXT to have. Maybe WWE might consider shifting a few NXT women to the main roster? Maybe to even boost their tag division.
The show cut to a vignette spotlighting the grandfather of Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo, Humberto Garza. Garza’s words words were subtitled. He said that his grandsons should remember what he always told them. “When we were at the top of the world we have family, when life knocks you down we still have family”. A replay aired of Carrillo admonishing Angel for clowning around.
Back to Humberto Garza, he said “If you lose your way, don’t take it out on each other. If you lose your cousin loses. The time has come. No more games, no more distractions, tear away your past for a new beginning. A new beginning together”. The show cut to Angel and Carrillo waking up in their homes and looking at the picture of their grandfather…
John’s Thoughts: Another good vignette as NXT redirects Angel and Humberto into a more serious direction. They also gave us a lot of exposition we as viewers weren’t privy too. Most people know their famous uncle, Hector Garza, but this gives them a bit more legacy with their grandfather in the picture. The whole kiss cam thing had a ceiling and that ceiling is very low. These two Garza cousins are way to talented to be utilized as comedy bit players.
Wes Lee handed Carmelo Hayes the contract for the Heatwave show. Melo tried to delay the signing, but Wes said he’s not waiting. Wes Lee tore apart the autograph table and said he’d see Melo next week…
Wes Lee made his entrance to the NXT ring. He dragged the autograph table and championship contract to the ring…[c]
A Tiffany Stratton hype package aired where she bragged about herself being at the top and not even at her prime. She said she’ll see everyone next week…
The following matches were advertised for next week: Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley vs. Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyria, Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov, Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar for the real Heritage Cup, Von Wagner vs. Baron Corbin, and Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee for the NXT Championship…
[Overrun] Wes Lee was waiting at the set up contract signing table. NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes made his entrance. Wes Lee told Melo that it’s time to sign the contract. Melo said Wes is wildin’ out and almost turning Melo to the old evil Melo. Wes talked about Melo living a lavish life. Melo said people think that the championship comes with luxury. Melo said yes, the title comes with perks, but with perks comes responsibility.
Melo congratulated Lee for being an honorable North American Champion. Melo said until Wes walks a mile in Melo’s studded loafers, Wes can’t complain about how easy he has it. Melo said the moment Wes experiences a little bit of adversity, he folds like a chair on the Alabama boardwalk. Melo said that Wes has a shot next week, but Melo is not convinced that Wes can be “Him”.
Wes asked Melo what makes him think Wes wants to be “him”? Wes talked about always being told he can’t do something. Wes talked about Melo being a chosen one. Wes talked about how his superiors in the military told him that he was crazy and said that he “cant”. Wes said he’s blazing his trail in WWE now and people are still saying he can’t. He said he set up shop and became a two time tag team champion.
He said when he lost his tag team partner (Zachary Wentz) the doubters came back. He said they told him he can’t make it and become a singles wrestler. He said he became the greatest North American Champion in NXT history. He said he never had that on his bingo card. Wes talked about beating Melo for the North American title (in a ladder match for the title vacated by Solo Sikoa). Melo pointed out that Wes didn’t pin him Melo talked about putting the North American title on the map.
Melo talked about how next week Wes can’t beat him. Wes talked about Melo bringing up another “can’t”. Wes talked bout turning doubters into believers for years. He said Melo and the fans aren’t even the doubters, Wes doubted himself. He said the “can’t’s resonated in him, but no more. Wes said he’s not going to fail anymore. Wes signed the contract and asked Melo to sign the damn contract.
Melo said Wes earned this spot, but Wes can’t be chasing waterfalls, “chase those rivers and the lakes that you’re used to” (to quote the classic TLC song). Melo said next week’s it’s not “Melo don’t miss” it’s “Melo can’t miss”. Melo posed with the title belt. Wes Lee gave the table a double stomp and said “see you at Heatwave”. Vic Joseph closed the show…
John’s Thoughts: Strong promo from both men to set up their short-build NXT title match for next week. So far, Melo’s last few title defenses have had him in the underdog role, fighting from behind against a dominant challenger. Here was Melo’s time to shine as the man at the top of the mountain. Wes Lee has done a good job turning his real life struggles into character development. That development resonated here. Given the next NXT PLE on the horizon, I don’t think Wes Lee has a shot at winning the title (Lee needs more time to cook. I don’t think he’s quite the draw, just yet. But he’ll get there).
That closing segment has me excited for next week’s title match at least, and I hope the producers allow both men to tear the house down. This week’s NXT succeeded in setting up for next week’s Heatwave themed show. Interested to see how the ratings do this week because there was not a lot of advertised Main Roster talent crossing over. At this point, Mustafa Ali, Baron Corbin, and Dana Brooke already feel like NXT regulars.
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