By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live September 5, 2023 on USA Network
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
No intro this week. Everyone was in the ring already for the Women’s Championship Match. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
1. Tiffany Stratton vs. Kiana James for the NXT Women’s Championship. Both women started out at a stalemate by trading counters. Both women then traded illegal pins which the ref stopped. Tiffany hit Kiana with a hip attack on the ropes for a two count. Kiana managed to turn the tables with tackles in the corner. This led to a two count. Kiana worked on Tiffany with knees and a butterfly stretch. Tiffany twisted the pressure and put Kiana in the stretch.
After Kiana reversed the hold, Tiffany used a flip to escape the stretch. Kiana rallied with running strikes. Tiffany got a cheap shot in after stalling behind the ropes. Tiffany did backflips into an elbow. Both women traded rollups. Tiffany and Kiana took each other out with stereo lariats.
Tiffany missed a loaded bag shot with Kiana’s loaded bag. Kiana hit Tiffany with her 401K finisher for a nearfall. Tiffany recovered and raked Kiana’s eyes. This allowed Tiffany to hit Kiana with a Rolling Senton followed by the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the victory.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Kiana James via pinfall in 5:12 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Becky Lynch appeared on the big screen and talked about how she’s won every championship possible in WWE other than the NXT Women’s Championship. Becky talked about how she’ll challenge Tiffany for the NXT Women’s Title on next Week’s NXT…
Carmelo Hayes was shown arriving at the Performance Center. He passed by Wes Lee as the two shared an uncomfortable glare…
Ilja Dragunov made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good match for the time given. It felt like they rushed the match just so they could get to the Becky Lynch announcement. Kiana does look strong in defeat and even got the false finish spot, hitting the 401K. Even though it was heel vs. heel, Tiffany was the de facto fan favorite. As for next week, Tiffany is already launched into the biggest match in her young wrestling career, against WWE’s top female star. I’m surprised they aren’t saving the match for the Bakersfield show, but maybe they find a way to stretch the feud past a one-off.
The Creed’s and Ivy Nile were at the Diamond Mine dojo, putting back up their Diamond Mine decorations. The Creeds told Nile that they were excited to get their tag titles back. Tony D and Stacks showed up and took exception to Diamond Mine coming after their titles. They then joked around a bit, Brutus even calling Tony D and Stacks, Mario and Luigi. Enofe and Blade showed up to stake their claim at the tag titles. The Creeds and Enofe and Blade argued with Tony D and Stacks watching from the sidelines…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic announced that Tiffany vs. Becky for the NXT Championship was made official for next week…
The Meta Four made their entrance…
2. Ilja Dragunov vs. Oro Mensah (w/Noam Dar, Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson). Ilja slammed Oro to the mat early on. Oro came back with kidney punches. Dragunov came back with a headlock slam and punches. Dragunov gave Oro a series of forearms and a diving knee drop. Ilja hit Oro with a jumping pump kick. Oro hit Ilja with a beautiful Lionsault for a two count. Oro followed up with a PK to the back. Ilja begged Oro for more kicks. Oro and Ilja traded strikes.
Oro ducked a enzuigiri and shook Ilja after hitting Ilja with a superkick during a Tiger Feint. Oro hit Ilja with a T-Bone Suplex heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Ilja dodged a Liger Kick and came back with a shoulder tackle. Ilja turned Oro inside out with a Constantine Special Lariat. Ilja hit Oro with 2 chained German Suplexes and a Saito Suplex for a nearfall. Oro escaped a power bomb and hit Ilja with two strong kicks for a two count. Oro mocked Ilja’s pre-finish pose. Ilja blocked Oro and hit him with a power bomb. Ilja hit Oro with a Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Oro Mensah via pinfall in 9:49.
Wes Lee quickly walked out with a mic in hand. Lee told Ilja that he has the next crack at Melo’s title, but Ilja can get the first title shot right after. Ilja took the mic and said that Carmelo Hayes is his, not anyone elses. Ilja said he’s had engough of other people, roadblocks, and people’s personal journeys. Wes said there was no one standing in his way to get to the championship.
Carmelo Hayes made his entrance, joking about how he put both Lee and Ilja’s names in the rafters. Melo talked about how he had a talk with Shawn Michaels last week and he gave him all the advice he needed to hear. The crowd chanted “Triple Threat”. Melo said there is no asterisk in their last match because it was Ilja taking the risk (diving into the belt), and Melo took advantage.
Melo said that Wes took the risk with the suicide dive, and Melo took advantage. Melo talked about how HBK booked Wes vs. Ilja in a number one contenders match next week for a title shot at No Mercy. Melo said he hopes they show mercy next week, because Melo’s showing no mercy at Bakersfield…
John’s Thoughts: Good match between two talented wrestlers. This might have been Oro’s best match on NXT TV so far. He loses nothing in the loss as he is the guy who takes loses for Noam Dar’s group. The real focus was on the post match, setting up the NXT Title picture. Ilja vs. Melo along with Tiffany vs. Becky is really stacking up next week’s NXT show.
Dominik Mysterio was having trouble reading the WWE rules book. He dropped the book and said “Thank You Mam” when he saw a purple referee’s shirt…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Nathan Frazer. Nathan Frazer talked about how he got viral for almost taking his head off with the top rope last week. He talked about how he took the risk because he’s obsessed with getting back the Heritage Cup. He said like the rest of his career, he’s not slowing down…
Nathan Frazer made his entrance…[c]
Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne were hanging out backstage. Hail was excited Becky Lynch was coming to NXT next week. Jacy was less excited. Hail liked the eye shadow Jacy put on her. Gigi showed up and noted that Jacy was taking advantage of Hail. Blair Davenport showed up and said that Gigi is right. Davenport said the women’s division is for grown women and Hail’s just a child. Gigi and Blair jawed at each other. Hail said she doesn’t need Gigi to stand up for her because she’s a grown woman. Hail said she doesn’t know her. Gigi said she knows Jacy though. Hail said she’s going to prove to Gigi later on that she’s a grown woman…
Duke Hudson and Andre Chase made their entrance. A replay from Level Up was shown where Duke Hudson picked up two points by defeating Akira Tozawa. The rules graphic aired for the Global Heritage Invitational. The Meta Four were hanging out in their VIP section above the crowd…
3. Duke Hudson (w/Andre Chase) vs. Nathan Frazer in a Group B Match of the Global Heritage Invitational. Frazer used his speed to run circles around Duke. Duke caught Nathan and hit him with a back suplex for a two count. Frazer hit Duke with a top rope cannonball dive. Duke came back in the ring with a Uranage. Hudson asked Nathan if he was ok, but Nathan took it as disrespect.
Duke slapped Nathan in the ches and tossed him against the buckle. Frazer reversed a Border Toss into a huracanrana. Frazer caught Duke with a superkick and Phoenix Splash for the victory.
Nathan Frazer (2 points) defeated Duke Hudson (2 points) via pinfall in 2:47 to earn 2 points in the Global Heritage Invitational.
The updated group B points have Joe Coffey, Duke Hudson, and Nathan Frazer all tied up with 2 points…
The Diamond Mine were chatting with Hank and Tank backstage. Bronco Lima and Lucien Price showed up and introduced themselves. They talked about how Hank and Tank teamed up just recently, while he and Lucien have teamed up for years. They talked about coming after the tag titles too. Scrypts showed up and said he rolls with Price and Nima because they were raised by the streets. Scrypts said he relates to that. Scrypts, Nima, and Price left…
Tyler Bate vs. Dabba Kato was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I’m surprised they gave Frazer and Hudson less than three minutes when we know both guys can really go. I actually tuned in to Level Up this past week and Hudson looked pretty good there against Tozawa. I still say that Joe Coffey needs to get out of Group B undefeated. After defeating his biggest threat in Frazer, it looks like he’ll steamroll Tozawa and Hudson (Unless they randomly decide that now’s the time to protect Tozawa for some reason).
Dabba-Kato was already in the ring. Tyler Bate got a full entrance. Bate attacked Dabba before the bell…
4. Tyler Bate vs. Dabba-Kato. Bate put Dabba in a headlock and shoved him into the turnbuckle. Dabba came back with a big boot. Dabba worked on Bate with several stretches. Bate came back with a boot and diving uppercut. Dabba caught Bate’s Bop and Bang. Bate caught Dabba with two rebound lariats, but couldn’t get Dabba off his feet.
Bate managed to get the giant Dabba in the air and hit him with a Helicopter Spin into a Michinoku Driver. Bate hit Dabba-Kato with a Spiral Tap for the victory.
Tyler Bate defeated Dabba-Kato via pinfall in 2:53.
John’s Thoughts: Impressive win for Bate and Bate got to look really good lifting up the near 7 foot giant. As for Kato, WWE’s booking of him has always been baffling to me. Did the guy piss off someone backstage? I say this because they always tease a big push, only to have him jobbing out in quick fashion. The guy’s a giant, decent in the ring, and he hasn’t shown weakness on the mic. They were giving Omos the big push, I’ve seen more upside for years in Dabba Kato.
Dominik Mysterio walked up to Carmelo Hayes and said he relates to it being hard being champion. Dom said Melo will find out his opponent at Bakersfield next week, while Dom’s about to “pick…er… find out” his…
NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio made his entrance…
Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez were chatting in the locker room. Kiana James was throwing a fit after losing her title shot. Kiana mocked both Lyra and Roxanne. Roxanne gave Kiana a forearm to start a pull apart brawl…[c]
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Baron Corbin about hit prediction for the Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner match. Baron said both men have something to prove. Baron said Bron calls himself the alpha, but he needs to prove it by ending Von’s career. Baron said Von has some sort of table fetish and needs to prove to everyone that he belongs with a win. Baron said he’s going to watch both men destroy each other from the commentary table. He said he might even clean up the scraps after the match…
[Hour Two] Kelly Kincaid tried to interview Tiffany Stratton backstage, but Tiffany wouldn’t give her the interview. A graphic hyped up Tiffany Stratton vs. Becky Lynch for the NXT Women’s Championship next week..
Mustafa Ali made his entrance first, followed by Dragon Lee…
4. Mustafa Ali vs. Dragon Lee with Dominik Mysterio as guest referee to become number one contender to the NXT North American Championship. Dragon and Mustafa traded standing switches early on. Dragon and Mustafa started out at a stalemate. Dragon got a few one counts off a Test of Strength. Ali came back with a running huracanrana. Mustafa hit Dragon with a few chops. Dragon came back with a few kicks into a slingshot boot. Ali kicked out at two. So far, Dom has been calling things straight.
Dragon gave Ali punches on the top rope. Ali dropped Dragon and hit Dragon with a corner Buckshot Lariat for a two count. Dragon reversed a suplex and hit Ali with a Suicide Dive, which sent him into Booker T. Thankfully, Vic Joseph’s bowl of candy was safe. Ali recovered and hit Dragon Lee with a Buckshot Lariat from behind the table. Ali hit Dragon Lee with a Tornado DDT for a nearfall.
Dragon came back with a bridged German for a nearfall. Ali came back with a Jackhammer for a two count. Dragon and Ali traded counters. Dragon hit Ali with a sitout power bomb for a two count. Dragon called out Dom for a slow count. Ali rolled up Dragon Lee. Dom fast counted the pin to give Ali the win.
Mustafa Ali defeated Dragon Lee via pinfall in 5:18.
Dom held up Ali’s hand in victory, but then realised that Dom was his enemy. Ali left Dom lying after a punch to the face…
Trick Williams was in the locker room chatting with Ilja Dragunov. Ilja said he meant every word last week, when he said Trick was more than an entertainer. Ilja said Trick lied to Melo when Trick said that Melo could beat Ilja. Trick said Melo beat Ilja before and if Melo can get back to the title match, Melo will beat him again. Ilja said Trick can keep either lying to Melo, or keep lying to himself…
Butch made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Lots of short matches that could have gone longer. I get it though. They’re using the time to build towards No Mercy. Now I’m only joking about this, but is Chicago’s own Mustafa Ali using the buckshot lariat to mock the the man beefing with another famous wrestler from Chicago? I kid, I kid. My guess is that this eventually leads to a triple threat because Dom did the fast count.
An ad aired for Connor’s Cure…
Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp, and Charlie Dempsey were sparring backstage. Miles Borne showed up to sweep up dirt at ringside. Gulak took exception to Borne hanging out with Briggs and Jensen to conspire against them. Borne said he just wants a match on NXT. Gulak said he doesn’t think Borne is ready. Gulak said Borne better make next week’s opportunity count. Borne said he will…
Eddy Thorpe was shown pacing around and throwing a fit in the parking lot. He said he wasn’t done with Dijak, especially after Dijak taking shortcuts in their match last week…
Axiom made his entrance. The Global Heritage Invitational rules graphic aired. Vic informed viewers that his bowl of candy is indeed safe after all the dives in the previous match. The Meta Four were watching the match from their VIP section. Oro had his face wrapped up like a mummy…
5. Axiom vs. Butch in a Group A match of the Global Heritage Invitational. Butch worked on Axiom with his usual joint manipulation. Axiom escaped using a Front Chancery. Butch went back to the joint manipulation. Axiom got to his feet. Both men showed agility with butch getting the upper hand with a shoulder tackle. Butch did his signature shrug. Butch hit Axiom with the X Plex and Shotgun Dropkick. Butch hit Axiom with a nice sacrifice armbreaker.[c]
Butch rained ground and pound forearms on Axiom. Dunne gave Axiom paintbrush forearms. Axiom rallied back with strikes. Axiom hit Dunne with a dropkick. Axiom hit Butch with a Perfectplex for a two count. Axiom hit Butch with a Flip German. Butch recovered and went for a submission, but Axiom went back to the ropes. Butch worked on Axiom with paintbrush slaps and reverse curb stomps.
Axiom got to his feet and put Burch in a submission. Butch reversed the pressure. Both men traded rollups. Butch hit Axiom with a snap German Suplex. Axiom gave Butch a few kicks. Alicia Taylor announced a 2 minute warning. Butch caught a flying Axiom with a knee and hit him with a sitout bomb for a nearfall.
Axiom dodged a moonsault and hit Butch with a hook kick. Axiom hit Butch with a Golden Ratio Superkick. Butch’s arm was under the rope for the rope break. Butch did his wishbone spot with 10 seconds left on the clock. Butch hit Axiom with the Bitter End. Axiom kicked out! The clock ticked down for the time limit draw.
Axiom (1 point) vs. Butch (3 points) ended in a 12-minute time limit draw to earn each person one point in the Global Heritage Invitational.
Axiom and Butch shared a respectful handshake after the match. Tyler Bate made his entrance to wave hello at both his future opponents…
John’s Thoughts: A nice technical match. Axiom continues to be protected and given the opportunity to look strong (and thankfully he doesn’t have the unenviable task of trying to elevate Reggie at the moment). I’m surprised they had him kick out of Butch’s Bitter End, which was a protected finisher during Butch’s time in NXT. Group B’s favorite is clearly Joe Coffey. Group A is less predictable. My guess is Tyler Bate? But Axiom’s the inaugural Heritage Cup champion and Butch is a NXT legend. Bate vs. his old British Strong Style stablemate should be epic (but sadly only under 12 minutes).
Von Wagner was shown looking introspective backstage. Von was talking to someone off screen. He said ever since this person came into his life everything has changed for the better. He said the birds are chirping and fans are cheering. He said he feels a certain type of way. He said he doesn’t want to hurt this person or make them feel bad about themselves. Von was shown having an intimate talk with the announce table…
John’s Thoughts: Uhm? Booker and Vic better get one of those UV blacklights to make sure there aren’t any weird stains or DNA on their table.
Gigi Dolin made her entrance…[c]
Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo showed up at the Diamond Mine dojo to confront Tony D and Stacks to say they are coming after the titles. After Tony D tried to shoo them away, Angel gave Tony a stiff looking right hand to the jaw. All the tag teams in the Diamond Dojo brawled…
Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne made their entrance to the Chase U theme. Jacy prevented Thea from doing her usual hyped mannerisms…
6. Thea Hail (w/Jacy Jayne) vs. Gigi Dolin. Gigi got a two count off a backslide. Thea came back with a huracanrana. Thea avoided a basement dropkick and came back with an Exploder Suplex. Thea rallied with flying axe handle strikes. Gigi came back with a Buzzsaw and Question Mark Kick for a two count.
Thea managed to put Gigi in the Kimura Lock. Gigi managed to get to the bottom rope after a struggle. Gigi tossed Thea into the ringpost and followed off with a STO. Blair Davenport gave Gigi a cheap shot at ringside after Jacy distracted the referee. Thea locked Gigi in the Kimura Lock for the submission win.
Thea Hail defeated Gigi Dolin via submission in 3:36.
The Creed Brothers were shown sitting down in the aftermath of the brawl with the Diamond Dojo left trashed. Brutus and Julius liked the madness though. Ivy Nile showed up and wondered what happened because she only left them for a few minutes…
Von Wagner and Bron Breakker were shown in different camera shots, heading to the ring form backstage…[c]
Kelani Jordan thanked Lyra Valkyria for hearing her vent about last week. Lyra said Jordan shouldn’t sweat it over her loss because she’s looked good in only her fourth match. Dana Brooke showed up saying that Lyra is filling things she shouldn’t have in her head. Brooke got angry at Lyra. Lyra said she’s not sure why Brooke is mad? She said next week she’ll show Jordan why she needs to pick better friends…
After showing some clips of people hyping up Becky Lynch on twitter, they cut to Tiffany Stratton cutting a promo on Lynch. Tiffany ended her promo by calling Becky a bitch…
The following matches were advertised for next week: Tiffany Stratton vs. Becky Lynch for the NXT Women’s Championship, Tyler Bate vs. Axiom, Nathan Frazer vs. Akira Tozawa. Wes Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov in a number one contenders match for the NXT Championship…
Entrances for the next match took place. Baron Corbin joined the commentary team for the next match…
6. Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone) in a no-DQ match. Bron hit Von with a shoulder tackle. Bron hit Bron with a lariat to send both men to ringside. Von tossed Bron like a sack of potatoes into Booker’s seat. Von hit Bron with a flying clothesline. Von dumped Bron back to ringside. Bron jabbed Von in the gut with a chair. Von took the chair but also took a German Suplex from Bron heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Bron Breakker worked on Von’s body with kendo stick shots. Baron Corbin praised Bron Breakker for being a fellow NFL player and how Bron was a fullback. Von caught a kendo stick shot and rallied back with shortarm headbutts and a lariat. Bron came back with a tackle for a two count.
[Overrun] Bron went back to the kendo stick shots on Von. Von hit Bron with a few Big Boots (that looked like they barely hit). Bron reversed a Big Boot into a sitout power bomb for a nearfall. Von recovered but his back gave out on him during a lift. Vic noted that the kendo stick shots were paying off for Bron. Bron gave Von a top rope Bulldog onto a chair. Bron put a kendo stick in Von’s mouth and used it for an assisted Steiner Recliner.
Von powered out and put Bron in a kendo stick assisted headlock. Bron escaped. Both men traded standing lariats. Bron hit Von with an impressive Gutbuster. Bron went for a spear, but missed and hit himself into a chair. Bron spit in Von’s face and told him to kiss his ass. Von went to town on Bron with a kendo stick and broke it. Von then hit Bron in the back with a chair.
Von hit Bron with a chokeslam for a nearfall. Von told the timekeeper and Alicia Taylor to get out of the way. Von threw Bron through the wooden wall behind the timekeeper area. Von cleared the announce table. Even dumping Vic’s bowl of candy. Bron recovered with a few punches. Von countered with a power bomb through the table. Bron escaped a fireaman carry and hit Von with a low blow. Bron hit Von with a spear for the victory.
Bron Breakker defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 13:28.
Bron attacked Von with a chair after the match. He then tossed Von into the steel steps. The camera went black with Bron teasing smashing Von’s head with the steel steps. We did hear a crashing noise. Baron Corbin yelled “he did it! I can’t believe he actually did it!”. NXT closed with the screen still blacked out…
John’s Thoughts: As good as you can get with a WWE PG hardcore match. Not the most memorable in the end of it, but Von was able to come out looking better even though he eats another loss. He over way more than he’s ever been in his WWE career so far. Weird that he gets horny over tables now seemingly. He also may or may not be kayfabe dead with the odd camera blackout. Looks like they’re setting up for Bron Breakker vs. Baron Corbin at No Mrecy.
Solid episode of NXT with most of the show focused on building towards No Mercy at Bakersfield. Vic Joseph’s bowl of candy got a low key good amount of camera time too. The Heritage Tournament makes it easy for NXT to book weekly TV with good matches. Especially that A block with all the talent loaded there. B Block is just made to put over Joe Coffey, which I’m a huge fan of. Next week’s show is stacks and should pop a rating if they do the right amount of plugging on Raw and Smackdown. Tiffany Stratton has had a good amount of main roster exposure recently, so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Be the first to comment