By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live October 17, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Most of the wrestlers in the Bada Bing Bada Boom Battle Royal were already in the ring. The Creed Brothers got a televised entrance. Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and unnamed mafia members were hanging out in the crow’s nest section. Tony D and Stacks were eating spaghetti and meatballs…
1. The Bada-Bing Bada-Boom Battle Royal. Damon Kemp was eliminated right after the bell rang by Briggs and Jensen. Tank Ledger skinned the cat and hit a referee in the head. Bronco Nima eliminated Tank. The usual walking and punching ensued. Gallus eliminated Briggs and Jensen. Enofe and Blade swarmed Ridge Holland with kicks. Holland eliminated Enofe and Blade with a backdrop. Mark skinned the cat and had Wolfgang help him.
Brutus Creed eliminated Gallus by knocking Mark Coffey off the apron with an axe handle strike. Scrypts wasn’t in the match, but helped eliminate Holland and Butch with a crossbody. Nima was also eliminated due to being in Scrypts’s crossfire. Julius eliminated Carrillo, but somehow none of the referees saw the elimination. Carrillo ran back in the ring and eliminated Julius. The traditional match match started at around 5:25.
Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail ran out in read clothes to serve as Chase University cheerleaders. Hudson worked on Garza with shortarm shoulder tackles. Chase tagged in and hit Garza with a drop toehold followed by a Hudson elbow drop. Chase got a two count. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
The camera cut back showing Tony D and Stacks watching the match while enjoying their pasta and salad. Garza got a two count on Chase. Garza and Carrillo cut the ring in half on Andre Chase. Chase managed to dump both opponents to ringside, but Carrillo had knocked Hudson off the apron earlier. Garza dove at Chase when Chase went for the tag with nobody home. Chase used a judo roll to dodge a clothesline and tag in Hudson for the hot tag.
Hudson cleaned house. Hudson hit both opponents with the Chase U Bionic Elbow combo. Hudson tossed Carrillo onto Garza for an improvised moonsault. Hudson hit Carrillo with a Uranage. Garza broke up Hudson’s pin. Chase hit Garza with a huracanrana at ringside. Chase then hit Carrillo with a High Fly Flow for a nearfall. Garza tossed Hudson into the steps and gave him a DDT. Carrillo rolled up Chase for a two count.
Carrillo then turned a Sunset Flip into a powerful Sitout Power Bomb for a good nearfall. Garza tagged in. Brutus got on the apron for a distraction. Julius dragged Garza to ringside. Chase picked up the win after a victory roll (he had that thing locked in for a bit longer than I think it needed to be).
Andre Chase and Duke Hudson defeated Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza via pinfall in 15:35.
John’s Thoughts: The Battle Royal part was as meh as most non-PPV Battle Royals. Quick eliminations, walking and punching, and nothing that really stands out. What was a positive visually in the battle royal portion is that all the tag teams in the match that were presented have all received character development in the past; showcasing a decent tag division while not featuring any “who are they?” tag teams (if you’re a regular NXT viewer). The regular match was fun! Andre Chase is one of the most underestimated, talent-wise, wrestlers in all of WWE because of his goofy Bobby Knight gimmick. Dude’s can make any opponent look good while also making himself look like he has a chance to win. What I didn’t like in both portions was the overbooking. Yes, Garza and Carrillo need to be protected at all costs (due to the recent repackage), but they took the wonky route to get there with the Creeds coming out. The many referees missing Carrillo getting eliminated was cringeworthy too.
A Blair Davenport promo package aired. Blair said Gigi Dolin escaped with the biggest win in her career like a thief in the night, having a cheap victory. Blair said she’s not going to take away Gigi’s win, but rather she wants to see Gigi surprise her. Blair challenged Gigi to a match at Halloween Havoc…
Carmelo Hayes was shown walking backstage…[c]
The latest Brian Pillman Jr. vignette aired. Pillman was watching clips from past interviews of people like Dusty Rhodes, Paul Heyman, and Stone Cold, where they spoke highly of Pillman Jr’s father. Pillman said he looked each person in the eye and lied straight through his teeth saying “I loved [my dad] too”. Pillman said he never loved his dad, who spent more days in a damn hotel room than he did at home.
Pillman said you expect Pillman to love his dad. He said he lives in nobody’s shadow. Pillman said that at Halloween Havoc, he’ll start his career, not continue someone elses. He said he’ll make his name bigger than Pillman Sr’s ever was. Pillman revealed his new name as “Lexis King”…
Vic Joseph thanked the band New Years Day for providing the song “Vampyre” as the theme of next week’s Halloween Havoc show…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Vic noted that the band New Years Day will be performing their song live next week on Night 1 of Halloween Havoc…
Carmelo Hayes made his entrance. He said “it’s good to be melo, right?”. Melo was hyped being side to side with both John Cena and Undertaker last week. He said it feels like he’s living in the WWE video game. Baron Corbin interrupted. Corbin said he sees Melo acting like a fanboy, and he’s not going to let Melo ramble for any longer. Corbin said fans should be in the stands, not the ring. Corbin said he saw Melo hanging out with John Cena for an hour. Corbin said he was also taking pictures with Cena, Taker, and Cody.
Corbin said Melo should focus on being a star more than a fan. Dijak made his entrance to interrupt. Dijak said both Corbin and Melo should focus on Dijak. Dijak said he’s going to beat both men in the ring and take the title of Ilja Dragunov. Dijak said Corbin is right because pandering isn’t going to help Melo when he’s in the ring looking Dijak in the eyes. Corbin joked that nobody is looking in Dijak’s eyes because Dijak wears sunglasses indoors.
Dijak said that’s cute. The crowd started to chant “Carmelo Hayes” in the tune of John Cena’s theme (which looked looked like it threw Dijak off a bit). Dijak said Corbin wants people to be afraid of him. Dijak said he’s not afraid of anybody, especially Corbin. Corbin said Dijak doesn’t know him and is just stupid. Melo said he’s going to make Dijak one of his latest victims in defeat. Ilja Dragunov interrupted on the big screen. Ilja said instead of talking, the three men should be focusing on the fierce battle that awaits them. Ilja said he’ll be watching and waiting to see his challenger for Night 2 of Halloween Havoc.
Ilja said last week was historic, but before Cody left, he made one last GM order. Ilja noted that they turned the triple threat number one contenders match into a fatal four way, and the forth man is “this man”. Trick Williams made his entrance with everybody showering him with “Whoop dat Trick” chants. Trick said it is what it is, this match has become a fatal four way. Dijak said that Trick looks like he betrayed his friend Melo.
Trick said Dijak puts his crooked finger in everyone’s business (which he broke in his match against Wes Lee). Corbin said Trick’s jeans are ugly. Trick called Corbin ugly. Trick said he’s not here to talk about Ugly, but to talk about the match. He said if he wins, he’ll be NXT Champion. Trick said he’s sure Melo is good with this and nothing is changed. Corbin claimed that Melo is shook. Corbin said that while Melo was taking pictures, Trick went into business for himself by putting himself in the triple threat.
Corbin said that what’s worst is that Trick did it behind Melo’s back and never told Melo about it. Melo said he’s not letting Corbin and Dijak get him off his game. Melo said he knows what it takes to win the championship and will take down anyone to get the belt back. Dijak asked if he’ll take down Trick? Before Melo could respond, Dijak and Corbin jumpped Trick and Melo. Trtick and Melo dumped Dijak and Corbin from the ring. Melo teased attacking Trick, but then stood by Trick’s side…
Fallon Henley was sitting with a bunch of developmental women telling them about how important the Breakout Tournament is. Tiffany Stratton showed up and bragged about making the finals in the tournament. Stratton called Henley “Huntley”. Fallon didn’t like that. Tiffany said “Huntley” is a better name. Stratton joked about Henley losing to her in last year’s tournament as well as being poor due to growing up on a farm…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A bit long. Dijak seemed thrown off a bit when the crowd did the Melo chants to Cena’s theme. That said, things did get more meaningful when Trick Williams got involved. I thought that Trick was the best of the group, and that was just by delivering simple jokes and jabs. Trick Williams continues to be a very intriguing NXT project. He is getting the rocket strapped to him and the crowd are reacting well. I continue to be intrigued by the breakout they’re teasing between Trick Melo Gang.
Vic Joseph hyped up Royal Rumble Pre-Sale tickets…
Karmen Patrovic made her entrance with a Japanese enspired entrance. She also shows up to ringside doing katas with a Katana Sword. In her picture-in-picture she noted that she has 23 years of combat experience. Her opponent is Jaida Parker. Jaida’s picture-in-picture had her breaking a few rhymes…
John’s Thoughts: With Karmen Petrovic and Drew McIntyre, we can now get a full on WWE sword fight.
2. Karmen Petrovic vs. Jaida Parker in a first round match of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament. Karmen used a leg sweep on Jaida and hit Jaida with a clothesline. Karmen tripped up Jaida and got a two count. Jaida wrenched Karmen’s arm on the top rope. Jaida worked on Karmen with shortarm shoulder tackles. Karmen rolled up Jaida for a two count. Karmen hit Jaida with a back hook kick. Jaida draped Karmen on the rope and her her with a slap to the gut and a springboard banzai drop for a nearfall.
The picture-in-picture showed random wrestlers watching in the NXT watchparty room. Jaida hit Karmen in the gut with a knee. Karmen came back with a sweep kick. Karmen did a Judo roll into a foot choke. Karmen hit Jaida in the jaw with a jump kick. Karmen hit Jaida with a Overhead Spin Kick. Karmen made Jaida tap out with a knee assisted submission.
Karmen Petrovic defeated Jaida Parker via submission in 3:38 to advance to the semi-finals of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament.
Karmen’s mom could be seen in the crowd cheering. Vic noted that Karmen will face Lola Vice in the next round…
John’s Thoughts: That was a bit of a ugly match, but of course I’ll cut the girls some slack. They put in hard work and growing pains are what you should expect this early in development. I’ve seen a good amount of Petrovic on Level Up and she both has looked better and been one of the women I’ve had high hypes for (again, I’m biased at the martial arts she uses. She also gains points from be for seemingly being a weeb). They probably wouldn’t do anything fancy, but I want to see a full on Karate vs. Tae Kwon Do match between Karmen and Lola. That’s my “dream” match. No joke, wrestlers like Lola and Karmen are two I root for in the rise of the martial arts strikers in pro wrestling.
Tegan Nox was warming up backstage. Natalya showed up and said she was here to have Tegan’s back. Before Tegan could thank Nattie, Tegan’s theme played. Tegan Nox and Natalya made their entrance to the performance center ring…[c]
Lyra Valkyra made her entrance…
3. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tegan Nox. The match started off with both women doing technical chain wrestling. Tegan hit Lyra with a snapmare and shoulder tackle. Both women then had an agility sequence. Tegan took down Lyra with a forearm. Lyra got a two count after a Sunset Flip. Lyra got a two count after a modified La Magistral. Nox hit Lyra with a Uppercut. Lyra dumped Nox to ringside and hit her with a wreching ball dropkick. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
[Hour Two] Lyra and Tegan took each other out with stereo crossbodies. The crowd did get a bit into it when both women traded strong style slaps. Lyra hit Tegan with a Northern Lights for a two count. Lyra worked on Tegan with Yes Kicks. Tegan crumpled when one of the kicks caught Tegan in the head. Tegan got a two count off a Bridged Fallaway. Tegan got a two count after a cannonball. Lyra caught Tegan with a enzuigiri. Lyra dragged Tegan to the top rope.
Tegan dumped Lyra off the top rope with a front Suplex. Tegan got a two count off a (not so great looking) Molly Go Rond. Tegan caught Nox with a cannonball at ringside. Cheslea Green and Piper Niven showed up to confront Nox and Natalya. Tegan rolled up Lyra for the nearfall. Lyra picked up the win after a crescent kick (the one that I’m not a fan of).
Lyra Valkyria defeated Tegan Nox via pinfall in 11:31.
Nox and Nattie brawled with Green and Niven to the back. Lyra took the mic and talked about how no one was getting in her way between her and her match against Becky Lynch at Halloween Havoc. Lyra talked about having a fire lit in her when Lynch was a guest at Lynch’s old wrestling school to meet Lyra. Lyra said she wanted to be the first Irish born NXT Women’s Champion, but Becky took that from her. She said when one door closes another one opens.
Becky Lynch showed up on the big screen. She said that Lyra’s trainer Dean told Becky that Lyra was someone to look out for. Becky said her match against Lyra isn’t going to be great just because it’s two Irish women in the ring together, but because Lyra’s good. Becky said Lyra isn’t going to win though. Becky said she fights every night to make her daughter proud. She said that Lyra needs to fight like she has a chip on her shoulder because that’s the only way lyra has a chance. Becky said Lyra better be ready for the big time. Becky’s theme played to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: An ok match, but Lyra still isn’t getting strong reactions yet and Nox hasn’t gotten her mojo back since returning to WWE. The post match stuff with Lynch was fine enough.
Melo confronted Trick in the locker room and told him that Trick blindsided him tonight. Trick said while Cena gave Melo advice, Cena also gave Melo advice. Trick said he agrees he should have gave Melo a heads up, but he was just afraid. Melo said Trick needs to undertand that Melo needs to do what he has to do. Trick said it was ok and no matter what they will both still be Trick Melo Gang. Melo agreed and the two dapped up…[c]
An interviewer caught up with Gigi Dolin about Blair Davenport’s challenge. Gigi said Halloween is her favorite time of the year and Halloween Havoc is her favorite even of the day. She then unraveled the Spin The Wheel Make the Deal Wheel. She spun the wheel and it landed at “Lights Out Match” (which is a match with limited lighting). Gigi said next week will be “Lights out, Bitch!”…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic Joseph said they have an update on the health of Von Wagner. They aired a replay of Bron Breakker’s attempted murder of Von Wagner (where he kayfabed squashed his head between two steel steps). Teh show then cut to clips of Von Wagner in “rehab”. He was trying to get his strength back, but he was failing at even stretching resistance bands. Robert Stone kept encouraging him to get back at it. Stone said all Von has to do is focus. Sad music started playing.
Von said Stone risked his safety getting involved in Bron Breakker’s last match. Von said Stone could have got hurt worse than him. Stone said he only did it because of the situation Bron put Von in. Stone said he knows when Von gets 100% he’ll finish what he started. Von took the resistance band and tried to stretch it…
Kiana James made her entrance, which now has a long helicopter graphic intro. A replay aired of Shotzi Blackheart attacking Kiana James last week when James tried to blindside Roxanne Perez. Shotzi made her entrance…
4. Shotzi vs. Kiana James. James slammed Shotzi to the mat early on with Shotzi laughing. Shotzi came back with an armdrag. Shotzi worked on James with forearms. Shotzi hit James with a crossbody. Shotzi slid under a lariat and did a loud scream. Shotzi put James in a sleeper, which James quickly broke up. Shotzi put Kiana in a Tarantula. James tossed Shotzi into the ringpost. Kiana kicked Shotzi off the apron heading into commerical.[c]
Shotzi draped Kiana on the 2nd rope, but Kiana recovered and hit Shotzi with a clothesline for a nearfall. Kiana worked on Shotzi with a resthold and overhead elbows. Shotzi escaped a rallied with axe handle strikes and a Question Mark Kick. Shotzi hit Kiana with a draping spike DDT on the apron. Shotzi hit Kiana with a suicide dive. Jakes tripped Shotzi off the top rope. Roxanne Perez showed up at ringside and found a brick in Kiana’s “loaded” bag. Shot took the brick out. While the referee was distracted, Shotzi faked getting hit by the bag in the classic Eddie Guerrero spot. Shotzi sidestepped a tackle from Kiana and slammed her to the mat. Shotzi hit Kiana with a top rope Senton for the victory.
Shotzi defeated Kiana James via pinfall in 8:39.
John’s Thoughts: Decent match, but another wonky contrived finish. Random brick. The “loaded purse” gimmick worked better when it was “show don’t tell” about the contents. I’m high on Kiana though and definitely hopes she gets featured as a bigger player down the road. As for Shotzi
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Oro Mensah and Lash Legend about Jakara Jackson not being able to wrestle in the Breakout Tournament due to an injury. Legend turned on the speaker phone where Noam Dar was on the other side. Noam said he’s at the hospital with Jakara. Noam yelled “Jackie! Don’t go to the light”, like she’s dying. Lash told Noam to say they love her. Oro asked Noam if Jakara is going to make it out alive. Noam said he’s not sure and they may have to take Jakara’s arm off!
McKenzie said that wasn’t on the medical report. Noam mocked McKenzie for thinking she’s a PHD. Akira Tozawa showed up and said he’s looking for Noam Dar. Dar asked who’s voice that was? Legend told Noam to just focus on Jakara. McKenzie said they have to cut to some commotion. The camera cut to Trick Williams laid out and beat up against some production crates. Carmelo Hayes ran in to check on Trick…[c]
John’s Thoughts: DON’T GO TO THE LIGHT!!! Noam Dar is a treasure! No wonder he was given a huge push out the gate when he first joined WWE back in the 205 Live days. Can we get more Meta Four on TV?!? This group is golden. Anyways, I do like the who-dun-it situation with Trick laid out. Melo is the obvious culprit, but I don’t think they’ll reveal that immediately this night. It could easily be someone else stirring the pot, because that’s what the heels were doing in the segment earlier.
Kelly Kincaid was in the parking lot and announced that Trick Williams was transported to a local hospital (they actually used the word “Hospital”, and was ruled out of the main event. Kelly said the match will revert back to the triple threat originally advertised and it’s obvious that whoever attacked Trick, didn’t want Trick to be in the main event…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Dominik Mysterio about confronting Nathan Frazer last week. Dom said he doesn’t even know who Nathan is? Nathan Frazer jumpped Dominik Mysterio and brawled throughout the backstage area. Dom and Nathan brawled to ringside. Nathan pummeled Dom with a single leg takedown, ground and pound, enzuigiri, and Final Cut. Rhea Ripley ran out to drag Dom to the back to avoid Nathan’s Phoenix Splash. Nathan’s theme played to end the segment…
Shotzi chatted with Roxanne Perez backstage and said that Perez was more ballsy than a year ago. They stumbled upon the spin-the-wheel make the deal wheel. Perez spun the wheel and it landed on “Devil’s Playground Match”, which will be the stipulation of Perez’s match against James on Halloween Havoc…
Ariana Grace (daughter of Impact Wrestling’s Director of Authority Santino Marella) was in the ring with some Beauty Pageant music playing. She was also dressed in beauty pageant attire. Grace said it’s always devastating to see someone sidelined due to injury. She said she could relate and had a worse injury. She said she’s back better than ever and hopes Jakara can do the same. She said she accept her bye to the next round. Her replacement opponent Brinley Reece made her entrance. Her picture in picture intro had her saying that she’s ready for the moment…
5. Ariana Grace vs. Brinley Reece. Grace asked Reece to kiss her hand. Reece instead gave Grace a body slam. Grace worked on Reece with a front judo toss and suplex. Grace put the boots to Reece and got another two count. Grace got another two count after a suplex. The picture in picture showed the watchparty room again for some reason. Grace put Reece in a side headlock. Reece got two counts after a sunset flip and rollup. Reece used a low base to block a suplex and counter with a suplex of her own.
Reece rallied with a series of suplexes. Reece did a cartwheel into a clothesline. Grace raked the eyes and hit Reece with a Back Judo Hip Toss. Grace picked up the win.
Ariana Grace defeated Brinley Reece via pinfal in 2:56.
Vic noted that the semi-finals will occur next week on Night 1 of Halloween Havoc. Vic then hyped the main event triple threat…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Cool to see Ariana Grace back on WWE TV after her long injury layoff. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I think she’s improved a lot since we last saw her. Yes, I thought she was doing fine channeling Sharpay from High School Musical before, but it looks like she’s a lot more polished as a character and in the ring now. She was actually decent. She’s also channeling more of her Beauty Pageant background here which could work. Good return, but I think she could use a better finisher than a basic judo toss. Her dad, Santino Marilla, is a MMA blackbelt and I’m sure she has picked up similar ability based off her picking a judo finish. Hopefully she does something more devastating.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Bron Breakker. Before she could bring up Undertaker, Breakker said that people watched the biggest NXT in history because of him. Robert Stone confronted Bron. Bron mockingly asked how was Von Wagner doing. Von stood up to Bron saying that Bron doesn’t care about anything and just lives life.
Stone said that his kids ask every day how Von is doing, and he has to tell them “I don’t Know”. Stone said he can’t forget how Bron smashed Von’s head. Stone said he wants to get his hands on Bron and smash his head. Bron said to do something about it. Stone challenged Bron to a match ast Hallween Havoc. Bron accepted and said he’s going to put Stone in the hospital like Von…
John’s Thoughts: As much as I hated the BroMans Tag Team in TNA, I’m actually happy to see the artist formerly known as Robbie E back in the ring. It’ll probably just be Stone running around until Von saves the day though.
Vic Joseph plugged the following segments for next week’s Halloween Havoc show: Becky Lynch vs. Lyra Valkyria for the NXT Women’s Championship, Gigi Dolin vs. Blair Davenport in a “Lights Out” match, Karmen Petrovic vs. Lola Vice, Kelani Joran vs. Ariana Grace, Lexis King’s in-ring debut, Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James, and Stacks and Tony D vs. Chase U for the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Entrances for the main event took place…
6. Carmelo Hayes vs. Baron Corbin vs. Dijak for a title shot at the NXT Championship on Night 2 of Halloween Havoc. Melo fended off both big men early on. Dijak caught Melo with a backbreaker chokeslam. Dijak and Corbin then went at it. Dijak caught Melo off a crossbody and gave him a knee and boulder toss. Dijak and Corbin caught Melo, but Melo countered into a double DDT to get a two count on both opponents. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Melo caught both opponents with Stinger Splashes. Dijak caught Corbin with a Superkick. Melo caught Dijak with a Superkick. Dijak hit Melo with the Time to Fly Suplex and tossed him on Corbin. Corbin hit Dijak with a Saito Suplex. Corbin hit Melo with a springboard lariat for a two count. Joseph noted that you rarely see Corbin fly off the ropes.
Dijak dumped Corbin to ringside with a lariat. Melo reversed Dijak’s chokeslam into a Codebreaker. Corbin tripped Melo off the top rope to block a Nothin’ But Net. Crobin hit Melo with a Death Valley Driver at ringside. Dijak crumpled Corbin on the apron with a Big Boot and thrust kick. Melo blocked a discus boot into a takedown. Melo tossed Corbin into Dijak who gave Corbin a chokeslam. Melo gave Dijak a superkick for a two count.
[Overrun] Melo ran the ropes and ran right into Dijak’s discus boot for a nearfall. Melo rallied at Dijak with chops, but Dijak grounded Melo with a boot to the chest. Dijak and Melo brawled on the top rope. Melo used punches to slip out. Corbin gave Melo a big boot. to the chest. Corbin climbed up with Dijak to the top. Melo recovered and hit both oponents with a Tower of Doom Bomb. A “holy shit” chant ensued (which meant the USA Network censor mute kicked in).
Corbiin knocked Hayes off the apron with a right hook. Dijak caught Corbin with a superkick. Corbin escaped Feast Your Eyes and hit Dijak with End of Days. Hayes flew in immediately and hit Corbin with Nothin’ But Net. Melo pinned Dijak for the win.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Dijak and Baron Corbin via pinfall in 12:31 to earn a shot at the NXT Championship on Night 2 of Halloween Havoc.
Hayes put out his had with 3 fingers to signify “Dragunov vs. Hayes III”. Vic closed the show with final Halloween Havoc hype…
But wait, there’s more!. The show cut to Lyra Valkyria watching the match backstage. Lyra took a picture of her and Becky and told it “in one week” your title’s mine. Lyra ripped up the picture and walked away. After Lyra left, Jade Cargill appeared on the television in the locker room to point at the back of her wrist, signifying “clock’s ticking”. The show closed…
John’s Thoughts: Solid main event. I can see some people arguing about Dijak and Corbin making Melo look tiny, but I also think that it made Melo look strong having to use his speed and wits to defeat two giants. Melo’s whole gimmick is inspired by Alan Iverson who’s whole career is defined by him slaying giants on the NBA court. Ilja vs. Melo III should be a killer match if their last two matches are anything to go off.
The post-signature stinger was a fun one. Jade Cargill continues her WWE cameo tour. This one had a bit of substance though. Is she going to be the one to dethrone Becky Lynch for the developmental title? I personally thought that would be a good idea. I also like that she’s equally teasing finding a home on Raw and Smackdown too. WWE’s doing a good job maximizing interest in her with what little time she’s on TV. Overall, this was business as usual on NXT this week. Yes, there is still main roster crossover, but it’s the NXT-regular main roster guys and wrestlers they’re not doing anything with.
Jade taking the title off of Becky is a no-brainer. She needs time in development anyhow and she already looks like an enormous star. A long run with the title will not only be good for her but great for whoever eventually takes the strap off of her.