By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live November 7, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT Halloween Havoc: Night 2 aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Akira Tozawa made his entrance, flanked by Otis, Maxxine Dupri, and Chad Gable. The Meta Four made their entrance. Joseph ran through the Heritage Cup match rules…
1. Noam Dar (w/Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, Lash Legend) vs. Akira Tozawa (w/Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri, Otis) in a Rounds Match for the NXT Heritage Cup. Noam started the match with a standing switch. Both men then had a methodical chain wrestling exchange. Noam worked on Tozawa with overhead elbows. Tozawa rolled up Noam for a two count. Tozawa peppered Noam with a CQC combo. Tozawa rolled up Noam for another nearfall.
Noam tripped up Tozawa with a PK to the ankle. Noam worked on Tozawa with boots. Tozawa reversed a suplex with his own deadlift suplex. Tozawa started to hump the air. Tozawa kicked down Noam. The rest of Meta Four distracted Tozawa to prevent him from hitting his Senton finisher. Tozawa gave Noam a back suplex. Dar gave Akira a Superplex to end the round. [End of Round 1]
Meta Four and Alpha Academy jawed at each other between rounds. Noam was drinking from a bottle that said “Noam’s Secret Stuff” (A reference to “Michael Jordan’s Secret Stuff” from Space Jam). Noam rolled up Akira with a hand full of tights 30 seconds in for the first pinfall. [End of Round 2]
Noam Dar pinned Akira Tozawa 0:30 into Round 2 to go up 1-0.
Noam gave Tozawa a cheap shot heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Round 3 covered the commercial break with no fall. [End of Round 3]
Noam attacked Tozawa after the bell with overhead elbows. Booker defended Noam by saying he couldn’t hear the bell. Noam started the round by hitting Akira with a backdrop and sliding bulldog for a nearfall. Noam put Akira in an Ankle Lock. Tozawa used a leg whip to send Noam to ringside. Tozawa hit Noam and Oro with nice looking Suicide Dives. Noam came back by shoving Tozawa into the ringpost. Noam hurt himself by kicking the ringost. Tozawa rolled up Noam into an Ankle Lock. Noam tapped out. [End of Round 4]
Akira Tozawa submitted Noam Dar 1:39 in Round 4 to tie the match 1-1.
Vic noted that Tozawa has won 17 championships in WWE (What? Obviously 24/7 jobber reigns). Tozawa started the match with a Yakuza Kick and Saito Suplex for a good nearfall. Noam hit Tozawa with a Judas Effect for a nearfall. Tozawa came back with a Huracanrana and Bridged German for a few nearfalls. Tozawa reversed a heel hook into a Deadlift German Suplex. Tozawa hit Noam with a spinning roundhouse. Oro got on the apron and ate a kick. Lash dragged Noam to safety at ringside to avoid Tozawa’s senton. Noam hit Tozawa with the Nova Roller Leg Lariat for the victory. [End of Match]
Noam Dar defeated Akira Tozawa via pinfall (2-1) 2:20 into Round 5 to retain the NXT Heritage Cup.
Highlights from the match aired. Oro got in the face of Tozawa after the match. Maxxine Dupri slapped Oro. Otis and Gable then beat up Oro after the match. Alpha Academy and Akira Tozawa stood tall in the ring…
John’s Thoughts: An okay match, but I think WWE needs to showcase some non-title rounds matches to acclimate the viewer to this unorthodox match type. It would be cool to see matches that don’t involve Noam’s goofy heel antics. Tozawa feels like a guest, and has been enhancement fodder for a while, so there was no reason to see him win this match. This was better to give Noam a win (it would have been better if it were clean).
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Joseph noted that the Iron Survivor qualifying matches are starting this week. Vic sent the show to WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley who cut a promo on his cell phone. Foley noted that HBK has entrusted him with coming up with the qualifying matches. Foley announced Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton and Dijak vs. Tyler Bate as two of the qualifying matches. Foley noted that he sees Dijak as a future champion. He also said he knew Bate long before Bate was in WWE…
Lyra Valkyria was shown chatting with a celebrity backstage. She was then heading to the ring…[c]
A bunch of developmental women were hanging out in the locker room. Lola Vice showed up and was acting cocky about winning the Breakout Tournament. Kelani Jordan got in Vice’s face about Elektra Lopez cheating on Lola’s behalf. Roxanne Perez got in Lola’s face and said that Lola shouldn’t make enemies in the locker room. They exchanged some words in Spanish. Karmen Petrovic was randomly annoyed at Ariana Grace acting dorky…
NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria made her entrance in street clothes (a nice looking fluffy and formal tube top.). Lyra said she never dreamed of winning the way she did. She soaked in “You deserve it” chants. Lyra brought up how the negative “meet your heroes” line doesn’t apply to Becky Lynch. She said Becky is a legend and her hero, and she beat that hero. Lyra said the crowd made the place feel like magic. Lyra said they showed the world what a main event women’s title match is all about. Lyra said you’ve all seen her story, but she’s not the only woman who dreams of holding the title, and the locker room is full of women who want to take the title from her.
Xia Li was shown in the crowd heading to the ring. Lyra told security to let her in the ring. Xia took a mic. She asked Lyra if Lyra saw what Xia did to Lyra’s hero the prior night. Lyra said she did, and Becky was also right that if Xia wants to get a championship she should win one. Xia said she’ll take Lyra’s. A guard tried to pull Xia back, but ate a stiff looking hook kick. Lyra and Xia jawed at each other…
John’s Thoughts: Decent first promo as champion, but we’re still waiting for that transformation and character defining moment to make Lyra stand out. Lyra kinda reminds me of Swerve Strickland back in the chaka khan theme days where he struggled to find that connection and promo style until he flipped the switch with Hit Row. Lyra’s great in the ring which is a valuable skill. That character will come someday.
A Tyler Bate promo aired where he talked about always being focused. He said Mick Foley saw something in him which is why he’s chosen to be in the Iron Survivor qualifyers. Bate said he’s not going to be known for just past success (The UK Championship). He said he was going to put Dijak in a helicopter spin. Bate ended his promo by saying “namaste”…
Briggs and Jensen were hyping up Fallon Henley in the locker room…
Tiffany Stratton made her entrance. Tiffany and Lyra crossed paths on the entrance ramp…[c]
Vic Joseph plugged Elimination Chamber (in Australia) presale tickets…
Alpha Academy were consoling Akira Tozawa for his two recent loses. Gable said they will unlock Tozawa’s potential someday. Tozawa said he wants to unlock the potential now. Maxxine said they are all coming back to NXT next week to be the guest on Super Nova Sessions. Drew Gulak, Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp, and Miles Borne showed up to intimidate Alpha Academy.
Otis then got in front of the heels and did a hip swivel (which made him look like a cross between Chris Farley and Joji the Pink Guy). Otis challenged Gulak to a match on this week’s show, which Gulak accepted. Gable then got in the camera to deliver his “thank you” line…
An NXT referee exited HBK’s office and informed the interviewer that HBK has informed him that he has full control on the Von Wagner vs. Bron Breakker match to make sure there’s a winner. The Rock’s Daughter, Ava, was shown in the background, entering HBK’s office…
Fallon Henley made her entrance…
2. Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Henley slammed Tiffany to the mat. Henley then rolled up Tiffany into a half crab. Henley hit Tiffany with a Superplex for a nearfall. Henley put Tiffany back in a half crab. Tiffany grabbed the rope for the break. Henley hit Tiffany with her signature baseball slide into a right hand. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Both women were trading Boo-Yay right hands. Tiffany used a back elbow on Henley. Henley came back with an Atomic Drop and jump kick for a two count. Henley got a two count after a backslide. Tiffany body slammed Henley into the bottom rope. Tiffany rolled through a crossbody and dumped Henley to ringside like a sack of trash (sick fall that made a thud). Tiffany worked on Henley’s left knee against the ringpost.
Henley rolled up Tiffany for a two count. Tiffany planted Henley for a two count. Tiffany put Henley in a modified bridged deathlock. Henley escaped with kick. Henley rallied with strikes. Henley hit Tiffany with a running facebuster for a nearfall. Tiffany recovered and hit Henley with a shotgun dropkick. Tiffany hit Henley with a Rolling Senton. Henley dodged a PME attempt. Tiffany gave Henley a chop block on the injured knee. Tiffany gave Henley a Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the win.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Fallon Henley via pinfall in 10:30 to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline.
John’s Thoughts: A well worked match, but the crowd seemed out of it for some reason. They kinda only reacted to that nasty looking (but fairly safe looking) fall at ringside. There’s a part of me that wanted to see Fallon get the upset and an eventual push coming off her stellar Tiffany impersonation a few weeks ago. Yes, they can always do the “2nd chance” thing, but I think it would have been stronger to pull it here.
McKenzie Mitchell and Wes Lee were dancing on the interview set. McKenzie welcomed Wes back to NXT after a few months. Wes talked about how he was going hard and had to hop off track for a bit to recover. He said he was back and at the top of his list is to smack Dominik Mysterio in the face and get back the North American title. Baron Corbin showed up to mock Wes for quitting and coming back. Corbin bragged about leaving Ilja Dragunov lying last week. Corbin called Wes and Ilja both failures and left.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Bron Breakker. Kelly asked Bron if he’s concerned about Von Wagner. Breakker said HBK gave the referee the order to call the match at his own discression to ensure a finish. Bron said Von should be concerned. Bron said Von’s comeback will be the shortest in WWE history. He said he’s going to desiccate the corpse of Von Wagner and that Von is a fool for thinking he can beat Bron Breakker…
Bron Breakker made his entrance…[c]
Dijak was cutting a promo at his interrogation table. He said Mick Foley put Bate in a match he can’t win. Dijak said it was rewarding and motaviating to be hand picked by the Hardcore Legend. He said Foley sees that Dijak has the endurance, discipline, and grit to thrive in the Iron Survivor Match. He said the only thing standing in is way is twinkle toes Tyler Bate. Dijak hype up how he’s going to qualify for the Iron Survivor match…
[Hour Two] Von Wagner and Robert Stone made their entrance. Von took off his beanie hat to reveal a “scar” (which was his hair cut to look like a scar)…
3. Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone). Von floored Bron with a Big Boot at ringside. Von hit Bron with ten punches in the corner and a diving lariat. Von Wagner then started selling “brain damage” by stumbling around. Bron took advantage and took down Von for mounted strikes. Bron hit Von with a German Suplex and backdrop. Bron pulled down the straps and put Von in the Steiner Recliner. Von got to his feet and broke the hold by sending Bron into the turnbuckle.
Von no-sold a punch and rallied with right hands. Von hit Bron with a flying lariat. Von hit Bron with a underhook suplex. Von then hit Bron with a Big Boot. Bron escaped a fireman carry. Von hit Bron with a flying knee. The crowd finally woke up with Von Wagner cleared the announce table. He left Vic’s candy bowl on the table. Bron escaped a suplex attempt. Stone tried to hand Von a chair, but Bron took advantage of the referee stopping him, giving Von a low blow.
Bron was about to press slam Stone through the table but was saved by Von. Bron gave Von a spear at ringside. Bron then gave Von another spear in the ring for the win.
Bron Breakker defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 5:28.
Stone hit Bron with a chair which got Bron to a knee. Bron then got up and choked Stone at ringside. Von Wagner recovered and power bombed Bron through the announce table. Robert Stone was fired up and congratulated Von for getting revenge on Bron. Stone wanted a handshake. Von gave Stone a hug instead…
John’s Thoughts: Tough crowd tonight because that’s two matches in a row where they were quiet for a majority of the match. Did they not send out the planted Chase U students? A good big man match, but you still have to turn your brain off with the whole brain damage storyline. Bron attempting murder and doctors allowing Von to wrestle with brain damage involves a lot of suspending of disbelief. I also feel like this was deja vu from one of their matches before, where Bron wins, but Von gets his heat back with a table spot. Bron is definitely spinning his wheels and needs to be ported to Raw or Smackdown already (meanwhile? Isn’t Von Wagner technically a main roster “free ageint”?). Just send him to Raw and give him the Ryback push of winning squash matches weekly.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Carmelo Hayes and recapped Melo looking shocked last week at Trick Williams returning. A replay of Melo acting like he saw a ghost aired. They then cut to footage of the end of the match where Trick looked angry and Melo. Melo said he’s just shocked that Trick came back so quick after such a brutal beatdown. Melo continued to say he didn’t attack Trick, but noted that it looks like Trick is listening to all the voices telling him that Melo attacked him. Melo said he owes it to Trick to give Trick answers face-to-face. McKenzie asked Melo why he owes Trick? Melo said it’s because they’re Trick Melo Gang, and that’s how it’s always going to be…
Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice made their entrance…[c]
Ridge Holland and Butch were shown walking the streets in their peaky blinders hats. Butch said like Out Tha Mud, they grew up in the streets, just with a different pavement. Holland said there’s danger around every corner in the streets. Butch said you have to scrap in order to survive. Holland talked about scrapping on the Rugby field. Butch said he’s been scrapping grown men since 12 years old. Butch talked about how they don’t jump people from behind. They said they’re coming for OTM…
Roxanne Perez and Kelani Jordan made their entrance. Before the bell could ring, Ariana Grace made her entrance, dubbing herself “Miss NXT”. She said she came up to watch the women showcase their talents. Grace fake cried like a beauty queen and said “I love you all”. Grace sat down on a director’s chair to watch the match…
4. Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez vs. Roxane Perez and Kelani Jordan. Vice caught Perez with a nice draping axe kick for a nearfall. Perez came back with shortarm chest slaps and Old School into an armdrag. Kelani hit Vice with a nice Tiger Feint armdrag for a nearfall. Lopez tagged in and gave Jordan a back elbow. Lopez slammed Jordan to the mat for a nearfall. Vice yelled “I’m a latina” and gave Jordan a hip attack in the corner. Jordan came ack with a crossbody for a nearfall on Vice.
Perez tagged in and punched Lopez off the apron. Vice caught Prerez with kicks. Lopez tagged in. The heels hit Perez with a high low kick for a nearfall. Perez hit Vice with a Russian Legsweep. Jordan came in with a hot tag to clean house. Jordan hit Vice with an Overdrive. Lopez broke up Jordan’s pin. Perez tagged in.
Vice hit Perez with a nice standing switch kick. Perez hit both opponents with a dropkick. Roxy hit Lopez with Pop Rocks. Jordan tagged in and hit Lopez with a split legged moonsault for the win.
Kelani Jordan and Roxanne Perez defeated Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice via pinfall in 4:42.
Ariana Grace took the mic and congratulated the winners. Grace then said the real winners are the fans. Karmen Petrovic ran out and attacked Grace from behind to leave her lying…
John’s Thoughts: Again, tough crowd tonight. There was this one black dude in the center of the crowd who noticed that too and did his best to fire up the crowd. Even the non-plant Chase U section was quiet (and because they were quiet, you could tell they weren’t planted). Ugly at points and Perez had to use her experience to keep the match together (again, I cut most the women here some slack because they are young in their wrestling careers). I continue to be high on Vice and her Tae Kwon Do stuff (again, I have a Tae Kwon Do bias as a practitioner. I honestly think if all goes well, Vice has some Speedball Mike Bailey potential). The positive highlight was Ariana Grace channeling that Auntie Santina energy. She was so solid that Karmen Petrovic came off as a bit unlikable for attacking Grace for no reason.
Joe Gacy was cutting a selfie promo in the middle of some neighborhood. He talked about how people in his life judge him and call him a weird guy. He said he’s just built the way he is. Gacy said people around him try to keep those judging voices quiet, but they were still there. Gacy said he was in his own personal hell not knowing what to do, but maybe he does?
Alpha Academy made their entrance…[c]
An Ilja Dragunov promo aired where he talked about how drained he was after his match against Carmelo Hayes. Ilja said Melo is a warrior. Ilja then brought up Baron Corbin jumping him at Gorilla Position. Ilja said his eyes are the window to his soul and Corbin needs to take a good look. Ilja said Corbin is now on his radar. Ilja said he’s a different animal since their last encounter. Ilja said the only man that can take down the dragon, is the dragon itself. Baron Corbin was watching the promo backstage. Enofe, Blade, Hank, and Tank also showed up saying that Ilja looked scary. Corbin called everyone in the room nobodies…
5. Otis (w/Chad Gable, Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa) vs. Drew Gulak (w/Damon Kemp, Miles Borne, Charlie Dempsey). Otis tackled down Gulak and did his signature hip movements. Otis then used his stomach to smack Gulak in the face. Otis yelled that he’s sexy. Gulak sidestepped Otis to send him into the ringpost. Gulak hit Otis with a diving lariat. Gulak tangled Otis in a legscissors submission. Otis deadlifted Gulak and hit him with a Jackknife Uranage.
Otis pancaked Gulak with a back suplex. Otis did some judo rolling and hit Gulak with a Pounce. Otis hit Gulak with a few back elbows and a stiff lariat. Otis ripped off the shirt and did the Caterpillar (Worm). Otis hit Gulak with a Jackknife Power Bomb for the win.
Otis defeated Drew Gulak via pinfall in 4:25.
Alpha Academy were side shuffle dancing to their theme…
Kiana James congratulated Tiffany Stratton backstage on getting into the Iron Survivor match. They agreed that Roxanne Perez shouldn’t be in the Iron Survivor Match. In the background, you could see the facepainted Boa chatting with someone off camera. The person then revealed himself to be Dante Chen, who now has his eye facepainted like Boa…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Expected win for the lovable powerhouse. Otis also managed to finally wake the crowd up with his natural comedic charisma. After the match, look, a Boa sighting!!! He’s been gone for a hot minute (last time we saw him was losing to Solo Sikoa back in the early NXT 2.0 days right?). Hopefully he’s been getting in reps while off TV. Intrigued to see what they do with Dante Chen too. Chen’s good in the ring, but missing that character. Let’s see how he does now that he has the character (Can they also bring back Wendy Choo as Mei Ying? The kiddy character just isn’t that good).
At Chase U, Jacy Jayne was pacing around nervously. A random lady, who forced an accent, showed up with two goons to hand Jayne a envelope for Andre Chase. Jayne tried to look in the envelope, but Chase snatched it from her, saying she shouldn’t be looking at someone else’s mail. Thea Hail and Duke Hudson showed up saying that it’s odd that Jayne and Chase are getting along.
Jayne said Chase is going to have his first title defense next week against Tony D and Stacks. Chase and Jayne were acting suspicious for some reason. After Jayne left, Chase took a paper out of the envelope and acted very concerned…
Entrances for the next match took place…
6. Dijak vs. Tyler Bate to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Dijak no-sold a running move from Bate and slammed Bate to the mat. Bate gave Dijak a knee and diving uppercut for two count. Bate grabbed his own boot a few times and slammed it into DIjak’s face. Dijak blocked a boot and lifted Bate in fireman carry. Bate escaped and sent Dijak to ringside with a enzuigiri. Bate hit Dijak with a top rope clearing dive. Dijak caught Bate’s crossbody, gave him a knee to the gut, and flung him over the barricade heading into picture-in-picture break.[c]
Tyler Bate hit the giant Dijak with a deadlift Superplex. Bate and Dijak traded Yay-Boo forearms. Bate hit Dijak with two Bop and Bangs. Bate reversed a Bop and Bang with a High Justice Chokeslam for a nearfall. Bate reversed a discus lariat into a Helicopter Spin. Bate was spinning for about 30 seconds to a minute before hitting the Michinoku Driver. Dijak kicked out at two. Dijak and Bate then shambled around to sell the dizziness.
Bate reversed a big boot into a rebound lariat. Dijak kicked out at two. Dijak hit Bate with the Time to Fly Suplex. Dijak went to the top rope. Bate tried to German Suplex Dijak, but Dijak did a backflip to land on his feet. Dijak struck a Fighting Spirit Fighting pose and floored Bate with a kick for a good nearfall. Bate escaped Feast Your Eyes (you could hear Dijak call spots). Dijak caught a flying Bate and hit Bate with Feast Your Eyes for the clean win.
Dijak defeated Tyler Bate via pinfall in 9:45 to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline.
Dijak said he’s going to take Ilja’s title. The camera then got a black and white filter…
Trick Williams rolled up to the NXT Parking lot…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Really good match between two veterans. I’m surprised in a good way that Dijak got the clean win. I’m just so used to Dijak losing to anyone of importance in NXT, and Bate is one of those protected guys. I’m happy at the result because I think WWE is severely underutilizing Dijak. Dijak has world championship potential with his look and ring work. The Hard Justice gimmick may be a bit cheesy, but it’s a good kind of cheese and he plays the role well (better than dat stanky retribution cheese). Because of how good he is in the ring, he’ll definitely make the Iron Survivor match better. I hope they eventually stop jobbing him out because there is money in his skillset.
An ad for Smackdown aired…
Mick Foley, Jerry Lawler, Lita, and JBL were announced as the legends that are picking the wrestlers in the Iron Survivor qualifyers. Mick Foley’s picks were this week. Lita’s picks are next week…
Chase U vs. Tony D and Stacks for the Tag Team Championships was announced for next week…
[Overrun] Carmelo Hayes was already in the ring for a promo. He said he was about to cut to the chase. He called out his homie Trick Williams. Trick walked to the ring looking serious. Melo said he understands why Trick is upset, Trick was blindsided and had the opportunity of a lifetime taken away. Melo said Trick needs to understand that roadblocks are a part of the journey. Melo talked about how he called his best friend to help him succeed. Melo said without Trick there won’t be Melo.
Trick said he understands that. Trick said that he always puts Trick Melo Gang first. He said he always made sure that when Melo shoots, Melo doesn’t miss. Melo said he understands because they’re like Kobe and Shaq, Michael and Pippen. Trick said exactly, but Melo always had the ball. Why can’t Melo let Trick have the ball and support from Melo. Trick then was about to ask Melo if he attacked him, but was cut off by Melo. Melo said he always believed in Trick. He said before Trick’s success and whoop that Trick chants, he was there.
Melo said everything Cena told Trick, Melo told Trick way before. Melo said he always knew Trick was a once in a lifetime performer. Melo asked Trick if he has his answer. Trick said he understands, but he wants his main events. Trick talked about always being there for Melo. Trick said every time Melo needed a special entrance, he put all he had into those Melo entrances. Trick asked Melo, why wasn’t he there when he got blindside jumped backstage. He said he couldn’t see who attacked him, but he knew Melo wasn’t there.
Melo confirmed with Trick that Trick couldn’t see who attacked him. Trick said he went down and when he woke up all he could hear was Melo at his side. He said he was saddened that his chance at the NXT Championship was gone. Melo then reiterated that Trick couldn’t see who attacked him. Trick brushed Melo aside and then asked Melo if he attacked him. Melo asked, “you want the truth?”. Lexis King (a.k.a. Brian Pillman Jr) made his entrance.
King talked about how Melo was the first man to show up at the scene of the crime when Trick got jumped. Trick told King that he shouldn’t be here. King then talked about how everyone thinks they know who attacked Trick. King said it could have been someone else who’s trying to make an impact, dark and dirty, with a mind so twisted, with thoughts unclean. King asked Trick if Trick was sure Melo attacked him. Trick told King to go away while grown folks are talking.
King tried to fire up Trick. Trick tried to punch King, but King ducked, causing Trick to accidentally punch Melo. Trick tried to help Melo up, but got his hand slapped away. Melo then accepted Trick lifting up. Trick hugged Melo. The camera focused with Melo staring at the camera with an ominous glare as the show closed. The overrun was back down to about 7 minutes this week (that’s going to end next year right with the CW deal and local news following NXT?)…
John’s Thoughts: An interesting segment. A bit of a break in the usual NXT format as NXT usually ends in a match instead of a full-on promo segment. Proper placement though as this was a continuation of the cliffhanger from last week. The viewers are still left hanging on a cliff as they are still dragging this whodunit out. At this point, Melo has the be the culprit right? As I said, hallmarks of HBK’s matches and programs are melodrama (or Car “Melo” drama? Sorry about the bad pun), and the melodrama was ramped up to soap opera levels here. I can’t see how it can’t be Melo because he’s acting very VERY clearly sus with the “are you sure” lines and the evil glare at the end. On top of being hammy with seeing a ghost last week.
Lexis King remembered his lines and delivered them clearly enough. He still needs to come off more natural, but that naturalness will come with practice. I’m not worried about his development because he’s finally put in an environment to develop. It would be weird for them to go with the obvious red herring King. Melo stabbing Trick in the heart just has more power behind it. Trick is paying the role well though as the man who doesn’t want to believe that his brother will stab him in the back. This week’s NXT was back to being regular weekly TV off the two themed shows. Looks like they’re ramping up the character development to set up the stories leading into Deadline (one thing I did notice is that they’re doing a lot of random things in the background, like the Boa sighting and Ava entering HBK’s office).
Tiffany just tossing Fallon like that was really impressive. It really did look safe while also looking brutal. Those two have the potential to be a modern Trish and Mickie.
Mei Ying was a trash character. Boa continuing his trash gimmick is must skip tv because this stuff doesn’t work.
Wendy Choo was a step in the right direction (and Karen Q dodged a bullet considering how bad Xia Li and Boa’s DUD characters have been) and her merchandise sells decently for a NXT talent on the shelf. Stop suggesting she go back to that previous trash gimmick since Karen has been defending her successful Wendy Choo character in recent interviews too.