By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Taped November 14, 2023 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired November 21, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Kelly Kincaid (f.k.a. Quinn McKay, from Ring of Honor) was the ring announcer…
The wrestlers were already in the ring for the Heritage Cup Championship Match…
1. Noam Dar (w/Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson, Oro Mensah) vs. Chad Gable (w/Otis, Maxxine Dupri, Akira Tozawa) for the NXT Heritage Cup Championship. Both men started the match with methodical chain wrestling and joint manipulation. Both men traded the advantage throughout the round, slowly shifting momentum. Gable planted Noam with a Belly to Back and vertical suplex. Noam turned the tide with a snapmare and joint manipulation. Gable used a drop toehold to get Noam in an ankle lock. Noam got to the ropes for the break. [End of Round 1]
Noam took a sip of his “Noam’s secret stuff” bottle (ode to Space Jam) during the rest period. Gable took down Noam with a shoulder to lead into his Thank Kyuu line. Noam gave Chad some footsie strikes. Chad came back with a double knife chop. Gable took down Noam for a two count. Gable turned Noam inside-out with a German Suplex for a nearfall.
A small pocket of fans were chanting “Gable” to Kurt Angle’s theme. Gable stretched Noam’s arm over the top rope in an arm bar for 5 seconds. Mensah hit Gable with a cheap shot to stagger Gable while the referee wasn’t looking. Noam hit Chad with the Nova Roller Leg Lariat for the first fall. [End of Round 2]
Noam Dar pinned Chad Gable in 2:22 of Round 2 to go up 1-0
[Round 3 ensued during Picture-in-picture] The show cut back 2:30 into Round 3. Gable and Noam brawled to the top rope. Gable hit Noam with a Superplex and got a nearfall. Both men traded quick rollups heading into the next round. [End of Round 3]
Both men traded stiff right hands and kicks. Gable hit Noam with a Fisherman Suplex. Gable went to the top rope and hit Noam with a long distance diving headbutt for the nearfall. Noam held on the ropes to prevent Chad from German Suplexing him to ringside. Noam tripped Chad and hit Chad with a draping DDT on the ringside floor.
Gable beat the ten count at nine. Noam caught Chad with a Judas Effect for a nearfall. Noam blocked an Armbar into a Rear Naked Choke. Gable rolled up Noam for a two count. Noam gave Chad a knee for his own nearfall. Both men traded right hands on their knees to end the round. [End of Round 4]
Gable hit Noam with a Koppu Kick and Chaos Theory for the quick pinfall. [End of Round 5]
Chad Gable pinned Noam Dar 0:17 into Round 5 to tie the match 1-1.
Noam Dar hit Gable in the back of the head after the bell when the referee was distracted with Lash. Noam gave Chad a knee for a two count. Gable got a breather after a brainbuster. After some exchanges Noam reversed an ankle lock into a rollup. BOth men traded quick rollups. Gable turned a Razor’s Edge into a DDT for a nearfall. Noam got the knees up to block a Moonsault, but Gable turned the block into an Ankle Lock. Gable grapevined the lock. Noam tapped out, but after the bell. [End of Round 6]
Noam Dar vs. Chad Gable ended in a tie after 6 rounds. Therefore, Noam Dar retains the NXT Heritage Cup Championship.
Kelly Kincaid was finally shown as the alternate ring announcer. Kelly noted that after 6 rounds, the champion retains the title in the case of a tie. Oro shoved Otis a few times, which Otis no sold. Otis shoved Oro to ringside. Otis then started to dance in front of Lash. Maxxine Dupri slapped Lash to send her into Horny Otis’s arms where he yelled “yeah”. Lash quickly rolled away…
John Bradshaw Layfield revealed his Iron Survivor qualifying matches: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs and Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail. JBL said that Briggs reminds him of himself since he’s a big man that could leave his tag partner to bigger and better things. JBL said Blair reminds him of himself due to her mean streak…
Lyra Valkyria and Xia Li were shown in different shots heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Decent enough Heritage Cup match, but Noam Dar’s cheating formula is getting a bit repetitive and sorta identifying the title as a cheap title. As I mentioned before, this should have been established as a “pure rules ish” championship before they got to the chicken champion (which they did in NXT UK before they put the belt on Noam). The problem is we NXT US viewers inherited the title when cheap finish Noam was in the middle of his reign. I continue to get a kick out of Meta Four, but their entertaining act is doing nothing to establish their alternate-rules championship.
Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s partnership with the NCAA Big 12 Conference…
The show cut to Tony D’Angelo and Stacks walking in the hallway and hyping each other up about being champions. The walked into an Italian Kitchen and restaurant. Eventually they were led into a dinner table where a bunch of “family” members were. Lots of Italian accents started to speak. Their female associate led the group in a wine toast…
John’s Thoughts: They’ve been a bit lazy with the Tony D and Stacks segments recently. I feel like every cutscene they’ve been in for the last half year have been in an Italian Restaurant. And when they’re at ringside, they’re eating spaghetti. Maybe HBK is just a huge huge fan of Olive Garden?
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were hanging out in the locker room. Trick said he got his Iron Survivor qualification last week, and this week Melo will get his. Trick said Josh is a bad boy, but Melo is Melo. Trick offered to be in Melo’s corner to counter Jensen and Henley. Melo said he appreciates it, but he’ll run the play by himself. Melo talked about how’s he going to get the championship at Deadline. Trick said to focus on tonight before Deadline. Melo agreed and said he still has to do it alone. Both men shared a respectful dap to end the segment…
Xia Li attacked Lyra Valkyria during her smoke screen entrance. The medics ran out to check on Lyra as Xia went back to the back…[c]
Vic Joseph noted that we’ll get a Lyra Valkyria health update soon…
2. Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade. Blade hit Carrillo with a dive and gave Garza a right hand. Garza blind tagged in and dumped Blade to ringside by pulling down the rope while he was running the ropes. Garza hit Blade with a running knee when Carrillo held him in place. Garza put Blade in a Gory Special and tagged in Carrillo who hit Blade with a Blockbuster. After some combo offense, Carrillo got a nearfall on Blade.
Blade got an inside cradle for a nearfall. Carrillo knocked Enofe off the apron and went back to cutting the ring in half on Blade with tags and isolation offense. Blade staggered Garza with a jawbreaker and DDT. Enofe and Carrillo tagged in with Enofe having the hot hand. Enofe cleaned house. Enofe caught Garza with a gamengiri. Garza avoided a 450. Carrillo hit Enofe with a rollup into a Deadlift German. Garza hit Enofe with an assisted pop-up Penalty Kick for the victory.
Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo defeated Edris Enofe and Malik Blade via pinfall in 5:32.
Garza and Carrillo got in the camera and said that they’re coming after Tony D and Stacks…
John’s Thoughts: Solid tag team match to put heat on the Garza cousins after their recent loss to the Creed Brothers (The Creed match was one hell of a war). As we saw in that Creed match, Carrillo and Garza don’t need to develop in NXT as they’re more than ready in terms of delivering top tier tag matches (and both are solid singles wrestlers as well). Maybe they can team them with Santos Escobar to form a Mexican Shield of sorts (I say “Shield” because I wouldn’t want to have them end up like Wilde and Del Toro as henchmen). Enofe and Blade are a solid upstart tag team. I think it’s time to elevate them past the undercard.
The camera showed that a doctor was checking on Lyra Valkyria..
Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen were hyping up Josh Briggs in the locker room. Jensen said they’d be happy to support him at ringside. Josh refused and said he has to do this himself…
Carmelo Hayes made his entrance…[c]
Josh Briggs made his entrance by himself…
3. Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Briggs actually wrestled shirtless like he used to in Evolve. Both men traded hands. Melo went for a springboard but right into Josh’s choke. Melo escaped and dumped Josh to ringside with a dropkick. Josh came back with a right hand and tossed Melo back in the ring. Melo sent Josh back to ringside with a Yakuza Kick.
Both men peppered each other with strikes at ringside with Josh getting the upper hand. Melo draped Josh on the 2nd rope and hit him with the Fadeaway Leg drop (missed it’s mark a bit to really press Josh. Melo hit Josh with a diving crossbody to ringside. Melo went for a crossbody, but was caught midair and dumped back in the ring. Briggs hit Melo with a shoulder tackle. Melo dumped Briggs to ringside by pulling down the top rope. Briggs recovered and tried to slam Melo through the table, but Melo escaped.
Melo fired Josh up with a right hand slap. Briggs tossed Melo like a basketball off a backboard into the ropes. Briggs tossed Melo over the table heading into regular commercial.[c]
Briggs caught Melo with an elbow and Yakuza Kick. Josh hit Melo with a side slam for a two count. Melo fought back with right hands. Josh came back with clubbing blows. Melo had a chop rally. Briggs came back with a side slam and standing splash. Briggs got a few two counts off Melo. Briggs wore down Melo with a chinlock. Briggs tossed Melo into the corner.
[Hour Two] Melo came back with a dropkick and springboard lariat. Briggs used his power to reverse an Irish Whip. Melo hit Briggs with a huracanrana, superkick, and La Mistica. Melo hit Briggs with the Booker T Scissor Kick for a nearfall. Booker T said he wants to work with Melo to improve his Scissor Kick. Briggs hit Melo with a Chokeslam and turned Melo inside-out with a Big Boot. Melo reversed a Chokeslam into a Codebreaker.
Lexis King ran out to the apron and ate a kick from Melo. Briggs swatted Melo out of the air with a lariat. Briggs hit Melo with a big moonsault for the victory.
Josh Briggs defeated Carmelo Hayes via pinfall in 12:30 to qualify for the Iron Survivor match at NXT Deadline.
John’s Thoughts: Quite the upset! I did think it would be nice to have Trick make the Survivor match and Melo to miss it, to develop the story; but I didn’t think Josh Briggs would be the man to eliminate Melo. I like this and I hope this is the start of WWE finally getting behind Josh Briggs. I have no idea why they haven’t seen what they have in Briggs? He’s a big man that can put on great matches. He literally has Undertaker and Kane type of potential. He’s more ahead than Von Wagner too because he’s a better talker and more confident in front of the camera. Kudos to Melo here for doing a great job selling for Josh’s big-man offense.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Lyra Valkyria and asked her if the title match was off. Lyra said it wasn’t off because she doesn’t have to be 100%. She said even if she’s 10% she won’t let Xia Li walk out as Champion. Lyra said she owes Xia a kick in the face tonight…
Wes Lee was shown walking backstage…[c]
Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s upcoming shows in France…
The show cut to a cinematic camera. Von Wagner arrived at Robert Stone’s front door where Stone welcome him in. He brought Little Debbie Brownies and apologized that he ate a few on the way to the house. Stone said it was alright. Von asked Stone if he looked ok because he picked his best black tank top. Stone said Von looked great. Von said hi to Stone’s wife Tara.
Stone’s two kids, Cash and Carter, ran to Von happily and Von offered them brownies. Tara said they need to wait until dessert. Von said the kids’ mom was tough. They all sat down at the dinner table. Von and the two Kids liked the spaghetti and sausages (which sorta looked like Jollibee Spaghetti, probably without the Banana ketchup). They all agreed that “Asparagus sucks!” (hey! I like asparagus!). For some reason, a heavy metal instrumental montage aired as Von and the kids ate their spaghetti and sausages. Stone told the kids not to stare at Von’s scars.
Von said it was okay and told the kids that Stone taught him to be okay with his scars. Von then told the kids to flex their muscles because they are healthy. The kids said they were bullied by the older kids at recess. Von offered to go to school to show those punks. Stone’s son Carter got on the table and demanded that they show those bullies! Stone said no, and that they should handle their conflict with words. Tara said maybe it was time for dessert. Von whispered when Robert and Tara left and said to write the bullies names on a paper so he can get them. Robert and Tara returned with the brownies which pleased Von, Cash, and Carter…
John’s Thoughts: Awwwww! That was freakin’ adorable! If those two kids are Stone’s actual kids, he has two potential future pro wrestlers on his hands because they were really confident in front of a camera. Especially that “Carter” son who really chewed the scenery in a good way when he got up on the table for a wrestling promo. Von Wagner also has gone from “bad wrestler” to adorable and endearing. Can we get a “Jeff Jarrett Beats Up Kids” type of skit with Von Wagner attacking Cash and Carter’s bullies at school? I kid, I kid, but given NXT’s past skits would you be surprised if they have Von Wagner beat up kids?
Wes Lee made his entrance in street clothes. Wes talked about wearing his heart on his sleeve and always being real. He said everyone understands why he’s out there now, Dirty Dom Mysterio. Wes noted that Judgement Day is waring all the gold heading into War Games and he feels like him losing the title to Dom started their ascent. Wes said that Dom has a face you just want to punch in the dust, and he has the North American Title.
Wes said people lose and win titles all the time, but when he had the title he felt like he belonged and found himself. Wes then pointed in the camera and said the fans at home accepted him too. He said he wants that acceptance back. Lee wanted a title shot against Dom at Deadline. Dominik Mysterio made his entrance. Wes said Lee is good at making people feel sad for him. Dom got his usual loud boos. Dom noted that Lee lost a lot, left, came back, and thinks he deserves a title shot. Dom said that he made the title more important than Lee ever did.
Wes pointed out that Dom’s title run is just Judgment Day saving his ass every moment. Lee said he’s sure Cody and crew will beat Judgment Day at War Games. Lee said Dom is just like a cockroach who survives. Lee said he’s coming after the title. Dom asked Lee if he wants the title back. Lee said he’ll do anything and everything to get it back. Dom then said that Lee has to face 3 other former North American Champions next week to get a shot against the North American Championship at Deadline. Dom said this might be Lee’s last shot at the North American Championship…
John’s Thoughts: Wes Lee isn’t the best promo in the world, but he’s not bad and always comes off as organic. Since it’s after War Games, Lee might be the man to take the title off of Dom. First I thought it was Dragon Lee, but Lee got the callup, so Wes wouldn’t be a bad alternate to get his heat back after losing the title to Dom.
A Chase U montage aired with a narrator talking about the Chase U “controversy”. The video first focused on Chase calling Tony D’Angelo “sir” one time. The next scene was Jacy Jayne opening an envelope whose contents made Chase nervous. They then cut to Chase entering HBK’s office. The next scene was a recap of Andre Chase and Duke Hudson losing the tag titles due to Chase being distracted at the Chase U students walking out of NXT…
Vic Joseph hyped Andre Chase “breaking his silence” next week…
Thea Hail was pacing nervously and worried about Andre Chase and Duke Hudson. Jacy Jayne said not to worry and she needs to focus on her match. Jayne said she has Hail’s back not just tonight but always. Hail hugged Jayne…
Tiffany Stratton congratulated Josh Briggs on qualifying for Iron Survivor and left. Jensen and Henley also showed up and congratulated Briggs. Henley wasn’t happy that Briggs interacted with Stratton…
Blair Davenport made her entrance. Thea Hail and Jacy Jayne made their entrance to Chase U’s music. Jayne said to cut the music and play Jayne’s theme for Hail (looks like they gave up on the royalty free theme due to it being Jody Threat’s Impact entrance theme)…
4. Thea Hail (w/Jacy Jayne) vs. Blair Davenport to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Blair gave Hail a double stomp to the arm and tossed Hail into the bottom buckle. Blair got a nearfall. Blair focused her offense on the left arm of Hail for the next few minutes. Blair rolled up Hail for a nearfall. Blair gave Hail a Shotgun Dropkick to the gut. Blair and Jacy jawed at ringside, which allowed Hail to nail Blair with a suicide dive.
Hail suplexed Blair at ringside. Hail did a Cannonball and Warrior Rope Shake. Blair dodged a springboard senton. Davenport picked up the pinfall after the Kamigoye.
Blair Davenport defeated Thea Hail via pinfall in 4:08 to qualify for the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline.
Vic noted that Blair calls herself the Wicked Witch of NXT (don’t we already have two witches in WWE?)…
A Baron Corbin and Ilja Dragunov documentary package was hyped for after the break…[c]
An ad aired for WWE Survivor Series War Games…
The Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin spotlight video package aired. Corbin said the only person who can slay the dragon is the dragon himself. Corbin talked about how Ilja sacrifices himself every day to give his family overseas a better life. He said he puts himself to his family. Corbin said the life of a champion is lonely enough, but coming home to a cold empty apartment is worse. He said Ilja only talks to his family is through a computer screen. Corbin said the only thing Ilja kisses at night is the NXT Title.
Corbin said his life is the opposite. He said he has generational wealth, expensive cars, and a big mansion. He said he kisses his wife and kids every day and night before bed. He said he did some digging into Ilja’s life and found out how to provoke him to get what he wants. Corbin said he burned all the ships of the past to shape the future when he becomes NXT Champion. Corbin reiterated that he agrees Ilja that the only person who can slay the dragon is the dragon himself…
Drew Gulak, Charlie Dempsey, and Miles Borne were already in the ring. Eddy Thorpe got a televised entrance. Vic noted that it’s a bit odd that Damon Kemp wasn’t at ringside…
5. Eddy Thorpe vs. Charlie Dempsey (w/Drew Gulak, Miles Borne). Both men started the match with grounded technical chain wrestling. Vic noted that Dempsey has a “regal” approach to wrestling. Dempsey gave Thorpe a knee to the gut. Dempsey worked on Thorpe with methodical and technical offense. Eddy came back with a stiff chop. Both men traded snug strikes. Dempsey grounded Thorpe with a knee to the gut. Dempsey put Thorpe into an abdominal stretch while also grinding his fist into Eddy’s gut.
Eddy escaped and rallied back with right hands. Eddy hit Charlie with an enzuigiri combination. Eddy caught Charlie with a Yakuza Kick. Charlie blocked a Saito and turned it into a modified Octopus Stretch, which included digit manipulation. Thorpe rolled up Dempsey for the win.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 3:57.
The heels stormed the ring and put the boots to Thorpe. Gulak, Dempsey, and Borne stood tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A decent filler, but I’m starting to see the same problems in Eddy that I saw when he wrestled locally near me in Daly City at the All Pro Wrestling promotion. Eddy, as Karl Fredericks, stood out in a good way in terms of being on of the top in-ring guys bell to bell, but he always faded in the background because his personality never really connected with the audience. He did improve his look since his “BFD” gimmick days, but he is still missing that connection. That’s what NXT is for! Hopefully he finds out what clicks because we’ve seen a ton of wrestlers find themselves eventually. He has the in-ring intangibles, so he has a good base.
Back at the Italian restaurant, Tony D, Stacks, and the rest of the mafia people were enjoying their Italian meal. Several family members handed Tony their “take” in the form of cash in envelopes. One envelope was light and the man claimed it was due to inflation. The unnamed female ended up leaving first. Tony D and Stacks left the restaurant through the back door. Tony D and Stacks were jumpped by Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo. Garza and Carrillo stormed off in a van…
Lyra Valkyra was shown trying to recover in the locker room…[c]
An Ariana Grace vignette aired. Grace was looking in a mirror talking to herself. She talked about how she was a victim to a heinous attack by Karmen Petrovic. She said the attack is going unnoticed and unpunished. She said as a pagent queen she likes to find the beauty in everyone and everything, but can’t find it in Karmen. She said she can’t understand why the crowd cheered on such aggressive behavior. Grace said the fans need to seek medical attention, but they need to shower with soap first. Grace said she almost passed out due to the stank from the crowd. Grace said envy is an uncurbable disease in Karmen, and Ariana Grace is the cure…
Vic Joseph announced the following segments for next week: Wes Lee vs. Cameron Grimes vs. Bronson Reed vs. Johnny Gargano in a number one contenders match for the North American Title, Jerry Lawler revealing the final Iron Survivor Qualifyers, and Tony D and Stacks vs. Garza and Carrillo for the tag team titles…
Xia Li made her entrance doing her usual cool looking Wushu Weapon Demostration (with Sais). Lyra Valkyria made her entrance without doing her usual poses. Lyra demanded the referee skip the formal introductions and to ring the bell…
6. Lyra Valkyria vs. Xia Li for the NXT Women’s Championship. Xia tossed around the weakened Lyra. Lyra made a comeback with a crossbody. Lyra hit Xia with a hip toss and dropkick. Lyra hit Xia with a wrecking ball dropkick. Xia tripped Lyra neck first into the top buckle. The show cut to picture-in-picture with 4 minutes left at the top of the hour.[c]
[Overrun] Xia was dominating the match with methodical offense. Xia hit Lyra with a swinging neckbreaker. Xia then put Lyra in a modified Camel Clutch. Lyra tripped up Xia with a dropkick to the calf. Lyra then gave Xia some roundhouse kick. Xia used a stiff block to reverse a roundhouse into a STF.
Lyra escaped and hit Xia with a front kick combo. Lyra’s back gave out on a Suplex attempt. Lyra got a two count off a backslide. Xia hit Lyra with a front kick and put Lyra in an Argentine Helicopter Spin for a two count. Both women traded standing switches. Lyra blocked a Thrust Kick and hit Xia with a German Suplex. Lyra and Xia traded Yay-Boo forearms while getting to their feet. Xia hit Lyra with a knee, Lyra came back with an enzuigiri.
Xia countered a pin into a Sleeper. Lyra escaped by pinning Xia’s shoulders on the mat. Lyra hit Xia with a Crescent Kick. Lyra hit Xia with a Michinoku Driver for the victory.
Lyra Valkyria defeated Xia Li via pinfall in 9:42 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Vic noted that we haven’t seen Lyra win the match with that driver before. Lyra posed in the corner to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Solid match. That said, I think it’s a bit too early in Lyra Valkyria’s championship run to pull out the injury angle? Lyra should have tore through her first opponent because the injury angle felt like a bit of anticlimactic overbooking. What I did like was Lyra being all business marching to the ring and pulling out the mean streak to counter her injury. The Michinoku Driver was fun to pull out too (but she can’t pull it out on anybody because Xia’s a smaller opponent). She’s still in the hunt for a new finisher since she can’t do her old finisher that Carmelo Hayes uses.
Xia Li is coming off two losses. Here’s hoping they give her a reboot coming out of this to wipe away the losses (she has been rebooted more than most wrestlers already). I wouldn’t mind if they give her back the “protector” gimmick which was cool and it looked like WWE spent a lot of money on it with the comic book graphics and Augmented Reality power aura entrance. This week’s NXT was fun. Props to HBK and crew doing the taped show to give the crew a break heading into the holidays. This didn’t feel like a “worse” show either. It was good. Good matches, and good character development. Low key props to Robert Stone’s family, especially the kids doing a good job in the dinner skit.
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