By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV “Spring Breakin’ Night Two”
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live April 30, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from NXT Spring Breakin Night One aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
NXT Champion Trick Williams made his entrance to start the show. Trick took the mic and talked about how he dreamt this and prayed for this, Trick Williams as NXT Champion. Queue the obligatory You Deserve It chants. Trick said he has to thank Ilja Dragunov for everything Ilja did for his career and NXT. Trick said Raw just got a good one. Trick said this is a new era, the Whoop Dat Era.
Trick said they will continue to break records and make history. Lash Legend made her entrance. She talked about how Trick did his thang last week as the New champion. Trick helped Lash enter the ring. Lash had an envelope in hand. Lash talked about Trick being at a high point. Trick mentioned how Lash tried to slap him last time they met. Trick said Lash wants a piece of the champion. Trick said Lash sees him as a reeses cup, and how she wants too unwrap the gold to get to the chocolate inside. After more innuendos, Lash talked about the envelope.
Lash said she has “the truth” in the envelope. Lash said Trick needs to enjoy the title run because soon it’ll all come crashing down and things are going to get hot…
John’s Thoughts: Solid first promo for Trick as Champ. The crowd is really behind the champ and he comes off as very humble and likable. Lash and Trick did get to have fun with all the sexual innuendos (I think they’re dating in real life?). Solid cliffhanger with the envelope mystery.
Gigi Dolin and Ariana Grace were having a formal dinner. They previewed the upcoming card…
Oba Femi made his entrance and crossed paths with Trick Williams…[c]
Separate shots in the parking lot of the women involved in the upcoming NXT Underground match were shown…
Ivar made his entrance…
1. Oba Femi vs. Ivar for the NXT North American Championship. Both men traded strikes to start. Ivar shoulder tackled Oba and dumped him to ringside. Ivar hit Oba with a cannonball. Oba dodged a dive but got lifted into a power slam. Oba kicked out at one. Oba hit Ivar with a backbreaker to get Ivar on the mat.
Oba flipped Ivar off an Irish Whip. Both men brawled to ringside. Ivar tossed Oba into the steel steps. Ivar tackled Oba into the barricade, destroying it. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Both men brawled to the top rope. Ivar knocked Oba off and hit him with a top rope cannonball (good work by Oba for the catch). Both men beat the count . Oba and Ivar traded overhead blows. Ivar did a flip dodge. Oba took down Ivar with a discus lariat for a two count. Oba gave Ivar European Uppercuts in the corner. Ivar came back with his signature spinning crescent kick for a two count.
Oba recovered and impressively put Ivar in a Argentine Backbreaker into a Samoan Drop. Ivar rallied back with spin kicks. Ivar hit Oba with an impressive moonsault. Ivar hit Oba with a seated senton. Oba recovered and put Ivar in an Electric Chair. Oba hit Ivar with an Electric Chair Drop. Oba hit Ivar with a pop-up power bomb for the win.
Oba Femi defeated Ivar via pinfall in 11:11 to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Former NXT North American Champion Wes Lee made his entrance in street clothes from the crowd. Lee jumped to the ring from the barricade to confront Oba Femi….
John’s Thoughts: A bit plodding at points, but a great strongman showcase for both men. Oba continues to blow away expectations as WWE’s most successful NIL project yet. He got to believably sell from behind against the larger and athletic Ivar. Ivar continues to get TV time as WWE’s designated “meat” guy while Ray Rowe is on the shelf. Oba has done a good job going against WWE’s big man gauntlet in recent matches, it’ll be a fun change of pace against the dynamo in Wes Lee. Good to see Lee back from injury.
Fallon Henley and Chase U were hanging out. The audio couldn’t pick up a lot of the convo. Fallon seemed down. Thea Hail hyped up Fallon and told her to join her for the next match. Chase U made their entrance from the Chase U section…
Jacy Jayne and Jasmyn Nyx made their entrance…
2. Thea Hail (w/Fallon Henley, Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, Riley Osborne) vs. Jacy Jayne (w/Jasmyn Nyx). Both women traded slaps. Both women then traded mounted punches. Hail hit Jayne with a dive. Jayne dodged a crossbody and hit Hail with a Senton heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Both women traded rollups. Jayne slammed hail to the mat and followed up with a Senton. Hail came back with a Liger Kick. Jayne blocked a springboard with a neckbreaker for a nearfall. Hail dodged a cannonball. Hail came back and knocked herself and Jayne out with a headbutt. Hail rallied with right hands and axe handles. Hail hit Jayne with a blockbuster and Michinoku Driver for a two count.
Jayne rolled up Hail for a two count. Jayne then dumped Hail to ringside with a superkick. Fallon Henley saved Hail at ringside, but ate a Pele Kick from Nyx. Hail put Jayne in the Kimura Lock for the win.
Thea Hail defeated Jacy Jayne via submission in 7:57.
As Hail was exiting the ring, Fallon Henley dragged Hail back and decked her with a right hand. Henley left, also glaring down Jayne and Nyx…
John’s Thoughts: Solid effort with Hail getting her win back after the distraction finish from the last one. It think it’s time both women move on as their program has been long. Looks like we’re getting that too with Fallon Henley turning heel for the first time in NXT. From running the bar to cosplaying as Tiffany Stratton, Fallon Henley has made everything work. I have now doubt she’ll make the heel thing work too.
A sitdown interview aired with Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe. They talked about meeting at community college. Tyson talked about immigrating from Haiti as a kid. A clip of Tyson doing an impressive hammer throw. Tyriek talked about how he’s a bit of a nerd, studying pre med. They were hyped for their debut after the break…[c]
Karmen Petrovic and Natalya were sparring with Natalya also getting in some defense practice…
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson got a televised entrance. They’re back to being called OC…
3. “The Original Club” Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson vs. Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe. Tyriek and Tyson cut the ring in half on Anderson with quick tags. Tyson got a two count after a standing splash. Vic noted that Tyson and Tyriek have a tough debut against one of the most experienced tag teams in the world. Tyriek actually cornered Gallows and hit him with boxing punches. Gallows turned the tables back with a chinlock. Tyriek escaped.
Anderson and Tyson tagged in with Tyson having the hot tag momentum. Tyson hit Anderson with a modified Back Suplex and spinning uppercut. Tyriek and Tyson hit Gallows with a double chokeslam. Anderson sent Tyriek into the post and hit him with a spinebuster. Gallows hit Tyosn with a yakuza Kick. The Good Brothers hit Tyriek with a Magic Killer for the win.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson defeated Tyriek Igwe and Tyson Dupont via pinfall in 2:15.
NXT GM Ava was on the phone backstage. She said she was heading to the ring for a big announcement…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid debut for the debuting NIL athletes and it’s no shame having the developmental wrestlers lose to the experienced tag team. The intro interview was solid as it made it easy to identify the two, though reviewing the show, it’s going to get a bit used to spelling Tyriek’s name correctly. Curious to see if Gallows and Anderson stick around in NXT to work with the younger talent?
[Hour Two] Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s upcoming Backlash kickoff event…
A WWE Draft highlight package aired that focused on NXT and their viewing party. Triple H said the NXT component of the draft is his favorite. Clips of the NXT callups were shown. NXT Coaches also gave their thoughts on the callups. Robby Brookside talked about how there’s still a ton of wrestlers in developmental and more coming. Brookside said that with their developmental system, the future has never looked brighter…
NXT GM Ava was in the ring talking about how proud she is to have NXT Stars move up to Raw and Smackdown. Ava said now it’s time to find out who will take their place? Ava talked about the NXT Women’s North American Champion will be decided at NXT Battleground and it will be in a ladder match. Ava then talked about how there will be qualifying matches. Ava said she truly thinks NXT has the best women’s division in all of pro wrestling.
Jaida Parker made her entrance and talked about how she’s going to be the next history maker. She said she’ll demolish all the women in the locker room and won’t even break a sweat. Sol Ruca made her entrance. Sol said Jaida is confident, but Sol will become the first North American Champion. Ariana Grace made her entrance from the crowd and called for decorum. Grace said they should decide the champion a safer way.
Mia “Michin” Yim then made her entrance. Michin said she heard somebody say “ladders”. Michin said she has unfinished business in her old stomping grounds. She said she’s throwing her name in the combine to get a title shot. Grace said it was so nice to meet Michin. She said it pains her to relay that Michin is disqualified. Michin gave Grace a right hand. The women’s midcard locker room ran out and a brawl ensued…
John’s Thoughts: Standard WWE fare, but it does show off their very deep women’s division that’s only going to get deeper. Now that they’re past Mania season, hopefully a lot of these newer women get their much needed character development. Jaida Parker in particular has really impressed with her confidence and talking ability. Michin helps give the mid card a bit of star power and experience. I hope she gets to shine in NXT because she is criminally underutilized in WWE.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer were hanging out with Montes Ford and Angelo Dawkins. The Profits talked about facing AoP for years. Dawkins said what AoP doesn’t have, is the heart of Axiom and Frazer. Ford joked that Axiom and Frazer never slow down, and how he actually watches NXT every week…
Shayna Baszler was helping Lola Vice with rapid bag work…
Shawn Spears made his Chairman entrance. Ridge Holland made his entrance…
4. Shawn Spears vs. Ridge Holland. Spears quickly retreated to ringside to taunt Ridge heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Shawn had Ridge under control with a side headlock takedown. After attempts, Ridge broke the hold by putting Shawn on the apron. Holland lifted Spears and press slammed him. Ridge gave Spears tackles in the corner. Holland hit Shawn with a Northern Lariat and side slam. The mysterious QR code flashed on the screen.
Ridge worked on Shawn with methodical offense. Ridge hit Spears with a Death Valley Driver and tuck DDT for the victory.
Ridge Holland defeated Shawn Spears via pinfall in 7:35.
John’s Thoughts: Good enough match, but oddly one sided with Ridge Holland going over strong. Spears is losing way more matches than I would expect with him coming back to WWE. I really hope both men move on to the next chapter or a different feud entirely because while both men are talented, I’m really getting nothing from this “embrace the dark side” and accident prone sad dad thing.
Roxanne Perez was throwing a fit in front of Ava, blaming Ava for having a vandetta against her and having her undrafted. Ava noted that all WWE Champions were frozen and undrafted. Perez stormed off…
Wes Lee met up with Josh Briggs and Ivar, saying Ivar and Briggs were impressive against Oba in recent matches. Briggs said Lee can’t cut the line and should go away and pack his bags again. Wes said that was unnecessarily disrespectful. Lee said he’s not going to cut the line, and just beat Josh in a fight. Josh said we’ll see if Wes’s back is fully healed. Ivar said he’s not done with Oba. Wes said “okay”…
Paul Ellering and the Final Testament cut a promo. Ellering reiterated their mission statement being to go after all the titles in WWE…[c]
The Tony D’Angelo family were chatting in a SUV. Tony D told Luca to set up a heritage cup title match for him. Tony D also told Stacks to collect video tapes of past Heritage Cup matches for him to go over…
Entrances for the next match took place. Axiom and Frazer jumped their larger opponents before the bell…
5. Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. “The Authors of Pain” Akam and Razar (w/Paul Ellering, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Akam started with an exploder on Frazer after the bell. The Authors cut the ring in half on Frazer with methodical offense. This lasted a few minutes heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
The Authors cut the ring in half on Axiom. Axiom escaped a suplex and tagged in Frazer who kept up the pace with quick running strikes. Frazer hit Akam with a slingshot axe handle. Frazer hit Akam with a DDT for the two count. Rezar blocked a Suicide Dive and tossed him into Axiom like a battering ram. Rezar hit Frazer with an assisted GTS for a two count.
The Authors were going for an assisted legsweep, but Frazer escaped and tagged in Axiom. They dumped Rezar to ringside and dragged Akam to the top rope. Scarlett and Kross got on the ropes for the distraction. The referee caught them and ejected them. Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate ran in and attacked The Authors. Frazer superkicked Rezar and Axiom rolled him up for the victory.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer defeated The Authors of Pain via pinfall in 9:35 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
John’s Thoughts: A good speed vs. power match. Things got a little bit overbooked in the end. Makes sense after AoP attacking Catch Republic recently and randomly. One problem with Final Testament though is they have a lot of talented people all in one group, but so far they’ve just been all bark no bite in WWE.
Thea Hail was sobbing with Chase U backstage about how people keep turning on her. Chase told her not to worry. Ridge Holland asked Andre Chase if Thea was okay? Chase told Ridge that she’s tough and will be okay. Ridge said she’ll learn you can’t trust anybody in the business. Chase congratulated Ridge and said he can relate to battling demons. Holland thanked Chase and said he’s trying to do things the right way…
Meta Four were in the parking lot where they advertised the envelope reveal for Super Nova Sessions next week…
Kelani Jordan caught up with Fallon Henley in the parking lot. Henley said she has to look out for herself or once…
NXT staff were taking apart the ring for the NXT Underground match…
Separate shots of the women in the NXT Underground match were shown…[c]
Edris Enofe and Malik Blade were backstage with Blade being paranoid over Enofe breaking a mirror last week for bad luck. Enofe said it doesn’t count because it’s plastic. Brinley Reece showed up to cheer up both men. Reece brought black cats to hang out with them. Enofe was still paranoid over the bad luck
John’s Thoughts: On top of of being completely random, the acting in this bad luck story line is so bad.
Vic Joseph thanked the artist Jahreal for providing the song “Paradise” as the theme song of Spring Breakin
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic plugged the following segments for next week: Wes Lee vs. Josh Briggs, Super Nova Sessions with Trick Williams as guest, the NXT Women’s Combine.
A rules graphic aired for NXT Underground. The ring was surrounded by developmental wrestlers slapping the mat. Lola Vice made her entrance with Shayna Baszler. She wore a Tae Kwon Do gi over her ring gear. Natalya made her entrance with Karmen Petrovic. Alicia Taylor did formal in-ring fight introductions…
6. Lola Vice (w/Shayna Baszler) vs. Natalya (w/Karmen Petrovic) in a NXT Underground Match. Natalya dumped Vice on a pile of developmental wrestlers at ringside. Vice came back with kicks. Natalya and Vice then traded ground game. Natalya worked on Vice with clubbing blows. Natalya put Vice in a ankle lock. Vice got to her feet and worked on Nattie with standing kicks and punches. Vice used a hip check to send Natalya to ringside.[c]
Natalya hit Vice with a few suplexes at ringside. Vice tripped up Natalya on the announce table. Natalya came back with ground and pound. Vice tossed Natalya into the ringpost. Vice dragged Natalya back in the ring with shortarm kicks. Vice worked on Natalya with Muay Thai roundhouse kicks. Vice put Natalya in a Triangle with elbow shots.
[Overrun] Vice put Natalya in a grounded Guillotine. Natalya tried to slam Vice to the mat, but it couldn’t break the Guillotine. Natalya broke the hold by slamming Vice at ringside. Natalya slammed Vice’s leg on the ringpost and put Natalya in a ringpost assisted kneebar. Petrovic shoved away Baszler. Baszler broke up Natalya’s Sharpshooter attempt. Natalya dumped Lola to ringside. Natalya caught Lola’s kick and turned it into a Sharpshooter.
Baszler put Petrovic in a Kirafuda Clutch which caused Natalya to break the sharpshoter and attack Baszler. Lola caught the distracted Natalya with a backfist. The referee called for the bell when Natalya couldn’t defend herself.
Lola Vice defeated Natalya via Technical Knockout in 11:51.
Roxanne Perez was throwing a fit in the GM office. Ava announced Roxanne Perez vs. Chelsea Green for the Women’s Championship next week. Green showed up and said that Ava was way better than Adam Pearce or Nick Aldis. Perez scoffed and walked away. Green said she might like it here in NXT to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Solid effort by both women. Lola get the tainted, but cred boosting win over a main roster star while Natalya got a chance to look a bit more gritty in this environment. I can see some people not being into this style of “real” match due to it being more plodding, plus it’s a real style match in a universe of worked matches. They did do a solid job throughout the night making this not feel out of place in the main event, and they even threw in yet another mention of “NXT having the best women’s roster in all of pro wrestling”.
Night 1 of the two weeks of theme show was definitely the stronger show but I totally understand why they did it with the Draft being in between the two shows, and this being more of turning the page. It was not a bad show at all though and they kept the pacing of the show solid. I do have to bounce, so I’ll be a bit late with my audio review.
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