By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Taped May 14, 2024 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired May 21, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT TV show were shown…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer… Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Thea Hail (w/Ridge Holland, Andre Chase, Riley Osborne, Duke Hudson) vs. Fallon Henley to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship ladder match at NXT Battleground. Both women started the match with methodical chain wrestling. Hail got a two count off a takedown and standing moonsault. Henley gained control after a modified hammerlock hold. Hail escaped and took down Henley with a head-scissors. Hail rallied with a armdrag and suplex to send Henley into retreat. Hail hit Henley with a suicide dive.
Henley fended off Hail with boots and dragged a chair from under the ring. Ridge Holland grabbed the chair away. The referee ejected Chase U after he thought Holland was going to interfere. Ridge continued his usual bad luck routine.[c]
Back from break, Henley got a two count off a suplex. Hail came back with a armdrag and headbutt. Both women traded fatigued strikes. Hail rallied with flying forearms and a blockbuster. Hail hit Henley with the world’s smallest slam, koppu kick, and senton for a two count. Hail staggered Henley on the top rope with a forearm. Henley blocked a Superplex attempt. Hail reversed a suplex into a Kimura. Henley rolled to ringside and slammed Hail into the barricade to break the submission. Henley caught Hail entering the ring with a Shining Wizard for the win.
Fallon Henley defeated Thea Hail via pinfall in 10:29 to advance to the North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT Battleground.
Jasmyn Nyx attacked Hail after the match and left her lying with a Pele Kick…
John’s Thoughts: Solid effort form the women. I like it also when heels get a dominant win that doesn’t involve the usual pro wrestling cliches. Still not sure where the endgame is supposed to be with the whole sad Ridge act. The dude saved the gimmick with two great promos, but they quickly bounced back to cringeworthy after those promos. It looked like they were teasing a heel turn, but then they had him steamroll Shawn Spears to presumably end that feud. If anything comes out of this, I wouldn’t mind a Riley Osborne heel turn because while Chase U is a solid act, Osborne is someone who’s talented enough to escape the Chase U comedy dimension.
NXT Heritage Cup Champion Tony D’Angelo and the family were arriving “earlier today”. They met up with NXT Tag Champs Axiom and Nathan Frazer. Frazer congratulated Tony D on winning the cup. Tony D looked at the list of names on the cup.
The family started to clown on the person named “A-Kid”, the inaugural Heritage Cup Champion, and wondered where he went? Tony noted that it looked like Axiom and Frazer have been ducking out on the Good Brothers. Frazer said they just want to give tag title opportunities to NXT stars, not main roster stars. Luca wondered if he and Stacks can get a shot at the title. Frazer agreed…
The Tony D’Angelo family made their entrance…[c] Vic Joseph plugged NXT Battleground tickets going on sale this Thursday. Vic also plugged their “priority package” with the tickets…
A replay was shown of Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang making their NXT return after beating up Josh Briggs, Wes Lee, and Ivar. Vic noted that due to the attack, Ivar was out injured indefinitely…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Gallus. Joe Coffey talked about having to make noise to get noticed. Joe said nobody is talking about Trick Williams or Je’Von Evans. They are instead talking about Gallus coming back to NXT. Joe said after tonight, Oba Femi will face him at Battleground…
Vic plugged Wes Lee vs. Josh Briggs vs. Joe Coffey for later in the show for a chance to face Oba Femi at Battleground… Axiom and Nathan Frazer made their entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
2. Axiom and Nathan Frazer vs. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino (w/Tony D’Angelo, Adriana Rizzo) for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Luca and Axiom started the match. Axiom took down Luca with an enzuigiri. Stacks and Frazer tagged in with Stacks asking Nathan to slow things down a bit. Stacks tripped up Frazer and gave him a boot to the gut. Frazer came back with a Sunset Flip for a two count. Stacks came back with a clothesline for a two count.
Axiom tagged in and hit Stacks with a basement dropkick. Frazer tagged back in. Axiom put Stacks in an octopus hold. Frazer ran the ropes to rev up and nail Stacks with a single leg dropkick. Stacks knocked Frazer off the apron and hit him with a diving clothesline at ringside. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Luca and Stacks cut the ring in half on Frazer. Frazer took Stacks off the apron with an enzuigiri. Frazer hit Luca with a Moonsault Scorpion Death Drop for a window of opportunity. Axiom tagged in and caught Luca and Stacks with kicks and chops. Axiom caused Luca to DDT Stacks after hitting Luca with a lariat. Axiom got a two count after a Half and Half suplex on Stacks. Axiom worked on Stacks with Yes Kicks. Axiom hit Stacks with a superkick while Frazer was hitting him with a Brainbuster. Luca broke up Frazer’s pin.
Luca tossed around Axiom and Frazer, tagging himself in too. Luca and Stacks hit Frazer with a double back drop. Axiom broke up Luca’s pin. Stacks tagged himself in. Frazer hit Stacks with a STO on the buckle. Stacks punched Frazer on the top rope. Stacks hit Frazer with a Superplex. Axiom caught Luca with a superkick when he went for the dive. Myles Borne, Damon Kemp, and Charlie Dempsey ran in from ringside to attack Tony D. The distraction allowed Frazer to pick up the win after a small package on Stacks.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom defeated Stacks and Luca Crusifino via pinfall in 10:36 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
The NQCC and D’Angelo Family brawled to the back. Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson jumped Frazer and Axiom. The Good Brothers hit Frazer with a Magic Killer and stood tall with the tag belts…
John’s Thoughts: Solid tag match with everyone involved. Luca Crusifino was the developmental NIL wrestler of the group and he looked good in there with all the veterans. In fact, Luca continues to look solid in all his in-ring performances so far. The finish continues NQCC’s feud with The Family. I hope they don’t bury NQCC too much because they never really seem to get a consistent push. Meanwhile, Good Brothers vs. Frazer and Axiom should be a very good match, especially if Gallows and Anderson can tone down their passive Bullet Club act.
Robert Stone was giving props to a developmental wrestler named Layla Diggs for doing well in the combine. Lexis King showed up to talk trash to Stone. Ava showed up and called King annoying. King said he doesn’t think he’s annoying. Ava then booked King in a match and noted that it’s a mystery. Stone tried to step up for the match. Ava said things didn’t go well the last time Stone wrestled on NXT. Ava said she has someone perfect for King later on…
NXT North American Champion Oba Femi made his entrance in street clothes…[c]
Riley Osborne was arguing to Andre Chase and the rest of Chase U about Ridge Holland being a liability. Ridge Holland approached Riley and noted that he tried to help Thea Hail. from getting hit with a chair. Riley pointed out how Ridge cost Hail the match. Ridge noted that he looked past Riley costing them their match last week. No hard feelings. Riley said Ridge doesn’t belong here. Chase got in between Ridge and Riley and noted that they need to deal with their issues in the ring. Riley said that sounds good to him…
Entrances for the North American Championship number one contenders match took place. Vic also plugged SummerSlam ticket sales. Oba Femi joined Vic and Booker on commentary. Oba refused to shake Vic’s hand leading to Booker chuckling…
3. Wes Lee vs. Josh Briggs vs. Joe Coffey (w/Mark Coffey, Wolfgang) for a North American Championship title shot at NXT Battleground. Mark and Wolfgang tried to drag Joe to ringside, but Josh and Wes managed to put the boots to Joe before Joe could escape. Joe and Josh traded forearms. Josh blocked Wes’s hip toss and hip tossed Wes on Joe. Joe hit Josh and Wes with a Shotgun dropkick. Joe hit Josh with a Tornado DDT for a two count. Wes hit Joe with a huracanrana. Wes hit Joe with a Flip Dive at ringside. Wes ducked Josh’s boot to get Joe nailed.
Josh tossed around Wes and Joe at ringside heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Briggs and Coffey were at a stalemate trading lariats. Joe came back with a gut punch. Briggs came back with a side suplex and standing splash. Wes broke up Josh’s pin with a dive. Oba Femi was watching the match with a big grin. Wes worked on Josh with CQC. Joe no sold a hook kick. Wes hit Joe and Josh with a moonsault and got two nearfalls of both opponents.
Wes hit Briggs with a Suicide Dive at ringside. Joe hit Wes with a side suplex on the apron. Josh caught Joe in the ring with a Yakuza Kick. Wes caught Josh on the top rope with a Gamengiri. Joe joined everyone in the corner. Josh used elbows to fend off both opponents. Josh caught Wes out of the air and choke slammed him on the apron. Josh hit Joe with a chokeslam in the center of the ring.
[Hour Two] Josh chokeslammed Wes on top of Joe. Wes and Joe kicked out of Josh’s double pin. Joe rallied at Josh with boxing punches. Joe rallied with European Uppercuts in the corner. Joe hit Josh with a springboard crossbody. Wes broke up Joe’s pin. Wes took out Coffey with a Liger Kick. Wes hit Joe with a low suicide dive. Wolfgang took out Josh Briggs with a clothesline and Vic reminded viewers that there are no DQ’s in a triple threat. Joe and Wes took each other out with a headbutt. Wes and Joe fell on Josh for the double pin.
Wes Lee and Joe Coffey defeated Josh Briggs in 10:54.
Mark and Wolfgang tried to claim that Joe won the match by himself, but the referee told Mike Rome to announce Wes and Joe as both winners. Vic wondered what this means for the North American Title Picture…
John’s Thoughts: A good and hard hitting match. I honestly would have gone with Joe Coffey going over strong by himself, but at least they found a creative way to get to the presumed triple threat they want to get to with a finish we don’t see too often. I kinda hope this run goes well for Joe, especially as a potential reward for training The Rock. NXT have just been so inconsistent with Joe Coffey’s booking. It looked like they were going to push him hard coming out of the Heritage Cup round robin tournament, but then they went back to booking him 50-50. They push Mark and Wolfgang more consistently, when they should be pushing the more charismatic Joe.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Karmen Petrovic and Natalya about facing their rivals Shayna Baszler and Lola Vice in the main event of the show. Petrovic said she is wrestling in her first main event…
Edris Enofe, Malik Blade, and Brinley Reece were hanging out backstage. Enofe was still sad over his bad luck. Blade told Enofe to remin positive like Brinley, who’s their good luck charm. Enofe continued to act paranoid…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ridge Holland and Edris Enofe team up to form the “world’s most unlucky tag team”. Is HBK feeling a bit bad luck paranoid, which is why we’re getting two bad luck stories at the same time? I kid, I kid.
Oba Femi asked NXT GM Ava about her final decision on his opponent at Battleground? Ava said she watched the replay a few more times and it was a double pin. Ava then booked Oba Femi vs. Wes Lee vs. Joe Coffey for Battleground. Oba nodded and headed to the back…
Vic Joseph noted that musical artist Sexyy Red will be appearing on NXT next week…
Entrances for the next match took place. OTM accompanied Jaida Parker to the stage before heading to the back…
4. Brinley Reece vs. Jaida Parker. Both women traded stiff forearms. Reece hit Jaida with a deep armdrag. Both women traded collar and elbows in the corner. Jaida grabbed Reece by the hair and slammed her into the corner. Jaida draped Brinley on the 2nd rope and hit her with her signature Banzai Drop in the corner. Brinley came back with a jawbreaker.
Brinley used her core to break up a jackknife pin. Reece got a one count after a backslide. Parker hit Brinley with a vertical suplex for a two count. Vic noted that Brinley and Jaida tied in the Women’s Combine. Enofe and Blade were shown watching the match in the back while also arguing. Jaida put Brinley in a body-scissors with Brinley going for pins to break the hold. Brinley rolled up Jaida for a two count.
Brinley came back with a high knee and rallied with running strikes. Brinley hit Jaida with a body slam and front flip into a clothesline for a two count. Enofe and Blade showed up at ringside which distracted Brinley. Jaida hit Brinley with a suplex and running booty strike to the face for the victory.
Jaida Parker defeated Brinley Reece via pinfall in 4:54 to qualify for the NXT Women’s North American Championship match at NXT Battleground.
John’s Thoughts: Decent little match by developmental standards. Jaida going over makes sense given she’s the member of OTM that’s getting a good amount of positive hype. Not sure where they’re going with the whole Edris Enofe bad luck gimmick? That’s two bad luck gimmicks that aren’t clicking. Also note, I believe that he’s put it on Social Media, but Reggie let it known that he’s not renewing his WWE contract. I wonder if this will lead to a little bit of a reboot for OTM, who take way too many losses than they should be as a powerhouse team.
Jasmyn Nyx congratulated Fallon Henley for picking up a win. Nyx noted that she knew Henley didn’t need help to win her match with is why she waited until Henley won to get revenge on Thea Hail…
The show cut to a random bedroom. A snoring lady woke up to her alarm. They didn’t show her face as she headed out the bedroom. This is presumably Wendy Choo…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ugh, yes, I get she’s popular on the house show loops, but this Wendy Choo gimmick is one of the bad relics of NXT 2.0.
A WrestleMania Las Vegas ad aired…
A Roxanne Perez promo package aired where Perez was gloating about her success as champion. She said she doesn’t care about the wrestlers and people who talk trash about her on line. She said she doesn’t see a hero or villain, but rather “a prodigy”…
Ava was getting off the phone with someone saying she’ll announce Perez’s next title challenger next week…
Lexis King made his entrance and took a mic. King said the King has been on a bit of a hot streak. King said whoever walks through the curtain will join a long list of gentlemen who fell to the king. Robert Stone made his entrance to cut off King. King yelled that he already beat Stone. Stone pointed at the TtitanTron and Dante Chen made his entrance…
5. Lexis King vs. Dante Chen (w/Robert Stone). The crowd was fully behind Dante Chen. Lexis started the match with a shoulder tackle and mounted punches. Chen backdropped King. King blocked a stinger splash in the corner. King caught Chen midair with a dropkick. Chen rallied back with right hands. King gave Chen overhead chops and a corner boot choke. King worked on Chen with methodical boots. Chen caught a flutter kick and gave King a short-arm clothesline.
Both men traded short-arm right hands. Chen rallied with chops and a few running forearms. Chen hit King with a Stinger Splash, Atomic Drop, and Pump Kick. Chen blocked a boot and hit King with a Uranage for a two count. King hit Chen with a running knee to the back of the neck. Stone got on the apron to jaw with King. King ducked Chen’s running claw strike. Chen reversed King’s neckbreaker into an inside cradle for the upset win.
Dante Chen defeated Lexis King via pinfall in 4:58.
John’s Thoughts: Awesome return to the win column for the longtime NXT wrestler dating back to the 2.0 days. It looked like Chen was going to be one of their big projects to kick off 2.0, but injuries and lack of spots available derailed his push and set him up as the designated enhancement guy on the roster. The crowd really seems behind him as he’s been doing good work on Level Up. Here’s hoping with NXT resetting after Mania, that there’s a spot for the Singaporean sensation. At least reward the guy for making so many wrestlers look good over the years. It looked like they were going to push him earlier in the year, but his developing tag team with Boa never came to fruition (and Boa was subsequently released to derail that tag team).
Lola Vice and Shayna Baszler were putting on their respective World Taekwondo Federation and Judo gis. Baszler noted how they have wins against both their opponents and they need to be all business tonight. Lola said she’s all good because “I’m a latina”. Baszler looked annoyed at Lola shaking her ass…
Trick Williams was shown heading to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I always liked the name of the World Taekwondo Federation, The WTF. They actually shortened it to “World Taekwondo” in recent years due to people always memeing on it. World Taekwondo is the federation that I was trained in and fought for (WT being the biggest taekwondo governing body, with International Taekwondo being the other big one).
Trick Williams made his entrance for a promo. He noted that Noam dropped him in the ring a few weeks ago, and he took that on the chin. Trick said Noam got jumped backstage last week. Trick said he knows all about being jumped in the back due to his feud with Melo. Trick said he did not attack Noam last week. Trick said if he attacked Noam, Noam wouldn’t be getting up. Oro Mensah, Jakara Jackson, and Lash Legend made their entrance. Oro and Jakara claimed that Trick was a lowlife and attacked Noam.
Lash cut in and said that Trick did not attack Noam. Jakara and Oro wondered how Lash was so sure. Lash said Trick knows all about getting jumped backstage due to his feud with Melo and wouldn’t do the same to Noam? Joe Coffey made his entrance and said you’re probably wondering why the man going for the North American Title, is also here to confront the NXT Champion.
Wolfgang and Mark Coffey jumped Trick from behind. Gallus put the boots to Trick. Je’Von Evans ran out for the save, but the numbers game was too much for Je’Von. The Coffey’s hit Je’Von with a double suplex. Trick tried to rally back, but Gallus had the numbers advantage. Mark and Wolfgang hit their drive by slam finisher on Trick. Gallus stood tall doing their crossarm pose…
The women wrestling in the main event were shown in different shots backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Okay, so far so good with the latest reboot of Gallus. They have abruptly ended Gallus pushes in the past, so here’s hoping this time around works better. So far so good, with putting them in multiple programs, making them a force to be reckoned with backstage. Smart to have them get heat from this segment by putting them over two of the most popular wrestlers on the current NXT roster. Joe Coffey is someone I’d consider putting a singles title on, maybe even pinning Wes Lee to get the NA title while protecting Oba Femi.
Robert Stone congratulated Dante Chen for his recent win and strong crowd reaction. Ava came in to also congratulate Dante for his win. Ava said it was all Robert Stone who pitched for Dante getting a shot. Dante shook hands with Stone and left. Ava said Stone just discovered a star tonight…
John’s Thoughts: If Stone gained anything from his association with Von Wagner, is he’s playing a much more serious babyface manager/scout these days. This was a character I’ve been hoping he’d play back in 2015 when he was the annoying Bro Man character, which he carried on to NXT where he was the butt of most jokes. Here’s hoping this serious character clicks because he’s always been a great wrestler with a eye-rolling gimmick that held him back.
The following segments were announced for next week: Sexyyy Red appearing. Roxanne Perez’s battleground opponent will be revealed, Michin vs. Tatum Paley, and Kelani Jordan vs. Wren Sinclair, and Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans vs. Mark Coffey and Wolfgang…
Entrances for the next match took place. Natalya gave Vic Joseph the Bret Hart goggles. She accidentally put them upside down on Vic…
6. Shayna Baszler and Lola Vice vs. Natalya and Karmen Petrovic. Nattie and Shayna started the match with methodical chain wrestling. Vice gave Nattie a cheap shot kick to give Shayna a nearfall. Lola and Shayna used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Natalya. Natalya managed to use boots to fend off both opponents and tag in Petrovic. Petrovic hit Natalya with short-arm kicks and a head kick.
Petrovic hit Shayna with a Rolling Sobat and Blockbuster for a two count. All four women met in the center of the ring with Natalya and Petrovic landing double discus clotheslines. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Baszler dominated back from the break, by cutting the ring in half on Petrovic. Lola also cut the ring in half on Petrovic. Ridge Holland vs. Riley Osborne was announced for next week. Petrovic used kicks to fend off both opponents, bringing in Natalya for the hot tag. Natalya hit Lola with a snap suplex. Natalya then hit Shayna with a German Suplex. Vic Joseph hyped up Natalyas Guinness World Records in WWE. Natalya hit Lola with a discus lariat for at two count.
[Overrun] Karmen tagged in and hit Lola with a crossbody for a two count. Shayna hit Karmen with a chop block. Natalya rolled up Nattie for a two count. Lola accidentally sent Nattie into Shayna. Karmen broke up Lola’s pin. Natalya knocked Shayna off the apron. Lola hit Natalya with a standing Tornado Kick. Lola shook her ass and teased a Sharpshooter. Natalya reversed Lola into her own Sharpshooter. Shayna broke up the submission.
Shayna caught Karmen out of the air. Karmen dumped Shayna to ringside to block a Kirafuda Clutch. Natalya gave Lola a right hand. Karmen tagged in and hit Lola with a Hart Attack Clothesline for the victory.
Karmen Petrovic and Natalya defeated Lola Vice and Shayna Baszler via pinfall in 11:11.
Shayna looked disappointed but helped Lola Vice to her feet. Lola dropped Shayna with a spin kick. Lola clapped her butt cheeks over the knocked out Shayna. While Lola was dancing on the apron. Baszler recovered and put Lola in the Kirafuda Clutch. Referees ran out to separate both women.
NXT GM Ava ran out and said she sees both women want a fight and Ava would like to see that fight. Ava booked them in in a match at Battleground. Shayna took the mic and said she wants the match in NXT Underground. The brawled continued to close the show with Vic assuming we will get NXT Underground at the next PLE…
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough match with the veterans giving the developmental talent a bit of a rub and boost. Still felt a bit odd for this mid-card program to be featured in the main event in a standard tag. Lola and Karmen continue to show improvement every time they are given TV time, Lola even further along than Karmen. Karmen’s not bad though and shows consistent improvement. She should probably look up some Rob Van Dam and Low Ki matches for inspiration to her similar Japanese Karate style. (Whereas Lola’s is more of a Korean striking style that we see from wrestlers like Mike Bailey or Ethan Page)
I am looking forward to Baszler vs. Vice in NXT Underground. I wonder if they have a unique setup in mind given that they are performing at the UFC gym. This week’s show was a solid taped edition of NXT. Things feel a bit in “new season” mode, as they’re trying to establish new characters while starting things out with a new champion in Trick Williams. Trick has felt a little bit in the background in recent weeks, but that’s fine as they can always get back to pushing him once they managed to get a few other acts over.
Is Brinley Reece a rib on Thea Hail? It’s the same gimmick.
Kind of reminds me of Alexa Bliss and Liv Morgan. They’ve outgrown their beginnings but at first they seemed to be clones.
I don’t see anything in Trick Williams, just as I didn’t see anything in his twin Carmelo Hayes.
Really have to wonder sometimes what is going on in developmental.