By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live September 17, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s NXT aired…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
NXT GM Ava was in the ring to moderate a contract signing. Ava announced that Sexy Redd will be making her return for the CW debut. Ava then ran through advertised segments for the Chicago show. Ava announced that Randy Orton will be wrestling on the St. Louis show. Ava then introduced Trick Williams who made his entrance first. Trick said it was time to get straight to business. Trick joked that in the end, Pete Dunne is still a butch.
Trick talked about how he survived last week and is the last man standing. He said they are going to make history in a few weeks and Trick is going to whoop dat trick. NXT Champion Ethan Page made his entrance. Page mocked Booker T’s Trick Williams entrance theme interludes. Page talked about looking like a million bucks. Page said he’s Trick’s kryptonite and the receipt for that is the NXT Championship. Trick talked about Page steaming the championship and ducking out on him. Page yelled and said that he didn’t steal the title, he earned it. He said he won the title and he remembers how shocked the crowd and Trick looked when he won.
Page said he stole nothing and on October 1 Trick will have a look of disappointment on his face. Page said what won’t end is the Era of Ego and people will be chanting NX-Me for Ethan Page. Trick said the NX-Me will be over in Chicago. Page then kicked Trick and put him through the contract signing table with an Ego’s Edge. Page told Ava to get her act together as GM. Ethan Page made his exit and Vic noted that no one signed the contract yet…
Highlights aired from last week’s Hammerstone vs. Oba Femi match. Tony D’Angelo confronted Hammerstone and berated him for letting him down after the money he paid him. Tony D told Hammerstone to ask for a rematch and Hammerstone refused. Tony D then challenged Hammerstone to a match…
Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective segment to put heat Ethan Page, Curious as to why they didnt complete the signing but it allows for them to get more out of the segment later in the show.
Vic plugged CM Punk and Miz TV for the CW debut…
Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander approached Ava who was chatting with Robert Stone and Stevie Turner. Evans asked for a match at the St. Louis show. Ava said she’ll think about it…
Rosemary and Wendy Choo made their entrance…
1. Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley vs. Wendy Choo and Rosemary. Tatum and Lyra cut the ring in half on Choo and dumped the heels to ringside. Lyra and Tatum hit stereo Wrecking Ball dropkicks heading into break.[c]
Choo and Rosemary cut the ring in half on Tatum. Tatum managed to get the hot tag to Lyra who cleaned house wtih kicks. Lyra hit Rosemary with a Missile Dropkick. Rosemary dumped Lyra to ringside. Choo caught Tatum with a uppercut in the corner. Tatum blocked a Superplex and hit Choo with a headbutt. Rosemary tagged in. Choo with a German and Rosemary followed up with a spear. Tatum got a foot on the bottom rope. Lyra hit Choo with a Crescent Kick..
Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley defeated Rosemary and Wendy Choo via pinfall in 9:53.
Separate shots were shown of Hammerstone and Tony D Angelo were shown…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid match, but they continue to not really develop the creepy heel duo. I like that Lyra brought back her old NXT UK finisher, as that was a good move. I believe she stopped using it because Carmelo Hayes has a similar move.
No Quarter Catch Crew were hanging out backstage. Charlie Dempsey thanked Tavion Heights for making them proud in Japan. Dempsey then told Wren Sinclair to do them proud by making a name for herself. Wren fired herself up and chopped Dempsey in the chest…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Tony D’Angelo (w/Channing Lorenzo, Adriana Rizzo, Luca Crucifino) vs. Alexander Hammerstone. Tony D pressured Hammerstone into the corner. Hammerstone came back with a shoulder tackle. Hammerstone tossed Tony across the ring. Oba Femi was shown watching the match. Tony D rallied with Belly to belly suplexes. Hammerstone no-sold a fron tkick and rallied with right hands.
Hammerstone hit Tony D with a Overhead Belly to Belly. Tony D rolled to ringside to recoup. Oba Femi was shown laughing, saying Tony D was broken. Tony D walked out despondent.
Hammerstone defeated Tony D’Angelo via countout in 2:55.
Zachary Wentz made his entrance and asked the production truck to show footage from the parking lot where Wes Lee attacked Trey. Wentz berated Wes for betraying the Rascalz and how his hand was raised at No Mercy. Wentz said the pain he’s going to Wes through in Chicago is going to be ten times worse than No Mercy. Wentz said this ends in Chicago…
Ava was chatting with Tyreese Halliburton. Stone introduced him. Ava handed him the NXT Title match contract to get Ethan Page and Trick Williams to sign it…
Ashante the Adonis made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Interesting development with Tony D’Angelo showing another layer to his character, acting despondent after his recent loss to his recent loss to Oba Femi. He was showing a similar despondent look after he lost a No Mercy. Curious to see how this gets him back in the title picture? I was also afraid they were going to have Hammerstone lose again, but they found a way to give him a win here.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Fatal Influence about their feud with Jaida Parker. They talked trash. Jacy Jayne talked about how they were taking over the division…
Lola Vice was shadowboxing in the locker room. Jaida Parker showed up. Lola and Jaida talked about how they don’t want each other help. Lola said Parker can take care of Fatal Influence once she’s done with them…
Eddy Thorpe made his entrance…
3. Eddy Thorpe vs. Ashanti the Adonis. Ashanti attacked Eddy before the bell. Eddy came back with a back suplex. Ashanti rallied back with right hands. Both men traded fatigued strikes. Ashanti took down Eddy with a drop toehold. Both men took each other out with kicks. Ashanti dropkicjed Eddy off the apron. Ashanti distracted himself by hitting on a lady in the front row. Eddy hit Ashanti with a Impaler DDT for the win.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Ashanti the Adonis via pinfall in 3:28.
CM Punk was shown walking through the hallways…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A solid match while it lasted, but Eddy Thorpe continues to not find footing as a character. There also seems to not be much past him being a DJ. They need to play to his strength which is having longer matches. Meanwhile, I do get a kick out of Ashanti’s playya character.
[Hour Two] Vic Joseph plugged WWE’s upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event show…
The show cut to a Thea Hail and Riley Osborne promo. Thea was disappointed that Ridge Holland let them down. Thea said he broke her heart after putting trust in him. Riley talked about how he’s going to get Ridge Holland out of their lives once and for all…
CM Punk made his entrance. Punk soaked in chants for a bit. He said he’s in a different mood tonight compared to Raw the prior night. He said he wants to have more fun tonight. He said he has watch NXT, but never surrounded by the wonderful fans. Punk talked about how he notices some of the regular fans. He said he tried to secretly watch the show, but the fans called him out. He said he really likes watching the development of the men and women in NXT.
He said he knows he’s going to butt heads with some stars like Lexis King and his weird beard. He said he’ll face Ethan Page probably. He said he’ll probably face Bron Breakker someday. He joked that he has t-shirts older than the talented Je’von Evans, Punk talked about how he begged to be a part of NXT in Chicago. Punk talked about how HBK allowed him to do whatever he wants at that show. NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez made her entrance to interrupt.
Perez choked up a bit. She then said he probably has a announcement about Giulia. Perez talked about looking up to Punk as her favorite wrestler. She then joked she was a bigger fan of AJ Lee. She said she was happy Punk made his return at Survivor Series. She then said she realized she should have been a Drew McIntyre fan. She said Punk is going to destroy him. Perez told Punk to stay home. She said when she beats Giulia, Chicago will be her town.
Punk asked if he can retort, but she said he can’t yet. Perez said she’s untouchable. Perez said a wise man said I would rather be hated for being myself, than loved for something you’re not. Punk said he respects a overconfident champ. Punk said the chip on his shoulder was as big as Perez, and it made him best in the world. Punk praised Iyo Sky and Bianca Belair for tearing the house down. Punk said Perez should hang in the ring with them. Punk then talked about Giulia annoying Perez.
Giulia then made her entrance with a mic. Giulia said the countdown was on and Perez has two weeks left as Champion.. Perez tried to blindside Giulia with a belt shot, but Punk got in the way. That closed the segment…
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Kelani Jordan and noted that Fallon Henley talked about Jordan ducking out on them. She said she wasn’t and wants to prove that you need to prove yourself in the ring. Wren Sinclair showed up and talked about how she needs to make a name for herself. She slapped Jordan and ran away…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Random to use Punk as the surrogate to speak for Giulia, but it led to a fun segment with Perez also getting mic work with her childhood hero. With all the buzz and aura around Giulia it feels the clock is ticking to the end of Perez’s title run.
Luca Crucifino, Adriana Rizzo, and Stacks were trying to give Tony D his confidence. Tony D yelled and admitted he was afraid of Oba Femi. He said Oba is a machine and not human. He said he can’t beat Oba…
No Quarter Catch Crew made their entrance with Je’von Evans and Cedric Alexander already in the ring…
4. Myles Borne and Tavion Heights (w/Charlie Dempsey, Wren Sinclair) vs. Je’von Evans and Cedric Alexander. The heels cut the ring in half on Cedric to start the match. Evans tagged in and the face team swarmed the heels with kicks. Evans hit NQCC with a flip dive heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Borne hit Evans with a nice Power Slam for a nearfall. Heights hit Evans with a gutbuster. Evans hit Heights with a jump kick and tagged in Cedric who hit both opponents with a Dragon Screw. Cedrick hit Hights with a dropkick to the back of the neck. Cedric hit Hights with a Mivhinoku Driver. Heights turned Cedric inside out with a clothesline. NQCC swarmed Cedric with strikes. Evans broke up a pin by Bourne.
Kelani Jordan showed up to chase away Wren Sinclair. Cedric hit Borne with a Lumbar Check and took out Heights with with a flip dive. Evans hit Borne with a corkscrew dive for the win.
Je’von Evans and Cedric Alexander defated NQCC via pinfall in 10:38.
A tweet was shown of Randy Orton challenging Je’von Evans to a match at the St. Louis show…
Ridge Holland was interviewed were he said he will continue to take out Chase U by taking out Riley Osborne. The camera panned over to Shawn Spears telling Brooks Jensen that he’ll acompany him to the ring…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun match with an even more fun announcement of Randy Orton facing Evans at the St. Louis show. Fun to see veterans like Punk and Randy Orton working with the younger talent.
Vic Joseph plugged Randy Orton’s upcoming NXT appearance, followed by Randy Orton vs. Je’von Evans being made official.
Entrances for the next match took place…
5. Dion Lennox vs. Brooks Jensen (w/Shawn Spears). Dion hulked up and tossed around Jensen for a nearfall. Jensen came back with some ground and pound. Jensen hit Lennox with a spinning heel kick for a nearfall. Jensen then put on Dion’s glasses to joke around.. This fired up Dion. Spears distracted Dion by grabbing the glasses, which allowed Jensen to pick up the win with a DDT.
Brooks Jensen defeated Dion Lennox via pinfall in 2:38.
The show cut to a Wes Lee promo via Instagram where he talked about taking out Trey Miguel due to Miguel costing him the match at No Mercy…
Fatal Influence made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Look at Jensen being old school, bringing back a simple DDT as a finisher. I’m liking the Jensen and Spears pairing, especially since Spears is being less melodramatic. Dion Lennox has a good look, but the glasses gimmick needs to be refined a bit to seem less goofy.
The show cut to a tweet video where Nathan Frazer and Austin Theory accepted Axiom and Nathan Frazer’s challenge…
Lola Vice made her entrance…
6. Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne (w/Jasmyn Nyx, Fallon Henley). Jayne hit vice with a PK from the apron. Jayne worked on Vice with kick and mocked Vice’s “I’m a latina” hip attack. Vice rallied with footsie kicks. Vice hit Jayne with her “I’m a Latina” hip attack. Henley tried to distract Vice, but Vice saw it coming and beat Jayne after a backfist.
Lola Vice defeated Jacy Jayne via pinfall in 2:29.
The heels jumped Vice after the match, but Jaida Parker ran out and cleaned house. Parker and Vice bickered a bit…
Adriana Rizzo showed up and told Tony D that she’s also afraid of Oba Femi. Rizzo talked about how when it’s all said and done, he’ll still have the family. RIzzo said she knows Tony D wants another title shot against Oba. Rizzo said she, Stacks, and Luca believe in Tony D, but Tony D needs to believe in himself. Tony D and Rizzo hugged to end the segment…
Tyreese Halliburton was shown walking through the hallways with the NXT Title Match contract in hand…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Lola Vice feels a bit directionless since her random face turn for her feud with Roxanne Perez. Meanwhile she has to feud with a lesser retread of Toxic Attraction.
Tyreese Halliburton was in the ring to some boos. Tyreese heeled on the fans a bit for being Orlando Magic fans. Trick Williams came out first and then All Ego Ethan Page. Page said the title makes him like the Boston Celtics, while everyone else is like the rest of the NBA in losing. Halliburton had both Page and Trick sign the contract. He then introduced CM Punk who made his entrance.
Punk got in between Trick and Page. She said she actually wanted to talk about this match earlier. Punk said this upcoming match will change the direction of the brand. He said a match this big needs something “special”. Punk soaked in “referee”. CM Punk announced himself as the special guest referee for the Trick vs. Page match. Punk said as the official they can fight right now too. Trick and Page had a pull apart brawl with NXT closing after referees got between both men…
John’s Thoughts: simple and effective segment with the usage of the guest NBA star. A bit odd that this is the 2nd Ethan Page title defense in a row where the deck is stacked against him with a guest referee. Curious to see how they differentiate this one from the last which was done well. Overall a solid NXT episode with NXT continuing to round out the two CW debut shows.
Soooo what about Punk’s announcement?
“The show cut to a tweet video where Nathan Frazer and Austin Theory accepted Axiom and Nathan Frazer’s challenge.”
What??????
I have a feeling CM Punk will be a non factor on October 1 in the end – because I think Drew McIntyre will show up. After all, Bad Blood is the weekend after.