By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT 2.0
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired August 30, 2022 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place. Grayson Waller wanted to cut a promo but he was cut off by Apollo Crews making his entrance (I loved that they added the “APOLLOOO” back to the intro)…
1. Apollo Crews vs. Grayson Waller. Apollo and Grayson started the match with wristholds and waistlocks. Apollo grounded Waller with an armdrag takedown. Waller came right back with a armdrag into a jackknife pin for a two count. Crews blocked an armdrag and landed a clubbing blow on Waller. Apollo slowed down the pace with methodical strikes. Crews mocked Waller’s dribble pose after a backdrop. Apollo hit Waller with a delayed vertical suplex, which he held for about 20 seconds.
Waller escaped a military press. For some reason, Crews sold either an arm injury or something being put in his eye. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Waller was dominating most of the break. A replay showed that Waller poked the eye of Crews which is why he sold eye pain. Crews grounded Waller. Crews went for a slingshot swanton, but Waller reversed it into a sweet rear naked choke. Waller hit Crews with nice looking rear mount ground and pound. Crews nailed Waller with a enzuigiri when Waller tried to trash talk him. Crews rallied back with clotheslines. Crews hit Waller with a flying lariat and did a kip up.
Crews hit Waller with a super Blockbuster for a two count. Waller escaped a Military Press again. This set up Waller for his rolling stunner finisher for the clean (?) victory.
Grayson Waller defeated Apollo Crews via pinfall in 11:11.
Barrett and Joseph said something looked fishy. The replays showed that Crews was about to reverse the finisher, but Waller jabbed a thumb into Apollo’s eye…
John’s Thoughts: Great opening match with good pacing and storytelling. It really stands out when NXT 2.0 has matches between experienced wrestlers and we know that Crews and Waller are experienced in-ring veterans. Waller in particular has been given lots of chances to work with main roster talent and experienced NXT wrestlers and he has shined in every story. The eye poke spots were well spread out and added to the story. Looking forward to the next match because Crews will definitely want his revenge (did his precog powers not kick in and he couldn’t see the eye pokes coming?)
A Meiko Satomura introduction vignette aired. It had Meiko talk about her international career. Beth Phoenix and Raquel Gonzalez talked about how excited they were to see her as a Champion in WWE. Meiko talked about hos she’s going to unify the NXT Women’s Titles and how she is “The Final Boss”…
Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, and Damon Kemp were hyping each other up in the Diamond Mine gym. Roderick Strong showed up, claiming to have found footage that proves his innocence. Julius said he still doesn’t trust Roddy and doesn’t care about the footage Roddy wants to show them. Roddy ranted a bit and walked away. Damon Kemp said he doesn’t even trust Roddy anymore. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley showed up. Paxley was wearing a nose injury mask. Ivy said that Diamond Mine have been bickering and need to get their act together. Nile talked about how she and Tatum have been preparing for going after the NXT Women’s Tag Titles…
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter made their entrance. Mandy Rose, Gigi Dolin, and Jacy Jayne were watching the match from their “Toxic Lounge” VIP section…[c]
NXT Champion Bron Breakker met up with Finn Balor of the Judgement Day. Balor talked about how he’s proud of Breakker as champ. Finn talked about being the longest NXT Champion of all time and it’s up to Breakker to uphold that title lineage. Balor told Breakker to not underestimate Tyler Bate on Sunday because Balor has proven that he can beat bigger opponents, and Bate’s top notch. Balor wished Breaker luck.
John’s Thoughts: Fun Finn Balor cameo, but odd that he was randomly a babyface.
Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile made their entrance…
2. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Joseph continued to berated Barrett for always sucking up to Toxic Attraction. Nile and Carter traded rollups. Carter hit Nile with a handstand roundhouse. Carter and Chance traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Nile. Nile hit Carter with a delayed wheelbarrow slam.
Paxley tagged in and whipped Nile into Carter. Paxley hit Carter with a deadlift suplex and standing corkscrew moonsault for a two count. Carter rolled up Paxley for a two count. Carter hit Paxley with a springboard dropkick for a two count. Chance tagged in and hit Paxley with a slingshot senton for a two count. The camera showed that Dolin and Jayne are no longer at the VIP section. Paxley and Chance took each other out with stereo lariats. Gigi Dolin tripped Nile off the apron. Nile fought off Jayne and Dolin. This distracted Paxley and allowed Chance and Carter to nail her with their 450 Neckbreaker combo for the win.
Katana Chance and Kayden Carter defeated Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile via pinfall in 4:17 to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship.
Carter and Chance took the mic. Chance said she’s happy to face Nile and Paxley down the road again. Carter and Chance said they want to hold a parking lot talegate party on Sunday. All of a sudden, Doudrop and Nikki ASH made their entrance. Doudrop took the mic and said she likes a good party as much as anyone, but how about dancing in the parking lot, both teams dance in the ring. Nikki challenged Chance and Carter to a title defense. Both teams shook hands and agreed while also showing a bit of tension…
John’s Thoughts: Good showcase win for the women’s tag champions. Paxley is still a bit rough in the ring, but she is showing improvement and innovative offense. Nile is further along and I’d like to see her showcase herself as a powerhouse more. The real story was Doudrop and Nikki ASH returning to NXT to set up their World’s Collide match. This match is easier to accept because WWE viewers are already acclimated to ASH and Doudrop. Hunter’s changing names these days, can we get Piper Niven and Nikki Cross back?
A Kiana James skit aired. She was in her business office. James talked about how Zoey Stark lost her match a few weeks due to injuries. James said that Stark is a tryhard. James said after she beats Stark, it’s going to be a long time before Stark challenges for the title again…
Joe Gacy, Rip Fowler, and Jagger Reid, the Schism, were walking creepily in the hallway. Gacy cut one of his usual rhetorical promos. He also talked about how it was time for Cameron Grimes to accept his offer…[c]
A person tried to interview Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams in the parking lot, but they brushed the interviewer off…
The Schism were in the ring. Joe Gacy cut one of his usual weird promos. We couldn’t hear parts of it though because the network censors were pressing the mute button to block out the crowd (which also cut off Gacy). Gacy awarded Fowler and Reid with smiley face pins. Reid said they are gracious, and are together home. Fowler said they are “recognized” to see that there is strength when they are together. Gacy continued to blabber on (I kinda wish I could fast forward). Cameron Grimes made his entrance when Gacy asked for him to walk out.
Cameron Grimes was wearing a formal dress shirt, while continuing to look depressed. Gacy said it was good to see Cameron. Cameron said he’s not here for Joe’s celebration, but he’s here to talk to Gacy. Grimes said they have been following Cameron for weeks and he finally has an answer for Gacy. Cameron said it all makes sense, “I don’t need you”. He said he doesn’t need any help to go “to the moon”. Gacy said Cameron’s loneliness is killing him. Gacy said he sees Cameron’s misery. Gacy said that Grimes is one of the toughest stars in NXT, but he wears a mask that hides his insecurities. Gacy said that Grimes needs to admit that he is lonely, and they will get off of Grimes’s back.
Grimes said Gacy is right, he has had a string of big losses, but he got himself out of all of those holes and he’ll do it again. He said he doesn’t need anybody and he’s out of here. Gacy said that tonight’s another night without a championship, family… or father. Grimes attacked Gacy. The Dyad teased attacking Grimes, but Gacy told them to halt. Grimes left the ring…
The show cut to a Roxanne Perez promo vignette, where she was standing on a pier. She talked about how she doesn’t recognize who Cora Jade is anymore. She said her heart broke in two. Perez said she wanted to hurt Cora as much as she did to her, but when she had a chance at heatwave, she couldn’t do it. She said her happy memories held her back. She sent a text telling Jade to watch her back. She said she won’t hold back again…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ugh. Joe Gacy is damaged goods at this point. He’s channel changing material and the crowd seems to agree. By the way, we couldn’t hear bits of the promo, because they are still pressing the mute button every time the crowd chants curse words. Why? Again, either leave it in or if they need to they should pipe in fake cheers and mute the crowd. It’s effecting promos now, which is not cool. Gacy delivered his promo well, but he just needs to be repackaged. I hope this doesn’t lead to Cameron Grimes in a bath robe.
NXT UK Champion Tyler Bate shook hands with WWE Legend and Producer Fit Finlay. Finlay handed Bate a computer tablet which had Bate’s former British Strong Style stablemate Pete “Butch” Dunne on facetime. Dunne talked about how they were both just kids when Dunne beat Bate for the UK title. Dunne said Bate needs to defend the title in the memory of NXT UK, for the future of NXT Europe, and for the legacy of British Strong Style (the name of the wrestling style and the name for Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate’s UK stable). Bate thanked Dunne for the encouragement…
[My Sling TV had technical issues. I’ll fill in this gap in the report after the show… I saw Briggs, Jensen, and Henley looking mad, after the break, i found out that this was a match happening]
[Hour Two]
3. Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen, and Fallon Henley vs. Elton Prince, Kit Wilson, and Lash Legend. Back from the break, Wilson worked on Briggs with ground and pound after gainint control. The heels cut the ring in half on Briggs. All three heels gave Briggs cheap shots when one of them would distract the ref. Briggs tried to come back but took some aggressive punches from Wilson. Briggs dumped Wilson to ringside, but Prince tagged in via the backdrop to continue to prevent Briggs from tagging out.
Briggs managed to backpack Prince to get in Jensen for the hot tag. Jensen hit Prince with an atomic drop and bulldog. Jensen hit Prince with a Fame Asser. Prince took down Jensen with a crossbody after Wilson distracted him. Prince tried to drag Jensen but Jensen’s boot slipped off. Security showed up to prevent Gallus from entering the ring. Briggs dove on Gallus. Joe Coffey grabbed the fallen boot and hit Jensen with it. Meanwhile Henley and Legend were having a catfight. Prince rolled up Jensen for the win.
Pretty Deadly and Lash Legend defeated Briggs, Jensen, and Henley via pinfall
Mandy Rose was confronted by Shayna Baszler backstage. Baszler said she knows how it feels to hold that title. Rose gloated about how she’s going to pass Shayna’s title reign length. Baszler bragged about how its a foregone conclusion she’s beating Liv Morgan. Shayna said when she was champ, the results of her matches were never in question, while all of Rose’s match outcomes are questioned. Baszler said not only does Rose have to win the unification match for the brand, but to prove herself to herself…
A Connor’s Cure PSA aired…
Andrew Chase, Thea Hail, and Bodhi Hayward made their entrance. Charley Dempsey was shown in a split screen. He was backstage swinging around a barbell weight…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I had technical difficulties and couldn’t get the first half of the match. The match was good and the mixed tag situation made sure not to expose Lash Legend’s experience. She does look good in her gear. She just needs time to develop in ring. She was relegated to catfight moments. Still not a fan of the Tag Team Title unification picture. They should have ported the titles to Gallus last week. There’s no reason Briggs and Jensen should be tag team champions at the moment. I wonder if the Shayna cameo is signaling that Rose is coming out of Sunday with the unified title? I kinda hope Meiko comes up with the win.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed JD McDonagh. JD talked about how Wes Lee called him creepy for his personal training methods (swinging upside down and letting the blood rush to his head). He said his training may be unorthadox, but everything is accounted for. He said his mind, body, heart, are all designed to be without weakness. He continued to talk about his methods. He said he’d rather be creepy than emotionally fragile like Wes Lee. McKenzie nervously agreed and sent the show back to the ring…
Charlie Dempsey (William Regal’s son) made his entrance. They reaired the clip of Dempsey roughing up Chase U students in last week’s skit…
4. Charlie Dempsey vs. Andre Chase (w/Thea Hail, Bodhi Hayward). Dempsey tied up Chase to begin the match, with Chase rolling up Dempsey for the separation. Chase gave Dempsey a Monkey Flip. Both men broke up each other’s pins with a neck bridge. Chase took down Dempsey with a hip toss. Chase did his “Teachable moment” catchphrase. Dempsey fired up and came back with European Uppercuts and forearms. Dempsey hit Chase with a Northern Lights for a two count. Dempsey put Chase in a twisting Cattle Mutilation.
Chase got to his feet and rallied back with right hands and an Atomic Drop. Chase hit Dempsey with a blockbuster. Chase hit Dempsey with Chase U boots. Chase hit Dempsey with a Side Effect. Dempsey tangled up Chase and then put him in a plethora of submissions. Dempsey put Chase in a STF (not quite the Regal Stretch yet). Hayward tried to cheer Chase to grab the rope. Dempsey broke the hold and beat up Hayward. Chase rolled up Desmpsey for the surprise win.
Andre Chase defeated Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 5:17.
John’s Thoughts: Surprising outcome, but I’m okay with this. As I mentioned before, I piece meal NXT UK in recent years, and haven’t seen the Charlie Dempsey and Die Familie stuff. This was probably the first time I’ve seen Baby Regal wrestle. He’s very good and very much the stiff ring technician that his father was. I wonder what his pops thinks seeing his son debut on National TV. There’s a small part of me that wants to see the Forbidden Door open to watch the Son of Regal and Son of Taz (Hook) rip each other apart. Andre Chase is someone who people forget is a 15+ year veteran (He had a lot of showcase in Ring of Honor as Harlem Bravado with his brother Lance). Chase’s matches tend to be the best wrestled on the NXT show (I keep going to Chase vs. Vinci from a few weeks ago as to how great this guy can be). The win sets up for Charlie Dempsey to go after his win back with more aggression.
Meiko Satomura was shown backstage. Alba Fyre told Meiko the title looks good on her. Meiko said she won the title from a great champion (Alba Fyre). Fyre wished Meiko luck on Sunday…
Zoey Stark made her entrance…[c]
Tyler Bate walked into WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther backstage. Gunther talked about being the longest reigning UK champion. Gunther reminded Bate of the epic 45 minute match they had and how tough Bate is. Gunther told Bate that Bate needs to defend the legacy of the title on Sunday and that all of European wrestling depends on it…
John’s Thoughts: Wow! All of Europe…. That’s a lot of responsibility. Anyway, these cameos have been very fun. WWE is doing a better job this week setting up the title unification matches by bringing in all the main roster stars to hype it. Last week’s show was a mess and this build is much cleaner.
Kiana James made her entrance. Vic Joseph hyped up Xavier Woods hosting the revamped version of G4TV’s Arena…
John’s Thoughts: The revamped version of Arena kinda sucks. It’s not Woods’s fault. Woods and Gina Darling are good hosts. The old show was a video game tournament show. The new version is a stupid game and trivia show. Woods’s tournaments on his UpUpDownDown channel (co hosted by Tyler Breeze) are more akin to the original Wil Wheaton hosted show. I digress.
5. Zoey Stark vs. Kiana James. Zoey dominated early on with power moves and strikes. Stark hit James with a slingshot springboard senton. James tossed Stark into the buckle and put the boots to her. James worked on Stark with methodical offense. Stark recovered and hit James with a leg lariat for a two count. James dragged Stark to the ground and hit her with a standing Moonsault for a two count. Stark recovered, yelled at James, and hit her with her nice looking Tilt a Whirl GTS for the win.
Zoey Stark defeated Kiana James via pinfall in 4:23.
Nikkita Lyons ran out to attack James. Joseph noted this stemmed from the promo a few weeks ago. The faces stood tall to end the segment…
McKenzie interviewed Blair Davenport. Davenport talked about being the one person to unify the NXT Women’s Titles. Rhea Ripley showed up for her cameo. She talked about how she grabbed NXT and NXT UK by the balls and made them hers. She said she did hold both titles herself. She said that Blair looks confident and better not screw it up…
Gallus made their entrance (Gallus is low key one of my favorite WWE themes). They were escorted to the ring by Security Guard Hank and an unnamed Security Guard. Joseph noted that extra security has been requested to prevent Gallus from creating havoc….[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid showcase for Zoey Stark. I continue to be high on Tyler Breeze trainee Kiana James. She’s very smooth in the ring so early in her WWE run. She’s just held back with a generic vocational gimmick. Nice cameo from Ripley and this was better to introduce Blair Davenport. Also, Dominik Mysterio better be protecting his balls at this moment because Rhea Ripley is continuing to make Eddie proud and be Dominik’s Papi.
Axiom and Nathan Frazer were reading WWE comic books. Frazer was reading a comic of his trainer Seth Rollins. Frazer said it was a shame Axiom was never in NXT UK because Axiom would love it. Frazer said that as a numbers person, Axiom would love the Heritage Cup rounds matches. Axiom high fived Frazer and the two agreed to have a Heritage Cup Rules Rounds Match…
John’s Thoughts: The joke here was that Axiom is the inaugural WWE Heritage Cup Champion. During my peace mealing of NXT UK, I did watch A-Kid’s Heritage Cup matches and really liked them. This should be way more serious than the more gimmicky Wes Lee vs. Trick Williams one.
Diamond Mine made their entrance. Vic Joseph talked about how there’s still a mystery as to weather Roderick Strong was signaling to Tony D’Angelo that one time…
6. “The Diamond Mine” Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Damon Kemp vs. “Gallus” Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey, and Wolfgang. Julius and Joe started the match. Brutus tagged in and deadlifted Mark Coffey around the ring. Damon Kemp gave Mark a fallaway slam. Wolfgang and Kemp fired each other up cordially. Wolfgang tossed Kemp around a bit. Kemp came back with his own gutwrench suplexes. Brutus tagged in and brawled with Wolfgang. Brutus reversed a hip toss by landing on his feet like a cat. The Diamond Mine tripped all three Gallus members and gave them clubbing blows. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Joe gave Brutus clinch knees. Julius tagged in and hit Joe with a Deadlift Butterfly Suplex. Creed escaped a rollup and deadlifted Joe into a body slam. Impressive. Mark pulled the apron to trip up Julius. Mark tagged in and hit Julius with a Uranage for the two count. Joe tagged in and gave Julius stiff right hands. Julius started to win a test of strength, so Joe tagged in Wolfgang who dropped Julius to the mat and hit Julius with an angled Senton. Julius fought out of the Gallus corner.
Damon and Mark tagged in. Damon gave Mark machine gun punches. Damon Kemp suplexed Mark around the ring. Kemp was then distracted by Roderick Strong who wanted to show Damon his cell phone. Kemp dropped the phone and stepped on it. Kemp reentered the ring and ate a discus lariat from Joe for the loss.
Gallus defeated Diamond Mine via pinfall in 10:59.
Pretty Deadly ran out to put the boots to Diamond Mine. Hank and the other Security Guards ran in to separate everyone. Briggs and Jensen ran out to join the brawl. The NXT locker room ran out to join the brawl…
John’s Thoughts: I agree with Wade Barrett on that match and there was a whole lotta beef contained in one ring. This was a good match for the time given. I’d like to see them run this match back once they get out of the rushed Worlds Collide build. This match was simply 6 big ol’ dudes beating each other’s ass. I also can’t wait until we start getting Joe Coffey in singles matches because that dude is amazing. NXT just got a HUGE inject of seasoned indie talent by shifting over the UK roster to the US. Shawn Michaels is also about to watch his babies, the UK roster, shine. By the way, I’m getting a kick out of Roderick Strong going into full on delusional Kurt Angle mode. Roddy is so cheesy it’s great, and poor Damon Kemp being the butt of all of Roddy’s jokes.
Bron Breakker was really excited by whatever he was watching on TV. Tommaso Ciampa showed up and chatted with Breakker. Ciampa said his best moments in WWE were with “Goldie”. He said the title meant alot to him, but it’s legacy is with Breakker now. Ciampa said he understands the fear one gets going into a title match, but the fear is normal. Ciampa said he needs to embrace the legacy. He said not only will Breakker add to Breakker’s legacy, but he adds to NXT’s legacy. Ciampa told Breakker to Win, Win, Win…
Vic Joseph and Wade Barrett checked in from ringside. Before they could plug anything, they were cut off by Carmelo Hayes on the big screen. Hayes was backstage and he was heading to the ring to address being kept off the World’s Collide card…[c]
Quincy Elliot was shown sitting down wearing a spice girls shirt. He said growing up people always thought they knew who he was, but they don’t know him at all. He said the WWE Universe is about to find out who Quincy Elliot is. He said he’s more fly than a reindeer. He talked about how he lives the life of “The Super Diva”…
Vic Joseph announced The Creed Brothers vs. Briggs and Jensen vs. Pretty Deadly vs. Gallus for all the tag belts. Wade Barrett announced Chance and Carter vs. Doudrop and ASH for the Tag Titles. They then ran through the other matches on the card…
[Overrun] NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance. Trick said Melo puts out banger, after banger, after banger, after banger and somehow Melo is not on the show. Trick said they usually come out to joke but they’re serious. Melo said he still trying to figure why the A Champion is off Worlds Collide. He said he broke the “Rebel Heart”, how it’s not a “Dream”, you can’t “Swerve” him. He talked about how he’s the Greatest North American Champion of all time. He said people tried to tell him this was a secondary title, but Melo is never secondary. He said he’s not taking his talents to Worlds Collide because there’s nobody on his level anyway. Melo said that’s all it is and that’s all it’s gon’ be.
The lights went out. Suddenly former Intercontinental Champion Ricochet made his entrance. Joseph noted that Ricochet is arguably the greatest high flyer in NXT history. Melo joked that Ricochet might not know how to use a mic. Ricochet was showered with Welcome Back chants. Ricochet thanked the fans. Ricochet said for the sake of everyone, Melo needs to shut the hell up. The crowd chanted Shut the hell up. Ricochet said there doesn’t just have to be NXT and NXT UK on Worlds Collide, and there needs to be some Smackdown.
Melo cut off Ricochet. Melo said Melo is actually the real One and Only. Melo said Ricochet calls himself the one and only, but he’s just gonna be one of many to get stomped out by Melo. Ricochet said its amazing that no one remembers any of Melo’s title defenses. Ricochet said he’s here to give the crowd a Melo match the fans can remember. Ricochet said he’s also not looking past Melo, because he wants to become two time North American Champion. Trick tried to blindside him, but Ricochet took him out with a kick. Melo went for a springboard, but Ricochet grounded Melo with Paydirt. Ricochet laid the title belt on the fallen Melo. Vic Joseph closed the show with final hype for Worlds Collide…
John’s Thoughts: Nice closing segment to set up the North American Championship match at Worlds Collide. Carmelo Hayes is fairly good on the mic. He’s smooth, has a good hype man, and treats the North American Title like it’s the top title in WWE. His defenses also allow him to back up his claims of being the “A-Champ”. The weak part of the segment was Ricochet’s rough mic skills, which were never his strong suit to begin with (I actually thought by the end of his NXT run last time, he was starting to cut better promos and sound natural). He makes up for his weakness on the mic with his star power. This should be a great match!
Night and Day, this week and last week. Last week’s show was horrible due to the awkward and rushed Worlds Collide build. This week looked like WWE had a better plan as to how to slowly build towards the Worlds Collide show. Good usage of the WWE main roster cameos to build up to all the title unification matches. I was at a 2 or 3 on my anticipation scale last week due to the rushed build, but this well thought out show bumps me up to maybe a 5 or 6 (still low-ish due to it only having two weeks build, but there’s the potential for great matches on Sunday). This week’s NXT was good with the one glaring trash segment being the Joe Gacy one. Not because any of the talent, but the damaged Joe Gacy character is channel changing material. That guy needs to get off TV for months and come back repackaged.
Be the first to comment