By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired November 8, 2022 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
The Schism, Joe Gacy, Jagger Reid, Rip Fowler, and Ava Raine made their entrance. Joe Gacy is back to using his old CZW mask and ring gear…
1. Joe Gacy (w/Ava Raine, Jagger Reid, Rip Fowler) vs. Cameron Grimes. Grimes started the match with a Roundhouse Kick and Frankendriver. Grimes gave Gacy a Yakuza Kick in the corner. Grimes worked on Gacy with alternating Roundhouse Kicks. Gacy made a comeback with elbow strikes and clubbing blows. Grimes came back with a headlock takedown and punches. Gacy hit Grimes with a hip toss into a Brainbuster for a two count.
Gacy worked on Grimes with methodical offense. Grimes rolled up Gacy for a one count. Grimes sent Gacy to ringside with a roundhouse which he followed up with a PK from the apron. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Gacy had Grimes under control with a headlock. Gacy hit Grimes with a lariat into a backbreaker. Gacy then pummeled Grimes in the back of the neck with clubbing blows. Gacy hit Grimes with a lariat. Grimes reversed Gacy with his signature Spanish Fly power slam. Grimes took Reid off the apron with a Yakuza kick. Grimes hit Gacy with a kick combo into a German Suplex. Grimes punched both Dyad members off the apron. Gacy accidentally hit Fowler off the apron.
Grimes was about to go for the Cave In but Gacy rolled away. Grimes hit the Schism iwth a flip dive. Grimes went to the top rope but was shoved by Raine. Gacy caught Grimes with the Handspring Lariat for the win.
Joe Gacy defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall in 10:44.
John’s Thoughts: I can’t believe I’m saying this. I’m actually looking forward to Schism segments. Hell must be freezing over. Anyways, this was a Fun match. The addition of Ava Raine to the group has breathed new life into the dead end generic cult. It looks like they are doing slight cosmetic changes to the group too which helps wipe away the memory of the bathrobe ninja days. It also looks like Gacy is reverting to his old CZW persona where he came off as very threatening and menacing, which is already reflected in his attire. Gacy stepped up his game in the ring tonight. Someone who might need a bit of a reset is Grimes, who is actually suffering from the stank of the old crap ass Schism.
Axiom met up with Nathan Frazer backstage who informed Axiom that he’ll be out with an injury for a few weeks. Axiom wished Nathan the best in his recovery. JD McDonagh showed up to taunt Axiom and Frazer. He did his usual thing where he talked about body parts and pain. Axiom taunted JD by pointing out how many times JD has lost in title matches. JD threatened Axiom with a potential match…
Vic Joseph hyped a Carmelo Hayes barber shop segment for later in the show…[c]
An ad aired for Smackdown which focused on the Smackdown World Cup tournament as well as the Usos attempting to break the New Day’s Tag Team Championship record…
Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark were shown arriving to the WWE Performance Center…
Vic sent the show to the Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams barber shop segment. Trick talked about people talking about Melo being a bit on a career slid. Melo talked about how he made the North American title more important than the NXT title. Melo said he keeps having to wrestle Ladder Matches and no one has pinned him. Melo said that he’ll give respect, but Wes is a paper champ until he beats the real champ.
One of the barbers pointed out that the NXT fans are behind Lee. Melo said Lee hasn’t proved himself past being a tag team guy. Melo said it’s only a matter of time before Lee loses the title. Trick pointed out that Melo will get a rematch in two weeks. Melo hyped up a contract signing next week…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were recapping the Barber shop segment. The lights went out all of a sudden. Words started scrolling on the video walls. It was another Scrypts promo where he threatened the Performance Center again…
Sol Ruca then made her entrance. Her opponent was Elektra Lopez who got a cool elevator video wall…
2. Elektra Lopez vs. Sol Ruca. Lopez shoved Ruca to the mat. Ruca returned the favor. The referee told them to stop pulling hair. Ruca did a nice cartwheel into an X Factor. Lopez gave Ruca a lariat at ringside. Lopez got a two count. Lopez worked on Ruca with knees. Lopez worked on Ruca with methodical offense. Vic hyped JD McDonagh vs. Axiom for later in the show.
Ruca rolled up Lopez a few times for nearfalls. Ruca rallied with lariats and a dropkick. Ruca took down Lopez with a lariat. Ruca hit Lopez with a flip into a corner splash. Lopez yanked Ruca off the top rope and hit her with a Sitout Power Bomb for the win.
Elektra Lopez defeated Sol Ruca via pinfall in 3:02.
Indi Hartwell ran in and clubbed Lopez in the back of the neck. Referees ran in to separate both women…
Andre Chase, Thea Hail, and Duke Hudson were chatting backstage. Thea was doing her Scrappy Doo routine of wanting to beat up Charlie Dempsey. Duke noted that he understands that last week was a teachable moment and he’s going to honorably stay at ringside during Chase’s next match. Duke fired up Chase. Chase said he’s going to beat up that son of a bitch…[c]
John’s Thoughts: On paper, I feared the worst with match because of how clumsy both women’s past matches have been. It was actually okay. Nothing special, but both women did show a bit of improvement. They also did show some tweaks to their presentation that looked positive too, like new ring gear and the video wall.
Jacy Jayne and Mandy Rose were face timing each other. Jayne talked about being a bit paranoid in regards to Alba Fyre threatening her. She said that Gigi Dolin has broken ribs. Jayne was in a car and got pulled over by a “cop” Jayne was yanked out of the car and beat up. It was revealed that the person was Fyre. Fyre said she took out both Toxic Attraction members and will take the title from Rose next week…
John’s Thoughts: Pro wrestling, where public assault ain’t nothing but a thing.
Entrances for the next match took place. Thea Hail continues to crack me up, acting like Scrappy Doo on cocaine…
3. Charlie Dempsey vs. Andre Chase (w/Thea Hail, Duke Hudson). Dempsey hit Chase with a snapmare. Chase came back with a boot. Chase dumped Dempsey to ringside. Chase beat up Dempsey a bit at ringside. Dempsey hit Chase with a Northern Lights Suplex. Dempsey put Chase in a chickenwing. Chase rolled up Dempsey for the break. Chase rallied with strikes and an atomic drop. Chase hit Dempsey with a side Russian Legsweep. Chase hit Dempsey with the Chase U boots.
Dempsey reversed a Uranage and Full Nelson. Dempsey put Chase in an Ankle Lock. Chase yelled at Duke to not help him with the ropes which Duke reluctantly agreed to. Dempsey put Chase in a modified Regal Stretch. Duke Hudson threw in the towel to give Dempsey the win.
Charlie Dempsey defeated Andre Chase via throwing in the towel in 2:59.
Chase said he didn’t tap out, but Duke tried to defend looking out for Chase…
Vic Joseph hyped up a Briggs, Jensen, and Henley segment at Henley’s bar for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good match for what little time was given. Wouldn’t mind these two getting a longer match someday due to both guys being very good. I’m okay with the towel throwing here as it continues to develop Duke Hudson in his new role as Bodhi Hayward’s replacement. What’s interesting is the mystery whether or not Hudson is buying into what Andre Chase is selling, or if he’s secretly trying to undermine Chase U from within.
The show cut to Henley, Briggs, and Jensen drinking beers at Henley’s bar. Kiana James and her unnamed assistant entered the bar. As expected, Jensen was horny. Briggs slapped around Jensen for acting like a nerd. James offered to buy Henley’s bar, which Henley refused due to the sentimental value. Jensen continued to act like a dork. Henley talked about how the bar has been like a home to her all her life. James said she’ll up the offer, but Henley refused. James said that Henley and her family will be poor for the rest of their lives…
Former NXT security guard, and NXT’s regular guy, Hank Walker was already in the ring. His opponent was Stacks. D’Angelo was still on a crutch…
4. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Tony D’Angelo) vs. Hank Walker. Stacks pressured Walker in the corner. Walker tossed around Stacks with a hip toss. Stacks hit Walker with an Uppercut. Walker shoved Stacks to ringside. Stacks hit Walker with a jawbreaker on the top rope. Stacks gave Hang clubbing blows after a drop toehold. Stacks hit Hank with clinch knees for a two count. Hank recovered and hit Stacks with a Thesz Press. Stacks hit Hank with a boot. Hank came back with The Pounce.
Hank showed off his dad bod by taking off his shirt. Hank gave Stacks corner splashes. Hank no sold a punch. Stacks gave Hank a thumb to the eye for a two count. Stacks gave Hank a knee drop to the back of the neck for the win.
Channing Lorenzo defeated Hank Walker via pinfall in 3:28.
Grayson Waller hyped up The Waller Effect for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Decent showcase match for Stacks and some improvement shown from Hank (who seems to be hitting the gym a bit because he’s developing a bit of ab definition, not fully there, but he’s getting some semblance of abs). WWE seems to be high on Stacks all of a sudden because they are treating his showing against Shinsuke Nakamura as a big thing. He does have indie experience so at least he has potential. I would pull a Schism and repackage him. There’s only so high on the card that a generic cartoon goon can go. I feel that he’s also holding D’Angelo back because they’ve haven’t figureed out what to do with either man since Cole Karter was released…
[Hour Two] The intro theme for Waller’s talk show aired. Waller introduced his show and the live instagram feed. Waller mocked beating up R-Truth last week. Von Wagner was introduced as the first guest. Wagner made his entrance with Robert Stone. he was dressed in a formal suit. Bron Breakker made his entrance wearing one of his dad’s leather jackets. Waller called out Wagner first, saying that people on the internet see Carmelo Hayes as a more deserving challenger than Von Wagner. Wagner asked Hayes who said that. Wagner assumed it was Joe Blow. Stone said no one is giving Wagner a chance.
Wagner said he’s not here to be a fan favorite. He said people can piss and moan all they want, but he’s here for the title. He said he left Breakker lying last week. Stone cut off Breakker, continuing to taunt him. Breakker said side by side, Breakker vs. Wagner seems like an even matchup, but Wagner decided to attack Breakker from behind last week. Waller pointed out another tweet that said they want to see Breakker lose. Waller joked that the comment may break Breakker’s heart. Breakker talked about how he learned from people like Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano who told him to reach for what he wants and to take it.
Breakker talked about trying to represent greats like Shinsuke Nakamura and Kevin Owens. Breakker said Wagner is not taking the belt from him. Wagner said he’s dangerous. He talked about being in the world title match on the first episode of NXT 2.0. He said he has a legendary wrestler as a dad (Wayne Bloom) but he didn’t use his family for shortcuts in WWE. Breakker dared Wagner to take the title from him. Breakker and Wagner got in each other’s face to end the segment…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee about Carmelo Hayes preventing Lee from becoming a double champ. He said what did get to him was actually Melo bringing up how Lee never beat him. He said he was a tag team guy who was not supposed to be a singles champ. He said Melo has been the champion for about a year, but Hayes isn’t stopping him now…
Axiom was shown heading to the ring…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough segment to set up Wagner going for the title. Wagner’s weakness is still his mic ability, but at least he’s improved his look immensely. There were also tiny glimpses of a good promo in him, so if he can finally figure out how to sound more natural, he’ll definitely be something down the road. Breakker is still a bit bland as champ, so we’re still waiting for character development from. Hopefully he loses the title soon, just not to Von.
Cora Jade cut a promo about Wendy Choo. She blamed Choo for having a “friend complex” who wants to hang out with the popular girls. Jade said nobody returns Choo’s texts and Choo will always be on the outside looking in. Jade said Choo better not be trying to make friends at Jade’s expense…
The show cut to a twitter video of Apollo Crews in Nigera, scouting for new WWE stars. Crews also talked about how he’s coming after the NXT title when he gets back…
Entrances for the next match took place. Vic Joseph announced WrestleMania week in Inglewood and Los Angeles. He advertised NXT Stand and Deliver happening at the Staples Center(I refuse to call that place the Crypto.com Center)…
5. JD McDonagh vs. Axiom. JD started the match with a shoulder tackle. Axiom and JD traded quick Chain wrestling counters. JD slowed things down with a legscissors. Axiom escaped with a handstand. JD reversed a Cattle Mutilation. Axiom kept JD in the shortarm. Axiom got a backslide for a two count. JD stopped on a dime to avoid a kick. JD kicked and tripped Axiom during a Test of Strength. JD got a few two counts off Axiom in a Test of Strength.
JD stretched up Axiom in the Gory Special. Axiom slipped out and used a Bridge to prevent from getting shoulders on the mat. Axiom hit JD with a Sunset Flip for a two count. Axiom gave JD a few gamengiris to send JD to ringside. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Axiom ended JD’s flurry with an enzuigiri. Axiom sold a left knee injury which Joseph noted plays into JD’s usual strategy. Axiom dumped JD to ringside with chops. Axiom hit JD with a very high Triangle Suplex. Axiom sold the worst of the moonsault due to the injury. Axiom and JD beat the ringside ten count. JD gave Axiom a few PKs to the injured leg.
JD then gave Axiom a chop block. Axiom reversed a PK into a backflip and Rear Naked Choke. JD got to the bottom rope for the break. JD put Axiom in a Boston Crab. Axiom got to the bottom rope for the break. JD and Axiom traded stiff forearms. Axiom hit JD with a superman punch. JD hit Axiom with a headbutt after Axiom sold pain during a kip up. Axiom reversed a moonsault with a Triangle Choke. JD tried to reverse the move but Axiom hit JD with a huracanrana for a two count.
Axiom hit JD with a PK for another two count. Axiom went for his jumping superkick but is leg gave up. Axiom countered JD into a Rear Naked Choke. Axiom converted into an armbar. JD recovered and put Axiom in a modified deathlock. Axiom sold it like his leg popped. Axiom yelled at the ref to not call the match. The referee brought medics to ringside. The medics ordered the ref to stop the match.
JD McDonagh defeated Axiom via ref stoppage in about 10:40 of on-air time.
JD took the mic and said he’s a nice guy for not tearing Axiom’s ligaments. He said he has to bring out that evil whenever someone gets between him and the NXT title. JD said Ilja is still in the hospital. JD said he’s sending a message to the roster to test him and get on his level. He said he’s looking right at Apollo Crews…
A video package aired to hype the 5 minute time limit match between Damon Kemp and Brutus Creed…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match that played into the strengths of both men. JD McDonagh has been on a real tear, no pun intended, in recent matches and he’s elevated everyone he’s wrestled. JD helped bring Axiom to his best match in NXT US. JD’s strength is the subtle storytelling which really turns his matches into epics. I loved the ref stoppage finish here which plays into JD’s character where he’s an expert at what makes the body tick.
An ad aired for the NXT Deadline PLE…
Entrances for the next match took place. Brutus attacked Kemp during his entrance…
6. Brutus Creed (w/Julius Creed, Ivy Nile) vs. Damon Kemp with a 5 minute time limit. Brutus tossed around Kemp and gave him clubbing blows. Brutus shoved Kemp off the apron and continued to beat him up at ringside. Brutus slammed Kemp on the announce table. Kemp kicked Brutus in the shin to slow down the action at 2 minutes. Kemp tried to go for the chair, but the referee warnd him of a potential DQ. Brutus used an axe handle to knock away the chair.
Brutus hit Kemp with a series of cannonball sentons. Brutus took the chair and did a shrug. Brutus hit Kemp with the chair for the DQ.
Damon Kemp defeated Brutus Creed via DQ in 2:47.
Brutus picked back up the chair and slammed it in the back of Damon. Veer Mahan and Sanga appeared on the crow’s next to stare down the Creeds…
John’s Thoughts: A nice short and sweet match where the DQ finish made sense as turnabout being fair play for what Kemp did to him in their last match. Kemp gets to brag about the win himself while Brutus closed the door, presumably for now, on their feud. Looking forward to the Creeds feuding with Indus Sher, especially since Sher have been expressing a lot of character complexity.
A vignette aired for the former Donnovan Dijak/T-Bar. He said he wiped the slate clean for a fresh start. He said he’s trying to get the world to play by his rules. He yelled that he’s introducing people to his form of Justice…
Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark made their entrance…[c]
Roxanne Perez caught up with Indi Hartwell backstage. Perez said she’s worried for Indi for acting different recently. Indi talked about how friendships have failed her recently and she’s trying to do things differently…
The following matches were advertised for next week: Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner for the NXT Championship, JD McDonagh vs. Apollo Crews, and Mandy Rose vs. Alba Fyre in a Last Woman Standing Match for the NXT Women’s Championship…
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance made their raver entrance. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
7. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Nikkita Lyons and Zoey Stark for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships. Lyons and Stark traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Chance. Chance did a leapfrog over Stark and put her in a headlock. Stark landed on her feet during a monkey flip. Chance hit Stark with a huracanrana and handstand into a meteora. Carter tagged in and got a two count. Stark hit Carter with a dropkick. Lyons tagged in and got a two count.
Lyons hit Carter with a Tae Kwon Do combo and put her in a armbar. Stark and Lyons hit their opponents with stereo body slams. Chance dumped Stark to ringside. Carter hit Lyons with a dropkick off the back of Chance. Chance caught Stark with a huracanrana at ringside. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Stark put Chance in a Stretch Muffler. Chance reversed the move into a sunset flip for the break. Chance crawled under Stark for the hot tag. Carter hit Stark with a punch combo and a thrust kick. Carter hit Stark with a Face Wash on the bottom rope. Chance and Carter took out their opponents with dives to ringside.
[Overrun] Chance and Carter hit Stark with a Doomsday Paydirt (which looked a bit weak) to give Chance a two count. Stark slowed things down with a Back Suplex on Chance. Lyons tagged in and bumped Carter off the apron. Lyons rolled through a crossbody and tossed Chance. Stark tagged in and gave Chance a Half and Half suplex. Stark hit Chance with a spinning overhead kick for a two count. Chance kicked out. Carter caught Lyons with a dropkick at ringside.
Chance avoided Stark’s Phoenix Splash. Chance caught Stark with a Stundog Millionaire for a two count. Carter took out Lyons with a jump kick to leave all four women lying. Stark almost accidentally ran into Lyons. Lyons saved Stark and ate stereo superkicks from her opponents. Chance managed to hit Stark with a Tornado DDT. Chance and Carter hit Stark with their 450 Backbreaker finisher to give Kayden Carter the win.
Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defeated Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons via pinfall in 11:02 to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships.
Highlights from the match aired. Lyons and Stark took the tag belts from the ref and respectfully handed the titles to Chance and Carter. Stark snatched back one of the titles and slammed it on the head of Lyons. Stark chased Chance and Carter from the ring. Stark hit Lyons with a basement dropkick to the head. The crowd chanted “Oh! Zoey is angry!”. Zoey posed and said “that’s right! I am angry” to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A good tag match where both teams worked really really hard to tell a story. There was a rough spot or two, but the hard work from both teams paid off in the end. This was a good credibility booster for Carter and Chance. Their last two wins really built them up from being just very plucky gatekeepers. Good to see the long-tenured team finally get a chance to shine, and I hope that both women stay together when they get called up to Raw or Smackdown. The Stark heel turn was foreshadowed for weeks where she’s been showing frustration, but they did a solid job of pulling the trigger where they did. I’m curious to see if Stark is able to pull good singles matches out of Lyons, who hasn’t really shined in singles matches in the past. That said, I will give some credit to Lyons over her recent tenure in a tag team because in those tag matches, have been the best she’s looked so far in WWE. Even though her and Stark were the makeshift tag team, this breakup came off way better than the Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez breakup.
Good episode of NXT top to bottom with lots of character development going on. To talk about the commentary team a bit, Booker T has actually evolved to a pretty good commentator during his NXT run. For starters, he isn’t as overbearing as he was when he was on Smackdown back in the day. He’s toned down shoehorning his “catchphrases” and pulls them out at the right moments now. It also seems like he’s having fun giving his thoughts on the next generation of wrestlers, which I’m sure comes from his experience in Reality of Wrestling. I’ll be by in a bit with my weekly NXT audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
Wayne Bloom was a legendary wrestler?lol