By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV “Spring Breakin’ Night One”
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live April 23, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One]Right after the WWE Signature, the show cut to Ava, Nick Aldis, and Adam Pierce chatting in a room that had the words “WWE Draft” on the door. Nick Aldis was there via video call. They all hyped up the WWE Draft. Ava noted that while people are looking forward to people moving up to Raw and Smackdown, but they are also looking forward to who steps up in NXT to replace those leaving…
Various shots were shown of NXT wrestlers arriving to the WWE Performance Center…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
The wrestlers were already in the ring for the women’s championship match. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions. Interesting note, Tatum Paxley got the most favorable babyface introduction…
1. Roxanne Perez vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s Championship. Perez jumped Lyra early on. Perez was freaked out by Tatum’s creepy crawl. Lyra tripped both women and sent them to ringside. Lyra hit both opponents with a wrecking ball dropkick. Lyra caught Paxley with a springboard crossbody. Lyra peppered Tatum with a slap and shotgun dropkick. Perez broke up Lyra’s pin after a Northern Lights on Tatum. Lyra hit Perez with a Northern Lights for a good nearfall.
Lyra and Tatum traded quick rollups. Lyra used a kickout to dump Perez to ringside. Lyra rolled up Tatum for a nearfall. Perez dumped Lyra to ringside. Paxley rolled through a crossbody for a nearfall. Paxley dumped Perez on top of Lyra at ringside heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
All three women were trading quick strikes back from break. Lyra escaped a fireman carry and gave Paxley a Fisherman Buster for a good nearfall that Perez broke up. Perez tossed both opponents in the corners and gave them uppercuts. Perez put Lyra in a Crossface. Vic noted that Lyra is working with an injury. Tatum broke up the submission with a Crossface on Perez. Perez hit both opponents with DDT. Perez hit Tatum with Eat Defeat.
Lyra broke up the pin by Perez on Tatum. Lyra missed a Crescent Kick. Lyra reversed Perez into a German Suplex. Perez hit Lyra with a high kick. Lyra hit Perez with a Crescent. Tatum got a Sunset Flip for an amazing Nearfall. Tatum hit Lyra with a Pumphandle Murphy’s Law. Tatum hit Lyra with a 450. Perez stole the win by jackknife rolling up Tatum for a victory.
Roxanne Perez defeated Tatum Paxley and Lyra Valkyria via pinfall in 12:04 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
John’s Thoughts: Hot damn, what a finish! A great title triple threat throughout and that finish was masterfully done. The “unknown factor” in a way, was WWE Developmental project, Tatum Paxley. I’ve loved the way she’s played, and how they reframed her obsessed stalker character. She was really “made” in a way by this match, and notably that finishing sequence. Once little thing I liked about the rest of this match was all three women making sure to keep up the action to the point where you don’t have one person sleeping outside the ring while two people do their thing (I wasn’t paying too much attention to the PIP break). I kinda wonder if they test out Tatum as a babyface coming out of this show because of her strong reaction throughout the match and that strong closing sequence.
The show cut to various wrestlers and executives in WWE giving their Ilja vs. Trick predictions…
Thea Hail, Fallon Henley, and Kelani Jordan were chatting backstage. Thea was happy to have Chase U’s money problems behind them and how she’s happy to have friends like Fallon and Kelani. Jaida Parker showed up to talk trash, saying Fallon is a loner. Fallon shoved Jaida. A pull apart ensued…
The Tony D’Angelo Family made their entrance…[c]
A intro vignette aired for Tyson DuPont and Tyrek Igwe. There these two big ol’ lineman looking dudes who’ve been wrestling on Level Up. Looks like they’re making their NXT debut next week…
Julius Creed, Brutus Creed, and Ivy Nile were interviewed by Kelly Kincaid about why they’re in NXT for the nights. They all gave their thoughts on Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams. They all had hopes that young Trick Williams would win. Ivy Nile led a Whoop Dat Trick song with all three of them. Brutus was playing the role of Booker T with the “uh huh” and “oh yeah man”. Booker joked that he gonna whoop dat ass for that…
Vic Joseph hyped NXT Battleground at the UFC Apex center…
The No Quarter Catch Crew made their entrance. All six men brawled to start the match. The bell rang once Tony D and Dempsey were left in the ring…
2. “The D’Angelo Family” Tony D’Angelo, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, and Luca Crucifino (w/Adriana Rizzo) vs. “The No Quarter Catch Crew” Charlie Dempsey, Damon Kemp, and Myles Borne. Tony D gave Dempsey a deadlift power bomb and demanded his money [for “getting rid” of Drew Gulak]. Kemp and Stacks tagged in. Luca and Borne tagged in. Luca caught Borne with a uppercut. Borne came back with a dropkick. All six men ended up brawling again.
The mafia guys dumped their opponents. Kemp hit the brawling wrestlers at ringside with a flip dive. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from break, Dempsey was working on Stacks with methodical offense. Stacks powered out and hit Dempsey with a crossbody for a two count. Dempsey came back with a Dragon Screw into a calf hook. Dempsey ducked a enzuigiri and stomped on Stacks. Kemp tagged in and hit a German and Dropkick Combo with a Borne on Stacks. The heels cut the ring in half on Stacks. Stacks broke Dempsey’s half crab with a enzuigiri. Stacks dumped Borne to ringside.
Tony D tagged in and cleaned house (a bit mistimed). Tony D hit Kemp and Borne with hip tosses. Tony hit Dempsey with a spinebuster for a two count. Dempsey gave Tony D a chop block. Borne and Kemp hit Tony D with a Neckbreaker Suplex combo to give Borne a tow count. Dempsey hit Tony D with a Suplex. Stacks broke up Charlie’s pin. Luca and Stacks hit Kemp with a Shatter Machine. Tony D reversed a Full Nelson to hit Dempsey with a Uranage for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo, Channing Lorenzo, and Luca Crucifino defeated The No Quarter Catch Crew via pinfall in 11:05.
Vic Joseph noted that Tony D just pinned “The Heritage Cup Champions”. Tony D yelled off mic for Charlie Dempsey to pay up…
John’s Thoughts: I think their timing was a bit off during the hot tag sequence, but I give Tony D a good job for taking over and firing up the crowd despite the mistiming. Goofy setup, with this being over Dempsey and crew not paying Tony D for “getting rid” of Drew Gulak. My guess is this payment is going to be in the form of a Heritage Cup title match for Tony D.
A photographer was interviewing Baron Corbin about what Bron Breaker is going to say once he gets called up. Corbin said he wasn’t sure. Lexis King showed up and gave Corbin a gift basket for leaving NXT. Corbin said people are only hoping he’s leaving. Lexis then said he is proud to be Corbin’s next 2nd generation tag team partner. Lexis left assuming they were a team now. Corbin called Lexis a toolbag and said that his beard is fake…
Jaida Parker was flanked by OTM heading into picture-in-picture. Looks like the match is starting picture in picture…[c]
The match started during picture-in-picture (with my timing based of the referee waiving to ring the bell)…
3. Fallon Henley vs. Jaida Parker (w/Scrypts, Bronco Nima, Lucien Price). Back from break, Henley was dominating. Jaida turned the tide with a front suplex on the top rope. Jaida hit Henley with her signature draping Banzai Booty Drop. Jaida worked on Henley with methodical offense. Both women traded rollups at a point. Jaida slammed Fallon’s face to the mat for a nearfall. Jaida put Henley in an abdominal stretch.
Henley rallied back with right hands. Henley hit Jaida with a Twisting Facebuster for a two count. Henley avoided a few right hands. Jaida threw Jaida into the ropes throat first. Henley rebounded right into a running booty strike from Parker for the win.
Jaida Parker defeated Fallon Henley via pinfall in 6:30.
Jacy Jayne was cutting a promo next to Jasmyn Nyx. She was talking trash about Thea Hail, talking about how Hail should be appreciative of the advice she gave her. Hail was stressing that Hail was ungrateful. Jayne hyped up her match with Hail next week…
A vignette aired to hype up the Natalya vs. Lola Vice NXT Underground Match for next week…
Separate shots of Lola Vice and the duo of Natalya and Karmen Petrovic were shown walking backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid win for developmental wrestler Jaida. We’ve seen her in a few matches, and so far she’s pretty good. She looks great, hasn’t really fumbled and bumbled in the ring, and is really doing a great job getting over her badass character. I do hope they build up OTM too, because I really see potential in that whole unit. Jaida’s finisher could use a little work. It looked better than last time, but I feel like I’ve seen more devastating booty strikes in pro wrestling (think Toni Storm’s hip attack, and even Jaida’s corner draping Banzai Drop that Jaida uses as a signature).
Kelly Kincaid interviewed JD McDonagh about his Ilja vs. Trick prediction. JD said he’s faced Ilja more than anyone, and the strategy to beat him is to injure him. He said he doesn’t think Trick can do that, so he thinks Ilja will win. After JD left, Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate ran into the scene. Dunne predicted Ilja while Tyler predicted Trick…
[Hour Two] Ava was standing inside of a ropeless ring that had a contract signing set setup. Developmental wrestlers were surrounding the ring to slap the mat. Ava did introductions and called this historic. Natalya and Karmen Petrovic made their entrance first. Natalya signed the contract first. Lola Vice then made her entrance. Vice signed the contract and the match was official. Natalya demanded to know who was in Lola’s corner.
Lola dodged the question and said that while she can shake her ass, she can also kick ass. Lola said she’ll break Natalya next week. Natalya said she can see Lola’s ego. Natalya said she respects that Lola fought in the Cage, but Lola doesn’t respect that Natalya came from the Hart Family Dungeon. Natalya said if Lola can’t respect the past, she’s going to beat respect in Lola. A “she’s the BOAT” chant ensued.
Natalya told Lola to bring everything she has because she’s going to tap Lola’s ass out. Lola said she has the fastest hands in the division and her corner woman will make those hands even faster. Former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler made her entrance. A “welcome back” chant ensued. Shayna took a mic and said that Nattie’s chances went from slim to none. Shayna said the most dangerous fighter in NXT has aligned with the baddest woman in WWE.
Shayna said Nattie needs to tear up her contract to avoid this match. Shayna then shoved Karmen Petrovic. Karmen knocked out Shayna with a spinning roundhouse. The two faces dumped the heels to ringside to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Solid contract signing with a different setting. Despite Natalya not being the most dominant wrestler in WWE, she’s been mostly off TV and she does do a good work working with the younger wrestlers every time she shows up in NXT. Again, I’m a huge fan of her being a “player coach”. Fun to see Shayna Baszler back in the place where she tore the house down. I wouldn’t mind if she’d do a bit of a rehab stint in NXT because they really did her dirty on the Main Roster after she dominated NXT as one of the strongest champions the brand has ever seen.
Ridge Holland was interviewed in the parking lot. He said he’s going to try to show people he can win the right way. Shawn Spears showed up and said it looks like Ridge actually believes what he’s saying. Spears said that Holland needs to “embrace it” and in fact “let it out”. Holland said that’s not going to work and he’ll be seeing Spears later…
Blair Davenport made her entrance…[c]
A backstage promo aired with The Final Testament. Karrion Kross talked about being a former two time champion. Kross said they are going to take everyone to the good ol’ days were The Authors of Pain and Kross were dominating everyone. Paul Ellering said The Final Testament are coming after all titles. Akam said they are bringing destruction back to NXT. Rezar said Axiom and Frazer need to prepare. Scarlett said “…and thus say the final testament”…
John’s Thoughts: I know people may be down on Kross, but I’ve been a defender of his going back to his time before Lucha Underground where I got to see him in dark segments. The guy has the potential to be a top tier wrestler, but where I think he’s missing is he needs to be more “violent” in the ring to match his demented and philosophical presentation. Here’s hoping all these peeps get a good reset in NXT. Heck I don’t mind if we see Scarlett to split off and do her thing because I thought she did a strong job in Impact as “The Smokeshow” (where she actually had an entertaining intergender feud with Disco Inferno)
Axiom and Frazer were in the locker room watching the promo and said that The Final Testament can’t just do that. Malik Blade agreed. Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows also said he’s tired of all these teams taking spots in NXT. Edris Enofe was about to speak up, but then broke a mirror over Gallow’s shoe. Edris decided to hold back his comments. Vic talked about how this might give Edris bad luck (weird segment)…
The camera panned to show various “beach” things around the ring, like kickboards, surfboards, beachballs…
4. Blair Davenport vs. Sol Ruca in a “Beach Brawl” Match. Ruca trapped Blair in a floating donut and tossed toys at her. Blair recovered at ringside. Sol came back with boots. Ruca draped a picnic bench on the apron. Blair tossed Sol into the bench. Blair tossed Ruca into the ringpost. Blair tossed a beachball into Sol. Booker said things have gotten serious. Rucan tried to defend herself with a kickboard, but Blair still dominated.
Sol reversed a hip toss and gave Blair an X factor into a ball pit bool. Sol then put a surfboard on top of Blair and acted like she was surfing. Picture in picture time.[c]
Sol caught Blair with a flying axe handle. Sol gave Blair a superkick. Sol then hit Blair with a kickboard after a standing moonsault. Blair caught Sol with a superkick. Sol came back with her own superkick. Sol hit Blair with a power bomb for a good nearfall. Blair reversed a Sol Snatcher into a Super German Suplex for a two count. Blair draped a surfboard on the ringpost. Sol tossed Blair into it. Blair tripped Sol off the barricade into a guardrail.
Bialr cleared a picnic table. Both women brawled on the barricade. Sol hit Blair with a Backpack Stunner through the picnic table. A Holy Shit chant ensued and was censored. Sol hit Blair with a new version of her Sol Snatcher, in the center of the ring, for the victory.
Sol Ruca defeated Blair Davenport via pinfall in 10:29
John’s Thoughts: Let me get the negative out of the way first. Isn’t it too soon into the Paul Levesque era of WWE to be going back to Sports Entertainment themed PG Hardcore Matches? That aside, one reason I was into Lucha Underground, one reason I go to these gimmicky Hoodslam indie shows every month, is because sports entertainment can work, if the wrestlers put in the work to cause you to buy into a battle. I’m happy that both women by the end put in some hard work and won everyone with that hard effort. Maybe Sol’s best match in WWE and her best since her ACL injury. Loved that she found a new way to hit her amazing finisher. (Only one little nitpick tho, I didn’t like the surfboard against the ringpost, because how is a buoyant surfboard supposed to hurt more than a steel ringpost?)
Trick Williams was chatting with his mom, who had to go to the hospital. His mom said the doctor was saying she’s getting better. Trick said he’s going to fight hard tonight, and he wants his mom to do the same. She said she will and she told Trick to Whoop Dat Trick. After Trick’s mom hung up, Johnny Gargano showed up to chat with Trick.
Trick said the pressure is on more tonight due to him possibly leaving NXT if he loses. Gargano said there’s no diamonds without pressure. Gargano said he knows Trick lost to Ilja, but Trick has been through so much since that loss. Gargano said Trick needs to take that loss, that pain, all that betrayal, and use it. Gargano said it’s not a burden, but a weapon. Gargano said that makes Trick a new Trick and Ilja hasn’t beaten that Trick.
Gargano said when he won the NXT Title it changed his life, but he had to give every ounce of his life to do that. Johnny asked Trick if he’s willing to give that, to slay the mad dragon, and win the NXT Championship. Trick stood up and said he’s ready. Gargano told Trick to go Whoop Dat Trick. Gargano and Trick dapped it up to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome promo for Johnny Wrestling. Good and wholesome segment too with Trick’s mom wishing him well as well. Why can’t we get this plucky Johnny on the Main Roster instead of this campy Re-Generation X mess? Hopefull
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary where they reiterated the NXT Battleground event occurring in Las Vegas…
Baron Corbin made his entrance…[c]
A twitter video was shown of Meta Four having car problems on their way to the show. Oro Mensah was still sour over constantly getting doors slapped in his face by Oba Femi…
Lexis King made his entrance…
5. Baron Corbin vs. Lexis King. Corbin was dominating with power moves. He actually got a “Let’s Go Corbin” (Corbin’s right, this is weird to see this babyface reaction). Lexis hit Corbin with a botched dropkick. Booker and Vic argued over trying to both cover up for the botch. Vic told Booker to take a piece of candy. Lexis choked Corbin on the top buckle with his boot. Lexis worked on Corbin with a few kicks. Lexis hit Corbin with a Northern Lariat for a two count.
Lexis hit Corbin with a dropkick, but Corbin rebounded into a lariat. Corbin hit Lexis with a corner lariat and backdrop. Corbin hit Lexis with a Suplex Cutter for a two count (ode to his old Wolf Dog tag partner). Lexis caught Corbin with a kick at ringside. Corbin beat the count. Lexis hit Corbin with a superkick.
The referee caught the leverage pin. Corbin hit Lexis with a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. The Referee shielded himself when Lexis tossed him into him. Lexis punted Corbin in the nuts. Lexis hit Corbin with his twisting neckbreaker finisher for the victory.
Lexis King defeated Baron Corbin via pinfall in 5:38.
Vic noted that given Corbin’s long history in WWE, this is the biggest win of his career…
John’s Thoughts: Surprising finish and kudos to Corbin for putting over the future star in Pillman Jr. Small aside, it was a bit weird, but funny to see both Booker and Vic trying to cover up for a Lexis botch, but both end up arguing over both trying to put over Lexis. As Corbin said in interviews, he’s been such a reliable and hated heel, that it’s surreal seeing him cheered as a plucky babyface. They might wanna keep him in NXT a bit. The man roster hasn’t witnessed “wholesome” Baron Corbin (even though I thought Bum Ass Corbin was a bit of a preview into his wholesomeness). I hope there’s a way to get wholesome Corbin on the man roster, because he’s actually talented and feels fresh as such.
The various NXT alum that were shown in interviews earlier were sitting down in the bleachers to watch the next match…
A hype package aired to hype up the upcoming Ilja vs. Trick NXT Title Match. One interesting thing they pointed out was all the pinfall losses Trick has taken from Ilja (great underdog babyface stuff)…[c]
Vic Joseph thanked the artist Jahreal for providing the song “Paradise” as the theme song for the Spring Break In shows…
The following matches were plugged for Night II of the themed show: Thea Hail vs. Jacy Jayne, Lola Vice vs. Natalya in NXT Underground, Oba Femi vs. Ivar for the North American Championship, and Axiom and Nathan Fraser vs. The Authors of Pain for the NXT Championship.
Sarah Scheriber interviewed Ilja Dragunov about his final thoughts before his match. Ilja said Trick has gained his respect, but all he has in his life is his family and championship. He said he’s going to prove that he’s unbesiegbar. WWE Champion Damian Priest showed up backstage and wished Ilja luck. Ilja left. Priest then put his arm around Sarah’s shoulder told her “ey, how ya doin”…
Byron Saxton interviewed Trick with the same question. Trick said either he wins tonight or leave NXT for good. Be a champion or bust. Trick said he’ll prove himself right or wrong, but either way he’s going to fight. He said he fears no man and like momma just say, let’s whoop dat trick. Trick Williams made his entrance via a single take shot…
Ilja Dragunov then made his entrance. Alicia Taylor did the formal in-ring introductions. Vic noted that as was alluded to earlier, Trick’s mom was watching the match from the Hospital…
6. Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship. Ilja had an early takedown and forearms to the back of the neck. Trick and Ilja traded snug kicks. Ilja peppered Trick with right hands. Trick rallied back with hands of his own. Ilja reversed a spinebuster into a DDT. Ilja hit Trick with a Constantine Special for a two count. Both men butted heads and shared a few daps and a big hug.
The hug then turned into forearms. Ilja hit Trick with a stiff knee and then fired up the crowd. The show then cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Trick and Ilja tumbled from the top rope. Ilja recovered and gave Trick a kick and power bomb. Ilja then gave Trick a Face Wash boot on the bottom rope. Ilja hit Trick with Coast to Coast. Trick kicked out at two.
[Overrun] Trick reversed a dropkick into a neckbreaker. The crowd fired up Trick with Whoop Dat Trick chants. Trick hit Ilja with a power bomb. Trick hit Ilja with a standing H Bomb for a nearfall. Trick yelled Unbesiegbar and hit Trick with a Torpedo Moscow. Ilja came back with a few jump kicks and a Death Valley Driver in the corner. A “This is Awesome” chant ensued. Ilja cleared the announce table.
Trick backdropped Ilja at ringside. Vic noted the referee was going to allow this to happen. Trick gave Ilja a Super Book End through the announce table. Ilja staggered Trick on the apron and went to the top rope. Ilja hit Trick with a Deadlift Superplex. Ilja hit Trick with a Standing H Bomb. Ilja hit Trick with a Super H Bomb. Trick kicked out at two for a great nearfall (I don’t like Vic doing the whole “we have a winner” telegraph). Ilja hit Trick with a Super H Bomb, but sold the worst of the move.
After recovering, Ilja pinned Trick for a great nearfall. Ilja hit Trick with a German Suplex. Trick no sold the suplex and gave Ilja a Knee to the back of the neck for a great nearfall. Trick and Ilja got up in the corners. Trick blocked a Torpedo Moscow with a Trick Knee (Tiger Knee) for the victory.
Trick Williams defeated Ilja Dragunov via pinfall in 11:56 to become the new NXT Champion.
Trick soaked in “Whoop That Trick” chants. Ilja recovered, handed Trick the title, and gave him an emotional hug. An elated Trick Williams celebrated his title win. Trick then climbed the barricades to celebrate with the fans to close the show.
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match to start the show to top of a long time story between Trick and Ilja (which was weaved in well with the Trick vs. Melo stuff). Trick vs. Melo was a feud about betrayal and overcoming. Trick vs. Ilja was a story of the hype man, wanting to rise, getting knocked down, and down, and down again. And getting up, and turning those L’s into lessons to build up the new protagonist of NXT. Great video packages throughout the night that set up Trick as the plucky hero of the match. It also feels like Trick and Ilja have developed a bit of a wholesome friendship because they made each other look good in the ring, while also having natural wholesome exchanges on the mic.
One thing that played into that friendship I liked at the beginning of this match was the moment both men dapped it up in the center of the ring while also doing one of Ilja’s signature power hugs. Then going into violence with respectful forearms. Tru warrior shit. I really hope we get something like this down the road on the man roster. In ring wise, these guys hit each other hard, and if this is Ilja’s last night in NXT, HBK must be shedding a tear because Ilja has been his workhorse for many years in NXT and NXT UK, making some classic matches and making err body look wonderful.
Strong night 1 of the two night themed shows. In fact, Night 2, looks WAY weak on paper. I think I understand WWE’s logic behind putting the big matches on Night 1, and that’s because NXT, and WWE, will be turning the page and mixing the pot with their Draft on Friday and Monday. Definitely go out of you way to watch this show. Next week might be a bit weaker, because we don’t know how NXT will look coming out of next monday. Hopefully they mix in some new faces as to have the viewers looking forward to what this “New” NXT is going to look like.
Everytime I read John’s review, I’m going to take a shot when he says plucky. Then I can guarantee I’ll get plowed every Tuesday!
You mean you’ll get “plucked” up! Sorry, I had to go there 😉