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Mitchell’s WWE Monday Night Raw Report! (2/19/18)

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All images courtesy of the WWE’s official Twitter

 

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Seven Man Gauntlet Match: John Cena, Elias, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, The Miz, Finn Balor & Braun Strowman; Strowman wins.
  • The Bar VS Titus Worldwide w/ Dana Brooke; Titus Worldwide wins.
  • Six Woman Tag: Mickie James, Bayley & Sasha Banks VS Alexa Bliss & Absolution w/ Paige; Mickie, Bayley & Sasha win.

PLAY BY PLAY

“Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of the WWE…”

A moment of silence for the victims of the Parkland, FL tragedy and their families.

 

Seven Man Gauntlet Match: John Cena, Elias, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, The Miz, Finn Balor & Braun Strowman!

All seven men involved in this match will be part of the first-ever Seven Man Elimination Chamber match this Sunday! We start with The Big Dog, Roman Reigns!

Before entering the Universal Championship #1 Contenders Chamber match, Roman will test if he can survive the other six men. This choice was the Raw General Manager’s, and that means he could be in “for a very long night.” How does he feel about taking on such a match this close to the Pay-Per-View event? “I’m not concerned at all about tonight.” He does worry about the Chamber, however. Roman’s never been in one but he’s seen them all, “how rough it is, what it does to the men’s bodies.” On top of that, he’ll be up against some of the best competition in the entire world, from John Cena to Seth Rollins to Braun Strowman. “But all those guys have one thing in common: they cannot beat Brock Lesnar.” That is why this is Roman’s time. And if the WWE Universe don’t think it’s true, watch Wrestlemania 31 and see how close Roman got. But then his first opponent, Seth Rollins, comes out!

The Architect also wants at The Beast, but he’ll have to take on his Shield Brother here and at the Chamber to do it! Will either of these two make it to the end of the Gauntlet?

The bell rings and the fans already duel. Rollins and Roman slowly circle, and the fans chant “Burn it Down!” They tie up, Roman keeping Rollins back. Roman puts Rollins in a corner, then lets him out cleanly. They circle again, they tie up again, and Rollins gets the standing switch. Roman pries the hold open and reverses to a wristlock. Rollins rolls and spins to reverse that onto Roman. Roman reverses again, into a headlock, and doesn’t let Rollins out. He throws Rollins with the headlock takeover and continues to squeeze Rollins’ head. The fans keep up their chanting while Rollins endures. Rollins gets up and to his feet, but Roman brings him back down. Rollins uses headscissors and Roman pops out to again get Rollins in the headlock takeover. Roman says, “I told you, I know all your tricks.”

He keeps up the grind but Rollins gets back up. Rollins powers out this time, but Roman runs him over with a shoulder. The fans are a mix of cheers and jeers as things speed up. Rollins arm-drags Roman then transitions to La Mahistrol, TWO! Rollins keeps on Roman with a backslide, TWO, so he mule kicks and runs, but Roman stands right up to stare him down. The Shield Brothers are even while we go to break.

Raw returns to see Roman has Rollins back in a headlock. The fans duel with chanting, and Rollins stands up again to fight out with body shots. A jawbreaker breaks the hold and Rollins runs, but into Roman’s back elbow! Roman checks his teeth before going back to the dazed Rollins. Rollins staggers at the ropes, but Roman keeps on him with right hands in a corner. Rollins staggers again, Roman whips him corner to corner. Roman runs in but into Rollins’ boot. Rollins comes out but into the tilt-o-whirl slam! Cover, TWO! Roman keeps his cool while Rollins stirs. The fans keep dueling, but Roman keeps focused on Rollins as they both stand up. He whips but Rollins kicks back, then Rollins throws a back elbow. Another boot and Rollins hops up, for the flying blockbuster! They keep moving, Slingblade for Roman.

Roman ends up in a corner and Rollins gets that leg moving as he runs corner to corner. Roman puts Rollins on the outside but Rollins punches him away. Rollins springboards and hits the flying clothesline. The fans fire up as Rollins clotheslines Roman out of the ring. Roman lands on his feet but Rollins builds speed to DI- Roman’s right hand rocks Rollins! Rollins is limp on the second rope as Roman gets space, to hit a Drive-By Dropkick! The referee starts a ring count while Roman catches his breath. He puts Rollins in the ring and follows, but Rollins swings. Roman rallies with clotheslines, then corner clotheslines at close range. Roman gets all ten, then runs to boot Rollins down. The fans are mixed as Roman gets to a corner. Roman locks and loads, takes aim and runs in, but into the wristlock. Roman headbutts Rollins away, then runs back in, but Rollins mule kicks the punch down. Rollins grabs Roman, powerbomb lift and buckle bomb this! SUPERMAN PUNCH outta nowhere! Both men are down as we go to another break.

Raw returns while Rollins climbs to the top rope. He takes aim at Roman, jumps, Frog Splash flops as Roman rolls out of the way. Both men are down again and the referee starts a ten count. The count reaches 3 before the two stir, and 6 when the two stand back up. Rollins swings forearms into Roman, Roman fights back with haymakers. Roman’s uppercut staggers Rollins, but then Rollins throws Roman out of the ring. Rollins runs, DIVES and hits!

He gets back in the ring and goes again to DIVE! Rollins puts Roman back in the ring and climbs over to a corner. He springboards again, SUPERMAN PUNCH knocks him out of the sky!

Cover, TWO! Roman feels some frustration on top of his exhaustion. He sits up while Rollins crawls for ropes. The fans are thunderous both ways but Roman gets up and to a corner. He lets out the howl, then runs but into Rollins’ kick. Rollins mule kicks, goes for the Curb Stomp but Roman evades to roll up, TWO, Rollins rolls up, ROLLINS BEATS REIGNS!!

They’re both shocked but the fans are chanting “YES! YES!” Roman accepts this loss, he and Rollins are still Shield Brothers.

However, the Gauntlet shows no mercy as it brings out…

JOHN CENA!

The Face that Runs the Place wants to get to Wrestlemania by any means necessary. He earned his way into the Elimination Chamber and wants to challenge for his first ever Universal Championship, but can he get through The Architect and the Gauntlet? He turns around Rollins attacks Cena right away! Cover, TWO! The Architect shows no mercy either as we go to break.

Raw returns and Cena now has control as he puts Rollins in a thrashing headlock. Cena has one of Rollins’ arms trapped but Rollins tries to use that other arm to go after Cena’s face. Rollins slips his trapped arm out but Cena just brings him back to the mat and re-traps the arm. Cena makes it a cover but Rollins gets up at ONE. Rollins keeps moving and gets out again. He fights back with body shots, then haymakers. Rollins runs but into Cena’s clothesline. Cena gets serious as he finally takes off his shirt.

He covers, ONE, but Cena keeps focused. He stalks Rollins and Rollins can sense it. Cena still rocks Rollins with a right hand, then whips him corner to corner hard. Quick cover, ONE, so Cena goes back to the headlock. Cena drags Rollins into a sleeper and body scissors. Rollins endures but he’s turning red. He reaches and resists but Cena’s wrapped on tight. Rollins gets out of the body scissors but Cena maintains the headlock. They stand up again and Cena forearms Rollins in the back. Cena kicks Rollins in the head, then drags Rollins up to throw him out. Rollins bumps barriers while Cena waits in the ring. The ring count begins and perhaps Cena wants the easy win, given the circumstances. The count gets up to 9 but Rollins narrowly beats it! He even dares Cena to bring the fight.

Cena keeps on Rollins with another low kick. Cena glares down at Rollins, he wants the ref to count like a Last Man Standing match. He tells Rollins to stay down but Rollins refuses. Cena waits for Rollins, grabs him for a side belly2belly, then rolls into another! He hits a third belly2belly, covers, TWO! The Architect frustrates the leader of the Cenation while we go to break.

Raw returns again and Cena still has control. Rollins staggers to his feet but with Cena stalking him. Cena brings Rollins up but Rollins slips out, kick and DDT! Cover, TWO!

Rollins is too sore and tired to be mad. He and Cena stir, then get to their feet. Rollins throws haymakers and chops on Cena, but Cena ducks to lift Rollins again. Flapjack stunner, TWO! Cena looks frustrated, he isn’t sure what to do to Rollins now. He gets up and glares down at Rollins again. Rollins drags himself to a corner, but Cena backs off. He wants Rollins to get up, and Rollins drags himself to his feet while the fans duel. Rollins puts his dukes up but Cena drops him with a haymaker.

Cena circles Rollins as he stands up again, to knock him down again. He even brags, “I feel great right now.” Rollins won’t give up, so Cena starts boasting and flaunting. He evades Rollins and knocks him back down, ONE. Rollins gets fired up, shoving Cena. They both get fired up and a brawl starts with back and forth haymakers! Rollins runs but into Cena’s back elbow. Cena covers, TWO, and Rollins gets under the rope and out to the apron. Rollins drags himself up, Cena runs and blasts Rollins off the apron. The ring count begins, but Rollins is stirring at 3. He crawls to the ring, but is only halfway there at 6. The count reaches 9 again, and Rollins again beats the count. Cena is both shocked and frustrated while we go to break.

Raw returns once more, and Cena again looks down at the exhausted Rollins. Cena waits for Rollins as he gets back up. Cena runs and starts rallying with those signature shoulder tackles. He goes for the spin-out but Rollins counters with a headlock takeover that puts Cena in a corner. Rollins runs at Cena but Cena puts him on the apron. Rollins punches Cena away then springboards, but Cena catches the leg! STF! Cena has Rollins down, far from ropes! Even so, Rollins drags himself over. Cena lets go to drag Rollins back, but Rollins shoves Cena away. They both get up, Slingblade to Cena! Cover, TWO! Rollins’ bad leg slows him down but he still stands up. He keeps his eyes on Cena as they go corner to corner. Rollins runs in and hits a forearm smash, then snap suplex roll-through to Fa- roll up from Cena, TWO! Spin-out powerbomb! And that always means one thing: “You Can’t See Me!”

Except Rollins kicks Cena, then mule kicks, to mule kick again! Cover, TWO! Cena rolls to the apron but both men are running on fumes now. They both stand up, Rollins hobbles over to Cena. Rollins wants to suplex Cena in, but Cena counters. Cena brings ROllins to the outside but Rollins kicks him away. Rollins runs in, but Cena side-steps to send Rollins into the post! Cena runs back in, but Rollins side-steps to send Cena into steel steps! A ring count begins again but for both men. It reaches 5 before either man stirs. The count reaches 9, Cena and Rollins both beat it by the skin of their teeth.

The fans chant “Burn it Down!” for Rollins as he and Cena get to their feet. Cena throws haymakers, then spin-out powerbomb Rollins again! Five Knuckle Shuffle, then the fireman’s carry, but Rollins rolls down to cover, TWO! Takedown into a Crossface! Cena endures the submission, and uses his superhuman strength to get up to his feet! He puts Rollins in position, AA- But Rollins lands on his feet! Enziguri! Cena is down, Rollins hurries up top! FROG SPLASH!!

TWO!! This is a match moving past 50 minutes and yet Rollins is still going. He and Cena both get up, Rollins goes for the ripcord, but Cena with the fireman’s carry and AA! TWO?!!? Did Rollins kick out?! The referee tells Cena he did! The fans continue to chant “Burn it Down!” for Rollins but Cena climbs up top. Rollins revives and climbs up quick, to SUPERPLEX roll-through to Falcon Arrow!

TWO! Rollins won’t stop here, he gets up and waits for Cena. He runs in for the Stomp but Cena gets that leg again! STF reapplied!

Rollins endures, drags himself to ropes, ropebreak! Cena lets go, yanks Rollins up and ducks the enziguri to put the STF on a third time! Rollins rolls it but Cena rolls it back. Rollins endures the hold, reaches for more ropes and gets another break! Cena holds on a little longer, then finally lets go. Rollins rolls out of the ring and Cena just lets him stay there. The count gets high again but Rollins comes back. Cena intercepts him and brings him up to the top rope. After some positioning, Cena has the fireman’s carry. Rollins fights out! He slips down, Cena jumps but Rollins catches and rolls through, for an ARCHITECT AA!! TWO!! The fans are loving this! Both men are stirring slowly, but Rollins gets himself to a corner. Rollins drags himself up to the top, and the fans fire up for him. He stands up, PHOENIX- No, he has to roll through when Cena isn’t there. Cena grabs Rollins in the fireman’s carry, AA! But that’s not all, eh rolls through to lift again. But Rollins, Kingslayer Knee! Mule kick, CURB STOMP!! ROLLINS BEATS CENA!! After roughly an hour, Rollins is up 2-0 in the Gauntlet!

But here comes Elias!

The Drifter already knows he’ll be last into the Chamber, but he’s fourth in this Gauntlet. And perhaps this will be foreshadowing of things to come, as he goes right after the exhausted Rollins. He covers, TWO! Elias stomps out The Architect, drops a knee, covers, TWO! Elias whips and elbows Rollins down, TWO. Rollins is somehow still going while we go to break.

Raw returns, and Elias has Rollins in a Half-Crab. Rollins endures as he is not the Hour Man, having lasted 60+ minutes. Meanwhile, Cena is interviewed backstage over his “tough loss.” How will he pick up the pieces this Sunday? First, he must compliment Rollins on his abilities, he’s worthy of being Mr. Monday Night. However, Rollins’ focus is only on Mondays. Rollins gets a ropebreak as Cena relates that he’s got his hands full of many things. Rollins can focus on wrestling and wrestling alone, but Cena doesn’t want that to sound like an insult. Cena is trying, and is putting the pressure on himself to win the Chamber. He needs to win, or he might not have a Road to Wrestlemania. Cena will take these six days to sort himself out and try again.

Back to in the ring, Elias stomps away on Rollins again. He yanks Rollins up but Rollins lands on his feet, only for that bad leg to give out again. Elias keeps on Rollins with a mudhole stomp in a corner, then wraps the leg around the ropes. The ref counts, Elias lets go then back hands Rollins in the chest. Rollins chops back, so Elias chops more, and now it’s a slap and chop fight! Rollins backs Elias down with his furious forearms, then more chops. Elias kicks out the bad leg then runs, but into a SUPERKICK! TWO! Rollins is so exhausted, and Elias gets out of the ring. Even so, Rollins forces himself up and slingshots out for a big plancha! Elias goes down but Rollins’ bad leg slows him down again. Rollins rests against the barrier before putting Elias back in the ring. Another mule kick, Rollins runs but into Elias’s boot. Rollins shouts at Elias to bring it, so Elias hits him with a jumping knee! Then, Drift Away! Cover, Elias beats Rollins! The incredible run comes to an end at 65 minutes and two eliminations.

Everyone in the WWE Universe applauds Rollins’ heroic efforts as a referee helps Rollins to the back.

However, Elias can’t rest for long, either, because his opponent is…

FINN BALOR!

Even the Extraordinary Man gives props to the Architect on his way out.

Elias is ready for Finn as Finn heads in, but Finn is ready for Elias, too. Finn throws hands on Elias all around the ring, but Elias knees low. The fans chant “Too Sweet! Woop Woop!” while Elias whips but Finn reverses. Sunset flip but roll through, Finn dropkicks Elias. Cover, TWO, but Finn is focused. He chops Elias in a corner, whips but Elias reverses. Finn side-steps and swing kicks Elias down, then heads up top! He takes aim but Elias bails out, no double stomps yet. The Drifter catches his breath while we go to break.

Raw returns and Elias has Finn in an armlock. The fans rally and Finn fights out, only for Elias to snapmare and knee drop. “Who wants to walk with Elias?!”

Phoenix, Arizona has mixed reactions. Meanwhile, Rollins has his turn with a backstage interview. Elias rams Finn into buckles while Rollins notes that he “pinned two of the best in the world”, back to back and that’s something. However, Rollins knows it doesn’t mean a thing if he doesn’t win this Sunday.

Back to the ring, Elias has Finn in a keylock. Finn fights his way up but Elias scoops him. Finn slips out and forearms Elias back. Elias keeps on the arm, then scoops Finn again for the shoulder breaker. Cover, TWO, but Elias keeps his cool. Elias climbs up and takes aim at Finn, hitting a double ax handle to the shoulder. He even toys with Finn before wrapping that arm around the bottom rope. The ref counts, so Elias lets go, to then take Finn’s arm and slam it on the apron. The fans chant “We Want Strowman!” to mostly troll Elias for what the Monster Among Men did to Elias last week. Elias drags Finn around into a hammerlock and then throws that arm into buckles. Cover, ONE, but Elias keeps focus. Elias wrenches that arm some more in another armlock. Finn endures, gets up and round but Elias brings him back down. Elias rakes and hooks Finn’s nose as well, but Finn keeps it together.

Finn stands up, but Elias throws him to ropes. Finn kicks back, but Elias yanks on the bad arm again. Elias shoves Finn, then forearms him on the rebound, but Finn hits the Pele kick! Both men go down and the fans chant for Finn. Finn gets up and to a corner. Elias runs in but into boots, Finn rallies with running forearm smashes. He whips but Elias reverses, Finn still gets another forearm. Elias end up in a corner, Finn hist him with a running chop. They go corner to corner, Elias back elbows Finn away before hopping up, but then Finn swing kicks him down to the outside. Elias staggers about, Finn goes out and takes aim, blasting dropkick sends Elias into the barriers! Finn drags Elias into the ring, Slingblade drops him down. He takes aim again, but runs into a big lariat! Cover, TWO! Elias  stalks Finn, hoists him up onto his shoulders, spinning powerbomb!

TWO! Both men tough it out while we go to break.

Raw returns to see Finn throw Elias out of the ring! He gets himself to the apron, and hits Elias with a Penalty Kick! Finn brings Elias over with a headlock but Elias powers out to shove Finn into a post! Elias drags Finn up and in, then goes to drop an elbow, but Finn evades. Finn rolls up, TWO, into a Fujiwara armbar!

Finn endures the torque on that beat-up arm, but Elias keeps him away from ropes. Elias keeps on that arm but Finn keeps his teeth grit. Finn drags himself back to those ropes, so Elias drags him away again. Finn counters with double leg takedown and double stomps! The fans fire up for Finn, but Elias kicks that bad arm. Finn hits back with a forearm, then a slingblade! He blasts Elias with another dropkick, and then climbs up again! Finn takes aim, COUP DE GRACE! Finn beats Elias!

There are only two men left to go in this match, but Finn must face…

The Miz!

The Intercontinental Champion sends his Miztourage out first to distract Finn, Miz attacks from behind! The A-Lister rains down lefts then grins before hitting the low DDT.

He covers, TWO. Miz keeps his cool, brings Finn back up, and hits another low DDT. TWO, so he tries again, TWO. Miz grows frustrated, he is going to be first in the Chamber so he wants to stay as fresh as possible. He runs and boots Finn down, Bo and Axel cheering him on. Miz boots Finn down again, but Finn doesn’t stay down. Miz hits a third low boot, covers, TWO. He waits for Finn to stand up, Finn fires off forearms! He whips but Miz reverses, MIz hits a low knee, then throws Finn out of the ring. Miz embraces the heat before trying to distract the ref. The referee doesn’t fall for it, he sees The Miztourage lurking near Finn. Miz uses that so he can slip out and throw Finn into barriers. He puts Finn back in then takes that bad arm and puts it through the ropes. Miz holds on and snaps back to tweak that arm! Miz grins and Finn writhes while the referee checks on him and we go to break.

Raw returns, and Miz pulls Finn’s bad arm back more in a seated armlock. Finn endures, refusing to give up. The fans rally for him and Finn gets up while Elias has his backstage interview. Elias knows he has his huge advantage of going in last for the Chamber. He did quite a bit to Rollins, and that’s what will happen to the other five competitors, too. He’ll pick up the scraps, go on to Wrestlemania and give the “performance of a lifetime” on the Grandest Stage of Them All. Then the entire world will learn what WWE truly means.

Back to the action, Miz prepares his “It Kicks” for Finn. Miz kicks, and kicks, and kicks, firing up more with each one.

Kick after kick after kick, then Miz prepares the buzzsaw, only for Finn to duck and chop back. Finn rocks Miz with a strike fest, then runs to dropkick him. Dragon sleeper, elbow drop DDT! TWO! Finn keeps his focus, gets to his feet, then chops Miz in the conrer. They go corner to corner for another chop. Corner to corner again for a third chop. The fourth time, Miz boots Finn away, prepares the Finale but Finn rolls it, TWO. Miz wrenches and wrings that arm to throw Finn on the mat. Miz runs, but Finn leans back and rolls up, TWO! Finn swings but ends up in the full nelson, but gets the ropebreak. Miz lets go, but Bo cheap shot hotshots the bad arm! Roll-up, TWO! The Miztourage is frustrated for Miz, but the fans rally for Finn. Finn gets running, and FLIES onto the Miztourage!

He’s fired up now, swing kicking Miz away. He gets to a corner, blasting dropkick sends Miz back! Axel gets back up but gets knocked back down by Finn. Finn climbs up, Bo comes back but is sent away. Miz trips Finn up on the top! Skull-Crushing Finale! Miz beats Finn! Fans boo and jeer but Miz grins as he points at the sign.

However, he’s forgotten about the seventh man.

BRAUN STROWMAN!

The Monster Among Men is the last man to enter this Gauntlet, and he’s more than ready to go after the Intercontinental Champion. Miz already looks to be begging Strowman for mercy. He runs out of the ring, but Strowman comes back out to follow him. Miz goes to the crowd but Strowman pursues! He runs Miz down right at the end of the production area, then drags Miz all the way back. Strowman tosses Miz over the barriers, and the fans join in on the victorious roar while we got to break.

Raw returns and Strowman is throwing Miz around. He throws Miz across the ring again, and The Miztourage is very concerned for their leader. Strowman kicks Miz while he’s down and almost punts him out of the ring. Strowman throws Miz again, making sure the first man in the Chamber is no better off than any of the others. The Miztourage try to distract but are scared away. Strowman runs corner to corner, but Miz dodges and kicks away on Strowman. That isn’t enough, Strowman shoves Miz down and away. Strowman walks over and drags Miz up, Miz hotshots him back. Miz hurries back in and dropkicks Strowman to a corner. Meanwhile, Finn has his backstage interview, and Finn voices his frustrations about The Miztourage. However, the Chamber will lock those two out, so Miz will be locked inside and alone with Finn and the other five superstars. Finn vows to win the Chamber, then face Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania.

Back in the ring, Miz goes to dropkick Strowman again, but Strowman comes back with a dropkick of his own! Strowman drags Miz up, to club him back down. The fans cheer for Strowman while Strowman dares Miz to get back up. Miz begs for mercy again, but Strowman won’t have any of it. He brings Miz up and headbutts him, then runs at him. Miz dumps Strowman out but Strowman lands on his feet. Miz boots Strowman, runs and wrecking ball dropkicks Strowman! Strowman staggers, but then comes back to run Miz over! The Miztourage backs off while Strowman puts Miz back in the ring. Axel tries to hook his foot, Miz gets Skull Crushing Finale!! TWO! And Miz gets LAUNCHED out of the ring! Miz topples the Miztourage over, but he hurries back into the ring, only to get run over again. Strowman drags Miz up, scoops him, and hits the Monster Slam! Strowman eliminates Miz and wins the Gauntlet Match! With such strength, speed and dominance, can The Monster Among Men conquer the Chamber to get another shot at The Beast?

On-stage interview with Braun Strowman.

Truly a dominating performance, but what will his mindset be in his first Chamber match? “I dont’ fear the unknown, the unknown fears me.” And just like tonight, Sunday’s PPV will end the same way, and then Strowman goes after Lesnar!! “You hear me, Beasty Boy? Because I’m not finished with you.” At Wrestlemania, Lesnar will #GetTheseHands. Now if Charly will excuse him, he has some “unfinished business.” He goes after The Miz and Miztrouage! He drags them all into the ring, Monster Slam for Axel! Monster Slam for Bo! Miz cowers away, but Strowman comes for him, too! Miz makes it to the back but Strowman throws him back out! Then down the ramp! Strowman stalks Miz back to ringside, drags him up and into the ring, and then, making sure everyone’s watching… MONSTER SLAM! Yet, that’s still not enough. The fans want one more, and Strowman will give it. Miz takes a third Monster Slam!

Will the Chamber even survive having the Monster Among Men inside?

 

The next Hall of Fame Inductee: Jeff Jarrett!

Aka Double J, “J E double F, J A double R E double T”, the man from Music City had confidence and arrogance but the flash to back it up. He would strut, boast, rock ‘n’ roll, and win matches. He was an Intercontinental Champion, and European Champion simultaneously, “whether you like it or not!” Jarrett would use a Figure Four, a Full-Nelson Facebuster and a guitar smash to bring himself to the top.

 

Asuka comes to the ring!

The Empress of Tomorrow is still undefeated, but she’s scheduled to face the newest Irresistible Force this Sunday. Should Asuka lose then, she won’t only lose her streak, but she’ll have to worry about Nia joining her should she choose the Raw Women’s Championship for her Wrestlemania match. What does Asuka think of a potential Triple Threat for the title? “I control my own destiny.” And that destiny is to win a championship at Wrestlemania! Yes, but Nia has had bold things to say, such as she is the only woman who can beast Asuka. “Very strong words from a very strong woman,” but Asuka didn’t think Nia didn’t look that strong in their last match, since Nia limped away from the ring. But Nia wants to damage Asuka’s face so much, she’ll have to wear the mask all the time. Nia likes to talk, but Asuka will show her Sunday that “she will not be talking, she will tap out!”

However, Nia appears from the crowd! Asuka is ready, kicking back at the Brutal Beauty. Asuka uses back hands, but Nia then throws her to a corner. The Empress hurries up but Nia is already upon her, fireman’s carry to Samoan Drop!

Nia goes to leave, but has another idea. She runs, and drops the leg! Then another leg drop! And… a third leg drop to the back of Asuka’s head. Nia takes her leave now, but Asuka’s still stirring. Both women are dangerous, and both women are determined, which woman will come out the winner going towards a Wrestlemania Women’s Championship match?

 

Raw takes a look at the WWE’s newest recruit: “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey!

The Royal Rumble made history with its inaugural Women’s Rumble match, but Rousey made the biggest splash when she appeared by surprise. She pointed to the Wrestlemania sign to make her intentions clear. She conquered judo, conquered Women’s MMA, and even made a name for herself in Hollywood. Rousey wants to join WWE to test herself, and will officially sign her contract this Sunday. What will happen to the WWE Women’s Division when it’s put up against Rowdy Rousey?

 

The Bar VS Titus Worldwide w/ Dana Brooke!

The Raw Tag Team Champions, Cesaro & Sheamus, may have underestimated Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews a few times, but that doesn’t mean Titus & Crews haven’t earned legitimate wins. Can the Real Deal and his top client #MakeItAWin and earn a title match in the near future?

The bell rings and Cesaro starts against Titus. They tie up, and The Gator puts the Swiss Cyborg in a corner. Cesaro turns it around, and the break is clean but chippy. Titus puts Cesaro back in the corner and starts chopping. He tags Apollo then they double whip and double elbow Cesaro down. Apollo covers but Titus’s inadvertent miscue makes that a TWO. Apollo keeps on Cesaro, then tags Titus back in. Titus brings Apollo around for an assisted corner tackle on Cesaro. Apollo feeds Cesaro to Titus’ scoop slam, and then Titus barks at Sheamus. Titus goes to tag Apollo but Cesaro knees low. Apollo still gets the tag while Cesaro walks away, Titus Worldwide brings him in for a big clothesline. Sheamus runs in but gets dropkick’d out, so Cesaro knees Apollo out. The referee keeps Cesaro back, so the Celtic Gladiator runs Apollo over with a clothesline. The Bar regains control while Dana checks on Apollo. Cesaro tags Sheamus, and Sheamus brings Apollo up to throw him into barriers. He keeps on Apollo with European Uppercuts before putting him back in the ring. Sheamus tags Cesaro, and The Bar whip Apollo into the corner. The Bar goes Super Saiyan Kicks on Crews, then Cesaro taunts Titus.

The Bar embraces the heat before Cesaro puts Apollo in a chinlock. Dana rallies the fans, Apollo reaches for Titus but Cesaro tags Sheamus first. Sheamus kicks Crews, then Bar Lariat brings him down. Fans boo and jeer while Sheamus drops a knee, cover, TWO. Sheamus puts Crews in a seated keylock while Dana rallies the fans again. Sheamus tags back to Cesaro, Cesaro flies in with double ax handles. Cover, TWO, tag back to Sheamus. They stomp Apollo, but Apollo fights back. Sheamus keeps him grounded but the fans rally, so Sheamus takes out Titus first. Hot tag to Cesaro, no one home for Crews. Even so, Apollo gets out of the way and lets Cesaro run into the post! He then dumps Sheamus out of the ring and roll s Cesaro, Titus Worldwide wins again!! The Bar is furious and frustrated, but will they have to face the truth that Titus Worldwide are #1 contenders to their titles?

 

Bray Wyatt speaks.

“Some say the end is near. But personally,” Wyatt hopes they’re right. Especially for Matt Hardy, for his end will be at Elimination Chamber.

But WOKEN Hardy interrupts!

“Bray Wyatt and I have been engaging in battle since the dawn of time.” But this is only the beginning. Bray says Hardy is a liar, but Hardy says Wyatt is the liar. “His words mean nothing. Just empty promises from a deeply disturbed and twisted man.” Yet darkness clouds Wyatt, while Hardy has the power of illumination. Hardy must be silenced, but Wyatt must be made OBSOLETE. The Woken World will become a nightmare, but the Woken Warriors will make Wyatt surrender to reality. Elimination Chamber, “Hardy will burn”, but “Wyatt shall be DELETED!” Which man’s ways will ring true this Sunday?

 

Six Woman Tag: Mickie James, Bayley & Sasha Banks VS Alexa Bliss & Absolution w/ Paige!

Elimination Chamber makes history Sunday with its inaugural Women’s Elimination Chamber match for the Raw Women’s Championship. However, The Goddess must work together with enemies to make sure other enemies don’t get ahead in the game. Can dysfunction be kept out of the way to achieve victory tonight?

The bell rings and we start with Kickie James and The Goddess. Of course, Alexa is surprised to see her “friend” is there, so she tags out to the Gladiator, Sonya Deville. Mickie and Sonya circle, Mickie staying away from the MMA-trained superstar’s grip. Paige gets the fans on Absolution’s side, saying, “This is OUR House!” Sonya and Mickie tie up, Mickie gets a wristlock and a headlock, but Sonya turns that into a waistlock and slam. Mickie gets up and drop toeholds, then float to facelock. Mickie brings Sonya over and Sasha tags in. Sasha kicks and wrenches but Sonya forearms and wrenches back. Sasha fights back with body shots but Sonya powers Sasha to Absolution’s corner. Tag to Mandy the Perfect Package, she rocks Sasha with a forearm. She scoops but Sasha shoves Mandy into buckles. Sasha tags in Bayley and Bayley bumps Mandy off buckles before bringing her down, cover, ONE. Bayley puts on a waistlock but Mandy picks a leg and trips her up. Bayley counters with a sideways headscissor throw but Mandy cartwheels through. Mandy boasts and pie-faces Bayley, but Bayley brushes it off. Mandy whips her hair in Bayley’s face, so Bayley tackles Mandy to a corner. Bayley stomps a mudhole into Mandy, even as Paige protests. Mandy staggers out into Bayley’s exploder suplex! Mandy slips out and regroups with Absolution while we go to break.

Raw returns once more, and Mandy has control of Bayley in a chinlock. The fans rally for Bayley and she gets up. Bayley fights out then rolls up, TWO. Mandy kicks Bayley, Bayley kicks back and even takes the fight to Sonya and Alexa nearby. Mandy runs in but gets a flapjack that bumps her off the top buckle! Bayley heads for her corner but Mandy crawls after. Bayley elbows Mandy away but Mandy comes back. Mandy holds on even as Bayley forearms, then reverses a whip. Bayley goes up but Mandy catches her and throws her down on her face. Cover, TWO, and Mandy is a bit surprised. She rains down rights on Bayley, covers again, TWO. Mandy drags Bayley over, Alexa tags in when Sonya wanted it.

The fans cheer, even as Alexa clubs and bumps Bayley off buckles. Alexa stomps a mudhole into Bayley, then brings her back around. Bayley blocks and bumps Alexa back. She heads for her corner but Alexa intercepts. Bayley fights back but Alexa bumps her again. Alexa backs up and runs in for a screaming SLAP! She kicks Bayley while she’s down, then brings her over to tag in Sonya. Sonya mugs Bayley, covers, TWO. She wraps Bayley in bodyscissors to squeeze, but the fans and her teammates rally. Bayley makes it a cover, TWO, but jawbreaker sends Sonya away. Bayley heads for her corner but Sonya intercepts, and Mandy helps! The referee shouts for her to get out, Bayley gets the tag to Sasha! But since the referee didn’t see it, it doesn’t count! Paige helps coordinate Absolution, Sonya goes out and Mandy comes in to bring Bayley around. Bayley throws Mandy off of her, but into Sasha! The Boss goes down, Mandy staggers over but Bayley slips under to tag Mickie! Mickie rallies on Rose, then keeps moving with forearms. She hits a low dropkick on Mandy, then a boot for Sonya. Flapjack for Mandy and Paige gets pissed.

The fans fire up ans Mickie stares down Alexa. Alexa stays away while Mickie climbs up, flying seated senton! Sonya returns but gets the neckbreaker! Mickie is on fire as she aims at Mandy, mule kick to knee lift, then runs but Sonya swipes at her. Sonya gets a wrecking ball dropkick, Mandy comes back with the running knee strike! Cover, but roll-over, then roll back. Mandy hammers away to keep Mickie down, then drags her back up for the abdominal stretch. Mickie endures the bend and stretch, Sonya and Paige cheering Mandy on. The fans rally for Mickie and she slips out to arm-drag Mandy away. Mandy drags Mickie back, pulls her up, and then modified gutwrench suplex! Cover, TWO, so Mandy tags to Sonya. Absolution mugs Mickie, Sonya brings Mickie down with knee strikes. Sonya brings Mickie back up and bumps her off buckles while the fans cheer Mickie on. Mickie fights back, Mick-canrana throws Sonya away. Sasha is waiting, so Sonya intercepts again to carry and dump Mickie down. Cover, TWO, but Sonya keeps her confidence.

She drags Mickie over and tags Mandy. Absolution double suplexes Mickie, but gets double neckbreaker counters! Mickie and Mandy are both down while the fans rally. They crawl for their corners, hot tags to Alexa and Sasha. Sasha rallies on Alexa, and counters the kick with the knee. She runs in but Alexa puts her on the apron, Sasha still kicks Alexa way. Flying double knees on Sonya! Sasha gets back up and sees Alexa coming to counter with a buckle bump and wrecking ball double knees. Alexa is thrown out to the center, Sasha hits flying double knees, but Mandy breaks the cover! Bayley returns, Saido Suplex to Mandy! Alexa rolls Sasha, TWO and Sasha has the cover, TWO. Alexa throws Sasha hard into buckles! She drags Sasha up and out, but Sasha rolls her into the Bank Statement crossface! Alexa taps, Sasha’s team wins!

But then Absolution attacks! They mug Sasha 2v1 but Bayley comes in for the save. However, that’s still 2v1, she gets a roundhouse to facebuster! Sasha gets taken out with the knee strike and a sliding knee. Alexa likes that, but then slowly realizes, she’s not on Absolution’s team anymore. They corner her, but Mickie comes back for the save! She and Alexa give Sonya a double Mick-DT!

Does The Goddess have an ally in the Chamber now? Can alliances even survive a match like The Chamber?

 

My Thoughts:

This Raw, especially as it was a go-home, was amazing. I didn’t expect them to open with the Gauntlet Match, but they did, and it was a PPV level string of action. Rollins starts by doing what none of the fans expected, he eliminated both Roman Reigns and John Cena. Cena does a great job in giving Rollins compliments as the face of Raw while weaving in his own story of wondering what it will take for him to maintain his top tier level of performing. Rollins not making it all the way to the end is also fine, given the amount of time and quality of action he was giving plus the dynamics of Faces and Heels; Rollins may want to be The Man again, but WWE doesn’t want him to already outshine Finn Balor and Braun Strowman, who are each being built up in their own paths. Finn gets to shine against Elias but is then used to help Miz’s Heel heat before Strowman becomes the monster everyone loves to watch squash mortal men, like the Miz. In a perfect WWE, Strowman would be the one primed to face Lesnar at Wrestlemania for the Universal Championship because of how he has everything everyone could want. But WWE isn’t perfect so it’ll probably be Roman.

Since the Gauntlet Match dominated the night, the rest of the three hours didn’t feel like a drag. Bray and Hardy again sell their characters perfectly, but I just hope some part of their match is the BROKEN Universe pre-recorded stuff to help extend the Great War to Wrestlemania and include the rest of the Wyatt and Hardy families. Titus Worldwide gets another “upset” victory over The Bar, so I hope that at some point, Titus Worldwide challenges for the Raw Tag Team Championships. Asuka clearly struggled to smooth out her English in the promo, but honestly, we can cut her some slack because she is still miles ahead of a good number of women in the WWE right now. Nia attacking and actually getting the better of Asuka was really great, too, because now there will be some “real animosity” in their Sunday match to add to the championship implication motivations. Then the Six Woman Tag, while repetitive on paper, was actually pretty fresh given Alexa and Mickie are reviving their former friendship from SmackDown. The champion loses but also stands tall tonight, so I don’t know how that works for 50-50 booking. Both scenarios, Alexa losing and Alexa winning, can work out logically in a match like Elimination Chamber. The keys to making it a great one may be how they book this as an unofficial triple threat tag; Mickie-Alexa VS Bayley-Sasha VS Absolution for a long stretch could be fun, especially if Sasha finally goes full Heel on Bayley before the end.

My score: 8.5/10


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AEW Coverage

Mitchell’s AEW Dynamite Results & Report! (3/27/24)

BRUV! BRUV! BRUV!

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The #BillyGoat and The Wrestler finally meet again!

As AEW prepares for Dynasty, Will Ospreay prepares for Bryan Danielson by taking on the man he just beat, THE Katsuyori Shibata!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Will Ospreay VS Katsuyori Shibata; Ospreay wins.
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: The Young Bucks VS Private Party; The Bucks win and advance to the semifinals.
  • AEW TBS Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way: Kris Statlander VS Willow Nightingale VS Skye Blue VS Anna Jay; Willow wins and will challenge Julia Hart for the title.
  • AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta VS The Undisputed Kingdom; Cassidy & Trent win and advance to the semifinals.
  • AEW World Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Swerve Strickland VS Konosuke Takeshita; Swerve wins and will challenge Samoa Joe for the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Will Ospreay VS Katsuyori Shibata!

The Aerial Assassin wants to slay the American Dragon and prove himself the best wrestler alive today! But that means keeping pace with Bryan Danielson while doing things he’s never done before. Ospreay admitted he got “the piss” beat out of him seven years ago, but will he have redemption here tonight? Or is Ospreay still not better than The Wrestler?

The bell rings and the fans fire up already as these two circle. The fans sing “Ospreay~, Ospreay Ospreay Ospreay~! Ospreay~, Ospreay~!” while Ospreay and Shibata feel things out. Shibata avoids Ospreay’s takedown to then waistlock and bring Ospreay around. Ospreay moves, blocks the chinlock, but Shibata just slips around to another waistlock. Shibata gets a top mount and he eggs Ospreay on. They grapple, Shibata finds his way through to go for an arm, ARMBAR! Ospreay gets a ROPEBREAK and Shibata lets off quickly. The fans applaud this opening exchange and start to duel as the two reset.

The two feel things out to a knuckle lock, but then Ospreay kicks low and CLUBS Shibata. Ospreay then snapmares, puts on a chinlock, and he grinds Shibata down. Shibata endures, uses his own leg as a lever and pries the chinlock open. Shibata wrenches to wristlock, but Ospreay spins and breaks to trip Shibata with an ankle pick. Osprey has the toehold but Shibata turns over, uses his leg to reel Ospreay in for a headlock, and then hits the takeover! The fans cheer but Ospreay headscissors. Shibata moves around, pops free, and then stands to kick! Ospreay narrowly avoids it and the fans fire up again!

Ospreay takes a breath and the two reset again. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, but Shibata powers Ospreay back to ropes. The ref counts, Ospreay turns things around, but then Ospreay lets off slowly. But then Ospreay CHOPS! Shibata just gets in Ospreay’s face! Shibata knees low, bumps Ospreay off buckles, and he fires off forearms! The fans fire up, Shibata runs corner to corner, but Ospreay SHOTGUNS! The fans fire up and Shibata scrambles to a corner, Ospreay fires forearms on Shibata now, sits Shibata down with them, then fires up to go corner to corner, HYDRAULIC DROPKICK! Ospreay uses Shibata’s won move!

The fans fire up while Shibata bails out, and Ospreay PLANCHAS! Direct hit and down goes Shibata! The fans fire up again, the ring count starts, and Ospreay says, “Yes, bruv!” Ospreay brings Shibata up, CLUBS him and puts him in the ring. But Shibata gets moving, and he BOOTS Ospreay right down! Shibata goes out to fetch Ospreay but Ospreay fires forearms! Shibata just eggs Ospreay on! Ospreay fires more forearms but Shibata backs him down by just stepping forward! Shibata then UPPERCUTS Ospreay, and suplexes Ospreay to the floor! Then he KICKS Ospreay in the back! Ospreay writhes but Shibata leaves him behind.

The fans are torn as Shibata sits cross-legged in the ring while the count climbs. Shibata decides to go back out after Ospreay and put him in the ring. The fans rally and duel, Shibata stomps Ospreay around, then gets the legs to stomp. Shibata steps right through to the FIGURE FOUR! Ospreay blocks the main leg but Shibata powers through! Ospreay sits Shibata up and they start throwing forearms! The leglock is let go so Shibata can CLUB Ospreay! Ospreay CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Shibata fires a forearm, shoots around, SAIDO! Ospreay writhes again and the fans rally up as Dynamite goes picture in picture!

Shibata dusts himself off, drags Ospreay to center, and again steps through, only for Ospreay to again block the main leg! Shibata powers through to have the FIGURE FOUR! Ospreay endures, reaches out, but Shibata puts the pressure on! Ospreay falls back, but that makes this a cover, TWO and Ospreay sits back up! Ospreay works to turn things over but Shibata works to stop him! Ospreay tires again, and again, and he turns the hold over! Now Shibata endures! Shibata turns things right back over, but Ospreay has the ROPEBREAK! Shibata lets the hold go so he can shake out his own legs.

Shibata drops a knee on Ospreay’s knee! Ospreay goes to a corner, Shibata CHOPS! And CHOPS! Ospreay falls to his knees, so Shibata CLUBS him! Ospreay glares at Shibata so Shibata CHOPS and ROCKS him! Ospreay hobbles away, comes back, and he fires a forearm! Shibata eggs him on so Ospreay fires more forearms. Shibata ROCKS Ospreay with one! Ospreay goes to a corner and falls over. Shibata brings Ospreay up, whips him to KNEE him low, then CLUB him down, and KICK him in the back! Shibata KICKS Ospreay again, gives him some scuffing kicks, but now Ospreay sits cross-legged to egg Shibata on!

Shibata kicks, and KICKS, and Ospreay falls over! But then Ospreay gets up in a rage! Ospreay fires forearms, Shibata gives them back, and Ospreay fires a streak of ’em! Shibata ROCKS Ospreay, whips, and Dynamite returns to single picture as Ospreay handsprings and NEURALIZERS! The fans fire up while Ospreay gets up to TOSS Shibata out! Then Ospreay PLANCHAS but Shibata moves! Shibata kicks low, whips Ospreay into the LED barrier, then runs up to BOOT him! The fans fire up as the action comes to them, then Shibata brings Ospreay around. Shibata whips Ospreay back at the LED, but Ospreay leaps up and over!

Shibata runs up but Ospreay ROCKS him back! Ospreay uses the barrier to FLYING FOREARM Shibata down! Ospreay puts Shibata in, aims from the apron, and springboard for PIP PIP CHEERIO! Cover, TWO! Shibata stays in this but he’s dazed. Ospreay brings Shibata up, the fans sing again, but Shibata fights the underhooks. Ospreay fires Kawada Kicks, but Shibata stands. Ospreay CHOPS, but Shibata just gets in Ospreay’s face! Ospreay fires forearms but Shibata again backs Ospreay down by just stepping forward! Ospreay fires forearms again and again, but Shibata DECKS him! Ospreay sits up in a daze, so Shibata whips him and BOOTS him in a corner!

Shibata fires a flurry of forearms, then runs, but Ospreay follows to CHOP! But Shibata fires forearms and an UPPERCUT! Shibata runs, Ospreay follows again, BOOT! But Shibata just comes back with more forearms! Ospreay eggs Shibata on so Shibata CHOPS, JABS and repeat! Then CHOP, CHOP and CHOP! Shibata runs corner to corner to HYDRAULIC DROPKICK! The Wrestler shows Ospreay how that move’s done, and then he hauls Ospreay up. HALF HATCH! Cover, TWO! Ospreay shakes his head, he’s tougher than that! Shibata keeps his cool, he brings Ospreay up, and the fans rally again.

Shibata clamps on but Ospreay fights the cobra twist! Ospreay switches the twist onto Shibata! Shibata endures, switches it right back, but Ospreay fights his way around! Shibata shifts into an IRON OCTOPUS! Ospreay endures, fights his way around, ROPEBREAK! Shibata lets off to KNEE, and GERMAN SUPLEX! Ospreay lands out to SNAP GERMAN! But Shibata’s up to GERMAN SUPLEX! Ospreay avoids the boot to SUPERKICK! Ospreay whips, Shibata reverses but Ospreay handsprings, Shibata blocks the Neuralizer to the STF!! The fans fire up as Ospreay endures and Shibata has a higher angle on the hold! But Ospreay still gets the ROPEBREAK!

Shibata lets go, has Ospreay in a corner, and he brings Ospreay up to ROCK him with a haymaker! And another! The ref counts, Shibata lets off, and Ospreay sneaks up to SLAP! Shibata wobbles, but he CROSS COUNTER! Shibata KICKS Ospreay down, shakes out the stars, then sits Ospreay up so he can PENALTY- NO, Ospreay ducks! But the KICK from behind hits! Shibata runs again, PENALTY- NO, Ospreay blocks it this time! Ospreay stands to fire forearm after forearm, but Shibata ROCKS him! Ospreay shakes his head and fires up, and the fans are with him as he fires forearms! But Shibata ROCKS Ospreay with one!

Ospreay shakes his head, comes back to fire more forearms, but then Shibata ROCKS him again! Ospreay leans on Shibata, so Shibata fires a flurry of forearms! Shibata KICKS Ospreay down, but Ospreay springs up to ENZIGIRI! The fans are thunderous as both men are down! A standing count starts, Ospreay rises and he prepares the elbow! Shibata sits up, but he ducks the Hidden Blade! Shibata also ducks the roundhouse, to have the SLEEPER! Ospreay grits his teeth, reaches out, but Shibata gets that arm, SLEEPER SUPLEX! Ospreay staggers up but into the SLEEPER HOLD! Ospreay is fading already!

The ref checks Ospreay, and the hand drops once! The fans rally, and Ospreay gets a second wind! Ospreay fights up, runs to ropes and he TOSSES Shibata tot he apron! Shibata gets up but Ospreay avoids the shoulder ram to STOMP him! Ospreay then hurries to the corner, springboard, MISSILE DROPKICK! Shibata flops down, Ospreay calls his shot! Springboard, OSCUTTER!! Cover, ONE?!?! Shibata roars and LARIATS!! Cover, ONE?!?! Shibata and Ospreay DOUBLE LARIAT! And DOUBLE LARIAT! SUPERKICK from Ospreay and he calls it again, but Shibata SLEEPERS! Ospreay shifts around to SAIDO!

Shibata gets up, Ospreay runs in, HIDDEN BLADE!! Cover, TWO!?!? Shibata survives but Ospreay brings him in! Underhooks and STORM DRIVER 93!! But Shibata sits up with a roar! Ospreay HIDDEN BLADES!!! Cover, Ospreay wins!!

Winner: Will Ospreay, by pinfall

An instant classic to say the least, these two showed how elite Strong Style can be! But in the end, the Aerial Assassin avenges his defeat seven years ago! Ospreay shows Shibata respect with the deep bow, and Shibata returns it. Ospreay certainly looks ready for Bryan Danielson, but will he be able to slay The American Dragon and establish his Dynasty?

 

AEW takes a closer look at Bryan Danielson.

Excalibur narrates that you can ask any professional wrestler who is the greatest technician of this or any generation, and one name is on the list: Bryan Danielson. This unassuming kid from Aberdeen, Washington who traveled the world to become an all-time wrestling icon began his journey under the tutelage of Shawn Michaels, and The American Dragon was born. He made his name in the independent circuit before landing in ROH, where for nearly a decade, Bryan laid the promotion’s groundwork as a Founding Father of Honor. Bryan would main event from the very first event to winning multiple world championships.

Bryan would also go global with NJPW, and eventually WWE. But at the height of his career, having become one of the most decorated champions in pro-wrestling history, Bryan had what he loved above all else ripped away. Years of sacrifice for the sport that is his life left Bryan medically unable to compete. Yet, through unflinching determination to regain his ultimate passion, Bryan would fight the steepest of odds and make his in-ring return after three years away. And then in 2021, he shocked the world when he made his AEW debut, showing again why he is an all-time great, and testing the limits of his body against the best pro-wrestlers in the world today.

Bryan himself said he “will not go gently into that good night.” If this is his last year, he is calling his shots! This will be the most epic year of his career. And that means checking off the dream match of American Dragon VS Aerial Assassin! Who will prove they are THE best in the world today?

 

Backstage interview with The Young Bucks.

Renee Paquette is with the AEW EVPs, Matthew & Nicholas Jackson. Tonight, they are in action in the AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament against a team that defeated them in the inaugural- Nick gets mad already and claims this is some kind of ambush! Such negativity! Unprofessional, Renee! Is this how she conducts all her other interviews? Where is Alex Marvez? Nick would rather Marvez conduct this interview, he’s also better looking. Matt calms Nick down and says they’ll circle back to that question. What they do want to talk about is that they returned to AEW a couple months ago, with some goals and objectives.

The first one being, well, retiring “Sting’s old ass.” Did that! Second goal: Restructuring The Elite. And how’d they do that? Well, they made some room and brought in The Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada! By the way, did you see Okada’s big Continental Championship win last week? Holy crap that was awesome! And all on his own. Big surprise to everyone backstage, but of course Okada did that fair and square! Just like The Bucks will win tonight! They asked Rainmaker, come, chill out in the back, they’ve got this. But to the question, the biggest goal, the most important one out of everything, is to get their AEW World Tag Team Championships back.

And Renee mentioned the upset last time that ruined Matt’s entire life for an entire year. What do you do to right that wrong? You beat them back! You beat Private Party! See, lightning never strikes twice! And The Bucks will be one step closer to getting their titles back. Let’s have a great show, Renee’s doing awesome, fist bump. But one note: Maybe try smiling more. That’s all. Matt heads out and Nick still prefers Marvez. But will The Bucks really make up for the past? Or will history simply repeat itself?

 

Kazuchika Okada arrives in style!

Still driving the red Ferrari, the NEW Continental Champion is here to watch his pals in action.

 

AEW Double or Nothing is returning to Las Vegas!

Five years running, the AEW Memorial Day weekend tradition returns to Sin City and the MGM Grand! Tickets on sale this Saturday, 10 AM Pacific!

 

AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: The Young Bucks VS Private Party!

We just heard from The Bucks about their goals for 2024, but they may have misinterpreted how things went down with Sting at Revolution. Will they make no mistake and come through on this match? Or will Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen be the one getting their shot (shot shot) at the semifinals?

The teams sort out and Matt starts against Kassidy. The fans rally up while Matt offers a fist bump. Kassidy slaps that away and gets in Matt’s face! Matt pie faces Kassidy, so Kassidy pie faces back! They pie face more, then Matt kicks low! Matt whips, Kassidy rolls Matt up, TWO! Matt runs up, into another roll up, with bridge! TWO, and Matt CLOBBERS Kassidy! The fans boo but Matt brings Kassidy around. Tag to Nick and they mug Kassidy. The Bucks then double whip, but Quen tags in! Kassidy gets Matt, Quen sunset flips Nick, stereo covers! TWO!! The Bucks escape, then block kicks from Private Party.

Matt and Nick trade who has who, then they FLIP them both! Quen & Kassidy both land out, to SUPERKICK the Bucks! The fans fire up while the Bucks bail out, and Private Party builds speed! They DOUBLE DIVE and take The Bucks down! The fans fire up as Kassidy rains down fists on Matt! Quen & Kassidy bring Nick around to put him in the ring. Quen whips but Matt reverses, Quen gets sent over the barriers! Matt kicks Kassidy, whips him, but Quen helps Kassidy SILLY STRING to the floor! The fans fire up but Nick PENALTY KICKS Kassidy from the apron! Nick hurries but Quen meets him on the barrier!

Nick and Quen brawl, Nick pokes Quen in the eye! Nick then brings Quen up to SUPER FALCON ARROW to the floor! The fans lose their minds, The Bucks hurry back into the ring, and they want a count out! Quen writhes, we watch Okada approving backstage, and we pass 5 of 10! Kassidy hurries to get Quen up, but we’re past 7! 8! Quen flops in at 9! Nick stomps Quen around, then tags in Matt. The Bucks drag Quen up to double whip to ropes. But Quen ducks the double elbows to shove Nick into Matt! But Nick kicks low, and he suplexes Quen onto Matt’s knees! Then Nick BLASTS Kassidy down!

The Bucks soak up the heat from Quebec City, and then regroup as Dynamite goes picture in picture.

Matt paces around, stomps Quen, then CLUBS him down. Matt CLUBS Quen again, then pushes him to the ropes. Matt jumps to STOMP Quen down! The ref counts, Matt lets off and brings Quen up. Matt whips Quen to the corner hard and Quen bounces off buckles. Matt swaggers up, Nick soaks up heat from the fans, and Matt brings Quen around to scoop and SLAM! Tag to Nick and he slingshot SENTONS! Nick then runs to KNEE Quen in the back! Nick throws in KNEE after KNEE, then stares Kassidy down. The ref keeps Kassidy back, and Nick CHOKES Quen on the ropes! The ref misses all this because he’s arguing with Kassidy!

The ref finally looks over and Nick lets off, then they argue and that allows Matt to scuff Quen. Nick tags Matt in, they get Quen up and whip, but Quen reverses to send Nick to the corner! Nick goes up and over, Matt runs in but Quen ELBOWS him! Nick returns, he’s put on the apron. Quen runs up but Matt scoops! BACKBREAKER, and Nick slingshot LEG DROPS! The Bucks soak up more heat, Matt covers, Kassidy breaks it! Nick kicks Kassidy and TOSSES him out! Nick then goes out to reel Kassidy in! APRON POWERBOMB! Kassidy writhes while Nick soaks up more heat. But Quen throws body shots on Matt!

Matt CLUBS Quen, then brings him around for a chinlock. Quen endures, even as Matt leans on him, and Quen throws body shots. Dynamite returns to single picture as Matt trips Quen and CATAPULTS him into a GAMANGIRI! Nick goes up while Quen falls back, but Kassidy hurries over to SHOVE Nick down! The fans fire up, Matt rushes Kassidy but gets a HOTSHOT STUNNER for it! Quen runs up to SIDE EFFECT! The fans fire up and rally as Quen crawls, hot tag to Brother Zay! Kassidy dodges Matt, to HOTSHOT STUNNER Nick! Kassidy CLOBBERS Matt, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes.

Matt reverses, Kassidy slides out and avoids Nick, but is put back on the apron! Kassidy RAMS into Matt, mule kicks Nick, GAMANGIRIS Matt, then blows a kiss before he ASAI MOONSAULTS Nick down! The fans are thunderous as Kassidy gets back up to springboard and CROSSBODY onto Matt! Cover, TWO!! Matt survives and Kassidy is surprised! Quebec rallies for Private Party as Kassidy stalks Matt. Kassidy says “DELETE! DELETE!” and Matt stands, into the kick! TWIST OF- NO, Matt shoves Kassidy away, and Nick trips him up! Matt CLOBBERS Kassidy while fans boo. Matt drags Kassidy up and he tags in Nick.

The Bucks put Kassidy up top, CLUB him, and then climb up after him. Matt has the cravat, Nick is underneath, SLICED BREAD BOMB!! Cover, QUEN BREAKS IT! The fans fire up, Matt runs back in, but Quen dodges to PELE! Matt falls, flounders his way over to Nick, and Quen drags Kassidy to the Private Party corner. The fans rally, Kassidy reaches up, tag to Quen! Nick runs up, Quen fires forearms on him, on Matt, and back again! The fans rally but Matt kicks low. Matt scoops, Quen slips free, but Nick CLUBS Quen in the back, to GERMAN SUPLEX! Quen flounders to an apron and Nick goes out after him.

Nick stomps Quen, drags him up, and APRON GERMAN SUPLEXES!! Quen writhes, Nick puts him in, and tag to Matt. Matt says this is it! Nick goes up, Matt brings Quen up for the scoop, but Kassidy anchors Nick! Quen victory rolls, TWO!!! That was what got The Bucks last time but they managed to escape! Nick kicks Kassidy away, Matt ROCKS Quen, then CLUBS him again and again! Matt brings Quen around, Nick stands back up. Fireman’s carry, but Quen slips free to shove Matt into Nick! Kassidy gets in, Quen goes up to RANA, GIN ‘N’ JUICE!! Nick flounders out of the ring but Quen tags Kassidy.

Private Party gets Matt up, and they’re going to steal MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK!! Cover, NICK BREAKS IT! The fans boo as Nick hammers away on Kassidy! Nick points to someone, goes out of the ring, and he grabs the ring bell!? The fans boo as Nick is abusing his EVP power! But the ref grabs the bell from Nick! Kassidy LARIATS Nick, but Matt LOW BLOWS Kassidy! There goes fair and square! But wait, Quen has one of the title belts!! BELT SHOT!!! The fans fire up as Matt tastes karma! Cover, Nick helps with the ROPEBREAK!! Nick grins as he gets away with that one but Private Party cannot believe this!

Kassidy drags Matt over, he tags Quen, and Quen goes up. 630 SENTON FLOPS as Matt moves!!! Matt hurries to tag Nick, they get Quen up, for E V P TRIGGER!!! It wasn’t the cleanest but it was effective! Cover, The Bucks win!

Winners: The Young Bucks, by pinfall (advance to the semifinals)

Okada again nods his approval. The Rainmaker has a title, is it only a matter of time before Matthew & Nicholas join him?

 

BREAKING NEWS for Collision!

For starters, it’s back! Live this Saturday, 8 PM Eastern, and with the other AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinals! The Infantry overcame The House of Black with help from Mark Briscoe, but now they’re looking to say yeah to beating FTR! Will Shawn Dean & Carlie Bravo be marching into the semifinals? Or will Dax & Cash prove they’re still Top Guys? And in their big return to action (no pun intended), Ricky Starks & “Big Bill” Morrissey take on Top Flight’s Dante & Darius Martin! Will this tournament soon be Absolute? Or will Angel Dorado & Air Wolf book themselves a flight to the semifinals?

 

Don Callis speaks.

“Tonight, Swerve’s House comes tumbling down. A tornado known as The Alpha, Konosuke Takeshita, is coming. Swerve, our résumé is very clear: We beat Kenny Omega not once but twice; we destroyed Chris Jericho; we destroyed Darby Allin. You wanna bring Prince Nana and the little back-up dance, you go right ahead. You are standing between us and what we want. I am so sick of hearing about Swerve’s House, this little fantasy you’ve constructed for yourself, because you see, your house is on my street. Your house is in the Don Callis Family’s neighborhood. And all those houses are mine. I take what I want, and then I take a little more.

“And tonight, Takeshita is gonna take everything from you, including your opportunity to become the #1 contender. Tonight, the Alpha burns it all down.” Callis has promised big things, but will Takeshita live up to these great expectations?

 

Mercedes Mone arrives backstage!

The CEO arrives in style, struts her way to gorilla, and is going to join commentary for this star-studded #1 contender’s match in the women’s division!

 

AEW hears from Darby Allin.

He’s hanging out with THE Tony Hawk pro-skater, and notes that originally, he was hoping to climb Mount Everest right about now for Tony’s charity, The Skatepark Project, but uh… broke his foot. So does Tony wanna tell us about the project? Of course. This is a foundation to bring public skate parks to underserved areas, operating for over 20 years now. They’ve funded the creation of almost NINE HUNDRED skate parks in that time, and it is important to Tony because it was never lost on him how lucky he was to have a skatepark to go to as a kid. It was his place of belonging and community, where he cut his teeth, and he wants to give that same access to skater kids all over the world.

Darby adds that he wouldn’t be here without skateboarding, so this cause means the world to him. If you wanna donate, just go to Skatepark.org to help out. Darby can’t climb a mountain, but this is Plan B. Darby lets his foot be part of Tony’s handstand grab in the halfpipe! We wish Darby a speedy recovery, and we hope the Skatepark Project has even greater success.

 

Backstage interview with Hook and Chris Jericho.

Renee is with the FTW Champion and The Ocho, and first congratulates Hook on that big win over Jericho last week. Renee brings up Jericho having a proposition for Hook, so what is up? Jericho says what’s up is that a few weeks ago, he said he wanted to see what it was like to face Hook 1v1, to see if Hook is as good as the people say. And after having that match, Hook exceeded expectations. Right out of the gate, he suplexed Jericho right on his head and he didn’t let off. Hook got his first pinfall win, and off Jericho, and Jericho is okay with that. Jericho is proud of Hook, because he saw some things he never had before.

Jericho’s never had a wrestling school, never managed anyone, but he’s also never been in the ring with someone like Hook. Hook’s skills are so highly tuned yet still raw. So Jericho wants to say that after 33 years in the business, if Hook wants any advice from Jericho, Jericho will gladly help sharpen Hook’s skills so he can be the world champion Jericho knows Hook can be. So like he said, if Hook wants his advice, Jericho is here for him. Hook appreciates the praise, and of course he’ll take that advice. He’s Chris Jericho. But being Chris Jericho, Hook knows who Jericho is. Okay, that’s fair. And Jericho knows who Hook is, and more importantly, who Hook can be.

Jericho offers a fist bump, Hook accepts, and Hook says, “Let’s get it.” Jericho says yeah, let’s get it, and he also fist bumps Renee. With The Wizard now his mentor, is it only a matter of time before the Cold Hearted Handsome Devil goes for the top prize in AEW?

 

Mercedes Mone makes her entrance!

The fans chant for the “C E O! C E O!” as she struts down to join commentary. We’re about to see the Galaxy’s Greatest, the Babe with the Power, Chicago Skye and the Star of the Show battle it out, who wins their shot at the Princess of the Black Throne?

AEW TBS Championship #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way: Kris Statlander VS Willow Nightingale VS Skye Blue VS Anna Jay!

The bell rings and Skye SUPERKICKS Kris! Willow LARIATS Skye! Anna rolls Willow up, TWO! Willow swings, but Anna wrenches to HOOK KICK! Anna whips, Willow reverses, but Anna uses that to LEG LARIAT Skye off the apron and onto Kris! Willow runs up but into a BOOT! Anna runs in to ELBOW Willow in the corner, ROCK her, then whip. Willow reverses, then fires up before she runs in, back body block! And clothesline! Snapmare, then BOOT! The fans rally, Willow runs, and she SPLASHES! Cover, TWO! Skye runs in to CLUB away on Willow, then bumps her off buckles. Skye stomps away in the corner but fans boo.

Willow elbows Skye but Skye CLUBS Willow then digs her boot in! Willow powers out of that, but Skye storms after Willow. Skye tries to suplex but Willow’s too strong! Willow wrenches out, but Skye kicks low. Skye then DDTS Willow down! Willow flounders, Skye hurries to cover, but Kris breaks it! Kris hauls Skye up to scoop and SLAM! Kris runs to SLIDING LARIAT! Anna adds a BASEMENT BLOCKBUSTER on Skye! Kris SLIDING LARIATS Anna! Cover, TWO! Kris scoops, Anna slips free and shoves, then follows, but Kris runs her over! The fans fire up as Kris flexes, and she gets Anna up. Kris runs, but Skye tirps her!

Skye spins Kris around to SUPERKICK! Willow POUNCES Skye, PERIOD! The fans fire up and Stokely Hathaway loves it! Willow tells Mone to remember that one, but the fans chant “C E O! C E O!” while Dynamite goes picture in picture.

Willow goes back tot he ring, but Anna HOTSHOTS her down! Anna tells Mone to watch her, but Kris trips Anna up! Kris throws hands and CLOBBERS Anna, then CHOPS her against the apron! Anna crawls away, Kris kicks her in the butt! Kris goes for Skye but Skye ROCKS her first! Skye CLUBS Kris, stalks her, but Kris hits back with body shots. Willow CLUBS Anna around the way, stomps her down, but Skye looms over Kris. Skye drags Kris up while Willow keeps on Anna. Skye SMACKS Kris off steps, and Willow scoop SLAMS Anna! Kris hits Skye back, CHOPS her against barriers, then keeps after her.

Anna SMACKS Willow off steps, CLUBS her, and Kris DECKS Skye! The fans fire up for Kris while Willow kicks Anna in return. Stokely coaches on his ladies, but Skye SUPERKICKS Kris! Anna and Skye mug Willow, then bring her up to double whip hard into the LED barrier! Willow writhes, but Kris DOUBLE SPEARS Anna and Skye! Kris puts Skye in, covers, TWO! Skye survives but Kris drags her back up. Kris CLUBS Skye, kicks, but Skye blocks to KNEE! That looks like something Mone does! Skye reels Kris in to SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Skye then runs, but Willow is up to SPINEBUSTER her down!

Willow sees Anna run up and takes a swing, but Anna catches her for a COMPLETE SHOT! Kris is back, and she DISCUS LARIATS Anna! All four women are down and even Mone is loving it. Dynamite returns to single picture as the four meet at center. Anna trades forearms with Kris while Skye trades shots with Willow. They go back and forth, stand back up, and the forearms fly harder! Willow and Anna ROCK Kris and Skye, then Anna BOOTS Willow! Skye runs to BOOT WASH Willow outta the ring! Kris runs in, Anna dodges but Skye blocks to send the arm into Anna anyway! But Kris still ROCKS Skye!

Kris CHOPS Anna, ROCKS Skye, repeat! Then ROUNDHOUSE for Anna! Skye is in a corner, Kris UPPERCUTS her! Kris reels Skye in, FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Skye survives and Mone can’t help but love it. Kris kicks Skye away, drags Anna to the drop zone, then climbs up. But Anna ROCKS Kris first! Anna goes up after Kris, CLUBS away on her, and she SUPERPLEXES! Cover, Willow SENTONS them both!! The fans fire up, Skye blocks Willow to again Mone Knee! Skye tries to fireman’s carry but Willow fires elbows! Willow gut wrenches, BABE WITH THE POWER- RANA!! Cover, TWO!!

Willow stands, into a SUPERKICK! Skye runs, hops on, CODE BLUE!! Cover, KRIS BREAKS IT!! Kris saves her friend but also the match! Kris gets Skye up, POWER BREAKER!! Skye flounders away, Kris drags her back, but Anna hooks Kris into the Gory Especial! GORY BOMB onto Skye! Anna double covers, TWO!! Anna snarls, she drags Kris up by her hair, and she clamps on the QUEENSLAYER! But Kris powers out, and feeds Anna to Willow’s SHOTGUN! But now, Kris and Willow are the two standing tall. Willow says let’s do this, pal! Kris says okay, but then Skye LARIATS them both! No effect!

Kris & Willow kick Skye, whip her, but Skye ducks to send Willow into Kris! Then she SUPERKICKS, whips, but Willow reverses! Willow runs in but Skye dodges! Skye ROCKS Willow, but Willow comes back! Skye BOOTS Willow in the ropes, brings her to the apron, and full nelsons! Willow fights free, fireman’s carries, and APRON DEATH VALLEY DRIVERS!! Skye flops down, Mone’s jaw drops just like Quebec’s! Willow high fives the fans but Anna brawls with Kris! Anna clinches, Kris fights free and gut wrenches! The tuck and- VICTORY ROLL! TWO!! Anna hurries up, but Kris gets around! Anna tosses Kris out, to LEG LARIAT!

But Willow is back in, to gut wrench and BABE WITH THE POWER BOMB!!! Cover, Willow wins!!

Winner: Willow Nightingale, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the AEW TBS Championship)

Mone says alright, she accepts Willow’s that good. But wait! JULIA HART runs in to BELT SHOT Willow from behind!! The fans boo but the Princess grins as she holds up the title. Then she glares at Mone over at the desk. Mone stands and walks right up to the ring. Julia holds the title up at Mone, then runs away before Kris can get her! Willow is still getting her shot at Dynasty, will she add that TBS Championship to her list of accolades? Or will the House Always Win?

 

Backstage interview with Dustin Rhodes.

Renee is with The Natural, and says he is currently 3-1 in 2024. Every time he steps back inside the ring, he reminds us all just how much of a badass he is. What is next for Dustin? He does feel he’s started 2024 with a bang. “Everybody on this roster is very, very talented. Every single match I’ve had here in five years has been really, really good. Bangers, all of ’em. Nothing’s different. Surprisingly, right now, at 55 years old, I’m still as passionate as I have ever been.” But then in steps The Butcher, belittling what Dustin is saying. Well what does Butcher want? He heard Dustin wants a fight. Oof, Butcher, your breath…

Butcher says it’s his mustache, it has its own musk. But look him in the eyes. Dustin wants a match? Remember that Bunkhouse Match? Oh yeah he does. Then how about Friday on Rampage, Dustin and Butcher cash some receipts? Oh, Butcher wants receipts? He thinks Dustin’s just some stepping stone? Oh absolutely. Well, if you want it, then you got it. Friday Night Rampage it is! But just remember this: You’re gonna find out why Dustin is The Natural Born Legend. Everyone loves Dustin, even Canada. Butcher can’t wait. This is gonna be quite the shootout, but will it be a good Friday for the living legend?

 

“Timeless” Toni Storm visited Turner Classic Movies!

Ben Mankiewicz introduces himself and then congratulates Toni Storm for not only being AEW Women’s World Champion, but also for “helping redefine the artistry of professional wrestling.” Toni says that’s so sweet. And she congratulates Ben on… whatever it is he does around TCM. One small note, though: crispen your annunciation. No one says “crispen” in America really, but sure, he’ll work on it. Now repeat after her. Chin up. Chin up. Tits out. Uh, no, he won’t say that. And watch for the shoe~! What? She tosses her shoe over her shoulder as she leaves, and now he understands. But will AEW’s leading lady continue to be a modern classic even through Dynasty?

 

Swerve Strickland speaks.

“Tonight comes down to Swerve and Takeshita, to be ranked number one. Now we all know, to be truly number one in the pro-wrestling industry, you gotta hold the AEW World Championship gold. And that is Samoa Joe. Takeshita, you’ve been probably one of the best competitors I’ve ever seen over the last couple months. You’ve been doing your thing. But our motivation’s been vastly different. Mine is for something bigger than me, and that’s history. I’m not taking this lightly. So Takeshita, after I get past you, it’s me and Samoa Joe, one on one, no distractions.”

Swerve then tells Joe, “I didn’t forget what you did to me. And when I finally get you one on one for that championship, you’ll never forget what I do to you.” Swerve’s House is ready, but will this soon be Swerve’s Dynasty?

 

AEW World Tag Team Championship Tournament Quarterfinals: Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta VS The Undisputed Kingdom!

While Roderick Strong took away the AEW International Championship, Freshly Squeezed and his Best Friends feel stopping Matt Taven & Mike Bennett from getting more tag titles is fitting revenge. Will Cassidy & #JustTrent do whatever it takes to be avenged? Or will there only be more gold in the Kingdom’s future?

The teams sort out and Trent starts against Bennett. The bell rings, the two circle, but then Cassidy steps in? Cassidy says it’s okay, just hold on. He walks over and DECKS Taven! The fans fire up as Cassidy goes out after Taven, and Trent fires off on Bennett in a corner! Trent stomps away, Cassidy ROCKS Taven, then ROCKS him again! Trent keeps after Bennett, whips him to ropes but Bennett reverses to CLOBBER him! Taven turns things around on Cassidy to whip him into steel steps! Bennett whips Trent, Trent ducks and DIVES onto Taven! The fans fire up and Trent stands Taven up, but Bennett FLIES out onto them both!

The fans fire up as Cassidy climbs! Cassidy waves hi, then SUPER TRUST FALLS onto The Kingdom! The fans are thunderous as Best Friends shake hands! Trent gets Bennett in, Chuckie T gives him a supportive butt pat, and Trent storms into the ring. Bennett kicks low, CHOPS, then bumps Trent off buckles. Tag to Taven, The Kingdom stomps and mugs Trent, but the fans rally for Best Friends. Taven whips, Trent reverses but Taven goes up and over. Taven then dodges Trent to DROPKICK him down! Bennett cheers as Taven BLASTS Cassidy off the apron! The fans boo but Trent gets Taven for a GERMAN SUPLEX!

Trent GERMAN SUPLEXES again, but Taven throws elbows to fight the hattrick. Taven powers Trent into the corner, tags Bennett, and they mug Trent. Trent fights back with forearms and elbows, but Tavne CLAWS Trent’s eyes! The Kingdom double whips, but Trent holds ropes! Trent BOOTS Taven, dodges Bennett then drops down to STANDING METEORA! Taven mule kicks Trent then SUPERKICKS him down! Cassidy protests, the ref has him stay back, but the ref misses Bennett bring Trent to the apron! APRON PILEDRIVER!! Bennett scurries away and Roddy applauds as Dynamite goes picture in picture.

Roddy applauds, but Bennett talks smack on the fans in the front row. Bennett brings Trent up to then rebound and BOSTON BAYONET! Down goes Trent, but Bennett brings him back up and in. Cover, TWO! Trent stays in this but Bennett stays on him with a hard whip to the corner! Tag to Taven and then Bennett whips Trent back in for the BOOT! Trent goes up to MISSILE DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Taven is annoyed with Trent’s toughness but he clamps on a chinlock. Trent endures as Taven leans on him, and then Bennett mocks Cassidy putting hands up. But instead of putting his hands into imaginary pockets, Bennett just flips everyone off.

The fans rally, Trent fights up and he throws body shots. Taven ENZIGIRIS Trent in return! Tag to Bennett and he runs up to basement BOOT! Cover, TWO! The Kingdom is frustrated but Cassidy coaches Trent up. Bennett brings Trent around to stomp him down, then eggs him on. Bennet SLAMS Trent’s arm off the mat, then stands Trent up for a snap suplex! Cover, TWO! Trent is tougher than that so Bennett tags Taven. Taven goes up and soaks up some heat, only for Trent to get up and bring him down into a SAIDO! Both men are down, Bennett is upset but Cassidy is fired up. Hot tag to Bennett, and he stops Trent from reaching Cassidy!

Dynamite returns to single picture as Bennett CATAPULTS Trent into a ROUNDHOUSE! Trent falls back, Taven goes up, ELBOW DROP! High stack, TWO! Trent is showing that grit but Bennett talks trash on Cassidy. Tag to Taven, The Kingdom whips to SPIENBUSTER and LIONSAULT, onto knees! Trent saves himself, hurries over, hot tags to Bennett and Cassidy! Cassidy bumps Bennett off buckles, goes up top, and CROSSBODIES! Then he runs at Taven, only to be put on the apron. Cassidy bumps Taven off buckles, goes up top again, and he CROSSBODIES Taven now! Cassidy keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges Bennett to tilt-o-whirl, but Bennett stops it!

Bennett suplexes Cassidy, only to get STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE! But JUST THE TIP of the knee from Taven! Bennett gets Cassidy up, Taven is in the opposite corner, and they hit the PROTON PACK! Cover, TWO!! Cassidy survives and the fans fire up again! Chuck rallies Quebec but The Kingdom reset. Taven climbs, Bennett reels Cassidy in, but Trent SHOVES Taven down! Trent climbs, Cassidy turns things around on Bennett! STRONG ZERO BEACH BREAK!! Cover, TWO!!! Bennett survives #BeachZero but the fans rally up again. Cassidy drags Bennett up, tags Trent, and now Trent brings Bennett up.

But Taven SUPERKCIKS Trent! Cassidy leaps, Taven gets under, but Trent just uses that to TORNADO DDT! Cassidy tilt-o-whirl DDTS! Then BUSAIKU KNEE! The fans fire up as Trent and Cassidy… get distracted by Roddy holding up the International title! But then Chuck YANKS Roddy down! So Roddy DECKS the Kentucky Gentleman! Cassidy chases Roddy all around, Roddy drops the belt and Cassidy DIVES out onto him! Trent runs up on Bennett but runs into a kick! Bennett reels Trent in, but while the ref’s checking on Cassidy, Chuck TRIPS Taven! Trent trips Bennett, jackknife bridge, BEST FRIENDS WIN!!

Winners: Orange Cassidy & Trent Beretta (advance to the semifinals)

Turns out, two can play at the numbers game! Or is it six? Whatever! Best Friends are facing Young Bucks, making the semifinals that much bigger for both teams! Oh wait, Best Friends HUG, only for the Bucks to interrupt! Matthew & Nicholas are making sure everyone remembers the EVPs still have the power. But apparently not the power to make the Codyvator- er, EVP Lift, go any faster. Will Cassidy & Trent make the inaugural Dynasty PPV Freshly Squeezed? Or will the Bucks prove blood is thicker than Orange Punch?

 

Backstage interview with Kyle O’Reilly.

Renee is now with #CombatKyle and congratulates him on his big return win a couple weeks ago on Collision. How did it feel to finally be back in that ring? Kyle says you can prepare yourself mentally and physically, but there’s no way to get ready for what it’s actually like to get in that ring in front of a live crowd and pull it off. It felt good to rip the Band-aid off, it really did. But it is a deep, deep roster here in AEW, and there is no such thing as an easy match. True, so let’s talk Undisputed Kingdom. They came out there to celebrate with him, is he having any second thoughts on doing this alone?

Kyle says he loves those guys, but no, no regrets. He did it on his own in his return, he’ll do it on his own this week. Collision in London, Ontario, Kyle proves he belongs. Kyle is ready to chase the dragon, but will he be able to keep this going all on his own?

 

Adam “Edge” Copeland speaks.

The Rated R Superstar was backstage after Dynamite last week, and he said, “When you decide to dedicate your life to this, you dream of nights like this. Your hometown, against a man that you’ve known for 40 years, to hear that audience, to hear them sing my music to me. It’s one of those nights that I’ll take with me to the grave.” Edge is sore, bloody, but he got the TNT Championship. This feels like the first time he’s properly won a title since 2011. “Tonight, it felt like that chapter closed. That 40 year story is closed. It’s time to move on. It’s time for me to defend this TNT Championship. Collision, London, the Cope Open’s back.

“To anybody who wants to step up, feel free. There’s more at stake now, too, and I don’t plan on losing it any time soon.” Collision is about to get Rated R in its return, who looks to go toe to toe with the NEW Face of TNT?

 

MORE breaking news for Collision!

On top of the AEW World Tag Team Championship tournament, on top of The Cope Open, there will be a BIG Six Man Tag! Lance Archer & The Righteous tried to tear down the Swiss Superman, but now he’s got back-up! Bryan Danielson & Katsuyori Shibata are teaming with Claudio Castagnoli to take the fight to Vincent, Dutch & the Murderhawk Monster! Will this Collision prove #EverybodyDies? Or will The Wrestler make a great fit alongside the Blackpool Combat Club?

 

AEW World Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Swerve Strickland w/ Prince Nana VS Konosuke Takeshita w/ Don Callis!

We have heard from The Realest, and we heard from the head of the Don Callis Family. The time for talk is over, only actions can prove your worth! There can be only one, so who will be THE ONE that faces Samoa Joe in St. Louis?

The bell rings and of course Callis joins commentary, saying the French Canadians are outta control. Nana gets everyone chanting, “Whose House?” “SWERVE’S HOUSE!” as Swerve and Takeshita circle. They stare down, and Swerve surprisingly offers a handshake. Takeshita surprisingly takes it, but then neither man lets go. They use that as part of the grapple, and they move around to find openings. Swerve steps over, headlocks, but Takeshita wrenches out. Takeshita grinds the shoulder, Swerve trips Takeshita and has the leg, and then floats to headlock. Takeshita slips out the back to waistlock.

Takeshita shoots the half nelson for the cover, ONE as Swerve goes Matrix! The fans applaud the exchange as the two reset. Callis admits Swerve is a great athlete with sneaky strength, but Takeshita is still the best rope to rope wrestler in the company. The two tie up, Swerve headlocks, but Takeshita knuckle locks through to power up and put Swerve on the ropes. Takeshita lets off slowly, but then lands a cheap shot! The ref reprimands, Takeshita whips, but Swerve flips up and around and stares Takeshita down! Takeshita runs in, Swerve sunset flips, but Takeshita stays up. Swerve goes Matrix again to avoid the fist drop, and he rolls Takeshita up, TWO!

Swerve doesn’t let Takeshita go far, he floats around and rolls him for a short arm scissor! Takeshita hurries to the ROPEBREAK! Swerve lets go quickly and Callis admits Swerve has incredibly smooth transitions. The fans rally up, Takeshita rushes in but Swerve dodges to mule kick! Swerve whips Takeshita, Takeshita ducks ‘n’ dodges to TAKESHITA LINE! The fans are torn but Takeshita soaks up the heat. Swerve checks his jaw, and we see Samoa Joe watching backstage. Is Joe upset Swerve is struggling or angrily hoping Swerve loses? Takeshita storms up on Swerve, ROCKS him, then has him in a corner.

Takeshita digs boots in, the ref counts, and Swerve does his best to kick at Takeshita, but Takeshita lets off with a stomp. Takeshita whips, Swerve reverses and UPPERCUTS! Swerve then snapmares Takeshita to go up and FALLING UPPERCUT! The fans fire up and Swerve hits the Griddy! Callis says Swerve needs to learn, you don’t pander to the fans! Swerve drops a knee on Takeshita’s face, then clamps on with a chinlock. Takeshita fights up quickly but Swerve throws body shots. Swerve puts Takeshita in ropes, fires more body shots, then turns him for a NECKBREAKER HOTSHOT!

Takeshita writhes and flops to the apron while the fans rally up. Swerve drags Takeshita in, kneels on the cover, TWO! Swerve keeps cool and drags Takeshita up. Takeshita fires a forearm! Swerve gives it back, Takeshita gives another, and Swerve throws another! Takeshita grabs Swerve by the hair to Muay Thai KNEE him! Takeshita kicks, Swerve blocks, and Swerve slips around to clinch and BACKBREAKER! Swerve rolls into the facelock, but Takeshita suplexes first! BRAINBUSTER! Takeshita snarls while fans boo, and Swerve goes to a corner. The ref checks Swerve, Swerve says he’s fine but hard to say, and Takeshita storms over.

Takeshita brushes the ref aside, puts Swerve in a corner and he rains down forearms! Callis likes what he sees as Takeshita grinds the forearm in Swerve’s face. The ref counts, Takeshita lets off at 4, and Swerve clutches a shoulder. Takeshita drags Swerve up, ROCKS him, and Swerve leans against ropes to stay up. Takeshita stands Swerve up to ROCK him again, but Swerve SLAPS back! Takeshita fires a flurry of forearms, then runs in, only for Swerve to sidestep! SNAP GERMAN! But Takeshita’s right up to DECK Swerve! Swerve flops out of the ring and Dynamite goes picture in picture.

Takeshita shakes out his arms and scowls while the ring count climbs. Swerve is still down at 4 of 10 but Nana slaps the steps to rally the fans. Takeshita goes out to fetch Swerve, and he hammerlocks the bad arm to POST it! Swerve falls in a heap and Takeshita storms up on him, but the ref says to get this back in the ring. Takeshita drags Swerve up, puts him in the ring, then has Swerve under the ropes for the ROPE GUILLOTINE! Swerve sputters, goes to a corner, but he scowls as he works on the bad arm. Takeshita paces, Swerve turns around, into a HELLUVA KICK! Takeshita hauls Swerve up to scoop and SLAM!

Takeshita goes up the corner, soaks up the heat, and then SUPER SENTONS! Kneeling cover, TWO! Takeshita gives Swerve a taste of what he did earlier, but then drags him into a chinlock. Takeshita grinds Swerve down, even steps over to trap a leg, but Swerve still endures. Swerve reaches out, but then Takeshita pushes him down for a NECK TWIST! Takeshita then goes back for the chinlock, adding a rear mount for more leverage. Swerve still endures and Dynamite returns to single picture. The fans rally up, Swerve fights to his feet, but Takeshita pulls hair to wrangle Swerve back down! So Swerve twists Takeshita’s nose!

The fans rally, the ref reprimands both guys, so Swerve lets go to CHOP! Takeshita winds up to ROCK Swerve! Swerve ROCKS Takeshita, they go back and forth faster and faster! Takeshita winds up to ROCK Swerve again! Swerve leans on ropes again, Takeshita runs in, but Swerve TOSSES Takeshita up and out! Swerve then builds speed, and HANDSPRING RANAS! Swerve still managed that move even with the bad arm, and he puts Takeshita back in. Swerve goes up, Takeshita turns around, CROSSBODY! Cover, ONE!! Callis says that sends a message there, and Swerve definitely looks frustrated.

Swerve goes back to Takeshita to drag him up and fire fast hands! And even some kicks! Swerve winds up, but the bad shoulder holds him back! Takeshita DECKS Swerve again!! The ref checks Swerve as Swerve is in a daze, and Callis says to just call it now. But also, Callis wants Takeshita to show no mercy! Takeshita runs up, Swerve ducks the lariat! Swerve waistlocks, Takeshita switches and shoves Swerve to the apron, then Takeshita runs up. Swerve RAMS into Takeshita, but the shoulder hurts more! Swerve still goes up and over to get in, somersault, but into the fireman’s carry! LANDSLIDE! SHOTGUN BOOT!

Swerve tumbles out, the fans boo Takeshita as he builds speed, but Takeshita FLIES! Direct hit at the ramp and the fans can’t help but fire up! Takeshita hopes Joe saw that, and the fans rally for “A E DUB! A E DUB!” Takeshita drags Swerve up and around to go up the steel steps and to the apron. Takeshita grins as he steps back in with Swerve, and then Takeshita goes up the corner. Takeshita drags Swerve up and he wants to repeat Revolution! But Swerve throws hands to fight that off, and he then SLAPS Takeshita! And SLAPS! And SLAPS! Takeshita HEADBUTTS Swerve down! But Swerve takes out the legs!

Takeshita is stuck in the ropes, for the BOOT and DRAPING DDT!! Swerve goes up the corner, Callis is concerned but Takeshita stirs. Swerve aims to SKY TWISTER! Cover, TWO!! Takeshita survives and Swerve is frustrated again! Nana says he was close, and the fans know “This is Awesome!” Swerve hauls Takeshita up, goes to half nelson, but Takeshita fights it! Swerve still tries but Takeshita elbows him away. Takeshita reaches for a corner, Swerve reels him back in! But Takeshita switches to hop up, POISON-RANA!! Swerve staggers up, into a BLUE THUNDER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!!! Swerve survives and shocks Takeshita!

Takeshita snarls as Swerve stirs. Swerve slowly rises, Takeshita brings him around for boxing elbows! Then he ROCKS Swerve again! Swerve leans on the ropes again, Takeshita grabs at him, but Swerve hooks free with his leg to ROCK Takeshita with a right of his own! Takeshita sits back, shakes out the stars, and Swerve nods. Swerve runs up, blocks a boot, and he yanks Takeshita, somersault into the JUMP KNEE! Swerve ends up in a corner, but he goes up and over as Takeshita runs in! O’Conner but then EDDY GORDO RANA! Takeshita stands, into the SOMERSAULT FLATLINER! Cover, TWO!! Takeshita survives and Callis is worried now!

Swerve goes to the corner and fans fire up as he goes up! Swerve takes aim for the- Wait, Takeshita bails out to the apron. Swerve just adjusts to APRON KILL STOMP!!! Swerve pushes Takeshita back in while fans lose their minds! Swerve reloads as he climbs back up, for the KILL- POWERBOMB!! Flip through and suplex, BRAIN- NO, Swerve slips free to CHOP Takeshita on the neck! Then half nelson, BIG PRESS- NO, victory roll! Then the WHEELBARROW GERMAN!! Swerve flounders, sits up, into the POWER DRIVE KNEE!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Swerve survives and shocks everyone! Callis was even ready to celebrate!

The fans rally up as hard as they can, and Takeshita drags Swerve up again. Takeshita puts Swerve up top as fans hope they “FIGHT FOREVER!” Dynamite’s already into the overrun, hopefully they don’t go forever! Takeshita climbs up after Swerve, waistlocks, but Swerve fights the lift! Swerve throws hands then ELBOWS Takeshita down! Swerve adjusts, reloads, KILL- NO, Takeshita dodges! Takeshita then runs up, BLUE THUNDER- RANA! Swerve sends Takeshita into buckles! Takeshita falls back, into the HOUSE CALL! One more try as Swerve goes up! KILL STOMPS!!! Cover, TWO?!?!? HOW?!?!?

Callis is so excited, he loves the shock on the faces of Swerve and Nana! Swerve hurries to get Takeshita up, half nelsons, but Takeshita breaks free! Takeshita ducks the chop, then swings, but Swerve ducks the haymaker! RISING HEADBUTT!! Takeshita wobbles, but he JUMP KNEES in return!! Swerve stays up, runs up, POP-UP KILL STOMPS!!! Swerve hauls Takeshita up, half nelson, BIG PRESSURE DRIVER!!! Cover, Swerve wins!!

Winner: Swerve Strickland, by pinfall (NEW #1 Contender to the AEW World Championship)

Quebec is thunderous, Callis is upset, and from the looks of it, Samoa Joe is also unhappy he’ll have to face Swerve 1v1. Renee even walks over to ask him how he feels about having said 1v1 match with Swerve. Joe says, “How do I feel? What’s baffling to me is how he’s feeling right now. This is a man celebrating the biggest fate he’s ever gonna catch in his life. And next week, Swerve, when you walk down to that ring and you sign on the dotted line, I am gonna make sure that you UNDERSTAND what you are asking for. You think you’re ready? No. No. You’re not that man.” The King of Wrestling Television storms off, but will he lose his throne to Swerve’s Dynasty?


My Thoughts:

A great Dynamite here, so much great build towards Dynasty. Amazing opening match from Ospreay VS Shibata, great win from Ospreay so that he’ll be ready for Bryan, and then good move following it up with a career retrospective type hype video on Bryan. Awesome #1 contender’s Fatal 4 for the TBS Championship. We didn’t really get any fighting between Kris and Willow, which is actually quite clever, and great win for Willow. Julia of course goes after her, but I feel like that indicates Julia is losing the title and Willow will carry this belt in a feud with Mercedes Mone.

Really good promo from Dustin Rhodes and The Butcher to set up their match on Rampage, and I like that someone finally brought up the Bunkhouse match again. Really good little promo from Kyle O’Reilly to make it clear he’s having another match. And I like that AEW let Darby help plug Tony Hawk’s charity, I’m not even a skater but I appreciate them wanting to help all these kids out there who are or want to be. Good promo from Jericho and Hook to set up not a match but a manager-client relationship. You’d hope Jericho is going to be an honest manager but just as Hook implied, there is always a chance Jericho turns on Hook and we still get them fighting for the FTW title.

Great promo from Edge to give us his feelings after that big win in the I Quit match but to also pivot things towards the Cope Open’s return, just as I was hoping. A bit redundant, though, as they kinda snuck in the announcement during one of the tag matches. They should really just understand what the plan for the show is before having commentary bother with saying stuff like that. Anyway, the Cope Open is going to be awesome, can’t wait to see who becomes Edge’s first defense that he’ll of course win. And great though rather random bit with Toni Storm and Ben Mankiewicz, she didn’t even mention Deonna Purrazzo or Thunder Rosa. Maybe Tony Khan’s still writing that stuff.

A great promo from The Bucks with Renee to lead into their match with Private Party, and that was an awesome match. Of course The Bucks win, both because they’re definitely heading for the titles and they were going to get their win back after all these years. Best Friends VS The Kingdom was also great stuff, and I really liked Best Friends turning the cheat around on The Kingdom. Cassidy & Trent VS Bucks is going to be great, too, but as I’ve said before, this tournament has to be leading to Bucks VS FTR Round 4. FTR will beat Infantry, then beat winner of Top Flight VS Starks & Morrissey, Dynasty will add to AEW’s biggest tag team rivalry.

And of course, awesome stuff in the AEW World Championship story. Great promo from Callis and Swerve, amazing main event from Swerve VS Takeshita, like PPV level in itself. Swerve of course wins, and Samoa Joe had a great promo to respond to it. That contract signing segment will definitely be some good stuff, and their 1v1 match at Dynasty will be match of the year level for sure.

My Score: 9/10


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Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (3/26/24)

A THANK YEW!

Published

on

NXT White 'n' Gold Era

Will the Alpha Academy SHOOOOSH the Wolf Dogs?

In hopes of joining the NXT Tag Team Championship match at Stand & Deliver, Akira Tozawa & Otis face Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin in non-title action!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Shawn Spears VS DIJAK; Dijak wins.
  • Thea Hail w/ Chase U VS Jazmyn Nyx w/ Jacy Jayne; Thea wins.
  • Open Challenge: Lola Vice VS Natalya; Natalya wins.
  • Ilja Dragunov VS Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo w/ Adriana Rizzo; Dragunov wins.
  • Josh Briggs VS Duke Hudson; Briggs wins.
  • NXT Tag Team Championship Qualifier: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin VS Akira Tozawa & Otis w/ Maxxine Dupri; Bron & Corbin win and deny the Alpha Academy a spot at Stand & Deliver.

PLAY BY PLAY

Shawn Spears VS DIJAK!

The Chair Man exposed Ridge Holland’s truth, but now he runs into #HardJustice! Philosophies collide and there will be pain, but who will be proven right on the Road to WrestleMania Weekend?

The bell rings and the fans rally behind Spears as he circles with Dijak. They tie up, Dijak puts Spears in a corner, but then lets off as the ref counts. Spears headlocks, Dijak powers up and out, but Spears runs Dijak over! Things speed up and Dijak ELBOWS Spears down! The fans duel now as Dijak hauls Spears up. Spears SLAPS Dijak! So Dijak clotheslines Spears up and out! The fans fire up as Dijak goes out, puts Spears in, but then Spears dropkicks the legs out! Spears PLANCHAS and down goes Dijak! The fans fire up again with chants of “TEN! TEN! TEN!” The ring count climbs, Spears puts Dijak in at 3, but Dijak FLIES back out!

The fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” as Dijak roars. Dijak gets Spears up and in, stalks Spears to a corner, then lines up a stomp! Spears goes to another corer, Dijak fires forearms! Spears flounders, Dijak stalks him, but Spears kicks low! Spears CHOPS Dijak int he corner and the fans fire up! Spears CHOPS again! And CHOPS again! Dijak ROCKS Spears with forearm after forearm in return! Dijak ELBOWS Spears in a corner, ELBOWS again, then CLUBS him! The ref counts, Dijak whips Spears and scoops for the BACKBREAKER! Dijak then goes up the ropes and the fans fire up for the SPLASH! Cover, TWO!

Dijak is frustrated as Spears stays in this. Dijak drags Spears up, whips him to ropes, but Spears reels Dijak in for a NECKBREAKER! The fans rally up again as Spears stands up. Spears shakes his bad leg out, then scrapes his laces on Dijak’s face! Spears bumps Dijak off buckles, then CHOPS! The fans fire up and want another, but Spears whips corner to to corner. Dijak BOOTS Spears, then HEADBUTTS him down! Dijak then goes up and up and- NO, Spears gets him first, SUPER GERMAN SUPLEX!! The fans are thunderous as Dijak somehow rises! Spears runs in to KNEE Dijak outta the ring!

The fans rally up as Spears goes out to talk some trash on Dijak. But wait! Joe Gacy is crawling out from under the ring!! Gacy steals Spears’ favorite chair! Spears SLAMS Dijak against barriers, refreshes the ring count, then brings Dijak up. Dijak knees in return, SMACKS Spears off the apron, then shoves him in. Dijak climbs in but into a CODE BREAKER! Dijak is slumped in the ropes and the fans rally for “TEN! TEN! TEN!” as NXT goes picture in picture.

Spears smirks as he hobbles over and brings Dijak around. Spears steps through to stomp Dijak in the stomach! And again, and again! Spears digs his heel in but lets off to then stomp Dijak’s face! Dijak crawls to a corner, Spears stalks him, and Spears stands Dijak up. Spears CHOPS Dijak, Dijak sputters and staggers to another corner, but Spears is on him again. Dijak dodges the chop to CHOP in return! Dijak ROCKS Spears, then brings Spears around. Dijak ROCKS Spears, then whips him to ropes. Spears reverses and kitchen sink knees! Spears then CLUBS away with crossface forearms! Cover, ONE!!

Spears is frustrated but he paces around Dijak. Spears drags Dijak up, CHOPS him again, and Dijak staggers away to a corner. Spears stands Dijak up to CHOP again! Dijak sputters, but Spears puts him up top. Spears ROCKS Dijak with haymakers, then CHOPS again! Dijak clutches his stinging chest while Spears climbs up. Spears brings Dijak up but Dijak resists the superplex! Dijak throws body shots, Spears hops down, but Spears CHOPS again! And ROCKS Dijak with another haymaker! Spears climbs back up to HEADBUTT Dijak! Then they go to the very top, but Dijak still resists! NXT returns to single picture as fans rally up

Dijak fires forearm after forearm and Spears falls back! Dijak adjusts, Spears stands, and Dijak FLYING LARIATS! The fans fire up while both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as Spears and Dijak slowly rise. Spears stands first, but Dijak throws body shots! Spears throws hands, Dijak throws them back, and they stand. Dijak fires forearm after forearm, then whips. Spears reverses but Dijak ducks ‘n’ dodges to LEAPING LARIAT! Dijak storms up on Spears, smothers him, then CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! The fans fire up as Dijak says TIME TO FLY!! The throw is good and Dijak snarls in the corner!

The fans fire up as Spears rises, Dijak choke grips, but spears breaks free! Dijak stops the superkick, choke grips again, but Spears wheelbarrows to victory roll! TWO! Dijak escapes but Spears SUPERKICKS! Dijak CYCLONE KICKS! Cover, TWO!! Spears survives and Dijak is beside himself! The fans are thunderous and hope they “FIGHT FOREVER!” But this is just the first match, and it has to end somehow! Dijak hauls Spears up but Spears fights the torture rack! Spears CLUBS Dijak, then fireman’s carries in return! But Dijak slips free! Dijak fireman’s carries again, swings, but Spears DDT counters!!

Spears hurries after Dijak as Dijak goes to the apron. Spears stands Dijak up but Dijak HOTSHOTS Spears away! Dijak snarls, drags himself up, and he aims for a springboard MACHO ELBOW FLOP as Spears moves! The ref checks on Dijak and Spears goes for his chair, only to find it’s gone! Spears is confused, he knows he left it right by the stairs. Dijak hurries after Spears but Spears HOTSHOTS him! Spears goes up, AX- NO, Dijak catches him! HIGH JUSTICE!! Cover, TWO?!? Spears survives and Dijak is furious! The fans are thunderous again but Dijak takes aim again. Spears stands, but he blocks the superkick!

Spears throws the leg down but Dijak SUPERKICKS through anyway! Torture rack lift, FEAST YOUR EYES!! Cover, Dijak wins!

Winner: Dijak, by pinfall

Spears’ chair disappearing may have been the key, but a win is a win! Will NXT General Manger, Ava Raine, look to give Dijak that golden opportunity? Wait, Gacy shows off that HE has Spears’ chair! Will Gacy show Spears what painful truth he needs to embrace?

 

Roxanne Perez watches herself back.

The Prodigy holds scissors in her hand as she watches last year’s vignette about her dream board. “Look at this girl. Just happy to be here, stars in her eyes. God, I was so naive. Watching this honestly makes me sick. If you dream big enough~! Ugh, I wanted everyone to like me. Just pathetic. That gullible little girl that grew up taking pictures with her favorite WWE superstars and looking up to her heroes and trying to do everything right.” She uses those scissors to CUT UP those pictures! Roxanne says that little girl is dead. Wanna know what those heroes got her? Nothing! Which is why she is her own hero now.

From the day she stepped foot in NXT, Roxanne was seen as the next woman to carry the torch. The woman to take NXT 2.0 into the new era. She put this brand before her own life! Always on to the next Premium Live Event, the next TV special, the next live event! Where’d that get her? Discarded and without her title. Now Roxie looks out for herself, and it feel so good! Don’t like it? Too bad. Her proof is in the results. She is in the NXT Women’s Championship match at Stand & Deliver, and she got it by just being herself: breaking the rules and doing it her way.

Lyra, Roxie doesn’t like you, nor does she dislike you. She has no real feelings towards Lyra. Lyra’s just the woman carrying Roxie’s title. Well, barely carrying it now. But don’t worry, at Stand & Deliver, Roxie will be holding that title, and it’ll be back where it belongs. The Prodigy is excelling in being selfish and sadistic, but will those get her what she wants? Or only what she deserves?

 

Hank ‘n’ Tank are rocking out backstage.

Specifically, they’re all fired up because they’re auditioning to be the cohosts of Stand & Deliver! Hank practiced the song, right? Taylor Swift’s Antihero! No, man, Cool Summer! Aw man, that’s so good, too. But apparently, it isn’t just them interested in the job. Brinley Reece is with Malik Blade & Edris Enofe, she wants them to stay positive and give a MILLION percent! Edris says that is mathematically impossible. Malik says it IS possible, you just gotta believe! But Andre Chase also finishes up. How’d it go? He effin’ nailed it! Cool… Next! Next? Chase SLAPS the clipboard out of the staff assistant’s hand before storming off.

Meta Four walks over and Noam Dar says the real stars are finally here. They don’t even knock, they just say hello, hello, hello! Will Ava really accept Supernova 11 and crew as suitable hosts for Stand & Deliver?

 

Thea Hail w/ Chase U VS Jazmyn Nyx w/ Jacy Jayne!

Speaking of things people want and deserve, Chase U’s most energetic prospect is back to her old self! She realized this is who she is and who she wants to be, not what the toxic haters wanted her to be! So then, will Jazmyn get the humbling she and Jacy deserve? Or will they still do what they want to who they want with no remorse?

NXT returns as Jazmyn & Jacy make their entrance. The bell rings and Thea runs up to CLOBBER Nyx! And CLOBBER her again! And again! Then Thea WRINGS Nyx’s arm, then drags her by a leg! The fans rally, Nyx kicks Thea away and hurries to a corner. Thea runs in to back body block! Then she clinches to EXPLODER! The fans fire up, Nyx staggers up, and Thea gest her again! But Jacy gets on the apron! That distracts Thea, Nyx cradles, TWO! Nyx trips Thea, runs, and PENALTY KICKS! There’s her West Virginia soccer ability! Thea gets away to ropes, Nyx distracts the ref, and Jacy storms up.

The ref tells Jacy to back off so she does. Nyx runs up to stomp Thea in the corner, but the fans boo. Nyx lets off as the ref counts, then she drags Thea up to short arm BACK ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Nyx stays on Thea by pulling hair and mocking “poor little baby.” But Thea throws body shots! Nyx throws Thea down by her hair, then sits her up for an armlock chinbar combo. The fans rally as Thea endures. Jacy tells Nyx to make Thea pay, but Thea fights up! Thea throws body shots, but Nyx whips her away. Nyx runs up, into an ELBOW! And a BOOT! Thea runs to ROLLING NECKBREAKER!

The fans fire up and Thea storms after Nyx. Thea whips, Nyx reverses to PELE! Cover, TWO! Nyx clamps right onto Thea for a seated chicken wing, then LEG HOOK FULL NELSON! Thea endures, but Jacy snatches the towel! The fans boo as Jacy taunts Chase with it, #TowelGate flashbacks! Riley intercepts the throw!! The fans cheer, but then the ref sees Riley in the wrong?! The ref EJECTS Chase U!! The fans boo as Jacy’s toxicity still prevails! But Thea pushes Nyx to a cover! TWO!! Nyx runs up, into a JAWBREAKER! Jacy distracts Thea directly now, and Thea says she thought they were friends!

Jacy says Thea was never her friend! And then she SLAPS Thea!! The ref was too busy checking Nyx, and now Nyx rolls Thea up! TWO, KIMURA!!! NYX TAPS, THEA WINS!!

Winner: Thea Hail, by submission

Thea is so furious, she doesn’t let off, she SNAPS that elbow!! Nyx is writhing, Thea taunts her, but Jacy CLOBBERS Thea! Thea and Jacy brawl and the fans fire up! But wait, Kiana James & Izzi Dame jump in!! They mug Thea to help their new “friend,” Jacy! The fans boo as the mugging is 3v1, but here come Kelani & Fallon! They CLOBBER Jacy, throw hands with Izzi & Kiana, and now the brawl is 3v3! Kelani DROPKICKS Kiana outta the ring! Fallon ROCKS Izzi, then she and Kelani DOUBLE LARIAT Izzi outta the ring! Thea runs up to CLOBBER Jacy! Jacy reaches out, Izzi & Kiana grab her hands, it’s tug-o-war using Jacy!

Izzi & Kiana manage to get Kiana away from Thea, Fallon & Kelani, but it seems things are only heating up! Will these six women look to Stand & Deliver in order to settle this once and for all?

 

NXT presents Prime Target: Trick Melo Gang.

An old selfie video starts us off, and then Trick Williams himself says they clicked right from the beginning. Trick Melo Gang always gonna be here, that’s all it is, and that’s all it’s gonna be. It was something special, something unique, even for the storied history of NXT. Trick says what he and Melo built was special. What they built together was special. Booker T says Melo’s rise was awesome, but he couldn’t have had that rise without Trick by his side. Trick was there for his boy, every single victory. But Trick’s name wasn’t on those awards. Trick asked THE John Cena how he knew it was his time.

Booker says there was always going to come a time when Trick would have to leave the shadow of Carmelo Hayes. Both men wanted the exact same things: champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But on the flipside, Randy Orton says that Melo saw the signs. His best friend, former partner, everyone is jumping up and stomping their feet for Trick. Melo hears that reaction. CM Punk says this is a good case study of human nature. Neither man set out for it to be this way. Melo remembers like it was yesterday. He called up his boy, asked Trick if he was ’bout it, and Trick said, “I’m ’bout it ’bout it!” And that couldn’t have been more of a lie.

Melo tells Trick that he brought Trick to the water. Melo let Trick drink, he let Trick eat off the same plate as HIM. It was never a we thing, it was a Melo with Trick thing. Melo says that when you come for the One of One, Melo is second to nobody. The betrayal happened, and Melo claimed he wasn’t the one jealous of Trick’s success, because he was the one who allowed Trick to succeed. Melo was just reminding Trick of his place. When you bite the hand that feeds you, this is what you get. Trick was the sidekick, that is all it is, and that is all Trick was ever going to be. This is just part one of Prime Target, stay tuned for the rest!

 

The Alpha Academy warms up.

Maxxine Dupri says Tozawa and Otis are looking good. Eyes on the prize, they gotta focus. Otis says, “Oh yeah, my dove. Stand & Deliver is in our sights. But tonight, it’s not about loving Miss Laaash~!” Tozawa gets worked up but Otis says easy, tonight is about fighting. Tozawa says they will beat Bron & Corbin to then make it to Stand & Deliver, A THANK YEW~! Maxxine likes that fire, but will the Wolf Dogs avoid getting burned?

 

Open Challenge: Lola Vice VS ???

The challenge was put out on social media, because the Mayor of Vice City just knew NXT missed seeing her. Who steps up to prove her wrong?

Lola gets the mic to say, “It’s Stand & Deliver season, baby. And I put out an open challenge to any woman in the locker room who thinks she can handle this Latina Heat. Pero <But>, lemme tell you a little secret. No one, nada, can handle Lola Vice! I am the complete package. I’ve got knockout power in my hands and feet, and I look hot doing it. So I hope whoever’s about to come out is ready to be put to sleep.” IT’S NATALYA!? The fans fire up, and the Queen of Harts tells Lola that she saw the tweet. There is no doubt Lola is one of the fastest rising stars in NXT. But as WrestleMania Weekend has grown, so has Lola’s ego. Someone needs to put Lola in her place!

The fans fire up for that and Natty says she isn’t saying all this because she sees nothing in Lola. It’s because she sees everything in Lola. Natty goes to the ring, and she says that while she sees everything in Lola, she would just love to be the one that kicks her ass! But then Lola TACKLES Natty first! The fans fire up as these two brawl! The ref rushes in to separate them, but it’s only long enough for the bell to ring! They start throwing hands and the fans fire up! Natty CLUBS away on Lola, bumps her off buckles, then bumps her off more buckles! The fans rally for Natty as she trips Lola but Lola kicks her away!

Lola bails out, Natty pursues! Natty CLUBS Lola at the ramp, puts her back in the ring, but Lola hurries out the other side. Natty pursues again and SMACKS Lola off the apron! Natty puts Lola in, CLUBS her again, then gets the fans fired up. Natty DECKS Lola, drags her back up, and talks some trash. But Lola fires body shots and fast hands! Lola has Natty in a corner, Natty shoves her away, but then Lola ducks the lariat! Lola feints to then kick, KICK and ROUNDHOUSE Natty down! The fans fire up while Lola checks her jaw and NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and the fans duel as Lola has Natty in a cobra twist! Natty endures, even as Lola digs in an elbow. Natty throws elbows, then hip tosses free! Lola gets up, runs up, but into a BOOT! Natty goes to a corner, Lola runs in again, but into another BOOT! Lola swings, Natty dodges and she ROCKS Lola again and again! The fans fire up, Natty fires off in the corner but the ref backs her off. Natty blocks Lola’s boot to throw her down! Natty then runs, steps on Lola, and basement dropkicks! Cover, TWO! Natty pushes Lola down, has the legs, and the fans fire up as Natty steps through! Lola fights, kicks and has the ANKLE LOCK!

The fans boo as Natty endures and fights around! Lola grapevines but Natty rolls and rolls and has the ROPEBREAK! Lola lets go, has Natty in a corner and she throws body shots. Lola then fireman’s carries, but Natty fights free! Natty spins Lola, goes for a leg, but Lola steps over to La Magistrol! TWO and Natty has a cover, TWO! They both stand and Lola URAKENS! Cover, TWO!! Natty survives and Lola is furious! Lola clamps onto Natty with a TRIANGLE HOLD! Natty endures, fights around, and Karmen Petrovic hurries out here! Karmen cheers Natty on, Natty fights to stack, TWO!

Lola sees Karmen and says she better leave or Lola’s gonna hurt her! Natty goes to a corner, says “I’m a Latina~!” and shakes those hips before the HIP ATTACK! Lola drags Natty up to then URA- NO, Natty ducks to DISCUS LARIAT! The fans fire up as Natty has the legs again! Natty steps through, but Lola continues to fight! Lola BOOTS Natty, rolls her up, TWO!! Natty now has an ARMBAR!! Lola clasps hands to fight it off but the fans rally! Lola stacks Natty, TWO! SOBAT! But Natty ducks the roundhouse to O’Conner Roll! And it’s deep! NATTY WINS!

Winner: Natalya, by pinfall

The fans cheer the big win for Natty’s NXT return, and she celebrates with Karmen. Will Lola make Karmen pay for even showing up tonight?

 

NXT Media catches up with Shawn Spears.

The Chair Man is on his way out as they bring up his “disappointing result” against Dijak. Spears says, “Uh, ya think? Of course it’s disappointing. All because of… Joe Gacy? A guy who wasn’t even on my radar.” Spears says Gacy is now. Joe took something that is essential and vital to who Spears is so if he wants to play- Wait, someone shouts “INCOMING~!” The chair falls from the sky!? Gacy is up on the roof again! And he apologizes to Spears, Gacy meant to give that back to him sooner. Woops! Gacy laughs and then Oba Femi steps on Spears’ chair. Gacy says sorry, he didn’t see Oba there! Did that almost hit him? Sorry about that!

Gacy continues to laugh, but now he’s got The Chair Man and The Ruler upset with him. Are they both going to show Gacy that the time for games is over?

 

Sol Ruca speaks.

“Nothing beats the crest of a wave. Everything’s flowing and gathering momentum, it’s just beautiful. But then, it can all come crashing down with such an unbelievable force. Which perfectly describes what Blair Davenport did to me last April. She shredded my ACL and put me on the shelf for nine long, hard months. Every single day that I was in the gym, I thought about you, Blair, and how I’d repay you for putting a pause on my career. Rehab sucked, but Blair, I’m back now. And don’t be fooled by my carefree beach life personality, because I’m pissed off. Next week is more than a match. It is for every day I couldn’t walk or straighten my leg, and all the pain that I endured on that rehab table.

“Blair, you’ve stacked up your victims, but now it’s your turn to feel the pain of a tendon tearing. You may’ve torn my ACL, but next week, I snatch your soul.”

Backstage interview with Blair Davenport.

Kelly Kincaid brings up Sol’s message and Blair immediately says Sol is so likeable, right? She has the whole beach bum meets cool girl kind of vibe going for her, but she also reminds her of sand. Annoying, gross, and no matter how hoard you try, you just can’t get rid of her. So, Sol, you think you’re gonna have some big vindication against Blair or something? See, that’s your inexperience talking. You can waste all the time you like trying to ensign these TikTok dorks or whatever, but it’s not gonna help, is it? Blair is so excited to see how well the doctors repaired that ACL, because when Blair is done with Sol, she’ll be on another road to recovery, courtesy of Blair.

The Ichiban Gaijin has given her own warning, but who will still be standing after the smoke clears?

 

Ilja Dragunov VS Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo w/ Adriana Rizzo!

The Mad Dragon has tried showing The Don respect, but it’s hard to say if he’s gotten respect in return. The Underboss looks to soften the NXT Champion up, but will he succeed? Or is this a move Tony D’Angelo will regret making in this brutal game of chess?

The bell rings and Stacks eggs Dragunov on? Dragunov runs up but Stacks blocks the boot! Stacks DECKS Dragunov, DECKS him again, then brings him around for a facelock. Dragunov fights the suplex, wrenches through, and then ROCKS Stacks with boxing elbows! The fans rally, Stacks swings but misses, and Dragunov waistlocks! Stacks goes to ropes to buck Dragunov away, then he DROPKICKS Dragunov down! Stacks storms up to throw hands, then reels him in for a short arm LARIAT! The fans rally, Stacks pushes Dragunov around and then puts him in a corner. But Dragunov ROCKS Stacks, then CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS!

Stacks comes back to ROCK Dragunov, then he ducks the spring-back enzigiri! Stacks runs to UPPERCUT Dragunov down! Fans are torn as Stacks stomps Dragunov. Stacks drags Dragunov up, bumps him off buckles, then fires hands. Stacks climbs up and he tells Dragunov he’s not ready for The Don. But Dragunov carries Stacks off the corner, for a POWERBOMB! The fans fire up as Dragunov snarls and rises up! Dragunov builds up the energy, runs up, but Stacks KICKS Dragunov before he can drop the hammer! Stacks scouted Dragunov almost perfectly! Then he STOMPS Dragunov’s fingers!!

Dragunov’s hand is all contorted and he can’t even pull the fingers straight! Stacks grabs that hand, but Dragunov HEADBUTTS! And CHOPS! But that’s the bad hand! Stacks runs up to TORNADO DDT! Dragunov flounders, Stacks covers, TWO! The fans rally as Dragunov stays in this, but Stacks stays on that bad hand! Stacks wrenches the hand and bends the beat-up fingers! The Don & Luca are watching backstage, and while the Legal Eagle is very impressed, Tony has a more wait-and-see attitude right now. Stacks JAMS Dragunov’s hand up, then stalks him. Stacks grabs the bad hand, twists the wrist, then throws down elbows on it!

Dragunov shouts in pain and clutches the wrist as Stacks talks smack. Stacks drags Dragunov up, to KNEE DROP on the hand! Then Stacks aims from the corner! Stacks wants Dragunov to get up, then he runs up, into an ELBOW! Stacks staggers, comes back, into the SPINNING CHOP! Dragunov fights through the pain and JUMP KICKS! Stacks goes to ropes, Dragunov runs up to ENZIGIRI! Stacks flops over and the fans rally with Dragunov. Dragunov hauls Stacks up, shoves him and SNAP GERMANS! Stacks flounders and the fans fire up! Dragunov hurries to haul Stacks up, reel him in, and even with the bad hand, he POWERBOMBS Stacks!

The fans rally as Dragunov goes to the corner. “UN! BE! SIEG! BAR!!” TORPEDO MOSCOW!! Cover, Dragunov wins!

Winner: Ilja Dragunov, by pinfall

The Czar takes the win, but perhaps Stacks still got the job done? We cut back to Luca and Tony, and Luca asks if he needs to go out there. No, no. Instead, invite Dragunov to dinner. At the restaurant? No, this is too big. Dragunov gets special treatment. They’ll have the meal at The Selica. Wait, that place is real? Oh, it is. That’s where he did the- Yeah, yeah. But it’s also for special occasions. So go get it done. Luca nods and heads out, but is Tony trying to lure Dragunov into his last supper?

 

NXT presents Prime Target: Trick Melo Gang, part 2.

Trick Willy returned home to South Philly and said hey to everyone from the neighborhood. His Uncle James, aka “Sweet Baby James,” took Trick in when he moved here, and that’s why Trick’s even wrestling now. Trick appreciates Uncle James and James says Trick’s the man! April 6th, they’re coming back to Philly, Sweet Baby James will get to see it as they tear the roof off the joint! Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, but Trick ain’t gonna lie, he thought Melo was his brother. Booker says Trick knows it isn’t about getting beat down. It’s about getting beat down, and getting right back up into the fight.

Trick’s boxing coach and long time friend, Matthew Brooks, doesn’t know what’s up in Boston, aka Melo’s hometown, but a real brother never does what Melo did. CM Punk says, “When you’ve been stabbed in the back by somebody you considered a brother, the brother’s knife cuts the deepest.” Garry Cobb, former NFL player and a Philadelphia Eagle at that, says sometimes you get got. You may not get that guy back that same game, it might be something you have to wait for a long time, maybe even wait your whole career just to get that one game with them, that one shot. But there’s nothing sweeter than payback.

Trick’s never been this motivated. He will come back stronger, faster and better. Cobb says when you have that energy, it’s because you know you’re gonna make that play. Punk says, “When something monstrous gets done to you, you risk becoming a monster. And if I was Melo, I would be a little bit worried.” William Davis, family friend to Trick, says Trick’s gonna whoop dat ass, you know that. Trick runs the stairs like Rocky Balboa, and he is ready! “Melo… I’m coming for you.” Will Melo have a response? Stay tuned for part 3!

 

Baron Corbin talks with Bron Breakker backstage.

There he is! Looking good! And really tan, too… Uh, thanks, dude. Corbin asks how, and Bron says it’s because he goes outside. This is all natural, okay? Try it. Well, Bron does realize that tanning beds aren’t the actual sun, right? It must be frying his brain. Bron says he does know that! And he also knows that Corbin would be coming in all pale and ugly and crap. He brought something for Corbin. Boom! It’s a can of spray tan, with the words, “THE SUN” labeled on it! But then in step the Good Brothers. Luke Gallows asks if they’re interrupting something. N-No…! But what do they want anyways?

Karl Anderson says that is a good question. Because what they want as tag team legends is a traditional tag team match for Stand & Deliver! 2v2! But if Bron & Corbin lose, then it one: becomes a Triple Threat Tag; two: doubles the Wolf Dogs’ workload; and three: while you’re stuck on the aprons critiquing tans or lack thereof, Good Brothers will pin Alpha Academy to take the tag titles. If that’s not Too Sweet, we don’t know what is! Bron says woohoo, it won’t be a Triple Threat at Stand & Deliver because the Wolf Dogs will do their job. And the Good Brothers better do their jobs next week. See you in Philly. Maybe.

The Wolf Dogs leave because they’re going to Stand & Deliver no matter what. But will things be that traditional 2v2? Or will the odds drastic go down after tonight?

 

Ridge Holland is in the ring.

Fans are a bit torn on Yorkshire Grit being here live, but he has the mic to say, “It’s extremely hard for me to come out here tonight in front of everyone and say what I’m gonna say. I knew this day would come, but I never thought it’d be this soon. So first off, I’d like to thank Mighty Johns, the man that brought me in. I’d like to thank William Regal for seeing something in this washed-up, former professional rugby player, and giving me a chance. I’d like to thank Shawn Michaels, all the producers and talent back there for allowing me the time to come out here and say what I need to say.

“During my decade plus playing professional rugby, I always said that if I found myself hesitating or if I found myself a step off, that it would be time to have some difficult conversations. And lately, I have been hesitating. I have been a step off. And I can’t in good conscious run the risk of hurting myself or somebody else again.” Fans appreciate the honesty, and Ridge says he is very aware there is a perception around him. He’s heard the whispers, seen the comments, and the DMs, all the messages. Whether they’re true or not, what you haven’t seen is the affect it has had on the man behind “Ridge Holland.”

He is tired. He is tired of taking his work home with him. And he refuses to let this job take away from what he finds most valuable in life, and that is his ability to be the best dad and husband he possibly can be. The fans applaud the honesty again, and Ridge says that these past few days, he’s had a few of those difficult conversations. The first was with the ones that love him and care for him. The second was with himself, six inches from the mirror. Rugby and wrestling both require physical and mental resilience, and it is quite evidence he has been lacking in both. So he has made a decision. One that is best for his mental health and for the welfare and future of his family.

“With all that being said… I’m out here tonight to announce that I’m officially stepping away from in-ring competition indefinitely.” Fans applaud Ridge’s courage in saying that, and Ridge is clearly still emotional. As difficult and gut-wrenching as his decision has been, Ridge considers himself extremely blessed and lucky to even have had the opportunity to step foot in this company, let alone perform in front of millions of people all over the world. The fans applaud that, and Ridge extends the biggest thanks to all of NXT for allowing him to come back and take that last shot at redemption. He’s just sorry it didn’t work out.

Ridge appreciates the fans more than they’ll ever know. Cheers, lads. Thank you. The fans cheer, “Thank You, Ridge! Thank You, Ridge!” Ridge sets the mic down and steps out of the ring. If indefinite ends up being forever, will Yorkshire Grit’s mind finally be at peace?

 

Lyra Valkyria speaks.

“In every story every told, there are two paths you can walk: the wrong path, and the right one. Professor X and Magneto, Vaenera Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, Anakin and Obi-wan. The road to becoming NXT Women’s Champion makes or breaks those that walk it. And everything changes when you reach the top. When you’ve beat Becky Lynch to become champion… the little girl in you has no idea what’s on the other side. There’s a certain force that comes with the NXT Women’s Championship. It’s the same force that took me from Ireland to here, that drove me to beat my idol, that tests my moral compass and drives me to do right by this title every single day.

“When given the chose between right or wrong, that’s where Roxanne and I hit a crossroads. Because she took the easy way out. It’s way easier to walk around punching people in the locker room, being angry at the world. Cuz let’s face it, Roxanne, looking in the mirror, it’s just too hard for you. We both know the truth. Perez was beaten for this title, the minute she couldn’t climb the ladder to retain it last year at Stand & Deliver. Roxanne, I get all of your emotions. But this title deserves so much better than you.

“Honestly, I’d like to think in another life, we’d have been friends. Both dreamt of being here, idolized our favorites, trained day in and day out to prove we were worthy. But the only difference is, you let this title break you. You think you’re the chosen one, but your time has passed. And at NXT Stand & Deliver, it’s just you and me, and I will do anything to keep this title, and everything to keep you the hell away from it.” The Morrigan has spoken, will she come through on this promise in Philadelphia?

 

Josh Briggs VS Duke Hudson!

As Ava Raine said, there are heavy North American Championship implications on tonight’s matches. Dijak knows that, too, that’s why he’s on commentary for this one. So just how heavy is this going to get when big bad Briggs collides with the Chase U MVP?

The bell rings, the fans rally as the two tie up, and they go around. Briggs puts Duke on the ropes, then CLUBS him! Then Briggs headlocks, but Duke powers up and out. They RAM shoulders, neither falls so they start shoving. Duke runs but Briggs ELBOWS him! Briggs ROCKS Duke, has him in a corner and RAMS into him! Briggs fires elbows, then brings Duke around to bump off more buckles! Briggs ELBOWS Duke, tells Dijak to watch this, and then he throws more elbows! Dijak tells Briggs if they were the ones fighting, he’d lay waste to Briggs. Briggs whips Duke corner to corner, then runs up, but into the U~ RENAGE!

The fans fire up with Duke as he storms up and whips. Briggs reverses, Duke ducks ‘n’ dodges to RANA! The fans fire up as Duke moves like a cruiserweight, then ROCKS Briggs! Briggs rebounds off ropes into the scoop and SIDEWALK SLAM! Cover, TWO! Briggs stays in this but bails out of the ring while Dijak brags that he’s been in some of the best North American title matches this company has ever seen. Duke pursues Briggs, but Briggs throws body shots! Duke SMACKS Briggs off the apron, pushes him into the ring, then storms up to the apron. Duke RAMS Briggs before Briggs can ram him, then he slingshots to GERMAN SUPLEX!

The fans fire up while Briggs tumbles away! Duke hurries but Briggs flops out of the ring first. Duke goes out after Briggs again, hauls him up, but Briggs RAMS him into steel steps! Duke falls, Briggs grits his teeth, and NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Duke fights out of a chinlock with body shots. Briggs staggers, Duke fires fast hands and UPPERCUTS! Duke whips, Briggs reverses and scoops, SIDEWALK SLAM to SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Duke survives even though Briggs called and raised him on that one. Briggs scowls at Dijak, then storms after Duke. Dijak says he’s the superior big man and will prove it, but Briggs bumps Duke off buckles. Briggs puts Duke up top, the fans duel, and Briggs climbs up. Briggs wants Dijak to watch this but Duke fires forearms! Briggs staggers back, Duke stands, but Briggs kicks the ropes to trip Duke up!

The fans are torn as Duke lands on his MVP! Briggs goes up, then SUPERPLEXES! Both big men writhe and the fans fire up! Briggs drags Duke up for a chinlock, then whips him to a corner. Briggs runs up but into an ELBOW! Briggs tries again, Duke dodges and Briggs hits buckles! Duke fires forearm after forearm, then short arm LARIATS! Then LARIATS! Briggs takes a swing, Duke ducks ‘n’ dodges to BOOT! The fans fire up as Duke JABS, JABS, JABS, then flips, flops and “U~!” BIONIC ELBOW! The fans rally as Duke SENTONS! Cover, TWO! Briggs stays in this and Duke grows frustrated, but the fans rally up again.

Duke stands Briggs up, whips him to a corner, then runs up, but into a BOOT! Duke staggers, Briggs runs, but into the BIG BOSS MAN SLAM! Cover, TWO!! Briggs survives and Duke is stunned! Duke hurries to haul Briggs up, reels him in, but Briggs resists! The fans rally, Briggs shoves Duke then BOOTS! Then BIG back suplex! Briggs goes to a corner! Dijak chuckles and says yeah, go ahead, go up. Briggs climbs, but Duke gets him for a POWERBOMB!! Duke huffs and puffs and the fans fire up! Briggs goes to a corner, Duke runs in to clothesline! Then Duke whips corner to corner, only for Briggs to LARIAT!

Briggs roars, throws off the elbow pad and he runs, CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL!! Cover, Briggs wins!

Winner: Josh Briggs, by pinfall

Dijak admits, that was good. But then Briggs glaring at him only upsets Dijak, so Dijak storms to the ring. But wait! Oba Femi is on the perch! And he tells Briggs and Dijak, “Two monumental victories for the both of you tonight. Now I can finally say that I have two very worthy opponents for this North American Championship. Two titans who get to climb the mountain at Stand & Deliver! But gents, lest we forget, I AM THE MOUNTAIN! And on April 6th, the both of you will find out that nobody can reach that summit. But me and the rest of these good people will pay good money to see you try… IN A TRIPLE THREAT MATCH!”

The fans love the sound of that, but apparently so do Briggs and Dijak! Will Stand & Deliver turn WrestleMania weekend into Meat Madness?

 

NXT presents Prime Target: Trick Melo Gang, part 3.

Roadblock, Melo VS Tony, an NXT Championship #1 Contender’s match. And Trick’s theme song was all that was needed to mess HIM up. And then Trick got in there to go after Melo himself! Trick tossed the bodyguards, threw hands on Melo, and Melo was sent running. Punk brings up the saying, “When you set out for revenge, dig two graves.” This is beyond the ring, this is personal. Who wants to hurt the other man more? Johnny Gargano adds that being betrayed by a man closer than a brother, you lose a part of yourself in the process. And you may never get that part back.

Orton understands where both men are coming from. The main point, the main takeaway, is that at Stand & Deliver, it is gonna be one hell of a way to start WrestleMania Weekend. Tommaso Ciampa says this match is quite possibly the biggest match in NXT history. Cody Rhodes says when it comes to predicting the winner, it is easy: Trick Williams. Trick knows he and Melo aren’t on the same level. They never were. Melo could put on boots, stand on a stepstool and have a Ludacris afro, he’ll still never measure up to Trick!

Melo says Trick really thinks he has what it takes to be on top. What does Trick know about carrying a brand for two YEARS? About being THE guy on the posters? About being THE reason tickets sell? About doing media? About being… HIM? Two years, Trick had Melo’s back, watched him win everything NXT had to offer, because that is what brothers do. Melo says he brought Trick into this world, he will be the one to take him out of it! Melo carried NXT, carried Trick, because he is the greatest performer in NXT history. Trick says Melo wanted a war, so they’re going to war! In the end, it’s Trick VS Melo, but who will Stand & Deliver?

 

Meta Four is messing around with the cameras?

But they can’t seem to figure out which one is what angle. They got the floor, they got the overhead view, but which one is for the truck? There it is! And Dar says hello, hello, hello! Hear him now as Meta Four proves they run this! Lash says you can’t have the biggest show of the year without the biggest stars of the galaxy, okay? And that is why they are officially the hosts of Stand & Deliver! Meta Four ever~! Wait, wait, back to Vic & Booker! And just in time as we’re about to have the main event! But wait, is Meta Four really going to take over the biggest Stand & Deliver ever?

 

Arianna Grace posts on Instagram.

She’s stressed out trying to pick out the perfect dress for “Giorgina,” aka Gigi Dolin. Gold would look so nice, but it kinda clashes with her orange hair. They could fix the hair. But then tassels! Who doesn’t love tassels? No, no, still not right. What about this one? Beige but covered in various precious stones. No, this is Arianna’s favorite so no. Wait! OMG, yes! This one! Gigi will look so good in… What? What kind of dress does Arianna really think will work for Gigi?

 

Backstage interview with Ilja Dragunov.

Kelly Kincaid congratulates him on his victory and he thanks her for that. But Dragunov admits, The Underboss definitely brought it. The D’Angelos did their homework. Yes, and with Stand & Deliver just two weeks away, is Dragunov surprised Tony didn’t show himself? Dragunov was expecting that, but then Luca steps in. Just when you think you know the answers, you don’t. But Luca is here to extend an invitation for a pre-Stand-and-Deliver dinner with The Don. Oh, is that so? Okay, Dragunov is familiar with the restaurant, so tell Tony- No, no, Ilja. This won’t be at the restaurant. Dragunov will need this,

Luca hands over an envelope with the initials “TD” on it. Dragunov does his best to open it, and it would seem there are directions written. Dragunov is rather surprised, but will there be any surprises waiting for him at the infamous Selica?

 

NXT Tag Team Championship Qualifier: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin VS Akira Tozawa & Otis w/ Maxxine Dupri!

The Wolf Dogs just told the Good Brothers that they’re gonna handle business tonight against the Alpha Academy, but the Stamina Monster & Tree Trunk promised to come through for Master Gable. Who lives up to their word after this high stakes tag match? We find out, after the break!

NXT returns and “SHOOOOSH~!” The Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Tozawa starts against Corbin. Corbin rushes in, Tozawa dodges and fires off fast strikes! Corbin shoves Tozawa away but Tozawa comes back for more! Corbin throws Tozawa to a corner, then runs in, but into OBOTS! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa DROPKICKS Corbin, and Corbin staggers away! Bron tags in, and Tozawa falls back to tag in Otis! The fans fire up for the “MEAT! MEAT! MEAT!” The two step up and Bron pushes Otis, only for Otis to shove Bron! Bron runs up, Otis ducks and then headlocks hard.

Bron powers up and out, Otis reverses with a whip, but Bron ducks ‘n’ dodges, only for Otis to CLOBBER him! Bron bails out, Corbin runs in, but Otis sends him into a GAMANGIRI from Tozawa! Otis adds a SPLASH, then a LARIAT! The fans fire up as Tozawa tags in and runs up, pop-up RANA! Corbin ducks the Shining Wizard but not quite enough, he gets clipped on the back end. Tozawa then hurries up top to MISSILE DROPKICK! Corbin tumbles out to join Bron, and Otis scoops Tozawa! Gorilla Press TOSS and down goes the Wolf Dogs! “A THANK YEW~!” as NXT goes picture in picture.

Bron & Corbin sputter while they stir on the ramp, and Otis tags back in. Bron gets up and slides in but Otis is right on him. Otis BELLY BUMPS Bron right down! Otis then brings Bron up, for another BELLY BUMP! Bron leans on ropes, Otis storms up and has him in the corner. Otis whips corner to corner, runs in and RAMS into Bron! Otis digs his shoulder in, then brings Bron out to push him down. Tag to Tozawa, and Otis steps on Bron! Tozawa steps on Bron, to then rapid fire stomp! Bron sputters, Tozawa brings him up and tags Otis back in. The Academy mugs Bron and Otis stalks Bron. Bron throws body shots then UPPERCUTS!

Otis staggers, comes back, and Bron scoops! But he falls over under Otis’ weight! Cover, TWO! Otis tags Tozawa back in and Tozawa stomps Bron around. Tozawa brings Bron up but Bron JUMP KNEES! Hot tag to Corbin and he hurries after Tozawa! But Tozawa SOBATS, spins, slides under, then SPIN- NO, Corbin stops the kick to fireman’s carry! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Corbin rains down fists, then lets off to drag Tozawa into a seated half nelson. Tozawa endures as NXT returns to single picture, fights up, and the fans rally, only for Corbin to HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOW! Tozawa drops, Corbin tags in Bron.

The Wolf Dogs mug Tozawa, the fans rally, but Bron headlocks. Tozawa powers up and out, Bron ducks ‘n’ dodges and builds speed to LARIAT! The fans fire up with Bron and he brings Tozawa back up. Bron brings Tozawa over, tags Corbin, and they whip Tozawa to POP-UP POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Tozawa survives but Maxxine is still worried. Corbin drags Tozawa up, KNEES him low, and then stands on Tozawa’s face! The ref counts, Corbin steps away, and the fans duel, “Let’s Go, Corbin!” “TO-ZA-WA!’ Corbin hauls Tozawa up but Tozawa fires body shots! Tozawa runs, but into an ELBOW!

Corbin tags Bron, they get Tozawa up, SUPLEX CUTTER to the BACK SUPLEX CUTTER! Tozawa is dazed, Bron covers, but Otis breaks it! The fans rally, Bron is annoyed, but then Bron aims from the corner. Tozawa is in the other, and Bron runs in, but only gets POST! Tozawa hurries but Bron grabs a foot! Bron and Tozawa stand, Tozawa ENZIGIRIS! Bron staggers, Tozawa crawls, hot tags to Corbin and Otis! Otis LARIATS Corbin, LARIATS again, then whips to the corner for the BACK ELBOW! Bron returns but Otis sidesteps to WRECKER ELBOW! Otis SPLASHES Bron in a corner, then LARIATS again!

Otis storms up on Corbin but Corbin ROCKS him with a right! Otis ROCKS Corbin back! Corbin ROCKS Otis, Otis ROCKS Corbin! Bron is back, but Otis clinches him! Corbin runs up, but also into a clinch! DOUBLE BACK DROPS! The fans fire up as Otis rips off the shirt! Maxxine says that’s what they’re talking about! Here comes the hip swivels, and the CATERPILLAR ELBOW! Cover, TWO!! Corbin survives and Otis is shocked! The fans chant “You Can’t Handle the Meat!” as Otis drags Corbin up. Ortis scoops, Corbin slips free and he staggers to his corner. Tag to Bron, Bron runs up, but into the WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Cover, Corbin breaks it!

Tozawa SHINING WIZARDS Corbin, and it was a clean one this time! Tozawa hurries back to his corner, Otis tags him in before he Electric Chair Lifts Bron! Tozawa climbs, ALPHA DOOM- POWERSLAM COUNTER?! Bron turns things around quite literally! The fans are thunderous as Bron pulls down the straps! Otis runs up, but Bron dumps him out! Otis ends up on the apron but Bron ROCKS him! Tag to Corbin, but Otis fires hands on both Wolf Dogs! Bron kicks Otis, slides under, and with Corbin’s help, POWERBOMBS Otis through the desk!!! Maxxine freaks out and the fans lose their minds!

Tozawa is alone but he kicks Corbin on the return. Tozawa fires off, SUPERKICKS, but Bron tags in! Corbin catches Tozawa for a POP-UP POWERBOMB! Flip over, then SPEAR!! Cover, Wolf Dogs win!

Winners: Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin, by pinfall (denies The Alpha Academy a title opportunity)

Tozawa & Otis did their best to Stand & Deliver, but they could not withstand the hard-hitting combination of Bron & Corbin. But wait, now the LWO is ringside! And then here come the Good Brothers! And of course, Axiom & Nathan Frazer zip out here! The brawl is on and the fans are thunderous! Refs rush in as “NXT! NXT!” closes out in chaos! Now that only one team faces the Wolf Dogs in Philadelphia, who will overcome the odds in next week’s Triple Threat to be THE #1 contenders?


My Thoughts:

An awesome NXT with a lot of the go-home stuff taken care of here, but in a good way. Great promos from Roxanne and Lyra, with Roxanne trashing her past while Lyra points out the reality of that past. The same goes for the three-part Prime Target on Trick and Melo. You know it’s a big deal when they get names like Orton and Punk to talk on this feud, and it’s very fitting to also have Gargano and Ciampa involved. I don’t know if Trick VS Melo really is the biggest thing in NXT history, but it is definitely the best thing in this generation and deserves to be in the conversation.

Ridge Holland’s promo announcing his indefinite sabbatical was not expected, and it certainly sounded like the fans weren’t sure where he was going until the end there. I would really hope this isn’t some sort of Mark Henry fake retirement speech, because mental health and the work-life balance are serious issues. If Ridge really does feel this is what he needs to do, then I commend him on realizing that for himself and making this move. He more than a lot of wrestlers in this generation has faced misfortune and fans not really knowing how to react to him because of all that. I really do hope that he can find some solace in stepping away from the ring.

Good promo from Arianna Grace to tease what she’s gonna dress Gigi in for the continued pageant queen makeover, and it is probably going to be really weird or shabby as a way to humiliate Gigi rather than make her look good. Really good promos from Sol Ruca and Blair Davenport to hype up their grudge match, that will be some really good stuff for the go-home next week. Great match from Natty and Lola, and of course Karmen shows up to more or less help Natty. Karmen VS Lola is definitely coming and it is definitely going to be good, but I would think Lola wins to make up for the loss here.

Great matches in the North American Championship scene and the stories connected to that. Gacy stealing Spears’ chair was a good way to get us going towards that feud, but that bit where Oba Femi stomps the chair made me think we were going big with another ladder match. But instead, it is as I figured from last week, we’re going big in the sense that this will be the biggest, meatiest match for this title perhaps ever and that is great stuff. Great stuff from the story with Thea, Jacy, et cetera, and I guess it’ll be a Six Woman Tag, not eight like I expected given how Thea “injured” Jazmyn with the kimura. But still, Thea, Fallon & Kelani VS Jacy, Kiana & Izzi is gonna be great stuff.

I do like that Stand & Deliver is getting hosts this year, but how could I not expect it to be Meta Four? Even though they’re Heels, they’re all very entertaining and will be able to make the most out of this role, this really will be a lot of fun. Great stuff with Dragunov VS Stacks and then Tony inviting Dragunov to what I hope I’m hearing/spelling correctly as The Selica. I think that’s supposed to be the boat the D’Angelos met with Legado Del Fantasma way back when, so I do like there’s some continuity coming back. Dragunov won tonight but who knows how the go-home math will sort out. I said a few weeks ago that it’d be wild if Trick won to send Melo off and Tony did the same for Dragunov, leaving us with Trick VS Tony for the Summer, and I will stand by that possibility.

And of course, great stuff in the tag division. Good promos tonight, especially Good Brothers confronting Wolf Dogs. Awesome main event tag, but of course the Academy was losing here. Wolf Dogs are defending the belts 2v2 since the Triple Threat box has been checked by Oba VS Dijak VS Briggs, and that brawl to close us out was great stuff. No one stood tall as we cut away, so technically any team could win next week. LWO is least likely, they’ve still got stuff building with Legado. Frazer & Axiom are second most, they’re great Faces and it’d be a great rematch from the Dusty Cup, but that’s just it: it’d be a rematch. Wolf Dogs VS Good Brothers is fresh, it’d be great stuff, and Good Brothers feel like they’re also the most likely to beat the Wolf Dogs, allowing Bron to go to SmackDown full-time.

My Score: 8.9/10


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