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Mitchell’s NJPW New Japan Cup Results & Report! (3/7/22)

Will Darkness Fall on the Cup?

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The New Japan Cup’s biggest first round finishes up!

And it’s going to be wild! Funky Weapon VS King of Darkness, Stone Pitbull VS Rampaging Dragon! Who will be left standing after such fierce battles?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • 8 Man Tag: The United Empire VS Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & Ryohei Oiwa; The United Empire wins.
  • Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
  • 10 Man Tag: Chaos VS Suzuki-Gun; Suzuki-Gun wins.
  • 2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Chase Owens VS Jado; Chase wins and advances.
  • 2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Ryusuke Taguchi VS EVIL; Evil wins and advances.
  • 2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Hiromu Takahashi VS SHO; Hiromu wins and advances.
  • 2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Tomohiro Ishii VS Shingo Takagi; Takagi wins and advances.

PLAY BY PLAY

2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Chase Owens VS Jado!

It’s Bullet Club VS Bullet Club as the Crown Jewel takes on the Master Heater! Will things still be Too Sweet after this? Or is this where things start to fall apart for the club?

The bell rings and fans rally up. Chase and Jado circle, tie up, and Jado puts Chase on the ropes. The ref calls the ropebreak and Jado pats Chase on the shoulders. Fans cheer and Chase circles with Jado again. They tie up, go around, and Chase turns things around to put Jado on the ropes. The ref counts the break again, Chase gives a back elbow! Chase CLUBS Jado, runs, but Jado runs him over! Cover, ONE, and Chase runs in. Jado dodges the Shi Trigger and fans cheer the exchange. Chase offers a handshake because they’re both Bullet Club. Fans rally up, Jado accepts the handshake, but then Chase kicks low! SHI TRIGGER!

Chase shrugs then stomps Jado. Cover, TWO! Chase keeps Jado down, tries another cover, TWO! Jade gets to ropes but Chase digs his knee in. The ref counts, Chase lets off. Chase feels bad but he still sits Jado up to headlock and punch! The ref reprimands the closed fist, but then Chase stands on Jado for the Bad Luck Fale style “massage.” Chase lets off and drags Jado back up to wrench and scoop for a BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Chase grows frustrated but fans rally up. Chase tells Jado to just lie down but Jado tells him like hell! Chase throws down fists but fans keep rallying up.

Jado gets up and eggs Chase on, so Chase DECKS him again! The ref and Chase argue about the quality of his closed fist, so Chase uses an open palm strike! But Jado shakes his head, that’s not good enough! Chase tries again but Jado just powers up! Chase BOOTS Jado, but Jado fires up more! Chase ROCKS Jado with forearms, but Jado hits back with a body shot! Fans fire up with Jado but Chase kicks low again. SHI- NO! Jado blocks the knee, but Chase pokes him in the eye! Chase runs, into a LARIAT! Jado starts to rally with more clotheslines, then he dodges to LARIAT again! Fans fire up and rally behind Jado!

Jado throws Chase through ropes and then drags him out, “Happy Birthday, Chase!” DRAPING DDT! Cover, TWO! Fans rally while Jado and Chase are both down. Jado gets to a corner and asks fans to hush a moment. Jado stomps to tune up the band! They follow his beat, and Jado takes aim. Jado runs in, but Chase dodges the kick! Chase fires off the strike fest, hammerlock, JEWEL HEIST! But Chase doesn’t cover, he wants more! He reels Jado in but Jado trips him and flips him over! CROSSFACE! Chase endures, reaches out, but he grabs at the ref! They roll and the ref gets thrown! Chase taps and Jado lets go because he thinks he’s won!

But no, with the ref down, there’s no one to call the victory! Jado asks if the ref is okay, but then looks to take advantage of this moment. Jado gets his trusty kendo stick! Chase wants mercy but Jado wants him to get up. Jado raises the kendo stick, but then thinks better of it. Chase tries another cheap shot! Jado dodges, but then Chase dodges and LOW BLOWS! Chase realizes what he’s done and feels bad again. He was the one saying they’re the same team and yet he goes and does this. Jado does his best to get up, but Chase gives him a SHI TRIGGER! Cover, Chase wins!

Winner: Chase Owens, by pinfall (advances to the next round)

Happy birthday, indeed. Chase does his best to help Jado, but Chase is still moving on to the next round. Will Chase feel better about doing this to someone not in the Bullet Club?

 

2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Ryusuke Taguchi VS EVIL!

The Funky Weapon and his team won just the other day, so you could say he has a leg up on the King of Darkness. But a Six Man Tag is very different from 1v1. Will Taguchi still find a way to take down the NEVER Openweight Champion? Or will he find out that Everything is Evil?

Whoa, wait! Taguchi is already poking fun at Evil by dressing up with a spooky mask, cloak and holding a plastic scythe! Taguchi is rubbing in Evil’s Los Ingobernables de Japon days like it’s an embarrassing phase in high school! Evil does his best to ignore that as he makes his own entrance. Evil and Dick Low Sweet but Taguchi keeps the costume on. Fans rally up and Taguchi climbs the corner to take off the cloak. And when he takes off the mask, he has badly down face paint that just makes him look creepier! Taguchi then hops down and rushes Evil! But into the EVERYTHING-

NO! Taguchi slips out, to steal EVERYTHING- NO! Evil throws Taguchi down, the bell rings, cover, TWO!! Fans rally up for Taguchi but Evil stomps him around! Evil eggs Taguchi on, gives him a kick then runs, into a HIP ATTACK! Taguchi throws point blank hip attacks! Evil gets to a corner, Taguchi drags him up to whip him corner to corner. Evil reverses but runs into a BOOT! Taguchi fakes Evil out on the hip attack, and the fans cheer the standoff. Evil runs into a BOP! And then another BOP! Taguchi runs, ducks and dodges, but Evil dodges the hip attack! Taguchi crashes down and fans rally up again.

Evil drags Taguchi up and throws him out. Evil then pursues to RAM Taguchi into the timekeeper’s area! Down goes Abe-san! That grudge seems to still be a thing. Evil claws at Taguchi’s face while the ref is busy helping the timekeeper. Evil puts Taguchi in the ring, and he grabs his House of Torture towel to CHOKE Taguchi with it! Taguchi flails and sputters as Evil lets off and Evil wants the ref to count. Cover, TWO!! Taguchi survives and fans fire up but Evil is annoyed. Evil drags Taguchi up, and throws him out. Evil and the ref argue, Dick ROCKS Taguchi and puts him in. Cover, TWO! Another, TWO! A third, TWO!!

Evil is furious that Taguchi is still in this but the fans rally up! Evil kicks at Taguchi, then stands on Taguchi’s face. Taguchi pushes the foot away, and then sits right up! Is he copying Evil or the Phenom? Evil drags Taguchi up but Taguchi CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Evil rakes eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil spins, but Taguchi low blows!? No, just a really low body blow! Evil shoves the ref and tries but Taguchi deflects the low blow! To then wind up and pitch a LOW BLOW! Like a baseball sidearm! Dick protests but Taguchi slingshots Dick into the ring! Fans fire up and Dick wants mercy, but he gets a HIP ATTACK! And STINK FACE!

Taguchi asks for forgiveness then runs to hip attack Evil! Then Dick! Then Evil! Then Dick again! Then for Evil, APRON HIP ATTACK! Fans fire up with Taguchi and he springboards, MISSILE HIP! Cover, TWO! Taguchi keeps focus and he drags Evil up. Fans rally as Taguchi snap suplexes, Uno Amigo! And again, Dos Amigos! Taguchi goes again but Evil blocks! But Taguchi powers through to hit THREE AMIGOS! And a kip- No, wait, not quite. Taguchi tries again, and gets it on the third try! Three KIP-migos! And now Taguchi calls upon the powers of Strong Style! “ORYA! OSU!” But the ref is used as a shield!

Taguchi moves the ref aside, but jumps into the atomic drop! EVERYTHING- NO! Taguchi slips out by moving his leg! Taguchi wags his fingers, but Evil tries again! Taguchi blocks Evil’s leg with his own, then rolls Evil up! TWO!! Evil kicks low, runs, but into an ENZIGURI! Fans fire up and Taguchi runs, BUMAYE! Cover, TWO!! Evil survives, but OH MY GARFUNKLE! Dick throws the title belt into the ring but the ref takes that away! Taguchi drops elbows on the leg! Evil grabs at the ref and Dick gets in! But Taguchi trips him up before Dick can use the Spoiler Choker! Now Taguchi has DOUBLE OH MY GARFUNKLE!!

Dick is tapping but that doesn’t matter! Evil gets free and Taguchi focuses on Dick, but then he sees Evil is up to something! Evil waves to the ramp! Is House of Torture coming!? No, and Taguchi turns around, EVERYTHING IS EVIL!! Cover, Evil wins!

Winner: Evil, by pinfall (advance to the next round)

The mere threat of Sho or Yujiro Takahashi showing up was used to trick Taguchi! Will the King of Darkness be able to use this same trick again in the rest of the Cup?

 

2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Hiromu Takahashi VS SHO!

The Ticking Timebomb and the Murder Machine meet again after their encounter in the Best of the Super Juniors. Hiromu was on the losing end that time, but will he make up for it in the Cup? Or will the House of Torture have yet another trick up their sleeves?

Forget a trick, what about putting the fix in! Sho drags Hiromu out from gorilla! And he has a chair, too! Sho stomps Hiromu on the ramp, pulls his furry jacket off him, and then JAMS him with the chair! And SMACKS him on the back, too! The ref reprimands and Sho drops the chair. The ref argues with Sho but Sho drags Hiromu to ringside. The ref reprimands, Sho stomps Hiromu and fans rally up. Sho tunes them out before he drags Hiromu up. Sho says they gotta get in the ring so he’s putting Hiromu in the ring. But then Hiromu runs out to SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB Sho to the floor!

The bell rings and now things are official! Fans fire up as Hiromu drags Sho up to whip him into railing! And then into the ring! Hiromu fireman’s carries for a CORNER DEATH VALLEY DRIVER! Hiromu drags Sho up again, another fireman’s carry, but Sho rakes eyes! Sho bails out of the ring but Hiromu pursues. Hiromu whips Sho into more railing! And then again into even more railing! Sho flounders and begs for mercy but Hiromu just whips him into even more railing! Sho grabs the mic from the bell hammer as Hiromu brings him up, but Hiromu whips Sho into even more railing!

Sho flounders around and Hiromu starts pulling up floor mats! The ref reprimands but Hiromu keeps clearing space. Hiromu drags Sho up and brings him over, but Sho uses the hammer to hit Hiromu in the ribs! And then, well, hammer Hiromu on the back! The ref sees that and takes the hammer, but Sho gets Hiromu up, PILEDRIVER to the bare concrete!! Fans rally up while the ref checks on Hiromu, and somehow he’s okay to continue. Sho drags Hiromu up and puts him in the ring, then he unties the blue buckle pad! Sho brings the Bullet Club Special into play! Sho then stomps Hiromu, drags him up, and whips him to the corner!

Hiromu hits off bare buckles and writhes on the mat! Cover, TWO! Fans cheer and rally up as Sho grows frustrated. Sho drags Hiromu back to clamp on a chinlock. Sho digs his knee into Hiromu’s neck and shoulders, but he hides that he’s clawing Hiromu’s face! The ref counts, Sho lets off at 4, and then stomps Hiromu in the neutral corner. The ref counts as Sho digs his boots in, and Sho lets off at 4 again. Sho stomps Hiromu again then digs his boots back in. The ref counts again and Sho lets off at 4. Hiromu sputters but fans rally up as he gets to the apron. Sho is amused now and he gives toying kicks.

Hiromu CHOPS, and CHOPS! Sho eggs him on, Hiromu CHOPS again! Sho rakes the eyes, then whips Hiromu. Hiromu reverses, Sho stops from hitting bare steel! Hiromu runs in but Sho moves and now Hiromu hits bare steel! Sho CLUBS Hiromu, then brings him up to CLUB him down again. Sho runs, but Hiromu dodges and runs to RANA! Fans fire up while both men are down! Hiromu crawls and drags himself to the blue corner. Sho goes to the red corner, and he runs in, only for Hiromu to dodge! Sho hits bare buckles, then Hiromu snapmares him for a basement dropkick! Hiromu hauls Sho up, FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO!

Fans rally up and Hiromu gets to his feet. Hiromu fires up and drags Sho up to a fireman’s carry. He aims for the bare corner but Sho slips off! Hiromu mule kicks, front kicks and fireman’s carries, but Sho slips off! Sho waistlocks, Hiromu switches, but Sho elbows free and runs! Hiromu elbows Sho, then runs but Sho follows. Hiromu stops but Sho dodges to whip! JUMP KNEE! Sho goes to run but Hiromu reels him into a waistlock. Sho backs Hiromu down into the bare buckles! Sho runs, but Hiromu blocks the spear! Sho fights out of the suplex to BEND the fingers and CLUB the arm! But Hiromu dodges to kick back!

Hiromu runs but the ref is used as a shield! Hiromu moves the ref aside but Sho SPEARS him down! But Hiromu gets right back up!? Sho dodges the clothesline to GERMAN SUPLEX! Both men are down and the fans rally back up! Fans clap for “HI-RO-MU!” but Sho gets up first. Sho drags Hiromu up and puts him against the ropes. Sho throws big boxing elbow shots! The ref reprimands, Sho runs and clotheslines Hiromu against ropes! Sho runs again but gets caught into a spin and RAN- NO! Sho swings Hiromu up to POWERBOMB! High stack, TWO, but Sho has the arm! SNAKE BITE!!

Hiromu endures Sho’s modified Koji Clutch and fans rally behind him! Hiromu reaches out, even as Sho pulls him in deeper! Hiromu starts to fade! The ref checks on Hiromu, the arm drops once. Hiromu gets a second wind and starts moving towards ropes again! ROPEBREAK! Sho holds until the ref counts 4! Sho is frustrated but the fans keep rallying for Hiromu. Sho rolls all the way out and starts looking under the ring. He finds a chair and a wrench! Sho hides the wrench while the ref sees the chair. The ref confiscates the chair so Sho aims with his wrench! But Hiromu dodges the wrench to GERMAN SUPLEX! And HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER!

Both men are down again and the fans fire up! Hiromu slowly gets up and staggers over. He drags Sho up, reels him in, but Sho fights out of the suplex! Sho dodges but Hiromu wheelbarrows for the COMPLETE SHOT! Then D!! Sho is caught in Hiromu’s Triangle Hold now and fans fire up! Sho is turning purple quickly but he stays on his feet! Sho deadlifts Hiromu, but Hiromu lets off to suplex and- NO! Sho knees free! Hiromu SWATS Sho’s lariat, SUPERKICKS, then runs to HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER! And then suplex, VICTORY ROYAL! Cover, TWO!! Sho survives and fans fire up again!

Hiromu roars and he drags Sho up again. Hiromu inverted suplexes but Sho slips out and shoves Hiromu into the ref! The ref is down and Sho LOW BLOWS Hiromu!! Sho hurries to get his wrench back! Fans rally for “HI-RO-MU!” but Sho aims from the corner. But Hiromu SUPERKICKS first! Hiromu drags Sho around, gets him up and fireman’s carries, for BARE CORNER DEATH VALLEY DRIVER!!! Fans are thunderous as Hiromu gets Sho back up! Fireman’s carry again, but Yujiro Takahashi is here! PIMP CANE SHOT! The Tokyo Pimp slithers over and gets the ref back in the ring.

Sho gets up and he brings Hiromu up. Sho reels Hiromu in, tucks the arms, CROSS-ARM PILEDRIVER! Cover, TWO!?! Somehow Hiromu survives! Sho still grins and says this is over. He aims his bow, drags Hiromu back up and double pump handles. SHOCK- NO! Hiromu fights Sho to a cradle, and wins!!!

Winner: Hiromu Takahashi, by pinfall (advance to the next round)

Sho is furious and goes after the referee! Young Lions stop Sho and Hiromu plays with Sho’s wrench. Will the Timebomb have even more, more, MORE fun in the next round?

 

2022 New Japan Cup Opening Round: Tomohiro Ishii VS Shingo Takagi!

Chaos lost to Los Ingobernables de Japon in 4v4 but these two kept on fighting after! Takagi looked to have the edge there, but will Ishii take a bite out of him? Or will the Rampaging Dragon slay the Stone Pitbull?

The bell rings and fans rally as these two tie up. They’re in a deadlock, so Takagi shoves Ishii away. They go again, and are in another deadlock. Ishii finds a point of leverage and powers Takagi back to the ropes. Takagi turns it around, Red Shoes wants the ropebreak, and Takagi lets off, only for Ishii to dodge his cheap shot! Takagi dodges Ishii’s chop, and fans cheer the standoff. The two go again, and Takagi headlocks. Ishii throws body shots but Takagi holds tight. Ishii powers out, and they RAM shoulders! Takagi dares Ishii to go, so Ishii runs. They RAM shoulders again, and Takagi pushes Ishii.

Takagi runs, RAMS Ishii, but Ishii rebounds to RAM Takagi! Takagi rebounds to RAM Ishii again, and they keep going shoulder to shoulder again and again! Takagi shakes out his arm and Ishii taunts him for it. They both run and the RAM! And again! And again! Ishii keeps moving, he rams and Takagi rebounds, for Ishii to run him over! Ishii  kicks Takagi but Takagi gets up. They each choke grip, Ishii SLAPS Takagi right off his feet! Takagi bails out and fans rally up, “I-SHI-I!” “TA-KA-GI!” Takagi is down by the railing but Ishii goes out after him. Ishii drags Takagi up, whips him into railing, then brings him around.

Ishii whips Takagi into railing again, then LARIATS Takagi against the railing! Takagi falls and Ishii eggs him on. Ishii kicks at Takagi, then drags him up. Ishii bumps Takagi off the apron, and again, then eggs him on. Ishii smacks Takagi off the apron again but Takagi just headbutts the apron again and again! Takagi eggs Ishii on but Ishii ROCKS him with a right! Takagi fires a forearm, Ishii gives it back, and they brawl at ringside! Fans fire up as they go faster and faster! Ishii ROCKS Takagi, and ROCKS him again! Ishii whips, Takagi reverses and sends Ishii into railing! Ishii runs in, but into a fireman’s carry! DEATH VALLEY DRIVER to the floor!

Fans fire up as both men are down! Red Shoes checks on them but they’re okay to continue. The ring count starts, Takagi gets up at 7 of 20 and he kicks away on Ishii at the railing! Takagi stops at 12, staggers to the ring at 15, just to refresh the count! Takagi gets Ishii up to RAM him into the apron, then JAB and CHOP! JAB, CHOP, JAB, CHOP on repeat! Then JAB, JAB and HAYMAKER! Ishii falls over and fans cheer as Takagi catches his breath. Takagi drags Ishii up, puts him in the ring, and fans cheer as this continues in the ring. Takagi jumps for a knee drop! Takagi then drags Ishii up, whips him to ropes and knees him low!

Takagi runs to run Ishii over! Fans fire up and Takagi drops a SENTON! Cover, TWO! Fans rally, Takagi sits Ishii up for a chinlock. Takagi grinds Ishii down, Ishii grabs at hair but Red Shoes reprimands. Ishii throws punches but Takagi sits him up to drive elbows into the shoulder! Ishii talks trash but Takagi kicks him. Ishii talks more trash, Takagi KICKS him! Fans continue to rally and Takagi drags Ishii up. Takagi reels Ishii in but Ishii blocks the lift with a headlock and throws down elbows. Ishii ROCKS Takagi, and ROCKS him again! Takagi rebounds but swings into a spin, only to block the suplex!

The two fight for control, and Takagi hits the suplex! Takagi goes up a corner right away, for a YUKON ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up and Takagi encourages them to get louder. Takagi then drags Ishii up, whips him to a corner, then runs in but he blocks Ishii’s boot. Takagi powers through to LARIAT! Takagi runs, but into a POWERSLAM! Both men are down and fans fire up. Ishii gets up, he kicks at Takagi and puts him in a corner. Ishii CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Takagi gets in Ishii’s face so Ishii CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS him again! Takagi eggs him on so Ishii CHOPS even more!

Ishii CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Even as Takagi drops down! Ishii eggs Takagi on, stands on his head, but Takagi gets up to turn things around, only for Ishii to turn it back around! Takagi throws elbows and even SLAPS, but Ishii doesn’t budge! Ishii eggs Takagi on so Takagi HEADBUTTS! Ishii throws high CHOPS! Red Shoes tries to stop Ishii but Ishii keeps throwing those high chops! Red Shoes backs Ishii down and Takagi coughs and sputters. Fans rally up, Ishii drags Takagi up to CHOP high again! Ishii whips but Takagi reverses. Ishii comes back but into the ELBOW! JAB! And YUKON LARIAT!

Fans fire up while Takagi catches his breath. Takagi drags Ishii up, reels him in, SAIDO! Cover, TWO! Takagi says that’s not all, and fans rally up again. Takagi gets to his feet, brings Ishii back up, then pump handles, Ishii fights free with elbows but Takagi LARIATS point-blank! Ishii falls and fans rally up again. Takagi drags Ishii up, LARIATS again, but Ishii stays up! So Takagi LARIATS him again! Ishii drops to a knee, Takgi runs, but Ishii LARIATS at the ropes! Ishii runs but Takagi LARIATS at the ropes! Then SNAP SAIDO! But Ishii is up fast! To SNAP SAIDO Takagi! But Takagi is up, SNAP SAIDO!

Ishii staggers, dodges the lariat, and they DOUBLE LARIAT! Both stay up, Ishii LARIATS again! But Takagi’s right up! Ishii ducks the lariat to SAIDO! But he can’t get back up! Fans are thunderous as Takagi and Ishii are down! Takagi and Ishii stir, and Ishii sits up first. Ishii brings Takagi up and hoists him to the top rope. Ishii climbs up and he stands Takagi up, to SUPERPLEX! Cover, TWO! Fans fire up more and Ishii gets back up. Ishii drags Takagi up, reels him in, but Takagi fights free of the bomb! Takagi spins Ishii around, and SPIKES Ishii with a DDT! Both men are down, and fans rally up again!

Takagi gets up, kicks Ishii while he’s down, then bring him up again. Takagi snarls and he reels Ishii in. But now Ishii resists the powerbomb but Takagi powers through, to BUCKLE BOMB Ishii! Takagi fires up and fans rally with him as he hobbles back to Ishii. Takagi drags Ishii up, hoists him up top, then climbs up to join him. Now Takagi brings Ishii up, for a SUPERPLEX! Cover, TWO!! Ishii survives and fans fire up again! Takagi shouts, “OI! OI! OI!” and fans clap along. Takagi gets to his feet, waits on Ishii to rise, and then Takagi runs to PUMP- NO! Ishii swats it, but Takagi blocks the enziguri! Ishii avoids the sliding lariat, then spins Takagi to ROCK him!

Takagi grits his teeth and wags his finger. Takagi fires off boxing elbows over and over, for about a dozen! Ishii spins, but into the Gory Especial! NOSHIGAMI! Fans fire up and Takagi runs, PUMPING BOMBER!! Cover, TWO!! Ishii survives and fans are thunderous! Takagi is frustrated but he gets back up. Takagi pump handles and torture racks, Ishii slips off and headbutts! Takagi headbutts back so Ishii HEADBUTTS Takagi down! Both men stir while the fans rally up. Ishii gets to a corner but Takagi stands up. Ishii runs in but Takagi swats his lariat! Ishii spins to LARIAT with his left! Takagi swings, but Ishii SNAP GERMANS!

But Takagi’s right back up?! Only for Ishii to LARIAT him down! Cover, ONE?!!? And Ishii is furious! Ishii drags Takagi up, runs and SLIDING LARIATS! Cover, TWO! Takagi survive again and Ishii roars in frustration! Ishii gets back up, drags Takagi up and suplexes, but Takagi knees free! Takagi wrenches but Ishii DECKS him! Ishii gets Takagi up but Takagi suplexes for the BRAINBUSTER!! Cover, ONE?!?! Ishii survives Takagi’s shot and roars as he goes to ropes. Takagi runs in, PUMPING BOMBER!! Cover, ONE!?!? LARIAT from Ishii! Cover, ONE?!?!?! How are either of these two doing this?!

Takagi and Ishii go to opposite corners. Takagi dares Ishii to bring it, and they DOUBLE LARIAT! HEADBUTT! ENZIGURI! Takagi and Ishii fall again but Ishii roars as he gets back up! Off comes the elbow pad! Ishii runs, but Takagi catches him! Knee, pump handle, MADE IN JAPAN!!! Cover, TWO!?!?! Fans are thunderous as Ishii somehow survives! Takagi is too tired to be frustrated now, and he grits his teeth as he drags Ishii back up. Ishii breaks free but Takagi JABS! Ishii swings, but Takagi catches him for a SNAP DRAGON SUPLEX! And then SLIDING FOREARM!

Takagi isn’t done, he gets Ishii right back up! Pump handle, torture rack, LAST OF THE DRAGONS!!!! Cover, Takagi wins!!!

Winner: Shingo Takagi, by pinfall (advance to the next round)

This battle of titans is finally over, and in the end, it is the Rampaging Dragon that stands tall! And after he finally catches his breath, he gets the mic. “I knew that old man was crazy. There are all kinds of pro-wrestling, but that was pro-wrestling.” Fans cheer that sentiment. Takagi says, “Once again… Once again… Once. Again. I AM HERE!” Fans cheer, and Takagi admits he’s a little woozy. Ishii’s one hell of a first round opponent, but somehow, Takagi made it through. Last year, Takagi was the runner-up in the Cup. That may sound nice but think about it. “In the end, Ospreay beat me to a pulp. So it wasn’t really a good ending for me.

“If you go all the way to the finals, it’s pointless if you don’t win it!” Fans cheer that sentiment while Takagi catches his breath again. “Some great politician once said, ‘Why do you insist on being first? Why not second?’ Let me say, to HELL with that! I HAVE to win this! What’s the point of entering if not to win?!” Fans cheer that, too! Takagi vows to win this year, so just watch this dragon soar all the way to the New Japan Cup! Will Takagi make good on this promise and redeem himself from last year’s loss?


My Thoughts:

Another great night for NJPW and the tournament. I kept it to the tournament matches this time, though I will say I was a bit surprised Bullet Club won against LIJ there. I suppose it does make sense, though, with ELP needing to keep momentum up as he’s going against Ospreay. Chase VS Jado was a great match just on the story of the Bullet Club Civil War that’s building. Taguchi VS Evil was great for both Taguchi mocking Evil’s old look and for Evil pulling the very clever faction fake-out. Hiromu VS Sho was also awesome right from the jump, and Hiromu winning even when House of Torture did get involved was great.

And of course, Takagi VS Ishii in the main event was wild, I loved that stretch of insane one counts. Takagi wins, has a really good promo to close out the night, and I wonder if, with Kota Ibushi out, our semifinalists on one side will be Ospreay VS Takagi to revisit last year’s finals. Then the winner of that goes against Okada or something, that’d make a HUGE final match for this biggest New Japan Cup tournament ever.

My Score: 8.6/10


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AEW Coverage

Mitchell’s AEW Dynamite Results & Report! (6/7/23)

On the road to Collision!

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AEW Coverage Lasers

Dynamite brings out the gold!

AEW Dynamite lands in Colorado Springs, and Kris Statlander defends her TBS Championship against Anna Jay A.S! Will Kris still be the Galaxy’s Greatest?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • AEW International Championship: Orange Cassidy VS Swerve Strickland; wins and
  • Texas Tornado Tag: #JungleHook VS La Faccion Ingobernable; wins.
  • Six Man Tag: Blackpool Combat Club VS Chaos; wins.
  • Ricky Starks VS Jay White; wins.
  • AEW TBS Championship: Kris Statlander VS Anna Jay A.S; wins and

PLAY BY PLAY

[Due to scheduling conflicts, coverage of AEW Dynamite will begin later tonight]


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Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (6/6/23)

Who earns some Tiffy Time?

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NXT White 'n' Gold Era

Only one can be The Center of the Universe!

To earn a shot at Tiffany Stratton’s NXT Women’s Championship, the Women’s Division fights in a battle royal! Who wins a golden ticket to Tiffy Time?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Mixed Six Tag Match: Diamond Mine VS The Schism; The Schism wins.
  • Blair Davenport VS Dani Palmer; Blair wins.
  • Baron Corbin VS Trick Williams; Corbin wins.
  • Mustafa Ali VS Joe Gacy; Ali wins.
  • Eddy Thorpe VS Damon Kemp; Thorpe wins.
  • Dabba-Kato VS SCRYPTS; Dabba wins.
  • NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Battle Royal: Thea Hail wins and will challenge Tiffany Stratton for the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

Baron Corbin arrives backstage.

The Lone Wolf stares down Tyler Bate and Eddy Thorpe, chuckles at a poster of Carmelo Hayes, then stares down Hank Walker, Tank Ledger and some of the prospects. He tells staff to hit his music and they do as told. Corbin scoffs at the rest of the posters while he makes his entrance. Fans boo as Corbin makes his way to the ring, because we all remember him going after Melo after Melo retained the title against Noam Dar. Corbin gets the mic to say, “Y’know, I never thought I’d walk back through these doors. When I got the call, I cleaned out my locker and never looked back.

“Over the next eight YEARS, I ascended to the top of Raw and SmackDown. While I was main-eventing PPVs, NXT superstars continued to get called up to the main roster. When they got there, they were full of talent and hunger. And then something changed. I wonder what it was. Now, they come up full of ego and attitude. Hell, some of ’em sit in the locker room, twiddle their thumbs on their cellphone, acting like they got nowhere better to be. They act like we should thank them for coming up to Raw and SmackDown.

“Then I walk in through these doors. I hear superstars in the back talking about their legacy, talking about how they’re the next ones to be called up. Or, they’re complaining that they haven’t been called up yet, and it’s starting to make me sick! They walk through these doors to a championship team. They have guaranteed contracts, and they’re living in a house that I built! Me and all the other OGs started in FCW, and we took this train all the way to sell out Barclays Arena, with 16,500 people! Don’t clap for that now, you’ve never done it before, get off my bandwagon.

“I come through those doors tonight, and there’s superstars can’t even look me in the eye. They don’t show me the respect that I deserve. Now I had no control over that last Draft that came up. But you can make damn sure I got control of the next, because I’m gonna make every one of those superstars regret ever signing a WWE contract! Every single one of ’em is soft, every single one of ’em is weak, and they’re sure as hell not as good as they think they are. That all lies on the champion, the NXT Champion, Carmelo Hayes. Melo walks around here like his stuff doesn’t stink. Yeah, there you go. Cheer for him. Cheer for him!

“Cuz ol’ Melo got a taste of main roster reality when I laid him out, put him down, I took his title and I stood over his body, and I held it over my head.” Wait, ILJA DRAGUNOV is here! The Czar tells Baron, “Would you please, um, give me the chance to introduce myself. My name is Ilja Dragunov.” Fans cheer and Corbin says he knows who Ilja is, but what does he want? Ilja isn’t sure about the people Corbin saw in the hall, but Ilja is here to look him in the eyes to say, he’s NOT soft and he is NOT weak. He is the most animalistic, intense man in NXT! He’s beaten everyone put in front of him, and after Battleground, he is the first man in line to face Melo for the title.

Oh, here we go. There’s the NXT arrogance. Corbin has competed in SIX WrestleMania matches, he retired THE Kurt Angle, and he is the last man to pin Roman Reigns. Fans chant “BUM ASS CORBIN!” Ilja gets it, Corbin is targeting Melo to make some kind of point. But Ilja is targeting Melo for the title. And Ilja really doesn’t care how many Manias Corbin’s been to. If Ilja must ravage Corbin with pain to get what he wants, then so be it. Corbin tells the “kid” that there is a big difference between what he wants and what he’s gonna get. Corbin jumps the line cuz he says so, cuz he’s the biggest star in the building.

Ilja says Corbin is making assumptions, but Ilja makes challenges. So why not show everyone how much of a star you are, against Ilja tonight?! Fans love the sound of that! Corbin asks Ilja really wants “a piece of this” after Battleground. Well, there’s nothing Corbin can bring as hard as Dijak did at Battleground. Ilja shows off the NASTY bruise on his hip! Corbin says that’s cute. That’s one bruise. When Corbin’s done with him, Ilja will be covered in ’em. Ilja welcomes the challenge. Fans fire up, will the Lone Wolf be sent back to the main roster with his tail between his legs?

But wait! Trick shows up to start throwing hands! Fans fire up as Trick is after Corbin, Corbin shoves him back, but Trick clotheslines Corbin out! Fans fire up as the refs back Corbin off. Will Trick get payback on Corbin for that sneak attack on Melo?

 

Thea Hail finishes training.

She hobbles and says she can barely feel her legs anymore. Duke Hudson finds her but Charlie Dempsey says not bad. He better see her again tomorrow. Oh he’ll see her again! And he’ll see improvement! You bring your A Game! Wait, Duke is confused, what’s going on? Dempsey & Gulak are teaching her how to crunch people! It’s firing her up! Really? Yeah, she’s got all these great grappling holds now! Wanna see? She grabs Duke’s arm in a wristlock! OW! Sorry! But it works, right? Duke says she doesn’t even like those guys! Yeah, but you just gotta give it back to ’em, y’know? Thea shouts, “I’ma kick you in the ass, professor!”

See? They love it! Well, okay, as long as she’s learning. But you can’t just “crunch” someone over the top rope. It’s a battle royal tonight! Yeah, but she can still throw people over. He believes in her, right? Y-yeah… Then let’s go! Thea is fired up, will she crunch and toss everyone else in the ring to get that golden ticket?

 

Bron Breakker attacks Ilja Dragunov backstage!

The Big Bad Booty Nephew tells The Czar to keep “thinking” he’s the most intense guy in NXT. If Ilja likes pain, how’s that feel? The refs back Bron off, will Dragunov have to go after him and Corbin before going after Melo?

 

Mixed Six Tag Match: Diamond Mine VS The Schism!

Ivy Nile has had it with Ava Raine, and by extension, the Creed Brothers and the Dyad have gotten at each other. Now things will be settled as all six get in the ring! Will Diamond Mine crush Ava, Rip Fowler & Jagger Reed under the pressure? Or will the roots of Schism’s tree only grow and spread?

NXT returns as Diamond Mine make their entrance. The teams sort out and and Julius starts against Rip. They circle, tie up, and Julius wrenches an arm. Rip whips Julius away, things speed up, and Julius drops to fireman’s carry takeover into an armlock! Rip fights free but Julius just grabs the other arm. Rip fights to his feet, CHOPS, but Julius wrenches the arm. Rip CHOPS, Julius wrenches, but then Rip pulls an ear! Tag to Jagger, the Dyad mugs Julius, and Jagger ROCKS Julius with forearms. Jagger swings again, but Julius gets around to waistlock and SLAM! Jagger fights up, but Julius SLAMS him again!

Julius keeps hold of Jagger to SLAM him again, and KNEE him in the side! Tag to Brutus, and the Creeds pinball Jagger between knees! Brutus drags Jagger up, ROCKS him, and then clamps onto another arm. Tag to Julius, they mug Jagger, but Jagger ELBOWS him away! And then DECKS him! Jagger facelocks, but Julius deadlifts from the floor! Julius stands back up, walks over, and tags in Brutus. Brutus takes the handoff, fans fire up as Brutus keeps Jagger up! Brutus tags Julius back in, takes the handoff back, and then marches around before the SLAM! And then he kips up! Fans fire up, Julius whips but Jagger reverses

Jagger runs in, MONKEY FLIPS, but Julius lands through it! And he DROPKICKS Jagger! Julius whips Jagger, Jagger reverses and CLOBBERS Julius! And Ava tags in! Ava SLAPS Julius! Ivy steps in to calm Julius down, but then Ava tags out to Rip. The Schism trolls Ivy but Julius storms up to shoot in and waistlock, for a SLAM! And then he KNEES Rip in the side! Julius headlocks, Rip powers out but Julius goes up and over and keeps moving. Brutus tags in,. Julius ducks ‘n’ dodges, Brutus AX HANDLES Rip! And then shoots around, but Rips witches. TERMAN SUPLEX, but Brutus lands on his feet!

Brutus trophy lifts Rip, to DROP him, and STANDING MOONSAULT! Fans fire up with Brutus and Julius tags back in. Brutus cross-arm SLAMS Julius onto Rip! And Then Ivy snap suplexes Brutus onto Rip! And then Julius gives Ivy a boost for a SENTON! Fans are thunderous for the Diamond Mine’s combinations, and Ivy calls out Ava! Fans want to see that, too, but NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Rip has Brutus down in a chinlock. Brutus endures, fights up, and fans rally. Brutus pries the hold open, but Rip knees low. Rip ROCKS Brutus, but Brutus ROCKS Rip! And Jagger! And Rip again! Brutus staggers along ropes, but he ELBOWS Rip away. Jagger distracts, Rip shoves Brutus into the ropes! Brutus sputters off that low hotshot, and then Ava sucker punches Ivy! Rip BLASTS Julius, too! Fans boo but Rip tags Jagger. The Dyad whip Brutus into the corner hard, then hit an ASSISTED SLICED BREAD! Cover, TWO!! Brutus survives and The Dyad is frustrated.

Jagger tags Rip back in, the Dyad stomp away on Brutus! Fans boo but The Dyad drag Brutus up. Rip fishhooks Brutus’ face, lets off as the ref counts, and fans rally up. Rip drags Brutus up, suplexes, but Brutus blocks! Brutus suplexes Rip up and over instead! Rip tags Jagger in, Jagger keeps Brutus from the corner with a SLEEPER! Brutus endures, reaches out, marches forward, and fans rally behind him. Hot tag to Julius! Julius CLOBBERS Jagger, OVERHEAD Belly2Belly for Rip! Then an OVERHEAD Belly2Belly for Jagger! And a kip up! And then an OVERHEAD Belly2Belly for Rip! Kip up, and another OVERHEAD for Jagger!

Julius just keeps going, but The Dyad go after him together! SO they get a DOUBLE OVERHEAD SUPELX! Fans are thunderous with Julius, and he runs up the corner, to DOUBLE QUEBRADA! Julius scoops Jagger but Rip makes the save. Julius kicks Rip but Rip RAMS him into the corner! Jagger hits GRIT YOUR TEETH! But Brutus runs in, BRUTUS BALL! Down goes Rip! Jagger ENZIGURIS Brutus, runs, but Julius LARIATS Jagger! Fans fire up, but Jagger SUPERKICKS back! All four men are down and the fans fire up! Ivy grins as she stares Ava down. Julius crawls, hot tag to the Diamond Pitbull!

Fans fire up and even Ava smiles. The two circle, tie up, and they start throwing forearms! Ivy dodges a lariat, KCIKS and KICKS and ROUNDHOUSES! Fans fire up as Ivy runs, and DROPKICKS! Then she runs, but Ava SCORPION KICKS! Ava scoops but Ivy slips out, DIAMOND DRAGON!! But Jagger gets Ivy! So Ivy gets HIM in the DIAMOND DRAGON!! Fans fire up but the ref says Ivy has to let off, it’s only men against men and women against women! But Ava HEADBUTTS Ivy while wearing her plastic mask!! The ref missed that dealing with Jagger! Cover, Schism wins!

Winners: The Schism, by pinfall

Ava snatches victory away from the jaws of the Diamond Pitbull, the Schism gets a big win here tonight. Will we see their roots soon bear golden fruit?

 

Stacks visits Tony D’Angelo in prison.

Tony’s in the orange jumpsuit as he sits down to talk with Stacks. How’s he been? Good. But guess what? Knuckles is in here! The guy who- SHH! Oh, right. But yeah, Giorgio the Whale gets Tony his paper, and the guards even pitched in so Tony could have a subscription to The Peacock so he can watch the show the next day. That’s great! It’s almost like being in a hotel. Almost. But did Stacks get any more info on this rat? Stacks says he’s put in some calls. Miss Kim Cashstashian will get them off. Whoa, gotta reword that, Stacks.

But anyhow, Tony isn’t sure how he feels with his life in the hands of Cashstashian. Tony might as well play the lottery. Stacks’ gut says it’s Gallus, they didn’t wanna face Tony & Stacks at Battleground. But they’ve got a lot of enemies. This could be Legado, or, or- Is Stacks hearing himself? He’s on a wild goose chase! You’re going around the world to go next door. Trust your gut! It’s Gallus! Get those guys for all they’re worth! Tony swears on his mother’s eyes- Oh, don’t make a threat on the phone… But okay, listen. What Joe Coffey did last week, forget about it. But 3v1 ain’t cutting it.

Then what’s Stacks to do? Visitation time is almost up, so Tony tells Stacks that he’s the Underboss, he can figure it out. Tony leaves, and it is all in Stacks’ hands now.

 

Robert Stone & Von Wagner go to therapy.

They’re impatiently waiting in the lobby, and Stone tells Von that he hopes this all works out. They have had quite the week trying to find the right fit. Montage: one guy skips the breathing exercise to get to the anger issue. Von says he has no anger issue. But anger management is nothing to be ashamed of. Learning to control it can actually help him. Von tells this guy to GFY. Stone apologizes and pays in cash. Von says that guy was a jackass! Oh and the other guy? Von had that guy up against a wall! Stone again paid for that in cash. Von is on the verge of a breakthrough, so long as he gives things a chance.

One guy comes out crying. Von sighs. He doesn’t wanna do this now. Oh, c’mon, Von! NO! Didn’t you see that guy crying? Von is not a crier! What do you think Von’s dad would think seeing this? Von is NOT walking through this door. But then the therapist walks out. A very lovely lady therapist… Well, maybe Von can give this a shot. But alone. Von winks before the door closes. Is therapy going to be the solution after all?

 

Blair Davenport VS Dani Palmer!

Who was the assailant of the NXT Women’s Division? It was BLAIR, Dani! It was Blair all along! And now that she’s back, will she tear through what’s left of the roster to get at the title? Or can Dani avenge Sol Ruca, Nikkita Lyons and everyone else Blair terrorized?

The bell rings and Dani rushes in! They tie up, go around, and Blair puts Dani on ropes. The ref counts, Dani turns nit around but Blair turns it back around. Blair lets off at 4, to SLAP Dani! Dani SLAPS Blair! Blair kicks low, whips her to a corner, but Dani goes up and over and handsprings away. Blair chases, but runs into headscissors! Blair blocks to SLAM Dani down, then BOOT her out of the ring! Blair goes out after Dani, puts her in the ring, then CLOBBERS her! Fans rally for Dani but Blair drags Dani up to whip. Blair KNEES low, gut wrenches and GUTBUSTERS! Then she throws Dani into ropes!

Fans rally for Dani as she sputters, but Blair clamps on with a waistlock. Blair SLAMS Dani, holds onto the waistlock, and squeezes with a rear bearhug. Fans rally as Dani fights up, and she fights free with elbows! Dani switches, rolls up, TWO! Blair kicks Dani low! Fans boo but Blair whips Dani to kitchen sink knee! Blair soaks up the heat, she KNEES Dani in the side, then stalks her around the way. Blair kicks Dani around, KICKS her in the side, but Dani grits her teeth. Dani blocks the next kick, but Blair ROCKS her with a forearm! Dani hits back, kicks low, and UPPERCUTS! And CHOPS! And DOUBLE KNEES! Cover, TWO!

Dani goes to a corner and climbs up. Blair grabs Dani’s hair to TOSS her to the mat! Blair then sits Dani up, has the wrists, KAMI-GOYE! And then, FALCON ARROW! Cover, Blair wins!

Winner: Blair Davenport, by pinfall

Blair satiates her appetite for violence, and says she has just put the entire roster on notice! Will even Tiffany Stratton have to beware the heir?

 

Dana Brooke arrives?!

Another callback to NXT is here, and she wants in on the battle royal. There’s a lot of buzz in NXT now, so Dana will make her own opportunities when she is the last woman standing! Will the Flex Appeal grab that golden ticket for herself?

 

Backstage interview with Tiffany Stratton.

McKenzie Mitchell says the battle royal was Tiffany’s idea, but now Dana Brooke is here and wants in on the match. Tiffany stops McKenzie there. Tiffany would say she’s shocked, but she’s not. Of course Dana wants a shot at Tiffany’s title. Come one, come all. Sometimes the title makes the superstar, but in this case, Tiffany has made this title the most desirable belt in all of the WWE. And every single woman in that battle royal is envious of what Tiffany has. Are you kidding me? NO ONE was happy Tiffany won. But Tiffany has no problem proving she’s in a class of her own. So who does she think wins tonight?

“TBH, Lyra is the only one I can see pulling it off. I mean, she pushed me at Battleground. Like, damn, gurl, you were almost at the Tiffy Top. But it won’t matter, because the result will stay the same on the other side: And still NXT Women’s Champion, Tiffany Stratton! I just love the sound of that. Tootles.”

 

Baron Corbin VS Trick Williams!

The Lone Wolf is looking down on the new generation of NXT, and Trick Willie isn’t gonna stand for it! Will Trick represent for Trick Melo Gang? Or will Corbin bring about the End of Days for this new “arrogant” era?

The bell rings and the two circle. Fans rally up, the two tie up but Corbin knees low. Corbin CLUBS Trick, stalks him to ropes, and puts him in a corner. Corbin throws body shots and CLUBS Trick again, to then whip corner to corner. Trick hits buckles hard, and then Corbin CLOBBERS Trick! Fans boo but Corbin stands Trick up to throw hands. Corbin CHOKES Trick on the ropes, lets off at 4, and argues with the ref. Trick drags himself up, but Corbin shoves him into ropes to CLUB him in the back! Corbin taunts Trick, stomps him, and then swings, but Trick counter punches! Trick fires off fist after fist, but Corbin knees low again!

Corbin CLUBS Trick, but fans taunt “BUM ASS CORBIN!” Corbin puts Trick in a corner, whips him corner to corner, and runs in to SPLASH! Trick sputters but Corbin stands him up. Corbin talks trash on Trick, but Trick ROCKS him with forearms! Fans fire up and Trick runs, but Corbin CLOBBERS Trick again! Corbin looms over Trick and he taunts the fans. Fans boo, Corbin whips Trick corner to corner again, then runs in, but Trick dodges! Trick fires off fast hands! The ref counts, Trick stomps away, but Trick lets off, and dodges Corbin to DROPKICK him! Corbin staggers, into a POP-UP HAYMAKER!

Corbin falls out of the ring and Trick dares him to come back for more as NXT goes picture in picture.

Trick storms out after Corbin, drags him up, and RAMS him into barriers. Trick stalks Corbin around the way, CHOPS him against barriers, and then brings him up. Trick RAMS Corbin into barriers, the fans rally up, and Trick CHOPS Corbin again! Trick refreshes the ring count, puts Corbin back in, but Corbin kicks the ropes! The ropes get Trick low, and Corbin fires off fast hands! The ref counts, Corbin lets off and he has Trick in a corner. Corbin reels Trick in for a BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Corbin scowls as he looms over Trick. Corbin clamps on a half nelson and chinbar, and he thrashes Trick around.

Trick endures, fans rally up, and Trick fights up to throw body shots. Corbin shoves Trick away, Trick ducks ‘n’ dodges to CLOBBER Corbin! Cover, TWO!  Trick fires off on Corbin at the ropes, drags him up, brings him in and suplexes! Corbin writhes, Trick pushes him down, and Trick rains down forearms! Then Trick covers, TWO! Trick clamps on with a headlock and he grinds Corbin down. Corbin fights up, and hits another BIG back suplex! Fans rally while both men are down, and Corbin crawls over to Trick. Corbin hammers away with elbows! Corbin hears the fans rallying, and he clamps onto Trick with the chinbar half nelson.

Trick endures as Corbin leans on the hold. Trick fights up, but Corbin wrangles him back down! Corbin thrashes Trick as NXT returns to single picture. Fans rally for Trick and Trick fights up again. Trick arm-drags free, runs in and ROCKS Corbin! Corbin flops to the apron, Trick BLASTS him off it! Trick goes out to SMACK Corbin off the desk! Corbin wobbles and flops over, Trick runs in, but Corbin moves! Trick knees only the desk! Corbin has his opening, he punches away on the knee! The ref has the ring count climbing as Corbin pulls on the arm. Corbin lets off, refreshes the count, and he drags Trick up.

Corbin RAMS Trick into the steel steps, making sure those knees hit hard! Trick writhes and clutches the leg while fans boo and gives Corbin thumbs down. Corbin puts Trick in the ring, and he stomps away on the bad leg! Fans chant “CORBIN SUCKS!” but Corbin stands Trick up to whip and SPINEBUSTER! Corbin has the leg for a HALF CRAB! Trick endures, fans rally, and Trick reaches out! Trick gets the ROPEBREAK! Corbin lets go fast, Trick kicks him with the good leg! But Corbin grabs that leg, so Trick EDDY GORDO KICKS! Fans rally, Trick and Corbin rise, and Corbin storms over.

Trick fires body shots and counter punches! Trick has Corbin in a corner and he fires off! Corbin shoves Trick, Trick comes back to DROPKICK! And then wrench and JUMP KNEE! Trick runs to FLYING SHOULDER TACKLE! Fans fire up with Trick and he runs in again, SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!! Corbin survives but Trick stalks him to ropes. Corbin elbows low, choke grips, and CHOKE- NO, Trick fights out, EDDY GORDO KICK 2! Trick runs, but into DEEP SIX! Cover, TWO!! Trick survives and Corbin is beside himself! Fans rally as Corbin storms up on Trick. “This is Awesome!” as Corbin puts Trick up top.

Corbin climbs up but Trick CLUBS away on him! Trick sends Corbin away, hops off the corner, but Corbin returns. Trick dodges to POST Corbin! Trick fires off big haymakers! Fans fire up and Trick DECKS Corbin! Trick wants more, he waits on Corbin to stand, Trick spins but the leg gives out! Corbin kicks low, reels Trick in, END OF DAYS! Cover, Corbin wins!

Winner: Baron Corbin, by pinfall

Trick fought valiantly, but one miscalculation cost him. Corbin says he’s going back to SmackDown to go qualify for Money in the Bank, then he’ll be back next Tuesday. Will Melo be back to get back at Corbin directly?

 

NXT presents an all-new Hard Hitting Home Truths.

Nathan Frazer welcomes us back to HHHT. Now we’re nine days removed from Battlegrounds, and the landscape never stops shifting. Tiffany is the new Women’s Champion, Wes Lee is breaking every single record in the book, Ilja Dragunov is not human–though that’s not exactly news–and we have Free Agents popping up left, right and middle. But most importantly, Noam Dar has a new pack o’ friends who helped him hold onto his “precious baby,” the Heritage Cup. They were useful enough to help him retain, but not enough to gain another title, as “a couple of fine, handsome gentlemen” in Nathan and Dragon Lee saw to that.

However, Noam is still Heritage Cup Champion, and while Nathan is not really fond of this new Supernova group, he and everyone else will just have to “deal with it.” Speaking of, here is a special guest who feels the same way about Dar as he does. That’s right, HHHT is going global with their “Senior International Correspondent,” Mr. Dragon Lee. Dragon appears on set and he says mucho gracias, and (in Spanish) for this opportunity to be part of this premier show. Uh, si! Dragon does have in his hand a list of the top five names for Dar’s new super group.

CINCO: Two Awful Chat Show Hosts, Plus Two. QUATRO: The Oro Mensah Experience. TRES: The Jakara Jackson Five! Well, minus one. DOS: The Long Lost Legend of Lash Legend. And numero UNO: Noam’s Rent-a-Friends! Nathan says number one is the best because it is the truest. And after Battleground, Dar is running out of surprises, and needs new challengers. The hard-hitting truth here is that Dar is fragile and he knows it. Nathan beat Dar in a regular match, so here’s a proposal: Dar VS Frazer for the Cup next week! And Dragon will return the favor by being in Nathan’s corner!

Frazer thanks Dragon for that, and so, they will love ya and leave ya. They’ve been Nathan Frazer and Dragon Lee, and Dar… Ball’s in your court. Peace. Will the British Rocket get his shot at the Cup? Or will he not be able to reach the Scottish Supernova?

 

Backstage interview with Mustafa Ali.

McKenzie is with The Beacon, nothing how he shocked the entire world when he showed up during Bate & Wes VS The Dyad. What brings him here to NXT? He is Free Agent Ali, baby! He can show up wherever he wants! And now, Ali is the one riding the storm. The next chapter Ali will write is titled, “Mustafa Ali Finally Wins Gold.” Then before he faces off against Joe Gacy- Wait, Wes Lee walks in. Wes has to let everyone know how excited he is that Ali is here! And talking about gold, uh, well Wes wants to make sure- Ali stops Wes there. Don’t do that. Don’t hand Ali a chance. Ali wants to earn it, like Wes did!

And that starts with Gacy. Maybe down the road, it will be Ali VS Lee for the title. That is, if Wes is still champ by then. Jokes aside, Wes wishes Ali luck, but will The Beacon shine bright on the white ‘n’ gold brand? Or will The Schism’s roots continue to grow tonight?

Mustafa Ali VS Joe Gacy!

NXT returns as Mr. Inclusion makes his entrance. The bell rings, the two circle, and they tie up. They break, and then tie up again. Ali headlocks, Gacy throws hands but Ali ROCKS Gacy! Ali headlocks, Gacy powers out and then CLOBBERS Ali! Fans rally as Gacy fires off on Ali in the corner. Gacy whips corner to corner, runs in, but Ali goes up and over! Things speed up,. Ali ducks ‘n’ dodges and RANAS! Fans fire up as Gacy flounders. Ali storms up but Gacy dumps him out! Ali skins the cat, shoulders in, and ROCKS Gacy again! Ali slingshots but Gacy SHOVES him down! Fans boo as Ali crashes to the floor!

Gacy goes out after Ali, drags him back into the ring, and then hurries to cover, TWO! Gacy clamps onto Ali with a chinlock but fans rally. Ali fights with body shots, and a CHOP! Ali whips, Gacy reverses and reels Ali in, URENAGE! Cover, TWO! Ali is hanging tough but Gacy clamps on with a chinbar. Fans rally as Ali endures. Ali fights up, throws body shots, but Gacy CLUBS him o the back. Gacy back suplexes, Ali lands on his feet, but Gacy DDTS! Cover, TWO! Ali survives and goes to a corner but Gacy goes to the opposite. Gacy runs in, but Ali slips out and Gacy hits buckles! Ali ROUNDHOUSES, slingshots and BLOCKBUSTERS!

Fans fire up and Ali goes up the corner! Gacy hurries to ROCK Ali first! Gacy goes up after Ali, but Ali fights the superplex! Ali throws headbutts, then SMACKS Gacy off buckles! Ali stands up to SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB! Ali then skins the cat to the top rope, and fans fire up as Ali 450 SPLASHES!! Cover, ALI WINS!

Winner: Mustafa Ali, by pinfall

But then The Dyad attacks! Rip & Jagger won’t let Ali celebrate, they stomp away while Gacy drags Ali down,. But then here come Wes Lee & Tyler Bate! They fire off, SUPERKICK Rip, Bop and BANG for Jagger! Gacy sees he’s surrounded, he turns around into a SUPERKICK from Ali! Fans fire up as the Beacon, the Big Strong Boi & The Cardiac Kid send the Schism running! Will they have to tear down The Schism’s tree before they can talk title matches?

 

Fallon Henley, Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs talk backstage.

Tonight, the main event is a battle royal for a shot at the women’s title. Jensen knows Fallon is ready, Fallon says she’s ready, she feels tonight is her night. But wait, Malik Blade & Edris Enofe walk up. They say Briggs & Jensen were “the ones who started all this.” Hank ‘n’ Tank fought each other to get closer, so now Malik wants to fight Edris! Fallon excuses herself to get ready, and the guys talk. Jensen says it really did work for Hank ‘n’ Tank, and Briggs says it really did work for him and Jensen. Did it really? Okay, let’s find out. What is Jensen’s favorite color? Blue. Yeah, right here on the shirt.

Okay, okay, that was an easy one. Edris then asks Jensen when is Briggs’ birthday. Jensen thinks back… March 5th. BINGO! See? They are good! Malik asks Edris if he knows his birthday. But then Hank ‘n’ Tank walk in, they’re talking country songs. Hank’s a Boy Named Sue guy all the way. Right! Johnny Cash is the man! But Tank likes the modern stuff, like Taylor Swift. Bingo! Tank is a big T. Swifty boy. What the what? But Tank says after Fallon wins that battle royal, let’s all go get some brewskis. Now he’s talking their language! But uh, do Malik & Edris want in? They’ll catch up later. Alright! Laters!

Malik asks Edris if he’s thinking what Malik is thinking. Well after this past week, clearly not! But then Gallus walk up. Don’t worry, lads. It doesn’t matter if you’re on the same page or not, because you’d never beat Gallus for the titles. Gallus Boys On Top, no one else has to play stupid games. Malik nods to Edris and Edris gives in. They’re doing this next week, huh? OH YEAH! Malik VS Edris is happening! Edris accepts his fate, and asks his phone when IS Malik’s birthday.

 

Backstage interview with Noam Dar and his crew.

McKenzie asks the Heritage Cup Champion about Nathan Frazer’s challenge. And also, what is up with his group? Oh, his group? No, this is THEIR group. When you’re the Supernova, you have to be surrounded by stars, and that is what he has here. This is a collection of shooting stars with unlimited potential! Starting with Dar’s main man, Mensah. Oro is underappreciated, undervalued, but no more! Dar is the one who believed in Oro, got him on a premium event, and has Oro flying in a new stratosphere. And that’s just the beginning. We have Action Ms. Jakara Jackson, a world class athlete who competed on the Titan Gams! And now she’s a titan in this game!

Jakara says she’s sugar, spice, and everything that ain’t so nice. Heard that? And last but not least. Lash THEE Legend! She will beat you physically, emotionally, mentally, she is a GOAT in the making! One of one! Does McKenzie not know what’s going on right here? The screen can’t handle all this brightness, they’re shinin’ shinin’. Five trophies, one picture, okay? But then about Nathan’s challenge. Ugh. If he wants a cup match, remember two things: Dar is NEVER losing the Cup; and there is no stopping… The Meta Four. CHECK PLEASE, bye bye!

 

Eddy Thorpe VS Damon Kemp!

The Alpha Wolf won once before, but it didn’t humble the Golden Gopher one bit. Will this be a clean sweep? Or will Kemp make Eddy feel like trash, and then make him pick it up?

NXT returns and Kemp makes his entrance. The bell rings, the two tie up, and they go around. Kemp puts Thorpe on the ropes, the ref counts, and Kemp lets off with a shove. Thorpe comes back, arm-drags, headlocks and hits the takeover. Kemp keeps his shoulder up and fights up, but Thorpe holds onto the headlock. Kemp lifts, but Thorpe still holds on! Kemp throws body shots, powers out, but Thorpe reverses the whip to SPINNING CROSSBODY! Direct hit, Thorpe drags Kemp around by his legs, but Kemp kicks free. Thorpe runs up to BOOT Kemp to a corner! Thorpe storms up but into a BOOT from Kemp!

Thorpe CHOPS in return! Thorpe whips, Kemp reverses, but Thorpe goes up, only to get caught! ROLLING DEATH VALLEY! Cover, TWO! Kemp stomps away on Thorpe, drags him up, but Thorpe CHOPS! Kemp ducks the next chop to RAM low, UPPERCUT, and shove, to then OVERHEAD Belly2Belly! Fans rally, Kemp stalks Thorpe, and Kemp drops elbow after elbow! Kemp scrapes his sole off Thorpe’s face, then clamps on with a chinlock. But Thorpe fights with elbows! Kemp still hits an IRISH CURSE BACKBREAKER! Kemp talks trash, stomps Thorpe, and then pulls on Thorpe in a chinlock stretch.

Fans rally for “EDDY! EDDY!” but Kemp bends him back! Thorpe fights, but Kemp body scissors to keep Thorpe down. Fans still rally, Thorpe fights up, and Thorpe throws body shots! Thorpe is free, he bobs ‘n’ weaves and throws more shots! Thorpe CHOPS and COHPS and whips, to CLOBBER kemp! And DECK him! Kemp gets up, Thorpe blocks, SOBATS, and PELES! Thorpe runs, to ELBOW DROP! Cover, ROPEBREAK!! Kemp survives but Thorpe is on him. Kemp wrenches, Thorpe switches, they run into the ref! Kemp gets a cheap shot in, but Thorpe switches on Kemp to GERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, Kemp’s foot is on the ropes, but the ref misses it! Thorpe wins!!

Winner: Eddy Thorpe, by pinfall

Kemp complains, he says Thorpe is winning by cheating again! The ref says the decision is final, but are we going to get a round three out of these two?

 

Gigi Dolin is on the phone.

She talks with her brother Miles and says this is her chance to finally be NXT Women’s Champion. The Weaponized Steel Cage aside, Gigi isn’t going to let anything stop her. She’ll be fine, he just needs to stay out of trouble, okay? Love you, bye. Kiana James walks over and says that’s the “before” phone call. Can’t wait to hear the “after.” Sorry, she came up short again. But they’re used to it. Oh so that’s how Gigi sounds to Kiana? Kiana tells Gigi not to put unrealistic ideas in her brother’s head, like her winning the battle royal. An outcast, with Gigi’s background and emotional instability, will always fall short.

Gigi would rather have her background, as bad as it was, over being a stuck-up elitist like Kiana. Gigi can’t wait to see the smug look on Kiana’s face as she sends her sailing over the top rope and wins. But then Dabba-Kato walks past and everyone clams up. Will Dabba destroy Scrypts for saving Axiom?

 

Dabba-Kato VS SCRYPTS!

NXT returns as Reggie- er, Scrypts makes his entrance. A wrestler by any other name still flies as high as him, but will he be able to get up and over the mountain of a main before him?

The bell rings, Scrypts dodges a lariat to mule kick, but Dabba barely budges! Scrypts throws a haymaker, but Dabba barely flinches. Scrypts fires more shots, but Dabba grabs him! Scrypts breaks free, runs, but Dabba CLOBBERS him! Dabba whips Scrypts to a corner, Scrypts goes up to AX HANDLE! Scrypts keeps moving, he kicks and CHOPS and runs, but Dabba BOOTS him inside out! Dabba drags Scrypts up to scoop and SLAM him! And then scoop and SLAM again! And then scoop and SLAM again! Dabba looms over Scrypts, drags him up right into a BEARHUG! Scrypts endures the squeeze, CLUBS Dabba again and again, and gets free!

Dabba wobbles but he gets Scrypts up, to TOSS him out of the ring! Scrypts tumbles to the floor, Dabba goes out after him, and drags him back up to CHOP against the desk! Dabba roars while fans boo, but he hauls Scrypts up again to scoop, but wait! AXIOM is there! Where’d he come from/ Dabba SHOVES Axiom down, puts Scrypts in the ring, and storms up to grab Scrypts with both hands. But Axiom is up top, he leaps, Dabba dodges, and then chases Axiom off. Dabba turns around, into Scrypts’ SLINGSHOT ELBOW! Dabba staggers around, he rushes in but into buckles! Scrypts table tops Dabba to cover, SCRYPTS WINS!!

Winner: SCRYPTS, by pinfall

But Dabba drags Scrypts right up for a TOSS! And he SWATS Axiom out of the sky! Dabba SLAMS Axiom onto Scrypts! Fans boo as Dabba looms over them both. Will nothing stop Dabba from storming his way up to a title?

 

The Schism regroups backstage.

Gacy is furious! “This phony friendship of Wes and Tyler makes me sick! It’s as pathetic as Ali’s positive mental attitude drivel! Next week, we will expose this union of convenience!” Rip says yes, they will! But don’t forget that tonight, The Schism reminded everyone of their strength. They secured a great win over Diamond Mine. Yes, that they did. They’ve pulled their weight, they’ve shown the world what The Schism can be. Gacy, however, has fallen short. He fell short tonight and lost at Battleground. He must reflect and rectify. Ava says one root cannot stabilize an entire tree, no matter how strong it is. Jagger says next week, they have his back.

 

Mustafa Ali regroups with Tyler Bate and Wes Lee backstage.

He appreciates them having his back, and Wes says it was them returning the favor. And Bate says next week, in a Six Man Tag, they’ll tear “that rotten Schism tree” out, roots and all. Wes tells Ali that Bate says stuff like that, just roll with it. Well, okay, that’s great, but Ali feels like there’s still some magic between Wes and Bate. At Battleground, it was all about the spirit of competition. And in a Triple Threat, luck is just as important as skill. They love this! They love competition! Everyone wants to see it again, and this time, it can be 1v1! Bate says it has crossed his mind. But he doesn’t want to jeopardize the friendship.

Wes says with Bate coming to him face to face on it now, he respects it. They secret handshake, Bate says that’s Wes’ weird thing you gotta roll with. Well, okay. Ali will be on SmackDown this Friday for an MITB qualifier, next Tuesday is the Six Man Tag. And then the Tuesday after that, we can figure out when Bate and Wes tear the house down. They’re all for it! Is the Summer already heating up for the North American Championship?

 

NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Battle Royal!

Tiffany Stratton truly became the Center of the Universe when she become champion, but that also means she’s surrounded on all sides by those aiming for her belt. Who wins here to be the one with the golden ticket to Tiffany’s first title defense?

NXT returns and Roxanne Perez makes her entrance to join an already packed ring. And last but not least, Dana Brooke makes her entrance! The Flex Appeal is here as a Free Agent, will she be the wild card that wins it all? The bell rings, and the brawl is on! Cora of course goes after Roxie, but Dana helps Valentina Feroz fight Jakara Jackson! Gigi is after Elektra Lopez, Yulisa Leon has Tatum Paxley, Fallon and Kiana go after each other for old time’s sake. Lash swings someone around and clips opponent after opponent! Jakara and Lash help Cora with Roxie and a few others, Jacy clotheslines someone up and out.

Jacy ducks the counter punch to ROLLING ELBOW and ELIMINATE them! Jacy says this is all about her, but fans boo. Dana throws Jakara out, kicks her off the apron, but Oro catches her! Jakara applauds the assist and he helps her back into the ring. Cora DUMPS and ELIMINATES Ariana Grace! Fans boo as Cora laughs at her, but then she and Jacy mug some other superstars. Jacy is after Jakara, Kiana is after Gigi for their little backstage argument, and Thea fights off Tatum. Gigi runs at Kiana, Kiana puts her out but Gigi KNEES back! Gigi drags Kiana up and over to join her! They brawl on the apron!

Fans fire up as Gigi UPPERCUTS Kiana down! But then Kiana kicks Gigi’s legs out! Gigi tumbles and hits the steel steps, then the floor! Kiana ELIMINATES Gigi! Kiana tells Gigi to go call her little brother. Jacy stomps Tatum, Lash fires off hands on Kelani Jordan but Kelani dodges, comes back, only to be clotheslined out to the apron! But Kelani dodges, swings around the corner post, but Jakara trips her up! Kelani falls, Jakara ELIMINATES her! Fallon ROCKS Lash, CHOPS Jakara, and Roxie helps out! Fallon puts Jakara out, fires hands, but Jakara HOTSHOTS! Oro says good work, but Fallon BOOTS Jakara!

Oro catches Jakara again, but then Thea hurries over! Thea SPRINGBOARD TRUST FALLS Oro and Jakara down! Thea ELIMINATES Jakara, but she is safe cuz she went under the top rope! Lash slides out to go after Thea, but ends up in a KIMURA! Lash scoops Thea, and SNAKE EYES her off the steel steps! The ref reprimands but there’s no disqualifications in such a match. Lash leaves Thea behind, only for Feroz & Leon to go after her! She BOOTS them away, but Leon gives Feroz the boost to RANA Lash out! Lash stays on the apron, fires back, but Leon ELBOWS Lashl! Leon goes up and out to go after Lash!

Las Latinas trip and DOUBLE BOOT Lash to ELIMINATE her! They celebrate, but then Lash & Jakara YANK them both off the apron to ELIMINATE them!! And now they brawl! Oro shouts for help, but the battle rages on in and outside the ring as NXT goes picture in picture.

Dana brawls with Cora, Dana BOOTS Cora, and Roxie stomps Jacy. Tatum brawls with Fallon, Elektra has Lyra in a corner. Cora fights off Dana and Kiana while Elektra digs a boto in on Lyra. Roxie throws Jacy up and out but Jacy holds on to fight her off. Lyra scoops Elektra?! What strength! But Elektra lands safe on the apron and tries to drag Lyra up and over with her! Lyra resists, throws elbows, and Elektra wobbles! Lyra WRECKS Elektra with a dropkick and ELIMINATES her! Tatum SLAPS Dana but Dana fires off forearms on her! Cora and Jacy mug Lyra, Kiana keeps on Roxie, and Fallon tires to help Dana.

Tatum fights them off, Dana DECKS Fallon, and then Tatum ROCKS Dana! Tatum bumps Dana off buckles, stomps away, and Cora stomps away on Lyra. Fallon bumps Jacy off buckles, stomps away, and Roxie holds onto ropes as Kiana tries to dump her out. Tatum and Dana brawl more, Dana kicks Tatum down, and NXT returns to single picture. Blair Davenport appears? She wasn’t officially in this match, is she going to insert herself into it? Roxie UPPERCUTS Kiana in a corner, she dodges Jacy to send her into Kiana, then UPPERCUTS them both! Roxie snarls, but Cora grabs her former friend, only for Roxie to turn it around! RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP!

Blair taunts Roxie, who was one of her targets, so Roxie goes out after her! THESZ PRESS and fast hands! Blair shoves Roxie away, whips, but Roxie reverses to send Blair into the apron! BACKHAND, and POP- NO, Tatum saves Blair to CROSSBODY Roxie! Tatum ELIMINATES herself, but she and Blair stomp away on Roxie! They throw Roxie back in, and Jacy slithers up behind. Jacy dumps Roxie up and out to ELIMINATE her!! Jacy says Roxie is a loser, but Lyra stalks up behind her! ENZIGURI! Lyra fires off kicks on Cora, dodges Dana, and goes up to MISSILE DROPKICK! Fans fire up as Fallon runs in, but Lyra blocks to HEEL KICK!

Lyra drags Fallon up, scoops her and puts her on the ropes, but Fallon is safe on the apron. Lyra DECKS Fallon, but Jacy TOSSES Lyra! Lyra skins the cat, headscissors Jacy and throws her out to ELIMINATE her! Fans fire up, but then Cora DROPKCIKS Lyra down to ELIMINATE her! Fans boo as Cora laughs at Lyra and blows a kiss. Now we just have Fallon, Cora, Dana and Kiana. Fallon DECKS Cora, DECKS Kiana, ROCKS Dana, then ELBOWS Kiana, and THROWS Dana! Cora returns but Fallon CHOPS her! Fallon runs up the corner, steadies herself, BLOCKBUSTER for Cora! But Kiana RAMS Fallon into a corner!

Kiana reels Fallon in but Fallon doges to ROCK Kiana! Fallon goes up but Kiana shoves her over! Fallon stays on the apron, gets under Kiana, and BACK DROPS her out of the ring! Fallon ELIMINATES Kiana! Dana rushes in, Fallon slides under, sunset flip but Dana rolls through, so Fallon DECKS her! Cora runs in but Fallon dodges to ROCK her! Cora ROCKS back! Dana DOUBLE LARIATS them both! Fans are torn, but Dana runs in at Fallon to handspring back elbow! Dana handspring back elbows Cora! Dana goes back to Fallon, but Fallon headscissors! Dana shoves Fallon away to ELIMINATE her!

Cora goes after Dana! Dana shoulders in, but Cora DROPKCIKS Dana! Dana clutches onto ropes but Cora stomps away! Dana gets back in, both women run, and DOUBLE LARIATS take them down! But wait! Chase U’s student section remembers, Thea is STILL in this match! Thea rises and she has her chance! Thea shakes the ropes, runs in and Cora says she and Dana should work together. Dana says no no, she and Thea will work together! They kick Cora, double whip, and lift her up! Cora fights free, kicks Dana away but Thea dodges! Thea runs, Cora ducks and Thea CLOBBERS Dana! Cora attacks and TOSSES Thea!

Thea holds onto the ropes, Dana storms up to DECK Cora! Thea GAMANGIRIS Cora, gets in, but Dana kicks her. Dana runs, ROLLING NECKBREAKER! Cora returns to SHINING WIZARD Dana in a corner! And then runs to SHINING WIZARD at the ropes! And then SHINING- NO, Dana blocks, Thea dumps them BOTH!! Thea wins!!

Winner: Thea Hail (NEW #1 Contender to the NXT Women’s Champion)

The Chase U student section storms the court! Er, ring! They celebrate as one of their own has herself a title shot! Even Duke, Gulak & Dempsey applaud. Even Haley & Hanna Cavinder, NXT’s newest NIL prospects, are here to celebrate with Thea! Will Chase U finally have some gold thanks to their ultimate underdog?

 

NXT Media catches Bron Breakker as he is leaving the building.

NXT Media asks him why he attacked Ilja Dragunov. Why? He isn’t gonna let Ilja spit out garbage about being the most intense guy in the WWE. Bron is gonna hold everyone accountable, from top to bottom. And speaking of the top, how about the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Freakin’ Rollins? The workhorse of the WWE? How about he proves it. Rollins knows how things are done in NXT cuz he was the first-ever NXT Champion! And Bron was the most DOMINANT NXT Champion ever! So Rollins should come back to NXT to put the World Heavyweight Championship on the line… against Bron? Will the Visionary accept that challenge?


My Thoughts:

A great episode for NXT here and we’re in some exciting times right now. Corbin isn’t usually must-see but he did show up last week so we gotta know what that’s about. He of course goes with the usual trope of “this generation doesn’t appreciate anything, they don’t understand,” which oddly was very much where they had JBL going with all his promos when he was Corbin’s manager. But I like that Dragunov got in Corbin’s face, and that Trick Williams took the fight to Corbin. I think tonight was the first time I heard a “This is Awesome!” chant during a Corbin match, but he and Trick were great out there. Corbin of course wins, he needs momentum going towards Melo and the title.

Bron attacking Dragunov was quite the surprise, but it seems the next chapter for him is to double down on the aggression and go after everyone who claims to be better at the things he claims to be. Calling out Rollins was an even bigger surprise, but I would love seeing Rollins having a return to NXT, as I know the live audience there would love seeing it. Could these “callbacks” and callouts be how NXT brute forces its way to being the third brand once and for all?

That question aside, great stuff building with The Schism and the North American Championship. Really good Mixed Six, and I loved that string of human weapon moves from Diamond Mine, especially Ivy suplexes Brutus. But of course The Schism cheats a win in that one. Ali VS Gacy was surprisingly short, but I suppose it builds towards story on both ends. Gacy feels like he’s letting the team down but they’re still standing with him, and Ali seems to be literally match making. The Six Man of Ali, Bate & Wes VS Schism is going to be great, and I bet we get Bate VS Wes on TV since Great American Bash is so far away still.

We got good matches out of Thorpe VS Kemp and Dabba-Kato VS SCRYPTS. A little surprised Thorpe won again with some controversy, I would’ve thought they’d go the other way and have Kemp win by controversy. And in Dabba VS Scrypts, I should’ve figured Axiom would show up. Scrypts gets the win but Dabba has the last laugh, so I sense a handicap match in the future. WWE has done 2 Faces VS 1 Heel before, but it never felt like it was a situation where the Heel was really so much more powerful. In this case, it will work because Dabba is as big as Scrypts and Axiom combined.

Good prison visitation promo, especially that Kardashian joke. Stacks keeps saying it’s Gallus but that just means it isn’t Gallus. But Tony is giving him permission to do what he needs to in order to bring Gallus down, I wonder if Stacks recruits people to the D’Angelo Family for a Six Man Tag. Also, good stuff out of the tag division with everyone doing the mind meld and irritating Malik. Malik VS Edris will be a fun match, who knows how that goes. I feel like NXT could even be building things to a massive NXT Tag Team Championship match for Great American Bash, like the Ladder Fatal 4 Ways of old.

Hard Hitting Home Truths was alright, but those names Dragon Lee came up with for Dar’s group felt more like something HBK and Road Dogg would come up with. But Dar and his group had a good promo in return, and their name, “The Meta Four” is much better than those five names. Frazer VS Dar is going to be great stuff, but with just Dragon Lee, I don’t see Frazer having a chance with Oro, Jakara and Lash all out there. But in tonight’s main event, it looks like they could’ve been building some women’s tag feuds. Lash & Jakara went after Yulisa & Valentina, that could be some good stuff, and we could see Yulisa & Valentina side with Dragon & Frazer as their own quartet.

And speaking of that battle royal, good promo from Gigi and Kiana beforehand, and same for Thea’s promo earlier on. Gigi and Kiana feuding seems to be the next move, helping Gigi build up momentum while Tiffany takes care of her first defense. Roxie brawling with Blair made sense, but I did not see Tatum joining Team Blair. Maybe Dani helps Roxie against them since she was also a target, and also lost to Blair tonight. Great moving of pieces to have Thea out of commission until the end and then finish it up with a big win over Dana and Cora. Thea got that like, Lex Luger beat Yokozuna celebration, where even future superstars, Haley & Hanna Cavinder, got to show up for it.

Now, Thea and Tiffany are going to have an awesome build to their match, they’re going to have an awesome match, but with this being Tiff’s first defense and there being the bigger Chase U story, I don’t see Thea winning. If only NXT had a women’s midcard title, Thea and a few other names could be fighting for that. Just not sure what to name it, as the WWE already uses the phrases Intercontinental, United States and North American, and they wouldn’t want to copy AEW’s International Championship. WWE hasn’t had a Television Championship in 20 years, so giving that concept to the women’s division would be pretty cool.

My Score: 8.8/10


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