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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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Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (3/18/24)

Talk about a Big Time Raw!

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Will The Man be the Last Woman Standing?

Becky Lynch and Nia Jax want to finally put this to an end, so tonight on Raw, it will be a Big Time Last Woman Standing match! Will the Irresistible Force force the WrestleMania 40 match to change?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers; DIY wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; Candice & Indi win.
  • Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet; Ricochet wins.
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher; The Awesome Truth wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy; The New Day wins and advances to WrestleMania.
  • Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax; Becky wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Jey Uso is here!

North Carolina State University fires up and bounces along with Main Event Jey, and Pat McAfee plays a dangerous game standing on the armchairs! From Bret VS Owen to Matt VS Jeff, we’re about to get Jey VS Jimmy in the third-ever Brother VS Brother WrestleMania grudge match! Jey gets the mic as fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey welcomes us to Monday Night Raw, and wants us to check this out. He knows his brothers are somewhere in the building. He knows The Bloodline’s in the building. He knows how the Bloodline rolls! SO Big Brother Jimmy, where you at?! Where you at, Uce!?

Jey waits for someone to show up somewhere, and the crowd spots them first! Fans boo as Jimmy & Solo make their way from the back of the stands. Jimmy gets a mic and goes to the apron while Solo paces around the outside. Fans chant “YEET! YEET! YEET!” again as Jey puts the sunglasses aside. The Usos stare each other down, the fans now chant “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey wants to say something, hesitates, but then says these two would always get to it but they always knew how to shake right back to this. But now it’s different. Regardless of what happened, the bad blood between them, Jey misses his brother. He does.

Jey knows Jimmy will say what he wants, but Jey doesn’t talk to him no more, doesn’t ride with him no more, doesn’t even see him no more! Jimmy can just come back. Jimmy says he never left! He protected Jey! Jey’s so dumb, he can’t see it! Jimmy is protecting Jey! It was Jey’s idea to leave The Bloodline, but Jimmy helped because he is Jey’s brother. So yeah, Jey leaves, and what happens? Lil’ Bro becomes the BIGGEST star on the Raw roster! Lil’ Bro becomes the top merch seller! Lil’ Bro goes off to become a tag team champion without Jimmy, but with CODY RHODES!? Who left who, Uce?

Jey forgot Jimmy! Everything Jey did that was big was cuz of Big Bro Jimmy! Everything! So listen loud and clear. The biggest moment in Jey’s career, the BIGGEST moment, is because of Jimmy! Jimmy stares Jey down, but Jey says no. Jey’s biggest moment in his career is going to be his dream match at WrestleMania 40: Jey VS Jimmy, and Jey knocks the yeet out Jimmy’s ass! Jey DECKS Jimmy, DECKS Solo off the apron, but then Jimmy SUPERKICKS Jey down! The fans boo but now Solo storms in and looms over Jey. Solo drags Jey up so Jimmy can look him in the face and tell him that Jey needs to get it right! JIMMY made Jey!

But here comes Cody Rhodes! The fans fire up as Cody DECKS Jimmy, then gets in to springboard and CODY CUTTER Solo!! The American Nightmare said he was gonna be a Bloodline Hunter, and he made sure they didn’t take out Jey! Cody tells The Bloodline it is only a matter of time before they lose it all at WrestleMania! Will Jey prove that younger or older doesn’t matter when he is the BETTER brother?

 

Adam Pearce is on the phone.

He’s telling Nick Aldis to stop being a hypocrite, telling Pearce to keep his roster in check when this is happening. But then Paul Heyman walks over and Pearce says he’ll call Aldis back. Pearce then asks Heyman what was all that, and Heyman says he owes Pearce an apology. He is sorry. That was not authorized by The Final Boss nor The Tribal Chief, and certainly not by Heyman. Jimmy & Solo went into business for themselves so Heyman apologizes. But listen, Pearce knows that there have been flight delays all day. Even private jets like theirs. Heyman is barely even dressed for TV, let alone has his make-up!

Pearce says those two were ready. Yeah, well, they got in on a different flight. But Roman Reigns is a chief of his word. Those two are already gone, out of the arena, and Pearce has Roman’s word. Call his bluff, put out a search party. Pearce knows Heyman is here on official business, which Heyman will handle, and then be gone. That is it. But when Heyman does his official business… everyone will be caught off guard. “And Mr. Pearce, sir, that’s not a prediction. That’s a spoiler.” The Wise Man heads out and calls Roman, but just what is Heyman teasing?

 

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: #DIY VS The Creed Brothers!

Unlike SmackDown’s mini-tournament, Raw and Adam Pearce say it’s win and you’re in! Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano want one more shot at Judgment Day, but so do Julius & Brutus! Will the Sicilian Psycho & Johnny Wrestling prove that when it comes to Mania Moments, you gotta do it yourself? Or will the Creeds be bringing golden tickets to the Diamond Mine?

Raw returns as The Creeds make their entrance. The teams fist bump to show respect, then the teams sort out. Julius starts against Ciampa, they circle and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, Ciampa goes for a waistlock but Julius facelocks. Julius wrangles Ciampa to the mat, flips him over, ONE, and Ciampa keeps moving. They trade facelocks, gator roll, and Julius gets another lateral press. ONE, but Julius gator rolls Ciampa around. Ciampa fights up, puts Julius on ropes, and the ref counts. Ciampa lets off, then CHOPS! Julius shoots in for the takedown! Julius has a leg, Ciampa fights but Julius turns him for the ANKLE LOCK!

Ciampa scrambles to the ROPEBREAK, and Julius lets off cleanly. Ciampa bails out, shakes it off, and he gets back in. They go again, Julius hits a fireman’s carry takeover! Tag to Brutus, and Julius feeds Ciampa to another fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus cording holds but Ciampa endures. Ciampa fights up, but Brutus facelocks. The fans rally as Brutus switches and rolls Ciampa. Ciampa fights up, headlocks, then ROCKS Brutus! Brutus DECKS Ciampa, then whips him to ropes. Ciampa ducks ‘n’ dodges, tag to Gargano! Ciampa slides, CHOPS, Gargano LARIATS and Ciampa JAWBREAKERS! Wrench and LARIAT!

Julius runs in, Gargano kicks and Ciampa gives him the boost for SLICED BREAD! The Creeds bail out, but DIY DOUBLE PLANCHA! Down go the Creeds, and DIY applaud and pat themselves on the back. The fans fire up and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Ciampa has Julius in a chinlock. The fans rally, Julius fights up to throw body shots, but Ciampa hits a back suplex! Julius lands out of it, but Ciampa elbows him away. Ciampa drop toeholds Julius, gets legs, but Julius BOOTS Ciampa away! Hot tags to Gargano and Brutus! Brutus rallies on DIY, TOSSES Gargano, then blocks Ciampa’s kick to get under and POWERBOMB him! Brutus sees DIY regroup, then he runs in to SPLASH them both! O’Conner on Ciampa, but Gargano runs up! NORTHERN LIGHTS! Brutus has a DOUBLE BRIDGE, TWO!! Tag to Julius and he gut wrench SLAMS Brutus on Ciampa!

Brutus helps Julius flip up and over to SPLASH onto Ciampa! Cover, TWO! The fans rally up as Julius drags Ciampa up. Ciampa throat chops! A bit dirty but Ciampa wants that win! Ciampa storms up on Julius, but Julius basement stalling suplexes!! The fans are thunderous, Gargano runs in, but Brutus intercepts! Brutus suplexes Gargano now, stalls, and then the Creeds SLAM and kip up! Then they both STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Ciampa stays in this for DIY but the Creeds keep cool. Julius stomps Ciampa, tags Brutus, and they KNEE Ciampa around! Then they DOUBLE GUTBUSTER! Ciampa sputters but Brutus tags Julius in.

Julius drags Ciampa up, tags Brutus back in, and Brutus climbs. Julius Electric Chair Lifts, but Gargano makes the save! Gargano ROCKS Julius, Brutus ROCKS Gargano! Ciampa BOOTS Brutus, Gargano swings on Julius but is sent into Ciampa! Ciampa pushes Gargano back so he can ELBOW Julius! DIY set up again but Brutus stops the Sliced Bread! Julius DECKS Ciampa, KNEE into the WIDOWMAKER! Julius scrapes Gargano out, Brutus POUNCES Ciampa over the desk! Pat fires up with Brutus and so do the fans! The Creeds say they run this now, and then Brutus drags Ciampa up while Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Julius has Ciampa in a chinlock. Ciampa fights up, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Ciampa ELBOWS Brutus down, BOOTS Julius, then runs up, only for Julius to catch him and toss him back! But then Ciampa catches Julius for a REVERSE DDT! The fans fire up while both men are down and crawling! Hot tag to Gargano! Gargano slingshots to KICK Julius, then he CLOBBERS Brutus! ENZIGIRI for Julius, then he runs to DOUBLE KNEE Brutus! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! The fans fire up with Gargano while Julius ends up in another corner. Gargano runs in but is put on the apron!

Gargano GAMANGIRIS Julius, SUPERKICKS Brutus, then SLINGSHOT SPEARS Julius! Cover, TWO! Julius survives but Gargano puts him in a corner. Gargano CHOPS, then hoists Julius up top. Tag to Ciampa, Ciampa CHOPS Julius while Gargano DIVES onto Brutus! Ciampa CHOPS Julius again, goes up top, and fireman’s carries! Ciampa then tucks Julius in for the SUPER AIR RAID CRASH! Cover, TWO!! Julius survives again and shocks Ciampa! The fans are just as stunned, but Ciampa and Julius sit up. Ciampa stands, and he CHOPS! And CHOPS! Julius sits back up as Ciampa puts some stank on the CHOP!

Julius brings the straps down! Julius fires a forearm, Ciampa hits back, and the fans fire up as the shots keep going! They go faster and faster, harder and harder, meaner and meaner! The fans fire up as this just turns into a brawl of haymakers and SLAPS! Ciampa then gets around, ripcord and HAYMAKER! ROLLING- TACKLE from Julius! And then the ANKLE LOCK!! Ciampa reaches out, moves around, but Gargano runs up! Julius kicks him, then gets him up with one arm to POWERBOMB! Then it’s back to the ANKLE LOCK on Ciampa! Brutus gets in to get Gargano for an ANKLE LOCK of his own!

The fans are thunderous as DIY endures! Ciampa and Gargano fight, turn things over, SICILIAN CROSSFACE and GargaNO Escape!! The fans are thunderous as The Creeds power up and lift both DIY! They fireman’s carry, then TOSS DIY into each other!! The fans are thunderous as Julius goes up to MOONSAULT onto Ciampa! Brutus MOONSAULTS, too! Cover, TWO?!?! Ciampa survives and the fans are loving this! Julius tags back in, Brutus climbs up! “This is Awesome!” as Julius Electric Chair Lifts Ciampa! But Ciampa VICTORY ROLLS to get under the Brutus Ball!! Cover, Brutus tips it! Gargano TOSSES Brutus then SUPERKICKS Julius!! Ciampa has the cover, DIY WINS!!

Winners: DIY, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

Julius can’t believe it! He kicked out at 3.1, but a loss is a loss! And for the first time ever, DIY is going to Mania! Will Philadelphia soon be historic for a DIY championship victory?

 

Judgment Day meets backstage.

Rhea Ripley is with Dominik Mysterio, Finn Balor & JD McDonagh, but also Andrade. Dom says he’s always liked Andrade’s style, but things have changed since the last time he was in the WWE. The Judgment Day runs Raw now. Rhea says yeah, and they don’t extend invitations to just anyone. Judgment Day is very exclusive. JD says very exclusive. But if Andrade continues to impress them, they’ll see about making things happen. And Finn says he just heard that Andrade has a match next week, so the Judgment Day will be watching him. Sounds good. See you next week. But then in steps Damian Priest.

The Punisher says hello to El Idolo, and El Idolo says hello to Senor Dinero. Andrade heads out, will he quite literally win his way into the club? But as for Priest, Finn asks him what he was up to. Priest was getting a closer look at that DIY VS Creeds match. DIY won, but whatever, they can handle those guys. But JD, they thought he could handle Ricochet last week, and run the gauntlet, and then go to WrestleMania to bring even more gold back to Judgment Day. JD says he did he belonged in there. But also, he battered Ricochet, who got lucky at the end there. Right, Finn? Finn hesitates, and Rhea says Priest is right on this one.

Ricochet made a fool out of JD! A fool? Yes. A fool? Yes. That’s why tonight, Dom will make it right. Right, Dom? Yeah, Mami. Let’s go talk to Pearce to make it official. Dom & JD head out, and the others are confident Dom’s got this. But does he, though? Or will the One and Only have two wins over Judgment Day in as many weeks?

 

Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!

The Poison Pixie certainly lived up to that name last week when she bullied Maxxine Dupri as part of beating her and Ivy Nile last week. Will Candice’s toxic tongue strike again? Or will the party not be stopped by her harsh vibes?

The teams sort out and Candice starts against Kayden. Candice rushes up, Kayden gets around and O’Conner Rolls, TWO! Kayden springboards to basement dropkick! Cover, TWO! Kayden stalks Candice, Candice ELBOWS her away then tags Indi. Kayden dodges Candice to SUPERKICK, but Indi BOOTS Kayden! Cover, TWO! Indi drags Kayden up, tags Candice back in, and they mug Kayden. Candice CLUBS away on Kayden, fires off furious fists, then covers. TWO, and Candice grows frustrated already. The fans rally, Candice steps up but Kayden avoids the senton! Tags to Katana and Indi! Katana blasts past Indi, comes back and BULLDOGS!

Katana keeps moving, ducks ‘n’ dodges, then SHOTGUNS Indi to a corner! The fans fire up as Katana stomps away on Indi! Indi shoves Katana, Katana runs corner to corner to A-LIST LARIAT! Katana shoves Indi down, runs up, but into a back suplex! Katana lands out, but her leg jams! The ref and Kayden check, then the ref keeps Indi back. Indi says okay, and she stays by Candice. But Candice tags in to WRECK Kayden! And she SLAMS Katana’s leg into the post!! HALF CRAB and DEEP! Katana taps, Candice & Indi win!

Winners: Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell, by submission

Candice smiles and celebrates with Indi, but Indi doesn’t want to. Candice says a win is a win, but just what is going on in her toxic mind?

 

Cody Rhodes makes his way to the ring.

NC State fires up again as The American Nightmare walks down the ramp, and this time the fans can sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” Cody gets his pyro then gets the mic. “In less than three weeks time, I will stand opposed for the second year in a row, in the main event, with the lights on brightest, I will challenge for the WWE Undisputed Championship, against the greatest champion in all of sports, The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. And this Friday on SmackDown, Roman and I are going to have a little conversation, if you will. But there are… complications. Factors, elements, combustible elements, namely… The Rock.”

Fans boo but Cody says The Rock took to Instagram on Friday, and followed it up with “extremely entertaining” concert. Too bad The Rock didn’t wanna be here tonight. Something Cody took from the Instagram post: The Rock referred to himself as “Our Favorite Heel.” A bit of an inside term, but we’re not dumb, we know that means he’s the “bad guy.” Cody has known Heels. Bobby Heenan, Arn Anderson, Michael Hayes, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair! Fans “WOO~” and Cody says he doesn’t think The Rock is a Heel. He’s just an assh*le. The fans go nuts hearing that!

Cody doesn’t want Rock getting upset, he doesn’t want the “seven bucks team” to get upset, he doesn’t want anyone getting emotional. Cody knows how Rock feels about emotions, he poked fun at Cody tearing up at discussing “finishing the story” with good friend, Michael Cole. There’s no crying in pro-wrestling, Jimmy Dugan, we get it. But hasn’t The Rock been crying behind the scenes this whole time? Once that hashtag came out, once fans chanted something else, The Rock cried to his buddies on the TKO board and said “Hey, this is gonna be some good PR for The Rock! I need to save WWE!” God knows, look at this house. They sure needed “saving,” huh?

The fans cheer but Cody says Rock wanted great PR. Until it wasn’t. TKO said OMG yes, put on the Gucci shirt, get those muscles looking big. It’s because they are Yes People, they are enablers, they won’t dare tell The Rock like it is, so Cody’s going to. Cody tells The Rock, “You’re a lot of things. You’re a lot of wonderful things. You are the Braham Bull, you are The Great One.” Cody still has shoes with The Rock’s logo on it! The Rock is the only guy Cody honestly feels is a Mount Rushmore wrestler. But he is also a terrible salesman, a carny succubus, and for those who don’t get what that means, The Rock is “a whiny b*tch!”

Fans lose their minds again but Cody says The Rock has been convinced otherwise. But don’t think that for two seconds this locker room needs The Rock more than The Rock needs it! That’s a rule of wrestling, nobody is bigger than the business! And sure, Cody brought up his mom, so it is fair game for The Rock to use that. But Cody knows The Rock’s mom. Here’s what Cody will tell us about The Rock’s mom. She is a wonderful lady, salt of the earth, she helped Cody chop Kevin in a dark match. Cody has nothing but respect for The Rock’s mom, something The Rock should’ve echoed back towards Cody’s mom.

But see, The Rock was talking about whipping Cody, handing a bloody weight belt to Cody’s mom, and normally someone as powerful as The Rock, Mama Rhodes would tremble. But The Rock doesn’t know Cody’s mom. Cody was more scared than she was, because she ain’t scared of nothing. This is the same woman who once jumped out of her chair at a Willie Nelson concert and beat up an undercover cop! She ain’t afraid of The Rock! Cody has been asked, April 6th, biggest tag match of all time, Rock & Roman VS Cody & Seth. Seth Rollins, the World Heavyweight Champion, a man The Rock should respect because that man has carried The Rock’s company!

How will Cody get past that match? How will April 7th look? Will it be a fair fight? Cody can tell us honestly… He doesn’t know. Cody does not know if it will be Bloodline Rules or not. Hell, he might not #FinishTheStory. “But Dwayne… What do you know? How can you be so sure of your own self, right?” The Rock hasn’t been in the ring in real action in years! April 6th, the bell is gonna ring, and what happens then? Is The Rock gonna bring The Great One, the hero we all had growing up? Is he bringing that #BigDwayneEnergy? Or is it gonna be LDS, Little D*ck Syndrome?! The fans chant “L D S! L D S!”

Cody says The Rock has referred to himself as The Final Boss. Kudos for that nickname, maybe he really is that. Maybe Cody is too naive to see it. But at WrestleMania, Cody doesn’t think The Rock will be The Final Boss. At WrestleMania, he’s just Roman’s side chick. But then ladies and gentlemen, his name is Paul Heyman, and he serves as The Wise Man to Your Tribal Chief, the reigning! Defending! Undisputed! WWE Universal Heavyweight Champion, Roman… Reigns! And as Special Counsel to the Bloodline, Heyman is here to say to Cody that the ideals that Cody and Heyman share are far greater than the interests on which they conflict.

By example, don’t you hate it when someone comes out to demand an apology? Not that Cody’s done that, but Heyman is still going to do that. Heyman came out here with some “friends” of his, and he apologized. For a Wise Man, that was pretty freakin’ stupid. One: because it didn’t work. Two: because it was just dumb. And for that, Cody, to you and the fans, Heyman humbly apologizes. Cody says whoa, whoa, whoa. He didn’t ask for an apology, and he certainly knows Heyman wants permission to be in the ring. Heyman is a Hall of Famer starting this year, if he wants into the ring, be Cody’s guest.

Heyman thanks Cody for that but he’s fine on the apron. He carries with him a message from The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Talk about Heels… You may think of Heyman anything negative you want, and that might be understanding the obvious. Heyman is not trustworthy, but Roman is a chief of his word. Heyman assures that this Friday on SmackDown, Roman will be face to face with Cody. American Nightmare, Tribal Chief, challenger and champion. And when they are face to face, there will not be a single other member of The Bloodline in sight. Except for Heyman, but he is no physical threat.

Heyman holds the title belt, the beads, whispers things in Roman’s ear, such as his love and respect. But Cody has Roman’s word that if he shows up on SmackDown, Roman will show up alone. Cody says Roman shows up alone, no Bloodline outside of Heyman, it’s a deal. They good? Heyman has some jet lag, he forgot one little point. And don’t boo him, he’s talking to Cody! Cody says yes they’re booing, and he’s about to go full Homelander and rip Heyman’s throat out if he doesn’t get to the point. Fans like the reference. Heyman composes himself and says if Roman Reigns shows up alone this Friday on SmackDown, then Cody must show up to SmackDown alone, too.

Cody steps closer to Heyman and Heyman is a bit nervous. Cody tells Heyman, “Deal!” They shake hands, and Heyman smiles. The Wise Man negotiated a purely one-on-one meeting between his Tribal Chief and American Nightmare, but can we trust Heyman was telling the truth about Roman telling the truth?

 

Nia Jax speaks.

“You know what I’ve realized? Becky Lynch has never beaten me. And after tonight, she never will. Because after I break her face again, I will be taking her spot at WrestleMania. I will finish business with Rhea Ripley, and not only will I walk out the Last Woman Standing, but I will become Women’s World Champion.” The Irresistible Force is ready for the Big Time, but will she A-Nia-late her?

 

Cody Rhodes returns backstage.

And Jey says there he go! But real quick, Cody can’t be going to SmackDown alone. Cody says he gave them his word. But The Bloodline isn’t gonna play fair! They’re all gonna be there! If Cody needs Jey, Jeys’ got him. Cody hears that, but he knows what he’s dealing with. They shake hands and Jey heads out. Will Cody be able to have that fair, one-on-one meeting? Or does Jey have a point about The Bloodline?

 

Dominik Mysterio w/ JD McDonagh VS Ricochet!

It seems Pearce agreed to the idea that Dirty Dom should try and clean up The Irish Ace’s mess. Will Dom be able to get revenge on Ricochet? Or will Ricochet be the One and Only person holding their head high tonight?

Raw returns and Dom has made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Ricochet circle, and they tie up. Ricochet waistlocks, Dom fights the lift and grabs ropes. The ref counts, Ricochet lets off, but Dom ELBOWS him away! Dom fires hands, soaks up the heat, then storms up, but into haymakers! Ricochet CHOPS, kicks then flexes on Dom. Ricochet whips, Dom reverses, but Ricochet goes up and over. Ricochet ducks ‘n’ dodges to then handspring back elbow! The fans fire up while Dom bails out! JD is there to coach Dom up, but Ricochet runs in! JD gets Dom to safety, but Ricochet handsprings to hero land!

The fans fire up, Ricochet then goes to ropes to TORNILLO PLANCHA! Direct hit on Dom and Ricochet tells JD to back off. Ricochet puts Dom in, Dom distracts the ref, but JD grabs Ricochet’s leg! Ricochet kicks JD away, but then Dom WRECKS Ricochet with a dropkick! Dom soaks up the heat and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Dom has Ricochet up top. Dom climbs but Ricochet throws body shots! The fans rally behind Ricochet as he sends Dom staggering. Ricochet hops down as Dom comes running back, and Ricochet GAMANGIRIS him away! Ricochet then springboards, but Dom trips him up! Ricochet flops to the mat, then Dom kicks and FACEBUSTERS! Cover, TWO! Ricochet is still in this and JD argues the count. Dom looms over Ricochet, scuffs him around, then mockingly cheers him on. Fans boo but Dom brings Ricochet up. Dom gives some Latino Heat, then suplexes! Uno Amigo, but fans boo.

Dom gets Ricochet up but Ricochet suplexes Dom instead! And then fireman’s carry, DYNAMITE KICK! Cover, TWO! Dom is still in this and JD coaches him but the fans rally for Ricochet. Ricochet stands, storms up on Dom, but Dom shoots around to roll him up! With tights! TWO, Ricochet blocks a kick and KICKS Dom down! Ricochet hurries up top, the fans fire up, but Ricochet has to bail out of the 450 as Dom moves! Dom runs in again, but into a SUPERKICK! JD gets on the apron, so Ricochet triangle jump DROPKICKS! But then Dom DROPKICKS Ricochet onto ropes! Dom dials it up but Ricochet ducks!

Dom spins around, into the RECOIL!! Cover, Ricochet wins!

Winner: Ricochet, by pinfall

But then JD runs in! Ricochet dodges, goes up and around, BOOTS JD away, then BOOTS him again! Ricochet even flips up and out of the ring at the same time! Ricochet gets the better of Judgment Day again, just how disappointed is Mami going to be in her Latino Heat this time?

 

Sami Zayn is backstage.

He finds Chad Gable and wants to talk with him. Last week’s match, that was an honor. Sami hasn’t been pushed like that in a long time, it could’ve gone either way. Gable says yeah, it was great. Thanks. Is Gable alright? Yeah, he’s fine. Kinda feels like not… Gable says he’s fine, so leave it at that. C’mon, man, how many years have they known each other? Sami knows when something’s bothering Gable, so he should just say it. Gable says look, last week, the WrestleMania opportunity, the whole thing, it just meant more to him. Sami says he’s been hearing Gable say that for weeks, and it is really unfair.

Does Gable really think he’s the only one this title opportunity matters to? Sami has a family, too! Sami’s kid cries when Papa loses a match, too. Sami has people he’s let down and is trying to make proud. After all the years put into this, Gable can’t tell Sami what matters more because he doesn’t know Sami like that. Gable has Sami calm down, and says he knows all that. But it isn’t all about that. Then what is all this? Gable says Sami can’t beat Gunther. Gable then leaves, and Sami is at a loss for words. Is this bitter side of Gable only going to get worse as we go down this Road to WrestleMania?

 

Adam Pearce is in the ring.

Raw returns with the GM by a table, and he welcomes us to a contract signing to make official the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship for WrestleMania! The fans cheer, and Pearce introduces first, the challenger, Sami Zayn! The Great Liberator makes his entrance and the fans sing along with his song. Sami still looks troubled by what Gable said just moments ago, but he still high-fives fans and gets in the ring. Then Pearce introduces the longest reigning Intercontinental Champion of all time, Der Ring General, GUNTHER! The fans boo as Gunther walks in, having reached Day 647!

Gunther smiles as Sami watches him make his way down the ramp and into the ring. Pearce says we know how this works, but Gunther says before we proceed, let us call this what it is: the most important contract signing for the most important match in the history of this championship. And why, why, why is the challenger dressed no better than any of the bums in the audience? Fans boo but Sami just shrugs that off. Sami gets a mic to say that Gunther keeps sitting there all smug, and it’s really starting to piss Sami off. Gunther thinks this is just another day at the office, that he’ll steamroll through Sami like any other contender.

But with all respect to Gunther, he really has. He has beaten everyone that has come his way, and has done it on his own. Gunther doesn’t believe Sami can do it. A lot of people didn’t believe Sami at many points in his career. They didn’t believe he’d even make it to WWE, let alone win championships and main event a WrestleMania. And if you ask The Usos, they didn’t believe Sami would be one of the guys to end the longest tag title reign in WWE history, but he did! And one year later, he will make history again by ending the longest Intercontinental title reign in WWE history! Sami signs his part and pushes the contract over to Gunther.

The fans cheer Sami on but Gunther waits it out. Gunther tells Sami, what Sami should do is listen to his new friend, Gable. Gable doesn’t believe Sami can win. The people here cheer Sami, they probably even love Sami. But even they don’t believe Sami can win. And y’know, when Gunther looks Sami in the eyes, and if Sami was honest with himself, even Sami doesn’t believe he can win. So what Sami is doing right now is standing on Gunther’s doorstep and begging him to get the beating of a lifetime on the Grandest Stage of Them All! So whatever Sami has to do, from training to believing, just keep doing that. Because at WrestleMania, Sami’s dreams will meet reality.

Gunther grins and signs his part, and it is now official! Gunther then stands, title on his shoulder, and takes his leave. The fans boo, but then Sami tells Gunther to wait. Gunther steps back inside to hear Sami as Sami turns around. Gunther looks in Sami’s eyes and believes Sami doesn’t believe? Sami stands to get in Gunther’s face and dares him to look again. Get a good long look, because these are the eyes of the man who will take you down at Mania! The fans fire up, and now Sami leaves first. Gunther still just grins, but will Sami use a Helluva Kick to wipe that smile off his face?

We follow Sami as he storms backstage, right past DIY and The Awesome Truth. Truth asks what’s up with Sami, but The Miz says that is the mindset of WrestleMania right there. That’s what they need. DIY wishes Awesome Truth luck. Awesome Truth knows DIY is into the ladder match, and they are gonna have their own qualifier. Miz & Truth just need to beat… Indus Sher. Jinder Mahal tells Veer & Sanga to warm up for the match. They head out, and Truth says he feels sorry for whoever has to face those guys. Miz stares at Truth, and he has DIY hold off. Miz will explain. The Awesome Truth heads to gorilla, their match is next!

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The Awesome Truth VS Indus Sher w/ Jinder Mahal!

Miz wants a remix of the theme song but Truth says to just follow his lead. NC State knows what’s up, but will the Awesome Truth finally reach the top of the tag division 13 years after they first teamed? We’ll see, after the break!

Raw returns as Indus Sher makes their entrance, the Modern Day Maharaja by their side. The teams sort out and Truth starts against Sanga. The fans echo “WHAT’S UP?!” but Sanga roars! Truth is scared now so he tags Miz. Truth fires Miz up, Miz runs up and dodges Sanga to fire off haymakers! Miz kicks, whips, but Sanga blocks! Sanga whips and CLOBBERS Miz! Jinder nods as Sanga then scoops Miz and brings him over. Veer tags in, Sanga SLAMS Miz, then Veer ELBOW DROPS! Indus Sher say “NAMASTE!” but the fans say “WHAT’S UP!?” with Truth. Veer HIP DROPS Miz, then looms over him.

Veer eggs Miz on, drags him up with shoulder claws, and then steps over Miz for the neck wrench! Miz endures as Veer still digs a claw into his shoulder. The fans rally for Miz, Miz fights up and throws body shots! Miz reaches out but Veer knees low! Veer SHOVES Miz to the corner, runs in, but Miz BOOTS! Miz ELBOWS Sanga, but Veer catches him! Veer puts Miz back int he corner, but Miz ducks the boot to tag Truth! Truth dodges Veer and starts up the shoulder tackles! Truth gets around Veer to SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Truth shouts out Cena with “You Can’t See Me!” Truth runs to Five Knuckle Shuffle!

Jinder is not happy now as Truth fireman’s carries! But Veer slips free! Truth drop toeholds to the STF!! The fans fire up but Sanga stomps Truth! Miz fires off kicks on Sanga, then body shots! Truth joins in, they mug and whip Sanga, to DOUBLE DROPKICK! Sanga staggers around, Veer runs up, but into a full nelson! Truth and Miz combine for a SKULL CRUSHING LIE DETECTOR!! But Sanga whips Miz away! Miz WRECKS Jinder with it, but Sanga runs up! Sanga knocks Miz down, Miz anchors Sanga, Sanga ELBOWS Truth, Truth falls onto Veer for the cover! Awesome Truth wins!!

Winners: The Awesome Truth, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

The fans fire up, and Truth doesn’t even realize what happened! Miz celebrates with Truth and Truth puts it together! They’re now one of the six in the ladder match! Will this combination of teamwork and luck be just what they need to take those titles from Judgment Day?

 

Sami confronts Gable now.

Sami tells Gable to tell him why. Why what? Why does Gable think Sami can’t beat Gunther? Well you just saw why! With Gunther, it isn’t just physical, it is mental. Sami made his career out of being the underdog that crawls his way out of any hole he’s in, right? Just like last week! Sami found the window of opportunity to get out of a bad situation any time he can. Gunther’s on a different level! You gonna sit and wait for that window to appear? It doesn’t happen with Gunther! He’s a different beast, a different animal. If Sami doesn’t change his mentality, then he can’t beat Gunther. Gable leaves Sami with a lot to think again. Is there a way Sami can change enough to defeat Der Ring General?

 

CM Punk speaks.

“Do I plan at being in WrestleMania? WrestleMania is in Philadelphia, what’re the first four letters in Philadelphia? Phil. You can’t have WrestleMania Philadelphia without Phil. Whether I’m invited or uninvited, Punk will be there.” And next week in Chicago, Punk returns to Raw! Will the Second City Saint find a way to be part of the biggest WrestleMania ever?

 

Drew McIntyre is here!

The Scottish Terminator, or as his new shirt says, “The Savior of WrestleMania,” makes his way to the ring, NC State a bit torn about seeing him. But then Seth Rollins is here, too!? McIntyre is upset but the fans sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as The Visionary struts his way out. Rollins swaggers right past McIntyre in his green storm pattern suit, and steps into the ring first. McIntyre frowns as he follows Rollins in, and sits in a corner. The fans continue to sing, which Rollins revels in for a moment. Rollins has the mic to then say, “RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA~! Welcome to Monday Night Rollins~!

“And Drew, hah, sorry, I didn’t even see you there. I was too busy, uh, y’know, soaking up the spotlight, right?” McIntyre has a mic to say, “Alright, here we go.” Here goes what, Drew? McIntyre says no, no, get it all out of your system, he knows Rollins has more! McIntyre can stay in the back while Rollins enjoys the spotlight, because after WrestleMania, that spotlight’s all McIntyre’s. Hey, hey, c’mon. Rollins is here with an honest cause. Rollins doesn’t like McIntyre, he thinks he’s stupid, a hypocrite, has said a lot of dumb things lately, but Rollins is here to admit that one thing McIntyre said is absolutely right and he wants to say it to McIntyre’s face, right here in Raleigh, in front of the fine people.

Now, they always say the first step to recovery is the hardest, so bare with Rollins. He has been working on this all week, but… “My name is Seth Freakin’ Rollins, and I’m a spotlight junkie.” The fans chant “Spotlight Junkie!” and also sing, but McIntyre says everything is just a joke to Rollins, isn’t it? Look at Rollins! He’s a parody of himself at this point. But honestly, McIntyre doesn’t care. He tried reasoning, he gave the answers, and now he only cares about their match and the world title. And you wanna know the real punchline, funny man? “What?” McIntyre says they say that because they’re happy McIntyre sidelined Punk, thanks for remembering!

But the punchline is when McIntyre beats Rollins for that title. The fans chant for “C M PUNK!” but McIntyre says don’t be ridiculous. Punk’s waiting until next week to return because he’d never show up in a place like Raleigh. The fans boo but McIntyre says see, they’re booing Punk! Punk is only getting off his couch to be at his local arena. Rollins tells McIntyre to shut up already. Oh, seems McIntyre got Rollins’ attention. Rollins takes off the sunglasses to say yeah, McIntyre has his attention. Because this isn’t a joke! When Rollins says he is a junkie, it isn’t a joke! He’s been doing this for 20 YEARS! Just like McIntyre!

And every time Rollins comes out of the curtain, that’s his fix. And it gets better and better every single time. Rollins comes out here, lays it all on the line, and it just gets better and better! When he hears the fans sing the song so loud, Rollins can barely speak, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” That’s Rollins’ fix! That is the spotlight he craves, and y’know what? Rollins wants the spotlight as bright as it can possibly be. So yeah, McIntyre’s been busy online entertaining people with memes, so he hasn’t been listening to Rollins. So Rollins will get this through McIntyre’s thick skull: Night One, Rollins takes the biggest star in Hollywood and his side chick, and makes them his b*tches!

Then on Night Two, the biggest spotlight possible will be shined down on McIntyre and Rollins and the World Heavyweight Championship! McIntyre says all hail the savior, Seth Rollins! This is what McIntyre wanted! The passion and desire, not the stupid laughing and dancing. Rollins had McIntyre all the way to the finish. Rollins has done this 20 years, just like McIntyre. They’ve given their lives to this industry, and that is what the title is about! The wrestlers’ title, the workhorse championship! Rollins had McIntyre with him until he mentioned the bigger spotlight and how Rollins pins one of the biggest stars in the world.

Why can’t it just be about Rollins’ hard work to make that title, and all of McIntyre’s hard work to get this chance? Why can’t that be the reason they’re getting the biggest spotlight!? Rollins has had his priorities all backwards, McIntyre has been giving him all the answers. McIntyre said he is over the BS, and all he cares about is Rollins making it to the ring on Night Two. And if Rollins can’t walk, then McIntyre will wheel him down. If not, McIntyre will carry Rollins down. At Mania, McIntyre doesn’t get the moment he deserves. He gets the moment he has bloody EARNED. The fans do cheer that!

Rollins smirks and says, “Ah, Drew. There it is. That’s right, you wanna call me a spotlight junkie, but you want the spotlight just as bad as I do, don’t you? You’re an addict, just like I am. And you’ve been begging for spotlight for the past four years, because you won the WrestleMania main event. You did, back in 2020, in an empty warehouse. And all we’ve been hearing from Drew McIntyre for the past four years was how that wasn’t good enough. You’ve been whining and complaining and bitching and moaning that you deserve better, that you deserve more. The problem is, Drew, when everybody came back around, and the lights got bright again, what happened? You fumbled the ball.

“And that’s the difference between you and me. When the lights are the brightest, I shine, baby. I shine bright. And at WrestleMania 40, the lights are gonna be as bright as they have ever been. And you are gonna find out you are not as good as you think you are.” Rollins drops the mic, but this time McIntyre smirks. The verbal battle continues, but who will put their money where their mouth is once this one finally happens?

 

Becky Lynch speaks.

“I’m a wanted woman, and I don’t even have the title. Yet. But we’re less than three weeks away from WrestleMania, so why would I risk it all? Because I don’t know anything else. All I know is taking risks. All I know is fighting. And all I know is tonight, I’m gonna be the Last Woman Standing.” Becky is fired up to finally do what she hasn’t done in the most extreme way possible. Will she be the immovable object to Nia’s irresistible force?

 

Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: The New Day VS The Alpha Academy!

Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods have been W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, CHAMPIONS~, but they’ve never been a part of a title match as big as this Six Pack Ladder challenge! Will they look to be part of history once again? Or will Akira Tozawa & Otis say “A THANK YEW~!” for this golden opportunity?

Raw returns as the Academy makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Woods starts against the tree trunk, Otis. The fans rally for “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Otis and Woods tie up, but Woods kicks low then headlocks. Otis powers up and out then runs Woods over! Otis storms up on Woods, GUT RAMS him back down, then brings him back up. Otis GUT RAMS Woods again, then runs to CLOBBER Woods! Otis swivels his hips, the fans echo “Oh~ yeah!” Otis tags Tozawa and the Academy mugs Woods. Tozawa brings Woods around but Woods CHOPS! Woods tags Kofi, he and Kofi double whip Tozawa but Tozawa holds ropes!

Tozawa fires hands, dodges Woods then BOOTS Woods down! Kofi kicks low, whips Tozawa to a corner, but Tozawa BOOTS Kofi away! Tozawa goes up to FLYING RANA! The fans fire up as Tozawa sees New Day regroup outside. Tozawa runs to DIVE! Direct hit on both New Day, and Otis joins in for “A THANK YEW~!” The Academy stands tall as Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Tozawa fights a chinlock. Tozawa reaches for Otis but Woods back suplexes. Tozawa lands out to then DROPKICK Woods down! The fans rally as Woods and Tozawa crawl, hot tags to Otis and Kofi! Otis CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then whips him to ropes. WRECKER ELBOW! Woods runs in, Otis dodges, to LARIAT! Otis sees Kofi leap off the corner, and catches him for a WORLD’S STRONGEST SLAM! Otis rips the shirt off, winds up the hips, and then starts up the CATERPILLAR! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Kofi survives but Otis hurries to step on him! Tag to Tozawa, and Otis goes up!

Otis VADER BOMBS but FLOPS as Kofi moves! Tozawa hurries up top while Kofi SUPERKICKS Otis! Kofi turns around into the CROSSBODY from Tozawa! Cover, TWO! Tozawa SUPERKICKS Kofi but Woods tags in! Woods GAMANGIRIS Tozawa, then steps in to TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Tozawa toughs it out but Woods grits his teeth as he goes to the corner. Woods climbs, but Tozawa rises! Tozawa throws body shots, Woods CLUBS Tozawa! Tozawa throws more hands and climbs up! The fans rally as they brawl up top! Tozawa brings Woods up but Woods fights the lift! Woods throws body shots in return!

Woods shifts position to get under Tozawa for a fireman’s carry! But then Tozawa pops up to SUPER STEINER!! Tozawa rips off his shirt, climbs back up top, SUPER SENTON!! Cover, Kofi breaks it! The fans fire up but Otis drags Kofi out! Otis whips Kofi at steps, Kofi goes up and jumps off the steps to TORNADO DDT to the floor! Kofi hurries back up to the apron but Tozawa SCREW HIGH KICKS him down! Tozawa dodges Woods, pop-up, but Woods blocks the rana to then SPINNING POWERBOMB! Woods sees the WrestleMania sign, hurries up the corner, and he tightrope walks! LIMIT BREAK ELBOW!! Cover, New Day wins!

Winners: The New Day, by pinfall (advance to WrestleMania)

The New Day are the ones saying A THANK YEW~ as they put their names down for the Six Pack Ladder Match! Will they once again climb to the top of the WWE Tag Team Division and bring home those championships?

 

Liv Morgan confronts Becky Lynch.

Becky asks if she’ll have to watch out for Liv as well. Well, you should always #WatchMe, but no, not tonight. Nia is all Becky’s. Liv just wants Becky to kick Nia’s ass. Liv leaves, will Becky kick ass and then some?

 

Cody walks with his dog, Pharaoh, backstage.

Rollins finds him and brings up Friday. One on one? One on one. Rollins nods and says he loves Pharaoh’s bandanna. The Visionary trusts the American Nightmare can handle himself, but will we be able to trust The Tribal Chief?

 

Last Woman Standing: Becky Lynch VS Nia Jax!

From the origins of “The Man” in WWE to the aftermath of Elimination Chamber: Perth, these two have battled, but never as brutally as this! They’re able to go anywhere and do anything, but who will be the Last Woman Standing this close to WrestleMania 40?

The bell rings and the two rush in! Becky DROPKICKS Nia and Nia goes to a corner. Becky runs in but Nia puts Becky on the apron. Becky ROCKS Nia, goes up a corner, then leaps to MISSILE DROPKCIK! Nia stumbles and tumbles out of the ring, so Becky WRECKS her with another dropkick! Becky then goes to the apron for a FLYING FOREARM! Nia stays up, Becky tries again, but Nia dodges! Fireman’s carry and Nia POSTS Becky, to then SAMOAN DROP her into barriers! The ref counts as Becky is down, but she stands at 4 of 10. Nia CLOBBERS Becky and wants the count! The count climbs but Nia is impatient.

Nia clears off the desk, Becky stands at 5 of 10, and she leans against barriers. Becky comes back with body shots and haymakers, but Nia ROCKS her with a forearm! Becky staggers away as Raw goes to break!

Raw returns and Becky is bringing out a table! The fans fire up as Becky sets that up ringside. There’s been a lot of chaos during the break according to commentary, from chairs to kendo sticks to even a copy of Becky’s book, The Man: Not Your Average Average Girl! But Nia storms over to stop Becky and SMACK her off the desk! Nia puts Becky in the ring, takes that table for her own and sets it up. The table doesn’t cooperate and fans boo, but Nia goes for chairs instead. She slides those in the ring, Becky manages to stand at 7 of 10, and she grabs at those chairs. Nia ditches the table, it just doesn’t wanna work.

Nia storms in but Becky JAMS her with a chair, SMACKS her with it, then clinches! Nia fights the slam, fireman’s carries Becky, and FULL METAL SAMOAN DROPS!! Becky writhes from hitting chairs but Nia looms over her. Nia soaks up the heat as she counts along. Becky flounders to ropes and drags herself up at 7! Nia sits a chair up, fans want a table, but Nia scoops Becky. Becky slips around to a SLEEPER! Nia RAMS Becky into buckles again and again until Becky lets go. But then Becky BULLDOGS Nia off the chair! Nia is down for the count now, and Becky leans against ropes to stay up herself.

Nia stirs at 5, stands at 8, but Becky is up top! Becky leaps, into a CHAIR SHOT! Nia SMACKS Becky again and again and again! The fans boo but Nia finally stops. Nia puts that chair aside and goes out to get some kendo sticks! Nia puts those in, but Becky grabs one! Nia snatches it from her to SMACK! And SMACK! And SMACK! Becky sputters and staggers, Nia clinches and scoops! Nia SLAMS Becky onto chairs! Then Nia runs to drop the leg, brother! Nia wants the count and the count begins! Becky sputters as we reach 5 of 10. Becky grabs that kendo stick but Nia SMACKS Becky with a chair! And again!

Nia kicks Becky around, then uses the chair to take a seat on Becky’s body!! The fans boo as the count begins, but Becky SMACKS Nia with the kendo stick! And again and again and again, even in the butt! Nia stands up, into more shots! Becky stands and she fires away until Nia scurries out of the ring! Becky pursues but Nia CLOBBERS her! Nia pulls the steel steps apart now, and takes that top half to RAM Becky down! Becky flounders, Nia hauls her up and puts her in the ring. Becky’s on the apron and Nia takes aim! Nia runs up, APRN LEG DROP only gets apron! Becky avoids disaster, then has Nia by the steps! DDT onto the steel!

Nia is down again and the count begins. Nia stirs at 5 of 10, sits up at 6, but Becky SMACKS her off steps! Nia falls over again and the count resets. Becky hurries to go looking for things while Nia rises again. Becky has a new table! The fans fire up as Becky gets that in the ring. Nia stands at 7, staggers after Becky, and Raw goes back to break.

Raw returns once again and Nia mugs Becky against barriers! Nia puts Becky on a table, and surprise! There’s a ladder set up now! Nia climbs the ladder?! She also demands Pat support the ladder. But Becky gets off the table so now Nia has no reason to be up there. Nia storms after Becky, but gets a FIRE EXTINGUISHER BLAST!! The fans fire up as Becky cools Nia off, then JAMS her with the canister! Becky puts Nia in the ring, and there’s a table waiting in a corner! Becky lines up the shot, and runs in, but Nia SAMOAN DROPS Becky through the table!!! Both women are down in the wreckage and the count begins!

Nia flounders away from the wreckage but she still needs to stand. Nia is up at 5, and she isn’t satisfied with this! She drags Becky all the way to another corner and puts her in the drop zone! Nia climbs up, for the A-NIA-LATOR!! Nia shouts for the count, the count begins, and Nia storms around as she points to the Mania sign. Becky is still down at 5 of 10, only starts stirring at 7, and she slumps out of the ring to stand up! Nia is furious, goes out after Becky, and kicks things aside to keep after her. Nia asks if Becky’s vision is blurry. Nia fireman’s carries Becky up the steel steps and along the apron, aiming for that other table!

The fans freak out but Becky fights with elbows! Becky CLUBS away on Nia and the fans are thunderous! Becky then clinches, for a MANHANDLE SLAM through the table!!! Both women are down int he wreckage again, and the count begins! Becky sits up at 4 while fans are still losing their minds! We pass 5 of 10, then 7! Nia sits up at 8 and stands at 9! But then she slumps back over! The count starts again, Nia flounders around and stands at 5. Becky goes up the ladder! Becky sees Nia approaching the desk, and then SUPER MAN’S LEG DROP through the desk!!! The fans lose their minds again while both men are down in more wreckage!

The count is 5 of 10! Becky flounders and crawls, drags herself up at 9, but Nia is still down! BECKY WINS!!

Winner: Becky Lynch

The Man conquers truly one of the most intense challenges in her career! But then here comes one of the most intense champions! The fans fire up as Rhea Ripley makes her way out, Women’s World Championship in hand. She goes right to the ring and looks at Becky. Rhea “congratulates” Becky for winning, but then Becky gets in Rhea’s face! The fans fire up, and now there are no obstacles in the way of Mami VS The Man! Who will be the champion after WrestleMania 40?


My Thoughts:

 


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Mitchell’s NJPW New Japan Cup Results & Report! (3/18/24)

The semifinals are here!

Published

on

We’re just one step away from the Cup!

Cold Skull faces The Fierce Warrior, and Gene Blast faces The King of Darkness, and when the smoke clears, we will have our New Japan Cup finalists!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

  • Boltin Oleg & Shoma Kato VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Mikey Nicholls; ZSJ & Mikey win.
  • Six Man Tag: El Desperado, Tomohiro Ishii & Togi Makabe VS Just5Guys; Just5Guys win.
  • Tanga Loa & Ryusuke Taguchi VS Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman; Loa & Taguchi win.
  • Six Man Tag: YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano & Hiroyoshi Tenzan VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
  • 8 Man Tag: Shota Umino, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & YOH VS The House of Torture; Shota, ELP, Leo & Yoh win.
  • Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS The United Empire; LIJ wins.
  • 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL; Tsuji wins and advances to the finals.
  • 2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto; Goto wins and advances to the finals.

PLAY BY PLAY

2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: Yota Tsuji VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!

The Gene Blast overcame the tricks Ren Narita tried, but that’s because the House of Torture was saving all the good stuff so they could slay the Rampaging Dragon. Will the deck be even more stacked to make sure Everything is Evil’s? Or will Yota be one step away from LIJ VS LIJ at Sakura Genesis?

Well, Dick is making his way out here, but where is Evil? Oh, there he is. No tricks just yet it seems. But then Yota DIVES onto Evil! The fans fire up but Dick attacks Yota! Dick whips, Yota stops himself, and then scoops Dick for a BACKBREAKER! The fans fire up and Yota wants the bell. The ref says yes, ring the bell, and this is on the record! Yota stomps and CLUBS Evil, then whips, but Evil reverses! Yota hits railing, and then Evil whips him into more railing! Evil CHOKES Yota against the railing, Yota fights back, but the ref gets knocked aside! Evil puts Yota in so he and Dick can stomp away!

The fans boo but here comes the rest of the House already! Narita, Yujiro, Kanemaru and Jack all stomp away on Yota, but here come Bushi & Hiromu! It’s a replay of yesterday as LIJ fights off the House, but the numbers are still against them! The ref rushes in to tell everyone to stop! Evil shoves the ref out of the ring, Yota fires off on him, but Evil CLAWS Yota’s eyes! The House CHOKES LIJ, but the ref says stop! The bell rings, but what is the decision!? NO CONTEST!?

No Contest

What does this mean!? Someone has to advance, right? The finals aren’t until the 20th, how can there be a no contest? The House started this, where’re the consequences?! Yota gets up but Evil TOSSES him back out! LIJ regroups and Yota asks for a mic. Yota tells Evil that he’s sick and tired of this! They ARE gonna finish this match! The fans like the sound of that! All the refs come out, including Red Shoes, to discuss how this will be handled. For starters, they tell all the extras to get outta here! LIJ is cool with that, and Hiromu tells the House to come along. Evil says fine, and Jack, Kanemaru, Narita, Yujiro and even Dick reluctantly exit.

The announcement is officially made, and the bell rings! Yota and Evil rush in, Evil kicks low but Yota CLUBS away on Evil! Evil CLAWS the eyes! Evil kicks, runs, RAMS, but Yota rebounds to run Evil over! Then run and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Yota fires up and the fans are with him! Evil bails out but the fans rally for Yota. Evil wants Yota to stay back, then he slides in, only to slide right out! Yota runs out after Evil, but Evil kicks him! Evil RAMS Yota into the timekeeper! Abe-san and his table go flying! Evil gets the mic to tell Yota that this is what he gets! The fans boo but Evil tells them off, too! Evil stomps Yota then soaks up the heat.

Evil unties the blue buckle pad himself, then waits in the ring. The ref checks Yota and the fans rally up again. The Young Lions help Abe-san while Yota drags himself up. Yota slides in, the fans cheer, but Evil pulls on Yota’s hair! Evil wrenches the hair, then wrenches it again! And again! Evil CLUBS the hair! The ref reprimands but Evil just dusts off his hands. Evil covers, but the ref refuses to count! Evil is furious but he’s the one up to no good! The ref still says no, so Evil stands on Yota’s head. The fans rally up, Yota rises, and he grins as he winds up to ROCK Evil with a forearm! And ROCK him with another!

Yota ROCKS Evil again, but Evil whips him into the bare buckles! Yota falls and the ref reprimands about the missing buckle pad. Evil stomps Yota, covers, TWO! The fans cheer but Evil is annoyed. Evil scuffs Yota, taunts him, and drags him up. Evil CHOPS, Yota drops to his knees, but Evil stands him back up. Evil CHOPS again and Yota grits his teeth as he drops to his knees! Evil stands Yota up again, to fake the chop to CLAW the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil lets off, and then Evil stands on Yota in a corner. The ref counts, Evil lets go of the ropes but that’s not the problem! Evil steps away, drags Yota up but claims he’s dead weight.

The ref checks, Evil stands Yota up and wrenches an arm. Evil whips Yota into a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Evil runs in again, blocks the boot, but Yota brings Evil in for the STOMP! The fans fire up while Yota rests on the mat. The fans rally up and Yota rises again. Evil’s in the corner, runs out, but into the BACKBREAKER! COMPLETE SHOT! STOMP! The fans fire up again as Yota stands back up. Yota runs, to CURB STOMP!! Yota roars and the fans fire up again! Evil flounders while Yota aims. Yota runs in, but the ref is used as a shield! Evil kicks Yota low, then uses the ref in MAGIC KILLER!

All three men are down while the fans rally up again. Evil stands, he brings Yota up, and the ref also rises. Evil whips Yota into the bare buckles, then clotheslines him in! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, but Evil lets off?! Evil wants to torture Yota but it’s hard to say if Yota is still even in this. Yota opens his eyes, rises up, but Evil fireman’s carries! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Yota survives, the fans fire up, but Evil is furious! Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this now! Evil drags Yota up, spins him around, but Yota fights the STO with elbows! Evil kicks low, whips again, but Yota stops from hitting buckles!

Evil runs in, Yota dodges and Evil hits the buckles! SUPERKICK!! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! We’re only ten minutes into this new match but this is on top of the madness from earlier. Evil drags Yota up, but Yota ROCKS Evil! Evil fights Yota’s fireman’s carry and CLUBS him, but both men wobble. Evil LARIATS, but Yota stays up! The fans fire up but Evil swings to LARIAT again! Yota drops to a knee, but he grins through the pain! Evil says alright, and he throws off his elbow pad. Evil runs to LARIAT! Yota grits his teeth to stay up! V-TRIGGER! Yota brings Evil in, suplexes, ORANGE CRUSH! Cover, TWO!!

Evil is still in this but the fans rally behind Yota again. Yota rises, drags Evil up, and then goes to the corner. Yota goes up and up and Evil moves the ref into the way! The ref takes the FLYING CURB STOMP!!! And now the House returns! The fans boo as Kanemaru, Dick, Yujiro, Narita & Jack all stomp away on Yota again! The fans tell them to go home, again, but these guys don’t care! They just put one out on Yota. They whip Yota to a corner, then DIck runs in to ELBOW! Kanemaru ELBOWS! Yujiro BOOTS! Jack SPLASHES! Narita ELBOWS! Then they snapmare and set Yota up! Dick climbs for the DICK CHOP!!

The fans boo but the House applauds their own dirtiness. But here come Bushi & Hiromu again! But they just get mugged again! They set Hiromu up for the DICK CHOP, while Bushi gets a JACK CHOP! The House then slithers away before a replacement ref rushes out here. Evil drags Yota up, winds up and runs, to LARIAT!! Cover, TWO!!! Yota survives and the fans are thunderous! Evil is at a loss for words, but he slashes his throat! He vows to end it for real, and he reels Yota in. EVERYTHING IS- Yota flips through!? And HEADBUTTS!! The fans fire up as Yota reels Evil in for a fireman’s carry! 70 CROSS!! Cover, TWO!!

Evil survives the swinging spinebuster and the House cheers! Yota drags himself to a corner, drags himself up with the ropes, and roars as he takes aim! Evil rises, but Yujiro distracts! Dick runs in, but gets a V-TRIGGER! The ref sees Dick, but misses the LOW BLOW! Then Evil RAMS Yota into the ref! That’s the second ref this match! Narita gets his push-up bar! The others set Yota up, but here comes SHINGO TAKAGI! The Rampaging Dragon has seen enough, and he’s still pissed from yesterday as it is! He dodges Narita to PUMPING BOMBER! Kanemaru & Yujiro kick Takagi, double whip, but he DOUBLE PUMPING BOMBERS!!

Jack gets in, but he gets ELBOW, JAB and YUKON LARIAT! Evil runs up but Takagi SWATS Evil’s lariat to JAB! Then feed to Hiromu’s SUPERKICK! Hiromu & Takagi set Evil up for Bushi’s BLACK MIST!! Evil can’t see, the PUMPING BOMBER turns him inside-out!! The fans are thunderous as LIJ helps Yota up! Red Shoes hurries out here, and Yota aims at Evil! GENE BLASTER!!! Cover, Yota wins!!!

Winner: Yota Tsuji, by pinfall (advances to the finals)

The House of Torture ran out of tricks, and now there is light at the end of the tournament! Will Yota do LIJ proud and bring home the Cup?

 

2024 New Japan Cup Semifinals: SANADA VS Hirooki Goto!

One down, one to go. Yota Tsuji has made it through, now we see who joins him in the finals! Will the Cold Skull or Fierce Warrior be the one that steps closer to former glory?

The bell rings and the fans duel between “GO-TO-O!” and “SA-NA-DA!” Red Shoes measures the levels, and it seems to slightly favor Goto. Goto and Sanada circle, tie up, and are in a deadlock. Goto gets some leverage to put Sanada against ropes, but he lets off slowly. Goto pats Sanada on the shoulders and the fans cheer. The two reset, circle again, and tie up again. It’s another deadlock, but again Goto finds a way to put Sanada on ropes. Sanada turns things around, lets off slowly, and also pats Goto on the shoulders. The fans applaud and the two reset again. They feel things out, knuckle lock, then move to a clinch.

They fight for control, Sanada starts pushing Goto towards a corner but Goto slips away. They feel things out, knuckle lock again, then break. They tie up collar ‘n’ elbow, Goto waistlocks, but Sanada wrenches to wristlock. Goto rolls, wrenches, wristlocks, but Sanada spins, wrenches, only for Goto to roll! Goto gets a leg to trip Sanada up, and he has a toehold. Sanada fights back with a chinlock but Goto pulls on the leg. Sanada uses his free leg to hook Goto into an ARMBAR, but Goto clasps hands! Goto moves around, pops free, then headlocks. Sanada fights up, Goto grinds the headlock, but Sanada throws body shots.

Sanada powers up and out, but Goto runs him over! The fans rally as things speed up, and Goto counters hip toss with hip toss! Goto runs and he clotheslines Sanada up and out! The fans fire up and Goto slides out after Sanada. Goto stomps Sanada, drags him up, then CLUBS him on the neck! Sanada staggers, Goto CHOPS him, then kicks him, then CLUBS him! Goto whips but Sanada stops himself from hitting railing! Goto runs in but Sanada drop toeholds him into the railing! Goto goes down in a heap, but Sanada opens the gate. Sanada brings Goto through, then to the crowd! PILEDRIVER to the bare floor!

The fans are stunned but Red Shoes reprimands. Sanada leaves Goto behind and slides into the ring. The fans rally for Goto as the ring count begins. Goto crawls at 5 of 20, finds his way to ringside at 10, but still hobbles and crawls. He stands at 17 to slide in! The fans cheer, but Sanada stomps Goto. Sanada drags Goto up, CLUBS him on the neck, then brings him back up to CLUB him again. Goto CHOPS! And CHOPS! Sanada eggs Goto on so Goto CHOPS again! Goto whips, Sanada reverses to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Cover, TWO! Sanada keeps cool and sits Goto up into a chinlock. Goto endures and the fans rally again.

Goto kicks forward, reaches out, but Sanada cranks on the hold! Goto keeps fighting, and has the ROPEBREAK! Sanada lets go cleanly, but then he stomps Goto while he’s down. Sanada then stands Goto up to CLUB him on the neck. Goto CHOPS in return! And CHOPS, and CHOPS, and has Sanada in a corner! Goto CHOPS again, then whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, but Sanada BOOTS first! Sanada runs, Goto follows, and Goto LARIATS Sanada down! The fans fire up and Goto rises, clutching his neck. Goto stands Sanada up to fire off forearms, then he whips corner to corner. Goto runs in, MURAMASA!

Sanada wobbles, into the SAIDO! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up while Goto grits his teeth. Goto drags Sanada up, fireman’s carries, but Sanada fights free! Sanada waistlocks, Goto throws elbows, then runs. Sanada hurdles, hurdles, and DROPKICKS! Goto tumbles out of the ring, Sanada PLANCHAS him down! The fans fire up and Sanada encourages them to get louder. The fans get louder and Sanada appreciates it. Sanada then goes back for Goto, brings him up and puts him in the ring. Sanada fireman’s carries but Goto throws elbows! Sanada turns around into Goto’s fireman’s carry, but then slips out into the dragon sleeper!

But Goto arm-drags free! Sanada kicks low, runs, but Goto follows! Sanada dodges this time, runs again, but Goto still follows! Sanada sidesteps this time, but Goto holds ropes to avoid the hurdle! Goto runs in, but Sanada fireman’s carries! T K O! Cover, TWO! Goto is still in this and the fans rally up! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY- NO, Sanada has to land out as Goto moves! Sanada runs in, but into the fireman’s carry! USHIGOROSHI! Both men are down and the fans fire up again! They cheer on “GO-TO-O!” but the “SA-NA-DA!” chants are still there. Red Shoes checks them both, and both men slowly rise.

The two crawl towards each other, and Goto fires a forearm! Sanada shakes his head, eggs Goto on, so Goto throws another! Goto eggs Sanada on, so Sanada fires a forearm! Goto fires a forearm back, and the two stand. Sanada UPPERCUTS! Goto comes back to forearm! Sanada UPPERCUTS again, and Goto drops back to a knee! The fans rally, Goto stands again, and he forearms! UPPERCUT, forearm, repeat! Goto growls, fires a flurry of forearms, and he ROCKS Sanada! Sanada drops to his hand and knees but Goto powers up! Goto KICKS but Sanada blocks! Goto fires more forearms, then waistlocks, but Sandaa fights free!

Sanada runs, but Goto fireman’s carries! And he throws Sanada into the dragon sleeper! But Sanada turns around and suplexes, for MAGIC SCREW! Both men are down again and the fans fire back up! Sanada roars as he rises up, and he aims from a corner. Sanada wants Goto to get up, and Goto sits up, into the SHINING WIZARD! Sanada then dragon sleepers, for the SKULL END!! Goto endures, flails, reaches out, but he’s caught in the body scissors! Goto fights around but he’s fading! The fans rally, Goto’s hand drops! Sanada lets him go to then climb! ROUNDING BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO!!

The fans fire up as Goto survives but Sanada storms around. Sanada drags Goto up, reels him in and clinches, but Goto slips free to shove Sanada away! Sanada forearms, ROLLING- HEADBUTT from Goto! The fans fire up and duel, and Goto drags Sanada up. But Sanada breaks free! Goto HEADBUTTS again! Sanada falls back down and Goto steadies himself. Goto roars, the fans are with him, and Goto sits Sanada up. Goto runs to PENALTY KICK! Shoutout to Shibata and the fans fire up more! Sanada grits his teeth as he sits back up but Goto takes aim! BUZZSAW! And then he hauls Sanada up to dragon sleeper! G T- BACKSLIDE COUNTER! TWO!!!

Sanada and Goto hurry up, Sanada dodges to O’Conner BRIDGE!! TWO?!!? Goto escapes and shocks everyone! Sanada resets, runs in, SHINING WIZARD!! The fans are thunderous as Sanada roars and drags Goto back up! Clinch and DEAD- NO, Goto slips around to ripcord and fireman’s carry! G T W!! Cover, TWO?!?!? Sanada survives but Goto is all fired up! The fans are thunderous as Goto dragon sleepers for G T R!!! Cover, GOTO WINS!!!

Winner: Hirooki Goto, by pinfall (advances to the finals)

Don’t call it a comeback, Goto’s been here for years! Sanada’s hopes of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion again have been delayed, how long must he wait for another chance?

As for Goto, he’s going back to the New Japan Cup Finals for the first time since 2016, and his seventh overall! But before he can get the mic to speak, Yota makes his way back out here. Yota steps into the ring and he gets the mic first. Yota tells Goto, “In order to open the door to a new era, we must do this.” The fans applaud that, and Yota continues by asking Goto, “Are you ready?!” Yota drops the mic at Goto’s feet, and Goto stands up to speak. “I also have something I want to show you. As a three-time New Japan Cup Champion, I will show you my strength.” The fans like the sound of that!

The Fierce Warrior stares down with Gene Blast, a true generational showdown on the horizon! Will Goto return not juts to former glory, but finally ascend to top of NJPW? Or will Yota make it LIJ VS LIJ for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship?


My Thoughts:

A great semifinal round for this tournament, with quite a surprising main event. Sanada VS Goto was great stuff, and while I felt Sanada wasn’t winning the Cup, I didn’t think he’d be out this round. Yota VS Evil was rather creatively put together, too. I did not think the House would get so involved that at first it was a No Contest but then they restart under a ringside ban. Takagi making sure Yota won was good stuff, too, maybe we can get Takagi VS Evil for the NEVER Openweight Championship if they’re not gonna circle back to more Shota Umino VS House of Torture stuff.

Goto VS Yota is going to be great stuff, and Goto is clearly a top utility guy. He’s had so many New Japan Cup finals appearances, certainly among the most ever, but I don’t think he gets a fourth Cup win against Yota, one of the “new era Musketeers” that NJPW clearly loves. Yota VS Naito is definitely the title match for Sakura Genesis.

My Score: 8.9/10


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