Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (6/17/20)

Two tag title matches in one night!

Published

4 years ago

June 18, 2020

Steven Mitchell

NXT puts the spotlight on tag team wrestling!

Not only will Imperium defend their NXT Tag Team Championships, but Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart have their shot at the WWE Women’s Tag titles!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

NXT Tag Team Championships: Imperium VS Breezango; Imperium wins and retains the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Damian Priest VS Killian Dain; Priest wins.
Xia Li VS Aliyah; Aliyah wins.
Kayden Carter w/ Kacy Catanzaro VS Dakota Kai w/ Raquel Gonzalez; Dakota wins.
Bronson Reed VS Leon Ruff; Reed wins.
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bayley & Sasha Banks VS Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart; Bayley & Banks win and retain the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

PLAY BY PLAY

NXT Tag Team Championships: Imperium VS Breezango!

There’s no time to waste on tonight’s tag team title double feature! Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner vow to uphold Imperium’s solemn principles that the mat is sacred. While Tyler Breeze and Fandango love to have fun before and after the bell, they do agree that it’s time to get serious. Who seriously gets beaten and who gets the gold?

Wait, what’s this? Emporium? It’s Breezango parodying Marcel and Fabian as “Marsupial” and “Fabio!” This isn’t going to help the mood the Impeccable German and the Pride of Italy are in! The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and it’s time to start this night of tag team gold!

The bell rings and Imperium attacks Breezango! This is what they get for making jokes! Fandango is sent out of the ring while Barthel tears Breeze’s track suit off to throw it at him! Barthel drags Breeze up to ROCK with an uppercut and stomp away in the corner! The ref counts, Barthel backs off, but Barthel grinds Breeze with a headlock. Barthel snapmares and KICKS Breeze while he’s down! Barthel clamps on a chinlock but Breeze fights up. Breeze jawbreakers free then throws haymakers. Aichner tags in, Barthel whips Breeze away and Aichner arm-drags Breeze down! Aichner cranks on the arm but Breeze fights his way up. Breeze throws hands and arm-drags, but Aichner holds on to drag Breeze back down.

Aichner cranks on Breeze but Breeze fights his way up. Breeze throws body shots but Aichner headlocks. Breeze powers out but Aichner holds ropes, only for Breeze to crossbody them both out of the ring! Breeze gets up, Barthel looms close but the ref has him back off. But then Fandango comes over, the ref is busy with him, and Barthel sucker punches Breeze! Barthel brings Breeze around to feed to Aichner’s alley-oop! Breeze crashes head first into Plexiglas! Aichner drags Breeze up and into the ring, covers, ONE! Breeze toughs it out but Aichner scrapes his soles on Breeze’s face. Aichner drags Breeze up, whips him to the corner, but the crowd rallies as Barthel tags in. Imperium mugs Breeze in the corner and talks trash, but Breeze hits back. Barthel clubs Breeze down and shouts, “NEIN!”

Barthel drags Breeze up to cravat and snapmare, then sits Breeze up for a keylock sleeper hold. Breeze fights up, fights free, but Barthel CLUBS him back down. Barthel drags Breeze up, back suplexes, but Breeze lands on his feet! Breeze baits Barthel in to send him out! Breeze crawls, hot tag to Fandango! Aichner tags in but gets a BOOT! Fandango leaps to knee Aichner down! Barthel runs into a hip toss neckbreaker! Fandango dodges Aichner for the spinning powerslam! The crowd fires up with the Lord of the Dance, and he uses Barthel to help in the TORNADO DDT! Aichner bails out but Fandango builds speed. Fandango FLIES to take Imperium down at the ramp! All four men are down as NXT goes to break!

NXT returns and Breeze suplexes Barthel up and over! Cover, TWO, but Breeze brings Barthel up. Barthel kicks low then whips him towards the corner. Breeze reverses but Barthel puts him up top. Aichner tags in, Barthel enziguris Breeze, then rocket launches him into Aichner’s BRAIN BUSTER! Cover, but Fandango breaks it! Aichner protests but Fandango goes back to his corner. Aichner drags Breeze back up, tags Barthel in, and then Imperium mugs Prince Pretty. Barthel circles around Breeze like a shark as the crowd rallies up. Barthel talks trash while bringing Breeze up by his ear. Breeze pops free to PELE! Breeze drags Barthel over and tags in Fandango. Catapult to the forearm! Slingshot for the 21st Century Classic! Do Miz and Morrison know about this? Cover, Aichner barrels into Breeze to break it up!

All four men are down again, Breeze and Aichner go back to their corners. Fandango runs in at Barthel at the corner, blocks Barthel’s boot, but gets his kick for it! Tag to Aichner and he reels Fandango in while Barthel goes up. But Fandango back drops to deny the EuroBomb! Barthel leaps into the SUPER MODEL KICK! Fandango SUPERKICKS Aichner! Fandango hurries while Aichner is down, LAST DANCE LEG DROP! Cover, but Barthel breaks it! Breeze returns to run at Barthel but he’s sent out! Fandango clotheslines Barthel out and is alone with Aichner in the ring. But wait, Indus Sher and Malcolm Bivens appear! Rinku and Saurav loom dangerously close to Breeze and Barthel, but the BritAm Bruisers get them first! Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch take the fight to Bivens’ behemoths!

The referee shouts for the uninvited teams to get out but Breeze puts Barthel in. Barthel knocks Breeze onto the brawling four! Fandango rolls Barthel but it’s Aichner who is legal! BASEMENT DDT! Cover, Imperium wins!

Winners: Imperium, by pinfall (still NXT Tag Team Champions)

Barthel & Aichner owe a lot to the chaos at ringside. Oney and Burch kept Indus Sher from ruining things, but they didn’t mean for it to go this way. Are the tag team champions going to be surrounded by contenders hungry for the gold?

Tom Phillips interviews The Velveteen Dream via NXT video.

The Dream did not win at TakeOver: In Your House in the Backlot Brawl, and that means he cannot challenge for the NXT Championship while Adam Cole still reigns. But Dream says that’s the wrong line of questioning. The question should be how Tom Phillips has been in the WWE for ten years and this is the first time they’ve talked. Wait, creeping up behind Dream is Dexter Lumis!! He leaves Dream a message in the form of a drawing while Dream is telling Phillips that Dream has “no recollection” of his loss. Then he sees the calling card left by Lumis. It’s of the two of them… As NXT Tag Team Champions? Well, now this is a misunderstanding, Lumis. Lumis helped Dream against the Undisputed Era, and Dream returned the favor. The drawing means nothing to Dream, because he is a solo act. What will it take for such an eclectic duo to become more than just a far off dream?

Damian Priest arrives at Full Sail.

The Archer of Infamy wants to get himself right, too. Cameron Grimes is creeping in the background, probably making sure Priest doesn’t see him at all. Priest returns to action, after the break.

Damian Priest VS Killian Dain!

The Archer of Infamy may have lost to The Prince, but he hasn’t let that kill his ego. He still vows to #LiveForever, but will he be able to survive the Beast of Belfast?

The bell rings and Dain circles with Damian. They tie up, Dain powers Priest to ropes but Priest powers back. They go along the ropes, Dain has Priest in the corner but Priest powers him back. Dain headlocks, Priest powers out but the two collide with shoulders. Neither falls so Priest eggs Dain on. Things speed up, both men show some agility, but then Priest hurdles, only for his back to spasm. Dain takes advantage with a BIG shotgun dropkick! And then clubbing forearms! Dain goes after the bad back, the leftovers of that fall onto steel! Priest fights off the back suplex with elbows then an ear clap! Priest BOOTS Dain to a corner, then runs in, only to be put on the apron. Priest’s back bothers him again, but he dodges Dain to ROUNDHOUSE him back!

Priest gets in but Dain has him at the ropes to club away over and over! Dain goes to a corner while Priest is stuck, for a GUILLOTINE LEG DROP! Priest is growling in pain but Dain just keeps on his lumbar with forearms and hammering fists. Dain pulls Priest back in a low rider camel clutch. The crowd rallies up and Priest fights up, only for Dain to knee his back. Priest again fights off the suplex but Dain headbutts him back. Priest elbows Dain away, fires off kicks, then fast hands, but Dain ducks the People’s Punch to hit a back suplex! Dain holds on to drag Priest up for another back suplex! And then another, that turns into a sit out facebuster! Cover, TWO!! Priest refuses to stay down so Dain drags him back up. Dain clubs the bad back again, reels him in and suplexes, but Priest makes it a crossbody!

Priest gets to a corner, Dain runs in but only gets buckles! The crowd rallies as Priest pushes through the pain. Dain gets up, Priest fires off haymakers! Dain body shots but Priest bobs ‘n’ weaves to uppercut, forearm and kick away! Priest ROCKS Dain, then CLOBBERS him with that right! The crowd fires up as Priest whips Dain corner to corner. Dain reverses, Priest goes up and leaps to forearm Dain down! Cover, TWO! Dain is tough but Priest won’t lose focus. Priest runs corner to corner for a leaping back elbow! He keeps moving, and hits a corner to corner uppercut! The bad back slows him but Priest wants a third, only to get the DIVIDE! Cover, TWO!! Priest still lives but Dain won’t let up.

Dain drags Priest to a corner, Electric Chair lifts, but Priest fights off Ulster Plantation to a victory roll! TWO, but Priest hits the CYCLONE KICK! Dragon sleeper, RECKONING! Cover, Priest wins!

Winner: Damian Priest, by pinfall

Priest survives a tough fight with a big beast. Priest hasn’t attained the immortality he desires, but will he hit the mark soon enough?

NXT hears from Santos Escobar.

The man formerly known as El Hijo del Fantasma stands with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, who were his fellow conspirators all along. “When you turn your back on a legacy, a new future is born.” Now, they rewrite the history of lucha libre in their own words, starting tonight. What do Escobar and his allies have in store for NXT and the Cruiserweight Division?

NXT shares footage from during the break.

Killian Dain was making his exit when he spotted a very distraught, sloven and perhaps drunk Robert Stone leaning on the Plexiglas, practically asleep. Dain BANGED the Plexiglas and Stone fell over! Is Stone okay?

Xia Li VS Aliyah!

It’s time to get spicy as this red hot rivalry returns! Will Xia and Aliyah finally settle the score?

But as Aliyah makes her entrance, she sees the down and out Robert Stone. She goes over to him to help him up. Stone won’t give up his brown paper bag of booze, but he does go with Aliyah to ringside. She wants him to watch her match closely, but how well can he even see with smudged glasses and beer goggles?

The bell rings and Xia ties up with Aliyah. The two go around the ropes, Aliyah arm-drags and hits a Thesz Press! She throws fast hands but Xia gets up to throw fast kicks! Aliyah freaks out and goes on the defensive in a corner! The ref counts, Xia rams into Aliyah then puts her up top. Xia CHOPS Aliyah but Aliyah SLAPS back! Aliyah reels Xia in for a tornado NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Aliyah is already frustrated and she pushes Xia around. Xia gets mad and hops up to ENZIGURI! Xia kips up and rallies on Aliyah with clotheslines and kicks! Aliyah flounders to a corner, Xia runs in, and hits a SUPER FOREARM! Xia keeps moving, DYANMIC DROPKICK!

Stone flounders up onto the apron in a drunken stupor and waves for a timeout. He also looks ready to hurl, and he DOES!! The ref and Xia are both grossed out, but who isn’t?! Aliyah rolls Xia up, TWO!! Aliyah tries again, and Aliyah wins!!

Winner: Aliyah, by pinfall

Aliyah hopes Robert Stone saw that, but he can’t even see where he’s walking and just falls off the apron! Aliyah may be desperate for guidance, but is she really that desperate?

Timothy Thatcher’s prospective students gather.

“Hello again, gentlemen.” Thatcher welcomes them to the first day of the Thatch as Thatch Can wrestling school. He will teach them about the details of submission style wrestling, “Things no one else will be able to show you.” Thatcher shows off the Fujiwara armbar. If you recline back and pull up, you can get the arm even farther. The wrestler being used as the example is tapping out, but Thatcher goes even deeper and deeper to make his point. Any questions? No. Next, the double wristlock, which Thatcher enhances with a leg over the subject’s head. By the way, it’s still the guy who took the Fujiwara armbar. His other arm suffers from this Kimura, and he rolls the shoulder until, yep, there it is.

“Gentlemen, line up. I said line up!” This was just day one. Next time, the real work begins. Dismissed. And clean up this mess, this guy was crying all over the mat. Will anyone survive to graduate Thatcher’s training?

The Undisputed Era goes to therapy.

Bobby Fish and Adam Cole are definitely worried about Roderick Strong after the trauma caused by Dexter Lumis. Cole says this is going to work. Fish says they have to do it in house, though. They pick up Strong in the limousine but he is in no mood to “Hoo hoo hoo hoo!” Awkward silence and then Cole says that they understand Strong has been through a lot. This therapist is the best, and he can help bring back the Roddy we know and love. It’ll be okay. “Driver, let’s go!”

Strong rests on the couch as his friends assure him of everything. This doctor is the best. They are going to help him feel safe. Surprise! The therapist is Kyle O’Reilly! But he pretends to be “Doctor Lyle von Thurstonburgen.” Tell him about this repressed psychological trauma. It’s Lumis, doc! He’s the worst person ever! He kidnapped Strong and Bobby and shoved them in a car trunk. Then Strong sees Lumis just staring at him through glass. He can’t get that out of his head! The staring! Yes, Cole and Fish admit their mistake in not believing him. Strong gets angry as he vents about people staring at him and how he hates that, but they calm him down. Kyle says this is a safe space, they’re all just here to help him.

Kyle moves things on to the classic Rorschach test to see how Strong’s mind is feeling. Cole and Fish show Strong the first one. Big muscle man! Yeah, like Strong and their old buddy, Troy. Next? OH NO IT’S LUMIS! What? Where? How? The others don’t see it. Skip it. Third? Flip it upside down maybe. OMG the car trunk!! He slaps the paper away! The others try to calm Strong down, but Kyle almost lets it slip it’s him. But this is a breakthrough! It seems the trauma actually stems from the car trunk. Strong needs to confront his fears, and that means facing a trunk. No! Strong needs more time. But they don’t have time! They argue, but Strong gives in. “I’m jumping in that trunk!”

Cole and Fish go with Strong to the parking lot and the limo’s trunk. Strong is anxious, reluctant, and then he runs away! Roddy, no! Get back here, man! No dice. Well, the running away aside, things went pretty well, right? They’ll go pick Strong up with the limo.

Backstage interview with Adam Cole.

The NXT Champion holds onto his belt as he stares at the hourglass left for him by Scarlett Bourdeaux on behalf of Karrion Kross. Also there’s a Sonic milkshake. But what does Cole think about Kross’ hourglass? “I don’t know, I guess they were trying to scare me or something.” But the thing is, we’ve all seen this before. It’s the same movie but with different characters. And at the end of that movie, Cole is still NXT Champion. How many times does he have to say it? But then Keith Lee walks over to have a talk with the champ. Keith came to let Cole know that Kross is correct on one thing: Cole’s time with that title is all but over. But it’s not Kross that will take it. It’ll be Keith. And then he SMASHES the hourglass! Cole smirks and leaves, but Keith says, “Ticktock.” Has the Limitless One just cancelled doomsday?

Adam Cole heads to the ring!

Cole’s undisputed ego is the only thing keeping him from being worried about the new list of challengers lining up behind him. Cole gets a mic and says, “300 and 81 days. Let me say that one more time. 300 and 81 days, I have been NXT Champion.” Not one of those days has he taken it for granted. That’s because Cole knows “without question,” he is the hardest working, greatest champion in this business. For 381 days, people have tried to tear down Cole, and for those 381 days, they have failed. That is why it is beyond mind-numbing that people think they can just throw names in the hat and say they deserve a shot. “It does not work that way, boys and girls.” Just look at Karrion Kross. He came up at TakeOver, very impressive against “one of the baddest men” in Tommaso Ciampa. But guess what? Cole’s been there, done that. Kross has been here five minutes and has a long way to go before he’s earned a match with Cole.

That brings Cole to Keith Lee. Keith said that he has his eyes on Cole’s title? Well guess what! Cole has eyes on the North American Championship. Do not forget Cole was the first-ever and still greatest NXT North American Champion ever. Maybe Cole wants to carry that title for 381 days. Maybe he’ll have two belts on his shoulders. And maybe after Cole beats Keith, Keith and the entire world can refer to Cole as #ChampChampBAYBAY. But speaking of, here comes the Limitless One! The two champions stand in the ring now, and Keith has a mic to respond. But then Johnny Gargano heads to the ring!

“Wow! What a cool moment between you two!” But as much as he hates to interrupt, Gargano doesn’t care about moments anymore. He cares about results. The result last week was Gargano pinning Keith 1-2-3. That means Gargano is coming after the North American Championship again. But then why stop there? Gargano is the first-ever NXT Triple Crown Champion, so it’s about time Gargano gets the reign he deserves. He and Candice vowed to make history as the first ever married couple to reign together at the same time. Then Cole can call Gargano #JohnnyChampChamp. But Keith asks “John Boy” how Candice is doing. Oh she’s doing great, after Keith squishing her! No, after what Gargano did, because it was Keith who was more concerned about her than Gargano was.

And Keith remember specifically, while he was picking up her frail little body, and with a tear almost falling from his eye, she whispered to him, “Thank you, Mr. Limitless. That’s the most action I’ve had all year.” LIAR!! But now here comes Finn Balor! The Prince has a mic to say, “Well now that Finn is here, I guess you fellas can stop being marks for yourselves and go back to being a mark for me.” Keith, did you hear Finn last week? He’ll tell you again. Balor has held titles all over the world, but the North American Championship is one he’s never held. Gargano corrects Balor, he’s not Mark, he’s Johnny. And remind us again, was Balor a Triple Crown? Nope. Balor isn’t like Gargano. He doesn’t wait in lines, he cuts to the front. Balor stares Keith down and tells him, “This isn’t a challenge. This is a warning.” Balor is taking that title, and when he does, he’ll go right after Cole’s.

Cole has been a great “transitional” champion- PFFT! Transitional?! Are you kidding? Cole just beat Balor’s old record! But this is perfect because it’s Balor’s career in a nutshell: He shows up somewhere, is the king for a little while, and then Cole shows up in that same place to pass him by. Balor chuckles, but then crosses Cole out? What is that? Balor says that is where Balor is going to put Cole. But before anything more can be said or done, William Regal speaks on the titantron! He loves this passion, competition, and now he has an idea where everybody wins! Next week, Keith Lee defends the North American Championship against Gargano, AND Balor, in a Triple Threat.

But don’t worry, Cole, Regal didn’t forget him. Because the man who walks away North American Champion moves on to face Adam Cole, July 8th, Champion VS Champion, WINNER TAKES ALL! A MASSIVE move for NXT! By the end of the Summer, one man becomes THE champion of NXT! Will we #BaskInHisGlory? Do things #TheJohnnyGarganoWay? Or have The Prince seated upon his throne?

Backstage interview with Keith Lee.

What does he think of that announcement by Regal? But before he can answer, Candice comes by to confront him about that inappropriate joke. Also, is Keith kidding? There is no way he beats her husband. But then Keith points behind Candice, and she turns around to see Mia Yim! And Mia fires off on Candice all the way down the hall! Mia throws Candice into a shelving unit, then throws the contents of the shelf down onto her! Candice throws them back and then slides Mia along chairs! Security hurries to stop this, but it’s only escalating! Will Regal have a way to help these two settle their own score?

Kayden Carter w/ Kacy Catanzaro VS Dakota Kai w/ Raquel Gonzalez!

Last week, KC helped KC when #CobraKai and the Daughter of the Desperado were beating her down. Though, it didn’t really go their way… But now, Carter takes Dakota on herself! Will KC succeed where KC fell short?

The bell rings and Dakota runs into Kayden’s takedown! Kayden fires off hands but Dakota kicks her away. Kayden dodges Dakota to come back with a crossbody! She fires off more fast hands but Dakota turns it around to waistlock. Kayden breaks free, switches and rolls Dakota, TWO! Kayden sees Raquel lurking and springs away to basement dropkick Dakota down! Dakota bails out then runs away, with #BigMami standing in Kayden’s way. Dakota then comes around to go after Kayden, but Kayden ROCKS her with a right! Kayden puts Dakota back in, but has to handspring over Raquel’s cheap shot! The ref reprimands Raquel but Dakota scorpion kicks Kayden down! Dakota drags Kayden in, covers, TWO!

Dakota keeps on Kayden with pie faces, but Kayden eggs her own. Kayden shoves Dakota then counter punches. Kayden keeps hitting Dakota and starts to rally! The crowd fires up with her as she dropkicks Dakota down! Kayden pulls off the arm bands to whip Dakota. Dakota reverses, Kayden wheelbarrows and MULE KICKS! Cover, TWO! Kayden brings Dakota up, whips her to a corner but Dakota reverses. Dakota runs in but is put on the apron. Dakota rocks Kayden back, steps in but into a knee! Kayden jumps on for a draping facebuster! Raquel shouts at Kayden but Kacy LEAPS at her! But Raquel catches the tiny Ninja Warrior, to toss her at the apron! Dakota rolls Kayden, TWO!! But into the BUTTERFLY STRETCH! Kayden taps, Dakota wins!

Winner: Dakota Kai, by submission

Captain Kota takes advantage of her insurance policy again, and has swept KC and KC. But is this the last we’ve seen of this confrontation?

Scarlett finds the shattered hourglass.

The heartthrob harbinger sees the sand spilled upon the floor, and Kross steps on the broken glass. How will they respond to this bold rejection of their ultimatum?

NXT hears from Mercedes Martinez.

“19 years, I’ve been rugged, thugged, grinding, hustling, and here I am.” No nonsense, all action, and she’s not here to lose. “Every single female better watch their back.” Everyone needs to know who Mercedes Martinez is. And she’ll be back very soon!

Bronson Reed VS Leon Ruff!

Two men who know what Karrion Kross is capable of now meet each other in the ring. Will Auszilla keep focused on the opponent in front of him and now the one that could be lurking up behind him? Or will Ruff rev his engines and get the literally biggest upset in his young career?

The bell rings and Ruff runs to get run over! Reed shrugs and sentons down on Ruff! The crowd goes nuts for the #ThiccBoi as he climbs up top! Ruff suffers the MEGATON SPLASH!! Cover, Reed wins!

Winner: Bronson Reed, by pinfall

A very fast and very damaging defeat for little ol’ Ruff! Reed grabs a mic to say he is not one to forget. That is why he will do what no one has. He is calling Kross out for a match next week! Reed is putting Kross on the clock, but shows Ruff some mercy. Will Mr. Doomsday show either of them any mercy once they cross paths again?

NXT spots Damian Priest in the parking lot.

Someone slashed his tires!? Who would do that? Well, perhaps a certain someone. Cameron Grimes drives by taunting Priest, “You want me to get you an Uber?” Grimes sure is brave as he drives away. Will Priest deflate Grimes’ ego the next time they meet?

Santos Escobar and cohorts head to the ring.

Mendoza and Wilde walk with the NXT Cruiserweight Champion, united under the banner of “Legado del Fantasma.” Escobar takes a mic to say, “El Hijo del Fantasma was known in the Latin culture as the best lucha libre artist ever.” And he means ever. But of course, when you wear a mask, that is all the world sees. A luchador in a mask. For 20 years, that was him. But then he earned his opportunity to join NXT, and he knew that on this worldwide platform, that the “book of El Hijo del Fantasma” would come to an end. Growing up under his father, El Fantasma, he was always told he would be a leader, not a follower. Escobar promises to make Mendoza and Wilde leaders, because he is the leader of leaders. Together, they will leave a legacy. El Legado del Fantasma.

“Congratulation, Santos!” Drake Maverick heads to the ring as he says Escobar fooled everyone. He certainly fooled Maverick, too. People have told Maverick he has more guts than brains, and they’re all absolutely right! Maverick rushes Escobar and takes him down, but Wilde and Mendoza are there! Maverick punches them away, then DIVES to get at Escobar! Wilde and Mendoza keep trying, but he pushes them away again! Escobar hits Maverick then flapjacks him onto the railing! El Legado dumps Maverick over onto concrete and they stomp away on him! They drag Maverick over to a table but he keeps fighting! Escobar uses a monitor to SMACK Maverick in the back! El Legado hauls Maverick up and then Escobar brings Maverick with him, PHANTOM DRIVER THROUGH THE TABLE!!

Escobar cleans himself up and Wilde hands him the title. El Legado has the gold, but have they just put an end to Maverick’s story?

NXT returns as medics help Maverick.

Needless to say, Maverick needed a backboard, neck brace and stretcher. Jake Atlas was among those to accompany Maverick to the ambulance. Will Atlas look to avenge Rockstar Spud?

WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships: Bayley & Sasha Banks VS Tegan Nox & Shotzi Blackheart!

The #GoldenRoleModels made it through Backlash’s Triple Threat with Bliss-Cross and The IIconics, and look to make the birthday week of #BayleyDosStraps a big one! They return to NXT to defend their tag titles, but are they going to underestimate the Shiniest Wizard and wild child?

As both teams get in the ring, lot of trash is talked and Shotzi howls at Bayley. The introductions are made, the tag belts are raised, and it’s time to see if Bayley and Banks can #TCB, take care of business!

Teams sort out and Tegan starts against Sasha. They circle, tie up, and Sasha arm-drags Tegan down to an armlock. Tegan fights her way back up, gets around to a waistlock, but Sasha standing switches. Tegan pries free, switches again, but Sasha backs her to a corner. The ref counts but Sasha elbows Tegan away. The two go again, Sasha throws Tegan down and dusts off her hands. Things speed up, Sasha sees Tegan drop down and hooks her up for a body scissor clutch! TWO, and the two reset. They go again, Tegan backslides, TWO! Sasha swings into a waistlock but she switches. Shotzi tags in and Tegan bucks Sasha off to drop toehold her down! Shotzi Oklahoma Rolls, TWO! Sasha scrambles away and tags to Bayley.

Bayley and Shotzi circle, Shotzi rushes Bayley but Bayley gets away. Bayley comes back and kicks Shotzi low, then clubs her down. Bayley whips Shotzi to ropes but Shotzi holds them to stop herself. Shotzi baits Bayley in and uses the ropes to snap Bayley down. Shotzi kicks Bayley, backslides, but Bayley spins out, only for Shotzi to cradle counter! TOW, and Bayley waistlocks Shotzi to spin her for a headlock. Shotzi pops out but Bayley whips her to a corner. Shotzi goes up and over to roll Bayley up, ONE and Bayley KNEES Shotzi down! The alumni have the advantage while NXT goes to break.

NXT returns and Bayley has Tegan down now in a trapped arm chinlock. The crowd rallies but Bayley knees Tegan in the back. Bayley brings Tegan up but Tegan stomps Bayley’s foot! Tegan uppercuts but Bayley whips Tegan into buckles. Bayley rams her shoulder in over and over, then rolls back for wacky waving, only for Tegan to elbow her back! Tegan SLAPS Bayley on the back and heads for her corner. Bayley pulls Tegan away from Shotzi by her hair, only for Tegan to break free and HEADBUTT! They both fall down and the crowd fires up! Bayley and Tegan crawl, hot tags to Sasha and Shotzi! Shotzi dodges, hits Bayley, goes up and over Sasha then rolls to come back with a corner splash! Shotzi rolls Sasha out to then hit the SLING-DOG! The crowd fires up with Shotzi as she knees and rolling elbows! QUESTION MARK KICK! Shotzi snap SAIDOS Bayley down! Cover, TWO!!

Sasha gets to the apron but Shotzi builds speed. Shotzi dropkicks but Sasha dodges, and Shotzi slips through the ropes to land on her feet. Sasha apron METEORAS! Both crash down but Sasha drags Shotzi back into the ring. Cover, TWO!! Sasha is losing her cool but she drags Shotzi up to tag Bayley. Bayley hits Tegan down then whips Sasha in, but Shotzi dodges the corner Meteora! Sasha knees buckles and Bayley hurries after Shotzi. Bayley puts Shotzi in a corner but Shotzi boots back to then headscissor Bayley into buckles! Tag to Tegan, STEREO CANNONBALLS! Bayley flops out of the ring but Sasha runs at Tegan. Tegan puts Sasha on the apron and choke grips, to CHOKE SLAM Sasha onto Bayley!

Tag to Shotzi and Tegan helps her go up, up and FLY! Double crossbody at the ramp! Shotzi howls right over the champions then gets Bayley up and in. She brings Bayley up, has help from Tegan for the SLICED BREAD! Cover, but Sasha barrels into Tegan and breaks it up! All four women are down but the crowd is thunderous! Teams regroup and hot tags to Tegan and Sasha! Sasha and Tegan fire off fast and furious fists on each other! Tegan ROCKS Sasha then brings her up to whip to the corner. Sasha goes up but Tegan blocks the headscissor for an Electric Chair! Tag to Shotzi and she climbs up. Sasha slips off to POST Tegan! Shotzi still missile dropkicks! Cover, TWO to the ghost pin, TWO! But Sasha gets the BANK STATEMENT! The crossface is on deep! Shotzi pries the hold apart, gets the arms, CATTLE MUTILATION!!

Bayley runs in with a chair but Tegan stops her! The ref spots Tegan with the chair and reprimands her. Bayley uses the distraction to flip Shotzi off the submission! Sasha gets the Bank Statement back, and Bayley tackles Tegan! Shotzi taps, Sasha and Bayley win!!

Winners: Bayley & Sasha Bank, by submission (still WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions)

The “role models” show everyone how to cheat just right, and that keeps the belts with them! Will they be able to do the same to the IIconics this coming Monday Night Raw?

But wait! Io Shirai attacks?! The Evil Genius and NXT Women’s Champion missile dropkicks Bayley down, then German Suplexes Sasha! Shirai gives Bayley a Shinkansen meteora, then does the same for Sasha! The best friends regroup outside, and Shirai fakes them both out! “This is MY NXT!” Shirai defends her home, but Bayley and Sasha claim they are the reason she has a job! Is there something much bigger brewing between the entirety of the WWE Women’s Division?

My Thoughts:

What a great episode! Sandwiching the episode between the tag title matches was a great move, and Imperium VS Breezango was great stuff, even with the other teams showing up. But given the overbooking, naturally Imperium retained. Though, I do feel like Breezango was going to lose either way, because it just doesn’t feel right yet. I do feel NXT is building its way back to a huge multiple team match. The Undisputed Era is always in the running, and as I started to hope, Lumis wants to team with Dream. Dream turned down the offer for now, but I’m pretty sure something moves him to agree to the partnership. The Undisputed Era had a great “therapy” sketch, all four guys have great senses of humor, and it’s always good to see Kyle again. Priest VS Dain was a really good match and a really good win for Priest to rebound with. Priest’s story with Grimes has escalated, and their match next week is going to be really good.

I like the intermingling in stories where Dain is used to point out drunken Robert Stone for the sake of Aliyah’s story. That fake barfing was definitely something unique, and this definitely isn’t how I saw Aliyah finally becoming Stone’s client. Dakota beating Kayden was a given with Raquel by her side. I’m thinking they have a tag team match to settle things, but I feel like Dakota and Raquel still win that. With WWE finally turning the corner on the Women’s Tag Division, it’s good to see teams forming and getting stronger. Maybe one day, Dakota and Tegan cross paths again as they face each other with the tag titles on the line. It’d really bring their story full circle as a team that wanted to have such titles together, only for it to end up like this. There’s also a lot of interweaving stories when it comes to Karrion Kross. Bronson Reed calls him out given that attack three weeks ago, and that will be an interesting approximate to what will surely be Keith VS Kross at some point.

Obviously, I love the big news of the North American Championship Triple Threat that leads to an NXT Winner Takes All. If Kross is after Keith because of the smashed hourglass, sadly time has run out on Keith’s reign. We’ve gotten so much Gargano VS Cole already, I really hope it’s Balor adding the North American title to his legacy, and then giving us a battle of the two greatest NXT Champions ever to finally determine the undisputed best ever. The Women’s Tag main event was great stuff, but sad to say, Bayley and Banks were always going to win. For one, they have a match with the IIconics on Raw to bring that story full circle.

But the great surprise was Shirai going after Bayley and Banks! I really hope that, with Becky Lynch becoming a mother and the grand design for the WWE Women’s Division changing, we get a strange mash-up where three of the Four (NXT) Horsewomen find themselves up against some other great trio *cough* Shirai and Kabuki Warriors */cough* in an epic Six Woman for SummerSlam. It works as it’d involve all past and present champions from across all three brands, with the heart of it being about their respective reigns in NXT.

My Score: 9.3/10

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Up Next

Andrew’s New Japan Cup Results & Match Ratings 6.17.20: Day 2

Don't Miss

Mitchell’s AEW Dynamite Results & Report! (6/17/20)

Coverage

Mitchell’s WWE SmackDown Results & Report! (4/26/24)

It’s Draft Day!

Published

22 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Steven Mitchell

And with the first overall pick of the 2024 WWE Draft, SmackDown selects…

The WWE Draft returns for 2024, the first four rounds being right here on Friday Night SmackDown! With champions protected, who ends up where to challenge them?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee w/ Zelina Vega & Carlito VS Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo; Rey & Dragon win.
Bron Breakker VS Cedric Alexander; Bron wins.
WWE Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Naomi VS Tiffany Stratton; No Contest.
Cody Rhodes VS Carmelo Hayes; Cody wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Backstage interview with Paul Heyman.

Kayla Braxton is with the Wise Man and says that here on night one of the Draft, there are already rumors circulating, including those about The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Heyman will clarify these are not rumors regarding The Tribal Chief, Roman… Reigns. These are facts! Ladies and gentlemen, Your Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns, has voluntarily withdrawn from eligibility for this year’s Draft. That is not a negative but a positive. Who built SmackDown since the Pandemic? Roman Reigns. Who is the biggest star in the entire industry? Roman Reigns. Why would Roman Reigns hog the number one draft pick spotlight when he won’t be returning in the immediate future?

Read into his words, Kayla, that is not what a real Tribal Chief would do. Instead now, the pressure is on Nick Aldis. Because if Roman Reigns isn’t the first draft pick, then who is? The first two picks make history in a brand new era. And Heyman doesn’t know about you, but he is intrigued. No Tribal Chief up for grabs, who gets their opportunity to shine in the spotlight?

SmackDown throws it to the NXT Performance Center.

Jackie Redmond says the emotion down here is palpable! There is excitement, hope, and a little bit of nerves. But for these NXT Superstars, tonight is the culmination of a lifetime of hard work, dedication, a little bit of luck and a whole lot of self-belief. It was just last year that the NEW WWE Tag Team Champion, Grayson Waller, was hoping his name would be called. And it is funny this is NXT, but time to buy a vowel, throw in an E! Who is next? We find out tonight! The draft pool is deep, who rises to the top of the list?

Corey Graves is in the ring.

Corey welcomes Cincinnati and all of us at home to night one of the 2024 WWE Draft. Understandably, the GMs have their hands full, so Corey will be moderating the contract signing for the WWE Championship match that takes place next Saturday for Backlash: France. Without further ado, it’s the #1 contender, The Phenomenal AJ Styles! Styles makes his entrance, taking a seat at the table on camera right. And now, the Undisputed WWE Champion, the American Nightmare, Cody Rhodes! Cincy fires up and sings along, “WHOA~ OH~!” as Cody makes his entrance and gets his pyro before joining everyone in the ring.

Styles looks over the contract, absolutely tuning out the fans going wild for “CODY! CODY!” Styles then gets the mic to say before he signs, he doesn’t know if we realize that we’ve got two Georgia boys about to mix it up for the first time, and for the biggest prize in the game. Styles understands why they boo, but they gotta know that he doesn’t respect LA Knight, LA Knight got under his skin. He accepts that. But that’s why Styles lost at Mania. But what happened? Styles got his composure back and realized that he is Phenomenal. Styles BEAT Knight to earn the right to face Cody Rhodes at Backlash.

Now unlike Knight, Styles does respect Cody. They hadn’t crossed paths yet, but they’ve been down the same roads. They had to prove themselves outside of the WWE. And Styles is willing to believe that the same man who gave him advice a long time ago gave Cody the same advice, on how to stand on their own two feet and be the men they are today. That man was The American Dream, Dusty Rhodes. The fans cheer for “DUSTY! DUSTY!” Styles learned a lot from Dusty. Styles gets a little emotional thinking about Dusty, he was a good man. Dusty taught Styles how to carry himself, and to carry the weight of a championship.

And Styles looks at this WWE Championship here. The weight of this isn’t just the leather and gold. And at Backlash, we see if Cody can carry it. Styles goes back to his table, signs the contract, and then hands it off to Corey. Corey brings that to Cody, and Cody picks up his mic. “So… Cincinnati…! Whadda we wanna talk about? Certainly, we can talk about respect. There is not a locker room on Earth that you’ll find where everyone in it, every single person, they all respect AJ Styles. Last week, I went on to say you are the modern day Excellence of Execution. I respect the roads that you have traveled down to get here, the parallel paths that perhaps you and I have.

“Mutual respect, much respect. But that respect goes by the wayside at Backlash. I can feel it in your words to a degree. You’ve been here before. And it seems you’re implying that I cannot carry the weight of that championship. Well, good thing the man who trained me not far from where I sit now used to tell me all the time, it’s not about winning the title, it’s about keeping it.” The fans cheer that. Cody says boy does he respect Styles’ familiarity with Cody’s last name. But when you put C O D Y in front of it on this paper, that means they’ve never touched before. That means Backlash is a level playing field.

That means no matter how Phenomenal Styles is, this isn’t a dream match for Cody. It’s a must-win! Cody signs while the fans cheer, and it is official! Cody even throws the pen to the crowd as a free souvenir. Cody then offers a handshake, and Styles says y’know what? It was a beautiful thing to see Cody #FInishTheStory and win the title. But it’s a shame that Cody’s title reign will end at Backlash. Styles still shakes Cody’s hand, and then walks away. Cody picks up the belt and holds it high, will he get to hold it high again in Lyon, France?

Triple H is here!

Just as Cody was on his way to the back, The Game makes his way out here! HHH raises Cody’s hand, then invites him over to the podium. HHH welcomes us to the first round of the 2024 WWE Draft. It is a night that changes the landscape of the WWE going into the future, and things are a bit different this year. As the GMs ponder their next steps, they have to understand it is about protecting the roster they have as it is making the roster they want. Meaning that when they use their picks, they have just as much of a chance gaining a superstar as they do losing one they already have.

HHH just felt that since champs are protected and Cody will be staying here on SmackDown, maybe Cody could help read the SmackDown picks and HHH can read the Raw picks. And since SmackDown goes first, Cody reads first. Cody takes the card to say that with the first pick of the 2024 WWE Draft, SmackDown selects… The E S T, Bianca Belair! The stongEST, fastEST, roughEST, toughEST stays on Friday nights! HHH reads that for the second pick of the 2024 WWE Draft, Raw selects… YEET! JEY USO! Monday nights will still have Main Event Jey Uso! And the fans “YEET!” Cody says for the third pick, SmackDown selects… NXT’s Carmelo Hayes!

The fans fire up as SmackDown manages to snag… HIM! The former NXT Champion makes history again by being the first NXT superstar to be chosen this high in the Draft! HHH says that’s a hell of a pick. But then the fourth and final pick of this first round, Raw selects… SETH! FREAKIN’! ROLLINS! It is still going to be Monday Night Rollins as the Visionary stays on the red brand! Cody and HHH shake hands, and then Melo makes his way out! Melo has the mic to say when they talk about who’s next up, about who’s the hottest out, they don’t call them “the hottest out,” they just call him “Carmelo Hayes.”

The fans chant “WHOOP DAT TRICK!” to remind Melo how he’s leaving NXT. Melo says okay, okay. But then to Cody Rhodes, ever since Cody won the title, he’s been talking about “If you aim for the king, you best not miss.” Well, funny how that works. Because when Melo shoots, Melo don’t miss. And as a first round draft pick, what better way to shoot his shot on SmackDown than to shoot it right at Cody? Melo leaves the mic with Cody but Cody picks it up to say, “Fortune certainly favors the bold, but I dunno. You folks don’t wanna see me in action tonight, do ya?” The fans go wild! Oh, but what if Cody forgot his gear?

Oh that’s right! He didn’t forget his gear! And this title right here, for Cody, means absolutely 100%, Melo’s on! They shake on it, and we’re about to see a huge first-time-ever showdown! But will this bold first move work out for… HIM?

Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee w/ Zelina Vega & Carlito VS Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo!

The LWO is still not convinced Legado Del Fantasma had nothing to do with the beating that took the Boy Wonder out ahead of WrestleMania. Will the King of Lucha help get to the bottom of things? Or will Angel & “Berto” make it as easy as ABC, 1-2-3?

The teams sort out, Dragon runs up on Humberto but Humberto LARIATS him down! Humberto drags Dragon up, tears the shirt away and CHOPS! Humberto whips, Dragon ducks ‘n’ dodges to RANA! Humberto tumbles out, Dragon builds speed and FLIES! Direct hit and down goes Humberto! The fans fire up as Dragon pushes Humberto into the ring, goes up a corner, and then CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! Dragon facelocks to drag Humberto up, but Humberto wrenches out to CLUB Dragon down. Humberto waistlocks but Dragon throws elbows. Angel tags in as Humberto shoves Dragon. Dragon ducks but Angel holds ropes open, and Dragon tumbles to the floor!

The fans boo and LWO hurries to check on Dragon! Angel & Humberto just soak up the heat as SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and both Dragon and Humberto are down! They crawl, hot tags to Angel and Rey! The fans fire up as Rey ducks ‘n’ dodges and tilt-o-whirl RANAS! Angel ends up in a corner, he puts Rey on the apron, but Rey ROCKS Angel! Rey goes up to SEATED SENTON! Rey keeps moving, wrenches and kicks, then hops on! CODE RED! Cover, Humberto breaks it! The fans boo but Humberto hauls Rey up. Rey fights and RANAS Humberto up and out! But Angelo kicks, scoops, but Rey slips free! Angelo kicks low, reels REy in, and underhooks, but Rey fights those to RANA Angel onto ropes! Rey dials it up to 619!

Tag to Dragon and he takes aim! Angel stands, into the tilt-o-whirl, PROJECT DRAGON!! Cover, LWO wins!

Winners: Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee, by pinfall

Carlito and Zelina hug it out with the team, but then Santos Escobar & Elektra Lopez walk out here. Santos says whoa, whoa, whoa, hold that celebration. Because Santos is many things, but a liar is not one of them. And when Santos said he did NOT attack Dragon that night before Mania, he meant it. Elektra has been working for weeks to track down the security footage from that night. And Rey… Oh, Rey. What you’re about to see, you will find very, very interesting. The footage plays, and it was CARLITO!! Carlito throw Dragon around backstage! No one can believe it, because of how well Carlito fooled even Dragno.

Speaking of, Carlito RAMS Dragon into Rey, then hits a BACKSTABBER! Never has that move’s name been more fitting! Carlito runs away in a panic, and Rey stands back up in a rage! Santos says he told Rey that he was right all along. They were supposed to be family, and yet look how that turned out. How will the LWO recover from this shocking development?

Bron Breakker VS Cedric Alexander!

The Big Bad Booty Nephew has been making a case for himself ever since showing up on SmackDown, and he’s already bringing the straps down! Is he going to break PRIMED Alexander while also breaking match time records? Or will Cedric prove he’s too fly for Bron?

The bell rings and Cedric dodges Bron to CHOP and ROCK! Cedric whips, Bron reverses and Cedric handsprings, into a SPEAR!! Cover, Bron wins!

Winner: Bron Breakker, by pinfall

Well, hard to say if that’s an all-time fast match, but that was a fast match! QR Code stuff going on, but will we all see Bron take the world by storm?

Nick Aldis heads out.

And waiting is Tiffany Stratton. She asks if he saw what she did last week. Wait, of course he did. Because she is the Center of the Universe. She dropped Naomi and Bayley, where is her title match? Aldis tells Tiff to look at his watch. It is NOT set to #TiffyTime. And he was this close to sending her to the back of the line. But then someone convinced him otherwise, good for her. Tonight, she goes 1v1 with Naomi again, and the winner faces Bayley for the title at Backlash. Whose stupid idea was that?! Bayley says DING DONG, it was hers. It is a win-win situation here. If Naomi wins, she gets the match she got cheated out of.

And if Tiff wins, then she’ll find out when she attacks the Role Model. Tiff gasps as she has a #TiffanyEpiphany. Bayley should be ringside for that match so she can see Tiff do what Bayley couldn’t, and that’s beat Naomi. Tootles. Tiff leaves, but will the only thing she gets is to #FeelTheGlow?

Michelle McCool and Torrie Wilson are here!

One is a former WWE Women’s Champion, the other is a WWE Hall of Famer, but they’re both here to present Draft picks! Michelle says with the first pick of the second round, SmackDown selects… The Viper, Randy Orton! SmackDown will still have to watch out for an RKO outta nowhere! Torrie says that with the second pick of the second round, Raw selects… BRON BREAKKER! We just saw Bron make quick work of opponents here on SmackDown, but now he’s gonna be rampaging on Raw!

Michelle says that with the third pick of the second round, SmackDown selects… NIA JAX! The Irresistible Force may have to change targets from the Women’s World to the Undisputed Women’s title, but will she be unstoppable all the same? And with the fourth and final pick of this round, Raw selects… LIV MORGAN! The Revenge Tour will still be part of Monday nights, will we watch Liv rise to the top?

The Bloodline arrives backstage.

Paul Heyman is there to greet them and open the door to the SUV. He apologizes for not being faster about that, but Solo Sikoa asks The Bloodline if they’ve been drafted. Not yet. Then give Solo the details. Okay, well, Roman Reigns withdrew right before the show began, and then Solo keeps adding members, so no one really knows what they’re getting if they draft The Bloodline! Solo sighs, and here comes Tama Tonga. Heyman asks they be patient but Solo wants Heyman to repeat that for him. Heyman gets scared, but then KEVIN OWENS jumps in! Kevin fires off on Tama, security and refs rush in to stop it!

The Prizefighter wants Solo’s “MFT” to bring the fight like he did last week! Security still drags Kevin away, but will he get that fight he wants?

Kayla Braxton is on stage.

SmackDown returns and Kayla welcomes us back to the show. And please welcome out the first overall pick, Bianca Belair! The fans fire up as The EST walks out on stage, and Kayla congratulates her on being the first overall pick. But let’s talk Backlash. Breaking news, Bianca and Jade Cargill are going to challenge for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, against the Kabuki Warriors. How satisfying would it be to dethrone them on the stage of this magnitude? Bianca says so satisfying. She really hopes Jade gets drafted to SmackDown because given all this history with Damage CTRL, all the partners by her side, Bianca has never been the one to finally end it with them.

For everything they’ve done to her and this division, Bianca feels Jade is the perfect woman to help her end this. Now, DMG CTRL is falling apart piece by piece, and that final piece is the tag titles. So once Bianca & Jade take the gold at Backlash, the Kabuki Warriors won’t even have a reason to come back to SmackDown. But wait, they’re here now! Asuka & Kairi walk out here and Kayla moves aside. The Empress of Tomorrow and the Pirate Princess taunt the EST, but here comes The Storm! Jade makes her way to stand right by Bianca’s side. The four shout and argue, but this will be settled on May 4th!

WHOA! Tama and Kevin are brawling their way out here! The ladies move aside so the gentlemen can brawl all the way down to ringside! Tama hits low, gets in the ring, but Kevin pursues! Kevin TACKLES Tama, but Solo CLOBBERS Kevin! The fans boo as The Bloodline beats Kevin down! The refs hurry out here but clearly Solo’s Bloodline won’t listen! Tama DECKS producers, DECKS guards, HEADBUTTS them, throws hands and even THROWS the guards! Tama and Solo beat Kevin down again, but here comes Randy Orton! The Viper is still on SmackDown and he’s still pals with Kevin, so here he comes!

Orton DECKS Tama, fires hands on Solo, then RK- NO, Solo gets free and gets away! Orton wants to pursue, almost runs Jamie Noble and refs over to do it, but the Bloodline has gotten away! The fans cheer Randy on, and KAevin even hugs him! But then Kevin and Randy try to give chase! Security stops this, when and where will we see #RKKO strike down Solo and Tama?

The Dudley Boyz are here!

The fans fire up as Bubba Ray & D-Von are both here for the next round of picks! Cincy chants for “E C DUB! E C DUB!” Bubba and D-Von look at the cards, it’s hard to read. So out come the glasses! Bubba says with the first pick of the third round of the 2024 WWE Draft, SmackDown selects… L A KNIGHT! YEAH!! The Mega Star stays on Fridays! D-Von says with the second pick of the third round, Raw selects… RICOCHET! Mondays still has the One and Only, is Ricochet going to bring that WWE Speed Championship home to Raw, too?

Bubba says with the third pick of the third round, SmackDown selects… THE BLOODLINE! That means Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga and Paul Heyman are staying right here on Friday nights. And D-Von says with the final pick of this round, Raw selects… SHEAMUS! The Celtic Warrior just got back, but he won’t have to worry about going anywhere else but Monday nights.

WWE Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Naomi VS Tiffany Stratton!

It’s time to run it back once again! The Glow got robbed by the Spoiled Rich Girl, but supposedly, it’s #TiffyTime. Will Naomi prove there’s no such time on the clock? Or will Bayley be the one feeling the Backlash over giving Tiffany one more chance?

The bell rings and Naomi hits a THESZ PRESS! Naomi rains down fists, Tiffy shoves her away and goes to ropes, but Naomi gets up in Tiff’s face. Naomi whips, Tiff holds ropes to bail out and fans boo. Naomi scowls, runs in and WRECKS Tiff with a dropkick! Naomi then gets Tiff up, SMACKS her off the apron, and then SMACKS her off it again! And again! Naomi puts Tiff in, goes up a corner, but Tiff gets under the jump! Naomi runs back up but Tiff YANKS her into ropes! Tiff runs to HIP ATTACK! Naomi sputters, Tiff scowls and drags Naomi up, to then put through ropes. But Naomi RAMS into Tiff!

Naomi reels Tiff in, for a HEATSEEKER! Tiff flops to the floor, and then Naomi SPLIT LEG DROPS! Naomi says it’s #NaomiTime, but SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns and Naomi runs, but into a SPINEBUSTER! High stack, TWO! Naomi survives and Tiff is frustrated but the fans rally up. Tiff drags Naomi up, whips her to a corner, but Naomi goes up and sunset flips! TWO! Tiff escapes, knees Naomi low, then whips. Naomi slides under the lariat to then mule kick! Then she headscissor SPIKES Tiff down! Cover, TWO! Tiff survives but barely, and Naomi keeps her cool. Naomi headlocks, but Tiff shoves her into buckles! Tiff runs, but Naomi follows, DOUBLE RUNNING FACEBUSTERS take them both down! The fans fire up as the two rise!

Naomi KICKS, ROCKS and ROCKS Tiff again! Naomi fires shots again and again but Tiff knees low! Tiff reels Naomi in, but Naomi wrenches out to ENZIGIRI! And then BUCKLE BULLDOG! But then NIA JAX attacks Bayley!? Nia SMACKS Bayley off buckles, rains down fists, and this momentarily distracts Naomi. Naomi refocuses, but by now, Tiff’s slipped away! Nia KICKS Bayley in the side, so Naomi goes out to ROCK her! Nia POSTS Naomi and that throws the match out!

No Contest

The fans boo as Nia ruins the fun, then runs Bayley over! Nia smiles as she blows kisses to Cincy. Tiff smiles, she drags Naomi up and puts her in the ring. Then she drags Bayley in! Tiff wants a repeat of last week as she puts them side by side in the drop zone! Tiff then goes up and up for the PRETTIEST MOONSAULT EVER!! Tiff says it’s her time, but the #1 contendership is still in question. Who gets their shot at the Role Model at Backlash?

B-Fab and the Street Profits meet up backstage.

Angelo Dawkins has a “WHO-DEY” sign, but Montez Ford is wondering where Bobby Lashley is right now. B-Fab says calm down, he’ll be here. Byron Saxton walks over and apologizes for interrupting. He doesn’t know what the Draft destination for this group will be until Monday Night Raw, but we do know that The Profits will challenge A-Town Down Under for the WWE Tag Team Championships. YESSIIIIIIR~! B-Fab says it doesn’t matter where they get drafted. The Profits are going to take down A-Town Down Under and take those titles. Then they’ll have their first class tickets right back to SmackDown.

SmackDown? Did someone say SmackDown~? In walk Austin Theory & Grayson Waller, showing off the titles. And Theory says you can’t have SmackDown without the GREATEST undefeated tag team of all time. And sorry, Dawkins, but these are championships, something the Bengals know nothing about! B-Fab keeps Dawkins back, but then in steps Bobby Lashley! The All Mighty scares Theory & Waller right off, and Dawkins says see y’all next Friday! Will there be nothing keeping these Profits down the night before Backlash?

The Final Testament speaks.

Karrion Kross says good evening. What’s going on here? You guessed it! More random acts of violence! Just follow him. Kross & Scarlett lead the way to show The Authors of Pain beating down New Catch Republic! Rezar beats down Pete Dunne while Akam victimizes Tyler Bate! Paul Ellering says they will know about sacrifice! Kross says whether they get drafted to Raw or stay on SmackDown, the violence will continue until they get what they want! So sayeth The Final Testament!!

Teddy Long and JBL are here!

The Hall of Famer General Manager and the Hall of Famer WWE Champion are both here, ready to give us the fourth and final round of picks tonight! Teddy gets right to it! The first pick of the fourth round, SmackDown selects… AJ STYLES! The Phenomenal One is really an obvious choice, because one way or another, the WWE Championship stays with SmackDown! JBL says the second pick of the fourth round, Raw selects… THE ALPHA ACADEMY! Raw keeps Chad Gable, Otis, Maxxine Dupri & Akira Tozawa, A THANK YEW~!

Teddy says with the third pick of this round, SmackDown selects… ANDRADE! A big move as now El Idolo will be part of Friday nights. And with the final pick of this fourth round, Raw selects… NXT’S Kiana James! The Calculator, the former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion, has the Raw hat to put on, and after a quick hype package, Jackie Redmond is there to interview her. Kiana, congratulations! You are heading to Monday Night Raw! How much does this mean to her? This means the world to her. She is filled with gratitude, but also knows every decision she has made up to this point has been by design to get her here.

Kiana is so proud of her time in NXT, but she’s ready to show Raw why she is the One Percent. Was she surprised? Of course she was! HBK is here to wish her luck and congratulations. Is Kiana going to start the hostile takeover of the Raw Women’s Division?

Backstage interview with Nick Aldis.

Kayla is with the SmackDown GM and says that with night one in the books, how does he feel about SmackDown’s selections? He feels really good about them. SmackDown’s future is bright, he can’t wait for the new recruits to show up and show out for the blue brand. But he also wants to turn attentions to Backlash, because he’s got some new matches to announce! The first PLE in France, this is exciting stuff, Kayla. Aldis says that the WWE Women’s Championship will now be on the line in a Triple Threat! Bayley VS Naomi VS Tiffany Stratton! Will the odds make it that much harder for the Role Model to succeed?

There’s one more match to announce, but Aldis will let the GM GOAT take it from here. Teddy Long steps in, and don’t forget. We’ll talk about this tag team match. The Bloodline VS Kevin Owens & Randy Orton! Holla, players. Solo & Tama will have to face The Viper and the Prizefighter, will #RKKO strike fast and strike hard?

Cody Rhodes VS Carmelo Hayes!

The American Nightmare just put pen to paper for his match with the Phenomenal One, but he isn’t one to shy away from a challenge. The former NXT Champion is shooting his shot, but will this be nothing but net? Or will it be a frustrating airball?

The bell rings and the two circle. They tie up, the fans rally for Cody as he puts Melo in a corner then arm-drags him away. Melo runs up, Cody headlocks, Melo powers out then drops. Melo hurdles, but Cody kicks low to RHODES UPPERCUT! Melo staggers to ropes, the fans fire up, but then melo throat chops and springboard FLYING LARIATS! Melo says that’s why he’s a first round pick! But then Cody CLOBBERS him! Cody asks if Melo’s ready for this, and SmackDown goes to break.

SmackDown returns once again and Cody has a headlock. Cody hits a takeover, Melo flails and kicks around, but Cody grinds him down. Melo pushes with his forearm, then headscissors, but Cody kips free. Melo CHOPS, the fans “WOO~!” but Cody brushes himself off. Melo pie faces Cody! Cody fires forearms on Melo, then whips, but Melo reverses. Melo ELBOWS Cody, then runs up to KICK him in the side! Melo fires forearms and CHOPS in a corner, then throws body shots. Melo digs his boot in, the ref counts, and Cody goes to another corner. Cody eggs Melo on, Melo storms up, but Cody puts him in the corner to CHOP!

Cody swings, Melo dodges and CHOPS! Cody turns things around to CHOP! The fans rally, Cody whips corner to corner, then he back drops Melo away! Melo staggers up, Cody runs, and he rallies on Melo with forearms! Cody goes up and over in a corner but Melo tilt-o-whirls, LA MYSTICA! Melo springboards, FADE AWAY! Cover, TWO! Cody survives that flying DDT, but we see the NXT roster all fired up watching Melo take it to the champ. Melo sits Cody up, drags him into a facelock, but the fans rally for Cody. Cody fireman’s carries but Melo slips free to dragon sleeper! Melo grins, but Cody cradles! TWO!!

Melo swings, Cody boots, then Cody springboards to BEAUTIFUL DISASTER! Melo flips inside-out, Cody covers, TWO! Melo is still in this and he snarls up at Cody. Melo gives a forearm, Cody gives it back, and the fans rally up. Cody scoops Melo, storms around, and then hits a RUNNING POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Melo survives and Cody grows frustrated. Cody pounds the mat, the fans rally up, and then Cody goes to ropes. Cody springboards again, CODY CUTTER! Cover, TWO!! Melo survives yet again, proving why he’s a former NXT Champion, on top of NXT North American Champion! But then Cody drags him up!

Cody back suplexes, Melo lands out of it, then FIRST 48! Doe goes Cody and Melo goes up! Melo is setting up for the game winner! NOTHING BUT- NO, Cody avoids the flying leg drop! Melo rolls through, Cody dodges to SUPERKICK! Cody brings Melo around, but Melo gets free! They both run, both springboard, but completely miss each other, and Cody takes a rough landing! Melo drags Cody up, reels him in, but Cody wrenches out to dragon sleeper! CROSS RHODES!! Cody shakes out the bad arm but still makes the cover, and Cody wins!

Winner: Cody Rhodes, by pinfall

Melo took his shot but it was blocked! Even so, Cody sits Melo up to show him respect and tell him he’s still the future. But did this match end up more of a trap game for Cody after that crash landing? Or will he be alright in time for Backlash and his phenomenal opponent?

Speaking of, Styles sneaks right into the ring! Cody sees him in time and Styles stays back. Cody and Styles stare down, but Styles says it was that close. Styles offers a handshake, and Cody takes it. There’s still respect here, for now. But will nothing stop Styles from turning Cody’s story into a tragedy after all?

My Thoughts:

A great SmackDown to open the WWE Draft but to also set up Backlash. To recap, SmackDown took Bianca, Melo, Orton, Nia, LA Knight, The Bloodline, Styles and Andrade while Raw took Jey, Rollins, Bron, Liv, Ricochet, Sheamus, The Alpha Academy, and Kiana. Many of those choices made sense, as picks won’t be wasted on keeping champions on brands, and just need to be used to keep most stories alive and change up a few others. Kiana is perhaps one of the more surprising moves, but well-deserved. She has been a solid character and solid in-ring performer almost from the start, she’s a solid addition to Raw.

Bron of course demolished his opponent tonight, it’s just a shame it was Cedric and not local enhancement talent. But Bron will also be a good addition to Raw, but maybe he can move past his squash match phase and get right to story. Melo being a first round pick was great stuff, and he had a great promo with Cody to give us tonight’s main event. That double springboard whiff was definitely a timing problem, but at the same time, a Fade Away countered into a Cody Cutter would’ve been way too epic just for TV. Cody with a great win, and we got a really good contract signing segment, but you can bet Cody retains.

Really good tag match from LWO VS Legado but naturally Rey & Dragon won. I knew it was only a matter of time before Carlito was outed, and how he handled being exposed was pretty good. And with Andrade being drafted to SmackDown, you just know that means Andrade joins the LWO. The Final Testament attacking New Catch Republic was a wild moment, I almost thought Ellering was going to use the pliers in his hands to grab at fingers. Maybe we get that next week for SmackDown in France. Good promos from A-Town Down Under and the still technically unnamed faction of Bobby Lashley’s. As great as The Profits are, it feels like Theory & Waller will cheat to retain.

Really good promo with Tiff and Bayley to set up Naomi VS Tiff round 3, but I did not think Nia Jax would disrupt all that. A Triple Threat at Backlash is good stuff, it will protect Bayley if she loses, but can also protect Naomi and Tiff if Bayley uses them against each other to win. Good promo from Bianca that then turned into the shouting match of Bianca & Jade with Kabuki Warriors. Their tag title match is official, and I’m pretty sure Bianca & Jade win. I also liked that this segment ended up having Kevin and Tama brawl right through it. Orton saving Kevin was a great move, RKKO VS Solo & Tama is going to be awesome stuff, I can’t wait to see it.

My Score: 8.8/10

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Coverage

Andrew’s TNA iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 4.25.2024

We just got done with Rebellion, and Under Siege is two weeks away! Gotta see how these dots connect!

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2024

Andrew Balaz

Rebellion had quite a few returns, Mike Santana, Sami Callihan and Broken Matt Hardy. All three of these guys could easily be main event players, and its nice to mix up and expand what felt like a rather small pool of potential challengers.

Under Siege is only like 2 weeks out, so we’ll see how the dots connect in such a short period of time.

.@AJFrancis410, Rich Swann, and rap legend @BunBTrillOG are IN THE HOUSE Meanwhile, @joehendry announces he will deliver an apology to Fir$t Cla$$ NEXT WEEK on #TNAiMPACT! pic.twitter.com/4GNe2xWfyU

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

Ratings:

Mike Santana vs Myron Reed w/Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz: Santana wins via Spin the Block – ** 1/2
#1 Contender: Frankie Kazarian vs Josh Alexander: Josh wins via Grapevine Ankle Lock – ***
ASH by Elegance vs Xia Brookside: Xia wins via School Girl Roll-Up – ** 3/4
Sami Callihan vs The Good Hands: Sami Callihan wins via Cactus Driver ’97 – SQUASH
Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards & Brian Myers vs Nic Nemeth: Eddie wins via Boston Knee Party – *** 1/4

Results:

Did @NicTNemeth say BROKEN? @MATTHARDYBRAND has arrived in the iMPACT Zone! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/HbkUangt6e

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

A weird opening that is just framed to put Nemeth and Hardy together against The System. Feels a little awkward, but who knows how it will play out.

.@JordynneGrace vs @miyu_tjp NEXT WEEK on #TNAiMPACT will now be for the Knockouts World Championship! pic.twitter.com/YnKZjb9yjx

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

Mike Santana vs Myron Reed w/Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz

Ahh I didn’t really pay attention to Santana’s theme at Rebellion, but its pretty damn cool. Good stuff.

Rascalz blindside Santana early, but the heel advantage doesn’t last more than a few moves. Santana whips Myron from corner to corner, hits a few Hip Attacks before Myron finally dodges one and starts using his unique offense and agility to his advantage. Matrix dodge, into an Leaping Outside Back in Slingshot Codebreaker. Some more offense and Santana powders to the ramp, Myron jumps over the rope and tries a Flying Cutter, but Santana blocks it, turns things around, gets pushed forward and hits the Rolling Cutter. Santana takes out the Rascalz, heads back into the ring, Myron tries to catch him unawares but eats the Spin the Block off the rope run! Santana wins fairly quickly.

Maclin’s music hits, he tries to employ the help of The Rascalz to attack Santana, but as soon as Maclin positions himself to get in, The Rascalz bail and flip off Maclin. Maclin makes it out of the confrontation relatively unscathed, but at least we know where he’s going for Under Siege probably.

OH FUCK ME WITH RUSTY KNIVES. Because Cardona is hurt Kon is paired with SDL, and she just challenges Jordynne and PCO to a tag match. WHY!? STOP IT. This is hot garbage.

Josh Alexander comes out…I wonder who’s Super Finisher he’s gonna conveniently kick out this time? Brian Myers? Frankie Kazarian? Rich Swann? Because yes, I’m still annoyed that Hammerstone has been in TNA for half a sandwich, he already connects with a Super version of his finish on tacks, and that’s not a finish. Oh Kaz’s music hits. Okay, so time for Josh to kick out of Fade to Black or Flux Capacitor. Kaz talks smack, says he won his match too so he should have a say in who’s number one contender. Josh challenges him, Kaz says not right now, but a referee runs out and says the match is official.

#1 Contender: Frankie Kazarian vs Josh Alexander

Kaz throws his jacket on Josh’s head, and attacks him with some strikes before Josh fights back and throws Kaz out. Commercial break, we see Kaz misses his Apron Guillotine, Josh goes for the Low Crossbody but Kaz dodges and Josh goes flying. Kaz starts throwing some chops and claws at the cauliflowered ears of Josh. Russian Leg Sweep from Kaz for a near fall. Josh swings wildly and Kaz ducks the strike and levels Josh with a Lariat.

Josh blocks a Vertical Suplex attempt, but Frankie pulls off a Fisherman’s Suplex after a few overhead strikes for a near fall. Josh stands up and connects with a straight right, rocks Kaz, Back Body Drop, into a Charging Forearm, Rolling Senton, 2 count! C4 Spike attempt countered into a Back Stabber and then Chicken Wing, but Josh fights it off, rolls through and into an Ankle Lock, Kaz kicks off and into a Head and Arm Cradle for a near fall and then the Guillotine Leg Drop into Slingshot DDT spot from Kaz for another 2 count!

Fade to Black, but its fought off, Big Boot but then Kaz counters the next move with a Power Slam into the Springboard Guillotine Leg Drop, but Josh grabs the Ankle Lock! Locomotion German Suplex time from Josh, Halfhatch Suplex after the Germans, floats over for a 2 count! C4 Spike attempt again, but Kaz fights it off, dumps him over the top rope, slingshots him in and into the Cutter for a near fall for Kaz! After the 2 Kaz grabs a chair and chain, the referee stops the chair of course, so he tries the chain, EY runs down and grabs the chain so Kaz pulls the Eddie Guerrero and the referee admonishes EY, but doesn’t DQ Josh. So as Kaz is busy laughing at EY, Josh picks the ankle, Ankle Lock with the Grapevine, Kaz taps.

Tensions are sky-high between @alexhammerstone and @JakeSomething_! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/LLCUJOCy7H

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

ASH by Elegance vs Xia Brookside

Both are jawing at each other and then throw hands before Xia gets the upper hand with a Headscissors from the Top Turnbuckle, Charging Knees, a Flurry of Kicks, but when the ref forces some space in the corner, ASH is finally able to dodge and work over Xia with her Twisting Body Splash, a few choking moves, a corner Stomp into a Snap Suplex for 2. ASH is in charge elegantly, but the referee keeps forcing space on both of them when they go for corner attacks. Xia manages to take advantage a little, but ASH regains control, kicks Xia up the ramp and then lands her Cartwheel Back Elbow up the ramp. It actually looks pretty cool executed like that.

Headlocks and Hair Pulling to keep Xia down and using energy to kick out. ASH is getting frustrated but Xia is remaining persistent. ASH goes back to the Headlock, but Xia fights up, Jawbreaker, Back Elbow, Kick to the gut and Drop Toe Hold sends ASH face first into the middle buckle. Xia rips off 4 Double Knee Smashes to the back of ASH’s head into her Flying Crossbody for a close 2! Xia pulls her up, but ASH spins out, then Xia slips it, but ASH kicks her in the chest and deposits her to the outside and demands a count from the referee. Iceman puts Jeweled Knuckles/Rings on ASH’s hand, the referee catches her, removes the stuff from her fingers and Xia hits the School Girl Roll-Up for the flash win.

Fraud has thrown the Ballot Box Battle into chaos, but also paved the way for an explosive showdown between @TheTreyMiguel and @The_Ace_Austin NEXT WEEK to determine the #1 Contender for the X Division Championship! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/lYHrtgNrc3

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

Sami Callihan vs The Good Hands

So the Good Hand Jobs are about to do their job to Sami. I’m just gonna assume Sami beats the hell out of both and wins with a Cactus Driver ’97. If anything interesting happens I might actually cover it, but come on now.

.@SteveMaclin has a proposition for @FrankieKazarian #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/XY6lMdmSWo

— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) April 26, 2024

Kaz makes a Metallica reference with the “Wash Your Back So You Won’t Stab Mine”…and Sweet Amber is the only good song on St. Anger. So…I ain’t mad.

Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards & Brian Myers vs Nic Nemeth

A little early ground wrestling and headlocks for control from both men. Nothing super flashy to start until we get to the rope run and Nemeth goes for the Flying Body Press to drop Eddie. Before Nemeth can follow up, Lish grabs his foot. Nic does have his brother Ryan in the crowd, trying to get chants going and do the old school ‘power up the babyface’ thing, but Eddie has been in control since Lish got involved. Simple offense, chokes, strikes, Snap Suplexes, Knee Drops, simple yet effective. But then Eddie ducks his head too early, Nemeth kicks him in the face, bounces his head off the buckles a few times, Dropkick sends Eddie reeling to the corner, Nemeth starts the 10 Count Punches but Myers hits the apron to distract and Eddie manages to slip the situation and push Nemeth to the floor.

Commercial break happens, Nemeth is trying to fight back with Chops, but a Kitchen Sink from Eddie puts Nemeth on the floor again! Clubbing blow from Eddie, but Eddie then misses the Hip Attack in the corner and Nemeth counters with the Rude Awakening into the 10 Count Rain of Elbows. Fame Ass-er miss, Eddie tries something but Nemeth turns it into that hesitation DDT for 2! Tuning up the band starts to build and Eddie powders to avoid it. Nemeth throws Eddie back in, goes to the top, but Eddie crotches him, rises up and hits the Superplex into Tiger Driver for 2! Eddie starts mocking with Tuning Up the band but Nemeth hits his own Superkick into an Olympic Slam for 2!

Both men just trade strikes Fighting Spirit style, Eddie says “Always Trust the System” and Nemeth shuts him up with a Headbutt. Danger Zone is blocked, Boston Knee Party gets ducked, they level each other with Lariats! Myers and Ryan Nemeth start fighting to distract the referee, Moose hits the ring and hits Nemeth with the belt. Eddie lands Boston Knee Party and The System wins again!

Overall Score: 6/10

A lame opening segment, a squash match, ASH by Elegance getting her first loss, and a weird way of just pulling the number one contender out of mid air makes for an awkward show. Also Kon still be involved in, literally anything, is negative. However, I can say there was a ton of stuff thrown at the wall this episode, so there’s a chance that some things landed better with other people than myself. The ballot segments were amusing, they overused the “I need to talk to you Santino” gimmick a bit much and personally I feel like having Jake versus Hammerstone is booking yourself into a weird corner.

But hey, the main event was fun, Nemeth getting laid out to the point that there could be a story reason to take him out of the Under Siege match. Kaz with the Metallica reference was pop worthy and I guess its a lot of ‘let’s see where it goes’ kind of angle creation. So it wasn’t complete trash, but its definitely a wait and see episode.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!