Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (2/10/21)
The Dusty Cups are in the semifinals!

NXT is almost ready for TakeOver: Vengeance Day! Are you?
This Sunday will see history! The Men’s and Women’s Dusty Cup Finals happen at TakeOver, but who get their golden tickets to the show?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: El Legado del Fantasma VS MSK; MSK wins and advances to the finals at TakeOver.
- Xia Li w/ Tian Sha VS Cora Jade; Xia wins.
- Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS The Way’s Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell; Moon & Blackheart win and advance to the finals at TakeOver.
- KUSHIDA VS Austin Theory w/ Johnny Gargano; Kushida wins, by disqualification.
- Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: Grizzled Young Veterans VS Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa; Grizzled Young Veterans win and advance to the finals at TakeOver.
PLAY BY PLAY
Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: El Legado del Fantasma VS MSK!
Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza took down Lucha House Party to establish their claim to the lucha libre throne, but they’re still not at the top yet! Will Nash Carter & Wes Lee stand in their way of taking over at TakeOver?
The teams sort out and Lee starts against Wilde. Wilde talks trash that the cup is theirs, then he dodges Lee’s approach. Wilde and Lee feel out the grapple, tie up with knuckle locks but Wilde spins Lee around to throw him down. Wilde clamps onto the keylock, Lee fights his way up, and he rolls back. Wilde has the double wristlock, wrenches to another and then arm-drags Lee. Fans fire up as Wilde handsprings and taunts Lee. Lee gets up, he circles with Wilde, and Wilde gets around to waistlock and throw Lee down to tie up the legs in a deathlock! Lee endures, pries free and has Wilde’s arm now.
Lee cranks on a cording hold, Wilde moves around and whips but Lee reverses to throw Wilde down again. Wilde rolls back, Lee whips him to the corner and runs in. Wilde puts Lee out but Carter tags in! Lee enziguris, then swings in to dropkick, then he rolls back as Carter runs in to Bronco Buster! Carter adds some extra bounces before he drags Wilde to a corner, ONE! Carter keeps on Wilde with a facelock as fans rally and duel. Wilde fights up, wrenches out and wristlocks, but Carter rolls and handsprings to flip and arm-drag! Wilde goes to the Legado corner and Mendoza tags in. Mendoza and Carter circle as fans rally up.
Carter and Mendoza tie up, Mendoza waistlocks but Carter switches. Mendoza shifts around as he headlocks, Carter pries at the hold but Mendoza wrenches to wristlock. Both men go to arm-drag but those cancel out. Mendoza wrangles Carter, Carter gets around to waistlock but Mendoza switches and spins. Carter stays up, whips but Mendoza goes up and over. Lee tags in, he blasts past Mendoza, MSK unleashes kick combos, enziguri to DOUBLE STOMP! Cover, TWO! Lee keeps his cool as he grabs at Mendoza but Mendoza pushes him away. Lee storms back over but Mendoza throws him into buckles!
Mendoza stomps Wilde, drags him up and whips him into the corner. Tag to Wilde, Legado CHOPS and clotheslines then tags again. Mendoza runs in to clothesline, Wilde tags and runs in to clothesline again! The cycle continues as Mendoza tags back in and hits another clothesline! Wilde tags back in, and hits another clothesline! Tag to Mendoza, he hits another clothesline! Wilde tags in, Legado double suplexes and then combine to handspring hip toss SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Wilde tags Mendoza and Mendoza whips Wilde in but Lee goes up and over and then under to tag Carter! Carter rallies on Mendoza with big clotheslines, knees and a BOOT!
Carter waistlocks, Mendoza switches and shoves Carter to a corner, but Carter dodges to KNEE back! Carter cravat rolls Mendoza to PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO! Carter whips, Mendoza holds ropes and he boots back! Tag to Wilde, Mendoza dumps Carter out and then gives Wilde a boost to dropkick Carter to barriers! Wilde DECKS Lee for good measure, and Legado has the fans dueling as NXT goes to break!
NXT returns and Mendoza GERMAN SUPLEXES, but Carter lands on his feet! Carter ducks the enziguri, but Mendoza anchors a foot! Mendoza drags Carter, Carter enziguris Mendoza! Hot tag to Lee and Lee rallies on Mendoza! Lee glares at Wilde, throws hands on Mendoza and CALF KICKS hard! Wilde gets in as Mendoza bails out but Lee throws him out, too! Lee and Carter coordinate, APRON SHOVE MOONSAULT!! Legado goes down, but Lee builds speed and FLIES! Lee bowls Legado down all over again and fires up! Fans fire up as Lee puts Mendoza in. Cover, but Wilde drags Mendoza to safety! Carter runs into a BOOT and then Wilde sends him into barriers!
Mendoza KICKS Lee at the ropes, springboards and missile dropkicks Lee into the corner! Tag to Wilde, and Wilde hops on to POISON-RANA! Tag back to Mendoza, he drags Lee up, dead lift ANARCHY SUPLEX! Cover, but Carter breaks it! Mendoza is furious and he mule kicks hard! Fireman’s carry, tag to Wilde, and Wilde climbs up, Wilde uses Carter as a boost for the 450, but onto Lee’s knees! Lee saves himself at the last second, and then he drags Wilde to a cover! But Mendoza SLAMS Carter onto it! Fans are thunderous, Mendoza throws Carter out and helps Wilde up. Legado coordinates, but Wilde has to steady himself. Mendoza runs but Carter trips and drags him out!
Wilde swings on Carter but misses, SUPERKICK from Lee! Tag to Carter, MSK looms over Wilde as they coordinate. Body shot and a toss, BLOCKBUSTER HART ATTACK! Cover, MSK wins!!
Winners: MSK, by pinfall (advance to the Men’s Dusty Cup Finals)
Carter & Lee shock many of the Capitol Wrestling Center fans, but they’ve been shocking us all since coming to NXT! Will they give us the biggest shocker yet when they take the Men’s Dusty Cup as the new kids on the block?
Mercedes Martinez speaks.
“It’s taken 20 years. 20 years to get to this point. This Sunday, it’s everything that I’ve worked for, everything that I’ve done, the trials, the tribulations. This is me! The real me!” Mercedes says the title is her destiny. Her goal. Why she’s still here. Toni Storm is a little girl. She’s not ready for this. Io Shirai has tried to take her out but it’ll take a lot more than that. The Evil Genius’ days as champ have an expiration date and that date is this Sunday. Come TakeOver, Mercedes walks out THE NXT Women’s Champion, “bet on that.”
Xia Li w/ Tian Sha VS Cora Jade!
We were told the legend of Tian Sha last week, and it seems that is who turned the Spicy Xia into a sharpened steel blade. Speaking of, that is what Xia uses to demonstrate her skills this week. Will Xia only sharpen her edge further against her
Wait, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter appear. They’re not Xia’s opponent, but they are her friends, and are worried about what has happened to her. Boa tells them to leave, the bell rings, and Jade attacks from behind! But that only angers Xia and she DECKS Jade! Xia strikes her fighting pose before she KICKS Jade right in the back! Jade hobbles up but Xia throws her right into ropes! Jade coughs and sputters, Xia aims and SPIN KICKS! Cover, Xia wins!!
Winner: Xia Li, by pinfall
Xia now glares at KC Squared, before she stomps away on Jade! Jade gets out of the ring, Kacy and Kayden try to talk to Xia, but Xia tells them to just leave. Kayden hops down to confront Tian Sha!! Who even is Tian? What has she done to Xia? What is she doing in NXT? But Xia sneaks up on Kayden and throws her off the stage! Xia apologizes to Tian Sha for that disturbance and promises it will not happen again. Tian raises her hand, and Boa tries to reason with her, too. Tian just grabs Boa by the face! Tian tells Xia to attack, so Xia attacks Kacy! HEEL KICK! Xia dispatches of her past, and Tian shows mercy to Boa. Will there be no mercy for the rest of the NXT Women’s Division?
Backstage interview with William Regal!
Does the NXT GM have any thoughts on the Dusty Cups Semifinals? Well a congratulations on MSK for winning, and he looks forward to the other two matches. Regal then opens his door and finds Scarlett Bordeaux waiting. Can he help her? Actually, she’s here to help him. If “he” were to be here in person, it wouldn’t be pretty. Santos Escobar’s time is up. Next week, Kross VS Escobar. Regal agrees and makes it happen. He politely asks her to leave, and she gives him a last warning that the end is near. Will Escobar #FallAndPray as the apocalypse is upon him?
The Way arrives, but Johnny Gargano is in a wheelchair?
Austin Theory wheels Gargano in but his arm is the only thing wrapped up. Is this legitimate? Or just the way Gargano is going to get out of defending his title?
NXT returns and The Way has made it to the ring.
But wait, now Indi Hartwell and Austin Theory have to lift Gargano up and into the ring? This is sad, but perhaps not in the way it should be. Theory sits Gargano on the top rope, then gets the wheelchair into the ring. Candice makes sure Johnny is okay before Theory carries him to the chair again. Theory carefully sets Johnny in his chair and then fetches a mic. Fans taunt him with “Johnny Wheelchair!” Johnny says before The Way’s Candice and Indi punch their tickets to TakeOver, he has some “unfortunate news.” What we are seeing is the result of a “vicious and cowardly attack by Kushida last week.” Johnny was minding his own business, but fans say “You Deserve It!”
Johnny says he does not deserve this! He was minding his own business when Kushida attacked him “for no good reason” and then broke Johnny’s arm! Watch the tape! Turn Johnny so he can see, too. The footage is of the brawl the two men had last week after Johnny threw the first sucker punch! And then in slow motion, we see Kushida Penalty Kick Johnny’s arm! Candice covers Johnny’s eyes so he doesn’t have to see it, and then they turn Johnny away. Johnny claims to have four fractures in his upper arm. Johnny is not only a leftie, he is a well-known power walker, who swings his arms hard when he walks. Now he can’t because it hurts and he’s in a wheelchair and Johnny hates wheels, so it’s all bad.
Fans still chant “Johnny Wheelchair” but Johnny says the worst part of this is that now, he can’t defend his NXT North American Championship against Kushida at TakeOver. That sucks! He really wanted to have that match. But Kushida should be suspended INDEFINITELY for injuring “the most beloved member of the NXT locker room!” Regal speaks up as he enters on stage. Regal says we’re supposed to be moving on to the Women’s Dusty Cup Semifinals, and we all know the NXT medical team cleared Gargano yesterday. So stop with this ridiculous charade. Charade?! Does Johnny look like he’s Dennis Charademan? He’s not!
And Johnny won’t trust the quacks in medical! The Way’s doctors found this! Look at those X-rays! Four fractures, just like he said. And Kushida broke the longest and strongest bone in Gargano’s arm! Regal asks him the name of said bone. Gargano doesn’t know, it starts with a D or something! He’s not Johnny Doctor! Regal says that’s not a real X-Ray. That R is for right arm, and Johnny is talking about his left! Second, that isn’t Gargano’s X-Ray because he’d be in excruciating pain! No, remember? Gargano can kick out of anything because he has a very high pain threshold! Proof is in the pudding and X-Ray. That R is probably for REAL, and it says “John Gargano” so that is totally legit! Yeah sure it is.
But Regal says there are two options here. First: Theory can be a surrogate, and his match with Kushida later tonight will be for the North American Championship. Theory likes that but Gargano says no way! And that’s not a pun! Then option two is Gargano forfeits the title right now. No no no no! Gargano needs a couple weeks, maybe months, and he will rehab his arm. It’ll be turned into a montage and music video, the return will be great. Wait, Kushida has snuck in behind The Way! Regal says whatever the decision, it needs to be conferred with Kushida first. Why? He shouldn’t even be here! He should be arrested!
Regal says Johnny needs to wait a second as he asks Kushida-san what he thinks. Johnny asks who Regal is talking to. And then Theory realizes Kushida’s right beside him! FAST BALL! Kushida grabs at the belt and pulls Gargano out of the chair! Kushida and Gargano tug-o-war over the belt, and Gargano yanks the belt away! He’s holding it up with his “broken” left arm! Therefore, it is NOT broken! FAST BALL! Gargano falls into the wheelchair and then falls over! Indi keeps Candice from going after Kushida, but clearly the charade has been exposed! So then, will the North American title match still be on for TakeOver? But first, the final Women’s Dusty Cup Semifinal begins!
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon VS The Way’s Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell!
NXT returns and the match is already underway as Ember has Candice down with a headlock. Candice headscissors, Ember kips out and headlocks again. Ember wrenches, tags in Shotzi, then whips Candice. Shotzi slides and trips Candice, Ember basement dropkicks, then Shotzi back sentons! Cover, TWO! Shotzi drags Candice up to cravat, but Candice endures. Shotzi throws knees, and Candice staggers to the corner. Tag to Ember, Ember brings Candice up to ram in shoulders! Candice shoves Ember away but Ember tosses her back in! Tag to Shotzi, but Candice gets away! Tag to Indi but Shotzi is right on her with clubbing forearms! Indi still fireman’s carries and SNAKE EYES!
Indi scoops Shotzi for a sidewalk slam! Cover, TWO! Indi grows annoyed and she drags Shotzi up to bump her off buckles. Indi stomps a mudhole, the ref counts and Indi lets off to drag Shotzi out. Cover, TWO! Indi keeps on Shotzi at the ropes, wrenches an arm and tags in Candice. The Way mugs Shotzi, Candice pulls Shotzi’s hair and uses that to wrench and throw Shotzi down! Cover, TWO! Candice gets the arm and keylocks it but Shotzi endures. Fans rally up, Shotzi fights to her feet, and Shotzi throws forearms. Candice knees low and hard, snapmares Shotzi and then hits a NECK SNAPPER! Jackknife bridge, TWO! Candice keeps on Shotzi’s arm and drags her away to tag in Indi.
Indi stomps Shotzi, drags her up and whips her to ropes to elbow her down! Indi taunts Ember, covers Shotzi, TWO! Ember talks smack back but Indi drags Shotzi up. Candice tags in, Candice wrenches Shotzi’s arm and uses a foot to JAM the shoulder! Cover, TWO! Candice is back on the arm with another keylock and she thrashes Shotzi around. Shotzi fights up, fans rally, and Shotzi throws forearms! Shotzi reaches but Candice keeps her from Ember to then throw her down! Cover, TWO! Candice drags Shotzi up, but Shotzi jawbreakers! Hot tag to Ember! Ember rallies on The Way, mule kicks and kicks and enziguris!
Fans fire up with Ember as she runs, and she shotgun dropkicks Candice down! Tag to Indi, she runs in but Ember spins her around for a ROLLING ELBOW! Tag to Shotzi, they coordinate, neckbreaker to CODE BREAKER, to QUESTION MARK! Cover, TWO! Tag back to Ember, they coordinate again, wrench and whip to a HANGING HEADSCISSOR, and FLYING FOREARM! Cradle cover, TWO!! Candice gets in but Shotzi is there to drag her out! But Candice shoves Shotzi into the table! Indi trips up Ember! Tag to Candice and The Way work together for a tightrope walk and FLYING RANA! Ember is sent into Shotzi and fans are furious as NXT goes picture in picture!
Candice looms over her opponents before putting Ember in and covers, TWO! Tag to Indi, she stomps Ember down, then stomps and stomps. Cover, ONE! Indi is annoyed but she drags Ember up to clamp on a chinlock. Indi thrashes Ember around but she endures. Ember fights up, reaches out but Indi throws her back down! Cover, TWO! Indi keeps on Ember with another chinlock, and she leans on the hold. Ember endures, fights up again, and throws body shots, but Indi throws Ember down by her hair! Tag to Candice, Candice stomps Ember down, then taunts Shotzi. Candice hits the step-up senton! Cover, TWO!
Candice keeps Ember from Shotzi and drags her all the way to The Way’s corner. Tag to Indi, and Indi stomps Ember again. Indi pushes Ember around but Ember CHOPS back! Indi CLOBBERS Ember, covers, TWO! Indi keeps Ember from Shotzi, drags her to the corner, and Candice tags back in. Candice drops a leg, grabs an arm, then brings Ember up to whip her into the corner hard! Candice runs corner to corner to back body block! Indi tags in, she runs in and forearm smashes Ember! Cover, TWO! Indi stays on Ember with a snapmare and chinlock. Ember endures all over again, fights her way back up, but Indi whips her away from Shotzi!
NXT returns to single picture as Ember holds ropes. Indi runs in but her boot gets caught up! Ember throws Indi out and then hurries for her corner! Hot tags to Candice and Shotzi! Shotzi tackles Candice and fires off furious fists! ROLLING ELBOW! Shotzi fireman’s carries, swings and T K O BUSTER! Shotzi runs and hits the BALL PIT! Cover, TWO! Shotzi grows frustrated but she and Ember coordinate. Ember tags in, Shotzi whips Candice into Ember’s gut wrench, AK-47 style Code Breaker! Shotzi SLING-DOGS Candice onto Ember’s knees! Cover, but Indi barrels in to break it! Shotzi whips Indi but Indi throws Shotzi out! Indi turns around into Ember’s BOOT!
Candice CLOBBERS Ember from behind! Candice shouts to Indi and tags her in. Indi hurries after Ember and coordinates with Candice. Ember is stuck in the ropes, Candice DRAPING LIONSAULTS!! Then Candice DIVES onto Shotzi! Indi covers Ember, TWO!! Ember survives and The Way is shocked! Fans are fired up for “NXT! NXT!” as The Way regroups. Indi drags Ember up, puts her in the corner and tags in Candice. Indi whips Candice in but Ember flops out of the way! Candice hits buckles, Ember flounders for her corner but Indi drags her away. Ember kicks Indi into Candice! Hot tag to Shotzi!
Shotzi enziguris Indi out, then fires off on Candice! Shotzi runs, Candice kicks the legs out and mule kicks! Tag back to Indi, The Way coordinates as Candice has Shotzi, WICKED STEP SISTER! SPRINGBOARD MACHO ELBOW!! Cover, but Ember breaks it! Candice is furious as Indi’s #ImpressiveElbow wasn’t the finish! Ember and Candice brawl on the outside, Indi drags Shotzi up. Shotzi trips Indi up to roll her up, ONE! Indi is in the corner, Shotzi runs in to SHINING WIZARD to DRAPING DDT!! Indi flounders, Shotzi is on the apron and Shotzi KICKS Candice into the ECLIPSE!! Indi saves Candice from Shotzi’s SUPER BACK SENTON!! Cover, Shotzi & Ember win!!
Winners: Shotzi Blackheart & Ember Moon, by pinfall (advance to the Women’s Dusty Cup Finals)
The wild child and the Evolved Shenom are fired up! And now they are on their way to history! Will they be howling to the moon and Take Care o’ Business as they take on Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez in the historic finals?
But as they go on stage to look at the Dusty Cup, Shotzi & Ember are confronted by Raquel & Dakota. Regal hurries out to keep the peace and make it official. On Sunday, one team makes history by not only winning the inaugural Women’s Dusty Cup, but they will also receive a future WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship match! He wishes both teams best of luck, and now the stakes are raised! Which team takes history along with a golden opportunity all for themselves?
Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa speak.
The Professor of Pain starts by saying, “Last week, we went to war with the Undisputed Era. It was rough, it was brutal, just the way we like it.” Tonight, they battle last year’s finalists. The Psycho Killer says that GYV are former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, and a couple of tough dudes. “But that. The Grizzled Young Veterans. The irony.” Gibson and Drake can say they’re whatever they want, but the fact is “Toothless Timmy and Old Man Ciampa” are gonna whoop their asses. Then on Sunday, Vengeance Day, these two win the tournament and take the Dusty Cup. Class dismissed.
Backstage interview with Santos Escobar.
What are his thoughts on the news that next week, he will face Karrion Kross 1v1? Escobar says Kross gave him “the gift of time.” But the funny thing about time is that it’s all relative. Kross doesn’t get to just make threats. Escobar is now giving Kross the gift of time. Mendoza and Wilde walk in and apologize for losing but Escobar says they don’t need to. Apologizing admits weakness, so Escobar never apologizes. But there’s something they can do to make it up to Escobar. These two should pay a certain someone a visit. Make sure Kross doesn’t make it to next week. And with that, Escobar thanks McKenzie for the interview and heads out. Will El Legado find a way to cancel the apocalypse?
NXT takes a closer look at The Prince VS The Bruiserweight.
Finn Balor has a red X on his back because he knows he is THE target in the NXT. Whoever comes at Finn next, “they stopped manufacturing the cloth that I’m cut from!” But Pete Dunne says that there was a line to face the champion. Dunne doesn’t care about a line. There’s no respect for The Prince here. “Everyone in Europe wanted to follow in Finn Balor’s footsteps. Not me.” Where everyone else sees the “poster boy” for European pro-wrestling, Dunne sees “a geezer with a glass jaw.” Dunne says Balor better hold that belt tight, because the first chance Dunne gets, it’s his.
Balor knows what Dunne has said. Dunne doesn’t respect Balor, but that’s fine. Balor doesn’t respect Dunne. But Balor would be a fool not to acknowledge Dunne’s abilities, achievements, and how he is championship material. Just not against Balor. Edge said it best: Balor is on “an entirely different level.” Dunne says it is inevitable. Vengeance Day, Balor VS Dunne for the NXT Championship, is intriguing even to the Rated R Superstar. “This isn’t a passing of the torch. This is gonna be a burning of the bridges.”
Dunne vows to smash Balor’s jaw and break his fingers. But Balor says Dunne will be in deep water. Dunne is a threat to Balor’s legacy, but Balor will make Dunne learn the hard way that he can’t swim these waters. Will the Bruiserweight be drowning in despair? Or will he dethrone the Prince and take over his kingdom?
KUSHIDA VS Austin Theory w/ Johnny Gargano!
The Time Splitter got the drop on The Way earlier tonight, but he still has to wait until Sunday to face Johnny Wrestling for the title! Will he be more than happy to tune-up #AllDay before getting at the gold?
The bell rings, Kushida and Theory rush each other, and they fire off fast hands! Kushida KICKS away on Theory’s arm, then runs in to go up and rain down fists! Gargano gets on the apron and distracts Kushida, Theory slips away to CLUB Kushida down! Theory brings Kushida around to throw forearms then whip and dropkick Kushida down! Theory seethes as he paces and drags Kushida up. Theory bumps Kushida off buckles, RAMS into him, then rams again! The ref counts, Theory lets off and drags Kushida up for forearms. Theory goes to suplex but Kushida blocks. Theory throws forearms and whips Kushida again, but then Kushida BOOTS back!
Kushida fires off forearms on Theory but Theory knees low. Theory whips, Kushida reverses but Theory blocks the hip toss. Kushida hits a judo throw instead, and then handspring dropkicks! FAST BALL! Kushida waistlocks but Theory switches. Kushida wrenches out, ARMBAR BULLDOG! Gargano feels that pain. Fans fire up for Kushida as he drags Theory around, stands on the arm then gets the other, for INVERTED DANIELSON STOMPS! Kushida lets off to bring Theory up and KICK him down! Theory flounders to a corner, Kushida is after the arm again but Theory pulls hair and knees low! Theory throws hands but Kushida hits the arm!
Theory throws more forearms, whips Kushida but Kushida wrenches and kicks low! Kushida steps through to hammerlock the arm, then he gets the other arm and steps over that! Kushida has Theory trapped for a SNAP LOCK! Theory scrambles to ropes, Kushida storms over and gets the left arm. Kushida YANKS the arm, but Theory fireman’s carries! Kushida fights free, goes after arms but Theory gets around to waistlock. They end up on ropes, the ref calls for a break and Theory knees low! Kushida KICKS away on the arm, then Theory flounders to a corner. Kushida is after the arm, ELBOW BREAKER!
Theory writhes in pain, Gargano is upset, but Kushida wrenches. Theory breaks free, swings, but into a KICK! Kushida has Theory in another corner but Theory put shim on the apron. Kushida counter punches, springboards but Theory trips him up! Theory DECKS Kushida! Fans fire up as NXT goes to break!
NXT returns and Theory grinds Kushida’s arm, Kushida fights up as fans rally, but Theory knees low. Theory scoops to hit a BACKBREAKER! Theory covers, TWO! Gargano is frustrated but Theory drags Kushida up. Kushida throws body shots, Theory CLUBS him, then Theory whips Kushida to ropes. Kushida leaps but into Theory’s arms for a FALL AWAY SLAM! Theory and Gargano high five with the “good” arm before Theory has a cocky cover on Kushida. TWO and Johnny argues with the ref. Theory rains down fists on Kushida as he shouts, “I! AM! THE WAY!” Fans boo as Theory loom over Kushida and drags him up. Theory CHOPS Kushida right to ropes!
Theory talks trash, throws forearms but Kushida just glares at him. Theory throws more forearms over and over, CLUBS Kushida down, then drags him up to snapmare. Theory stomps but Kushida dodges and rolls him up, TWO! Kushida hits an atomic drop and whip, but Theory reverses, only for Kushida to handspring back elbow! Theory staggers to a corner, but he runs at Kushida, only for Kushida to catch him to a BUCKLE SHOT! Theory flounders, Kushida reels him in, GERMAN SUPLEX! Kushida stomps Theory’s hand, BUZZSAW! Cover, TWO!! Kushida throws off the tank top and fires up with the CWC fans!
Kushida stands on Theory, keeps him from Gargano, and drags him away by an arm. Kushida wrenches, elbow breaker after elbow breaker, then a WRINGER! Theory bails out, Gargano is there to help him, but Kushida is on the apron. Kushida leaps but Theory dodges and BODY CHECKS Kushida! Theory drags Kushida up, lifts him up, but Kushida fights back! Kushida is on the apron, he rains down rights, and then hits an ARMBAR! But Gargano SUPERKICKS Kushida!!
Winner: Kushida, by disqualification
Gargano is furious and he shoves Kushida down while shouting, “Who do you think you are?!” The ref reprimands Gargano but he tells Theory to get Kushida up. Theory has Kushida in a camel clutch and only now does Gargano pretend his arm is “miraculously” healed. We all know he could use it this entire time, but now he uses it to throw down furious fists on Kushida’s face! Theory keeps Kushida from falling over as Gargano rubs the title in Kushida’s face. Then The Way stomps away on Kushida! Theory says to mess Kushida’s arm up with a chair! Gargano agrees and he goes to fetch some steel. Theory puts Kushida in the ring, but someone drags Theory under the ring!!
Gargano hurries to drag Theory out from under the ring, but he instead brings out DEXTER LUMIS! Gargano is afraid for his life and he scurries up the ramp! Theory drags himself out and thinks he’s hugging Gargano, but then he freaks out when he realizes it’s Dexter Lumis! Theory scrambles into the ring, into Kushida’s HOVERBOARD KIMURA!! Gargano hurries back in to go after Kushida, but he gets dragged down into the HOVERBOARD! The “broken” arm might break this time, and then Lumis gets Theory for SILENCE!! The Way hold hands as Theory fades out! Is this the way Gargano’s reign will end at TakeOver?
Toni Storm speaks.
“Five months ago, I sat on the beach and I looked out at the ocean, and I told everyone exactly what was gonna happen. I predicted it. And now, here we are.” Finally, Toni has a chance at the NXT Women’s Championship. Mercedes Martinez, it is very rude to involve yourself in other people’s business. Io Shirai, Performer of the Year and NXT Women’s Champion, Mae Young Classic Winn- Oh no, that last one wasn’t Shirai. That was Toni! And she knows that because Toni beat Shirai to win the tournament!
So what is the one thing that Shirai has said so far? She doesn’t like Toni? Well Toni wouldn’t like her either if she was Shirai, because every time they’re in the ring together, Toni beats Shirai. But no one talks about that, do they? This Sunday, everyone will be talking about it because Toni will walk away with the title. Shirai, Martinez, after TakeOver, get back in line because it’ll be #ToniTime.
Imperium speaks.
Marcel Barthel starts by saying, “Imperium is all about unity.” Alexander Wolfe returning to NXT USA was just the next piece in the puzzle. Fabian Aichner says Barthel is Imperium’s “agitator.” Wolfe says Barthel is “efficient, disciplined.” Barthel and Wolfe say Aichner is the “equalizer,” a man who can improvise, adapt and overcome. Barthel and Aichner say Wolfe is Imperium’s “Hatchet Man,” who is cold-blooded and has no remorse. And of course, Walter is the Ring General, “the most dominant United Kingdom Champion in history.” Together, they are Imperium! “To us, the mat is sacred!”
NXT returns to find El Legado has been devastated!
Wilde is under ladders and Mendoza is stuck on a trunk! Scarlett simply walks through the wreckage as Karrion Kross gets the camera’s attention! “Mr. Santos! Have you ever heard the old saying, ‘When you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself?'” Well, he should’ve because Kross just did. Next week, Kross will do to him what he did to Legado. Tick-tock. Is Escobar going to face doomsday in the aftermath of Vengeance Day?
A car pulls up rather noisily.
But it is a very fancy car! A white Lamborghini pulls up, the door flies open, and out walks… CAMERON GRIMES!? Grimes pays security to park his car for him while he goes to the ring. When did Grimes get all that green? He’s just giving it away to the CWC audience! They’re $100 bills?!? Did the Carolina Caveman strike gold or oil or something while he was away?! Grimes gets a mic, checks the time on his Rolex, and says there’s a nice reward for everyone who gets up on their feet! “Cameron Grimes is back, babay~!” Two months ago, Grimes was outside this very ring, because that no-good Timothy Thatcher, “that MCL snatcher,” took Grimes out, left him laying, screamin’ and flailin’.
Grimes went home and did what any man would do: He thought about how he’d make a comeback and Cave-In Thatcher! He won’t claim he trained the whole time. He did have some downtime, and in that downtime, just like any man would, he found out there’s these things called “video games.” Turns out, video games are freakin’ cool! Grimes started playing them, and thought to himself, “Why even wrestle if I can just play video games?”
But then Grimes ran out of games, so he want to this place called GameStop. Grimes walked in, when he opened those doors, the lights just hit a little different. Grimes thought to himself, “If there was anything that Cameron Grimes would put his money in, it would be a fine establishment like GameStop!” Turns out, Grimes is at the right place at the right time, because it went PARABOLIC! In laymen’s terms, “TO~ THE~ MOOOON~!” Now he has SO MUCH MONEY~! So much, he didn’t know what to do with it! But there’s things like, for dogs. It’s Doge Coin or something. And Grimes never did trust cats. Nine lives means they’re up to no good! So Grimes invested in them dog coins and now he’s RICH~! WOO~! So rich, richer than Alibaba!!
Grimes is fired up, throwing off his jacket, and says Elon Musk, “the guy that makes the rocket ships,” well Grimes just pulled up in one! HAHA~! Give it up for Cameron Grimes, the richest man in NXT! And there ain’t nobody that can tell Grimes anything now! Regal can’t tell Grimes something! Grimes tells Regal to kiss his grits! Grimes ain’t gonna wrestle Lumis, #KissMyGrits! Wrestle zombies? #KissMyGrits~! Money is power, and now Grimes has so much of it, it ain’t even funny. It’s HILARIOUS~! Grimes makes it rain then rolls around to make a money angel! But even with all that money, will Grimes’ massive ego still write a check his body can’t cash?
Backstage interview with Johnny Gargano.
A rough night for The Way, given how Kushida- STOP RIGHT THERE, ACTUAL MCKENZIE! She’s gone a week and still says stupid things! Gargano was doing Kushida a favor canceling their match. But this Sunday, Gargano VS Kushida IS happening! That is a dream match for many, but not for Gargano! This is an opportunity for Gargano to remind the world who the hell he is! Gargano isn’t just a North American Champion, he isn’t just Johnny Wrestling, he’s Johnny FREAKIN’ TakeOver! So Kushida better bring his best and be ready to wrestle the match of his FREAKIN’ life! Because when Gargano’s boots are tied, the lights are bright and it’s a TakeOver, no one can hang with Gargano! Sunday, Kushida enters Gargano’s world!
Io Shirai speaks.
“Scared? Scared of a Three Way Match? There’s no way I’m scared of a Three Way Match, I defeated Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley to win this championship.” In fact, Shirai looks forward to this one. Toni Storm is still not suited for this title. And it was three years ago that Toni won the MYC. They’re both different people now. Shirai is a champion, Toni is a challenger. Mercedes Martinez says her 20 year journey has led here. Too bad the journey will never end. It’ll go one forever and ever and ever, because Shirai WILL retain her title. On Sunday, TakeOver: Vengeance Day, Io Shirai remains champion.
Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semifinal: Grizzled Young Veterans VS Timothy Thatcher & Tommaso Ciampa!
Liverpool’s Number One and Mr. Mayhem were the inaugural NXT UK Tag Team Champions, and have been a tag team for roughly a decade! But this newly formed duo they’re against was forged through respect born from pain and grit! Will the Grizzled Young Veterans SSSSSOON be recognized as back-to-back Dusty Cup Finalists? Or will they fall even shorter when no one will survive?
Gibson has a mic and says, “Look at these two goofs! They really are as dumb as they look. Ciampa, how did things end between you and your last tag team partner, hey? And Tim, same question to you, lad!” Honestly, these two can take their fake friendship and stick it up all the way up their asses! The trophy belongs to the Grizzled Young Veterans, SSSSOON to be recognized as Dusty Classic winners, and SSSSOON– Ciampa doesn’t wait for teams to sort out, he DECKS Drake off the apron and goes after Gibson! Thatcher helps out as he drags Gibson around for EuroUppers! Ciampa hits Drake, CHOPS him, and then CHOPS more!
Thatcher throws Gibson into barriers, and Ciampa does the same to Drake! The makeshift combination maul GYV against Plexiglas! Then they trade targets! Thatcher stomps Drake and Ciampa stomps Gibson! Ciampa drags Drake up, throws him over barriers, and Thatcher drags Gibson up to put in the ring. Thatcher gets in and Gibson backs away to a corner. The bell rings, Gibson hits Thatcher! Gibson facelocks, Thatcher slips out and wrenches to knee away! Thatcher knees Gibson down, gets a leg and drags him over to tag in Ciampa. Ciampa stomps Gibson, YANKS Gibson’s leg, then wrenches an arm to tag Thatcher back in.
Thatcher and Ciampa mug Gibson, Thatcher looms over Gibson and wrenches the arm around. Gibson powers up but Thatcher wants the double wristlock. Gibson ends up in a corner, Thatcher throws EuroUppers and whips him corner to corner. Drake takes the impact in the corner, Gibson clubs Thatcher, then tags Drake in. Drake kicks and punches Thatcher to a corner. Drake stomps away on Thatcher, then reels him in for a short arm clothesline! Drake keeps throwing haymakers but Thatcher throws EuroUppers! Drake kicks Thatcher, tags Gibson, but Thatcher fights GYV off with more uppercuts!
Thatcher has Gibson’s arm but Drake trips Ciampa up! Drake shoves Ciampa into steel steps, Gibson rolls Thatcher up, TWO! Gibson facelocks Thatcher but Thatcher waistlocks. Gibson backs Thatcher down, Drake tags in, and Drake rolls to run in, big back elbow! Gibson adds a clothesline then feeds Thatcher to Drake’s windmill kick! GYV go out and get Ciampa up! Assisted APRON POWERBOMB! Ciampa flails and writhes as NXT goes picture in picture.
The ref tells GYV to back off while he checks on Ciampa. Ciampa clutches his neck, the known weak spot, and GYV go back for Thatcher. Drake drags Thatcher up to cravat, grinds him down, but Thatcher fights up. Drake facelocks, Gibson tags in, and they mug Thatcher! Gibson throws EuroUppers and down goes Thatcher! Gibson drags Thatcher back up, Thatcher grabs at Gibson’s leg so Gibson drops knees! Ciampa is still down on the outside as Gibson wraps Thatcher up in a chinlock. Thatcher endures, Gibson grinds him down, medics check on Ciampa’s neck. Thatcher reaches out with a leg, Gibson keeps him just out of reach of the ropebreak, and shifts around with the hold.
Thatcher fights up, Drake tags in, ripcord FOREARM! Drake covers, TWO! Thatcher kicks from below but Drake stomps away! Drake drops elbows, pushes Thatcher down and digs a knee into his face. Cover, TWO! Thatcher again kicks from below but Drake throws forearms! Drake drags Thatcher up, throws haymakers, and NXT returns to single picture as Thatcher fires EuroUppers in return! Thatcher rocks Drake but Drake hits back! Thatcher clinches to BELLY2BELLY Drake away! Drake crawls, Ciampa is still down, Gibson tags in! Gibson runs in to clotheslines Thatcher in the corner, then SLAMS him down! Cover, TWO! Another try, TWO!
Gibson keeps on Thatcher with a wristlock, some forearms to his face, then a seated chinlock. Gibson leans hard on the hold but Thatcher reaches. Gibson pushes off ropes to keep Thatcher away but the ref reprimands. Thatcher endures, fans rally up, and Thatcher scowls as he fights his way up. Gibson shifts around to ROCK Thatcher with a EuroUpper! And another! Thatcher throws forearms on the GYV, but Gibson ROCKS him again! Gibson hammers away on Thatcher, tags to Drake, and GYV coordinates. Drake climbs, Gibson Electric Chair lifts, but Thatcher fights out! Thatcher shoves Gibson, Drake leaps over, but Thatcher EuroUppers him out of the air!
Drake and Thatcher are down, but Ciampa isn’t on the corner! Gibson gets in and goes after Ciampa, only for Ciampa to DECK him! Ciampa is back and gets the hot tag! Ciampa rallies on Drake with big clotheslines! Gibson gets in to get some clotheslines, too! Ciampa keeps going, clothesline to Drake in a corner, then to Gibson, then BOTH GYV! Ciampa fires up and so does the CWC! Ciampa GERMAN SUPLEXES Drake! And GERMAN SUPLEXES Gibson! And then a fireman’s carry, AIR RAID CRASH onto Gibson! Cover, TWO!! Ciampa snarls, drags Drake back up, and CHOPS him! And CHOPS him! And CHOPS again!
Thatcher likes what he sees as Ciampa underhooks. Drake drops, Ciampa CLUBS him, then brings him back up. Drake powers Ciampa back, Gibson tags in and the GYV mugs Ciampa! Gibson brings Ciampa up to hoist into HELTER- No! Ciampa slips out to CHOP Gibson! Gibson forearms, Ciampa gives them back and it’s a brawl! They go fast and furious then Ciampa SLAPS and KNEE TRIGGERS Gibson! Gibson throat chops! And hoists Ciampa up, for HELTER SKELTER! Both men are down and crawling for their corners, hot tag to Drake, and Ciampa is still down! Drake runs to launch off Ciampa, MAYHEM In Motion to Thatcher!
Drake and Gibson coordinate, they drag Ciampa up to the Electric Chair! GRIZZLED DOOMSDAY!! Cover, but Thatcher breaks it! Fans fire up as Gibson goes after Thatcher and throws him out hard! Gibson throws forearms but Thatcher choke grips to SLAP Gibson down! Drake DIVES and sends Thatcher into barriers! Drake hurries back to the ring, but Ciampa catches him in the ropes! But Gibson anchors Drake’s feet and saves him from the DDT! Tag to Gibson, Drake scoops Ciampa, TICKET TO MAYHEM!! Cover, Drake intercepts Thatcher, GYV WIN!!
Winners: Grizzled Young Veterans, by pinfall (advance to the Men’s Dusty Cup Finals)
The Ticket to Mayhem is their ticket to TakeOver! The team that’s teamed together longer finds a way to win, and now they’re going back to the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals! But will just be going back to back? Or will they end MSK’s streak right at the finish line?
Commentary gets on the mics to run down the TakeOver card!
MSK talks trash with GYV as they both prepare for the Men’s Dusty Cup Finals! Gargano and Kushida return for one last stare down before fighting for the North American Championship! The historic Women’s Dusty Cup will have Kai & Gonzalez VS Shotzi & Ember, and those teams return to finish where they left off in the trash talk. And there’s the Triple Threat for the NXT Women’s Championship! Shirai is between both Mercedes and Toni as they all argue with each other.
But of course, last but certainly not least, the main event, THE NXT Championship, Balor VS Dunne for the first time ever anywhere!! And these two stare down in the ring under the spotlight as a dream match a long time coming finally happens! Balor takes aim at Dunne, Dunne puts his dukes up, but who puts the other down on Vengeance Day?
My Thoughts:
A very strong go-home, but um, that ending segment was random. NXT has never done a last minute rundown of a TakeOver card accompanied by forced continuations of stare downs and trash talk. NXT better not be listening to USA Network or NBC executives on how to do their show because that’s a bunch of bull and makes NXT feel more like Raw or even, dare I say, ROH. But that aside, everything else was as it should’ve been. We got great video packages for the NXT Women’s and top NXT titles, which should’ve been all we got, not those trash talk/stare down moments at the end. That is what makes NXT great, so we don’t need to add on. I’m honestly surprised there wasn’t more of a Prime Target feel to one of them, but maybe that’s being saved for closer to Mania.
Xia Li decimates another opponent, but the real development from her segment was that KC Squared still wants to be her friends. Tian Sha/Mei Lin has a stronger hold over Xia, so I would love to see a tag match where Tian Sha (Karen Q) gets in action. That will be a really fun match because of the combinations of martial arts and acrobatic styles that all four women use, and it could even be a series. The Way had a really good string through the night, from Gargano faking a broken arm and somehow that keeps him from walking, and then him being exposed outright. Kushida VS Theory was very good, even with Gargano getting involved. Lumis showing up was great, too, but I guess we won’t get a tag match of Gargano & Theory VS Lumis & Kushida, as good as that would’ve been.
Candice & Indi VS Shotzi & Ember was a really good match, but naturally with Heels already in the Women’s Dusty Cup Finals through Kai & Gonzalez, the Faces won out. Shotzi & Ember are coming up with some really good combo moves, like the bulldog to knees. The Women’s Dusty Cup finals can go either way with it being the first-ever, so it really comes down to Raquel or Shotzi, who has the bigger push? They’ve both gotten to do a lot this past year or so on NXT, maybe Dakota or Ember takes the fall. And with the prize (logically and rightfully) being for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Titles, I think the Dusty Cup determines who wins between Nia & Shayna VS Naomi & Lana. WWE insists on Heels VS Faces so whoever wins the cup, the opposite will have the titles.
Imperium had a really good promo video, too, but I still don’t see Walter showing up. Walter still has the NXT UK Championship, so he has to be on NXT UK and hold down the fort. As for Wolfe, Aichner and Barthel, they can of course go for North American and Tag Team Championships, once Faces have them again. There’s a very good chance Kushida wins the North American Championship, so Kushida VS Wolfe would make for a very good match-up. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch being Heels, would MSK end up winning the Men’s Dusty Cup? MSK VS Legado and GYV VS Thatcher & Ciampa were both great matches, but naturally we get Faces VS Heels there, too.
I am going to be very surprised if GYV doesn’t win at TakeOver, I’m not sure MSK is all the way there just yet. We still don’t even know what the letters mean! As for Thatcher and Ciampa losing, I wouldn’t be surprised if this starts to make them question the tag team. They are of course 1-1 in their series against each other, so maybe the next loss breaks them up and we get the tiebreaker at the next big NXT event. Kross VS Escobar is happening way sooner than I would’ve expected, but whatever. I’m not really feeling either, and I again say the Cruiserweight title should’ve been given to Curt Stallion just to get it out of this story.
Cameron “GameStonks Doge Coin Kiss My Grits” Grimes is already off to a hilarious start. The social commentary is strong, and the fact Grimes kept calling it “dog coin” was perfect for who he is. As was him not knowing about video games until he was home healing. I feel like this is his equivalent of Ric Flair’s “Fire me, you can’t fire me!” and I hope he gets to run with it for a good amount of time. He could be like a Million Dollar Man who pays off people to help him fight someone he doesn’t want to fight, like a Dexter Lumis or Timothy Thatcher. If this is somehow NBC getting involved, I am oddly enough okay with it. NBC having good ideas is rare, might as well embrace the ones they have.
My Score: 9.3/10
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So much gold is on the line!
Stephanie Vaquer is the first ever NXT Women’s Double Champion, and she’s willing to defend both belts separately! Will Vaquer still be golden after tonight?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- NXT Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Jaida Parker; Vaquer wins and retains the title.
- Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont w/ Wes Lee; Igwe & Dupont win.
- NXT Heritage Cup Championship: Lexis King VS Je’Von Evans; Lexis wins and retains the title.
- Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley VS Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson; Gigi & Tatum win.
- Ethan Page VS Andre Chase w/ Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors; Ethan wins.
- NXT Women’s North American Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Fallon Henley; Vaquer wins and retains the title.
PLAY BY PLAY
NXT Women’s Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Jaida Parker!
The Dark Angel starts her Double Header to start the show, and Miss Parker is ready to take her shot on goal! Will Jaida get out the mud with this one? Or will she learn that La Primera don’t play, either?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and both title and history are on the line!
The bell rings and the fans duel already. The two tie up, go around, and Jaida knees low! Jaida wrenches, wristlocks, and YANKS the arm. Jaida wrenches, YANKS, and wrenches again, but Vaquer rolls, handsprings, and wrenches to a wristlock in return. Jaida powers through to scoop and SLAM! She eggs Vaquer on, scoops her again, and SLAMS her! Jaida talks trash, the fans rally, and Vaquer goes for a leg. Jaida stops Vaquer with a facelock, shifts to hook the arms, but Vaquer slips through to trip Jaida up! Vaquer has the toehold, then ties Jaida’s legs up into a DEATH LOCK! The fans fire up while se see Ava Raine and the Women’s Division watching backstage.
Jaida endures, crawls back, and reaches out to the ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Vaquer lets go, but Jaida runs up. Vaquer dodges, comes back, and tilt-o-whirls to a roll-up! TWO, Vaquer dodges Jaida and sits her down for body scissors! Gedo Clutch, TWO! Jaida escapes that one and the fans fire up. The two reset, circle again, and tie up. They’re in a deadlock, but Jaida powers her way to a facelock. Jaida CLUBS Vaquer, headlocks, then THROWS Vaquer down! Jaida wraps on the body scissors, but Vaquer pushes back to a cover, TWO! Jaida CLUBS away on Vaquer, rolls her over to a cover, TWO!
Jaida facelocks, drags Vaquer up, but Vaquer wrenches free. Vaquer whips, Jaida reverses, but Vaquer RANAS! Jaida tumbles to a corner and the fans fire up. Vaquer runs up and LARIATS, but Jaida fires a forearm! Vaquer CHOPS, SOBATS, and whips corner to corner. Jaida goes up, over, and HIP DROPS! Jaida caught Vaquer with that one and the fans fire up! Jaida talks more smack before she rains down fists, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Jaida lets off of Vaquer to clap back at the Vaquer fans. Jaida whips Vaquer to a corner hard, then scoops for a BACKBRAEKER! Vaquer writhes, Jaida drags her back up, and Jaida whips Vaquer to then ROCK her! Jaida whips Vaquer and CLUBS her, then she brings Vaquer around for a snap suplex! Cover, TWO! Jaida stays on Vaquer with a facelock, and snap suplexes again! Cover, TWO! Jaida is annoyed, but she whips Vaquer, only for Vaquer to fire off forearms! Vaquer dodges a lariat, ROCKS Jaida again and again, but Jaida knees low! Jaida stands Vaquer up, runs and BLOCKBUSTERS! Cover, TWO!
Jaida grows frustrated but she pushes Vaquer over. Jaida digs a knee into Vaquer’s back and pulls her back! Vaquer endures, fights to her feet, but Jaida wrangles her back down. Jaida digs her knee in more but Vaquer still endures. Vaquer fights back up, only for Jaida to CLUB her back down! Jaida whips Vaquer to a corner, then whips her back in! Jaida talks some smack while NXT returns to single picture. Jaida whips Vaquer back into the corner, then corner to corner. Vaquer staggers, Jaida scoops, but Vaquer slips free and drops down, VICTORY- NO, Jaida stuffs it! TWO, and both women stand! Jaida blocks a shot, wrenches and slips around, BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO!
The fans rally up as Vaquer goes to a corner. Jaida runs in, but into a BOOT! Jaida comes back, but into a HANGING TRIANGLE! The fans fire up, the ref counts, and Vaquer lets go at 4. Jaida staggers away, Vaquer springboards in and CROSSBODIES! Direct hit, and the watch party loses a few guests, such as Jordynne Grace. The fans fire up as Vaquer runs and dials it up, 619! Jaida flounders, Vaquer storms up, and the fans fire up for the headscissors! Vaquer turns Jaida over for the PRIMERA DRILLER! Vaquer goes all the way to TEN, then brings Jaida up. Vaquer underhooks but Jaida wrenches free!
Jaida knees low, reels Vaquer in and suplexes, FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO! Vaquer survives and Jaida grows further frustrated. Jaida drags Vaquer up, dragon sleepers, “This is Awesome!” as Vaquer slips free. Vaquer waistlocks. Jaida switches and shoves, then SPINEBUSTER! Jaida drags Vaquer back up, POSTS her, then has her in the ropes! Jaida CHOPS Vaquer, then runs to TEARDROP! Jaida high steps, but GRACE is ringside! The Juggernaut is not happy with how Jaida interrupted her last week! Jaida frowns, but she still blocks Vaquer’s kick! Jaida ROCKS Vaquer, runs and builds speed, into a victory roll! VAQUER WINS!!
Winner: Stephanie Vaquer, by pinfall (still NXT Women’s Champion)
Jaida is beside herself, but she let someone else get in her head before the end. Refs rush out here to keep Jaida from going after Jordynne. The bottom line is that Vaquer still has the top title in the NXT Women’s Division. But FATAL INFLUENCE ATTACKS! The fans boo as Fallon, Jacy & Jazmyn mug Vaquer, wanting to soften her up for the main event! Jacy drops a SENTON, then another SENTON! Then a third SENTON! The fans boo as hard as they can, but will NXT once again be under the Influence?
Trick Williams paces backstage.
But he spots someone walking in and says he doesn’t wanna hear any of that, he doesn’t have time for it today. But Je’Von Evans says, “Deadass, I didn’t like how you pushed me to the side last week. I was focused on Dark State, and I was trying to tell you and Oba that-” Trick says Je’Von still doesn’t get it! Just because they’re from the Carolinas, they’re supposed to be brothers? Trick told him once and he’ll tell Je’Von again, the focus is on Stand & Deliver and the NXT Championship. Je’Von knows Trick’s obsessed with Oba, he’s been that way for the last four months! How is Trick focused so hard on Oba that he couldn’t do what Je’Von did and just drop him?
Trick says be real. Je’Von only dropped Oba because Oba was focused on Trick. Oh, really? Well, if Trick keeps on doubting Je’Von, then Je’Von will just keep on shocking him. Trick said Je’Von would never be champion, but tonight, Je’Von proves Trick wrong again. Trick says yeah, Je’Von has potential, good for him. Randy Orton said Je’Von’s got potential, there’s all these “cosigns,” but there’s a difference between having potential and having the title. Everybody can’t hold that title in the air. Je’Von says he thought Trick was mad before. But that title has really changed Trick into someone else.
Trick says it’s a champion thing, dawg. That’s something Je’Von doesn’t understand. Well, after tonight, Je’Von will. The Young OG heads out, but will he take the Drama King’s throne as Heritage Cup Champion?
The NXT Women’s Division Watch Party continues.
As the others murmur about how the opening match ended, Ava says she needs to go check on Vaquer. But Lash Legend says, “SKRRT! Excuse me, Miss Mayor.” Ava says, “Yes, Lashes?” Lash needs to check into why Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley have a title match with the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions when it should be the Meta Girls. Ava tries to start, but Gigi says maybe it’s because Ava is tired of giving Lash & Jakara opportunities and they lose. Ever think about that? Tatum says first, Gigi & Tatum will beat Ash & Heather By Elegance, and then they’ll bring those TNA titles to NXT!
Jakara says whatever, she and the Bougie Bully have been a real tag team a lot longer than anyone else in this room. Zaria steps up but Sol Ruca has her calm down. Lash tells them both to sit back down. Jakara says you don’t send girls to do a woman’s job. They ran up on Ash & Heather but Gigi & Tatum went and took their shot. Oh, “took their shot,” huh? Please, Miss Jackson. If you’re about the action, Gigi & Tatum will show them something. Lash says don’t even go there. The Meta Girls head out, telling Ava to fix this. Ava has a lot on her plate, but will Gigi & Tatum show they can make an impact?
Sit-down interview with Ricky Saints.
Vic Joseph sits down with The Absolute and says he has been waiting for this moment ever since Ricky arrived over a month ago. Ricky has already had some big moments, but there are those in the locker room that say Ricky doesn’t belong. It’s Stand & Deliver Season, tensions are high, is that all white noise or motivation? A bit of both. Ricky thinks it is funny, as there are superstars back there that have had a head start on him. And it wasn’t until he actually showed up that the decided to up their game. Vic and the fans are finding out just how confident Ricky is as a performer. And confidence can scare people.
That is what Ricky has been dealing with all his life. So coming here and getting that is nothing new to Ricky. Then where does Ricky find that inner confidence? Ricky says when he was breaking into the business, he was living out of his car. There were times he didn’t know how he was going to eat for that weekend. He didn’t know if he’d have money for food or clothes. But at the end of those days, the only thing he actually had was his confidence. The confidence in the fact that he was going to get out of that situation. That is why he’s sitting with Vic right now, in NXT and the WWE. It is because of that confidence.
Ricky wears the scars and battle wounds as pride. But wait, Shawn Spears interrupts? Vic tries to explain this is an exclusive interview, but The Chair Man says he is going to take it from here. Vic steps aside and Spears tells Saints to relax, he’s just sitting down. Spears says they’ve known each other a long time. Ricky says too long. Then why does Ricky think Spears didn’t ask Ricky to join The Culling. Because Spears knew Ricky would say no. Spears knew Ricky would say that, and tells Ricky that he’s wrong. Remember that conversation in Philly? How many times has Spears had to talk Ricky off the metaphorical ledge?
How many times did Ricky not believe in himself? All the advice he’s given over the years. The reason Spears didn’t offer is because, sadly, Ricky is still the same man he left over a year ago. Nothing’s changed. This arrogance is a plague everywhere Ricky goes. All he does is create a long line of enemies, and it is all his fault. Wow, what’s really weird to Ricky is that Spears doesn’t get how if he wants to be number one here in not just NXT but in WWE, it’s that he’s going to make enemies. Spears has heard that same thing, “You wanna make friends? Or do you wanna make money?” That is Spears’ point with Ricky!
Look at Spears! He is a champion in the WWE, with three of his best friends, family even, right by his side. Ricky says they’re the only reason he has that title. And Ricky is going to be the one to take it from Spears. Oh, so Ricky wants the North American Championship? Is he sure? Even though they both know what the outcome’s going to be? Do not add Spears to your long list of enemies, Ricky. You know what they are capable of. Jensen, Niko & Izzi step in, but Spears has them stay back. Spears tells Ricky that in case it doesn’t work out, he can always go back to… Oh, no, never mind. They both know Ricky burnt every bridge.
The Culling leaves, and Ricky says he’ll just have to win then. Will Spears still be so high and mighty when Saints comes marching in?
Other superstars finish watching the interview.
Wes Lee’s guys, Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont, cannot believe this. What is Ricky doing? He can’t be for real. Wes says no, he is. It’s “Ricky ‘Everything is About Me Once I Walk Through the Door’ Saints.” But in time, he’ll realize he ain’t the guy around here. But don’t sweat it, it’s almost time for their match. Let’s get it. The Wes Side heads out, Ethan Page puts his coat up, and Kale Dixon tells Uriah Connors that Ricky is pulling an Ethan Page. That’s what All Ego did, didn’t he? That’s gotta suck. Ethan says two more words, and Kale will get knocked out again. Uriah steps up for Kale, but then Andre Chase steps in.
Chase tells Ethan, “What the hell is your problem? You know that’s not how we handle things here.” Oh, and this isn’t a classroom, professor, this is the real world. Yeah, and Ethan knows better. Kale & Uriah are young and inexperienced. Oh, then Chase better teach them that their words have consequences. Actually, Ethan forgot that their dead-end university is closed. Oh, is that how Ethan feels? Yeah! Then maybe Chase should teach them about sensitive tough guys like Ethan who can’t handle the truth. Ethan says, “We’ll see.” Ethan heads out, Chase tells Kale & Uriah that he’ll handle this. And seeing how eager they are, Chase lets Kale & Uriah follow.
Kale & Uriah are excited to see Mr. Chase handle business, but will All Ego stomp all over the name of Chase U?
Hank ‘n’ Tank walk ‘n’ talk.
They’re riled up from last week, being talked down to by Wes, but forget about last week. Right here, right now, these two will prove they’re not just two individuals. They are two minds intertwined! Nobody is more connected than the Bodacious Belly Boys! What does Motor City Machine Guns say to that? Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin are waiting and they like the energy. Hank ‘n’ Tank have got this! One time for the boys! HONK HONK! MCMG wants to see Hank ‘n’ Tank bring out that it factor, will this be the night they level up? Or will Ty & Ty show them what it takes to evolve?
Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont w/ Wes Lee!
NXT is picture in picture for entrances, and while the teams sort out. Igwe starts against Tank and the two circle. They tie up, are in a deadlock as Igwe is taller but Tank is wider. The two reset, tie up again, and Igwe waistlocks. Igwe SLAMS Tank down, holds him down, but Tank fights back up. Tank wiggles and swivels and switches, but Igwe fires elbows! Igwe goes to ropes, bucks Tank, then runs him over! Igwe drags Tank up, tags Dupont, and they double wrench to double YANK the arms! Tank goes to ropes, Dupont brings him around, and Dupont CLUBS the arm! Dupont wrenches to RAM shoulders, then taunts Tank.
Dupont stands Tank up but Tank rolls Dupont up! TWO, and Tank wrenches to YANK the arm! Tank wrenches the arm again, Dupont fights the elbow breaker, but Tank powers him into the corner! Hank tags in, sets up, and Tank HONK HONKS the ELBOW BREAKER! Hank runs up and LARIATS Dupont! Hank bumps Dupont off buckles, then goes corner to corner with Dupont to bump him off more buckles! Hank whips, Dupont reverses, and Dupont SPLASHES! Dupont talks trash, then whips corner to corner. Hank goes up and over, and he BODY BLOWS! NXT returns to single picture as Hank climbs up!
Igwe storms in but Tank intercepts! The fans fire up as Tank bumps Igwe off buckles and climbs up! Hank ‘n’ Tank coordinate, and they rain down fists! The fans count along, and we go to nine, wind up, and TEN! Hank ‘n’ Tank send Ty & Ty into each other, and then HONK HONK, BIG BELLY SANDWICH! Igwe falls out, Wes is annoyed, and Hank wrenches Dupont to YANK the arm. Tag to Tank, drop toehold and ELBOW DROP! Tank then sits Dupont up for Hank to run, run, and run, to DROPKICK! The fans fire up and Tank hurries to get Dupont for a cover, TWO! MCMG watches this backstage, Tank whips but Dupont blocks!
Dupont reels Tank in to LARIAT! Tag to Igwe, Ty & Ty double whip to DOUBLE SHOULDER TACKLE! Igwe snarls, but Tank avoids the stomp! Igwe hobbles, Dupont tags in and he CLOBBERS Tank! Dupont talks trash, whips Tank, but Tank KICKS Dupont! Tag to Hank, and Hank TOSSES Dupont onto Igwe! The fans fire up as Tank holds the way open! Shoutout to MCMG, Hank DIVES! Direct hit and Hank even hits the desk! The fans are losing their minds over the world’s biggest “five hole goal” as Hank puts Dupont in the ring. Dupont goes to a corner, Hank runs in, BACK BODY BLOCK and BULLDOG! The fans fire up with Hank, but Wes distracts him!
Hank takes a swipe, Wes gets away, and Dupont UPPERCUTS Hank down! Tag to Igwe, he stomps away, and Igwe clamps onto Hank’s arms, to then pull and STOMP! Igwe then drags Hank up to fire hands, then he lines up a shot. Hank wobbles, Igwe BOOTS him down! Igwe drags Hank up, whips him to the corner, then he runs up to RAM into Hank! Dupont tags in, but Hank fights back! Dupont full nelsons, Igwe BODY BLOWS, and Dupont FULL NELSON SLAMS! Cover, TWO! Hank survives that mugging but Dupont drags him back up. Dupont has the full nelson and he thrashes Hank around! Hank fights up and hits a JAWBREAKER!
Dupont staggers, Igwe tags in! Igwe drags Hank from Tank, but Hank fights and flails! Hank powers up, the fans rally, and Hank steps forward. Igwe CLUBS Hank on the back! Igwe keeps the facelock, but then takes a swing on Tank! Tank dodges. then Hank dodges, hot tag to Tank! Tank rallies on Ty & Ty with big forearms and LARIATS! Tank dodges Igwe to then OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY! Dupont storms up but Tank ROCKS him, and BLASTS him! Wes is freaking out as Tank cartwheels past Igwe to LARIAT! The fans fire up as Tank suplexes Igwe, FISHERMAN SPINEBUSTER! Cover, DUPONT BREAKS IT!
The fans rally, Igwe goes to a corner, and Tank runs in. Igwe runs up, Tank dodges to go up, up and FLYING SHOULDER TACKLE! Tag back to Hank, and Tank goes up? Hank turns Igwe, but Wes slides in! The ref stops Wes, but that lets Dupont trip Tank up! No Skull ‘n’ Bones, Igwe shoves Hank away! BOOT and Hank is on spaghetti legs! Dupont tags in, SLAM DUNK SAIDO!! Cover, Ty & Ty win!
Winners: Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont, by pinfall
The Wes Side used numbers against Hank ‘n’ Tank trying to use another legendary team’s style. Will Hank ‘n’ Tank ever find that thing that makes them a legendary tag team?
Ava Raine checks on Vaquer.
Vaquer is being iced and taped up from that attack earlier, and the NXT GM says she should’ve known better. Is Vaquer sure she can defend the North American Championship tonight? After what Fatal Influence did, Ava- Vaquer stops Ava there. Vaquer is the double champion, and she will keep her word to Ava, to the NXT Women’s Division, and to her home country of Chile. Vaquer IS La Primer. Fallon will still get her title match. Okay, but is Vaquer sure? They can always reschedule. Vaquer says she’s sure, thank you. Vaquer heads out with both belts in hand but ice wrapped around her waist. Will Vaquer still make history by successfully pulling off the double header?
Backstage interview with Fraxiom.
Sarah Schreiber is with the NXT Tag Team Champions and brings up that the last time we saw them, they were battling it out with The Hardy Boyz at Roadblock. What was it like for Axiom to go home to Spain and push Der Ring General, Gunther, to his limits? Axiom says that was a dream come true. Axiom pushed the WWE World Heavyweight Champion to his limits in front of Axiom’s home crowd. His friends, his family! That’s a moment he’ll never forget. Nathan Frazer says him, too, amigo. Because Frazer didn’t get invited to that. But hey, it’s Stand & Deliver Season, and-
Axiom stops Frazer there. They talked about this. It was all meant to be a big surprise for everyone, and… Frazer has a big mouth. So- Oh, what is that supposed to mean? Does Axiom think Frazer was going to tweet it out or something? Well, he’s kinda done something like that before… Hey, maybe if Frazer was there, Axiom would’ve beat Gunther! Okay, what is that supposed to mean? Wait, as Fraxiom argue, someone pulls up. It’s OBA FEMI! And The Ruler does not look happy. Axiom gets out of there, and Frazer is unsure where he’s going. Frazer follows, will the dysfunction start up all over again?
NXT Heritage Cup Championship: Lexis King VS Je’Von Evans!
The Drama King continues to talk a big game, but perhaps changing the rules from British Rounds to First Fall might come back to bite him. Will this Cup still be Lexis’ prized possession? Or will the Young OG shock the world by adding his name to the Heritage Cup legacy?
NXT returns as Lexis makes his entrance. The introductions are made, the trophy is raised, and we see if this is still Lexis’ way and Lexis’ life.
The bell rings and the two approach. Lexis takes a swing, Je’Von dodges, and Je’Von asks if Lexis is still mad about last week. Lexis runs up, Je’Von headlocks, and Je’Von thrashes the hold. Lexis powers up but can’t power out. Je’Von thrashes the headlock more, but Lexis pries at the grip. Lexis pulls hair, puts Je’Von in a corner, but lets off as the ref counts. Je’Von dodges the sucker punch to hit a headlock takeover! The fans cheer as Je’Von shows he has that technical side, but Lexis headscissors. Je’Von kips free, headlocks again, but Lexis fires body shots. Je’Von CLUBS Lexis and CHOPS him, then it’s back tot he headlock.
But Lexis hits a BIG back suplex! The fans boo but Lexis stomps away on Je’Von. Lexis soaks up the heat, drags Je’Von up and scoops for a SLAM! Cover, TWO! Je’Von is tougher than that and Lexis stays focused. Lexis taunts Je’Von, clamps on the chinlock, but Je’Von endures. Je’Von fights up, but Lexis crossface forearms Je’Von down! Cover, TWO! The fans rally for “YOUNG O G!” Lexis tells them to shut up, then he winds up. Je’Von dodges to springboard and FLYING SCHOOLBOY! TWO, and Lexis swings, into a wrench! Je’Von goes up the ropes, BOUNCY~” RANA! Lexis gets up, Je’Von dodges him, for a springboard CROSSSBODY! Cover, TWO!
Je’Von DROPKICKS Lexis right down and the fans fire up! Lexis bails out, Je’Von grins and builds speed. Je’Von DIVES, direct hit on Lexis and he ends up on the desk! The fans fire up as Je’Von cheers himself on, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Je’Von perches on the desk as he waits for Lexis to get up. The ref reprimands and wants this in the ring, so Je’Von hops down to fetch Lexis. Je’Von CHOPS Lexis, brings Lexis around, but Lexis SHOVES Je’Von into steel steps! Je’Von writhes, Lexis talks trash, and he drags Je’Von up to put him in the ring. Lexis drags Je’Von up to scrape laces off the face, then he KICKS Je’Von in the back! Je’Von grits his teeth but Lexis stands him up. Lexis bumps Je’Von off buckles, then headlocks to throw in some sneaky punches! The ref sees those and reprimands, but Lexis drags Je’Von up. Je’Von stops the buckle bump to give a buckle bump!
Je’Von CHOPS and Lexis sputters! Je’Von CHOPS again, but Lexis dodges to throat chop! The ref reprimands, but Lexis stomps Je’Von around. Lexis hoists Je’Von up for a BIG back suplex, covers, TWO! Lexis looms over Je’Von, stomps him, then drags him up to bump off buckles. Lexis uses the ropes so he can dig both boots in! The ref counts, Lexis backs off, and he drags Je’Von out from the corner. Je’Von fires body shots, then whips, only for Lexis to reverse. Lexis DROPKICKS Je’Von down, covers, TWO! Je’Von stays in this but Lexis stays on him with a chinlock. Lexis leans on Je’Von but Je’Von still endures.
NXT returns to single picture as Je’Von rises up. Je’Von arm-drags free, then BODY BLOWS! And BODY BLOWS! Lexis ROCKS Je’Von right back! Lexis runs up to LARIAT in the corner, and CHOP! Lexis wrenches, then has an inside fisherman, for a FISHERMAN DRIVER!! Cover, TWO!! Je’Von survives and Lexis is furious! The ref defends his count was fair, so Lexis drags Je’Von back up. Lexis talks trash, Je’Von CHOPS! The fans fire up while Lexis sputters and drops to his knees! Je’Von then goes to a corner, and Lexis snarls. Lexis runs up, blocks a boot, but Je’Von stands on Lexis’ foot! Je’Von ROCKS Lexis, UPPERCUTS, then runs and hits a SUPER OG PUNCH!
The fans fire up and Je’Von keeps moving, springboard and DREAMCAST KICK! The fans fire up as Je’Von hurries to the apron! Je’Von then climbs, FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH!! Cover, TWO?!? Lexis survives and the fans are thunderous! Je’Von just brushes that off and brings Lexis up. Je’Von underhooks, “This is Awesome!” but Lexis BACKDROPS free! Je’Von lands on his feet! Lexis runs up to SUPERKICK! Lexis snarls, drags Je’Von back up and reels him in! “LONG! LIVE! THE KING!” CORO- NO! Je’Von wrenches out, whips, but Lexis reverses! Je’Von hits a NEURALIZER! Lexis tumbles out while the fans fire up!
Je’Von shakes the ropes, he is all fired up! Je’Von runs and FLIES! Direct hit at the ramp and the fans fire up again! Je’Von hurries to get Lexis in, then he goes up the apron. Lexis distracts the ref, OBA GRABS JE’VON! APRON POWERBOMB!!! The Young OG writhes, the fans boo, but the ring count is climbing! The Ruler counts along as we pass 5 of 10, and then 8! 9! TEN! Lexis wins!!
Winner: Lexis King, by count-out (still NXT Heritage Cup Champion)
The King keeps his crown thanks to The Ruler getting revenge on Je’Von! And while Oba stalks Je’Von back into the ring, the lights go out! Because THEY are here! Dark State is in the crowd! Je’Von fights Oba while Dion, Saquon, Cutler & Osiris creep closer! Oba ROCKS Je’Von, reels him in, but Je’Von gets out of the bomb! Trick Williams runs in, Oba dodges, TRICK SHOT hits Je’Von!! Trick is a bit stunned, but refs and security rush out here! Dark State waits at the barriers to see how this plays out. Fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT! LET THEM FIGHT!” but the refs won’t let Trick and Oba get started! Dark State is loving this! Will NXT truly fall into chaos?
Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley VS Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson!
It was last week that these teams “crossed the line” into TNA to call out Ash & Heather By Elegance, but it was the “weird girls” who were given the title opportunity. Will Gigi & Tatum make Lash & Jakara understand why? Or will the Meta Girls make them pump the brakes?
The teams sort out and Gigi starts against Lash. They circle, tie up, and go around. Gigi arm- NO, Lash blocks the arm-drag to then press Gigi down. But then Sol & Zaria walk out on stage to watch this in person. Lash whips and THROWS Gigi away! Lash talks smack on Sol & Zaria, then tags in Jakara. The Meta Girls double whip Gigi to the corner, then Lash sends Jakara in for a back body block! Lash runs up to SPLASH, then she feeds Gigi to Jakara’s SLINGBLADE! Cover, TWO! Gigi stays in this but Jakara stays on her. Gigi reaches up to RANA Jakara to the corner! Gigi back body blocks, tag to Tatum!
Gigi sends Tatum and she CROSSBODIES Jakara in the corner! Tatum sets up, Gigi runs up, POETRY IN BRONCO BUSTER! Gigi gives Jakara a wild ride, then Tatum high stacks, TWO! Jakara toughs it out and then ROCKS Tatum with a right! But Tatum drop toeholds! Tatum drags Jakara back, then top mounts to hook the legs, and she turns Jakara over for the SPIDER-WEB SURFBOARD! Jakara endures, Lash storms in and pushes things over! Lash drags Tatum up, tells her off, and then Jakara HOTSHOT BULLDOGS! Tatum flounders, Jakara tags Lash, and Lash BOOTS Tatum down! Lash puts Tatum on the ropes and dares Zaria to do something.
Tag to Jakara, and she drops a knee on Tatum’s face! And another knee! Jakara runs to cartwheel ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Jakara drags Tatum up, tags Lash, and then Jakara feeds Tatum to Lash’s scoop! Lash SLAMS Tatum, talks trash to Zaria & Sol, then covers Tatum. TWO, and Lash is annoyed. Tag to Jakara, the Meta Girls mug Tatum, but Jakara swaggers too soon! Tatum BOOTS her away! Tatum breaks free of Lash, leaps, but Lash catches her! Tatum still reaches out, tag to Gigi! Lash throws Tatum back, Tatum dodges Jakara, Jakara ROCKS Lash! Gigi goes up to DOUBLE FLYING LARIAT the Meta Girls!
The fans fire up as Gigi hurries to DECK Jakara! SUPERKICK for Lash! Gigi wrenches and ROCKS Jakara, to then ripcord and LARIAT! Tag back to Tatum, Gigi gives her a boost to ENZIGIRI Lash! Tatum & Gigi then set Jakara up, DOUBLE HEADBUTT SANDWICH!! But that’s not all! They hook Jakara up, CEMETERY DRIVE!! Cover, Tatum & Gigi win!
Winners: Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley, by pinfall
The combination of STO and Lightning Spiral is certainly deadly! Will it help them knock out the Knockouts Tag Team Champions?
Tony D’Angelo is at the restaurant.
The cousins tell The Don, “the streets are talking.” “And they’re talking a lot.” Tony knows that. He hears everything. He’ll handle it. The rest of the Family arrives, and they sit with Tony. Luca asks how he’s doing, and Tony says he’ll be alright. Those four guys put a pretty good beating on him. Tony doesn’t even know who they are. Tony wants intel. He wants to know who they are, what’s their motive, what’s their purpose, and where they eat before they even do. Understood? Rizzo says got it. They’ll take care of it. Luca says Tony can count on them. Tony says he knows he can. Stacks stays silent, but then Tony tells him to hold on.
Stacks sits back down while the others leave, and Tony asks if Stacks is good. Yeah, everything’s alright. Besides this “Dark State.” But why? Tony says Stacks is Underboss for a reason. They grew up together. Remember back in high school, when Stacks and Ralphie Ziparetto hit that high roller card game? Yeah, he does. There were some big sharks there. That there were. And remember when they tried to pull his card and Tony had to step up and convince them to give Stacks a pass? Yeah, he remembers. He’ll never forget what Tony’s done for him. Tony knows Stacks won’t. Because Tony believes in Stacks, trusts him, and can always trust him. Right?
Stacks stands up and pats Tony on the shoulder. “You can always trust me, T. Always.” Stacks leaves, but is that enough for Tony to believe him? Or is something brewing in the background of all this?
Hank ‘n’ Tank regroup with MCMG.
Tank doesn’t get it! They did everything Sabin & Shelley said: Stay connected, step in unison! Shelley says okay, enough. Let’s talk them off the ledge. MCMG thinks Hank ‘n’ Tank did great. But hey, they’ve also been in this game a long time, wrestled all sorts of teams from all over the world. They definitely feel Hank ‘n’ Tank are future champions, but… They have to remember that everyone’s process is different. Everyone takes a different path to the top. It’s short term pain for long term gain. There are levels to this, but a couple words of advice: trust your partner, and don’t compare yourselves to other teams. MCMG’s been together well over a decade.
But y’know what? This isn’t linear, it is undulating. It took MCMG a long time to get to the top, to get to the WWE. And within weeks, they were WWE Tag Team Champions! The most important thing: Don’t give up. Don’t give up! Tank says yeah, they’ll get there, and they’ll see MCMG down the line. They all fist bump, but what path will it be? Will Hank ‘n’ Tank just need more time? Or will they find a major breakthrough as soon as next week?
Ethan Page VS Andre Chase w/ Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors!
While All Ego and The Professor have different philosophies, they do have something in common: They both want to rebound from some disappointing losses. Wait, Ricky Saints pushes right past Ethan to join commentary. The Absolute wants to watch this in person, will he see Ethan rebuild his ego? Or will we finally see some school spirit again?
NXT returns and Chase makes his entrance, still a bit worse for wear, but Kale & Uriah are pumped up enough for all three of them. Chase has them remember, it’s not Chase U, though. Even so, Uriah & Kale put up that U and cheer Mr. Chase on. On commentary, Vic apologizes for Shawn Spears interrupting their interview. Ricky says hey, just one more Canadian wrestler who doesn’t like him. The bell rings and the two tie up. Chase headlocks, Ethan pries at the hold, and Ethan powers up and out. Chase goes up the corner and around to roll Ethan up! TWO, Chase trips Ethan, steps through, but Ethan boots him away.
Chase comes back, Ethan drops down, but Chase counters hip toss with a hip toss! Ethan hits a headlock takeover, and he holds Ethan down as Ethan kicks around. Ethan fights up, the fans chant, “We Want Thea!” Ethan stomps Chase’s foot, headlocks back, but Chase powers up and out. Ethan runs Chase over! Things speed up, Ethan counters hip toss with hip- NO, Chase MONKEY FLIPS that hip toss away! The fans fire up and Chase headlocks. Ethan powers up to hit a BIG back suplex! The fans rally but Ethan KNEES Chase in the side, stomps away, then drops an ELBOW! Ethan brings Chase up, but Chase stops the buckle bump!
Chase fires forearms, then whips, but Ethan reverses to DECK Chase! Ethan DECKS Chase again, then looms over Chase at the ropes. The fans boo but Ethan drags Chase up again. Ethan whips Chase to ropes, but Chase grabs ropes! Chase DUMPS Ethan out, then takes aim, only for Ethan to step aside. Ethan glares at Kale & Uriah, but Chase is on the apron! SUPERKICK! The fans fire up for Chase as he FLYING LARIATS! Down goes Ethan and the fans fire up! Chase wants Kale & Uriah to calm down, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Chase drags Ethan up, puts him in the ring, then storms up to suplex high and hard! Cover, TWO! Ethan is tougher than that but Chase brings him back up. Chase whips Ethan to a corner, but Ethan reverses. Ethan runs in, Chase ELBOWS him away, then Chase goes up. Ethan ROCKS Chase first, then brings him off the corner for an OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE! Ethan stomps Chase, then drops an ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Ethan clamps onto Chase with a chinlock and he grinds Chase down. Chase endures, Uriah & Kale rally the fans, and Chase fights up! Chase fires body shots, then runs, but into a DROPKICK! Ethan covers, TWO!
Ethan grows frustrated, but he clamps back on with a chinlock. Chase endures, even as Ethan grinds him into the mat. Kale & Uriah keep cheering Chase on with the U, and Chase fights up again. Chase JAWBREAKERS free! Ethan staggers, but he still scoops and SLAMS Chase! And back to the chinlock! Chase endures all over again as Ethan squeezes tight. Chase fights up, pries at the hold, and NXT returns to single picture as Chase fires body shots. Ethan knees low, then whips, but Chase KICKS Ethan back! Chase then wrenches and SWINGING NECKBREAKERS! The fans fire up while Ethan and Chase are both down.
Chase and Ethan go to corners, and Ethan runs up, only for Chase to dodge! Chase rallies with ELBOW after ELBOW! Chase whips, Ethan reverses, but Chase reverses back, RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! The fans fire up and Chase starts to spell it out, but he feels so conflicted! Uriah & Kale tell him it’s okay! Spell it out! Chase says alright! “C! H! A! S!” But Ethan blocks the E! Only for Chase to dodge the roundhouse and SIDE EFFECT! Cover, TWO! Ethan stays in this but Kale & Uriah coach Mr. Chase to keep going. The fans fire up, Chase storms up on Ethan and brings him around. Chase goes up the corner, reels Ethan in, but Ethan wrenches out! ICONOCLASM!
Ethan then RIPCORD CODE BREAKERS! Cover, TWO!! Chase survives and the fans fire up! Ethan is frustrated but Uriah is relieved and Kale is pumped up! Ethan and Chase rise up, and Ethan pie faces Chase. “Stay down! Stay down!” Chase eggs Ethan on! Ethan SLAPS! Chase SLAPS! Chase CHOPS, CHOPS, runs, but Ethan BOOTS him! Ethan goes to the apron to get Chase, and brings him up, only for Chase to APRON NECKBREAKER! Chase hurries in, goes up, and TORNADO DDTS! Cover, TWO!! Ethan survives and the fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” Chase hurries back up top, but Ethan hits the ropes! Chase gets tripped up!
Ethan goes up the corner, hoists Chase onto his shoulder, and fans boo as Ethan hits a SUPER POWERSLAM!! Cover, TWO?!?! Chase survives and the fans are thunderous! But TWISTED GRIN!! Cover, Ethan wins!
Winner: Ethan Page, by pinfall
Chase gave Ethan much more of a fight than expected, but Ethan still won out. All Ego talks trash on Ricky, Ricky says if Ethan wants some, he’s right here. But then SHAWEN SPEARS CLOBBERS RICKY! The Culling mocks Ricky’s pain and Ethan smirks. Will they all make sure Ricky has nothing to show for showing up in NXT?
Dark State speaks.
They post to X as Dion shouts, “Y’all like that, huh? Y’all like that?! We ain’t even gotta do nothing and y’all go crazy!” Cutler says, “Just ask Tony D what happens when we decide to get involved!” Osiris says, “When the lights go out, anxiety goes through the roof!” Saquon asks, “Are y’all slow? When are y’all gonna realize that when Dark State strikes, ain’t nobody safe! NOBODY!” They head out into the night, when will they strike again?
NXT Media catches up with Trick Williams.
The reporter asks if Trick meant to hit Je’Von earlier tonight. Trick says everyone wants to talk about Je’Von. Everyone who can see knows Trick was aiming for Oba. Je’Von was just collateral damage. Nah, forget that! Je’Von’s a distraction! Just like how Eddy Thorpe was a distraction! A distraction from what Trick wants. Everyone’s a distraction from the fact that Trick is the man around here! Trick is supposed to be NXT Champion. Oba knows it. And if Oba is still The Ruler, then he knows where to find Trick right here next week. Trick turns to go but the reporter asks his opinion on Dark State.
Tricky says that ain’t his business. Trick leaves, not interested in distractions. But is he overlooking a major problem gnawing away at the foundation of NXT?
NXT Women’s North American Championship: Stephanie Vaquer VS Fallon Henley w/ The Fatal Influence!
La Primera made it through Jaida Parker, perhaps in part thanks to Grace. But Fatal Influence still had to stack the deck against Vaquer with an ambush. Will the Toxic Cowgirl just be picking the bones like a vulture? Or will the Dark Angel still have gold on each shoulder?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see if Vaquer can defy the odds to make history again!
The bell rings and the fans rally behind “LA PRIMERA!” But Jacy distracts Vaquer and Fallon RAMS her into the corner! Fallon RAMS in again and again, then drags Vaquer out to snap suplex! Vaquer writhes, Fallon covers, TWO! Fallon top mounts but Vaquer pushes her up and away. Vaquer then fires a flurry of forearms! Fallon kicks low then whips Vaquer. Fallon KNEES low, the fans boo, but Fallon covers, TWO! Fallon snarls, storms around, and she drags Vaquer up. Fallon bumps Vaquer off buckles, then stomps a mudhole in. Fallon whips corner to corner, runs up, but Vaquer BOOTS her away! Vaquer then DROPKICKS Fallon down! Cover, TWO!
Vaquer and Fallon rise up, and Fallon BOOTS Vaquer down! Fallon drags Vaquer to then stomp her in the stomach and ribs! The fans rally but Fallon covers, TWO! Fallon frowns, but she clamps on with a REAR BEARHUG! Vaquer endures, the fans rally for her, and Vaquer pries at the grip. Vaquer turns around to JAWBRAEKER, and SUPERKICK! Fallon falls onto ropes, Vaquer dials it up, but Jacy & Jazmyn warn Fallon! Fallon ducks the 619, then RAMS into Vaquer! Fallon POSTS Vaquer, then runs to swing and TIGER FEINT Vaquer down! The fans boo but Fatal Influence soaks up that heat while NXT goes picture in picture.
Fallon storms back into the ring, stalks Vaquer, and drags her up. Vaquer fires body shots, but Fallon KNEES low! Vaquer falls over, clutches the ribs, but Fallon drags her back up. Fallon bumps Vaquer off buckles, stomps her down, then talks trash. Fallon stomps away on Vaquer, digs her boot in, but steps off as the ref counts. Fallon drags Vaquer up, TOSSES her out, then paces. The ring count starts while Vaquer writhes. Fallon storms out to stand Vaquer up, and she RAMS Vaquer into the apron! Fallon drags Vaquer up again, SMACKS her off the desk, then puts her in the ring. Fallon stomps away on Vaquer, covers, TWO!
Vaquer toughs it out and Fallon grows frustrated. Fallon drags Vaquer by her hair, talks smack on the fans, but Vaquer ROCKS Fallon again and again! Vaquer SOBATS, runs, but Fallon BOOTS her down! Fallon huffs ‘n’ puffs and drags Vaquer around again. Fallon clamps on a top wristlock and grinds the arm. Vaquer endures, fights up, and NXT returns to single picture. Vaquer fires shots, but Fallon kicks low! The fans boo but Fallon whips and ROCKS Vaquer! Fallon cravats, Vaquer powers out, but Fallon comes back to get around. Fallon waistlocks and sits Vaquer down! Fallon then runs to SLIDING FOREARM!
Fallon keeps moving and she KICKS Vaquer in the side! Vaquer writhes, but Fallon drags her up to bump her off buckles. Fallon goes out to the apron, and she redials, but Vaquer dodges the feint kick to bump Fallon off the buckles! Then they go side to side, but Fallon blocks the buckle bump! Fallon SMACKS Vaquer, goes up the corner, but Vaquer SMACKS Fallon back! Vaquer goes up, but Fallon fights back. Vaquer HEADBUTTS again and again and again! Then she brings Fallon up for a SUPERPLEX! The fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” while both women are down! Fallon and Vaquer crawl to each other, and Fallon SLAPS Vaquer!
Vaquer HEADBUTTS Fallon! Fallon ROCKS Vaquer! Vaquer HEADBUTTS again! Fallon kicks low, Vaquer sits down, but Fallon is right on her. Fallon whips, Vaquer reverses, EAT DA FEET! Vaquer bumps Fallon off buckles again and again and again, all three levels! Vaquer scrubs Fallon’s face with her boot, then goes corner to corner! METEORA! The fans fire up as Vaquer snapmares Fallon, and wraps on the headscissors! But Fallon victory rolls, and she STOMPS Vaquer’s ribs! Fallon then drags Vaquer up, clinches, pump handle, FALL AWAY SLAM! Fallon stomps Vaquer again whiel fans boo.
Fallon stands Vaquer up, runs, but Vaquer victory rolls! TWO!! Fallon SOBATS, then she TOSSES Vaquer out! The ref argues with Fallon, but that lets the Influence rush in! Vaquer dodges Jacy to SUPERKICK! But Jazmyn’s NYX KICK hits!! The fans boo as Jazmyn puts Vaquer in, and Fallon goes up, up, and BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Vaquer survives and Fallon is shocked! Fallon argues with the ref, then she snarls at Vaquer. Fallon runs in, Vaquer dodges! SUPERKICK! Vaquer tucks the arms, but Jazmyn gets on the apron! Vaquer runs up but Jazmyn scurries away. Fallon hooks Vaquer up again, but Vaquer slips underneath!
Vaquer shoves Fallon into Jazmyn! Then roll-up, roll through, and tuck! S V B!! Cover, Vaquer wins!!
Winner: Stephanie Vaquer, by pinfall (still NXT Women’s North American Champion)
The Influence is shocked, but their numbers game backfired! La Primera keeps both titles, but then Jacy & Jazmyn attack! The fans boo as they and Fallon stomp Vaquer again! They set her up, but HERE COMES JORDYNNE! The Juggernaut is back, and she picks Fallon up, BOOTS Jacy, and then SMACKS Jazmyn using Fallon! Grace ELBOWS Fallon down, then LARIATS Jacy! A BACKHAND for Fallon, and the fans fire up! Grace picks up both belts, and she hands them back to Vaquer. But she kinda holds on, too… Grace lets them go, Vaquer gets fired up, but then Jaida SHOVES Grace into Vaquer!
Jaida fires hands on Grace, but Grace DECKS her in return! And then she runs up to HIP ATTACK Jaida down! Grace shows Miss Parker isn’t the only one that’s hip-notic. But then Vaquer turns Grace around so they can stare down. Grace bailed Vaquer out two times tonight, will Vaquer have to face Grace two times in one night?
We cut back to the watch party, and Ava tells Stevie Turner that this is historic. No one has pulled off two defenses in one night, but Vaquer did. Lola Vice steps up and says she wants next. Kelani Jordan says nope, not before her! She deserves her own shot at the title. Cora Jade says she wants in, but so does Izzi Dame, Karmen Petrovic, and pretty much everyone else in the room. Ava says okay, okay! She will figure this out! Just what will Mayor Ava choose for Stand & Deliver Season?
My Thoughts:
An awesome NXT, really packed for just the two hours, and with some great story intertwining. Saints VS Spears next week for the North American Championship is a touch surprising, but they laid the groundwork really well tonight. Good interview promo where Spears “interrupts” and gives Ricky that not so subtle threat. Then with that promo, they cleverly used it to make Ethan VS Chase and put Ricky on commentary. I wonder, though… Ricky’s line about Canadians hating him, was that a shot at Adam Copeland taking those cheap shots at him last year?
That aside, great match from Ethan VS Chase, but I figured Ethan would win, this keeps building anticipation for the moment Chase U returns. But also, Ricky jawing with Ethan was a good distraction for Spears to attack. It feels like Ricky is going to win, but The Culling could easily cheat him out of the title and we extend things towards Stand & Deliver. Igwe & Dupont VS Hank ‘n’ Tank was a great match, but between Wes interfering and Hank ‘n’ Tank clearly trying to do things like MCMG and not their own way, Hank ‘n’ Tank were of course losing. I believe I said this when “going extreme” like the Hardys didn’t work out that Hank ‘n’ Tank just need to find a team more their style, aka The Dudleys.
Very good promo from Tony D with The Family, with Tony’s strength as The Don being questioned by “the streets,” but also perhaps Tony questioning if Stacks is going to stay loyal this time. They teased Stacks turning on Tony way back when The D’Angelos were feuding with Gallus, but they might actually pull the trigger now. The Culling is working to replace The D’Angelos as the top faction, Tony has done almost everything in NXT, and something would be very fitting if Tony was betrayed before he can win THE NXT Championship and become the Grand Slam Champion.
Very good stuff in this Dark State story, though it’s really more the others in it, like Je’Von, Trick and Oba. Je’Von VS Lexis was a great match, but I should’ve figured Oba would cost Je’Von. Also, good promo from Fraxiom to revive their dysfunction while also segueing into Oba showing up. Trick hitting Je’Von by accident was also a good touch, and he had a good promo after. Him claiming he doesn’t care about Dark State is intriguing, too. Could Trick be working with them behind the scenes? It’d be very “CM Punk helped The Shield” of them to do in this story. Perhaps Dark State affects the NXT Championship match for that purpose.
And of course, the highlight of the night, the throughline story, is NXT’s incredible women’s division. Opening with Vaquer VS Jaida for THE NXT Women’s Championship was rather telling that Jaida would lose, but it’s a bit disappointing it had to be because of Jordynne. I get wanting to keep Jaida strong and they’re clearly planting sees of Jaida VS Jordynne there, but it doesn’t really help Vaquer. Though they also have Fatal Influence attack to put Vaquer in the underdog position with the beat up ribs. Vaquer does get to show her grit by overcoming the unofficial 3v1, but all that could’ve still happened without Jordynne costing Jaida on some level.
I also did appreciate that the watch party had a part to play. Gigi & Tatum VS Meta Girls was really good stuff, and I really like that team finisher from Gigi & Tatum. They probably won’t beat Ash & Heather By Elegance, but they can have a great showing. And all the other women wanting their shot at Vaquer’s belts, Ava can definitely give us something big in the last three weeks before Stand & Deliver. Maybe a small tournament, maybe a battle royal, it really depends on if Vaquer will defend the belts in another double header or in a Winner Takes All match.
My Score: 9/10
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The American Nightmare is in Scotland!
After confronting a “whiny” John Cena in Brussels, Belgium, Cody Rhodes is now in Glasgow, Scotland! Will there be another Raw encounter between champion and challenger?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso VS A-Town Down Under; The Usos win.
- WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Raquel Rodriguez w/ Liv Morgan; Lyra wins and retains the title.
- Dragon Lee VS Chad Gable; changed to…
- Dragon Lee VS El Grande Americano; Grande wins.
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker VS PENTA; Bron wins, by disqualification, and retains the title.
PLAY BY PLAY
JOHN CENA IS HERE!
Glasgow erupts with boos just like Brussels did last week, and then “JOHN CENA SUCKS~!” Cena wears the custom Scotland “The Last Time is Now” merchandise, and fans show their Cody Rhodes signs. Cena goes to the ring, grabs a mic, and the fans boo again. Cena hears those boos, and then says, “Is something on your mind? Seems like you have something you want to say to me.” The fans keep booing, and there’s still dueling even now. Cena says yeah, they’re ready to do their worst tonight, aren’t they? It’s because they finally understand what is going on. Cena has turned the spotlight onto the fans, and now they know that he can pick apart any one of these random ticket holders to shreds!
Cena knows they know that no one is safe! Cena put a clueless kid on blast! His poor, pathetic face was everywhere! WWE posted it! And you all loved it. The fans tell Cena off, and Cena just smiles. Cena says who is better: him, the one guy who actually tells the truth; or all the fans, whose collectively best idea is to use profanity! The fans are the ones who loved to watch and rewatch and meme up a poor, defenseless kid getting destroyed! Cena doesn’t need to single out anyone here, because they are ALL horrible people! No, tonight, the fans get to find out how Cena makes them pay for the abuse they have put him through.
For 25 YEARS, Cena has listened to their lies and their noise! But he didn’t waste that time being mean, he paid attention. Fans tell Cena to STFU, and Cena says, “You make this so easy. While you were chanting profanity at the top of your lungs, I’ve been paying attention. I’ve been learning from you, quizzing you, studying you, testing you, prodding you, rewarding you for playing along with your stupid, curse ridden nursery rhymes. And in doing so, you have told me every single thing about your. You know nothing about me, I know more about you than you.” The fans boo, but Cena says the truth is, “Your life is sad!
“Because this is the best it’s gonna get. This is all you have! But to me, you have been nothing more than an experiment. You have been rats in a cage. Oh, you don’t believe me? Pick out any moment in my career, and I’ll tell you what I learned from you. When I bled, you thought I was tough. When I spoke, you were inspired. When I was edgy, you were excited. When I was vanilla, you were bored. When I was loyal, you were loved. When I was selfish, you were disrespected. When I speak in rhythmic tones, you say, ‘What.’ You make this so, so simple. You will always tell me everything about yourselves, because you so desperately want to matter.
“And the most important thing you ever told me was in April 2005. It was the day I gave you my greatest idea. I gave you the WWE Spinner Championship! And just like right now, you ate me alive. All you have to do is google, ‘Negative comments about the spinner belt.’ You all told me loud and clear how stupid I was, because I changed your championship into a toy, and the championship is not a toy. The championship is a symbol of the center of all this, and the toy belt I made for you disrespected tradition and disrespected your legacy. Listen closely, because that was the biggest mistake you ever made.
“In that one single moment, you were vulnerable enough to tell me what means the most to you in this life. And now that I know that… I am going to ruin wrestling. I am going to ruin wrestling for every fan, for every wrestler, for everyone. At WrestleMania, I make history by winning a 17th (world) championship. And I finally force you to forget the name of the fun machine, jet-flying WOO~, Ric Flair. You will forever say the name ‘John Cena.’ But even worse… I’m going to win that championship, the center of every superstar of this entire business, of every fan in this building, I will win that championship and retire with it. I am taking it home with me!
“And leaving all of you to create a brand new toy belt, because the real one comes home with me! I will be the LAST REAL CHAMPION in WWE! Revenge is best served cold, and I pay you back by ripping your heart out and forcing you to watch as I just walk away with your memories, and your traditions, and your dreams, and there is nothing you can do to stop me!” But wait! Here comes Cody Rhodes! Glasgow fires up and sings along, “WHOA~ OH!” Cody gets his pyro, high-fives the fans, and joins Cena in the ring. Cody grabs his own mic, the fans cheer, and Cena just glares the entire time. Cody raises the belt and the fans cheer again.
The fans sing “CODY! CODY RHODES~!” Cody then lifts the mic to say, “I’m sorry, what’d you say? You said you were going to take this away from them? Don’t you think you need to take it away from me first? Admittedly, I made a mistake last week. I looked at you, I talked about Old John, I talked about New John, I didn’t look hard enough. Hearing it, seeing it now, you are clearly sincere, you are clearly angry, and you are clearly willing. Perhaps you’re the most dangerous John Cena has ever been. But you have made a massive mistake. And the mistake was not hitting me upside the head with this at Elimination Chamber.
“Oh, no, no. The mistake was saying what you just said in front of these lovely people while I was in the building!” The fans cheer and sing for “CODY! CODY RHODES~!” Cody asks Cena if all that bothers him. Because it doesn’t bother Cody. What bothers Cody is that he didn’t unpack their history. But Cena should know well enough just how hard Cody fought just to hold this title ONE time, just to validate ONE name! And if Cody understands Cena right, Cena is saying that the timeline of all pro-wrestling hangs in the balance because of Cena’s vanity? Cena wants the title, right? He wants to take it?
Cody sets the belt down on the mat, and says he’ll give Cena that chance right now. The fans fire up as Cody takes off the tie, and dares Cena to take it! The mics drop, Cena prepares to draw as the two square up, but then Cena steps back. The fans boo as Cena leaves, not giving Cody the satisfaction of doing things his way. Cody picks up his mic again and shouts, “JOHN!” Cena turns around, comes back down the ramp, and the fans cheer as Cody dares him to bring it! Cody’s jacket comes off now, the fans fire up more, but Cena shakes his head and leaves again. Cody tells Cena, “one thing, John. I cannot let you do it. I cannot have that on my conscience.
“Right now, I need you to see me, I need you to see all of them, and I need you to understand that your psychotic need to take this does not outweigh OUR right to keep it!” The fans cheer that! Cody says the champ is no longer standing there, the champ is standing in the center of this ring! And Cena walking away empty handed, that is how he walks away from WrestleMania, and that is how he walks away from the WWE! The fans cheer as Cody says the champ is here! But will Cena use whatever means he has to in order to carve his name into eternity?
Jey Uso & ??? VS A-Town Down Under!
Main Event Jey put Austin Theory away so fast, you’d blink and miss it. Theory & Waller want revenge, but who’s joining Jey tonight? Why none other than JIMMY Uso! It’s an Uso Reunion in Glasgow, will they put Theory & Waller in the Uso Penitentiary? Or will they suffer the Grayson Waller Effect #AllDay?
While we get an accidental non-ad break for the YEETing, we also get ATDU making their entrance. And after a quick self-plug for the WWE original series, Stephanie’s Places, the teams sort out. Theory starts against Jey for revenge from last week. They tie up, Jey headlocks, but Theory powers up and out. Jey runs Theory over, the fans fire up, and Jey says “YEET!” Jey runs, Theory stays low to then hurdle, but Jey stops the hip toss! Jey then LARIATS Theory! Theory scrambles away, and he tags Waller in while Waller is busy taunting Glasgow. Waller says he ain’t impressed, but Jey says YEET! Jey blocks a kick, then plays keep away before he SMACKS Waller!
Jey BODY BLOCKS and PELES Waller in the corner, then tags in #BigJim! The fans fire up as Jey whips Waller, and the Usos DOUBLE ELBOW, then handshake DOUBLE ELBOW DROP! They DOUBLE LARIAT Waller up and out, but here comes Theory! The Usos TOSS Theory out, and then Jimmy FLIES! Down goes ATDU and the fans fire up! YEET! Jimmy high-fives some fans before fetching Waller into the ring. Jimmy storms up but Waller mule kicks! Waller CLUBS Jimmy, CLUBS him again, then whips corner to corner. Jimmy goes up and over, then UPPERCUTS! Cover, TWO! Waller stays in this but Jimmy stays calm.
Jimmy CHOPS Waller to a corner, but Waller kicks low! Waller swings but Jimmy dodges, and Jimmy CHOPS! Waller flops down, the fans chant, “UCE! OH!” Jimmy CHOPS Waller, whips, but Waller grabs ropes. Theory tags in, Waller KICKS Jimmy, then Waller TOSSES Jimmy! Waller builds speed, slides, but Jimmy dodges! Jimmy UPPERCUTS Waller, but then Theory DECKS Jimmy! The fans boo, Jey checks on his brother, but Theory mocks the Yeet. Theory puts Jimmy in, dares him to reach for Jey, then stomps Jimmy’s hands. The Usos are in trouble while Raw goes… Well no, another not ad break?
Theory taunts the fans, the fans boo, but Theory taunts Jey. Theory drags Jimmy onto ropes to CHOKE, but he stops at 4. Waller gets a cheap shot in as Theory argues with the ref! Jey protests but now Theory rains down fists on Jimmy. Theory mocks the Yeet, says “SUCK IT!” then drags Jimmy up. Tag to Waller, ATDU mugs Jimmy, and Waller CLUBS Jimmy down! Waller lines up a shot, and he KNEES Jimmy in the side! Waller drags Jimmy up, fires hands, but Jimmy SMACKS back! And he CHOPS Theory! Jimmy ROCKS Waller, then ELBOWS Theory! Waller blocks boots, puts Jimmy in ropes, and CLUBS him!
Waller runs to ROLLING ELBOW Jimmy in the back! Tag to Theory, DRAPING JUMP STOMP! Cover, TWO! Theory clamps onto Jimmy with a chinlock and grinds him down. The fans rally up, Jimmy fights to his feet, and Jimmy reaches out. Jimmy fires body shots, then hits a BIG back suplex! The fans fire up while both men are down! Jimmy and theory crawl, hot tag to Waller, and he BLASTS Jey off the apron! Waller rains down fists, then talks trash. The fans boo, Waller paces, and Waller steps on Jimmy’s face! The ref reprimands, but Waller clamps on a cravat. Jimmy endures the neck wrench, and the fans tell Waller he’s a wanker.
Waller puts on more pressure, and we fade to block for just a second. Jimmy fights up, the fans rally up, and Jimmy fires body shots. Waller knees low, then sucker punches Jey! But Jimmy UPPERCUTS Waller! Waller goes to the apron, Jimmy storms over, but Waller HOTSHOTS! Waller then somersaults in, but into a SAMOAN DROP! The fans fire up as Jimmy and Waller crawl again, hot tags to Theory and Jey! Jey LARIATS Theory, DECKS Waller, then fires haymakers on Theory! “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Pop, lock ‘n’ put some stank on the YEET! Then an UPPERCUT! Theory blocks a kick, but not the DRAGON WHIP!
The fans fire up with Jey and they “YEET!” with him. Jey dodges Waller to HIP ATTACK Theory! SUPERKICK for Waller! SUPERKICK for Theory! Cover, TWO! Jey stays cool and the fans rally up again. Theory rises, Jey waits on him, and fireman’s carry for a- NO, Theory fights free, tag to Waller! Jey dodges Theory to UPPERCUT! Waller grabs Jey, and DOUBLE ROLLING ELBOWS connect! Then they double whip to POP-UP DOUBLE HAYMAKER! Cover, TWO!! Jey survives but Waller hurries to a corner. Waller goes up, and he hits a BALLER- NO! Jey dodges, that was an airball! Hot tag to Jimmy! Jey POPS Waller up for Jimmy’s SAMOAN DROP!
The fans fire up as Jimmy goes from Alley-Uce to the top rope. Theory runs up, Jimmy kicks him down, but Waller hits the ropes! That trips Jimmy up and Waller drags Jimmy into a fireman’s carry, Jimmy slips free, tag to Jey! SUPERKICK for Waller! Theory sneaks a tag! Theory hides, Waller BOOTS Jimmy away! Waller runs up, Jimmy ALLEY-UCE into the SPEAR!! The fans fire up but Waller’s not the legal man! Theory is back, but he runs into a ONE D!! Cover, Usos win!
Winners: The Usos, by pinfall
One and done for the Day One Ish! BUT GUNTHER YANKS JIMMY OFF THE CORNER!! The fans boo, but Gunther and Jey start brawling! Then a SUPERKICK for Gunther! Jey SUPERKICKS again! Gunther ends up in a corner, Jey runs in, but he trips?! Gunther pounces to attack with elbows and fists! Jimmy runs in with a chair! Gunther gets away while he can, but he mocks what happened to Jey tripping. Jimmy has his brother’s back, but will Der Ring General keep up the blindside attacks?
The Judgment Day is backstage.
Raquel Rodriguez stretches, and she says she’s missing something. Liv Morgan says, “Imagine how you’d feel with one of these on each shoulder by the end of the night.” Liv has Raquel hold up the title belt and Raquel likes that idea. Dominik Mysterio & Carlito walk in, and Dom says Finn hasn’t talked with any of them since last week. Liv says typical Finn. She loves the guy, but he is always more concerned about his own problems. Dom gets that, he just wishes things went different last week. Liv says it’s fine, things are turning around for the better. Liv beat Jade Cargill just last Friday, and Raquel will become the NEW Women’s Intercontinental Champion! #DoubleChamp!
And just because Finn didn’t win last week doesn’t mean they have to give up on the Men’s IC title. Liv wants Dom to talk with Adam Pearce, and Carlito interrupts by saying Liv’s right. Now it’s time for Carlito to go for the gold. Um, yeah… But also, Dom should go talk with Penta again. Dom says Finn is already against that idea, but Liv says Finn was against Liv joining, and look how that turned out? Dom has the brains, he should just trust himself. Liv says she and Raquel are going to go, Dom wishes them luck. Carlito says yeah, they brought him in, too, and look how that turned out. Okay but can he share his apples? Nope.
The Judgment Day is doing what they want, but not really consulting all members on that. Will things really work out for the better? Or are they just one move away from everything falling apart?
Lyra Valkyria prepares for her match.
Bayley is there to give her a fist bump of encouragement before she heads to gorilla. Lyra also passes by Adam Pearce talking with the LWO. Is the Raw General Manager going to help Dragon Lee get a fair fight with Chad Gable? Or could “El Grande Americano” still make an appearance?
The rich and illustrious history of lucha libre…
… is filled with legends like Blue Demon, The Guerrero Family, and Mil Mascaras. But one star shines brighter than all the rest: El Grande Americano! Hailing from the Gulf of America, El Grande Americano was raised to be the ultimate luchador. He quickly rose to the top of the industry, and for decades was the face of Lucha Libre. But after being blackballed by his jealous enemies, he disappeared without a trace. Now, the legend has returned to bring honor and glory back to this beautiful sport! He is an icon! He is a trailblazer! He is… El Grande Americano!”
Adam Pearce talks with The LWO.
Rey Mysterio asks just what the Hell is that video. That is the introduction to the newest member of the Raw roster… That’s ludicrous! It’s all just Chad Gable! Gable steps in and says they’re wrong. He also coughs and wheezes a bit. Gabel says he knows there are physical similarities, but he is not Grande Americano. He also doesn’t have the energy to argue right now, he got sick on the way over. Sadly, he cannot compete tonight. He has a doctor’s note. Pearce reads it, and it is legit. Rey cannot believe this. But whatever, it’s okay. They’ll just see Gable in the parking lot! Pearce has Rey stand down, and Gable says whoa now. Let him finish.
Gable suggests that Lee should take on the new guy, Grande Americano, and see what he’s got. Rey & Lee are still incredulous, but Pearce says his hands are tied. Rey says he gets it. Lucha libre tradition is about not backing down. Lee says whether Americano is Gable or not, Lee will take the match. Then it’s official! Lee glares at Gable, and Rey says Gable’s a jackass. The LWO walks out, Gable says he can’t believe Pearce is going to let them talk to him like that, but Pearce can’t believe Gable needed a doctor’s note. Gable coughs as if on cue, but will the Boy Wonder still get a big win here in Glasgow?
WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Raquel Rodriguez w/ Liv Morgan!
The Morrigan has been undefeated in title matches ever since winning the tournament, but she is quite literally up against her biggest challenge yet. Will Lyra still fly high this close to home? Or will Big Mami Cool become Double Champ Rodriguez?
The introductions are made, Lyra’s belt is raised, and we see who holds the #ShinyShiny!
The bell rings, the two circle, and they feel things out. Lyra dodges Raquel, then gets around to waistlock. Raquel THROWS Lyra off with ease but the fans boo. Lyra brushes herself off while Raquel tells the fans to shut up. The two tie up, Lyra goes for a leg, but Raquel gut wrenches to SWING Lyra around, and then THROW her away! The fans boo but Liv applauds. Raquel drags Lyra up with both ands, then THROWS her into a corner! Raquel runs up, Lyra dodges and headlocks! Raquel powers up and out, Lyra goes up, but Raquel catches her! Lyra holds on, Raquel yanks her from the corner, but Lyra slips free.
Lyra dropkicks legs out, then she gets under Raquel. Raquel fights the Northern Lights to gut wrench and Gory Especial! Lyra sunset flips, but avoids a stomp! Lyra headlocks again, but Raquel powers up and out again. Lyra ducks ‘n’ dodges, wheelbarrows, and victory rolls Raquel out of the ring! The fans fire up with Lyra and Lyra builds speed, but Raquel stops the dropkick! Raquel drags Lyra out but Lyra RANAS her into the desk! Liv panics, Lyra waistlocks, and Lyra puts Raquel in the ring. Lyra hurries up the steps, Liv coaches Raquel, and Raquel stands. Lyra leaps, into a BOOT! The fans boo but Liv cheers, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Raquel has Lyra on the ropes to CHOKE her! Raquel steps off as the ref counts, and Raquel drags Lyra up. The fans rally for Lyra, but Raquel reels her in to suplex. Raquel SLINGSHOT JACKHAMMERS! Cover, TWO! Lyra survives and Raquel is frustrated, but Liv coaches her to keep going. Raquel pie faces Lyra, drags her to a drop zone, and then goes up the ropes. Raquel soaks up the heat before the VADER- FLOP! Lyra dodges, goes up a corner, and the fans fire up again! TURN OF FORTUNE!! Cover, TWO?!? Raquel survives that flying leg drop and Lyra is shocked! The fans rally as Lyra fireman’s carries!
Raquel kicks and flails, slips free, then shoves Lyra to a corner. BLINDSIDE LARIAT! Raquel goes up, VADER SENTON! Cover, TWO! Lyra survives and Raquel grows frustrated. Liv coaches Raquel and she drags Lyra up again. The fans rally, Raquel bumps Lyra off buckles, and then Raquel puts Lyra up top. Lyra BOOTS the haymaker away, then she fires forearms! Raquel wobbles, Lyra adjusts, and Lyra CROSSBODIES, but into Raquel’s arms! Raquel pops Lyra up to a suplex, but Lyra DDTS! Cover, Liv gives Raquel the ROPEBREAK! The fans boo and Lyra knows something is up! Lyra glares at Liv but Liv just taunts Lyra.
Lyra hurries to bring Raquel up again, fireman’s carry, but Raquel powers out. Raquel shoves, Lyra dodges the boot and WRECKS Liv with a dropkick! But Raquel drags Lyra into a scoop, but Lyra slips around to victory roll! LYRA WINS!!
Winner: Lyra Valkyria, by pinfall (still WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion)
Lyra couldn’t outpower Raquel, but she did outthink her! But now Liv attacks from behind! The fans boo as Liv & Raquel mug Lyra, but here comes Bayley! The Role Model ROCKS Liv, then gives her a HOTSHOT in the ropes! Bayley fires haymakers on Raquel but Raquel knees low! Raquel hoists Bayley up, but now Lyra saves Bayley! And together, they grab legs and DUMP Raquel up and out! The fans fire up as Bayley & Lyra send Judgment Day into retreat! But will Lyra thank Bayley by giving her a title match?
Jimmy & Jey regroup backstage.
Jimmy asks Jey what’s up, and that for the last couple of weeks, Jimmy sees Jey is all up in his own head. Jimmy doesn’t get it. Last week, Jey was hitting that dive for 15 years, and then he becomes a joke! A meme even! What’s with him? Tonight, that killshot was right there, but Jey’s out here slipping. Jey keeps this up, he will not win at WrestleMania. Jey knows that! Jey knows. But everyone reminds him every week. He ain’t beat Gunther, he’s 0-3! But you know what else? He doesn’t know if he can beat Gunther. Jimmy says he can’t?! Jey gets up, Jimmy keeps him from going off somewhere.
Jimmy says Jey can’t beat him. Not this Jey Uso. The Jey that Jimmy knows, the Right Hand Man, that’s the Jey that can! The one that become Main Event Jey, that’s the Uce we need! The one that won the Royal Rumble, THAT’S the Jey we need! Understand him? Jimmy then spots someone off to the side. Jimmy says he’s got Jey on this. Jimmy confronts Gunther! Gunther grins as he walks over, and Jimmy says Gunther VS Jimmy next week! Wow, really? Sure. So long as Jimmy doesn’t trip and fall like his brother. Jimmy SLAPS Gunther for that one! The Usos head out, Gunther leaves it at that. But then Gunther grins. Is Gunther going to make Jimmy an example to Jey?
Adam Pearce is in the ring.
The Raw GM says, “We are officially on the Road to WrestleMania!” The fans cheer that, and Pearce shows the contract for the WWE Women’s World Championship match between Bianca Belair and Iyo Sky. Last week, Rhea Ripley came out here, thought it was appropriate to start a fight, to pick a pen up off the ground, and to scribble her signature onto the contract, as if that makes anything official. Pearce assures us, and he wants this to be crystal clear, Rhea Ripley is NOT in the title match. Glasgow boos, Pearce says they can do that all they want, but the match is Iyo Sky VS Bianca Belair!
Furthermore, the signature Rhea put down means nothing, because Miss Ripley already knows that she has a rematch. A rematch Pearce has tried to get Rhea to settle down on for weeks now, that in the meantime, Bianca won the Elimination Chamber and the right to call herself THE #1 Contender. So that is the issue here. Bianca earned hers, Rhea is owed one, but Rhea seems to want it on her time. Pearce ain’t doing it that way, so therefore- Iyo interrupts! The fans cheer the Evil Genius as she has both belt and mic in hand while heading to the ring. Iyo tells Pearce, “I don’t care about contracts. Rhea Ripley, Bianca Belair, it doesn’t matter who it is.
“I’ll take on BOTH of them! Because… I am the Women’s World Champion~!” The fans like that, and Pearce says he appreciates her being a fighting champion. But if you’d just let him- Nope, Bianca interrupts! The fans cheer the EST as she has her own mic to say, “Oh, girl, uh-uh, hold up, hold up! No, Pearce, you are right, I earned that #1 Contender’s spot. And I… went through Elimination Chamber to get to WrestleMania. So I am not about to let Rhea headbutt her way into this match! If she did not earn it, then she does not deserve it.” Pearce agrees, so if everyone- NOPE, Rhea interrupts!
The fans fire up as Mami makes her way out, and Pearce is beside himself. Rhea has a mic to say, “Honestly, I don’t give a damn about WrestleMania. And I don’t care who I have to go through to get MY title back. All I want is my rematch.” Oh, now she wants that? Pearce has been talking about it for weeks! Bianca says if Rhea wants her rematch, well, she already waited three weeks, so she can wait three more. Then she can get her rematch after WrestleMania, with Bianca. Yeah, she said what she said. Iyo says hold on, but Rhea pushes her aside. The fans boo, but that’s the last straw for Iyo!
Iyo runs up but Pearce gets in there! Pearce shouts “ENOUGH! ENOUGH!” He’s glad they’re all out here, because he was going to give his solution, if they’d just give him a second! NEXT WEEK, Rhea gets her rematch! Then the winner faces Bianca at WrestleMania! Ladies, thank you, have a very nice Monday. Pearce storms off, Bianca and Rhea still argue, but Iyo says bet! She leaps over Bianca to DDT Rhea! Bianca ROCKS Iyo, torture racks, but Iyo fights free with an arm-drag! Rhea BOOTS Bianca, gets around Iyo, but Iyo lands out of the back suplex! SHOTEI! Bianca chicken wings Iyo! Iyo victory rolls Bianca at Rhea, and Bianca LARIATS rhea!
Iyo dodges Bianca again, HOTSHOTS from the apron, then goes up the corner! She FLYING RANAS Rhea on the ramp! Bianca is up, Iyo takes aim, and the fans cheer Iyo on as she springboards! Bianca dodges, torture racks again, KISS OF DEATH to the outside, onto Rhea! Bianca holds up the belt, but will this be how WrestleMania ends? Who will it even be against after next week’s rematch?
Dominik finds Penta backstage.
Dirty Dom asks if Penta has a second to talk. Penta nods, and Dom says he knows Penta is good, but he could be great. Dom is willing to offer Penta a spot in the Judgment Day, and then maybe things will go Penta’s way. Penta wants to speak but Dom says hold on. Penta could be Intercontinental Champion tonight. Just think about it. Dom heads out, Penta looks like he’s already decided. Will the Man with Cero Miedo really need allies like The Judgment Day?
The New Day barge into Adam Pearce’s office.
He’s already exasperated as Kofi Kingston tells him that The New Day is the greatest tag team on Planet Earth! Xavier Woods says that means they deserve a shot at the WWE World Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania. Oh, are they really asking for a title match at WrestleMania? No, they are DEMANDING one! Wow, really? Do they watch the show? Guess not, or else they wouldn’t be coming in here and demanding a title match just because they’re the New Day, greatest team of all time! Instead, they’d want a chance to prove it, and ask for a match. When they’re ready to do that, come back and see him. For now, get out, and don’t let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you!
New Day tells Pearce to check his blood pressure. They leave, but Bianca barges in. There is way too much going on! Who is she facing at WrestleMania? Pearce says it’ll be clear next week after Iyo VS Rhea. And now, Bianca won’t just be sitting ringside to watch, she’ll be the one in that ring calling it right down the middle! That’s right, Bianca is now the special guest referee!! The EST doesn’t know how to referee! Well, she has a week to figure it out! Now bye, drive save. Bianca storms off, Pearce is losing his cool, but what will this mean for the Road to WrestleMania?
Dragon Lee VS El Grande Americano!
The LWO doesn’t care one way or another if “The Big American” luchador is Chad Gable or someone else entirely, because they just want payback for the interference that’s been happening week after week. Will the Boy Wonder shine brighter than this supposed lucha legend? Or will we all be saying “UH GRACIAS~!” after tonight?
The bell rings and the fans rally. The two tie up, “Grande” waistlocks but Lee switches. Grande switches back, trips Lee, and then rolls to facelock, float, and armlock. The fans sing “OLE~, OLE OLE OLE~!” while Lee fights up. Gable- Er, Grande steps over, arm-drags, and then soaks up the cheers and jeers. Grande runs up to CHOP, then whip. Lee reverses, runs in, but Grande puts him on the apron. Lee jumps up but Grande DECKS him! “GRACIAS~!” Grande then builds speed, but Lee is back to RANA! Grande tumbles out, Lee builds speed, and Lee DIVES! Direct hit and down goes Grande!
The fans fire up, Lee puts Grande in the ring, and then clamps on a GROUND COBRA TWIST! Lee grabs at the mask, the ref reprimands, and Lee stops. Grande throat chops! Grande whips, Lee reverses to kick low and reel Grande in. But Grande RANAS free! Grande FLYING HEADBUTTS, then covers, TWO! The fans again sing, “OLE~, OLE OLE OLE~!” Grande goes to the apron with Lee, then he fires a forearm. Lee V-TRIGGERS, then runs up, but into an EXPLODER to the floor! Both men have a hard landing but the fans fire up while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns as Grande has Lee in an inverted Gory Especial! The fans rally as Lee sits up, and he rains down fists! Lee victory rolls Grande, TWO! Grande stands, ducks ‘n’ dodges, FLYING HEADBUTT into the V-TRIGGER! Grande ends up on the apron, Lee goes out the side. Lee drags Grande up to the top rope, the fans rally, but Grande fires body shots. Lee drops back, but he ROCKS Grande! Grande is in the Tree of Woe! Lee goes up, aims, APRON WOE STOMPS!! Grande flops to the floor but even Lee clutches a knee from that landing. The ring count starts and the fans rally. Both men are down at 5 of 10, but slowly rising.
Lee and Grande hear 8, and they spring in at 9! The fans cheer, and Grande fires a CHOP! Lee fires a CHOP! The CHOPS keep going, harder and harder, then Grande CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! Grande runs, Lee dodges and CHOPS! And BOOTS! Grande ROCKS Lee! But Lee dodges to snap GERMAN SUPLEX! Grande flounders, Lee fires up, SUPERKICK! Grande falls again but Lee takes aim! Lee runs in, but Grande OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY SUPLEXES him into the corner! Lee is in a heap, Grande covers, TWO!! Lee survives and the fans fire up! The fans again sing “OLE~, OLE OLE OLE~!” as Grande climbs!
Grande aims to MOONSAULT, but he has to roll through as Lee dodges! Lee runs in, swings through the lariat, and he gets Grande up for a LIGER BOMB!! Cover, TWO!! Grande survives but Lee vows to end it! Lee brings Grande up, puts him up top and CLUBS him! The fans declare “This is Awesome!” as Lee climbs. Grande is back in the Tree of Woe, but he sits up to pull at Lee’s mask! Grande UNMASKS Lee!! Lee falls, covers his face, and Grande sits up! The fans boo, but Grande gets after a leg! ANKLE LOCK!! The fans boo, Lee can’t fight while also covering his face, so Lee TAPS! Grande wins!
Winner: El Grande Americano, by submission
A controversial way for a luchador to win a match, but it seems El Grande Americano is willing to do anything! Will we ever get to the bottom of this not so mysterious mystery?
CM Punk is here!
Glasgow fires up and sings along with Cult of Personality as the Second City Saint makes his way out here. Punk says, “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME~!” and continues down to the ring. What will he say in the fallout of Friday Night SmackDown’s brawl in Bologna? We find out, after the break.
Raw returns and Punk has the mic while fans chant “C M PUNK! C M PUNK!” Punk says, “Is it great to be alive on a Monday night in Glasgow or what?” The fans cheer that! Punk says that unfortunately while he’s happy to be here, always great to spend quality time with Glasgow, he is not in a good mood. He’s pissed off, but it’s hard to stay mad hearing an ovation like that. Punk says he’s also a little tired, very jetlagged, hasn’t slept well, mostly because of the uncertainty of his Road to WrestleMania. By the way, he apparently has a match now. Did you see the nice graphic? It’s beautiful.
But what Punk wants, he’s not getting. Or is he? Punk says what he wanted was win the Royal Rumble. he didn’t. Then it became what he needed to do, and that was win Elimination Chamber. But because the more things change, the more they stay the same, he work with children. The undisputed heavyweight champion of being a diaper piss baby is Seth Rollins, and he screwed Punk at Elimination Chamber. That doesn’t get Punk to what he wants. For two people, it is clearly personal, but for Punk, it’s just business. It has become simple math: the two men that want to stand in Punk’s way of getting what he wants have go tot go.
Seth Rollins takes it personal because he’s been crying ever since Punk came back to the WWE, because the magnitude of Punk and the shadow he casts belittles everything Rollins is about. Roman Reigns takes it personal, which Punk acknowledges, because Roman sees in real-time that his Wise Man isn’t just his Wise Man. So while it’s personal for the, it is business for Punk, and it’ll be business on Friday in London. It’ll be a good ol’ fashioned contract signing. The fans boo but Punk asks why. Because they wanted it here, right? The fans cheer that! Well, so did Punk, which is why Punk’s here!
Punk can’t wait to get his hands on the contract, read the fine print, and see if the contract gets Punk any bit closer to what he wants… or if it’s just another rug pull from the Powers That Be. So Seth, Roman, fuel up the jet. Since you couldn’t grace them with your presences here in Glasgow, see you in London! But before you put pen to paper, listen to two things and understand them very well. One: neither of you have defeated Punk without the other one’s help, because you can’t! And two: Punk brought them into the WWE, so he cannot wait to be the man to take them both out of it! Punk drops the mic, will he be the one that ends The Shield’s story?
Logan Paul speaks.
Via his Instagram, The Maverick tells AJ Styles, “Congrats, you’ve been added to the list of people whose downfall I’ve been preying on. What you did to me in Madison Square Garden is unforgivable. I’m in London on March 31st, Monday Night Raw, I wanna see you face to face. Bring your A Game, bring your soccer mom haircut, I’ll see your b*tch ass there.” Logan ImPAULsively called out The Phenomenal One, will he be the one to regret it?
Backstage interview with Bron Breakker.
Cathy Kelley is with the badass Intercontinental Champion and notes that he puts that title on the line in the main event, against one of the fastest rising stars in Penta. Earlier tonight, Dom approached Penta to join Judgment Day, is Bron at all concerned that Penta could be bringing backup in an onslaught of new friends? Bron says that’s Penta’s business, it is none of his concern. But as far as tonight, Bron will beat Penta in the center of that ring, then retain this title for one reason: The dogs are barking in Glasgow! Bron barks it up, then heads for gorilla. Will the Big Bad Booty Nephew not worry about the numbers and just go for the win? Or will he learn that #CeroMeido is math he can’t ignore?
WWE Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker VS PENTA!
Raw returns as Penta makes his entrance, followed by Bron’s. The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who is really the biggest badass!
The bell rings and the fans bark as Bron stares Penta down. They slowly circle, tie up, and Penta waistlocks. Bron pries at the grip, wrenches out to wristlock, and the fans duel. Penta wrenches, wristlocks, and headlocks in return, but Bron powers up! Bron shoves Penta away, but then Penta dodges to KICK a leg! And KICK it again! Penta whips, Bron ducks ‘n’ dodges, then builds speed to LARIAT! The fans bark for Bron while Penta flounders to a corner. Bron runs up to RAM into Penta! And RAM again! And again! The ref counts, Penta sputters, and Bron brings Penta up. Bron whips, Penta ducks ‘n’ dodges and RANAS!
Brun tumbles into the ropes then out of the ring! The fans fire up and Penta goes up, up, and- JUMP KNEE from Bron! Penta falls to the floor and Bron grins. The fans bark while Penta sputters to the desk. Bron aims for that FLYING LARIAT! Bron and Penta crash onto and over the desk! The fans bark more while both men are down! The ref checks on both men, but Dom & Carlito come out here? The fans boo, is Dom just assuming Penta’s decision? We’ll have to see, after the break.
Raw returns again and the fans rally as Penta fires body shots. Penta CHOPS, but Bron just frowns. Bron ROCKS Penta, eggs him on, but Penta CHOPS! Bron frowns again, then he ROCKS Penta! Penta comes back with a flurry of forearms! The fans fire up, Penta runs, but Bron ROCKS him again! Bron runs, but Penta SUPERKICKS! Bron wobbles, Penta runs up, but into another KNEE! Bron runs, runs, and- SUPERKICK from Penta! Both men fall and the fans fire up! The fans rally while Bron and Penta slowly rise. Penta has Bron first, reels him in, but Bron shoves Penta away. Penta comes back and KICKS Bron!
Penta then gets around Bron to mule kick a leg! Penta runs to SLING-DOG Bron down! Bron flops out, the fans fire up, and Penta builds speed to DIVE into an UPPERCUT! Bron hurries back in, fireman’s carries Penta, but Penta pops up to BACKSTABBER! Cover, TWO! Carlito says that alone proves Penta is Judgment Day material, but Penta calls his next shot. Bron rises, Penta runs in, DEST- NO, Bron stops that to make it a fireman’s carry, then a military press! GUT BUSTER DROP! Cover, TWO!! Penta survives, Bron is a bit surprised, but the fans still bark. Bron vows to end this and he goes to a corner.
Bron aims, Penta rises, and Bron runs in, into another SUPERKICK! Penta then GAMANGIRIS in the corner! Penta puts Bron up top, climbs up after him, but Bron shoves him down. Bron fires hands, then he hoists Penta up! Bron fireman’s carries Penta, but Penta fights free! Penta hops down to the apron so he can jump up and RANA Bron off the corner! Bron tumbles out, Penta builds speed, and Penta FLIES! Dom & Carlito love the tope conjilo, and Glasgow says, “This is Awesome!” Penta drags Bron up and into the ring, then takes aim again. MEXICAN DESTROYER!! Cover, TWO!! Born survives and Carlito is shocked!
The fans rally as hard as they can, and Dom coaches Penta up. Penta tells Dom to watch himself, then he drags Bron up. Penta pump handles Bron, but Bron fights free! Penta goes to a corner, BOOTS in return, and then goes up. Bron anchors Penta, Penta CLUBS away on Bron, then ROCKS him! Bron staggers away, but he springs right up top to SUPER STEINER! Cover, TWO! Penta survives the “Breakkensteiner” and Bron is frustrated. The fans rally up as Bron brings down the straps! The fans bark as Bron takes aim from the corner. But Dom gets on the apron! Carlito grabs Bron, but Bron TOSSES Carlito!
Bron runs and he SPEARS Carlito! The fans fire up, the ref reprimands Judgment Day, but Dom CHOP BLOCKS from behind! The ref catches it, the match is over!
Winner: Bron Breakker, by disqualification (still WWE Intercontinental Champion)
The fans boo but Dom rains down fists on Bron! If Dom is trying to get Penta to join up, he sure messed up that! The fans tell Dom off, but Bron ROCKS Dom with haymakers! FINN BALOR SMACKS BRON WITH A CHAIR! The Prince is here after all, and he SMACKS Bron again! Penta doesn’t even realize what happened, and then Finn glares at Dom?! Finn decides to give Dom the chair, and Dom JAMS it into Bron again and again! Penta understands now that Judgment Day screwed this up for him, but Dom offers him the chair? The fans say “NO! NO! NO!” but Penta still takes the chair. Dom says take Bron out, Cero Miedo!
Penta aims, but while Dom is encouraging Penta to do it, Finn is upset with Dom about it! Penta throws the chair at Dom to SUPERKICK into his face! Finn is even more upset because he knew this would happen. Finn CLOBBERS Penta, stomps away on him, and the fans boo more. Finn grabs the chair again, and he SMACKS Bron back down! Bron tumbles out, and Finn tells Dom he’s too stupid to be making decisions. Finn goes up, and he gives Penta a COUP DE GRACE! Judgment Day has no new members and no new gold, but will Finn get Dom to understand that they can still run Monday Night Raw?
My Thoughts:
Another great Raw, especially with this Glasgow crowd. Cena continues to be the perfect “Justified Heel” with another great promo, and it is amazing that he uses the Spinner Championship as the cornerstone of all of this. I almost thought he was going to say he would remake the spinner belt using the current title’s design. But at the same time, it’s good enough that he vows to retire that belt with his retirement so that whatever comes next will only ever be second place. Or third, given how there’s the WWE World Heavyweight Championship again. And Cody had a good retort again, but Cena is the one bringing the better promos.
While there was speculation that Glasgow would get to believe in Joe Hendry tonight, I knew it just makes sense in story that Jimmy would be the mystery partner for Jey. Very good match from Usos VS ATDU, very good win for the Usos, and a great promo where Jimmy lights that fire in Jey before slapping Gunther. Gunther VS Jimmy is going to be really good, and this fits a bit more of what I was hoping we’d get in the build. Gunther and Jimmy can tear it up while Gunther still wins out, a real example set for Gunther VS Jey at Mania, but also incredible motivation for Jey given he’ll be watching his brother get beat up.
Very good promo from Punk, a touch better than Rollins’ last week, but both boil down to hyping up what’s happening on SmackDown this week. Great stuff with this Chad Gable/El Grande Americano stuff. That video package was like 90% AI generated images, 10% Photoshop, but I guess that adds to how Grande Americano’s legacy is fake and it’s just Gable. Lee VS Grande Gable was great stuff, and what a wild way for Grande Gable to win with Lee’s mask coming off. Rey will surely want his own match with Grande Gable, and I feel like this has to come down to a Mask VS Mask match so that when Grande loses, he is exposed as Gable all along.
Great promo stuff for the Women’s World Championship, as Pearce puts his foot down and has them do things his way. No Triple Threat, at least not yet, as we instead get Rhea VS Iyo one more time, but Bianca being the Special GuEST Referee is of course going to create shenanigans that then compel a Triple Threat. New Day complaining and demanding a title match is good stuff, too, and I would think Pearce is going to put New Day into a big contenders match. Honestly, all tag teams on Raw should be put in that: New Day, A-Town Down Under, Alpha Academy, Creed Brothers, LWO’s Wilde & Del Toro, winners face War Raiders.
And the Judgment Day were once again a great throughline for Raw. Good promo from the group to set up things for tonight while also keeping the dysfunction in mind. Lyra VS Raquel was a great title match, great win for Lyra, and good stuff with Bayley making the save. I feel like we might get a tag match of Lyra & Bayley VS Liv & Raquel before we get Lyra VS Bayley for the title. I still feel like they could escalate and make it more than just 1v1 for WrestleMania, as Liv can even get herself in on the Intercontinental Championship, but we should also really get others like Shayna Baszler, Zoey Stark and even Natalya going again or else they’re signed for no reason.
And of course, awesome stuff with the Men’s Intercontinental Championship. It plays up the Judgment Day drama of Finn and Dom each trying to be the mastermind, but everyone wanting titles. Bron is still great in the ring but his character isn’t getting much other than “bark bark.” Even if he went back to talking a lot like Uncle Scott Steiner, that would be a bit more fun. But right now, he’s just this obstacle that the others are trying to get past while also dealing with their own stuff. Judgment Day standing tall because of Finn’s surprise appearance certainly cues up at least a Triple Threat of Bron VS Penta VS Finn, but maybe Dom gets himself in that match to “improve Judgment Day’s odds,” which just pisses Finn off and creates the real fallout in the group.
My Score: 8.9/10
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