Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (11/16/21)
Raquel Gonzalez is coming for revenge!
Time for some serious payback!
Cameron Grimes returns to Duke’s Poker Room, Dexter Lumis looks to shut Tony D’Angelo up, and Raquel Gonzalez wants revenge on Dakota Kai for costing her the NXT Women’s Championship!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Tony D’Angelo VS Dexter Lumis; D’Angelo wins.
- Six Man Tag: Odyssey Jones & Jacket Time VS The Diamond Mine; Jones & Jacket Time win.
- Andre Chase VS Xyon Quinn; Quinn wins.
- Poker Showdown: Duke Hudson VS Cameron Grimes; Grimes wins.
- Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner VS Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen; O’Reilly & Wagner win.
- 2v1 Handicap: Persia Pirotta VS Gabby Stephens & Jenna Levy; Persia wins.
- Raquel Gonzalez VS Dakota Kai; Gonzalez wins, by disqualification.
PLAY BY PLAY
Tony D’Angelo VS Dexter Lumis!
Tony said “How you doin’?” to Indi Hartwell while also saying the Tortured Artist would be sleepin’ with tha fishes, and now he’ll try and make the message even clearer. But Lumis makes his entrance and reveals his latest work of art. TONY is the one sleeping with the fishes! Will Lumis look to leave the gun and take the cannoli?
The bell rings and Tony bails out! Lumis slithers out after him and chases him around the ring! Tony gets in, Lumis follows but Tony stomps him down! Tony CLUBS Lumis, throws haymakers, then whips him to ropes. Lumis reverses, Tony duck san dodges then fakes Lumis out. Tony says he’s too smart but he gets ROCKED, then hit with a THESZ PRESS and fast hands! Lumis lets off, then runs to drop ax handles! Lumis brings Tony up, bumps him off buckles, and fans rally behind him as he throws body shots and uppercuts on repeat! Lumis brings Tony around, puts him in another corner and stomps him.
Lumis whips corner to corner, runs in but Tony dodges! Lumis turns around into a clinch and Belly2Belly! Tony scowls and stomps away on Lumis! Tony fires up, wraps on a chinlock and grinds Lumis down. Fans rally, Lumis fights up and throws body shots. Tony scoops and SLAMS Lumis, then talks some trash. Tony talks trash to Lumis but Lumis gets him in the SILENCE! Tony throws elbows to get free, but Lumis DECKS him with a right! And another! And then ROKCS him with an uppercut! Lumis frames the shot to clothesline but no bulldog as Tony slips away! But Tony gets caught at the ropes! Tony HOTSHOTS Lumis, then grabs the easel!
The ref reprimands, takes the easel away, but Tony pokes Lumis in the eye! BADABOOM! Cover, Tony wins!!
Winner: Tony D’Angelo, by pinfall
The Fisherman Screw just screwed Lumis, but he springs right up! Tony bails out, and then Carmelo & Trick attack! They have their own beef with Lumis and Tony doesn’t mind. CODE BREAKER to a LEAPING LARIAT! Melo stomps Lumis while Trick fetches a chair! They put the chair around Lumis’ arm, and Melo goes up! Thumbs down, FLYING STOMP to the chair!! Lumis clutches his busted arm but here comes JOHNNY! Gargano runs Melo and Trick off while referees check on Lumis. Trick adds insult to injury by tearing up Lumis’ painting. Will Gargano find a way to get back at The A Champion and his sidekick?
NXT returns with Gargano on the mic.
A video plays to show us Indi helping Lumis to the back but Gargano says we don’t need to see it. Gargano calls out Carmelo Hayes for making this very, very personal. Originally, it was just about the title and proving Gargano is better than Carmelo. But now, Melo screwed with the wrong son-in-law! He screwed with Gargano’s family, and if you do that, Gargano kicks your teeth down your throat! Gargano knows Melo is still in the building so come back out to meet him face to face! But instead of Melo, he gets Pete Dunne! The Bruiserweight says no no, don’t try and warm into a title match. Gargano saw and watched Dunne pin Carmelo. Yeah, with Gargano’s help!
Dunne doesn’t need any help! But cheers mate, tell y’what. Fans troll with “Yes You Do!” And then Melo & Trick return! Gargano, just turn around. They come in from the crowd! Watch out, Grumpy & Dopey, Snow White is missing two dwarves. They’re right here bickering and battering. “I want Melo~!” “I beat him last week!” “But I deserve it!” “I don’t care!” Y’all make Trick sick! Dunne asks who even is that. Gargano knows! That’s the guy that carries Melo’s bags. Oh no no, you got it all wrong! Let’s keep it real, Johnny !If not for this title, none of them would be relevant. Melo is the leader of the new school-
“SHUT UP, MATE!” Dunne’s the same age, but with 10 YEARS more experience! Plus, he already has a win over Melo. But carry on, talk the talk. Gargano agrees, talk yo’ talk. Then how about this? They run it back, and Gargano can get his, too. In fact, do it at the same damn time! Oooooooh WOO! To sweeten it more, it’ll be for THE A CHAMPIONSHIP, the most important championship on NXT because it’s on Melo’s waist. It’ll be next week! When Melo shoots, he don’t miss! Uh, he missed last week. Well now, Melo’s only been here six months. Melo don’t miss, most of the time. But Gargano’s been here for five YEARS.
And ask anyone, Gargano in this ring, THAT is absolutely CAN’T MISS! So then next week, Gargano VS Dunne VS Melo, Triple Threat for the North American Championship, you don’t want to miss that! This could be the biggest match in the title’s history! But will Melo completely miss this shot? Will he even be involved in the decision?
Diamond Mine warms up backstage.
Malcolm Bivens says tonight, they show the entire world why they are the most dominant in NXT. Not as individuals, but as one group, one unit, under the direction of THE NXT Cruiserweight Champion, Roderick Strong. The Creed Brothers will- Wait, Joe Gacy walks in. Gacy says he enjoys a group of people can unite under one roof for a common bind. As a leader, Strong has a great responsibility to keep the door open to opportunities. Well if he wants to try out, it’s in a few weeks, $837.50, no refunds, no exchanges, “and it doesn’t matter what your credit card company says, but I digress.” If Gacy wants a shot, holla at him.
Just what Gacy wanted to hear. Thank you for the generosity. What does Mr. Inclusion have planned for a group as hardened as Diamond Mine?
LA Knight talks to ya.
“People look at me, and maybe what I wear, and they may get an opinion of me. Man, you don’t know who I am. Hell, you see this watch? Hey, man, I don’t need that. You can get rid of the shirt, you can get rid of the jacket, you can get rid of any of it, I’m still 100% a megastar because I don’t need any of that.” Knight can be labeled 2.0, 1.0, it doesn’t matter. He has a goal: NXT Champion. He feels uncrowned, but just he’s about to make that turn, Grayson Waller walks in like he’s somebody. Waller thinks he can just host Halloween Havoc? NO! Knight has done everything it took to get here, and what did Waller do? Just walked in through an open door.
So what does Knight have to do to Waller/ Break the brakes off him! Waller can tweet, post, swipe, Knight doesn’t need that trash! There’s one megastar in NXT, and it ain’t Waller. Is that enough for you?
Six Man Tag: Odyssey Jones & Jacket Time VS The Diamond Mine!
#SoundTheAlarm, it’s JACKET TIME! Odyssey is ready to go on a journey with Kushida & Ikemen Jiro in order to take down some common enemies. Will Roderick Strong and the Creed Brothers crack under this pressure?
The trios sort out, Strong starts against The Handsome One! They circle, tie up, and Strong shoves Jiro down to then CHOP Jones! Jones doesn’t even flinch! Jones reaches out, Jiro tags him in! But then Strong tags out to Julius Creed. Jones doesn’t mind, he circles with Julius. Julius shoots in, has the leg, gets around and becomes a backpack, but Jones throws him off! Jones CLOBBERS Julius, drags him up and over, tag to Kushida. Ax handle to the arm, then Kushida wrenches. Jones tags back in, he goes up and drops an ax handle of his own! Jones tags Jiro, Jiro climbs up and leaps, but Julius dodges to HALF HATCH Jiro to the corner!
Tag to Brutus, he drags Jiro up and scoops, but Jiro slips out to kick and throw haymakers. Jiro whips, Brutus blocks! Brutus whips Jiro to a corner, Jiro bounces off buckles into the gut wrench POWERSLAM! Brutus is like a junkyard dog as he crawls after Jiro and stomps him down. Brutus shoves Jiro over, tags in Strong and Strong fireman’s carries. Jiro slips off, shoves Strong then tags Kushida! Kushida rallies on Strong with palm strikes then an ATOMIC DROP! Whip and hip toss, cartwheel basement dropkick! Brutus gets in but Kushida dodges to PELE! Julius gets in but Kushida kicks and whips! Julius reverses but Kushida handspring back elbows!
But Strong CLOBBERS Kushida! Fans boo as NXT goes picture in picture. Strong stomps Kushida at the ropes, the ref counts and Strong lets off at 4. Strong soaks up the heat, drags Kushida up and CHOPS him to the corner. Strong throws knees, tags to Brutus, and Brutus fireman’s carry throws Kushida down. Brutus drops knees on Kushida’s arm, then kicks him around. Brutus drags Kushida up, double underhook and a stalling lift before the SLAM! Brutus tags Strong, he tags Julius, and Strong gets Kushida up for a GUTBUSTER! The brothers DOUBLE KNEE Kushida in the sides! Julius pushes Kushida around, then gut wrench suplexes Kushida away!
Julius drags Kushida from the corner, stomps him down, then tags in Strong. Strong drops an elbow, clamps on a camel clutch and pulls Kushida back. Kushida endures, fights up and throws body shots. Kushida fires off fast hands but Strong kicks him in the gut! Strong rains down fists at the ropes, and Bivens is there to talk trash. Tag to Brutus, he drags Kushida to drop an elbow on the leg, then drop knees on the knee. Brutus kicks Kushida around, pushes him around, then eggs him on. Brutus brings Kushida up, Julius tags in, and they mug Kushida. Julius scoops and dumps Kushida down, then clamps on a half nelson chinbar.
Kushida fights up, throws body shots but Julius shoves him away. Julius runs in but is sent into the rope! Brutus tries but he’s also sent into ropes! Hot tag to Jiro! Jiro rallies on Julius, JACKET PUNCH after JACKET PUNCH! Julius staggers to a corner, DISCUS JACKET PUNCH! Jiro fires up, DISCU SJACKET PUNCH again! Whip corner to corner but Julius reverses. Jiro goes up and over and JACKET SPANK! NXT returns to single picture as Jiro taunts Julius, then trips him to PENALTY KICK Julius in the butt! Strong gets in, Jiro dropkicks him down! But Julius scoops to SLAM Jiro down! And then kick him while he’s down, and rain down forearms!
Julius tags Brutus, Brutus gives his own ground ‘n’ pound. Jones rallies the fans for Jiro but Brutus drops knees on Jiro’s head. And again, but Jiro moves! Brutus clutches his leg, both men crawl, hot tag to Strong and he gets Jiro’s feet! Jiro boots Strong away, hot tag to Jones! Jones swats Strong down, then rallies with big body checks! And a FLAPJACK! Brutus gets in but gets sent into his brother! Then Jones back body blocks Brutus! Jones runs at Strong but Strong BOOTS him, then ENZIGURIS! Strong OLYMPIC SLAMS Jones!! Both men are down and fans are fired up! Strong crawls to a cover, Jacket Time break it! Then they double dropkick The Creed Brothers!
Strong gets up, he gets a JACKET PUNCH! And a SHOTEI! And a CROSSBODY from Jones!! Cover, Jones & Jacket Time win!
Winners: Odyssey Jones & Jacket Time, by pinfall
Now that was a big win for Jones, Jiro & Kushida! Odyssey may be too big for the Cruiserweight title, but will this prove he’s worthy of some title opportunity in NXT?
The Grizzled Young Veterans are backstage.
They have the Women’s Tag Team Championships on their shoulders? Zack Gibson gets his Nana on the phone for video chats, and she thinks they’re REAL champions! He dedicates the victory to her! But they’ve gotta go, lots of new responsibilities. Gotta go! Bye~! Gibson hangs up, and says if that doesn’t secure him the “lion’s share” of the inheritance, he doesn’t know what will. Now they just have to put these back before Toxic Attraction is any the wiser. They weren’t just replicas?!
MSK’s journey continues!
Wes Lee & Nash Carter arrive at the next destination, and they’re ready to see “him.” Oh, wait. They gotta get through security. But their “supplies…” They argue who goes through TSA with “it,” and they somehow make it through. The shaman has to be better than ever. Someone just got $1500 in food vouches, 400 air miles and upgraded to first class, with a free blanket! They’re switching flights. What? Why? They gotta do this together, dude! But Carter goes alone on his flight and is pumped. They meet up at the airport, and MSK is almost there. And guess who Lee sat next to? The shaman? No! But someone who knows him! This guy is a master of tag teams!
Carter hushes Lee and says, “No more words. Let’s go find him.” But just who is worthy of such high expectations?
Andre Chase VS Xyon Quinn!
The (very tiny) student section is all fired up for their favorite short-fuse professor. But will this be a #TeachableMoment on when to call in sick? Or will the Gentleman Fighter get yet another win for the undefeated streak?
NXT returns as Quinn makes his entrance. The bell rings and Chase circles with Quinn. They tie up, Chase gets the arm and wrenches to an elbow breaker! Then a wristlock. Quinn wrenches right back and has the wristlock. Fans chant, “Chase U Sucks!” but Chase rolls, breaks free, and trips Quinn to then float all over him and slap him around. Quinn gets up as Chase grins, and Quinn blocks the kick! Quinn spins Chase, gets him up for a BIG Atomic Drop! Chase staggers around into a LARIAT! Quinn runs in again to CLOBBER Chase with a shoulder! Quinn goes corner to corner but Chase dodges! Quinn hits buckles, Chase hits a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!
Chase rains down rights on Quinn, drags him up by his ears, and snapmares him down to then stomp away while calling to his student section. Chase clamps on with a chinlock and thrashes Quinn around. Quinn endures, fights up, and picks Chase up in a fireman’s carry! Chase fights out with elbows then rains down more elbows into Quinn’s shoulder. Chase has the headlock but Quinn powers out and fireman’s carries. This time, the elbows do nothing. SWINGING SAMOAN DROP! Quinn seethes, powers up, and Chase staggers up into a suplex, for the JACKHAMMER! Cover, Quinn wins!
Winner: Xyon Quinn, by pinfall
But Legado Del Fantasma attacks! Quinn throws Wilde out, then Mendoza. But they regroup and trip him up to drag him out! They mug Quinn, he still fights them off with big hands! Quinn sends Legado scurrying, but then ESCOBAR attacks from behind! The Emperor joins in and they stomp away on Quinn! They get Quinn up for Elektra Lopez to walk up. “No one says no to Elektra Lopez!” And then Escobar SLAMS Quinn down on the steel grating on the floor! Lopez gives one last look at Quinn, but leaves him behind. Is this how Lopez moves on from rejection?
Backstage interview with Raquel Gonzalez.
In tonight’s main event, she looks to settle the score with Dakota Kai. What can we expect to see? Raquel hasn’t had a good night’s rest since before Halloween Havoc. Being a champion for over 200 days, the title becomes a part of you. She was taking it everywhere, from airports to appearances to the gym. But one shovel shot to the back, and Dakota ripped it all away. Now Raquel has to watch Mandy Rose walk around with the title. But Toxic Attraction is for later. “Dakota, you were jealous of my success, because you knew you could never beat me. Well tonight, I’m gonna beat the hell out of you. Tonight is about revenge! Make sure you bring that shovel, chiquita, because I’m gonna bury you with it.” Will Dakota be wishing she had stayed gone from NXT?
Poker Showdown: Duke Hudson VS Cameron Grimes!
The first time these two played cards, The Smug Hudson didn’t take the Carolina Caveman seriously, and Grimes hustled him hook, line and sinker. But now the table is in the ring, no limit Texas Hold’em! The rules of the game is explained, but Duke and Grimes surely know all this. Grimes is already laughing and smiling, but Duke say she doesn’t need luck. Luck is for losers, like everyone here. Luck is for a loser like Grimes! But while this isn’t Duke’s Poker Room, this is still Hudson’s ring, chips and cards. Tonight, Grimes becomes Duke’s BITCH. Some big words, big guy. But everyone here sees Duke is nervous! He’s sweating like Shaq at the free throw line.
But if Grimes remembers correctly, last week was chanting that Duke got played. Fans chant it now! Oops, did Grimes start something? Duke tells everyone to shut up, and the dealer to deal. First hand, and Grimes gets first action. A King of Spades and a Three of Spades. Grimes ain’t never seen two cards that he didn’t like. He starts the bidding at $500. Wade Barrett says Grimes has no idea what he’s doing. Duke’s hand is two Fives, a Diamond and a Club. Duke says this isn’t enough, he raises to $1000. Starting hot, huh? Big money game! Grimes is a big money player, too, so he calls. That makes the pot $2000.
The flop comes in and it is all hearts, a Five, Jack and Ten! So basically, Duke has a huge advantage. Grimes laughs it off, and says that flop looks good to him. Grimes will make it another $1000. Duke says he’ll end it tonight by going right to FOUR THOUSAND. Well that’s Duke’s problem! He tries to intimidate. But Grimes ain’t afraid o’ no man. Call. The pot is now $10,000! The turn is the Queen of Spades. That tips things slightly back towards Grimes, and Grimes says if you can’t handle the heat, get outta the kitchen! He puts up another $2000! What’s “Dukey” say? Duke gets annoyed by that, and he asks Alicia to tell the fans to shut up.
Alicia requests the fans stay quiet, but they don’t. If anything, they get louder just to stick it to Duke. Duke still calls, and we now have a $18 THOUSAND POT! The river is… a Seven of Hearts! That is ALL Duke now! Grimes says Duke has everything that it takes to be a big star player. But when it comes down to the moments that make you a star, Duke drops the ball. That’s okay, Duke! That’s okay. Today, right now, is Duke’s change all of that. Tonight is the chance to show everyone how big Duke’s balls are. Grimes goes ALL IN! Fans chant “TO THE MOON! TO THE MOON!” Duke tries to understand Grimes’ psychology, but Grimes asks if his balls are raisins or cantaloupes.
Duke paces around the ring a minute as fans taunt him with “RAISINS~! RAISINS~!” Duke says this keeps happening. Grimes trapped him last week, he’s trapping him now! Grimes’ smile is his tell! What? Grimes must have a flush, huh? Well if he knows that, then make the right call, Duke. Duke won’t get got again. Not this time. Then Duke will live to fight another day and fold. Grimes wins the hand and laughs it up. Grimes didn’t even knew Duke knew how to do that. Grimes, what did you have? Uh, this is the winning hand. NO! He has to know!! Duke grabs those two cards, and sees it wasn’t a flush at all! It was utter crap! “You got played! You got played!”
Duke is losing his cool over that, and he BOOTS Grimes right out of his chair! Duke stomps away on Grimes, drag shim up and tears up the suit! Duke rains down fists, then POWERBOMBS Grimes through the poker table! Duke is still fuming while fans lose their minds! Duke isn’t done there, either! He goes under the ring, finds a toolbox, and brings out a HAMMER! No, not good enough. He wants the SCISSORS! Duke goes to the ring, drags Grimes from the wreckage, and he starts cutting the beard!! And the hair!! Duke lost the game, and his cool, but will Grimes make sure he loses so much more than that?
Kyle O’Reilly finds Von Wagner backstage.
“Well if it isn’t Adam Pearce’s bodyguard.” Kyle saw SmackDown. But he’s not worried about that, or about their loss to Legado. What matters is tonight, and what do they do on Tuesdays? They go to work. Von isn’t worried, either. They’re going to handle business! But will they be able to take the fight to the bar fighting brothers in arms?
Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner VS Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen!
Kyle and Von might be an odd fit, but Briggs & Brooks get along like pork ‘n’ beans, mustard ‘n’ ketchup, or a couple o’ cold ones at a barbecue. Will Kyle and Von handle business and make inroads to the tag titles? Or will they end up well-done like steaks on the grill?
The teams sort out and Kyle starts with Brooks. The tie up, Brooks throws Kyle right down then does a two-step. Kyle kicks back, gets up and headlocks, but Brooks powers out to ram shoulders! Kyle ducks, KICKS, KICKS and KICKS! Brooks hobbles, blocks a kick to scoop and SLAM, then drops an elbow, only to miss! Kyle headlocks, Briggs tags in as Brooks powers out, and the good ol’ boys double shoulder Kyle down! Briggs & Brooks run to slide out and DOUBLE HAYMAKER Kyle down! They fist bump but Imperium is watching very closely backstage. Briggs gets in, but Kyle clamps onto his arm! Kyle brings Briggs over, tag to Von!
Von and Briggs stand off as the two biggest men in the match, and they tie up! They push each other around, Briggs headlocks but Von powers out. Briggs rams shoulders but Von stays up. Von eggs Briggs on, Briggs shoves him but Von shoves back. Briggs throws haymakers, then whips, but Von ducks and dodges to SHOULDER TACKLE! Fans fire up with Von, he gets Briggs in the corner and tags Kyle. Kyle KICKS, Von HEADBUTTS, repeat! Kyle wrenches Briggs’ arm to an elbow breaker, then KICKS the arm! Briggs elbows back, Kyle KICKS! Kyle whips but Briggs blocks, so Kyle KICKS the leg. Kyle whips, Briggs reverses but Kyle BOOTS Brooks! Only for Briggs to BOOT Kyle!
Brooks tags in, he kicks and stomps and hammers Kyle! Brooks fires up, brings Kyle around and bumps him off buckles. Fans rally for Kyle and he SLAPS Brooks! Brooks CHOPS Kyle! Then lariats, then CHOPS, repeat! DISCUS! Brooks shoves Kyle down, runs and drops the BIG elbow! Cover, TWO! Brooks drags Kyle up, whips him to ropes and picks him right up for a bearhug! Kyle endures the squeeze, Brooks powers him to the corner. Briggs tags in, and Brooks feeds Kyle to Briggs’ bearhug. Briggs RAMS Kyle into the corner, Brooks tags back in. Another feed, another bearhug! Kyle BELL CLAPS free! He dodges Brooks, tag to Von!
Von rallies on Brooks with big forearms, then reels Brooks in for a LARIAT! GUT WRENCH SUPLEX! Brooks is on the ropes, staggers into Von’s clinch, COMPLETE SHOT! Von fires up and fans cheer him on. Briggs gets in but Von dodges and Kyle dumps Briggs out! Briggs stagger sup, Kyle hits a FLYING KNEE! BUTTERFLY SLAM from Von to Brooks! Cover, Von & Kyle win!
Winners: Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner, by pinfall
The odd couple rebounds, but Imperium shares their opinions. Fabian Aichner says, in Italian, “Looks like they are getting better.” Marcel Barthel says, in German, “They are getting better, but they are not on our level. There is nobody that is on that level.” Aichner agrees, not even close. Barthel adds that Kyle & Von “have a better chance getting a security job around here than beating us for the tag team titles.” Aichner laughs at that, and agrees, those two will never beat them. Are Imperium speaking the truth? Or are they just worried about what Kyle & Von can do?
Persia is with Indi outside the medical room.
Indi hopes Dexter is okay. But Persia says they have to focus, they have a match. But Dexter is getting checked at a medical facility. Johnny’s going, but Indi’s Dexter’s wife! Persia says she has this, Indi can be there for her man. Really? Thanks so much, Persia! Will Persia really be fine without her best friend in her corner?
NXT presents an all new Lashing Out.
Lash Legend welcomes us back to her show, and they gotta address the elephant in the room. Kay Lee Ray has the audacity to interrupt Toxic Attraction? We saw that look in KLR’s eye, and that’s girl code for “Something ’bout to get messed up.” But listen, KLR. You gotta realize that there’s three of them, and only one- Grayson Waller! He walks on stage and Lash can’t believe what he’s doing. But he just loves this show! And he has tea to spill. Oh he got tea? Well okay, spill! Waller heard what Knight said about him, not paying his dues and stuff. Why? Because Waller didn’t drive 500 miles to a high school gym to get a hot dog and a handshake? Seems kinda stupid to him, really.
There are all these veterans who sacrificed for so long to get where they are. They missed birthdays, hospital visits, and yet all Waller had to do was survive on a reality show in Australia, put out a video, and then WWE came to him! But hey, here’s a little secret. This business isn’t about wins and losses anymore. “The story of DIY journeymen finally achieving a boyhood dream… is DEAD!” Fans boo that, but Waller says it’s true. It isn’t about how many stars your matches get, but how many likes and followers you have. That goes for Knight and the veterans. They keep asking, “Whose game is it?” Well don’t be mad at Waller, but the game has changed, and it’s HIS now.
Waller storms off and Lash says, “Clean up on aisle 8, honey! The tea has just been spilt!” That’s all the time she has, see you all next time!
2v1 Handicap: Persia Pirotta VS Gabby Stephens & Jenna Levy!
Being the best friend she is, Persia is letting Indi stand by her man. But will Persia be able to stand after taking on two opponents at once?
The bell rings and Persia ties up with Jenna, to then shove her down! But then out walks Robert Stone. What’s his interest in Persia? But then Gabby tags in and blindsides Persia with forearms! Jenna joins in, but Persia fights them both off with kicks! Persia POSTS Jenna, then scoops Gabby to SNAKE EYES! Gabby staggers around, fans cheer Persia but Jenna tags in. Jenna comes back but Persia LARIATS! Persia corner splashes, whips corner to corner, and runs in to splash again! Persia keeps going and BOOTS Jenna down! Persia drags Jenna, Jenna kicks her away, and crawls to tag Gabby!
Gabby climbs up, Persia CLUBS her down! Persia then gets Jenna up, fireman’s carries her, and then adds Gabby to the stack! DOUBLE SAMOAN DROP!! Stone likes that, and so do the fans! Persia gets Gabby back up to SWINGING FACEBUSTER! Cover, Persia wins!
Winner: Persia Pirotta, by pinfall
Persia’s a powerhouse, and Stone is impressed! Will Stone look to rebuild his brand with Persia in mind?
Backstage interview with Dakota Kai.
A huge main event against Raquel tonight, and McKenzie brings up how Raquel vows to bury Dakota with the very shovel Dakota screwed her over with. Dakota laughs at that, and is McKenzie Raquel’s new bestie? Is Dakota gonna hit McKenzie with a shovel? Because maybe… Well ever since TakeOver, Dakota’s been lost. She isn’t even sure who she is anymore! Her mind is cloudy, so the only way to get rid of all that is to get rid of her past. That begins with ending Raquel! See, it all started at Halloween Havoc, and Mandy walks in to finish the sentence, “And it all ends tonight.”
Dakota looks at the title, and Mandy loves it, doesn’t she? They don’t just owe Dakota for that, they owe Dakota TWICE! Mandy keeps Gigi & Jacy from going after Dakota. But then the GYV finally return the belts! Gibson says some tech dorks were facetiming their grandma, pretending they were tag champs or something. Can you believe that? No, that’s pathetic. Who lies to their grandma? Uh, yeah, it is- Okay, bye. Gibson tells Drake that the best way to get away with a lie, is to hide it right next to the truth! Brilliant! Smashing!
Tommaso Ciampa speaks.
“On the premiere episode of NXT 2.0, NXT was in need a leader. The new champion was crowned. Enter Tommaso Ciampa, the greatest NXT Champion of all time. In a short two months, I have successfully defended this title here in the states and overseas in the UK. I carry her with integrity, respect, prestige. Then I look around this locker room, and there is a lack of integrity, a lack of respect. This new crop of talent… Y’know what? Screw it. I’ll address them in the ring.” Ciampa storms off, will he call out some specific superstars on the roster?
NXT hears from Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter.
When these two aren’t kicking ass in the ring, they go to as many music festivals as they can. Last week was EDC Orlando. There’s such an amazing feeling and vibe. The music, the lights, the craziness, it’s hard to explain. IT’s all about having fun and for a few hours, forgetting your problems. They’ve had some downtime, and they want to share that with the audience. Seeing a community come together to be themselves, that’s what they want in NXT 2.0. The life of the party is bring that party to the ring, who will be feeling the vibe?
Ciampa heads to the ring!
Ciampa wants us to bear with him and let him vent for a moment. There are guys in the back like Carmelo Hayes, who comes out here week after week, desperately trying to convince himself that he’s holding on to the A Title. Let’s be real for a second. Melo ain’t taking a shot in Ciampa’s direction, because he knows if he does, he won’t just miss. He’ll shoot an air ball. Ciampa then says there’s “little bitch ass Grasyon Waller.” Talking about how guys from Ciampa’s generation, them traveling around and working the indies like there’s something wrong with that! Like somehow Grayson~ Waller~ is above that?! “Well Grayson, I’ll tell you what you can do with my hot dog.”
Then there’s Tony freakin- Well, before Ciampa can tear into D’Angelo, here comes Bron Breakker! Fans bark it up for him as he joins Ciampa in the ring. Breakker says Ciampa is calling out guys who did the same things he has to make it to the top. Ciampa’s worried about Waller and Hayes, but he probably can’t stand this new crop of talent coming down. It pisses him off, right? Well that means NOTHING to Breakker! The only thing Ciampa should worry about IS Breakker, and if he’s not, Breakker will run through Ciampa and take that title!
Wow, that was powerful. Ciampa isn’t sure exactly how this works, but some place, there’s some guy in a truck who can pull up footage! Maybe the ending to their match at Halloween Havoc? Because Breakker seems to need a reminder. So magical man in the truck, please pull up the ending of that match? It does come up, and Ciampa gave Brakker knee after knee then the Fairy Tale Ending! Right, that was 1-2-3. Ciampa ain’t a math major, and Breakker probably ain’t either. But Breakker has a less than a 33 and one third chance of ever taking the title from him. Now Breakker can bark up the tree all he wants, but he’s just a puppy. Ciampa is the NXT CHAMPION.
Mic drop and Ciampa heads out! But will Breakker grow up and get another shot at that title?
Raquel Gonzalez VS Dakota Kai!
Once the closest of cohorts, now the worst of enemies! Big Mami Cool wants to crush Cobra Kai, but will she get bit by the snake that betrayed her?
NXT returns as Dakota makes her entrance. The bell rings, Raquel CLOBBERS Dakota, then dribbles her in the corner! Raquel stomps a mudhole but lets off at 4, only to come back with haymakers! Raquel whips corner to corner hard and Dakota bounces off buckles! Dakota bails out, Raquel chases her around the ring, and then RAMS Dakota into Plexiglas barriers! Fans are fired up as Raquel puts Dakota back in, then runs her down for a FLAPJACK! Dakota flounders out, Raquel is furious but she goes back out. Raquel runs in around the way, to FLAPJACK Dakota on the ramp!
Dakota crawls, Raquel drags her up and bumps her off the apron. The ring count is 5 of 10, Raquel fireman’s carries to lift and SLAM Dakota on the apron! Dakota kicks back from the apron, then PENALTY KICKS! Raquel staggers back into the ring, Dakota rushes in, ducks and dodges but Raquel elbows her away! Raquel puts Dakota in the corner, dribbles her more, and then shouts, “I TRUSTED YOU!” Dakota is smiling?! Is she enjoying this?! Raquel gets Dakota up, Dakota blocks the suplex but Raquel CLUBS her down! Dakota scrambles, shoves Raquel and kicks back, but Raquel dribbles her off buckles again!
Raquel bumps Dakota off the corner, then keeps her from running away! Raquel gets Dakota in a gut wrench, Canadian rack, and then a BACKBREAKER RACK! Dakota endures, then Raquel RAMS her into a corner! Dakota ends up on the top rope, and Raquel wants her to look her in the eyes. Then she CLOBBERS Dakota with a EuroUpper! Raquel runs in but POSTS herself as Dakota moves! Raquel flops out of the ring, staggers up, and Dakota comes in to BOOT her down! Fans boo as NXT goes picture in picture.
Dakota grits her teeth, is riding the line of anger and joy, then refreshes the ring count to club away on Raquel. Dakota pushes Raquel onto the apron to SLAM an arm on the edge! Raquel goes writhing away but Dakota hurries to get a cover. TWO, and Dakota smiles. Dakota drags Raquel by the bad arm, wrenches and CODE BREAKER to the arm! Raquel staggers to a corner, Dakota storms over but Raquel kicks back. Dakota fires off forearms, wraps the bad arm on the ropes and pulls! The ref counts, Dakota lets off, but then she snapmares to a cover. TWO! Dakota keeps on the arm with a cording hold, but Raquel endures.
Dakota pulls harder, steps over, but Raquel reaches out for ropes. Dakota thrashes the arm, drags Raquel ,but Raquel makes it a cover! TWO and Dakota lets Raquel go to fire off forearms! Raquel hits back with the good arm, then whips Dakota to ropes. Dakota BOOTS Raquel down again! Cover, TWO! Dakota can’t believe it but she should know Raquel’s tougher than that. Dakota has a top wristlock and she thrashes Raquel around again. Raquel fights up, RAMS Dakota into a corner, and NXT returns to single picture as Raquel gets free. Dakota is on the ropes, but she drop toeholds Raquel! Dakota runs to BOOT Raquel against the ropes! Cover, TWO!
Dakota is beside herself, but she sees Raquel go to the apron. Dakota gets the arm, kicks at Raquel’s face, then goes out the opposite side. Dakota drags Raquel up the corner, HEADBUTTS her, but Raquel roars and fires off headbutts in return! Raquel climbs up now, but Dakota fights the superplex to HOTSHOT Raquel down! Raquel flops into the ring, Dakota gets on the apron to BOOT Raquel through the ropes! Dakota drags Raquel to a cover, TWO! Fans are dueling while Dakota drags Raquel by her hair. Raquel glares at Dakota and choke grips her! Two hands up, DOUBLE HAND SLAM! Raquel gets her bad arm working and runs in to LARIAT! And BOOT!
Raquel keeps going, but Dakota ducks, only to get the BLINDSIDE! Raquel stalks Dakota to a corner, drags her but Dakota pulls the bottom buckle pad off! Raquel gives Dakota a FALL AWAY SLAM! And then the VADER BOMB ELBOW! Cover, TWO!! Fans are loving this as Raquel drags Dakota back up. Raquel hooks her up but Dakota fights the Chingona to a sunset flip! Raquel punches but only hits mat! Dakota avoids the elbow drop, too, covers, ONE!! Ghost pin, TWO! Dakota SCORPION, but Raquel blocks to a Stretch Muffler and SWINGING SLAM! Fans are loving “NXT! NXT!” as Raquel drags Dakota back up.
“This is Awesome!” as Dakota blocks the suplex again, they go to the corner, Dakota WRINGS Raquel into the bare buckle! Fans boo while Raquel is dazed. Dakota watches Raquel flounder around, and she goes out to get the SHOVEL!! Dakota brings it in, is laughing like a lunatic, but Raquel kicks her down! Raquel snatches the shovel now, and fans want her to use it! Raquel looks ready to use it and Dakota begs for mercy! But Toxic Attraction attack!!
Winner: Raquel Gonzalez, by disqualification
This is them returning the favor! They hold Raquel up for Dakota’s SUPERKICK! They all mug Raquel, but here comes Cora jade! She uses her skateboard to SMASH Gigi, SMASH Jacy, and then TOSSES it at Dakota! Dakota ducks, Mandy CLOBBERS Cora! They all fire off on Cora now, she does her best to fight, but they double whip and BOOT Cora down! Dakota stomps Raquel down, Mandy digs her knee in, but is that Zoey Stark?! She has her crutches and leg brace, Toxic Attraction mocks her. But Zoey is just a harbinger for IO SHIRAI! Zoey gives Shirai a crutch and Shirai tees off on Gigi & Jacy! Then on Mandy!
But then Dakota SMACKS Shirai with Cora’s skateboard! Shirai stays up to SMACK Dakota back! And again! And again! Cora gets back up, she helps out, but they’re still outnumbered 4v2! Mandy and Cora brawl, Shirai fights off Jacy. They double whip Mandy into a CRUTCH CLOTHESLINE! Jacy wants more but Cora JAMS her with the board! Dakota is on Raquel’s back but Raquel is up to throw her out! Cora gives Jacy a COMPLETE SHOT to the board! Raquel scoops Gigi to RAM her into Dakota! Dakota and Toxic Attraction bail out, and Shirai gets a mic! “WARGAAAMES!!!” Fans are loving that! Will Toxic Attraction and Dakota pay for what they’ve done in the worst way possible?
My Thoughts:
A pretty great episode of NXT right here. I was hoping for more out of D’Angelo VS Lumis, but it ended up more a vehicle towards a big time North American Championship match. Melo VS Dunne VS Gargano is going to be a BADASS Triple Threat that might make 2.0 feel as good as 1.0 in the ring. But at the same time, having two opponents, Melo is going to squeak out the win and use this to brag even more. Speaking of bragging, we got a lot of that from Knight and Waller to give us this rather odd take on the usual “Indy Darling VS WWE Guy” like we’d gotten out of just about anyone against John Cena.
What I’m surprised by is, Waller is coming off the Heel. Does that make Knight the Face? That’s interesting… But at the same time, Ciampa calls Waller and other 2.0 homegrown guys, taking this from a different angle as the Indy Darling who made it big in the WWE. Or as big as WWE will let NXT look to even their own fans. And I love that he referenced Steiner Math! But it’s very interesting that NXT is playing things out this way, though I suppose 2.0 would be the first time in a long time that NXT had this many homegrown wrestlers they want to treat as stars, it probably had to happen at some point.
We got a good Six Man Tag, Jones & Jacket Time winning makes sense to keep this feud going. But I feel like it’s bad planning that there isn’t another Cruiserweight involved in this to get at the title. Doesn’t help that Nick “What the Frick” Khan cuts people that could actually play that role. Trey Baxter, either member of Lucha House Party between Lince Dorado and Gran Metalik, even Oney Lorcan going back on a Face run could give Strong a strong challenge. Quinn of course wins against Andre Chase, but it was a vehicle to get Legado to go after him. Pretty sure this leads to Escobar VS Quinn in a sort of proxy match for this story between Quinn and Lopez.
Good stuff out of the tag division. MSK has an okay vignette this time, but I hope next week is the conclusion so we can get to that next part of their story. GYV becoming NXT’s greatest con men is still a rather interesting move, and it’s not like they aren’t pulling off the promos, but I wish they were the tag champs right now. There was a window in the latter days of 1.0, but they waited too long and then look what happened. I do like that Kyle acknowledged Von going to SmackDown, even though SmackDown never acknowledged who the hell Von is, and I like that they got a win over Briggs & Brooks.
Imperium watching Kyle & Von was a lowkey great thing because they were watching at a normal angle! That little bit also gives the nod that they’re heading to a tag title match, but I honestly would hope Imperium retains. Von is getting that 2.0 push but I don’t know where he’s really going right now. Similar to GYV, there was a window where Kyle was going to be a singles champion in NXT but they missed that window and here we are. The poker game being in the ring, it was a rather interesting change, but I think this one played out even better than the previous. They might’ve overdone Grimes bluffing his way into winning, but Duke did great in losing his cool. I really hope they put a stipulation on their match. Maybe Hair VS Hair what with Duke cutting into Grimes’.
We got good story blending through Lumis & Indi. Lumis’ kayfabe injury has Indi stay out so that Persia can show off her strength. Robert Stone appearing is random, but when he has nothing now because they cut Franky Monet and Jessi Kamea, he might be trying to start from scratch. That could complicate things within The Way if Stone manages Persia but Johnny & Candice don’t want Indi joining up. We got a great main event out of Raquel and Dakota, even with Toxic Attraction getting involved. I just knew Dakota was going to get lumped in with Toxic Attraction so we could get a Women’s WarGames.
Cora Jade is the surprise on who joins the Faces, but I think the secret weapon for them is Kay Lee Ray. She had her run-in with Toxic Attraction, she wants to just let loose, what better match than WarGames? I would’ve thought Kacy & Kayden were, but maybe things changed when Zoey Stark got injured.
My Score: 8.9/10
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The Last Time is Now on SmackDown!
LA Knight is in the Last Time is Now Tournament, determined to meet John Cena at Saturday Night’s Main Event, but who is his opponent?! Time to find out, YEAH!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- The Last Time is Now Tournament Opening Round: Jey Uso VS The Miz; Jey wins and advances.
- WWE Untied States Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov VS Axiom; Ilja wins and retains the title.
- The Last Time is Now Tournament Opening Round: LA Knight VS Zack Ryder; Knight wins and advances.
- Jade Cargill VS B-Fab; Jade wins.
- Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes VS Bronson Reed w/ Paul Heyman; Cody wins, by disqualifications, and retains the title.
PLAY BY PLAY
Rhea Ripley AND Iyo Sky are here!
Albany, New York fires up as Mami & The Genius are both here on SmackDown following the chaos on Raw. Because at Survivor Series, Rhea said it herself: WARGAMES! Rhea & Iyo each get a mic and the fans cheer them both on. Rhea says, “Since I’ve been out with a broken nose, the Kabuki Warriors, they’ve been causing a little bit of chaos. And now that they’ve managed to get their hands on the Tag Team Championships, they think they’re pretty much untouchable.” The fans boo, but then Rhea says throw Nia Jax & Lash Legend into the mix, which the fans boo also… “And now they think they are untouchable again because they have the ‘numbers advantage.'”
But the funny thing about numbers is you just end up with more enemies. Iyo says, “A lot of enemies. But they always catch up to you. And now, there is nowhere to hide! WARGAAAMES~!” The fans cheer as Iyo & Rhea go wild for that. Rhea says, “And y’know what? We’re not going in alone. So I would like to introduce two of our teammates: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss!” The fans cheer as the former tag team champions make their way out to the ring, Charlotte in a modern art suit with her pyro, and then followed by Alexa in her goth preppy fusion. #Charlexa stands with Rhea & Iyo in the ring, mics also in hand.
The four hug it out and the fans “WOO~!” Alexa says if the Kabukis wanna play dirty, fine. If Nia & Lash wanna jump in, too, great! And they can get all four at once, it is so on! Those four started this fight, these four will end it! The very second Rhea said, “WarGames,” Alexa knew they were in. Right, Charlotte? The fans “WOO~!” and Charlotte says, “Lexi, I can’t do this. I can’t pretend anymore.” What? “Look, Rhea. I don’t like you.” The fans boo and Iyo is shocked. Charlotte says she doesn’t trust Rhea, and she thinks Rhea is a snake. But Rhea doesn’t like or trust Charlotte and probably thinks she’s the snake, and Charlotte doesn’t blame her.
There is too much history here, too much bad blood. Just because they have the same enemies doesn’t change that. Charlotte cannot look past it. Alexa is Charlotte’s friend, she trusts Alexa. So if Alexa wants to do this, that’s fine. But count Charlotte out. What!? The fans boo as The Queen steps away, but Alexa calls after her. Charlotte goes up the ramp, Alexa apologizes to the others and tries to figure out why Charlotte did this. Can Alexa get Charlotte to change her mind before it’s time to go to war?
Jey Uso is in the concourse!
And he asks them to please, please, play his music! UH UH, YEET!! The fans fire up and bounces along as Main Event Jey Uso makes his entrance, ready for The Last Time Is Now! But will it be Albany, New YEET? Or will the Hollywood A-Lister put all that fire from last week to good use?
The Last Time is Now Tournament Opening Round: Jey Uso VS The Miz!
SmackDown returns and the fans continue to YEET, and then they want the encore! But instead, The Miz makes his entrance. The bell rings and the fans rally up as the two circle. They tie up, are in a deadlock, but Miz KNEES low! Miz CLUBS Jey, then talks some trash. The fans rally for Jey but Miz brings Jey around. Jey blocks the buckle bump to fire off haymakers, “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Jey whips, Miz reverses, and Miz hits a kitchen sink KNEE! The fans boo but Miz soaks up the heat. Jey goes to ropes, Miz storms up on him, and Miz fires haymakers of his own! Miz soaks up more heat as he backs p, then he runs in, but Jey turns lariat into backslide! TWO!
The fans fire up as Jey stands, but Miz blocks a kick! Miz spins Jey, the DRAGON WHIP hits! Miz ends up on the apron, but he slides under Jey to sunset flip! TWO, and Miz catches Jey now! Jey fights the Finale with ama r-drag, but Miz avoids the superkick! So Jey LARIATS Miz up and out! The fans fire up and “YEET!” Jey builds speed and DIVDSE! Miz is send into the desk! Albany fires up while Jey snarls and SmackDown goes to break.
SmackDown returns again and Miz stalks Jey. The tide has turned and Miz storms up, but Jey ELBOWS him away! Jey goes up, but Miz kicks the legs out! DRAPING CODE BREAKER! Then a DDT! Jey gets spiked! Miz covers, TWO! Jey survives and Miz is stunned! Miz snarls as Jey sits up, and then Miz KICKS! And KICKS! And KICKS! The fans say “YES! YES! YES!” to the It Kicks, and Miz winds up, only for Jey to duck the buzzsaw! POP-UP NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Miz survives and crawls to a corner while Jey shakes his head. The fans rally as Jey goes to the other corner. “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jey runs up, but Miz dodges!
Miz runs up and SHOULDER TAKCKLES! And SHOULDER TACKLES! Miz parodies John Cena with the SPIN-OUT BOMB! The fans fire up as Miz says when his hand goes up, your mouths go shut. “You Can’t See Me!” FIVE KNUCKLE SHUFFLE! The fans are torn as Miz now fireman’s carries Jey! But Jey fights free, shoves Miz, SUPERKICK! Then a fireman’s carry in return! Miz slips free, SKULL CRUSHING FINALE!! Cover, TWO!?! Jey survives and everyone is shocked, especially Miz! Jey flounders, stands, and goes to a corner. Albany is thunderous for Jey but Miz storms right up on him.
Miz puts Jey up top, then climbs up after him! Miz full nelsons again! But Jey fires elbows! Then he fireman’s carries Miz! The fans are thunderous as Jey hits a TOP ROPE RACK DROP! Then he gest moving, SPEAR!! Jey doesn’t stop there, he goes up the corner again! USO SPLASH!! Cover, JEY WINS!
Winner: Jey Uso, by pinfall (advances to the next round)
Albany YEETS again as Jey stays alive in the tournament! But who else will join him, Sheamus, and Rusev on the road to Washington, DC?
Ilja Dragunov talks with Nick Aldis.
The Mad Russian Dragon is glad he gets to have another Open Challenge, but then in walks Tommaso Ciampa. The Sicilian Psycho hopes Aldis is explaining to “our so-called fighting champion” how to respect the rules of an Open Challenge. Aldis says the champion has every right to dictate the rules how he sees fit, but Johnny Gargano asks if Ilja has the right to call his best friend a jackass. Candice LeRae asks if Ciampa looks like a jackass! Enough with calling him a jackass! The only jackass here is Ilja denying the one man answering the challenges! Make it make sense! Well, they were just discussing this, so listen very carefully!
When Ilja took on the legacy of the United States Open Challenge, Ilja promised to do things the right way. And the right way mean sto not give opportunities to… jackasses! But to fight warriors who are willing to fight with respect and honor. And there is nothing honorable about Ciampa. So tonight, Ilja will give this opportunity to a man who fights with honor, and someone Ilja respects. Oh no, seriously?! AXIOM steps in! Ciampa accuses Ilja of cowardice, but Axiom thanks Ilja for this opportunity. Aldis wishes them both the best of luck, then moves on, only for Paul Heyman and Bronson Reed to be waiting outside his office.
Heyman smiles, a big contract folder in hand, and he asks Aldis, “How’re you doing? We need to talk to you for a minute.” Aldis says please, step inside. These three go into the office to talk, but what exactly about?
SmackDown returns and…
Aldis calls in extra security for his office. He tells Heyman that before The Vision is escorted from the building, what can he do for them? Heyman says that’s awfully dramatic, Aldis. But this is the WarGames agreement, which allows Heyman to “take any talent that is under WWE contract across all brands. Tha tincludes SmackDown, your brand. My heads-up to you, you’re welcome.” Any talent across all brands? Yes, thank you for coming all the way to Albany to confirm what was already in the paperwork. This could’ve been an email, Heyman. So unless there’s anything else to discuss, he would like to ask them kindly to leave. Because The Vision will NOT be disrupting Aldis’ show.
And security steps in on cue. Heyman says oh goodness, look who it is! Cody Rhodes steps in, and Heyman says, “It’s the golden goose who’s being afforded all this protection.” Cody asks, “Mr. Heyman, what do you wanna talk about?” Heyman wants to talk about Cody getting involved with Vision business on Raw. Cody doesn’t know about this golden goose stuff, but he saw on Raw that they were putting his friends in the fire, which means he was next through the flames, but Heyman already knew that. But this is Friday Night SmackDown, and the business of today… is right here. “And if you’re not here to fight, then you should leave.”
Bronson says he’ll fight. Cody asks Aldis to make the match: Bronson Reed VS Cody Rhodes… TONIGHT! Aldis says that works, but Heyman asks why they’d give this away and not make it a title match? Cody says fine, book it. Aldis gets worried now, but Cody says, “BOOK IT!” Then it is official. Cody VS Bronson for the Undisputed Championship. Heyman smiles and thanks both Mr. Aldis and “Champ” Cody. Did Cody just get goaded into losing the gold? Or will the American Nightmare find a way to slay the Colossal Aussie?
WWE Untied States Open Challenge: Ilja Dragunov VS Axiom!
Speaking of titles, The Czar didn’t appreciate the Sicilian Psycho getting salty all over again, so he again passed on Ciampa to face Axiom. But will Ilja be able to deny the Undeniable Truth? Or will Axiom finally have singles gold on SmackDown?
The bell rings and the fans rally as the two circle. They feel things out, Axiom rolls to wrench and wrangle Ilja. Axiom has the armlock but Ilja fights up. Ilja wrenches in return, then cording holds for a HIP TOSS! Cover, ONE, but Ilja holds onto the arm. Axiom kips up, slips around, and spins Ilja to snapmare and headlock. Ilja slips out to armlock in return and the fans cheer the technical exchange. Ilja knuckle locks to straight arm lever and SLAM Axiom! Axiom fights up but Ilja wrenches him again. Ilja whips Axiom to a corner, but Axiom dodges the lariat! Axiom waits on Ilja and he says it was that close. Ilja and Axiom reset, knuckle lock, and Axioim headlocks.
Axiom hits the takeover but Ilja keeps his shoulders up. Ilja CLUBS at Axiom from below, then fights up. Ilja powers up and out, Axiom RAMS him, but Ilja RUNS Axiom over! Cover, ONE, and Ijoa gets moving! Axiom trips Ilja up, but Ilja blocks the hip toss! Ilja slips through but Axiom fights the backslide! The fans rally as the two fight for control, and then they spin around. Ilja ROCKS Axiom with a forearm! Axiom ROCKS Ilja! Ilja BOOTS Axiom down! The fans rally, but Axiom catches the hammer into the ARMBAR! Ilja fights to stack, and he deadlifts Axiom! Axiom lets go, but Ilja ducks the enzigiri to SLAP Axiom down!
The fans rally and Axiom dodges to then DROPKICK back! Ilja staggers, Axiom GAMANGIRIS him up and out! The fans fire up while Ilja sputters, and Axiom takes aim. Axiom runs, GOLDEN- NO! Ilja stops the triangle moonsault as he CLUBS Axiom on the back! Axiom is stuck up top, Ilja CHOPS him! Axiom kicks at Ilja, Ilja CHOPS, and repeat! The fans rally as these two brawl on the apron. Ilja HEADBUTTS Axiom right back into the ring! Then Ilja climbs, aims, and SUPER SENTONS! Cover, TWO! Axiom survives, Ilja is a bit surprised, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Ilja snarls as he rises up, and he paces around Axiom. Axiom slowly sits up, Ilja fires up, but he turns around into a CHOP from Axiom! So Ilja CHOPS Axiom right off his feet! Cover, TWO! Ilja keeps close and brings Axiom up to CHOP again! And again! And then HEADBUTT! And CHOP! HEADBUTT! CHOP! Ilja then reels Axiomi in for a BIG suplex! Cover, TWO! Ilja still keeps axiom down with a facelock. Axiom endures, fights around, and he wrenches out to headlock back. Axiom waistlocks, Ilja bucks the O’Conner, but axiom kips up, into a CHOP! Cover, TWO! Axiom survives again but Ilja stays focused.
Ilja puts Axiom in a corenr, CHOPS him, and Axiom flops against the ropes. Ilja drags Axiom back up, whips corner to corner, and Axiom hits hard! Ilja runs up to KNEE low, then he runs side to side to BOOT WASH Axiom right outta the ring! Ilja roars and the fans cheer. Ilja goes out to BOOT Axiom, then follows him around the way. They go back into the ring, Ilja brings Axiom around, and Ilja waistlocks, only for Axiom to fight the lift. Axiom switches, Ilja fights the lift, and Ilja wrenches out to HEADBUTT! And HEADBUTT! And then Gotch lift POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Axiom is toughing it out bu tIlja is not deterred.
Ilja clamps on with a rear bearhug and he squeezes tight, Axiom endures so Ilja ELBOWS him down! And ELBOWS again and again and again! Ilja just HAMMERS away on Axiom, then clamps back on with another bearhug. Axiom still endures, fights back to his feet, but Ilja GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja holds on, drags Axiom back up, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Fans chant for “One More Time!” and Ilja GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja still holds on, Albany wants another, so Ilja drags Axiom up. Axiom switches, but Ilja again bucks the O’Conner! Axiom kips up, but he ducks the chop to NORTHERN LIGHTS!
The fans cheer while both men are down! The fans rally as Ilja stands, and he swings, but Axiom CROSS COUNTERS! Ilja falls back, Axiom goes to a corner, but Ilja storms up. Axiom BOOTS Ilja down, hops up the corner, and MISSILE DROPKICKS! Cover, TWO! Ilja survives and Axiom grows frustrated but the fans rally up. Axiom rises, Ilja roars to give him more, so Axiom KICKS! And KICKS! Ilja wants more so Axiom KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! Ilja blocks to SLAP, ROCK, boxing elbows, and BOOT! Axiom falls and the fans fire up again! Ilja powers up, runs, CONSTANTINE- NO, Axiom catches him to an ARMBAR!
Ilja fights, ends up in a TRIANGLE HOLD, but he works to stack Axiom! Axiom fights that off, but Ilja deadlifts Axiom again! POWERBOMB! Axiom flounders, Ilja snarls, and Ilja aims from the corner. Ilja powers up, the fans rally, H-BOMB FOR- NO, Axiom uses that to spring up and MOONSAULT DDT!!! Cover, TWO!?! No one can believe what they saw, nor that Ilja survived! “This is Awesome!” as Axiom has Ilja in a corner. Axiom ROCKS and CHOPS and hoists Ilja up. Ilja fights back with SLAPS and Axiom staggers. But then Axiom GAMANGIRIS! Axiom goes up after Ilja, but Ilja fires RIDGE HAND CHOPS!
Ilja and Axiom go to the very top, but Axiom hits the SUPER DUPER SPANISH FLY!! And then GOLDEN RATI- NO!! TORPEDO MOSCOW!! AND H-BOMB FOREARM!! Cover, Ilja wins!!
Winner: Ilja Dragunov, by pinfall (still WWE United States Championship)
It was all in a blink of an eye, but Ilja snatches victory from the jaws of defeat! Another instant classic is under Ilja’s belt, and he shows respect to Axiom for giving him this fight. The fans cheer that, but who will be next to challenge The Mad Russian’s reign?
R-Truth meets with Nick Aldis.
Truth knows last week that it was a heavy load, and Truth’s load was lost in the shuffle, but he is imploring to Aldis as employee to boss, please put Truth in the John Cena tournament. Aldis tries to tell Truth again, but Truth says don’t worry, he shined up his (lottery) balls so they’ll look real nice on TV. All he asks is Aldis handles them with care. Aldis again tries to get it through to Truth but Truth says just take his balls. FINE! Aldis takes them, and then Chelsea Green walks in. She asks if she heard John Cena’s name dropped. She did. Then speaking of legends, she has no idea why SHE didn’t get pyro when she won the Women’s US Championship.
But putting a pin in that, when is her championship celebration happening tonight? Aldis goes to say it’s not but she says that’s right, he CANCELLED it! She’d all of it prepared and ready to go! But all will be forgiven if this “injustice system” that is WWE would just give her a celebration next week, with pyro. Yes, he can make that work. Just for right now, hold onto these for him. Aldis hands Chelsea the Truth balls, and Alba says they do look nice. But will The Hot Mess really get everything she demand- er, wants?
SmackDown shares footage from the break.
As Axiom was on his way back up the ramp, Tommaso Ciampa attacked him! The Psycho Killer took out all his anger out on Axiom, only for Frazer to chase him off! Ciampa is only showing everyone Ilja is right about him, but will Ciampa not stop until he gets his opportunity?
Sami Zayn is here!
The fans cheer and sing along with the song as #BigMatchSami heads to the ring. Sami gets a mic and asks, “How we doing tonight, Albany? We good?” The fans cheer, and they chant for “Sami! Sami!” Sami takes a moment before he says, “I gotta tell ya. Since I’ve come to SmackDown, there have been some extremely high highs, and some extremely low lows. As soon as I came over to SmackDown, the first thing I said I would do is I said I would beat Solo Sikoa for the United States Championship.” The fans cheer that, and Sami says he did do that! He got to do amazing things with that title, like wrestle John Cena in his last match on SmackDown!
Sami got to go toe-to-toe with the best talent SmackDown has to offer week in and week out. The fans cheer again, and Sami says that was all great. But he won’t lie, the last four weeks have been extremely challenging. he has had to watch from the sidelines, hurt and not medically cleared, as Solo & MFT run roughshod every single week! The fans boo, and Sami says he’s had to sit and watch, unable to do anything, while MFT attacked Sami’s friends, those Sami liked and respected. And Sami gets it, Aldis told him not to get involved, don’t get hurt, and so Sami did. He sat back week after week. But he is here to tell us that that ends TONIGHT!
The fans cheer and Sami continues by calling out Solo! He knows Solo has a problem with him, and he sure has a problem with Solo, so let’s deal with it face to face! Solo & MFT make their way out here, and Solo has a mic in hand. Solo tells Sami, “You really think you knwio who you are, huh? You think you know, but you don’t. I know the real Sami, I know the real you. Yeah. He’s pathetic, a liar, desperate, and when you’re desperate, you do desperate things, which makes you so damn selfish!” The fans boo, but Solo says Sami only cares about Sami! Sami doesn’t care about the guys in the back, or even the fans here in Albany.
The fans boo, but Solo says for himself, what he cares about is his family. Solo cares about the men standing behind him and their loyalties to him. Unlike Sami! Sami knows nothing about loyalty when it comes to family. In fact, watch who you’re talkinga bout before he gets in there and kicks Sami’s ass! Don’t forget, Sami, you’re still wounded. The fans boo as MFT now flanks the ring, and Solo says this can end very badly for Sami. Solo could drop Sami right here and now, but he won’t. He will wait until Sami is 100% and medically cleared. Then once that happens, understand this: Solo is coming after you!
The fans boo, but Sami says, “Well, the good news for you, Solo, is you’re not gonna have to wait very long. Because as of tonight, I am officially 100% medically cleared! So if you wanna do something about it, go ahead and do something about it right now!” Sami calls Solo’s bluff, so Solo takes off the jacket But then Sami says before that, Solo needs to know this: Sami didn’t come here alone. And just as he says that, Rey Fenix, Shinsuke Nakamura & Motor City Machine Guns all YANK MFT off the apron! The brawl is on and the fans fire up! Solo panics, Sami shrugs, and Solo takes a swing! Sami fires counter punches!
The fans fire up as Sami fires off on Solo in a corner! Sami stomps a mudhole, then he goes to the far corner! The fans fire up, but Talla gets Solo outta the ring! The fans boo but then JC Mateo CLOBBERS Sami! JC, Tama & Loa all mug Sami, but Sami’s friends get them! They TOSS the Guerrillas and even LARIAT Loa up and out! The fans fire up as now Fenix goes up, up, and TORNILLO CROSSBODIES MFT! Fenix regroups with Sami and friends! Will Sami and his team soon cut down Solo’s “Family Tree?”
Cody Rhodes prepares backstage.
Jey Uso says hey and Cody congratulates him on the win in the tournament. Jey says he just heard about Bronson’s title shot at Cody tonight. It might get a little slimy, so Jey’s got his back. Of course! Cody and Jey shake hands on that again, and then Jimmy Uso steps in. #BigJim says hey, Uce. Any time you can get your hands on The Vision sounds like a party to Jimmy, so count him in, too. They shake on that, and Jimmy says he spoke with Punk earlier. Count him in for WarGames, too! The three shake hands, The Usos head out, but will Cody be able to fire the first shot in that war? Or will a Tsunami end the reign of the American Nightmare?
Solo Sikoa argues with Nick Aldis backstage.
Solo demands that with Sami 100% healthy, he wants a match with him tonight! Aldis says first, there’s no more time on the card, that can’t happen. And second, Solo clearly has more enemies than just Sami. So how about this? In two weeks, SmackDown before WarGames, it’ll be MFT VS Sami, Fenix, Nakamura & MCMG in a 5v5 Survivor Series style Elimination Tag! Now if you’ll excuse him. Aldis leaves, and there’s a Wyatt Sick6 glitch on screen. And in fact, Uncle Howdy is lurking in the shadows. Will the Wyatts be watching that 10 Man Tag very, very closely?
The Last Time is Now Tournament Opening Round: LA Knight VS ???
The Mega Star knows what this tournament is all about, and he knows everyone wants to be John Cena’s final opponent, but what he doesn’t know is who will be his first round opponent! We’re all about to learn that in the matter of moments, but will it not matter when this is LA Knight’s game? Or will what you don’t know actually hurt you?
Everyone waits and watches the stage. “WOO! WOO! WOO! YOU KNOW IT!” It’s Matt Car- well, no, he’s ZACK RYDER again!? Long Island Iced Z returns to the WWE, but will he prove he’s #AlwayZReady? The bell rings, the fans cheer and “WOO WOO WOO!” Knight and Ryder circle, Ryder gets the “WOO WOO WOO!” going hotter, and the two tie up. Ryder rolls Knight, TWO! Ryder says it was that close, and Knight says yeah, okay. They go again, tie up, and now Knight wrenches Ryder to YANK, YANK, YANK the arm! “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” Knight wrenches, Ryder ducks, but then Knight switches.
Ryder bucks the O’Conner, but Knight avoids the Rough Ryder! Knight returns, but Ryder tosses him out! The fans cheer as Ryder smiles, and SmackDown goes to break.
SmackDown returns and Ryder whips corner to corner. Knight hits buckles hard, then drops to his knees. The fans cheer Ryder as he pushes Knight to the corner, then whips him again. Knight reverses and BACKDROPS! The fans fire up while Ryder flounders, then he goes to the apron. Knight storms over, Ryder ROCKS Knight first, and then Ryder goes to supelx! Knight supelxes but Ryder slips free! Knight dodges to JAB, JAB, and JAB! “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” Then ROLLING ELBOW! Knight clinches to RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Knight whips, Ryder hits buckles hard, and Knight hits the JUMP NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!
Ryder survives but Knight nods. Knight brings Ryder up, kicks low, then fires hands. Knight bumps Ryder off buckles, then whips him to ropes. Knight scoops, Ryder slips free, and Ryder ROCKS Knight! And CHOPS! And ROCKS! And then whips, but Knight reverses. Ryder turns backdrop into FACEBUSTER! Big forearm in the corner, and Knight sits down! The fans pump their fists with Ryder, “WOO WOO WOO! YOU KNOW IT!” BROSKI BOOT! Cover, TWO! Knight survives but the fans rally up as Ryder aims from a corner. Ryder hooks Knight’s arms, turns him, but Knight RAMS Ryder into buckles! Dragon sleeper, REVERSE DDT!
The fans fire up while both men are down! Knight then rolls back to his feet and the fans cheer. Knight goes up the corner, and he spells it out, “L! A! KNGIHT! YEAH!” BOX JUMP ELBOW- NO, Ryder moves, runs up, ROUGH RYDER!! Cover, TWO!! Knight survives and the fans are shocked! Ryder is also surprised, but he hurries to watch Knight. “This is Awesome!” and Ryder reels Knight in, Knight wrenches out and kicks, B F- NO! Ryder rolls Knight up, TWO! Knight runs up, but into KNEES! Ryder goes up, up, RADIO SILENCE into a POWERBOMB!! Then Knight hauls Ryder up, B F T!! Cover, KNIGHT WINS!
Winner: LA Knight, by pinfall (advances to the next round)
YEAH! Knight didn’t care who it was gonna be, he fought and won his spot in the second round! Knight, Jey, Sheamus, Rusev, who else will advance in this historic tournament?
Alexa Bliss, Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky talk backstage.
They still can’t get their heads around why Charlotte just walked out on them. Charlotte also isn’t texting back or anything. Rhea knew they had beef, but she thought Charlotte would put it all aside like she did. Tonight just shows they gotta now find two more people for the team. Alexa says she has someone to call, Iyo says Charlotte was their best bet, though. But then Asuka, Kairi, Nia & Lash all attack! The brawl is on, Rhea HEADBUTTS Kairi down, but Lash DECKS Rhea! Then Nia sends Iyo into Lash’s KNEE! Lash then sends Iyo into a road case! And then same for Rhea! Security rushes in, Asuka says okay, okay, they’re good.
Nia says bye, losers~! The Irresistible Four just did a lot of damage. Will they even need a fifth woman to finish off what’s left of Rhea, Iyo and Alexa?
Jade Cargill VS B-Fab!
The Storm finally reigns on the mountaintop of WWE, and she is not playing nice with anyone. Will she strike down someone who was once a friend? Or will B-Fab truly be fab when she gets a win on the champ?
SmackDown returns, B-Fab makes her entrance, Michin staying backstage to let her handle things on her own. The bell rings and Jade dares Fab to try something. They tie up, Fab goes for a leg, but Jade spins her around. CHOKE- NO, Fab slips free and DROPKICKS! And DROPKICKS! Jade is in a corner, Fab runs up, HEEL KICK! Fab fires ELBOW after ELBOW, then fires up! The fans rally, Fab runs up, but Jade blocks the boot! Jade DECKS Fab with a forearm, then drags her right back up. Jade scoops Fab to FALL AWAY SLAM! Jade kips up, fires up, and the fans are with Jade on this one.
Jade waits on Fab, brings her around with the guzel, CHOKE SLAM! Jade tells Fab to stand down, but then she brings Fab up anyway. Jade revels in the cheers, then lifts Fab to POWERBOMB! Jade paces while she tells Fab to stay down, but Fab manages to sit up. Jade says fine, and she brings Fab up again. Fab fights, Jade lifts, POWERBOMB! Jade stands over Fab as she tells her to stay down, but the fans want to see that “One More Time!” Jade drags Fab up, has the chicken wings, and then JADED! Cover, Jade wins!
Winner: Jade Cargill, by pinfall
Jade mockingly checks her imaginary watch, and she says this is who she is! Michin is here now to make sure B-Fab is okay, but then Jade tells them both to get outta here. Mia is upset Jade would be like this just because she’s champion now. Jade tells Mia to know her place, then SHOVES her down! The fans boo but Mia wants after Jade! The ref keeps them apart, Jade steps out, and she smirks as she leaves. Jade says she is #ThatB*tch then, now, and forever, so just keep ’em coming.
Nick Aldis announces the final four first-round entrants.
“Last week on SmackDown, four superstars were selected at random to compete for the most prized career-altering opportunity: To face the Greatest of All Time, John Cena, in his final match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Tonight, fate will once again decide the superstars that will compete in The Last Time Is Now Tournament. First up, it’s a former first-round draft pick, Carmelo Hayes, taking on The Vision’s own Bronson Reed. And finally, the high-flying luchador, Penta, will go one-on-one with The Prince, Finn Balor. The only thig I have left to say, gentlemen, is good luck.” No Truth, but will the vision be clear as we approach December 13th?
Backstage interview with Carmelo Hayes.
Cathy Kelley is with H1M and brings up him going on record as to how he idolized John Cena growing up and would love this opportunity to go 1v1. What would a win in the opening round mean for him? Melo says first, he has to address this Miz situation. “Mike, you might’ve won the battle, but the war’s just begun. I will see you when I see you. And John Cena… The GOAT, the Last Time Is Now Tournament, you got a long line full of heavy hitters, killers, all wanting to be the one that’s gonna put you down, all wanting to be the one that’s gonna hang your jersey from the rafters. And respectfully, John, I’m one of ’em.
“50% of people might overlook me, 50% of people might think I can get the job done, but 100% of me knows that if I get that shot, I won’t miss.” But then in steps Bronson Reed. He tells Melo that he’s gonna end Cody Rhodes, then he will end John Cena after he ends H1M next week. Bronson heads out, Heyman nods towards Melo, and then The Oracle follows. Will Auszilla be taking it all on the road to the end?
Aleister Black speaks.
“Fear, Damian? That’s so silly that even you don’t believe that. No, no no no. You threw me on top of a table. You tried to throw me through things. And then you took the bottom part of the steel steps, and you tried to crush my head. The only person that fears anything is you. Fear of what we have made you become.” Zelina Vega says, “We said that we would force you to break your code. We said we would corrupt you. And I think we did exactly that.” But enough about him. They have their eyes set on greater things. That brings them to the entire locker room. Namely, those who hold world titles.
Aleister left fear behind the day he stepped foot back into the WWE, and he has become the one thing no one wanted him to become: everyone’s enemy! Does that mean the Dark Father is watching tonight’s main event very, very closely?
Undisputed WWE Championship: Cody Rhodes VS Bronson Reed w/ Paul Heyman!
The American Nightmare and The Colossal Aussie are both preparing for WarGames, and while it is Cody, Punk & The Usos at four against Bronson, Bron Breakker & Logan Paul at three, this could still tip the scales back in The Vision’s favor. Will a Tsunami wash away the reign? Or can Cody escape from New York with the gold?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who can carry that weight!
The bell rings and the fans rally as the two circle. They tie up, Bronson shoves Cody to a corner, but Cody dodges! Bronson hits buckles, Cody fires hands, then kicks to RHODES UPPERCUT! Cody runs to ROCK Bronson, but then Bronson responds with a BODY CHECK! And ELBOW DROP! The fans boo but Bronson covers, ONE! Cody shows toughness and goes to the outside, but Bronson runs in around the way! BODY CHECK! The fans boo, Bronson snarls, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Bronson drags Cody up, HEADBUTTS him, then stalks him around the way again. Bronson storms in after Cody, but Cody BODY BLOWS! Cody fires a forearm, but Bronson HEADBUTTS him down! Bronson raises the one but the fans don’t acknowledge their Tribal Thief. Bronson whips and CLOBBERS Cody! Cover, TWO! Bronson drags Cody into a chinlock and leans on the hold, but Cody fights around. Cody reaches out, fights to his feet, and fires body shots. The fans rally as Cody ROCKS Bronson, but Bronson scoops to SLAM Cody! Bronson snarls again, but Cody avoids the elbow drop! Cody rises up, goes to a corner, but Bronson SPLASHES!
Cody sputters against the ropes but Bronson CHOKES him! The ref counts, Bronson steps off at 4, and Cody sputters again. Bronson storms up and ROCKS Cody! Bronson puts Cody in another corner, BODY BLOWS, then whips corner to corner hard! Cody staggers, falls over, and Bronson drags Cody back up. Bronson has a chinbar, and he stretches Cody with the chinlock. Cody endures, fights back up, and SmackDown returns to single picture. The fans rally but Bronson CLUBS Cody, then back suplexes! Cody lands out, ducks a haymaker, and springboards! BEAUTIFUL DISASTER KICK!
The fans fire up and Cody rises, but so does Bronson. Cody JABS, JABS, JABS, then flip, flop, and fly! BIONIC- NO! Fireman’s carry, JAGGED EDGE! Cover, TWO! Cody survives but Bronson goes up! The fans freak out for the TSUNAMI, but it FLOPS as Cody moves! Cody hurries to springboards again, SUPER CODY CUTTER!! Cover, TWO! Cody fires up and the fans are with him! Bronson is outside, Cody runs and DIVES, but into a forearm! Cody stumbles and staggers o the outside, Bronson runs up, but Cody TOSSES him into the timekeeper’s area! The fans fire up again and Cody refreshes the ring count.
Cody clears off the desk! HE even topples the belt pedestal! But BRON BREAKKER FLYING SHOULDER TACKLES!!
Winner: Cody Rhodes, by disqualification (still Undisputed WWE Champion)
Logan Paul is here, too! They mug Cody, SMACK him off the desk, then put him back in the ring! Was this the real plan all along? The fans boo as Bron rains down fists, then Logan gets his turn! Bron rips his shirt away and wants Logan to set Cody up. Logan does as told, but THE USOS hurry out here! Jey & Jimmy said they’d have Cody’s back, so they get in the ring to brawl with Logan and Bron! The fans fire up, but Bron shoves Jimmy! Jimmy SUPERKICKS Bron! Jey joins in, DOUBLE SUPERKICKS! Bron falls, Logan runs up, DOUBLE SUPERKICKS! Then the ONE D!! That’s one and done for The Maverick!
The fans fire up as now Jimmy decides to GET THE TABLE! The fans are thunderous as Jimmy puts that in for Jey, Jey sets it up, and the fans are all fired up! Logan is put on the table, the Usos go to the corners, but DREW MCINTYRE SHOVES JIMMY! Isn’t he suspended!? Jey runs up, but he gets a GLASGOW KISS HEADBUTT!! The fans boo as Drew saves Logan’s bacon! Aldis storms out here, asks what the hell Drew is doing here, and Heyman claims this is per the WarGames contract! Heyman could recruit anybody under WWE contract, even suspended superstars! Drew sets the table up in a corner, and he drags Jey Uso!
But Jey breaks free to SUPERKICK! The fans cheer as Jey now lines up a shot, but Drew KICKS first! Bron returns to SPEAR Jey through the table!! Jimmy is back to throw hands, but Logan uses ONE LUCKY RIGHT to knock Jimmy out! The fans boo, but now Cody is back! He throws hands on Drew and Logan, but a CLAYMORE takes Cody out! Drew throws off his shirt, he stares down with Bronson, and then Drew puts Cody in the drop zone! Drew step on Cody before the TSUNAMI hits!! The fans are either booing or desperately calling for CM Punk, but it is clear The Vision was thinking ahead.
Drew takes the contract from Heyman and they shake hands on the deal. The numbers are even, but will the odds be in The Vision’s favor now that they have a Scottish Terminator on their side?
My Thoughts:
A great SmackDown here, with quite a lot of surprises and big moves as perhaps a response to the sinking ratings and sinking interest. Charlotte not automatically being onboard with the team-up was certainly surprising, but given that 4v3 ambush backstage, that will surely compel Charlotte to join up. She’ll see it’s not about her and Rhea getting along so much as as it is them getting to beat up on their enemies, as we knew going into this. Then I would think they still bring in Stephanie Vaquer and Nikki Bella as the fifth members for each side, to help build the title story on top of everything else, jus as I said on Monday.
Obviously Cody wasn’t going to lose the Undisputed Championship tonight, but that was a great move to bolster the show’s card and give an excuse for all the Men’s WarGames build tonight. Logan & Bron being here to help Bronson was a given, and Heyman using a unique WarGames contract to bring Drew McIntyre onboard was certainly a clever move. As I figured on Monday, Jimmy Uso was a natural addition to Team Cody, or maybe it’s Team Punk. And I would certainly think Roman Reigns will also be a natural addition to this match, but I’m curious as to the fifth man for The Vision. Would Lesnar really want to be in WarGames? Well, granted, he’d be the last person to enter the match and “clear house,” but he’d still have to get in there.
Great stuff with the US Championship, such as Ilja continuing to troll Ciampa. Ilja VS Axiom was awesome, through I swear I heard one drunken idiot slurring the word, “BORING~!” That person is the kind of American fan Gunther (and therefore Zack Sabre Jr.) was talking about, IYKYK. But in the end, I figured we’d get more DIY VS Fraxiom, and maybe after that, Ciampa finally gets his match with Ilja. Great promo from Sami with Solo, and great ambush from Team Sami on MFT to set up their own 5v5. I figured that if they weren’t doing the WarGames, they’d get to do the traditional Survivor Series match, and the go-home SmackDown continues to be a substitute for the kickoff show, but in the best way possible.
Another hilarious promo with Truth and Aldis, and Chelsea joining in so we can hype up a celebration certainly teases someone interrupting. Either Giulia is going to crash the party to demand a US Championship rematch, or they plug NXT Gold Rush by having Thea Hail & Joe Hendry get the better of them ahead of the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championship match. I’m leaning more towards the former, they’ll build the tag match plenty on NXT. And speaking of Truth, a shame he doesn’t get in on the final part of the bracket, but Melo VS Bronson and Penta VS Finn will be great matches. With Bronson busy with The Vision’s story, I would hope Melo wins, and it’d be great if they teased a Boston VS Boston showdown.
Jade of course beat B-Fab tonight but that was pretty good for what was basically a squash match. Michin probably gets a match with Jade next, and likely loses that. Jade’s first title defense could be Survivor Series to basically be a buffer between the WarGames matches but also to just get one on the books. There’s a lot on hold for right now with the WarGames matches having a lot of great contenders involved, but I would think we get some Charlotte VS Jade build on the other side of Survivor Series.
And of course, great matches for the Last Time is Now tournament. Jey VS Miz was a great match, and Miz hitting Cena’s moves was an appreciated reference. But I figured Jey would win, they wanna tease a rematch of the Royal Rumble finalists from earlier this year. Matt Cardona was a great surprise, though him being Zack Ryder was perhaps even more surprising. People have been talking about Knight being punished and that he was being set up to lose, but if commentary is talking about that concept, then you know that is not the case. Great win for Knight, great showing for Cardona/Ryder, and here’s hoping Ryder gets to do more in WWE from here on.
My Score: 8.9/10
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Coverage
Andrew’s TNA Live! iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 11.13.2025
With a month off, does TNA come back hot or with 87% talking and a show that should’ve been an email?
So last week was the definition of a filler episode with nothing really to speak of except for validating the Dani Luna versus Indi Hartwell match tonight. This is the first real iMPACT! episode since Bound For Glory and…it’s probably opening with Mike Santana talking. TNA needs to stop following the cookie patterns of WWE and you know…start with something interesting after nearly a month off. But let’s listen to talking…
Rascalz vs. The System at #TNATurningPoint!?@TheMooseNation @Myers_Wrestling @TheEddieEdwards @MrsAIPAlisha @DirtyDangoCurty @TheBadReed @ZacharyWentz
WATCH #TNAiMPACT LIVE on TNA+: https://t.co/OPjzyXNgY5 pic.twitter.com/cwwHo3IbwL
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) November 14, 2025
Ratings:
- Dani Luna vs Indi Hartwell: Dani wins via DQ – ** 1/2
- Jason Hotch w/Order 4 vs Cedric Alexander: Cedric wins via Lumbar Check – ** 1/4
- TNA Knockouts Championship: Heather by Elegance w/ M & Personal Concierge vs Kelani Jordan (c): Kelani retains via One of a Kind – (-*) – yes that’s Negative 1
- TNA World Championship: Mike Santana (c) vs Ryan Nemeth: No Contest – NXT Attacks
- TNA World Championship: Mike Santana (c) vs Kaz: Kazarian wins via Roll-Up – * – TITLE CHANGE!!!
Results:
Oh look, it does open with Mike and the crowd gives him the “You Deserve It” and it’s a sparse few minutes and Mike starts his promo in Spanish, so that’s a good way to make people ignore the show in three minutes. I understand Spanish, but let’s be honest, the bulk of people who watch are whiter than copy paper, so the whole “Champ is here in Orlando, for Puerto Ricans, and others…blah blah” is not a smart way to open after a month with no real content. So after Santana says nothing in two languages, Ryan Nemeth comes out to Nic’s music because Nic isn’t there. Ryan tries to talk some shit and go for a cheap shot, Santana catches his hand, emasculates him and then tells Ryan he’s going to tell Santino to make a match between the two of them tonight, and he’s going to drop Ryan. So we’ve got a squash match to look forward too and maybe Nic showing up at the end for a beat down.
Kelani is going to have to go through Heather tonight and M tomorrow at Turning Point. So we get another crappy promo from heel Kelani, giving her free title defenses. Yikes…this is bad, I do kinda like the gimmick of Xia translating for Lei since Xia, Lei and Mara crash the interview. But it just makes me angry that one of those three don’t have the belt. Kelani ain’t worth a damn.
After the commercial we get Santino, Ava and Arianna to promote Gold Rush. And then they showed a video package of it, so a complete waste of 4 minutes aside from noting that Arianna got a chant from the crowd. She’s gotten herself over decently to the TNA crowd.
Dani Luna vs Indi Hartwell
It has been 30 minutes and we get the first match…sheesh.
Indi with back to back Double Legs, Dani is getting worked over, Dani tries a Sunset Flip but Indi stops it and drops an elbow. Dani eats Chops, tries to Whip Indi to the corner, Up and Over and Indi takes Dani down and goes back to the chops. Dani finally blocks a Scoop Slam, but Indi blocks the attempted German Suplex so Dani drives her into the corner and finally gets some offense in. A bit of a botchy looking rope straddle where Indi had to lift herself back up to eat the Lariat. Big Power Whip bouncing Indi out of the corner, sliding Lariat for a near fall.
Jaw Jacker by Indi but she misses the Yakuza Kick, gets hung up, Dani tries to turn it into a Powerbomb but a Frankensteiner Counter and a few strikes forces Dani to powder. Indi tries to throw her into the steps, Dani stops herself and turns back into the Spinebuster. Indi to the top as Dani crawls into the ring and eats a Diving Elbow to the back for a near fall. Dani counters Hurts Donut, Shotgun Kick levels Indi. Dani is on the outside looking for a weapon, throws out the Time Keeper, grabs the chair, Indi catches Dani in the Small Package for 2. Indi grabs the chair and lays into Dani.
Indi…has no facial expressions to make sense of this. This is stupid, poorly acted by Indi but the crowd is eating it up like morons. That was the most boring “take out your aggression” I’ve ever seen. Indi cuts some mid ahh promo in the back about an NoDQ match or something at Turning Point and now The System comes out to guess what? If you said TALK, you’d be correct! Assuming this isn’t a rib, the most interesting thing to come from this is Dango announcing he’s retiring after Genesis, but then The Rascalz music hits.
They say they should give the people what they want, and Dezmond Xavier returns to The Rascalz for a 4 on 4 match. They never mentioned Dez by name, but that is the implication. So with JDC retiring and Dez potentially returning, at least that’s interesting.
Jason Hotch w/Order 4 vs Cedric Alexander
Shoulder tackles and a quick Cruiser style start, Hotch powders mid running to pose and act smart so Cedric Dives to wipe out Jason and hits the Flatliner in the middle of the ring for a near fall. Cedric tries to continue and Hotch pulls the tights to send Cedric through the ropes, Skyler takes a cheap shot. Hotch with the Irish Whip, Cedric puts the brakes on, so Hotch hops the ropes and trips up Cedric, but Cedric comes back when Hotch continues, Dropkick to the back of the head, Lumbar Check attempt, but nope, back and forth, Hotch tries the Chaos Theory but Cedric blocks the Suplex, they throw into the corner, Hotch hops the rope, wants the Gamengiri, but Cedric blocks it and backs up, Rolling Neckbreaker from Hotch gets countered into a Lumbar Check! Cedric wins!
Order 4 attempted beat down, but Hardy Boyz make the save, Swanton on Ali is teased but they pull Ali out for foreshadowing.
TNA Knockouts Championship: Heather by Elegance w/ M & Personal Concierge vs Kelani Jordan (c)
Well talk about mental gymnastics to try and make this match make sense, and list this under “who asked for this” – because I’d rather drink bleach in traffic than watch this match.
Color by numbers powder moment, commercial break immediately and I can feel the coma sinking in. Kelani with a bad kick, Heather with a bad Hip Toss right off the commercial…Christ, end this. Lei, Xia and Mara are watching from the back and they look as bored as I do Heather with a clunky Drop Toe Hold into a Hesitation Dropkick for two. Jaw Jacker from Kelani…I wonder how the Patriots and Jets game is going. Hmm, 14-7 for the Pats, closer than expected.
Heather and Lani do a dumb strike exchange since there’s no hatred, heat or fire in this match, Kelani with a Cartwheel move, Facebuster, all near falls, locomotion Cradles into a bad Super Kick. Heather botches a Satellite DDT, this is one of the worst matches I’ve seen all year. Sloppy, slow, clunky and botchy. One of Kind is hit, no one is surprised. This was a waste of 10 minutes.
Great, now we sit through an Elijah concert for prolly about 10-15 minutes since the Ryan vs Santana match isn’t gonna be a real match. I like Elijah, he’s actually a pretty good singer and the gimmick is fine. But this episode has been complete garbage, so more non-wrestling on the wrestling variety show is too much.
Ali comes out to interrupt and challenge Cedric and Hardyz, Elijah wants to pick the fight, but Ali cracks him in the face with the mic and then guitar shot on the injured triceps. Meh.
TNA World Championship: Mike Santana (c) vs Ryan Nemeth
Ryan grabs a mic and yells at the crowd because they won’t cheer for him, and Santana lets happen because Santana isn’t taking the seriously. Ryan even tries to ask the referee to make them cheer. Eventually the bell rings and Ryan attacks immediately, punches into an Irish Whip and Dropkick. Ryan tries the Whip again, but Up and Over, Santana catches the foot, Ryan shakes his head when Santana berates him and drops him, throws him to the other corner, Cannonball! Ryan wants to Spin the Block, but Nic’s Music Hits, he’s carrying the trophy but someone attacks Nic.
Then a bunch of NXT people spill out of the crowd and attack. Charlie Dempsey, Lexis King…and others. I think Robert Stone is directing traffic for NXT. But this…this is what the show was hinging on, an Invasion/Overrun angle? Bad booking is bad, ya know?
TNA World Champuonship: Mike Santana (c) vs Kaz
Kaz’s music hits, he calls his shot, Fade to Black, but Santana Kicks out. Frankie tries the Chicken Wing, Santana slams him into the corner, wants Spin the Block, but the beatdown stops him from being able to execute the move, Roll-Up, and Santana…loses. Frankie Kazarian is the new World Champion.
Overall Score: 3/10
There was something interesting with Dango being on the retirement tour, The Rascalz bringing Dez home and Lei Ying and Xia’s gimmick is endearing. Plus like I said in the rundown, I enjoy Elijah’s musicianship, but I don’t appreciate a Wrestling Show basically no wrestling. Is it variety? Sure, but it’s a wrestling show first. So a show that has 3 squash matches and a 5 minute X Division match that could’ve been much better with time…the wrestling was forgotten tonight. A month off and they lost the plot on the rebound. Ugh…I’ve had diarrhea more enjoyable than this.
The Invasion/Attack is corny but Kaz managing to pull off the Cash In, is…okay I didn’t see it coming, but it doesn’t save the show being awful.
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