Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (6/28/22)
Who’s heading to the Bash?
New #1 Contenders will be named!
Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade want after the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, but so do Kayden & Katana! Who gets their shot first with a win tonight?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Match: Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance; win and will challenge Toxic Attraction for the titles at The Great American Bash.
- Giovanni Vinci VS Ikemen Jiro; Vinci wins.
- Indi Hartwell VS Kiana James; Kiana wins.
- Six Man Tag: Roderick Strong & The Creed Brothers VS Joe Gacy & The Dyad; Gacy & The Dyad win.
- Sanga VS Xyon Quinn; Sanga wins.
- Nikkita Lyons VS Mandy Rose w/ Toxic Attraction; Lyons wins, by disqualification.
PLAY BY PLAY
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders Match: Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade VS Kayden Carter & Katana Chance!
The inaugural Women’s Breakout Tournament winner and her best friend want after Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne, but KC Squared don’t want anyone “cutting in line.” Will Kayden & Katana earn another shot at the Toxic champions? Or will there be no stopping #GenerationJadeRox?
But of course, up in their Toxic Lounge, it’s Gigi, Jacy and Mandy. Cora and Kayden start, they circle, and fans rally up. Cora and Kayden tie up, go around, and Cora puts Kayden on ropes. Kayden turns it around, Cora turns it back, they end up in a corner but then exit the corner to break. They reset, tie up, and Cora wrenches an arm to a wristlock. Kayden rolls, rolls, wrenches and waistlocks. Kayden trips Cora, jumps over her, and shows off some dance moves. Cora rushes in, Kayden dodges but Cora blocks the hip toss, only for Kayden to counter her hip toss into an arm-drag! Cora gets up, and Kayden CHOPS her!
Cora CHOPS back, but Kayden CHOPS again! Kayden knuckle locks but Cora CHOPS! Kayden CHOPS and knees low, then goes up and up. Katana tags in as Kayden shows off, FLYING ARM-DRAG! Then Kayden gives Katana the boost, SEATED SENTON! Cover, TWO! Cora kicks low, whips Katana to ropes, but Katana springboard sup and over to drop toehold and float over, to tranquilo! Then she handsprings and SPIKES Cora with the headscissors! Cover, TWO! Katana brings Cora up to whip but Cora reverses. Cora runs in but Katana elbows her away! Toxic Attraction doesn’t even pay attention, they’re taking selfies!
Katana goes up, leaps, but Cora blocks flying arm-drag to one of her own! Then float to a lateral press, TWO! Cora swings but Katana gets around to waistlock. Cora drops, kangaroo kicks, then uppercuts! Cora snapmares, runs and basement dropkicks! Katana staggers away but Cora forearm smashes in the corner! Tag to Roxie and Cora whips her in for an uppercut! Roxie rolls and uppercuts again! Roxie keeps moving, dodges Katana to roll and headscissor to a roll-up! TWO, but Roxie arm-drags Katana down! Fans rally, Katana endures and fights up. Cora tags in, she CLUBS Katana’s arm, and Cora wrenches the arm to a WRINGER! Cover, TWO!
Cora keeps close to Katana and she wrenches. Cora whips Katana to a corner, tags Roxie, and they mug Katana in the corner. Roxie wrenches and wrangles Katana to an armlock. Katana endures, Toxic Attraction actually watches for once, and Roxie wrenches Katana again. Katana fights up, spins around, but Roxie arm-drags her back down. Roxie brings Katana up, whips, but Katana holds ropes. Katana BOOTS Roxie, Kayden tags in and HEEL KICKS! Kayden hooks Roxie up with a hammerlock and armlock. Kayden CLUBS away on Roxie before the STO! Cover, TWO! Kayden keeps Roxie from Cora and fireman’s carries.
Tag to Katana, but Roxie sunset flips! Katana slingshot sentons! Cover, TWO! Katana keeps Roxie from Cora, fans rally and Katana fights up. Roxie shoves Katana away but Katana comes back! Roxie pops Katana up, and around, ELECTRIC CHAIR HOTSHOT off ropes! Tag to Cora, she springs for IMPLODER STOMPS! Roxie adds a BIG basement dropkick! Cora covers, TWO! Katana toughs it out but Cora tags Roxie back in. The BFFs double suplex but Katana slips out to tag in Kayden! Fans fire up as all four women stare down! KC Squared rush in, but Cora & Roxie dodge to double dropkick them out!
Fans fire up as Roxie tosses Kayden then builds speed. Kayden returns to CLOBBER Roxie! Katana YANKS Cora down, then Kayden tosses Roxie. KC Squared tell the “rookies” that this is THEIR time while NXT goes picture in picture.
Cora and Roxie regroup at the ramp. Kayden goes out to fetch Roxie but Roxie bumps Kayden off the apron! Roxie CLUBS Kayden, then again! Roxie puts Kayden in, covers, TWO! Roxie drags Kayden up, brings her over and Cora tags in. Roxie hands Kayden off but Kayden rolls Cora up! TWO, and Kayden CLOBBERS Cora! Kayden drags Cora up, tosses her back out, then taunts Roxie. Kayden waits on Cora as the ring count climbs, but Cora trips Kayden! Cora gets in to ENZIGURI Kayden down! Kayden flounders to a corner, Cora runs in to SLIDING KNEE! Cora drags Kayden to a cover, TWO! Cora is annoyed but she stays on Kayden.
Tag back to Roxie, the BFFs double suplex Kayden! Cover, TWO! Roxie grabs at Kayden but Kayden rolls out of the ring. Roxie hurries to the apron, then to the floor to DECK Kayden! Roxie bumps Kayden off the apron, but then Kayden shoves Roxie away. Roxie runs, into a scoop, and Kayden RAMS Roxie into the apron! Kayden gets back in, the ring count is 7 of 10 but Kayden drags Roxie in. Cover, TWO! Toxic Attraction are watching but aren’t impressed as Kayden drags Roxie back and stands on her foot. Kayden taunts Roxie to reach for Cora, then she stomps Roxie down. Kayden grabs Roxie’s arms and PULLS them back!
Roxie endures, Kayden stomps her, and NXT returns to single picture. Kayden whips Roxie into the corner, runs in and blocks Roxie’s boots. Kayden spins Roxie around into the ropes, tag to Katana, and DRAPING BACKSTABBER! Kayden holds Roxie in place as Katana goes up, DOUBLE STOMPS! Cover, TWO! Katana is growing frustrated and she tags Kayden in. Kayden drags Roxie from Cora, stands on her foot again, then turns Roxie over into a BOSTON CRAB! Roxie endures, Kayden keeps one leg, and she taunts Toxic Attraction. Jacy taunts Kayden back by showing off her hip wiggle. Fans rally for Roxie, Kayden drags her away and tags Katana.
Katana drops down on Roxie, gets the legs for herself, BOSTON CRAB! Roxie endures all over again! But she crawls forward, only for Katana to drag her away again! Roxie powers up, rolls Katana, TWO!! Katana hurries to get the legs, and she drags Roxie away again. Roxie tosses Katana away! Hot tags to Kayden and Cora! Cora rallies on Kayden, then RANAS! Cora DECKS Katana, ENZIGURIS Kayden, then SHINING WIZARDS against ropes! Cover, TWO! Cora is annoyed again but she drags Kayden back up. Fans rally, Kayden ROCKS Cora! Cora ROCKS Kayden, Kayden SUPERKICKS Cora! Cora DECKS Kayden but falls over, too!
Both women crawl and fans fire up again! Fans rally for “Women’s Wrestling!” Roxie tags in, but Kayden dodges to SUPERKICK! Katana is still down so Kayden has to DECK Cora! Kayden drags Roxie over, Katana is back and she tags in! KC Squared sets up, HUMAN HI- NO, Cora yanks Kayden down and Katana has to bail out of the 450! Roxie hops on, for POP ROX!! Cover, Cora & Roxie win!!
Winners: Cora Jade & Roxanne Perez, by pinfall (NEW #1 contenders to the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships)
No Breakout Contract needed, #JadeRox are heading to the Great American Bash with this! Will they be able to finally dethrone Toxic Attraction?
The Diamond Mine trains together.
Specifically, Julius & Brutus Creed work on counters while Ivy Nile observes. But then Joe Gacy and The Dyad “come in peace,” because they feel compelled to tell the brothers that if Roderick Strong doesn’t appreciate them, Gacy does. Gacy will welcome them into the fold, just like he did his druids. Julius isn’t sure how Gacy found his way in here, but on behalf of the entire Diamond Mine, they’re not sipping the Kool-Aid. There may be arguments in the group, but Diamond Mine is forever. Strong is glad to hear that. Gacy is such an idiot. Diamond Mine is a family. The strongest in all of NXT! And they’ll show Gacy that strength. Whenever, wherever, they’re ready!
Gacy senses hostility, but not with him. It’s within them. They all want to prove they’re a family? Then we’ll see it tonight. Okay, then! Will Gacy & The Dyad break under the pressure? Strong hugs it out with the Creeds and then fist bumps Damon Kemp. Is Diamond Mine truly forever?
Backstage interview with Toxic Attraction.
We now know it will be Gigi & Jacy VS Cora & Roxie for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships, but Jacy says of course we know, they were watching, too. And she wants to say that she was so… unimpressed. If Cora & Roxie bring that level of performance next week, The Great American Bash will be even easier than they thought. And on the matter of Cora & Roxie being BFFs, Gigi points out they’ve beaten best friends before, as well as enemies and frenemies. Toxic Attraction’s beaten them all, this will be no different. Mandy says “Little Miss Breakout” should’ve just gone and used her contract in the first place.
But if Roxie even thinks she can hold onto that contract for Mandy, no no no. But then Nikkita Lyons walks in! She says Roxie wouldn’t even have the contract if Lyons finished the tournament. But guess we’ll never know. One thing Lyons knows is that she’s back in action, and her eyes are on Mandy. Uh, all eyes are on Mandy all the time, honey. But it sounds like Lyons wants to roar. Well find out tonight, because when you step in the ring with Mandy, SHE is queen of the jungle! Will the Toxic Goddess back up that talk? Or will Mandy find herself in the Lyons den instead?
Giovanni Vinci VS Ikemen Jiro!
The Pride of Italy is fast, strong, and has a sense of style, but is he #StyleStrong? The Handsome One wants to put him to the test! But will Jiro find out that in life, it’s #VeniVidiVinci?
NXT returns and Jiro makes his entrance. The bell rings, Jiro cartwheels but Vinci stays clear. They tie up, Vinci hammerlocks and pushes Jiro, then eggs him on. Jiro circles with Vinci, they tie up, and Vinci wrenches an arm. Vinci wristlocks, Jiro spins through and slips through to armlock back. Jiro hammerlocks but Vinci drop toeholds and walks all over Jiro. Fans boo but Jiro kips up! JACKET PUNCH! JACKET PUNCH! But Vinci gets around to GERMAN SUPLEX! Vinci frowns and puts Jiro in a corner. Vinci CHOPS Jiro and Jiro is stinging! Vinci CHOPS again, then keeps Jiro cornered to CHOP him again!
Fans “WOO~!” while Jiro spasms from how sharp those chops were! Fans want those “One More Time!” but Vinci scoops Jiro. Jiro slips off to SOBAT, JACKET PUNCH, and DISCUS PUNCH! Jiro is still stinging but he whips corner to corner. Vinci reverses, Jiro slips out and GAMANGIRIS! Fans fire up and Jiro slingshots to ARABIAN FLOP as Vinci moves! Vinci springboards to FLYING DDT!! Jiro is dazed and Vinci gets right up! Fans lose their minds over how awesome that was and Vinci reels Jiro in. Vinci gets Jiro up, for the SIT-OUT BOMB! Cover, Vinci wins!
Winner: Giovanni Vinci, by pinfall
Another dominant win with some serious style! Has Vinci proved he’s not only #StyleStrong, but that he has what it takes to hold gold?
Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen are in the back.
And the good ol’ boys are the NEW NXT UK Tag Team Champions! Briggs & Jensen are back stateside after that historic Fatal 4, what will they have to say about being Yanks with UK gold?
Backstage interview with Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams.
After last week’s big title victory, McKenzie asks the North American Champion how he plans to keep his momentum going. Melo says the question should be, “How did you become The A Champion without even trying?” Trick says that’s a great question, and Melo says it takes things like hustle, swagger, loyalty, confidence, and disrespect. All of those things make you the A Champion. That is why no one will get one over on him, no one can tell him a damn thing, and why every rule has an exception, when you’re an exceptional talent. But then Grayson Waller walks in and says what a big win over Tony D’Angelo, and all by himself! What, all by himself? YES, all by himself!
But the brass knuckles- What? Brass knuckles? You mean bare knuckles! Anyway, what’s Waller up to? Well, he’s a little embarrassed, but all his mates back home are big Melo fans, so could he sign some things for them? Sure, sure, they love the kids. Waller took care of Solo, Melo can do this. Melo signs a basketball, and then a shirt for Waller’s mom, and some pictures for Jimmy. He’s jacked in these 8×10’s, y’know? Waller thanks Melo for this and heads out. Melo says this is why he likes Waller. But is Waller really doing this just for his friends? Or is he up to something devious?
Briggs, Jensen & Fallon head to the ring!
The NEW NXT UK Tag Team Champions and the Cowgirl strut out and fans chant, “You Deserve It!” Jensen says it for himself, “AND NEW~!” No, no, you gotta say it harder, they didn’t hear you in the back. “AND NEW~ NXT UK Tag Team Champions~!” Briggs says y’all know they love to fight, so they crossed continents and fought the best the UK had to offer. They put up a hell of a fight, but y’all best believe they brought it all right back to ’em! “U S A! U S A!” Briggs says to Ashton Smith & Oliver Carter, injuries are part of the game, so when those guys return, the rematch is waiting for them.
Jensen asks Briggs if he remembers the first time they met. Briggs looked Jensen square in the eyes and said, “You got a lot of potential, kid. Wanna roll with me?” And ever since, Jensen has busted his ass for the great fans here right now! And he busts his ass for Briggs! So right here, in front of the world, Jensen thanks Briggs for picking him. The two hug it out and fans cheer. Even Fallon looks a bit touched. Briggs say she is proud of Jensen. Fans chant again, “You Deserve It!” Briggs says there’s still one thing left they have to do now that they have these gorgeous tag team titles! Fallon says, “Let’s drink some beer!”
But just as the party gets started, here come Pretty Deadly! Kit Wilson says, “You have GOT to be kidding me!” Briggs & Jensen are NXT UK Tag Team Champions? Elton Prince says, “Those titles were once gorgeous, because they were made that way by the two tastiest snacks in NXT. And now they’re being spoiled by the grubby hands of American trailer trash!” They should at least wipe them clean of the country dirt and swamp water! They probably smell, too. No, definitely! Jensen says the only thing he smells is an Alabama ass-whooping coming to Pretty Deadly. Wilson mocks Jensen, “Ah smell’n Alabama ass-whooping comin’ to you, ROLL TIDE~!”
The fans actually chant “Roll Tide,” but Prince tells “you two Muppets don’t deserve those titles.” All Briggs & Jensen have done is lower the bar. And now, there’s only one team that can raise them up again. That is the former NXT UK Tag Team Champions, #YESBOY, who held those belts for a GLORIOUS 287 days! Alright, Zoolander twins, SHUT UP! Brooks & Briggs know the lineage. And there are a lot of great teams who’ve held them. But Pretty Deadly ain’t one of ’em! #YESBOY! But the fact is, they’ll be fighting champions both here and in the UK, so talk all you want, or… they can get to fighting!
Actually, hold on. The champs will make that decision for Pretty Deadly. Jensen DECKS Prince! Wilson goes after him but Briggs is on him with a waistlock! Atomic drop, and Fallon SLAPS Wilson! Then Briggs lariats Wilson out, Jensen throws Prince out, and then the champs BLAST Prince onto Wilson! Pretty Deadly is in retreat, but will the British be coming for those belts at the Great American Bash?
Bron Breakker speaks.
“NXT is my life! It’s time for me to step up and be a leader. In the ring, my veins are bulging, my heart is pumping, it’s a white knuckle thrill-ride.” The high-energy, high-intensity and high-impact TWO-TIME NXT Champion is ready to prove why he is champion, but he’ll be face-to-face with his next challenger, Cameron Grimes, later tonight!
Kayden & Katana storm into the women’s locker room.
“Every freakin’ time!” Kayden is so sick of this! Katana says they’re better than those two AND Toxic Attraction! Okay, what’s Tatum Paxley looking at them for? Nothing, just giving them space. Well mind your own damn space then! Uh, don’t get at Tatum just cuz you lost. Tatum heads out and KC Squared says no one is on their level. But will they be able to prove that?
Indi Hartwell VS Kiana James!
Everyone knows #IndiWrestling is always #IMPRESSIVE, but it seems The Calculator needs to see that data first hand. Will Kiana get her numbers crunched tonight?
NXT returns and Kiana makes her entrance. The bell rings and the two tie up. Indi wrenches, wristlocks, but Kiana wrenches back. Kiana taunts Indi but Indi slips around to a waistlock. Kiana reaches out, gets the ropes and she bucks Indi off. Indi says she’s smarter, but then Indi rushes in. Kiana kicks, Indi blocks, but Kiana uses that to reel Indi in for a headlock. Kiana wrenches, wristlocks, but Indi arm-drags! Indi taunts Kiana, then arm-drags her again and again. Kiana avoids the third, but not the leg sweep! Cover, ONE! Indi arm-drags again and she grinds Kiana down. Fans rally as Indi grinds the arm, but Kiana moves around.
Kiana gets up, whips but Indi reverses! Kiana bumps off buckles, Indi fireman’s carries to SNAKE EYES! Indi reels Kiana in to put her on the apron, then has her in the ropes! But Kiana HOTSHOTS Indi down! Kiana stomps away on Indi, dusts herself off, and again says she’s smarter. Kiana RAMS into Indi, shoves her down, then covers, TWO! Kiana clamps on body scissors but fans rally as Indi endures. Indi fights back to get a cover, TWO! Kiana CLUBS away on Indi, but Indi throws elbows back. Fans rally, Indi pushes back, TWO! Indi runs to BOOT Kiana down! Fans rally, Indi rallies with big shoulder tackles!
Indi blocks a kick, throws Kiana down then CLUBS her and DECKS her! Kiana gets to the apron, Indi has her in the ropes to UPPERCUT and BOOT! Kiana flops down, Indi covers, TWO! Indi grows a bit frustrated but she grabs at Kiana’s legs. Kiana kicks her away, runs in, but into a fireman’s carry! Kiana slips off, shoves Indi, but Indi goes up and out to DECK Kiana again! Fans fire up as Indi springboards, but the Pretty Savage FLOPS as Kiana moves! Kiana trips Indi, high stacks, with feet on the ropes! The ref doesn’t see it, Kiana wins!!
Winner: Kiana James, by pinfall
Kiana talks trash, having used her brain and a lot of cheating to get this win! Will Indi be able to rebound after Kiana stole that win?
Tony D’Angelo and The Family meet at a bridge.
And with a splash into the water, it seems Two Dimes just got dropped. Tony gave him the world, and what did he do? He made a move for his chair. But now, Dimes sleeps with the fishes. The stupid mug. But then a call comes in. Tony answers, and it’s Santos Escobar. Escobar asks if he’s talking to the new North American Champion, Tony D. Oh, real funny, wise guy! Tony tosses his phone! He’s done with this! Will The Done find a way to avenge himself against Legado del Fantasma?
Wes Lee speaks.
“Last week, I was in the middle of the ring, pouring my heart out. Baring my soul. And Trick Williams ruins my moment. Trick, your biggest mistake is thinking that my honesty and openness to my feelings makes me soft. The fact that I wear my heart on my sleeve makes me weak? Bing bang, dog. It’s all strength. And next week, at the Great American Bash, you will see that strength on full display, and I will have no pity for you because of how you disrespected me as a man. No one and no thing will stop me from finding my inner peace in that ring, especially not Trick Williams.”
Six Man Tag: Roderick Strong & The Creed Brothers VS Joe Gacy & The Dyad!
It is time to see whose bonds are strongest! Will it truly be Diamond Mine Forever? Or will Mr. Inclusion and his hooded henchmen prove there are cracks in that foundation?
NXT returns and Gacy’s trio makes their entrance. The teams sort out and Strong starts against Gacy. These two circle, tie up, and Gacy powers Strong back. Strong wrenches an arm to a wristlock, but Gacy spins and wrenches back. Gacy headlocks, Strong powers up and out, but Gacy runs Strong over. Things speed up, Strong bypasses to waistlock and wrangle Gacy down! Strong clinches, Gacy fights the head ‘n’ arm, and he powers Gacy into the corner. The taller druid tags in and fans chant “Gibson Sucks!” Do they know something Diamond Mine doesn’t? The taller druid mugs Strong, scoops him, but Strong slips off to half nelson!
The druid, “Dyad 1” fights free but Strong hip tosses him down! Tag to Brutus, Strong feeds Dyad 1 to Brutus’ fireman’s carry takeover! Brutus clamps onto an arm but Dyad 1 pulls hair to put Brutus in a corner. The ref counts, Dyad 1 lets off with cheap shots! Dyad 1 whips but Brutus reverses to gut wrench suplex! Brutus drags Dyad 1 up in a waistlock but Dyad 1 wrenches out to a wristlock. Brutus counters with a hip toss! Tag to Julius and Julius gut wrench SLAMS Brutus onto Dyad 1! Brutus & Julius pinball the druid between their knees, then Julius pushes the druid over. Tag to Brutus, and they pinball him with knees again.
Brutus paces, tags Julius back in, and then Julius throws in another knee. Dyad 1 gets out of the ring and Gacy tells him that just as he trusts in Gacy, Gacy trusts in him. He can get back in there and show them “the new you.” Dyad 1 nods and gets in. Julius shoots in, waistlocks, but Dyad 1 switches to ripcord and short arm LARIAT! Dyad 1 drags Julius up for another LARIAT! Dyad 1 rains down forearms, then clamps on a forearm chinbar! Julius endures, Dyad 1 drives in an elbow then wraps on a chinlock. Fans rally, Julius fights up, but Dyad 1 ROCKS him! Tag to the other druid, and the Dyad CLOBBER Julius! Cover, TWO!
Strong coaches Julius but the second druid, “Dyad 2,” clamps onto his head! Julius gets free and trips Dyad 2, but Dyad 2 shifts to crossface forearm! Dyad 2 ROCKS Julius to the corner, tag to Gacy! They mug Julius, Gacy RAMS into him, but lets off as the ref counts. Gacy drags Julius up to ROCK him. Julius shoves Gacy but Gacy ROCKS him again. Tag to Dyad 2 and he mugs Julius. Dyad 2 scoops but Julius cradle counters, TWO! Dyad 2 CLOBBERS Julius! Dyad 2 drags Julius away from Diamond Mine to throw forearms. Dyad 2 reaches down, but Julius suplexes him from the floor?! And HOLDS HIM UP!
Fans fire up as Julius stands up while still holding Dyad 2 up! Gacy and Dyad 1 save Dyad 2, but then Strong and Brutus go after them! And Diamond Mine hits a TRIPLE SUPLEX! Fans fire up and Diamond Mine CLOBBERS the Dyad out of the ring! Gacy runs in but he gets DOUBLE ELBOWS from the Creeds! Julius DROPKICKS Gacy out and fans fire up! Gacy and his druids regroup while NXT goes picture in picture.
The ref has everyone calm down, and Gacy talks with his minions. Julius waits and Gacy encourages Dyad 2 to bring the fight. Dyad 2 gets in, Strong tags in, and they circle. Strong dodges Dyad 2 to waistlock and SLAM! Strong clamps on with a chinlock, CLUBS Dyad 2. then pulls on the hold! Strong hooks an arm, turns Dyad 2 over and stomps him! Strong CHOPS Dyad 2 in the corner, then CHOPS him again! Brutus tags in, Diamond Mine CLUBS Dyad 2 down together, and Brutus facelocks. Dyad 2 powers Brutus all the way to the corner and Gacy tags in! They mug Brutus, Gacy wrenches and grinds the arm, but Brutus stays up.
Fans rally, Gacy keeps on the arm, but Brutus fights up to his feet. Brutus moves around but Gacy wrangles him again. Gacy grins as he grinds the arm, but Brutus fights back up. Gacy wrangles him again, keeps on the arm, and Brutus fights up to turn things around on Gacy! NXT returns to single picture and they go around but Gacy headbutts free! Brutus uppercuts back then gut wrench suplexes! Brutus swings on the druids but they get away, and Gacy CHOP BLOCKS Brutus’ leg! Gacy hits a DDT, then covers, TWO! Gacy shouts at Julius and Strong, then brings Brutus up to CHOP! Tag to Dyad 1, fans boo as they mug Brutus.
Dyad 1 throws forearms, Brutus hits back. Dyad 1 hits low, whips Brutus to the corner, but Brutus fights his way out! Dyad 1 kicks low again, then tags Dyad 2. Dyad 2 tags Gacy, and the druids hold Brutus up for Gacy to hang like a bat! They want Brutus to look into the wild eyes of Gacy! Then a feed to the URENAGE! Cover, TWO! Brutus survives but Gacy drags Brutus up. Gacy CHOPS Brutus, ROCKS him, then clinches. Brutus throws body shots and uppercuts but Gacy CHOPS! Gacy throws hands, tags Dyad 2, but Brutus barrels through! Brutus reaches out but Dyad 2 drops an elbow on him!
Dyad 2 stays between Brutus and the Mine with a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Dyad 2 looms over Brutus but fans rally up. Dyad 2 throws hands, tags Dyad 1, and they mug Brutus again. Dyad 1 claws at Brutus’ face then clamps on a chinlock. Brutus endures, fans rally up again, and Brutus fights up. Dyad 1 thrashes him around but Brutus still gets up, Dyad 1 knees low, CLUBS Brutus, then sucker punches Strong! Tag to Dyad 2. they double whip Brutus, but Brutus holds ropes and BOOTS back! Brutus ROCKS one, evades the other and shoves him away, tag to Julius! Julius DECKS Gacy, then hit an EXPLODER on Dyad 2!
BELLY2BELLY for Dyad 1! Julius DECKS Dyad 2, then deadlifts into the Canadian Rock, for a SPINNING TOSS! Fans fire up with Julius and he runs in to hit the ROLLING SPINEBUSTER! Straps come down, but Strong tags in! Strong JUMP KNEES Dyad 2! Diamond Mine argues again, because Julius had this! Strong tells him to obey orders, but Gacy runs in! Brutus POUNCES Gacy to save Strong! Now Strong is mad at Brutus! The Dyad pull a switcheroo! Dyad 1 gets around, Strong waistlocks, but now Dyad 2 tags in! Strong rolls up Dyad 1, but Dyad 2 deadlift suplexes him! The Dyad coordinate, HANGING DDT!! Cover, Gacy’s team wins!
Winners: Joe Gacy & The Dyad, by pinfall
A massive win for Gacy and his team, because maybe they’re right! Diamond Mine is cracking, and it’s all because of Strong’s ego! The Creeds tell Strong that, and Ivy Nile can’t help but sigh. Will any of this get through to Strong? Or will the cracks become fissures and bring the Diamond Mine down?
Melo & Trick head out.
But McKenzie catches up to them to ask some more questions before next week. Trick says he knows all about next week’s match with “Afro Thunder.” But Trick says the bigger, badder man is gonna beat that bum into oblivion at the Bash! It is what it is! No, McKenzie was asking Melo about defending the North American Championship next week against Waller. Wait, what? Who? They’re boys! Apparently a contract was signed by both Waller and Melo so the match is official. Sign what? THAT SNAKE! He tricked you into signing all that stuff, and there’s probably NO Jimmy! Well tell Waller that when you play Melo, you play yourself! Melo is walking into the Bash as champion, and walking out with that W and still A Champion!
NXT Medical has an update on Alba Fyre.
After the trauma to her throat from the baseball bat, the doctors have- Lash Legend pushes the doctor aside to take over. Due to the brutal beatdown that ya girl, the one and only, you can’t clone her, Lash put on the firemaker, Fyre is on the shelf permanently. And that’s how Fyre found out that Lash doesn’t just talk the talk, she walks the walk and makes everyone’s mouths drop. So NXT, stay outta her way, okay? But is “permanent” the official diagnosis? Or will Fyre rise like a phoenix and show Lash who the real legend is?
Everyone in Diamond Mine is upset.
Brutus says they can’t be losing like that! Julius tosses a table while Brutus asks how they even lost! Strong asks them what the hell! They had them beat, on the same page, but all the Creeds had to do was listen! All they do IS listen to him! Well then they’re not hearing what he’s saying! What is he even talking about?! Julius tells Strong that they’re not going on and on about this. They listen to him, do what he says to a T, and he still points blame at them! Oh, that sounds like an excuse. But Strong has no choice! He’s gonna teach them first hand! Strong & Kemp VS The Creeds, Great American Bash, FOR THE NXT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Kemp stares at the Creeds, then leaves with Strong. Either way, Diamond Mine stays golden, but will it matter when it all comes crumbling down?
Sanga VS Xyon Quinn!
In a battle of fighting gentlemen, there will be no manners! Will Sanga bring the thunder? Or will Xyon #RunItStraight, and run straight through Sanga?
Well, speaking of no manners, Xyon attacks Sanga at the ramp, and from behind! These two brawl, fans fire up and refs rush out! Sanga and Xyon don’t listen to any of the officials, will this sort out after the break?
NXT returns and the refs finally get this back in the ring. They sound the bell and clear out! Xyon slips out to avoid Sanga, and then Xyon wants Sanga to back off. Sanga argues with the ref and Xyon gets in to sucker punch him! Xyon HEADBUTTS Sanga, then HEADBUTTS him again! Xyon runs and BOOTS Sanga, but Sanga staggers to ropes. Xyon storms up but Sanga throws big haymakers! Xyon ducks the back hand to ROCK Sanga with body shots! Xyon kicks, runs, and RAMS! Sanga stays up, then he runs Xyon over! Sanga wants Xyon to get up, and then he bumps Xyon off buckles. And again! And again! Sanga CLOBBERS Xyon!
Xyon staggers against ropes, Sanga clotheslines Xyon out! Sanga goes out after Xyon to put him back in, but Xyon KICKS Sanga as he returns. Xyon puts Sanga on the ropes to CHOKE him! The ref counts, Xyon lets off, and then Xyon YANKS the ropes to jam Sanga up! Sanga just gets pissed! Xyon wants Sanga to cool off, but then he kicks low. Sanga blocks, spins Xyon around and CLUBS him right on the neck! Xyon falls and Sanga brings Xyon up. Sanga scoops, SNAKE EYES, and Xyon flounders around. Sanga scoops Xyon again, SNAKE EYES of another corner! Xyon manages to stand but Sanga CLUBS him again!
Fans want that “ONE MORE TIME!” so Sanga hauls Xyon up to scoop and SLAM! Sanga runs but Xyon avoid the elbow drop! Xyon runs, to RAM Sanga down! Cover, ONE!! Xyon is furious but he hurries to clamp onto Sanga. Sanga endures, fans rally up, and Sanga fights up. Sanga pries the hold open but Xyon CLUBS him on the chest! And CLUBS him again! Sanga fights the hold again but Xyon CLUBS him more. Fans rally, Sanga fights up, and Sanga breaks free. Xyon CLUBS Sanga, hops on for a SLEEPER, but Sanga RAMS Xyon into buckles! Sanga is free but Xyon BOOTS him from behind!
Xyon storms up but into a back elbow! Sanga clamps onto Xyon with a half nelson chinbar! Xyon endures, but Sanga whips him to ropes to LARIAT him down! Sanga drags Xyon up, scoops him again, and SLAMS him down again! Sanga roars and fans fire up! Sanga slashes his throat and says this is over. Sanga choke grips Xyon for a CHOKE SLAM! Cover, Sanga wins!
Winner: Sanga, by pinfall
Sanga proves he will not be bullied or mocked. Will Sanga destroy whoever is put in his path to the top?
Wendy Choo is restless.
She can’t sleep because Tiffany Stratton’s stuck up attitude is haunting her. Tiffany says Wendy is just jealous, but then Wendy remembers all the fun she had getting one over on Tiffany, multiple times. Wendy wakes up, brushes her teeth, and thinks to herself. If Tiffany thinks Wendy looks stupid, even though Wendy isn’t stupid, doesn’t that make Tiffany stupid? Well, Wendy tells Tiffany to listen up. Wendy gets under your skin, goes for the pin, and gets the win! See you at the Bash, “Tiff-Tiff!”
Nikkita Lyons VS Mandy Rose w/ Toxic Attraction!
The Women’s Breakout Tournament would have been very different had Lyons made it to the end. But will Lyons take a shortcut by pinning the Toxic NXT Women’s Champion? Or will Mandy be able to send Lyons to the back of the line?
The bell rings and the two circle. They tie up, Lyons powers Mandy back then throws her around! They stay hooked up, Lyons throws Mandy again, and then they get up again. Fans rally behind Lyons as she puts Mandy on the ropes, and Lyons lets off at 4. Mandy storms up, waistlocks, but Lyons pries free to wrench to a double wristlock throw. Lyons kips up and fans fire up while Gigi & Jacy coach Mandy. Lyons runs in but Mandy kicks out the bad leg! Mandy stands Lyons up to CLUB away on her in the corner, but Lyons shoves her away. Mandy talks trash on Lyons but Lyons KICKS Mandy’s leg!
Mandy falls over, Lyons RAMS her into a corner. Lyons RAMS into Mandy again, lets off at 4 to RAM into her again, then she TOSSES Mandy across the ring! Lyons runs in to SPLASH in the corner, and then TOSSES Mandy the other way! Another SPLASH, and Lyons TOSSES Mandy again! Gigi & Jacy get Mandy out of the ring and wants Lyons to wait as NXT goes to break.
NXT returns and Mandy has Lyons’ leg, but Lyons kicks her away with the other! Lyons tackles Mandy and rains down forearms! Mandy turns it around to give those shots back! Lyons kicks Mandy away again but Mandy gets the bad leg to stomp it! And pull on it for a HEEL HOOK! Lyons endures, moves around, and sits up to throw forearms! Mandy lets go and Lyons pushes Mandy down for more ground ‘n’ pound! Mandy shoves Lyons away and rains down shots in return! But Lyons catches Mandy to an ARMBAR! Mandy scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Lyons lets go quickly and Mandy KICKS the bad leg out!
Lyons gets up, Mandy talks more trash, “You are nobody!” Mandy pie faces Lyons, and again, but Lyons gets pissed. Lyons blocks Mandy’s slap to stand up! Lyons ELBOWS Mandy, then LARIATS! And ROUNDHOUSES! And ROUNDHOUSES again! Lyons roars and fans fire up as she SPLASHES Mandy in the corner! GERMAN SUPLEX! Mandy flounders, Lyons drags Mandy around to a cover, TWO! Lyons keeps close to Mandy, brings her up to put in the corner, and Lyons hoists Mandy up top. Lyons climbs up after Mandy, throws forearms, then CLUBS away. Mandy CLUBS Lyons in return, shoves her down, and adjusts on the top!
Lyons stands, into the missile dropkick! Fans fire up as Lyons gets back up, and she avoids the knee! Lyons KICKS Mandy’s leg, the other leg, then HEEL KICKS Mandy down! Gigi and Jacy get in! Lyons BOOTS Gigi but Jacy CHOP BLOCKS Lyons!
Winner: Nikkita Lyons, by disqualification
Toxic Attraction don’t care about the win or loss, they just want to hurt Lyons! They mug Lyons, sit her up, and Mandy SLAPS Lyons! Mandy says Lyons will never- But then Cora and Roxie show up! They SUPERKICK Mandy down! Gigi & Jacy drag Mandy away before Lyons can get her revenge! Will Cora & Roxie finally humble the beehive that is Toxic Attraction?
Solo Sikoa vents backstage.
He can’t believe he lost to Waller last week. The turnbuckle pad being snatched of all things. Solo had that won and everyone knew it. Apollo Crews says he’s been there plenty of times. Solo will get Waller back for that so he should hold his head high. Apollo knows Solo has something special. Solo says that means a lot coming from Apollo. But Xyon walks in and says what’s the point of taking the advice of Apollo? Apollo asks Xyon, “Have we met?” Xyon tells Apollo it has been three years since he’s been here. A lot has changed in NXT. If Apollo has come to turn a new leaf, then he should just leave.
Apollo says, “Who’s the one giving out advice now?” Xyon says if Apollo really wants to become the perfect superstar, he should accept that he can’t. Because that’s Xyon. Oh, really? Xyon is 6’3″, handsome, athletic, can pull of a suit. He’ll be in TV shows and all that. Okay, okay, Xyon must’ve been practicing that pitch, huh? Sounds rehearsed. But yes, on paper, Xyon’s future is bright. Xyon probably sees it, right? But from what Apollo sees, it isn’t. Will Apollo show Xyon just who here is the “perfect superstar?”
JD McDonagh speaks.
“They say nice guys finish last. Maybe that explains why I always finish in first. I’m a genuinely mild-mannered guy, but nothing upsets me more than when my athletic IQ is challenged. I’m upset when I’m in that ring, and I am tired of seeing guys taking plays out of my playbook. So I’m going to let you know what I’ve kept secret: I’m the necessary evil needed to bring balance to NXT. I’m not just the Ace in the UK, I’m the Ace everywhere I go. See you real soon.”
Wade Barrett is in the ring.
“Ladies and gentlemen, next week, at the Great American Bash, the NXT Championship will be on the line, so without further ado, please welcome the challenger, Cameron Grimes!” The Carolina Caveman makes his entrance, shakes Barrett’s hand, and then Barrett introduces the champion, Bron Breakker! The Big Booty Nephew makes his entrance and fans bark it up. Barrett says next week- Bron says respectfully, he and Grimes can handle this. They’re just going to talk. Barrett bows out and Bron says he has had the great honor defending this title against a lot of great superstars, but something about Grimes is different.
Grimes will bring it, they will both leave it all in the ring, because Grimes has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Grimes says it may seem that way, right? But for Bron, next week is just another big defense. What’s the worst that happens if he loses? He is still Bron Breakker! He loses that belt, he’ll surely be brought up to Raw or SmackDown. Bron loses the belt and probably gets put on SummerSlam! Grimes lost his North American Championship, and instead of going back for that, he decided to go all in on Bron Breakker. That’s what makes them different. Grimes knows he has no back-up plan. If he loses this match, that’s it for him.
But Grimes figures Bron must know about back-up plans, considering this was the back-up plan. Bron wanted to be in football, but then the Ravens said and told him he’s not good enough. Bron then called up his dad and told him, “Daddy, please! I always wanted to be in the WWE~!” And now, here he is. Bron says, “Wow, man! I did not expect that from you. What, you wanna bring my father into this?” Grimes is just speaking truth. Bron says we all know what happened the last time someone brought up Bron’s family. Fans cheer and bark, and Bron says he thought this was about respect. Grimes can say what he wants with his cheap suit and phony smile, it won’t change anything.
Next week, Cameron Grimes is going TO THE MOON~, but he won’t like what he finds when he gets there. Bron will just spear Grimes in half! Grimes says unlike those guys Bron was talking on the field, Grimes gets knocked down but gets right back up! Bron may knock Grimes down again but Grimes will get up. And if Bron does it again, Grimes will get back up! Well Grimes can keep getting up, because Bron will keep knocking him down and make him regret challenging him! Then when they’re done, Grimes can call his buddy, Ted DeBiase and ask him what to do. Grimes smirks but Bron says he’s bigger, stronger and faster.
Yeah, we get it! We all see it! But what Bron doesn’t have, and Grimes will say it until his lungs run out of air, Bron doesn’t have heart! Not like Grimes has! But it isn’t Bron’s fault. It’s just genetics. Daddy didn’t have heart, neither! That’s why Rick was never world champion, and that’s why he- Bron grabs Grimes by the neck! No more talk, Bron lifts Grimes! Grimes slips out and gets to a corner, Bron runs in but is sent hard into buckles! Bron being bigger and stronger backfires, and Grimes RAMS him in again! The buckle pops off and the whole top rope is down! Fans lose their minds and even Grimes is shocked at what just happened!
Refs rush out, and Bron is clutching one of his shoulders. Grimes tells Bron that at 100%, Grimes can’t beat him. But it looks like he isn’t 100%. Grimes tells the medics to make sure Bron is still okay to compete, because Grimes wants to take that title TO~ THE~ MOON! Will Grimes finally break through by breaking Bron?
My Thoughts:
A pretty good episode, especially as the go-home to next week’s Great American Bash special. But it sure feels like there are a lot of promos these days. Wes Lee called out Trick for a match next week, Lash talked trash on Fyre to set up a “miraculous” return from Fyre, and we got another vignette from Jordan Devlin McDonagh to hype up his move to NXT USA. I did like the trick Waller pulled off by giving Melo a ton of things to sign. I guess the title match contract was somewhere in all those 8x10s, though I couldn’t tell. Melo VS Waller will be a very good title match but I would think Melo retains. Wendy had a good vignette promo to call out Tiffany, they’ll have a good match but is it really GAB worth?
I give NXT credit for explaining away the release of Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan, but it seems surprising that Dimes tried to go after Tony. It was a bit weak that Escobar called Tony to troll him, though. I would’ve tried to make it that Legado did something to Dimes to add to the heat between the factions. Either way, Tony should get a new henchmen so we can still have a Six Man Tag rematch. And a good promo from Briggs, Jensen & Fallon to celebrate the tag title win, and then a good interaction and brawl with Pretty Deadly. The Great American Bash is already pretty stacked, so maybe the NXT UK Tag Team Championships end up closer to SummerSlam week.
The closing segment of Bron and Grimes was pretty good. The promos were alright, with Grimes recycling a bit of what he said before, and as Bron pointed out, recycling some of what Gacy used. But breaking off the top rope was a great spot to go with, and how Bron’s shoulder is kayfabe hurt now. It’ll put the pressure back on Bron since even Grimes admits Bron is the physical favorite when 100%. Grimes touting Bron could be called-up to RawDown after losing is a natural conclusion to draw, but I don’t see it happening yet because I don’t see Bron losing the title again so soon. As I’ve said before, it feels like they booked Bron into a tough spot because he got to the top so fast.
Match card wise, it felt backwards to me on some level. The NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Contender’s match is important, shouldn’t it have been later in the night? But at the same time, WWE likes to open strong and that was a very good opening match. Cora & Roxie win to mostly preserve Roxie’s Breakout contract, just as Mandy mocked her for doing. KC Squared seems to be making a Heel turn as they got attitude with the other women in the locker room. Toxic Attraction had a decent promo to call Cora & Roxie out, and a good interaction with Lyons. Lyons VS Mandy being the main event match worked out to be a good go-home segment, but perhaps the women’s title stays off the Bash because again, this is a pretty full card as it is.
Sanga wins in a decent match, but for the brawl starting it off hot, it kinda turned into a slog. But Xyon uses the loss to get attitude with Apollo, and that will be a great match. Indi losing to Kiana was a surprise, but it seems they want Indi to take the slow burn to finally getting the top title. And of course Vinci wins against Jiro, Vinci has a strong push behind him, and he will surely want after a title as soon as Great American Bash is over. Why else would they keep him in NXT and rebrand him when he could’ve just been with Imperium on SmackDown?
And we got a good promo segment from Diamond Mine and Gacy’s group, but maybe only a fairly good Six Man Tag. It was mostly difficult to type “Dyad 1” and “Dyad 2” all the time, and not just wanting to write “druid,” or even “Gibson” and “Drake” since it is so obvious that’s them in those hoods. Gibson & Drake just need to be revealed already. And though Gacy & Dyad got the win, I’m surprised we’re getting the Diamond Mine fighting over the tag titles first. I have a feeling the Creeds retain, and that could be the breaking point for Diamond Mine, which Gacy then takes advantage of so that we get Creeds VS Dyads for SummerSlam week.
My Score: 8.2/10
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Who heads for Montreal?
To determine a challenger to the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, SmackDown holds qualifying matches for a #1 contender’s match! Who wins tonight to advance to Saturday Night’s Main Event?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Randy Orton VS The Miz; Orton wins and advances.
- Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss VS Giulia & Kiana James; Charlotte & Alexa win.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Trick Williams VS Matt Cardona; Trick wins and advances.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Damian Priest VS Solo Sikoa; Priest wins and advances.
- WWE United States Championship Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes VS Leon Slater; Melo wins and retains the title.
- Jordynne Grace VS Chelsea Green w/ Alba Fyre; Grace wins.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Sami Zayn VS Ilja Dragunov; Sami wins and advances.
PLAY BY PLAY
Bagpipes play for Drew McIntyre!
A troupe of six play the music of the Scottish Terminator’s people before the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion officially makes his entrance. London cheers as Drew steps on stage, belt around his waist, and they sing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” as he takes his time walking down the ramp. Drew gets his pyro, the fans cheer more, and Drew continues to the ring. Drew looks at the championship while he hears the fans cheering, and he goes up the corner to raise the belt up high! The fans cheer as Drew gets more pyro! And a lot of it! The fans cheer again, and Drew puts the belt on his shoulder, but then he goes back out to join the front row in cheering!
Drew goes back to the ring, grabs the mic, and the singing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” continues. Drew says, “I prayed for this and it happened.” The fans cheer that, then chant, “You Deserve It!” Drew says, “I know it’s been a rough few years in the UK here, but if there’s somebody that can bring us together, it’s our Undisputed WWE Champion. It’s the first-and-only-ever BRITISH WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre!” The fans cheer that! Drew says the love he’s been shown the past week is incredible. Texts, social media posts, the cheers all across Europe, including tonight, “you bunch of mentalists.”
And Drew just wants to say to each and every one out there… “Screw you.” The fans laugh at that, but Drew says no, this isn’t even being a bad guy wrestler. Seriously, screw you! When he got FIRED from WWE, where were they? They wanna jump on the bandwagon now? 99% of them weren’t there for him! When he was being screwed over by Roman Reigns and the Bloodline, there was no uprising for him, huh? How’d they help him out? When CM Punk screwed Drew, the fans cheered Roman and Punk and doing the YEET with Jey Uso! The fans do chant those things now, and then Drew brings up Cody and the corrupt refs!
Was there a hashtag for Drew? NO! There is only one person Drew needs to thank, that ever believed in Drew, and that person… is Drew! So thank you, Drew! If you wanna chant, chant “Thank You, Drew!” The fans do chant, “Thank You, Drew!” Well, there’s one more person Drew must address: The former… Oh, that feels good to say. Drew knows Cody Rhodes is here, and it must cut like a knife to say FORMER WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes! The fans now sing for “Cody, Cody Rhodes~!” Yes, Drew knows Cody’s crack team is trying to figure out a title rematch. Drew admits to having Nick Aldis add a little extra clause.
Since 99% of Americans can’t read, Drew will tell us what it is: There is NO rematch clause! Cody must start at the bottom, work his way back up. The Vanilla QB1 Era is over! The Dangerous Drew Era begins tonight! The fans cheer that! But then here comes Randy Orton! The fans also cheer for The Viper, they sing along with Voices, and Orton goes right to the ring. Orton grabs himself a mic while the fans finish singing, and then the fans cheer as Orton and Drew are face to face. Drew says this must be Orton out here to congratulate him. The fans chant “R K O!” while Orton chuckles. Orton says Drew and the fans in London all know that they don’t like each other one bit.
So no, this is not Orton here to congratulate Drew. Orton is here to remind Drew that a few months ago, Drew had the chance to kick Orton through the table and declined. The fans again chant “R K O! R K O!” Orton says he wanted to tell Drew that when Orton has the opportunity to return the favor, he won’t hesitate. he beat Drew for that title before, he’ll do it again, and it’ll be courtesy of the three most dangerous letters in all of sports entertainment: R K O! The fans cheer that, but Drew smirks. Only for JACOB FATU to show up! The fans cheer the Samoan Werewolf as he storms his way down the ramp and to the ring.
Drew wants Fatu to hold on, but Orton steps aside so Fatu can DECK Drew! Fatu goes out after Drew, DRIBBLES him off the desk, then whips again! Drew reverses to POST Fatu, but Fatu isn’t even bothered! Drew hurries away, Fatu chases him into the crowd! Orton is more amused than anything, will Drew get out of London in one piece? But then The Miz slithers in! SKULL CRUSHING FINALE on Orton!! The Hollywood A-Lister strikes outta nowhere, but will he soon regret that? We find out, after the break!
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Randy Orton VS The Miz!
SmackDown returns and the match is already going as Orton fires body shots and a HEADBUTT! But Miz kicks the leg out and BASEMENT DDTS! Cover, TWO! Orton survives then bails out, then throws his shirt off. The fans rally, but Miz pursues. Orton ROCKS Miz, then brings him up for the DESK BACK- NO, Miz lands out to then CLUB Orton! Miz hits the DESK BACK SUPLEX! The fans boo as Miz mocks Orton’s signature pose, then Miz puts Orton in the ring. Miz stomps Orton, but the fans taunt Miz with, “OH~ Miz is a Wanker~!” Miz throws hands, Orton fires back, and they go back and forth.
Orton fires off haymakers, whips Miz to a corner, but Miz reverses. Miz soaks up heat, runs in at Orton, but Orton LARIATS first! And LARIATS again! Then a dodge and SNAP POWERSLAM! The fans fire up for Orton while Miz scrambles to the apron. Orton goes after Miz, brings him through the ropes, but Miz fights free! Miz hurries away while the fans boo, but Orton pursues. Orton finds Miz at the desk! Kick and DESK BACK SUPLEX! Miz sputters and writhes while the fans fire up. They want that “One More Time!” Orton obliges, another DESK BACK SUPLEX for Miz! The fans rally, they still want that “One More Time!”
Orton gets Miz up again, a third DESK BACK SUPLEX! Orton refreshes the count while Miz slumps off the desk. The fans cheer Orton, he puts Miz in the ring, and he has Miz in the ropes! The fans fire up again and Orton smiles as he drags Miz in, DRAPING DDT! The fans cheer again, and Orton hears those voices! Miz slowly rises, R K- FINALE!?! Cover, TWO!! Orton survives and the fans cheer! Miz is beside himself as Orton survives his finisher again! The fans rally behind Orton but Miz storms up to full nelson again. But Orton arm-drags free, RK- NO, Miz rolls him up, TWO! Miz scrambles, RKO!! Cover, Orton wins!
Winner: Randy Orton, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
The fans cheer as The Viper strikes, and now punches his ticket to Montreal! But will Orton truly be the Apex Predator when he battles three others for that #1 contender’s spot?
Drew returns backstage.
He grumbles about crazy Fatu, but Ilja Dragunov finds him. The Mad Russian is glad they are finally talking face to face. Obviously, Drew has some problems, so Ilja will get to the point: Tonight, Ilja will beat Sami Zayn and be one step closer to the championship. Ilja won a championship his first night back, simply because he doesn’t fight like a sane man! Drew says yeah, he doesn’t care, there’s a crazy person after him! Go ahead, win your match, win the Fatal 4 Way, and we’ll see him at the Royal Rumble. Drew swears he did NOT knock Fatu’s teeth out, but he sure will do that to Ilja! Drew runs off, but is that true? If Drew didn’t sideline Fatu, who did?
The Wyatts speak.
Bo Dallas says, “Solo… You think you stole our light. But you’ve just inherited the weight of what it really means. The lantern has never been a weapon. We carry it in the dark, so the dark doesn’t carry us. It does not belong int he hands of someone who believes taking it is more powerful than its true purpose. It will come back to us. Like a moth to a flame, we will not rest until it’s home.” The warning has been issued, will MFT heed it?
Charlotte Flair finds Alexa Bliss backstage.
The Queen hip bumps Lil’ Miss Bliss to cheer her up, but it doesn’t really work. Alexa says last week sucked: She lost to Giulia, Nia & Lash messed with her before the match and then beat her up after. It was a complete numbers game, Alexa was alone, so was Charlotte actually sick? Or was she just “cough cough” sick? No, it was not a “cough cough,” it was a “barf barf.” And Alexa’s the one that got a title opportunity without Charlotte, but Alexa has no idea how many title opportunities Charlotte turned down because she put the team first. Really? Yes, really. Name them. Not the point. Well, does Charlotte have Alexa’s back? Does Alexa have Charlotte’s back?
Bottomline is, Alexa is Charlotte’s person. Charlotte was sick. Heart hands, and Charlotte says she’ll finish warming up. But then Nia & Lash walk in saying that was so cute. Charlotte has no reason to trust Nia, but this is typical Alexa. She makes you feel guilty then plays victim. She’s really good at it. Yeah, Charlotte has no reason to trust Nia. And they won’t like her response. As for this charade, Charlotte gets why Alexa isn’t friends with Nia. And Lash has changed. Charlotte heads out, will #Charlexa be able to focus on the match before them? Or will the Irresistible Force & Bougie Bully make sure all eyes are on them again?
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss VS Giulia & Kiana James!
SmackDown returns and the Beautiful Madness and Miss Management are already waiting in the ring. Charlotte makes her entrance, followed by Alexa. The teams sort out and Alexa starts with Kiana. The fans “WOO~” for Charlotte while Kiana talks some trash on Alexa. Kiana shoves Alexa, but Alexa SLAPS back! The fans cheer that! Alexa then ducks a shot to SLAP, ROCK, KNEE, and DROPKICK Kiana! Alexa runs, but Kiana gets up to KNEE low! Kiana brings Alexa around, suplexes, but Alexa tags out to Charlotte. The fans “WOO~” again and Kiana talks more trash. Charlotte slips around her, Kiana ELBOWS free, then whips, but Charlotte reverses!
Kiana hits buckles, but she ELBOWS back again! Kiana goes up and over Charlotte, then SUPERKICKS! Charlotte wobbles, Kiana runs, but into Charlotte’s BOOT! Tag to Alexa, and she gets a hand in the spin and DROPKICK! Giulia tags in, Alexa dodges but Giulia ROCKS Charlotte! Alexa ROCKS Giulia! Alexa ROCKS Kiana! But then Giulia SHOTGUNS Alexa! Giulia taunts Alexa, the ref keeps Charlotte back, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
The ref reprimands but Kiana backs off. Giulia wrenches Alexa’s hair to THROW her to the corner. Giulia stomps away on Alexa in the corner, the ref counts, but Giulia stops at 4. Giulia tags Kiana, Kiana stomps Alexa, then Kiana CLUBS Alexa. Alexa goes to another corner, Kiana whips corner to corner, and Alexa hits buckles hard! Kiana grins as she storms back up, and she bumps Alexa off buckles. Tag to Giulia and Giulia brings Alexa onto the ropes. Giulia hooks Alexa up in the ropes, and fishhooks the face! The ref counts, Giulia stops and sucker punches Charlotte! The ref stops Charlotte, Giulia DROPKICKS Alexa and Kiana BOOTS Alexa down!
Giulia ELBOW DROPS Alexa, covers, TWO! Giulia is already annoyed with the count, but she stomps away on Alexa. Giulia CLUBS Alexa, HEADBUTTS her, and HEADBUTTS again! Giulia bumps Alexa off buckles, tags Kiana, and Kiana brings Alexa around to kick a leg. Kiana taunts Alexa, but she sucker punches Charlotte! The fans give thumbs down, but Kiana snap suplexes! Charlotte protests, that distracts the ref! The ref is late to the cover, TWO! Kiana fireman’s carries Alexa, but Alexa fights to a sunset flip! TWO! Kiana stops Alexa, but she still reaches out! Kiana RAMS Alexa into the corner! And RAMS her again and again!
Kiana handsprings, runs back in, and she RAMS Alexa again! The ref counts, Giulia tags in, and Kiana snapmares Alexa to BOOT her! Giulia is up top, she MISSILE DROPKICKS! Cover, TWO! Alexa survives, but Giulia HEADBUTTS her to the cover! Charlotte again distracts, another late count, TWO! Giulia is annoyed but she tags Kiana as SmackDown returns to single picture. Kiana sends Giulia in, but Alexa dodges! Giulia hits buckles, Alexa DUMPS Kiana out, and the fans fire up! Kiana hurries back in, she anchors Alexa’s foot, then she drags her back! Alexa ENZIGIRIS free, hot tag to Charlotte!
The fans fire up as The Queen RUNS Kiana over! And RUNS her over again! CHOP and CHOP for Kiana, CHOP and CHOP for Giulia! CHOP after CHOP, “WOO~” after “WOO~,” and then Charlotte CHOPS Giulia down! Charlotte runs up, Kiana dodges, but Charlotte keeps moving! WALK OVER LARIAT! The fans fire up again and Charlotte stalks Kiana to a corner. Charlotte whips, Kiana reverses, but Charlotte goes up and out. BOOT for Giulia, BOOT for Kiana, and then Charlotte goes up! CROSSBODY on Kiana! Cover, TWO! Kiana is tougher than that, but Charlotte stays focused. The fans rally up as Charlotte runs in, but into a BOOT!
Kiana runs up, but into a BOOT! Charlotte steps on Kiana to a corner, she and Giulia scrap, and Kiana YANKS her down! The fans boo but Charlotte still wrenches Kiana to a NECKBREAKER! Charlotte runs, but into a SIPNEBUSTER! Kiana shows her power, and she tags Giulia! Giulia KNEES Charlotte down! Cover, Alexa breaks it! The fans fire up but Giulia is furious! Kiana whips, Alexa reverses and TOSSES Kiana out! But Kiana trips Alexa! Giulia has Charlotte, Charlotte shoves free, but Giulia BOOTS her! And KICKS her! And KICKS her again! Charlotte snarls, she ducks the buzzsaw!
Charlotte shoves and ROCKS Giulia! Charlotte runs, but Giulia follows to HEADBUTT! Giulia runs, but into a BOOT! Charlotte has Giulia but Kiana tags in! Charlotte runs, Kiana KNEES her first! But Alexa tags in! Kiana runs, but into the clinch! TWISTED SISTER ABIGAIL!! Cover, Charlexa wins!
Winners: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, by pinfall
Bliss proved she does have Charlotte’s back! But then Nia & Lash attack after all! They BLAST Giulia, DECK Alexa, and HEADBUTT Charlotte! And HEADBUTT her again! Nia POSTS Charlotte while the fans boo! Nia & Lash soak up the heat, but Giulia is back up! Kiana says hold on, hold on, they’re good. Giuila says she is NOT good, she wants after Nia! Miss Management has her client back off, if just for now. Will the Beautiful Madness make sure no one disrespects her and gets away with it?
Solo Sikoa speaks.
“Bo. You’re absolutely right. This is just more than a lantern. I can see the millions of fireflies across the world. They are now in my possession. Your legacy is in my hands. And if you want this lantern back, I suggest you put those tag team titles on the line. But that’s just the beginning. You see, my family is going to take back all the gold. But until then… I’m going to take real, real good care of this. And he is going to be with me when I take out Damian Priest and bring back the WWE Undisputed title to the family.” Solo then blows out the lantern, but will it be lights out for the Archer of Infamy? Or will Priest be the one headed to Saturday Night’s Main Event?
Cody Rhodes is here!
London sings along with Kingdom as The American Nightmare makes his entrance. There’s a bit more smoke than usual, but we still get “WHOA~ OH~!” and the pyro! Cody takes a moment to take in the crowd before he goes down the ramp and to the ring. Cody then stands on the corner for the second “WHOA~ OH~!” and pyro, but even that seems different without the Undisputed Championship on his arm or around his waist. Cody grabs the mic, the fans cheer, and Cody takes a moment to hear them singing, “Cody, Cody Rhodes~!” Cody then says, “Well, that sounds a bit different. That’s okay. That’s okay.
“Because if anything, I guess it was becoming a bit… episodic. I would come out here, I would tap my fist three times, we’d all say ‘Whoa,’ I’d walk to the ring, and I’d ask you, ‘Whaddya wanna talk about?'” The fans are a bit torn there, and Cody takes a moment. The fans now sing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” Cody says don’t worry, they will discuss the NEW WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. Cody never broke down why the name of his podcast is Whaddya Wanna Talk About. It was quite simple: He wasn’t just the company’s champion, he was the people’s champion. The fans are again torn, but Cody says he didn’t want the fans to be spectators, he wanted them to be teammates.
But perhaps Cody got comfortable with the episodic, with the predictable. He didn’t see all the eventualities, all the ways in which he could lose. Or, is Drew just that good? The fans agree there! Cody says he could ask himself that, or he could ask what HBK, Hogan, and Stone Cold have in common with Cody. Simple: they’re the only ones to go back-to-back in Royal Rumble wins. And only one of those names won it three times, that’s how a near impossible feat that is. And they all know Cody loves a gamble, he loves a long shot. Here in WWE, where we have the best men’s and women’s divisions, sometimes the best power you can have is self-belief.
So here and now, in a city that means a great deal to Cody, a city he wrestled in every weekend for WhatCulture Pro-Wrestling to sharpen his skills and became the American Nightmare, a city that DOES deserve a WrestleMania (the fans erupt for that!), let Cody make it official! Drew says there’s no rematch clause, good! They’ll do this the old fashioned way! Cody is officially declaring for the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble match!! The fans love that, too! “So, London, what DO you wanna talk about?! Let’s talk about Jacob Fatu!” The fans are torn on that name, and Cody says he met Fatu backstage at APW, you know he’s a thoroughbred!
Cody saw Fatu VS Solo Sikoa, and you could tell Fatu was on the come up. Fatu is a young veteran in their industry. But as such, Cody is aware and positive that Fatu knows what a receipt means! And Fatu has the largest receipt coming from Cody! Fatu is all gas, no brakes, come down here and collect. Or Cody can find Fatu first and beat the brakes off his ass! The fans are fired up with Cody, but is this gambler going to bust even before we reach the Royal Rumble? Or will a fight with Fatu be just the momentum Cody needs to have his threepeat?
Backstage interview with Matt Cardona.
Cathy Kelley is with The Complete, saying he is moments away from his match with Trick Williams to qualify for the #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way. What would it mean to not only come back to the WWE but to win that title? Cardona says the way Cody lost was a shame, and Cardona was really looking forward to facing his friend for that belt. But now that it’ll be Drew McIntyre. They go way back, too. Drew’s first WWE match was with Zack Ryder. And just like Cody and Drew, Cardona left WWE to find himself, and he’s back, But while Cody and Drew are each former world champions, Cardona is not. Yet.
Cardona isn’t back just to be back, he wants his time at the top. The journey, the ups and downs, the grind, it all led back here for Cardona to be Undisputed Champion! Cardona is #AlwayZReady, but will he be able to #WhoopDatTrick? Or will the former NXT & TNA World Champion soon be headed for another top title in his young career?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Trick Williams VS Matt Cardona!
SmackDown returns as Trick continues to vibe with London. Then the fans cheer as Cardona makes his entrance. The bell rings and the fans rally and duel already. The two circle, tie up, then break. Cardona smirks, Trick flexes, and the two go again. Trick waistlocks, spins Cardona, then pie faces Cardona! Trick talks trash, but Cardona RAMS him into a corner! Trick bobs ‘n’ weaves, then he pie faces again! Trick says he runs this house, dawg! But Cardona ROCKS Trick, ROCKS him again, then fires hands in the corner! The ref counts, Cardona backs off, but Trick KNEES low! Trick scoops and SLAMS, then snarls as he checks his chin.
Trick tells Cardona not to mess with him! Trick RUNS Cardona over! The fans are torn but Trick talks trash. Cardona rises up, he dodges the tackle, but Trick CLUBS the backdrop away. Trick pie faces, then runs, but Cardona DROPKICKS him! Then clinch and FLATLINER! Trick staggers up, Cardona LARIATS him up and out! The fans fire up with Cardona, and he builds speed to WRECK Trick with a dropkick! Cardona then aims from the apron, MISSILE DROPKICK to the floor! The fans rally up again and Cardona grits his teeth while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Cardona drags Trick up, puts him in the ring, but Trick bails back out. Cardona goes to the ropes, and he drags Trick up by his hair! But Trick trips Cardona up! Trick drags Cardona out to THROW him into barriers! Trick talks trash, then FLAPJACKS Cardona off the apron! Trick fires up, then he brings Cardona up to put him in the ring. Cardona goes to a corner, Trick storms up on him, and he ROCKS Cardona. The ref reprimands, but Trick CHOPS Cardona. Then ROCKS him again! Trick hears the fans cheer and jeer, and he talks some smack on them now. Trick UPPERCUTS Cardona and Cardona slumps against ropes.
Trick whips Cardona, FLAPJACKS again, then kips up! Trick says he runs this house, then he storms up on Cardona at the ropes. Trick CHOKES Cardona, the ref counts, but Trick stops at 4. Cardona coughs and goes to a corner, Trick digs his boots in, but the ref counts. Trick stops at 4, snarls, then he whips Cardona corner to corner! Then a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Trick keeps Cardona down with a chinlock, but the fans rally while Cardona endures. Cardona fights up, fires body shots and CHOPS, but Trick LEG LARIATS! Cover, TWO! Trick rains down forearms and Cardona can barely guard!
Trick drags Cardona back into the chinlock and he squeezes tight. The fans rally as Cardona endures again, and Cardona fights up. JAWBREAKAER! Trick rebounds, but Cardona dodges to then ROLLING ELBOW! Trick pushes Cardona back, Cardona avoids the sweep but not the EDDY GORDO KICK! Cardona wobbles, but he comes back to BOOT Trick! Trick comes back, but Cardona catches the leg lariat to SAIDO! Both men are down and the fans fire up! Trick crawls, Cardona rises, and the fans duel. Trick is in a corner, Cardona runs up, forearm SMASH! Cardona fires shots, soaks up cheers and jeers, then goes side to side for the BROSKI BOOT!
Cardona then ZIGZAGS! Shoutout to his pal, Nic Nemeth, then covers, TWO! Trick survives but Cardona underhooks him! Trick fights the lift, BACKDROPS, but Cardona sunset flips it to high stack! TWO!! Trick escapes, runs up, but the splash misses! Trick slumps down, Cardona goes for another, but Trick avoids the boot! Trick wags his finger, but then Cardona just WRECKS him with another dropkick! Cardona hurries to fetch Trick into the ring while the fans still duel. Trick runs back up, SLINGSHOTS Cardona into the ring, then TRICK KICK! Cover, TWO!! Cardona survives but Trick gets the arm.
The fans rally up, Trick cartwheels to RIPCORD, and BOOK- DDT!! Cardona turns things around, goes to the corner, and he runs up, ROUGH- NO, Trick pops free! Trick runs up, but into KNEES! Cardona goes up, lines up the shot, but Trick avoids another one! Both men run, and Trick POUNCES Cardona?! The fans fire up and Trick takes aim again! Cardona staggers up, TRICK SHOT!! Cover, Trick wins!
Winner: Trick Williams, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
A hard fought match for the first-time-ever, and Mr. Whoop Dat punches his ticket to Montreal! Will Trick soon win his first Saturday Night’s Main Event to- “Hey, Kit. Are you there?” The fans fire up for Mr. Masculinity Detox! Kit steps past Trick and Cardona, to then BLINDSIDE Cardona! The fans boo as Kit sends Cardona into the steel steps! Kit says, “TOXIC! TOXIC! TOXIC!” London goes back to cheering as the song continues, but will Kit make himself the topic no matter where he goes?
Backstage interview with Damian Priest.
Cathy Kelley is now with the Archer of Infamy, and brings up his chance at Drew McIntyre and the Undisputed Championship. But that means going through Solo Sikoa first. How do you prepare for such an opportunity? Priest says he could go on and on about Drew, there’s a lot of history there. He won’t get ahead of himself, tonight is about Solo. Facing Solo 1v1 isn’t an issue. But is it going to be 1v1? Priest doesn’t think so. But Priest will remind us that in London, he became Senor Money in the Bank. So tonight, Solo, MFT, if Priest has to do 1vALL again, he’ll do it. Priest has to get past this and get at Drew. So tonight, it’s whatever it takes.
Priest heads out, will he make sure no one stops him on his path back to the top? Or will Solo use The Outlaw as an example to all of the WWE Universe?
SmackDown returns and…
Kit is still in the ring with a mic,. “You all know that I’m right! You know there’s a problem! And I’m the solution. So I will say it again. I will let the whole world know. you all need reassurance, you all need leadership. you all need ME!” The fans cheer that, but then FATU slips in behind Kit! Kit says he is the tonic to the toxic masculinity, he is KIT! WIL-SON! But he turns around into a SUPERKICK! The Samoan Werewolf is raging, the fans are torn, but Fatu dares Cody and/or Drew to show up! SENTON on Kit, then a MIGHTIEST MOONSAULT EVER! Kit flounders away, the fans are still torn, but now Fatu grabs a mic.
“YADADA MEAN!?” The fans cheer that! Fatu tells Cody, “You got something to say about me?! You have something to say TO me? Well check this out! Bring your punk ass out here right now!” Fatu throws off his vest, and Cody makes his entrance again! Cody is in his tracksuit but that comes off pretty quick, too! The American Nightmare and Samoan Werewolf start throwing hands and the fans fire up! Cody hammers away in the corner, but Fatu RAMS him into another corner! Security rushes out here but fans boo! “LET THEM FIGHT! LET THEM FIGHT!” Aldis hurries out here, and he wants them both to stop!
The fans cheer as Cody breaks free! Cody CLOBBERS Fatu, everyone falls over, and SmackDown goes back to break! What must Aldis do to restore order?
BREAKING NEWS!
Now set for Saturday Night’s Main Event, it will be Cody Rhodes VS Jacob Fatu! Will Montreal survive the American Nightmare and Samoan Werewolf tearing it up?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Damian Priest VS Solo Sikoa w/ MFT!
The Archer of Infamy and the would-be Tribal Chief have said their piece, and now they must back those words up with actions. Will Priest defy the odds as Solo isn’t solo out here? Or will Solo, waving the Wyatt lantern as he walks out here, lead by example for his family?
The bell rings and Solo circles with Priest. They tie up, Solo headlocks, and Solo talks trash. Priest powers up and out, they RAM shoulders, and Priest rebounds to RAM Solo! Solo staggers, but he and Priest reset. They tie up, but Solo kicks low! And HEADBUTTS! Solo ROCKS Priest, whips him to ropes, but Priest reverses to BACK ELBOW! Priest mule kicks Solo, reels him in, but Solo fights the lift. Solo UPPERCUTS, but Priest SUPERKICKS! Solo tumbles out, MFT is there to check on him, but Priest pursues. The fans fire up as Priest runs up, but MFT stands in the way! The fans boo, the ref tells MFT tos tay back, and Priest goes back tot he apron.
Solo runs up,b ut Priest dodges! Solo still avoids the roundhouse and he BOOTS Priest down! The ref wants Solo to back off, but now MFT mugs Priest! The fans boo, JC Mateo pretends to be shocked, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Solo goes out to fetch Priest, SMACK him off the desk, and put him in the ring. Solo soaks up heat, HEADBUTTS Priest down, then HEADBUTTS him again and again! Solo stalks Priest to ropes, kicks him out, then pursues. MFT backs up so Solo can SMACK Priest off the desk again! Solo soaks up more heat, winds up, but Priest clinches! FLATLINER on the desk! The ring count is climbing but Priest puts Solo in at 5 of 10. Priest then winds up to UPPERCUT! Solo wobbles, Priest powers up the arm, and he runs to COME- NO, Solo ducks, shoves, and SAMOAN DROPS! Cover, TWO! Priest survives and Solo frowns.
Solo motions that he’s gonna be champion, and he rains down fists in the corner. The ref counts, Solo stops at 4, and he soaks up more heat. Solo runs corner to corner, HIP ATTACK! Priest sputters in the corner, Solo soaks up more heat, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Solo aims again, he runs back in, and HIP ATTACKS! Priest sputters again and the fans duel. Solo smirks as he goes corner to corner again, and mocks Jey Uso with the “Run it back” motion. Solo runs back in, but Priest is up! WHEEL KICK! Priest hits that just in time, and JC shields the imaginary eyes of the lantern from that collision.
Solo and Priest go back to corners while the fans rally up. Priest huffs ‘n’ puffs and fires up! Priest and Solo stare down, run up, and they RAM shoulders! Then they fire haymakers back and forth! The fans duel, Priest KICKS, Solo ROCKS, and the hands keep firing off! Solo gets the edge, but Priest avoids the last shot to BELL CLAP! Then he KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! ROLLING ELBOW! Priest then winds up again, but Solo HEADBUTTS! Priest ROUNDHOUSES! Solo rebounds to SUPERKICK! Priest staggers, but he SPIN KICKS! Solo stays up, Priest SPIN KICKS again! Solo rebounds, Priest ducks ‘n’ dodges, then LEAPING LARIATS!
The fans fire up with Priest while Solo goes to a corner. Priest runs up, BACK ELBOW! Priest keeps moving, but Solo fireman’s carries! Priest slips free, ELEVATED FLATLINER! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up, MFT coaches Solo, but Priest goes to the corner. Priest climbs up, but Solo distracts the ref. Talla reaches out to trip Priest up! The fans boo but the ref wonders what happened. The ref puts two and two together, and he EJECTS Talla! The fans cheer, Talla is mad, but Solo hurries up after Priest! Fireman’s carry, but Priest slips free! Priest has the crucifix! RAZOR’S EDGE on Solo! Cover, TWO!! Solo survives and MFT is relieved.
Priest sighs but he just brings down the straps. The fans fire up as Priest aims, but Tama Tonga distracts! The fans boo, but Loa gets on the apron! Priest runs Loa off, but Solo prepares his own right hand! Priest avoids the spike, COMEBACK- SPINNING SOLO!! Solo goes up the corner, FLYING SOLO!! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up as Priest survives, but Solo- OH NO! The Wyatts are here!! The lights go out, the fans go nuts, and when the lights are back, the Wyatts are BEHIND MFT! JC, Loa and Tama turn around, and then Howdy, Gacy & Lumis JUMP on them! The fans fire up as the factions fight all around ringside, Nikki Cross cheering her brothers on!
Things spill out into the crowd, Howdy RAMS JC into the post, then TOSSES JC into security staff! Howdy sees the lantern, but Solo CLOBBERS Howdy first! The fans boo, but Solo brings the lantern to the ring. The ref reprimands, Solo sets the lantern down, but Priest guzels! SOUTH OF HEAVEN!! Cover, Priest wins!!
Winner: Damian Priest, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
Solo’s obsession with tearing down the Wyatt legacy just cost him his own chance at glory! Saturday Night’s Main Event is now wepa, but will The Archer of Infamy hit the mark in Montreal? Meanwhile, Howdy laughs as he takes the lantern back. But TALLA is back! And he BOOTS Howdy down! The fans boo but Talla takes the lantern back for MFT. Will the Wyatts have no choice but to put those titles on the line in exchange?
Sami Zayn heads for gorilla.
And on the way, he crosses paths with Drew McIntyre. Drew tells Sami that he heard what Sami said last week. Sami hoped that Drew would win, but thought Cody would? Well, lucky Sami isn’t a betting man, or he’d lose big, as usual. Sami says he meant what he said, a part of him did want Drew to win, and that part of him is happy Drew did win. Because now, Sami is going to go to war with Ilja Dragunov, and win. Then next week, in Sami’s hometown of Montreal, Sami will become #1 contender. And then at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, they’ll see each other again.
Oh, really inspiring, Sami, but here’s the truth: Drew has beaten Sami ELEVEN times, Sami has beaten Drew ZERO times. And if Sami does happen to make it to the Rumble, absolutely nothing changes. Sami says, “We’ll see.” Sami continues on, will he be able to defeat the Mad Russian and head home to Montreal? Or will he fall short of his world championship dreams yet again?
WWE United States Championship Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes VS ???
Speaking of championship dreams, it is another opportunity for someone, anyone, to step up to H1M! Who will go for gold in London? We find out, after the break.
SmackDown returns, London cheers on “MEL~O! MEL~O!” But who is answering the call? It’s TNA X-Division Champion and the star of Bradford, England, LEON SLATER! The fans fire up for their guy, but will the Youngest In Charge soon be a double champion? The introductions are made, the US title is raised, and we see who hits the game winner!
The bell rings and the two run up! They tie up, go around, and Melo headlocks. Melo hits the headlock takeover, Leon headscissors, Melo kips free. Roles reverse as Leon hits the headlock takeover for Melo to headscissor. Leon kips free, Melo turns things back around with another headlock, but Leon powers up and puts Melo in the corner. The ref counts, Leon backs off, and the fans applaud as Leon whips. Melo reverses, Leon goes up and over, but Melo turns hip toss into hip toss and lateral press! TWO and Leon has the ghost pin! TWO, Leon stands, dodges Melo, but Melo blocks! Melo dodges, then hits the FADE AWAY JUMPER!
The fans fire up as Melo then brings Leon up. Melo CHOPS, ROCKS, and CHOPS again. Leon ROCKS Melo back! The fans rally up as Leon runs to CHOP Melo in the corner! Leon shakes out his hand, that’s how hard he hit Melo! But Melo kicks Leon, CHOPS again, and the fans fire up. Melo whips, Leon reverses, but Melo rolls off the back. But Melo’s leg jams! Leon hesitates, but Melo says bring it. Leon runs up, Melo dodges to waistlock, but Leon bucks the O’Conner! Melo blocks one kick, ducks the enzigiri, but that REWIND HEEL hits! The fans fire up, Leon whips but Melo reverses, only for Leon to handspring back elbow!
Melo bails out, Leon aims, PLANCHA! Down goes Melo and the fans fire up! Leon puts Melo in, he goes up the corner, and Melo hobbles up into the CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Melo is still in this, but the fans sing, “Leon Slater, DOO DOO DOODOO!” Leon is feeling it, Melo applauds, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Leon and Melo circle, though that bad leg is still a problem. Melo shakes it out, he and Leon go again, and Melo waistlocks. Leon switches, they go to the mat, and Leon body scissors for a GEDO CLUTCH! TWO, and Melo is up! Leon hurries after him, but Melo ELBOWS Leon away. Melo reels Leon in, suplexes, then floats to a cover, TWO! Melo takes his kneepad down to check his knee, and Leon crawls to ropes while the fans rally up. Melo stalks Leon, has him in a corner, and he climbs up. Melo rains down fists, gives a little forearm grind instead of the six-seven, then he snapmares Leon. But Leon’s right up to CHOP!
Melo flops to the apron, Leon brings him up, but Melo RAMS Leon! Melo hobbles but runs, only for Leon to blow past him! Melo hurdles, ducks, and then DROPKICKS! But even that wasn’t the best, and he shakes the leg out. Leon slowly rises, the fans rally more, and both men stand. Melo hobbles over to Leon, brings him up, and reels him in again. Leon fights the suplex, Melo still tries, but Leon pops free! Leon shoves and DROPKICKS Melo down! Cover, TWO! Melo is toughing it out but Leon still has the fans behind him. Leon stands Melo up, whips him to ropes, but Melo reveres. Leon handsprings, but Melo dodges!
Leon avoids the Jumper again, then he follows Melo! INVERTED SPANISH FLY! The fans fire up while both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as SmackDown returns to single picture and both men slowly rise. Melo is up first, he gets Leon to his feet, and he CHOPS! Leon snarls and he CHOPS again! Leon then brings Melo up, but Melo ROCKS Leon! Leon staggers, comes back, and he ROCKS Melo! Melo CHOPS, whips, but Leon reverses to BOOT! Melo is at the ropes, but he avoids the sweep! LA MYSTICA! And then the suplex, LAYUP CUTTER! Cover, TWO! Leon survives and the fans rally up while Melo grits his teeth.
Melo waits on Leon to rise up, then he storms up in the corner. Melo whips, Leon stops himself, and he stops the First 48! Melo fights the crab, reels Leon in, TWO! But then Leon LEG LARIATS Melo down! Cover, TWO! Melo survives the sudden turnaround but Leon stays cool. Leon drags Melo to a drop zone, goes up the corner, but Melo goes to the apron. Leon just adjusts, then leaps, but Melo dodges! Melo CHOPS Leon, but Leon fireman’s carries! Melo slips free, the leg jams, and Leon avoids the shoulder! GUILLOTINE LEG DROP in the ropes! Leon then goes back to the corner, springboards, but Melo slips around! Sunset flip, TWO!
Leon sits on the cover, TWO! Melo has it, TWO! Leon has it, TWO! ONE! ONE! And repeat! both men stand, the fans fi reup, and Leon SPIKE-RANAS! Cover, TWO!! Melo survives and the fans fire up again! Then Melo SUPERKICKS! Leon goes to the corner, Melo runs up, but Leon puts him on the apron. Melo’s leg jams again! Leon just builds speed corner to corner! Leon FLIES over the post!! Down goes Melo and the fans are thunderous! Leon puts Melo in fast, goes up the corner, and the fans are on his side! SWANTON- NO, Melo moves and Leon FLOPS! Melo hits the FIRST 48! Cover, TWO!! Leon survives and the fans fire up again!
Melo is frustrated, his leg is hurting, but he elbows Leon off him. “This is Awesome!” as Melo goes back up the corner. Leon hurries to anchor a foot, but Melo CLUBS away on Leon. Leon UPPERCUTS Melo, then climbs back up. Leon and Melo fight for control up there, and they’re on the very top! Melo hits a SUPER LAYUP CUTTER!! Cover, MELO WINS!
Winner: Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall (still WWE United States Championship)
A standing ovation as two young icons just put on an instant classic, and Melo gives respect to Leon. This was the first time they’ve fought, will there be many more in the years to come?
Shinsuke Nakamura watches this backsatge.
But then Tama Tonga calls him out. Tama says Nakamura is looking at the US title, but the next chance doesn’t belong to him. Nakamura took his shot, and he blew it. Once MFT takes the tag titles, that US Championship is Tama’s. Nakamura and Tama do go way back, so this is Nakamura’s one and only warning: Stay out of Tama’s way. Nakamura tells Tama in Japanese that he knows their history, but he warns Tama in return that he better be ready to fight for what he wants. Will the Good Bad Guy bring the US title to MFT? Or will the King of Strong Style get another chance?
Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae walk ‘n’ talk backstage.
Johnny Wrestling looks at the Axiom mask he stole and he still can’t believe “those dorks” fell for it last week. Who even wears turtlenecks? But Axiom steps in and says he’ll be the better man. He wants to save Gargano from a beating, so just hand the mask over. Oh, Gargano doesn’t have the mask. He hands it to Candice, she hurries off, and Axiom tells Gargano to grow up. Gargano says if Axiom will excuse them, they’re gonna do married people things. Laters. Wait, another Axiom? This one DECKS Gargano, and surprise! It was Frazer! Oh, another surprise is that Frazer talked with Aldis. Next week, it is Gargano VS Frazer, 1v1.
And after Frazer beats Gargano, his amigo will do the same and take that mask back. So enjoy it while you still can. Fraxiom high-fives and heads out, will they get their revenge on Gargano one way or another?
Jordynne Grace VS Chelsea Green w/ Alba Fyre!
The Juggernaut chose SmackDown because of all the names she’d love to beat down. She already handled “Slaygent A,” will she bring down The Hot Mess next? Or will even she have to pledge her allegiance to Chelsea Green?
SmackDown returns and Jade Cargill is ringside to watch this. The Storm has put Chelsea and Jordynne on notice, will her presence do that tonight? Jordynne makes her entrance now, and the bell rings. Chelsea runs up to tie up with Grace, but she SHOVES Cheslea away! Chelsea gets up to SLAP Grace, and SLAP and SLAP again! Grace just brushes those off, then SLAPS back! Chelsea wobbles, Grace whips her, and then SPINEBUSTER! Grace hauls Chelsea up, reels her in, and the fans rally as Grace claps using chelsea’s back. Grace hits a stalling suplex, then she SLAMS Chelsea down! The fans cheer, Grace covers, TWO!
Grace clamps onto Chelsea, fireman’s carries, but Chelsea slips free to RAM her into buckles! Chelsea salutes, BOOTS Grace into the corner, then Alba SUPERKICKS Grace behind the ref’s back! Chelsea runs, slides, and THROWS Grace down! Cover, ONE!! Chelsea is furious already, and she drags Grace up. Chelsea whips Grace to the corner, salutes again, and the fans are torn as she runs in. Grace slips around to RAM Chelsea into buckles! ANd again, and again! Backslide, roll through, and short arm LARIAT! Short arm LARIAT! And- NO, Chelsea slips aroudn to waistlock. Grace ELBOWS free, then she ROCKS Cheslea!
Grace ELBOWS, LARIATS, then roars! the fans fire up and Grace runs in, but she blocks a boto firsT! Then a wrench and MUFFLER PLEX! Grace shouts fo rChelsea to ger up. Chelase stands, Grace fireman’s carries, DIRECT EFFECT! Jackknife bridge, Grace wins!
Winner: Jordynne Grace, by pinfall
A new move for her new win streak, but Jade just golf claps Grace’s win. Grace grabs a mic, and she says, “Hey, champ. I’m glad that you came out here tonight to watch me. It’s extremely important that you know exactlly waht’s coming fo ryou.” The fans are torn, but Grace says if watching was just enough, that’s fine. But if Jade’s tired of babysitting that title, then step into the ring right here, right now! The fans fire up as Jade stands up! Jade goes to the ring and says Grace msut be stupid. But then Chelsea runs up! Grace dodges, Cheslea BLASTS Jade!! Chelsea is shocked, but also dazed, and Grace picks up the belt.
Grace smiles as she holds up THE WWE Women’s Championship, before she throws it back to Jade. Jade says, “Bet!” When and where will these forces of nature battle it out?
Backstage interview with Trick Williams.
Cathy congratulates him on his win tonight, and says he didn’t just ease his way onto SmackDown, he jumped into the deep end. What does this mean to him that he is headed to Saturday Night’s Main Event for a #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way? Trick says let this be a warning: he is putting all of SmackDown on notice! All you bums, bobbleheads and bootlickers, know that Trick is that dawg! Trick looks like money, he feels like money, because Trick IS money. And he wants a special shoutout to Randy Orton and Damian Priest! Congrats, you have a match with the future of this business, let’s talk about it! And hold on. He might be Whoop Dat Trick, but on Saturday, he whoops dat ass.
Cathy says yes, she was going to add- Oh, Priest steps in. Trick is the guy who does a lot of talking. Priest doesn’t. You already know what’s up on SNME. But Trick’s free on Friday, right? So is Priest. And Priest is ready to whoop dat Trick. Priest heads out, will he have quite the appetizer with Trick when SmackDown arrives in Montreal?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Sami Zayn VS Ilja Dragunov!
We saw these two battle over the United States Championship, and #BigMatchSami lost the title to the returning Mad Russian Dragon. But now, they fight for a much bigger prize on this Road to WrestleMania! Will Sami make up for that loss and join that Fatal 4 Way? Or will Ilja continue to rise up the ranks and be one match away from taking over the world?
SmackDown returns as Sami makes his entrance. The fans sing along with the song and Sami high-fives the front row along the ramp. The bell rings and the fans fire up as Sami and Ilja stare down. They step up, and they start firing forearms! The fans rally up as the shots go back and forth, faster and faster! Sami fires a flurry, but then Ilja CHOPS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! Then SPIN CHOP! CHOP to the leg! BOOT! Ilja runs, but into a LARIAT! The fans fire up while Ilja goes to ropes and Sami catches his breath. Sami storms up on Ilja to CHOP! Ilja just eggs him on! Sami CHOPS, fire more forearms, then stops as the ref counts.
Ilja KNEES low, fires more forearms, then whips. Sami reverses, Ilja reverses back, but Sami goes up and over! Sami runs up, Ilja BOOTS him, then JUMP KICKS! The fans fire up with Ilja, and he stands Sami up to bump him off buckles. Ilja CHOPS, then runs corner to corner. Ilja KNEES low, keeps moving, and he BOOT WASHES! Ilja snapmares Sami down, then hops up, KING KONG KNEE DROP! The fans fire up and Ilja goes up again! KING KONIG- NO, Sami dodges! Sami then kicks Iljia and suplexes, BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Another cover, TWO! A third cover, TWO! Ilja is still fighting and the fans rally back up.
Sami stands Ilja up to CHOP! Ilja goes to a corner, Sami ROCKS him, and the fans cheer. Sami ROCKS Ilja again, has him in a corner, and CHOPS! Sami reels Ilja in, whips him to ropes, but Ilja KNEES Sami! Then GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja holds on and he talks some smack while the fans rally. Sami stands, switches, and he GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja headlocks in return as Sami stands him back up. Ilja then pries the waistlock open, switches, but Sami switches. They switch and switch and switch, then Ilja SNAP GERMANS! The fans cheer, Ilja goes back to the corner, and Ilja rises up, only for Sami to CHOP!
The fans cheer and sing for “Sami, Sami Zayn~!” but Ilja fires body shots. Sami CLUBS Ilja again and again, then goes up to the very top! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Both men are down and the fans cheer again while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Sami and Ilja both stir, and Sami crawls over to Ilja. Sami brings Ilja up with a facelock, but Ilja wrenches out to waistlock. Sami fights the lift, but Ilja CLUBS him and HAMMERS him, then pump handles for an EXPLODER! Cover, TWO! Sami survives, but Ilja SLIDING FOREARMS in the back! Ilja ELBOWS and CLUBS Sami again and again, then stalks him to ropes. The fans rally up, and Ilja stomps Sami at the ropes. The ref counts, Ilja BOOTS Sami, then SLAPS him! Sami sputters, but he comes back to SLAP Ilja! Ilja and Sami make it a SLAP fight, then Sami fires haymakers! DDT! Cover, TWO! Ilja stays in this, but Sami stays cool.
Sami checks his teeth, they’re all there. Sami stands, Ilja crawls to ropes, but it’s Ilja who eggs Sami on! Sami stomps a mudhole into Ilja at the ropes! The ref counts, Sami stops at 4, but the fans rally up again. Sami huffs ‘n’ puffs and brings Ilja around. Sami goes for the corner but Ilja wants the leg! Ilja eggs Sami on, Sami HAMMERS Ilja down! Sami busts Ilja’s eyebrow open! Ilja sputters, Sami goes to the apron, and the fans rally up again. SmackDown returns to single picture as Sami rises, but Ilja SLAPS him! Ilja SLAPS again, climbs up, and he fires up again! The fans are with Ilja on that, but Sami gets some shots to the chin!
Sami CLUBS Ilja, then adjusts position, SUPER SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Ilja survives and the fans fire up again! Sami is beside himself, but he hurries to get after Ilja at the ropes. Sami drags Ilja up, around, but Ilja stops the Blue Thunder with elbows! Ilja runs, but Sami reels him back in! Ilja slips free, ducks ‘n’ dodges, CONSTANTINE SPECIAL! The fans fire up while both men flounder! Ilja goes to a corner, goes up top, and he aims to go COAST2COAST! Sami falls, Ilja covers, TWO!! Sami survives and now Ilja is stunned! The fans rally again while Sami is down. Ilja winds up, H-BOMB- BOOT!!
The fans fire up as Sami counters the falling forearm! Both men stagger to their feet, then Sami clinches! But Ilja fights off the exploder! Sami ROCKS Ilja, Ilja springs up to ENZIGIRI! Ilja has Sami in the corner, he runs corner to corner and LARIATS! Ilja runs corne rto ocrner again, another LARIAT! Ilja goes for a third, but he ducks Sami’s Helluva Kick! Ilja knew that trick and Sami crashes into buckle! They both go to the apron, and Ilja fireman’s carries. Sami fights free, HEADBUTTS Ilja, and Ilja staggers back. But then TORPEDO MOSCOW!! Both men fall to the floor! The fans rally while the ring count climbs!
Ilja rises at 5 of 10, rolls in at 7, and Sami sputters at 8. Sami rises at 9, and leaps in at 9.99! But Ilja is on him! POWERBOMB! Ilja goes up, up, and SUPER SENTONS but onto KNEES! Not the cleanest counter, but Sami clinches Ilja! BUCKLE EXPLODER! The fans fire up with Sami, he runs corner to corner, HELLUVA KICK!! Cover, Sami wins!!
Winner: Sami Zayn, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
And with that, our #1 contender’s Fatal 4 is set! Orton, Trick, Priest, and Sami! But then Trick CLOBBERS Sami from behind! The fans boo but Trick lets his hair down and goes wild! Trick aims again, TRICK SHOT!! Sami is down, Trick stands over him, and he soaks up all that heat. But will Trick be able to whoop three decorated superstars at once? Or will Sami’s journey to the top finally be fulfilled in Montreal?
My Thoughts:
A great episode for SmackDown, a lot of action that also helped in the various story builds. Drew McIntyre had a great opening promo, but they also segued really well into Orton VS Miz as the opener. We also got a very good promo from Cody, and of course he wants to threepeat at the Royal Rumble. It was wild for Kit Wilson to go after Matt Cardona to give Fatu an opening to attack and then call out Cody in return. Very good brawl from Fatu and Cody, and Cody VS Fatu for Saturday Night’s Main Event is going to be great. If Drew didn’t do the attack, will Cody win against Fatu and reveal it was him all along?
Good promo from Charlexa with Nia & Lash, and then a very good tag match. Good win for Charlexa, but at least Giulia and Kiana got a bit better of a showing. But of course Lash & Nia attacked after, and now all three teams have beef. With Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez as contenders from Raw, we’ll definitely get separate contenders for SmackDown now to parallel. Then it’ll be about Rhea & Iyo trying to survive both challenges, perhaps to build up the go-home week to Royal Rumble. If Liv & Roxie actually win, then the SmackDown team stands no chance, no matter who it is, because Liv & Roxie wouldn’t be transitional champions.
Very good stuff from Grace, Chelsea, and Jade, and I wonder if they’d give us a Triple Threat of Jade VS Grace VS Chelsea. Chelsea would definitely be the one to take the loss to keep both Jade and Grace strong, regardless of who wins. But at the same time, we’d still need a proper 1v1 of Jade VS Grace for the title to settle the feud. Good promo with Fraxiom getting payback on Gargano and setting up Frazer VS Gargano and Axiom VS Gargano. Absolutely awesome US Championship from Melo VS Leon, I did not think they’d go that hard, but it was greatly appreciated. Melo selling bad leg is definitely foreshadowing how he eventually loses that title, though it might not be for some time.
And of course, great stuff in all four SNME qualifier matches, even with all the results being how I expected. As I said last week, a shame that Cardona had to lose here, but Trick is getting on a roll already. Orton VS Miz was a great opening, and Sami VS Ilja was an awesome main event. Trick going after Sami kinda foreshadows Sami winning out in the end, as Sami VS Drew is definitely a great choice for the Royal Rumble, too. It really is a story of “Something’s gotta give.” Drew pointed out the 11-0 record between him and Sami, but Drew has/wants to make it through his first title defense, it could come down to Drew using shenanigans like he did to dethrone Cody.
My Score: 8.9/10
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Coverage
Andrew’s TNA iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 1.15.26
TNA had some time to cook up their big debut. Did they burn it, or make a succulent feast?
AMC era has begun! Granted it’s not without a big loss, being The Rascalz seem to be headed to AEW. Which honestly I’m conflicted. If it was their decision because the money was astronomical, then I can’t fault TNA for not being able to compete with the TK Bank Account. But if TNA didn’t even try and let them walk for money that could’ve been negotiated…then TNA fumbled harder than CJ Stroud. Jake Something is a non-factor, but The Rascalz could be a big mistake.
WOAH! @AJStylesOrg and @FrankieKazarian come face to face on #TNAiMPACT on @AMC_TV! pic.twitter.com/CSh7IpV5ex
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 16, 2026
Ratings:
- Elijah & The Hardyz vs Order 4: Jeff wins via Swanton Bomb – *
- TNA Knockouts Tag Titles: The IInspiration (c) vs The Elegance Brand: Maggie wins via pinfall – (-) *** – TITLE CHANGE!!!
- TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs Mike Santana: Santana wins via Spin the Block – *** 3/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!!
Results:
AJ Styles comes out to kick off TNA episodes on a new network. He walks out to the WWE theme, makes a quick hype promo, doesn’t interact with anyone aside from the crowd. Definitely feels like more could’ve been done with AJ, but it was nice to see him.
Elijah & The Hardyz vs Order 4
The Hardyz come out with some guitar guy, Justin Lyonz or something…BDE and another streamer buddy? Definitely already feels overbooked just on the intro.
Order 4 tries to start fast but things back fire quickly and…this is starting off like an old episode of like WCW Thunder. Just messy overbooked intros, hot start into a commercial. 13 minutes in and it’s not a good start. Coming back from the commercial, Ali had the advantage but then Jeff Hardy is turning it around, all the apron dwellers are down. Ali tries the Rolling Neckbreaker, Jeff catches him with a Twist of Fate. Tasha tries to get in the way, Ali gets shoved into her, Matt hits the Twist of Tasha draped over Ali…shmoz spot. The Great Hands actually turn things around after the pinfall break, but Elijah stops them with some Mule Kick action, into a Twist from Matt and Swanton from Jeff. I think we saw maybe 3 minutes of this and it was all just cliche chaos crap.
Loser Agent Zero attacks after the fact…even though Elijah laid him out last week and the luster is off of Zero. He’s a joke. The Righteous come out to make a…Save? Dutch hits Death Walks on Matt and Vincent pulls out…a pad lock or something and then chains Jeff to the post via his eat gauge. This is…an embarrassing mess of crap just happening. If this is anyone’s first episode, I apologize for the Crash TV whiplash effect of this so far.
20 minutes of worthless D List Star spotting that leads to a comedy spot with Ryan Nemeth (which is fine, I love Ryan) but then it goes into Santino finding a new General Manager type because he’s been compromised. And it’s…Sonya Deville with Daria Rae as her new gimmick name. She comes out as the heel “management” type who wants to get rid of Santino. And…she apparently signed Elayna Black. Yikes, back to back no one cares reveals. Sonya Deville and Cora Jade. Cora’s hot, but wrestling competence…ya that’s non-existent.
I can almost tolerate Sonya since she’s supposed to come out and be a heel immediately, so the lack of current love, buzz and pop, is fine. But bringing Cora Jade along like she’s anything more than eye candy is…pathetic. It has been 30 minutes since the last actual wrestling match happened.
WHY DO WE GO INTO ANOTHER GOOFBALL TALK SEGMENT?!?!? The Elegance Brand, with Perez Hilton…has he even been relevant since like 2008? What is this? I get that it’s a dumb shtick before the match but STOP TALKING. This…Mr Elegance thing is complete garbage.
TNA Knockouts Tag Titles: The IInspiration (c) vs The Elegance Brand
The IInspiration comes down to stop the awful segment and as soon as things start we cut to commercial again. WHY. M has control cause of course the heels are in control until Cassie gets the knees up and M crashes and burns on the Moonsault. Jessie hot tag, lays out both Elegance members. She dispatches of M, Armbar Suplex on Heather but the Concierge pulls out Jessie. Jessie blocks the numbers game but eats combination kicks from Heather. They go for their Bow and Arrow, Stomp combo but Cassie shoves off Heather, IInspiration double teams M, Mr Elegance hops on the apron and gets slapped.
This is a sloppy mess of over booked gimmicked garbage. Idolizer on Maggie but interference for days and Maggie gets the pin and the…I don’t care. Get rid of these titles. I love Maggie, but this is pathetic and the fact we need NXT tag teams to flesh out a contender bracket is sad. What the actual FUCK is this episode? This feels like a fever dream.
TNA International Champion @Stacks_WWE and @AriannaGraceWWE take plenty of shots at @milanmiracle ahead of #TNAGenesis! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/9V2wMk3zlk
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 16, 2026
Jesus, okay the Visa issue is legit because I know there’s problems in e-sports and other professional mediums. But now Lei Ying Lee comes out because her title match becomes an Open Challenge because Dani can’t compete at Genesis. ZaRuca comes out, and I don’t care who challenge Lei, but I swear if TNA makes Lei drop the title to an NXT wrestler again. Sol actually says Zaria deserves the shot, which surprises Zaria…kind of a nice moment. But still…I swear, no more NXT wrestlers taking TNA gold.
Christ on a crutch, another talking segment. The System has to say stuff because Dango is retiring on Saturday, but come the hell on. So far there have been 2 matches, we saw 3 minutes of the first one, some people missed the entire second match because AMC ran back to back commercial breaks. But even seeing it, there’s was about 4 minutes of interference in that match. 90 minutes so far, and there’s been 7 minutes of visible wrestling. They’ve done garbage shows like this before, but I was hoping they would know better than to give us some gum flapping imbecile show. But NOOO.
TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs Mike Santana
Collar and Elbow tie up, Kaz tries the early Chicken Wing, but Santana fights it off and tries to catch him with a Spin the Block, but easily dodged and we reset. Santana hits the Shoulder Tackle and the crowd pops probably because it’s actually wrestling for what feels like the first time all night. Frankensteiner sends Frankie to the floor, Escalera Plancha from Santana keeps Kaz on the receiving end. Santana launches off the steps but misses and Kaz connects with a Belly to Belly.
Back from yet another terribly timed commercial, we see Kaz get shoved off the ropes, Santana tries the Rolling Buck Fifty, but Kaz connects with a Backstabber. He then decides to talk smack to Santana and big brother him. Santana absorbs Kaz’s shots, fires and then throws his own haymakers. Santana going a little Sting with a big Woo, catches Kaz’s foot and then Gamengiri. Kaz cuts him off, Santana cuts off Kaz, Rolling Buck Fifty out of the up and over, but only a 2 count.
Kaz claws the eyes, shoves Santana away, but Santana climbs the buckles again, Spanish Fly, no sell, into a struggle for signature moves when Santana snaps off a Code Red for another near fall. Santana takes too long to go for the Cannonball, knees up, Kaz hits the Angel’s Wings for two. Chicken Wing attempt two, but Santana rolls over into the pinfall, Kaz kicks out. A little cat and mouse on the Guillotine, but Slingshot Cutter into the Springboard Guillotine Leg Drop for two again!
Frankie tries to bring in the belt, it gets taken away, finisher counters, Fighting Spirit, Spin the Block misses, Kaz goes for a Shotgun Kick but ref bump. Santana hits the Spin the Block but the ref is dead. Kaz looks for the discarded belt, clocks Santana with it while the referee is still dead. Kaz aims for Fade to Black on the apron and connects! Throws Santana back into the ring, cover, Santana kicks out at two and fires! Kaz with the Canadian Destroyer but Santana no sells, Spin the Block! 1-2-2.999. Kaz kicked out of it. Kaz dodges the next STB, tries one of his own, but then Santana connects with another!
Overall Score: 2.5/10
This was an awful trainwreck of a fever dream. The Main Event was the only thing worth watching, and if you’re not a TNA fan, I wouldn’t expect people to have stuck around that long. The Main Event is 2 of the 2.5 points, the only other slightly decent part was utilizing Sonya Deville’s relative lack of interest and expected lack of pop, to just make her a heel out of the gates.
Everything else about this show was complete unadulterated dogshit. Mr Elegance talks like young Chris Jericho, Ryan Nemeth and Peter Brady did a failed fusion dance. The concept was cringe the execution is worse. The constant commercials at the start of matches and coming back for 2-3 minutes of trash is a 90s formula that doesn’t work nowadays. 80% of this show was useless talking, highlight segments of the history of TNA and running around to fix Genesis matches because all the UK wrestlers can’t make the show.
This was pathetic. If this was people’s first time watching TNA, it probably will be their last. This show made WCW Thunder look competent. I yearn for the days of Disco Inferno vs Lodi. Van Hammer vs Mike Awesome during his fat chick thriller era, would be better writing and television than whatever this was.
About Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)
TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5
Classic POD is WAR
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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