Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (1/3/23)
NXT enters the New Year!
The countdown is on!
Ahead of New Year’s Evil, Grayson Waller and Bron Breakker sign on the dotted line for their NXT Championship match, on Waller’s talk show!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Apollo Crews VS Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams; Melo wins.
- Trick Williams w/ Carmelo Hayes VS Axiom; Axiom wins.
- DIJAK VS Channing Lorenzo w/ Tony D’Angelo; Dijak wins.
- Extreme Resolutions: Alba Fyre VS Isla Dawn; Fyre wins.
- Oro Mensah VS Javier Bernal; Oro wins.
- Andre Chase w/ Chase U VS Drew Gulak w/ Hank Walker; Gulak wins.
- Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Joe Gacy w/ The Schism; Kofi wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Apollo Crews VS Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams!
While neither man is champion leaving 2022, both men still have all of 2023 ahead of them! But will Apollo make the future he sees a reality? Or will Melo prove that he is that man?
The bell rings and the two circle. Fans rally and duel, the two tie up, and Apollo headlocks. Melo powers out but Apollo runs him over! And then runs him over again! Things keep moving, Apollo handsprings over Melo’s dropdown! Then he hurdles, drops, and dropkicks! Fans are torn but Trick coaches Melo up. Apollo brings Melo up into a headlock but Melo powers out. Apollo reverses the whip, Melo ducks to SPRINGBOARD LARIAT! Fans rally, Apollo staggers, and Mello runs in, but he blocks boots! Melo puts Apollo in the ropes to ENZIGURI, then FADE AWAY! Trick dribbles while Melo covers, TWO!
Melo keeps focus and he brings Apollo up. Melo CHOPS and shoots his free throw. Seems he made his shot, then he ROCKS Apollo in the corner! And CHOPS him! Apollo CHOPS back! And CHOPS again! And CHOPS again! Melo mule kicks, reels Apollo in, but Apollo suplexes first! Apollo holds Melo up for TEN before the SLAM! Apollo goes out, slingshots in and SENTONS! Fans rally, Apollo runs in at the corner to SPLASH! Apollo whips Melo, scoops and hits a BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Apollo keeps cool while Melo crawls to ropes. Apollo is on Melo, CHOPS him again, then has Melo in a corner.
Melo headlocks, the ref counts, Melo lets off to ROCK Apollo with a sucker punch! Melo CLUBS Apollo down, brings him up and back suplexes. Apollo lands out of it, waistlocks and hits a GERMAN SUPLEX! Apollo holds on for another GERMAN SUPLEX! Melo fights the third, slips his arms in and snapmares free, but Apollo clinches! OVERHEAD Belly2Belly! Fans fire up, Apollo clotheslines Melo up and out of the ring! Then Apollo goes to the apron to ASAI MOONSAULT! Fans fire up as Melo goes down, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Apollo waits for Melo in the ring while Trick coaches Melo up. Apollo goes out after Melo, stares Trick down, and he bumps Melo off the apron. Apollo CHOPS Melo against the apron, but Melo fires back! They brawl, Apollo throws Melo into the ring, and Apollo drags Melo back up. Apollo ROCKS Melo, throws body shots, and snapmares. Apollo runs to hit a BIG elbow drop! Cover, TWO! Apollo clams onto a chinlock and he grinds Melo down. Melo endures, fights up, and claws at Apollo. Melo fights up to his feet, pries the hold open, but Apollo hits a headlock takeover! Apollo grinds Melo down but Melo fights around.
Melo headscissors and now he has Apollo down. Melo CLUBS Apollo in the chest, pulls on an arm, but Apollo endures. Apollo pries at the armlock, moves around and pops out of the headscissors to get the headlock back! Melo endures all over again, fights up to his feet, and he throws body shots. Apollo CLUBS Melo down, then stands him up to clinch into a bearhug! Melo endures as Apollo thrashes him around! Melo huffs and puffs and pushes Apollo but Apollo just wraps on tighter. Melo throws elbows, Apollo puts on the squeeze, and NXT returns to single picture. Fans rally and duel as Melo wraps on a facelock to fight back.
Apollo powers Melo to the corner, the ref counts, and both men let off. Melo pie faces Apollo! Apollo rushes in but Melo puts him on the apron! Trick takes a swipe but Apollo avoids it! Apollo boots at Melo but Melo blocks! Melo BOOTS the other leg! Apollo falls to the floor while Melo dribbles the ball. Melo goes out after Apollo, drags him up, and he RAMS Apollo into the steel steps! Apollo hobbles, Melo puts him in the ring and covers, ONE!! Melo is annoyed but he has Apollo on the ropes. Melo RAMS Apollo into the corner, wraps the bad leg around ropes and pulls! The ref counts, Melo lets off at 4, then he kicks the bad leg!
The ref counts as Melo stomps a mudhole in, but Melo lets off at 4 again. Melo says he is him, and he drags Apollo up. Melo whips but Apollo reverses. Melo is in the corner, but he dropkicks Apollo’s leg out! Melo brings Apollo up, reel shim in, POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO! But into the HALF CRAB! Melo pulls on the bad leg and fans duel as Apollo endures! Apollo powers up and Melo can’t believe it! Melo hurries to sit deep on the hold! Apollo still endures, but he still powers his way and turns over to throw Melo! Melo holds on but Apollo BOOTS him away! Fans fire up as both men rise, and Melo hurries after the bad leg! Apollo ENZIGURIS Melo down!
Both men are down and fans duel again. Melo sits up in a daze and shakes out the cobwebs. Apollo gets to ropes and drags himself up. Melo swings but Apollo counter punches! Apollo LARIATS, ELBOWS, and ROCKS Apollo to LARIAT again! Melo staggers around, Apollo whips him to ropes. Melo rolls off the back but Apollo avoids the kick to BACKSTABBER! Apollo whips again, LEAPING LARIAT! Fans fire up as Melo goes to a corner. Apollo gets the bad leg working, and he storms up on Melo. Apollo blocks a boot to GAMANGIRI! Melo flops to the apron, Apollo goes up the corner! Melo anchors a leg but Apollo deadlift SUPERPLEXES!!
Fans are thunderous and Apollo crawls to a cover, TWO! Melo is still in this and Trick is relieved. “This is Awesome!” and it’s just the first match of the night! Apollo hauls Melo up, OLYMPI- ARM-DRAG! BOOT! Apollo roars! And then BOOTS Melo! Apollo reels Melo in, but Melo suplexes for the CUTTER! Melo hurries to the corner and climbs up! Apollo stands, and avoids Melo’s Three Pointer! Apollo BOOTS Melo, goes up, and BLOCKBUSTER DDTS!! Cover, TWO!?! Melo survives but Apollo is too tired to be upset! Fans cheer “NXT! NXT!” for giving them this opener! Melo goes to a corner, Trick is on the apron! He pulls Melo to safety!
Apollo CLOBBERS Trick! And JUMP KNEES Melo!! GERMAN SUPLEX! Melo is right up, but into the trophy lift! DROP and STANDING- NO! Melo avoids the moonsault! CODE BREAKER!! Melo hurries up top, NOTHING BUT NET!! Cover, Melo wins!!
Winner: Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall
Trick with the assist again, he’s the real MVP! But either way, Melo gets another big win to continue things from 2022! But AXIOM DOUBLE CROSSBODIES Trick Melo Gang! He is going to face Trick up next, so he aims again, ARIHARA MOONSAULT to the outside!! Axiom puts Trick in the ring, will Trick have to win the second half on his own? We find out, after the break!
Trick Williams w/ Carmelo Hayes VS Axiom!
NXT returns with this match underway, and Axiom fights up out of an armlock chinbar combo. Trick wrangles him back down and keeps on that double hold. Fans rally while Axiom endures, and Axiom claws at the chinbar. Axion fights back up to his feet, pries free and ROCKS Trick! And CHOPS! Trick ROCKS Axiom back! Trick CHOPS Axiom in the corner! Fans “WOO~!” and Trick says he’s gonna do that one more time. Trick puts some stank on it, but Axiom dodges! Axiom CHOPS back! Trick staggers away, Axiom swings, but Trick uses the ropes as defense. The ref backs Axiom down, and Trick then BOOTS Axiom, and LEAPING LARIATS!
Trick whips Axiom to ropes, but Axiom flapjack DROPKICKS! Both men are down and Melo coaches Trick. Fans rally, both men stand, Axiom ROCKS and CHOPS and ROCKS! Axiom whips, and DROPKICKS Trick again! Fans fire up and Axiom runs in to GAMANGIRI Trick! Trick flounders, Axiom goes to the apron and climbs up. Axiom CROSSBODIES! Cover, TWO! ARMBAR! Axiom has the arm but Trick clasps hands! Trick kicks around, fights his way over, but Axiom pulls the arm back! Trick’s leg gets the ROPEBREAK! Axiom lets off quickly, and he avoids a leg sweep, but not the EDDY GORDO! SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO!!
Trick is shocked, and even Melo can’t believe it! Trick goes to a corner, he runs in, but spins into a HAYMAKER! Axiom aims now, for the GOLDEN RATIO!! Cover, Axiom wins!
Winner: Axiom, by pinfall
The Undeniable Truth gets payback, but Trick anchors his feet for Melo to CLOBBER him! Melo and Trick mug Axiom! But here comes Apollo! Apollo is still hurting, but he isn’t going to let Trick Melo Gang do what they want anymore! Will Apollo’s vision and Axiom’s mind come up with a way to shut down Melo and his main man in the New Year?
The New Day gives Pretty Deadly another shopping list.
Xavier Woods tells Kit Wilson & Elton Prince that the New Day needs Big Boss Man’s nightstick, AND The Rock’s eyebrow. The whole eyebrow. Pretty Deadly heads off, but The Schism barges in. Rip Fowler tells Woods & Kofi that they’ve talked to every tag team except The Schism, and they were wondering why. But now The Schism understands, looking in their eyes. The New Day knows The Schism is the biggest threat to the tag title reign! Uh, no. The New Day doesn’t talk to y’all cuz you look like extras from Texas Chainsaw Massacre. #NoCap. In fact, the New Day thought Rip & Reed would need a permission slip signed by daddy Gacy first! Chain of command and all that.
Joe Gacy tells “Mr. Kingston” that there is no chain of command. They are four roots, one tree. And from time to time, they look to Gacy for guidance, the same as how Big E & Woods leaned on Kofi for years. Whoa, okay, hold on. They lean on each other. E is here in spirit, too. They’re one pair of hips, five cheeks. Wait… Gacy says that sadly, Kofi thinks he knows family. But what he sees here is a real family. Oh, wow~! And here the New Day thought there was gonna be a problem with Rip & Jagger. But lo and behold, the problem is with Gacy. Kofi and Gacy can solve that problem, in the ring.
Gacy says knocking off a former WWE World Champion and perhaps the greatest WWE Tag Team Champion of all time will only make The Schism stronger. Guess that’s a yes. Will The Schism learn why everyone loves Kofimania?
NXT has footage of last Wednesday morning.
It was 2 AM, and Channing Lorenzo woke up cuffed to a chair in a room. Dijak walked over and put a cassette in the recorder. “Lorenzo, I know you’re probably starting to really regret the way you walked into my locker room and talked to me.” Stacks says he does what ever The Don needs him to do. Well, that’s great. But loyalty has consequences, and disrespecting Dijak will never go unpunished. Tony D’Angelo and Stacks have their way of doing things, but so does Dijak. Tony says he’s The Don of NXT? When it comes to fear, you’re looking at the face of fear! Dijak then punches Stacks right in the stomach!
Dijak takes off his sunglasses to look Stacks in the eyes. Stacks says Dijak should man up, uncuff him, and settle this in the ring. Dijak plans on it. This is just the beginning. Recording session over, and Dijak drops the key on the table. Will Stacks feel #HardJustice be served tonight in the ring?
Andre Chase finds his students at Drew Gulak’s class!
Gulak is showing them the proper collar ‘n’ elbow tie-up, and how to transition to a headlock takeover. Chase wonders WTF is this. Duke Hudson says they were all just getting in some extra ring time while Chase was grading papers. Gulak didn’t mean to encroach on anyone’s territory, but he is an equal opportunity teacher. Chase says he understands. Seeing as how Charlie Dempsey is not medically cleared, his match with Hank Walker is off. Gulak doesn’t buy that, and Chase says neither does he. But either way, Gulak can’t be putting Chase’s students in the ring without permission.
Well, maybe Gulak was just trying to figure out what Dempsey meant when he said Chase U was soft. Oh, okay. And Gulak’s assessment is…? Mixed results. Chase gets fired up but Thea Hail stops him, and Duke steps up! On behalf of Chase U, he takes exception! Hank steps up to say that Gulak didn’t mean any offense. It was just what he believes. Chase says he’ll give Hank something to believe, “you [censored]!” Nobody who wears Chase U red ‘n’ black is soft! Chase is shutting this down, and taking his students back. Duke supports that and they exit. Is this the beginning of a school rivalry?
DIJAK VS Channing Lorenzo w/ Tony D’Angelo!
The Don is with Stacks, and they’re both heated over what Dijak did. But will they both get a taste of #HardJustice? Or will Stacks make Dijak #fogedaboutit?
The bell rings and Stacks ROCKS Dijak with big haymakers! Stacks then ducks a shot to knee low and fire off more hands! Dijak pushes Stacks away, but Stacks blocks the boot! Stacks avoids haymakers to wrench and knee away on Dijak’s face! But Dijak choke grips in return! Stacks kicks free, but Dijak mule kicks him down! Dijak whips Stacks to ropes then kitchen sink knees! Cover, TWO! Dijak rains down fists on Stacks and Tony wants Stacks to get outta there! Cover, TWO! Dijak hammerlocks Stacks and HAMMERS away on that arm! Cover, TWO! Dijak smirks, he seems to enjoy Stacks’ toughness.
Dijak anchors Stacks’ leg as fans rally. Stacks kicks away with the free leg but Dijak stomps him down! And again and again and again! Stacks sputters, clutching his battered ribs. Dijak drags Stacks up to scoop him, and throws knees into him! Then Dijak swings and TOSSES Stacks away! Cover, TWO! Stacks continues to show his toughness and Tony coaches him up. Stacks crawls to a corner, Dijak runs in but Stacks dodges! Dijak hits POST! Fans rally, Stacks runs in and UPPERCUTS! Stacks keeps moving, for another UPPERCUT! And then another! And then- CYCLONE BOOT!! Stacks is dazed as Dijak covers, TWO!?!
Dijak is furious with Stacks now and he drags him up! Fans rally for Stacks, Dijak throws another knee! Dijak swings but Stacks rolls him up! TWO!! Dijak KICKS Stacks, drags him up, slingshots suplex into the FEAST YOUR EYES! Cover, Dijak wins!
Winner: Dijak, by pinfall
The judge, jury and executioner has passed his judgment! But he isn’t done, he drags Stacks back up! Tony rushes in and fires off on Dijak! Tony clotheslines Dijak up and out! “You think you’re tough, Dijak, huh!?” The Don says Dijak wishes he had half the heart Stacks had! If Dijak is talking about justice, then New Year’s Evil will teach you street justice, the Tony D way! Dijak says challenge accepted! Who will personify justice in NXT after next week?
Backstage interview with Oro Mensah.
McKenzie Mitchell says Oro joined NXT in 2022, but what are we to expect from him in 2023? Oro says that in 2022, he got his feet wet. In 2023, he’s diving in headfirst! But then Javier Bernal walks in. He is sorry not sorry for interrupting, but he says that 2023 is gonna be the Year of Big Body Javi! And what better way than by releasing a Christmas album! Uh, isn’t it a little late for Christmas? Uh, anyone can release a Christmas album during Christmastime. But Javi is not just anybody. He’s Big Body Javi! FIFTEEN classics, such as the 12 Days of Javi, We Wish You a Big Body Christmas, and of course, the title track: Feliz Javidad!
Oro says that’s cringe. But hey, when they’re done in the ring tonight, Javi won’t have much of a singing voice left. See you then. Oro heads out, will Javi have to shift from Christmas to the blues?
Toxic Attraction heads to the ring!
Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne may only be a duo now, but they’re not letting that hurt their mood. What will they have to say about their Toxic 2023 plans? We find out, after the break.
NXT returns and Toxic Attraction has the mics. Gigi starts by saying, “Toxic Attraction was, is and forever will be the most dominant female faction this brand has ever seen. And now it’s 2023. It’s time we leave 2022 where it belongs: in the past. Now, all eyes are on Jacy and I, and those eyes will watch in remorse. Watch as we push the envelope further than we ever did in these last 18 months. Watch as we cut through this roster with reckless abandon.” Jacy says, “Bonded by our battle scars, this year, Gigi and I will be the ones calling all the shots. And we don’t do stupid new year’s resolutions. We do revenge!
“While the entire world watches our every single move, we only watch and care about one woman. One woman, one target, Roxanne Perez. You wanna take down our Toxic Empire? Oh, well we’re gonna rebuild it brick by brick.” Gigi says Roxie’s broken body will be the foundation! But wait! Here comes Indi Hartwell! She is SO sick of hearing about Toxic attraction! When Roxie won the title, she thought that was the last of Toxic Attraction. But she doesn’t mind finishing what Roxie started. It is time for new blood at the top of this division, and that starts with-
Cora speaks up with “AHEM! Surprise, surprise, it’s Tuesday, and Indi Hartwell’s complaining once again. What’s new?” Cora makes her way from the crowd as she insults Indi’s “lifeless personality.” It’s no wonder everyone in Indi’s life has left her. And it’s a wonder why no one wants her to be champion. Everyone wants CORA as champion! She already beat Roxie- But then Nikkita Lyons speaks up, also from the crowd! She’s surprised Cora’s ego even still fits inside the building! Cora claims she deserves the world, but all she deserves is a kick to the face. And y’know what? Indi has a point: there needs to be new blood! And Lyons will throw hands-
But then Zoey Stark interrupts! She knew she smelled bad TikTok and future regret. Why is Lyons even here? Doesn’t she have more important things to do? Like showing off her assets on Instagram? Stark says to get back to reality, Roxie’s attempt at a title reign will be oh so short. But then WENDY CHOO interrupts! She’s wearing Little Mermaid pajamas as she says Zoey is always so angy! Honestly, no one wants an angry champion. And while Stark and Lyons don’t like each other, they don’t have to insult each other. Wendy doesn’t like Cora, but you don’t see her calling Cora an egotistical, self-centered, self-entitled BI-
WHOA! HEY! Cora has had enough! O M G! Thea can’t believe how many female superstars are here! GIRL FIGHT~! Thea rushes to the ring, as do the others, and that’s exactly what we get! Toxic Attraction, Lyons, Stark, Indi, Cora, Wendy and Thea are all fighting al over the place! But here comes ALBA FYRE! She wants a piece, but then ISLA DAWN ambushes her! The Wicked Witch and the Fire Keeper are going to have their own fight soon enough, but now the rest of the NXT Women’s Division is spilling out to ringside! Fans are loving all of this chaos! Kiana and Fallon, Isla and Fyre, Lash Legend is in there somewhere, and refs rush out!
Fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” but only two should be, and those two are headed outside! Fyre and Dawn are just fighting in the parking lot, but here comes the champ! Roxie has everyone calm down. They don’t need to fight each other yet. Roxie was just informed that next week on New Year’s Evil, there will be a TWENTY WOMAN BATTLE ROYAL! The winner will be the #1 contender to Roxie’s title, and they fight at Vengeance Day! Good luck to you all! But then the brawling is back on! Fyre and Dawn are still brawling and Dawn is sent into a dumpster! And then again! And again! And again!! Fyre then throws Dawn into a garage door!
Dawn kicks back, then she throws Fyre against the dumpster! Dawn hurries off into the shadows, but Fyre pursues! The first-ever Extreme Resolutions match is going to happen, but where will it end?
Extreme Resolutions: Alba Fyre VS Isla Dawn!
NXT returns and Dawn is choking Fyre against spare railing. The ref wants this to go to ringside but Fyre gets a Gory Especial! Dawn fights free, the forearms fly, and then Fyre sends Dawn into a road case! But Dawn sends Fyre into ladders! Dawn grabs a shelf rack and shoves it at Fyre! Fyre dodges, the shelves hit the ladders! Dawn throws forearms, and she keeps saying she knows “it” is inside Fyre! She wants Fyre to let it out! Dawn throws Fyre into the big X Bron Breakker once broke! Then she scoops! Fyre fires off elbows, then scoops to POWERSLAM Dawn on the X! More refs rush in, insisting this has to go to ringside!
Fyre and Dawn keep brawling, not listening to anyone. Fyre throws Dawn into a bin! Fyre tells the refs to shut up, but then Dawn SMACKS Fyre with spare signage! Fyre smacks Dawn off the road case, then she grabs a pipe! Dawn dodges before the pipe SMASHES the case! Dawn CHUCKS a trash can at Fyre’s head! Dawn grabs that pipe, she stalks Fyre, and she says she knows “it” is inside Fyre. But Fyre just JAMS Dawn with the pipe! Then DECKS her with a forearm! Fyre grabs a ladder, and throws it down! Dawn moves in time before being crushed! Dawn scurries back, HEADBUTTS low, but Fyre keeps pushing forward!
Dawn crawls to where spare ring mats are. She kicks Fyre away, climbs up, but Fyre is after her! They brawl up on top of the props! Dawn CLAWS Fyre’s eyes! Dawn then stands Fyre up but Fyre fires off forearms! Dawn wobbles, but she grabs hold of Fyre! Fyre HEADBUTTS Dawn! Dawn falls onto a pallet of chairs!! The refs say to stop this, now they need to get Dawn to medical. But Fyre doesn’t care, she drags Dawn up from the wreckage! Fyre drags Dawn over, sits her into an armchair, and wheels her towards gorilla! Dawn stops the chair but Fyre spins her around to DECK her out of the chair! Fyre grabs a trash can lid to SMACK Fyre on the back!
Dawn crawls, Fyre drags her up and makes her sit in a wheelbarrow! Fyre wheels Dawn the rest of the way, but they go around to the back end of ringside! Fyre DUMPS Dawn out in front of commentary! And then POSTS her! And then SMACKS her off the desk! Dawn sputters and fans fire up as this finally gets in the ring! Fyre grabs a chair! The bell rings to truly make this a match, and the two tug-o-war over the chair. Fyre RAMS Dawn into the corner, JAMS her again, then puts the chair down. Fyre drags Dawn up, but Dawn fights the suplex! Dawn throws body shots, to snap suplex Fyre into the corner! Fans boo Dawn as she crawls after Fyre. Cover, TWO!
Dawn drags Fyre around, SLAMS the arm down, then looms over her. Dawn pulls on Fyre’s arm, stands on the hand, and she grinds the fingers before she STOMPS them! Fyre shakes out her hand while fans boo. Dawn grabs the chair, and she JAMS Fyre in the stomach! Fans rally for Fyre but Dawn swings. Fyre BOOTS the chair away! Then SLAPS Dawn! But that’s the bad hand! Dawn eggs Fyre on, so Fyre CHOPS and CHOPS and CHOPS! Fyre whips Dawn to ropes, COHPS her again, then looms over her. Fyre drags Dawn up, fireman’s carries, but Dawn slips off to dragon sleeper! Fyre snapmares free to SUPERKICK!
Fyre Gory Especials, GORY BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Dawn survives but Fyre doesn’t even hesitate. She fetches the chair, brings it back over, and she SMACKS Dawn on the back! Dawn snarls but Fyre pushes the chair down into her. Fyre goes to a corner and climbs up top. Fans fire up as Fyre aims, but Dawn CHUCKS the chair into Fyre’s face!! Fyre falls to the floor as NXT goes picture in picture.
Dawn snarls and crawls her way tot he apron. Dawn drags herself up as Fyre staggers to her feet. Dawn METEORAS Fyre to the floor! Dawn is laughing even as she clutches her leg! The spirits are talking to Dawn, and she drags Fyre around. Dawn stomps Fyre, then goes looking under the ring. Dawn brings out a toolbox! Dawn opens it up, looks inside, and brings out a wrench! She grabs Fyre’s arm, wraps it around the ropes, and goes after the fingers! Dawn PULLS on the fingers! But Fyre SMACKS Dawn with her free hand! Fyre gets away but Dawn knees her down! Dawn grabs the bad hand again, and uses the wrench to TWIST a finger!!
Fyre endures as Dawn tortures her hand! Dawn lets off the index finger to go after the middle finger! Dawn grins as she bends that finger back more! NXT returns to single picture as fans rally for Fyre. Fyre fights against Dawn’s twisted twisting! Fyre fights up to her feet, arm-drags Dawn away, and ducks the tool shot to ROCK her! And ROCK her again! But Dawn ROCKS Fyre! Fyre ROCKS Dawn! The forearms go back and forth, but Dawn RAMS into Fyre! Dawn whips, Fyre reverses and reels Dawn in, GOURD BUSTER! Then PENALTY KICK! But Dawn ducks the second! Dawn rolls Fyre up, TWO! Fyre SUPERKICKS Dawn out of teh ring!
Fyre then DIVES to take Dawn out at the ramp! Fans fire up for “NXT! NXT!” Fyre snarls and fans are on her side as she stands again. Fyre goes looking under the ring now, and she brings out a TABLE! Fans love seeing that! Fyre sets the table up as best she can with one hand, and then she goes back to Dawn. Dawn throws body shots but Fyre CLUBS her down! Dawn fights the Gory Especial! She whips Fyre into steel steps! Fyre staggers away but Dawn is on her! Dawn puts the bad hand in the toolbox, to SHUT IT CLOSED!!! The fans lose their minds while Fyre’s hand is caught! Dawn has the hammer! Fyre gets her hand out in time!
Fyre SHOVES the box into Dawn! Dawn fights the suplex, wrenches the bad hand, and reels Fyre in. Dragon sleeper, but Fyre slips free! HEADBUTT!! Dawn wobbles, Fyre pushes her onto the table! Fans fire up again as Fyre climbs up. Fyre goes to the very top! But Dawn is smiling!? Dawn wants Fyre to do this! SUPER SWANTON BOMB!! Fyre clips Dawn, the table stays standing! Fans are freaking out, so Fyre GORY BOMBS Dawn through the table!! Fyre puts Dawn into the ring, covers, and wins!
Winner: Alba Fyre, by pinfall
“Extreme” almost doesn’t even cover this! Fyre and Dawn went far beyond their limits, and it was the Firekeeper who stands tall! Will Fyre rise up in 2023 to have gold once again?
Backstage interview with Grayson Waller.
McKenzie points out that Waller has Bron Breakker as his guest tonight, with their contract signing just one week away from New Year’s Evil. Waller wonders how many times she practiced that in the mirror. But he just spent the last ten days at home in Australia on holiday, “manifesting the inevitable.” His mind and body are aligned, and next week, Waller becomes NXT Champion! So make sure to tune in for another can’t miss episode of the Grayson Waller Effect! McKenzie doesn’t get how he’s so confident when he’s about to be in the ring with a man who wants to rip his head off. Oh, well that’s why he has a talk show and she doesn’t.
The last few weeks, Waller has outsmarted Bron “and turned him back into the HULK SMASH guy.” That is when Bron is his most vulnerable. Pay attention now, because Waller is gonna finish the job and make New Year’s Evil a cake walk. Waller then talks to “Bronovan,” and says he has Bron’s number. Bron may have that dog in him, but that doesn’t make him immune to the Grayson Waller Effect. Waller mocks the dog bark then hurries off, but will he be the one getting bit tonight?
NXT looks closer at Indus Sher VS The Creed Brothers.
Sanga says, “Back home, we have the respect and admiration of an entire nation. 1.4 million people cheer us.” Veer says in India, they are celebrities. Veer is India’s very first MLB baseball player while Sanga is a television star of two series. They are global figures whose minor appearance on NXT gets millions of views in India. But here in America, no one cares. They respect the Creed Brothers, despite the fans not respecting them. So the only way they can get respect is by destroying the Creeds, so that is what they will do!
Julius Creed brings up Indus Sher claiming this is all about respect. But that’s BS! They’ve never been stepping stones for anyone. Veer says the Creeds were the best tag team of NXT in 2022. But it won’t be the same in 2023. Julius says Indus Sher chose the wrong ones. They aren’t making a name off the Creeds. But Veer says the Creeds should listen to Ivy Nile. Sanga says Indus Sher has waited for the perfect moment. They could’ve beaten down the Creeds when they were less than 100%, but they didn’t want any excuses. Not from the Creeds, and not from the fans.
Julius says that while Indus Sher wants respect, all they’re getting at New Year’s Evil is body blows and body slams. Brutus says respect is earned, not given, and they’re not giving a single inch! Indus Sher promises a mauling, but will it take more than they have to crush the Diamond Mine?
Oro Mensah VS Javier Bernal!
The Hottest Superstar Under the Sun loves music and the club scene, but he wouldn’t be caught dead dancing to Feliz Javidad. Will Oro take the lead as NXT enters 2023?
Wait! Javi attacks Oro during his entrance! Javi fires off haymakers but Oro fires off hands in return! Oro CLUBS Javi, puts him in the corner, and fans rally for Oro as the bell rings. Javi runs in to LARIAT! Javi rains down fists, digs his forearm into Oro’s face, but the fans chant “JAVI SUCKS!” Javi snarls as he drags Oro up to CLUB him! But Oro ROCKS Javi back! Javi kicks low, back suplexes, then covers, TWO! Javi whips Oro to the corner, then runs to BULLDOG! Javi keeps moving, LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Javi is annoyed but he stomps Oro around. Fans boo but Javi drags Oro up to ROCK him!
Oro throws body shots but Javi CLUBS Oro again! Javi whips Oro to ropes, and he ELBOWS Oro down! Javi smirks as he covers, TWO! Javi is annoyed again, and he drags Oro up to reel him into a facelock. Oro wrenches out to CHOP! Javi staggers, but Oro CHOPS, UPPERCUTS, and LEG SWEEPS! Javi flounders, but he fights the clinch with elbows. Javi uses Oro’s hair to reel him in for a LARIAT! And then a DDT! Cover, TWO!! Oro survives, fans again chant “JAVI SUCKS!” but Javi drags Oro up. Javi talks trash, then fireman’s carries. Oro fights free with elbows, and fires off more elbows! Javi reels Oro in but Oro back drops free!
Fans fire up as Oro rises again. Oro waits for Javi to stand, to CLOBBER him! And again! Javi staggers into more forearms! Oro whips Javi to ropes but Javi reverses. Oro QUEBRADAS! Fans fire up again, Oro runs, but Javi blocks the boot! Javi flips Oro but Oro ROLLING AX KICKS! Oro runs, Javi tosses him out but Oro lands on the apron! Oro hops on, REAR NAKED CHOKE in the ropes! The ref counts, Oro lets off and clinches Javi, for an EXPLODER! Oro kips up and fans fire up! Oro aims from the corner and says he’s calling his shot. Oro runs in to MURAMASA in the corner! Cover, Oro wins!
Winner: Oro Mensah, by pinfall
And the new year is off to a great start for Oro! Will the Freshest Flavor be heading for some gold soon enough?
Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen talk backstage.
There was good music, good food, good everything, but how about Fallon fighting like an animal? BOOM! 2023 is gonna be their year! Hell yeah! And now that the bar business is squared away, Fallon’s gonna win that battle royal, go on to Vengeance Day, and win that title! But then Kiana James walks in. Kiana says she isn’t here to fight, just to congratulate Fallon on the win. That was all fair and square. And while Kiana still thinks her condos would look great there, she’ll honor the deal. So good luck and see you in the battle royal. Jensen tells Briggs he was right about Kiana. And then Kiana tells Jensen she’ll see him later tonight. Oh, yes, he will. Since when…? What?!
Katana Chance & Kayden Carter meet with NXT Medical.
However, it seems someone is sharing this without their permission! “@NXT_Anonymous” filmed this, and both Katana & Kayden got at them on Twitter with “Why would you film a private conversation with medical?” “WTF??? #CREEPER” Just who is behind this anonymous account? And what was the medical meeting even about?
Andre Chase w/ Chase U VS Drew Gulak w/ Hank Walker!
It’s teacher VS teacher, professor VS professor! Will Chase U win big to start the new term? Or will “Gulak Tech” be giving Chase the #TeachableMoment?
NXT returns and Gulak makes his entrance. The bell rings and the two circle. Fans rally for Chase U as the two tie up. Chase wrenches Gulak’s arm, YANKS it, then wristlocks. Gulak powers Chase to ropes but Chase slips around to hammerlock. The ref counts, Chase lets off, and the two shake hands to show there is sportsmanship here. They go again, Gulak hits a headlock takeover, then shifts right to a toehold! Chase moves around, stands up, but Gulak clinches. Gulak gets around, hammerlocks an arm, then chinbars! Chase hurries to the ropes! The ref counts the break, Gulak lets off, and again they shake hands.
Gulak and Chase reset, feel things out, knuckle lock, and Gulak wrenches to wrangle Chase down. Chase kips up but Gulak wrangles him again! Chase kips up again, slips around, headlocks, but Gulak powers out. Chase goes up and over, then arm-drags! Gulak is surprised and fans fire up! Chase says that was a TEACHABLE MOMENT! Gulak smirks as he shakes out his arms. They circle again, tie up, and Chase wrenches. Gulak wrenches to hit a BIG back suplex! Gulak clamps onto Chase’s arm and has a chinbar. Dempsey watches backstage, and he throws off his sling?! Dempsey storms off, but where to?
Gulak drags Chase up, reels him in, but Chase fights the suplex. Gulak powers through, bridging cover, TWO! Gulak hopes Hank took notes there. Gulak cravats, Chase endures and slips through to headlock. Gulak powers out, things speed up but Chase dropkicks the legs out! Chase whips, Gulak reverses but Chase reverses back, RUSSIAN LEG SWEEP! Fans fire up and Chase says to spell it out! C! H! A! S! E! U! What’s that spell? CHASE U! Chase ties up the legs for a FIGURE FOUR! Gulak endures the legendary leg lock! Gulak drags himself over, ROPEBREAK! The ref counts, Chase lets off quickly, and he waits on Gulak.
Chase wants a handshake, but Gulak SLAPS Chase! And then fires off forearms and knees and a HEADBUTT! Gulak fires off haymakers, he whips, then he CLOBBERS Chase! No more sportsmanship, the Philly Stretcher is back! Gulak scoops Chase to SLAM him into ropes! Chase flounders, Gulak slashes his throat! The GU-LOCK!! Chase taps, Gulak wins!
Winner: Drew Gulak, by submission
But Gulak doesn’t let go! He’s breaking his own rule! But he does let go, and he is fired up! He tells Hank that is how it is done! Hank still tries to point out the little detail, but does bending the rules matter when you win?
Backstage interview with Wes Lee.
McKenzie says 2022 was a whirlwind of a year for him, to say the least. He likes that metaphor. McKenzie says Tony D and Dijak aren’t going anywhere. Right? Wes says Tony’s flapping his gums about Dijak being why Tony isn’t champion, and Dijak is here building a strong case of his own. But, even though they say they want this title, they seem to want to fight each other even more. Wes can’t wait to see them beat the hell outta each other.
In fact, he’ll get a front row seat. He’ll be with Booker T and Vic, have some popcorn, and then whoever wins gets their shot at his North American Championship. McKenzie says that’s a great idea. Happy New Year! Who wins the fight of “Hard justice” VS “street justice” to take on the Must-See Champion?
Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Joe Gacy w/ The Schism!
The New Day has only just begun their Triple Crown reign, but Mr. Inclusion wants to rain on their parade of positivity. Will #GrandSlamKofi humble the head honcho of the Schism? Or will the four roots of this one tree trip up one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions?
NXT returns and The Schism makes their entrance. Woods joins commentary as the bell rings. Woods confirms that because of the Freebird Rule, Big E is also an NXT Tag Team Champion. Kofi and Gacy circle, Kofi shoots in to waistlock but Gacy elbows free. Gacy runs to run Kofi over! Things speed up, Kofi hurdles and hurdles to then ELBOW Gacy down! Kofi pushes Gacy to a cover, ONE! Kofi keeps on Gacy, wrenches the arm, but Gacy kicks low. Gacy whips Kofi to the corner, Kofio goes up and up to CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Kofi clinches, whips Gacy but Gacy reverses. Gacy runs in but Kofi slips out to SWING KICK!
Fans fire up and Kofi climbs but Rip Fowler distracts the ref! This allows Ava Raine to trip Kofi up! Fans boo but Gacy hurries over to climb up. Gacy brings Kofi up for a SUPERPLEX! Cover, TWO! Gacy is annoyed and he stomps Kofi down. Gacy sits Kofi up to ELBOW him in the head! The Schism talks trash, Gacy stomps Kofi, and Gacy says, “Is this what you wanted?!” Gacy CLUBS Kofi, fans rally with “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Gacy CLUBS Kofi to the corner, whips him corner to corner, but Kofi goes up and up to MISSILE DROPKICK! Gacy staggers to a corner, Kofi runs in but into a BACKBREAKER!
Booker T runs down The New Day for showing up in NXT when they should be on SmackDown. Kofi is a FIFTEEN-TIME Tag Team Champion, on top of being a Grand Slam Champion, while Gacy is still comparatively new to this. But Woods says Gacy was the one man in the Iron Survivor Challenge to not be pinned, so Gacy isn’t some scrub. As such, Gacy drags Kofi up to scoop and hits another BACKBREAKER! Gacy CLUBS away on Kofi, then drags Kofi into a CAMEL CLUTCH! Fans rally as Kofi endures. Kofi fights up, throws elbows, and then arm-drags free. Gacy runs in but into a HEEL KICK! Both men are down and fans rally up!
Woods says this is what The New Day is here for. They’re here to make sure the NXT roster is rising to the occasion and becoming as good as we all know they can be. Kofi rallies on Gacy with chops and a DROPKICK! Gacy is back up, he dodges Kofi to swing, but into an S- NO, Gacy powers out of the SOS, pushes Kofi to the corner, but Kofi BOOTS back! Kofi goes up to SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up, Kofi runs to PENALTY KICK! Kofi runs again, for the NEW~ DAY~ BOOM DROP! Fans fire up and clap along, “NEW! DAY ROCKS!” Kofi aims, spins, but Gacy avoids Trouble in Paradise to knee low and DDT! Cover, TWO!
The Schism coaches Gacy, Gacy drags Kofi up. Gacy fireman’s carries but Kofi fights free! Kofi mule kicks, reels Gacy in, LIGHTNING SPIRAL! Cover, TWO!! Gacy survives as Kofi busts out something different! Kofi goes back to a corner, he climbs up, but Jagger AND Rip distract! Kofi swipes at Reed and he runs off while Woods storms off commentary to get at Rip! Gacy ROCKS Kofi! Woods dares The Schism to do something, but Gacy drags Kofi up. Kofi dodges, to FLY! Down goes The Dyad! Fans fire up but Gacy drags Kofi in to whip and clinch! URE- NO, Kofi arm-drags free! TROUBLE IN PARADISE!! Cover, Kofi wins!
Winner: Kofi Kingston, by pinfall
The New Day defies the numbers game! Woods says that The Schism is good, but they’re not better than the New Day! Will Woods & Kofi prove these four roots, one tree is not big enough to get past them?
Gulak is still fired up backstage.
He again says that’s what Chase gets. Hank points out Gulak holding on, but Gulak says a win is a win is a win! Dempsey shows up and Gulak says, “Oh, Flower~! How’s the arm? Where’s your sling?” Dempsey says injured or not, it is on next week! Gulak says yeah it’s on! Hank will be ready. Dempsey better rest that arm, because Hank’s gonna rip it out of the socket! Yea- what? Hank is a bit stunned, but will he be able to stand up to Dempsey’s technical savagery?
Pretty Deadly is going over the list again.
Elton says they’re never going to pull this off. The New Day walks in, and is confused as to why Elton & Kit are still here. Kit says this list is impossible. Well, whether you can or you can’t, you’re right. Elton loses his cool! Enough talk, enough jumping through hoops! Pretty Deadly are the best tag team and the New Day knows it! Kofi wants him to calm down. Because the titles say the New Day are the best. As for second best, well, they don’t really worry about that. Kit tells Elton they need this. Kit says they’ll do it in the ring. They’ll run the gauntlet, taking on three of the best tag teams in NXT! And then Pretty Deadly will earn their title shot!
Woods says no one loves a gauntlet more than ya bois the NEW~ DAY~! But did they say three? Yes, three! Next week! Okay, then if they win, Pretty Deadly will be #1 contenders to the tag titles. Deal! Now go git! This is the New Day’s room.
The countdown is almost over.
And “the best way to predict the future is to create it. This will be my year.” But who is this that’s showing up at New Year’s Evil? We’ll just have to wait and see.
NXT presents an all new episode of the Grayson Waller Effect.
Waller himself welcomes us to this special edition of his talk show. It will be a night no one ever forgets, because it will be “the last public appearance of Bron Breakker as NXT Champion.” And what better way to celebrate than with live chat on Instagram? Keep that GWE Cam on him! He’s looking fresh! “In one week, I save NXT. I fulfill living that championship life when I claim the richest prize on this brand at New Year’s Evil.” But enough about him, put your “paws” together for the future former champion, Bron Breakker! But Bron interrupts the introduction with his entrance, and Waller takes his seat at the desk.
Bron enters the ring, Waller smiles and waves, and says this is the last time Bron raises that belt. Bron joins Waller at the desk and Waller says, “Look at this guy, interrupting me before I give him a big introduction.” But careful, “Bron-Bron.” Don’t break the TV like you did last week. Bron is oddly enthusiastic as he thanks Waller for having him on. Waller says Bron wants to rip his head off. Bron says we’ll see. But hey! Questions are coming in! So many people talking about this. But here’s one from, well, Grayson Waller! “What’s it like to play your hero, Goldberg, in the sequel to The Spear Seen Around the World?”
Bron must’ve felt so dumb! Why would Waller wear fur in Florida? Has Bron even watched Goldberg before? Bron says Waller did outsmart him there. Outsmarted? Waller turned Bron into a meme! He could watch that over and over and over! Yeah, Bron has seen some memes, that’s a point for Waller. A point? Well, alright. But if we’re talking points, it is Waller: two MILLION; Bron: ZERO. Yeah, that’s a lot of points. Waller is annoyed. What is Bron doing? Where’s angry Bron that wants to rip his head off and spear him out of his body? Is that Bron even still in there? If not, next week won’t be a contest, just a coronation of the NEW NXT Champoin!
Hold on, hold on, Waller is smarter than this. He knows what Bron is up to. Bron says Waller is good, he’s smart, he’s crafty, but Waller says okay, keep going. Bron gets to the good part. Okay, then. Everyone can shut up so that the former champ can say stuff about Waller. Bron says what separates Waller from everyone is that he knows how to get under anyone’s skin. Better than anyone else! Right. So, if you think about it, the best possible compliment Bron can give Waller is admit that Waller is outsmarting everyone else. It’s what he does. He is just better than everyone. All he does is go viral. That’s his thing.
But let’s talk about those viral moments. How about WarGames? Waller jumping off the cage: viral moment. Waller hitting Gargano in the back with a chair: viral moment. Waller jumping off that super tall ladder at Stand & Deliver: viral moment. Waller gets hyped, and says yeah, that’s what he does! He makes viral moment after viral moment! Bron must be jealous. Yeah, and what about blinding Apollo’s vision? But to Bron, those are just distractions. Bron knows at New Year’s Evil, Waller gives it his all. Some might even leave talking about Waller that night. But Bron leaves still NXT Champion. Oh, Bron thinks so? Yeah, and that, friend, in a nutshell, IS the Grayson-
Don’t you dare do that! That’s Waller’s thing! Waller…! STOP! NO!! This is Waller’s show, don’t you disrespect him! Effect. That’s pretty big, coming from an overrated champion whose only real accomplishment is stealing his dad’s gimmick. Uh oh… Bron was leaving, but now he turns around to get in Waller’s face. Waller wants Bron to get mad and do something to him, but Bron just laughs it off. Bron tells Waller, “I don’t give a damn what you say, I love my father. So see you next week.” But now Waller gets mad, repeating what he said, so Bron DECKS him!! Waller flounders up and staggers around, into the trophy lift! BREAKKER SLAM!!
Waller flounders out of the ring as Bron rips off his shirt. Bron gets Waller’s shirt and says here’s a viral moment. Bron FLIES to take out Waller! Fans fire up while Waller sputters at ringside. Bron has the fans barking as he holds up the belt and drops the phone. That is a viral moment right there, but will there be even more of them for New Year’s Evil?
My Thoughts:
A really good NXT as the go-home to New Year’s Evil, but I think one of NXT’s resolution for 2023 should be to somehow trim down on promos. I know that these new stars need to get their talking reps in, that’s one of the ways you build your character, but it feels like there’s just too many of them for just two hours. And why are we having “@NXT_Anonymous” on top of Scrypts being mysterious and targeting stars? I already foresee a “SmackDown hacker” level of disappointment where the person behind it isn’t even on paper yet. Why not have it be NXT Media being paparazzi-ish and upsetting KC Squared that way?
The Toxic Attraction promo turning into a cascade of promos was odd, but then it was rather comical how many superstars were showing up ringside. And Thea Hail being so over the moon about the impending brawl was great. Roxie is still a bit too sugary sweet in her promos, but it makes sense for the champion to announce a huge contender’s match like the battle royal. That match is going to be a lot of fun, and honestly, I can’t be sure who wins. It would make the most sense for either Gigi or Jacy to win, but it’d be great if someone unexpected rises up. This could be the fast track for Lyra Valkyria to get to the title, but it’d be a shame to pit her push against Roxie’s.
Great opening match from Apollo VS Melo, but of course Trick gets involved. Though with that, it was also great for Axiom to go after Trick & Melo, and then for Axiom to win really quickly. I sense a tag match brewing, and perhaps Trick Melo Gang loses, but that could really go either way. Dijak having Stacks in his mysterious interrogation room was very much an 80s to 90s action movie thing, which is totally what Dijak should be going for. Dijak VS Stacks was good stuff but I was surprised Stacks did so well. Tony D of course stood up for Stacks to set up the match I knew they’d have, and I like that in Wes’ promo, he makes it into a contender’s match. I would think Dijak wins, though, as he and Wes haven’t had a match yet.
Good promo from Oro and Javi, as Javi continues to be a great comedic Heel. Oro VS Javi was good stuff, but it makes sense for Oro to win. Good promo from Fallon, Briggs, Jensen and Kiana, with the best part of it being that Jensen and Kiana seem to be dating after all. Again, Valentine’s Day is on a Tuesday, I hope we get something big with that story. And who is this showing up next week? I thought it was Tiffany Stratton but the voice didn’t sound anything like her, unless she’s been putting on a voice this entire time. Actually, what would be big is if it IS Tiffany, she takes out someone before they enter the 20 Woman Battle Royal, and then she wins to challenge Roxie.
Really good stuff out of Chase U and Gulak. Of course, Chase is always great. Chase VS Gulak instead of Dempsey VS Hank was a nice substitute, and y’know what? I think they did what I expected. Last week, I said they should’ve given Hank more time to prepare, and because of Dempsey’s “injury,” they have! Gulak winning made sense, and I like that they’re playing on how Gulak is being rougher than the others expect. Dempsey VS Hank might even give us Gulak and Dempsey teaming up in Catch Point 2.0. Honestly, that’d be a great move, they’d be a very technical wrestling duo and I’d love to see them make a run at the tag titles.
Good promo from Indus Sher and the Creed Brothers, and their match is going to be awesome. Though, the winner of that won’t be the #1 contenders to the tag titles because of the great stuff out of Pretty Deadly, The New Day and The Schism. I do like the twist that Kofi himself pointed out, where Gacy was getting on his case. They had a great main event match, and it was a great move for Kofi to win. I like that Pretty Deadly defied the scavenger hunt, and that gauntlet match is going to be wild stuff. I suppose Pretty Deadly has to win that match, though. But at the same time, I want to see Dyad (Grizzled Young Veterans) VS New Day, that can also be a banger of a match.
And good stuff from the Grayson Waller Effect talk show. Though, despite them saying it was supposed to be a contract signing segment, I saw no contract or anyone representing NXT management. It just turned into the usual talk show segment of the Heel host egging on his Face guest and getting clobbered for it. But I do like that Bron was trolling Waller back by not getting upset. Then Waller still gets what he deserved and was asking for with Bron hitting him. Bron stands tall, but I feel like he’s going to defy go-home math and retain the title. I still feel like Melo will face Bron at Vengeance Day, and finally, on the road in front of a fresh audience, we see Bron lose and Melo begins a new era in NXT.
My Score: 8.6/10
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!
IF YA SMELLALALALALALA~…!
As Cody Rhodes teams with Damian Priest & Braun Strowman against Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline, FINALLY, The Rock has come back to SmackDown!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Drew McIntyre VS Jimmy Uso; Jimmy wins.
- The Miz & Carmelo Hayes VS R-Truth & LA Knight; Miz & Melo win.
- Tiffany Stratton VS Candice LeRae w/ Nia Jax; Tiff wins.
- Naomi w/ Bianca Belair VS Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez; No Contest.
- WWE Tag Team Championships: #DIY VS Pretty Deadly; Pretty Deadly wins, by disqualification, and DIY retain the titles.
- Six Man Tag: Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest & Braun Strowman VS Solo Sikoa, Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga; changed to…
- Damian Priest & Braun Strowman VS Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu w/ Tama Tonga; Priest & Braun win.
PLAY BY PLAY
Cody Rhodes talks with Nick Aldis backstage.
They shake hands, but the SmackDown General Manager tells the WWE Champion there’s been a change: Cody’s out of the Six Man Tag match. What? Why would Aldis do that? It is out of Aldis’s hands. Wait, Solo Sikoa shows up to do what he did, but they can’t do the Six Man Tag that they advertised? How is this out of Aldis’s hands? Who do they need to talk to so they can do the match? Aldis says there’s no one either of them can call, if you smell what’s cooking. This is coming from The Final Boss, and The Final Boss wants to see Cody in the ring tonight. What business could The Great One have with The American Nightmare?
Drew McIntyre VS Jimmy Uso!
The Scottish Terminator rubbed it in Big Jim’s face that only one of them is going to Elimination Chamber in Toronto, which Big Jim was able to brush off. But McIntyre harping on how only one Uso is going to WrestleMania was a step too far. These two look to have it out, but is Jimmy just playing into McIntyre’s hands? Or will McIntyre get embarrassed by “the other Uso” this close to that big time match?
Speaking of, Jimmy has a message for Drew as he heads to gorilla. “Everybody know you’re going to Elimination Chamber, right? But Big Jimmy got a question for the Big Easy: Will Drew go onto the Elimination Chamber and win that? Will Drew go onto WrestleMania and win that? Ey, Drew, I think we got an answer for you, Uce. The answer is…” “NO YEET!” Jimmy makes his entrance, the bell rings, and the fans rally behind Jimmy. Jimmy and Drew jaw, and then Drew raises his hands, to say UP YOURS! But Jimmy ROCKS and CHOPS away! Drew puts Jimmy in a corner, Jimmy dodges to CHOP!
Jimmy climbs and he rains down fists! The fans count, Drew dumps Jimmy tot eh apron at 5, but Jimmy GAMANGIRIS! Jimmy goes up, CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Jimmy hurries to CHOP, then he whips. Drew reverses to send Jimmy to the corner. Jimmy BOOTS back, goes up, and leaps, but into a clinch! OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY! Jimmy flounders to a corner, Drew runs up to SPLASH and OVERHEAD BELLY2BELLY! Jimmy flounders again, the ref has Drew hold on, and Jimmy bails out. Drew storms out to get Jimmy and he whips Jimmy HARD into barrier! The fans boo but Drew looms over Jimmy.
The ring count starts, Drew mockingly calls him “Jey,” then puts Jimmy in the ring. Drew says NO MANIA for Jimmy. Drew stands Jimmy up, ROCKS him, then runs up, only for Jimmy to put him on the apron! Drew blocks a superkick, but not the DRAGON WHIP! Drew drops, Jimmy DIVES! Down goes Drew and the fans fire up! Jimmy grins, goes back to the apron, and then aims. But Drew stops the Penalty Kick to THROW Jimmy down! Drew then has Jimmy in the Reverse Alabama Lift! REVERSE ALABAMA SLAM onto the steel steps! Drew stands on the desk to say “NO YEET!” while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Drew revels in the heat from New Orleans, then he leaves Jimmy behind. The ref checks Jimmy, he’s able to continue, so a ring count starts. Drew paces while Jimmy stirs. Jimmy drags himself up using the desk, then lunges in at 9! Drew is annoyed but he rains down fists! Drew stomps Jimmy, then eggs him on. Jimmy rises as the fans rally, but Drew is right on him in the corner. Drew winds up, but Jimmy counter punches! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! And whips, only for Drew to reverses. Jimmy goes up, but Drew KICKS him out of the air! Drew then hauls Jimmy up, snap suplex! Cover, TWO!
Drew says okay, Big Jim. He clamps onto Jimmy with a top wristlock and grinds the arm. Jimmy fights up, fireman’s carries, but Drew elbows free. Drew bumps Jimmy off buckles, then hauls him up to the top rope! Drew CLUBS Jimmy on the back, climbs up, then CLUBS Jimmy more. Jimmy fires elbows and Drew drops back. But Drew runs up to CLUB Jimmy again! SmackDown returns to single picture as Drew CLUBS away on Jimmy again! Jimmy keeps taunting “Jey,” then drags him up. Jimmy fights the back suplex! The fans rally, Jimmy fires hands and a HEADBUTT! Jimmy SMACKS Drew off the post!
Jimmy rises to USO IN THE WIND! Down goes Drew and the fans fire up! A standing count starts while both men stir on the mat. They both stand at 5, and Drew swings! Jimmy counter punches, then fires more shots! Mule kick, UPPERCUT, but then Jimmy dodges Drew! SAMOAN DROP! Cover, TWO! Drew is tougher than that, but Jimmy hurries to a corner. Jimmy aims as Drew goes to the other corner, “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” Jimmy runs, but Drew FLYING HEADBUTTS! The Glasgow Kiss stuns Jimmy, and Drew hits a SPINEBUSTER! Jackknife bridge, TWO! Jimmy shows his own toughness, and the fans rally behind him.
Drew paces, then he stalks Jimmy. Drew stands Jimmy up, reels him in, but Jimmy fights the underhooks! Jimmy wrenches, UPPERCUTS, but Drew ROCKS Jimmy back! Jimmy UPPERCUTS, Drew HAYMAKERS! Drew whips, Jimmy reverses and Drew ends up on the apron! Drew ROCKS Jimmy first, then climbs the corner! FLYING- SUPERKICK! Jimmy runs to SPEAR! Cover, TWO!! Drew survives, Jimmy’s spear doesn’t hit quite like The Tribal Chief’s. Jimmy goes to the corner, climbs up, and the fans rally up. USO- NO, Jimmy rolls through as Drew moves! Drew dodges a lariat to NECKBREAKER!
Both men are down, the fans rally, and Drew kips up! Drew scowls as he aims at Jimmy. “THREE! TWO! ONE!” CLAY- SUPERKICK!! Jimmy hits first! GLASGOW KISS returns! Drew reels Jimmy in, “This is your WrestleMania! This is as close as you get!” Drew shouts Jimmy is nothing, then ROCKS him with forearm after forearm! GLASGOW KISS! Another Reverse Alabama, but Jimmy victory rolls it! JIMMY WINS!!!
Winner: Jimmy Uso, by pinfall
Drew is furious, but his own ego caught him there! But then Drew CLOBBERS Jimmy! The fans boo Drew being a sore loser, but he puts Jimmy back in the ring! Drew rains down fists, then he DRIBBLES Jimmy off the mat! The ref reprimands, the fans boo, but Drew says that was Jimmy’s Mania Moment! Drew will win the Chamber, he will go to Mania, and he will win there! Jimmy means NOTHING to Drew! Drew puts Jimmy up against the post, then takes aim! The fans boo, but refs and producers rush out here! They swarm Drew to keep him from going after Jimmy again. Drew says fine, fine, then takes his leave.
Producers help Jimmy to his feet, but then Drew BLASTS through the refs! CLAYMORE for Jimmy!! The Scottish Terminator hits his target, then laughs as he actually leaves. Will McIntyre make this his Road to WrestleMania?
A car pulls into the parking lot.
And out steps Solo Sikoa. Solo heads inside, and he finds Jacob Fatu & Tama Tonga waiting. Solo tells them that last week with Tama, that was an accident. Jacob says yeah, it’s all good, Uce. But keep it 100: If it wasn’t an accident, Solo wouldn’t be standing here right now. Well, good! Glad to see we’re all on the same page. Solo says he will be in the corner during the match for Jacob & Tama. Uh, no, Solo, no disrespect, but Jacob & Tama have been running things on SmackDown these past couple weeks. So tonight, it’s Jacob & Solo running the play? Yadada mean? Yeah, of course. And that right there, Jacob, is exactly why Solo loves him.
Solo says he’ll be back, he has to talk with Nick Aldis. Solo heads out, but will he really just step right back into place from before he lost the ula fala?
Carmelo Hayes is backstage.
R-Truth calls out to Melo, and says for the first time ever, Truth VS Melo! What’s Truth talking about? Duh, they have a match. No, Truth, Melo knows. But they had a match last week. Truth says he has never met Melo in his life, but they have a tag match tonight. What? No, they don’t. Who even made this match? Him. Truth, they are not going through this H1M who’s on first thing again. Melo is H1M. No, him made the match. The Miz!? Miz says he’s H1M. So now there’s two of you? No no no! Melo is H1M, this is The Miz! Yeah, #MeloDon’tMiz! NO! That’s not a thing! Tonight, they are. Who’s Truth’s partner?
Truth says he’s got a guy. A Louisiana legend! In fact, he just got here, so Truth’s gotta go. Laters. Miz says he has been workshopping this, and the fans love it. Think about it: Melo Don’t Miz! Melo Don’t Miz! And we are…! Melo shakes his head. Truth steps in and says Miz just wants Melo to say, “Awesome.” Miz offers a fist bump, Melo says no. Will Melo wish he had missed tonight’s show? Or will Miz actually help H1M get another win?
Zelina Vega speaks.
“My whole life, people have taken one look at me, and they try to define me. My size has never stopped me before. It never stopped me from becoming tag team champion. Or my personal favorite, the history-making first-time-ever Queen of the Ring. That’s me. Make no mistake about it, I’ve never had it easy. I had to scratch and claw to get anything around here. But this is a fresh start. Because I have something to prove. And my dreams are a lot bigger than your measuring stick. It ain’t over until Zelina Vega says it’s over.”
The Miz & Carmelo Hayes VS R-Truth & ???
Miz makes his entrance but Melo kinda steps all over it. So he already missed his cue… But who did Truth find to team with him in the Big Easy? We’ll see, after the break.
SmackDown returns and Truth makes his entrance. “What’s up?” Well, more like who is his partner? He’ll tell us! His tag team partner is a local legend, born and bred right here in New Orleans! Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Louisiana Knight! Wait, he means L A Knight! Yes, Louisiana abbreviated is LA, but that’s not… Oh, Truth… Truth gives Knight a Po’ Boy and some Mardi Gras beads, so Knight embraces it. The teams sort out, and Truth calls out him! Does he mean Miz or Melo? Well, Melo says he is H1M, so that’s who starts. The fans cheer on Knight while Truth and Melo tie up. Melo KNEES low, whips, but Truth reverses.
Melo springboards, FADEAWAY JUMPER! Melo makes his free throw, but Truth drop toeholds! Truth headlocks, Melo powers up and out but Truth whips! Melo turns hip toss into lateral press, TWO! Truth has a ghost pin, TWO! Melo trips to cover, ONE! Truth trips to cover, ONE! Melo runs up, Truth does the splits, and then hits a BIG hip toss! The fans fire up, Truth counts, Melo gets up at TWO, but Truth was just goofing. The ref explains to Truth that he is the ref, not Truth! Melo is annoyed, he runs up on Truth, but Truth wrenches him around! Melo pulls hair but Knight tags in. The fans fire up as Knight fires hands!
Knight ROCKS Melo, whips Melo, but Melo reverses! SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Knight drags Melo up to tag Truth back in, and Truth ROCKS Melo! Melo staggers, but he refuses to tag! Truth arm-drags Melo, then grinds the arm. Melo insists he’s got this, then arm-drags free. Truth staggers up, he and Melo bump heads! Truth staggers around more, and he tags Miz?! Truth forgot The Awesome Truth isn’t a thing anymore! Again! Melo BLASTS Truth off the apron, the fans boo, but Miz tags himself in! Melo is annoyed, but Miz goes to fetch Truth while SmackDown goes to break.
SmackDown returns again, and Melo has Truth. Truth ROCKS Melo, but Melo holds onto the wristlock! Truth reaches for Knight, Knight reaches for Truth, but Melo holds on. Truth takes a swing, but into an O’Conner Roll! TWO and Melo BLASTS Knight! Truth rolls Melo up, TWO! Melo kicks low, calls his shot, but Truth suplexes for a STUNNER! The fans fire up while both men are down! Truth and Melo crawl, hot tags to Miz and Knight! The fans fire up as Knight rallies on Miz! “YEAH! YEAH!” Knight whips, Miz reverses, but Knight lEAPING LARIATS! Knight TOSSES Melo in for good measure!
Knight stomps a mudhole into Melo, “YEAH! YEAH! YEAH!” LARIAT for Miz! KNEE for Melo! Knight scoops and POWERSLAMS Miz! Knight keeps running, JUMP ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Knight stays on Miz as he brings Miz up. Knight ROCKS Miz, then ROCKS him again! Knight whips, Miz grabs the ropes. Miz KICKS, then takes a swing, but into a back suplex! Miz lands out, tag to Melo! Miz ELBOWS Knight, but Knight scoops! Miz tilt-o-whirls through, Melo SUPERKICKS Knight down! cover, TWO! Knight stays in this but Melo says he’s got this! Melo waits on Knight, then leaps, but NO 48!
Knight kicks low, but NO B F T! Tag to Truth! Knight ELBOWS Melo, Truth runs in! CENA SHOULDER TACKLES! Then the SPIN OUT BOMB! Truth says it’s time! “YOU CANT SEE ME~!” truth runs for the FIVE KNCUKLE SHUFFLE! Truth then fireman’s carries, but Melo slips free! Melo shoves, Truth dodges, and Truth hits the LIE DETECTOR! Truth then gets Melo in the S T R-TRUTH! But Miz CLOBBERS Truth! Knight ROCKS Miz, then LARIATS him up and out! Knight then goes out to THROW Miz into barriers! The fans fire up again, but NAKAMURA ATTACKS KNIGHT!
The fans boo, but the sinister samurai then POSTS Knight!! Nakamura slithers away while Melo keeps the ref’s attention! Truth sees Knight is down, Melo runs up, but Truth dodges! Miz tags in, full nelson, and a FIRST 48 FINALE COMBO?!? Cover, Miz & Melo win!!
Winners: The Miz & Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall
Well, what do you know? Nakamura aside, Miz and Melo made it work! Okay, they’re both trying to hog the spotlight, but is there a future for Melo Don’t Miz? Will Knight only have more of a reason to take that title off Nakamura now?
Charlotte Flair speaks.
“The GOAT… doesn’t have to call themselves The GOAT. Now, I have crafted a legacy that no one, I mean no one, can touch. And I’m back.” The Women’s Royal Rumble Winner chose Tiffany Stratton, but will The Queen take back her throne? Or will WWE always be on #TiffyTime? Speaking of…
Tiffany Stratton VS Candice LeRae!
The WWE Women’s Champion may have gotten past Nia Jax, but now she knows Charlotte Flair is waiting for her at WrestleMania, and is going to be teaming with Trish Stratus in Toronto! Will she be in Tiffy Top Shape for that Tiffy Trishy dream match? Or will the Poison Pixie be quite the problem all on her own?
Before the match, Tiff grabs a mic while the fans cheer. Tiffy says, “I know, I know. You know it, you know it, and you know it. Ever since I won this title, everybody’s just been so obsessed with me. And last week, I had Nia Jax beat, until Candice LeRae decided to interfere and help her little meal ticket. And at Elimination Chamber, Trish Stratus and I make sure the Unstoppable Force comes to a definitive end!” The fans cheer that, but Tiff says enough about them. Let’s talk Charlotte Flair. The fans boo that name, but Tiff says Charlotte took her sweet old time, grabbed a chair, grabbed a mic, and she looked down on Tiff.
Charlotte chose Tiff as her WrestleMania opponent. In that moment, Tiff’s dream came true! And as she lied down there and looked up at Charlotte, she realized the rumors are true: No one loves to kick a girl when she’s down quite like Charlotte Flair. So at WrestleMania, Tiff isn’t coming for Charlotte’s legacy; that’s all Charlotte’s. Tiff is coming for the spot Charlotte desires the most: The number one spot as the top girl in the WWE! But here comes Nia & Candice to interrupt. Nia has a mic to tell Tiffy, “I Have to say, this is really cute. Like, it’s really cute that you actually think you were gonna beat me last week.”
Doesn’t Candice think that is cute? Candice says yes, it is so~ cute. And Tiff wouldn’t even be standing there if not for little Trish Stratus~. Exactly! And it’s even cuter that Tiff is out here talking about Charlotte when she wont’ even see WrestleMania! Because after Nia & Candide destroy Tiff at Elimination Chamber, Nia is coming back for her WWE Women’s Championship. Nia & Candice step up to the ring, and Nia says Tiff won’t even see the Grandest Stage of Them All. Tiff tells Nia to just give it up. This title isn’t even hers anymore. And once Tiff beats Candice tonight, Nia won’t have anyone to do her dirty work anymore!
Candice tells Tiffy that while they’re meant have a match right now, she and Nia are feeling impatient. Nia says they should just get rid of Tiff right now! But the ref steps in and says not gonna happen! Tiff VS Candice will, after the break.
SmackDown returns and Candice has Tiffy down with an armlock. Tiff fights up as the fans rally, but Candice wrenches to wristlock. Tiff spins through, goes to ropes, then up the corner to flip and arm-drag! The fans fire up as Tiff rallies on Candice! DROPKICK, and Tiff snarls! Tiff goes to the corner, and Charlotte makes her entrance? The Queen chooses to be fashionably late all so everyone looks at her, including Tiffy. Tiffy handsprings, but Candice dodges! Candice runs up to UPPERCUT, then she snapmares and NECK SNAPPERS! Jackknife bridge, TWO! Candice clamps onto Tiffy with a top wristlock.
The fans “WOO~” as Charlotte now chooses to join commentary. Tiff fights up, has the ROPEBREAK, but Candice CLUBS away on her! Candice backs off, runs up, but Tiff drop toeholds her to ropes! Tiff runs, HIP ATTACKS, and Candice flops back! Cover, TWO! Tiff stays on Candice with a whip, but Candice reverses. Candice CLOBBERS Tiff, covers, TWO! Charlotte corrects Tiffy’s words earlier: Charlotte isn’t the “top girl,” she is THE woman in WWE. Candice HIP DROPS Tiff but the fans rally up. Candice scuffs Tiff, then grinds an arm to drop a knee on the elbow! And another knee drop! Tiff endures and the fans rally up.
Candice keeps on that arm, thrashes it around, but Tiff fights up. Tiff fires body shots, then shoves Candice to Alabama Lift her! Candice sunset flips, Tiff rolls through, TIFFY STOMPS! Cover, TWO! Tiff is frustrated and Candice bails out. Tiff goes to the apron, goes up the corner, and ARIHARA MOONSAULTS! Direct hit on Candice and Nia, and Tiff almost stuck the landing! The fans fire up with Tiff and she goes into the ring. Tiff points to the WrestleMania sign, and then at Charlotte, but SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Tiff waits on Candice, Candice slides in, and Tiff stomps her down! Candice bails out, Nia is there to coach her, but Tiff lets the ring count start. Candice gets on the apron, Tiff kicks her, but Candice RAMS Tiff! Candice CLUBS Tiff, has her in the ropes, and hits a NECKBREAKER HOTSHOT! Candice climbs, aims, and leaps to MISSILE DROPKICK Tiff down! Cover, TWO! Candice is frustrated but this is why Tiff’s a champ. The fans rally, but Candice stomps Tiff! Candice scowls at the fans, stalks Tiff, then brings her up. Tiff fires body shots, then she rolls Candice up! TWO, and Candice CLOBBERS Tiff! Cover, TWO, into a ghost pin! TWO!
Candice escapes to hit a CODE BREAKER! Both women are down, but Candice scowls again as she crawls over to Tiff. Candice rains down fists, Nia tells fans to shut up, and Candice steps on Tiff’s face. Candice huffs ‘n’ puffs, pushes Tiff around, then scuffs her. Tiff rolls Candice up again, TWO! Candice DECKS Tiff! Cover, TWO! Charlotte is stoic on commentary as Candice drags Tiff up and puts her in a corner. Candice fires hands, then backs off. Candice runs up to ROCK Tiff again! Candice then runs, but Tiff dodges! SmackDown returns to single picture, and Tiff rallies with LARIAT after LARIAT! The fans fire up, Tiff handsprings, BACK ELBOW!
Tiff then reels Candice in for a SKY HIGH! High stack, TWO! The fans rally for Tiff, Nia coaches Candice, but Charlotte still seems nonplussed. Tiff and Candice rise, and Candice runs up. Candice puts Tiff on the apron, but Tiff ROCKS her! Tiff bumps Candice off buckles, then goes up, but Candice ROCKS her back! Candice climbs up, and she fires hands on Tiff! Tiff fights the suplex! Tiff DECKS Candice, then adjusts position, to SANTON- FLOP! Candice ghost pins, TWO!! Tiff escapes, but Candice hits the step-up SENTON! And then a LIONSAUL FLOP! Tiff hurries to fireman’s carry, ROLLING SENTON! And then PRETTIEST MOON- NO, Nia drags Candice out of the ring!
The fans boo, Nia tells them to shut up, but Tiff is on the apron! Nia swings, Tiff cartwheels over, and then she DROPKICKS Nia! Tiff Alabama Lifts Candice, to ALABAMA SLAM her into barriers! Tiff stares down Charlotte, tells her just wait for Mania, then she puts Candice in the ring. Tiff goes to the corner, PRETTIEST MOONSAULT EVER!! Cover, Tiff wins!
Winner: Tiffany Stratton, by pinfall
Charlotte gives moderate applause, but Nia CLOBBERS Tiff from behind! The fans boo, but Nia just drags Tiff to a corner. Nia goes up, but wait! Trish is here!! The fans fire up for the legend as she rushes into the ring! Trish avoids a haymaker to CHICK KICK! Then THESZ PRESS for Candice! And then a SPINEBUSTER! Trish helps Tiff to her feet, but Nia grabs them both! Trish fires fast hands on Nia! Candice CHOP BLOCKS Trish! Tiff is still dazed, Nia HEADBUTTS her back down! Nia & Candice mug Trish, and then Nia HEADBUTTS Trish! Trish & Tiff are side by side, and Nia drags them into the drop zone! A-NIA-LATOR!!
The fans boo but there’s nothing can be done! Nia grins as she helps Candice away, will these two trash Trish & Tiff in Toronto? Charlotte steps into the ring, stands over Tiff, and points to the WrestleMania sign. Will The Irresistible Force & Poison Pixie unwittingly do the dirty work of The Queen of Flair?
Cody talks with Damian Priest backstage.
Priest asks why Cody’s boy, The Rock, is here tonight. Cody says given the time of year, his guess is as good as anyone’s. But tonight will surely be eventful. Cody congratulates Priest on entering the Elimination Chamber. Priest says what’s wild is, last year, they both walked out as champions. What sucks is that this year, only one of them can. Now, Priest is man enough and he respects Cody to say that after Chamber, he’s coming for that title. Cody says he wouldn’t have it any other way. Cody heads out, but what business does The Rock have tonight?
Braun Strowman steps in, and he tells Priest that congrats on winning, and good luck in the Chamber. But let’s be honest, Braun had Jacob dead to rights last week. If not for Solo Sikoa, things would look a lot different next week. Priest chuckles and says take it easy, he’s sounding like Drew with the excuses. But it is what it is, Priest just beat Braun to the punch. But that was last week. Tonight, Solo and Jacob, two of the baddest men in the business. Priest & Braun handling business? Oh, they’re handling business. The only business Braun cares about is getting his hands on those two. Priest says Braun definitely will.
Braun heads out, will the Monster of All Monsters and the Archer of Infamy make sure Solo & Jacob #GetTheseHands? Or will the rogues run roughshod all over SmackDown once again?
Backstage interview with Naomi & Bianca Belair.
Byron Saxton is with the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions and brings up last week’s SmackDown, the security footage led us to believe Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez were the ones behind Jade Cargill’s attack. Now, hold on, Saxton. They don’t think, Naomi knows they were. Fair enough. But this Monday, they can get their revenge when they defend the tag titles against Liv & Raquel. How ready are they for this match? Bianca says so ready! They have been waiting for months for an update. Jade has been recovering, she hasn’t been able to call or text, so the GlowEST took matters into their own hands to get revenge.
Bianca & Naomi will handle Liv & Raquel, then move on to Elimination Chamber, where one of them is gonna win to face Rhea at WrestleMania. Not only will you #FeelTheGlowEST on Monday, but Liv feels it tonight! #Let’sGLOW! The champs head out, but will they clear their Road to WrestleMania of any other distractions?
Alexa Bliss speaks.
“When I was away, there was a lot of… change that happened in me. But when I look around, I see this place is still the same. The names and faces may be different, but the desperation and insecurity remains the same. You’ll see Toronto when I turn the Elimination Chamber into something of a playground of my own. I know the Chamber. I love the Chamber. I’ve won the Chamber. And for the other five women, it’s gonna be a Hell like they’ve never experienced before. Need I remind you, this is my division, and I am in charge.” Bliss smiles and says, “See you soon.” The film comes off the reel, but will things get twisted in Toronto?
Naomi w/ Bianca Belair VS Liv Morgan w/ Raquel Rodriguez!
The Big Easy is all about having fun, and they’re fired up for Naomi’s entrance. But wait! Liv & Raquel don’t wait, they attack Bianca & Naomi while the lights are still down! They mug Naomi, but Bianca drags Liv out of the ring! Then Bianca storms in to fire off on Raquel! The fans fire up, but Liv returns to CHOP BLOCK Bianca! Raquel hauls Bianca up for a TEJANA BOMB!! Naomi runs up, fires more hands, but Liv brings Naomi around. Naomi fires hands on her, but Raquel throws her down! Liv runs up, OBLIVION!
Liv & Raquel stand tall, the refs rush out here, but clearly the singles match isn’t happening. Will we be getting something even meaner and nastier between these four on Monday?
The Rock arrives!
His truck pulls into the parking lot, but we’ll see him in the ring, after the break!
SmackDown returns and…
Aldis is chewing out Liv & Raquel for the attack. He doesn’t know what they get away with on Raw, but they can’t pull that crap here. Now get the hell out of his building. Liv & Raquel just laugh that off, but then Chelsea Green & Piper Niven walk in. Chelsea says have no fear, Chelsea & Piper are here to sub in for Bianca and Naomi at Elimination Chamber. Aldis sighs, and says they’re not missing the Chamber. What? But Chelsea had an outfit picked out! This is a travesty to not have the greatest Canadian export since maple syrup on a Canadian PLE! Does he know who she is? The first-ever, longest reigning, tallest, shortest, prettiest, richest, tannest, sparkliest, oldest, youngest Women’s US Champion! Piper asks what this is aboot, eh?
Aldis says this is them testing his patience. They need to pack their gear and whatever else they want, because they’ll be in action next week on SmackDown in Toronto. And oh, it’ll be a good one. Wait, they need more details! At least an e-calendar notification? Aldis is leaving Chelsea in the dark on what’s coming, will she absolutely hate it?
The Rock heads to the ring!
Wait, what is this New Orleans related remix? The Final Boss steps out on stage, he shows those goosebumps, then continues down the ramp, shaking hands with fans. The Rock hits his signature pose on the corner, but then takes the long way around to pick up a fan’s phone for them before going back into the ring. The fans all cheer for “ROCKY! ROCKY!” and he grabs himself a mic. He waits as the fans continue to chant his name, and then he says, “Ahh, you feel it, don’t you? You feel it. The Rock has got chills up and down his body because you know, on a Friday night, for the Final Boss to get inside his bird and fly all the way here, you know that I’m dropping some ish on you tonight!”
The fans fire up and The Rock smiles. Rock says, “Let’s get this show on the road.” The fans anticipate what’s coming but he says hold on, he’ll do it. “FINALLY! The Rock has come back…” “TO NEW ORLEANS~!” Rock smiles, and he adds, FINALLY, WrestleMania is coming back to New Orleans!! The fans are thunderous to hear that! WrestleMania 30, WrestleMania 34, and now WrestleMania 42!? Yes, next year, 2026, LIVE from the Superdome! One of the greatest cities on Earth in New Orleans, Louisiana! The pyro goes off to commemorate the occasion, and the logo is already on the tron! Rock smiles at that, then he smiles at the WrestleMania 41 Vegas logo.
The fans are losing their minds, as we now know April 11th and 12th, 2026, the Big Easy has the Grandest Stage of Them All. Rock says you damn right holy ish! Oh when the saints go marching in…! Oh how I’d love… Wait, no, this ain’t singalong with The Final Boss! Sit there, shut up, and let The Final Boss sing the song! The fans are torn, but Rock says he sings! Oh how I’d love, to be in that number~! Oh when the saints go marching in~! Okay, that’s good enough. You got him, that was a great duet. The Rock is singing with the largest collection of STD’d trailer trash he has ever seen! The fans can’t believe Rock would do that to them!
Rock says now, dropping this news wasn’t the only gift he was going to drop on us. The Final Boss came here to call somebody out. The Rock will call out a man who he respects, who he admires, and who we all admire. That man is our WWE Champion, the one and only, Cody Rhodes. The fans cheer as The American Nightmare makes his entrance! They sing along with the song, “WHOA~ OH~!” and we get Cody’s pyro before he goes to the ring. Cody gets his second “WHOA~ OH~!” and round of pyro, then he steps inside to join The Rock. The fans cheer Cody on, so he holds up the title and the fans cheer even more.
Cody grabs a mic, but Rock says, “That feels good, doesn’t it? I mean, that’s gotta feel amazing, right? They love you, man.” Cody tells NOLA, “I love you, too.” Rock says this is crazy. Pretty much no one knows this, but since after WrestleMania last year, they’ve actually become good friends. No, it’s true, they have. Last time they were together was the Raw Netflix debut. Rock gave Cody his flowers, told Cody he has carried the company like the incredible champion that he is, so thank you, Cody. Rock meant it, and that night, they went to the back, drank tequila for two hours and had a great ol’ time.
They chopped it up, had a blast, but Rock wants to call Cody out here for something important. Here’s the thing… The fans get a bit rowdy as they wait, and Rock says Cody is a great champion. A great WWE Champion. Cody knows that. Again, they’ve become good friends, so over the months, they’ve texted. Even their moms became good friends! Look! Mama Johnson & Mama Rhodes together after WrestleMania 40! It is a pleasure becoming Cody’s friend. But Rock wanted this face to face to tell him a few things. One: Cody has been a great champion, but he needs to understand. Yes, The Rock, The Final Boss, is on the Board of TKO. And TKO owns WWE.
The Rock is the Director of the Board of TKO. Don’t boo that! The Rock’s good friend, Ari Emanuel, who owns everything Endeavor, The Rock joked with Ari, “Can you believe that you own The WWE?” Ari says he doesn’t own the WWE, The Rock does. Rock said no, no, he doesn’t know if he owns the WWE. But The Rock knows he is the most powerful… Cody, you are a great champion. But Rock wants Cody to be something more. Rock wants Cody to be something more than just our champion. Rock wants Cody to be his champion. The fans don’t like where that’s going.
Cody says he did not expect them to become friends, nor their moms to become friends, nor the tequila. Cody didn’t have that on his bingo card. But becoming The Rock’s champion? The Rock of all people should know, Cody is the people’s champion. The fans cheer Cody more, and Rock says yes! Cody is their champion! Of course! The Rock is also The People’s Champion, he loves that about Cody. This is their universe, they were both born into this business. But Rock means something even bigger than just this. Rock knows Cody’s goal is to bring as much joy and happiness to everyone around the world, as many as possible.
The fans cheer, and Rock says that’s Cody. Cody is that guy, and everyone knows it. Cody is on social media, Instagram, millions of followers. Millions, and millions! The Rock has half a BILLION. That’s not a flex. But The Rock is the most followed American man in the world, that’s what he wants for Cody. Rock wants Cody to be even higher. If Cody becomes The Rock’s Champion, he will open doors to possibilities Cody never even imagined. If Cody becomes The Rock’s Champion, every dream he has ever had can come true. Every dream of Brandi’s, of their daughter’s. Think about how Rock brought them to the premiere of Moana 2, in Hawaii.
Thank you, by the way, for making that cross a BILLION dollars, fans, Rock loves you. Rock has met the Rhodes family, they’re amazing. But imagine it: Cody’s daughter’s children, their dreams, long after Rock and Cody are gone, all those dreams can come true. Rock just needs Cody to be his champion. The fans say don’t do it! Rock tells Cody to just think about it, though. Rock is a very lucky man, he has it all. Cody also has it all. They’re very fortunate. They’re Mama’s Boys, they’re Girl Dads, they’re lucky men. Fans say don’t do it, Rock tells them to shut up or he’ll slap the syphilis off their face! Rock is trying to have a moment here, shut your mouths!
The one thing that Rock has never had, that he wants more than anything, is a brother. And that is what Cody can be. Last year, WrestleMania, Rock’s goal was to face his cousin, Roman Reigns, for the title. Cody knows, the fans know. Rock talked with his friend, HHH. He talked with Nick Khan, who is his friend. They are also Cody’s friends. Rock knew it wasn’t in the plans, but they talked about moving Cody aside to make what was best for business: Rock VS Roman, WrestleMania 40! What’d Cody do? Cody pitched a b*tch fit! Cody told The Rock he ain’t doing it, and he stood up to The Rock. And y’know what else? Cody SLAPPED Rock!
No one does that and gets away with it. But that is why Cody is special. That is why Cody should be Rock’s Champion. And that is why Rock will take Cody from where he is to a level so far above. Rock will make sure every dream, every desire, for generations to come, it all comes true. Rock’s dad, Cody’s dad, Soul Man & American Dream, they are looking down right now. They were friends, Cody and Rock are friends, Cody should be Rock’s Champion. He doesn’t need to answer Rock tonight. He can think about it, talk with his wife and daughter, as will The Rock. Then Cody can think about it. Meet Rock in Toronto on March 1st to give him the answer.
Fans still say don’t do it, but Rock says it is okay. Before he leaves, this has been an amazing night, this is a hot crowd, thank you all very much. But before he leaves, Rock wants us to know this: The one thing Rock wants more than anything in this world… is that. Wait, the title? Cody’s title? The fans’ title? This is all this is about? No no no no! Brother… Rock doesn’t want the title. He wants Cody’s soul. The fans duel, “NO! NO! NO!” “SELL YOUR SOUL!” Rock pats Cody on the cheek and says see you in Toronto. The Rock leaves, giving Cody a lot to think about. Rock does give one last glance back at Cody, then smirks.
What will The American Nightmare choose: His integrity? Or his aspirations?
WWE Tag Team Championships: #DIY VS Pretty Deadly!
Did Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano got these titles thanks to Kit Wilson & Elton Prince? #YESBOY! Did they survive a couple title defenses thanks to Kit & Elton? #YESBOY! But when Pretty Deadly needed DIY, was DIY there for them? #NOBOY! So now, Kit & Elton are looking to give Ciampa & Gargano their comeuppance! Will we finally get another #SidePlateCheck? Or will Ciampa & Gargano remember for themselves, that if you wanna be champions, you gotta do it yourself?
But as DIY make their entrance, they have mics, and Johnny Wrestling tells NOLA, “Give it up one time for your TWO-TIME WWE Tag Team Champions…! The BTTITW (Best Tag Team In The World), D I Y~!” The fans boo instead. Ciampa says there is no denying that tonight has been electrifying. Gargano says this is a hot crowd. But please, if we could be somber for a second. Guys, this is serious. Two weeks ago, Pretty Deadly embarrassed DIY, and now reluctantly, DIY will return that favor by crushing their hopes and dreams of ever becoming WWE Tag Team Champions. So please, let us all rise to our feet… Yes, you in the LSU jersey, stand up.
Ciampa thanks Wade Barrett, and asks for everyone to remove their hands and bow their heads for a moment of silence for Pretty Deadly, beginning… now. The fans boo instead! And then Pretty Deadly make their entrance! The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and we see who really needed who in this broken relationship!
But then DIY jumps Pretty Deadly! The ref reprimands, DIY whip but Pretty Deadly reverses! DOUBLE DORPKICKS! Then DOUBLE LARIATS send DIY up and out! The disco ball hasn’t even stopped spinning! The fans cheer while DIY throw a fit! They regroup, cool down, and go back to the ring. Gargano distracts Elton, Ciampa CLOBBERS him, and the bell rings. But Elton fires hands on Ciampa! Elton whips, Ciampa reverses and he pulls hair! The ref reprimands, Ciampa throws Elton to the apron and KNEES him down! Tag to Gargano and he aims, SUPERKICK! Elton goes down in a heap, DIY cheers themselves on, and SmackDown goes to break!
SmackDown returns, Gargano tags in, and DIY hits the BACK SUPLEX BOMBO COMBO! Cover, TWO! Elton stays in this but Gargano tags Ciampa back in. Gargano sends Ciampa in, but Elton ELBOWS him away! Gargano runs in, but Elton puts him on the apron! Gargano goes after Kit, but Kit blocks the kick! Kit BOOTS Gargano down, but then Ciampa BOOTS Kit! Elton dodges Ciampa to come back, DOUBLE CROSSBODIES collide! Elton and Ciampa are down, sputtering and writhing, and the fans rally up. Elton crawls, Kit rises, hot tags to Kit and Gargano! Kit rallies on DIY with big forearms! Kit whips, Gargano reverses, Kit UPPERCUTS!
Kit UPPERCUTS Ciampa in a corner, then LARIATS! Kit runs to LARIAT Gargano! Kit pushes Gargano down, kicks him and hits a TWIST- NO, Gargano slips through to ROCK Kit! Kit yoyos, DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans fire up, Kit tags Elton! They get Gargano up, but Gargano BOOTS Elton! Gargano ELBOWS Kit away, then runs up on Elton! Elton dodges, then gives Kit the boost, DRY MARTI-KNEES! Cover, TWO!! Gargano survives but Ciampa is in! Elton fireman’s carries Ciampa, but Ciampa slips free! Ciampa whips, Elton reverses, Kit UPPERCUTS Ciampa! Elton shows off his strength with the GOTCH LIFT PLEX!
Tag to Kit, but IN COME THE PROFITS! Ford SHOVES Kit down, Dawkins mugs him!!
Winners: Pretty Deadly, by disqualification; DIY retain the titles
Not again! Just like they did Motor City Machine Guns, The Profits make sure no one else takes these titles off DIY! URENAGE from Ford to Elton! Dawkins keeps hammering away on Kit, and then Ford POSTS Elton! Dawkins fireman’s carries Kit, to POST him, too! Looking like the All Mighty with that one! Gargano fires forearms in return, but ends up int he POUNCE GERMAN SUPLEX! Then Ciampa runs up into a FLAPJACK! Ford goes up top, then flies in FROM THE HEAVENS!! Direct hit on Ciampa! But wait! MCMG rushes out here, wanting their payback! The Profits brawl with MCMG, but Ford TOSSES Shelley to the apron!
Ford runs up, Shelley goes to kick, but Ford blocks it! Ford LARIATS Shelley down, Dawkins hits Sabin with THE BIG ENDING! The fans are torn as Dawkins whips Sabin, Profits get him for the REVELATION!! And if there’s been any revelation, it is that Ford & Dawkins don’t just want the smoke, they want to burn down the tag division to get it! Will nothing stop them once they’re back in action?
Kevin Owens speaks.
“You got what you wanted, huh? You got your match. You couldn’t, uh… You couldn’t just take the punishment that you deserved, that I’d already given you, and let it go. No, you… You wanted me and you to go again. You wanted to fight me, you want to hurt me, you want to end my career, which would hurt my family, by the way. Which is truly despicable. But what about your family, Sami? Huh? Have you thought of them? What about your family, huh?” Kevin reveals he is right outside the Zayn home! Kevin peers inside to watch Sami, his wife, and his son!
Kevin asks Sami via the video if Sami knows what he’s about to put them through, when they have to watch Kevin end Sami’s career. And what happens then, eh? When Sami can’t provide for them, and everything they have, like this nice house, the shelter, the security, the peace they have, when it’s all gone? And why? What for? Because Sami’s too proud? Because Sami’s selfish? Sami IS selfish. Because Sami is making Kevin do this to Sami’s family. Kevin will never forgive Sami for that. He’ll see Sami in Toronto. “But remember… You asked for this. It’s all your fault.” As if Kevin’s delusions aren’t already grand, will he continue to blame everyone else but himself?
Damian Priest & Braun Strowman VS Solo Sikoa & Jacob Fatu w/ Tama Tonga!
Elimination Chamber is on the horizon, and the Road to WrestleMania makes for strange bedfellows. Priest, Braun and Jacob were fighting each other just last week, but Solo’s return really threw things for a loop. Can Priest & Braun give Solo and the Samoan Werewolf their punishment? Or will everything (not) be fine in Solo’s Bloodline?
SmackDown returns as #OneBigSOB makes his entrance. As Solo, Jacob & Tama head to gorilla, we hear from Solo. “Tonight, we handle business. And it starts with Braun Strowman & Damian-” Jacob interrupts with, “Man, c’mon, DP! C’mon, Braun! I thought we did this! So tonight, we about to even up the score. If you ain’t know, I’m all gas, no brakes with it! See, since we touched the scene, we been dropping bodies like bread crumbs! Yadada mean!? FA-TUUU~! Hit my music!” The rogues enter to Jacob’s theme, is this alone proof he’s the new alpha? Or will the match be the last nail in that coffin?
The teams sort out, but Jacob stares down both Priest and Braun. NOLA seems to acknowledge Jacob, but Solo convinces him to stand down. Solo starts against Priest, the bell rings, and the two tie up. They go around, Priest powers Solo back, but Solo powers Priest back. They break, stare down, and Solo talks some trash. Solo shoves Priest, Priest shoves back. They circle again, tie up, and Priest puts Solo in a corner. The ref counts, Priest lets off at 4, but Solo stomps Priest’s foot! Solo throws hands, then a HEADBUTT! Priest staggers, but then he ROCKS Solo! And ROCKS him! And HEADBUTTS! That was a mistake!
Solo shakes his head to HEADBUTT Priest! Priest goes to a corner, Solo throws haymakers and body shots on repeat! The ref counts, Solo lets off and says see? Solo and Jacob as one! But Priest THROWS Solo to the corner to fire off haymakers of his own! Priest ROCKS Solo, the fans fire up, and Priest whips., Solo reverses to UPPERCUT! Solo talks smack but Priest ROCKS him again! Tag to Braun and the fans fire up! Braun stares Jacob down, tells him to shove it, then runs up to SPLASH Solo! Braun stares Jacob down again, goes back for Solo, and hits another LARIAT! Braun scoops, Solo slips free, but Braun runs up!
Solo ELBOWS Braun away, tags to Jacob, and Jacob runs in, but Braun dodges! Braun CROSSBODIES! Jacob is right up, but Braun BOOTS him right back down! Solo runs in but Braun TOSSES him! Priest hurries after Solo, Braun CLOBBERS Jacob! LEAPING LARIAT for Solo! Braun then gets on the track, STROWMAN EXPRESS SMACKS a chair out of Tama’s hand! The Good Bad Guy thought he was being sneaky! But then Jacob CROSSBODIES Braun into the timekeeper’s aera! The fans go wild as Jacob rises up, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Jacob hauls Braun up, drags him around the way, HEADBUTTS him, then brings him over to SMACK off the desk! Braun staggers, but he ROCKS Jacob in return! And THROWS Jacob into steel steps! Braun drags Jacob up, puts him in the ring, but Jacob SUPERKICKS Braun! Braun falls into the corner, Jacob HIP ATTACKS! Jacob’s all geeked up, then he tags in Solo. Solo soaks up some heat while Jacob HIP ATTACKS Braun again! Solo puts Braun on ropes to CHOKE him! The ref counts, Solo stops at 4, but Jacob gets a HEADBUTT in! Braun flounders, Solo taunts him and eggs him on, but Braun CHOPS him!
Solo HEADBUTTS Braun right down! Solo rains down fists, then lets off so he can put Braun on the ropes. Solo CHOKES Braun again, stops as the ref counts 4, and Jacob gets another cheap shot in! Solo tags Jacob in, then he HEADBUTTS Braun again and again! Jacob runs to BODY CHECK Braun! Jacob fires up, Braun flounders to ropes, but Jacob rains down fists! Tag to Solo, he soaks up heat from NOLA, then he stomps away on Braun! The ref counts, Solo lets off, then he keeps Braun from Priest by anchoring a leg. Tag to Jacob and Jacob climbs up, FROG SPLASH! Jacob roars while Braun writhes!
Jacob looms over Braun but he glares at Priest. Priest gets heated, but Jacob fires hands on Braun as SmackDown returns to single picture. Braun stands, but Jacob HEADBUTTS him again! Jacob runs for another BODY CHECK! And then a SENTON! Cover, TWO! Braun stays in this and he goes to a corner. Jacob snarls, tags Solo in, and the fans boo. Solo runs corner to corner to HIP ATTACK Braun! Solo grins as he copies Jacob’s geeking out. Tag back to Jacob and fans cheer! Jacob aims, runs, and HIP ATTACKS! Jacob keeps going, but Braun BOOTS from below!! The fans fire up while both men stagger to their feet.
Braun SPINEBUSTERS Jacob! Both monsters are down, the fans rally up, and they crawl, hot tags to Solo and Priest! Priest fires hands on Solo, then whips. Solo reverses but Priest SHOUDLER TACKLES Solo! Priest runs to BACK ELBOW! Jacob is back, but Priest dodges to WHEEL KICK! Priest then waits on Solo, but Solo catches Priest! Priest elbows free, but Solo SUPERKICKS! But Priest JUMPING ROUNDHOUSES! Solo comes back, Priest ROCKS him first! Solo swings, but into the FLATLINER! Cover, TWO! Solo survives but Priest puts him in a corner. Priest whips corner to corner, then runs, only for Solo to put him on th eapron!
Solo takes as swing, Priest dodges and ROUNDHOUSES! Priest then knuckle locks with Solo, goes up top, and he tightrope walks for some OLD SCHOOL! The fans fire up and Priest powers up the arm! Priest runs, but Solo ducks the Comebacker! Priest fights the fireman’s carry to BELL CLAP, ROUNDHOUSE, and then he reels Solo in! But Tama is on the apron! Priest DECKS Tama, but Jacob HOTSHOTS Priest! Solo hits the URENAGE! Cover, TWO!! Priest survives and Solo is stunned! Solo snarls, looks to his taped-up thumb, then he drags Priest up. The fans boo but Solo taunts the fans now. SAMOAN- NO! Priest grabs Solo!
But Jacob runs in! Priest ROCKS Jacob, ELBOWS Solo, then he dodges, so Jacob’s SUPERKICK hits Solo! An accident just like last week’s shot to Tama, but Jacob doesn’t seem as upset by it. Priest TOSSES Jacob, then CLOBBERS Solo! STROWMAN EXPRESS CLOBBERS Jacob & Tama!! Priest brings down the straps, the fans are thunderous, and Priest grabs Solo by the neck! SOUTH OF HEAVEN!! Cover, Priest & Braun win!
Winners: Damian Priest & Braun Strowman, by pinfall
Just as Solo thought it’d be like before, he and Jacob were not on the same page! Priest is rolling towards Elimination Chamber, will this be just what he needs to go back to WrestleMania?
My Thoughts:
A great SmackDown here, but with some interesting moves after the sudden change in plans with The Rock showing up. Naomi and Bianca had a good promo to hype up what was meant to be a full match of Naomi VS Liv, but word had already come out before the show that things were being cut for time. But at the very least, they did the right thing of making it a brawl that adds heat to the tag title match on Monday. Also, hilarious how Chelsea & Piper thought the beatdown on Bianca & Naomi was so bad that they would need to be pulled from the Chamber. I also can’t wait to see what happens on Toronto SmackDown.
As for The Rock, I do appreciate he used his authority to kayfabe change more things, all so he could have his promo with Cody. I also appreciate Rock blending his different roles and even different sides, both Heel and Face, to A) bring the news of WM42 being in NOLA, and B) recreate the Corporate Champion/People’s Champion story from the Attitude Era. That was some wild stuff he was saying to Cody. I’m sure quite a few people will try and talk with Cody next week in the go-home. Heels will say do it because they’d love to have what Rock can give, Faces will say not because Cody’s better than that. But naturally, Cody is not going to become The Rock’s Champion, causing Rock to turn on him and really up things going into WrestleMania 41 and perhaps even beyond.
Good stuff in the Elimination Chamber related stories. Jimmy VS McIntyre was great stuff to open, and how fitting that McIntyre loses to Jimmy after talking all that trash about Jimmy and Jey being the same. Jey got McIntyre with something quick, Jimmy got McIntyre with something quick, McIntyre’s ego is obviously his weakness. And at the same time, McIntyre of course destroys Jimmy after because that’s his other personality trait. Priest had good promos with Cody and Braun, and we got great stuff from Solo’s Bloodline. Naturally, we got a miscommunication spot to help finish, we’re really close to Solo VS Jacob, I can feel it. Priest & Braun get the win, mostly because Priest isn’t winning in the Chamber when you’ve got Punk and Cena in there.
Very good stuff with Tiffy Time, from the promos leading into the match to Charlotte being ringside just to watch. Nia & Candice of course get the better of Tiff & Trish, because Tiff & Trish are definitely winning the tag match in Toronto. Charlotte just seems to enjoy trolling Tiff with her presence, so Charlotte probably shows up in Toronto to then confront Tiff after the match. I expect the seven weeks after Elimination Chamber to really heat up, as will Charlotte’s involvement, where she’ll get more active verbally and physically. Also, hell, Rock should go full Corporation and have Charlotte be his Corporate Women’s Champion because of how established she is.
Hilarious stuff from Truth tonight, as always. Truth and Melo having their “who’s on first” again was good stuff, and of course Miz gets in on this story, too. Truth & Knight VS “Melo Don’t Miz” was really fun, but yeah, should’ve figured Nakamura would get involved, too. Melo & Miz making it work could also be really fun, and while Knight VS Nakamura is a rehash, I really hope they find a way to up things. It feels like we’re getting the same with the tag titles as Profits “ruined” that great tag match from DIY and Pretty Deadly, then brawled with MCMG to still come out on top. Last year had a ladder tag title match, so why not do one for these titles this year?
Speaking of escalating, Kevin filming a promo outside Sami’s house was some really well done stuff, as expected of someone as good as Kevin and in such a story as him and Sami. Their match should main event, it needs time to breathe, as it could be just as, if not more violent, than the Chamber matches. What a powerful closing moment we could have if it’s a bloody Kevin and Sami, and one of them is standing over the other, triumphant yet mournful because it was their best friend in the world that they just brutalized.
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 LIVE! iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 2.20.2025
So the first live episode got fairly positive praise from everyone; will this continue the trend?
Filming at Full Sail seems to have set the stage nicely this week! Going into a Live episode we got Moose and The Hardy Boyz on NXT, as well as Jordynne Grace’s involvement with Steph and Giulia giving a little shine to TNA happenings since she’s newly WWE.
This episode should be interesting, we finally see Lei Ying Lee (fka Xia Li) back in action, Rascalz take on Tyson and Tyriek, Tessa should be seeing some action as well…so generally interesting happenings for the second Live iMPACT! of 2025. Let’s see how this one goes down!
No matter where @ManceWarner and @stephdelander go, @TheSamiCallihan WILL FIND THEM!
Watch #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/NY8HgI02kY pic.twitter.com/mXz9U7m9PL
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) February 21, 2025
Ratings:
- Tyson & Tyriek w/Wes Lee vs The Rascalz w/Ace Austin: Rascalz win via Meteora/Swanton Combo – ***
- Lei Ying Lee vs Rosemary: Lei wins via Thunderstruck – **
- NoDQ Match: Leon Slater vs JDC: Dango wins via The System help – ** 3/4
- Masha Slamovich vs Mila Moore: Masha wins via Requiem – N/A
- Elijah & Joe Hendry vs The Colons: Elijah wins via Tombstone Piledriver – *** 1/4
Results:
Oh yeah, and another Hendry concert is…cut off by a commercial, LOLTNA. First Hendry is cut off by AXSTV’s new Anime Hour bumper, and now Primo and Epico are showing up in TNA. I definitely didn’t have this on my BINGO card. The crowd starts chanting “Where’s Carlito”, which they do acknowledge and play off of well. Oh they’re using their shoot names of Orlando and Eddie now…but before they attack the lights go out and we get another guitar strum! ELIAH/ELIAS/EZEKIEL/EBENERZER/EMERY/EL VAGABUNDO – shows up to back up Hendry. Okay I can apologize away the redundant concert since it played into an Elijah debut. The crowd is immediately popping and chanting “This is Awesome” 10 minutes into the show.
Tyson & Tyriek w/Wes Lee vs The Rascalz w/Ace Austin
Treehouse bros take it to the bigger men quickly, a few fast dives, a little MCMG style tandem strikes, Tyson fires and tries to take them out but they Low Bridge him. Tyriek comes in and they try similar things but Tyriek manhandles them both and throws them out of the ring, Trey is the first one back up and Tyriek and Tyson take his damn head off with his Corkscrew Running Euro Upper. Trey finally manages to flip out of the manhandle, tags in Wentz and Wentz goes for the hot and spicy cleaning house spot. Corner to Corner Knee Lifts for both big men, a Rolling Snapmare, into a Superkick for Tyson and Standing Shoot Star on Tyriek but only for two because Wes feints like he’s going to interfere.
Tyson and Tyriek pull off a tandem Assisted Backdrop Driver, but Wentz breaks it up, Tyson gets knocked out, Wentz hits the Tornillo, Wes tries to interfere again after Trey gets perched on the corner buckle but Ace runs around and trips Wes at the last second causing him to faceplant on the apron, Trey hits the Meteora, Wentz hits a Swanton from the other side of the ring and Trey gets the pinfall victory.
It was fast paced, all gas no brakes, but it didn’t overstay its welcome, so it was pretty fun all things considered.
After the match Wes grabs a mic, complains a little but challenges them to a 6 man match as Sacrifice. So we’re THAT’S where we’re getting the expected 3v3.
Fir$t Cla$$ comes out with an entourage of hot chicks and probably influencers or something. The “First Class Penthouse” , Gabby AF, Mafiosa Valentina, and Carolina are apparently known in their own way. Gabby I know was the awful one who did something for Impact a last year and sucked, but she’s part of the Busted Open Network I believe so that’s why she’s around. Two of them look like Noelle Foley and Frank the Clown…oh they actually are. Look at that. I do love KC Navarro as the Hype Man, they have this whole set up of AJ being mad that they haven’t gotten more Tag Title shots, so TNA placated him with his own Piper’s Pit and he’s *pregnant pause* totally happy with that. He says he loved Piper and hated Hogan before it was cool.
This is actually quality content and AJ is cutting a nice promo in this segment. They introduce their first guest, the greatest performer in TNA history, many whole say he’s Phenomenal with a whole lot of style….it’s A-J-Francis.
.@AJFrancis410 is GOING OFF!
Watch #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/NY8HgI02kY pic.twitter.com/kGehtp9iTE
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) February 21, 2025
Lei Ying Lee vs Rosemary
Things were slow until Rosemary took her into a corner quickly, hit the Upside Down, and we get a lot of Lei trying to avoid Rosemary’s offense. Rosemary goes for a Spear in the corner and Lei forward rolls, starts connecting with a bunch of right hands, backs Rosemary into the corner, goes for 10 Count Punches, pulls her out, Airplane Spin TKO for only a two count. Rosemary tries As Above So Below, Lei shrugs it off, Rosemary tries to go after Lei anyway and eats Thunderstruck! Lei Ying Lee wins!
After the match Rosemary catches Lei on the ramp and hits the Green mist in the eyes. Match was far too short and so many of Lei’s set up moves look better than her finish. We’ve seen Kofi Kingston do it for years so it’s not bad, just the current Knockouts Division are awful and don’t take the move well.
Eric Young and the jabronis come out, EY cuts a very basic power crazed psycho kind of promo, gets the “What” chants from the crowds. EY is trying to recruit Maclin even though Maclin made his line in the sand last week. EY tries to spin it as maybe he took out Josh FOR Maclin instead of in spite of his trust. This really doesn’t seem interesting at all, but that’s probably because I hate the two Jabronis EY is with.
NoDQ Match: Leon Slater vs JDC
I really don’t have any interest in Slater. He’s got no personality beyond “flippy guy with a British accent”.
Dango immediately powders, grabs a chair and goes to swing on him but misses. So Leon is making JDC look dumb by dodging the post chop, using the chair to shield himself from a punch by JDC, and then clapping Dango’s fingers between the chair. So typical System match, look inept for the first few minutes, then take advantage of something to take over. Oh look, Leon takes too long setting up the table, Dango gets in a few pot shots, tries to whip him into the table but Leon leaps over it, and then leaps back over to clobber Dango. Dango is still trying to recover so Leon hits his over the corner post con hilo, and the crowd appreciates it but I’m not interested. Leon panders to the crowd after the big spot and then eats an X-Plex into the chair from Dango.
JDC throws Leon back in, goes for a pinfall that’s only a two and we cut to a commercial. Coming out of the commercial JDC is in control with a Kendo Stick until he isn’t, Leon counters and takes the keno stick, brutalizes Dango a few times then comes off the ropes with the kendo shot for 2. Leon goes for another table, and again, at least the crowd is receptive to this match. Leon sets it up, looks for something off the apron but Dango stops him first until he eats a dropkick to fall onto the table, Leon hits the Swanton 450 through the table on the outside. Does it look cool? Sure. Do I care about dumbass moves? Nope.
Oh thankfully the rest of The System comes out to stop the pinfall, Shield Bomb Leon through the first table, and roll him back in for Dango to win.
The Hardy Boyz come out to try and make the save, but the numbers are against them, so Oba Femi’s music hits! Oba cleans house but doesn’t get his hands on Moose, so they’re at least building the eventual clash between Moose and Oba.
The crowd starts a “Tessa, we comin for you” chant before she even starts talking. Tessa is actually playing off the crowd well, Santino’s music hits and Tessa thinks he’ll help her out with the crowd and Santino calls bullshit basically. Santino says if Tessa doesn’t wrestle next week, she’s fired and Masha’s music hits. Masha decides to step in for Tessa’s enhancement talent match.
Masha Slamovich vs Mila Moore
Jobber tries to attack Masha early but Masha stops her, rocks her and Requiem ends the match.
Masha stares down Tessa, and then Cora Jade attacks from behind and hits Jaded.
Ryan Nemeth comes out to his Abyss music remix. What will Mokuba say today? “MYYYY BIIIGG BBRROOOOTTHHHEEEEER” he repeats at least 4 times and it’s hilariously cringe. He announces that Nic will return at Sacrifice, he literally just came out to give a PSA.
Elijah & Joe Hendry vs The Colons
Hendry starts with Eddie, after a brief tie up it seems like Hendry reads the room and points at Elijah and the crowd wants him in. So Joe tags in Elijah, a little back and forth, Shoulder Tackle from Elijah, Rope Walk with Elijah lays out Eddie and a tag to Joe allows for a quick tandem knockdown, but Eddie powders as the Walking and Talking Duo hold the ring going into the final commercial break.
We come back and Hendry is bouncing Orlando off the ropes as he return a strike, but Orlando is obviously losing, eats a Euro Upper, and then gets walked around in the Stalling Suplex for posterity. Eddie tries a sneak attack but gets caught and Sack of Shit, into Kip Up, turn and then Orlando with the ambush! A few quick short cuts and an Irish Whip/Dropkick combo gives the Colons a near fall. Hendry does get locomotion variation cradles, but eats a Dropkick to stop the attempt at momentum. Orlando stays on Joe, but Joe finally starts to fire up as the crowd starts to get behind him. Euro Uppers make some space, but a Snapmare says no.
Eddie gets tagged in and a quick Leg Sweep into a Front Chancery keeps Eddie in control. As Joe tries to get back up, Eddie turns it into a Guillotine, but finally the Suplex counter connects for Hendry! Simultaneous tags! Elijah bulls over Orlando, catches a Leap Frogging Orlando with the Manhattan Drop as Orlando retreats to a corner, Stinger Splash into Spinebuster for two. Elijah tries to keep up the attacks but Orlando finds a few ways to make space, launches himself from the middle rope and eats the Jumping Knee! Eddie breaks up the pinfall, Hendry takes Eddie out and Elijah hits the Tombstone Piledriver for the win!
Overall Score: 6/10
Well there were more live hiccups than the first episode, and this felt both more epic and less epic at the same time. Elijah and the Colons debuting was a nice way to kick things off, Oba Femi showing up for the save was fantastic. There were a few decent matches, but also a lot of really short and rushed matches. Tessa played off the crowd well, but Masha really is useless on the mic. Lei Ying Lee needs to framed stronger, her matches have done nothing to show off her ability. It just proves that the Knockouts don’t know how to sell a kick to the head because they all take it in the shoulder and fall in corny ways.
Viva La Sam could be something fun if the next 3 weeks are just hand cam footage of him being like “I’m Sami Callihan and I’m gonna kick Mance Warner’s ass”, Elegance Clique getting the rematch with a stipulation is nice to see and while I like Fir$t Cla$$, that segment went a little long for a cornball swerve payoff. It’s one thing to placate the Influencer squad especially when we’ve seen Logan Paul and Ishowspeed do so well in WWE…but these are like Z Tier Influencers that no one cares about. These kind of dorks stream on Kick because they aren’t relevant enough for Twitch, not because they chose Kick over it.
So yeah, the low lights were pretty low, and the highs were a little fleeting, but at least they were pretty fun. Not a bad show, just clunky with noticeable issues and Masha shouldn’t be allowed to speak English anymore. She’s such a charisma vacuum when she’s not rambling in Russian.
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!
Oblong Ball Foot Show: One For The Road
The Philadelphia Eagles are Super Bowl Champions! Tune in as we recap an excellent NFL season and touch on a...
Oblong Ball Foot Show: Super Bowl LIX Preview
The culmination of a season long journey is upon us. Andrew, Rey and Tunney break it all down for you...
The Front and Center Sports Podcast – NFL Conference Championships and Jimmy Butler
The Chairshot presents a new episode of The Front and Center Sports Podcast, with an NFL Conference Championship preview, and...
Oblong Ball Foot Show: NFL Conference Championships
It's Championship Sunday and the gents have you covered as we breakdown both AFC and NFC title games!
Oblong Ball Foot Show: NFL Divisional Playoffs
Rey, Andrew and Tunney catch you up on the NFL coaching carousel and breakdown the Divisional round matchups.
Bandwagon Nerds #276: Do You Style Your Moustache?
The Nerds continue their review of Season 3 of Invincible, review Captain America: Brave New World, and check out trailers...
Bandwagon Nerds #275: Master of Porpoise
The Nerds begin their review of Season 3 of Invincible and look at the latest trailers for Final Destination, Jurassic...
Mitchell’s Hyrule Puro-Resu News Report! (2/5/25)
There’s a lot going on this time around!
Bandwagon Nerds #274: Rey Cash Caught Sleeping On The Job
Tune in for another episode of BANDWAGON NERDS for your weekly fix in the world of Comics & Pop Culture!
Mitchell’s Hyrule Puro-Resu Results & Report! (1/31/25)
The Bracket of Courage!
Mitchell’s WWE SmackDown Results & Report! (2/21/25)
The Final Boss is back!
Andrew’s TNA LIVE! iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 2.20.2025
So the first live episode got fairly positive praise from everyone; will this continue the trend?
Mitchell’s ROH Results & Report! (2/20/25)
Anillo de Honor!
DWI Podcast #464: NXT Vengeance Day & SNL 50
NBA All-Star weekend, SNL 50th anniversary and plenty of Rasslin' talk this week on the DWI podcast.
Mitchell’s AEW Dynamite Results & Report! (2/19/25)
Phoenix is Dynamite!
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (2/18/25)
NXT is Absolute!
Mitchell’s ROH Global Wars Australia Results & Report! (2/17/25)
G'day, mates!
Mitchell’s WWE Raw Results & Report! (2/17/25)
Visionary VS Prince!
#TheOddity 028: One Monkey = Total Chaos
Join Dave Wortz and PC Tunney for your weekly newsletter on the ridiculous and dumb of actual headlines from around...
Mitchell’s AEW Grand Slam: Australia Results & Report! (2/15/25)
AEW goes down under!
-
Coverage6 days agoMitchell’s WWE Vengeance Day Results & Report! (2/15/25)
-
AEW Coverage6 days ago
Mitchell’s AEW Grand Slam: Australia Results & Report! (2/15/25)
-
Coverage3 days ago
Mitchell’s ROH Global Wars Australia Results & Report! (2/17/25)
-
Podcasts7 days agoMindless Wrestling Podcast: Cena’s First Time Is Now!