Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (3/21/23)
Time for a grudge match!
Will NXT be UNBESIEGBAR?
While Stand & Deliver is on the horizon, Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh look to settle their NXT rivalry! Will the Czar trump the Irish Ace once and for all?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- NXT Women’s Championship Qualifier: Tiffany Stratton VS Indi Hartwell; Tiffany wins and advances to the title match at Stand & Deliver.
- Ilja Dragunov VS JD McDonagh; Double Disqualification Draw.
- NXT Women’s Championship Qualifier: Lyra Valkyria VS Ivy Nile; Lyra wins and advances to the title match at Stand & Deliver.
- The Great Debate: Chase U VS The Schism; Chase U wins.
- Bron Breakker & Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams VS Pretty Deadly; Bron & Melo win.
PLAY BY PLAY
Pretty Deadly heads to the ring.
Kit Wilson & Elton Prince, the hosts of Stand & Deliver, are apparently just fine after getting thrown through a table last week. Elton has the mic to say, “Attention, attention. Quiet please. It is us, your hosts of Stand…” “And Deliver!” #YESBOY! And as their first official act as the hosts of Stand… and Deliver, they are officially wiping the footage of last week’s closing segment from the archives! You will no longer be able to view those “neckbearded mouth-breathing” Gallus boys cheat to win!
Nor will you see Bron Breakker & Carmelo Hayes jump them from behind to put them through a table! Elton already pretends to not know what happened. The gumption of those two! If not for the fact that these two are the hosts of Stand… and Deliver, those two wouldn’t even make it to Lala Land. Last week is history, today is a mystery. But let’s not get too far off the point. Let’s talk outfits for Stand… and Deliver! Now, hold on, talking about outfits, did you see those horrid ensembles both Melo and Bron were wearing last week? Main event talent, sure. But main event style? But wait, here come Trick Melo Gang!
Trick asks if his mic is working. It is. Good. Because he told the two bobbleheads to be quiet when grown-ups are talking. But Pretty Deadly interrupted so they had to get some “table service.” Melo says not to get it twisted. He was so dripped out, he left puddles! Talk about it. While Melo prepares for his biggest match ever, Pretty Deadly is standing here with his name in their mouths? In all fairness, Mr. Melo, Kit said it. Don’t try and be cute. HEY! They were born cute! They don’t have to try. HEY! Remember what Trick said about talking during grown folks business! We’re talking about the FUTURE NXT Champion! We don’t need that bad juju.
Trick figures Pretty Deadly shouldn’t talk the talk, but walk the walk. Um, hold on, there might be a break down in communication. They only speak the king’s English. But if they want to have a match, if Melo wants to jeopardize the main event of Stand…! And Deliver, then they ACCEPT! Good! Because tonight, the main event, Pretty Deadly VS the man, the myth and the legend, Carmelo Hayes, and his partner… BRON BREAKKER! Trick even tricks Melo there! But then Pretty Deadly attacks! They throw Trick out then mug Melo! But here comes BRON! Bron CLOBBERS Kit, DECKS Elton, and then TOSSES Kit! Elton runs in, he also gets TOSSED!
Bron trophy lifts Kit, and THRWOS him out onto Elton! Pretty Deadly has a pretty nasty landing, and the fans fire up! Bron offers Melo a hand, Melo takes it, and the two stand. Bron says nothing is gonna happen to Melo between now and Stand & Deliver. Melo scowls and takes his leave, but will the champion and challenger be able to stay civil on the Road to WrestleMania Weekend?
Trick and Melo regroup backstage.
Melo asks Trick what the heck, and Trick says he doesn’t know. That was all Trick Melo Gang, they didn’t need Bron. Bron wants Melo at his best, and he’ll get just that. And that means NEW NXT Champion, but he’s teaming with Bron now? Trick always has Melo’s back, right? Yeah, but Melo doesn’t wanna do that “Can they coexist?” crap! But Trick has Melo’s back. Melo needs to know Bron’s speed, flow and body control. Now he’ll have a front row seat. He’ll have the blueprint. Trick himself takes care of the conversation: “Thanks, Trick.” “You’re welcome, Melo.” And Pretty Deadly is easy money. Trick will make sure of that.
And at Stand & Deliver, the most important thing is still the most important thing. That’s all it is, and that’s all it’s gonna be.
NXT Women’s Championship Qualifier: Tiffany Stratton VS Indi Hartwell!
Daddy’s Little Rich Girl claimed she was going to Stand & Deliver even before Roxanne Perez retained the title against Meiko Satomura. But now with the title quite literally up in the air, will she take a spot in the ladder match? Or will #IndiWrestling finally have her moment in Hollywood?
The bell rings and fans rally behind Indi. Indi and Tiffany tie up, Indi headlocks, but Tiffany powers out. Indi runs Tiff over, covers, ONE! Indi wrenches an arm, RAMS shoulders, then wrenches again. Indi RAMS Tiff again, then YANKS the arm. Indi whips Tiff to a corner, runs in, but into a BOOT! Tiff runs in to CLOBBER Indi! Cover, TWO! Tiffany is annoyed but she drags Indi up. Indi wrenches out, and short arm LARIATS right back! And then short arm LARIATS again! Tiff dodges the next one, kicks low and snap suplexes! Cover, TWO! Fans rally, Tiff stomps Indi and talks trash, but Indi hits back!
Tiffany CLUBS Indi, drags her up and whips her to a corner hard! Indi bounces off buckles and Tiffany taunts her more. Indi blocks the whip, blocks it again, and ROCKS Tiffany with forearms! Tiffany kicks low, whips Indi hard into another corner, then runs to handspring and back elbow! Tiffany runs, but Indi avoids the stomps! Roll-up, TWO! Indi stomps Tiffany, puts her through ropes, and then uppercuts, but misses! Tiff trips Indi, but Indi kicks her away. Indi goes to the apron but Tiff TRIPS her! Indi hits the apron, Tiff says this is HER world and we’re all just living in it. Fans boo as NXT goes to break.
NXT returns and Tiffany has Indi in a chinlock. Indi endures, fights up, and throws body shots. Tiffany comes back, but into a JAWBREAKER! Indi runs in but Tiff sends her to ropes! Tiff runs to HIP ATTACK! Cover, TWO! Indi is still in this and Tiffany grows annoyed. Tiffany scoops but Indi slips off and waistlocks. Tiff runs to RAM Indi into buckles, then she DOUBLE STOMPS Indi down! Cover, TWO! Indi survives and fans rally up again. Tiffany drags Indi up, whips her to the corner, but Indi reverses. Tiffany goes up and over and handsprings, then comes back, but into Indi’s BIG back suplex!
Both women are down and fans rally back up. Indi and Tiffany crawl after each other, and Indi throws a forearm! Tiffany throws it back, but Indi throws another! They brawl as they stand up, Indi ROCKS and kicks and CLUBS and DECKS Tiffany! Fans fire up and Indi puts Tiffany through ropes to UPPERCUT and BOOT! Tiffany falls, Indi covers, TWO! Tiffany hangs tough but Indi runs in. Tiff dodges the boot to POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Indi is still in this and Tiffany pounds the mat in frustration. Fans boo as she goes to the apron, and Tiffany springboards. Indi avoids the swanton! SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO!!
Indi is surprised Tiffany survives, but she hurries to bring Tiffany up. Tiffany RAMS Indi into the corner, but Indi ELBOWS her back. Indi goes up but Tiffany YANKS her down! Fireman’s carry, and ROLLING SENTON! BEST MOONSAULT WHATEVER! Cover, Tiffany wins!
Winner: Tiffany Stratton, by pinfall (advances to Stand & Deliver)
Love her or hate her, the spoiled rich girl backed up her big talk. She is now the third woman to compete in the ladder match, but just how many more participants is HBK going to add?
Gallus is at the bar again.
They have more pints, they’re playing more pool, and they’re happy to be past Pretty Deadly. It is still Gallus Boys On Top! Mark Coffey breaks, but in walk the Creed Brothers. Gallus, funny seeing you guys here. Uh, everyone knows where to find them, Brutus. They’re not hard to find. They fancy a game? Sure, Gallus can break. Alright. Two more pints for Gallus, and uh, two glasses of milk for the Creeds. Milk? C’mon! Brutus will have what they’re having, but Julius is already too wild sober. They play a game, and once again, Gallus dominates the green felt. Eight ball, corner pocket for the win.
Great game, lads. Well, 8 Ball was never their game. Now darts? BULL’S EYE. Well alright, Gallus will throw. And just as Julius said, he and Brutus dominate. They want another round? Yeah, best two outta three. Except that round goes to the Creeds, too. Well, Gallus never took the Creeds for a pair of archers. Hey, they work hard in the dojo, and play hard outside. Well, between pool and darts, that just means they’re tied, 1-1. And they could go all day, but Julius has a better idea for the tiebreaker. Wolfgang and Mark know, too. Stand & Deliver, for the tag titles. No Pretty Deadly, no Indus Sher, the Creeds want the belts back.
Well, Gallus will gladly see them in LA, but the titles are staying with them. See you then. They all shake on it, then head out. Only for Tony D’Angelo & Channing Lorenzo to be waiting. Where’s everyone going? Next round’s on The Don. Because they have business to discuss. Stand & Deliver, that is. Really? Well, this is gonna be a long night. Everyone goes back inside the bar, will Tony and the Underboss get themselves a part in the Hollywood title picture?
Lyra Valkyria speaks.
As she runs up the stairs and through the halls of an abandoned building, she says, “Stand & Deliver, Los Angeles, get ready to soar.” But will she overcome her first obstacle here tonight?
Backstage interview with Gigi Dolin.
McKenzie Mitchell is with someone who has already qualified for the NXT Women’s Championship Ladder Match, and asks Gigi her feelings on the field so far. Gigi say sit is too early to judge. As sad as it is, if Roxie didn’t get hurt, this match wouldn’t be happening. Also, in regards to Jacy Jayne and her bad shoulder, sorry not sorry. Jacy tried to make Gigi’s life a living hell, so she can stay home and watch as Gigi climbs the ladder. The last time Gigi was in a ladder match, she won it. And she has been put through the wringer since. But mentally, no one has any idea. Gigi will do anything to-
Tiffany walks in to interrupt. She “loves” the confidence and all, but did you see her just win and get in that match? So Gigi and every other woman’s chances just went from “possible” to “absolutely screwed.” That title is Tiffany’s. Oh, another Tiffany Epiphany! Tiffany’s gonna win by climbing that ladder all the way to the tippy top! And she’ll love it. Tootles. Gigi makes a face, will Gigi slap that smug attitude right out of Tiffany come Stand & Deliver?
Wes Lee is in the ring.
“OOOH YO! Things have been absolutely crazy around here, right? And y’all have been enjoying these open challenges, correct?” Fans cheer and Wes says that’s good, because he has, too. But he constantly gets asked, “Why? Why are you doing it this way? Why continue to roll the dice? Eventually, your number’s gonna get called.” To Wes, he doesn’t wanna be a hypocrite. When he won this title at Halloween Havoc, it was his first shot at it. And he just knew he had to give it everything he had, because if he came up short, he doubted he’d ever get another shot. And now, as champion, he vows to give anyone the opportunity that was in that same position he was in.
Now, secondly, he knows he’s looking deep within himself, but he has a chip on his shoulder. He needs to prove not just to the world, but to himself, that he can and will compete against the best athletes in the world! That he deserves to carry the title! That he deserves to be our NXT North American Champion! Fans fire up for that, but Wes says many have seen a bit of this fire from that “creeper” vid of him and HBK. And HBK made it clear Wes had four spots for four superstars to compete against him at Stand & Deliver. But wait, here comes DRAGON LEE! Speaking of one of the best from around the world…!
Dragon Lee joins Wes Lee in the ring and has the mic. “Wow, wow, wow. Thank you, all. Nice to meet you, Wes.” Wes says it’s nice to meet him. Dragon says that he came to NXT for the same reason as Wes. But to Dragon, Wes IS the best. But y’know what? Dragon LOVES the chaos! And at Stand & Deliver in LA, Dragon wants to part of that challenge against Wes. Wes says this is what he loves. Wes has followed Dragon’s career from Mexico to Japan, and has wondered what’d it be like if the two of them tangled. And when Dragon signed with NXT, Wes thought it’d be like six to eight months before they got to.
But everyone knows Wes is impatient! So let’s make it official! Dragon gets the first spot! See you in LA! But wait, here comes the Irish Ace! JD McDonagh is going to face Dragunov later tonight, but he says, “Look what it is! Wes Lee, Dragon Lee, the Lees putting each other over. It’s funny you two are running your mouths about the best in the world, I’m backstage warming up. So Dragon, you’re new here, I’ll give you a pass this week. But I suggest you grab a chair, sit your ass front row, and watch a grandmaster at work when I dismantle Ilja Dragunov.” Fans boo but JD tells Wes, “What’s your excuse?”
Wes’ excuse? What’s gonna be JD’s excuse after Ilja rips him apart? Fans fire up for that! JD steps into the ring, and he says Wes should count himself lucky that JD hasn’t had his eyes on that title. Because if he had, not only would Wes not be standing here with it, he wouldn’t be standing at all. But wait! Here comes the Czar! JD is here, so Dragunov isn’t gonna wait! Time for the grudge match! Will either man be left standing after this one?
NXT Anonymous has another video.
Whoever they are, they watch as Indi storms backstage and takes her frustrations out on a trash can. Then she gets mad at Zoey for smirking. Indi asks, “What the hell are you looking at?” Zoey says, “Definitely not the next NXT Women’s Champion.” Zoey heads off, is this the end of the road for #IndiWrestling in NXT?
Kiana James watches in the locker room.
She says that was a pretty good line from Zoey. Fallon Henley then walks in and Kiana mocks Indi for not making it to Stand & Deliver. But they are, tag champ! Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre don’t stand a chance- Enough, Kiana. She knows what’s going on here. Fallon, don’t worry, Kiana isn’t worried about the singles title. No, not that! Sebastian! Kiana’s eyes go wide, but then she denies even recognizing that name. Save it, Kiana. Fallon was in your office. What?! How’d she even get past security!? Fallon says that doesn’t matter, she saw the flowers and the card. Card? What? PROOF! Kiana freaks out again!
How can Kiana even sleep at night, cheating on Jensen!? Fallon knew better than to trust Kiana! Now she’s gonna go tell Jensen. Oh, yes, go run to Brooks and tell him. That’ll screw up EVERYTHING before the biggest match in their careers! But Jensen is family! Kiana may not care about him, but Fallon does! Fallon storms off, what can Kiana do to stop the truth from getting out?
Ilja Dragunov VS JD McDonagh!
NXT returns and the bell rings. These two fire off forearms and fists right away! Dragon watches ringside just like JD wanted as Dragunov ROCKS him! JD rebounds to ROCK Dragunov, but Dragunov rebounds to ROCK JD! They keep going back and forth, then Dragunov BOOTS JD! JD roars as he stays up, but Dragunov ENZIGURIS him down! Now Dragunov roars and fans fire up! Dragunov KNEES JD in the side again and again, then drags him up to CLUB him on the back! Fans rally up for that, “ONE MORE TIME! ONE MORE TIME!” and Dragunov CLUBS JD again! Dragunov then whips JD to a corner, runs in, but JD slips out!
Dragunov knees the buckles, and JD trips him to slingshot TORNILLO SPLASH! Dragon is impressed, but fans boo as JD throws down forearms. Dragunov gets away to a corner, but JD storms up to COHP! JD digs his knee into Dragunov, the ref counts, and JD lets off at 4. Fans boo but JD brings Dragunov up to short arm LARIAT! Dragunov flounders, JD covers, TWO! JD drags Dragunov up to snap suplex! Cover, TWO! Dragunov gets away to ropes but JD stomps him. JD drags Dragunov up to wrench, but Dragunov breaks free and trips JD! JD avoids the falling forearm, and the backhand! Dragunov avoids the headbutts!
The forearm start flying again, and both men DECK each other! Fans are thunderous for “NXT! NXT!” and Dragon nods his respect. JD and Dragunov go forehead to forehead, and JD SLAPS! Dragunov SLAPS! It is a SLAP fight! Fans are thunderous again as the SLAPS keep going! JD swings, misses, GERMAN SUPLEX! Dragunov drags JD back up, but JD throws elbows. Dragunov still GERMAN SUPLEXES! Fans want that ‘ONE MORE TIME!” so Dragunov drags JD back up. JD fights the waistlock, pries it free to switch and shove, but Dragunov hits the CONSTANTINE SPECIAL! Both men are down and the fans are thunderous again!
Dragunov drags JD to a cover, TWO! “This is Awesome!” as Dragunov stands back up. Dragunov runs in to KNEE JD in the corner, then puts him down. Dragunov goes up, KNEE DROP! Dragunov roars and goes back up top! But JD stands to ROCK Dragunov! And CHOP! JD climbs up, but Dragunov fights back with body shots! Dragunov HEADBUTTS JD away, then adjusts. JD comes back to grab hair! JD THROWS Dragunov off the top! Fans boo and JD brings Dragunov up to throw him into ropes! Dragunov flops out of the ring and fans boo more while NXT goes picture in picture.
JD grins as he watches Dragunov down on the floor. Dragunov sputters and stirs but JD goes out after him. JD drags Dragunov up for an APRON BACK SUPLEX! Dragunov flounders away, JD hurries in, and he drops an AX HANDLE! Cover, TWO! JD kicks at Dragunov, but Dragunov eggs him on. JD stands Dragunov to ROCK him! Dragunov CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! But then his arm gives up! JD hits a BIG DDT!! Dragunov tumbles over his own head and neck! The ref checks him, he’s somehow okay to continue but he’s shaking. JD stands Dragunov up to whip him hard into the corner!
Dragunov falls to the mat, JD drags him to a cover, TWO! JD grows frustrated with Dragunov, and he clamps on a facelock. JD grinds Dragunov down, Dragunov fights up, and Dragunov pries free to wrench the arm. JD KNEES Dragunov low! Dragunov falls and clutches his gut, but JD stalks him to ropes. JD wrenches an arm, to hit an atomic BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Dragunov is still in this but JD keeps his focus. JD stomps Dragunov around, digs his boot in, and then gets the arm. JD steps through for a standing leg hook nelson! Dragunov endures as JD puts on more pressure, and NXT returns to single picture.
Fans rally, Dragunov bridges up against the hold, but JD just pushes him back down. JD straightens out the arm like an armbar, but Dragunov still fights. Dragunov has turned this into a STRETCH MUFFLER! Now JD endures and flails for the ROPEBREAK! Dragunov lets go at 4 and fans rally up. JD PENALTY KICKS Dragunov in the back! JD drags Dragunov up for Kawada Kicks! And then a SLAP! But Dragunov kips up, only for JD to duck the Pele! JD fires off more Kawada Kicks, but Dragunov HEADBUTTS! JD HEADBUTTS, but Dragunov kips up to PELE!! Fans are thunderous as both men are down again!
JD and Dragunov slowly rise, and fans hope they “FIGHT FOREVER!” This has to end somehow, and Dragunov rains down HAMMER ‘N’ ANVIL ELBOWS! Dragunov puts JD in a corner to CHOP him! And then stalks him to another corner, to CHOP him! Dragunov shoves JD to a corner, JD ducks the chop to ELBOW back! But Dragunov stands up to CHOP! And CHOP! And CHOP! CHOP! CHOP! JD pie faces Dragunov, but that just pisses Dragunov off! MACHINE GUN CHOPS!! Dragunov stops but he brings JD in to waistlock and SIDE SLAM! Cover, TWO!! JD survives but Dragunov holds on!
“This is Awesome!” as Dragunov drags JD back up. JD fights to ropes, that HOTSHOTS Dragunov, and JD brings Dragunov in! POWERBOMB! High stack, TWO!! But JD holds on with a waistlock of his own. JD drags Dragunov up to GERMAN SUPLEX! JD still holds on, they stand again, for another GERMAN SUPLEX! JD lets go, and Dragunov just rises up! Dragunov swings, into another GERMAN SUPLEX! But Dragunov is up to ROUNDHOUSE JD down!! Fans give a standing ovation as both men fall! Dragunov staggers his way to a corner, and he shouts, “UN! BE! SIEG! BAR!!” TORPEDO- NO!! Takedown into body scissors!
Fans shout “NO! NO! NO!” but Dragunov fights the Irish Twister to rain down fists! JD kicks Dragunov away but Dragunov comes back, LEAPING FOREARM!!! Fans cheer “This is Wrestling!” as both men bail out. They SLAP and SLAP and SLAP! They both grab hair, and they tumble into Dragon Lee!! Dragon is pissed, but JD JABS him for the hell of it! Only for Dragunov to swing! JD dodges, the BACKHANDÂ hits Dragon!! Dragon is FURIOUS, he fires hands on them both!!
Double Disqualification
Fans go nuts as we get a brawl between all three men! But then WES LEE FLIES IN!! The Cardiac Kid helps Dragon fight against Dragunov and JD! Refs rush in to stop this brawl, but fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” Will the only way to settle any of this be at Stand & Deliver?
Trick Melo Gang finds Bron Breakker backstage.
Melo tells Bron that he and Trick didn’t need Bron to handle Pretty Deadly, or to be in the tag match with Pretty Deadly. This isn’t that “Can they coexist?” crap! Bron doesn’t want that, either! The Melo that Bron wants to face at Stand & Deliver is the best Melo. They said it last week that they have an opportunity to make something special happen at Stand & Deliver. So Bron isn’t gonna let two clowns, i.e. Pretty Deadly… Though, Trick Melo Gang, too… Screw it up. What’s Bron mean by that? Well, Trick is always up to something. Trick says he’s up to nothing. He just wanted Bron to share the ring with the future NXT Champion.
Oh, is that so? Melo has Bron leave Trick alone. Bron wants the best possible Stand & Deliver, and so does Melo. Then let’s finish this. Good. Big tag match tonight. Nice doing business with you. Trick Melo Gang leaves, but will they be leaving the arena in one piece?
Backstage interview with Wes Lee.
McKenzie can tell Wes is riled up after that brawl. It seems chaos follows him everywhere. Wes admits, he threw himself to the fire on this one. But Ilja and JD will never be done with each other. But the last two weeks, JD has gotten in Wes’s face and Wes is sick and tired of it! So JD gets the second spot. And Ilja is Europe’s finest. The only way to put that to the test: he gets the third stop! So that leaves one spot left. Who will it be? Axiom walks in and says if there’s room for one more…
Wes knows Axiom wants this and he has been close so many times. But there are still so many others to consider. And Wes wants to give everyone a fair shot, sot he only way to do that, “the chaos continues. We’re about to have ourselves a battle royal, y’all! And the winner gets the fourth and final spot.” axiom says that’s fine. He just wanted a chance, and now he has it. Will the Undeniable Truth be undeniable in that chaotic Battle Royal next week?
Johnny Gargano is here!
Fans fire up for the Rebel Heart, as- Wait. That’s not Johnny Wrestling! That’s JAVIER BERNAL!! Big Body Javi just trolled everyone! “When that music hit, you all thought Johnny Gargano was coming out. But you were wrong! Hah! Just like I thought I was going to Stand & Deliver, the biggest event of the year. But I was wrong. And you know who’s to blame for that? JOHNNY GARGANO!” Johnny took Javi’s spot! Who the hell does Johnny think he is? He’s been gone for 6, 8, 10, 12 months! Has he not been watching NXT while he was away? Javi s the heart and soul of NXT! He has been busting his ass for seven YEARS! Well, no, months.
But what does Johnny have that Javi doesn’t? Johnny Wrestling? No, Big Body Javi is better! Javi would take himself over Gargano every day of the week! How many Christmas albums does Gargano have? NONE! And between the two of them, they’re Triple Crown Champion! *All Johnny. But HBK, Javi says you chose the wrong guy! Wait, here comes the REAL Johnny Wrestling! Fans fire up as Gargano goes right to the ring and he CLOBBERS Javi! Fans fire up more as Gargano TOSSES Javi out! Then RAMS him into barriers! And then RAMS him into steel steps! And then TOSSES him over the barriers!
Fans cheer on Johnny and he grabs himself a mic. “Grayson! Grayson! Grayson Waller! I know you’re somewhere around here, I know you’re listening. You wanna make things personal? You wanna raise the stakes? Let’s raise the stakes. In my hand is a contract for a type of match I know very, very, very well. April 1st, Stand & Deliver, Grayson Waller VS Johnny Gargano… in an UNSANCTIONED MATCH!! No rules! Anything goes! No one is liable for what I do to you. Grayson, all you have to do is come down here and sign it.” But Waller is here via tron. Fired up tonight, huh? Seems he feels better than when he was down and out on his own front lawn.
Waller gets it, Gargano is upset. But an Unsanctioned match? Does Gargano wanna embarrass himself on the biggest stage in NXT? That’s too far, even for Gargano. Not far enough! Come and sign this! Waller says if Gargano thinks he’s going down to that ring, he’s crazy. But Waller will let Gargano give that contract to Vic Joseph so Waller can sign it next week. And, it has to be on one condition: Gargano is BANNED from the building next week. If Waller whiffs even a bit of Gargano, he’s not signing and no one gets what they want. Gargano says if that gets Waller to do it, deal! Gargano gives Vic the contract to hold on to.
Gargano sees Javi get back up and in, and SUPERKICKS him down! Johnny Wrestling wants to unleash everything on Waller, but will he come to regret throwing away all the rules?
There is a moonlight ritual going on.
“There is more to us than you think. I appreciate the significance of my heritage, but I must carry the responsibility of progression. I will hold my people up, and lead the way forward.” Eddy Thorpe is ready to level up to NXT, next week!
Backstage interview with Ivy Nile.
McKenzie brings up how Tatum Paxley betrayed her last week, and can only imagine how devastated she must be. Ivy says she was surprised, just like everyone else. It took her a long time to trust someone like she did Tatum. She let her guard down, and got burned. Tatum is a little “out there,” so the rest of Diamond Mine let her do her. But they thought she was part of the team. So for Tatum to say they weren’t a team, that hurts. But tonight isn’t about Tatum. Tonight, Ivy has an opportunity. If she beats Lyra, Ivy goes to Stand & Deliver and possibly becomes NEW NXT Women’s Champion. Not even Tatum can ruin that.
Hank Walker speaks.
“Everyone’s journey is unique, and mine’s been one hell of a ride.” Security guard turned superstar, but he’s been an athlete his whole life, and was even a three-year starting offensive lineman at North Carolina State. But no sport could’ve prepared him for the WWE. There have been ups and downs, he’s made friends, found a mentor in Drew Gulak only to be abandoned by Drew Gulak. Gulak and Charlie Dempsey don’t see it. They say Hank’s not cut out for this, but he’s gonna work his ass off to prove them wrong. All he needs is himself, and all he needs to do is keep evolving. That is what NXT is all about.
Drew Gulak & Charlie Dempsey are watching.
Gulak mockingly calls that promo “cute.” Dempsey says that’s one way of putting it. Walker still lacks the killer instinct. Exactly! A teacher can only the door, but it is up to the student to see it through. That’s why Hank will be nothing more than “another nice guy.” The technicians have a laugh, but will Hank prove them all wrong?
NXT Women’s Championship Qualifier: Lyra Valkyria VS Ivy Nile!
The Morrigan and the Diamond Pitbull are going to fight tooth and nail to take that fourth spot in the ladder match! Will Lyra fly higher than the mountains to get that golden ticket? Or will Ivy move mountains to go to Hollywood?
NXT returns and Lyra makes her entrance. The bell rings and the two circle. They feel things out, tie up, and Lyra wrangles Ivy down then Oklahoma Rolls and turns it into an O’Conner Roll! TWO, and Lyra hurries up to go after a leg. Ivy blocks, facelocks, rolls and steps over to flip Lyra over! Cover, ONE! Ivy keeps on the arm but Lyra rolls free. Ivy TACKLES Lyra, drags her back, but Lyra rolls to her feet. Lyra trips Ivy, has a toehold, but Ivy pries her down to an ARMBAR! Lyra clasps hands, Ivy stomps her! They get up, Lyra headbutts low! And KICKS! Ivy grits her teeth but Lyra tells her she’s not gonna stand in her way. Ivy just KICKS Lyra back!
Ivy eggs Lyra on, so Lyra KICKS! Ivy KICKS back, but Lyra scowls. DOUBLE ROUNDHOUSES bring both women down! Fans fire up and we see Tatum watching backstage. Ivy gets a leg, Lyra blocks to hook the arms but Ivy fights the backslide! Ivy spins around, gut wrenches Lyra to SLAM! Cover, TWO! Ivy keeps cool, and she kicks, but Lyra ducks to kip up and ENZIGURI! Fans fire up and Lyra roars! SOBAT! Front kick! HEADBUTT! BOOT! Lyra then reels Ivy in, but Ivy blocks the lift! Ivy facelocks, to snap suplex! Fans rally up, Ivy runs in to CALF KICK her to a corner! Then DIAMOND DRAGON!!
Lyra flails, climbs the corner and goes up and over! GERMAN SUPLEX! Fans rally up again, Lyra HEEL KICKS Ivy down! Cover, Lyra wins!!
Winner: Lyra Valkyria, by pinfall (advances to Stand & Deliver)
The Morrigan breaks through Diamond Mine’s female titan, and now she is going to Stand & Deliver! But will she reach the highest point in the NXT Women’s Division by becoming champion?
Fallon Henley looks for Jensen.
But as she looks, Isla Dawn’s laugh echoes through the hall, and there’s a flash of lightning and crack of thunder! And Alba Fyre CLOBBERS her! Fyre & Dawn mug Fallon and mockingly ask where her friend went. But Kiana runs in to fire off on them! The champs fight back against their challengers, refs rush in but Fallon sends Fyre into the wall! Isla talks trash on Kiana, she and Fyre slip away. Kiana and Fallon regroup, and Kiana says that she can’t tell Jensen. Kiana has to be the one. Fallon agrees to that. Will Kiana let Jensen down gently? Will the team be able to stick together against the Wicked Witches of NXT?
NXT Media catches Wes Lee on his way out.
They ask him who he thinks will win next week’s battle royal. Wes says he doesn’t think you can predict something like that. Just sit back, relax, and watch as it unfolds. Just like he plans on doing, and just like he knows all the fans will do. But then Jinder Mahal walks over to say he will see Wes at Stand & Deliver. And then Dijak walks over to say, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.” And then Dabba-Kato walks up with a big smile. There is no one that will stop him in this battle royal. Wes can’t even. But three of the biggest and baddest are throwing their names into the hat, will any of those giants be the winner?
It’s the NXT Great Debate!
Blake Howard welcomes us as this debate’s mediator, as the crowd is clearly divided between Chase U students and Schism loyalists. These two groups argue they have the better teaching method here in NXT. First up, Rip Fowler and Duke Hudson. “How has your group approached the topic of inclusion?” The first turn goes to Rip. Rip says “Togetherness has always been the founding principle of The Schism. Whilst others hide behind their masks, we have removed ours and prospered together. Duke Hudson, Ava presented you with a gift. An opportunity to remove your mask of phony school spirit, and the Schism will welcome you with open arms.”
Duke’s rebuttal: “Um… Yeah. I mean, Ava did give me a mask. I dunno. Our university has passion. It gave me a sense of belonging, right? It’s nice to feel included in things, I guess. That’s what I think about inclusion.” Andre Chase facepalms at the lack of enthusiasm and commitment from Duke. WTF, man? Thea and Ava are next. “How does your group make you feel safe?” Ava says “The world is a harsh and uninviting place. But I rest comfortably in loving arms, knowing that there is safety under The Schism’s tree. Andre Chase University offers a false sense of security made up of cement walls.
“But The Schism raises invisible walls that block out the world’s negativity, and allows our minds and bodies to wander freely beyond.” Thea’s rebuttal: With a motormouth pace, she says “Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘safety’ as the condition of being safe from hurt, injury, or loss. Protection from hurt, injury and loss come from healing! And I’ve learned a lot of methods of healing through the connections I’ve made at Chase University. The Schism, while claiming safety, brainwash you into believing in safety, and that is hazardous to the mind, body and soul. Thank you, good night.” Chase high-fives Thea on the rebound. Where’d that come from? She doesn’t know, she blacked out.
And thirdly, Professor Andre and Joe Gacy. “How would you rate the preparedness of the other members of your group to leave the nest?” Andre is given the first turn, but Gacy interrupts! “Mr. Chase, your students already answered that for you. They are not prepared! A marble-mouthed doubter, and a reprogrammed wind-up toy? They don’t know which way is up! Moderator, tally the scores.” But then TYLER BATE appears! He apologizes for his tardiness, but he steps forward to say his part. Chase allows it, as does the moderator. That means Bate and Jagger Reed have a showdown!
“How would you sum up the experience of your group?” Jagger says, “It’s simple. Four roots. One tree.” The audience even gets involved on that one. Bate’s rebuttal: “I can objectively say that to excel in NXT, it takes more than just physical prowess inside the squared circle. It takes a big strong mind, open to new ideas. To collaborate and learn, with a willingness to listen to what others have to say, just as they would for you. Now, the Chase University experience is one of growth and constant evolution. It’s ignited a career in Thea Hail, rejuvenated Duke Hudson, and fortified Andre Chase himself!
“Now, the growth of Chase University IS the growth of NXT! And that’s something that The Schism has never and will never achieve!” Chase U’s student section cheers that! Chase thanks Bate for that. And now that they’ve beaten The Schism down philosophically, it is time they beat The Schism down physically! A match! The Schism VS Chase U & Bate in a Mixed 8 Tag at Stand & Deliver! And in Hollywood, they will give The Schism an Andre Chase University sized ass kicking!! Gacy says NO! The Dyad beat Chase U as a team, and Gacy beat Chase 1v1. The Schism is far superior physically and philosophically. There’s nothing left to gain here.
Duke says they’ll put up the school. What? Yeah, Duke, what? You heard him. Winner gets control of Chase University. Then they’re on. Chase is unsure, but this could be Duke’s high stakes gambling past coming back to haunt him. Will Chase U come out of Hollywood with nothing?
NXT checks back in with the bar.
Everything’s a bit hazy, but Gallus, the Creeds, The Don and Underboss have made it through the night. Look at the time! This has been great, but Tony & Stacks have a thing to take care of. Nice place they found here. Might need a broom, though. Julius says, “Don’t you guys know a cleaning service?” Tony snatches his hat off Julius’ head, and says yeah, they do. But not the kind you’re thinking of. Brutus says that was fun. Wolfgang slurs and stammers as he says, “Why’s it gotta stop?” Cuz the Creeds got what they came for, and then some. Then let’s bring the fun to Stand & Deliver. Triple Threat Tag! See you boys in LA.
Oh, and don’t forget to tip the bartender. Gallus is in the best shape out of these boys, but will they still be standing tall after Stand & Deliver?
BREAKING NEWS for next week!
There will be still one more spot in the NXT Women’s Championship Ladder match! And in a Last Chance Triple Threat, it will be Sol Ruca VS Ivy Nile VS Indi Hartwell! Who will redeem themselves on the Road to WrestleMania to still have their shot at the title?
Bron Breakker & Carmelo Hayes w/ Trick Williams VS Pretty Deadly!
The NXT Champion and his challenger may not like Trick’s idea of a team-up, but if it means shutting up Kit & Elton, they’ll do it. Will Bron & Melo body slam the hosts of Stand & Deliver once again? Or will this be about “Can the coexist?” in the end after all?
The teams sort out and Elton rushes in! Melo dodges, but then Kit CLOBBERS Melo! Kit covers, ONE!! Kit drops a knee, talks trash, then runs, but Melo drops, hurdles and ducks! DROPKICK! Then arm-drags! Melo has the armlock, fans rally but Kit arm-drags, only for Melo to arm-drag right back! But that just puts them closer to the Pretty Deadly corner! Elton tags in, Kit holds Melo in place, and Elton runs to UPPERCUT Melo! Elton then brings Melo out to UPPERCUT Melo down. Melo bails out, Elton kicks him from the apron, and Pretty Deadly go after Melo together. But Bron storms over to keep them from throwing Melo into steel steps.
Bron says Pretty Deadly isn’t going to ruin Stand & Deliver. Pretty Deadly lets off of Melo, but then Kit CLUBS Melo on the back. Kit puts Melo in the ring, covers, TWO! Kit drags Melo up, wrenches, but Melo wrenches back and snapmares to PENALTY KICK! Melo runs, but Kit FLAPJACKS! Tag to Elton, he sucker punches Bron, then Pretty Deadly coordinate. “Yes, boy~!” Pretty Deadly both run, but Bron gets in so that he and Melo can stare Pretty Deadly down. Pretty Deadly look to each other, then they throw hands! The brawl is on and both Bron and Melo get the edge. Then they decide to work together!
Bron helps Melo with the SPRINGBOARD LARIAT! Melo flies over Kit to CLOBBER Elton! Bron then RANAS Kit out of the ring! Fans fire up with the champion and his challenger, but they bump into each other. Bron offers handshake, Melo shows fist bump, so paper covers rock. No, man! Melo & Bron wait on Pretty Deadly and fans bark it up as NXT goes picture in picture.
Kit & Elton regroup on the other side of the ring, so Melo tags Bron. Bron waits on someone, but Kit distracts and Elton runs in to CLOBBER Bron! Elton CLUBS Bron, wrenches an arm, but Bron wrenches back. Tag to Melo, he goes up and drops AX HANDLES on the arm! Melo CHOPS Elton to a corner, wrenches and brings him back, tag to Bron. Bron goes up and he drops AX HANDLES! Bron wrenches Elton, but Elton throws body shots. Elton headlocks, Bron powers out, things speed up and Bron hurdles, to then catch Elton for a SPINEBUSTER! Bron rolls through to fireman’s carry!
Bron pops Elton up to a suplex! Bron walks around with Elton and even Melo is impressed. Bron then SLAMS Elton, and he dares Kit to do something. Kit talks trash, steps inside, and Bron DECKS him! But Elton CLOBBERS Bron again! Elton CLUBS Bron, whips him to ropes, but Bron ducks ‘n’Â dodges, only to run into a FLAPJACK onto ropes! Elton tags Kit, then Elton anchors Bron so Kit can drop the ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Kit runs to KNEE Bron in the side! And then he runs to KNEE Bron again! Bron goes to the apron but Kit drags him back in. Kit wrenches the arm as NXT returns to single picture.
Fans rally as Bron endures, and Bron fights up. Kit CLUBS Bron down, grinds the arm again, then grabs the other arm for a motorcycle stretch. Bron endures, fights up, but Kit knees low. Kit facelocks, Elton goes up the corner, but Melo GAMANGIRIS Elton down! Bron blocks the buckle bump to elbow Kit! Kit tags Elton, Bron dodges Kit, tag to Melo! Melo hurdles Elton to DECK Kit! Melo dodges Elton to springboard LARIAT! Fans fire up, Melo BOOTS Elton! Kit grabs Melo but Melo wrenches an arm to drag Kit over, slingshot suplex onto Elton! Cover, TWO! Fans rally behind Melo as he stalks Elton.
Melo brings Elton up to ROCK him and whip, but Elton reverses. Elton hurdles, Kit reels Melo in for a DDT! Elton hurries to cover, TWO! Elton drags Melo up to UPPERCUT him back down! Elton stalks Melo to ropes, he UPPERCUTS Melo again, then puts him in the corner. Elton stomps away but lets off as the ref counts. Elton poses, storms back up, but Melo kicks low! And kicks again! Kit tags in, he and Elton stomp Melo. Fans rally as Pretty Deadly double whip, and double shoulder! “Yes, boy!” SPLASH LEG DROP COMBO! Cover, TWO! Kit drops a leg of his own, then drags Melo from Bron.
Kit talks trash, stands Melo up, and ROCKS him! Kit runs in to UPPERCUT Melo! And DECK him with a right! Kit YANKS Melo into a BOMB! Cover, TWO! Melo kicks back from below but Kit CLOBBERS him! Trick coaches Melo but Kit clamps on a chinlock. Melo endures, fans rally up, and Melo fights up. Melo throws body shots, but Kit CLOBBERS him! Tag to Elton, and he stomps away on Melo! Fans boo as Elton drops an AX HANDLE! Cover, TWO! Elton drags Melo away from Bron and stays between them. Elton drags Melo up but Melo ROCKS him! Elton shoves Melo but Melo sunset flips on the rebound! TWO, and Elton CLOBBERS Melo! Cover, TWO!!
Trick and Bron coach Melo up and fans rally. Elton drags Melo up, but Melo ROCKS Elton! Elton ROCKS Melo, Melo ROCKS Elton, and then Melo ROCKS Elton again! Elton keeps Melo from Bron, but Melo breaks free, only to miss his enziguri! But Melo BOOTS Elton away! Hot tags to Kit and Bron! Bron rallies on Pretty Deadly! BIG shoulder tackle for Kit! Haymaker for Elton! GERMAN SUPLEX for Kit! GERMAN SUPLEX for Elton! Kit fires hands with Bron, Kit whips, but Bron ducks ‘n’ dodges to CLOBBER Kit! Fans fire up and Bron grins. Bron drags Kit up in a waistlock, to GERMAN SUPLEX!!
The straps come down, fans fire up with Bron, but Bron climbs up the corner. Fans bark it up, and Bron FLYING BULLDOGS! Cover, Elton breaks it! Melo hurries in to ROCK Elton and BOOT him! Elton flops into the ropes, Kit stands, and Bron runs in! Kit sends Bron at Melo!! Melo goes up the corner and Bron pulls up, avoiding the collision! But Elton struggling in the ropes distracts the ref, Melo hits a CODE BREAKER on Kit! Bron SPEARS Kit down!! Fans fire up as Bron tags Melo to give him the last shot. Melo with NOTHING BUT NET!! Cover, Melo & Bron win!
Winners: Bron Breakker & Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall
Melo don’t miss, and Trick finishes taking notes on Bron. Melo fetches the belt, but hands it over to Bron. Will the game plan be ready so that Melo becomes him? Or will nothing break the Big Booty Nephew?
My Thoughts:
A really good NXT here, and a lot of quick developments for Stand & Deliver. I do appreciate the consistency of tag teams challenging Gallus for the tag titles through bar games. Tony D & Stacks made their intentions known last week, so them confronting Gallus was expected, but The Creeds getting in on this was a surprise. The tag titles becoming a Triple Threat match is cool, but all three teams are essentially Faces. I’m sensing some kind of shenanigans brings one team around to be Heels, and it won’t be the Creeds. I would personally love it if was Gallus with Joe Coffey returning to help win. Gallus can’t truly be on top if they’re down a man.
Good stuff out of the NXT Women’s Championship story. Good match out of Tiffany VS Indi, and I figured Tiffany would win that. Gigi had a good promo to both address Jacy Jayne and the growing field, but also good promo from Tiffany to keep her character at that just insufferable level. Good promo from Ivy, decent one from Lyra, and good match, but not that strong of a match. I’m a bit torn, as this was a great opportunity for Ivy to even have this qualifier match, but honestly, it should’ve been Stevie Turner. Stevie was the one with that “randomizer” that chose to highlight Lyra, why not give us a match of those two? It’s not like Stevie’s actually busy streaming.
Good stuff out of the women’s tag title story, too. Kiana and Fallon were both great in talking about this Sebastian, and then I like the creativity of the ambush. Instead of lights out and teleporting in, or even just running in, Isla & Alba use fake lightning and thunder to disorient Fallon before the attack. Fighting Alba & Isla off was a decent way to bring Kiana and Fallon back onto the same page, and we’re going to get quite the moment next week in the go-home. And good promo from Hank Walker but also good promo from Gulak & Dempsey. Their story will have to wait until after Stand & Deliver, and could be something big for Spring Breakin’ 2023.
Javier swerving us was very clever, I did not think Javi would get in on this story. Good response from Gargano, and going right for Unsanctioned is nuts! No Disqualification, sure. No Holds Barred, sure. Last Man Standing even! But I guess this is all to represent how long Gargano’s stewed on his grudge for Waller, and how this escalated after Waller found the Gargano house. And given how Waller wants Gargano completely banned from the building next week, it’s so obvious Waller is going to threaten Vic physically, maybe even get physical with Vic, and Gargano can’t do anything about it, thereby adding more fuel to the fire.
Great stuff out of the North American Championship story, with a great promo from Wes and from Dragon Lee, and a good promo from JD ahead of his match with Dragunov. That match was awesome, as all the Dragunov VS JD matches have been, but I should’ve seen it coming that they’d end up colliding with Dragon Lee to bring this around into the North American title match. Wes VS Dragon VS JD VS Dragunov is awesome all on its own, but great move to have a battle royal to decide the fifth person in that match. Axiom has a good promo to let us know he’s gonna be in that match, but I also like that Jinder, Dijak and Dabba-Kato each had a couple lines to let Wes know they’re coming. Dijak’s had his shots, he surely won’t win. But Dabba is definitely a possibility.
Really good segment out of The Great Debate, and nice heroic appearance by Tyler Bate to help Chase U pull out the win. And just as I was hoping, we’re getting a Mixed 8 Tag, and this is going to be great stuff. Putting up the school, aka the faction in itself, is big stuff for Chase U, but I feel like the match could still go either way. And good stuff out of Pretty Deadly, Trick Melo Gang and Bron. The promo stuff was good for Pretty Deadly and Trick Melo Gang, and we got a really good match in the main event. But naturally Bron & Melo win because neither of them was going to suffer lost momentum this close to Stand & Deliver. I’m still voting for Melo winning the title and Bron being called up. After all, there’s a WWE Snickers commercial with Bron Breakker and AJ Styles, that feels like a sign.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Time to burn it down!
Ahead of entering the Royal Rumble, Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre go one more round in a rematch from WrestleMania 40!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Rey Mysterio; Rey wins.
- Bayley VS Nia Jax; Nia wins.
- PENTA VS Pete Dunne; Penta wins.
- Damage CTRL VS Pure Fusion Collective; DMG CTRL wins.
- Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre; Rollins wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
Nia Jax ambushes Rhea Ripley!
The Irresistible Force is here on Raw to face Bayley, but she’s getting her payback on Mami for last week! She dribbles Rhea into the steel chain link fencing again and again, even as security and Adam Pearce rush in! They get Nia to stop, but Rhea is pissed! Will Nia regret riling up Rhea Bloody Ripley?
Jey Uso is here!
Dallas fires up and bounces along as it’s time to YEET! Michael Cole does his best to keep up with the beat as Main Event Jey makes his way down the bleachers. Wade Barrett is subbing in for Pat McAfee (the NCAA College Football Championship is also tonight), and Wade says Maggle looks like a “drunk grandpa” doing the YEET. Jey makes it to ringside, he high fives Maggle, then goes to the ring. But the YEET doesn’t slow down, it just keeps going! Jey grabs a mic and tells Dallas, “Main Event Jey Uso is now in your citaaaaaa~!” The fans cheer and join in with a “YEET!” Jey says this weekend, “YEET!” Saturday Night’s Main Event, “YEET!” Jey takes home the big one!
But then before Jey can continue, GUNTHER makes his way out here! Der Ring General, World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, makes his way right to the ring. Gunther grabs himself a mic while the fans boo. Jey paces but Gunther tells him, “Lemme guess, the next thing you were about to say is you were going to win the World Heavyweight title.” Jey confirms, he is gonna beat Gunther, then hang the title up in his room. Gunther says Jey really is “a funny little man.” But let’s not act like we both know it won’t happen. Last week, Jey was right here in front of Gunther, and he said every morning, he looks in the mirror and bets on himself.
The thing is, Gunther believes Jey. Gunther was looking forward to Saturday to square off with Main Event Jey Uso. Until today, when he saw Jey walking in here acting like that conversation last week never happened. Not after seeing Jey act like a complete DORK! Like he’s the company mascot for the fans! At this point, Gunther doesn’t even care. He could jsut as well get challenged by Jimmy Uso. Jey tells Gunther to not say something about his brother. Gunther says it doesn’t matter what Jey says, he never follows up with his actions! The fans are the only ones naive enough to believe everything Jey says. Gunther does not.
Bet on yourself? Until when? Until Roman Reigns whistles for him? Until Sami Zayn needs him? Until Jimmy needs him? Even Cody needed Jey and Jey showed up! All that makes Jey is a useful idiot, and Jey doesn’t even see it! Jey, your words and your actions do not align. Gunther’s always do! So on Saturday, when the bell rings, Gunther exposes Jey for the flash in the pan that has NO business being even this close to the World Heavyweight Championship. The fans boo but Gunther tells Jey to go. The fans “YEET! YEET! YEET!” but Jey says Gunther’s right again. Everything Gunther just said is true again.
Jey is the mascot of the WWE. And the fans here are his team. The fans are his squad. They ride with him! “YEET!” Slide with him! “YEET!” And they will be with him when he beats Gunther for the world championship! “YEET!” Jey reminds us he respects Gunther. But Gunther will respect Jey, too. Because only one of them in this ring main-evented a WrestleMania, and it ain’t Gunther. But then Gunther DECKS Jey! Gunther stomps Jey, the fans boo, but then Gunther DECKS Jey again! Gunther stands Jey up, but Jey TACKLES Gunther! Jey rains down fists and teh fans fire up! Gunther gets up, but Jey fires more hands!
Jey has Gunther’s shirt over his head for a hockey scrum! Gunther gets free, but Jey SUPERKICKS him down! The fans all “YEET!” while Der Ring General retreats! Jey has the belt and he dares Gunther to come get it! Jey drops it at the ropes, Gunther storms up to the apron, but Gunther stays back. Gunther leaves Dallas with the belt tonight, but will Jey leave San Antonio with it this Saturday?
The New Day walks the halls.
And then they spot someone. “Finally, somebody who understands!” JBL is here! They all shake hands, and JBL loves seeing them. Kofi Kingston says JBL is not just a champion and a Hall of Famer, but he’ll be on commentary tonight for The New Day’s match with that “hypocrite of a locker room leader,” Rey Mysterio. JBL should let New Day know they are the victims of a disgusting smear campaign! Kofi even sweetens the deal with a whole $2. Kofi says JBL understands being in a tag team but having to cut the deadweight to get ahead. And when he did, what happened? He had the greatest success of his career!
Not as great as The New Day, but please, be an acolyte for ya bois! JBL says yes, he does “get it.” Big E, all the muscles and charisma and personality, everywhere they go, the fans love Big E. Everyone chants for New Day, for Big E. You get rid of him, the fans have to pay attention to Kofi & Woods! Wow, okay. Backhanded compliments? Be that way. The New Day heads out, JBL asks if he can keep the two bucks. Will Kofi & Woods finally see who’s really in the wrong? Or will they continue to have a bad day here on Raw?
Backstage interview with Bayley.
Cathy Kelley is with the “busiest superstar” in WWE right now, as Bayley was on Raw, NXTÂ and SmackDown all last week. And she has an announcement to make, so for those who ahven’t heard, could she share? Yes, cat is out of the bag, Bayley is back on Raw officially via the Transfer Window! She started here after her NXT call-up, so it just feels right. But also, she is declaring for the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble! And if you remember, she won the 2024 Rumble, so going back to back sounds really good. She could choose Tiffany Stratton, she could choose Rhea Ripley, or- Nia Jax interrupts.
Nia says Bayley can have Rhea, Nia gets Tiffy. Also, Nia is going to win the Women’s Rumble, not Bayley. Oh, yeah, Bayley did see what Nia did to Rhea earlier. If Nia wants to try that, Bayley dares her. Nia says she’ll see Bayley out there. Nia leaves, but will the Irresistible Force rough Bayley up the same way she did Rhea? Or will Bayley continue to be the Role Model, even after changing brands?
Kofi Kingston w/ Xavier Woods VS Rey Mysterio!
Raw returns and JBL is out there with Wade and Maggle already. The New Day makes their entrance, and they hate their song! They have it turn off, they get the tron to stop, and Woods says they already told the idiots in production that they’re no longer using that stuff! It’s ya bois, the NEW~ DAY~, and Dallas is starting to piss Kofi off! They have been doing this for too long and too well to be disrespected like this. They are walking Hall of Famers, unlike this FRAUD, JBL! JBL, give him that money back! Kofi snatches it out of JBL’s lapel pocket. Woods says Rey’s getting the brakes beat off him by the one and only Kofi Kingston~! BECAUSE NEW! DAY- “SUCKS!”
The fans chant “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” and the bell rings. Kofi and Rey circle, feel things out, and Kofi waistlocks to then headlock, waistlock, and he shoves Rey to a corner. The fans boo but Kofi soaks up that heat. JBL says this is the only time he’ll cheer a “deadbeat dad” like Rey. Rey and Kofi tie up, Rey waistlocks but Kofi switches to SLAM Rey down! Kofi slaps Rey around, and the fans boo as Kofi & Woods soak up the heat. Kofi taunts Rey, Rey and Kofi reset, and they tie up. Rey wrenches, hammerlocks, but Kofi wrenches out. Kofi wristlocks, Rey rolls and kips up, then Rey wrenches to headlock.
Kofi powers up and out, drops down then CLOBBERS Rey! The fans boo but Kofi keeps moving. Rey drops down, blows past Kofi, then tilt-o-whirls to RANA! Kofi staggers up, Rey dropkicks the legs out! Kofi is on ropes, Rey dials it up, but Kofi ducks the 619! Rey then PLANCHAS, but Kofi moves! Rey is on the apron, Kofi YANKS him down! The fans tell Kofi off but he drags Rey up and into the ring. Kofi then fires UPPERCUTS on Kofi, CHOKES him in the corner, then stomps a mudhole in! The ref counts, Kofi steps off, and then Kofi whips corner to corner. Rey reverses, runs up, but Kofi SWING KICKS! Rey GAMANGIRIS in return!
Rey RAMS Kofi, slingshots and SUNSET- NO, Kofi holds on, and he CLUBS Rey down! The fans boo but Kofi brings Rey in! Woods says watch this, “Hall of Famer!” Kofi lifts Rey, Rey pops free, but Kofi stomps away on him! Kofi glares at JBL, then he drags Rey up. The fans boo but Kofi SMACKS Rey off the apron. Kofi then reels Rey in, but Rey RANAS Kofi into the steel steps! The fans fire up as Rey rises, and Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Kofi has Rey down with an armlock. Rey fights to his feet, the fans fire up, and the forearms go back and forth! Kofi ROCKS Rey, Rey ROCKS Kofi, but then Kofi kicks low! Kofi whips, Rey ducks ‘n’ dodges, then Rey leaps to FLYING FOREARM! Both men are down and the fans fire up again. Woods coaches Kofi while Rey goes to the apron. Rey then goes to the corner, but Kofi hurries over that way. Kofi fires body shots, then he climbs up after Rey. Kofi brings Rey up but Rey fires body shots in return! Rey BENDS Kofi’s fingers, then he HEADBUTTS Kofi! Kofi staggers up, Rey hits the SEATED SENTON!
Rey gets moving, but Kofi ducks the springboard crossbody! Kofi sunset flip, but Rey rolls through, basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Kofi goes to a corner, Rey CLUBS him, and the fans rally. The ref gets between them, but Kofi pokes Rey in the eyes! Kofi leaps, CROSSBODY SPLASH to the back! Cover, TWO! The fans rally for Rey as he stays in this. The fans chant “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Woods argues with a fan, Kofi aims, TROUBLE IN- NO, Rey dodges, then comes back to RANA! Kofi is on ropes, Rey dials it up! But Woods trips Rey! The ref saw that clear as day! Woods argues with the ref, but the ref EJECTS Woods!
The fans fire up while Woods throws a fit! Rey DECKS Woods! But Kofi CLOBBERS Rey! The fans boo, but Kofi hauls Rey up! Rey victory rolls Kofi onto ropes! Rey redials, 619!! And then the springboard, but onto knees! Kofi covers, TWO!! Rey survives, the fans fire up, but Kofi seethes. Kofi hauls Rey up, clinches, S O- NO! Rey makes the SOS a cover, REY WINS!
Winner: Rey Mysterio, by pinfall
But Woods CLBOBERS Rey from behind! The New Day mugs Rey, the fans boo more, but here comes the LWO! Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro run The New Day off! The fans boo, Cruz & Wilde check Rey, but then the New Day sneak back in! They drag Wilde out to POST him! Cruz hurries but now New Day retreats for real! Insult to injury here, but will Kofi & Woods continue to be blinded by their own arrogance?
Backstage interview with Team American Made.
Cathy Kelley waits as Chad Gable is arguing with his own people, then says okay, sorry, he was inspiring the team. But yeah, he’s the talk of the whole freakin’ wrestling world the past week, but he is man enough to admit he has a problem. And it all started with losing to Penta last week! It was Dragon Lee before that, and Rey Mysterio before that. Gable asks, “What’re we gonna do her?” But he’s figured it out! He found a man who knows a thing or two about lucha libre, and that man is intelligent with a mustache to match. That man is Dominik Mysterio! While Dom helps Gable with his lucha problem, the team has their marching order.
Ivy Nile says there’s a Women’s Intercontinental Championship with her name all over it. Brutus says those tag titles should’ve already had their names on them, HAHA~! Julius mocks how War Raiders cry about “One more injury~ and we’re done forever~!” Like that’s something to be proud of? No more asking, they’re just taking! They’ll take those tag titles from a team near the end of their career and put them on a team that’s entering their prime. Gable says this team that bleeds red, white ‘n’ blue will have waists wrapped in gold, and it will be glorious. Team American Made heads out, but can Dirty Dom really help Gable clean up his act?
Sami Zayn is here!
Dallas sings his song, and the Underdog from the Underground goes right to the ring. He grabs a mic and thanks Dallas for that, that never gets old. But he wont’ beat around the bush, he’ll just get right to business. Sami spoke with Adam Pearce, and Sami is now officially entered into the 2025 Men’s Royal Rumble match! The fans like the sound of that! Sami says Rollins told him he’s already helped a lot of others, so time to help himself. Well, Sami thought about that, and thought about what he wants. When he thought about that, it opened a whole bunch of thoughts. Sami pictured what 14-year-old Sami wanted.
Sami thought about what the millions around the world who dream of becoming pro-wrestlers, and the thousands who actually live the dream and get to do it. And then the even smaller group lucky enough to call themselves WWE Superstars. And then the smallest group of all, the hardest to crack into at all, is the upper echelon, the top tier, and that is where Sami is now! The fans cheer, and Sami firmly believes he is as good as everyone else in that group. That group is all in the Royal Rumble, and the only difference between Sami and the others, aka Roman, McIntyre, Rollins, and so on, is that they all have a world title to their name… and Sami doesn’t.
Sami has said it before, he’ll say it again, he’s had a great life, a great career. He doesn’t need the world title to complete him. The fans have supported Sami throughout the years, and believe it or not, that support means more to him than any world title could ever mean! So no, Sami does not need that world title, but DAMMIT, he WANTS it!! The fans love that! Sami says 14-year-old Sami wants that title, and he’s still with Sami! That kid sets foot in this ring every time Sami does. So Sami doesn’t need it, he wants it, so he will TAKE IT! WAIT, Kevin Owens is here!? The fans boo and Sami is certainly stunned seeing SmackDown’s Prizefighter back on Raw.
Kevin, who is still carrying the “Winged Eagle” title, while wearing a Bret Hart merchandise jacket, makes his way to the ring. Kevin grabs the mic, and while fans boo, he looks to Sami. Sami says he knew it was a matter of time before Kevin showed up. How does Kevin wanna do this? Kevin asks what Sami means. Sami knows Kevin. We all saw what Kevin did to Cody over teaming with Roman, so how’s this going down? Aw, is that why Sami thinks Kevin is here? No, Kevin admits, he was upset at first. But he realizes now that Sami teaming with Roman isn’t the same as Cody teaming with Roman.
Sami and Roman had a lot of history, the same as Sami and Kevin. And Roman did terrible things to Sami that Sami overlooked, just as Kevin did to Sami that Sami has overlooked. Or rather, Sami forgave Kevin for those things. Same as him forgiving Roman! Because that is who Sami is: Sami is a good person. And Rollins is right, Sami does a lot for others, especially his friends. And well, Sami is still Kevin’s best friend. A brother even! Kevin is here to tell his brother that he whole heartedly believes Sami can and will win the Royal Rumble. Kevin knows that the Sami he’s known for 20 YEARS will win the Royal Rumble!
And why? Because Sami deserves it! Sami deserves to go to WrestleMania and fight for the WWE Championship, and Kevin knows Sami will do it! Then Kevin and Sami can accomplish one more thing together. Think of everything they’ve done and seen each other do in this business. They main-evented WrestleMania to become tag team champions. But there’s one more thing they haven’t done: main event WrestleMania for THE WWE Championship. And when Sami wins the Rumble, they can do that, so long as Kevin walks away THE WWE Champion. But Kevin knows both of those things are going to happen.
Kevin knows Sami will win the Rumble because Kevin has his back. He does. And Kevin knows he’ll be THE WWE Champion because just like Sami had Roman’s back, he’s got Kevin’s back. Right? Kevin just knows it. Sami is his best friend, his brother, and if Kevin needs him, Sami will be there. Kevin drops his mic and heads out, but Sami is rather confused. Is Kevin suggesting Sami do what it sounds like? What will Sami do on this Road to WrestleMania?
Backstage interview with Sheamus.
Cathy is with The Fella and brings up his Intercontinental Championship match he has this Saturday against Bron Breakker. Why is this title so important to him? Sheamus says many would look at his career, and say he has the perfect backwards WWE career. He was only six months into his career, and he beat one of the biggest names this business has ever seen in John Cena to become WWE Champion. Ironically, the Intercontinental Champioship is what drew Sheamus to the WWE. That title has become an obsession for the past five years, but guess what? The stars are aligned! Saturday Night’s Main Event, Sheamus will bust Bron aside and fulfill destiny!
Sheamus will win the last championship he has yet to win! And for everyone who is watching, Let’s Go, Irish! A quick shoutout to Notre Dame, but then Sheamus spots Bron Breakker. Bron tells Sheamus that this title is Bron’s. This is as close as Sheamus will ever get to winning it. Because on Saturday, Bron beats him and BREAKS him like an old man! So just do us all a favor and retire. Sheamus shoves Bron, but Bron laughs it off and takes his leave. Will the Celtic Warrior finally have his WWE Bingo in another banger? Or will this title still belong to Bron Breakker?
Bayley VS Nia Jax!
The Role Model and the Irresistible Force were just on SmackDown but they’re bringing their beef over to Raw! Will Bayley make her official transfer back a successful one? Or will Nia be rolling towards the Royal Rumble?
Well, well, well, Roxanne Perez seems to be stalking Bayley. She was in the crowd for SmackDown last Friday, and now she’s here in the crowd tonight. The bell rings, Nia runs up, but Bayley dodges! Nia hits buckles, Bayley fires hands, then runs to ELBOW her! Bayley climbs up to rain down fists! The fans count, Bayley ges to 6 before Nia brings her off the corner! Bayley still fights, but Nia stops the rana! Nia brings Bayley up to a fireman’s carry, but Bayley kicks off ropes! TORNADO DDT! Cover, TWO! Nia sits up but Bayley fires hands! Bayley runs, but into a POP-UP HEADBUTT! Bayley sputters, Nia covers, ONE!!
Bayley scrambles away but Nia stalks her. Nia puts Bayley on the ropes, CHOKES her, but the ref counts. Nia lets off at 4, she soaks up some heat, then she HEADBUTTS Bayley again. Bayley goes to a corner, Nia digs her boot in, but the ref counts. Nia stops at 4, the fans boo some more, and Bayley crawls. Nia drags Bayley up, pushes her down, then runs, only for Bayley to avoid the elbow drop! Bayley fires forearms, then whips. Nia takes a swing but Bayley gets around to hit a back suplex! Cover, TWO! Nia is tougher than that but she’s also dazed. Bayley rises, runs in, but Nia URENAGES Bayley down! Now Nia climbs the corner!
The fans fire up as Bayley SHOVES Nia to the apron! Bayley BOOTS Nia to the floor, then builds speed! Bayley DIVES, down goes Nia! The fans fire up and Bayley gets in Roxie’s face! Roxie takes a swing, but Bayley blocks! Bayley DECKS Roxie! The fans go wild, security stops Roxie from getting at Bayley! Bayley mocks the little idiot, then goes back for Nia while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Nia drags Bayley up. Nia drops a LEG on the arm! Cover, TWO!! Bayley survives and Nia grows frustrated. Nia taunts Bayley, the fans boo Nia, and Bayley sits up. Nia drags Bayley by her hair, then runs, but Bayley avoids the leg drop! Bayley hurries to ELBOW Nia in the back! And then SLIDING LARIAT! Bayley keeps moving, and drops an ELBOW! Cover, TWO! Nia survives the onslaught but the fans rally for Bayley. Both women slowly rise up, and Bayley runs up to KNEE Nia out to the apron! Bayley then drags Nia in through the ropes, but Nia HOTSHOTS the bad arm!
Bayley writhes, Nia taunts the fans, then Nia goes back to the apron. Nia stands on Bayley’s bad arm! But Bayley avoids another leg drop! Nia clutches her lower back while she and Bayley both rise up again. Bayley runs in to SUNSET FLIP BUCKLE BOMB! Nia flops to the floor and the fans fire up! Bayley leaves Nia behind for the count to handle this. Nia is still down at 5 of 10, and at 7! Nia springs up and in at 8! But Bayley goes up, up, and she hits a BANZAI DROP! Cover, TWO! Bayley didn’t quite A-Nia-Late Nia, but she goes up to ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Nia survives again but if only barely!
The fans rally as Bayley brings Nia up. Nia shoves Bayley away, then scoops her, SHOULDER BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Bayley stays in this and the fans rally up again. Bayley goes to a corner, Nia runs in, and Nia SPLASHES Bayley! Bayley flounders against the ropes, then Nia runs in. Bayley TOSSES Nia to the apron, but Nia ROCKS Bayley! Nia drags Bayley up, and POSTS her! Bayley dangles in the ropes, and Nia snarls. Nia runs to HIP ATTACK Bayley against the post! Bayley flounders back in, the fans boo, and Nia climbs up! But Bayley is up to YANK Nia down! The fans fire up as Bayley runs, and she KNEES Nia down! Cover, TWO!!
Nia survives yet again but the fans continue to rally behind Bayley. Bayley goes up a corner, but now Nia is up! Nia ROCKS Bayley, then climbs up after her. Nia fireman’s carries, but Bayley squirms around! SUPER SUNSET FLIP BOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?! Nia survives that wild fall but Bayley goes right back up! MACHO ELBOW!! Cover, TWO!!! Nia survives again and Bayley is beside herself! Nia and Bayley rise, and the fans fire up again. Bayley reels Nia in, but the bad arm won’t let her clinch! Nia fireman’s carries, but Bayley fights free! Bayley runs, CHOP BLOCKS a leg, then hurries to run again. Nia POP-UP SAMOAN DROPS!!
Nia hurries to SENTON! Then she drags Bayley to a drop zone! Nia goes up, to A-NIA-LATE Bayley! Cover, Nia wins!!
Winner: Nia Jax, by pinfall
A powerful battle between two former champions, but the Irresistible Force crushes Bayley on her return to Raw! But wait! RHEA RIPLEY makes her way out here! Mami wants revenge, and Nia says bring it! They brawl in the ring, the fans fire up, and Rhea HEADBUTTS Nia! Rhea RAMS Nia into the corner again and again, but here comes security! The fans want to “LET THEM FIGHT!” but the two are separated! But then Nia breaks free to SPLASH Rhea and whoever else was in the way! Nia CLUBS away on Rhea, producers and refs rush out here to stop this, but Rhea is up! She LEAPS at Nia for more!
The fans are thunderous as Rhea shoves everyone out of the way to ROUNDHOUSE Nia! Nia falls out of the ring, but rhea isn’t done! Rhea goes to the apron, but Nia trips her up! Nia DRIBBLES Rhea off the announce desk! Nia now clears the desk, and Adam Pearce is shouting that this is enough! Nia puts Rhea on the desk, but security swarms her! Wait, Rhea is back up! CANNONBALL!! Rhea takes Nia and the security guards out! The fans fire up but producers have to drag Rhea away from Nia! Dallas cheers on “MAMI! MAMI!” and she grabs a mic. Rhea gets on the desk to shout, “YOU! ME! SATURDAY NIGHT’S MAIN EVENT!!”
The fans are all fired up, because now things are going to get wild in San Antonio! But will the Queen of the Ring A-Nia-Late Rhea? Or will Nia get eradicated?
Judgment Day meets with American Made.
The others aren’t so sure about this, but Chad Gable says Dom said he could help with Gable’s luchador problem. Does he have some info? C’mon! Help him out! Okay, okay. Dom has someone who can help Gable. Dom hands him a piece of paper, and Gable asks, “This is the guy?” Dom says it sure is. Gable tells Judgment Day and “JD McDouche” that he’s off to master the dark arts of lucha libre. The others ask Dom what this is all about. Dom says it’s a long story but he and Gable go way back. Okay, fine, but how does this help Judgment Day? Next week is the tag title rematch but Finn is still out of action from last week’s Street Fight!
Liv Morgan says listening to Finn hasn’t really helped them win, has it? C’mon, Liv, this is serious. They’re gonna have to forfeit! Dom says maybe he could sub in. Finn shouldn’t care so long as they get the titles back, right? JD says yeah, that’s a good point. They’ll get this. Liv says yeah, Finn should be fine. And Dom is quite the mastermind now, huh? Liv just hopes this plan goes better than the one he had for her match with Rhea. Hey, didn’t she say she was over that? Yes, she did. Can Dom not take a joke? Okay, okay. Dom does have a plan for Liv, though. And even though she’s not mad, he’ll make it up to her, okay? Oh, he will. Now, let’s go.
Liv & Dom head out, Raquel tells Carlito to stop staring. Will Judgment Day (not) keep it together?
Lyra Valkyria speaks.
“Last week, I walked into Raw ready to become a history maker. And that meant spreading my wings and shedding any dead feathers that made me doubt the heights I knew I was capable of reaching. I took fear, I took doubt, and I used them to become something more. And now that I have this, it’s about what comes next. And what comes next is building a legacy as a valiant, fighting Women’s Intercontinental Champion.” The Morrigan is ready for more, just how high will she soar?
WWE celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.
He had a dream, and that dream lives on in us. May we keep that dream alive so that it may come true every day.
Seth Rollins warms up backstage.
Sami checks with him and knows the match with McIntyre is coming up. But Sami just wants Rollins to know that as a friend, he appreciated the talk they had last week. Rollins knows, and he heard Sami out there. Rollins respects Sami’s choice. It’s about time we got that Sami back. And Sami is almost rooting for that Sami. But push comes to shove int he Rumble, Rollins will throw Sami right over the top rope. Sami says, “Not if I throw you out first.” Sami again wishes Rollins luck, then heads out. Rollins finishes his preparations, but Karrion Kross is watching from afar! Could Mr. Doomsday have his next target in mind?
PENTA VS Pete Dunne!
#CeroMiedo made its debut in the WWE just last week, and it was a massive hit! But now he’s up against a man who feels disrespected left, right, front and back! Will the Bruiserweight take out all his frustrations on the new kid in class? Or will Penta continue to blow the roof off the arenas?
The bell rings and the fans already chant, “CERO! MIEDO!” Penta tells Dunne to listen, but Dunne grabs the hand! Penta KICKS Dunne, but Dunne CHOPS! Penta CHOPS, Dunne CHOPS, then the forearms start flying! Dunne headlocks, Penta fires body shots, and Penta powers out. Penta hurdles then mule kicks Dunne, and Dunne sputters away. Penta swaggers, but Dunne CLOBBERS him! The fans boo but Dunne grabs an arm. Dunne hammerlocks that arm, pulls on the other, and he bends the fingers back! Dunne STOMPS Penta’s arm! The fans tell Dunne off while Penta writhes, but Dunne drags Penta up again.
Dunne wrenches and whips, but Penta reverses. Then Penta runs up to GAMANGIRI! Penta whips again, Dunne reverses and he GAMANGIRIS! Penta sputters, Dunne brings him up, and Dunne whips. Penta reverses. Dunne goes up and flips and SUPERKICK from Penta! Penta hits Dunne outta the sky and Dunne bails out of the ring! The fans fire up and Penta says, “CERO! MIEDO!” Penta runs and DIVES into a forearm! Dunne gives back that anti-air, then he reels Penta in. APRON X-PLEX! Penta writhes again while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns, Dunne runs up to SLIDING FOREARM Penta down! The fans boo while Penta sputters, but Dunne runs up to SLIDINGN FOREARM again! Dunne paces, the fans chant, “Butch Sucks!” but Dunne just runs up on Penta. Penta dodges, mule kicks, and he runs to SLING-DOG! Dunne flounders to a corner, Penta runs and headstands on the corner! SWINGING DROPKICK! Dunne sputters more but Penta fireman’s carries. The fans fire up for the SWINGINGN DEATH VALLEY! Cover, TWO! Penta is frustrated, but the fans rally up again. Penta and Dunne rise up, and Penta goes after Dunne. Dunne ENZIGIRIS first!
Dunne STMOPS the hands, then he BUZZSAWS! Penta goes to a corner, Dunne runs up, but Penta SUPERKICKS! Penta runs up, DESTROYER!! Dunne tumbles out of the ring! The fans fire up with Penta and he builds speed again! Penta FLIES and down goes Dunne! The fans are thunderous while both men are out at the ramp! Penta and Dunne stir, the ring count climbs, and Dunne is in at 5 of 10. Penta rises at 6, and he slaps some sense into himself. Penta is back in at 7, DES- NO, Dunne stops the second shot and tucks Penta in! CRUNCHY DRIVER!! Cover, TWO!! Penta survives and the fans fire up!
Penta shakes out the bad arm, but he and Dunne sit up. They go forehead to forehead, then forearm for forearm! Dunne CHOPS, but Penta CHOPS! The fans cheer Penta on and he tells Dunne to listen! “CERO! MIEDO!” But Dunne bends the fingers, SNAPS them, then wraps Penta into a TRIANGLE HOLD! Penta endures, fights up, and he deadlifts Dunne, for a POWER BREAKER!! Dunne writhes, Penta grabs Dunne’s arm and traps it! Penta CLUBS Dunne, then grabs the other arm, SACRIFICE!! Dunne writhes in even more pain, but Penta brings him around. Pump handle, PENTA DRIVER!! Cover, Penta wins!
Winner: Penta, by pinfall
The luchador proved he could do power on top of punishing submissions, and he is 2-0 here on Raw! Will the Penta Era take over the WWE?
Logan Paul speaks.
“Man, it must suck to be a Logan Paul hater. For years, all of you have wanted me to fail. But you know why it’s never happened, and it never will? Because when I do something, I become the best at it. I became the King of the Internet. I was the only man in history to beat Floyd Mayweather. So what makes you think the WWE will be any different? Look around, dummies. This is my life now. And I will eat, sleep and breathe wrestling until I become the greatest superstar to step into that ring. You can quote me on that. You’re looking at the GOAT, ladies and gentlemen.” The Maverick makes his return next week in Atlanta, will he receive a “warm welcome?”
CM Punk is here!
The Voice of the Voiceless, the Second City Saint, the Best in the World, takes a page out of Jey Uso’s playbook by entering through the concourse and then the bleachers! Dallas fires up as he joins Jackie Redmond in the perch for an interview. Jackie says the fans love chanting Punk’s name, and thanks him for coming out here for this in-arena interview. Punk says before any questions, he has a question for us: “Is it great to be alive on a Monday night in Dallas, Texas or what?!” The fans cheer that, and Jackie says of course it is.
But to the question: There are only so many ways to get to the main event of WrestleMania, something Punk wants to do for the first time in his career. The Royal Rumble is certainly one way, but that is a match he’s never won. And it is shaping to become one of the most stacked fields ever. Punk, Roman, John Cena, Seth Rollins, Drew McIntyre, Sami Zayn, and more. So, the question is, what makes this Rumble different for Punk? Punk says, “History.” And he is a maker of history! Just three weeks ago, he main-evented the first Raw live on Netflix, and he beat Rollins, a man favored to win this year’s Rumble.
This business is a fickle one, constantly asking, “What have you down for me lately?” Punk says he makes history! And he’ll do it in two weeks when he walks in, throws 29 other superstars over the top rope. The stakes are much too high, the lights are much too bright, and the pressure is on! And that is when Punk feels alive and when he thrives. No one can beat Punk when he’s at his best and with the people behind him. Jackie brought up Cena, but Punk can’t see Cena throwing him out. Roman Reigns? Roman needed Punk’s help to settle family business at WarGames. And in the Rumble, there are no friends!
Punk has put McIntyre in the dirt, and don’t ask him about Sami. You put HOGAN in the rumble, Punk will throw his old ass out and kill Hulkamania once and for all! February 1st, 60 THOUSAND strong, on the Peacock, live and in living color, Indianapolis, Indiana, Punk will settle scores and cash in debts. He’ll even call in a favor or two if he needs to. On that night, 29 other men are going night-night, and ONE MAN gets his hand raised. One name, three syllables: C, M, PUNK! “CM” might stand for “Confident Man” right about now, but will Punk be unstoppable on this road not just to WrestleMania, but also the road to his dream?
Damage CTRL VS Pure Fusion Collective!
This rivalry went back and forth all over 2024, and it doesn’t seem to be slowing down just because it is a New Year. Will Dakota Kai & Iyo Sky finally kick PFC to the curb for what they did to Kairi Sane? Or will Sonya Deville, Shayna Baszler & Zoey Stark put them on the shelf right beside the Pirate Princess?
The teams sort out, the bell rings, and Kai starts against Shayna. Shayna opens with a KICK to the leg, but Kai walks that off. Shayna KCIKS again, Kai gets mad, and the two go again. Kai blocks one kick but not the second KCIK! Shayna runs up, fakes Kai out, then trips her up! Shayna scuffs Kai, then soaks up the heat. Shayna runs back in, but Kai goes up and over to roll her up! TWO, and Kai slips past Shayna to DROPKICK her down! The fans fire up for Kai, but Shayna stops the arm-drag! Shayna whips, Kai stops herself and BOOTS Shayna away. Kai runs up, Zoey tags in before the flying mare!
Things speed up, Shayna drops down and Zoey springboards to MISSILE DORPKICK Kai down! Sonya wants everyone to take notes! Zoey clamps onto Kai with a chinlock and she grinds Kai down. The fans rally, Kai fights up, and Kai fires body shots. Zoey CLUBS Kai, CLUBS her again and again, then soaks up heat. Zoey puts Kai in the corner, tags Shayna back in, and then Zoey whips Shayna in for a KNEE! Shayna scoops Kai, BACKBREAKER and LARIAT! Shayna covers, TWO! Kai stays in this, but Sonya says her team’s got this. Kai crawls, but Shayna clamps onto the leg for a toehold.
Kai endures, kicks at Shayna with her free leg, but Shayna still bends the trapped leg! The fans rally, Kai kicks and kicks, but Shayna drops an ELBOW on the leg! Shayna tells Dallas to shut it, then she drags Kai around to bend the leg in another direction! Kai endures, reaches out for Iyo, but Shayna pulls the leg. Kai kicks at Shayna again, then BOOTS her away! Kai and Shayna crawl, hot tag to Zoey! Zoey brings Kai up but Kai ENZIGIRIS! Shayna runs back in, but Kai TOSSES her out! Hot tag to Iyo! The Genius of the Sky fires SHOTEI after SHOTEI on Zoey! Iyo ROCKS Shayna, then runs! PFC avoids the handsprings, but Iyo blocks a kick!
Iyo sends the foot at Zoey, but she ducks! Iyo SHOTEIS Zoey again! Then she dodges Shayna to GERMAN SUPLEX her away! The fans fire up as Iyo whips Zoey. Zoey reverses but Iyo uses that to DIVE onto Shayna! Iyo hurries up, blocks a shot, then ROUDNHOUSES Zoey! The fans fire up as Iyo climbs, and Iyo MISSILE DROPKICKS Zoey! Iyo handsprings up and the fans are thunderous! Iyo aims from the corner, runs in and SHINKANSEN! Iyo drags Zoey to a cover, TWO! Zoey survives but Iyo goes up. Sonya storms up, but Kai YANKS Sonya down! The fans fire up as Iyo climbs, but Shayna LARIATS Kai!
Zoey YANKS Iyo down, SUPERKICKS her, and then reels her in! ATAXIA!! Cover, TWO!! Zoey is furious, but she tags in Shayna. PFC gets Iyo up, ROLLING DEATH VALLEY, then a SLIDING KNEE! Cover, Kai breaks it! The fans fire up but Zoey TOSSES Kai! Zoey then PLANCHAS, but Kai dodges! Kai goes up to the apron to PENALTY KICK Zoey! Shayna BOOTS Kai, then dodges Iyo! KIRAFUDA KLUTCH!! Iyo flails, but she runs to the ropes! HOTSHOT and Shayna falls back! Iyo hurries up top, the fans fire up, OVER THE MOONSAULT! Cover, DMG CTRL wins!
Winners: Damage CTRL, by pinfall
PFC tried to use the numbers, but Iyo & Kai just used their skills! Will DMG CTRL still take control of Raw? Or will Sonya, Shayna & Zoey figure out a winning formula?
Seth Rollins VS Drew McIntyre!
With the Royal Rumble just down the road, it is this WrestleMania 40 rematch that could determine how WrestleMania 41 looks. The Visionary and the Scottish Terminator look to run it back, but who will be in pole position for Indianapolis?
Raw returns and McIntyre makes his entrance. The bell rings, the fans fire up, and the two stare down. The fans sing Rollins’ song, and Rollins says he’s got two good knees now. No Bloodline, no CM Punk, just them! The two circle, tie up, and McIntyre pushes Rollins to the corner. The ref counts but McIntyre talks smack as he lets off. Rollins shoves McIntyre, McIntyre shoves Rollins! They stare down again, Rollins talks a bit more smack, and McIntyre grins. McIntyre CHOPS, and Rollins likes that! Rollins CHOPS, McIntyre CHOPS, repeat! The fans “WOO~” but then McIntyre headlocks. Rollins powers up and out, but McIntyre runs him over!
McIntyre looms over Rollins, then brings him up. But Rollins CHOPS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! McIntyre headlocks, Rollins powers up and out, drops down, hurdles over, then redirects McIntyre to SHOULDER TACKLE! McIntyre rebounds to SHOULDER TACKLE Rollins! The fans fire up again while Rollins goes to ropes. McIntyre stomps Rollins, ROCKS him, then stalks him to ropes. McIntyre CHOPS Rollins against the ropes, then whips. Rollins ducks ‘n’ dodges, to then SLINGBLADE! Rollins keeps moving, and he LARAITS McIntyre up and out! The fans fire up as Rollins builds speed, to WRECK McIntyre with a dropkick!
McIntyre is at the desk. Rollins builds sped, and Rollins DIVES! McIntyre hits desk, but Rollins keeps going! Rollins DIVES again, but McIntyre stops that to TOSS Rollins up and over the desk! Rollins is down between the armchairs and McIntyre snarls, but Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and both men slowly rise in the ring. McIntyre looms over Rollins, saying Rollins is still too damn selfish. But Rollins fires hands! McIntyre hits back, they go back and forth! McIntyre kicks low, whips Rollins toa corner, but Rollins BOOTS him away! McIntyre returns, and he pushes through the boot to ELBOW Rollins! McIntyre has Rollins in the Inverted Alabama Lift, ALABAMA- VICTORY ROLL! TWO!! Rollins goes back to the corner, and he BOOTS McIntyre again! The fans fire up while both men are down! Rollins feeds off that energy and rises up. Rollins ROCKS McIntyre, then counter punches him!
Rollins CHOPS and ROCKS McIntyre again and again, then CHOPS, CHOPS, CHOPS! The fans fire up, the ref counts as they’re on ropes, but Rollins roars! Rollins whips, McIntyre reveres, Rollins leaps, but into McIntyre’s arms! McIntyre pops Rollins up, but Rollins slips out of the suplex to then POST McIntyre! McIntyre staggers back, so Rollins POSTS him again! McIntyre sputters, Rollins brings him around and POSTS him a third time! McIntyre is stuck in the corner now, but Rollins SLAMS the arm against the post! Rollins aims as McIntyre staggers away. Springboard, FLYING KNEE! McIntyre says up, Rollins hits a RUNNING KNEE! Cover, TWO!
Rollins takes a breath as the fans rally up. McIntyre is down so Rollins goes to the apron. Springboard SWANTON! Cover, TWO! McIntyre survives but Rollins snarls. Rollins stalks McIntyre, grabs the arm, and he goes to wrangle McIntyre. McIntyre rolls free, fireman’s carries, but Rollins fights free! Rollins goes to a corner again, puts McIntyre on the apron, but McIntyre ROCKS Rollins! McIntyre climbs, but Rollins springs up to join him! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Roll through, but MCINTYRE hits the FALCON ARROW! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up as both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as McIntyre kips up!
McIntyre still wobbles a bit, but he makes his way to a corner. McIntyre tells Rollins to get up. Rollins rises, McIntyre runs in, but Rollins ducks the Claymore! Now Rollins aims, and he runs up, but McIntyre hits a SPINEBUSTER! Jackknife bridge, TWO! Rollins survives, but McIntyre brings him in! Deadlift and- RANA! Rollins then SUPERKICKS McIntyre, runs, tilt-o-whirls, and FALCON ARROWS! The fans fire up as Rollins manages a cover, TWO!! The pin wasn’t much but neither was that kick-out, both men are running on fumes. The fans sing Rollins’ song, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!”
Rollins runs, CURB- NO, McIntyre avoids the stomp! Underhooks and FUTURE- NO, Rollins fights the DDT to underhook! PED- NO, McIntyre wrenches out to short arm LARIAT! McIntyre rolls away to go to the apron, then he drags himself up the corner. McIntyre reaches the top, Rollins stands, FLYING- NO, Rollins blocks the lariat to try and wrangle McIntyre. McIntyre scoops Rollins, Rollins slips free, and Rollins still wants the arm! McIntyre fights the takedown again so Rollins CLUBS away on the arm! Rollins brings McIntyre down, into a CROSSFACE!! McIntyre endures, reaches out, but Rollins pulls him back!
McIntyre fights, claws his way over, and he manages the ROPEBREAK! Rollins holds until the ref counts 4, and now Rollins tells McIntyre to get up and fight. “You question me? You question my integrity!?” Rollins gets in McIntyre’s face, the ref backs him off, but now McIntyre CLAWS Rollins’ face! Rollins staggers, McIntyre reels him in, underhook and FUTURE SHOCK!! Cover, TWO?!? Rollins survives and now McIntyre is pissed. McIntyre rises, and he tells Rollins that his words and actions don’t line up. Short arm LARIAT! McIntyre drags Rollins up again, short arm LARIAT! The fans rally and McIntyre shakes his head.
McIntyre tells Rollins to get up, and Rollins sputters as he slowly sits up. McIntyre reels Rollins in for a short arm- NO, Rollins slips up and around, and a jackknife bridge! ROLLINS WINS!!
Winner: Seth Rollins, by pinfall
Rollins snatches this one away, and McIntyre CLOBBERS Rollins for it! The fans boo but McIntyre scares the ref off. But Rollins fires hands in return! McIntyre CLAYMORES outta nowhere!! McIntyre is still seething, and he drags Rollins over to the corner. McIntyre pulls Rollins’ hair to put him up against the post! The fans boo, the ref says don’t, but SAMI ZAYN to the rescue! Sami fires hands, then he POSTS McIntyre! Sami makes sure Rollins is alright, and then Sami goes back for Drew. But he gets a GLASGOW KISS HEADBUTT for it! McIntyre stands Sami up to THROW him into barriers!
McIntyre snarls as he looks to Rollins again. McIntyre gets in the ring, and he tells Rollins they should be on the same team, but Rollins is just so selfish! But here comes Sami! McIntyre moves, HELLUVA KICK to Rollins!! The fans can’t believe it and neither can Sami! Sami apologizes to Rollins, but McIntyre grins, this all worked out for the better! Will McIntyre use everyone else against each other to ensure he is the one going to WrestleMania?
My Thoughts:
Another great episode coming in at just two hours and 35 minutes or so. I don’t mind things “ending early” compared to the usual three hour run, but I am curious as to how they’re only using two-and-a-half hours. I suppose they have their plan and just go with it. That way, if things go long, they have breathing room for it. But they really could’ve added like one more thing to this and it would’ve been fine, I think. That said, good go-home stuff for Saturday Night’s Main Event, such as a good promo from Jey and Gunther. Though, they didn’t really add more to what last week had, other than that brawl. Jey stood tall, go-home math would suggest he loses.
Sheamus and Bron had a good promo to put the final touches on their build, but as I said last week, this is a rather interesting one. Sheamus really should win that Intercontinental Championship already, but I don’t know if Saturday Night’s Main Event is a “big enough stage” for such a moment. Great stuff with Bayley, Nia and Rhea tonight, especially that match. It seems the Transfer Window is finally putting some actual transfers in, what with Wyatt Sick6 on SmackDown and now Bayley on Raw. Rhea VS Nia on Saturday Night’s Main Event is going to be an awesome title match, but it feels like Rhea will retain to solidify her as champion past the Royal Rumble.
And speaking of the Rumble, Bayley is certainly a top choice to win. For one, it’d be historic for Bayley to not just win back-to-back, but to also be the first woman to have won two Rumbles at all. Very good promo from Punk to hype himself up for the Rumble, and he did mention a favor… Though, it’d be rather Heel of Punk to use a favor from Heyman to basically rig the Rumble or give him protection during it, but it’d also be great continuity as The Shield was to shield Punk. Sami of course declared for the Rumble, but Kevin showing up was a great surprise. And Kevin clearly implies that if Sami helps Kevin cheat the ladder match, Kevin will help Sami cheat the Rumble. Or rather, if Kevin does help Sami win the Rumble, Sami better help Kevin win the ladder match.
Sami also had a good promo with Rollins backstage, with the real fun part being Kross watching from the background. Kross needs a new feud with the Wyatts going to SmackDown, and moving on to names like Rollins and Sami would be some big stuff for him and The Final Testament. Rollins VS McIntyre was a great main event, and classic move having the quick pin win this so that McIntyre is still strong even in defeat. Sami making the save was also a nice touch, as was the Helluva Kick accidentally hitting Rollins. The Rumble has a lot of feuds crossing over, and Kross can add onto what happened here, we’ll get some really good chaos in that match.
Great promo between New Day and JBL to where even JBL, notorious as one of the meanest, most obnoxious Heels of his time, is on Big E’s side. And we finally got New Day back in the ring, but it’s a little disappointing that it wasn’t a tag match. Dragon Lee hasn’t gotten to do much, and he’s doing even less now. It was still a great match from Kofi VS Rey, with Rey getting his own quick pin win. New Day beating Rey up of course brought out the LWO, and I’m sure we’ll get New Day VS Cruz & Wilde next. We can only hope for Dragon Lee’s sake that he gets to be part of the blowoff for this feud. Actually, better yet would be him in the Intercontinental Championship scene.
Penta might also make a great choice for the Intercontinental Championship scene. Penta had another awesome match, as Pete Dunne is always a great opponent. Maybe Penta gets in on the Rumble so he can check that off his bucket list. He doesn’t need to win, he can just have a great showing, and rivalries can spark from those interactions. Lyra had a very good promo but I was hoping for a little more after her winning the Women’s Intercontinental Championship. DMG CTRL VS PFC was a great tag match, and a great win for DMG CTRL. Dakota and Iyo could each make a case for a match with Lyra, but clearly Ivy will be up first. She would make a solid first defense for Lyra, and then Lyra can have rematches from the tournament with Kai and Iyo.
At the same time, PFC might already be thinking about changing up the team with Zoey taking the loss. Good stuff with Judgment Day. Dom and Liv plotting and scheming while being passive aggressive is a fun phase for them. They’re probably plotting on how Liv can win the Women’s Rumble, but it’ll likely backfire and that’ll push the Liv x Dom break-up. Also, you can bet Finn won’t like Dom taking his spot against the War Raiders, especially if they win. That said, I don’t see them winning, Erik & Ivar should definitely be able to handle Dom & JD. It certainly feels more likely the Creeds can take the tag titles than Judgment Day.
I do wonder who Dom recommended to Gable, though. It’d be cool if WWE brought in some other lucha legends, as WWE seems to be expanding their partnerships. WWE is working more closely with TNA now, and I believe TNA still has a working relationship with AAA, especially after AEW moved over to working with CMLL because of the relationship with NJPW. Also a super crossover like NXTNAAA would be a lot of fun to see for WrestleMania weekend.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Coverage
Andrew’s TNA Genesis Results & Match Ratings: 1.19.25
Does TNA Believe in Joe Hendry more than Mokuba Nemeth believes in his big brother?
Hot off the heels of the TNA and WWE working relationship announcement, the Kickoff show already has the first sprinkle of NXT talent with Ashante “Thee” Adonis coming out after Ariana Grace tries to take all of the credit for the partnership. Jake something runs over Ashante, but it’s a good quick nod on free YouTube. Oh it also looks like the ring announcer is McKenzie Mitchel again. I did like her first run in TNA in what was that… like 2016-2018 or 19? She’s got personality, she’s cute and a solid announcer, so nice to see her back.
I’m not gonna run down any predictions on who I think will win, because honestly, I just feel like Hendry needs to win today or it’s been an entire waste of momentum. So lets get to the main show!
Ratings:
- X Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Ace Austin: Moose retains via Lights Out – *** 1/4
- The System vs Maniac Marines: Marines win via K.I.A. – ***
- Knockouts Tag Titles: Elegance Clique (Heather & Ash) w/Personal Concierge vs Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) (c): Spitfire retain via Pressure Drop – **
- Jordynne Grace vs Tessa Blanchard: Tessa wins via Magnum – ****
- I Quit Match: Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana: Santana wins! – ***
- TNA Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz (c) vs The Rascalz: Hardyz retain via Swanton Bomb – *** 1/2
- Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match: TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Rosemary: Masha wins via Avalanche Requiem – ** 3/4
- TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Joe Hendry: Hendry wins via Standing Ovation – *** 3/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!!!!!!
Results:
X Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Ace Austin
As soon as the bell rings, Ace jumps on him, forces him into the corner and stomps on him. Moose tries to fight out but Ace stays relentless. Ace has a counter for everything Moose is trying to counter in the early goings. Even when Moose catches him during the apron Handstand Dodge, Ace still has a counter for his counter. It’s not until a rake to the eyes from Moose that finally gives him a moment to start dictating the pace. A huge Irish Whip on the outside through the barricade is what Ace feels…twice. Ace tries to fight back from Moose continuing the momentum, Ace eats a Pump Kick, but blocks Moose’s attempt at a Suplex and counters with his own Vertical Suplex on Moose! JDC gets in the proximity of Ace so Ace kicks him, which delays his springboard, so Moose catches him and bounces him off the apron like a super ball.
Moose lets the count go, Ace barely gets in at 9, Moose throws him corner to corner, is slowing things down and being very deliberate. Ace starts powering through the pain, catches a Pump Kick, dodges a Spear into the corner and puts together a few strikes, Double Stomp, Triangle Kick, wants The Fold but Moose puts the brakes on there. Ace tries to spring off the ropes but Moose grabs him and hits Go To Hell for two! Fighting Spirit spot, Ace starts winning the trade, a Headbutt from Moose stops Ace, Moose flips him over the ropes to the apron, tries a few more things, Ace looks for a Springboard, Moose catches him but Ace slips it for a Frankensteiner. Moose powders to the opposite apron and Ace hits his Inside Out Headscissors sending Moose crashing to the floor. Alisha and JDC try to help up Moose, and while the referee is distracted JDC posts Ace. Moose goes for the Around the World Lights Out, but Ace moves and Moose kills JDC! Ace hits The Fold on the floor!
Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers run down the ramp, Ace sees them so he hits the Fosbury Flop to take them out. Ace is rolling, he goes for the Triangle Kick but Moose counters with Lights Out! 1-2- KICK OUT? Moose sets up for another Lights Out, Ace sidesteps it for the Cradle, kickout, Uranage, Cradle counter, Art of Finesse from Ace but Lights Out to the Spine from Moose! Moose sets up another and lands the Lights Out to retain!
Post Match the System looks to beat down on Ace, but Maniac Marines music hits and they go after Myers and Edwards. Guess the match is now!Â
The System vs Maniac Marines
Steve and Eric beat the hell out of the System members while the referee tries to set the match, it still hasn’t started but we get stereo 10 count punches in the corner, big fists causing Myers and Edwards to powder. This is essentially a Tornado Tag right now because the match hasn’t even started. Okay it eventually starts and Maclin hits the Backbreaker on Edwards and Busaiku Knee on Myers. He looks for a SCUD but Lish grabs the foot which is just enough! Maclin tries to charge anyway but gets caught in the Blue Thunder Bomb and now the match slows down and Eddie is in control.
Maclin absorbs some Chops from Eddie in the corner, no sells a little and fires, Eddie tags out Myers tries to slow things down with a Russian Leg Sweep but Maclin continues to try and rally. Eddie’s back in, shortarm Gowan Lariat into a cocky cover for two. Eddie tries to keep moving but Maclin hits the Vertical Suplex. Maclin is too slow to tag out so Eddie tags out and Myers cuts off Maclin. After a few more quick tags from System members, Maclin finally lands a Lariat to get the simultaneous tag and EY comes in hot. EY does the Flair corner flip, knocks Eddie off the apron, Myers eats a Macho Elbow but only two. Eddie knocks Maclin off the apron, Tandem Tiger Driver for two, EY fights back to level Eddie, Tree of Woe Myers Caught in Crosshairs but Lish gets in the ring! Eddie grabs Eric and distracts the ref, Lish clocks Maclin with either knuckles or a full hand of rings, Spear from Myers is only a two!
System Overload attempt, it’s thwarted by EY, Myers gets crotched in like a Reverse Tree of Woe, so Maclin hits the Caught in the Crosshairs on the back, EY with a Plancha to the outside to take Edwards out and K.I.A. from Maclin means Maniac Marines win!
Knockouts Tag Titles: Elegance Clique (Heather & Ash) w/Personal Concierge vs Spitfire (Dani Luna & Jody Threat) (c)
Elegance duo comes out dressed like Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. They do a Go Eagles chant right before the bell rings to a chorus of Boos.
Even though Elegance Clique throws their pompoms and try a cheap shot, Spitfire just plow through them, literally. Quick tags, some assisted moves, Ash gets away from Spitfire, tags in Heather and shoves her forward trying to take them off guard, but they turn around…grab Heather and a long Tandem Stalling Suplex with a Deep Squat for two. Concierge distracts the referee, looks for a low Dive onto Heather but Ash just kicks Dani in the face, and the referee sees nothing. Heather rolls her back in, Kawada Kicks, Forearm Shiver, trip into a Dropkick to the face! Ash hangs Dani off the apron and Heather hits the Double Stomp from the apron to the floor.
Ash starts choking Dani on the ropes, distracts the referee and Heather paintbrushes Dani with pompoms as Ash goes for a series of pinfall attempts. Quick tags, Dani is in their corner, Cartwheel Back Handspring Elbow from Ash into a Seated Dropkick from Heather. Dani has been getting smacked around for the last 4 or 5 minutes. Ash leans on Dani for a while, but Dani gets a head of steam, comes off the ropes and Shotgun Dropkick gives her space. Jody gets a hot tag, she Sack of Shits them both, Vader Hammers in the corner into a Michinoku Driver, which Ash breaks up with a Meteora. Heather and Ash have a nice tandem move for a two count. Jody tries to fight back, but Elegance stops it, blind tag from Dani, Senton takes out both Elegance Clique members and Dani stalks her prey. Snap Suplex two times on Ash, but Heather stops the third and Jody just tosses Heather out of the ring in a rough way. Jody tries her Double Knees German Suplex spot but Ash moves. Dani with the Shinsuke Nakamura Inside Out German, Pressure Drop and Spitfire retains.
Boo…
Jordynne Grace vs Tessa Blanchard
Grace charges Tessa immediately, and the ref needs to pull her off, but Tessa gets thrown around the ring literally, the crowd is chanting “Fuck You Tessa”, Tessa powders, eats a Dive and then a Jackhammer on the outside! Grace puts Tessa on her shoulders up to the ring, but Tessa finally fights off and flips off the crowd, revels in it for a second, tries the Frankensteiner, but Grace holds on, smashes Tessa into the guardrail twice, looks for the Reverse Bomb on the apron, but Tessa gets out, stomps on Jordynne a few times, hooks Jordynne’s face with the crook of her leg and drives Jordynne’s face into the apron. Unique looking and decent.
Tessa has the correct intensity, pushes into two quick pinfall attempts and starts getting deliberate. Drags Jordynne’s face across the rope, throats Grace, kicks her in the face and Slingshot Elbow is another near fall. Tessa with the Front Facelock, Grace tries to fight out but Tessa holds on and drops her with a Scorpion Death Drop for another near fall. Jordynne fights Tessa off with a few elbows, looks for a Superplex, but Tessa fights off, wants the Avalanche Sunset Bomb, but Jordynne stops it, Tessa kicks Grace’s feet, looks for a Rope Hung Death Drop but Jordynne fights it off and smashes Tessa’s face into the turnbuckles but Tessa hits the Rope Hung Backstabber for two. Tessa looks for Magnum, but Jordynne cuts her off, they fight at the top, Avalanche Sack of Shit! They both sell the exhaustion of the match so far.
They trade blows, two Scoop Slams from Jordynne, Lawn Dart into the Top Turnbuckle! Package Powerbomb for two! Dragon Suplex attempt from Grace, Tessa breaks it, Headlock Takeover, quick counter wrestling, Tiger Destroyer from Tessa! Only for a two count, but still nice. Buzzsaw attempt is shrugged off, Tessa comes off the ropes and eats the Spinebuster from Jordynne for two quick pinfall attempts. Tessa with the Body Scissors and pulls herself up and fights back, Jordynne slaps her around, looks for the Suplex but Tessa slips it and Neckbreaker Counter for a two count! The brawl to the apron, Grace eats a forearm and Tessa hits the Tornillo on Jordynne! They posture on the steps, Tessa wants a move but Jordynne counters her and Spicolli Driver from the stairs to the floor from Jordynne!
More back and forth in the corner, just positioning and counters, it’s like watching chess. Jordynne grabs Tessa for an Avalanche Air Raid Crash, but Tessa fights it and turns it into an Avalanche Crucifix Bomb! After trying a grounded submission Tessa locks in the Octopus, tries to wrench the fingers but Jordynne counters, Rope Assisted German Suplex into a Capture Suplex for 2! Kudome Valentine attempt from Grace but Tessa gets out, Backfist from Jordynne, Tessa bounces off and Cutter gives her a two count! Tessa calls for Magnum, Jordynne dodges it, Tessa rolls through, tries boots but Grace grabs Tessa and hits the around the world Reverse Alabama Slam! Tessa keeps trying to remove Buckle Pads but they’re on good, Tessa reverses out of the Kinikku Buster, hits the Buzzsaw into the partially exposed buckle but Grace grabs the rope. Tessa removes another pad, Bulldog into exposed buckle, Magnum, and Tessa is still sexy.
The turnbuckle pads being on too well made the finish a little flat, but it was a damn good match. There’s also a joke in the match with Tessa coming out wearing Red and Gold (Yellow), so the racism allegations are never going away if she keeps making it easy.
I Quit Match: Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana
There’s intensity but its all just technical tactics to take each other to the ground and grab a limb. But since we just came off of a pretty good match, things can’t start too hot. Every time Santana throws Josh to the outside, Josh scurries back to the ring, he’s playing scared. There’s a “He’s a bitch” chant that pops up. Santana cuts off Josh’s charge with a few well placed boots which sends Josh outside, Tope con Hilo levels the bald man. Santana throws Josh into a guardrail, Yakuza Kicks back to back rock Josh a bit. Fans call for tables and Santana slides one out to a huge pop. Santana sets it up, plays to the crowd, tries a Powerbomb onto the table but Josh slips it and Overhead Belly to Belly sends Santana crashing. A fan can be heard saying “That look like it hurt” to which Santana replies ” It did asshole”. Now Josh is dissecting Santana’s legs to soften him up for the Ankle Lock. Josh goes for the corner spot with the Figure Four around the post after bouncing the knee off the post a few times.
Josh tries to continue but Santana slides out and counters Josh and bounces his face off the post. Josh walks it off a bit as Santana stalks him and then a quick Chop Block has Santana writhing in pain. Josh decides to be a heel and do the Three Amigos instead of the Kurt Angle Germans. Disrespectful bald jerk. Santana gets throated, dropped to the apron on his ass, Low Crossbody but Santana flattens out and Josh goes flying! Santana tries a Dive, but Josh catches him and just drops him spine first on the apron. After a small resilient flurry of slaps from Santana Josh goes for the Germans. Santana brushes off on the third, goes for the Rolling Buck Fifty, gets caught in the Torture Rack, Santana fights off Josh’s shoulders, kicks him into the corner, Senton into the seated Josh. Perches him up top, points at the table, tries something but Josh fights him off, Moonsault from Josh misses and a Death Valley Driver gives both a moment to breathe.
Santana Spin the-BLOCK-ED! Josh sweeps the leg, Ankle Lock and Santana refuses to quit twice but slips the boot ala Eddie Guerrero. Josh pauses a moment, Santana charges and Josh dumps him over the top rope through the table! Santana says he doesn’t quit, Josh looks surprised, so he goes looking for more plywood. He also grabs the bottom set of stairs and throws them into the ring. Scoop Slams Santana into the broken table and continues looking for weapons, like a chair and zip ties. Santana crawls into the ring, Josh steps on the worked on leg and smashes it repeatedly with the chair. Josh goes into Full Mount, rains down strikes, exposes the elbow for Elbow Strikes and tries to soften him up for the zip ties. C4 Spike but Santana raises up like the Undertaker and fires into beating the piss out of Josh. Frankensteiner on Josh into the Frog Splash, Spin the Block! Josh doesn’t quit. Santana grabs the zip ties that Josh introduced, ties the hands behind Josh’s back, Spin the Block 2! Josh doesn’t quit. Santana sets up the steps as a ramp, table in front of Josh in the corner and Cannonballs through the table into Josh! Josh still doesn’t quit off the Jackass stunt. Santana finds a sock filled with quarters and starts beating Josh like it’s a slapjack. Josh still doesn’t quit. Santana tells Josh to bite the curb and is about to Curb Stomp him into the steps and Josh gets scared and quits.
TNA Tag Team Championships: The Hardyz (c) vs The Rascalz
Fraxiom comes out to watch the match, so this nicely sets up a potential early angle between NXT and TNA for the crossover.Â
Trey and Matt start, but it’s a slow Headlock basic counters and feint spots. Jeff and Wentz want to play, so this is very Japanese in giving each member a free chance to interact before any cutoffs or tandems. The crowd likes both men, so this is interesting but more Stalemate spots. Jeff manages a Polish Hammer to tag in Matt and go for a quick tandem move and keep Wentz in the Hardy Corner bouncing his face off buckles in Delete fashion. Tag from Jeff for another tandem Rocket Launcher into the bottom rope and Leg Drop from Jeff. Wentz counters the Twist with a Jumping Knee so he manages a tag to Trey and then a few quick striking double team spots. Quick tag to Wentz, Matt comes in to break it up, drops Matt and Wishbone. Quick Tag, MCMG ACS Rush homage. Wentz Dives onto Matt on the outside, Matt catches him into the Side Effect on the floor! Jeff gets the best of Trey after he’s a little distracted. Manhattan Drop from Jeff, into a tag to Matt and then some double team strikes for a near fall. Delete Head Smashes again on Trey.
Vertical Suplex from Matt for another 2. Matt tags out and Hardys look for more Tandem attacks, Plot Twist but Wentz recovers and makes the break! Trey flips out of Jeff’s arms, tags in Wentz, and Wentz cleans house on both Hardys. Corner to corner, tags back in Trey they hit the Saki Kashima assisted Dropkick on each Hardy and then they dump the Hardys at the feet of Fraxiom. FIVE HOLE DIVE FROM RASCALZ! Misses the Hardys and hits Fraxiom! This builds heat for The Rascalz and Fraxiom as Hardys attack the Rascalz while distracted. Poetry in Motion off the stairs from Jeff!
Facebuster from Jeff for two! Wentz hits a Busaiku Knee on Jeff to stop him from hitting Trey, Side Effect drops Wentz, Enzuigiri from Trey drops Matt and all four are down to catch their breath a bit. Original Poetry in Motion on Trey! Twist of Fate from Matt but countered and Matt is thrown into Jeff who’s selling a knee. Superkick into Feed Em to the Lions! Wentz Dives on Matt but Trey can’t quite make a clean pinfall. Jeff eats a Cheeky Nandos and Top Rope Tiger Feint, Twist of Fates for everyone and Jeff re-NO Trey kicks out! Another Twist but eats a Superkick from Wentz, tries the UFO Cutter on Matt but Matt just throws him to the outside. A Twist of Fate from each Hardy Boy, Swanton Bomb and the Hardyz retain!
Thursday’s Live Show will have Fraxiom vs The Rascalz for the NXT Titles!Â
Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match: TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Rosemary
Do Rosemary’s shorts have Pokemon Gym Badges on em? Masha goes for the Staple Gun, it almost gets countered immediately, but she gets the first few clicks of the Staple gun, it actually doesn’t backfire, but she lets Rosemary powder and starts grabbing a few weapons. Masha finally decides to attack Rosemary with a cane, but Rosemary turns things around with the green mist. Slamovich gets some of the mist out of her eyes, chases her into the ring and eats a Drop Toehold into a Chair. Rosemary sets up the table, panders to the crowd and Masha launches herself over the top with a Crossbody, into Rosemary and then through the table! Masha finds her old chain she used to make Killer Kelly submissive and starts choking and dragging Rosemary around the ring and then Sabus the chair at Rosemary for emphasis.
Masha tries to hit the front flip Senton onto a seated Rosemary, but Rosemary moves and Masha hits the chair weird. Rosemary beats her with a chair a few times, looks under the ring, gets giddy and finds Janice! Rosemary swings Janice, breaks it, and then uses the two pieces to block the cane Masha had and then pressed the nail portion into Masha’s back! Rosemary is talking to Janice and goes to the back to find tacks that she spills out on the stage. Rosemary wants a Chokeslam into tacks, Masha counters, misses a Lariat and then eats the Spear into the tacks! Barbed Wire board is set up in the ring, Spicolli…nope! Russian Death Device into the Barbed Wire! Masha goes to the top, Footstomp into the barbed wire but only for 2 again! Masha goes to the outside and grabs a ladder.
A trash can lid gets thrown at Rosemary for good measure, Masha ascends the ladder and then Rosemary pushes the ladder and Masha goes crashing through one of two tables set up on the outside. Rough spot, rough looking, but Masha manages to move enough to break the pinfall since its falls count anywhere. Rosemary now goes full Kevin Steen and makes some chair art for a spot, drags Masha into the ring, sets he on the chairs and goes to the top. Masha sits up as Rosemary climbs, counters the momentum and Avalanche Requiem through the chairs! Masha retains.
Cora Jade’s music hits and sets up nicely after Masha was on NXT.Â
The Countdown Panel starts off with their main event picks they hinted towards and it’s necessary because they have to clean up the ring. Mark Henry picks Joe Hendry, and he better be correct. Ryan Nemeth interrupts with the “my brootthhheerrr” stuff, and Santino calls him “Fuck Face Guy”. It’s all good stuff, and I’m still a big fan of the Mokuba gimmick, but now they ban Ryan Nemeth.Â
TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Joe Hendry
Simple chain wrestling start until Nic has a few words and then snaps off a Dropkick, does his show off Dolph stuff so Hendry runs him over with a Shoulder Block and then a Knee Lift. Hendry tries his Stalling Suplex but Nic slips it into a Rear Naked Choke! Hendry spins Nic around, walks around with the Stalling Suplex before finally dropping Nic. Ryan Nemeth shows up with a ticket, so he’s sitting in the crowd now. Joe gets distracted just enough for Nic to jump up and hit a delayed DDT. After Nic tries to stretch Joe a little, Hendry goes into locomotion Cradles but Nic drops Joe to take a breather. Nic does his single Shot to the Heart Elbow and he’s really embracing the old Dolph Ziggler show off ego. Ziggler looks for a Rude Awakening after more arrogant moments, but Joe tries to fight it off, so Nic just snaps off a Jumping Neckbreaker.
Joe manages to hit a Cutter off the ropes to try and get some energy from the crowd. Strike exchange happens here, Uppercuts from Joe and Fists from Nic. Joe blocks one fist, throws a few of his own together and a Lariat levels Nic. Sack of Shit into the Kip Up! Counters galore from both men before Nic gets caught in the Pop-Up Powerbomb! Attitude Adjustment for just a near fall. You see moments of Nic trying to cheat or find an angle but he hasn’t done anything overtly heelish yet. Joe is rocking him with chops, perches Nic on the top, looks for the Superplex but Nic fights back, Hendry gets pushed off, Crossbody but Hendry rolls through, holds on and gets his Powerbomb countered into a FAMEasser for two! Nic crawls to a corner, looks to climb for something big, Hendry cuts him off, Avalanche Sack of Shit! Kaz walks out with the trophy as both men sell, but JBL comes out of the crowd and Clothesline from Hell on Kaz. JBL punches Ryan in the face as he comes out to say something. Then Tuxedo JBL leaves after doing his job. Standing Ovation from HENDRY! 1-2-NO! Nic kicks out!
The crowd chants “One More Time” and it fires up Hendry, he does the heel turn and goes full Queen Stomp, tries again, but Nic slips it. Superkick into Danger Zone and it’s….HENDRY KICKS OUT! Nic is tuning up the band, Hendry catches Nic, Sack of Shit, Kip Up, big fire, Standing Ovation! JOE HENDRY WINS!
Overall Score: 7/10
Even if the match quality wasn’t bonkers, mostly all the matches did what they needed to do, were fairly good and a good number of NXT talent showed up to make the Live iMPACT! and TNA really feel like something special right now. I’m an unabashed Tessa fan, so I’m giddy she won and Hendry finally getting the title is the latest they could’ve really dragged this out to, but at least it stops him from becoming Tetsuya Nai-Joe.
I’m not gonna be a hypocrite from previous complaints I made with too many champions being babyfaces, because that’s still bad and proves the next few title defenses could prove volatile. However, I of course just enjoy most of the current champions. So while it doesn’t erase the fact it’s bad, it makes it more palatable for me personally. Now if only PCO destroyed the Knockouts Tags instead of a different irrelevant belt.
Also let’s be very clear, anyone that believes the PCO stunt was a legit shoot doesn’t know wrestling. Everything is a work until it isn’t and then it still could be turned into a work. Don’t be gullible and just anticipate something to be worked out of it one way or the other.
Still though, good show with a lot of hype for the Live iMPACT, so Thursday should be fun! See you there!
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!
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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
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