Dark State takes on the Stand & Deliver main event!

Before they battle for THE NXT Championship, Oba Femi, Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans must work together against Dark State in a Six Man Tag! Will they survive?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Jordynne Grace VS Jaida Parker; No Contest.
• Fraxiom VS Swipe Right; Fraxiom wins.
• NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Sol Ruca w/ Zaria VS Jazmyn Nyx w/ The Fatal Influence; Sol wins and advances to Stand & Deliver.
• Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Niko Vance & Brooks Jensen; Vance & Jensen win.
• Wes Lee w/ Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont VS Yoshiki Inamura w/ Josh Briggs; Wes wins.
• NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Izzi Dame w/ The Culling VS Wren Sinclair w/ No Quarter Catch Crew; Izzi wins and advances to Stand & Deliver.
• Six Man Tag: Oba Femi, Trick Williams & Je’Von Evans VS Dark State; Dark State wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Stephanie Vaquer is here!

Kelly Kincaid knows the NXT Women’s Champion gets to choose her opponent for Stand & Deliver, but when can we expect that decision? Vaquer is sure she’ll have that decision after this match. La Primera goes to ringside, who will impress her with a victory?

Jordynne Grace VS Jaida Parker!

The Juggernaut and Miss Parker have had a bit of back ‘n’ forth, both in words and in brawling backstage. But this here could very well be seen as a #1 contender’s match! Will Grace make an impact on WrestleMania Weekend? Or will Jaida get #OutTheMud with this one?

The bell rings and and the two run up! Grace TACKLES Jaida, rains down fists, and the fans fire up! Jaida turns things around, Grace turns it back, and they scrap out to the floor! The fans fire up more as the shots keep going! Grace stomps Jaida, then SMACKS her off the apron. Grace jumps on for a SLEEPER, but Jaida RAMS her into the apron! And into the apron again! Jaida goes into the ring, but Grace drags her back out. Grace slides in, but Jaida drags her back out! Grace ELBOWS Jaida, SMACKS her off the apron, then TOSSES her into the ring. Grace slides in, but Jaida stomps her down!

Jaida drags Grace up, whips, but Grace reverses to atomic drop! Then she fireman’s carries Jaida for a ROLLING DEATH VALLEY! Then a SLIDING FOREARM! Cover, TWO! Jaida stays in this but Grace stays on her. Grace TOSSES Jaida to the apron, then goes out after her. Grace CLUBS Jaida, Alabama Lifts her, and even Vaquer is worried about this one. Jaida fights that slam off to lift Grace! Grace kicks free, but then Jaida fireman’s carries! HOTSHOT off the ropes! The fans fire up while Grace flounders, but Jaida storms in and runs, BLOCKBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Grace survives and the fans fire up more!

Jaida drags Grace up, but Grace fights the suplex! Grace RAMS Jaida into a corner, then RAMS her in again! Grace backs up, runs in, but Jaida puts her on the apron! Grace blocks a shot to ROCK Jaida! Grace then climbs, but Jaida trips her up! Grace is in the ropes, Jaida ROCKS her, then puts her in the corner! Jaida CHOPS, then runs, TEARDROP! Jaida high steps and the fans fire up! Jaida says Parker don’t play, and NXT goes picture in picture.

Jaida talks trash on Grace, then drags her up to CLUB her in the corner. Jaida runs to LARIAT Grace in the back! Jaida reels Grace in, REVERSE SUPLEX! Cover, TWO! Grace survives that rough landing, and she seems to be okay to continue. Jaida clamps onto Grace with a GROUND COBRA TWIST! Grace endures, fights around, but Jaida CLUBS her! Grace fires HEADBUTTS into Jaida, but Jaida CLUBS her again and again! Jaida pushes Grace onto her stomach, then clamps on with a chinlock stretch! Grace endures, fights up, and has Jaida as a backpack! BACKPACK SENTON! Cover, TWO! Jaida stays in this but Grace stays focused.

Grace drags Jaida up, whips her to a corner hard, and then scoops Jaida for a POWERSLAM! Grace goes up, up, VADER BOMB FLOPS as Jaida moves !HIP- NO! Grace rolls Jaida up, TWO! Jaida trips Grace, and she rains down furious fists! Grace turns things around but Jaida pulls hair! But then Grace pulls Jaida’s hair! The ref counts, both women let go at 4, and then Grace rains down fists! Cover, TWO! Grace tumbles to ropes, Jaida storms up to cravat. Jaida grinds Grace’s face off the ropes, puts her in the corner, then runs, but into an ELBOW! Grace reels Jaida in, but Jaida hoists Grace up top!

Jaida fires forearms and a CHOP, then climbs up after Grace. NXT returns to single picture as Grace fires forearms! Jaida fires a body shot in return! Jaida reaches the top, brings Grace up to join her, but Grace fights back! SUPER SUNSET FLIP, but Jaida holds onto the ropes! Jaida ROCKS Grace, then kicks her away! The fans rally as Jaida adjusts, but Grace runs up! Jaida leaps over, fireman’s carries, but Grace fires elbows! Jaida still RAMS Grace into buckles, and pops Grace around! But Grace fights through to have Jaida up! The fans are thunderous as Grace then ALLEY-OOPS Jaida away!

The fans cheer “NXT! NXT!” for making this the opener, and even Vaquer is impressed. Grace and Jaida rise up, go forehead to forehead, then they go forearm for forearm! The fans fire up, Grace gets the edge, and she RAMS Jaida into the corner! Grace swings, Jaida dodges, but then Grace catches Jaida to a backslide! Jaida rolls through, Grace blocks the kick, but the POINT-BLANK HIP hits! Jaida then whips corner to corner, but Grace goes up and over! GRIZZLY MAGNUM! The fans fire up for that double chop, and then Grace blocks a boot! Grace lifts Jaida into the Electric Chair, and SLAMS her into buckles!

Grace torture racks Jaida now, for a SWINGING NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Jaida survives and “This is Awesome!” Grace and Jaida rise up again, and Grace pump handles! Jaida fights free, dragon sleepers, REVSRE- NO, Grace turns suplex into dragon sleeper! Jaida fires knees, powers through, and she standard suplexes to GOURD BUSTER! And now, the HIP- NO!! Grace ducks and Jaida crashes! Grace runs to DIVE! The ropes get her first, she crashes at Jaida’s feet! Jaida hurries to get Grace up, but Grace shoves her away. Jaida bumps into Vaquer, and Vaquer takes exception to that. Jaida SLAPS Vaquer!

The fans fire up but Grace fires off on Jaida! Vaquer swings on Jaida, Jaida dodges, Grace takes the shot! Jaida then SLAPS Vaquer! The ref stops the match but the brawl continues!

No Contest

Grace ROCKS Jaida, then goes to the ring to off on Vaquer! Jaida storms in and goes after Grace! The fans fire up, and now GIULIA is back?!? The former NXT Women’s Champion returns, and she dodges Grace to BOOT Jaida! And she ROCKS Grace! ELBOW for Jaida, SHOTGUN for Grace! Vaquer SHOTGUNS Jaida! The fans fire up as now Giulia and Vaquer bump into each other! They turn and see who it is, and while Vaquer smiles, Giulia HEADBUTTS Vaquer! NORTHERN LIGHTS BOMB!! And she holds up the NXT Women’s Championship! The Beautiful Madness is back, will it be madness this close to Mania?

Hank ‘n’ Tank talk backstage.

They again go over what went wrong last week, and bring up how Nathan Frazer was a bit harsh with his words. But maybe they should just watch and learn from Fraxiom tonight. After all, those guys are the NXT Tag Team Champions, so they gotta know something. But then speaking of that match, Swipe Right walks in. Brad Baylor says, “What’s up, big boys?” Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes introduce themselves as “The hottest tag team on WWE Evolve,” and they already know Tank ‘n’ Hank. Well, it’s Hank ‘n’ Tank but same thing. Swipe Right heard about the rough patch and know they’re looking for advice from successful tag teams.

Well, don’t sweat it, Swipe Right loves to pay it forward. Tonight, after they beat Fraxiom, #Hundos, they will get back to you boys for a tight five. For now, get pens, paper, and take notes. Brad & Ricky head out, and Tank asks, “Who even…?” Hank says they’re not THAT desperate. Are they? Tank says no, they are not. But to the point, will studying from the most functional dysfunctional and dynamic duo in WWE really help Hank ‘n’ Tank narrow down what they’re missing?

The Culling has a group discussion.

They are all upset over last week. Brooks Jensen tells Shawn Spears that the group let him down. Niko Vance says Ricky Saints has no idea what’s coming his way. Izzi Dame swears they will do everything they can to get the North American Championship back, and Niko adds that it doesn’t matter if Ethan Page thinks it’s his turn. The Chair Man has them stop. He admires the passion, he really does. And is he grateful that he finally won gold in the WWE for the first time? That he’ll be a champion for the rest of his life? Yes. But that title is no longer his focus. It was a vessel that brought The Culling together. Their bond was never about his success, but theirs.

The focus now shifts to Izzi. She will qualify for the Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match and go on to Stand & Deliver. Do not focus on Spears’ loss but what she can achieve. And as for Brooks & Niko, Hank ‘n’ Tank are looking to find their way. Ensure that they don’t. It was always about them shining. And it all starts tonight. Spears smiles, will the “family” he brought together soon reign together?

Fraxiom VS Swipe Right!

NXT returns and Swipe Right makes their entrance. The fans are a bit torn on the self-professed hottest team in Evolve, but will Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes make man change their minds? Or is this going to be more of a swipe left moment?

The teams sort out and Smokes steps up, but Frazer and Axiom argue a bit. Axiom concedes and lets Frazer start, only for Smokes to DROPKICK him off the apron! The fans boo but Frazer goes after Smokes! Smokes BACKHANDS Frazer, RAMS him into the corner, then tags Brad. Feed to a lift and then DROPKICK SPINEBUSTER COMBO! Cover, TWO! Brad drags Frazer up, RAMS into him, then tags Smokes. They snapmare, and Brad NECK SNAPPERS! Smokes adds a basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Axiom is back up but Smokes CLOBBERS him! Smokes grabs Frazer’s legs, YANKS him up, but Frazer PELES!

Brad tags in, Frazer dodges, but Brad blocks a kick! The DRAGON WHIP hits! Tag to Axiom and the tag champs unleash the speed blitz! Basement DDT for Brad! Smokes runs up but into a mule kick! Frazer kicks, then gives Axiom a boost for the DROPKICK! Swipe Right bails out, and Axiom DIVES onto Brad! Frazer DIVES onto Smokes! The fans fire up as they keep going! DIVE for Brad! DIVE for Smokes! The fans are thunderous because the champs #NeverSlowDown! Axiom CHOPS Brad in the corner, then CHOPS again! Axiom fires hands on Brad, adds stomps, then lets off. Smokes sneaks a tag, and then slingshot SPEARS Axiom! Cover, TWO!

Smokes puts Axiom int he ropes, bends him back, then Brad KNEES Axiom! Tag to Brad, feed to a springboard X FACTOR! Cover, TWO! Axiom stays in this but Brad clamps on with a full nelson. Axiom endures, fights up, and he breaks the grip. Axiom then slips around to GERMAN SUPLEX! Smokes tags in, he anchors a foot, and avoids the enzigiri! Smokes runs, but into a SPANISH FLY! The fans fire up and Axiom rolls, hot tag to Frazer! Frazer rallies with FOREARM after FOREARM on Smokes! Brad is in, but he gets a BUCKLE SHOT! Frazer dodges Smokes, QUEBRADA, and then he adds Brad to the mix, COMPLETE SHOT DDT COMBO!

The fans are thunderous again as Frazer sets up, RUNNING SHOOTING STAR on Smokes! Cover, TWO! Smokes survives and Frazer is a bit surprised, but he hurries to a corner. Frazer goes right up, takes aim, and FROG- NO, Smokes dodges! Tags to Brad and Axiom! Smokes runs up, Frazer waistlocks, but Smokes switches. Smokes sends Frazer at Axiom, Axiom goes up and over, but Smokes BOOTS him! Frazer runs up, Brad ROCKS him! Smokes JUMP KNEES, Brad underhooks! Swipe Right combines, butterfly underhooks and MATCH KILLER! Brad tags Smokes, they set Axiom up as Smokes climbs!

Axiom sends Brad into Smokes! SUPERKICK for Brad! Hot tag to Frazer before a GAMANGIRI to Smokes! Axiom goes up to give Smokes the SUPER SPANISH FLY! Frazer is up top, PHOENIX SPLASH!! GOLDEN RATIO for Brad! Cover on Smokes, Fraxiom wins!

Winners: Fraxiom, by pinfall

For what it’s worth, Swipe Right did impress. But in the end, they saw why Frazer & Axiom are the NXT Tag Team Champions. Did Hank ‘n’ Tank learn plenty from this match?

Fatal Influence talks backstage.

Jacy Jayne deserves the opportunity, and Jazmyn Nyx agrees. Fallon Henley walks in and asks if they heard the news. Yes, one member of Fatal Influence gets the chance to qualify for Stand & Deliver. Fallon being the former champion, she is ready to get that title back. Um, no. Fallon had the title, failed to keep it, so it is Jacy’s turn to step up. Fallon says last time she checked, Jacy was too busy eating a superkick. Jazmyn tells them to stop, because it’ll be neither of them. It’s her turn to get an opportunity. And they’ll be their for her, right? Jazmyn heads out, and Jacy asks what just happened. Fallon has no idea. But will the Toxic Rookie prove she’s ready for more?

NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Sol Ruca w/ Zaria VS Jazmyn Nyx w/ The Fatal Influence!

NXT returns as the “goddesses of mayhem” stand in the ring together, and then #ZaRuca makes their entrance. The Agent of Change is already in the ladder match after winning big last week, will the Soul Surfer soon join her?

The bell rings and the fans rally behind Sol. The two tie up, go around, and Nyx headlocks. Sol powers up and out, but Nyx holds on tight! Sol fights while Nyx grinds the hold. Sol headstands and pops out the back! Then she handsprings to avoid the leg sweep! Sol gest around, headlocks, and wrenches to then wristlock. Nyx wrenches back, but Sol whips. Nyx reverses, Sol goes up and over, to then X FACTOR! The fans fire up as Sol kips up and Nyx bails out. Sol storms up, counter punches Nyx at the apron, then hoists Nyx up! Sol has a stalling suplex, but Nyx fights it! Nyx tries but Sol spins that around to snap suplex!

Sol backflips to have the top mount cover, TWO! Sol is annoyed but Zaria coaches her to keep going. Nyx blocks a superkick, spins Sol and sweeps the leg! Jacy & Fallon applaud, and Nyx stalks Sol as she goes to the apron. Sol ROUNDHOUSES Nyx, then springboards for a SPLASH into boots! Nyx runs, springboard and FLYING CHUCK! Sol goes to a corner, Nyx stomps a mudhole in, then digs her boot in. The ref counts, Nyx lets off, and Sol fires a forearm. Nyx ROCKS Sol in return! Nyx whips Sol to ropes then CALF KICKS! Nyx kips up smooth, and hooks a leg, FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO!

Nyx isn’t quite perfect, but she clamps on a LAST CHANCERY! Sol endures, powers up, and the fans rally as Sol pries the hold open! Sol rises, Nyx runs, PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO! Nyx is frustrated but she has Sol on the ropes. Nyx KICKS away on Sol’s stomach, but Sol blocks the roundhouse! Nyx ROCKS Sol, but Sol slips around to lift and BLUE THUNDER FACEBUSTER! Both women are down and the fans rally up. Sol and Nyx rise up, and Sol mule kicks! So CLUBS Nyx, CHOPS her, CHOPS her again, then whips. SHOULDER TACKLE! Springboard FLYING FOREARM! The fans fire up as Sol springboard FLYING FOREARMS again!

Sol fires up while Nyx goes to a corner. Sol runs in and ELBOWS Nyx! Sol cravats Nyx and picks her up, for a BACKPACK STUNNER! Sol keeps running to SHINING WIZARD! Cover, TWO! Nyx survives and Sol grows frustrated. But now Jacy picks a fight with Zaria. This lets Fallon distract Sol! Sol takes a swing, Fallon gets away, and the NYX KICK hits!! Cover, TWO!! Sol survives the Fatal screw job and Nyx can’t believe it! Nyx hurries to get Sol up, but Sol cradles her, TWO! Both women hurry up, ROUNDHOUSE from Nyx! Sol goes to a corner, but she jumps to ENZIGIRI! Sol goes up to SOL SNATCHER!! Cover, SOL WINS!

Winner: Sol Ruca, by pinfall (advances to Stand & Deliver)

Fatal Influence could not get this done 3v2, and now both members of #ZaRuca are going for the gold. Will at least one of them rise up and take the title home?

Backstage interview with Je’Von Evans.

Sarah Schreiber finds the Young OG preparing for tonight. She says that at Stand & Deliver, it will be the Triple Threat of Je’Von, Trick Williams and Oba Femi for THE NXT Championship. Tonight, they all team up against Dark State and- Je’Von apologizes for interrupting, but he called this! He knew this Dark State would be a problem, and if Trick and Oba had just listened in the first place, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Those two are gonna try and “lil bro” Je’Von less than two weeks away from the match? He’s coming for that title. Je’Von doesn’t have an era, he isn’t The Ruler, and he doesn’t wanna be like them anyway!

Je’Von dropped Oba not once but twice, and Trick is trying to snuff out the potential before it even sparks. That’s cool. Je’Von takes this step by step. Tonight, it is Dark State. At Stand & Deliver, it is the NXT Championship. Je’Von lets Sarah know he appreciates her, and then heads out. Will the Young OG be ready for all the success in the world? Or will something stop him before he gets the chance?

NXT Media catches up with Giulia.

The reporter asks her why she dropped Stephanie Vaquer, someone who was supposed to be a close friend. Giulia says Stand & Deliver is why. No friends, just a rematch! The Beautiful Madness put it plainly, but what will NXT GM Ava have to say about it?

Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Niko Vance & Brooks Jensen!

The big belly boys have been trying to break through to the next level, and trying to be like the Hardys, Motor City Machine Guns, and even Pretty Deadly did not work out. Will they figure out what’s wrong? Or will they simply be victims of The Culling?

The teams sort out, Tank starts against Jensen, and Jensen hits a leg takedown right at the bell. Tank avoids the headlock to then RAM Jensen to ropes. Hank tags in, Tank misdirects Jensen and Hank CLOBBERS him! The fans fire up and the boys go to the corners! HONK HONK, BIG BELLY SANDWICH! Niko runs up, Hank ‘n’ Tank dodge him, and then ASSISTED SEATED SENTON! The fans fire up as now they go to the corners, HONK HONK! BIG BELLY SANDWICH for Niko! The fans fire up and Hank goes for Jensen. Hank wrenches Jensen’s arm, tags Tank in, and they whip Jensen for a drop toehold and CAMEL CLUTCH!

Tank holds Jensen in place for Hank to run, but Niko trips him up! Tank protests but the ref keeps him back as Niko drags Hank out! Niko RAMS Hank into the apron, Jensen WHEEL KICKS Tank! Jensen rains down forearms on Tank while the fans boo. Jensen drags Tank up, turns him, and hits a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Tank toughs it out but Jensen drags him over. Tag to Niko and we see Spears watching from backstage. Niko drops a HEADBUTT on Tank, then clamps on a chinlock! Tank endures but the fans rally up. Tank fights up, fights around, and he JAWBREAKERS free! Tank dodges Niko, hot tag to Hank!

The fans fire up as Hank CLOBBERS Niko! Hank DECKS Jensen, ELBOWS Jensen, then whips him to a corner. Hank LARIATS, then whips corner to corner. Hank LARIATS again, then BULLDOGS! The fans fire up as Hank goes out, runs around the way, and he BOOTS Niko down! Hank gets back in, he dodges Jensen and CLOBBERS him! Cover, Niko breaks it! Tank runs up to ROCK Niko, then LARIAT him up and out! Tank goes after Niko but Niko RAMS him down low! Then he THROWS Tank into barriers! Jensen has Hank in a cradle, TWO! Hank scoops for a BOSS MAN SLAM! Hank goes up top, for a SWANTON FLOP!

Hank flounders, Niko tags in! Gut wrench and Jensen climbs, KNEE DROP DOMINATOR COMBO!! Cover, Culling wins!!

Winners: Brooks Jensen & Niko Vance, by pinfall

Hank ‘n’ Tank did their best to #NeverSlowDown, and it almost worked. Tank is frustrated, he shouts, “What’re we doing wrong?!” Will they ever figure it out?

Ricky Saints is here!

The fans fire up as The Absolute NEW NXT North American Champion makes his way to the ring. Saints grabs the mic on his way into the ring, and the fans chant, “Ricky! Strokes!” Saints appreciates the sentiment, he really does. But he will say this: The first night he stepped into NXT, he told everyone that he was gonna turn this place upside-down. He told us that the revolution would be televised again, and you’d get an Absolute Superstar. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, Saints is a man of his word, cuz baby, he is the NEW NXT North American Champion! The fans cheer that, and then chant, “You Earned It! Stroke!”

Saints says while he’d love to keep the celebration going, he has a bitter taste from last week, all due to “All Ego” Ethan Page. Yeah, he gets it, he fully understands. If a guy like Saints, the caliber of a star that he is, and did what Ethan did but better, his little ego would be shattered, too! And since we all know Ethan has never been known to be the bigger man, he had to go and ruin Saints’ moment. As the champ, Saints ain’t no punk, it is time to discuss this man to man. But instead of All Ego, it’s the Drama King! Lexis King brings his NXT Heritage Cup out, but sets it on his throne before going to the ring.

Lexis has a mic to tell Saints, “Hold your horses, Slick Rick. I think you’re worried about the wrong guy. Now I know The King has the prestigious Heritage Cup Championship.” The fans boo as Lexis joins Saints in the ring, and Lexis says, “If there’s one thing about me, brother, I love gold~!” But before Lexis can continue, Eddy Thorpe makes his way out here! The Alpha Wolf “congratulates” Saints, and says, “It must be nice, huh? To waltz in here and be handed opportunities while other people are starving to get what they deserve. All this time, I’ve been on a quest to win a title here in NXT, but now I realized, I had my sights set on the wrong place.

“Because that title, Ricky, that title represents the land of my people. The same land that was stolen from them. So as far as I’m concerned, that title is a shot at retribution. Hell, that title is my birthright! So you don’t need to worry about King, you don’t need to worry about Ethan, you need to worry about me.” But wait! Wes Lee makes his way out here! He has Tyriek & Tyson with him as he has everyone hold up. He has Inamura tonight, but he will take care of that later. They cannot have a conversation about the NXT North American Championship and NOT include Wes Lee! That title right there was at its peak when it was on Wes’ shoulders!

Wes says he is long, LONG overdue for having gold around his waist again. Lexis has Wes hold on, because he gets it. If Lexis was in Wes’s shoes, he would be devastated! He would be desperate to relive his glory days. Eddy tells Lexis to shut up! Another greedy White man who is not content with what he already has! Even Wes is surprised Eddy went there. But that title belongs to Eddy. Ricky tells these three that it is not the time to figure this out. If they want a shot at what Ricky’s got right here, then ETHAN PAGE SLIPS IN! TWISTED GRIN!! Just like last week! But then All Ego, The Drama King, the Alpha Wolf, and the Cardiac Kid all grab the belt.

They all look at each other, it is a four man tug-o-war, until the fists start flying! Ethan has Lexis, Eddy has Wes, and the fans fire up! Lexis RAMS Ethan into the corner, Eddy UPPERCUTS Wes again and again, but then Wes SUPERKICKS Eddy out of the ring! Ethan pushes Lexis aside, BOOTS Wes, but Lexis whips Ethan. Ethan reverses to TOSS Lexis, but Eddy drags Ethan out! Those three brawl, but Wes FLIES in! Down goes everybody! Ty & Ty help Wes stand tall, was this a proper warm-up for the Great Rush headed this way?

Ava watches backstage with Robert Stone and Stevie Turner.

Suit Man Stone hopes “Mayor” Ava saw that. It is truly Stand & Deliver Season! They agree, and then Ava greets Vaquer as she steps into the office. Has Vaquer made her decision? Is it Jaida, Jordynne or Giulia? Vaquer says yes, she has made her decision. And at Stand & Deliver, she wants… ALL THREE OF THEM! Ava says okay. Las Vegas is all about raising the stakes and taking a risk, but will Vaquer regret taking this gamble just to prove a point?

Backstage interview with Trick Williams.

As the shirt says, Sarah Schreiber is with “Crash Out Trick,” and brings up that in just under two weeks is Stand & Deliver. What are his thoughts about being in a Triple Threat match with Oba Femi and Je’Von Evans in order to win back the NXT Championship? Trick says he ain’t here to give no sob story, but every time it comes to him getting his, there’s always someone in the way. First, Eddy Thorpe. Now, Je’Von Evans. But pull up the resume, see what you find. Iron Survivor, North American Champion, TWO-TIME NXT Champion, back-to-back main event of Stand & Deliver, let’s talk about it! Except this time, Trick is going to leave with the title around his waist.

But then are there any concerns about teaming with his opponents tonight to take on the destructive Dark State? Hell yeah, he’s concerned! We all saw what Dark State did! They don’t care about nobody. Trick wants Oba and Je’Von to be on their A Game, cuz they’ll need it. And then at Stand & Deliver, he whoops both their asses.

Wes Lee w/ Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont VS Yoshiki Inamura w/ Josh Briggs!

NXT returns to ringside as Inamura makes his entrance, The Bullhead Brawler by his side. Will Inamura prove to Wes that he has lost his honor?

Wait, Ty & Ty get into it with Briggs & Inamura, and then Wes builds speed! Wes DIVES, but Inamura catches him! Inamura SLAMS Wes on the apron! The fans rally up as Inamura puts Wes in the ring. The bell rings, Wes BOOTS Inamura, then fires hands! Wes has Inamura on the ropes, fires shots from all sides, then runs. But Inamura runs him over! Inamura stomps Wes, drags him up, then scoops, only for Wes to slips free! Wes HOOK KICKS, then CHOPS! Then he fires a forearm! Inamura just gets mad, so Wes fires hands. Inamura blocks one to CHOP, SLAP, CHOP, and ROCK Wes! The fans fire up while Wes wobbles!

Inamura whips, Wes slides under, then UP KICKS back! Inamura goes to a corner, Wes runs in, but Inamura puts him on the apron. Wes avoids the chop, RAMS into Inamura, then CHOKES Inamura on the ropes! The ref counts, Wes lets go at 4, and he slingshot SEATED SENTONS! Cover, TWO! Wes is annoyed with Inamura and kicks him down. Briggs coaches Inamura but Wes goes up. 450, but Wes has to roll through! Inamura BACKDROPS Wes high and hard! The fans fire up as Inamura hits his sumo stance! Wes rises, Inamura runs up for SUMO PALM STRIKES! Inamura has Wes in a corner to JAB and CHOP on repeat!

The fans fire up but the ref counts. Inamura winds up, to CHOP! Wes sputters, Inamura brings him out, and Inamura reels Wes in to CLUB him, suplex him, and hold him up! Wes fires knees, Inamura kneels, but Inamura just hooks that leg! FISHERMAN BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Wes stays in this but Briggs coaches Inamura. Wes crawls to a corner, Inamura hits the sumo stance again, then runs up. But Wes dropkicks the legs out! Inamura hits buckles, Wes BLINDSIDE SUPERKICKS! Briggs coaches Inamura but Wes DIVES onto Briggs! Briggs is sent into barriers, Wes says to stay out of his business!

Wes GAMANGIRIS Inamura at the ropes, then climbs up to CROSBODY! But Inamura catches him!? SPINNING POWERSLAM! The fans fire up and Inamura climbs! But Ty & Ty rush the apron! Briggs CLOBBERS them, but that shakes the ropes and Inamura falls! Wes handsprings, CARDIAC KICK!! Cover, Wes wins!

Winner: Wes Lee, by pinfall

Ty & Ty had Wes’s back, that’s a big win to get Wes back up. Will there be no denying Wes is deserving of something for Stand & Deliver Season?

Oba Femi speaks.

“Dark State. Your presence here in NXT seems to have put the entire locker room on edge. Everybody is wondering when you’ll strike and where you’ll strike from. The Ruler knows all too well about that. Because in addition to you guys attacking me last week, I haven’t forgotten what you did at Vengeance Day. Because you hit me with your last shot, with your best shot, and you failed to put me down. So tonight, I’m going to return the favor. And when I’m done with you four fools, I will turn my attention to Trick Williams and Je’Von Evans.

Because in two weeks, they will get their opportunity to hit me with their best shot, and they will find out the hard way that The Ruler can’t be stopped! And they will suffer the same fate that Dark State is going to suffer tonight. And that is defeat at the hands of Oba Femi.” The NXT Champion has spoken, but will it be that easy when we don’t even know which three men are stepping up?

NXT Women’s North American Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Izzi Dame w/ The Culling VS Wren Sinclair w/ No Quarter Catch Crew!

Jensen & Vance did their part tonight by taking down Hank ‘n’ Tank. Now it is up to The It Girl to earn her spot at Stand & Deliver. Will she make Shawn Spears proud? Or will the #WrenQCC soon be headed to Las Vegas?

The bell rings and the fans rally behind Wren. Izzi RAMS Wren into a corner, RAMS her again and again, but stops as the ref counts. Izzi short arm LARIATS, then covers, TWO! Izzi is annoyed, but the fans rally for “WREN X T!” Izzi scoops, Wren slips free, and Wren waistlocks. Izzi bucks the O’Conner Roll, runs up on Wren, but Wren dodges and redirects to CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Izzi storms up but Wren wrenches her to a wristlock. Izzi whips Wren away, Wren goes up, only to get caught to an Electric Chair Lift! But Wren spins and arm-drags Izzi away! The fans fire up and Wren Oklahoma Rolls, TWO! Ghost pin by Wren, TWO!

Wren rolls to have another ghost pin, TWO! Izzi kicks low, then whips. Wren reverses to wrench and hook Izzi up, IRON OCTOPUS! The fans fire up while Izzi endures, so Wren sunset flips! Izzi stays up, drags Wren right up, and BOOTS Wren right down! Izzi then hauls Wren up, scoops and SLAMS her, and adds a basement DROPKICK! The fans boo Izzi but she talks trash on Wren. Izzi drags Wren up, bumps her off buckles, then puts her on the ropes. Izzi taunts the NQCC while she CHOKES Wren! The ref counts, Izzi stops, but Wren fires body shots. Izzi wrenches to short arm LARIAT again! Izzi rains down fists, then covers, TWO!

Izzi is frustrated but the fans rally up. Izzi clamps onto Wren with a chinbar and armlock. The fans rally as Wren endures, but Izzi cranks the hold! NQCC coaches Wren, Spears is again watching backstage, and Wren fights to her feet. Wren pries the hold open, then elbows Izzi! Wren ROCKS Izzi with a forearm, but Izzi KNEES low! Izzi runs in at the corner, but Wren KNEES her away! Izzi comes back, Wren dodges! Wren ROCKS Izzi, CHOPS her, then DOUBLE CHOPS! The fans fire up as Wren runs, and LARIATS! Wren CLOBBERS Izzi, keeps moving, BASEMENT BULLDOG! Cover, TWO! Izzi toughs it out, but Wren rusn back up!

Wren slips around, underhooks, but Izzi fights the suplex! Izzi powers up, wrenches out, and whips Wren, only for Wren to CROSBODY! But Izzi catches her! Izzi swings but Wren reels her in, crucifix takedown! TWO!! Izzi runs up, Wren ducks the boot, but the SKY HIGH hits! Cover, Izzi wins!

Winner: Izzi Dame, by pinfall

NQCC may not like it, but it iz what it iz. The Culling stands tall tonight, will they make The Chair Man even prouder when Izzi brings the Women’s North American Championship home?

Ava Raine is surrounded!

Roxanne Perez, The Meta Girls and Fatal Influence are all in there complaining to her about their losses! The Bougie Bully hopes The Mayor is planning a Last Chance Qualifier for Stand & Deliver, because the Meta Girls deserve to be there. Fallon says she will represent Fatal Influence in that match. Jacy and Jazmyn bicker about how they already talked about this earlier, but Ava hushes everyone. There is no Last Chance Qualifier this year. What?! Roxie says Ava better figure something out, because The Prodigy deserves to be on Stand & Deliver! She is the only former NXT Women’s Champion in here right now, obviously.

The others scoff but Ava calms them down. Now that she’s looking around, she has an idea. Oh? She’ll work things out, but Roxie tells her it better not be some form of tag match. Roxie does not have a tag partner. Oh, well, that’s kinda on her. Roxie pouts and knocks Ava’s rubbery ducky over! How dare she! Roxie storms out, but what is the idea Ava is cooking?

Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors watch back film.

They take notes on how they were doing last week, and it started off well. Andre Chase comes along and says they won’t win like that. What’s he mean? Kale was moving too fast. Then what should he do instead? Chase says trust him, they don’t want his help. But they do! Mr. Chase, please help. Chase sighs, but he agrees. They keep watching tape, but then Hank ‘n’ Tank storm in. They’re still upset for how they fell short again. Is it even worth it anymore? But then someone says, “Nah, don’t go doing all that.” It’s Angelo Dawkins! He and Montez Ford are here, and Ford tells Hank ‘n’ Tank that they’ve got better days ahead.

Dawkins tells Hank ‘n’ Tank they get it. There will be ups and downs. The downs will be rough, but the Profits have been watching these past few weeks. They watch the product! Hank ‘n’ Tank, the problem is, you’re trying to be tag teams that you are not. Take it from two guys who have been through their fair share of identity crises. Just lean on each other, and stick to being who you are! Be who you are! Be Hank ‘n’ Tank! Then you will be rewarded. Maybe even next week! Ava let the Profits know that there’s a tag team gauntlet next week, and the winners go on to face Fraxiom for the titles at Stand & Deliver!

Time to lock in! Lock in! They all fire up, and Ford says it is time to rise to the occasion! It is time to STAND & DELIVER~! The Profits just fired up Hank ‘n’ Tank, and it seems even Chase, Kale & Uriah take note of this. Will Hank ‘n’ Tank be ready to win the big won their way?

BREAKING NEWS for next week!

After the big confrontation involving Ricky Saints, there will be a #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way! Lexis King VS Eddy Thorpe VS Wes Lee VS Ethan Page, the winner challenges Saints for the NXT North American Champion! Who defies the odds to then go for gold in Las Vegas?

Six Man Tag: Oba Femi, Trick Williams & Je’Von Evans VS Dark State!

Tensions have been rising between The Ruler, #CrashOutTrick and The Young OG, and it all exploded a couple weeks ago. The easy solution was to have them all fight for the title at once, but then things got complicated again when Dion Lennox, Cutler James, Osiris Griffin & Saquon Shugars made them targets of their campaign to sew discord and chaos. Will it even matter which three step up when Oba, Trick & Je’Von are so, so ready to throw hands with each other?

NXT returns and Dark State makes their entrance, and surprisingly it is from the ramp. They all rush the ramp to brawl 4v3 with Je’Von, Trick & Oba! They TOSS Je’Von & Trick out, then mug Oba in the corner! The ref reprimands, but the bell hasn’t rung so this isn’t a match! Meaning it’s all legal as Osiris THROWS Je’Von into barriers! Oba rises up, he still wants this fight, so the bell rings! Dion runs up to LARIAT! On his corner are Cutler & Saquon, answering who will be the three men. Dion fires body shots, then he bumps Oba off buckles. Dion fires body shots, but the fans chant “Oba’s gonna kill~ you!”

Dion fires hands, puts Oba into the corner, then tags Culter. Culter tags Shugars, and Cutler whips Dion in so he can RAM Oba! Dion traps Oba for Shugars to DROPKICK! Then they feed Oba to Cutler’s LARIAT! The fans rally for Oba but Shugars whips. Oba blocks, reverses, and scoops Shguars, but Shugars slips free! Shugars goes to a corner, BOOTS Oba away, but Trick tags in. Shugars dodges Trick, goes for a leg, but Trick steps over to roll Shugars up! TWO, Shugars has a cradle, TWO! Trick POP-UP UPPER- NO! Shugars blocks, wrenches, wristlocks, and he throws Trick down by his hair! The fans boo while Shugars keeps the wristlock.

Trick kips up, wrenches and WRINGS Shugars! Trick tells Shugars to get up, then he UPPERCUTS and JUMP NECKBREAKERS! The fans fire up with Trick, but Cutler runs in! Trick wrenches, ROCKS and UPPERCUTS! But Shugars anchors Trick’s leg! Cutler CLOBBERS Trick, covers, TWO! Cutler drags Trick up, clinches, but Trick ROCKS him again and again! Cutler slips around the third shot to have a SLEEPER! Then a BACKBREAKER! Cutler scoops and SLAMS Trick, then has a standing toehold! Trick kicks at Cutler again and again, then EDDY GORDO KICKS! Shugars tags in and he slides in front of Trick, only for Trick to BACKDROP him!

The fans fire up with Trick, he brings Shugars up, and he snap suplexes! Cover, TWO! Trick stays on Shugars with a facelock and grinds him down. Shugars fights up, pries at the hold, and he wrenches out to ROCK Trick! And CHOP! And CHOPS again! Shugars CHOPS Trick again, taunts Trick, but then Trick dodges the chop to CHOP! And CHOP! And CHOP! Shugars falls, Trick fires up, and Trick scoops Shugars to SLAM him down! Trick glares at Osiris and Dion, but Je’Von wants Trick to think about teamwork. Trick scoops and SLAMS Shugars, then he tags Je’Von! Je’Von leaps over Shugars, SMACKS Dion, then dodges Shugars agian!

Je’Von RANAS Shugars, the fans fire up, and Je’Von hits a SPINEBUSTER! Je’Von rains down fists, Shugars gets loose, but Je’Von CHOPS! Shugars KNEES low, then runs up, but into a sweep! Je’Von runs to DOUBLE STOMP! Cutler storms up to get at Je’Von, but Je’Von shoves free! Cravat, snapmare, and SUPERKICK! Cutler falls out of the ring, Je’Von runs at Shugars, BOUNCY~ RANA! Then a DROPKICK for Dion! DROPKICK for Shugars! Cutler is back, Je’Von dodges, Oba & Trick DOUBLE LARIAT Cutler! The fans are thunderous but Trick and Oba still argue with each other. Je’Von lets them be as he builds speed, but then Osiris is on the apron!

Osiris dares them to bring it, and the rest of Dark State gets up. The fans rally behind this 4v3 stare down, but NXT goes picture in picture.

Dark State keeps barking, so the Stand & Deliver main event trio says bet. They TRIPLE BOOT Dark State off the apron! Shugars is the only one left on the apron, but then Je’Von TOSSES him into the ring! Je’Von wrenches and wrangles Shugars, Oba tags in, and Je’Von hands Shugars off to Oba. Oba wrenches and YANKS Shugars’ arm, then YANKS it again. Oba YANKS Shugars right down to the mat! Oba covers, ONE, but then Oba clamps onto Shugars with a facelock. Oba drags Shugars over, tags Trick, and they mug Shugars. Trick wrenches and grinds the arm, but Shugars arm-drags! Shugars steps on Trick’s face!

Shugars drags Trick up to bump off buckles, and tag to Dion. They mug Trick, then Dion wrenches and RAMS Trick down! Dion drags Trick up just to RAM him down again! Dion wrenches Trick’s arm, hits an ELBOW BREAKER, then tags Cutler. Cutler takes the other arm, they double wrench and DOUBLE YANK! cutler CLUBS and UPPERCUTS an arm, then HIP DROPS Trick down. Cutler grinds Trick down with a mounted armlock, but Trick endures and fights up. Trick fights up, fires haymakers, then whips. Cutler reverses but Trick hits a DDT! Both men crawl, the fans rally up, hot tags to Shugars and Je’Von!

Je’Von fires hands on Shugars, then dodges the counter punch to springboard CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! They both get up and Je’Von whips Shugars to a corner. Shugars reverses, Je’Von slides out to the apron, then Je’Von goes up and around to ROCK Shugars! NXT returns to single picture for Je’Von’s springboard CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Je’Von glares at Dark State while he drags Shugars away. Shugars fights back, sneaks a tag to Cutler, and then Shugars puts Je’Von in an open corner. Je’Von BOOTS Shugars, Osiris storms up but Je’Von backs him off with a step! Je’Von then dodges Shugars, but Cutler LARIATS!

Cutler drags Je’Von into a chinlock, and he rains down fists. The fans boo but Cutler scoops to SLAM! Cutler covers, TWO! Cutler drags Je’Von up, puts him in the Dark State corner, then tags Dion. Cutler digs his forearms into Je’Von’s face, then he sends Je’Von into Dion’s SPINEBUSTER! Dion rains down fists, then clamps on with a chinlock. Je’Von endures, pries at the hold, then fights up. The fans rally, Je’Von fires body shots, but Dion shoves him away. Dion hits a HUGE SPINEBUSTER!! Cover, TWO!! Je’Von survives but Dion drags him over. Tag to Shugars, and Dion scoops Je’Von to SLAM!

Shugars says do him, and Dion scoops Shugars to SLAM him onto Je’Von! Cover, TWO! Shugars keeps Je’Von from his corner, clamps on with a neck wrench, but Je’Von fights up. The fans rally, Je’Von pries the hold and arm-drags free! Je’Von leaps, but Shugars catches him! Fireman’s carry and pop-up to a SLAM! Shugars aims, but Je’Von avoids the elbow drop! Hot tag to Cutler and he keeps Je’Von from his corner. Cutler runs in, but Je’Von dodges, and Cutler POSTS himself! Dion tags in, he hurries to stop Je’Von, and he hits a BIG- CROSSBODY! Je’Von turns things around on Dion and now both men are down!

Dion anchors Je’Von’s legs but Je’Von ENZIGIRIS free! Je’Von crawls, Oba pushes Trick aside to tag in! The fans fire up as Oba rallies on Dark State with big hand after big hand! Then a BOOT for Cutler! EXPLODER for Shugars! URENAGE for Dion! The fans fire up and Oba has Shugars for the SHOTPUT at Trick!? Was that on purpose? Or could Oba just not see where he was going with that? Dion runs up, but Oba gives him a FALL FROM GRACE! Trick storms in and argues with Oba over that shotput mishap! Je’Von wants them to stop and focus on the mission at hand, so Oba tags him in. And then Oba brawls with Trick!!

The fans go nuts as Trick and Oba trade shots! Oba LARIATS Trick and himself up and out! Je’Von says fine, whatever, and he goes up top! FIVE STAR FROG SPLASH!! Cover, TWO?!? Dion survives, more refs rush out to stop Trick and Oba from demolishing each other, but Je’Von keeps his focus. Je’Von runs, but Shugars holds the ropes down to mess up the springboard! Tag to Cutler, he tags Shugars! Shugars climbs the corner, Dion & Cutler drag Je’Von up, FLYING TRIPLE BOMB!! Cover, Dark State wins!!

Winners: Dark State, by pinfall

Oba and Trick brawl their way to the back, Je’Von suffering for the dysfunction. But wait! The D’Angelo Family calls out Dark State via the tron! Stacks says, “On behalf of The D’Angelo Family, you wanna cause chaos? Fine. How ’bout next week, in the parking lot? You four are gonna learn that messing with The D’Angelo Family has severe consequences.” Dark State says bring it! But will they show that no one, not even The D’Angelos, are safe anymore?

My Thoughts:

A great NXT here with them sneaking in some more Stand & Deliver build. Great opening with Vaquer watching Jordynne VS Jaida, and I should’ve figured something would keep either Jaida or Jordynne from losing. Giulia showing up to really complicate things is great, and that Fatal 4 Way is going to be wild. Great promo from Saints with Lexis, Eddy, and Wes, as well as Ethan getting another sneak attack in. By the way, a bit surprised they waited this long to have Eddy Thorpe go for the NA title and pull the Native American card on it. The Fatal 4 Way #1 Contender’s Match will be great stuff, but I feel like Wes winning tonight over Inamura might indicate he isn’t winning. It just makes more sense for Ethan to win given the parallels in their NXT runs pointed out by Saints.

Awesome tag match from Fraxiom VS Swipe Right, and Swipe Right definitely proved they’re the frontrunners in the Evolve roster. They’ve already got solid personas, and their skills are this good already, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re the first Evolve “call-ups” to NXT, not even needing a full year in Evolve to get there. Good promo from The Culling to set up matches, and a very good match from Hank ‘n’ Tank VS Jensen & Vance. Hank ‘n’ Tank of course lose, but we got a great promo with them and The Profits. And finally, The Profits are the ones who say it, Hank ‘n’ Tank just need to be themselves and it’ll all work out. I have a feeling Hank ‘n’ Tank win that tag gauntlet to test both their friendship and tag skills against Fraxiom’s.

The Culling of course had a strong showing tonight because they had to at some point. Izzi VS Wren was a really good match, maybe a little janky at some parts but that might be from Wren having been off TV for a minute. Izzi won, she’ll be a great part of the ladder match because she’s so tall. Sol VS Nyx was really good, too, but of course Sol won that. Fatal Influence is about to fall apart, and we can see #ZaRuca have their own dysfunction in the ladder match. Good promo from Ava with the many losers of the qualifiers, and there are quite a few possibilities for all those great talents at Stand & Deliver. Roxie doesn’t want a tag match, hard to say it won’t be a tag match, but I could also see a battle royal to help set someone up as a contender for after WrestleMania season.

The NXT Championship story was a great throughline for tonight, with great promos from Je’Von, Trick and Oba. A good Six Man Tag main event, and naturally, this was Je’Von trying to keep the peace but Trick and Oba couldn’t help themselves. They lose, that keeps them all relatively even going towards the Triple Threat, and it gives Dark State a strong win for their first time actually in a match together. An interesting detail I hadn’t thought about: Cutler James is part of LFG. LFG is a reality show and probably already done filming by now, so I wonder if Cutler’s involvement in NXT is a spoiler for how that show turns out. Either way, he has the in-ring stuff to hang, we’ll just have to wait and see how the character stuff goes.

My Score: 8.9/10

A Second City Saint, a Wise Man and a Visionary walk into an arena…

After revealing “The Favor,” CM Punk and Paul Heyman will both be here tonight on Monday Night Raw in Minneapolis, but so will Seth Rollins!

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Bayley; Lyra wins and retains the title.
• Six Man Tag: El Grande Americano & The Creed Brothers VS The LWO; Americano & The Creeds win.
• WWE World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders VS The New Day; New Day wins by disqualifications, the War Raiders retain the titles.
• PENTA VS Dominik Mysterio w/ Carlito; Penta wins.

PLAY BY PLAY

Adam Pearce is in the ring.

The Raw General Manager welcomes Minneapolis to the show, and he knows we all saw what happened last week revolving around the WWE Women’s World Championship. The situation needs to be address, so please welcome out THE champion, Iyo Sky! The fans cheer as the Evil Genius makes her way out, her title already sitting on the pedestal in the ring. She shakes Pearce’s hand and then takes up a mic. The fans cheer, Iyo bows in thanks, and Pearce now welcomes out Iyo’s opponent, Bianca Belair! The fans are a bit more torn about The EST, but she still makes her way out here to join Iyo and Pearce in the ring.

Bianca points to the WrestleMania sign, but then Pearce welcomes out the wild card, “representing Judgment Day,” Rhea Ripley! Mami makes her way out, and Pearce must be out of sorts if he thinks she’s still part of that group. Rhea and Bianca each have mics now as Pearce welcomes them all here, and says he takes responsibility for last week. He was wrong. Wrong to put Bianca in that position as referee, wrong to assume any of the three could handle this like professionals. The fans boo Pearce there, but he says there is one way to right this wrong: Iyo Sky will defend the WWE Women’s World Championship IN A TRIPLE THREAT!

The fans love that idea! Iyo and Bianca aren’t so happy, but Pearce wants everyone to sign the new contract. Bianca says a couple weeks ago, this would’ve pissed her off because she earned her way to WrestleMania. Win Elimination Chamber? Did that. Be special guest ref? Did that. But she didn’t do all that just so Rhea could just waltz into the match with them! But she doesn’t care anymore, because she is not afraid of Rhea. She went through Elimination Chamber, watched two of her closest friends tear each other apart, and she still won! If she can overcome all that, of course she can overcome a Triple Threat!

The fans rally for Rhea but Bianca says no, Bianca WILL be Women’s World Champion, and she will go through Rhea to get it! Bianca signs her part, and Rhea says, “You really think I’m scared of you?” Bianca tells Rhea to shut up and just sign her part. She whined enough to get here, so here is what she wants! Rhea signs, and then throws the contract back at Bianca! Bianca catches it, but Iyo has them both hold on. Only for Rhea to push her side! Iyo says screw it! She storms out of the ring but Pearce brings her the contract. Iyo says yeah, okay. But then she springboard MISSILE DROPKICKS Rhea AND Bianca!

Iyo smiles as she signs her part of the contract, and then holds up the belt! The fans like that! Will Iyo not be some underdog afterthought champion? Will she have the formula for defeating The Brutality AND EST?

Judgment Day is in the clubhouse.

Carlito is upset that he’s only a 77 on 2K25, but that cracks everyone else up. Finn Balor walks in and says he can’t believe the announcement! A Fatal 4 Way for the Intercontinental Championship: Bron Breakker VS Penta VS Finn VS Dom! That’s incredible! Finn didn’t realize Dom wanted the shot, too. But hey, the more the merrier, right? Liv says that’s what she was thinking when she suggested Pearce put Dom in the match. Because what’s better than one member of The Judgment Day fighting for the title on the Grandest Stage of Them All? Finn says, “Two.” Yes! Now that doubles the odds of them bringing that title back.

Because it doesn’t matter who wins, so long as it’s one of them, right? Of course not! And Finn knows the people are saying Dom doesn’t have what it takes. That Dom isn’t tough enough. That Dom doesn’t have the killer instincts. That he’s just a loser! But tonight, Dom gets to prove them wrong when he beats Penta all by himself, because Finn beloves in him. Finn pats Dom on the shoulder, then heads out, but Dom asks the others what he’s supposed to do. Carlito says don’t worry, he’s got Dom’s back. Oh! And Mall of America! Biggest mall in America! Carlito’s gonna check it out. Will Judgment Day (not) be fine at WrestleMania?

WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship: Lyra Valkyria VS Bayley!

The Morrigan promised the Role Model to give her a fair shot after making it through Raquel Rodriguez, and since she did that, here’s that match! Will Lyra regret giving #GrandSlamBayley this shot at her gold? Or will she still hold on to the #ShinyShiny?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who brings this belt down the Road to WrestleMania!

The bell rings and the fans rally as the two circle. They feel things out, clinch, and Bayley goes for a leg. Lyra rolls Bayley, ONE, Lyra facelocks but Bayley trips her up! Bayley goes to stack but Lyra moves around. Bayley facelocks, Lyra wrenches out to wristlock, but Bayley headlocks. They fight for control, and Lyra wrangles Bayley to then chinbar. The fans duel as Bayley fights up, but Lyra snapmares. Bayley stands to wrench, Lyra waistlocks but Bayley facelocks. Bayley headlocks, but Lyra powers up and out. Lyra drops down, hurdles, but Bayley avoids the monkey flip! Lyra kips up but Bayley rolls her up, TWO!

The fans cheer as the two stand off. They circle and feel things out again. Lyra waistlocks, Bayley switches, repeat, then Lyra shoves to drop toehold. Lyra headlocks but Bayley slips out and has the arm! LA MAGISTROL, but Lyra rolls through to return the LA MAGIST- NO, Bayley stuffs it to a cover, TWO! Bayley says it was that close. Lyra storms up, kicks, but Bayley blocks to KNEE Lyra! Lyra staggers to the corner, Bayley runs up, SUNSET- NO, Lyra stops that and reels Bayley into her own sunset, TWO! They clinch, Lyra UPPERCUTS, but Bayley forearms! They go back and forth, Lyra kicks and kicks and sweeps the legs!

Lyra basement DROPKICKS, then she NORTHERN LIGHTS! Bridging cover, TWO! Bayley stays in this and the fans rally up. Lyra stands Bayley up to then whip her to the corner. Bayley reverses, Lyra goes up and over and cartwheels! Lyra comes back, leg scissor takedown, then Lyra steps through! Lyra holds onto Bayley’s legs to turn her over! Bayley fights but Lyra has the arms, MEXICAN SURFBOARD! Bayley endures, and Lyra swings her around! Lyra drops Bayley, flips her into a ghost pin, TWO! Lyra looms over Bayley, then brings her up again. Lyra UPPERCUTS Bayley to a corner, but Bayley ELBOWS in return.

Bayley storms up, puts Lyra on ropes and grinds forearms into her face. The ref counts, Bayley stops to whip, but Lyra reverses. Bayley ducks ‘n’ dodges, and avoids the leg lariat! Lyra gets stuck, but she manages to dodge Bayley! Bayley tumbles out, Lyra WRECKS her with a dropkick! The fans fire up as Lyra puts Bayley in the ring, then climbs for a CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Bayley stays in this and Lyra is a bit frustrated, but Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Bayley has Lyra down with a HALF CRAB! Lyra powers up, turns over, and BOOTS Bayley away! The fans rally up, Bayley rises, but Lyra fires a forearm! Bayley fires back! Lyra ROCKS Bayley, but Bayley ROCKS Lyra! Lyra fires a flurry, then runs up, but Bayley puts her in the ropes! HOTSHOT! Lyra flops to the floor, Bayley goes out the side! DAREDEVIL DROPKICK through the corner! The fans fire up and Bayley goes back inside. Bayley builds speed and DIVES but Lyra moves! Bayley crashes ‘n’ burns, Lyra builds speed, but Bayley stops the dropkick! BAYLEY2BELLY on the floor!

The fans fire up and a ring count starts! Both women are down at 5 of 10, but Lyra sits up at 7. Both women rise up, and they spring in at 9! The fans fire up as this continues! Bayley crawls over to Lyra, brings her up and fireman’s carries, but Lyra fights around to swing and arm-drag! Lyra then ENZIGIRIS and Bayley staggers! Lyra gut wrenches for a DOCTOR BOMB! Cover, TWO!! Bayley survives and Lyra is frustrated, but she hurries to to fireman’s carry. Bayley fights free, but Lyra KNEES low! Lyra fireman’s carries, but Bayley flails free! Bayley runs to KNEE Lyra down! Cover, TWO!! Lyra survives and Bayley can’t believe it!

The fans rally up as both Bayley and Lyra rise. Bayley has Lyra in a corner and puts her up top. Bayley climbs up, the fans duel, and Lyra resists the suplex! Lyra fires body shots and CLUBS Bayley, to then slip down and bring her off the corner! Bayley fights free, runs back in, SUNSET FLIP BUCKLE BOMB! Lyra flops down, Bayley drags herself to the apron, and the fans rally up again. Lyra grabs at Bayley’s foot to anchor her but Bayley kicks free. Bayley rises up, but Lyra has Bayley in the ropes! Lyra then drags Bayley in, uses the corner, TORNADO DDT! Lyra then rolls through, FISHERMAN SUPLEX! The fans fire up as Lyra covers, TWO!!

Bayley survives and Lyra frowns, but “This is Awesome!” Lyra goes to the corner, climbs to the top, and she watches Bayley rise. TURN OF- NO, Bayley SLAMS Lyra down, turns her over, BOSTON CRAB! Lyra endures while the fans fire up! Lyra claws her way over, reaches out, but Bayley drags her away from the ropes! Bayley sits deep on the hold, but Lyra pries at the legs! Bayley shifts, ROSE- NO, Lyra rolls through, trips Bayley, jackknife bridge! LYRA WINS!!

Winner: Lyra Valkyria, by pinfall (still WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion)

Bayley is stunned, but Minneapolis gives a standing ovation! Lyra found a way to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and she shows Bayley respect. Bayley nods and slaps Lyra’s hand away!? But then Bayley knows that’s not right, and she HUGS Lyra! These two are still going on to Friday Night SmackDown to be part of that big Women’s Tag Team gauntlet, could they both be going to Mania together?

Backstage interview with Bert Kreischer.

Cathy Kelley welcomes the actor-comedian, and brings up his new Netflix special. But before Bert can go on about it, Team American Made interrupts! Chad Gable says it’s great to see Bert! He’s a big fan of Bert’s, and surely Bert is a big fan of Gable’s, because it’s the only reason Bert would be here. Gable’s the only real star to come outta Minnesota. Too bad for everyone that Gable isn’t competing tonight. But what he does have is his guys, the Creed Brothers, taking down the LWO in tag team action, as well as seeing the greatest luchador of all time, El Grande Americano! Bert says this is awkward, but he isn’t here for them.

The Alpha Academy steps in and Bert hugs it out with Otis! Then they both rip off their shirts! Gable shouts, “Idiots!” American Made storms off, and Otis tells, “Minneapolis, we’re coming, man~!” Bert is all fired up, but will we still see everything Gable just said? Or will the LWO get some payback on Julius & Brutus?

Backstage interview with AJ Styles.

Jackie Redmond is with the Phenomenal One, and says Logan Paul had quite the audacity to do and say what he did last week. But where is Styles’ head at going into that match? Styles says he’s in a good place. He gets to embarrass Logan Paul on the Grandest Stage of Them All, because you can’t beat experience. But then Karrion Kross interrupts with, “Experience? How did that experience work for you last week? And who exactly got embarrassed? Explain this whole situation to me, please.” Styles asks what Kross wants from him, and Kross says Styles knows what he wants: to help Styles. WWE needs the Styles that can get the job done.

What Styles is that? What is this obsession Kross has with that Styles? Kross says it’s because Styles needs to win at WrestleMania! If Styles loses, they ALL lose! WWE NEEDS Styles! Oh, if that’s what Kross wants, fine! Styles will talk with Pearce, and then next Monday Night Raw, Styles will give Kross a taste. Styles heads out, and Scarlett has Kross stand down. “That worked.” Kross says he agrees. Is Kross pushing Styles’ buttons actually for a good reason?

Six Man Tag: El Grande Americano & The Creed Brothers VS The LWO!

While it’s “hard to imagine,” Chad Gable managed to bridge the gap between the so-called greatest luchador of all time with Team American Made. Will Gable be celebrating here in his hometown, despite “not” competing here tonight? Or will Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde throw them all into the Gulf of America?

The trios sort out, and Brutus starts, but Dragon Lee calls out Americano for what he did last week. Brutus says they don’t have to listen to Dragon, so Cruz starts instead. Brutus TACKLES Cruz, goes for a top mount, then a rear mount. Cruz fights up, Brutus hammerlocks, but Cruz reaches back to FLYING-MARE! Cruz then bypasses, but Brutus CLOBBERS him! The fans boo but Brutus tags Julius. Julius runs up, but Cruz arm-drags him down! Tag to Wilde, they double whip, then DOUBLE ELBOW! Wilde runs, Cruz helps out, HIP TOSS SPLASH COMBO! Cover, TWO! Wilde keeps Julius down, but Julius throws Wilde by his hair!

Wilde reaches up to headscissor and swing! The fans cheer as Wilde RANAS Julius, then runs up, goes up, crucifix takedown! Julius fights off the armbar, Brutus and El Grande storm in and stomp Wilde! Dragon Lee & Cruz get in there, it’s a wild brawl, and the fans fire up! LWO triple whip everyone to corners, then they crisscross! LARIATS! LARIATS! And then DROPKICKS! LWO stands tall while Americano Made regroups. “L! W! O!” then TRIPLE TOPE CONJILO! The fans fire up as LWO stands tall! They put Americano Made in the ring, Lee tags in, and everyone goes up to the top rope! But Americano Made trips them all up! TRIPLE SUPERPLEX!!

The fans fire up as all six men are down in the ring, and Raw goes to break!

Raw returns and Lee fires body shots on Julius. Julius DECKS Lee, then he BLASTS the LWO corner! The fans boo but Julius whips Lee to a corner. Julius runs up, but into a BOOT! Lee DECKS Brutus, then goes up the corner. Julius is up after Lee and fires hands! Julius goes to the very top, but Lee trips him into the Tree of Woe! WOE STOMPS! The fans fire up, Lee and Julius crawl, hot tags to Brutus and Cruz! Cruz springboards to CROSSBODY! Then he LARIATS! He BLASTS Americano! Then he runs to RANA Brutus to a corner! Julius runs up, Cruz dodges, POP-UP RANA! Cruz runs at Brutus, GAMANGIRI!

Cruz brings Brutus in, ANARCHY! Cruz throws off his shirt and then throws it to the fans! Free souvenir! Cruz goes up, up, and SWANTON BOMBS! Then he DIVES onto Julius!! The fans fire up with Cruz, but Americano gets in! Cruz GAMANGIRIS him away, springboards, but Americano ducks under! Americano waistlocks. Cruz switches, repeat, and Americano O’Conner Rolls! TWO, and Cruz BOOTS Americano! Tag to Lee and Lee brings Americano in! Cruz goes up, LWO hits a BLOCKBUSTER- SPANISH FLY!?! Americano turned that around! But now Lee has him all alone. Lee is furious over the disrespect, and he BOOTS Americano!

Lee reels Americano in, hoists him up, SIT-OUT POWERBOMB! Julius SHOOTING STARS that apart!! The fans fire up while everyone is down at ringside! “This is Awesome!” and Rey coaches his guys. Wilde uses Cruz as a boost to SUPER TOPE onto Brutus! Cruz LARIATS Julius out, then he has the ref move aside! Cruz goes up, up, TRIANGLE TORNILLO onto Julius!! The fans are thunderous, but wait! Ivy slips a metal panel to Americano! He puts that in his mask! Rey saw that, he tells Americano to get off the corner! Americano HEADBUTTS Rey with the loaded mask!! But Lee trips Americano up! Lee goes up, and says he’s gonna reveal the truth!

But Americano HEADBUTTS Lee!! Lee falls, Americano DIVING HEADBUTTS!! Cover, Americano Made wins!

Winners: El Grande Americano & The Creed Brothers, by pinfall

Rey tries to explain what happened, but he’s so dazed from the loaded headbutt. Will nothing stop El Grande Americano from taking over the WWE?

GUNTHER is here!

Minneapolis boos Der Ring General as he struts out here, wearing the World Heavyweight Championship around his waist, as well as a very politician style suit ‘n’ tie. Gunther stands on the desk, even as fans chant, “We Want Jey!” Gunther steps down, grabs a mic, and then goes into the ring. He holds up the title and has a big smile on his face as the fans boo. But then Jey Uso appears! Gunther is even more amused as Minneapolis now bounces with Main Event Jey, but Jey is not really in the mood to YEET right now. Jey, dressed all in black, glares at Gunther as he makes his way down the steps to ringside.

The fans still YEET and bounce for Jey as he walks up the steel steps into the ring. Gunther grins and lets Jey step inside. The fans still “YEET! YEET! YEET!” but then Jey snatches the mic out of Gunther’s hand! Gunther is rather surprised, but still smiling as Jey seethes behind his sunglasses. Jey takes those off, the fans “YEET!” even harder, and Gunther starts to chuckle. The fans rally with “UCE! OH! UCE! OH!” as Jey gathers his thoughts. Jey tells Gunther, “You have a mother. You got a mom. You talk to your mom? What do y’all talk about? Family stuff? She ask you like, ‘How’s the wife? How’s the grandson doing?'”

You walk your dog, cook food, regular family stuff, right? Fans “YEET!” for that. Jey says he’s got a mom, too. Wanna know what they talked about this week? You wanna know what he had to tell her? Her oldest son, laid up in a hospital bed. Her oldest son, 15 stitches across the forehead. Wanna know what she asked Jey? She said, “Why didn’t you protect him, Joshua?” As a grown man, Jey ain’t eve lied to her, and he won’t do that now. He said he was afraid! Afraid of Gunther! Gunther had Jey! Gunther had the drop on Jey, three steps ahead of him, playing chess while Jey’s playing checkers! But that wasn’t enough for Gunther, was it?

Gunther had to get family involved. We all know how Jey feels about his family, especially Jimmy. The fans rally behind Jey while he paces. Gunther violated Jimmy, left him a bloody pulp, while Jey was zip tied to the ropes! Jey watched as Gunther painted Jimmy’s blood all over his body. Jimmy’s blood is on Jey’s hands, too! Jey ain’t never felt so hopeless, helpless, disrespected, pissed off, mad, angry, and damn near scared! Gunther made the whole world stop! He violated Jey’s twin brother in front of him! That made Jey’s heart stop. You know what the crazy thing is, Uce? In Jey’s darkest moment, right here in front of the world, a lightbulb went off. Ain’t that something?

You wanna know what Jey realized? You wanna know what Jey knows now, Uce? Gunther, look at Jey: Jey ain’t afraid no more. The fans fire up for that! “YEET! YEET! YEET!” Gunther is a bit rattled himself right now, but Jey tells him no. Before WrestleMania, Gunther needs to hug and kiss his family. Before WrestleMania, Jey will lay his head down and say a prayer. He will pray about Gunther, but more so for himself. Jey will ask the Lord to forgive him for the man he is about to become. Because at WrestleMania, Jey will get Gunther! Jey will get Gunther for Jey, for Jimmy, for the whole damn family, and Jey will take that World Heavyweight Championship!!

The fans are thunderous for Jey as he throws down the mic and truly throws down the gauntlet! Will nothing stop what is coming for Gunther in just 12 days time?

Natalya & Maxxine Dupri talk with Adam Pearce backstage.

The Queen of Harts says, “It’s one thing to team with Maxxine, it’s another to team with her in a gauntlet match.” Pearce understands, but this is WrestleMania season! Go into the deep end! Natty says fine, and Pearce wishes this duo good luck. Rey walks in, and Pearce already knows what he’s going to ask. We all saw what happened out there, so Pearce will let Rey have Gable wherever and whenever he wants. Oh, no, Rey doesn’t want a match with Gable. He wants “the idiot” who has been disrespecting everything Rey stands for! The guy who’s been making a mockery out of everything Rey has worked his entire life for, the art and tradition of lucha libre!

And that means Rey wants El Grande Americano! Rey will expose him for the fraud that he is! Rey will pick the place, though, on where he’ll face that guy. Pearce says yes, out of respect for Rey, he’ll do it. Then it’ll be Rey Mysterio VS El Grande Americano… at WrestleMania! Pearce says then it is official! Muchos gracias. Rey heads out, but is this really a case of two birds with one stone?

WWE World Tag Team Championships: The War Raiders VS The New Day!

This is quite the storied rivalry that Raw reignites tonight. Erik & Ivar have gone to Ragnarök and back with Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston, but that was a very different New Day back then. Will the Raiders stay golden this close to WrestleMania? Or will Woods & Kofi once again be W, W, E, World, Tag, Team, Champions~?

Raw returns and the War Raiders have made their entrance. The introductions are made, the belts are raised, and we see who is truly the best team in WWE today!

The teams sort out and Ivar starts with Kofi. Kofi dodges Ivar, headlocks, but Iva powers out to fireman’s carry. Kofi slips free, shoves, drops down then hurdles over, but Ivar stops himself. Ivar then CLOBBERS Kofi, and he scares Kofi with just showing haymaker! Kofi bails out, Woods calms him down, and Kofi goes back to the ring. Tag to Woods, and then Woods slowly goes around the outside. Erik tags in, he runs up, but Woods stays back. Kofi slips in, that distracts Erik, and Woods slides in so he can BLINDSIDE Erik! The fans boo but Woods stomps away on Erik! The fans boo more but Woods soaks up the heat.

Erik CHOPS Woods, Woods ROCKS Erik, and Woods rains down fits! Tag to Kofi, he stomps away, then he tags Woods! The stampede has begun, and then Kofi tags back in. Woods goes to send Kofi in, but Erik CLOBBERS them both! The fans fire up as Erik tags Ivar! Ivar scoops Kofi for a SIDEWALK SLAM! Ivar then runs to SPLASH! The fans fire up and Ivar tags Erik. Erik whips Kofi to the corner, Kofi goes up and over, then comes back, but into a scoop and SLAM! Erik tags Ivar, then he scoops Woods! Erik SLAMS Woods, Ivar scoops and SLAMS Kofi! Ivar says “UP!” and Erik scoops hm! Erik SLAMS Ivar onto Kofi!

The fans fire up as Erik brings Woods around to TOSS him! The Raiders have The New Day on the outside, but Woods ELBOWS Erik! And he grabs a chair! But Erik DECKS Woods first! Ivar whips Kofi hard into barriers, then Erik calls to him. The Raiders say “WAR! WAR! WAR!” and Ivar SPLASHES Woods against the barriers! The fans fire up again while the Raiders stand tall and Raw goes to break.

Raw returns again and Woods has Ivar in the corner. The fans chant, “NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Ivar shoves Woods away, Woods comes back, but into a SEATED SENTON! Both men are down, the fans rally, hot tags to Kofi and Erik! Erik CLOBBERS Kofi, CLOBBERS him again, then reels Kofi in for an EXPLODER! The fans fire up, Woods is back, but Erik scoops to GUT BUSTER! Ace Ten Mao! But Kofi runs up, only for Erik to dodge and URENAGE! Tag to Ivar, they catch Woods, THOR’S HAMMER! Then the pop-up for Kofi, and the WAR MACHINE!! Cover, WOODS BREAKS IT! The fans are torn but Erik TOSSES Woods!

Woods has a chair! The ref is busy with Erik but Ivar stops Woods! They tug-o-war, and Ivar takes the chair! He SMACKS Woods down, but the ref saw that!

Winners: The New Day, by disqualification (War Raiders retain the titles)

Ivar explains to the ref what was going on, but the ref already made his decision. The only silver lining is that Champion’s Advantage comes into play. But then Kofi SMACKS Ivar with the chair! Erik fires hands on Kofi, Woods is up to CLUB Erik! They beat Erik down while the fans boo, but Kofi wedges that chair into the corner. The New Day drags Erik up to RAM him into the chair! The fans boo but New Day says THEY are the best, not anyone else! They then TOSS Ivar into the timekeeper’s area! The ref reprimands, but Woods brings out more chairs! Woods slashes the throat, he wants to end the Raiders!

Woods sits that chair up, then drags Erik up and over. Woods puts Erik’s head against the chair, and Kofi climbs up! The ref reprimands, but here come producers and other refs! They stop Woods & Kofi from injuring Erik! The New Day is furious, but will they have their day?

PENTA VS Dominik Mysterio w/ Carlito!

Adam Pearce really raised the ante on WrestleMania 41 as we will be getting an Intercontinental Championship Fatal 4 Way. But will those odds not matter to the Man with Cero Miedo? Or will “Dirty Dom” prove he can actually do things all by himself?

Raw returns Dom has already made his entrance. The bell rings, Dom and Penta circle, and the fans chant, “Dom, You Suck!” The two tie up, Penta puts Dom in the corner, but the ref counts. Penta backs off, he and Dom reset, and Dom flexes. The fans boo but the two tie up. Penta waistlocks, Dom switches, Penta switches, repeat. Penta then CHOPS, but Dom CHOPS! Dom kicks, CLUBS, and he fires off on Penta! The fans boo but Dom stomps Penta as he stands back up. Dom soaks up the heat, then drags Penta up. Dom whips Penta to a corner, then runs in and LARIATS! Dom pushes Penta down but the fans boo Dom more.

Dom tunes up the booing, but Penta fires body shots! Dom knees low, ROCKS Penta, then brings him around to put in the corner. Dom fires body s hots, then RAMS into Penta again and again. The ref backs Dom off, but then Dom goes up the corner in his fuzzy sheepskin boots to soak up the heat. Dom then whips Penta to ropes, but Penta ducks ‘n’ dodges to RANA! The fans fire up while Dom flounders! Penta scoops to BACKBREAKER! The fans cheer as Penta runs, SLING-DOG! Dom flounders out of the ring and the fans rally for Penta! Penta goes up, up, and SUPER CROSSBODIES! Down go Dom & Carlito, and the fans fire up while Raw goes to break.

Raw returns and Penta is up top. Dom climbs up after him, but Penta throws hands! Dom backs off, Penta leaps, but into a kick! Dom snap suplexes for Uno Amigo! Then he snap suplexes for Dos Amigos! The fans boo, but Dom still hits THREE AMIGOS! Cover, TWO! Dom drags Penta up, but Penta breaks free! Penta dodges a lariat, but Dom trips him onto the ropes! The fans boo as Dom dials it up, but Penta SUPERKICKS! Dom flounders to a corner, Penta runs in and GAMANGIRIS! Penta sits Dom down, then headstands for the DROPKICK! Penta drags Dom to a cover, TWO! The fans rally while Penta stands again.

Penta brings Dom around, pump handles, but Dom slips fere! Dom SUPERKICKS, but not the strongest! Dom runs, to DESTROYER! And then he DROPKICKS Penta to the ropes! Dom redials, 619! Penta falls back, Dom goes up, FROG SPLASH onto knees! Penta cradles Dom, TWO! The fans fire up while both men are down! Dom drags Penta up, fireman’s carries, but Penta fights free! Penta dodges a lariat, wrenches and WRINGS Dom’s arm! Penta traps one arm, grabs the other, but Dom resists! Penta SLAPS Dom, and shouts, “CERO! MIEDO!” SACRIFICE!! Dom clutches that arm, but Penta pump handles! PENTA DRIVER! Cover, Penta wins!

Winner: Penta, by pinfall

Cero Miedo is undefeated, and he just proved Dom can’t do it on his own! But here comes Carlito! Carlito CLOBBERS Penta, then throws more hands! Penta fires back, but Dom anchors Penta’s legs! Carlito hits the BACKSTABBER! The fans boo as Dom & Carlito mug Penta, but then HERE COMES BRON! The fans bark it up for the Badass Intercontinental Champion! Carlito runs out there to intercept, but Bron SPEARS Carlito! Bron hit Carlito so hard, Bron then flips through to stand back up! Bron goes after Dom, Dom dodges, but a SPEAR hits Dom! Bron is seething, he aims at Penta, and he SPEARS!!

The fans bark even louder as Bron just demolished three men in under a minute! But then Finn gets Bron! EYE OF THE HURRICANE! The fans boo as The Prince takes advantage. Finn tells Penta that this title is HIS, cabron! Finn doesn’t even really pay attention to Dom as he holds up the belt. But Bron is up! Finn runs away before he gets destroyed! Finn doesn’t have to beat everyone, he just has to pick his opening, same as he did tonight. Will that be enough to take this title home to the Judgment Day? Or will Bron show he can defy the odds with brawn alone?

Paul Heyman is here!

“Ladies and gentlemen,” The Wise Man gives his introductions, and he wants to state a couple of things for the record so that we can get it out of the way and move on to WrestleMania. Item Number 1: Heyman will always be loyal to his Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. The fans are torn, but Heyman continues. Item Number 2: Heyman will always be loyal to his best friend in the world, CM Punk! The fans are again torn, but Heyman says just because he is loyal to both of them does not mean he will ever in his life be disloyal to either of them. “So when it comes to WrestleMania, let’s get one thing perfectly clear!”

Seth Rollins is here! The fans fire up and sing along, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” as Rollins struts out in denim bellbottoms and what appears to be a robe or coat made from recycled denim. Rollins grabs a mic as he revels in the singing from Minneapolis. Rollins smiles at Heyman, then tells Minneapolis, “Welcome to Monday Night Rollins!” The fans cheer, and Rollins says in case you don’t know, he will introduce himself! He is a Visionary, he is a Revolutionary, he IS Seth! FREAKIN’! Rollins! But tonight, it isn’t about him! Tonight is about… Paul… Heyman…! And Heyman’s out here talking about loyalty, which is why Rollins wants to be out here.

Rollins wants to ask Heyman a question that has been on everyone’s minds: Whose side is Heyman on? Who IS Paul Heyman? Who does he wanna be? Is he the very best friend~ to CM Punk? The fans chant for “C M PUNK! C M PUNK!” Or is Heyman the Special Counsel, the Wise Man, to Roman Reigns? “O T C! O T C!” Rollins hears Heyman out here right now, trying to convince all of us, including himself, that he can do both at the same time! And Heyman… It occurred to Rollins over the past week that Heyman is neither. Heyman smirks as Rollins takes off his sunglasses.

Rollins knows Heyman’s spiel: Roman Reigns plucked him from obscurity~! He brought Heyman to the Island of Relevancy~! Roman Reigns doesn’t give a DAMN about Heyman! Roman Reigns uses Heyman! Y’know what Roman likes Heyman for? Shining his shoes, booking his private jets, ordering his steaks, and handing him his ula fala. That is what Roman has Heyman for. Roman Reigns does not respect Heyman. Don’t play dumb! Here’s a history lesson: WrestleMania 40! Roman Reigns loses the WWE Championship in the main event thanks to… Hmm, hmm, hmm… A very well-dressed Visionary.

Roman then does what he does best, and he disappears. Does he take Heyman with him? No! He left Heyman in the “very caring” hands of Solo Sikoa, and the rest of The Bloodline. Did they treat Heyman well? Were they kind to him? No! Every single day, they treated Heyman like he was the scum of the Earth! Every single day, we all waited, we all wondered, “Is Roman Reigns gonna come save Paul Heyman?” Did Roman come to Heyman’s rescue?! No. He left Heyman to be massacred in his hometown, in front of his own children. Jacob & Azalea Heyman had to watch their father be put through a table because Roman Reigns doesn’t care about him!

And y’know who else wasn’t there? Heyman’s best friend in the world~, C… M… Punk. “Best friends love each other, Paul. They’re there for each other. They don’t use each other when it’s convenient. Ten years ago, CM Punk walked out on every single person in this arena, and you included. He walked out on you, too! Did he take you with him, Paul? No! He tried to tear down everything that you were building here! And when he came back, did he come back because you asked him to come back? Did he come back and embrace you, and take you with him on his ride? No!” Punk & Paul sure love to reminisce and romanticize about WarGames.

But let Rollins remind you that CM Punk was not the first choice for Team Roman at WarGames, Rollins was. Stop him when he’s telling lies! Heyman admits, that is true. Rollins declined, but Punk was the last and only choice left. Did he join Team Roman out of the goodness of his heart because he loved Heyman? No, it’s because he used it to get a favor out of Heyman! Heyman tears up a bit as Rollins says Punk is NOT Heyman’s best friend. Punk loves no one but himself. And to be honest, Heyman, and with Minneapolis, Rollins feels bad for Heyman. Heyman is in a very difficult, unenviable position. He is between a rock and a hard place.

The easiest solution for everyone involved would be Heyman removing himself from the situation entirely, letting Rollins, Punk and Roman battle it out for the soul of this industry! But Heyman can’t do that? Or he won’t? He won’t betray his Tribal Chief, he won’t betray his best friend, Rollins understands that. If only there was a solution. If only there was a way they could remove Heyman from the situation… Rollins circles Heyman like a denim shark, and Rollins says, “It’s for your own good.” Rollins will take it as a privilege to remove Heyman from this situation right here, and right now. The fans boo and Heyman glares at Rollins.

Rollins says it’ll be quick and easy. Just a boot to the head, then a stomp, and it’s all over. Nobody’s here to save Heyman. Roman isn’t here. CM Punk… What’s that thing he likes to say? He’s not here to make friends, he’s here to make money. So the question then is… How much is Heyman worth? Is he worth this much? And Rollins slaps Heyman in the arm. Rollins wonders… Is it this much? And now he SLAPS Heyman in the face! C’mon, Paul… Rollins pushes Heyman around, but Heyman shouts, “Don’t put your damn hands on me again!” The fans fire up for Heyman, but Rollins smiles.

Rollins SMOTHERS Heyman into a corner, but here comes Punk! Seems Punk does care, and he slides right in! Rollins and Punk brawl, Punk TACKLES Rollins to the mat and rains down fists! They go out of the ring, the fans fire up, and Punk THROWS Rollins over the desk! The brawl continues against the barriers, into the Hydration Station, and then around the way! Rollins throws Punk, but then Punk throws Rollins into steel steps! Punk pulls those apart, and he drags Rollins over to throw hands! The fans fire up as Punk smothers Rollins with the steel! Punk then lines up a shot, runs in and- NO, Rollins gets away before a stomp!

Punk slides into the ring to pursue, but Rollins STOMPS Punk!! The fans fire up and Heyman is devastated! Heyman checks on Punk, but Rollins takes aim! CURB STMOP just short of Heyman! Heyman is scared silent, and Rollins takes the mic to say, “Now you owe me a favor.” What?! Rollins can’t be serious! But will the Visionary put Heyman in a lose-lose situation in Vegas?

My Thoughts:

A great Raw here, though it feels rather slim without John Cena or even Cody Rhodes showing up. But given they already gave us their hottest promo battle, and a really well done video package, I feel like we’ve gotten all the math we’ll get for that match. In place of Cena and Cody live, we did get that powerful promo from Jey. This fire Jey is bringing, he surely must be winning at WrestleMania. And naturally, the Women’s World Championship Triple Threat is finally official with a speed run version of a contract signing. Iyo standing tall here with just one more episode to go, I wonder if that is the go-home math signaling someone else (Bianca?) wins the title.

A great opening match with Lyra VS Bayley, and I figured Lyra would win. An intriguing detail was Bayley almost disrespecting Lyra, and now they’ll be going to SmackDown as a team. I don’t see them winning the gauntlet, but perhaps there is something to how Liv & Raquel want to be a Two Woman Power Trip. Maybe Bayley & Lyra do win, but Liv & Raquel want an Intercontinental Championship match in return, really upping things for WrestleMania weekend. Also, I don’t see Natalya & Maxxine winning with Natty being so down about having to team with Maxxine for a gauntlet, not just a one-fall match.

Very good promo from Styles and Kross, because in the end, Kross just doesn’t want Logan Paul winning at WrestleMania. Which I agree with, and not even in kayfabe. But Styles VS Kross will be really good stuff, can’t wait to see Styles bring out his aggression. Really fun promo from Gable with Bert Kreischer and Alpha Academy, and a great Six Man Tag of LWO VS Americano Made. That was probably one of LWO’s better showings because Wilde got to do that wild tope and Cruz got to do his own high-flying. But of course there was cheating for Americano Made, and now we’re getting Rey VS Americano. Duh, Rey has to snatch that mask off Gable at some point or this is for naught.

Very good tag title match, but I was a little surprised we got it here. At the same time, New Day winning by disqualification and then beating War Raiders down, surely we get a rematch of this for either the go-home into WrestleMania or even as part of WrestleMania. Two nights and I’ve lost count of how many matches, they might be able to do something with this. Good stuff in building the Men’s Intercontinental Championship Fatal 4. Judgment Day continues to have passive aggressive dysfunction, and then Penta VS Dom was a very good main event match. Good win for Penta, but of course Judgment Day beats Penta down. Bron and Finn getting involved was good stuff, too, there are all sorts of possibilities with that Fatal 4.

And a great closing segment with Rollins confronting Heyman. There has been this notion that perhaps Heyman joins Rollins, and that feeling was kinda coming and going during Rollins’ promo. Rollins and Punk had a good brawl, and Rollins standing tall to then “spare” Heyman was good stuff. Rollins wanting his own favor also feeds that notion, but I personally don’t see it happening because at this point, I’m not sure it’d make sense. Heyman staying with Roman and upsetting Punk makes sense. Heyman joining Punk and leaving Roman also makes sense. Heyman choosing Rollins after being threatened doesn’t make sense.

My Score: 8.8/10