Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (7/16/24)
Who’s the real MVP?
Time to make an impact on NXT!
The Rascalz make their NXT in-ring debut while Duke Hudson challenges Oba Femi one on one for the North American Championship!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Six Man Tag: The Rascalz VS Gallus; The Rascalz win.
- Je’Von Evans VS Brooks Jensen w/ Josh Briggs; Je’Von wins.
- NXT Championship: Ethan Page VS Dante Chen; Ethan wins and retains the title.
- Izzi Dame VS Tatum Paxley; Tatum wins.
- Lola Vice VS Jacy Jayne w/ Jazmyn Nyx; Lola wins.
- Mixed Six Tag: The OC VS OTM; The OC wins.
- NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi VS Duke Hudson w/ Chase U; Oba wins and retains the title.
PLAY BY PLAY
The Rascalz walk ‘n’ talk.
Wes Lee says you are not imagining things. This is happening right now. Trey Miguel says the gang is back together, time to blow everyone’s minds! Zachary Wentz says let’s get it!
Gallus also walks ‘n’ talks.
Markus says The Rascalz are gonna have the shortest reunion ever! Wolfgang says he hates everyone in TNA, especially these three. Joe says yes, them and that walking meme. “Oh, they broke the internet!” Well Gallus is about to break The Rascalz! The battlelines have been drawn, which trio stands tall when it is all said and done?
Six Man Tag: The Rascalz VS Gallus!
The trios sort out and Trey starts against Mark Coffey. The bell rings, the fans rally up, and the two tie up. Mark powers Trey back, throws him away, then smirks. Trey gets up, dodges Mark, then slips through ropes to RAM into Mark and HOTSHOT the arm! Trey rolls into KICK the arm, wrench it, and then TWEAK it! Trey then reaches up to RANA! The fans fire up and Trey tags Wentz. They double whip, atomic drop and dropkick the leg! Then chancery DROPKICK! Cover, ONE!! Wentz stays on Mark, but Mark fights up to ROCK Wentz! Tag to Wolfgang and he UPPERCUTS Wentz down!
The fans boo but Wolfgang stomps away on Wentz. Wolfgang then hauls Wentz up to snap suplex! Cover, ONE!! Wolfgang drags Wentz over, tags Joe and they mug Wentz. The fans rally for the Rascalz as Joe whips Wentz. Wentz BOOTS back, goes up, and FLYING RANAS! Wenz then KNEES Joe, tags Wes, and MSK snapmare to KNEE-BOARD SENTON! The fans fire up and Wes headlocks. Joe powers up and out, Wes sunset flips over, then rolls back to SWINGING RANA! The fans fire up again while Joe staggers around, into another RANA! Cover, TWO! Joe escapes but Wes stays cool. Wes headlocks but Joe fights up.
Joe back suplexes, Wes lands out to headlock again. Joe powers up but Wes holds tight. Wolfgang tags in as Joe gets free, and Wolfgang CLOBBERS Wes! Wolfgang UPPERCUTS Wes, scoops and SLAMS him, then covers, TWO! Wes toughs it out but Wolfgang drags Wes up. Wes grabs ropes so Wolfgang HOTSHOTS him instead! Wes sputters, Wolfgang drags him up, but Wes fires body shots. Wolfgang knees low, facelocks, and Mark tags in. Gallus mugs Wes, then Joe tags in. The Coffey Brothers double wrench to DOUBLE CHOP! Tag to Wolfgang, the mugging continues, and Wolfgang warns the rest of the Rascalz.
Tag to Mark, the mugging continues but Wes ENZIGIRIS back! Wolfgang UPPERCUTS! Trey gets in, Wolfgang CHOPS him down! Trey kips up to ENZIGIRI Wolfgang! Joe runs in to CLOBBER Trey! Wentz runs in, dodges, handsprings, and JUMP KNEES! Mark POLISH HAMMERS Wentz! Wes DOUBLE KNEES Mark! The fans fire up as all six men are down! And then as Vic Joseph mentions him, HERE COMES JOE HENDRY! The fans are thunderous as you know who makes his way down to the ring. Gallus’ worst nightmare is coming true while NXT goes picture in picture.
Hendry waves to the fans while they sing his song, and he joins commentary! Mark and Wes are in the ring, and Wes fires off hands! Wes bobs ‘n’ weaves, headlocks, but Mark powers up and out. Wolfgang tags in, and he FLAPJACKS Wes! Wolfgang kicks Wes to the apron then the floor, right at Hendry’s feet! Joe runs up to stomp Wes right in front of Hendry! Hendry wants no beef with Coffey, so Coffey puts Wes in the ring. Wes fires body shots and haymakers but Joe knees low. Joe whips Wes to a corner, whips him in again, then scoops for a BACKBREAKER! Joe then goes up and up to VADER ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO!
Joe is frustrated with Wes but drags him back over. Tag to Wolfgang, he fires hands on Wes, then wrenches an arm. Mark tags in. Wolfgang CHOPS Wes, then Mark FLYING SHOULDER TACKLES! Cover, TWO! Wes stays tough but Mark stomps him down! Mark drags Wes up, but Wes fires body shots and forearms! Mark ROCKS Wes, whips him to the Gallus corner, then tags in Joe. The Coffey Brothers mug Wes, then Joe taunts the Rascalz. Joe runs in but Wes BOOTS him! Wes fires hands on Wolfgang and Mark, then fires hands on Joe! Joe shoves Wes back, Wes runs back up, but Joe catches him to TOSS him down!
Joe tags Wolfgang, the mugging continues, and then Gallus drops a knee on Wes’s head! Cover, TWO! Wolfgang drags Wes right over to tag Joe back in. The mugging still continues, and then Joe clamps on a REAR BEARHUG! Wes endures, fights around, and NXT returns to single picture. The fans rally for Wes, even as Joe leans on the hold. Wes fights up, throws some elbows, but Joe CLUBS him! Tag to Mark, Mark reels Wes in to whip him back to the corner. Wolfgang steps in, Mark runs in but Wes DUMPS him! Wes dodges Wolfgang, dodges Joe and UP KICKS him! Then hot tag to Wentz!
The fans fire up as Wentz dodges Joe, SUPERKICKS Wolfgang, then runs in at the corner. Joe puts Wentz on the corner, but Wentz GAMANGIRIS! Wentz goes up to DOUBLE MISSILE DROPKICK! The fans are thunderous as Wentz CHOPS joe then whips. Joe reverses but Wentz YANKS him outta the air! SNAP GERMAN, but Mark tags in! Wentz dodges to UPPERCUT! Trey tags in and he gest moving to UPPERCUT Joe! He gives Wentz the boost, RAILGUN DROPKICK for Joe! RAILGUN DROPKICK for Mark! Clinch, SCORPION KICK then LIGHTNING SPIRAL! Cover, Wolfgang breaks it!
The fans boo but Wolfgang hauls Trey up. Trey DROPKICKS Wolfgang away then tags Wes. Wes tags Wentz, and MSK give Trey a boost, for the TRIPLE DROPKICK!! The fans fire up as Gallus regroups outside! They run back in, Wes & Wentz ROCK Wolfgang & Joe while Trey DIVES onto Mark for a TORNADO DDT TO THE FLOOR! Then MSK fires off on Wolfgang and Joe! DOUBLE STOMP on Joe, DOUBLE STOMP on Wolfgang! Gallus regroups outside again, and Wentz PENALTY KICKS Mark! The fans are thunderous as Wes helps Wentz with the LATERAL MOONSAULT! The fans fire up again as Wes now takes aim!
Wes builds speed and he FLIES onto all of Gallus! The fans are thunderous, Hendry applauds and even Booker T is being won over. The Rascalz get Mark in, hoist him up and tuck him in, DOUBLE CHEEKY NANDOS! Tag to Wes, and now it’s a double torture rack! DOUBLE STOMP BURNING HAMMER!! Cover, The Rascalz win!
Winners: The Rascalz, by pinfall
The fans are thunderous as this #NXTNA crossover takes the win! But will NXT & TNA soon belong to The RSCL?
Backstage interview with Chase U.
Kelly Kincaid is with Andre Chase, Riley Osborn, Thea Hail & Ridge Holland, but she also brings up that Roxanne Perez will be speaking later tonight. Thea asks if Kelly really just mentioned Roxie. She did. Thea has to go! Whoa, wait, what? Thea takes off, Ridge hurries after and Chase says it’ll be up to Ridge to keep an eye on her. But that means Chase & Riley take the interview. Kelly says this is a big night for Chase U as Duke Hudson will challenge Oba Femi for the North American Championship. Chase says when Duke is on his A Game, very few superstars in the WWE can stop him. And Duke understands opportunities don’t always come around, so he has to cash in tonight.
Chase says tonight, the MVP of Chase U shows up, shows out, and becomes the NEW NXT North American Champion. Riley says he was worried before, but he knows Duke’s been proving the haters wrong. Duke is going to beta the unbeatable, do the unthinkable, and bring home that title to Chase U! Kelly thanks them for their time, and says Oba VS Duke is our massive main event tonight. Will Duke put it all on the line to take home the gold? Or will no one ever dethrone The Ruler?
Ethan Page talks with Ava Raine in her office.
All Ego says he sure did enjoy last week, because now we are officially one week into the Era of Ego. And he has some very valid complaints! Their champion feels this is an unsafe work environment, and wants to know what Ava is doing- OH NO here comes Oro Mensah! Ava keeps Oro from getting his hands on Ethan, and she tells him to stop! They are not doing this in her office. This is what Ethan is talking about! How is he to defend the championship with dignity and honor when he has to deal with this!? Oro tells Ethan to shut his mouth and defend it against Oro tonight! Oh, yes, let’s reward terrible behavior!
Ethan tells Oro’s little fantasy of getting a shot at this title will NEVER happen. And Oro has no chance in Hell of EVER pinning Ethan 1-2-3! Ava tells them both to stop. Oro is not in the title picture now because he just keeps attacking Ethan. Oro says fine, fine. The longer Ethan runs away, the worse it will get for him. Ava says okay, hold on. If Ethan wants to defend his title so bad, then he’ll defend it tonight. O-Okay. Great idea! And it’ll be against someone with honor and dignity, aka NOT ORO. It’ll be… Uh… DANTE CHEN! Ava likes that idea. Oro says he hopes Dante kicks Ethan’s ass then.
Ava has Oro move on, but perhaps Ethan just stepped in it. Is he taking the Singapore Warrior too lightly? Or can All Ego put his money where his mouth is instead of his foot?
The Great American Bash returns!
Not only that, but it will be a TWO WEEK SPECIAL EVENT, on the SyFy Network! Tuesday, July 30th and Tuesday, August 6th, tune in for NXT’s biggest Summer tradition.
Roxanne Perez is here!
The fans are torn as The Prodigy struts her way out, NXT Women’s Championship on her shoulder. She steps into the ring, grabs a mic, and asks, “So what’s it gonna take for everyone to start treating me like the champion I am? Last Sunday, I defeated the biggest badass NXT has, retained my title, added another name to the resume, and you’d think that because of that, I’d be receiving my flowers. I mean, the WWE Universe is literally witnessing greatness before their eyes, and what do they do? They give Lola Vice, the LOSER of the match, a standing ovation. Hello? It should’ve been me!
“You guys don’t deserve to watch a once in a lifetime performer like me. You really don’t. At 22 years old, I am just so damn good. And I haven’t even hit my prime yet. How untouchable am I gonna be in five years? Because I’m not competing against anyone inside that locker room, I’m competing with the history books. And uh, speaking of history, because I sure know mine… 13 years ago tomorrow, charlotte Flair had her very first NXT TV match. And 13 years later, she’s a 14-TIME World Champion, The Queen, a future Hall of Famer. But guess what? I’m on pace to shatter all of her records!
“Bayley’s, Asuka’s, Rhea’s… But uh, y’know what really, really pisses me off? It’s the fact that all the talk online is, ‘When Giulia comes to NXT, Roxanne is in trouble~! When Stephanie Vaquer comes, she’s gonna run through the NXT Women’s Division! Well y’know what? Why don’t you go ahead and roll out the red carpet for them. Matter of fact, roll out the red carpet for any talent around the world, because when they step inside the ring with me, no one compares to The Prodigy. Which is why I find it quite laughable that Thea Hail is my next opponent. I mean, c’mon, she has a good of a chance at beating me as Duke Hudson has of beating Oba Femi.”
But here comes Thea! Thea tells Roxie that seriously, no no no. Roxie’s problem is that she comes here, acts like people owe her respect, but in reality, nobody owes her anything. And honestly, Roxie barely escaped Heatwave with that title. And while their paths have never really crossed, Thea honestly used to look up to Roxie. She and Roxie seemed so alike. The fact that Roxie even comes out here and says it is laughable, Roxie should know what it is to be underestimated, to have people doubt you! So go ahead, Roxie. Doubt Thea. Thea has broken doubters’ noses! She has fractured doubters’ arms! She has defeated the doubters that she was never supposed to beat.
So at Great American Bash, let’s open that history book Roxie wants to rewrite, and then hand Thea the pen so that Thea can write, “Thea Hail: One of the Youngest NXT Women’s Champions!” The fans fire up but Roxie is amused. Aw, Thea, how brave coming out here without the chaperones. But Roxie isn’t underestimating Thea. She just knows that as long as Roxie has the title, it won’t be Thea’s time, or anyone else’s time. So here is some free advice: Thea is not ready. Coming from someone that knows, Roxie knows what it is to lose out on this title. How it can make you spiral, lose control. Let’s not forget when Mr. Chase threw in the towel…
Thea is getting worked up as Roxie says the title is for “big girls,” not children. Thea can say she’s “a grown ass woman,” but she’s really just a little girl. That sets Thea off, but Roxie is ready! Roxie kicks low, fires off hands, but so does Thea! Roxie wrangles Thea into a CROSSFACE! Thea rolls through to get the KIMURA! The fans fire up as Roxie pops free to crossface, but Thea rolls to KIMURA!! Roxie flails, but Ridge gets in to stop Thea. Roxie runs away, title in hand. The fans fire up for Thea, will she prove The Prodigy isn’t a prodigy anymore?
Backstage interview with Kelani Jordan.
Kelly Kincaid says the inaugural North American Women’s Champion is still North American Women’s Champion after an incredible match with Sol Ruca at Heatwave. Kelani says Sol is amazing, she had to pull out some crazy moves to win. But when one challenge ends, another begins. Kelani did just hear names like Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer, so this women’s division is only getting stronger. And as a champion, Kelani will keep upping her game. Wait, what’s Kelly looking at? Kelani turns around and there’s Wendy! And she’s holding onto the beheaded Barbie doll Tatum Paxley left behind last week…
Wendy eyes the title, then moves on. That was weird… But it was a clear message, too. Will Wendy put Kelani’s reign to bed and start a reign of terror?
Backstage interview with Lola Vice.
Kelly now talks with the Mayor of Vice City on how she fell short of the NXT Women’s Championship. But she also proved that she belongs in the title scene. Lola says she left it all in the ring. She fought through the pain, nearly broke her hand, and still Roxie could not tap her out. She took FIVE Pop Rox, but next time, it won’t be enough. Fallon Henley walks in with Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx and says this is exactly what they’ve been talking about! New girl had her title shot, and lost. Jacy has an idea: Lola should just go back to MMA, since she made a bigger name while being here.
Jacy says American Top Team would probably welcome her back with open arms! And NXT will sure miss her~. Because clearly, rookie- Oh, keep saying that, but what about Jazmyn? Lola ain’t going anywhere. Jacy says Jazmyn’s different. She is with them. The exception to the rule and all. But hey, if Lola’s a fighter, then she should go and fight. Lola says yeah, that’s true. She is a fighter, and she’s looking at her next opponent. Jacy gets a little worried, but will the Latina Heat burn down all of this toxic element?
Je’Von Evans VS Brooks Jensen w/ Josh Briggs!
The Young OG was supposed to be in last week’s main event match alongside Trick Williams, but the rather unstable and unpredictable second generation superstar “made an impact” but taking him out! Will Je’Von return the favor by bouncing Brooks right out of NXT? Or will Jensen just finish the job he started?
NXT returns and Jensen makes his entrance. Jensen tells Briggs he doesn’t need Briggs out here. Briggs counters by bringing up how he stuck his neck out for Jensen, he is responsible for him now. Jensen goes to the ring, and Je’Von wants to get right in his face. The ref keeps them back, the bell rings, and Je’Von runs in! Jensen picks him up to RAM him into the corner! Jensen RAMS into Je’Von, whips corner to corner, but Je’Von goes up and over. Je’Von fires haymakers, runs, ducks ‘n’ dodges then RANAS Jensen into ropes !Jensen rebounds into a DROPKICK! Jensen bails out, Je’Von storms over, but Jensen trips him up.
Jensen drags Je’Von out but Je’Von ROCKS him first! And again! And again! The fans fire up, Jensen shoves Je’Von back. Je’Von runs back in, but Jensen pops him up to FLAPJACK him on barriers! Those bad ribs bother Je’Von, but he still ELBOWS Jensen away. And SUPERKICKS him down! The fans fire up and Je’Von snarls. Je’Von then goes up and up to QUEBRADA! Down goes Jensen and the fans fire up! Je’Von puts Jensen in, runs to rebound and SPIN KICK! Cover, TWO!! Jensen survives but Je’Von keeps cool. Je’Von goes corner to corner, but Jensen dodges the splash! those ribs suffer more damage, but Je’Von still CHOPS!
Jensen LARIATS Je’Von down! Jensen rains down fists, drags Je’Von out, and GOURD BUSTER on the desk! Je’Von sputters, Jensen mockingly says this boy is bouncy. Then Jensen goes to the apron, to FLYING LEG DROP to the desk!! Jensen mocks Je’Von while Je’Von struggles to breathe, and NXT goes to break.
NXT returns and the two are throwing hands against ropes. Je’Von whips, Jensen reverses and kitchen sink KNEES! Je’Von sputters but Jensen shakes off those shots. Jensen then digs a knee into Je’Von’s back and pulls him with a chinlock. Je’Von endures, the fans rally up, and Je’Von fights up! Je’Von throws body shots, but Jensen gut wrenches to THROW Je’Von! Je’Von flounders to a corner, Jensen runs in, but Je’Von dodges now! Jensen ELBOWS Je’Von, goes up, but Je’Von goes up to get him! SUPER STEINER! The fans fire up as Je’Von huffs ‘n’ puffs and rises up. Jensen runs back in, Je’Von dodges and LEAPING LARIATS!
Je’Von rallies with elbows, then whips, but Jensen reverses. Jensen runs in, blocks a boot, but Je’Von traps Jensen’s foot! Je’Von ROCKS, CHOPS, and then SMACKS Jensen off buckles. SPIN KICK, and then Je’Von goes to the apron. Springboard and CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Jensen is showing toughness but Je’Von stays focused. Je’Von springboards, but into a Gory Especial! Je’Von flips up and over but into a GOTCH NEUTRALIZER! Cover, TWO!! And now Shawn Spears makes his way out here? We know he doesn’t like Je’Von much but why is he out here? Briggs steps in Spears’ way, but Jensen hurries out to tell Briggs not to waste his time on Spears.
Briggs stands down, but Je’Von FLIES onto Jensen! The fans fire up again and Je’Von puts Jensen in. Je’Von goes up and up and SUPER O G CUTTER~! Cover, Je’Von wins!
Winner: Je’Von Evans, by pinfall
And that is payback served! The Young OG shows he can grit it out and come away with the win, but will- OH NO, Jensen attacks Je’Von! Jensen’s a sore loser! Briggs runs in there to stop Jensen and asks what the hell! Jensen continues to cross the line, is his second chance about to be his last chance?
The D’Angelo Family is playing cards backstage.
Then someone says, “Psst!” We look over to see it’s Charlie Dempsey. The Family is confused, but Tony tells Stacks not to look at his cards. Stacks asks who Tony thinks he is, but Rizzo does keep an eye on Stacks. Tony walks over to Dempsey and asks what this is about. You don’t “Psst” at The Don. Dempsey says forget about that. But the uh, you know what, right? Oh yeah, the D’Angelo Trunk Tactic, yeah. Myles was telling him. Myles did what? Oh yeah, he won’t shut up about it. Joking! Tony’s just busting Dempsey’s balls. The Don knows everything that goes on around here. But hey, to be honest, Tony didn’t think Dempsey had it in him, so he’s impressed.
Dempsey won’t be sweet talked, he’s still coming for the Heritage Cup. Does the sun rise in the morning? Of course Dempsey is, Tony knows. But what’s this breaking news Dempsey has? Well, Dempsey found himself in a bit of a situation and needs some advice. What kind of situation? Hypothetically speaking, let’s say a witness saw him. Then take him “for a swim.” Hypothetically, let’s say it wasn’t a him but a her. Oh… Well, Dempsey is going to take care of this on his own. But doesn’t Tony take care of things? Not this one. Dempsey’s still stuck, what is he to do about Wren Sinclair?
Backstage interview with Dante Chen.
Sarah Schreiber asks the Singapore Warrior about his NXT Championship opportunity. Dante is extremely surprised. But this is exactly why he gets up early in the morning to train like an animal, why he goes for runs during the day when it’s 100+ degrees, and why he studies film every night. And he’s no fool, Ethan Page thinks Dante is an easy first defense. Dante has learned that when you get your moment, you gotta make the most of it. Dante heads out, will he be able to take advantage of All Ego’s arrogance?
Trick Williams vents backstage.
He worked so damn hard for the NXT Championship, and while a title doesn’t define a man, looking at himself without it, he doesn’t recognize himself. He has to get back to being himself and doing his own thing. On the phone is Ilja Dragunov! And the Mad Dragon tells Trick this is simply a journey of redemption. When Ilja lost that title, is world changed. He got drafted, so his new goals became based on his new surroundings. He seeks to conquer new worlds, but the question for Trick is… What does Trick want? He wants that title back! But Ethan won’t just give him a rematch.
Ilja wishes he could help Trick more, but these are two very different situations. Just hang in there, Trick. Trick ends the call, and he spots Pete Dunne watching him. Trick asks Dunne from some advice, but Dunne just tells him, “Figure it out.” The Bruiserweight leaves Trick confused, but will Trick figure out how to earn his shot at the top title?
NXT Championship: Ethan Page VS Dante Chen!
Speaking of the top title, the threat of Oro coming for him rattled All Ego into just spitting out a name. Now the Singapore Warrior has his own shot at this championship, and his whole world could change, too! Will Dante make this a one and done to reach the top? Or will Ethan be able to back up all the talk and hold onto the gold?
The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who is really ready for this moment!
The bell rings and the two circle. The fans rally hard for Dante but Ethan headlocks. Dante powers up and out but Ethan runs him over! Ethan taunts Dante, saying this is his chance. Dante stands up, they tie up, and Ethan powers Dante to a corner. The ref counts, Ethan lets off with a pat on the head, but that just upsets Dante. Ethan grins at the cameras, but Dante rolls him up! TWO!! Ethan is mad now, but Dante dodges him to ROCK and CHOP and repeat! Dante whips but Ethan blocks. Ethan ROCKS Dante, headlocks, but Dante powers up and out. Dante hurdles, drops, and ELBOWS Ethan, to then UPPERCUT and CHOP!
Dante sits Ethan up to SUPERKICK him down! Cover, TWO! Ethan survives but Dante stays cool. Dante gets moving, but Ethan TOSSES him up and out! Dante staggers up but Ethan FLYING SHOULDER TACKLES! Down goes Dante but Ethan puts him in fast. Ethan rains down fists while the fans boo. Ethan lets off, storms around, then stands Dante up. Ethan whips Dante, ELBOWS him down, then scoops him to POWERSLAM him! Cover, TWO! Dante stays in this but Ethan wants a better count. Ethan scuffs Dante, talks trash on him, then pie faces him! Dante fires body shots and jabs in return!
Dante CHOPS, ROCKS, and repeat! Ethan knees low, scoops, but Dante slips free! Dante ENZIGIRIS Ethan and the fans fire up! Dante runs in, Ethan puts him on the apron, but Dante RAMS in! Slingshot sunset flip! TWO! Ethan escapes, swings, but Dante counter punches! Dante fires CHOPS and palm strikes! Dante UPPERCUTS, whips, and LARIATS! Dante rallies with more shots, then an atomic drop! Dante runs but Ethan dodges the boot! Ethan kicks low, reels Dante in, but Dante cradle counters! TWO!! Ethan escapes again, but Dante gets around to backslide! TWO! Ethan staggers up into a BOOT!
The fans fire up as Ethan falls! Dante grits his teeth, vows to end this, and he takes aim. Dante DOUBLE CHOPS Ethan down! Cover, TWO!! Dante grows frustrated but he hurries to a corner. Dante goes out to the apron, springboards back in, but Ethan dodges! Dante staggers up, and Ethan BOOTS him down! Ethan is mad, and he drags Dante up. Canadian Rack, for the EGO’S EDGE! Cover, Ethan wins!
Winner: Ethan Page, by pinfall (still NXT Champion)
All Ego sarcastically shakes Dante’s hand, but then ORO RUNS IN! The fans fire up as Main Man Mensah gets shots in, but then Ethan kicks low and DDTS! Ethan taunts Oro with the title. “Not on your best day, Oro!” The fans boo but Ethan just grins and leaves Oro behind. Only for Oro to pursue! The brawl goes up the ramp, then back to ringside! Oro puts Ethan in and LARIATS him down! And again! Then he SUPERMAN PUNCHES! Ethan blocks a kick, but not the ROLLING KICK! The fans are thunderous as Oro MURAMASAS Ethan in a corner! Oro covers, and he counts it! That’s three right there! Did Oro just prove he is worthy of the gold?
Duke Hudson speaks.
“What started as a gambler… grew into the MVP. Tonight, I become the NXT North American Champion.” Duke promises the biggest Andre Chase University style ass whooping, but will he be able to dethrone the Ruler? Or will he go broke trying?
NXT has BIG events coming!
Sunday, September 1st, the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado will host No Mercy 2024! And then on Sunday, October 27th, Hershey, Pennsylvania’s Giant Center hosts Halloween Havoc 2024! Get your tickets starting July 24th, and be ready for big nights in NXT history!
Gallus regroups backstage.
Mark says any other night, they would’ve battered those three. Wolfgang says yeah, the “shiny new toys” had their 15 minutes of fame, so now they can go back to TNA. And Joe asks the boys if they saw “that clown” looking at him? If Joe hears the name “Joe Hendry” one more time- Wait. The music plays, and clap clap, Hendry steps in! Don’t be mad at him, Coffey just said his name. Wolfgang doesn’t care, just go back to Scotland. Hendry says he understands, he’d be just as mad, too. They’ve been working for years, and then someone just strolled in to become the most talked about star in all of NXT. But the reality is, Hendry’s sticking around, he likes it here.
Coffey says the thing is, Joe Hendry, no one here actually likes him! Oh, really? Yeah! Cuz when they think of Scotland, they think of Gallus. They think of Drew McIntyre! They do NOT think of some flash in the pan. Well maybe they’d feel just a little bit better if they believed in The Answer to All Life’s Problems, Joe Hendry. Hendry leaves, and Joe Coffey swears, if he sees that guy one more time…! But will Gallus ever learn to accept Joe Hendry?
Izzi Dame VS Tatum Paxley!
The “It Girl,” the volleyball ace, has gotten the attention of a rather twisted individual. But will Izzi show Tatum that obsession is bad for your health? Or will Tatum break the mean girl mentally and physically?
Speaking of, Tatum creeps Izzi out by crawling right under her! Izzi asks what the hecc! Izzi stomps, Tatum dodges, the bell rings and Tatm RAN- NO! Izzi stops the rana to go for ropes. But Tatum uses that to HANGING HEADSCISSOR! Tatum then BOPS Izzi, Izzi staggers away, and Tatum goes up to springboard MISSILE DROPKICK! The fans fire up as Tatum watches Izzi flounder around. Tatum then runs in to BODY CHECK from behind! Then Tatum schoolgirl KICKS Izzi down! Cover, TWO! Izzi staggers up, Tatum runs in and leaps, but into Izzi’s arms! Izzi runs to BACKBREAKER!
Izzi hauls Tatum back up to SLAM her down! Tatum flounders now, and Izzi storms up to stomp away! The ref counts as Tatum is on the ropes. Izzi lets off to drag Tatum back and drop an elbow! Cover, TWO! Izzi smirks and she pushes Tatum around. Izzi says Tatum wanted this fight, so she’s got it. But then Tatum fires body shots! Izzi scoops again, but Tatum slips free! Tatum whips, Izzi blocks! Tatum’s back bothers her but Izzi whips her to a corner. Then Izzi whips corner to corner! Izzi runs, slides, and trips Tatum! Izzi pulls Tatum back against the post! Tatum endures being bent, the ref counts, and Izzi lets off.
The fans boo but Izzi storms back in. Izzi scoops Tatum for another BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Izzi is frustrated but she reels Tatum in. Canadian Rack, and a backbreaker torture rack! Tatum endures, but Wendy is waling out here? Tatum flails, kicks off ropes, and flips free! Izzi runs up but Tatum dodges to then block a kick! Tatum grins, then DRAGON SCREWS! And CHOP BLOCKS! Tatum BOOTS Izzi, ENZIGIRIS her, then KNEE SMASHES! ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Izzi survives but Tatum hauls her up. Tatum pump handles, Izzi fights free and HOOK KICKS! Cover, TWO! The fans rally, and Wendy is watching like a hawk.
Izzi drags Tatum up, Canadian Racks again, but Tatum slips free. Tatum hobbles to a corner, Izzi runs in, but Tatum dodges! Izzi POSTS herself, then Tatum hooks her up! PSYCHO TRAP! Cover, Tatum wins!
Winner: Tatum Paxley, by pinfall
As Izzi says, it is what it is, and Tatum twists her around for her own victory! Tatum then spots Wendy. Tatum has the doll’s head, Wendy has the body, will these two unite as one to take over NXT?
Thea and Ridge regroup backstage.
Thea asks why Ridge stopped her! She was gonna rip Roxie’s arm off! Ridge says then that means there’s no title shot. Oh, smart! The rest of Chase U walks over and Duke asks what’s up with them. It’s only the biggest night of Duke’s career is all, and they’re going on about nonsense. Kidding! Hah. But yeah, he is being serious. They all say he’s got this, and Duke thanks Ridge for this match. Ridge says it’s all good, just bring the belt back to Chase U. Duke says Oba is incredible, but he is still a man. And a man can be beaten. Chase says F yeah he can! Hands in! On three! One, two, three, Chase U~!!
Cedric Alexander and Ashante THEE Adonis walk ‘n’ talk backstage.
PRIMED Alexander says the talent pool here in NXT is loaded with opportunities! But Ashante seems to see something else with potential. Cedric tells Ashante to focus. They can finally show the world what they’re all about. But then Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson walk by, and Ashante’s gone. He says, “Excuse me.” Lash says no thanks, bye. Ashante says pause, rewinds, this ain’t Chase U. This is “Chase Him.” Plus, he was here to talk with Jakara anyway. Oh, okay~! But then Oro Mensah walks in and asks what this is about. Oro will not let this happen like Lash and Trick. Ashante can just moonwalk on out of here.
Ashante tells Oro that take it down a notch. And secondly, he is sure Miss Jackson doesn’t mind getting to know THEE Hottest New Attraction. Ashante offers a hand, Jakara reaches out, but Oro says no touchy touchy. Cedric has everyone calm down, and Lash says they don’t need this. Meta Four moves on and Cedric says Ashante’s gonna get himself in trouble again. Yeah but Cedrick knows Ashante loves trouble. Is a new summer romance about to start up in NXT?
Lola Vice VS Jacy Jayne w/ Jazmyn Nyx!
The Mayor of Miami Vice put the Toxic Phantom of the Opera on notice, and now she looks to put more body parts in braces! Will Lola take out her anger on the arrogant “veteran” superstar? Or will things only get worse for her after being burned at Heatwave?
NXT returns as Jacy makes her entrance, “The Exception” by her side. The bell rings and the two circle. They tie up, Jacy waistlocks but Lola headlocks. Jacy wrenches to headlock, Lola powers up and out but Jacy runs her over. Jacy mocks Lola’s Latina Heat then says shove it. Lola blocks a kick, gets around, and SLAMS Jacy down. Lola says this is how you do it! The fans fire up for that, but Jacy runs up. Lola body shots, kicks, and SPIN KICKS! Jacy ducks a roundhouse, rolls Lola and SUPERKICKS! Lola flounders, Jacy grabs the bad hand and STOMPS it! The fans rally up but Jacy KICKS the bad arm.
Jacy wrenches that arm, WRINGS it out, then drags Lola around again. Jacy SLAMS the bad hand on the mat, then clamps on again. Jacy SLAMS the hand, grabs at it again, then steps over for a DISARM-HER! Jacy bends the fingers, but Lola endures and fights up. Jacy wristlocks and swings, but Lola dodges to KICK! And KICK! And KICK! Then she fires LIGHTNING KICKS! The fans fire up with Lola and she AX KICKS Jacy! Jacy crawls to a corner, Lola says “I’m a Latina~!” And then HIP ATTACK! Cover, TWO! Jacy survives but Lola facelocks. Jacy fights up, JAWBREAKERS, and then BOOTS Lola down!
Jacy runs, but Lola dodges the discus to URAKEN!! Cover, Lola wins!
Winner: Lola Vice, by pinfall
That was a knockout to be sure, but then Fallon Henley CLOBBERS Lola from behind! The Toxic Cowgirl has Jazmyn get in and they mug Lola. But Lola fights back! BODY SHOT for Fallon, but Jacy DECKS Lola! But here come Karmen Petrovic and Sol Ruca! Sol DOUBLE LARIATS Fallon & Jazmyn! Sol then dodges Jacy for Karmen to ROUNDHOUSE! Lola SUPERKICKS Fallon, Karmen LARIATS Jazmyn! Then SUPERKICKS send them all tumbling! Jacy returns, but gets DOUBLE SUPERKICKS and a ROUNDHOUSE! The toxic trio just found these “rookies” aren’t pushovers. Will Fallon, Jacy & Jazmyn soon be humbled by this new wave of talent?
Tatum plays around backstage.
Kelani says hi, and that it looks like she found the rest of Wendy’s doll. Wendy was looking for the rest of it earlier so good for Tatum. Tatum says it was her doll. Does Kelani wanna play? Aw, that’s sweet. But aren’t they a little old to be playing with dolls? Kelani leaves, and Tatum brings out a Barbie that looks a bit like Kelani… Has Paxley found a new, unwitting “playmate?”
NXT Media catches up with Ethan Page.
The reporter asks if he is upset with how tonight played out. First off, that is “Your NXT Champion,” Ethan Page. And upset? About what? He defended his title tonight, but then “Maniac Mensah” tried to ruin it, much like NXT Media just did so thank you for that. Ethan wants to leave but the reporter asks about Oro’s “pin” on him. STOP. Oro did not pin Ethan, that does not count. Ethan is still NXT Champion, and for the record… None of this bothers him. It wasn’t a pin! While Ethan’s ego grows, his temper seems to be getting shorter. Will he have no choice but to give Oro the shot he wants?
Mixed Six Tag: The OC VS OTM!
These trios have gone back and forth, but nothing has been settled! Will Michin & The Good Brothers prove that they are Just Too Sweet? Or will Bronco Nima, Lucien Price & Jaida Parker prove they’re the ones who run these streets?
NXT returns and The OC make their entrance. The trios start talking trash and pushing each other, and then the brawl is on! The fans fire up, the ref wants order, but while Nima and Price DECK Gallows & Anderson, Mia fires off on Miss Parker! And then the Good Brothers drag Nima & Price out! The bell rings, Mia CHOPS and ROCKS and RAMS into Jaida again and again! Mia whips corner to corner, runs corner to corner, but Jaida dodges the boot! Mia stomps her, puts her back in the corner, and she goes again. Jaida dodges again and Mia POSTS herself! Jaida puts Mia in the ropes, then CHOPS her!
Jaida gets space, runs up, and DROPS IT LIKE IT’S HOT! The fans are torn but Jaida talks trash on Gallows & Anderson. Jaida runs, but Mia avoids the leg drop! Mia taunts Nima & Prince, but Jaida picks her up! SPINEBUSTER, and then high stack, TWO! Mia is still in this but Jaida is still talking smack. But then Mia GERMAN SUPLEXES Jaida! And SHOTGUNS her down! Jaida hurries to tag Price, so in steps Big LG! Gallows kicks Price, fires hands, then UPPERCUTS! Gallows runs to BOOT! Price wobbles, Gallows runs, but into an URENAGE! Price roars, but Anderson runs in!
Price BOOTS Anderson, runs up, and he LARIATS Anderson right up and out! Mia checks on Machine Gun but Price runs in to LARIAT Gallows! Price brings Gallows over, tags in Nima, and Nima fires hands on Gallows. Gallows kicks back, UPPERCUTS, but Nima body shots. Nima HEADBUTTS Gallows, CHOKES him on ropes, but the ref counts. Nima lets off to run and STRADDLE ATTACK! Nima talks smack, throws down forearms, then tags Price. Price & Nima mug Gallows, then Price has Gallows in a corner. Gallows kicks again, and throws hands, only for Price to RAM him into the corner! Price RAMS in again and again, then TOSSES Gallows!
The fans rally as Nima tags in. OTM mugs Gallows, and Nima CLUBS Gallows down. Cover, TWO! Nima clamps on with a neck wrench and he grinds Gallows down. The fans rally, Gallows fights up, and Gallows throws body shots. Nima CLUBS Gallows again! Then Nima ELBOWS Anderson down! But Gallows fireman’s carries! FLAPJACK! Both men are down, hot tag to Mia! Jaida runs in but Mia rallies on her! YAKUZA KICK, then DROPKCIK! Clinch and EXPLODER! Jaida flounders up, Mia fires palm strikes and kicks! SOBAT and PELE! Jaida falls, Mia covers, TWO! Mia grows frustrated, but Jaida GERMAN SUPLEXES her!
The fans fire up while both ladies are down. Jaida crawls, hot tag to Nima! Anderson jumps in and he dodges Nima to CHOP! And CHOP! And then dodges again, to mule kick! UPPERCUT! Nima goes to a corner, Anderson runs up, but Nima catches him first! Nima TOSSES Anderson to the corner, but Anderson BOOTS back! Anderson goes up, FLYING NECKBREAKER! Tag to Gallows and the Good Brothers get Nima up! BACK SUPLEX NECKBREAKER COMBO! Cover, Price breaks it! Anderson gives Price a SPINEBUSTER for it! But the TEARDROP HIP ATTACK takes Anderson out! Michin TOSSES Jaida!
Mia then gets Nima and wrenches him, EAT DA FEET! Then Mia DIVES onto Jaida! Gallows and Nima rise up, BUZZSAW for Nima! Tag back to Anderson, and the Good Brothers hit the MAGIC KILLER!! Cover, The OC wins!
Winners: The OC, by pinfall
OTM put up quite the fight, but they couldn’t stop the OC once they got rolling! Will Mia, Gallows & Anderson all head for some big opportunities in the near future?
Charlie Dempsey regroups with the No Quarter Catch Crew.
Tavion Heights asks if Charlie is okay. With everything going on, is he able to- Wren walks in! It spooks them and she says yeah, about “that.” She wants in on the crew. What? No no no, that’s not happening. Oh, well, okay then. She’ll just go tell everyone what she saw. Oh like they’re gonna believe her. Maybe, but what would Charlie’s dad say if she told him. Charlie says it doesn’t matter, she isn’t joining the NQCC. Oh c’mon, she isn’t the only one who saw. Wait, really? Who else did? They all lean in, and she says she was just kidding. Not funny! And then Wren starts trying to grapple with Myles?
Dempsey says this isn’t funny. He CHOPS Myles and Myles says she started it. Wren says one way or another, she’ll wrestle her way into that cold little heart of Dempsey’s, and get in the group. Wren leaves, leaving NQCC rather perplexed. Should they just take Wren up on her offer and squash the whole beef? Or will Dempsey find a way around this bit o’ blackmail?
Eddy Thorpe holds another concert.
The music is pumping, the people are jumping, but Lexis King has to ruin the fun! They get to fighting, security rushes in, and the Drama King warns The Alpha Wolf he’s going to pay! But will Lexis really rock Eddy’s world? Or will Eddy drop Lexis like he drops the beat?
NXT North American Championship: Oba Femi VS Duke Hudson w/ Chase U!
The Ruler has dominated ever since coming to NXT, and even the Chase U MVP admitted he’s incredibly powerful. But Duke also said that Oba is only a man, and any man can be beat. Then will Duke be the man to beat that man? Or will no man end Oba’s reign?
NXT returns and Oba makes his entrance. The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and in a battle of big meaty men, we will see who is the biggest and the baddest!
The bell rings and the two circle. The fans rally and duel as the two tie up, and they go around in a deadlock. Oba pushes Duke to a corner but Duke gets away. They tie up again, go around, and Duke headlocks. Oba powers up and out, and they RAM shoulders! The fans fire up as Oba eggs Duke on. Duke runs to RAM Oba, and then runs again. Oba ELBOWS Duke first! Oba headlocks, Duke pries at the hold, and Duke wrenches out to headlock back! Oba powers up and throws body shots! Oba then UPPERCUTS Duke, whips him, and he runs Duke over! The fans fire up while Chase U coaches their MVP.
Duke stands in a corner while Oba grins. The fans duel, Duke takes the headband and shirt off so he can really let loose! Oba runs in, Duke dodges and then RANAS! Duke ducks ‘n’ dodges to CLOBBER Oba! The fans fire up with Duke as he kicks and DDTS! Oba stagger sup, Duke runs in to LARIAT Oba up and out! The fans fire up, as does Thea, and Duke stands tall while NXT goes picture in picture.
Oba snarls but he’s also a bit amused. Oba gets up on the apron and steps back inside. The two circle, feel out a knuckle lock, and go shoulder to shoulder in a Test of Strength. Both men stand their ground, but Oba powers Duke to his knees! Duke fights up, and he powers Oba back! But Oba knees low! Oba then CHOKES Duke on ropes! The ref counts, Oba lets off at 4, and Chase U coaches Duke. Oba RAMS Duke into the corner! And again! And again! The ref counts, Oba lets off to bring Duke around, and he goes to suplex. Duke blocks that, being as equally big. Duke RAMS Oba into the corner now!
Duke RAMS Oba more, lets off as the ref counts, and then he ROCKS Oba with a right! Duke whips, Oba reverses and Duke hits buckles chest first and hard! Duke falls back, the ref checks him, and Duke is okay to continue. Oba throws down hands, but Duke reaches up. Oba knocks him back down, KICKS him in the side, then has him in a corner. Oba drags Duke to center for a BIG elbow drop! Oba then clamps on a chinlock and grinds Duke down. The fans rally with Chase U as NXT returns to single picture. Oba leans on the hold but Duke fights up again! Duke pries the hold open as he rises to his feet, but Oba CLUBS him on the back!
Oba KICKS Duke in the side, CLUBS him more, then fires more knees. Oba CLUBS away in the corner, lets off as the ref counts, and then whips Duke right back in. Duke drops to his knees, and Oba stomps away! Oba whips Duke into the corner, scoops, and SIDEWALK SLAMS! Cover, TWO! Chase U rallies as hard as they can but Oba clamps on with another chinlock. Duke fights to his feet again, throws some body shots, then JAWBREAKERS free! Oba staggers, Duke whips him, but Oba reverse and clinches, URENAGE BACKBREAKER! Oba snarls, drags Duke up and BACKBREAKERS again! Cover, TWO!!
Duke shows that MVP toughness but Oba stays on him. Duke rises, Oba scoops, and Oba hits SNAKE EYES off the corner! Oba then reels Duke in, BACK- CROSBODY! Cover, TWO!! Oba escapes, runs up and UPPERCUTS! Oba goes corner to corner to UPPERCUT again! Oba keeps moving, but Duke BOOTS him down! The fans are thunderous while both men are down! They both rise, and Duke fires body shots! Duke fires fast hands and an UPPERCUT! Duke whips and LARIATS! Duke then JABS! JABS! JABS! Flip, flop and “U~!” BIONIC ELBOW! The fans fire up, Duke sees Oba bail out, and so he PLANCHAS!!
The fans are thunderous as Duke actually hits that! Duke puts Oba in, RAMS into him, and SLINGSHOT GERMAN SUPLEXES! Cover, TWO!! Oba survives but Duke has the hot hand. Duke puts Oba in a corner, hauls him up top, then goes up after him! The fans fire up, but Oba fires body shots. Oba HEADBUTTS Duke and Duke stumbles back. But then Duke runs and rolls, STRATUSFACTION! The fans are thunderous as Duke storms up on Oba. Duke reels Oba in, but Oba back drops! Duke sunset flips, but Oba clamps onto Duke’s neck! Oba drags Duke up to a fireman’s carry, but Duke shifts for a crucifix takedown! Cover, TWO!!
Duke and Oba rise, and Oba grabs Duke! CHOKE SLAM! Cover, TWO!! Duke survives and even Thea can’t believe it! Oba huffs ‘n’ puffs and puts Duke up top now! Oba climbs, the fans are thunderous, “This is Awesome!” Duke fights back, and he tucks Oba in! SUPER SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?! No one can believe it, and Oba bails out! Duke pursues, and he headlocks, only for Oba to SHOTPUT Duke onto the desk!! Duke bounces off, Oba drags him back over! Oba puts Duke in, lines up his shot, and Duke staggers into the POP-UP BOMB!! Cover, Oba wins!!
Winner: Oba Femi, by pinfall (still NXT North American Champion)
Chase U is devastated by Duke’s #FallFromGrace, but he pushed Oba as close to defeat as we’ve seen him yet! The Ruler still sits on the throne, but will he ever be defeated?
Jensen storms out of the building, Briggs following.
We see a lot of other superstars hanging out in the parking lot, too, like The Rascalz talking with Axiom & Nathan Frazer. Briggs again asks Jensen what in the hell was he doing with Je’Von. Jensen says who cares? Briggs is why Jensen lost! Oh, Jensen is definitely lost, and it’s not even funny. Jensen says it’s not like he hasn’t heard that before. Jensen then dares Briggs to take him on 1v1. Jensen is just proving Briggs’ point for him. The last time they went a round, Briggs beat Jensen pretty good. Briggs won’t put Jensen through that again. Then make it No Disqualifications. Then Jensen leaves in a car someone else is driving.
Who is it that’s on Jensen’s side other than Briggs? Is this person the bad influence that’s causing Jensen to go down this dark path?
My Thoughts:
This was a great episode for NXT, though once again rather stuffed full. Great walk ‘n’ talk promos to open while leading into the opening match, which was some awesome stuff. They also did a perfect job cueing up Joe Hendry’s entrance right as Vic Joseph mentioned him. Great win for Rascalz, and great promo of Gallus with Hendry after. If nothing else, this has to be leading to Joe Hendry VS Joe Coffey for Great American Bash in a couple weeks. And Great American Bash 2024 being two weeks this year is pretty cool, they’ll definitely make the most of those nights for being A) on Syfy and B) competing with the Olympics because that’s the whole reason they’re on SyFy.
Very good promo from Ethan Page with Oro Mensah that then gave us the NXT Championship match. Dante Chen gave a great performance tonight but naturally, Ethan won. Oro is definitely getting a shot at Great American Bash, though, as he continues to get on Ethan’s nerves. Oro also stopping Ashante THEE Adonis from talking up Jakara is definitely getting a match between the two. That promo segment was good, but I was a little disappointed that they didn’t reference how Cedric and Ashante had their “Callbacks” to NXT separately yet coincidentally at the same time. But oh well, I’m sure we’ll see them both get into the tag division soon enough.
Very good promo from Kelani with Wendy, then with Tatum after Tatum gets a good win off Izzi. Wendy and Tatum may or may not be a tag team soon, but Kelani is definitely facing Tatum for that title up next. Maybe Tatum wins with Wendy’s help? Or what if Great American Bash being two weeks, Kelani has back to back defenses, Tatum first and then Wendy after. Lola Vice had a good promo with the new toxic trio, and Lola got a great win off Jacy to rebound from Heatwave. But of course Fallon attacked and the trio tried to beat Lola down. Sol and Karmen coming to the rescue was a bit of a surprise, but Sol, Karmen and Lola is a great trio in itself.
Very good promo from Trick with Dragunov and Dunne, and I appreciate there’s some of that saltiness of Bruiserweight Dunne carrying over from Raw. I think Trick was spotted at the end of the show talking with Cedric, too, but I couldn’t be sure. Trick’s story definitely should be about him racking up wins against guys like Pete Dunne, Cedric Alexander, etc. to earn his rematch in time for No Mercy in September. Jensen VS Je’Von was a great match, though I feel like Je’Von got too many moves in given he’s got kayfabe bad ribs. But Spears and Briggs being why Jensen lost to Je’Von was a good detail, and Biggs VS Jensen in No Disqualifications, that is just screaming “Spears interferes” and we see Spears is Jensen’s new mentor, aka the guy Jensen just left the parking lot with.
And speaking of the NXT parking lot, I liked seeing Axiom & Frazer talking with The Rascalz. Axiom & Frazer VS MSK for the tag titles would be awesome just on the “too fast for the naked eye” nature of all their moves. And also in relation to the NXT parking lot, I liked Dempsey turning to Tony for advice on how to handle doing the mafia stuff, but I’m conflicted on Wren wanting to join NQCC. Shouldn’t Dempsey be blackmailing her into joining instead? He could threaten getting rid of her as a bluff, but instead she apparently wants to be NQCC because I guess even in this situation, male superstars can’t hurt female superstars.
Speaking of, we got a great Mixed Six with Jaida getting to hit Anderson and Mia getting to hit Nima before The OC won out. The OC was a bit surprising, though, I thought this was going to be OTM finishing off the feud and heading for title opportunities of their own. Then just a random and quick confrontation of Lexis and Eddy at Eddy’s “concert,” that was only okay. I would’ve rather we got a full talking moment where Lexis confronts Eddy for DJ’ing the Heritage Cup match, and then we still get them pushing, shoving and brawling.
And Chase U made for a great throughline tonight, akin to Bloodline on SmackDown or Judgment Day on Raw. Great promo from Thea and Roxie to set up a title match there, and I really liked Roxie namedropping Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer, hinting at those two spending a moment in NXT, if only just to get used to how WWE films things since we know they’re both top tier talent. Roxie surely retains against Thea, but who knows how it goes with Stephanie and Giulia. Duke VS Oba was an awesome match, one of Duke’s better singles matches, but I figured Oba would retain. No hints at Ridge doing this just to hurt Chase U, so who knows what the endgame for this story is, but hey, maybe Ridge tries to use this as reason to make him the top title guy, not Duke or Chase.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Everyone is showing raw emotion!
The New Day’s no longer positive, Drew McIntyre’s back for revenge, and Rhea Ripley battles Raquel Rodriguez, all on one Monday Night Raw!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- 8 Man Tag: The Miz & The Final Testament VS The Wyatt Sick6; The Miz & Final Testament win.
- Dakota Kai VS Liv Morgan; Liv wins.
- WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Opening Round Triple Threat: Lyra Valkyria VS Zelina Vega VS Ivy Nile; Lyra wins and advances to the next round.
- Anything Goes: Rhea Ripley VS Raquel Rodriguez; Rhea wins.
PLAY BY PLAY
The New Day arrives backstage.
Xavier Woods wants high-fives, but no one is accepting. Kofi Kingston says hey to Natalya & The Alpha Academy, but they don’t return it. Their verbal shaming of Big E isn’t sitting well with anyone, will Woods & Kofi figure out who’s really in the wrong here?
Gunther is here!
Wichita, Kansas is a little torn as Der Ring General heads to the ring, dressed rather casually compared to other times, but he seems to have gotten over those multiple Coup de Grace double stomps from last week. Gunther grabs a mic, smiles as the fans both cheer and jeer, and he says, “As everybody has seen, quite obviously Finn Balor has made a grave mistake. And whether he deserves it or not, he now has my undivided attention. And I guarantee you right now, Saturday Night’s Main Event will not end up like Survivor Series for me.” But before he can continue, The Prince makes his way out here!
Finn, accompanied by The Judgment Day, also gets a mixed reaction from Wichita. But Finn tells Gunther that Gunther could’ve just given him the title match like he deserved. But instead, Gunther tried to mess with Finn by giving it to someone who didn’t deserve it, like Dirty Dom. The fans boo more but Finn says let’s be real! Finn is the only reason Gunther is still World Heavyweight Champion! And hearing what he said, Gunther is right about one thing: SNME will be NOTHING like Survivor Series. Because at Survivor Series, Gunther retained the title thanks to Finn. And at SNME, Gunther loses the title because of Finn!
And after eight long YEARS, Finn Balor walks out as the NEW World Heavyweight Champion! The Judgment Day applauds but the fans boo. Gunther tells Finn he’ll set one thing straight: Finn did NOT earn his title match. Finn’s audacity of claiming any responsibility of GUNTHER being champion is what did it. But Gunther gets it, Finn is frustrated. Eight years ago, Finn was the first-ever Universal Champion. And at that point in Gunther’s career, he looked up to Finn. Gunther respected Finn. But over the time, that respect kept fading and fading. Not because Gunther chose to, but because Finn chose to cut corners.
Finn chose to take shortcuts! Finn chose to hang out with a bunch of weirdos in a clubhouse! The fans cheer that but Gunther also adds that Finn chose to play second fiddle to Damian Priest. Finn gets heated, JD McDonagh keeps him back, and Gunther says, “So here we are now. Standing across from each other with no respect left. And I figuratively and literally am looking down on you. Eight years ago, you were the best in the world… for one night. I am the best in the world RIGHT NOW and for THOUSANDS of days to come! And this title proves it!!” The fans do cheer that.
Gunther tells Finn there is one reason he won’t leave Saturday as World Heavyweight Champion: Finn is NOT on Gunther’s level, and he never will be! Finn chuckles, and then The Judgment Day storms up to the ring! Gunther stands his ground, but here comes Damian Priest! Finn and his boys are shocked that The Punisher is storming down the ramp! Priest DOUBLE LARIATS JD & Carlito, KICKS and THROWS Dom aside, then fires hands on Finn! The fans fire up as Priest then THROWS Carlito down, then gives JD SNAKE EYES off railing! Finn goes after Priest now, and he sends Priest at the ring. Priest stops himself and fires hands on Finn
Priest puts Finn in the ring, and Gunther is there to CHOP him down! Priest SUPERKICKS Finn out of the ring! But then Gunther LARIATS Priest! The fans are torn as Gunther rains down fists on Priest, the guy who tried to help him! Gunther says he does not need help, and he TOSSES Priest out! Gunther storms out, clears off the desk, and now the fans are really fired up! Gunther brings Priest over, but Finn SLINGBLADES Gunther down! The Prince ends up saving Priest and he DROPKICKS Gunther into steel steps! But then Finn SMACKS Priest off the desk! Finn puts Priest in, climbs a corner, just to COUP DE GRACE Gunther!!
Judgment Day rushes Priest but he TOSSES Dom, throws JD into Carlito, then gives JD a FLAPJACK! SUPERKICK for Carlito! Dom throws hands, but Pries tis just pissed. Finn CLOBBERS Gunther on the outside, then hurries into the ring to save Dom! FINAL CUT! The Judgment Day mugs Priest now while fans boo. The boys set Priest up and Finn runs in, SHOTGUN! Priest hits buckles and falls! Judgment Day mugs Priest more while Finn goes up! COUP DE GRACE for Priest!! Finn wants more, his boys set Priest back up, COUP DE GRACE!! The fans boo even harder, but Finn wants another! Finn hits a third COUP DE GRACE on Priest!!
Wichita boos but Finn eyes the world title. Finn grins as he picks it up. Will Finn be a DOUBLE CHAMPION after Saturday Night’s Main Event? Or can Der Ring General stand against all of Judgment Day?
Judgment Day regroups backstage.
They’re all very excited after taking Gunther and Priest at the same time, and in steps Adam Pearce. He has to hand it to them. Another Monday, another night Judgment Day is causing chaos. But he is here as a courtesy to Finn. Pearce spoke with Gunther, and that conversation has brought about a change to Saturday Night’s Main Event. Huh? It will be Gunther VS Finn… VS PRIEST!! Finn is furious but then he says fine. Because it’ll make it even more satisfying when Finn beats both Gunther and Priest to become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion! The Judgment Day agrees, but Pearce has something else to say.
Since Finn is so worried about the other champions, here’s an opportunity to lead by example. Next week on Raw, Finn & JD will face the War Raiders again, for the tag titles again, and the best part? The rest of Judgment Day is BANNED FROM RINGSIDE! Pearce leaves, Judgment Day is furious, but the Liv says Finn should relax. He’s got everything under control. Though, she was wondering if Finn’s got any advice for Raquel’s match tonight. They wanna listen to Finn so they’ll win. Finn says yeah, Sis, just give him a couple minutes. Finn heads out, JD follows, and Liv says she feels good about tonight. Will Judgment Day be (not) fine?
8 Man Tag: The Miz & The Final Testament VS The Wyatt Sick6!
The Hollywood A-Lister’s sins came back to haunt him, but he aligned himself with men who are without conscience. But will any of them be conscious after facing Uncle Howdy and the new Wyatt Family? Or will Kross make Bo Dallas #FallAndPray?
The fans fire up for the Wyatts, and Bo talks to the rocking chair to say this is for the family. Then with a “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah~!” Bo and the Wyatts rush the ring! The fans fire up as the brawl is on and the bell rings! Lumis scares Miz and slithers after him while Gacy has Akam, Rowan has Rezar and Bo of course goes after Kross! The Wyatts manage to LARIAT the AOP up and out of the ring, then Bo CLOBBERS Kross! Bo clinches but Miz drags Kross out to safety! The Final Testament regroups while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Akam has Gacy down. The fans boo, Miz soaks it up, and Rezar tags in. AOP double whip to DOUBLE SPINEBUSTER! Cover, TWO! The fans rally but Rezar DRIBBLES Gacy’s face off the mat! Rezar then drags Gacy up, fires body shots, then talks trash. Rezar whips Gacy but Gacy BLASTS Kross! Gacy BOOTS Rezar, heads for his corner, but Rezar whips! But Gacy handsprings and comes back from THE UPSIDE-DOWN! The fans fire up while both men crawl, hot tags to Miz and Rowan! Big Red, the Ramblin’ Rabbit, rallies on Miz AND Akam! Then LARIAT in the corner for Miz, LARIAT in the corner for Akam!
Rowan runs back at Miz, but Miz BOOTS him! Miz runs but Rowan grabs him and TOSSES him! Miz lands hard out by Akam, and Rowan builds speed!? Rowan WRECKS Akam and Miz with a dropkick! The fans fire up as Rowan puts Miz in, and he BOOTS Akam! The fans fire up and Rowan slides in. Miz KICKS Rowan, but that just pisses Rowan off! Rowan suplexes for the CUTTER! Cover, AOP breaks it! AOP BLAST The Wyatts, then they hoist Rowan up! DOUBLE POWERBOMB!! But Gacy & Lumis get in to fire hands! They dodge, DROPKICK and SUPERKICK in stereo! Then Lumis whips Gacy so he can DIVE onto AOP!
Lumis goes up, Gacy sets AOP for the CANNONBALL! All four men are down and Miz is freaking out! Rowan crawls, hot tag to Howdy! Bo CLOBBERS Miz, then LARIATS in a corner! Bo reels Miz in, suplexes, and puts Miz on ropes for the MAGIC SCREW! The fans are thunderous and Bo waits on Miz. Miz rises up, scrambles to ropes, and he throws an elbow! Kross tags in, but Bo ROCKS Kross first! Bo LARIATS Kross up and out! The fans fire up for Bo, he builds speed, but Scarlett trips him up! The fans boo as the Femme Fatale gets away with that one. Or does she? NIKKI CRSS creeps out from nowhere, and she creeps Scarlett out!
Nikki waves, Scarlett runs away but into the ring! The ref tells her to get out, which she does, but Nikki is there on the other side! FLYING THESZ PRESS! Bo clinches Kross, but Miz CLOBBERS him! The fans boo but Miz thinks he’s got him> Bo GRABS Miz with the MANDIBLE CLAW!! Miz flails desperately, but PAUL ELLERING is back! POCKET SAND!! Kross scoops Bo for the FINAL PRAYER! Cover, Final Testament wins!
Winners: The Final Testament, by pinfall
That mastermind, Ellering, returns when Kross needed him most! But is this only the first battle in a war with the Wyatts?
Sit-down interview with CM Punk.
Jackie Redmond is with the Second City Saint and thanks him for taking the time. He thanks her for inviting him, he appreciates it. Punk then teases if she’s going to belittle his Chicago Blackhawks, she’s in for a fight. Jackie says no, she’ll be asking something much more important. It is all anyone’s talking about, anyway: the promised favor from Paul Heyman! What is it? Can he hint anything about it? No, this isn’t the right time for that. That’s a personal thing. Punk and Heyman go back many years, the favor is between them.
Jackie accepts that and then asks about Seth Rollins. Last week, Punk let Rollins know that Punk doesn’t think about Rollins at all, but Rollins made it clear that he has his sights set on Punk. Rollins is willing to force the issue, so how will Punk handle it? Punk says it is no secret that he doesn’t shy away from a fight. If you go after him, he’ll start swinging. But when it comes to Rollins’ hatred for Punk, Punk is more confused than anything. Punk doesn’t hate Rollins. To understand, you have to talk about the history between them, which also goes back years.
We’re talking about a 16-year-old Seth Rollins coming to Punk to ask Punk to train him, for free. Now, that’s the key part everyone leaves out. Rollins’ entitlement gets carried over into adult Rollins, who wants to be the best in the world, in everyone’s Top Ten List. But Punk remembers when Rollins was on the top ten list of those to be fired from here. Punk “shielded” Rollins from that. If Punk had to live in his shadow, Punk would hate Punk, too. Rollins is a multiple time world champion, a Mr. Money in the Bank winner, but everything he’s done, Punk did before and did it better.
Now, Punk doesn’t claim to do those things because he wanted a thank you. He did recognize Rollins had all the potential in the world. And in Punk’s absence from the WWE, Rollins did a fantastic job filling to void. But simply put, the starting player is back, Rollins has to go back to the bench. Jackie appreciates the honesty, and thanks Punk for his time. But is Punk really telling the truth that he doesn’t hate Rollins with how he just talked down about him? Will Rollins’ hate for Punk only grow exponentially now?
Dakota Kai VS Liv Morgan!
#CobraKai is already into the second round of the WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament, but she could capture a golden ticket off of the Women’s WORLD Champion here in Wichita. Will Damage CTRL be doing damage to Judgment Day for the holidays? Or will Liv simply use Kai to prepare for Iyo Sky?
The bell rings, Liv runs up and the two tie up. Dakota headlocks, but Liv pulls hair to get free! Liv shoves, drops down, but Dakota stops herself. Dakota bypasses Liv, then hurdles. Liv jumps over, comes back, but Dakota arm-drags her around and around! Dakota snapmares Liv to then NECK SNAPPER! Jackknife bridge, TWO!! Liv escapes and scurries away to a corner. Dakota runs up but Liv TOSSES her up and out! Dakota SMACKS off steps before hitting the floor, and Liv grins while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns and Liv SLAMS Dakota down! Dakota writhes but Liv kicks her around. Wait, Pure Fusion Collective make their way out here? They must be upset on Shayna Baszler’s behalf for how Dakota won that Triple Threat. Anyway, Liv hits a snap suplex, then rolls, that was Una Amiga! Now she hits Dos Amigas! And then Liv gives some Latina Heat for Daddy Dom, but Dakota hits a suplex first! The fans fire up while Liv flounders away. Liv runs back up but Dakota ROCKS her first! And again, and again, and again! Liv shoves Dakota, but Dakota LARIATS! And LARIATS! Then DROPKICKS! The fans fire up with Dakota as she goes after Liv!
Dakota whips Liv corner to corner hard, and Liv sits down! Dakota then runs side to side to BOOT WASH! Liv flounders to the apron but Dakota puts her in ropes, DRAPING STOMP! Cover, TWO! Liv survives and now Dakota notices PFC. They wave mockingly and also mockingly coach her. Dakota fireman’s carries Liv, but Liv slips free to shove! Dakota comes back with a SCORPION KICK! Dakota runs, Zoey is there, so Dakota BOOTS her! And PERNALTY KICKS Shayna! The ref tells PFC to back up, but Liv runs up! Dakota avoids ObLivion, rolls Liv up, TWO! Liv dodges a kick to hit a CODE BREAKER!
Dakota staggers to a corner, Liv runs up, SHINING WIZARD! Liv kicks Dakota out, then goes up, FLYING- POWERBOMB!! The fans fire up but Sonya gets on the apron! Dakota BOOTS her down! Dakota runs Around the World, but Liv dodges the boot! Dakota hobbles, Liv runs up, OBLIVION!! Cover, Liv wins!
Winner: Liv Morgan, by pinfall
The Women’s World Champion snatches her belt and leaves, but PFC goes after Dakota! They really ARE upset over last week’s Triple Threat! They mug Dakota, then drag her up. But wait, here comes DMG CTRL! Iyo Sky RAMS Shayna, Kairi drags Sonya out! URAKEN for Sonya! Zoey & Shayna dodge the handspring, but Iyo comes back to DOUBLE SHOTGUN! Iyo kips up while Wichita fires up, and Kairi joins in! Iyo gives Kairi a hand to go up, up and AWAY! TRIPLE CROSSBODY!! PFC goes down, the fans fire up more, but then Iyo turns around into OBLIVION!! Liv gets the final shot on the Evil Genius, will this be how things go at Saturday Night’s Main Event?
Drew McIntyre speaks.
“Hell in a Cell was the most violent match of my 24-year career. And in the end, I succumbed to massive blood loss. I could’ve been at Raw post Bad Blood, against doctor’s orders. I proved time and time again The Scottish Warrior isn’t just a catchy nickname, it is earned. But I had to go back to Scotland. My family needed me. 2024 should’ve been a career year for Drew McIntyre, but time and time again, I kept getting screwed over at the finish line. While I was home in Scotland, that same thought kept going through my head, burning in my brain. ‘What if I’m wrong? What if everyone else was right? What if people truly can change? What if my gut was wrong?’
“Then I turned on Survivor Series and I saw Roman Reigns standing side by side with CM Punk. Who was by their side? Sami, Jimmy, Jey, with their stupid fingers in the air. After everything they know, Roman just snaps his fingers, they put their tails between their legs, they run right by his side? At least CM Punk took a bribe! They all sold out for absolutely nothing. That’s when it was clear, that’s when I knew I had to come back. That’s when I knew I was gonna take out Sami. That’s when I knew I was gonna take out Jey Uso. Spending time back home, I realized there’s no changing the past, no matter how much I want to.
“But I can change the present. And I will change the future.” The Scottish Terminator has new targets, or perhaps old depending on how you look at it. But will there be no running for Jey and Sami now that McIntyre’s making it his mission to destroy them?
Adam Pearce exits his office, with Cody Rhodes!
The Raw General Manager shakes hands with the Undisputed WWE Champion, and then The New Day walk by. They see the American Nightmare, and Cody says he’s known them both for a very long time. Cody and Woods have even known each other since they were kids. Cody says they should be ashamed of themselves. Woods laughs that off and says good coming from that guy, like he was so good in high school. The New Day continues on, who else will the find disapproves of this new attitude?
Seth Rollins is here!
Wichita sings for The Visionary, “WHOA~ OH~ OHH~!” while he goes to the ring. Rollins grabs a mic and welcomes Wichita to Monday Night Rollins~! And he is your host tonight! He is a Visionary, he is a Revolutionary, he IS Seth FREAKIN’ Rollins! And there’s a lot to talk about tonight. Wichita, give it up for CM Punk, huh? The fans are torn but Rollins tells “Punker,” when you’re done in the ring, Punk can be a politician! That right there earlier tonight, that was a master class in how to spin the truth. Take a little bit of the truth, play the victim, and Punk’s been doing that his entire life!
Rollins says Punk is a fraud, a conman, and Rollins will share the truth between them. Punk was right, Rollins did go to get trained by The Best in the World, no doubt about it. Rollins looked up to Punk, idolized him, and Punk helped Rollins get his foot in the door here in the WWE. Rollins respected Punk, and they were once friends. And if the story ended there, you might wonder, too: Why does Rollins hate Punk? The part of Punk’s story that he left out will tell you why. When Punk walked out the door of WWE eleven years ago, Rollins called and texted as a friend and how he respected what Punk stood for.
What’d Rollins get in return? Nothing! Rollins got ghosted! And not just Rollins, it was everyone who was a friend of Punk’s here in WWE! Because if you didn’t quit your dream job, and your priorities didn’t line up with Team CM Punk, then you were evil. And if the story ended there, okay. But that’s not what happened! Because for the next ten years, all Punk ever tried to do was tear WWE down! That’s all he did! Punk talked crap, took pot shots, and when Punk finally walked back in here, do you know why that was? Because Punk FAILED at everything else, burned every single bridge that would lead him to water, and… the money was right.
The fans are still torn, but plenty of fans still chant “CM PUNK! CM PUNK!” Rollins says yeah, once upon a time, he used to chant for Punk, too. He used to respect Punk, used to want to be just like Punk, follow in his footsteps. But somewhere along the way, Rollins realized Punk was a fraud and that he wanted to be BETTER than Punk! And Rollins was! Everything Punk did, Rollins did it TWICE! And he did the one thing Punk could never do, and that was main event WrestleMania! But wait, here comes Sami Zayn! Rollins tells Sami to stay outta this but the fans cheer Sami on as he goes right down to the ring.
Sami steps in with a mic in hand, and Rollins says if Sami is out here to defend Punk again, then they’re gonna be fighting again. Rollins does not wanna hear it, he has no time for it. Sami says last week, Rollins was angry, Sami was angry, they said some things and had it out in the ring. That’s bound to happen when they’ve known each other for as long as they have. But it was wrong of Sami to assume Rollins dropped Jey. Sami’s known Rollins long enough so he was wrong, and for that, he is sorry. The fans cheer the apology, and Rollins says he is glad Sami brought that up.
Because the thing that’s been eating Rollins up is, as far back as they go, 20 YEARS, and their kids play together, they’re tight! But when Jey went down, Rollins was the first person Sami thought of! And Rollins wants to know why. Well there is a reason! The way Rollins was talking, he was outta his mind! No, go back and watch. Rollins wasn’t talking like Rollins, he wasn’t like the guy Sami’s known those 20 years. Rollins was being someone who points his fingers at everyone else, that blames everyone else, and acts like they’re the only person with moral clarity. He wasn’t being Seth Rollins, he was being Drew McIntyre!
Rollins stares Sami down and says, “I am not Drew McIntyre.” Sami says he knows that, because Rollins is a better person. But this thing with Rollins and Punk, it is bringing out the worst in Rollins. And maybe Sami shouldn’t have gotten involved. Sami saw a guy he’s known forever and a guy he’d just gone to war with, they were fighting, and Sami got involved when he shouldn’t have. That is why he is here. Sami has to tell Rollins that this thing with Punk is worse than Sami thought possible, so Sami will let Rollins deal with it however he wants. Rollins thanks Sami for that, that is all Rollins has wanted.
Okay, so what about them? Are Sami and Rollins good? The fans chant “HUG IT OUT! HUG IT OUT!” Rollins says, “Yeah, Sami, we’re good, man.” Rollins appreciates Sami letting him handle things with Punk, and notes it seems Sami has something with Drew. Rollins heads out, and Sami says yeah, that’s good advice. Sami will handle things with Drew! Sami says this thing with Drew, they won’t run it back like before. Sami won’t listen to Drew coming out here, week after week, talking about everyone else is wrong and he is wrong and is some martyr. Sami’s gonna end this as quickly as it started, so this is how it goes!
Sami has already spoken with Adam Pearce. The fans cheer that! Sami says Saturday Night’s Main Event, Sami VS Drew, and Sami will see Drew in Long Island!! The fans fire up as SNME just gets that much bigger. Sami heads out, but then McIntyre CLOBBERS Sami on the stage!! The fans boo, producers and refs rush out, and they have to drag McIntyre off of Sami. McIntyre grins and says okay, he’s done with Sami, for now. Will McIntyre put Sami out of action like he did to Jey last week? Or can Sami stop the Scottish Terminator before he gets started?
WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship Tournament Opening Round Triple Threat: Lyra Valkyria VS Zelina Vega VS Ivy Nile!
Another spot in the semifinals awaits, and we’ll see The Morrigan, La Muneca & The Diamond Pitbull battle it out! Will Lyra fly on to the second round? Will the LWO have the Queen of the Ring representing them? Or will this tournament soon be American Made?
The bell rings and Zelina SHOTGUNS Ivy! Lyra rolls Zelina, TWO! Zelina and Lyra clinch, Lyra whips, but Zelina leaps to FACE SMASH! Then BASEMENT HEEL KCIK! The fans fire up and Zelina dials it up, 619! Lyra flops back but Ivy YANKS Zelina down! Ivy runs up, whips Lyra, then tilt-o-whirl POWERSLAMS! Cover, TWO! Ivy stomps away on Lyra, then stands on her face! The fans boo and the ref reprimands while Raw goes to break
Raw returns and Lyra rallies the fans before she builds speed. Lyra WRECKS Ivy and Zelina with one dropkick! Lyra puts Ivy in, brings her around, and then runs up a corner! TORNADO DDT! Then a roll through to fisherman and BUSTER! Cover, TWO! Ivy stays in this but Lyra stays on Ivy. Lyra fireman’s carries, but Ivy fights around to an ARMBAR TAKEDOWN! Ivy clasps hands and fights around, and she rolls back, but into a DISARM-HER! Ivy references The Man but Lyra rolls Ivy, TWO! Ivy lets go and runs up, but Lyra sunset flips! ONE, and Ivy jackknife bridges! ONE as Lyra rolls and rolls, but Zelina is up top! SWANTON BOMB!!
Zelina covers Ivy, TWO!! A cover on Lyra, TWO!! Zelina is annoyed but she builds speed to SLIDING SUNSET BOMB! A shoutout to Rey Mysterio and Zelina hurries up top. Zelina climbs up and the fans rally for the FLYING METEORA! Cover, Ivy BOOTS it apart! The fans boo but Ivy throws Zelina to a corner. Zelina BOOTS Ivy, goes up, and CROSSBODIES! Ivy catches Zelina for a SWINGING SIDE SLAM! Cover, Lyra breaks it! The fans fire up and all three women are down! The fans rally, Ivy drags Lyra up to waistlock, GERMAN SUPLEX! Ivy holds on, Lyra scrambles around, and Lyra grabs Zelina! Ivy DOUBLE GERMAN SUPLEXES!
Bridging cover on Lyra, TWO!! Lyra stays in this but Ivy stays on her! Lyra fights #SuplexIvy to switch, but Ivy switches for a BIG back suplex! Cover, TWO! Lyra stays in this, but Zelina hops on! CODE RED for Ivy! Cover, Lyra breaks it again! Lyra hurries to get Ivy up, fireman’s carries, and hits the NIGHTWING DRIVER! Cover, LYRA WINS!
Winner: Lyra Valkyria, by pinfall (advances to the next round)
The Morrigan finds her opening, and now she’s flying back to a “shiny shiny!” But the next match will have Alba Fyre VS Kairi Sane VS Natalya, who wins that Triple Threat to meet Lyra in the semifinals?
Rhea Ripley prepares backstage.
Priest finds her, and he simply tells her, “Eradicate.” They fist bump and Priest heads out. Will Rhea do exactly that when she and Raquel Rodriguez go Anything Goes?
Backstage interview with The New Day.
Cathy Kelley is with Woods & Kofi and brings up last week’s celebration becoming anything but “don’t you dare be sour,” the very phrase they coined ten years ago. What was the intention behind them berating their longtime friend, Big E? Kofi says hold on, she is supposed to be neutral, why is she asking a question like that? Woods says Cathy is cleary biased, so they’re going to go talk to the people they need to, and that’s the fans. Can’t he just answer the question? Woods says no, Cathy, please. Now hand Woods the camera. What? Woods doesn’t care if John Cena’s his best friend, the cameraman is gonna hand it over!
Woods takes the camera from this guy, then he and Kofi head on through the backstage area and towards gorilla. The fans can be heard booing as they do, and The New Day make their entrance without music or fanfare. The fans instead chant “NEW! DAY SUCKS! NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Woods asks, “What’d we do?” Kofi and Woods go into the ring, we get a different camera perspective while they get mics. Kofi says no no no no no, but the fans just boo more. “You mean to tell me… after the ten years of positivity that Woods and I have given you, you mean to tell me you’re this mad, all from one day?”
The fans boo and give thumbs down, but Woods says that New Day came out here… The fans chant “We Want Big E! We Want Big E!” and “NEW! DAY SUCKS! NEW! DAY SUCKS!” Woods says they didn’t even do anything to Big E! The fans boo because yes they did! Kofi says they could’ve hit Big E with a steel chair! They could’ve hit him with a sledgehammer! The fans chant for Big E more, and Woods says, “Y’know what? We were gonna try to come out here and talk…” The fans boo more so New Day just gives up and drops their mics. New Day leaves, acting like they’re somehow NOT in the wrong, but will someone get it through their heads what they did?
Anything Goes: Rhea Ripley VS Raquel Rodriguez!
After weeks of being this close to getting even with Liv Morgan, and yet being so far from revenge because of Big Mami Cool, these two finally have it out 1v1! No disqualifications, no count outs, no holding these two back from what they really wanna do to each other! Who will be the Top Mami after tonight?
Raw returns and Raquel makes her entrance. But Rhea goes after her at the ramp! Rhea fires hands, then she whips Raquel into barriers! The fans fire up as this match is happening in front of them, and Raquel sends Rhea into the railing! And then the barriers! Then she CLUBS away! Rhea hits back, they brawl, and Rhea SMACKS Raquel off a trash can! The fans fire up but Rhea has them move aside. Rhea makes Raquel take a seat so she can CHOP and CHOP and CHOP! Rhea then runs and TOSSES Raquel over the barriers! We’re finally ringside and Rhea CHUCKS a trash can at Raquel! The trash flies everywhere while Rhea storms up on Raquel.
Rhea puts Raquel in the ring, where a lot of items are already waiting! Rhea gathered those during commercial it seems, and Rhea hits a FACE SMASH then LARAIT! Raquel stays up, so Rhea SMACKS her with a kendo stick! Raquel falls, and Rhea SMACKS her again! Raquel grabs the stick, throws Rhea to a corner, but Rhea BOOTS in return! Rhea goes up, up and MISSILE DROPKICKS! Down goes Raquel and the fans fire up! Raquel tumbles out, Rhea builds speed and WRECKS her with a dropkick! The fans fire up with Rhea, and she looks under the ring. Rhea brings out a TABLE! The fans love it!
But then Raquel RAMS Rhea into the post! Raquel scoops Rhea, to FALL AWAY SLAM her onto the desk! Rhea tumbles, Wade Barrett & Joe Tessitore get clear, and Raquel roars while Raw goes to break.
Raw returns again and Rhea DOUBLE BOOTS Raquel! Both women are down and Wichita fires up! Rhea and Raquel rise, Rhea wrenches Raquel to short arm LARIAT! And then ROUNDHOUSE! Rhea grabs a chair, tosses it to Raquel, then DROPKICKS the chair into her! The fans fire up and Rhea runs, but into a KNEE! Raquel hoists Rhea up, ALLEY-OOP into buckles! Cover, TWO! Rhea stays in this but Raquel is furious! Fans want tables but Raquel sets up a chair. Raquel gut wrenches Rhea but Rhea slips free! Rhea gets around, and atomic FACEBUSTERS Raquel off the chair! Then Rhea SMACKS Raquel with another chair! Cover, TWO!
Rhea is seething and she piles chairs together. Rhea hauls Raquel up, pump handles, but here comes Liv! Liv taunts Rhea, Rhea runs up to TOSS Liv into the ring! Liv flounders, almost hitting those chairs on that landing! But Raquel CLOBBERS Rhea! Raquel decides to use that chair pile herself! Scoop and SLAM onto the chairs! Cover, TWO!! Rhea survives but Raquel sits a chair up upside-down! Raquel aims Rhea at the chair legs, but Rhea slips free! Rhea HEADBUTTS Raquel! Then she pump handles, but Liv jumps on for a SLEEPER! Liv thrashes but Rhea THROWS her down! Rhea runs up and tells Liv that she’s gonna pay!
Raquel runs up but Rhea SUPERKICKS her! But Liv gets Rhea into OBLIVION!! But wait, Iyo Sky is here! Payback with a MISSILE DROPKICK! The fans fire up as Iyo kips up! Iyo then builds speed and DIVES! Down goes Liv! But Raquel covers Rhea! TWO!! Rhea survives again but Raquel brings that table up! The fans are torn because they like the table but the want Rhea to rise up! Raquel hoists Rhea up, but Rhea slips free again! Raquel runs up, but is sent into a CORNER CHAIR!! Rhea then hauls Raquel up, pump handles, and RIPTIDE through the table!!! Cover, Rhea wins!!
Winner: Rhea Ripley, by pinfall
That was brutal to be sure, but Rhea grins as she gets one over on Raquel. Rhea spots the world title, but so does Iyo. They both grab it, then stare down with each other. With Iyo facing Liv this Saturday, could the Evil Genius be leaving Long Island the NEW Women’s World Champion, and Rhea’s new target?
My Thoughts:
A great Raw tonight, especially as the go-home to Saturday Night’s Main Event. There were also more hints at this WWE Transfer Window, with Tiffany Stratton in the background as Rollins was on his way to gorilla, and then Cody Rhodes having his moment with Adam Pearce and The New Day. As I said for SmackDown, this is clearly Netflix wanting THE Undisputed WWE Championship on Raw, and we’ll basically get a direct trade of Cody for Gunther. But speaking of The New Day, brilliant stuff out of them. They’re Heels who don’t realize they’re Heels, but everyone else does, and that is definitely something special for this next chapter of The New Day’s careers.
Great 8 Man Tag from Wyatts and Final Testa-Miz, but it got overbooked real quick. Scarlett was a given, as was Nikki Cross, but I did NOT see Ellering showing up and throwing that HUGE amount of sand or powder. I do commend them for this, as cheating was really the only way anyone was gonna beat The Wyatts. I hope the rematch lets them let loose with a No Disqualification stipulation, maybe even something rather Bray Wyatt in style. Though at the same time, we’re almost at Christmas so they could do like, a Nightmare Before Christmas match so that it’ll be themed for the holidays, but also spooky for The Wyatts.
Great promo from McIntyre to help us understand it really was him who attacked Jey Uso, and to quickly establish he and Sami are gonna fight it out. Great promos from CM Punk, Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn, too, and even though the Royal Rumble is first, I feel like we’ve got a great field for Elimination Chamber already. Punk, Rollins and McIntyre all hate each other, but McIntyre also hates those who help Roman Reigns, which will bring Sami into it. And the match itself could be for a top championship, or at least a shot at it, so you can throw in just about anyone, it really depends on how this Transfer Window sorts out.
The World Heavyweight Championship going from 1v1 to a Triple Threat is some wild stuff. Great promo segment from Gunther with Finn & The Judgment Day, and then of course Priest gets involved. I feel like with the Triple Threat, that’s their way of keeping the title on Gunther while keeping everyone strong. Or also letting Judgment Day get involved so they can tilt things in Finn’s favor, but then still let Gunther get away with the title. Finn & JD VS War Raiders next week, probably with Finn NOT World Heavyweight Champion, and NO Judgment Day allowed ringside, that has to be a title change, right?
Great Triple Threat from Lyra, Zelina and Ivy, but it also felt a little secondary with everything else going on tonight. Great win for Lyra, and I feel like it’s either Alba Fyre or Natalya who meets her in the next round. Dakota VS Liv was a good match to give Liv some momentum going towards SNME, but it was also a vehicle for Pure Fusion Collective to get involved. I feel like we’ll be getting a Six Woman Tag of PFC VS DMG CTRL after Saturday, assuming Iyo doesn’t win the title on Saturday. Liv of course got involved with the Anything Goes main event tonight, which cued Iyo to return the favor, and that helped Rhea win.
The main event was still awesome even without the overbooking, but now they’re teasing Rhea VS Iyo. Iyo might win, but maybe Tiffany Stratton shows up with her Money in the Bank briefcase. Tiff could cash in and take that title from Liv and Iyo, setting up some Tiff VS Rhea, but then what happens to Iyo? Again, we’ve got a good field for a Women’s Elimination Chamber right there: Liv VS Rhea VS Iyo VS Tiff VS… I dunno, two women in this Women’s Intercontinental Championship tournament that don’t win. Again, the Transfer Window will have to sort out who is where first, then we’ll go from there.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Will heads for the Tokyo Dome?
Gabe Kidd & Sanada won A Block handedly while Naito & Hiromu came out of B Block’s chaotic finale, but only one team can win World Tag League!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Tiger Mask VS Daiki Nagai; Tiger Mask wins.
- Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls VS Shoma Kato & Katsuya Mursahima; Shane & Mikey win.
- Bishamon VS The Filip Brothers; Bishamon wins.
- Six Man Tag: The United Empire VS Taichi, Taka Michinoku & DOUKI; Taichi, Taka & Douki win.
- Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club; LIJ wins.
- 10 Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, Tomoaki Honma & Jado VS The House of Torture; The Houes of Torture wins, by disqualification.
- Six Man Tag: TMDK VS Shota Umino, Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi; TMDK wins.
- 2024 World Tag League Finals: Gabe Kidd & SANADA VS Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi; Naito & Hiromu win.
PLAY BY PLAY
10 Man Tag: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, Tomoaki Honma & Jado VS The House of Torture!
The Ace, The Joker & The Rook are joined by a couple knights of NJPW to stand against The King of Darkness and his army of scumbags! With WrestleKingdom on the horizon, which side of this war wins this crucial battle?
But as The House makes their entrance, Team Ace turns the tables by going after them first! The fans cheer as Tanahashi goes right after Evil and The House panics! Yano brawls with Narita, Oleg and Jado take care of Kanemaru and Yujiro, and Tanahashi headlocks Evil. Tanahashi brings Evil to ringside to POST him! Evil falls but Tanahashi drags him back up to wrench and whip into railing! The fans cheer more and Tanahashi CLUBS Evil. Tanahashi whips Evil at more railing, and Evil hits so hard that he tumbles up and over! The rest of the team keeps The House down all around ringside while Tanahashi fetches Evil.
Tanahashi brings Evil into the ring, then follows, and finally the bell rings! The fans cheer as Tanahashi stalks Evil to a corner. Tanahashi stomps Evil, throws forearms, and the ref counts. Tanahashi shoves the ref! The President is getting really rough with his employees, but he stalks Evil. Tanahashi drags Evil up to fire a BODY BLOW! And another! Tanahashi whips, Evil reverses, and then Evil gets in the ref’s face so Dick Togo can trip Tanahashi up! Then the House rushes in and BLASTS Team Ace off the apron! The ref reprimands everyone but Evil CHOKES Tanahashi with the tag rope!
The fans boo but The House beats up on Team Ace, and then Evil throws away the evidence of his crime. Dick passes the mic to Evil, and Evil grabs it so he can shout in Tanahashi’s face about just giving up now and sparing himself the embarrassment at WrestleKingdom! Tanahashi tells Evil he’ll never surrender, and the ref reprimands Evil. Evil stops choking Tanahashi and throws the mic away. Evil tags Narita and the Souled Out Son of Strong Style stomps away on Tanahashi’s legs! Narita then clamps on a KNEEBAR! Evil and Yano shout at each other, but Tanahashi fights his way to the ROPEBREAK!
The ref counts and Narita lets go at 4. Narita stomps Tanahashi more, then he tags Tokyo Pimp. Narita & Yujiro have the legs, and they split the wishbone! Yujiro then drops an elbow on the bad leg! Yujiro taunts Tanahashi, then ROCKS him with a forearm! Tanahashi ends up on ropes, so Yujiro ROCKS him, then CHOPS him! Yujiro stands Tanahashi up, Narita & Sho anchor Tanahashi in place, and Yujiro BOOTS him! The ref reprimands everyone but Yujiro snapmares for a cover! TWO, the fans rally, but Kanemaru tags in. The Heel Master YANKS the leg, then whisp Tanahashi to ropes. Kanemaru dropkicks the leg out!
Kanemaru hurries to step through, FIGURE FOUR! The House BLASTS Team Ace again! The ref reprimands and the fans rally up while Tanahashi endures. Honma clears Evil out, and he runs to FALLING KOKESHI on Kanemaru! The fans cheer as Tanahashi is saved, but Narita goes after Honma! The fans boo as Narita TOSSES Honma, but Kanemaru tags Sho. Sho stomps the leg, then DDTS the foot! The fans rally for Tanahashi but Sho scuffs him around. Tanahashi stands up and he fires forearms! Sho CLAWS Tanahashi’s eyes, but Tanahashi CLAWS Sho’s eyes! The ref reprimands them both, but Tanahashi blocks a kick! DRAGON SCREW!
The fans fire up as Tanahashi crawls over, hot tag to Oleg! The fans fire up as BARS CLOBBERS Sho! Evil gets away before Oleg can get him, and Yujiro attacks from behind! Yujiro & Narita double whip, but Oleg CLOBBERS them both! Kanemaru kicks and whips, but Oleg reverses to scoop Kanemaru! Oleg SMACKS Sho using Kanemaru! Then Oleg SLAMS Kanemaru, and gut wrenches! The fans fire up for the Shake, Shake, Shake! GUT WRENCH PLEX! Oleg kips up and the fans fire up! Oleg then deadlifts Sho for the gut wrench. But Sho bends fingers and wrenches free! Sho runs, SPEARS, but he bounces right off of Oleg!
The fans fire up and Oleg deadlifts Sho again! Shake, Shake, Shake! GUT WRENCH PLEX! And another kip up! The fans fire up with Oleg and he runs to BODY PRESS! Cover, TWO! Oleg drags Sho right up into his arms, then pops him to a fireman’s carry! But Sho CLAWS Oleg’s eyes! Sho slips free, but Oleg kicks Sho! Sho runs to dropkick Oleg’s legs! Sho whips, and TADA! Bare buckles! Oleg suffers The House Special, and Evil DROPKICKS Tanahashi! Sho & Evil double whip Oleg into the bare buckles! Oleg hobbles forward, into a DOUBLE- NO! Oleg fights to DOUBLE SUPLEX them first! The fans fire up and Oleg crawls, and Tanahashi is adamant about getting in!
Oleg isn’t sure about it, but he tags Tanahashi back! Tanahashi fires a strike fest on Evil, and goes an extra round before the SHOTEI! Tanahashi runs to SLINGBLADE! The fans fire up while Tanahashi stalks Evil to a corner. Tanahashi stomps a mudhole into Evil but the ref counts. Tanahashi is not stopping! He SHOVES the ref away! Tanahashi’s rage is getting the better of him as he UPPERCUTS Evil! Tanahashi goes corner to corner, runs back in, but Evil sends him into the ref! And then The House attacks again! Dick stomps away on Tanahashi while Evil recovers! The fans boo and tell Dick to go away!
Narita brings in chairs! Dick stomps Tanahashi more, and the House has all their favorite items! Dick has his Spoiler Choker, Narita with his pushup bar, Sho with the “Torture Tool,” Yujiro with the pimp cane, and Kanemaru with his whiskey bottle. The fans boo as Evil stands on Tanahashi’s face and The House closes in. Evil drags Tanahashi up, and Dick clamps on the SPOILER CHOKER! And then The House CLOBBERS Team Ace with all their weapons! Evil takes aim, but Tanahashi BOOTS him first! Tanahashi THROWS Dick away, but Evil JAMS him up! Tanahashi blocks the chair shot! Tanahashi kicks low, and he SMACKS away on Evil!
The fans fire up as Tanahashi breaks the chair on Evil’s back! Narita runs up, Tanahashi JAMS him first! And then he JAMS Yujiro! And he JAMS Kanemaru! And he JAMS Sho! Then Tanahashi uses the frame to SMACK Evil! The ref is back, he tells Tanahashi to stop, but Tanahashi shoves the ref again! Tanahashi’s rage explodes as he beats Evil down with the chair! Team Ace is DISQUALIFIED!!
Winners: The House of Torture, by disqualification
Tanahashi keeps beating Evil to serve justice, but Young Lions rush in and stop him! Evil writhes, but Tanahashi gets a new chair! Tanahashi SMACKS Evil again and again! His team isn’t even sure what to do, so they let him just BASH away on Evil! Tanahashi tells Evil this is what he gets! One more chair shot! AND THEN ANOTHER! Evil scrambles out of the ring, and Young Lions have to get in Tanahashi’s way to stop the beating! Tanahashi drops the chair to grab the mic, and he shouts, “EVIL, YOU BASTARD! Shut up about my retirement! Oi, oi, you want me to leave so badly? I get it. You want it a year earlier, huh?
“Then in our match on January 4th, I’ll put my career on the line right then!!” The fans are shocked, but Evil says good! And there’s no going back now that he said it! But Tanahashi adds that Evil won’t be able to rely on his goons! It will be a LUMBERJACK MATCH! Now YOU remember that!! Team Ace and The House will wage war once again in the Tokyo Dome! And given Evil only won tonight because Tanahashi lost his cool, will Tanahashi dish out his final justice?
Six Man Tag: TMDK VS Shota Umino, Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi!
Zack Sabre Jr. took the pin when he and Ryohei Oiwa faced Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma in the tournament, so an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match is set for WrestleKingdom! Will the Roughneck burn The Front Man again with the help of Funky Sauce? Or will we see even now that The Mighty Don’t Kneel?
The teams sort out and after Shota stares at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, and his paper replica to compare, he steps up to the champ. The bell rings and the fans cheer as we get this WK19 preview. Shota and ZSJ stare down, the fans rally up, and it sounds pretty even between “SHOTA! SHOTA!” and “ZAKU! ZAKU!” Shota and ZSJ get their fans even more fired up, and then the two circle. They feel things out, knuckle lock, but then ZSJ rolls to wrench. Shota wrenches back and he WRINGS ZSJ out! ZSJ UPKICKS, and the two reset. The fans cheer and the two circle again. Shota avoids a leg pick but ZSJ avoids an enzigiri!
Shota avoids the Penalty Kick, then spins ZSJ to underhook! ZSJ flips that but Shota fights the scoop! ZSJ avoids the uppercut but Shota blocks the uppercut! Shota wants the backslide but ZSJ spins that around, only for Shota to arm-drag! But ZSJ headscissors! Shota kips free and the fans cheer the standoff! Shota dares ZSJ to take the leg, but ZSJ just pushes the foot away. The two reset and feel things out again. They knuckle lock, go forehead to forehead, but then each man kicks a knuckle lock apart. ZSJ and Shota back off, and ZSJ dares Shota to bring it. Shota steps back up, they go forehead to forehead, and then ZSJ offers a free shot.
Shota says no, the champ should take the free shot. ZSJ decides to tag in Oiwa instead. Shota says fine, and he tags Taguchi. The fans rally as Taguchi and Oiwa circle. They tie up, Oiwa headlocks, but Taguchi pries the hold. Oiwa clamps on tighter but Taguchi fires body shots. Taguchi powers up and out, but Oiwa runs him over! Things speed up, Taguchi hurdles and DROPKICKS Oiwa down! Cover, TWO! Fujita slides in but Zayne intercepts! Zayne kicks the Japanese Young Punk and then throws him out! Funky Sauce double whip Oiwa to then BULLDOG and BASEMENT DROPKICK! The fans cheer and Taguchi stalks Oiwa.
Taguchi HIP DROPS Oiwa again and again, then uses the ropes to go up, out, and slingshot back in, but he hip drops onto Oiwa’s knees! Taguchi hobbles away and Oiwa storms up to whip. Taguchi reverses, runs up, but Oiwa pops him up onto the top rope! Taguchi is stuck right on the Funky Weapon! The ref checks but Oiwa SHAKES the ropes! Taguchi suffer, then he slowly tilts to one side! Oiwa gut wrenches Taguchi off the ropes! Tag to ZSJ and ZSJ UPPERCUTS the butt! Then he UPPERCUTS the butt again! And again! Taguchi falls over and ZSJ tags Fujita. Taguchi backstrokes towards his corner, but Fujita stomps him down!
Fujita drags Taguchi up, CHOPS him, then whips him to a corner. Fujita runs up and CHOPS again! Fujita snapmares Taguchi to PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO! Taguchi stays in this and the fans rally up. Fujita drags Taguchi up, but Taguchi CHOPS! And CHOPS! And CHOPS! Fujita CHOPS back! Fujita runs, Taguchi jumps, but Fujita CHOPS the hip attack! Taguchi hobbles away while Fujita says he’s too smart for that. Fujita runs, but Taguchi somersaults to HIP ATTACK! Hot tag to Zayne and he fires forearms on Fujita! Zayne whips, hip tosses, then STANDING MARIPOSAS! The fans fire up while Zayne brings Fujita up.
Zayne fires more elbows, then a mule kick! Zayne runs to ROLLING AX KICK! Fujita goes to a corner, Zayne runs in, but Fujita BOOTS him away! Fujita hops up but Zayne comes back to JUMPING DRAGON RANA! The fans fire up and Zayne storms over to Fujita. Zayne scoops and B AJA BLASTS! Cover, TWO! Fujita survives but the fans rally behind Zayne. Zayne brings Fujita up, straitjackets, but Fujita fights free to CHOP! Zayne BOOTS! Fujita kicks but Zayne ducks! Fujita rolls off Zayne’s back and runs to GAMANGIRI! The fans fire up while both men are down! Fujita and Zayne crawl, hot tags to ZSJ and Shota!
The fans fire up as ZSJ BOOTS Shota, and Shota ROCKS ZSJ! Shota eggs ZSJ on so ZSJ UPPERCUTS! Shota UPPERCUTS in return! They UPPERCUT back and forth, harder and harder! The fans rally as they now go faster and faster! ZSJ gets the edge with UPPERCUT after UPPERCUT, but Shota roars! Shota UPPERCUTS again and again, ZSJ roars, but Shota UPPERCUTS him down! Shota hurries to FISHERMAN SUPLEX! Bridging cover, TWO! Not quite perfect but Shota stays fired up! Shota clinches ZSJ but ZSJ fights the lift! ZSJ goes for the arm but Shota waistlocks. ZSJ spins around to FACELOCK GUILLOTINE!
Shota endures and stays on his feet, even as ZSJ has the body scissors! The fans duel as ZSJ thrashes, but Shota powers through to suplex ZSJ up and over! Both men are down and the fans fire up again. Shota rises, then he brings ZSJ up to dragon sleeper. ZSJ spins and PELES the arm! But Shota blocks a roundhouse to PELE! But ZSJ PENALTY KICKS! Both men are down again and the fans rally more! ZSJ and Shota crawl, but ZSJ tags in Oiwa! Oiwa runs in at the corner to DROPKICK! Oiwa has the single leg but Shota fights off the suplex! Oiwa swings but Shota clinches, so now Oiwa fights free!
Shota ROCKS Oiwa, spins, but Oiwa ROCKS Shota! Oiwa runs, into a clinch! EXPLODER! The fans fire up while both men are down! The fans rally, Shota and Oiwa crawl, hot tag to Taguchi! Taguchi calls to Zayne and then BLASTS Fujita! Funky Sauce whips Oiwa to a corner, then Zayne sends Taguchi in. HIP ATTACK! Taguchi goes up, Zayne RANAS Oiwa into the butt! Backslide, roll through, KETSUYE! Cover, TWO! Oiwa survives but Taguchi signals for that. Taguchi and Zayne use the power of Strong Style, and then “ITADAKIMAAAS~!” Oiwa stands, into a DOUBLE HIP ATTACK SANDWICH! Cover, Fujita breaks it!
Zayne ROCKS Fujita, he and Taguchi double whip, but Fujita ducks the lariats to shove Zayne into Taguchi! Zayne blocks a kick but not the DRAGON WHIP! Shota dropkicks Fujita’s legs! ZSJ BOOTS Shota! Shota roars, but ZSJ BOOTS him again! ZSJ whips, Shota reverses and TORNADO DDTS! ZSJ flounders away and the fans fire up with Shota! Shota tells Taguchi to finish it off, and Taguchi runs at Oiwa! And he sliding kicks! Oiwa tumbles, Taguchi grabs the leg to OH MY GAH ANKLE!! Oiwa endures, reaches out, but Taguchi drags him back! Oiwa gets up to LARIAT! Both men are down and the fans fire up!
Oiwa fires up and he brings Taguchi around. Oiwa whips, then clamps on a SLEEPER! But Taguchi slips right out! Taguchi has the headlock, but Oiwa slips out to hit a BIG atomic drop! Taguchi hobbles and Oiwa clamps on the SLEEPER! Taguchi flails but he’s fading already! The fans rally and Oiwa spins Taguchi, for THE GRIP!! Cover, TMDK wins!
Winners: TMDK, by pinfall
The Mullet gets the better of The Funky Weapon, but Shota still dares ZSJ to go for the leg. ZSJ ignores Shota’s bait and just gives him the paper belt. “This is the closest you’ll get to the effin’ title.” ZSJ SLAPS Shota with it! Shota says don’t be rude to the kids! A fan made that for him. Shota dusts off the paper belt, and claims that he’s gonna get the real deal soon enough. ZSJ says yeah, sure. ZSJ will make Shota a real nice toy belt himself so he can keep dreaming. ZSJ mockingly puts something together using his old wrist tape! Shota says wow, thanks. With not even a month left, who will win out when the real belt is on the line?
2024 World Tag League Finals: Gabe Kidd & SANADA VS Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi!
It’s the moment of truth as The Mad Man & Cold Blooded take on The Uncontrollable Charisma & Ticking Timebomb. There is still a lot of uncertainty regarding the tag titles given Henare’s knee injury, but for right now, it’s time to answer one question: Who will be the 2024 World Tag League Champions?
As Naito enters the ring, Gabe stays right at the center, but Naito completely ignores him. Then Naito takes his time with his entrance attire, as always, but Gabe and Sanada both stay calm. Gabe paces but Sanada keeps his eyes closed. Hiromu fires up Kumamoto and Naito finally does away with the pants. The teams finally sort out, and Gabe eggs on “the Junior.” Hiromu grins, then he fist bumps Naito, and yes, it seems Hiromu and the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion will start! The bell rings and both men run in! They DOUBLE LARIAT, but it’s Hiromu who falls! Hiromu gets up to CHOP, but Gabe CHOPS!
The fans fire up as the CHOPS go back and forth already! Hiromu backs down, but for only a moment! Hiromu CHOPS again, so Gabe CHOPS again! The CHOPS go back and forth, but Hiromu backs down again. Gabe eggs him on so Hiromu CHOPS! Gabe CHOPS again! Hiromu clutches his chest but he CHOPS again! Gabe CHOPS again, then braces himself. The CHOPS keep going, then they get forehead to forehead. Gabe winds up to CHOP! Hiromu drops back, and Gabe kicks at him. Gabe eggs Hiromu on so Hiromu CHOPS, CHOPS and CHOPS! Gabe spins to CHOP! Hiromu backs down, but runs up to LARIAT!
Gabe stays up, so he and Hiromu both run, but to take out Naito and Sanada! Then Hiromu runs up to kick Gabe low! Hiromu CLUBS Gabe, CHOPS, and Gabe feels that one. Hiromu whips, Gabe reverses, and Sanada gets a cheap shot in! The fans boo and Red Shoes reprimands, but the War Dogs double whip. Hiromu grabs ropes to stop, and Naito runs in! Naito CLOBBERS Sanada and Hiromu kicks Gabe! LIJ mugs Gabe then double whips, to DOUBLE CHOP! Then they DOUBLE BASEMENT DROPKICK! Gabe flounders away while the fans cheer. Hiromu tags Naito and Naito storms up on Gabe.
Naito CLUBS Gabe again and again, then snapmares for a chinlock. Gabe endures the knee in his back, even as Naito digs it in deeper. Naito then shifts to have a headscissors! Naito pushes up to put on the pressure, but Gabe still endures. Naito lets Gabe go and Hiromu sits in the ropes. Hiromu assures Red Shoes it isn’t what he thinks, but then Naito bumps Gabe off Hiromu’s boots! It WAS what it looked like! The fans cheer but Red Shoes reprimands, and Naito tags in Hiromu. Hiromu CHOPS Gabe to a corner, then CHOPS again! Naito joins in and they double whip Gabe corner to corner. Gabe comes back, Naito drops down and Hiromu CROSBODIES!
Sanada storms in but Hiromu CROSSBODIES! Hiromu goes out and chases down Gabe, CROSSBODY! Hiromu keeps moving, and Naito sets Sanada up for the CROSSBODY! The fans fire up with Hiromu as he goes back to the ring. Gabe storms around in frustration, then pushes his way to No Man’s Land. He eggs Hiromu on, so here he comes! But Sanada was lurking! He attacks first, then sends Hiromu into chairs! Naito and Gabe brawl, and Naito CLUBS Gabe around. Fans are told to move aside, and Naito whips. Gabe reverses and he BOWLS Naito into chairs! Not quite a strike but Gabe just flips off the fans.
Sanada is beating Hiromu down somewhere in the upper deck, and Gabe drags Naito back up. Gabe UPPERCUTS Naito, but Hiromu fights back against Sanada! Sanada CLAWS Hiromu’s face! Hiromu stops the suplex, then suplexes Sanada! Sanada fights that, and he CLAWS Hiromu’s face again! As for Gabe, he BITES Naito’s forehead, then SMACKS him down! At least they’re at ringside. But then Gabe looks under the ring, and he brings out a table! Gabe sets the table up, but Naito fires forearms on Gabe! Gabe SMACKS Naito again! Gabe hauls Naito up to POWERBOMB through the table!!
The fans go wild as Gabe looms over Naito. Gabe slides in and mocks Naito’s pose! The fans are torn but most boo. Red Shoes reprimands Gabe, and it seems Sanada has retuned to ringside, with Hiromu somewhere in the crowd. A ring count starts, but Gabe SPITS at Naito! The count is 7 of 20 and the spotlight shows Hiromu is still so far away! We pass 10, then 12! Hiromu hobbles at 15 and he’s finally in the aisle! Hiromu runs and slides in safe at 19! The fans cheer but Gabe drags Hiromu up. Gabe CHOPS Hiromu in the corner, then CHOPS again! And then JABS! Tag to Sanada and he CLAWS Hiromu’s back while Gabe talks trash on Naito.
The fans rally for Hiromu but Sanada stomps him in a corner. Sanada digs his boot in, but he stops as Red Shoes counts. Sanada drags Hiromu up, TOSSES him out, and Gabe quickly runs Hiromu back to the back of the crowd and up the bleachers! Gabe ROCKS Hiromu with a straight right hand! Then SMACKS him again! Hiromu flops over and Gabe leaves him behind again. The ring count returns while Hiromu sputters. The fans cheer Hiromu on as he’s up, but he’s still so far away at 10! Then 15! Hiromu returns at 18 to slide in at 19.5!! Sanada is on Hiromu, but Hiromu dropkicks the legs out! But Naito isn’t at the corner!
Sanada tags Gabe and he stomps away on Hiromu in the corner! Red Shoes reprimands but Gabe drags Hiromu up. The fans rally for Hiromu, but Gabe whips him hard into the corner! Gabe eggs Hiromu on, saying he’s not “Despy” or Douki. Hiromu rises up to CHOP! Gabe snarls but Hiromu CHOPS again! Hiromu roars and he CHOPS! Gabe finally wobbles, but he keeps Hiromu from Naito! Gabe throws Hiromu down by his hair, then he WRECKS Naito with a dropkick! Gabe mocks the tranquilo and the fans boo. Gabe tags Sanada and the War Dogs bring Hiromu up. The fans rally but the War Dogs double whip, only for Hiromu to DOUBLE CROSSBODY!
Hiromu crawls, reaches out, but Sanada keeps him from Naito! Hiromu breaks free, blocks a kick, and a punch! Sanada CLAWS Hiromu’s eyes! Sanada runs but Hiromu bolts for the corner! Hot tag to Naito! Naito kicks and fires off on Sanada, but Gabe CLUBS him! The War Dogs double whip, but Naito reverses to send Sanada away! Then he sends Gabe into Sanada! Gabe falls, Naito dodges Sanada to arm-drag! And ELBOW! Naito keeps moving, basement DROPKICK! Gabe ROCKS Naito! Gabe whips, Naito reverses and runs up to ELBOW him down! Sanada runs up but is sent into the corner! Naito blocks boots to put Sanada in ropes, DRAPING NECKBREAKER!
Naito hurries to stand Sanada up, turn him, and stall for the NECKBREAKER! The fans fire up as Naito does the pose himself. Cover, TWO! Sanada is tougher than that but Naito drags him up. Naito dragon sleepers for another NECKBREAKER, and then it’s the LEG HOOK NELSON! Sanada endures as Naito puts on the pressure, and Sanada kicks around. Naito puts on more pressure, but Sanada has the ROPEBREAK! But of course Naito claims he needs a little help. Red Shoes counts, Naito lets the hold go, and he brings Sanada to a corner. Naito drags Sanada up, reel shim in, but Sanada stops Esperanza! So Naito BOOTS him!
Naito whips corner to corner but Sanada goes up and out, and even to the floor! Naito slides out but Sanada goes to the apron. Naito hurries back up, but Sanada KICKS ropes to jam Naito up! The fans boo and Red Shoes reprimands but Sanada tags Gabe. Gabe drags Naito up, has him in a corner, and CHOPS! HEADBUTTS! Repeat! Gabe wobbles a bit, but he rolls back and returns to LARIAT! Then SAIDO! Naito gets flung, Gabe hurries to cover, TWO! The fans fire up but Gabe drags Naito right up to suplex and BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO!! Naito survives but Gabe seethes. The fans rally for Naito as hard as they can, which annoys Gabe.
Gabe drags Naito up, reels him in, but Naito fights the lift! Gabe CLUBS Naito but still Naito fights! Gabe DOUBLE CHOPS Naito’s back, then powers through! But Naito powers out and throws those heavy back elbows! Gabe SPITS at Naito! Naito SLAPS Gabe! Gabe rebounds, Naito dodges, tilt-o-whirl CRADLE! TWO!! Gabe SMACKS Naito, reels him in, “I’m a MAD MAN, y’know!” But Hiromu SUPERKICKS him first! Sanada DROPKICKS Hiromu! Naito dropkicks Sanada’s legs! But Gabe KNEES Naito down! Hiromu fireman’s carries Gabe! TIMEBOMB 1.5! Sanada runs up, into a wrench and FACLON ARROW!
Sanada flounders out and Hiromu brings Gabe over to Naito! BOOSTED TORNADO DDT! The fans fire up and Naito brings Gabe back up! Wrench and tilt-o-whirl, DESTINO!! Cover, SANADA YANKS RED SHOES OUT!! The fans boo Sanada but he just soaks up the heat. Hiromu goes to the apron and he CROSSBODIES Sanada down! Hiromu helps Red Shoes up, Naito wrenches Gabe again, DESTIN- NO! TOMBSTONE!! Gabe and Naito are down and the fans rally even harder! There is some dueling in here, but the “GABU! GABU!” is still overwhelmed by the “NA-I-TO! NA-I-TO!” Both men stir while Red Shoes returns.
Gabe clutches his neck while rolling away from Naito. Naito changes course and rolls for his corner, hot tags to Sanada and Hiromu! Hiromu dodges Sanada’s boot but Sanada blocks the lariat! Dragon sleeper, but Hiromu spins that around! Sanada fights the suplex so Hiromu dropkicks a leg out! Hiromu KICKS and fireman’s carries, and flips Sanada into the dragon sleeper! Sanada spins that around, but Hiromu fights a suplex! Hiromu suplexes but Sanada slips free to dragon sleeper! SKULL END! Hiromu endures but Sanada drops back into the body scissors! The fans rally and Hiromu fights around!
Sanada squeezes as tight as he can and Hiromu is fading! Red Shoes checks, Hiromu faintly comes back to life, but Sanada goes to his old ways! Sanada goes up and up to ROUNDING BODY PRESS, but onto knees!! Hiromu saves himself and the fans rally up! Hiromu feeds off the energy to fire back up. Hiromu runs to HIROMU- NO, Sanada dodges the lariat, but the HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER still finds him! Fireman’s carry, TIMEBOMB 1.5!! Cover, TWO!! Sanada survives and Hiromu grows frustrated. The fans rally up behind him and Hiromu drags Sanada up. Hiromu fireman’s carries but Sanada slips free.
Sanada waistlocks but Hiromu switches. Sanada grabs at Red Shoes, Red Shoes gets away, and Hiromu avoids the low blow kick! Hiromu SUPERKICKS Sanada, then runs, but Sanada slips around! Sanada shoves Hiromu at Red Shoes and Red Shoes almost ends up falling out of the ring! Sanada whips Hiromu to POP-UP LOW BLOW! And then O’CONNER BRIDGE!! Cover, NAITO YANKS RED SHOES OUT!! Naito returns the favor and grins at Sanada. Gabe storms in with a chair! Naito runs and shoves Hiromu out of harm’s way! Naito then dodges Gabe to POP-UP LOW BLOW!! Another bit of returning the favor!
The fans are thunderous as Gabe writhes and rolls out of the ring. Naito drags Sanada up, Hiromu helps, BOOSTED TORNADO- NO! Sanada slips free, but Naito sends him into a SUPERKICK! ENZIGIRI! HIROMU-CHAN BOMBER!! The fans fire up with Hiromu as he fireman’s carries Sanada, for the OG TIMEBOMB!! Cover, TWO?!?! Sanada survives and shocks everyone! Hiromu roars and the fans are with him! Hiromu clinches in a dragon sleeper, but Gabe BITES Hiromu’s face! Gabe DECKS Naito, then he drags Hiromu up. Hiromu CHOPS, CHOPS , and CHOPS! Gabe just UPPERCUTS!
Gabe scoops and SLAMS Hiromu, then goes up the corner! MAD MAN MOONSAULT! Gabe calls to Sanada to get Hiromu, and Sanada goes up! ROUNDING BODY PRESS!! Cover, TWO!!! Hiromu survives and Sanada is furious!! Red Shoes defends his count and the fans are electric for Hiromu! Gabe reels Hiromu in, PILEDRIVER!! Feed to the DEAD- NO, Naito CLUBS Sanada! Naito dodges Gabe, comes back, DESTINO!!! SHINING WIZARD from Sanada!! Sanada hauls Hiromu up but Hiromu pump-handles! HIROMU-CHAN CRA- NO! SHINING WIZARD!! Sanada roars, fans are torn, but he drags Hiromu up.
Sanada clinches, DEAD- NO, Hiromu slips free, wrenches, pump handle, HIROMU-CHAN CRADLE!!! LIJ WINS!!!!
Winners: Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi, by pinfall (World Tag League 2024 Champions)
Sanada cannot believe it, but Kumamoto absolutely loves it!! The War Dogs tore through A Block, but it was the team that survived the extra Triple Threat match that takes the whole thing! What does this mean for the combination of Gabe and Sanada in the future? Is there a future for them?
As for LIJ, Naito drags himself into the ring, crawls over to Hiromu, and master and student hug it out! Red Shoes brings them the trophies, and LIJ sets them side by side before they stand back up. Naito gets his hat back on while Hiromu rests on the mat again. And after a little water to refresh themselves, Naito gets the mic. “Buenas noches, KUMAMOTOOOO~!” The fans cheer, and Naito says, “The way things work, it should be Hiromu, the main event winner, on the mic right now. But it looks like he took some damage. In that case, I’ll say my part first.” The fans applaud that.
Naito thanks all the fans that came out to the Grand Messe Kumamoto for the WTL Finals. “Gracias, amigos.” The fans cheer that, and Naito adds that he won the main event here back in April of 2018. He sent a message to all the fans here that night. Does anyone remember what he said about “having the courage to take that step?” The fans applaud as it seems they do. Naito says, “Make no mistake, we won the World Tag League thanks to Hiromu.” The fans applaud again, and even chant for “HI-RO-MU! HI-RO-MU!” Naito says that Hiromu’s refusal to give up under any circumstance made Naito feel he had to take that step, too.
“And that step brings me to that singles match we were set to have before the pandemic.” Fans are intrigued hearing that. Naito says how about doing it January 4th in the Tokyo Dome? The fans cheer for Hiromu in support of that idea. Hiromu takes the mic now and asks if it takes Naito that long to take a step. The fans chuckle, and Hiromu stands. Hiromu says thanks to that, they were able to enter WTL and win it all. Hiromu thanks Naito for that, both arigato and gracias. The fans applaud, and Hiromu reviews the idea: January 4th, WrestleKingdom, Naito VS Hiromu. “The answer is, of course…! Let’s do it.”
The fans cheer as the match is now set! Hiromu thanks Naito for letting him know this is how he felt! “It’s important to say what we feel, isn’t it? Everyone, do you have something you want to say as well? It could to a friend, a lover, a parent, a teacher, a senpai, a kouhai! I’m reminded once again how important it is to share what we are feeling. Naito-san, do you mind if I tell you something, too?” The fans are again intrigued. “Naito-san, thank you for teaching me how to be a wrestler!” Hiromu bows and the fans applaud. Hiromu then says January 4th can’t come soon enough! “Everyone, we only live once, so enjoy it to the fullest!”
First, think of the life you wanna live, and then enjoy it to the fullest! And during that time, if pro-wrestling can bring you even a bit of joy, Hiromu will be satisfied! So then, let’s have more… The fans echo back, “Moto!” Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! Moto! MOTO fun in life enjoying pro-wrestling together~! The confetti goes off as the WTL winners must take a different route for WrestleKingdom. Will it be teacher or student who proves themselves the better man in the Tokyo Dome?
My Thoughts:
An awesome finale to WTL 2024, even with a lot of the other matches just kind of filler since there weren’t tag titles to be defended here and a lot of WrestleKingdom 19 stuff to be set up. I made sure to do the 10 Man Tag because it of course fed Tanahashi VS Evil, but I certainly didn’t see it happening that way. Tanahashi going wild because of all the frustration he has with Evil was some great stuff, and a Lumberjack match is a great move so that Tanahashi’s allies, aka all of The House of Torture’s enemies, are gonna be ringside with them. But moving up the retirement stipulation is a shock. Was saying 2026 would be when Tanahashi retires just a smokescreen so this would be more shocking? Or is this the smokescreen to put more drama on a match we’re pretty sure Tanahashi still wins?
The Six Man Tag of TMDK VS Shota & Funky Sauce was really good, and a really good win for Oiwa there. This was all still just secondary to building heat on Shota and ZSJ, but it was rather funny for Shota to have that paper (and I think soft foam?) belt and ZSJ mocking him with the wrist tape. If Shota ends up winning, I think NJPW is guilty of making him their “Super Cena,” their “Cena Wins LOL” guy, and that’s a disservice to Shota and especially Zack. Zack needs to make it through a WK with that belt, let Shota fight his way back up through the New Japan Cup or something.
And awesome, incredible main event with the WTL finals. I figured Naito & Hiromu were winning, just because Gabe’s got his NJPW Strong title and the Kenny Omega match for that Tokyo Dome weekend. Not sure what it means for Sanada, but I don’t think he’s leaving War Dogs already (as funny as that would be). And I suppose with Henare’s knee in question, they’re just going to leave the Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match for another time. Naito VS Hiromu, the World Champ VS Junior Heavyweight Champ match we never got four years ago for the anniversary show, is a great move for WK19. There’s no place better than WK for a match like that, and they can’t wait on this match with Naito having said he’s getting closer and closer to retiring.
That said, maybe Hiromu wins to put him over and get him into that next level where he’s going for big titles. Granted, NJPW is literal about the “heavyweight” part of the World Heavyweight Championship, and I don’t know if Hiromu’s going to be able to pull off a 205+ frame. He’s already ~195, he’s already 35, but hey, maybe he can get a short reign in just so he can say he was on top of both weight classes in his career.
My Score: 9/10
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