Coverage
Mitchell’s WWE NXT Results & Report! (12/2/25)
The clock is ticking…
Who will be ready for the Deadline?
NXT returns home from New York City, and the five women in this year’s Iron Survivor Challenge will be holding a summit ahead of their golden opportunity!
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- Thea Hail w/ Joe Hendry VS Arianna Grace w/ Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo; Thea wins.
- Tavion Heights VS Josh Briggs; Briggs wins.
- Six Woman Tag: The Fatal Influence VS Sol Ruca, Lola Vice & Kendal Grey; Sol, Lola & Kendal win.
- OTM VS Chase U; OTM wins.
- High Stakes 8 Man Tag: DarkState VS Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater, Myles Borne & Joe Hendry; Je’Von, Leon, Myles & Hendry win, but Myles chooses his spot in the Iron Survivor Challenge.
PLAY BY PLAY
Ava Raine is in the ring.
The NXT General Manager is here, and she already has Sol Ruca, Lola Vice, Jordynne Grace, Kelani Jordan & Kendal Grey with her. “Ladies, you all have the honor of being handpicked by the Greatest Of All Time, John Cena, to compete in this year’s Iron Survivor Challenge. One of you will walk out of Deadline as the new #1 Contender to the NXT Women’s Championship.” The fans applaud, and Ava says a win on Saturday could change the path of their careers forever. Ladies, the floor is all yours. Sol starts by thanking Ava, and saying last week, Ethan Page gave her some unsolicited advice. But he did say that Sol is a world champion caliber talent. The fans cheer that!
Now, normally Sol doesn’t care what comes out of that man’s mouth. But if Ethan Page can see her that way, then it’s about damn time she sees herself that way, too. The fans cheer that! Sol says this past year has been a roller coaster for her. She’s had her highs, and she’s definitely had her lows. She went from being a double champion with her best friend by her side, to standing here empty handed. Now, her life has been a little strange, a little rough, a little complicated, but honestly, there’s a pretty simple path for her to gain her peace back. That is to win at Deadline, and walking into New Year’s Evil to become the NXT Women’s Champion!
The fans applaud again but Jordynne Grace speaks up. “That’s a nice thought, Sol, but take it from someone with experience. The path is never that simple. I’ve come this close too many times to lose again. I’m ready to run through a brick wall to win that title, and there is not a woman in this ring who can stop me.” She and Kelani start snapping at each other, but Lola steps up next. “Jordynne, callete la boca.” The fans cheer that! “You’re not the only one that’s been grinding here, mama. John Cena chose all of us for a reason, pero he picked me because no matter how many times I’ve gotten screwed, I still believe in myself.” The fans also cheer that.
Lola says from NXT to AAA, Vice City is everywhere! And if not for Lainey Reid, Lola would be champion right now! Kendal says, “Look, look, look. Maybe that’s true. But right now, the only champion in here is me.” The fans also cheer that! Kendal says she knows she’s the underdog, but she always rises to the level of her competition. And she also knows that this will be one of the toughest challenges for her, but she’s built on big moment! Kelani already tells Kendal to shut up! The fans boo but Kelani says sure, Kendal is Evolve Women’s Champion, and that’s great. But now she’s swimming with sharks and there’s blood in the water.
Kelani asks Lola and Jordynne, “How many failed attempts is it gonna take for you to realize that you’ll never be good enough for the Women’s title? So no one cares about your excuses because they’re not valid. This is the Iron Survivor Challenge, and there’s no match like it. This match is electrifying, dynamic, innovative. Ironically, all words to describe Kelani Jordan.” The fans boo as Kelani says she realizes there are only two people here who have done this before, and it’s her and Sol. But Sol’s knee is all jacked up, and she won’t even have her bestie by her side.
So all you can come out here, talk a big game, but guess what? At Deadline, Kelani walks out the #1 contender. They’re all stand-ins, and she’s the Standout! The fans tell Kelani off, she demands some respect, but here comes the Fatal Influence! Jacy Jayne mockingly applauds and says, “Wow. I just wanted to come out here and say just how excited I am! Really, I can’t wait to be at Deadline to see who the lucky loser at New Year’s Evil is gonna be. Because now that the NXT Women’s Championship is back around my beautiful, itty-bitty, two-inch waist, all order has been restored in NXT. Which brings me to my next question.
“In what world do you think I’m gonna let any of you losers ruin that for me?! Let’s look at the playing field, shall we? Sol Ruca! Poor Sol, with her broken heart and her bum leg. And then we have, oh! The new flavor of the week, Kendal Grey! Who is clearly way in over her head. And then oh, wow, I can always run it back with Jordynne and Lola, only for it to feel like deja vu when you both, cough cough, choke once again. Oh, and there’s Kelani! Hey girl~! How you doin’? Yeah, I know, I don’t like her either. But y’know what, Kelani? I’m glad that you’re finally showing some spine. But you’re talking a little too confident for someone who just lost her title in New York City, so shh.”
Kelani tells Jacy that she’d still be champion if not for “this meat head.” Grace says say that to her face. Kelani pie faces her instead! Grace TACKLES Kelani! The others are stunned, but then the Influence rushes the ring! They brawl with Sol, Lola & Kendal and the fans fire up! Sol TOSSES Lainey, Kendal SUPERKICKS Fallon, and Lola SOBATS Jacy outta the ring! The Influence regroups, will Jacy’s newest reign be short lived with this many top stars aiming for her?
Thea Hail & Joe Hendry talk backstage.
Thea loved seeing John Cena say he believed in Joe Hendry, and even did the spin! Not as good, but still. Joe says yes, this year has been full of career highlights, and to have the Greatest Of All Time pick him to be in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge is up there. But tonight, he has the 8 Man Tag with Dark State. Stacks & Arianna walk by, laughing and giggling while arm in arm. Thea asks what’s so funny. Arianna says no, but she and Stacks still laugh and he whispers more jokes. Arianna says stop, they’re right there. Joe asks sorry, should they leave? Arianna says honestly, yes, Joe should leave. Leave Thea behind, that is!
Joe chose the wrong partner for Gold Rush, and Thea let him down. Wow, dude, she’s right here. Arianna says Chelsea Green & Ethan Page should’ve faced a real power couple. Like Arianna & Stacks! Thea tells Hendry to let her handle this. Thea steps up and tells Stacks & Arianna that, “This is disgusting. If Joe Hendry believes in me, then I believe I can kick your ass tonight!” Arianna mocks Thea, Thea mocks her back, and Stacks says Arianna will be kicking Thea’s ass! Stacks ushers Arianna away, and Thea says it seems they’re both wrestling tonight. Will doubters and haters become believers soon enough?
Ava walks ‘n’ talks with security.
The GM says it is clear everyone is a bit “stressed” before Deadline, so she needs them to make sure Kelani and Jordynne stay as far away from each other as possible. Thank you. Then she turns the corner to talk with Fatal Influence. They are not going anywhere. Uh, actually, they are, so goodbye. Um, no, they’re not. Last week, they interfered in the Speed title match and the Evolve title match, and then they interfered in tonight’s summit. So these three now have a Six Woman Tag against Sol, Lola & Kendal. If Ava were them, she’d get ready right about now. Ava heads out, The Influence is upset, but are they finally getting what they deserve?
Thea Hail w/ Joe Hendry VS Arianna Grace w/ Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo!
NXT returns and the Pageant Queen makes her entrance, her man right by her side. He tells her to go knock Thea out! The bell rings and the fans are all behind Thea. Thea and Arianna argue, Arianna pokes Thea in the forehead, so Thea pokes Arianna back! Arianna snarls, they tie up, and Thea headlocks. Arianna powers up, powers through, and headlocks for the takeover. Then she shifts to an armlock. Arianna mocks Thea, but the fans rally up. Thea rises, Arianna wrenches, but Thea spins and slips through to arm-drag! The fans cheer, Thea mocks Arianna with a dance, and Stacks slips in under Arianna to tell her to knock it off!
Thea runs up on Stacks but he slips away, Arianna dodges, and Arianna throat chops! Then she CLUBS away on Thea’s neck! The fans boo but Arianna hits a NECKBREAKER! Arianna snarls while the fans chant “We Believe! We Believe!” Arianna whips Thea to the corner, runs up, and LARIATS! The fans boo but Arianna taunts Thea and Hendry. Arianna mocks the spin! Arianna turns Thea, but Thea backslides it, TWO! Arianna runs up, Thea rolls her up, TWO! Arianna ROCKS Thea, Thea goes to ropes, and Arianna runs up! Thea TOSSE her out! Stacks is there to make sure Arianna is safe, but then Thea DIVES! Down goes Arianna!
The fans fire up and Thea gets Arianna back int he ring! Thea and Stacks argue, then Thea slides in. Thea runs up to ELBOW Arianna, t hen EXPLODER! Basement DROPKICK! The fans fire up with Thea, she runs, Stacks swipes at her! The ref reprimands, Hendry runs up! Guzel and APRON STANDING OVATION! But Arianna O’Conner Rolls! TWO!! Thea escapes, then snatches Arianna into the KIMURA!! Arianna TAPS, Thea wins!
Winner: Thea Hail, by submission
Arianna cries as she crawls away to her Channy, but Thea is all fired up with this rebound win! Will Thea be unstoppable now that she has belief in herself?
OTM walked ‘n’ talked earlier this week.
Bronco Nima & Lucien Price were feeling good about things, but whoa! The Chase U students almost hit them with their car! They don’t know how to do much of anything in their Tesla, but Mr. Chase walks over. Chase says they didn’t mean anything by it, but Price says this is twice now. Nima says those boys were pullin’ up on OTM. If it’s strike three, they won’t be having this conversation, got it? It’s on sight! Chase says he’ll talk with them. Chase tells them to turn the car off. Did they hear what OTM said? Next time they see y’all, it’s on sight. Chase doesn’t really get what that means, but he knows OTM is pissed off. Are Kale & Uriah really this effin’ stupid!?
Kale & Uriah try to explain but Chase tells ’em to just shut up. And why are Kale’s shoes off? Will Chase U Class of 2025 ever get it right?
Ava meets with Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater, Myles Borne & Joe Hendry.
The Young OG lets Hendry & the NXT GM know that they were talking over how they gonna beat goofy ass DarkState tonight! Leon says they can’t let DarkState do ’em like they’ve been doing. Myles says he hasn’t had quite as many run-ins with them as the others, but if not for the others last week, it would’ve been really bad. Ava agrees, but then in steps Robert Stone. He apologizes for the interruption, but it seems a package came for Ava. And he opened her mail? No, it came like that… Ava says she’ll look at it later, because she needs Stone to make sure everything for the NXT Championship contract signing is set. Stone is on it, and he heads back out.
Ava then tells this team that it’s time to raise the stakes on their 8 Man Tag. Whoever scores the win tonight chooses their spot in the Iron Survivor Challenge. Ooh~! They like that! But then that means DarkState also gets to choose for Dion, so good luck out there. Je’Von says no worries about that. Now, what’s in the box? No, shoo. The team heads out, will they be able to win and control their own fate? And speaking of the box, Ava opens it up and dumps out… Black rose petals? Who is trying to send a message to our GM?
Tavion Heights VS Josh Briggs!
The Olympian wants to reach that next level, but the Bullhead Brawler keeps acting like a roadblock. They brawled it out in New York City, now they’ll have it out in Orlando! Will Tavion reach those new heights at Briggs’ expense? Or will it be nothing but mayhem tonight?
Well, seems they’re gonna brawl here, too! Briggs attacks Tavion the moment he’s ringside, and the ref reprimands as these two throw hands! They’re against the barriers, the fans boo Briggs, but Briggs sends Tavion into the steel steps! Briggs storms back up, Tavion RAMS him into the apron! Briggs CLUBS away on Tavion, throws Tavion into the ring, and the fans sing, “Briggs, Go Away~! Briggs, Go Away~!” as he rolls into the ring. The bell sounds, Tavion SPINEBUSTERS Briggs, then rains down fists! Tavion HAMMERS Briggs, Briggs SHOVES him away! Tavion runs up, but into a BOOT! Briggs ROCKS Tavion, then guzels! CHOKE SLAM! Cover, TWO!
Tavion survives falling from some serious height, but Briggs stomps a mudhole into him in the corner! Briggs BOOTS Tavion, but Tavion fires up! “Is that all you got?!” Tavion then dodges Briggs to GERMAN SUPLEX! The fans fire up and Tavion LEAPING LARIATS! Cover, TWO! Briggs is still in this but he is dazed. Tavion hurries to waistlock, and he drags Briggs up, to then SLAM him back down! Tavion snarls, storms around, and he waistlocks again. Briggs fights the lift, the fans rally up, and Tavion SLAMS Briggs down again! Briggs sputters but Tavion is after him again. Tavion fires hands, the fans chant, “Who Sucks?” “BRIGGS!”
Briggs rises up to kick Tavion’s leg out, then he DECKS Tavion! Briggs runs, but Tavion blocks the boot! Tavion slips under, clinches, T-BONE! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up for Tavion as he drags Briggs up. Tavion winds up to ROCK Briggs, fireman’s carries for the takeover, then covers, TWO! Briggs toughs it out, and he ROCKS Tavion! The fans rally, both men rise, and Tavion stomps Briggs. Tavion fires haymakers and CLUBS away, but then Briggs YANKS him outta the ring! Tavion hurries back up, but Briggs BOOTS him right back down! Tavion is dazed, Briggs goes out to fetch him, but Tavion lifts Briggs up! SPINEBUSTER through the barriers!!
The fans go nuts as these two take out a whole section! Both men are writhing in pain from the crash, and NXT goes picture in picture.
Tavion rises up, he hobbles over to Briggs, and he again CLUBS away on Briggs’ back. The fans cheer Tavion on while Briggs crawls away. Tavion stands Briggs up to shove him into the ring, but he still shakes out the banged up arm. Tavion rolls in, but Briggs KICKS him down! Briggs huffs ‘n’ puffs, digs his boot into Tavion int he corner, then stops to shake out his own arms. Briggs huffs ‘n’ puffs and storms back over to boot Tavion back down. Tavion drags himself up with the ropes, but Briggs scoops Tavion to SLAM him down! And then ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Tavion survives but Briggs stalks him to the ropes.
Briggs goes for the arms, hammerlocks and clinches to then HOTSHOT the arm on the ropes! Tavion scrambles away to the other side, but Briggs stomps him out of the ring. Briggs then has Tavion on the apron, wraps the arm around ropes, and pulls! Tavion endures, the ref counts, and Briggs lets go at 4. Briggs paces, Tavion rises, but Briggs brings him around. Briggs hammerlocks the arm to then STO Tavion onto that arm! Cover, TWO! Tavion toughs it out but Briggs clamps onto him with a top wristlock. Tavion endures, even as Briggs leans on the hold. Tavion fights to sit up but Briggs puts pressure on the arm.
NXT returns to single picture as Tavion stands and fires hands! Then a LEAPING FOREARM! Tavion runs, but into a scoop, SIDE SLAM and SPLASH! Cover, TWO! Tavion survives as Briggs’ own arms held him back. Briggs drops an elbow on Tavion’s arm and has the wristlock! Briggs’ own foot is on the ropes, the ref reprimands, but Briggs just shifts angles on the armlock. Briggs rises up, but Tavion avoids the elbow drop! The fans rally up, Tavion fires body shots and forearms! Tavion whips, Briggs reverses, but Tavion ducks ‘n’ dodges to DROPKICK! Briggs and Tavion are both down and the fans fire up!
Tavion rises, he storms over, but Briggs YANKS him into buckles! The fans boo, then they rally for Tavion. Briggs HAMMERS Tavion at the ropes, then drags Tavion up. Briggs whips Tavion hard into the corner, then runs up to ELBOW Tavion! Briggs slaps Tavion on and talks trash. Then he whips Tavion hard into another corner! Briggs ELBOWS Tavion again, slaps Tavion around more, and talks trash. The fans boo but Briggs whips again. Tavion dodges this time, and he HIP TOSSES Briggs down! Briggs writhes, Tavion runs up, LARIAT! And LARIAT! Tavion whips, Briggs reverses, but Tavion hits a NECKBREAKER DROP!
The fans fire up with Tavion and he drags Briggs up! Tavion runs, but into an ELBOW! Both men stagger, the fans rally up, and Tavion wobbles. Briggs takes his chain necklace off, but the ref sees that! The ref reprimands, but Tavion ROCKS Briggs first! The ref snatches up the chain, Tavion hits BELLY2BELLY! Cover, the ref is slow to the count, ROPEBREAK!! Briggs’ foot save shim, but maybe so did the delay. Tavion is upset, he argues with the ref, but Briggs BLINDSIDE BOOTS him! Briggs then throws off the elbows off, CLOTHESLINE FROM HELL!! Cover, Briggs wins!
Winner: Josh Briggs, by pinfall
Briggs soaks up all the heat, and gets in the face of the fans booing him! Briggs may not have honor, but will he have a golden opportunity waiting for him on the other side of Deadline?
The Culling is here.
Izzi Dame leads the way for Shawn Spears & Niko Vance, but the fans all boo since they betrayed Tatum Paxley back in New York City. The It Girl takes the mic, and she says, “Y’know what? Looking around here, I get it. I get why all of you love Tatum so much, you’re just like her: None of you know how to be alone. I gave Tatum everything. Let me ask, how many chances is too many? Like, at what point does someone become so hopeless, so pathetic, that you just have to stop trying to save them? For two weeks now, all I have heard is, ‘Why, Izzi? Why would you betray Tatum? How could you betray Tatum? I thought you guys were best friends!’
“I didn’t betray Tatum. I corrected a mistake. A mistake I made the second I thought Tatum could ever stand beside me as an equal. What? Did she really think that my guidance was some sort of suggestion? Like she had any right to ignore the very person that dug her out of the hellhole she was in for so long? When all of you ignored Tatum, while she was only known as, ‘that little weirdo freak,’ I carved purpose into her. I gave her a voice! I gave her confidence! I cared about her! And what’d she do? She continued to trip over the same insecurities that I tried to rip out of her over and over. She was so selfish! So stubborn!”
The fans chant, “We Want Tatum!” but Izzi says she feels very passionately about this: Tatum felt like everything The Culling gave her just wasn’t good enough! So she’ll ask us now: Do you all really think that it’s a coincidence that only after Izzi took Tatum under her wing that Tatum became champion? Do they all really believe she could’ve done that on her own? Tatum can barely stand on her own two feet, let alone lead this Women’s Division by herself! Tatum only became NXT Women’s Champion because I allowed her to! And at Gold Rush, I showed that everything I give, I can easily take, and I did! I took everything from her, because that is what she owed me!”
The fans continue to cheer for Tatum but Izzi says she’s the one who made Tatum’s name worth chanting! And what’d she do? She ignored Izzi! Newsflash: When you stand by Izzi, you don’t get to ignore her! This Saturday at Deadline, it will be Izzi VS Tatum 1v1! The fans do like that, but Izzi says, “I plan on finishing what I started in New York. Tatum… I have one final lesson for you. In San Antonio, I end the version of you that refused to evolve. And whatever I have to do to make sure that happens, it won’t be out of spite, it won’t be out of anger…” But then Tatum is on the tron!
“Here I am, Izzi. In our family’s favorite spot. But I’m alone. Why? Why did you take what was steady in my life and tear it apart? We were great together. And you took the one thing that I wanted the most.” Izzi stops Tatum there and says that she gave Tatum the world, and Tatum rejected it! It is funny, the irony, Tatum rejecting Izzi. And now look at Tatum. So pathetic, and so predictable. If Tatum is that upset, why not bring your ass out here and do something about it? Or is Tatum too scared? C’mon out. Tatum says yes, she’s scared. She’s scared because she doesn’t know what she’ll become without Izzi’s hand on her shoulder.
Tatum is scared… Because at Deadline, she’ll have to make Izzi feel all of her pain. Tatum steps out from the Culling clubhouse, and Tatum is ready for revenge. Will Deadline be the end of someone’s career?
Wren Sinclair talks with Kendal, Lola & Sol.
They’re all ready for that Six Woman Tag, but then in steps Zaria. Sol says hey, she’s been meaning to talk with her. Sol is so sorry she wasn’t out there for Zaria’s match with Fallon. She was just upset and processing all that happened against Blake Monroe. She’s sorry. Well, Sol seems to be moving on just fine now. Sol says not fair, dude. John Cena picked her- No, that’s fine! Sol can do her own thing. But since Sol didn’t appreciate Zaria being in her corner at Gold Rush, don’t expect her out there tonight. Lola says not to get in the middle of this, but their match is up next. Vamos! Kendal says she’s got Sol out there, and Wren says that means she’s also got Sol out there.
Wren knows she’s not scary like Zaria, but she’s so supportive. It’s kinda her thing. Zaria is being scary like Wren said, and Wren has Kendal hurry on out. Sol again apologizes, then follows the others out. Will the Iron Survivor Challengers be able to humble Jacy, Fallon & Lainey? Or will they all end up under The Influence?
Six Woman Tag: The Fatal Influence VS Sol Ruca, Lola Vice & Kendal Grey!
NXT returns with the Influence already in the ring as the Evolve Women’s Champion makes her entrance. She’s followed by Vice City, leaving the Soul Surfer for last. The teams sort out and Lola steps up to Lainey. The bell rings, Lainey pie faces Lola, but Lola shoves her back! Fallon steps up, Kendal gets in there, but then so do Jacy and Sol. And the brawl is on again! The fans fire up, but Jacy has Sol in one corner, Fallon has Kendal in another, and Lainey kicks Lola’s leg! Lainey whips, Lola reverses, and Lainey tumbles out! Lola goes to the apron, SEATED SENTON! The fans cheer, Lola does a salsa, but Fallon YEEHAW KICKS from the post!
The fans boo but Kendal BLASTS Fallon! Kendal then goes up, up, and SUPER DUPER CROSSBODIES! Down go Fallon & Lainey! Jacy CANNONBALLS Lola & Kendal! Jacy talks trash, Fatal Influence regroups, but Sol ARIHARA MOONSAULTS! And lands on her feet even! The fans fire up, Sol gets Lainey up and into the ring, and Lola AX KICKS Lainey down! Lola KICKS Lainey again and again, then bumps her off buckles. Tag to Sol, they send Lainey back into the corner. Sol back body blocks, then snapmares to KICK and STANDING MOONSAULT! Cover, TWO! Sol keeps on Lainey with a suplex, but Lainey fights it!
Lainey breaks free, BODY BLOWS, then brings Sol around. Tag to Fallon while the fans do the wave for Sol. The Influence mugs Sol, THROWS her down by her hair, and Fallon covers, TWO! Fallon facelocks, Sol endures and wrenches out to ROUNDHOUSE! Fallon sputters, Sol throws her to the corner, and tag to Kendal! Feed to the fireman’s carry takeover! Kendal cranks the arm, Fallon fights up and puts Kendal in the corner. The fans rally for Kendal but Fallon RAMS her in the corner! The ref counts, Fallon stops at 4, but she runs back up! Only for Kendal to go up, over, out, then slide under!
Kendal runs redirects, and TRIPS Fallon to then basement DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! Kendal whips Fallon, Fallon grabs ropes and BOOTS back! Tag to Lainey, she DROPKICKS Kendal! Cover, TWO! Lainey clamps onto Kendal, whips, but Kendal reverses. Kendal ducks a lariat to OVERHEAD SUPLEX! Lainey flounders, Jacy tags in, but Kendal drop toeholds, gator roll to a bridging cover, TWO! Kendal waistlocks and gator rolls Jacy around again. The fans rally behind Kendal but Jacy bucks the O’Conner! Tag to Lainey and Jacy DUMPS Kendal out! Kendal DECKS Lainey, ROCKS Jacy, but Fallon YANKS her down!
Fallon RAMS Kendal into the apron, puts her in, and Lainey is there to DOUBLE STOMP! Jacy SENTONS! “And that’s why we run NXT, baby!” Fatal Influence soaks up the heat while NXT goes picture in picture.
Lainey drags Kendal up, CLUBS her back down, then whips her to the corner. Lainey runs and UPPERCUTS Kendal, then tags Jacy. Jacy stomps a mudhole into Kendal, then digs her boots in. The ref counts, Jacy steps off at 4, and she soaks up more heat. The Influence talks trash, Jacy drags Kendal to her feet, then whips her to ropes. Jacy CLOBBERS Kendal, then covers, TWO! Jacy drags Kendal over, tags Fallon, and they mug Kendal. Fallon cravats for a neck wrench, then fires KNEE after KNEE! Kendal falls, Fallon taunts Lola, and she brings Kendal back around. Fallon bumps Kendal off buckles, then tags Lainey.
Lainey HIP DROPS Kendal, mocks Lola, then kicks Kendal around. Lainey lifts, Canadian Racks, but Kendal sunset flips! TWO, both women stand, and Kendal BODY BLOWS! But Lainey keeps Kendal from her corner! Kendal ROCKS Lainey, reaches out, and repeat! But Lainey sidesteps to then arm-drag! Lainey runs to AX HANDLE! Lainey then fires forearms to keep Kendal from the corner. Tag to Fallon and she snapmares Kendal for a KICK to the back! Fallon clamps onto Kendal with a chinbar neck wrench but Kendal endures. Kendal fights up, fires body shots, then ROCKS Fallon! And ROCKS her again! But Fallon ELBOWS her down!
Fallon drags Kendal up, whips her to the Influence corner, then CHOPS her! Tag to Jacy, she stomps away on Kendal, then she tags Fallon back in. Fallon cravats Kendal for another neck wrench and she grinds Kendal down. NXT returns to single picture and the fans continue to rally for Kendal as she fires body shots. Fallon KNEES Kendal down, tags Lainey, and Lainey tags Jacy. Whip, FLAPJACK, BLOCKBUSTER, and SUPERKICK! Cover, TWO! Kendal survives that assault, but Jacy rains down fists! Jacy sits Kendal up to SUPERKICK her down! Then she sucker punches Sol and tells Lola to “SUCK IT!”
Jacy runs at Kendal, BACK BODY BLOCK! Tag to Fallon, she and Jacy DOUBLE BACK SUPLEX, but Kendal lands out! Kendal BLASTS Lainey, BOOTS Jacy, dodges Fallon, hot tag to Lola! The fans fire up as Lola rallies on Fatal Influence with fists and KICKS! KICKS! LIGHTNING KICKS on Jacy! Lainey gets up but Lola THROWS her into the ring! LIGHTNING KICKS for Lainey, too! The Influence is all in corners, and the fans fire up for Lola! She’s a Latina~! HIP ATTACK on Lainey! HIP ATTACK on Jacy! HIP ATTACK back on Lainey! Fallon runs up, but Lola slips around, SAIDO! Cover, TWO!
Lola tags Sol, they get Fallon up, BACKSTABBER and BOOST into the URAKEN! Sol then scoops to SHOULDER BUSTER! Cover, Lainey breaks it! Jacy SUPERKICKS Lola! And DECKS Kendal! Sol SUPERKICKS Jacy! Sol TOSSES Jacy, but Fallon body scissor rolls Sol! TWO, and Sol runs up, but into a drop toehold! Sol hotshots off ropes, then Fallon goes up the corner! Lainey tags in before the BLOCKBUSTER! Tag to Jacy, she and Lainey run, DOUBLE KNEES!! Cover, Lola KICKS it apart! Lainey hits a SLINGSHOT STUNNER on Lola! Kendal wheelbarrows Lainey for THE GREY AREA! Fallon YEEHAW FACEBUSTERS Kendal!
Sol GAMANGIRIS Fallon! And slingshot FACEBUSTER! Sol dodges Jacy, Jacy rolls Sol, TWO!! Sol dodges the Rolling Encore, Jacy turns around into a SOL SNATCHER!! Cover, Sol’s team wins!!
Winners: Sol Ruca, Lola Vice & Kendal Grey, by pinfall
Sol just pinned THE NXT Women’s Champion!! Is this a sign she’s destined to be the Iron Survivor? But then wait, Lola snatches Sol outta the way as ZARIA RUNS IN! SPEAR ON KENDAL!! Wren freaks out and asks what that was about, but was that even meant for Kendal? Sol shoves Zaria and asks what the heck! Jacy loves seeing the cracks in the foundation, but will the ZaRuca drama sidetrack Sol from another title?
NXT Anonymous is watching…
Je’Von says he has to get the W so he can decide where he starts in Iron Survivor. Just last year, he was three seconds from the win. This year, that won’t happen. Now, he hopes he isn’t saying anything weird. Ricky Saints is there and says no, not at all! Je’Von is totally gonna win. Plus, Oba Femi isn’t in Iron Survivor this time. Oh, is that a roast? Saints is just saying. Je’Von says in that case, Oba’s only not in the match cuz he’ll be too busy whooping Ricky’s ass. Oh, okay, right to the jugular. But hey, Saints beat Oba once, he can beat him again, and that’s two more times than Je’Von has. Je’Von says c’mon, bro, stop.
Je’Von says remember back to Heatwave, when Saints stepped over Je’Von just to get to Oba. Saints says it’s all good now, right? Yeah, they’re good. But Je’Von also brings up how Saints said Je’Von had time, he’d be champion one day. You know how Je’Von feels about that. Yeah, he knows, but Saint sis right: Je’Von is a future champion. Where’s the lie? That’s a good point. But Je’Von is on a roll! He was in AAA, he went toe-to-toe with Gunther at MSG! And guess who texted you first? Yeah, it was Saints. Je’Von appreciates that. Saints says that is why Je’Von is the favorite to win the Iron Survivor this year.
And then, at New Year’s Evil, we’ll see what happens. Je’Von says yeah, we’ll see, if they both handle business on Saturday. Je’Von says Saints has time to be in MSG one day. Now, Je’Von is gonna go get ready. See ya lady, my boi~! Je’Von heads out, but will these two be able to keep it friendly in the off chance they do meet at New Year’s Evil?
DarkState talks backstage.
Dion Lennox holds his NXT Tag Team Championship as he says, “I know what I said last week, about how I wanted to bring some singles gold to DarkState. But it wouldn’t be fair to y’all if I wasn’t all in on these tag titles. So I feel like I gotta give this to one of y’all.” Cutler James says right away that Saquon Shugars should take it. Saquon says nah, bruh, it’s all Cutty. Cutler makes Saquon take the belt and tells him to hold it down. Osiris says that’s what he’s talkin’ ’bout! Freebird Rule and all, Osiris says different partner, same domination. Oba Femi then walks past and Saquon imitates the accent: “The Ruler has arrived!”
Saquon laughs at his own joke, but Oba ignores it. Oba tells Dion that he made it to the Iron Survivor. Oh, Oba doesn’t even remember when they were in this spot last time, huh? Them, face to face, and Oba just brushed him off like he was never gonna be championship material. Clearly, Cena thinks otherwise. Two-time tag team champion, and look at him now. And after Saturday, Dion hopes Oba’s the one that he gets for New Year’s Evil. Because there is nothing Dion would love more than to snatch the gold and knock Oba’s teeth down his mouth! Oba says Dion has come a long way, but he shouldn’t get ahead of himself.
Dion says he ain’t ahead of himself, he’s right where he needs to be. Oba says yes, Dion is. Dion says Oba better watch tonight’s main event, because it will be a peak into what the future holds for The Ruler. DarkState heads out, will their revolution begin with the New Year?
OTM VS Chase U!
Bronco Nima & Lucien Price did say it’d be “on sight,” and it seems Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors will learn what that means first hand. Will Mr. Chase’s new students survive through the first semester? Or will they fail to get out the mud?
NXT returns and Chase U makes their entrance. Mr. Chase wants to make sure they’re ready, and Kale goes on and on about how the game plan is “right here,” pointing to his own hand. Uriah points to his head, claiming it is all memorized and locked in. The teams sort out, but Chase U attacks from behind! Kale DUMPS Nima, Price SHOVES Uriah, then Price runs up, only for Uriah to DUMP him out! Nima runs back in, but Chase U DOUBLE LARIAT him up and out! Then they both DIVE! Down goes OTM and the fans fire up with Chase U! They put Price in the ring, Uriah climbs up, and Uriah SWANTON BOMBS! Cover, TWO!
Uriah hurries to facelock Price, but he RAMS Uriah into the corner! Price snarls, but Uriah BOOTS him away! Uriah runs up, Price catches him for an inverted headlock takeover, and a CHOP! Uriah sputters, Price tags Nima, and Nima fires body shots on Uriah. Nima stomps Uriah, tags Price, but Uriah fires hands! Price BODY BLOWS in return! Then CHOPS! Tag back to Nima, Nima stands Uriah up, and ROCKS him with a right! Tag back to Price, Nima sends him in, but Uriah dodge! And dodges again! Hot tag to Kale! Kale fires hands on Price, then BLASTS Nima! Price whips Kale, Kale ducks ‘n’ dodges to KNEE Nima down!
Kale ELBOWS Price away, then CHOPS him on the back! The fans fire up for the heat on that, and Kale gets moving, only for Price to SUPERKICK him down! Tag to Nima, they get Kale up, and Nima sends Price in! SPLASH! feed to Nima’s JUMP STOMP! Cover, but Nima lets off? Nima ROCKS Kale, tags Price, and they double whip Kale to then POP-UP, and Price catches Kale! No small feat, and then Nima kneels, POWER GUT BUSTER! Cover, TWO?!? Kale survives but Price tells him he’ll pay for that! Price ROCKS Kale, tags Nima, and Price runs up. Kale BOOTS Price, dodges Nima, then swings on Price! Price gets under, pop-up- CODE BREAKER from Kale!
Price staggers, Nima rushes in, but Kale hot tags Uriah! Uriah blows past Nima, BOOTS Price, then dodges Nima to GAMANGIRI! Uriah goes up, leaps over Nima, but Nima gets him on the return! Whip and- ROUNDHOUSE from Uriah! Uriah springboards, but Nima catches him! Nima TOSSES Uriah out, blocks a boot, and spins Uriah, only for Uriah to PELE through it! Uriah steps in, TORNADO DDT! Cover, Price breaks it! Kale rushes back in but Price whips him! Kale ducks ‘n’ dodges to KICK, KICK, and then Chase U DOUBLE SUPERKICK! Nima is up, Uriah ripcords him for Kale’s BOOT!
Uriah springboards, STUNNER!! OTM regroups on the outside, Chase U goes to the corners! They aim, CRISSCROSS APPLE- NO, OTM catches them both! SMASH SANDWICH! They put Uriah in, Nima tags Price, and OTM hits Uriah with the PAID IN FULL! Cover, OTM wins!
Winners: OTM, by pinfall
Chase U put up an amazing fight, they clearly studied up, but they still couldn’t ace the test! Will no one but OTM run this division?
Ava follows Ethan Page to the parking lot.
She asks where the NXT North American Champion is going, and All Ego says this is his car, so that means he is leaving. Clearly, his services are not needed here tonight as Ava and the team are doing a bang-up job putting together Deadline. Actually, he would like to formally thank John Cena for helping the less fortunate talent have this opportunity this Saturday. But more importantly, he gave Ethan the night off! A much deserved one at that, as Ethan is the hardest working champion in WWE, and a double champion! Ava says that’s right, he is double champion.
But uh, the North American Championship hasn’t been defended since Halloween Havoc. Ava feels Ethan’s due a defense! Ethan sighs and says he is the best wrestler in the WWE, Ava, so no one here even wants to face him. No, she found someone who does. LA YESCA peeks out from the backseat! Ethan freaks out, gets out of his car, and says this is a setup! Mr. Iguana hops into the front seat and tells Ethan see ya later! He drives off with Ethan’s car! Ethan asks, “Are you not gonna call the cops?!” Ava asks what would she even say? A reptile stole a car? YES! All Ego chases Iguana into the night, but will we soon have a NEW Greatest North American Champion Ever?
“Yo, Shiloh Hill here.”
And he has another “download” for us. This past week was Thanksgiving, and he had an awesome one. He got to try raccoon for the first time. Kinda greasy. He remembers one Thanksgiving, he was 8 years old, the fog was rolling in so the family snowmobiled through the woods to visit Shiloh’s cousins. Shiloh wanted his snowmobile to go faster so he put in some higher grade caps and upgraded the exhaust, all basic stuff. But about 100 miles into the trip, he got way ahead of everyone, they didn’t realize he was making it a race, so he just extended the lead, until he crashed. At this point, he’s miles into the woods, it’s cold, he has no cell service.
So he really thought he was gonna freeze to death. But then he went into survival mode, breaking up branches, gathering pine needles, covering himself in anything he could to stay insulated and warm. He became one with the earth for a night. He knew in situations like that, you’re not supposed to go to sleep, so he tried his best. It was easy to stay awake, though, because he felt so alive. Especially when he heard the wolves howling at the moon. Can you imagine if he’d gotten eaten by wolves or something? That’d be insane! He never would’ve been on LFG or part of Team Taker. Having Taker as a coach was so… Tough.
Taker would tell Shiloh to be aggressive. When you get in that ring, reach into their chest and rip out their souls! That got Shiloh so fired up! He was so happy to have a coach he could connect with. Taker knew what resonated with him, he knew Shiloh would feel that itch crawling in his skin, and that he should let it out! “RAAAH! WAKE UP!! Bro, that feels so good! That adrenaline, that dopamine, those endorphins. That’s good stuff. Anyways, I’ll be back soon to finish up. I gotta find my bleach.” Shiloh logs off, will he unleash the wild side on NXT soon enough?
High Stakes 8 Man Tag: DarkState VS Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater, Myles Borne & Joe Hendry!
Dion Lennox showed his dedication to the mission of bringing gold to the group by Freebirding the tag title to Saquon Shugars, and now they’re all ready to ensure he chooses his spot in the Iron Survivor Challenge! Now more than ever, is no one safe from DarkState? Or can someone on the other side score the win and take control of their own future?
NXT returns as DarkState makes their entrance, actually walking down the ramp. The teams sort out, and Myles steps up to #BigO, Osiris Griffin. The two circle, tie up, and Osiris THROWS Myles right down! Myles checks his face, Osiris shows off dancing pecs, and the two go again. Myles waistlocks, Osiris ELBOWS free, then he runs to RUN Myles over! The fans boo but Osiris tags Saquon. Osiris scoops to SLAM Myles, then he scoops Saquon to SLAM him onto Myles, but Myles gets his knees up! Saquon hobbles, but he bucks the O’Conner to cravat and neck wrench Myles. The fans boo but Myles powers up and out, only for Saquon to pull Myles’ ear!
The ref reprimands, Saquon goes back to the cravat, but Myles arm-drags free. Saquon RUNS Myles over, runs up, but Myles hurdles! But Saquon cravats again! Only for Myles to SNAP POWERSLAM! Cover, TWO! Myles kicks Saquon, UPPERCUTS, then dragon sleepers, EYE OF THE HURRICANE! Cover, TWO! Saquon stays in this but Myles stays on him. We get a quick picture in picture of Ava setting up the final touches for the contract signing, and Hendry tags in! Hendry & Myles double whip to DOUBLE ELBOW Saquon down! Hendry headlocks, Saquon powers up and out, but Hendry RUNS Saquon over!
Hendry runs, he rolls over the dropdown, then he shoves Saquon to HIP TOSS! The fans fire up, Hendry keeps Saquon from DarkState, then he turns Saquon for a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Saquon survives but Hendry drags him up. Hendry scoops Saquon and FALL AWAY- NO, Saquon lands out! Hot tag to Cutler and he kicks low! Cutler UPPERCUTS Hendry, scoops him, but Hendry slips out to headlock! Cutler powers up, but Leon tags in! Hendry sends Cutler to the ropes, and Leon DROPKICKS him on the return! The fans cheer, Leon bumps Cutler off buckles, then he runs up to LARIAT!
Tag to Je’Von, Youngest In Charge sends Young OG in, and he LEAPING LARIATS Cutler! OG feeds Cutler to Leon for a DROPKICK to the legs, then Je’Von adds DOUBLE STOMPS! Cover, TWO! Je’Von drags Cutler up, wrenches, and he CLUBS the arm! The fans rally for Je’Von as he CHOPS! Cutler DECKS Je’Von! Cutler then wrenches Je’Von, Je’Von wrenches back and CHOPS! And then he wrenches, but Cutler reels Je’Von in for a SWINGING BACKBREAKER! Cover, TWO! Je’Von survives, Cutler drags him up, and he whips Je’Von to the corner! Tag to Dion, and Dion fires body shots and haymakers on Je’Von!
The fans boo but Dion flexes and soaks up that heat. But Je’Von hits back! Je’Von wrenches, goes to the ropes, BOUNCY~ RANA! Dion tumbles, Je’Von DROPKICKS him down! Cover, TWO! Je’Von stays on Dion with an armlock and he tags Myles in. Myles & Je’Von double wrench, whip, and then FOREARM SMASH! Myles runs, but Dion SPINEBUSTERS! Tag to Saquon and they get Myles up to double whip, drop toehold, and KNEE DROP! The fans boo, but then Dion SMACKS Hendry just because! The fans boo harder, the ref has to keep Hendry back, but DarkState dares the boys to bring it! It is brought as the brawl is on!
The fans fire up as these eight men revisit the end of Gold Rush! Leon BOOTS Osiris out, Dion drags Hendry out the side, Myles DECKS Saquon, but then Saquon drags Myles out of the ring! Saquon RAMS Myles into the apron, Leon and Je’Von BOOT Cutler & Osiris! DOUBLE PLANCHAS, but somehow Osiris and Cutler stay up! STEREO SNAKE EYES off the apron! Cutler THRWOS Je’Von into barriers, Osiris THROWS Leon into barriers! Saquon POSTS Myles, Dion THROWS Hendry into steel steps! Dion talks trash on everybody as NXT goes picture in picture.
Saquon talks trash, then he drags Myles up. Saquon puts Myles in the ring, covers, TWO! Another cover, TWO! Saquon is frustrated but he clamps onto Myles with another cravat. Myles endures, fights up, and whips Saquon away, but Saquon CLOBBERS Him! Saquon keeps moving, he hurdles over, but Myles HIP TOSSES Saquon down! And arm-drags him for an armlock! Saquon kicks and flails as Myles has the top wristlock, then facelocks. Tag to Leon, Leon runs up to BOOT Saquon! Leon then whips Saquon to ropes and ELBOWS him down! Cover, TWO, but Leon keeps Saquon down with a chilock.
Leon wrenches, Saquon whips and Cutler tags in. Cutler LARIATS Leon right down! Cutler wrenches Leon and has the arm as he steps over for the armlock. Leon endures, fights up, then rolls Myles up! TWO, and Cutler ROCKS Leon! Cutler has Leon in the corner, he tags in Dion, and they mug Leon more. Dion grinds Leon down with a facelock, but Leon fights up. Deion squeezes tight, Leon still endures, and he BACKDROPS free! Hot tag to Je’Von! Je’Von fires hands on Dion! Dion ROCKS Je’Von in return! Dion drags Je’Von up, tags Saquon, and the mugging continues. NXT returns to single picture as the fans rally for Je’Von.
Saquon CLUBS Je’Von, Je’Von fires body shots! Je’Von bobs ‘n’ weaves to ROCK Saquon! Then he LEAPS, but can’t get over Saquon! He sunset flips it, TWO! Saquon runs up, Je’Von dodges, hot tag to Hendry! The fans fire up as the Prestigious Hendry rallies on DarkState! Dion HOTSHOTS Hendry, Sauqon kneels on him! Tag to Dion, he drags Hendry onto the ropes to CHOKE him! The fans boo, the ref counts, and Dion backs off. Dion talks trash, then he drops a leg, brother! Cover, TWO! Hendry is tougher than that but Dion clamps onto him with a facelock. Tag to Osiris, they double short arm LARIAT! Cover, TWO!
Hendry’s team has to stay back, but then Osiris bumps Hendry off buckles! Hendry falls back, Osiris drags him up to bump him off more buckles! Osiris CHOKES Hendry on the ropes, then SCRAPES Hendry’s face against the ropes! Osiris shoves Hendry down but he fans rally up even more. Tag to Saquon, another double short arm LARIAT! Cover, TWO! Saquon shoves Hendry, Hendy fire off elbows! Hendry slides, Saquon catches him, and Cutler tags in! But Hendry BOOTS Saquon away, avoids the elbow drop, but Dion tags in! Dion BLASTS the corner first! GUILLOTINE FACELOCK! Hendry endures, and he powers up to suplex Dion up and over!
The fans fire up as Hendry reaches out, hot tag to Leon! LEG LARIAT on Cutler! DROPKICK for Saquon! Then a dodge as Cutler runs in! Osiris tags, he blocks a kick, ducks the enzigiri, but not the REWIND HEEL! Leon whips, Osiris reverses, Cutler joins in, and they catch the handspring into a DOUBLE POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Leon survives and Osiris snarls as he drags Leon back up. Tag to Saquon, he BLASTS Myles! Dion joins in, tags all around, and now Dark State gets Leon up! DARKSTATE- MISSILE DROPKCK!! Leon turns things around on the four, and he DUMPS Cutler out! Osiris back suplexes, Leon lands out! Hot tag to Je’Von!
Je’Von TOSSES Cutler, BOOTS Osiris, and DIVES Onto Saquon! They go onto and over the desk!! Je’Von gets int he ring while fans lose their minds, and he dodges Osiris to FLY onto Cutler! ROUNDHOUSE for Osiris, then a FLYING LARIAT! Je’Von throws off his shirt, the fans are going wild, and Je’Von waits on Osiris! O G CUT- NO!! Osiris catches Je’Von, back suplex, but Je’Von lands out! CUTTER!! Je’Von goes up, up, and SUPER O G CUTTER!! Cover, DARKSTATE BREAKS IT! Leon & Myles get in the ring, they dodge Cutler & Saquon to DOUBLE DROPKICK Dion! Then they DROPKICK Osiris & Leon!
Hendry is in, eh scoops Saquon, dodges Cutler, and FALL AWAY SLAMS Saquon onto Cutler! Then he LARIATS Dion up and out! But Dion drags Hendry out to join him! They brawl, the fans fire up, and Je’Von dodges Osiris! Rebound, tag to Leon, RED DOT on Osiris! Leon is up top, Myles tags in before the SWANTON 450!! Myles aims at Osiris, he says sorry, boys! BORNE AGAIN!! Cover, MYLES WINS!
Winners: Myles Borne, Je’Von Evans, Leon Slater & Joe Hendry, by pinfall (Myles chooses his spot in the Iron Survivor Challenge)
The team worked together so well, but it was about who got the last word in here. Myles says it’s all fair in love and war, right? But who will have everything they could ever want and more this Saturday at Deadline?
Ava Raine sits down with Oba Femi and Ricky Saints.
“Gentlemen, it’s been quite a journey to get here, but here is your official contract for your NXT Championship match at Deadline.” Ava sets it down, and Oba says Ricky must understand that the version of him that was beaten at No Mercy was a man burdened by the toils of a long title reign. Oba signs his part, then says, “But this version is going to destroy you and remind you that you’re only a footnote in my legacy as The Ruler of NXT, and all of WWE.” Ricky Saints counters with, “One question that goes through my mind is, ‘What happens to me if I don’t beat you? Am I the man that I think that I am?’ Guess we’ll never know.
“There’s no more fairytale, I am the NXT Champion! And you can beat every and any man that steps into the ring with you, but guess what? There’s an exception to the rule and The Ruler, and his name is Absolute Ricky Saints.” Ricky signs his part, and Ava thanks them both. She wants to let them know, for the first time in NXT PLE history, the Men’s Championship will OPEN the show! Ricky says, “Perfect.” With even less time to prepare, who will prove they are THE face of NXT?
My Thoughts:
A very good episode as the go-home to Deadline, with just a pinch of filler to help give some other superstars something to do. OTM having that interaction with Chase U in the parking lot feels like they could’ve waited a week for a match, but we got great stuff out of them honestly. But OTM gets the win here, they need to really get going again in the tag division and not just fill out Evolve. Speaking of Evolve, why’re we not getting developments with Stevie Turner being released? Why’re we instead building some new mystery where someone sent Ava black rose petals? (Or were they chunks of coal? They did not do a good job capturing those on camera.)
Very fun promo from Thea & Hendry with Arianna & Stacks. Very good match and a solid win for Thea, maybe she goes for the Women’s North American Championship after this since Blake has clearly moved on from ZaRuca. That could be a very good build, Blake cutting promos on “grown ass” yet very tiny Thea but Thea showing she can go crazy just like Blake. Great match from Tavion VS Briggs, and that was perhaps the wildest barrier break spot NXT’s done in a minute. Briggs getting the win makes him even with Tavion from a previous showdown, so they can certainly give us a great tiebreaker match.
Ethan Page had a very good promo with Ava and Mr. Iguana to set up this last minute North American Championship match, but that’ll be a very fun match. I don’t see Iguana winning, but he’ll put up a great showing. Very good promo from Izzi and Tatum to set up their own match, and I will say Izzi again used classic Heel hypocrisy to frame this situation like Tatum’s in the wrong. With that, I hope Tatum wins out, but she might not win Saturday because Shawn Spears & Niko Vance will surely interfere.
Very good “summit” promo, and while Kelani could still sharpen her delivery, she sure gets the fans to boo her and what not so she’s doing well as a Heel. She and Jordynne Grace clearly have more to feud over, that’s why they split off from the rest while the Fatal Influence brawled with Sol, Lola & Kendal. Great promos to follow to set up that great Six Woman Tag match. Sol getting the win probably jinxes her chances at Deadline, but I feel like the classic rule of “pin the champ, get a title shot” should give her the #2 contender spot, aka she challenges the winner from New Year’s Evil. The real intrigue was Zaria running in. Did she mean to hit Kendal? Did she mean to hit Sol? All of the above? Maybe ZaRuca breaks up with more interference at Deadline.
And then great stuff with the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge and Men’s Championship scene. Very good NXT Anonymous promo from Je’Von and Saints hyping up a possible match, and very good promo from DarkState to transfer the tag title through Freebird Rule. Great 8 Man Tag main event, and I almost thought DarkState was gonna win it. But the Faces one-upping each other even as they won was good stuff. Myles probably jinxes himself winning, though it is interesting to see what spot he chooses. And while Hendry and Dion kept themselves out of the equation, it really does feel more like Je’Von’s time to win. Saints VS Oba opening Deadline is a nice twist, that also indicates just about anything happening there, can’t wait to see it.
My Score: 8.8/10
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Who heads for Montreal?
To determine a challenger to the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre, SmackDown holds qualifying matches for a #1 contender’s match! Who wins tonight to advance to Saturday Night’s Main Event?
OFFICIAL RESULTS
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Randy Orton VS The Miz; Orton wins and advances.
- Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss VS Giulia & Kiana James; Charlotte & Alexa win.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Trick Williams VS Matt Cardona; Trick wins and advances.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Damian Priest VS Solo Sikoa; Priest wins and advances.
- WWE United States Championship Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes VS Leon Slater; Melo wins and retains the title.
- Jordynne Grace VS Chelsea Green w/ Alba Fyre; Grace wins.
- WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Sami Zayn VS Ilja Dragunov; Sami wins and advances.
PLAY BY PLAY
Bagpipes play for Drew McIntyre!
A troupe of six play the music of the Scottish Terminator’s people before the NEW Undisputed WWE Champion officially makes his entrance. London cheers as Drew steps on stage, belt around his waist, and they sing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” as he takes his time walking down the ramp. Drew gets his pyro, the fans cheer more, and Drew continues to the ring. Drew looks at the championship while he hears the fans cheering, and he goes up the corner to raise the belt up high! The fans cheer as Drew gets more pyro! And a lot of it! The fans cheer again, and Drew puts the belt on his shoulder, but then he goes back out to join the front row in cheering!
Drew goes back to the ring, grabs the mic, and the singing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” continues. Drew says, “I prayed for this and it happened.” The fans cheer that, then chant, “You Deserve It!” Drew says, “I know it’s been a rough few years in the UK here, but if there’s somebody that can bring us together, it’s our Undisputed WWE Champion. It’s the first-and-only-ever BRITISH WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre!” The fans cheer that! Drew says the love he’s been shown the past week is incredible. Texts, social media posts, the cheers all across Europe, including tonight, “you bunch of mentalists.”
And Drew just wants to say to each and every one out there… “Screw you.” The fans laugh at that, but Drew says no, this isn’t even being a bad guy wrestler. Seriously, screw you! When he got FIRED from WWE, where were they? They wanna jump on the bandwagon now? 99% of them weren’t there for him! When he was being screwed over by Roman Reigns and the Bloodline, there was no uprising for him, huh? How’d they help him out? When CM Punk screwed Drew, the fans cheered Roman and Punk and doing the YEET with Jey Uso! The fans do chant those things now, and then Drew brings up Cody and the corrupt refs!
Was there a hashtag for Drew? NO! There is only one person Drew needs to thank, that ever believed in Drew, and that person… is Drew! So thank you, Drew! If you wanna chant, chant “Thank You, Drew!” The fans do chant, “Thank You, Drew!” Well, there’s one more person Drew must address: The former… Oh, that feels good to say. Drew knows Cody Rhodes is here, and it must cut like a knife to say FORMER WWE Champion, Cody Rhodes! The fans now sing for “Cody, Cody Rhodes~!” Yes, Drew knows Cody’s crack team is trying to figure out a title rematch. Drew admits to having Nick Aldis add a little extra clause.
Since 99% of Americans can’t read, Drew will tell us what it is: There is NO rematch clause! Cody must start at the bottom, work his way back up. The Vanilla QB1 Era is over! The Dangerous Drew Era begins tonight! The fans cheer that! But then here comes Randy Orton! The fans also cheer for The Viper, they sing along with Voices, and Orton goes right to the ring. Orton grabs himself a mic while the fans finish singing, and then the fans cheer as Orton and Drew are face to face. Drew says this must be Orton out here to congratulate him. The fans chant “R K O!” while Orton chuckles. Orton says Drew and the fans in London all know that they don’t like each other one bit.
So no, this is not Orton here to congratulate Drew. Orton is here to remind Drew that a few months ago, Drew had the chance to kick Orton through the table and declined. The fans again chant “R K O! R K O!” Orton says he wanted to tell Drew that when Orton has the opportunity to return the favor, he won’t hesitate. he beat Drew for that title before, he’ll do it again, and it’ll be courtesy of the three most dangerous letters in all of sports entertainment: R K O! The fans cheer that, but Drew smirks. Only for JACOB FATU to show up! The fans cheer the Samoan Werewolf as he storms his way down the ramp and to the ring.
Drew wants Fatu to hold on, but Orton steps aside so Fatu can DECK Drew! Fatu goes out after Drew, DRIBBLES him off the desk, then whips again! Drew reverses to POST Fatu, but Fatu isn’t even bothered! Drew hurries away, Fatu chases him into the crowd! Orton is more amused than anything, will Drew get out of London in one piece? But then The Miz slithers in! SKULL CRUSHING FINALE on Orton!! The Hollywood A-Lister strikes outta nowhere, but will he soon regret that? We find out, after the break!
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Randy Orton VS The Miz!
SmackDown returns and the match is already going as Orton fires body shots and a HEADBUTT! But Miz kicks the leg out and BASEMENT DDTS! Cover, TWO! Orton survives then bails out, then throws his shirt off. The fans rally, but Miz pursues. Orton ROCKS Miz, then brings him up for the DESK BACK- NO, Miz lands out to then CLUB Orton! Miz hits the DESK BACK SUPLEX! The fans boo as Miz mocks Orton’s signature pose, then Miz puts Orton in the ring. Miz stomps Orton, but the fans taunt Miz with, “OH~ Miz is a Wanker~!” Miz throws hands, Orton fires back, and they go back and forth.
Orton fires off haymakers, whips Miz to a corner, but Miz reverses. Miz soaks up heat, runs in at Orton, but Orton LARIATS first! And LARIATS again! Then a dodge and SNAP POWERSLAM! The fans fire up for Orton while Miz scrambles to the apron. Orton goes after Miz, brings him through the ropes, but Miz fights free! Miz hurries away while the fans boo, but Orton pursues. Orton finds Miz at the desk! Kick and DESK BACK SUPLEX! Miz sputters and writhes while the fans fire up. They want that “One More Time!” Orton obliges, another DESK BACK SUPLEX for Miz! The fans rally, they still want that “One More Time!”
Orton gets Miz up again, a third DESK BACK SUPLEX! Orton refreshes the count while Miz slumps off the desk. The fans cheer Orton, he puts Miz in the ring, and he has Miz in the ropes! The fans fire up again and Orton smiles as he drags Miz in, DRAPING DDT! The fans cheer again, and Orton hears those voices! Miz slowly rises, R K- FINALE!?! Cover, TWO!! Orton survives and the fans cheer! Miz is beside himself as Orton survives his finisher again! The fans rally behind Orton but Miz storms up to full nelson again. But Orton arm-drags free, RK- NO, Miz rolls him up, TWO! Miz scrambles, RKO!! Cover, Orton wins!
Winner: Randy Orton, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
The fans cheer as The Viper strikes, and now punches his ticket to Montreal! But will Orton truly be the Apex Predator when he battles three others for that #1 contender’s spot?
Drew returns backstage.
He grumbles about crazy Fatu, but Ilja Dragunov finds him. The Mad Russian is glad they are finally talking face to face. Obviously, Drew has some problems, so Ilja will get to the point: Tonight, Ilja will beat Sami Zayn and be one step closer to the championship. Ilja won a championship his first night back, simply because he doesn’t fight like a sane man! Drew says yeah, he doesn’t care, there’s a crazy person after him! Go ahead, win your match, win the Fatal 4 Way, and we’ll see him at the Royal Rumble. Drew swears he did NOT knock Fatu’s teeth out, but he sure will do that to Ilja! Drew runs off, but is that true? If Drew didn’t sideline Fatu, who did?
The Wyatts speak.
Bo Dallas says, “Solo… You think you stole our light. But you’ve just inherited the weight of what it really means. The lantern has never been a weapon. We carry it in the dark, so the dark doesn’t carry us. It does not belong int he hands of someone who believes taking it is more powerful than its true purpose. It will come back to us. Like a moth to a flame, we will not rest until it’s home.” The warning has been issued, will MFT heed it?
Charlotte Flair finds Alexa Bliss backstage.
The Queen hip bumps Lil’ Miss Bliss to cheer her up, but it doesn’t really work. Alexa says last week sucked: She lost to Giulia, Nia & Lash messed with her before the match and then beat her up after. It was a complete numbers game, Alexa was alone, so was Charlotte actually sick? Or was she just “cough cough” sick? No, it was not a “cough cough,” it was a “barf barf.” And Alexa’s the one that got a title opportunity without Charlotte, but Alexa has no idea how many title opportunities Charlotte turned down because she put the team first. Really? Yes, really. Name them. Not the point. Well, does Charlotte have Alexa’s back? Does Alexa have Charlotte’s back?
Bottomline is, Alexa is Charlotte’s person. Charlotte was sick. Heart hands, and Charlotte says she’ll finish warming up. But then Nia & Lash walk in saying that was so cute. Charlotte has no reason to trust Nia, but this is typical Alexa. She makes you feel guilty then plays victim. She’s really good at it. Yeah, Charlotte has no reason to trust Nia. And they won’t like her response. As for this charade, Charlotte gets why Alexa isn’t friends with Nia. And Lash has changed. Charlotte heads out, will #Charlexa be able to focus on the match before them? Or will the Irresistible Force & Bougie Bully make sure all eyes are on them again?
Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss VS Giulia & Kiana James!
SmackDown returns and the Beautiful Madness and Miss Management are already waiting in the ring. Charlotte makes her entrance, followed by Alexa. The teams sort out and Alexa starts with Kiana. The fans “WOO~” for Charlotte while Kiana talks some trash on Alexa. Kiana shoves Alexa, but Alexa SLAPS back! The fans cheer that! Alexa then ducks a shot to SLAP, ROCK, KNEE, and DROPKICK Kiana! Alexa runs, but Kiana gets up to KNEE low! Kiana brings Alexa around, suplexes, but Alexa tags out to Charlotte. The fans “WOO~” again and Kiana talks more trash. Charlotte slips around her, Kiana ELBOWS free, then whips, but Charlotte reverses!
Kiana hits buckles, but she ELBOWS back again! Kiana goes up and over Charlotte, then SUPERKICKS! Charlotte wobbles, Kiana runs, but into Charlotte’s BOOT! Tag to Alexa, and she gets a hand in the spin and DROPKICK! Giulia tags in, Alexa dodges but Giulia ROCKS Charlotte! Alexa ROCKS Giulia! Alexa ROCKS Kiana! But then Giulia SHOTGUNS Alexa! Giulia taunts Alexa, the ref keeps Charlotte back, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
The ref reprimands but Kiana backs off. Giulia wrenches Alexa’s hair to THROW her to the corner. Giulia stomps away on Alexa in the corner, the ref counts, but Giulia stops at 4. Giulia tags Kiana, Kiana stomps Alexa, then Kiana CLUBS Alexa. Alexa goes to another corner, Kiana whips corner to corner, and Alexa hits buckles hard! Kiana grins as she storms back up, and she bumps Alexa off buckles. Tag to Giulia and Giulia brings Alexa onto the ropes. Giulia hooks Alexa up in the ropes, and fishhooks the face! The ref counts, Giulia stops and sucker punches Charlotte! The ref stops Charlotte, Giulia DROPKICKS Alexa and Kiana BOOTS Alexa down!
Giulia ELBOW DROPS Alexa, covers, TWO! Giulia is already annoyed with the count, but she stomps away on Alexa. Giulia CLUBS Alexa, HEADBUTTS her, and HEADBUTTS again! Giulia bumps Alexa off buckles, tags Kiana, and Kiana brings Alexa around to kick a leg. Kiana taunts Alexa, but she sucker punches Charlotte! The fans give thumbs down, but Kiana snap suplexes! Charlotte protests, that distracts the ref! The ref is late to the cover, TWO! Kiana fireman’s carries Alexa, but Alexa fights to a sunset flip! TWO! Kiana stops Alexa, but she still reaches out! Kiana RAMS Alexa into the corner! And RAMS her again and again!
Kiana handsprings, runs back in, and she RAMS Alexa again! The ref counts, Giulia tags in, and Kiana snapmares Alexa to BOOT her! Giulia is up top, she MISSILE DROPKICKS! Cover, TWO! Alexa survives, but Giulia HEADBUTTS her to the cover! Charlotte again distracts, another late count, TWO! Giulia is annoyed but she tags Kiana as SmackDown returns to single picture. Kiana sends Giulia in, but Alexa dodges! Giulia hits buckles, Alexa DUMPS Kiana out, and the fans fire up! Kiana hurries back in, she anchors Alexa’s foot, then she drags her back! Alexa ENZIGIRIS free, hot tag to Charlotte!
The fans fire up as The Queen RUNS Kiana over! And RUNS her over again! CHOP and CHOP for Kiana, CHOP and CHOP for Giulia! CHOP after CHOP, “WOO~” after “WOO~,” and then Charlotte CHOPS Giulia down! Charlotte runs up, Kiana dodges, but Charlotte keeps moving! WALK OVER LARIAT! The fans fire up again and Charlotte stalks Kiana to a corner. Charlotte whips, Kiana reverses, but Charlotte goes up and out. BOOT for Giulia, BOOT for Kiana, and then Charlotte goes up! CROSSBODY on Kiana! Cover, TWO! Kiana is tougher than that, but Charlotte stays focused. The fans rally up as Charlotte runs in, but into a BOOT!
Kiana runs up, but into a BOOT! Charlotte steps on Kiana to a corner, she and Giulia scrap, and Kiana YANKS her down! The fans boo but Charlotte still wrenches Kiana to a NECKBREAKER! Charlotte runs, but into a SIPNEBUSTER! Kiana shows her power, and she tags Giulia! Giulia KNEES Charlotte down! Cover, Alexa breaks it! The fans fire up but Giulia is furious! Kiana whips, Alexa reverses and TOSSES Kiana out! But Kiana trips Alexa! Giulia has Charlotte, Charlotte shoves free, but Giulia BOOTS her! And KICKS her! And KICKS her again! Charlotte snarls, she ducks the buzzsaw!
Charlotte shoves and ROCKS Giulia! Charlotte runs, but Giulia follows to HEADBUTT! Giulia runs, but into a BOOT! Charlotte has Giulia but Kiana tags in! Charlotte runs, Kiana KNEES her first! But Alexa tags in! Kiana runs, but into the clinch! TWISTED SISTER ABIGAIL!! Cover, Charlexa wins!
Winners: Charlotte Flair & Alexa Bliss, by pinfall
Bliss proved she does have Charlotte’s back! But then Nia & Lash attack after all! They BLAST Giulia, DECK Alexa, and HEADBUTT Charlotte! And HEADBUTT her again! Nia POSTS Charlotte while the fans boo! Nia & Lash soak up the heat, but Giulia is back up! Kiana says hold on, hold on, they’re good. Giuila says she is NOT good, she wants after Nia! Miss Management has her client back off, if just for now. Will the Beautiful Madness make sure no one disrespects her and gets away with it?
Solo Sikoa speaks.
“Bo. You’re absolutely right. This is just more than a lantern. I can see the millions of fireflies across the world. They are now in my possession. Your legacy is in my hands. And if you want this lantern back, I suggest you put those tag team titles on the line. But that’s just the beginning. You see, my family is going to take back all the gold. But until then… I’m going to take real, real good care of this. And he is going to be with me when I take out Damian Priest and bring back the WWE Undisputed title to the family.” Solo then blows out the lantern, but will it be lights out for the Archer of Infamy? Or will Priest be the one headed to Saturday Night’s Main Event?
Cody Rhodes is here!
London sings along with Kingdom as The American Nightmare makes his entrance. There’s a bit more smoke than usual, but we still get “WHOA~ OH~!” and the pyro! Cody takes a moment to take in the crowd before he goes down the ramp and to the ring. Cody then stands on the corner for the second “WHOA~ OH~!” and pyro, but even that seems different without the Undisputed Championship on his arm or around his waist. Cody grabs the mic, the fans cheer, and Cody takes a moment to hear them singing, “Cody, Cody Rhodes~!” Cody then says, “Well, that sounds a bit different. That’s okay. That’s okay.
“Because if anything, I guess it was becoming a bit… episodic. I would come out here, I would tap my fist three times, we’d all say ‘Whoa,’ I’d walk to the ring, and I’d ask you, ‘Whaddya wanna talk about?'” The fans are a bit torn there, and Cody takes a moment. The fans now sing for “OH~ Drew McIntyre~!” Cody says don’t worry, they will discuss the NEW WWE Champion, Drew McIntyre. Cody never broke down why the name of his podcast is Whaddya Wanna Talk About. It was quite simple: He wasn’t just the company’s champion, he was the people’s champion. The fans are again torn, but Cody says he didn’t want the fans to be spectators, he wanted them to be teammates.
But perhaps Cody got comfortable with the episodic, with the predictable. He didn’t see all the eventualities, all the ways in which he could lose. Or, is Drew just that good? The fans agree there! Cody says he could ask himself that, or he could ask what HBK, Hogan, and Stone Cold have in common with Cody. Simple: they’re the only ones to go back-to-back in Royal Rumble wins. And only one of those names won it three times, that’s how a near impossible feat that is. And they all know Cody loves a gamble, he loves a long shot. Here in WWE, where we have the best men’s and women’s divisions, sometimes the best power you can have is self-belief.
So here and now, in a city that means a great deal to Cody, a city he wrestled in every weekend for WhatCulture Pro-Wrestling to sharpen his skills and became the American Nightmare, a city that DOES deserve a WrestleMania (the fans erupt for that!), let Cody make it official! Drew says there’s no rematch clause, good! They’ll do this the old fashioned way! Cody is officially declaring for the 2026 Men’s Royal Rumble match!! The fans love that, too! “So, London, what DO you wanna talk about?! Let’s talk about Jacob Fatu!” The fans are torn on that name, and Cody says he met Fatu backstage at APW, you know he’s a thoroughbred!
Cody saw Fatu VS Solo Sikoa, and you could tell Fatu was on the come up. Fatu is a young veteran in their industry. But as such, Cody is aware and positive that Fatu knows what a receipt means! And Fatu has the largest receipt coming from Cody! Fatu is all gas, no brakes, come down here and collect. Or Cody can find Fatu first and beat the brakes off his ass! The fans are fired up with Cody, but is this gambler going to bust even before we reach the Royal Rumble? Or will a fight with Fatu be just the momentum Cody needs to have his threepeat?
Backstage interview with Matt Cardona.
Cathy Kelley is with The Complete, saying he is moments away from his match with Trick Williams to qualify for the #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way. What would it mean to not only come back to the WWE but to win that title? Cardona says the way Cody lost was a shame, and Cardona was really looking forward to facing his friend for that belt. But now that it’ll be Drew McIntyre. They go way back, too. Drew’s first WWE match was with Zack Ryder. And just like Cody and Drew, Cardona left WWE to find himself, and he’s back, But while Cody and Drew are each former world champions, Cardona is not. Yet.
Cardona isn’t back just to be back, he wants his time at the top. The journey, the ups and downs, the grind, it all led back here for Cardona to be Undisputed Champion! Cardona is #AlwayZReady, but will he be able to #WhoopDatTrick? Or will the former NXT & TNA World Champion soon be headed for another top title in his young career?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Trick Williams VS Matt Cardona!
SmackDown returns as Trick continues to vibe with London. Then the fans cheer as Cardona makes his entrance. The bell rings and the fans rally and duel already. The two circle, tie up, then break. Cardona smirks, Trick flexes, and the two go again. Trick waistlocks, spins Cardona, then pie faces Cardona! Trick talks trash, but Cardona RAMS him into a corner! Trick bobs ‘n’ weaves, then he pie faces again! Trick says he runs this house, dawg! But Cardona ROCKS Trick, ROCKS him again, then fires hands in the corner! The ref counts, Cardona backs off, but Trick KNEES low! Trick scoops and SLAMS, then snarls as he checks his chin.
Trick tells Cardona not to mess with him! Trick RUNS Cardona over! The fans are torn but Trick talks trash. Cardona rises up, he dodges the tackle, but Trick CLUBS the backdrop away. Trick pie faces, then runs, but Cardona DROPKICKS him! Then clinch and FLATLINER! Trick staggers up, Cardona LARIATS him up and out! The fans fire up with Cardona, and he builds speed to WRECK Trick with a dropkick! Cardona then aims from the apron, MISSILE DROPKICK to the floor! The fans rally up again and Cardona grits his teeth while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Cardona drags Trick up, puts him in the ring, but Trick bails back out. Cardona goes to the ropes, and he drags Trick up by his hair! But Trick trips Cardona up! Trick drags Cardona out to THROW him into barriers! Trick talks trash, then FLAPJACKS Cardona off the apron! Trick fires up, then he brings Cardona up to put him in the ring. Cardona goes to a corner, Trick storms up on him, and he ROCKS Cardona. The ref reprimands, but Trick CHOPS Cardona. Then ROCKS him again! Trick hears the fans cheer and jeer, and he talks some smack on them now. Trick UPPERCUTS Cardona and Cardona slumps against ropes.
Trick whips Cardona, FLAPJACKS again, then kips up! Trick says he runs this house, then he storms up on Cardona at the ropes. Trick CHOKES Cardona, the ref counts, but Trick stops at 4. Cardona coughs and goes to a corner, Trick digs his boots in, but the ref counts. Trick stops at 4, snarls, then he whips Cardona corner to corner! Then a NECKBREAKER! Cover, TWO, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Trick keeps Cardona down with a chinlock, but the fans rally while Cardona endures. Cardona fights up, fires body shots and CHOPS, but Trick LEG LARIATS! Cover, TWO! Trick rains down forearms and Cardona can barely guard!
Trick drags Cardona back into the chinlock and he squeezes tight. The fans rally as Cardona endures again, and Cardona fights up. JAWBREAKAER! Trick rebounds, but Cardona dodges to then ROLLING ELBOW! Trick pushes Cardona back, Cardona avoids the sweep but not the EDDY GORDO KICK! Cardona wobbles, but he comes back to BOOT Trick! Trick comes back, but Cardona catches the leg lariat to SAIDO! Both men are down and the fans fire up! Trick crawls, Cardona rises, and the fans duel. Trick is in a corner, Cardona runs up, forearm SMASH! Cardona fires shots, soaks up cheers and jeers, then goes side to side for the BROSKI BOOT!
Cardona then ZIGZAGS! Shoutout to his pal, Nic Nemeth, then covers, TWO! Trick survives but Cardona underhooks him! Trick fights the lift, BACKDROPS, but Cardona sunset flips it to high stack! TWO!! Trick escapes, runs up, but the splash misses! Trick slumps down, Cardona goes for another, but Trick avoids the boot! Trick wags his finger, but then Cardona just WRECKS him with another dropkick! Cardona hurries to fetch Trick into the ring while the fans still duel. Trick runs back up, SLINGSHOTS Cardona into the ring, then TRICK KICK! Cover, TWO!! Cardona survives but Trick gets the arm.
The fans rally up, Trick cartwheels to RIPCORD, and BOOK- DDT!! Cardona turns things around, goes to the corner, and he runs up, ROUGH- NO, Trick pops free! Trick runs up, but into KNEES! Cardona goes up, lines up the shot, but Trick avoids another one! Both men run, and Trick POUNCES Cardona?! The fans fire up and Trick takes aim again! Cardona staggers up, TRICK SHOT!! Cover, Trick wins!
Winner: Trick Williams, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
A hard fought match for the first-time-ever, and Mr. Whoop Dat punches his ticket to Montreal! Will Trick soon win his first Saturday Night’s Main Event to- “Hey, Kit. Are you there?” The fans fire up for Mr. Masculinity Detox! Kit steps past Trick and Cardona, to then BLINDSIDE Cardona! The fans boo as Kit sends Cardona into the steel steps! Kit says, “TOXIC! TOXIC! TOXIC!” London goes back to cheering as the song continues, but will Kit make himself the topic no matter where he goes?
Backstage interview with Damian Priest.
Cathy Kelley is now with the Archer of Infamy, and brings up his chance at Drew McIntyre and the Undisputed Championship. But that means going through Solo Sikoa first. How do you prepare for such an opportunity? Priest says he could go on and on about Drew, there’s a lot of history there. He won’t get ahead of himself, tonight is about Solo. Facing Solo 1v1 isn’t an issue. But is it going to be 1v1? Priest doesn’t think so. But Priest will remind us that in London, he became Senor Money in the Bank. So tonight, Solo, MFT, if Priest has to do 1vALL again, he’ll do it. Priest has to get past this and get at Drew. So tonight, it’s whatever it takes.
Priest heads out, will he make sure no one stops him on his path back to the top? Or will Solo use The Outlaw as an example to all of the WWE Universe?
SmackDown returns and…
Kit is still in the ring with a mic,. “You all know that I’m right! You know there’s a problem! And I’m the solution. So I will say it again. I will let the whole world know. you all need reassurance, you all need leadership. you all need ME!” The fans cheer that, but then FATU slips in behind Kit! Kit says he is the tonic to the toxic masculinity, he is KIT! WIL-SON! But he turns around into a SUPERKICK! The Samoan Werewolf is raging, the fans are torn, but Fatu dares Cody and/or Drew to show up! SENTON on Kit, then a MIGHTIEST MOONSAULT EVER! Kit flounders away, the fans are still torn, but now Fatu grabs a mic.
“YADADA MEAN!?” The fans cheer that! Fatu tells Cody, “You got something to say about me?! You have something to say TO me? Well check this out! Bring your punk ass out here right now!” Fatu throws off his vest, and Cody makes his entrance again! Cody is in his tracksuit but that comes off pretty quick, too! The American Nightmare and Samoan Werewolf start throwing hands and the fans fire up! Cody hammers away in the corner, but Fatu RAMS him into another corner! Security rushes out here but fans boo! “LET THEM FIGHT! LET THEM FIGHT!” Aldis hurries out here, and he wants them both to stop!
The fans cheer as Cody breaks free! Cody CLOBBERS Fatu, everyone falls over, and SmackDown goes back to break! What must Aldis do to restore order?
BREAKING NEWS!
Now set for Saturday Night’s Main Event, it will be Cody Rhodes VS Jacob Fatu! Will Montreal survive the American Nightmare and Samoan Werewolf tearing it up?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Damian Priest VS Solo Sikoa w/ MFT!
The Archer of Infamy and the would-be Tribal Chief have said their piece, and now they must back those words up with actions. Will Priest defy the odds as Solo isn’t solo out here? Or will Solo, waving the Wyatt lantern as he walks out here, lead by example for his family?
The bell rings and Solo circles with Priest. They tie up, Solo headlocks, and Solo talks trash. Priest powers up and out, they RAM shoulders, and Priest rebounds to RAM Solo! Solo staggers, but he and Priest reset. They tie up, but Solo kicks low! And HEADBUTTS! Solo ROCKS Priest, whips him to ropes, but Priest reverses to BACK ELBOW! Priest mule kicks Solo, reels him in, but Solo fights the lift. Solo UPPERCUTS, but Priest SUPERKICKS! Solo tumbles out, MFT is there to check on him, but Priest pursues. The fans fire up as Priest runs up, but MFT stands in the way! The fans boo, the ref tells MFT tos tay back, and Priest goes back tot he apron.
Solo runs up,b ut Priest dodges! Solo still avoids the roundhouse and he BOOTS Priest down! The ref wants Solo to back off, but now MFT mugs Priest! The fans boo, JC Mateo pretends to be shocked, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Solo goes out to fetch Priest, SMACK him off the desk, and put him in the ring. Solo soaks up heat, HEADBUTTS Priest down, then HEADBUTTS him again and again! Solo stalks Priest to ropes, kicks him out, then pursues. MFT backs up so Solo can SMACK Priest off the desk again! Solo soaks up more heat, winds up, but Priest clinches! FLATLINER on the desk! The ring count is climbing but Priest puts Solo in at 5 of 10. Priest then winds up to UPPERCUT! Solo wobbles, Priest powers up the arm, and he runs to COME- NO, Solo ducks, shoves, and SAMOAN DROPS! Cover, TWO! Priest survives and Solo frowns.
Solo motions that he’s gonna be champion, and he rains down fists in the corner. The ref counts, Solo stops at 4, and he soaks up more heat. Solo runs corner to corner, HIP ATTACK! Priest sputters in the corner, Solo soaks up more heat, and SmackDown returns to single picture. Solo aims again, he runs back in, and HIP ATTACKS! Priest sputters again and the fans duel. Solo smirks as he goes corner to corner again, and mocks Jey Uso with the “Run it back” motion. Solo runs back in, but Priest is up! WHEEL KICK! Priest hits that just in time, and JC shields the imaginary eyes of the lantern from that collision.
Solo and Priest go back to corners while the fans rally up. Priest huffs ‘n’ puffs and fires up! Priest and Solo stare down, run up, and they RAM shoulders! Then they fire haymakers back and forth! The fans duel, Priest KICKS, Solo ROCKS, and the hands keep firing off! Solo gets the edge, but Priest avoids the last shot to BELL CLAP! Then he KICKS, KICKS, and KICKS! ROLLING ELBOW! Priest then winds up again, but Solo HEADBUTTS! Priest ROUNDHOUSES! Solo rebounds to SUPERKICK! Priest staggers, but he SPIN KICKS! Solo stays up, Priest SPIN KICKS again! Solo rebounds, Priest ducks ‘n’ dodges, then LEAPING LARIATS!
The fans fire up with Priest while Solo goes to a corner. Priest runs up, BACK ELBOW! Priest keeps moving, but Solo fireman’s carries! Priest slips free, ELEVATED FLATLINER! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up, MFT coaches Solo, but Priest goes to the corner. Priest climbs up, but Solo distracts the ref. Talla reaches out to trip Priest up! The fans boo but the ref wonders what happened. The ref puts two and two together, and he EJECTS Talla! The fans cheer, Talla is mad, but Solo hurries up after Priest! Fireman’s carry, but Priest slips free! Priest has the crucifix! RAZOR’S EDGE on Solo! Cover, TWO!! Solo survives and MFT is relieved.
Priest sighs but he just brings down the straps. The fans fire up as Priest aims, but Tama Tonga distracts! The fans boo, but Loa gets on the apron! Priest runs Loa off, but Solo prepares his own right hand! Priest avoids the spike, COMEBACK- SPINNING SOLO!! Solo goes up the corner, FLYING SOLO!! Cover, TWO!! The fans fire up as Priest survives, but Solo- OH NO! The Wyatts are here!! The lights go out, the fans go nuts, and when the lights are back, the Wyatts are BEHIND MFT! JC, Loa and Tama turn around, and then Howdy, Gacy & Lumis JUMP on them! The fans fire up as the factions fight all around ringside, Nikki Cross cheering her brothers on!
Things spill out into the crowd, Howdy RAMS JC into the post, then TOSSES JC into security staff! Howdy sees the lantern, but Solo CLOBBERS Howdy first! The fans boo, but Solo brings the lantern to the ring. The ref reprimands, Solo sets the lantern down, but Priest guzels! SOUTH OF HEAVEN!! Cover, Priest wins!!
Winner: Damian Priest, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
Solo’s obsession with tearing down the Wyatt legacy just cost him his own chance at glory! Saturday Night’s Main Event is now wepa, but will The Archer of Infamy hit the mark in Montreal? Meanwhile, Howdy laughs as he takes the lantern back. But TALLA is back! And he BOOTS Howdy down! The fans boo but Talla takes the lantern back for MFT. Will the Wyatts have no choice but to put those titles on the line in exchange?
Sami Zayn heads for gorilla.
And on the way, he crosses paths with Drew McIntyre. Drew tells Sami that he heard what Sami said last week. Sami hoped that Drew would win, but thought Cody would? Well, lucky Sami isn’t a betting man, or he’d lose big, as usual. Sami says he meant what he said, a part of him did want Drew to win, and that part of him is happy Drew did win. Because now, Sami is going to go to war with Ilja Dragunov, and win. Then next week, in Sami’s hometown of Montreal, Sami will become #1 contender. And then at the Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia, they’ll see each other again.
Oh, really inspiring, Sami, but here’s the truth: Drew has beaten Sami ELEVEN times, Sami has beaten Drew ZERO times. And if Sami does happen to make it to the Rumble, absolutely nothing changes. Sami says, “We’ll see.” Sami continues on, will he be able to defeat the Mad Russian and head home to Montreal? Or will he fall short of his world championship dreams yet again?
WWE United States Championship Open Challenge: Carmelo Hayes VS ???
Speaking of championship dreams, it is another opportunity for someone, anyone, to step up to H1M! Who will go for gold in London? We find out, after the break.
SmackDown returns, London cheers on “MEL~O! MEL~O!” But who is answering the call? It’s TNA X-Division Champion and the star of Bradford, England, LEON SLATER! The fans fire up for their guy, but will the Youngest In Charge soon be a double champion? The introductions are made, the US title is raised, and we see who hits the game winner!
The bell rings and the two run up! They tie up, go around, and Melo headlocks. Melo hits the headlock takeover, Leon headscissors, Melo kips free. Roles reverse as Leon hits the headlock takeover for Melo to headscissor. Leon kips free, Melo turns things back around with another headlock, but Leon powers up and puts Melo in the corner. The ref counts, Leon backs off, and the fans applaud as Leon whips. Melo reverses, Leon goes up and over, but Melo turns hip toss into hip toss and lateral press! TWO and Leon has the ghost pin! TWO, Leon stands, dodges Melo, but Melo blocks! Melo dodges, then hits the FADE AWAY JUMPER!
The fans fire up as Melo then brings Leon up. Melo CHOPS, ROCKS, and CHOPS again. Leon ROCKS Melo back! The fans rally up as Leon runs to CHOP Melo in the corner! Leon shakes out his hand, that’s how hard he hit Melo! But Melo kicks Leon, CHOPS again, and the fans fire up. Melo whips, Leon reverses, but Melo rolls off the back. But Melo’s leg jams! Leon hesitates, but Melo says bring it. Leon runs up, Melo dodges to waistlock, but Leon bucks the O’Conner! Melo blocks one kick, ducks the enzigiri, but that REWIND HEEL hits! The fans fire up, Leon whips but Melo reverses, only for Leon to handspring back elbow!
Melo bails out, Leon aims, PLANCHA! Down goes Melo and the fans fire up! Leon puts Melo in, he goes up the corner, and Melo hobbles up into the CROSSBODY! Cover, TWO! Melo is still in this, but the fans sing, “Leon Slater, DOO DOO DOODOO!” Leon is feeling it, Melo applauds, and SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Leon and Melo circle, though that bad leg is still a problem. Melo shakes it out, he and Leon go again, and Melo waistlocks. Leon switches, they go to the mat, and Leon body scissors for a GEDO CLUTCH! TWO, and Melo is up! Leon hurries after him, but Melo ELBOWS Leon away. Melo reels Leon in, suplexes, then floats to a cover, TWO! Melo takes his kneepad down to check his knee, and Leon crawls to ropes while the fans rally up. Melo stalks Leon, has him in a corner, and he climbs up. Melo rains down fists, gives a little forearm grind instead of the six-seven, then he snapmares Leon. But Leon’s right up to CHOP!
Melo flops to the apron, Leon brings him up, but Melo RAMS Leon! Melo hobbles but runs, only for Leon to blow past him! Melo hurdles, ducks, and then DROPKICKS! But even that wasn’t the best, and he shakes the leg out. Leon slowly rises, the fans rally more, and both men stand. Melo hobbles over to Leon, brings him up, and reels him in again. Leon fights the suplex, Melo still tries, but Leon pops free! Leon shoves and DROPKICKS Melo down! Cover, TWO! Melo is toughing it out but Leon still has the fans behind him. Leon stands Melo up, whips him to ropes, but Melo reveres. Leon handsprings, but Melo dodges!
Leon avoids the Jumper again, then he follows Melo! INVERTED SPANISH FLY! The fans fire up while both men are down! “This is Awesome!” as SmackDown returns to single picture and both men slowly rise. Melo is up first, he gets Leon to his feet, and he CHOPS! Leon snarls and he CHOPS again! Leon then brings Melo up, but Melo ROCKS Leon! Leon staggers, comes back, and he ROCKS Melo! Melo CHOPS, whips, but Leon reverses to BOOT! Melo is at the ropes, but he avoids the sweep! LA MYSTICA! And then the suplex, LAYUP CUTTER! Cover, TWO! Leon survives and the fans rally up while Melo grits his teeth.
Melo waits on Leon to rise up, then he storms up in the corner. Melo whips, Leon stops himself, and he stops the First 48! Melo fights the crab, reels Leon in, TWO! But then Leon LEG LARIATS Melo down! Cover, TWO! Melo survives the sudden turnaround but Leon stays cool. Leon drags Melo to a drop zone, goes up the corner, but Melo goes to the apron. Leon just adjusts, then leaps, but Melo dodges! Melo CHOPS Leon, but Leon fireman’s carries! Melo slips free, the leg jams, and Leon avoids the shoulder! GUILLOTINE LEG DROP in the ropes! Leon then goes back to the corner, springboards, but Melo slips around! Sunset flip, TWO!
Leon sits on the cover, TWO! Melo has it, TWO! Leon has it, TWO! ONE! ONE! And repeat! both men stand, the fans fi reup, and Leon SPIKE-RANAS! Cover, TWO!! Melo survives and the fans fire up again! Then Melo SUPERKICKS! Leon goes to the corner, Melo runs up, but Leon puts him on the apron. Melo’s leg jams again! Leon just builds speed corner to corner! Leon FLIES over the post!! Down goes Melo and the fans are thunderous! Leon puts Melo in fast, goes up the corner, and the fans are on his side! SWANTON- NO, Melo moves and Leon FLOPS! Melo hits the FIRST 48! Cover, TWO!! Leon survives and the fans fire up again!
Melo is frustrated, his leg is hurting, but he elbows Leon off him. “This is Awesome!” as Melo goes back up the corner. Leon hurries to anchor a foot, but Melo CLUBS away on Leon. Leon UPPERCUTS Melo, then climbs back up. Leon and Melo fight for control up there, and they’re on the very top! Melo hits a SUPER LAYUP CUTTER!! Cover, MELO WINS!
Winner: Carmelo Hayes, by pinfall (still WWE United States Championship)
A standing ovation as two young icons just put on an instant classic, and Melo gives respect to Leon. This was the first time they’ve fought, will there be many more in the years to come?
Shinsuke Nakamura watches this backsatge.
But then Tama Tonga calls him out. Tama says Nakamura is looking at the US title, but the next chance doesn’t belong to him. Nakamura took his shot, and he blew it. Once MFT takes the tag titles, that US Championship is Tama’s. Nakamura and Tama do go way back, so this is Nakamura’s one and only warning: Stay out of Tama’s way. Nakamura tells Tama in Japanese that he knows their history, but he warns Tama in return that he better be ready to fight for what he wants. Will the Good Bad Guy bring the US title to MFT? Or will the King of Strong Style get another chance?
Johnny Gargano & Candice LeRae walk ‘n’ talk backstage.
Johnny Wrestling looks at the Axiom mask he stole and he still can’t believe “those dorks” fell for it last week. Who even wears turtlenecks? But Axiom steps in and says he’ll be the better man. He wants to save Gargano from a beating, so just hand the mask over. Oh, Gargano doesn’t have the mask. He hands it to Candice, she hurries off, and Axiom tells Gargano to grow up. Gargano says if Axiom will excuse them, they’re gonna do married people things. Laters. Wait, another Axiom? This one DECKS Gargano, and surprise! It was Frazer! Oh, another surprise is that Frazer talked with Aldis. Next week, it is Gargano VS Frazer, 1v1.
And after Frazer beats Gargano, his amigo will do the same and take that mask back. So enjoy it while you still can. Fraxiom high-fives and heads out, will they get their revenge on Gargano one way or another?
Jordynne Grace VS Chelsea Green w/ Alba Fyre!
The Juggernaut chose SmackDown because of all the names she’d love to beat down. She already handled “Slaygent A,” will she bring down The Hot Mess next? Or will even she have to pledge her allegiance to Chelsea Green?
SmackDown returns and Jade Cargill is ringside to watch this. The Storm has put Chelsea and Jordynne on notice, will her presence do that tonight? Jordynne makes her entrance now, and the bell rings. Chelsea runs up to tie up with Grace, but she SHOVES Cheslea away! Chelsea gets up to SLAP Grace, and SLAP and SLAP again! Grace just brushes those off, then SLAPS back! Chelsea wobbles, Grace whips her, and then SPINEBUSTER! Grace hauls Chelsea up, reels her in, and the fans rally as Grace claps using chelsea’s back. Grace hits a stalling suplex, then she SLAMS Chelsea down! The fans cheer, Grace covers, TWO!
Grace clamps onto Chelsea, fireman’s carries, but Chelsea slips free to RAM her into buckles! Chelsea salutes, BOOTS Grace into the corner, then Alba SUPERKICKS Grace behind the ref’s back! Chelsea runs, slides, and THROWS Grace down! Cover, ONE!! Chelsea is furious already, and she drags Grace up. Chelsea whips Grace to the corner, salutes again, and the fans are torn as she runs in. Grace slips around to RAM Chelsea into buckles! ANd again, and again! Backslide, roll through, and short arm LARIAT! Short arm LARIAT! And- NO, Chelsea slips aroudn to waistlock. Grace ELBOWS free, then she ROCKS Cheslea!
Grace ELBOWS, LARIATS, then roars! the fans fire up and Grace runs in, but she blocks a boto firsT! Then a wrench and MUFFLER PLEX! Grace shouts fo rChelsea to ger up. Chelase stands, Grace fireman’s carries, DIRECT EFFECT! Jackknife bridge, Grace wins!
Winner: Jordynne Grace, by pinfall
A new move for her new win streak, but Jade just golf claps Grace’s win. Grace grabs a mic, and she says, “Hey, champ. I’m glad that you came out here tonight to watch me. It’s extremely important that you know exactlly waht’s coming fo ryou.” The fans are torn, but Grace says if watching was just enough, that’s fine. But if Jade’s tired of babysitting that title, then step into the ring right here, right now! The fans fire up as Jade stands up! Jade goes to the ring and says Grace msut be stupid. But then Chelsea runs up! Grace dodges, Cheslea BLASTS Jade!! Chelsea is shocked, but also dazed, and Grace picks up the belt.
Grace smiles as she holds up THE WWE Women’s Championship, before she throws it back to Jade. Jade says, “Bet!” When and where will these forces of nature battle it out?
Backstage interview with Trick Williams.
Cathy congratulates him on his win tonight, and says he didn’t just ease his way onto SmackDown, he jumped into the deep end. What does this mean to him that he is headed to Saturday Night’s Main Event for a #1 Contender’s Fatal 4 Way? Trick says let this be a warning: he is putting all of SmackDown on notice! All you bums, bobbleheads and bootlickers, know that Trick is that dawg! Trick looks like money, he feels like money, because Trick IS money. And he wants a special shoutout to Randy Orton and Damian Priest! Congrats, you have a match with the future of this business, let’s talk about it! And hold on. He might be Whoop Dat Trick, but on Saturday, he whoops dat ass.
Cathy says yes, she was going to add- Oh, Priest steps in. Trick is the guy who does a lot of talking. Priest doesn’t. You already know what’s up on SNME. But Trick’s free on Friday, right? So is Priest. And Priest is ready to whoop dat Trick. Priest heads out, will he have quite the appetizer with Trick when SmackDown arrives in Montreal?
WWE Championship #1 Contender’s Qualifier: Sami Zayn VS Ilja Dragunov!
We saw these two battle over the United States Championship, and #BigMatchSami lost the title to the returning Mad Russian Dragon. But now, they fight for a much bigger prize on this Road to WrestleMania! Will Sami make up for that loss and join that Fatal 4 Way? Or will Ilja continue to rise up the ranks and be one match away from taking over the world?
SmackDown returns as Sami makes his entrance. The fans sing along with the song and Sami high-fives the front row along the ramp. The bell rings and the fans fire up as Sami and Ilja stare down. They step up, and they start firing forearms! The fans rally up as the shots go back and forth, faster and faster! Sami fires a flurry, but then Ilja CHOPS, CHOPS, and CHOPS! Then SPIN CHOP! CHOP to the leg! BOOT! Ilja runs, but into a LARIAT! The fans fire up while Ilja goes to ropes and Sami catches his breath. Sami storms up on Ilja to CHOP! Ilja just eggs him on! Sami CHOPS, fire more forearms, then stops as the ref counts.
Ilja KNEES low, fires more forearms, then whips. Sami reverses, Ilja reverses back, but Sami goes up and over! Sami runs up, Ilja BOOTS him, then JUMP KICKS! The fans fire up with Ilja, and he stands Sami up to bump him off buckles. Ilja CHOPS, then runs corner to corner. Ilja KNEES low, keeps moving, and he BOOT WASHES! Ilja snapmares Sami down, then hops up, KING KONG KNEE DROP! The fans fire up and Ilja goes up again! KING KONIG- NO, Sami dodges! Sami then kicks Iljia and suplexes, BRAINBUSTER! Cover, TWO! Another cover, TWO! A third cover, TWO! Ilja is still fighting and the fans rally back up.
Sami stands Ilja up to CHOP! Ilja goes to a corner, Sami ROCKS him, and the fans cheer. Sami ROCKS Ilja again, has him in a corner, and CHOPS! Sami reels Ilja in, whips him to ropes, but Ilja KNEES Sami! Then GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja holds on and he talks some smack while the fans rally. Sami stands, switches, and he GERMAN SUPLEXES! Ilja headlocks in return as Sami stands him back up. Ilja then pries the waistlock open, switches, but Sami switches. They switch and switch and switch, then Ilja SNAP GERMANS! The fans cheer, Ilja goes back to the corner, and Ilja rises up, only for Sami to CHOP!
The fans cheer and sing for “Sami, Sami Zayn~!” but Ilja fires body shots. Sami CLUBS Ilja again and again, then goes up to the very top! SUPER DUPER PLEX! Both men are down and the fans cheer again while SmackDown goes picture in picture.
Sami and Ilja both stir, and Sami crawls over to Ilja. Sami brings Ilja up with a facelock, but Ilja wrenches out to waistlock. Sami fights the lift, but Ilja CLUBS him and HAMMERS him, then pump handles for an EXPLODER! Cover, TWO! Sami survives, but Ilja SLIDING FOREARMS in the back! Ilja ELBOWS and CLUBS Sami again and again, then stalks him to ropes. The fans rally up, and Ilja stomps Sami at the ropes. The ref counts, Ilja BOOTS Sami, then SLAPS him! Sami sputters, but he comes back to SLAP Ilja! Ilja and Sami make it a SLAP fight, then Sami fires haymakers! DDT! Cover, TWO! Ilja stays in this, but Sami stays cool.
Sami checks his teeth, they’re all there. Sami stands, Ilja crawls to ropes, but it’s Ilja who eggs Sami on! Sami stomps a mudhole into Ilja at the ropes! The ref counts, Sami stops at 4, but the fans rally up again. Sami huffs ‘n’ puffs and brings Ilja around. Sami goes for the corner but Ilja wants the leg! Ilja eggs Sami on, Sami HAMMERS Ilja down! Sami busts Ilja’s eyebrow open! Ilja sputters, Sami goes to the apron, and the fans rally up again. SmackDown returns to single picture as Sami rises, but Ilja SLAPS him! Ilja SLAPS again, climbs up, and he fires up again! The fans are with Ilja on that, but Sami gets some shots to the chin!
Sami CLUBS Ilja, then adjusts position, SUPER SUNSET FLIP POWERBOMB! Cover, TWO!! Ilja survives and the fans fire up again! Sami is beside himself, but he hurries to get after Ilja at the ropes. Sami drags Ilja up, around, but Ilja stops the Blue Thunder with elbows! Ilja runs, but Sami reels him back in! Ilja slips free, ducks ‘n’ dodges, CONSTANTINE SPECIAL! The fans fire up while both men flounder! Ilja goes to a corner, goes up top, and he aims to go COAST2COAST! Sami falls, Ilja covers, TWO!! Sami survives and now Ilja is stunned! The fans rally again while Sami is down. Ilja winds up, H-BOMB- BOOT!!
The fans fire up as Sami counters the falling forearm! Both men stagger to their feet, then Sami clinches! But Ilja fights off the exploder! Sami ROCKS Ilja, Ilja springs up to ENZIGIRI! Ilja has Sami in the corner, he runs corner to corner and LARIATS! Ilja runs corne rto ocrner again, another LARIAT! Ilja goes for a third, but he ducks Sami’s Helluva Kick! Ilja knew that trick and Sami crashes into buckle! They both go to the apron, and Ilja fireman’s carries. Sami fights free, HEADBUTTS Ilja, and Ilja staggers back. But then TORPEDO MOSCOW!! Both men fall to the floor! The fans rally while the ring count climbs!
Ilja rises at 5 of 10, rolls in at 7, and Sami sputters at 8. Sami rises at 9, and leaps in at 9.99! But Ilja is on him! POWERBOMB! Ilja goes up, up, and SUPER SENTONS but onto KNEES! Not the cleanest counter, but Sami clinches Ilja! BUCKLE EXPLODER! The fans fire up with Sami, he runs corner to corner, HELLUVA KICK!! Cover, Sami wins!!
Winner: Sami Zayn, by pinfall (advances to Saturday Night’s Main Event)
And with that, our #1 contender’s Fatal 4 is set! Orton, Trick, Priest, and Sami! But then Trick CLOBBERS Sami from behind! The fans boo but Trick lets his hair down and goes wild! Trick aims again, TRICK SHOT!! Sami is down, Trick stands over him, and he soaks up all that heat. But will Trick be able to whoop three decorated superstars at once? Or will Sami’s journey to the top finally be fulfilled in Montreal?
My Thoughts:
A great episode for SmackDown, a lot of action that also helped in the various story builds. Drew McIntyre had a great opening promo, but they also segued really well into Orton VS Miz as the opener. We also got a very good promo from Cody, and of course he wants to threepeat at the Royal Rumble. It was wild for Kit Wilson to go after Matt Cardona to give Fatu an opening to attack and then call out Cody in return. Very good brawl from Fatu and Cody, and Cody VS Fatu for Saturday Night’s Main Event is going to be great. If Drew didn’t do the attack, will Cody win against Fatu and reveal it was him all along?
Good promo from Charlexa with Nia & Lash, and then a very good tag match. Good win for Charlexa, but at least Giulia and Kiana got a bit better of a showing. But of course Lash & Nia attacked after, and now all three teams have beef. With Liv Morgan & Roxanne Perez as contenders from Raw, we’ll definitely get separate contenders for SmackDown now to parallel. Then it’ll be about Rhea & Iyo trying to survive both challenges, perhaps to build up the go-home week to Royal Rumble. If Liv & Roxie actually win, then the SmackDown team stands no chance, no matter who it is, because Liv & Roxie wouldn’t be transitional champions.
Very good stuff from Grace, Chelsea, and Jade, and I wonder if they’d give us a Triple Threat of Jade VS Grace VS Chelsea. Chelsea would definitely be the one to take the loss to keep both Jade and Grace strong, regardless of who wins. But at the same time, we’d still need a proper 1v1 of Jade VS Grace for the title to settle the feud. Good promo with Fraxiom getting payback on Gargano and setting up Frazer VS Gargano and Axiom VS Gargano. Absolutely awesome US Championship from Melo VS Leon, I did not think they’d go that hard, but it was greatly appreciated. Melo selling bad leg is definitely foreshadowing how he eventually loses that title, though it might not be for some time.
And of course, great stuff in all four SNME qualifier matches, even with all the results being how I expected. As I said last week, a shame that Cardona had to lose here, but Trick is getting on a roll already. Orton VS Miz was a great opening, and Sami VS Ilja was an awesome main event. Trick going after Sami kinda foreshadows Sami winning out in the end, as Sami VS Drew is definitely a great choice for the Royal Rumble, too. It really is a story of “Something’s gotta give.” Drew pointed out the 11-0 record between him and Sami, but Drew has/wants to make it through his first title defense, it could come down to Drew using shenanigans like he did to dethrone Cody.
My Score: 8.9/10
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Coverage
Andrew’s TNA iMPACT! Results & Match Ratings: 1.15.26
TNA had some time to cook up their big debut. Did they burn it, or make a succulent feast?
AMC era has begun! Granted it’s not without a big loss, being The Rascalz seem to be headed to AEW. Which honestly I’m conflicted. If it was their decision because the money was astronomical, then I can’t fault TNA for not being able to compete with the TK Bank Account. But if TNA didn’t even try and let them walk for money that could’ve been negotiated…then TNA fumbled harder than CJ Stroud. Jake Something is a non-factor, but The Rascalz could be a big mistake.
WOAH! @AJStylesOrg and @FrankieKazarian come face to face on #TNAiMPACT on @AMC_TV! pic.twitter.com/CSh7IpV5ex
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 16, 2026
Ratings:
- Elijah & The Hardyz vs Order 4: Jeff wins via Swanton Bomb – *
- TNA Knockouts Tag Titles: The IInspiration (c) vs The Elegance Brand: Maggie wins via pinfall – (-) *** – TITLE CHANGE!!!
- TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs Mike Santana: Santana wins via Spin the Block – *** 3/4 – TITLE CHANGE!!!
Results:
AJ Styles comes out to kick off TNA episodes on a new network. He walks out to the WWE theme, makes a quick hype promo, doesn’t interact with anyone aside from the crowd. Definitely feels like more could’ve been done with AJ, but it was nice to see him.
Elijah & The Hardyz vs Order 4
The Hardyz come out with some guitar guy, Justin Lyonz or something…BDE and another streamer buddy? Definitely already feels overbooked just on the intro.
Order 4 tries to start fast but things back fire quickly and…this is starting off like an old episode of like WCW Thunder. Just messy overbooked intros, hot start into a commercial. 13 minutes in and it’s not a good start. Coming back from the commercial, Ali had the advantage but then Jeff Hardy is turning it around, all the apron dwellers are down. Ali tries the Rolling Neckbreaker, Jeff catches him with a Twist of Fate. Tasha tries to get in the way, Ali gets shoved into her, Matt hits the Twist of Tasha draped over Ali…shmoz spot. The Great Hands actually turn things around after the pinfall break, but Elijah stops them with some Mule Kick action, into a Twist from Matt and Swanton from Jeff. I think we saw maybe 3 minutes of this and it was all just cliche chaos crap.
Loser Agent Zero attacks after the fact…even though Elijah laid him out last week and the luster is off of Zero. He’s a joke. The Righteous come out to make a…Save? Dutch hits Death Walks on Matt and Vincent pulls out…a pad lock or something and then chains Jeff to the post via his eat gauge. This is…an embarrassing mess of crap just happening. If this is anyone’s first episode, I apologize for the Crash TV whiplash effect of this so far.
20 minutes of worthless D List Star spotting that leads to a comedy spot with Ryan Nemeth (which is fine, I love Ryan) but then it goes into Santino finding a new General Manager type because he’s been compromised. And it’s…Sonya Deville with Daria Rae as her new gimmick name. She comes out as the heel “management” type who wants to get rid of Santino. And…she apparently signed Elayna Black. Yikes, back to back no one cares reveals. Sonya Deville and Cora Jade. Cora’s hot, but wrestling competence…ya that’s non-existent.
I can almost tolerate Sonya since she’s supposed to come out and be a heel immediately, so the lack of current love, buzz and pop, is fine. But bringing Cora Jade along like she’s anything more than eye candy is…pathetic. It has been 30 minutes since the last actual wrestling match happened.
WHY DO WE GO INTO ANOTHER GOOFBALL TALK SEGMENT?!?!? The Elegance Brand, with Perez Hilton…has he even been relevant since like 2008? What is this? I get that it’s a dumb shtick before the match but STOP TALKING. This…Mr Elegance thing is complete garbage.
TNA Knockouts Tag Titles: The IInspiration (c) vs The Elegance Brand
The IInspiration comes down to stop the awful segment and as soon as things start we cut to commercial again. WHY. M has control cause of course the heels are in control until Cassie gets the knees up and M crashes and burns on the Moonsault. Jessie hot tag, lays out both Elegance members. She dispatches of M, Armbar Suplex on Heather but the Concierge pulls out Jessie. Jessie blocks the numbers game but eats combination kicks from Heather. They go for their Bow and Arrow, Stomp combo but Cassie shoves off Heather, IInspiration double teams M, Mr Elegance hops on the apron and gets slapped.
This is a sloppy mess of over booked gimmicked garbage. Idolizer on Maggie but interference for days and Maggie gets the pin and the…I don’t care. Get rid of these titles. I love Maggie, but this is pathetic and the fact we need NXT tag teams to flesh out a contender bracket is sad. What the actual FUCK is this episode? This feels like a fever dream.
TNA International Champion @Stacks_WWE and @AriannaGraceWWE take plenty of shots at @milanmiracle ahead of #TNAGenesis! #TNAiMPACT pic.twitter.com/9V2wMk3zlk
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) January 16, 2026
Jesus, okay the Visa issue is legit because I know there’s problems in e-sports and other professional mediums. But now Lei Ying Lee comes out because her title match becomes an Open Challenge because Dani can’t compete at Genesis. ZaRuca comes out, and I don’t care who challenge Lei, but I swear if TNA makes Lei drop the title to an NXT wrestler again. Sol actually says Zaria deserves the shot, which surprises Zaria…kind of a nice moment. But still…I swear, no more NXT wrestlers taking TNA gold.
Christ on a crutch, another talking segment. The System has to say stuff because Dango is retiring on Saturday, but come the hell on. So far there have been 2 matches, we saw 3 minutes of the first one, some people missed the entire second match because AMC ran back to back commercial breaks. But even seeing it, there’s was about 4 minutes of interference in that match. 90 minutes so far, and there’s been 7 minutes of visible wrestling. They’ve done garbage shows like this before, but I was hoping they would know better than to give us some gum flapping imbecile show. But NOOO.
TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs Mike Santana
Collar and Elbow tie up, Kaz tries the early Chicken Wing, but Santana fights it off and tries to catch him with a Spin the Block, but easily dodged and we reset. Santana hits the Shoulder Tackle and the crowd pops probably because it’s actually wrestling for what feels like the first time all night. Frankensteiner sends Frankie to the floor, Escalera Plancha from Santana keeps Kaz on the receiving end. Santana launches off the steps but misses and Kaz connects with a Belly to Belly.
Back from yet another terribly timed commercial, we see Kaz get shoved off the ropes, Santana tries the Rolling Buck Fifty, but Kaz connects with a Backstabber. He then decides to talk smack to Santana and big brother him. Santana absorbs Kaz’s shots, fires and then throws his own haymakers. Santana going a little Sting with a big Woo, catches Kaz’s foot and then Gamengiri. Kaz cuts him off, Santana cuts off Kaz, Rolling Buck Fifty out of the up and over, but only a 2 count.
Kaz claws the eyes, shoves Santana away, but Santana climbs the buckles again, Spanish Fly, no sell, into a struggle for signature moves when Santana snaps off a Code Red for another near fall. Santana takes too long to go for the Cannonball, knees up, Kaz hits the Angel’s Wings for two. Chicken Wing attempt two, but Santana rolls over into the pinfall, Kaz kicks out. A little cat and mouse on the Guillotine, but Slingshot Cutter into the Springboard Guillotine Leg Drop for two again!
Frankie tries to bring in the belt, it gets taken away, finisher counters, Fighting Spirit, Spin the Block misses, Kaz goes for a Shotgun Kick but ref bump. Santana hits the Spin the Block but the ref is dead. Kaz looks for the discarded belt, clocks Santana with it while the referee is still dead. Kaz aims for Fade to Black on the apron and connects! Throws Santana back into the ring, cover, Santana kicks out at two and fires! Kaz with the Canadian Destroyer but Santana no sells, Spin the Block! 1-2-2.999. Kaz kicked out of it. Kaz dodges the next STB, tries one of his own, but then Santana connects with another!
Overall Score: 2.5/10
This was an awful trainwreck of a fever dream. The Main Event was the only thing worth watching, and if you’re not a TNA fan, I wouldn’t expect people to have stuck around that long. The Main Event is 2 of the 2.5 points, the only other slightly decent part was utilizing Sonya Deville’s relative lack of interest and expected lack of pop, to just make her a heel out of the gates.
Everything else about this show was complete unadulterated dogshit. Mr Elegance talks like young Chris Jericho, Ryan Nemeth and Peter Brady did a failed fusion dance. The concept was cringe the execution is worse. The constant commercials at the start of matches and coming back for 2-3 minutes of trash is a 90s formula that doesn’t work nowadays. 80% of this show was useless talking, highlight segments of the history of TNA and running around to fix Genesis matches because all the UK wrestlers can’t make the show.
This was pathetic. If this was people’s first time watching TNA, it probably will be their last. This show made WCW Thunder look competent. I yearn for the days of Disco Inferno vs Lodi. Van Hammer vs Mike Awesome during his fat chick thriller era, would be better writing and television than whatever this was.
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Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
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TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends
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