Results
- Ethan Page def. Elio LeFleur (NXT North American Championship)
- Shiloh Hill def. Josh Briggs (NXT Championship Qualifier)
- Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes def. Kale Dixon & Uriah Connors
- Sean Legacy def. Eli Knight (NXT Championship Qualifier)
- Zaria & Sol Ruca def. Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair, Fallon Henley & Lainey Reid (Tag Team Triple Threat) (TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders)
Elio LeFleur impresses in NXT debut against Ethan Page
This week’s episode of NXT from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, started with General Manager Ava instructing a group of security guards to keep their eyes out for Tony D’Angelo, who has been showing up to the PC and attacking members of the roster in recent weeks.
Action in the ring got started this week with NXT North American Champion Ethan Page attempting to extend his record-setting reign against the debuting Elio LeFleur, the French Luchador. LeFleur came into this one with lots of intrigue around him, getting hyped through video packages for the past two weeks.
Page tried to get under LeFleur’s skin by tapping the top of his head early on. LeFleur repeated the gesture after Page was reeling due to a pair of crafty moves – the crowd was totally behind him after this point. LeFleur sent Page out of the ring then dove off the top of the steel stairs for a hurricanrana.
Back in the ring, Page stopped a top-rope move attempt from LeFleur, instead tossing him stomach-first onto the top turnbuckle. Page followed up with a backbreaker onto the top buckle, then a big boot which sent LeFleur off the ring apron just before the show went to a break.
Page chipped away at LeFleur with strikes during the break. LeFleur started to mount a comeback after the show returned, reversing an Ego’s Edge into a back bodydrop. He followed a springboard crossbody, then a suplex for a near fall.
LeFleur climbed to the top and tried for a 450 Splash, but Page rolled out of the way. LeFleur turned around and ate a nasty front kick from Page for another two-count. This near fall frustrated Page, who shoved LeFleur’s head.
LeFleur caught Page for a snap suplex then came flying off the ropes, but Page countered him mid-air with a hard boot to the body. It looked as though Page was nearing a finish, but LeFleur reversed a move into a DDT.
LeFleur scored a moonsault off the top and to the outside, then a springboard knee for a two-count. LeFleur returned to the top for an impressive Coast to Coast, but Page kicked out again. He looked for the 450 Splash once again, but Page countered by putting up his knees.
LeFleur reversed another Ego’s Edge, scoring a hurricanrana instead. He hit a knee strike in the corner and then tried for a running kick, but Page countered it into a powerbomb. Page went for the pin and sneakily grabbed the tights of LeFleur in the process, earning him the win in 10 minutes.
While I felt the finish lacked something (maybe this was due to how many near falls they had used up already in just a few minutes), overall this was a solid debut for LeFleur, who proved to be a well-rounded technician.
Shiloh Hill earns first-ever NXT Championship shot
We were shown clips of Keanu Carver during LFG getting into some verbal sparring matches with Booker T. When asked for comment, Booker had nothing to say! Carver appeared later in the night for a sit-down interview, where he showcased a short temper and put his hands on the journalist at one point!
In the first of five qualifier matches for an upcoming NXT title bout, Shiloh Hill and Josh Briggs were next. NXT will have a six-way ladder match to find their new champion on February 3 – all the winners of these qualifiers will compete in the bout also involving Ricky Saints, who secured a bye straight through to the title opportunity.
Booker was on commentary during this match talking about how Briggs is on “the bubble,” especially considering how WWE usually does cuts after Wrestlemania season. A little too real?
Hill scored a nice cannonball at ringside just before the break, but Briggs responded with some hard strikes only moments later. Hill tried to get back into the match with a brawling breakout as the show returned, but Briggs stopped that run with a Hidden Blade-esque running elbow to the face.
Hill got the best of a striking exchange, dropping Briggs with a shoulder tackle. He came off the top with a clothesline, then a reverse standing cannonball for a two-count (that’s a tall, heavy man moving like that!).
Hill came charging off the ropes for a move but instead ate a big boot from Briggs. The NXT vet followed up with a chokeslam, but it wasn’t enough to put away Hill. Briggs was swept off the ropes by Hill, causing him to start selling a knee injury.
Briggs scored a big boot then tried for a moonsault, but nobody was home! Hill landed a neckbreaker to earn the pinfall win in 10 minutes, qualifying him for next month’s title bout.
Hill was the obvious choice here – while he has a wild character that hasn’t entirely stuck for me, you wanna give him some more visibility on TV as he’s getting introduced this year. It certainly helps that the PC crowd likes him, too.
The security at NXT tonight sucks, apparently, as Tony D’Angelo hit the ring to attack Hill afterward.
Backstage, Zaria asked why Sol Ruca wasn’t at ringside near the end of her Knockouts World Championship match against Lei Ying Lee last weekend (For those who didn’t watch TNA Genesis, Ruca brawled backstage with The Elegance Brand near the end of the match, taking her away from ringside). A frustrated Zaria said she has a banged-up arm and that if they lose tonight because of her injuries, don’t blame her. Place your bets: Do Zaria and Ruca actually break up soon? Or is this will-they-won’t-they continue beyond Wrestlemania season and through to the summer? It’s beyond stale.
The Vanity Project arrive in NXT
In their first appearance since getting officially promoted from EVOLVE to NXT, The Vanity Project’s Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes faced off against Chase U’s Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors, who haven’t been doing so hot for a long time.
Chase U had a great start to the match, but Baylor got control of the bout after tossing Connors off the top rope. Vanity Project scored a double-team dropkick into a spinebuster for a near fall.
Dixon got a hot tag after Connors, who scored a beautiful dive over the top rope and to the outside onto both opponents. He followed up with a corkscrew splash off the top onto Smokes, who kicked out at two. Chase U hit a Cutter-Stunner combo and went for a pin, but Baylor hit the ring to break the count.
The match was working at a wild pace at this point. Chase U tried for a double-team move onto Baylor, but Smokes pulled one of them out of the ring to stop this from happening. A distraction from Smokes at ringside allowed Baylor to hit Dixon with a knee-strike. Vanity Project hit a double-team double-stomp off the top into a neckbreaker for the pinfall win. Very fast-paced tag bout, but I thought it was a good showcase of both teams. Hopefully, they can do something meaningful with the Chase U duo soon, anything other than the played-out story that the group has been struggling as of late.
Backstage, NXT GM Ava announced that Izzi Dame will defend her NXT Women’s North American Championship in a triple threat match against Thea Hail and Lola Vice as part of the February 3 episode of TV. They’re really souping up that show, which is a little surprising since it’s not in a special location, nor is it being billed as a TV special.
Jaida Parker challenges Blake MOnroe
While this was a match-heavy episode of NXT, we did get an in-ring talking segment next from the recently-returned Jaida Parker.
Parker said that she has been watching what has happened in NXT as of late, giving a shoutout to Kendal Grey and Lola Vice for their recent performances. She said that during her time away she vowed that when she returned, she would let her work speak for itself.
She continued with her babyface promo until the lights had suddenly turned off. “I know you lying,” she said.
Blake Monroe appeared on a platform in the venue to cut off Parker’s promo. “You made a grave mistake interrupting me last week,” Monroe said.
Monroe said Parker is “just talk” and can’t stand in her way. “I think you talk so much because if, and this is a big if, if you stop talking, you might have something to prove,” Parker said.
Parker basically replied that if Monroe has an issue with her, she can do something about it, and the segment came to an end. Parker was pretty good on the mic here.
Sean Legacy punches ticket to February 3 title match
In the other NXT Championship qualifier match this week, Sean Legacy and fellow NXT newcomer Eli Knight battled it out. We had only seen Knight on NXT TV once before, but he has experience on the U.S. indies and EVOLVE as well. It was announced just earlier today that Legacy was an NXT talent, too.
Knight got a spotlight just before the break, hitting a springboard moonsault to the outside onto Legacy. These two traded hard shots as the show returned, putting together a fun back-and-forth sequence. Knight came rolling across the ring for a move, but ate a nasty mid-air superkick from Legacy before hitting whichever move he was going to attempt. Legacy tossed Knight into the ropes for a Spanish Fly, then a springboard 450 Splash for a two-count.
Legacy came charging at Knight but was given an exploder suplex into a set of turnbuckles. Legacy rolled his way out of a top-rope moonsault by Knight, but Knight followed that attempt with a standing moonsault which connected.
After a series of roll-up pin attempts, Knight hit a sliced bread then tried for a top-rope moonsault, but Legacy put up his feet and connected them with Knight’s jaw. Legacy then hit his Shambles neckbreaker for the pinfall win. Solid showing from these two.
Tony D’Angelo delivered a post-match attack afterward, chokeslamming Legacy onto the commentary desk at one point. He’s still making the same vacant expression and we still don’t know anything about his story, so I’m pretty bored of the act at this point. He was arrested by security and escorted out of the building and put inside an SUV which was apparently a police vehicle.
Outside the PC, OTM called for a title match against DarkState next week.
Here’s what they announced for next Tuesday:
- Osiris Griffin & Saquon Shugars Bronco Nima & Lucien Price (NXT Tag Team Championships)
- Joe Hendry vs. Jackson Drake (NXT Championship Ladder Qualifier)
- Andre Chase vs. Keanu Carver (NXT Championship Ladder Qualifier)
- Dion Lennox vs. Myles Borne (NXT Championship Ladder Qualifier)
In a meeting inside their dark, shadowy room, The Culling plotted their next move: Niko Vance and Shawn Spears plan on challenging for the NXT tag titles once OTM and DarkState settle their beef.
Despite their issues, ZaRuca earn title opportunity
The main event of the night saw three NXT duos face off for a shot at the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships, currently held by The Elegance Brand (who was represented at ringside by The Personal Concierge). Competing in this match were: Zaria and Sol Ruca, Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair, and Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid of Fatal Influence.
ZaRuca’s tension was on display early on, as Zaria tagged herself into the bout in the first minute of the match. Sinclair and Grey scored back-to-back dives before the show went to a break, with Sinclair doing a crossbody to the outside and Grey delivering a moonsault.
This match took advantage of three women being legal wrestlers at a time, including a Doomsday Device spot at one point. Jacy Jayne attempted to interfere with the match at one point but Grey was able to avoid her ringside attack, instead knocking down the women’s champ with a baseball slide.
Grey put Lainey Reid in a submission, but Ruca broke it up with a springboard frogsplash. Ruca had an awesome run of moves at one point, but once again had her run stopped by Zaria tagging herself into the bout. Zaria gave a spear to Grey and Reid, but got taken out by a Shades of Grey from Grey moments later.
With the help of an attack by Jayne at ringside, WrenQCC were effectively taken out of the match in the bout’s closing minutes, making it a two-on-two match.
Henley scored a Blockbuster to Zaria and went for the pin but was dragged out of the ring by Ruca, who gave her a spear at ringside moments later.
Back in the ring, Ruca hit a double Sol Snatcher onto both Fatal Influence members. Zaria then gave Henley an F5 for the pinfall victory, setting them up for a Knockouts tag title shot sometime down the line. Really fun match and the highlight of the night, even if it had the incredibly low stakes of TNA’s women’s tag belts, which are a minor part of their programming at the moment.
Final thoughts
Although this felt like a very skippable NXT in terms of storyline advancement, this week’s episode featured a solid selection of in-ring performances, including a very enjoyable main event. Was it a good show? Yes. Do I think someone who missed it absolutely needs to track it down? Not really.
