Results
- Izzi Dame def. Thea Hail & Lola Vice (NXT Women’s North American Championship) (Triple Threat) (11:46) (Recommended)
- Elio LeFleur def. Charlie Dempsey (2:53) (WWE Speed #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final)
- Heather & M By Elegance def. Sol Ruca & Zaria (TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships) (11:33)
- Lexis King & Stacks def. Kale Dixon & Andre Chase (3:41)
- Joe Hendry def. Ricky Saints, Sean Legacy, Jackson Drake, Dion Lennox, Keanu Carver & Shiloh Hill (NXT Championship) (22:40) (Recommended)
With help from Kelani Jordan, Izzi Dame retains North American title
This week’s episode of NXT, a title triple-header from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, kicked off with an announcement backstage. It wasn’t exactly mentioned on the show, but Ava left WWE over the weekend, ending her run as the General Manager on NXT. To fill her spot, Shawn Michaels appointed Robert Stone as the interim GM. It was kind of weird that there wasn’t even a line about… “Since Ava has left the company,” or something like that. I guess they just expect that everyone knows.
After a quick video package hyping tonight’s ladder match headliner, we went right to the ring for our first title match of the night, a triple threat between NXT Women’s North American Champion Izzi Dame, Lola Vice, and Thea Hail.
Dame got a near fall on both of her opponents after coming off the top with a double Codebreaker. Hail, who was looking to reclaim the gold by winning this match, took out Shawn Spears at ringside with a hurricanrana, then came through the ropes with a tope suicida to Vice just before the show went to a break.
Vice went on a run after the show returned, dropping Dame and Hail with body kicks, then giving both hip attacks in the corner. Hail dodged the last hip attack from Vice, instead reversing into an exploder suplex. Dame scored a neat basement dropkick to Dame while landing on Vice with a senton.
Hail gave Dame an exploder suplex, then a World’s Strongest Slam to Vice. She tried to follow up on Vice with a springboard senton, but Vice countered it into a rear naked choke attempt, which Dame broke up.
Vice dropped Dame with a kick, knocking her out of the ring. Hail tried for a roll-up pin on Vice, which the former MMA fighter reversed into another choke. Dame got back into the match and tried to give Hail a powerbomb, but Hail reversed it into a DDT. Hail couldn’t follow up with a pin attempt due to Dame rolling to the ropes.
Vice was taken out of the equation at the 10-minute mark, as rival Kelani Jordan attacked her at ringside. Jordan put an arm of Vice under a ladder at ringside then stomped on it! Back in the ring, Hail tried for a kimura submission on Dame. However, Dame was able to reverse it into a powerbomb for the pinfall win in 11 minutes, retaining her North American title.
I wasn’t sure this was going to be a decent match, as these three haven’t been too consistent (Hail vs. Dame recently wasn’t great). However, this was a really great opener. Fast-paced, had some really fun exchanges, and the finishing sequence was creative. I can’t complain.
Backstage, Zaria was mad at Sol Ruca for disappearing last week. Ruca explained that she wasn’t allowed to say anything about her Royal Rumble spot, and that Zaria shouldn’t take it personally. Ruca asked Zaria what she would do if she was in the same position. Zaria said she would probably do the same thing. So, she hears where she’s coming from, but is still frustrated.
Backstage, a tag bout was made between Chase U and the duo of Stacks & Lexis King was made after a confrontation.
Tony D’Angelo wants DarkState… And something else
Tony D’Angelo, who has been terrorizing the NXT roster by indiscriminately attacking wrestlers for the past few weeks, came to the ring to address his actions in the next segment. This D’Angelo story hasn’t moved an inch for ages, and he has seemingly only been allowed to make one sad, guilty dog-like expression the entire time. So, I was hoping something, anything, could come out of this.
D’Angelo said there were some things he wanted to get off his chest. A year ago, he was happy and surrounded by friends. But, that was all taken from him.
“When DarkState decided to ruin my life, I needed to regroup … I needed to remember who Tony D’Angelo was by himself … I needed to remember what I did best, and that’s bouncing people’s heads off the mat.”
Why did he come back to NXT the way he did? “In a business where everybody knows everything, nobody knew nothing, and I liked that.”
D’Angelo said he’s coming after two things: DarkState… “And reason number two? You’ll find out when I’m done with DarkState.”
Alright, thank god. We finally have an actual, coherent storyline with D’Angelo. It took way too long to get here, and literally none of it before had anything to do with DarkState, but at least something is happening now.
Elio LeFleur advances in Speed tourney
A new four-man tournament to find the next challenger for WWE Speed Champion Jasper Troy started this week. On one side of the bracket, NXT newcomer Elio LeFleur faced off against Charlie Dempsey, with Eli Knight and Josh Briggs on the other half of the tournament.
That aforementioned match between LeFleur and Dempsey was up next. LeFleur sent Dempsey out of the ring in the first minute for a springboard moonsault. Back in the ring, Dempsey caught a springboard crossbody for a German Suplex, giving him a near fall.
Booker T mentioned that Dempsey has competed at Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport (correct) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (incorrect). LeFleur wobbled Dempsey with a front kick, hit a springboard knee strike, then tried for another move, but Dempsey reversed it into a deadlift German Suplex. LeFleur caught Dempsey with a leg-scissor style slam for a pinfall with just a few seconds to spare in the three-minute time limit.
ZaRuca struggles to coexist against TNA’s Knockouts tag champs
In the second title matchup of the night, TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions Heather & M By Elegance defended their titles against Sol Ruca and Zaria, who are, like they have been for ages, embattled. Ash By Elegance, who we learned just recently is back on TNA’s active roster, was at ringside for this bout alongside the Personal Concierge.
Issues between Zaria and Ruca were played up throughout this match. Ruca gave herself a blind tag early on, which bothered Zaria. During a commercial break, Zaria had the chance to give Ruca a hot tag but instead decided to stay in the ring, causing the Elegance Brand to regain control of the match just a minute later. They did the same spot again after the show returned from commercials.
Ruca eventually was able to get back into the match with a blind tag. She came out of the corner with a dropkick to Heather then a running knee strike, but it wasn’t enough to win the match just yet. Heather came off the top with a moonsault then M tried to follow up with one of her own, but Ruca rolled out of the way.
Ruca came off the ropes with a clothesline. Ruca tagged herself back into the match, causing the tag partners to nearly break out into a fight. They locked back into the match and gave both Elegance Brand members a spear.
Ruca tried for a double-team Sol Snatcher with Zaria, but M escaped the move. Instead, it was Zaria who accidentally took Ruca’s finisher! With the referee distracted, Ash tossed Ruca into a set of steel stairs at ringside. Back in the ring, the Elegance Brand scored a double-team Coup de Grace finisher for the pinfall win in 11 minutes.
Fun finishing sequence to this one, hopefully they can actually pull the trigger and split up ZaRuca soon, something we have been waiting on for ages.
We were shown a clip of Blake Monroe attacking Jaida Parker outside the PC just before the show.
Did King & Stacks find a new member of their group… Or even two?
Back from a commercial break, Chase U’s Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors as well as the duo of Stacks and Lexis King were in the ring for the next match. NXT was fast-paced this week, this was the second match of the night which had forgone entrances.
This was a really quick one, with King getting the pinfall victory on Dixon at the three-minute mark with The Coronation. Connors abandoned Dixon and Andre Chase after the match, possibly becoming the next recruit for the up-and-coming faction being built with Stacks and King.
Later in the program, we saw the trio approach Charlie Dempsey, asking if they have given some more thought to his offer… Cliffhanger!
Tag match booked to find Jacy Jayne’s next contender
Before the main event, Fatal Influence appeared in the ring for a promo. Jacy Jayne came to the ring to complain about Sol Ruca eliminating her at the Royal Rumble last weekend. Ruca lost like 15 mins ago in embarrassing fashion, Jacy, now is not the time!
Jayne was about to announce that Ruca will be her next opponent but was interrupted by Zaria. “Sol has got plenty of opportunities handed to her here,” said Zaria, who just got pinned two matches ago. “You should be worried about me.”
This was interrupted by Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair – OK, it’s one of those segments where tons of people come out and call their shot. Ruca came out next and started arguing with Zaria. Jayne said these groups should figure this out in “couples therapy.”
Interim GM Robert Stone came out with an idea: WrenQCC vs. ZaRuca next week. Whoever gets the pinfall in the match will get a title shot against Jayne on the February 24 episode of NXT in Atlanta.
I was hoping it would be a Lucha-esque match where the winning tag team faces each other in a one-on-one match, but this works too. It doesn’t really make sense that ZaRuca are getting a title shot right after losing to a midcard TNA group. But, I wouldn’t mind Ruca earning the shot, or maybe Grey getting more of a spotlight, as she has been tons of fun in NXT thus far.
Here’s what was announced for next week’s episode:
- Jaida Parker vs. Blake Monroe
- Zaria & Sol Ruca vs. Wren Sinclair & Kendal Grey (Whoever scores the pinfall becomes #1 contender for NXT Women’s Championship)
Joe Hendry captures NXT title in 22-minute ladder match epic
The main event of the night saw seven contenders battle it out in a ladder match for the vacant NXT Championship. This bout included: Ricky Saints, Joe Hendry, Sean Legacy, Jackson Drake, Dion Lennox, Keanu Carver & Shiloh Hill.
A ladder was placed in the ring early on, causing some nasty bumps. Carver slammed Drake onto the ladder, then a powerbomb attempt from Carver was reversed by Hill into a back bodydrop onto the ladder.
Saints gave Legacy a Last Ride then tossed him into a ladder. Hendry picked up a ladder and floored numerous opponents with it. He was the first one to try and scale the ladder but was stopped by Drake.
Hendry tossed Drake over the top rope and to the outside onto a group of wrestlers at ringside, then followed up with a cannonball dive over the top rope onto those talents just before a commercial break.
There was a fun spot after the show returned where an enraged Carver ripped a ladder in half. Legacy dropkicked a flat ladder on the ring apron, sending it face-first into Carver at ringside, another crafty moment.
Lennox got into the ring and took a Sliced Bread from Legacy, who used the ladder to climb for the move. A battle on top of a ladder between Legacy and Drake was joined by Hill, who used the ladder split in half by Carver as a pair of huge stilts. Hill was taken off the ladder by Carver, who briefly teamed with Lennox for a Doomsday Device.
Saints came into the ring and took a nasty spinebuster onto a ladder. Lennox climbed the ladder and tried to take the belt but was peeled off by Hendry, who gave him a Standing Ovation onto a ladder.
Carver tried to powerbomb Drake out of the ring, but Drake countered it into a hurricana which sent Carver to the ringside. Drake scored a slick corkscrew onto numerous opponents as the show went to its final commercial break.
Six of the men teamed together to bury Carver under a mountain of ladders at ringside, trying to take him out of the mix for the rest of the match. Someone was bleeding here but it was unclear who. Back in the ring, Hill started spinning with a ladder around his head, allowing him to wipe out everyone who came into the ring (this is a classic spot but a very silly one).
A ladder set up between another ladder and the middle rope of the match was used by Legacy, who put Drake on top of it. He hit a springboard 450 onto Drake but came up just a little short, causing it to look like a totally brutal landing for Legacy.
As Hendry was at ringside, he heard a rattling… It was Carver emerging from the mountain of ladders he was buried under! Carver took out Hendry, pounced Drake into the first row of fans, and speared Legacy through a platform at ringside. Carver climbed to the top ladder, where he met Saints.
Saints knocked over Carver’s ladder, sending him tumbling out of the ring and through a ladder set up at ringside – awesome looking spot. Saints posed for the cameras, but this hesitation hurt him, as he was then confronted at the top by Hendry.
The two men got into a tug of war for the belt. Hendry hit Saints in the head with the championship, sending him tumbling onto another ladder set up in the ring. This gave Hendry the chance to finally grab the belt and win in 22 minutes. Hendry is your new NXT Champion.
This match exceeded expectations significantly. I wasn’t thinking it would be a disaster per se, but I also didn’t see it tearing the house down like it ended up doing. Despite this match being as lengthy as it was, and despite it involving lots of the newer names who haven’t really been tested in big match spots before, this was a stellar main event. It delivered shocking moments, some fun new spots we haven’t seen before, and a really strong end.
I thought it did a great job at giving some shine to Hill, Drake, and especially Carver, before the spotlight went to Hendry. And while Hendry is someone who is arguably ready for a main roster spot, NXT needs stars on the men’s roster badly, and I think he is a good person for that role, at least for a few months.
Final thoughts
NXT this week featured a great main event along with an enjoyable opener title match. I thought this one struggled with a few plotholes (how did ZaRuca get a #1 contenders match right after losing a tag title bout, and why didn’t they actually address where Ava went?) and some of the midcard wrestling wasn’t that spectacular, but overall this was a fun episode.
