Results
- Kelani Jordan def. Lola Vice (11:40)
- Tony D’Angelo def. Cutler James (1:20)
- Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes def. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger, Bronco Nima & Lucien Price, Niko Vance & Shawn Spears (NXT Tag Team Championships #1 Contenders) (11:32)
- Elio LeFleur vs. Eli Knight (WWE Speed #1 Contenders) (3:00)
- Ethan Page def. Shiloh Hill (NXT North American Championship) (12:26)
Kelani Jordan targets hand of Lola Vice to earn victory
This week’s episode of NXT, from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, kicked off with a grudge match between Lola Vice and Kelani Jordan. The heel in this rivalry, Jordan, was trying to get back a loss she suffered when they met back in January. Vice was attacked by Jordan two weeks ago, causing her to have her right hand bandaged heading into this bout, which would become the theme of the bout.
A fired-up Vice stormed the stage to attack Jordan before the match officially got started. Jordan was quick to target Vice’s injured arm, stomping it and throwing it at the canvas early on. She trapped Vice’s arm behind the back for a Northern Lights Suplex, earning Jordan a near fall.
Vice scored a right hand to the body of Jordan, but grimaced in pain due to her injury. The fight went to ringside, where Jordan scored a knee to the head of Vice while she was set up against the steel steps.
Vice started to make her first meaningful comeback of the match after the show returned from a break, dropping Jordan after a series of kicks. She put Jordan in a corner of the ring with a German Suplex then scored a hip attack.
Jordan rolled out of the ring for a breather, but Vice followed her with a dive off the ring apron. Jordan dodged a spinning backfist from Vice, sending her hurt arm swinging through a platform at ringside. Poor fight IQ here from Vice to do such a high-risk move with her injured hand, but anyway.
Back in the ring, Jordan tried for a 450 Splash, but Vice countered it into a triangle choke. Jordan stomped the injured hand of Vice to escape the hold, then applied a submission to Vice’s right hand for the submission victory in 11 minutes.
Great opener here, with these two doing a great job of telling a story about Vice’s hand. It felt a little excessive at times (Vice smashing her injured arm through a platform was an unforced error which made her character look a little clumsy), but for the finish was nice and Jordan has really found a solid spot in her heel role.
Joe Hendry vs. Ricky Saints announced for March
Just before a commercial break, it was shown that Joe Hendry attacked Ricky Saints in the always-dangerous NXT parking lot. Some revenge after Saints jumped Hendry following his title win last week.
After the show returned, the irate NXT Champion hit the ring for a promo. “I’m not in a singing mood, I’m not in a dancing mood. I’m in a kicking Ricky Saints’ ass all around the arena type of mood,” he said.
Saints appeared in the venue, but kept his distance from Hendry, clearly not interested in fighting. On the mic, Saints voiced his disgust for a “meme” holding the title. The title went from being held by a “superstar” to a “social media star,” he said. Saints was sounding like a lot of Hendry critics I’ve seen online recently.
Hendry said if Saints was half as good as him, he’d prove it by stepping to him in the ring and proving it right now. Saints called for a title match at the March 6 Vengeance Day Premium Live Event (PLE), which Hendry accepted. I could be wrong, but I don’t know if we have heard that date for Vengeance Day prior to now. Anyway, this segment was fine. I’m a little tired of Saints being in the title picture (I would’ve preferred they did a lengthier program with a different challenger before going back to the well), but nothing about this segment specifically bothered me.
It was also announced in a video package that Izzi Dame will defend her women’s North American title against Tatum Paxley as part of Vengeance Day.
Tony D’Angelo stomps out DarkState’s James
Tony D’Angelo’s quest to take down DarkState started this week, when he went one-on-one with the faction’s Cutler James. I was actually interested to see this one, because James has rarely been given TV time despite being in the group for some time now. In fact, this was his first-ever one-on-one NXT appearance.
Well, we didn’t get to see much, as James was put away in just 80 seconds after taking a spinebuster. Dion Lennox tried to jump D’Angelo after the match, but found himself victim to a beatdown as well. Lennox was slammed onto the steel stairs at ringside, then D’Angelo attempted to slam the stairs onto his leg. James pulled Lennox out of the way to avoid the gnarly move.
The Vanity Project earn tag title shot
The next challengers for DarkState’s NXT tag titles were determined up next with a four-way bout. The teams battling it out for the belts were: Hank Walker & Tank Ledger, OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price), The Culling’s Niko Vance and Shawn Spears, and The Vanity Project’s Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes.
Nima and Price had a solid showing early on – Spears put over the size and power of Price, then Nima scored a huge lariat a minute later. There was a fun sequence at ringside, with all four teams brawling. OTM got a near fall with a double-team slam to Vance, with everyone else hitting the ring to break up the pin.
OTM and Hank & Tank hit stereo superplexes, a very satisfying moment to see that move happen out of all four corners of the ring. Baylor got a near fall after a roll-up attempt onto Spears. Spears answered back with a Death Valley Driver to Baylor, but a pin attempt was stopped by EVOLVE champ Jackson Drake, who pulled Spears out of the ring.
OTM hit a double-Curbstomp to Spears on the ring apron, then turned their attention to the action at ringside. Hank & Tank hit dual spinebusters onto OTM, both landing on the commentary desk. The commentary desk imploded from Price hitting it from the spinebuster. Due to it breaking before Nima hit the desk, he had a hard landing.
Spears, still hurt due to the double-curbstomp, was down and out in the ring. Baylor was up but wobbled due to the DVD he took from Spears. Smokes pushed teammate Baylor to the canvas and onto Spears, allowing him to win the match via pinfall in 11 minutes. This bout was nothing short of hectic. I had to rewind the finishing sequence to fully understand it, but it was quite well thought out.
Zaria abandons, then saves #1 contender Sol Ruca
Backstage, Zaria was absolutely pissed off about how the women’s #1 contenders match last week went. Arguing that Sol Ruca stole a title shot from her, Zaria said that their friendship has always been one-sided. Zara made it official: She’s done being friends with Ruca. There’s obviously more to this, as we would learn just minutes later.
Fatal Influence hit the ring for the next segment. NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne said she’s looking forward to her match next week against Sol Ruca, and said she’s “jealous” of Ruca. Why? Because the NXT fans consistently say Ruca is the bigger star, despite the long list of accomplishments Jayne has. To be fair, Jayne doesn’t have the Sol Snatcher as her finisher.
Jayne mentioned her distaste that Ruca was the woman representing NXT on John Cena’s retirement card, instead of her. “The only reason she got a shot at this championship is because she sacrificed her friend,” Jayne said.
Ruca eventually interrupted this promo, saying that Jayne is a perpetually jealous person. The #1 contender said that she is okay with Jayne talking about her, but drew the line at the champ mentioning her issues with Zaria.
“Just like your friendship with Zaria has ended, so has any chance of you becoming the NXT Champion,” Jayne said, doubling down.
Ruca promised that she’s going to claim the women’s title next week: “When I beat you, that’s gonna confirm what you already know deep down inside, and that’s Sol Ruca is better than Jacy Jayne.”
Jayne kicked off a three-on-one beatdown against Ruca, with her Fatal Influence teammates assisting her. Zaria hit the ring and, at first, seemed like she was going to join in on the heel side of the brawl. But, she eventually attacked Fatal Influence, sending them retreating. Zaria hasn’t cut her ties to Ruca… At least not for now.
WWE Speed’s first-ever triple threat gets booked
A #1 contenders match for the WWE Speed Championship was in the co-main event of the night, with NXT newcomers Elio LeFleur and Eli Knight battling it out. The fight went to ringside early, where Knight scored a springboard moonsault.
Back into the ring, Knight got a second near fall after a springboard legdrop. After a series of roll-up attempts, Knight scored a superkick. He came flying off the ropes for another move, but LeFleur caught him mid-air with a powerbomb.
They traded slaps then lariats. LeFleur came off the top with what looked like a knee strike (this was weird). LeFleur tried for a 450 Splash, but Knight dodged it then scored a running head kick. Knight climbed to the top and tried for a move, but LeFleur countered it into a superplex. The three-minute time limit expired in this match, and it seemed as though no challenger would be lined up for Jasper Troy next week.
However, NXT General Manager Robert Stone came to the ring with a special announcement: A first-ever three-way Speed title match will take place next week, with Troy, LeFleur and Knight battling it out. Since there are more competitors, the bout will have a seven-minute time limit, two minutes longer than the usual championship bout. The amount of top-rope moves in just three minutes here felt excessive. The seven-minute Speed match next week sort of defeats the purpose of the title, but whatever.
Three title bouts announced for next week’s NXT
Backstage, Shiloh Hill was seen asking Myles Borne to stay out of his title bout against Ethan Page tonight. Borne, who has a bone to pick with Page and has been told by many backstage that he needs to show an edgier side to himself, didn’t seem receptive to this request.
We were also shown Uriah Connors trying to convince Charlie Dempsey to join the recently formed “Birthright” faction. Dempsey didn’t seem onboard, at least for now.
Here’s an updated look at next week’s show:
- Keanu Carver vs. Sean Legacy
- Uriah Connors vs. Kale Dixon
- Blake Monroe vs. Thea Hail (WWE Speed Women’s Championship #1 Contenders Tournament Semi-Final)
- Jasper Troy vs. Elio LeFleur vs. Eli Knight (WWE Speed Championship)
The Vanity Project vs. DarkState (NXT Tag Team Championships) - Jacy Jayne vs. Sol Ruca (NXT Women’s Championship)
Ethan Page defends against Shiloh Hill, Myles Borne sends message in post-match
The main event of the night saw NXT North American Champion Ethan Page try to continue his record-breaking run as champ against Shiloh Hill. The big question going into this was if/how Myles Borne was going to get involved.
The Vanity Project, allies of Page, appeared at ringside just a few minutes into the bout. Hill escaped a Twisted Grin after the show returned from a break. The challenger climbed to the top but was stopped by Page, who came off the second rope with a powerslam. Hill remained alive with a kick-out at two.
Listening to Page’s orders, The Vanity Project peeled off some of the matting at ringside, exposing a concrete floor. Hill escaped a dangerous Ego’s Edge onto the floor then rolled back into the ring.
Hill ripped out his fake tooth, his version of peeling down his singlet straps. The challenger gained some steam with a series of strikes then a shoulder tackle. He hit a sidewalk slam then his backflip senton, although the move only grazed Page (it wasn’t clear if that was intentional). The Vanity Project got onto the ring apron to distract Hill, causing the challenger to take them out one by one at ringside.
Page capitalized on this distraction, hitting Hill with the Twisted Grin cutter on the concrete floor at ringside. Back in the ring, Page scored a second Twisted Grin to win via pinfall in 12 minutes. Fun match. I thought Hill was destined to fail when we first saw him getting debuted with goofy video packages last year. However, he has become one of the better midcarders on the show in recent months and totally won me over.
Myles Borne hit the ring afterwards to break up a four-on-one beatdown carried out by Page and The Vanity Project against Hill. Vanity Project were sent out of the ring by Borne, then Hill took them all down with a huge dive.
Borne unloaded with a series of ground and pound shots on Page while shouting at him, demanding a title shot. Hill rolled a steel chair into the ring, which Borne wedged between Page’s left foot. It was at this moment that Page finally gave in, giving Borne a title match for next week. Borne stomped Page’s foot anyway, sending the message that Borne is more twisted and extreme than ever before. Looks like a fourth title matchup has joined next week’s show.
Final thoughts
NXT had a few solid matchups, including an entertaining main event and a solid opener. The tag four-way was hectic as expected, making it one of the better parts of the night as well. While there were low points, the less exciting stuff was kept somewhat brief, like the WWE Speed segment and the face-to-face between Ricky Saints and Joe Hendry. I’d give tonight a thumbs up – NXT is putting together some consistent TV this month and building to some bigger shows in the coming weeks.
