Results
- Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin & Cutler James def. Saquon Shugars, Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno (9:26)
- Keanu Carver def. Hank Walker (4:30)
- Jaida Parker def. Nattie (11:40)
- Shawn Spears def. Niko Vance (DQ) (11:07)
- Reina Volcan def. Skylar Raye (3:07)
- Tony D’Angelo def. Naraku (Street Fight) (12:04) (Recommended)
Shugars, Lennox continue to brawl
This week’s episode of NXT, live from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, opened with General Manager Robert Stone in his office. He told a referee to make sure Naraku and Tony D’Angelo don’t touch eachother before they face off in tonight’s main event. Both Nattie and Thea Hail tried to get a word with Stone, who was too busy for either of them. He was on the phone with someone and seemed to be discussing some sort of arrival. Nattie declared that she’s “ending” opponent Jaida Parker tonight.
We then went to the ring, where six-man tag action got the action started. Saquon Shugars recruited the upstart tag duo of Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno to help him take down DarkState.
The babyface trio got the jump on DarkState, attacking them before they even entered the ring. Shugars directed Moreno and Dar to give Dion Lennox a triple-team powerbomb through the announce desk, but Cutler James and Osiris Griffin stopped that from happening. The trio tossed Shugars from the announce desk into the ring apron as the show went to a break.
Shugars got a hot tag as the show returned, taking out all three members of DarkState but specifically trying to go after Lennox. Shugars hit a crossbody out of the corner onto James and Griffin, then gave James a Falcon Arrow for a near fall.
A move out of the corner from Shugars was countered into a backbreaker from James. DarkState tried for a triple-team powerbomb onto Shugars, but he reversed the move and instead gave Lennox a hurricanrana. Moreno got into the match with a top-rope missile dropkick to Lennox.
Moreno delivered an impressive top-rope dive to the floor onto James and Griffin. Moments later, Shugars picked up Lennox and drove him through a platform NXT has set up in the venue.
Griffin took out Dar at ringside with a nasty side slam, making Moreno the only standing member of his team remaining. In the ring, James and Griffin gave Moreno a double-team powerbomb for the pinfall win in nine minutes. This was a good opener. The result didn’t really matter that much, as this served the purpose of extending the feud between Lennox and Shugars. Speaking of those two, they kept fighting after the match and had to get pulled apart.
Kendal Grey, Lola Vice agree to take things ‘Underground’
The next segment saw NXT Women’s Champion Kendal Grey and her Heatwave opponent, Lola Vice, head to the ring for a face-to-face.
Vice made it clear that she’s not done running the women’s division in NXT. She said that Grey got to her position fast, and that it can all come falling down for her just as quickly. She said that, while she looks like a champ, Grey looks weak.
“You can call me whatever I want, but I’m not weak,” Grey said, arguing that being honest about her feelings is not a sign of weakness.
Vice said that Grey can beat her in a match, but not in a fight. Well, we know where she’s going with this: The Vice & Grey rematch will be an NXT Underground match.
“Your match, in your turf,” Grey said, sounding interested in the opportunity. “After I’m done whopping your ass, you can go back to shaking it.”
Underground matches have been bad more often than good recently, but this was a fun, quick segment between these two.
Keanu Carver takes down the other half of Hank & Tank
The next match saw Keanu Carver face off with Hank Walker. This match was made after Carver ran through Walker’s Hank & Tank teammate Tank Ledger a few weeks ago.
Walker had a hot start to the match, getting a near fall after a huge Black Hole Slam. Ledger was trying to encourage Walker from ringside, but was run into a set of steel stairs by Carver. Walker capitalized on this distraction, delivering a tope suicida to the floor.
Back in the ring, Carver dodged a top-rope move from Walker, then delivered a pounce (this didn’t look good). He connected with a spinebuster of some sort for the pinfall win in four minutes. This was an okay match. A post-match attack from Carver was stopped by EK Prosper, who showed up through the crowd. Hank & Tank gave Carver their double-team powerslam, then Carver hit a top-rope moonsault to end the segment. I am not moved at all by this feud, but everybody involved needs the reps on TV (especially Carver).
Backstage, Nattie approached Thea Hail about possibly joining her faction. Hail, who is team Jaida Parker all the way, declined this request.
With help from Thea Hail, Jaida Parker gets revenge on Nattie
We saw a clip from yesterday, where Shiloh Hill approached Danhausen in his lair. Hill, aware that Danhausen collects teeth, asked if he could get a new one after Tristan Angels smashed his dentures last week. Danhausen was willing to give him a tooth, but only in exchange for lots of “human monies.” Hill gave Danhausen a USB and said there was cryptocurrency on it.
As Hill was seen walking away, Danhausen asked himself if he accidentally handed him a “cursed tooth.” Uh oh.
The next bout saw Jaida Parker face Nattie. This was a rematch from last month, when Nattie beat Parker in a fun 15-minute showdown. Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic were at ringside for Nattie and slightly distracted Parker early on.
Nattie got in control early on and started to pick Parker apart with submissions. After the show returned, Parker got a near fall after scoring a Falcon Arrow. Nattie escaped a High-Step move out of the corner from Parker, then hit a Michinoku Driver for a two.
Parker was heavily selling a knee injury by this point in the match. Nattie locked in a Sharpshooter. Parker escaped the submission then tossed Nattie into the steel steps at ringside knee-first.
Parker dropped Nattie with a chop block to the knee, then she looked for her own Sharpshooter. At ringside, Petrovic and Lyons argued whether they should throw in the towel for Nattie. The towel was eventually thrown in, seemingly to the displeasure of Nattie, giving Parker her win back against the vet. We didn’t see it until a replay was shown, but Thea Hail actually showed up at ringside and threw the towel in, not someone from Nattie’s camp. So, a bit of a shifty finish here to get Parker her win back. Not sure how I feel about that finish, but the action here was enjoyable.
Shawn Spears steals win off former Culling teammate
Kelani Jordan showed a clip to GM Robert Stone from last week’s three-way #1 contenders match, where she argued that she possibly earned a three-count from a pin. Stone said results are final and he’s not overturning anything.
The next segment saw Niko Vance face former The Culling leader Shawn Spears. Veteran Spears snuck into the ring as Vance was watching the ramp and awaiting his arrival, allowing him to score a pre-match attack. An attempted dive to the outside from Spears didn’t go as planned early on, but he scored a slam to the floor just moments later.
A distraction from Izzi Dame allowed Vance to slam Spears onto the floor as the show went to a break. Spears started to mount a comeback after the show came back. He scored a superplex out of the corner, a hard lariat off the ropes, and some thudding strikes. Dame once again distracted Spears, allowing Vance to get back into the fight with a headbutt and DDT.
Spears rolled to the outside and called Vance a “bitch.” Spears took a steel chair he had set up on stage and brought it into the ring. Dame got on the ring apron and tried to stop Spears from using the chair. Lizzy Rain came charging down the ring apron and took her out.
With the referee distracted, Spears channelled his inner Eddie Guerrero: He tossed the chair into Vance’s hands, dropped to the canvas and acted as though he was out cold. The referee turned around and was fooled. Convinced Vance had cheated while he wasn’t looking, he called for a disqualification finish.
Myles Borne approached Robert Stone with an idea: He would put his North American title on the line next week, if it means he can get a tag title opportunity sometime down the line alongside Tavion Heights. Kam Hendrix acted as though he wasn’t cleared to compete, but suddenly declared that he was ready to wrestle after he heard about the opportunity. Borne vs. Hendrix is set for next week, his first match in over a month.
Reina Volcan wins NXT debut
The co-main event saw the NXT in-ring debut of Reina Volcan. The former Nikki Blackheart made her TV debut a few weeks back with a run-in on Tatum Paxley, but this was our first chance to see what she could do in a match. She went head-to-head with Skylar Raye.
Volcan was working a powerhouse style, overpowering Raye and hurting her with huge slams. The finish emerged after three minutes, as Volcan peeled Raye out of the corner for a huge slam, then locked in a Torture Rack submission (hers is known as the Natural Disaster) for the submission. Good debut for her!
Backstage, Robert Stone was seen eating KFC popcorn chicken (cheap plug). Shiloh Hill, who seemed much more intense than usual, was shouting at Stone about how he needs to put down Tristan Angels. A nervous Stone booked the rematch between them for next week. Hill stole all of Stone’s popcorn chicken to end the segment.
We saw an SUV pull up in the NXT parking lot as the show went to a break. Who was Stone calling to arrive at the PC? We’ll have to wait and see…
Here’s what was announced for next week’s show:
- Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels
- Lizzy Rain vs. Izzi Dame
- Myles Borne vs. Kam Hendrix (NXT North American Championship)
Tony D’Angelo beats Naraku in street fight, Mike Santana joins NXT roster
The main event saw NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo put his title on the line in a rematch against Naraku, this time meeting in a street fight. D’Angelo got in the face of Naraku before the match, but took a mist to the face! The fight went to ringside, where Naraku tossed D’Angelo into an LED-board guardrail, then a set of steel steps.
Naraku pulled out tons of weapons: Chairs, kendo sticks, and a garbage can all entered the ring. The crowd, after seeing a cornucopia of weapons, of course started demanding tables instead. How ungrateful!
Naraku got a two-count early on after slamming D’Angelo through a four-pack of set-up steel chairs. The champ scored a back body drop on Naraku, causing him to land on some chairs. D’Angelo picked up Naraku and tackled him through a barricade as the show went into its final break.
The fight went up the ramp and into the backstage area. They passed Shawn Michaels in Gorilla Position, where Naraku grabbed a cable and choked D’Angelo with it. He also bashed him in the back with what looked like a light from the stage, although it was unclear what the object was.
Back near the ring, D’Angelo slammed Naraku onto the floor. D’Angelo whipped out a crowbar to use as a weapon. Naraku brought a ladder into the mix. D’Angelo picked up the ladder and tossed it out of the ring and to the floor, where it smacked Naraku in the head! This looked brutal.
The fans had their wish come true, as D’Angelo brought a table into the ring next. The crowd was red hot and chanting “This is awesome” after D’Angelo sent Naraku head-first into a garbage can wedged between two turnbuckles.
D’Angelo lifted up Naraku for a powerbomb through the commentary desk, but Naraku countered it into an Enter The Abyss onto the floor! Naraku put D’Angelo through the desk with a spinebuster, causing “Holy s***” chants to break out.
Naraku tried to mist D’Angelo a second time, but the champ put up his hands to block it. D’Angelo put his mist-covered eyes in the face of Naraku (this was a creative spot), then wailed away on him with a series of kendo stick shots.
D’Angelo then chokeslammed Naraku through a table for the pinfall win in 12 minutes. This was a plunder-heavy match that kept the crowd red-hot from start to finish. I really enjoyed this one, much more than their first showdown.
As D’Angelo celebrated his title win, a new name arrived: Former TNA World Champion Mike Santana! Of course, we have seen Santana in NXT before, but this was his first time appearing on the show since he left TNA and became a free agent. Walking his way through the crowd, Santana eventually got on top of a guardrail and stared down D’Angelo as the show came to an end. It was expected that Santana would make his way to WWE soon, and it looks like he’s the latest name to join Tuesday nights.
