Last week on NXT: Candice LeRae, Io Shirai, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir had a match but it ended in a giant brawl. Kushida earned Drew Gulak’s respect by tapping him out in a tremendous scientific match. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch picked up a win over The Undisputed Era after Jaxson Ryker came out and Jaxson Ryker’d all over the place.
Undisputed Era Promo
- Undisputed Era cut a promo before the match. Adam Cole is as smarmy as ever and says “I said in 2019 Undisputed Era would be draped in gold, and this is the start.”
- Then Cole says the show should start “like this” every week and shows the intro over again but with just Undisputed Era people instead of the rest of the roster. The crowd is loving it, I think these guys are babyfaces now.
- Adam Cole even says if they have all the championships “not even HHH himself will touch us.”
- Velveteen Dream comes out and says “Adam, you say no one can touch you? I’d like to touch you.” Then Dream says he is the reason NXT has reached new heights. Then Dream says Adam Cole’s belt would look good paired with his North American Championship.
- Roderick Strong started saying some shit and Matt Riddle shows up to say he beat Roderick Strong and Adam Cole. Riddle says he is insanely good looking and is a stallion. This is starting to drag.
- Cole said “maybe you can go back to writing online reviews for wrestlers from the Attitude Era.” In response to Riddle making fun of Goldberg.
- Tyler Breeze shows up and the crowd reacts lovingly to NXT’s prettiest godfather. Breeze says he doesn’t care who is undisputed, or who is better looking. It’s him by the way.
- So this feud is about who made NXT what it is today, and that Matt Riddle is a stallion. So Riddle, Dream and Breeze vs. Any three of the Undisputed Era.
And I’m Like… This was okay? I’m not used to NXT copying the main rosters promo parade. It was fun to hear the crowd react to everyone though. Riddle and Breeze were the highlights. Also, Dream saying “I want to touch you.”
An Io Shirai and Shayna Baszler video package hyping their cage match next week.
Damian Priest vs. Raul Mendoza
- We are 20 minutes into NXT and are having the first match. IThats crazy.
- Damian Priest’s entrance starts with the words “Live Forever”. Then Damian gets the NXT Baron Corbin treatment where the arena is blacked out and the spotlight goes onto Damian. Then Damian shoots an imaginary arrow that “hits” the LED screen and his name shows up in flames. Then he gets the NXT Lars Sullivan treatment where the spotlight is on his back and it gives off a silhouette. Then he shoots his fake arrow to make his name appear once more. It’s something.
- Damian carries himself like Stephen Dorff’s portrayal of Deacon Frost before the bell rings. Commentary says that Damian is the future and gets all the ladies and is calm and composed.
- Raul Mendoza gets some offense in on Damian, which upsets Priest. Damian hits an apron chokeslam and follows that up with a “whirlwind kick” which is much like Kofi’s Trouble in Paradise.
And I’m Like… What a debut showcase match. I mean the match was alright but from a character standpoint, you couldn’t do much more to introduce him to the crowd.
When Regal says Joaquin Wild, it sounds like he says “whacky and wild”.
Mia Yim gets a vignette about her life and what she stands for. It really humanizes her. She explains being alive in LA during the riots of the 90’s. How Koreans and Blacks were feuding and since she is half of each, she wasn’t accepted in either community. She also says she is the rose that grew in concrete (shoutout Sonny Kiss). Mia gives a short synopsis of her life and why she is what is needed to take out Shayna Baszler.
Xia Li vs. Taynara Conti
- Taynara Conti’s music is so hype. Xia Li has some sort of tribal drums for her musc, the crowd doesn’t know how to clap along… yet.
- These are two of my favorite talents in wrestling right now. They add a different flair to their wrestling. They both have a raw energy that is kind of infectious. I just don’t know much about their characters.
- The match starts with some submissions, judo throws, near falls and counter wrestling. It’s a potpourri of wrestling in less than five minutes.
- The crowd isn’t reacting much, but they are respectfully watching. The respect for the competitors is there, but the crowd is taking their time to invest into these women.
- Conti says “Latina’s do it better” when kicking Xia. Taynara has taken the heel role in this match, she keeps pinning Xia after a series of moves and getting frustrated when Xia keeps kicking out.
- Taynara misses an attack into the corner and Xia mounts her comeback with a series of sweeps and kicks. Xia misses a roundhouse kick but doesn’t stop her momentum and connects with a heel kick for the win.
And I’m Like… Big fan of the OG NXT feel here. It’s still a “developmental” brand in some ways and this match shows that. Both of these women have a high ceiling and watching them grow is a joy. Developing their signature moves, their timing, the in between moves things they do and how the crowd starts to connect. Fun match.
Street Profits bring us the championship edition of “Street Talk”. They sad next week it’s them for the Forgotten Sons. Montez Ford was reacting and his crown fell off. Funny moment. Then they have a mini parade where tey stand on a car while driving past the crowd. Everyone got their red solo cups. Montez’ cup has his name on it!
Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle and Tyler Breeze vs. Adam Cole, Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish
- Before the match starts there is already some disagreement when Riddle says he wants to stat the match.
- Riddle starts the match with a kneebar, which is funny because that was the move Riddle was making fun of Goldberg for doing.
- Then Roderick Strong tags in and Bobby yells out “put him in a bodybag” which has to be a reference to The Undertaker.
- The tags are quick, Dream is already in and within seconds Bobby Fish is in. The pace is super quick. There is only 10 minutes left in the show after entrances. So the match has to be fast.
- Dream hits a lionsault and his knee lands right on Fish’s face. Everyone noticed it and it got serious for a second. Bobby tags out as Dream tags out.
- This match is basically giving us little tastes of Dream, Riddle and Breeze vs. Cole. We get a few minutes of one-on-one encounters to get us excited for the future feuds.
- Kyle O’Reilly jumps up to distract the ref and Bobby Fish is able to take out Riddle to turn the tide of the match.
- I am pretty sure every Undisputed Era member has one-on-one’d with Riddle, Dream and Breeze. Which is exciting because there isn’t a bad match up at all. These guys are all sooo talented.
- The match has slowed down a bit with UE singling out Riddle and beating the hell out of him. Riddle is really good at selling and building sympathy. He is just as good fighting from underneath and dominating the match. Riddle is a complete player in and out of the ring.
- Breeze gets the hot tag and the crowd is LIT for this. Just clotheslines and kicks for everyone. Breeze hits a Beauty Shot on Fish and Strong has to break up the pin by pulling Fish to the outside.
- Breeze goes to jump out of the ring but Dream gets a blind tag, which throws Breeze off. A bit of confusion leads to Breeze getting knocked down into Dream. Roderick hits his suplex backbreaker on the North American champion and gets the win for his team.
And I’m Like… This match was balls to the wall. All six men know what hey are doing and can work their characters into the match. This was almost a sprint the whole way through and was a great way to end the show. Can’t really say anything bad about it. Really well done.
