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NXT TV REPORT
JULY 10, 2019
TAPED IN ORLANDO, FL. AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness, Beth Phoenix
Before a word is said, Io Shirai enters to a chorus of boos. “You suck” chant. Mauro says she has things to answer for, and Nigel takes us to a recap of two weeks ago. Io hits the ring and keeps it simple: “I don’t need any friends. I don’t need any of you.” Mic drop.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Very good appearance for Shirai, short though it was. Perfect audience response.)
Velveteen Dream does a press conference behind his belt. An unseen media personality asks who will be the next challenger, and Dream says the question isn’t approved. Unseen Cathy Kelley asks if Roderick Strong will challenge, and Dream says he isn’t ready enough to challenge one-on-one.
TONIGHT: The Street Profits defend against Lorcan and Burch in the main event! Damian Priest in action!
TakeOver: Cardiff spot.
(1) BLANCO LOCO vs. DAMIAN PRIEST
Blanco Loco gets music and an entrance and everything. He runs into a big kick. Big elbow by Priest and he tosses Loco across the ring. Blanco fights to his feet and hits a punch, but Priest puts him down with a big clothesline. Another lariat. Priest does the arrow, a cyclone kick and then a rolling cutter for the win.
WINNER: Priest in 2:00.
EVOLVE spot. Anniversary show this Saturday.
Killian Dain spot. He tells stories of the violence in Northern Ireland. He’s deaf in one ear from a car bomb. He hasn’t repressed the stories – he keeps them with him and carries them like a badge of honor. He wants you to know who he is and why. Everything he had was taken from him, so now he’ll take anything and everything he wants.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Dain seemed so much more comfortable on the mic than in his last go-round. I like this presentation. A heel with a good reason to be a heel.)
(2) JORDAN MYLES vs. BOA – Breakout Tournament First Round
Boa says it’s his chance to represent China. He’s going to make China proud with his jujitsu skills. Myles (formerly ACH) has been doing this for thirteen years. He says this opportunity is like getting drafted. He hopes the world is ready for Jordan Myles. Both Myles and BOA came off like faces here.
Myles dances back and forth to acknowledge a chant for him. He puts out a hand that gets rejected, then makes a big bow to BOA that looks a bit culturally iffy. Lockup and BOA takes down Myles in a headlock. Myles fights out and BOA goes for a headlock takeover, blocked and Myles wrings the arm. Reversal. Wristlock by BOA. Myles uses the top rope to flip out of it. Armdrag by Myles. Backflip and a dropkick. Myles mimes a basketball shot. Myles takes down BOA with a wristlock and smiles big at the crowd. BOA gets to his feet and hits a low kick. Back bodydrop, and Myles rolls through for two. Roundhouse kick by BOA. BOA stomps Myles’s head and if there was any doubt, BOA is definitely working heel despite the inspiring pre-match comments. BOA sets up Myles on the ropes and hits an axe kick to the chest. Cover for one. BOA picks up Myles and puts him in a triangle. Myles knees out of it but BOA reapplies in the corner and hits knees to the midsection. Kick to the torso. Another is blocked but BOA hits another to put Myles in the corner. Nice-looking butterfly suplex by BOA. Myles tries to fight to the ropes but BOA holds a sleeper. BOA goes for a cross armbreaker, blocked and Myles gets a cover for two but BOA kicks out and hits some more stiff kicks. Myles begs BOA to keep coming and he baits BOA in and then wakes up and hits some palm strikes and feisty kicks in the corner. BOA to his feet but a dropkick takes him down. BOA gets up in the corner and Myles hits him with a spinning clothesline. Myles goes up and hits Midnight Star (a 450 Splash) for the pin to advance.
WINNER: Jordan Myles in 8:00.
Myles will face Angel Garza in the semifinals. Next week, Dexter Lumis and Bronson Reed finish the first round.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Myles isn’t shying away from his comedic roots. His in-ring style isn’t something that the usual WWE audience is used to seeing – particularly in the more-grounded NXT – so it’ll be interesting to see how people take to him. Anyone who saw ACH in New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament in 2018 will know he’s definitely keeping some cards hidden, though this was a passable match)
Shayna Baszler interview. Interviewer says “Recently, the HBIC Mia Yim called you out.” Yes, because interviewers would use a cutesy acronym like that. Shayna says Yim is a great story, but it takes a little more than a great story to impress her. Story always ends the same: “Tap, nap, snap.”
Burch and Lorcan prepare for the main event backstage. The Street Profits do the same. The main event is next!
Extreme Rules spot.
Keith Lee spot. He walks around the Performance Center and reminisces on his time. In his year he’s faced freaks, knockout artists, all types of people. He’s never been the chosen one. He’s never been the guy asked to put the company on his back. But he’s always been the one that ends up on top. He came to NXT saying everyone will bask in his glory, and in year two there will have to be some changes. He has to reach the peak, the top, be more than he has been. Limitless won’t cut it anymore. He will be the one. The main event. He’ll prove it by becoming…infinite.
(Kelly’s Analysis: All that for a new catchphrase? Nigel reinforced that Lee is pivoting from limitless to infinite, so it’s definitely a thing. Otherwise, a nice spot. Let’s get Lee back in a feud)
William Regal walks outside and he’s asked about an announcement for next week. He says people have come from all over to face Kushida, and next week that will continue as Apollo Crews comes from SmackDown Live to face him.
(Kelly’s Analysis: That could be pretty good if it gets time, but Crews is one of the low men on SD’s depth chart so it might not be prudent for the match to go long)
Next week’s main event will be Adam Cole in an NXT Championship match. Bizarrely, Nigel doesn’t name his opponent.
(3) THE STREET PROFITS vs. DANNY BURCH & ONEY LORCAN – NXT Championship Match
The Street Profits come out to a nice reaction, and their opponents do too. The “Brit-Am Brawlers” nickname seems to be in play this week, as Mauro repeats it here.
Mauro asks Beth how life changes after winning a title. She says staying on top is harder than getting there.
Montez Ford and Oney Lorcan are in to start. Wristlock by Lorcan. Ford rolls and flips out and hits a hammerlock. Dawkins tags in and hits a shoulder tackle. Headlock on the mat. Lorcan stands up and powers out and makes the tag. Burch grabs a wristlock, then headlock. Feels like we’re setting up for a long match. Reversal and Dawkins makes a tag. Double flapjack on Burch, and Lorcan feeds the Profits for another. World’s Greatest Tag Team tandem spot on the ropes. Burch bails and regroups, then reenters. Handshake offered by Dawkins, and Burch takes it and immediately kicks to boos. Burch takes Dawkins down and kips up to some more mixed reactions. Lorcan in. Double Russian leg sweep. Chop. Burch in again and Burch and Lorcan hit a double suplex. Burch floats over for two. Burch cuts off Dawkins and stomps him in a neutral corner. Crossface. Burch rolls over and wrenches back; Ford makes the save and Burch stares him down. Burch aggressively pounds Dawkins. Burch to the second turnbuckle and he misses a dropkick as Dawkins rolls away. Lorcan in. Hot tag to Ford, who clotheslines both. Alabama Slam on Lorcan. Belly-to-back. Standing moonsault for two. Tag to Dawkins and both Profits hit a corkscrew splash. Two count after more tandem offense. Ford tags in and says “Now it’s time.” He sets up Lorcan in the electric chair. Dawkins goes up but Lorcan escapes and throws Ford into the corner. Tag made; Burch takes control on Ford. Burch German suplexes Ford into his own corner and he makes the tag. Chaos as all four men go at it in the ring. “This is awesome” chant as all four sell on the mat. Lorcan and Ford are legal and the others crawl from the ring. Lorcan hits some chops on Ford, who responds with kicks. Ford leaps over Lorcan at the ropes and hits Burch on the outside. Lorcan goes for a dive but Dawkins catches him. Spinebuster and frog splash in the ring on Burch, and it’s good for three. Mauro calls it out as a valiant effort.
WINNERS: The Street Profits in 10:00.
The Profits celebrate after the show, and Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly walk out to the ramp to watch as we fade out.
(Kelly’s Analysis: It didn’t approach TakeOver quality, but it was nice and energetic. Burch and Lorcan working as heels sort of kills their whole vibe, but against The Street Profits, what can you do? Given the final angle, I think we know who’s taking the titles from our most recent sitting champions to be called up to the main roster)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Not the most consequential of episodes, but I’m assuming the Profits-Undisputed feud might go on until Takeover? Seven weeks is a long time, but I’d be up for it. Listen to this week’s “PWT Talks NXT” podcast where we’ll look at this week’s news and answer a listener question about the imminent Dakota Kai return. Follow me on social media @spookymilk. I have a board game called “Fundead: The Greatest Show on Earth” releasing this summer, and if you’re a nerd like me, look for it soon!
Weak NXT this week.
– Shirai and Velveteen bits were a waste of time. Two boring, stock, heel-turn sentences. You needed to bring her out for that and waste time? Just have her say that in a recorded video that takes all of 30 seconds. The fake press conference is an interesting idea. Too bad VD had absolutely nothing of interest or entertainment to say. So waste of time there too.
– So Apollo Crews is sent to NXT to job even there? Poor guy.
– From what i’ve seen thus far, this Damien Priest guy sucks. He looks like he moves in slow motion. Even his “high impact” moves look weak. Couldn’t even deliver one proper clothesline out of two efforts.
When Dijakovic is back, Priest will look even worse, because Dijakovic has the same size but is better at everything. Maybe i should give him a bigger chance, but this match blew.
– Only interesting guys i have seen thus far in the Breakout tournament are the two guys in the first match. Angel Garza and his opponent. Didn’t think there was anything interesting about Jordan Myles at all. And i can’t even remember the guys from last week.
– We’re supposed to believe Mia Yim will do what nobody else has been able to (except Kairo Sane one time)? She hasn’t exactly been pushed to be better than all that came before.
– Keith Lee could be a good hand. But get him in a meaningful program already. It’s not like wrestlers in NXT have all the time in the world before being called up and ruined by Vince.
– At this point, is there even a point to switching the tag titles? Hardly any tag team gets to defend them without being called up. Put them on Fish/O Reilly and before you know it they show up as someone’s stooges on Smackdown.
I’ve been a big fan of NXT but i really feel, also due to injuries, that their current depth (in terms of quality and potential star power) is very shallow. I’m not “feeling it” with many of these newer guys. They need to get WALTER, Pete Dunne and Toni Storm over from England pronto.