SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
WELLS’S NXT TV REPORT
MAY 13, 2020
LIVE(?) IN ORLANDO, FLA. AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix, Tom Phillips
Tonight after NXT, join me live with cohosts Nate Lindberg and Tom Stoup to break down the show with live callers and mailbag.
•STREAM LIVE HERE ABOUT 30 MINUTES AFTER NXT
•CALL: (515) 605-9345
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: pwtorchnxt@gmail.com
•IF YOU DON’T LISTEN LIVE, SEARCH “PWTORCH” ON YOUR PODCAST APP TO SUBSCRIBE AND THEN DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE FULL SHOW AN HOUR OR SO AFTER NXT
[HOUR ONE]
-Recaps of last week’s two championship matches that provided a lot of fun but very little closure. Rhea Ripley’s return and Dexter Lumis’s surprise appearance were featured. Afterward, there was brief hype for tonight’s tag team championship match.
(1) MATT RIDDLE & TIMOTHY THATCHER (c) vs. IMPERIUM (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) – NXT Tag Team championship match
Beth weirdly mispronounced “Aichner,” which I don’t recall her doing. Barthel and Thatcher to open; Thatcher gained control and grounded Barthel but he escaped with a headscissors. Thatcher reversed into a bow & arrow, then transitioned to a front chancery. Barthel escaped and hit some palm strikes and the two jockeyed for position. Thatcher mounted Barthel, pounded on him and hit an armbar that Barthel broke with the rope. Heels tagged and Aichner hit an armbar. Outside, Riddle and Barthel got into it near a barricade and Thatcher didn’t look thrilled that Riddle wasn’t in his corner.
Riddle hit the apron and Thatcher backed into a tag. Riddle ran into a shoulder tackle, then mounted Aichner for a sleeper and a beautiful gut-wrench suplex. Barthel tagged in and got gut-wrenched himself. Bro-ton hit Barthel’s rising knees. Imperium tag, tandem offense, two count for Aichner leading into commercial.
Aichner had Riddle in a headlock; Riddle escaped and jumped for a tag but Aichner caught him and drove him to the heel corner for a tag. Tandem dropkick on Riddle, who was draped over a rope, and a cover for two. Forearms by Barthel and another tag. Riddle tried to get into it but Aichner leaned on him. Another quick tag and Riddle hit a big knee on Aichner, but Barthel cut it off. Final Flash missed, and Barthel held Riddle off just barely from his own corner until Riddle threw a thrustkick. Riddle hit a monkey flip, but it hit Thatcher, who fell from the apron to the floor. Thatcher grew tired of it and he walked up the ramp. The faces jawed at one another and Thatcher left completely as the announcers sold that it was a handicap match.
To the corner, finisher attempt, but Riddle fought them off. Numbers caught up and hit the European Bomb for the win.
WINNERS: Imperium at 11:08.
(Wells’s Analysis: The match gave away its result early, with a malfunction in the ring. I wondered aloud last week if Riddle & Thatcher were destined for a feud before Pete Dunne returns to the states – whenever that might be – but I continue to wonder where Indus Sher is in all this; they looked to be the no-doubt next champions three weeks ago, but they haven’t been seen nor mentioned since.)
-Tonight, four men complete Group action in the Cruiserweight Championship tournament as Jake Atlas faces Tony Nese and Isaiah “Swerve” Scott faces Jack Gallagher. These matches are likely to get all four out of the way so next week’s matches provide the Group winners, but it’s possible we see a three-way tie.
-The blonde announcer who never gets named caught up with Timothy Thatcher, who said it wasn’t worth being tag champion with someone like Riddle. Riddle quickly stormed into the frame and the two were pulled apart before a brawl erupted.
(2) TEGAN NOX vs. INDI HARTWELL
Nox had new gear with colors potentially inspired by Captain Marvel. Hartwell got music, a hip-hop EDM sort of thing, and full entrance. She wasn’t shy with the heel grimace.
Hartwell backed Nox up and said “You’re not impressive!” Hartwell grounded Nox and threw shots. Forearm, cover, one count. Nox tried to roll up Indi from below, but Indi stomped on her. Hartwell shoved a frustrated Nox into the corner and kept up the onslaught. Sidewalk slam by Hartwell for a two count. Irish whip and Indi charged and found elbow. Hartwell got dumped to the apron, then wanted a springboard but got caught and chokeslammed. Nox threw a chop and some forearms, then hit a European uppercut. Senton in the corner on a grounded Hartwell. Nox went up and hit a cross-body. Shiniest Wizard finished.
WINNER: Tegan Nox at 3:17.
(Wells’s Analysis: Hartwell looked strong in defeat, even given the brief runtime. Nox continues to struggle with a lack of strong identity; so far she’s defined by her feuds rather than any characterization)
-Last week, Rhea Ripley and Io Shirai got into a scuffle outside. Rhea gave a backstage promo saying she was laying low because she was sickened by Charlotte holding the NXT Women’s Championship, and she said she’d pound into Shirai that she’d be the one to take it back. She warned Charlotte that it’s only just begun, and the championship belongs to her.
-Backstage, Matt Riddle had been attacked, perhaps taking him out of an apparent match later with Timothy Thatcher.
(3) JAKE ATLAS (1-1) vs. TONY NESE (0-2) – Group A Cruiserweight Championship match
Backstage, Byron Saxton asked Atlas for his thoughts. He said he had to win tonight, and as a big Drake Maverick fan, he hoped Drake would somehow beat Kushida to force a tie.
Single-leg takedown by Nese; quick headlock reversal. Rope break. Nese grabbed a headlock, and Atlas reversed. Back kick by Nese. Both guys missed some kicks and Nese gave Atlas a shot to the throat. Nese hung Atlas on the top rope, then went at Atlas with kicks and forearms. Nese kicked at a grounded Atlas, then backed him into the corner. Suplex by Nese for two. Nese put on a headlock on the mat; Atlas fought to his feet and Nese hit a knee. Back elbow by Atlas. The two exchanged forearms and Atlas hit a big boot and a big German suplex. Step-up enzuigiri by Atlas for two.
To a corner, Irish whip, reversal, pumphandle by Nese but Atlas escaped and hit a neckbreaker. Atlas went up but Nese crotched him with an uppercut. Nese chopped Atlas and stomped him in the corner as the camera did the garbage, unhelpful “zoom in and out” thing that NXT rarely does. Atlas hit a Rainbow DDT to finish.
WINNER: Jake Atlas at 5:01.
(Wells’s Analysis: It was at least a bit longer than last week’s matches. Atlas stays alive here and he needs Drake Maverick to beat Kushida to force a three-way tie. If Kushida wins, he wins the group outright, so with the couple of Atlas-Maverick scenes we’ve seen, I assume Kushida wins and the other two end up feuding)
-The Undisputed Era had an obnoxious Zoom meeting. Kyle O’Reilly, not on TV of late, was there. Roddy called out Dexter Lumis and the four of them said they need to take care of him. Kyle said all of them need to throw out a name for who takes him out on three, and the four said “Roddy!” in unison. Adam Cole said they already embarrassed Velveteen Dream and now they’d run roughshod (well, he said “roughshot”) on NXT.
-Karrion Kross & Scarlett vignette. Foreboding stuff, and Karrion provided a vague mission statement. The music track had a Nick Cave vibe, but it wasn’t him, and I don’t have the chance to look it up as I watch live.
-Dakota Kai vignette. She said she knew when it was time for a change, and to team with Raquel Gonzalez. Raquel said together, they would hurt a lot of people.
-Swerve interview. He said he was confident, and Fantasma found that out real quick. He said if he couldn’t get a win in the whole tournament, he’d quit wrestling altogether. Weird that he’d take a kayfabe shot on Nese there.
-Tonight: Dinner with the Garganos!
-Up next, DX is in the house! Ranallo suggests this has something to do with the major announcement promised by William Regal.
-DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels (wearing a bandana as a face mask) and Road Dogg) announced that live on Sunday, June 7th, we would get NXT TakeOver: In Your House, and revealed the logo (which used the original art for In Your House heavily). Road Dogg reminisced about Henry Godwinn shoving Triple H’s face in pig crap and Triple H quickly threw back to the show.
[HOUR TWO]
(4) FINN BALOR vs. CAMERON GRIMES
Beth wondered aloud if Finn could keep his focus as he wondered about his attacker from a couple of weeks ago.
Grimes wanted the quick Cave In, which Finn had scouted. Balor went at Grimes with knees in the corner, then grounded him and put on a headlock. A graphic confirmed the Matt Riddle-Timothy Thatcher match later tonight.
Quick reversals, and Finn hit a PK. Irish whip but Grimes slipped out and hit a waistlock, then pounded Finn, growling all the while. Big front kick. Grimes leaned on Finn on the ropes. Sunset flip, Finn rolled through, basement dropkick. Grimes blocked a sling blade and hit a uranage for two leading to a commercial without the usual warning from the announcers.
Grimes had a headlock on, and Balor fought to his feet for a moment before Grimes leaned on him again. To their feet, rope run, knee to the midsection by Grimes for a one count. Balor threw some shots but Grimes drove him into the turnbuckle to cut off the hope spot. Grimes continued beating Balor from one corner to another. Irish whip and Balor hit a dropkick, but Grimes came back with a big lariat for two. Grimes jawed at Finn and threw a hard chop, but Balor popped up and hit double knees on a posturing Grimes. Mudhole stomp by the ropes. Grimes bailed and yanked out Finn, but Finn pounded down on Grimes and hit a big swinging PK from the apron.
As the ref counted, Damian Priest showed up behind Finn Balor. Finn took stock of Priest, but Priest waited for his moment and struck Finn in the back of the leg with his nightstick. Cave In from Grimes, and that was it.
WINNER: Cameron Grimes at 9:51.
After the match, Priest brought a chair into the ring and hit The Reckoning on Finn on the chair. He laid the chair down on Finn and said if he wanted to live forever, why not take out a prince? He said he enjoyed it, just like he did three weeks ago.
(Wells’s Analysis: This gives Grimes a big win to brag about while not hurting Finn, who immediately slides over into a feud that likely culminates at TakeOver: In Your House in just under four weeks. I expect Tommaso Ciampa vs. Karrion Kross on the show as well, assuming they don’t save that for later, and we’ve got some clue as to the state of the women’s championship. This match was nice but nothing spectacular, leading to the angle to finish)
(5) ISAIAH “SWERVE” SCOTT (1-1) vs. JACK GALLAGHER (0-2) – Group B Cruiserweight Championship tournament match
Gallagher is out, but can take out Swerve with a win here.
During Swerve’s entrance, he was attacked by Nese, paying off Swerve’s interview earlier. Quick dropkick and a cover for two by Gallagher, with Swerve draping a leg on the rope to survive. Gallagher beat Swerve around the ring.
Gallagher grounded Swerve with a headlock, but Swerve fought his way to his feet for a shot exchange. Scott wanted a deadlift German, blocked, and Gallagher went for a dropkick in the corner, also blocked. House Call by Swerve for a long two. Swerve hit his feet and hit a kick to the chest to a grounded Gallagher. Another. Rope run but Gallagher caught Swerve with a guillotine. Swerve lifted Gallagher, who escaped and hit a discus forearm to finish.
WINNER: Jack Gallagher at 3:33.
(Wells’s Analysis: Swerve going 1-2 isn’t going to thrill a lot of folks who keep falling for his on-again, off-again push, but this gets these two out of the way so next week’s Tozawa-Fantasma match is for all the marbles. More of an angle than a match. Swerve may have gotten a feud out of it, though it’s a feud with a guy who just went winless in a round robin)
(6) KAYDEN CARTER vs. ALIYAH
Aliyah had new powder-blue gear. She still seemed annoyed that the crowd didn’t cheer for her, which was fun.
Quick takedown by Aliyah, and another quick one by Kayden. Carter wanted a figure four(?) but Aliyah shoved her away (right into the ref). Big dropkick by Kayden for one. To a corner, Aliyah hit Carter with rapid kicks. The camera continues to do the worthless quick zooms that helped drive me away from Raw and SmackDown. Switch in the corner, kicks by Carter, but Carter ran into a big boot. Robert Stone showed up on the ramp, smirking at what he saw, likely scouting. He seemed interested in Aliyah. Aliyah changed her mind on the top rope, seemingly to impress Stone, and she got caught. Rollup by Carter for two. Deathlock submission was good to finish.
WINNER: Kayden Carter at 2:50.
Mauro indeed told the story that Aliyah threw herself off trying to impress Robert Stone. She grabbed Stone’s arm as he walked up the ramp, and he removed her hand from his arm and walked on.
(Wells’s Analysis: It amuses me that Robert Stone would be scouting two wrestlers near the bottom of the pecking order, though I get that this would be a help to Aliyah (or Kayden, if they want to go that way). Decent action and an intriguing story, surprisingly enough, given that none of the players are in a major spot right now)
-Dinner with the Garganos time. Gargano said Candice stomped a ninja, and Gargano took out Dominik Dijagoofavik. The two watched the match together on an iPad and Gargano said Dijakovic learned a very valuable lesson. The video, like the last time at the dinner table, went to black and white and darker audio as he spoke threats to the camera. Back to normal, and Candice said the undeserved rewards keep going around. Mia Yim got Charlotte while Candice was stuck with Kacy Catanzaro. “She’s a ninja!” “She’s not a ninja.” “She’s a warrior!” “She’s not a warrior.” “Well, she’s American.” “Okay…I guess she’s American,” Candice admitted, close to breaking character.
Dark video again. Candice said Mia didn’t deserve anything; she did. Back to normal again. Gargano said a man was more interested in basking in his glory than winning. He said everyone loves you…until they don’t. The glory he’s looking for doesn’t exist. It works for a little bit, but it doesn’t last. The two threw a couple more threats toward Mia Yim and Keith Lee to complete the scene.
(Wells’s Analysis: More good stuff at the Gargano house, though much briefer. We might see a mixed tag here)
-Next week, Drake Maverick vs. Kushida and Akira Tozawa vs. El Hijo del Fantasma put a bow on Group action in the Cruiserweight tournament.
(7) MATT RIDDLE vs. TIMOTHY THATCHER
A meeting of fists and forearms to start. Quick holds and escapes, then a reset. To a corner, back out, hip toss by Thatcher, reversal, and more quick shots. Thatcher with a single-leg takedown. Rope break.
Another takedown and reversal. Takedown by Riddle and Thatcher covered himself as Riddle threw forearms. Guard pass by Riddle, followed by a double wristlock. Thatcher rolled into a reversal and hit an armbar while driving a knee down on Riddle’s head. To their feet. Riddle finally created separation long enough to hit a kick to the head, sending Thatcher to the outside as the show went to its probable final commercial.
Thatcher had a leg wrapped up upon return, and he leaned down to throw hands for some more mat brawling. Anklelock by Thatcher and Riddle kicked his way out. Final Flash missed, but after a German suplex, a second hit. Thatcher stomped Riddle’s bare toes and hit a European uppercut and grounded Riddle. Riddle fought his way up and blocked a sunset flip and wanted an armbar, but Thatcher rolled up Riddle and hit a rope to break.
Thatcher went in with a knee to Riddle’s midsection, and a few more. Thatcher wanted a submission armbar, but Riddle rolled into it for a two count and continued to block. Riddle powered Thatcher into the air and hit a powerbomb. Both guys sold on the mat.
Both to their feet for a shot exchange. Palm strikes and forearms. Thatcher grounded Riddle for an anklelock, and Riddle rolled through to escape. Riddle reversed into Bro to Sleep but couldn’t cover as he crumbled elsewhere. Riddle went up for a Floating Bro, which hit knees. Thatcher put on a quick Fujiwara armbar, reverse, but Thatcher put it on again. Another anklelock as Riddle threw shots to try to break. Riddle, out of relative nowhere, rolled up Thatcher for a three as he kept the anklelock on.
WINNER: Matt Riddle at 12:23.
Thatcher bailed in frustration, but charged Riddle after the bell and put on a Fujiwara armbar for a visual submission. Thatcher kept at it as the show faded out.
(Wells’s Analysis: Absolutely excellent mat-based affair throughout – a tough match to recap as it involved so many small shifts in power. Matches like this really feel like a fight and something personal, and are a great change of pace from the usual WWE style, even on NXT in a slightly different form. This could have gone either way and have been fine, but I’m on board with this relatively lucky win by Riddle that gives Thatcher even more to be pissed off about. Quite the single-night story here, and it had a little bit of everything, except Indus Sher)
FINAL THOUGHTS: The streak of very strong shows continues, as NXT really is settling into being a show that adds some surprise and just the right helping of sports entertainment to its wrestling. The “major announcement,” while minor, is an intriguing development given that we don’t have a lot of obvious matches yet for a TakeOver with only three more episodes of NXT to go beforehand.
Imperium is an excellent tag team, and once I get over the fact that Indus Sher is completely gone for three weeks now, I’ll be thrilled that they have the belts. It’s hard to say, though, who stands in line to face them unless we go heel-heel. The Cruiserweight Championship tournament continued to take shape as now three men are completely out, and both will be solved next week barring a three-way tie that I’m not anticipating (for the record, I’m still calling Fantasma over Kushida in the final, with Swerve as obvious first challenger in line). Cameron Grimes picked up a big win as Finn Balor found his next feud. Meanwhile, two of the hottest acts on the show – Karrion Kross/Scarlett and Johnny Gargano/Candice LeRae – got nowhere near the ring.
It was a very good show, other than the hugely unwelcome addition of the zoom camera during beatdowns and stomps. It would be one thing if it didn’t add anything, but it frankly detracts from the action because it feels so contrived and manipulative. Knock it off.
Join me (@spookymilk), Tom Stoup and Nate Lindberg for PWT Talks NXT at half past the hour, and we’ll see you in seven as we’re now heading toward a surprise TakeOver.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.