SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT ON USA
NOVEMBER 9, 2021, 8PM EST
LIVE IN ORLANDO, FLA., AT CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Commentary: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, Beth Phoenix\
[HOUR ONE]
(1) IO SHIRAI & KAYDEN CARTER & KACY CATANZARO vs. TOXIC ATTRACTION (Mandy Rose & Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne)
Toxic Attraction was introduced at the top of the show and they posed with their belts (Gigi licked hers). Io Shirai was next, surprisingly, and Carter & Catanzaro were last introduced; they entered through the crowd and handed out…friendship bracelets, maybe? The show mentioned Zoey Stark’s ACL and meniscus tear.
Rose and Carter started. Quick takedown by Rose. The two traded some basic offense and Rose back-elbowed Shirai off the apron, and Shirai gave chase briefly. Dolin tagged in and hit a rana on Carter and draped her on a rope. Jayne tagged in and booted her from the apron side. Jayne missed a shot and Shirai tagged in and pump kicked Jayne, then covered for two. Jayne tried a pump kick, blocked, and Shirai hit a dragon screw. Back elbow in the corner by Shirai. Quick tags and tandem offense by Carter and Catanzaro. Catanzaro dropped an elbow and covered for one. Jayne backed up Catanzaro to the heel corner and Rose tagged in, but Catanzaro took control and hit a tope. Carter followed with another, and Shirai went for one but Rose surprised her with a spear heading into split-screen commercial.
Rose had Catanzaro in a bodyscissors. Catanzaro was able to roll up Rose to break. Rose suplexed Catanzaro for two. Rose reapplied the bodyscissors. Catanzaro tried a couple of chops. She finally pushed off and made the hot tag to Shirai. Dolin tagged in simultaneously and got destroyed by suplexes and stomps. Dolin hit a stunner to get back in it and tagged Rose, and Shirai immediately took control again. Double knees in the corner got two. Over the Moonsault would have finished, but the heels broke it up. Dolin tagged in and missed a standing senton. Carter tagged in ad took care of Dolin and an interfering Jayne. Rope run and Carter hit a superkick to the jaw. Flatliner by Carter. Jayne distracted Carter but Shirai took control on the outside. The distraction was enough and Dolin hit her finisher, kind of an abdominal stretch bomb, on Carter for the win.
WINNERS: Toxic Attraction at 12:49.
(Wells’s Analysis: Competent action, I suppose, but not as fluid as you would have expected a six-person match to be on NXT a few months ago. This got a brief “this is awesome” chant, which is definitely thanks to the new normal)
-McKenzie Mitchell talked with Pete Dunne about Tony D’Angelo’s comments last week on Lashing Out. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams stormed in and took issue with Pete Dunne calling himself the baddest man in NXT. Dunne and Hayes talked it up into a match later tonight.
-Earlier today(?), MSK walked to a building to see someone. They finally got there, exhausted, and found out their charge had a new address 420 miles away. Wes Lee said they were done walking and they’d fly. Nash Carter acted vaguely stoned and pretended to fly. Subtle!
(2) SARRAY vs. KAY LEE RAY
KLR went at Sarray quickly with stomps and a corner splash. She leaned on Sarray’s head in the corner. Sarray took brief control with some quick offense and KLR took her down by the hair. Irish whip, reverse, and Sarray whipped Ray but ran into a back elbow. DDT by Ray got two. Rope run and Sarray rolled up Ray for two. Sarray worked a wild-looking half-crab on the limber Ray, who reached the ropes. Fisherman suplex got two for Sarray. The two exchanged thrustkicks. Sarray missed a dropkick against the ropes and Ray kicked her to the floor. Ray hit the Gory Bomb on Sarray on top of the announce desk, then took her inside and hit another to finish.
WINNER: Kay Lee Ray at 4:52.
(Wells’s Analysis: Good action as Sarray is so much better at firing up like the strong babyface underdog she can be. Ray seems to be forever in the role of squashing low and midcard talent, and with a heel champion I’m not sure where she fits in, at least in the short term)
-McKenzie talked to Joe Gacy, who said Boa was hiding his true feelings by hiding behind a mask. He said no one should have to hide, and he hopes tonight Boa will see that. He also said Harland shouldn’t be uncomfortable living in his own skin. He said Harland, wherever he is, should reach out to him. He said tonight, he’s doing this for both of them.
-The announcers shilled for WrestleMania. There’s been a lot of Raw & SmackDown talk tonight.
-Bron Breakker cut a promo from the UK, where he’s on his first tour.
(3) BOA vs. JOE GACY
Gacy went for a handshake, which Boa kicked away. Gacy dumped Boa to the apron but Boa blocked him through the ropes and covered for two. Gacy begged for mercy and suckered Boa into a yank into the ropes. Splash and a cover for two by Gacy. Suplex got two for Gacy. Gacy worked a chinlock briefly. Boa broke free and threw some big kicks. Boa threw some knees to the midsection and hit a double-underhook suplex. Boa got shoved to a corner and some droning music started and the lights flickered. Boa went into a sort of trance and choked out Gacy. The ref ignored the music and light show and counted the five for the disqualification.
WINNER: Joe Gacy by disqualification at 3:22.
(Wells’s Analysis: Well…this is NXT 2.o)
-Ikemen Jiro & Kushida last week promised to beat the Creed Brothers. Diamond Mine watched the video in their workout space and Malcolm Bivens cut a promo to provide a counterpoint.
-McKenzie Mitchell tried to interview Solo Sikoa, and Grayson Waller stormed in immediately. He tried to rev up Sikoa and make him believe LA Knight was mocking him. Knight showed up and said he wasn’t scared to say everything to everyone’s face. Sikoa made a triple threat for later tonight.
(4) JACKET TIME (Kushida & Ikemen Jiro) vs. THE CREED BROTHERS (Brutus & Julius)
Jacket Time got full, goofy video with a Japanese pop theme. Barrett said Jacket Time was the worst tag team name he’d ever heard. “Worse than Tekno Team 2000?” Beth said. “Worse than The Corre with two Rs?” Vic added. Barrett conceded the point. Julius started with Jiro, who got some quick shots in. Kushida tagged in and the Creeds were able to hit some tag offense until Kushida hit a suplex and made the tag, allowing Jiro to get more shots in. Kushida and Jiro bumped the Creeds from the apron to the floor as the match went to commercial.
Kushida controlled both brothers; he and Julius were legal. He hit a bicycle kick and Jiro tagged in. He hit a senton for two and the crowd chanted “that was three.” Julius ripped off Jiro’s jacket to boos. Jiro ran the ropes and Roderick Strong grabbed the bottom rope to dump him. He tossed him back in and Julius finished with a powerbomb. Immediately after the bell, Odyssey Jones charged in and destroyed Strong on the apron, then chased off the rest of Diamond Mine.
WINNERS: The Creed Brothers at 7:48.
(Wells’s Analysis: I’m glad he’s getting TV time, but this act has put an extremely low ceiling on Kushida and I can’t imagine it’s worth staying in the states for this after years of running his division in New Japan. A decent match that didn’t need a commercial break)
[HOUR TWO]
-Toxic Attraction cut a promo on the women’s divisions while they went out to their vehicles in the parking lot. Raquel Gonzalez rode up into frame on her motorcycle and said “keep my title warm for me” in the most wooden way imaginable.
Gonzalez went into the arena and rode to the ring, then went to the ring. She wanted Dakota Kai NOW. Kai hit the ramp and did her crazy routine for just a moment before Cora Jade blindsided her and left her laying. Jade ran into Gonzalez and Gonzalez said “I get it – you want a piece of her too. But she’s mine first.” Jade nodded, and offered a fist bump, which Gonzalez accepted.
-Andre Chase and Chase University. One student took Chase to task about last week, and another student framed the situation from last week another way and kissed up to Chase, making him out to be the victim. Chase threw out the questioning student and thanked the other one for his diligence.
-More WrestleMania hype. It’s only five months away!
-Grizzled Young Veterans were out and about in town. Zack Gibson was teaching James Drake how to distract people to steal food. He said if you can distract people and steal their phones to order food, you can distract a referee. Interesting they agreed to do this with a cameraman on hand!
(5) CAMERON GRIMES vs. RU FENG
Grimes took down Feng and wiggled his backside in Feng’s face. Feng ran the ropes and hit a few kicks. He put Grimes in an abdominal stretch and Duke Hudson hit the ramp to boos. Grimes broke free and hit a corner boot. High cross-body by Grimes, who followed up with the Cave In.
WINNER: Cameron Grimes at 1:44.
(Wells’s Analysis: Once again, Feng shines with the little offense he gets in)
Afterward, Hudson entered the ring with a mic and complained that last week, Cameron Grimes went into his poker room with his poker chips and cards, and Grimes was just talking with the girls at the table. The crowd yelled “WHAT” to ruin whatever potential the segment had. Grimes said it was just a bit of fun. Hudson said “It wasn’t fun for me, you stupid little hick.” He went after Grimes’s looks, and Grimes rose above it and said next week they can do it again. Hudson said he can’t and won’t let it go. He said Grimes doesn’t know what losing to someone like Grimes does to him. He said next week they would have a “poker showdown.” Grimes agreed.
(6) GRAYSON WALLER vs. SOLO SIKOA vs. LA KNIGHT
Sikoa got the better of the other two early with a double clothesline. Knight went to the outside and waited for a Waller rope run, and he dumped him. Sikoa grabbed Knight from behind and yanked him up into the ring. Waller dumped Knight and then dropped Sikoa on the top rope. Waller and Knight took turns dropping elbows on Sikoa, then couldn’t decide which one was going to hit a superplex on Sikoa. They went up to hit one together, but Sikoa slipped out and chokeslammed both of them. Sikoa gave back elbows to both and fired up and hit a hip attack on Waller. He missed on Knight, who hit a neckbreaker on Sikoa. Knight stalked Sikoa and Waller got into it and took brief control before Sikoa used a belly-t0-belly on Waller to toss him out of the ring. He hit a frog splash on Knight for the win.
WINNER: Sikoa in about 5:00.
(Wells’s Analysis: I’m not a huge fan of triple threats without a major issue, but I suppose as a showcase for Sikoa it’s fine on paper. In practice, Sikoa didn’t so much dominate as pick the bones of the other two, who kept arguing with one another)
-McKenzie tried to talk to Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. Tony D’Angelo stormed in. Maybe McKenzie needs to put some locks on the door to her interview room. D’Angelo worked his relentless stereotype and gave Hartwell a fish wrapped in newspaper to send Dexter Lumis a message. “The creator of this character saw The Godfather one time and just put all of it into a wrestler” seems like it has to be an oversimplification, but there really isn’t more to him than that.
-Tommaso Ciampa cut a promo, also from the UK. It was another chance to put over Bron Breakker, but he said nothing Bron or anyone could do will overcome 17 years of experience to take the championship from him.
(7) ERICA YAN vs. ELEKTRA LOPEZ (w/Joaquin Wilde & Raul Mendoza)
In an extremely awkward moment, the ring announcer said “The following match is scheduled for one fall…” and was apparently cut off because the plan was to just start the match out of the previous segment, so the two just moved in awkwardly and locked up eventually. Lopez dominated and won with her finisher.
WINNER: Elektra Lopez at 1:21.
Lopez called out Xyon Quinn. He entered and got face to face with Lopez. Lopez said he turned a lot of heads last week, especially hers. She said he was impressive and asked if he wanted to join Legado del Fantasma. He said Elektra really was amazing, but he just can’t get down with Legado. He tried to leave and Wilde said nobody says no to Legado del Fantasma. Quinn beat down Wilde and Mendoza, then blocked some palm strikes from Lopez and they ended up in a tense near-kiss moment. They released. Quinn started out of the ring and up the ramp, and Lopez held Wilde and Mendoza back from attacking him.
-Just when I’d given up on it, War Games was announced for December 5th, a Sunday, streaming live on Peacock. It’ll be strange to see one without Undisputed Era.
-More Mania hype. Steve Austin was involved.
-McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Kyle O’Reilly. He said he and Von Wagner have something special here, so they have their eyes on the tag team titles. Imperium showed up to jaw at O’Reilly, but Wagner was on hand as well and they backed off.
(8) PETE DUNNE vs. CARMELO HAYES (w/Trick Williams)
Dunne dominated early with stomps and a hard lariat. He stomped Hayes’s head and then his hand, but Hayes escaped and hit a back elbow. The “impact” camera worked overtime to make every spot and move look softer with the pointless zooms and snaps. To a corner and Dunne snapped Hayes’s arm over the rope. Action spilled outside and Hayes put Dunne’s head into the apron, and Dunne reversed a suplex into an x-plex onto the apron. The camera focused on Trick Williams, who freaked out about something offscreen that turned out to be Dexter Lumis. Lumis put on a headset to sit in on commentary. Funny, although they’ve done it before. The match went to split-screen commercial.
Back to full screen, the camera focused on the announce team with Lumis. We eventually got back to Dunne working Hayes’s left leg. Hayes hit a lungblower to get back into it. Hayes crawled to a cover for one. Hayes charged into a boot and then reversed a shot into a lariat. After another reversal, Hayes slammed Dunne for two. Vic announced that next week, Jacket Time and Odyssey Jones would face Roderick Strong and the Creed Brothers.
Dunne hit a sitout powerbomb for two. Dunne stalked Hayes and hit an enzuigiri. Hayes jumped into an uppercut but reversed into a cutter for two. Both guys sold on the mat. Hayes threw rights, which Dunne largely no-sold. Dunne threw a palm strike and Hayes snapped on GargaNo Escape and the announce team was incredulous that Melo stole Johnny Gargano’s move. The two traded impact moves and Dunne started to dominate until Hayes tossed him to the ropes and he hit his throat. Trick Williams attempted to interfere and Lumis laid him out. Someone interfered with Hayes as well, though they were unseen. Dunne hit the Bitter End to finish, and of course it was Johnny Gargano who grabbed at Carmelo’s leg. Gargano and Lumis gave the thumbs up to one another. Dunne and Gargano were both calling their shot for Hayes’s title.
WINNER: Pete Dunne at 12:10.
(Wells’s Analysis: Champions not losing non-title matches was one of my favorite things about NXT. Oh well. This was easily the match of the night with no real competition, and there’s some intrigue with both Dunne and Gargano wanting the North American Championship. Hayes continues to look he belongs alongside much more seasoned opponents)
FINAL THOUGHTS: There are occasionally things to like if I can set aside all the things that this show has lost. On the other hand, for everything there is to like, there’s a bevy of tropes like the bad camerawork, champs losing, zero interviews being uninterrupted, and cameras capturing things they shouldn’t (unless we’re supposed to go back to accepting that the wrestlers aren’t seeing the cameras, which is a totally different way to calibrate a show, and a fine one, but it takes time for it to seem normal again). I’ll have plenty to jaw about on PWT Talks NXT; stream tonight or listen tomorrow.
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