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SOLO SIKOA vs RODERICK STRONG – NXT North American Championship Qualifier
The winner of this match goes on to Stand & Deliver with a guaranteed spot in the North American Championship ladder match. With Trick Williams and NA Champion, Carmelo Hayes, sitting on commentary, Solo Sikoa and Roderick Strong looked to out-do one another to secure that spot.
For a member of the most popular (former) faction in NXT, the Undisputed Era, Roderick Strong just doesn’t feel important enough to warrant a spot in the S&D ladder match. Sikoa, on the other hand, has been booked incredibly strong since his debut and feels like his presence would make an impact in that multi-man match.
Santos Escobar made his way to the ring in the middle of the match, seemingly watching the action in this opening contest. Even after Sikoa’s victory, Escobar just clapped in congratulations. I expected him to interfere in some capacity.
Sikoa was the correct winner, yet one wonders what this means for the leader of Diamond Mine?
Verdict: HIT
DEXTER LUMIS vs. TONY D’ANGELO
Dex’s wife Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta and Duke Hudson were all ringside for this matchup as part of their ongoing story of “who is the cuter couple”.
Tony D’Angelo and Dexter Lumis put on a decent show, just a standard TV matchup. Nothing spectacular, but still an entertaining contest between two mid to upper-mid carders in NXT. Tony D’Angelo wanted to use a crowbar on Dexter while his back was turned but Indi Hartwell was quicker and grabbed it before he did. Persia that tried to snatch it out of her hand, but she was within range of D’Angelo who ripped it from her hands and the momentum clocked Lumis in the head. The ref didn’t see it, and D’Angelo picked up the quick win.
After the match, D’Angelo called Ciampa out and called himself the new Don of NXT once again signaling Ciampa to make his way to the ring. Ciampa attacked from behind and left D’Angelo laying.
The booking of this match was actually very solid. It furthered the InDex and “DuSia” (Duke and Persia) story, as well as furthered the feud between Ciampa and D’Angelo.
Verdict: HIT
ELEKTRA LOPEZ (w/ Legado del Fantasma) vs. FALLON HENLEY (w/Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen)
Last week we saw Henley and her new cohorts, Briggs & Jensen, ‘disrespect’ Lopez and Legado, leading to this match up tonight.
Lopez dominated the majority of the matchup with Henley fighting from underneath. It wasn’t until a brawl between the four men that distracted Lopez that Henley got any offense. Lopez may have won, but Henley was the standout in this match for me. Lopez looked sloppy in a few spots where Henley looked crisp and showed major charisma in her selling.
Verdict: HIT
BOBBY ROODE (w/NXT Champion Dolph Ziggler) vs. BRON BREAKKER
Former NXT Champion Bobby Roode faced off against former NXT Champion Bron Breakker in a match to continue Breakker & Ziggler’s feud on the way to Stand & Deliver. Roode looked to wear Breakker down a bit to perhaps give Ziggler an edge during their match in a couple weeks.
Ziggler tried to stick his nose in the match and was thrown out of the arena for his troubles, evening the odds in Breakker’s favor.
Roode must have had a blast, as this is probably the first televised singles match he’s had in recent memory that went more than 3 minutes. He was also booked stronger than he has been in quite some time. As good as it was to see Roode being taken seriously again, it almost felt like it watered Breakker down. Roode has not been protected whatsoever on the main roster and is swiftly beaten often. It’s almost hard to believe that Roode could give Breakker a run for his money.
That aside, this match was a lot of fun for me. Roode harkening back to his NXT heyday, casting a little doubt (but not really) on whether Breakker could overcome the odds or not.
After his win, Breakker was taken out on the entrance ramp by Ziggler who left him laying after clocking him with the NXT title.
Verdict: HIT
GREYSON WALLER (w/Sanga) vs. A-KID – North American Championship Qualifier
A-Kid might just be my new favorite undercard talent to watch. His in-ring style is so quick, crisp and bombastic it’s a breath of fresh air compared to at least half of the roster. He may have lost in relatively short time to Waller, but that definitely made sense. Waller has been pushed as one of the top heels in NXT, getting this victory garnered him a ton of heat and secured him a spot in the North American ladder match at Stand and Deliver.
Verdict: HIT
THE CREED BROTHERS vs. GRIZZLED YOUNG VETS
Whodunnit? Who jumped the Creed Brothers a handful of weeks ago? The Creed Brothers seem to think that the Grizzled Young Vets had something to do with it, and GYV looked to clear their name, claiming innocence. I really doubt GYV were the attackers, NXT Tag Champs, Imperium, seem the most likely culprit, though MSK could have also been the attackers if a heel turn was in their future.
Forget the attack from weeks ago, do you know what this weeks crime was? The fact that this match didn’t go longer. GYV and the Creeds’ have complementary wrestling styles, and I could have watched these two teams tango for another 20 minutes, easy.
After the Creed’s win, two men in hoodies were shown destroying the Diamond Mine locker room. Immediately after that, they showed Imperium standing next to Gunther backstage. Now, I think this is a red herring, trying to give Imperium an alibi. Why? Well, the skin color of both the hooded men exactly matched the skin color of both Martel Barthel and Fabian Aichner moments later.
Maybe I’m reaching? But I don’t think I am.
Verdict: HIT
WALTER (w/ Imperium) vs. DUKE HUDSON
Nope. I ain’t doing it. I’m not calling him Gunther tonight. I just can’t bring myself to do it. Sorry.
Duke Hudson was challenged by Dexter Lumis to try and defeat Walter to somehow prove that he is better than Lumis. This match was magically made and happened later in the night. It was hard for me to get invested in this match, as usually Walter matches are hyped up for more than 15 minutes. There was really no story as to why Walter would agree to fight for InDex, nor is there a GM to force Walter do to it.
Walter was in control for the beginning of the match, chopping Hudson with some of the most intense chops I’ve seen in a long time. Hudson did get some offense in against the leader of Imperium, but nobody is going to pin Walter clean any time soon.
After the match, Walter called out LA Knight which prompted him to get in the ring with all three members of Imperium. Walter said that LA Knight represents everything wrong in this sport today and continued to insult LA Knight. Imperium attacked Knight, prompting MSK to make the save.
Verdict: HIT
DAKOTA KAI & WENDY CHOO vs. IO SHIRAI & KAY LEE RAY – Dusty Classic Final
Well, here we are. Wendy Choo is in the finals for the Dusty Classic. I can’t believe they’ve rolled with her as far as they have. While some may find Choo endearing, I think she has the absolute worst gimmick in all of NXT. Not to knock Karen Q, as she’s a great performer, she’s just been given a ridiculously terrible gimmick. I’ve spent plenty of time talking about why I dislike Choo in previous Hits & Misses and on PWT Talks NXT, check out the archives for more.
Dakota Kai is at least once again in the main event of an NXT episode rather than toiling around in the background, so that’s my silver lining for their team getting as far as they have.
Last week, I toyed with the idea on PWT Talks NXT that Choo and Kai may be victorious in this match as it seemed like Shirai and KLR were probably set to feud after this match. My thinking that a loss to someone like Choo in such a high profile match would be a good catalyst for a feud. I started to think that was the outcome we may be looking towards with how much time they have been giving Kai and Choo recently.
Cooler heads prevailed, and Shirai and KLR won. However, after the match they told Toxic Attraction that rather than facing the NXT Tag Champions, they are instead going to turn the NXT Women’s Title match into a fatal four way.
What? Who gave them the authority to do that? It was an extremely confusing way to end the show.
Verdict: Match is a HIT. Post-Match angle was a messy, confusing MISS.
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