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NXT 2.0 TV REPORT
JUNE 28, 2022
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
Tonight after the show, join me, Bruce Hazelwood and Nate Lindberg to break down the show with calls and emails.
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[HOUR ONE]
(1) ROXANNE PEREZ & CORA JADE vs. KAYDEN CARTER & KATANA CHANCE – #1 Contendership for the Women’s Tag Team Championships
Carter and Chance got a mixed reaction after working essentially heel for the last couple of shows. Jade and Perez were well received. Jade and Carter opened and rotated around the ring in a collar and elbow, then reset. Carter got a brief advantage and taunted Jade with a butt wiggle. Carter threw some palm strikes. Chance made the tag by slapping Carter’s backside and maintained control over Jade with some quick offense and near-falls. Jade reversed a spot and got into it with hiptosses and dropkick. Perez tagged in to cheers and hit some back elbows on Chance in the corner. Hip toss into an armbar by Perez.
Jade tagged in again. Another hip toss and cover by Jade. Perez tagged in and grounded Chance with an arm lock. Chance managed a blind tag and Carter threw some forearms and elbows and covered for two. Toxic Attraction looked on from their posh spot, as usual when a match concerns them. Jade tagged in and hit a stomp on Chance. Perez added a dropkick and Jade covered for two. Chance made the tag and all four got into the ring. Jade and Perez cleared the others from the ring and Perez set up a tope, but Carter cut her off and took control heading into split-screen. [c]
Carter and Chance controlled Perez. They hit a backstabber-double stomp combo for two. Carter worked a half-crab on Perez and Chance tagged in and worked a full Boston crab. Perez rolled up Chance to break, then hit a rana and both made the tag. Jade dominated both opponents and hit a rising knee on Carter for two. Carter wasn’t able to make a tag as Chance was out of position for some reason. Carter took over and then made a tag, but their planned double-team finish was thwarted as Jade yanked Carter from the top. Perez hit Pop Rox for the win.
WINNERS: Roxanne Perez & Cora Jade at 13:46.
(Wells’s Analysis: Better than the recent Carter-Chance disjointed spotfests have been, but for whatever reason, the crowd didn’t respond much to the action. Having no heels didn’t help. The match was perfectly decent outside of the crowd’s indifference)
-Diamond Mine ran into Joe Gacy and the Dyad. Gacy wanted Diamond Mine to prove they’re a family tonight. Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp lingered longer than everyone else, then bumped fists, as the long-term story continues to be Strong and Kemp likely splitting off from the faction.
-Giovanni Vinci was introduced ahead of the next match. [c]
-McKenzie Mitchell talked to Toxic Attraction. Jacy Jayne said she was unimpressed and if that’s the level they bring at Great American Bash, they won’t have anything to worry about. Mandy Rose said Perez should have used her title shot for her in the first place, but she’d better not be saving that for later. Nikkita Lyons walked into frame and cut on Mandy Rose, saying her eyes were on her. Rose said all eyes were on her at all times. Lyons’ mic time suggested she probably should have used more of her time off working on it.
(2) IKEMEN JIRO vs. GIOVANNI VINCI
Vinci took over after a brief early flurry by Jiro. He grounded Jiro with a huge chop that Jiro sold like a champ (there was a pretty significant mark on his chest, so he probably didn’t oversell by much). Jiro got into it with some jacket strikes, but Vinci caught him with a DDT from the top. USA once again tried to mute the “Holy shit” chant, which cut out the announcers as well. Vinci hit his finisher.
WINNER: Giovanni Vinci at 3:02.
(Wells’s Analysis: Another good enhancement outing for Vinci, though we’re all very aware of him now that he’s six years into his run in this company, so here’s hoping he gets into a feud sooner than later)
-The announcers mentioned that Briggs & Jensen showed up on NXT UK and won the tag team championships there, and added that they’re here tonight. [c]
-McKenzie talked with Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. The two pumped themselves up. Grayson Waller stepped in and kissed up to Hayes and Williams, and said this was embarrassing, but his family was big fans of his so he had some things (a basketball, a shirt and two 8x10s) for him to sign. Hayes signed them and then said “That’s a trustworthy guy, right there” as Waller walked off with the memorabilia.
-Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley were introduced. The crowd chanted “You deserve it” for the new NXT UK champions. Uh…how so? They’re fine, but this wasn’t some big journey and they’re still pretty green. The crowd chanted “USA.” Oh boy. Jensen recalled Briggs once upon a time telling him he saw something in him and asking him to run with him. Jensen thanked Briggs for picking him and got genuinely choked up. Briggs said there was one thing left to do now that they’ve got these titles. “Let’s drink some beer!” Fallon yelled out to cheers.
Pretty Deadly’s music played to boos. They said those titles meant something because Pretty Deadly used to hold them. They said they should at least clean the country off of them. They said only one team can raise the prestige of the titles. Briggs said “Hey Zoolander twins! Shuuuuut uuuuuup.” PD tried to blindside the champs, but they (with an assist from Henley) fought them off.
-Bron Breakker hype segment. Later tonight, he and Cameron Grimes hit the ring for a face to face.
-Indi Hartwell was introduced as the match went to commercial. [c]
-Carter and Chance went to the women’s locker room and were still flipping out about their loss. Tatum Paxley sat nearby and was playing around on her phone. Carter took offense to Paxley looking at her.
(3) INDI HARTWELL vs. KIANA JAMES
James worked an early wristlock. Standing switch and a waistlock by Hartwell. James shoved her off and pointed at her head, because basic counters make her a genius. Arm drags by Hartwell. She held on and grounded James with an armbar. A corner graphic warned us that Mandy Rose will face Nikkita Lyons tonight. James kept pointing at her head after basic spots. Let’s dial it down. James worked a body scissors. The announcers briefly talked about Money in the Bank and Wade predicted that Becky Lynch, peaking at the right time, will win.
Hartwell took down James with a few rights, then draped her over the center rope and hit a pump kick. Hartwell covered for two. Hartwell missed the Pretty Savage elbow and James rolled her up and allegedly used the ropes for leverage, but she was so far from the ropes she had to poke her toes to reach it, and it looked less effective than if she hadn’t done it at all. It was good to finish.
WINNER: Kiana James at 3:52.
(Wells’s Analysis: Tom Stoup has been saying James is progressing very slowly on Bonus Point, and there was nothing here to suggest otherwise.)
-Tony D’Angelo and Stacks were on an overpass above a river. They wrote off Two Dimes by saying “All I do for you, and you come for my chair? I’m pretty sure you sleep with the fishes” as D’Angelo held Two Dimes’s jacket. D got a call, and it was Santos Escobar harassing him, asking for the “New North American Champion” after costing D’Angelo the match last week. D threw the phone in the river. Well, on a show with so much criminal behavior, what’s one little murder?
-Diamond Mine was introduced. [c]
-Wes Lee segment. He said last week he was baring his soul when Trick Williams showed up. He said it was strength that Lee wears his heart on his sleeve. He said nothing and nobody will stop him from finding his inner peace in the ring.
[HOUR TWO]
(4) RODERICK STRONG & THE CREED BROTHERS (w/Damon Kemp & Ivy Nile) vs. JOE GACY & THE DYAD
Roddy and Gacy opened. Big block by Gac, then a rope run and Strong grounded Gacy with a headlock. Gacy backed up to his corner and the taller Dyad druid tagged in. He got in just a couple of shots and Brutus tagged in and took over. The druid threw a few rights and Brutus tossed him with a suplex. He threw the druid again and tagged Julius, who slammed Brutus atop the druid. The brothers tagged again and took turns throwing hard knees to the druid. Julius tagged in and threw one more knee, after which the druid bailed. Joe Gacy told him to get back in there and show them “the new you.”
The druid tagged in and took over on offense, aggressively hitting some basic offense. He tagged the other druid, who remained in control. Gacy tagged in and threw rights at Julius. The shorter druid tagged in again and threw some body shots. Julius rolled up the druid for two. The druid stalked Julius, but Julius deadlifted him from a kneeling position into a suplex setup. All six guys got involved and Diamond Mine cleared out the heels heading into split-screen. [c]
Gacy and Brutus were legal. Brutus distracted himself with a druid, and Gacy took a shot from behind. He covered Brutus for two. The taller druid tagged in and traded shots with Brutus. He shoved Brutus to the heel corner, where Brutus elbowed both other guys. The heels did a spot where Gacy did his upside-down taunt while the Dyad held his eyes open like this was Clockwork Orange-level terror. Brutus fought to his corner but got cut off and the druid hit a neckbreaker for two. The tall druid tagged in again and worked a headlock. Brutus finally fought off the Dyad and made the hot tag to Julius, who had throws for everyone. He dominated the druid, but Roderick Strong tagged himself in. The two argued. Brutus hit the ring to thwart a Joe Gacy attack that Strong never saw, and Strong argued with Brutus as well. The Dyad hit their finisher, a Magic Killer, and pinned Roddy.
WINNERS: Joe Gacy & The Dyad at 13:55.
(Wells’s Analysis: This was an okayish if not special tag, but the two storylines ran in place as Strong continued to be at odds with the Creeds and the Dyad continued to stay under the mask. They also continue to look a little silly as their flowy robes fly around everywhere during their matches)
-McKenzie Mitchell talked to Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams. Trick wanted to talk about his upcoming match with Wes Lee, but McKenzie was asking about the North American Championship match that Hayes had signed against Grayson Waller. Hayes and Williams raged, but Hayes remained confident. I’m sure everyone saw that outcome coming, but it was a new enough way for a heel to sneak their way into a title shot.
-Sanga was introduced for the next match, and Xyon Quinn attacked him and they brawled on the ramp as the show went to commercial. [c]
-Diamond Mine continued their argument in their locker room. Roddy said the Creeds need to listen to them. Julius said even when they listen to him to a T, he still blames things on them. Strong said the Creeds would be facing Damon Kemp and himself next week. Kemp sized up both Creeds before he followed Roddy out.
(5) SANGA vs. XYON QUINN
The two were held apart until the bell could sound. Sanga used his power for the early advantage and he shoved Quinn to a corner. He dumped Quinn with a clothesline over the top, then rolled him back in. Quinn threw a boot when Sanga reentered. He riled up Sanga, who caught a kick attempt and clubbed Quinn to the mat. Sanga darted Quinn into a corner buckle, then another. Body slam by Sanga, who missed an elbow drop after. Quinn hit a running block and covered for one. Quinn worked a headlock, then clubbed Sanga and reapplied as he was fighting it off. Sanga broke it by backing Quinn to a corner. Sanga worked a sleeper, then threw Quinn to the ropes and hit him with a clothesline. Body slam by Sanga, who fired up and hit a chokeslam to finish. There was some booing, which was odd as Quinn is a (somewhat) established heel and really isn’t bringing a lot of intrigue.
WINNER: Sanga at 5:07.
(Wells’s Analysis: This was certainly plodding. I’m not sure I get Quinn’s booking – he has the look of a relentless, overpowering badass but he does a lot of enhancing and didn’t even get to look big this time. Eh, maybe he’ll turn face yet again and it won’t matter)
-Vic and Wade promoted the Lyons-Rose match up next. [c]
-Wendy Choo tossed and turned in bed. A black and white video showed her dreaming of Tiffany Stratton. A happier dream showed her having fun and essentially bullying Stratton. She woke up and smiled and went to the bathroom sink. She brushed her teeth and overthought her situation with Tiffany Stratton. She said “It’s simple, stupid. I get under you skin, I go for the pin, and I win! See you at Great American Bash, Tiff-Tiff.”
(6) NIKKITA LYONS vs. MANDY ROSE (w/Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne)
Non-title. Still, nobody has told Nikkita that mouthing the words to your own theme music looks silly. Lyons no-sold the log Toxic Attraction intro. Lyons dominated early. There was a half-hearted dueling chant, but this crowd has been pretty dead all night and this was no different. Lyons blocked Rose into the corner a few times, then hit a big hip toss. Corner splash by Lyons followed by a very poor hip toss. Another corner splash, and a hip toss that was a little bit better. The match went to commercial. [c]
Lyons fought her way out of a leg submission. The two traded ground-and-pound spots. Rose worked a leg lock again and again it devolved into ground and pound. Lyons snapped on a brief triangle but Rose reached a rope. Rose jawed at Lyons and smaked her face. Lyons caught a fist and got to her feet and hit a lariat and a couple of thrustkicks. Corner splash and a clumsy German suplex followed. Lyons set up Rose in a corner, but Rose pushed her away and hit a missile dropkick. Rose missed a rising knee and Lyons hit some kicks. Jayne and Dolin rushed the ring for the tiresome DQ.
Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez hit the ring for the save and ran TA out of the ring.
WINNER: Nikkita Lyons by disqualification at 9:01.
(Wells’s Analysis: Nine minutes is a lot for this pairing. NXT continues to book Lyons like she’s progressed to the point of warranting longer matches and a bigger push, when she’s still at level one in the ring and on the mic. I’m amazed her hip tosses and German suplexes look so weak when she looks to have such a powerful base, but for whatever reason, she can’t pull off those very basic spots)
-Solo Sikoa told Apollo Crews he can’t believe Grayson Waller beat him last week. Crews said it’ll happen a lot, but he’s got to fight through it. Xyon Quinn showed up and got in their faces. Crews said he’s got this and Sikoa walked off. Quinn rattled off a list of things about him that are awesome (not ideal timing to have this after he got dominated and beaten in five minutes). Crews said with all those things about him he should have a bright future, but the way he sees it, Quinn’s future isn’t so good.
-JD McDonagh segment. He said “Nice guys finish last. Maybe that’s why I finish first.” He said he was the necessary evil needed to bring balance to NXT. He said he’s not just the ace of NXT UK, he’s the ace everywhere he goes.
-Wade Barrett was in the ring to moderate the meeting between Cameron Grimes and Bron Breakker. Grimes was introduced first to a muted reaction, but you can’t read into it since the reaction has been muted all night. Same for Bron. Wade tried to say something, but Bron said “respectfully, sir, we’ve got it.” Bron said he gets that Grimes will go hard because he’s got everything to gain but nothing to lose. Grimes said he’s still Bron Breakker, and if he loses that championship, he’ll probably be brought to Raw or SmackDown and he’ll be on SummerSlam. He said if he loses that match, that’s it for him. He said he’s got no backup plan, but this was Bron’s backup plan because the Ravens called and said he wasn’t good enough. He said Bron called up his daddy and asked for a job.
Bron said next week, Cameron Grimes is going to the moon, because he’s going to spear him into the ground. Grimes said unlike the men on the football field, when he gets knocked down, he gets back up. He said Grimes will have to call his friend Ted DiBiase. Grimes said Bron is the biggest and fastest and strongest, but he has no heart. He said that’s not his fault, because it’s just genetics. His daddy didn’t have heart either and that’s why he was never a world champion.
Bron lost his mind like Grimes was going for, and Grimes tossed Bron hard into a turnbuckle and Bron beautifully sold an arm injury. Grimes got into his face and said “Maybe at 100% I can’t beat you, but it looks like you aren’t 100%.” Grimes went out of the ring and continued jawing as the show went off the air after a five minute overrun.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This show was three minutes shorter than it usually is, but somehow had the feeling of being way longer. Matches like Hartwell-James, Lyons-Rose and Sanga-Quinn felt much longer than their runtimes and the show suffered from some bloat as several matches were booked for next week at the last minute. As often lately, the show suffered from there not being any experienced hands to help strengthen the acts that are still learning. Tonight Nate Lindberg and Bruce Hazelwood will look for the positives to cover in an episode that felt pretty low on them. Check it out tonight or stream tomorrow. Cheers.
Wells is so snobbish. Like the whole report reeks of “I’m above this material” bar narcissism.
I’ll admit to some snobbishness, yes, though that’s a pretty big overstatement of how I feel about the product. Last week I said that despite the flaws, I came away feeling generally entertained and encouraged by a lot of what I saw, and this week, I thought the negatives outweighed the positives considerably. I’m not looking for a return to black and gold or anything, as it seemingly wasn’t working toward a lot of callups, but I think a happy medium can be struck between what we were seeing then and what we see now.
I don’t think it’s a bad thing to suggest that talents be a little more TV-ready than what they’ve been presenting of late. Besides the detriment to the show and obviously the disturbing ratings trend, I think workers like Nikkita Lyons are having the gaps in their game so hugely exposed and would be much better served by spending more time off of TV working on some of the basics. I figure the talents AND those of us watching are much better off that way. Anyway, thanks for the feedback, negative though it was.