7/26 NXT 2.0 REPORT: Hazelwood’s live report on Diamond Mine vs. The D’Angelo Family, Crews vs. Quinn, Lee vs. Waller, more

NXT 2.0 TV REPORT
JULY 26, 2022
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD (@B_Lee253), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

Backstage Correspondent(s): McKenzie Mitchell

Tonight after the show, join the PWT Talks NXT self-proclaimed “gang of idiots” (including me) to break down the show with calls and emails.

•STREAM LIVE HERE ABOUT 15 MINUTES AFTER THE SHOW CONCLUDES
•CALL: (515) 605-9345
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: pwtorchnxt@gmail.com
•IF YOU DON’T LISTEN LIVE, DOWNLOAD OR STREAM THE FULL SHOW POST-RECORDING

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[HOUR ONE]

-The show began with camera shots of the crowd as Vic Joseph introduced the show (a pair of grannies were in the crowd!) as Zoey Stark made her entrance to kick off the show. Stark became #1 contender last week after winning the 20-woman battle royal as the surprise 20th entrant. Wade Barrett dismissed Stark as a threat to Toxic Attraction.

ZOEY STARK IN-RING PROMO

A “Welcome back!” chant rung out (shouldn’t that have been more last week?). She yelled that it felt so good to be back in the ring. She paced back-and-forth (she’s looking very toned in her arms). She said she tore her ACL straight off of the bone at Halloween Havoc and doctors told her she would be out for over a year (she did a bit of overacting here, but it was still good). She said she knew she could beat that timetable and got to work the day after surgery with rehab. She said there were a lot of hard times physically, but more so mentally: the insecurities going through your head. She asked why it happened to her when things were going great and if the fans would remember her. They chanted for her. She said past those curtains are the trainer’s rooms and she lived in those rooms, busting her ass to return four months ahead of schedule, four! Then the night of the battle royal came and the noise the fans made when her music hit, that made all of it worth it, she said. That garnered a nice babyface cheer from the fans. She’s wearing a huge brace on her left leg, by the way.

She shifted to Toxic Attraction, the same women who took her out and nearly ended her career. She said guess what: she is going to take the NXT Women’s Championship, but Cora Jade’s music hit. She has a new bodyguard that appeared in house shows, but I won’t spoil it here in cases there’s a big reveal later. Jade said no one ever said they’re glad to see Stark back, but Stark cut her off (nice move). She said the last time she saw Jade, she threw her “scrawny screaming ass” over the top rope. Jade said 19 other women teamed up against her, and Stark came and stole her moment, just like Roxanne Perez stole her moment. Stark said they all saw her moment and it made Stark sick to her stomach, dropping the title in the trash. She called Jade a piece of trash. As Jade rebutted, Toxic Attraction’s music hit.

The three women sauntered out with Rose flanked by her two cronies, Gigi Dolin with a black rose in hand. Mandy Rose said they talk a big game, but when it comes to the title, “I only win.” She said she becomes the fourth longest reigning women’s history in NXT history tomorrow, then thanked the crowd and said goodbye Bayley, Rhea Ripley, others, and Paige, “So put some damn respect on my name.” Stark said she has the perfect way to put some damn respect on her name and challenged Rose to a title match tonight. Dolin took a mic and said they run the show and Stark doesn’t get to do that, so what’s going to happen is she’ll take on Stark and put her on the shelf for even longer.

-Grayson Waller was walking from the back and told the fatasses to drop their phones because “she’s not interested.” He said get ready for the Grayson Waller effect and that he’s going to embarrass Wes Lee, “Kind of like how you embarrass yourself every time you look in the mirror.”

(Hazelwood’s Take: Stark was good in her first extended promo since her return. To top it off, she was tasked with the show-opening promo and while there was some overreacting, I think she did well. She came off confident and comfortable. It didn’t seem too forced from me. However, Jade still seems a bit forced. She didn’t get to say much and was really unceremoniously dismissed once Toxic Attraction came out.)

-They were in the locker room with Tony D’Angelo and The Family. He and Stacks were discussing bleaching someone’s eyes out. He praised Elektra Lopez for her work, then Joaquin Wilde and Cruz del Toro for growing into their roles. He said they roll into their eight-man tag and break some skulls. He taunted Diamond Mine and said it’s Tony D business.

-Waller was already in the ring when they hit the ring. Lee made his entrance next to a good pop (remember when they would only boo him? I’m glad they changed back).

(1) WES LEE vs. GRAYSON WALLER – Singles match

Waller taunted Lee that he’s not on his level and not to bother. He threw him off easily from two collar-and-elbow tie ups, but on the third was hit with an arm drag. He cinched in a side headlock, leaped over, came off the ropes and hit a roll through for a two-count. A taunt and go-behind later, Waller was hit with an arm drag, then a sunset flip reversal for a two-count. Lee hit a victory roll for a two-count, then hit a leg sweep and leaping double stomp to the back. He then taunted Waller with Waller’s own taunt, then a quick arm drag, another, a third, and an arm lock.

Waller hit a forearm and retreated into the corner to dodge a kick. Lee hit a leg trip, but was caught with a misdirection and kicked in the gut, sending him into the air. Waller went for a leg lariat, but Lee ducked, then hit a head scissors and dropkicked Waller in the back, sending him outside. Lee went for a crossbody, but Waller went inside to dodge. Lee landed on his feet and was hit, but then he took out Waller as they cut to break. [c]

Waller was in control when they returned, wrenching Lee’s back over his knee in the backbreaker position. Joseph said Lee’s wife is sitting front row near the entrance side of the ring. Waller hit a big slam, but Lee kicked out at two. Waller took off his elbow pad and smacked Lee with it, then did some heel taunting stomps. He grabbed Lee by his twists, then mocked Lee’s hand gesture (a W). Lee was slowly getting more and more mad, then turned and slapped the living hell out of Waller. He then hit a series of chops and forearms, an enziguri in the corner, then a modified bulldog out of the corner. He immediately went to mount and punched away, but Waller got away and created space. Lee hit a lope to Waller outside, then rolled him back inside. Lee climbed to the top, but Waller pushed him off and to the outside. The ref loudly and deliberately said he has to start the count. Waller distracted the ref as suddenly, a guy in a hoodie and boxing gloves hit Lee from the back. Lee fell, but made it back just in time. Waller was furious, then hit his rolling stunner for the victory. The “boxer” was obviously Trick Williams. In real time, it looked like he hit him in the back, and on replay, it was more to the back of the neck. Williams gloated over Lee after replays with a “Trick Willy” hat donned.

WINNER: Grayson Waller at 11:02 (rolling stunner)

-McKenzie Mitchell was with The Schism, Joe Gacy and The Dyad, Rip Fowler and Jagger something, Smith, maybe? I’ll check. Jagger Reed. They gave some words on acceptance while holding their hands in the finger points touching each other pose. Gacy said they invited Cameron Grimes under their tree, then thanked Mitchell for her time.

-Apollo Crews made his entrance for his match with Xyon Quinn.

(Hazelwood’s Take: A good match as expected. Lee is a fantastic seller, and there was some character development during the match as someone who gradually gets pissed and lashes out, but the announcers also heavily emphasized he could get himself disqualified, so watch for that in coming weeks. The angle makes sense even if it may have been better off happening after the match, but it works since these three – four with Carmelo Hayes – have been embroiled with each other for several weeks now.)

-They returned with an earlier today video of some of the women in the back from last week’s battle royal, particularly Ariana Grace, who lambasted Indi Hartwell for eliminating her. Hartwell came in and said she would never do that, “I’m a former beauty pageant queen; I would never stoop to those levels.” Hartwell told her this isn’t ballet or in her case, a beauty pageant. Grace apologized to the other women for having to be around “such negative energy.”

(2) APOLLO CREWS vs. XYON QUINN – Singles match

Quinn was already in the ring. He ate a dropkick after the bell rung, then a back elbow, then a delayed bodyslam and a somersault splash for a two-count. However, Quinn fought back with a forearm to the back, then a neckbreaker. He kipped up and posed. Quinn choked Crews, then threw him aside for a two-count. Quinn hit a textbook vertical suplex, then hit a seated cobra clutch, really having slowed down the pace. The crowd chanted for Crews, but Quinn quickly took Crews back down to stop them. Crews fought back, but ran right into Quinn’s x-factor pose. Quinn then hard whipped Crews into a corner, flooring him.

Quinn rushed Crews, but Crews put up his boots. He evaded Quinn and hit an enziguri, then some clotheslines and a leaping one, then a kip up of his own. He hit a running corner splash and short-arm clothesline for a two-count. Crews climbed to the top and hit a crossbody that Quinn may have supposed to have caught him with. Quinn quickly retreated into a corner, then hit sort of a spinning Death Valley Driver for a two-count. Crews hit an enziguri on the feet, then a backstabber and a big Ron Simmons (or Bobby Lashley?) spinebuster for the clean victory. Huh, a spinebuster finish.

WINNER: Apollo Crews at 5:42 (one-armed spinebuster)

-Mitchell was with Toxic Attraction and she asked Rose about facing Stark at NXT: Heat Wave in three weeks. Rose said that match has been canceled because Dolin will eliminate her. Sarray interrupted her with Rose saying, “What is this, did you miss history class?” Ha! Sarray said she wasn’t in the battle royal because she was in the UK. Rose said she hasn’t forgotten that Sarray tried to rearrange her face and said next week, she doesn’t care what version of Sarray shows up, so it seeems like they’ll face each other next week. Toxic Attraction made their second entrance of the night. [c]

(Hazelwood’s Take: I’ve maligned Rose for her in-ring work, but her character work since returning has been great. Her reactions and off-the-cuff comments in that segment, especially once Sarray hit the scene, had me cackling.)

-They returned with a Solo Sikoa vignette filmed on a street at night. He called Von Wagner a punk ass for attacking him from behind as they showed footage. He said he sees how Wagner wants to really play it, the rules out the window. He said next week it’s them in a falls count anywhere match. He’s ready for Raw or Smackdown.

(3) ZOEY STARK vs. GIGI DOLIN (w/Mandy Rose & Jacy Jayne) – Singles match

Stark was in the ring as they went back to it and the match began. Stark got distracted after an early flurry, and Dolin took over. Stark, who is the biggest woman of the four, fought back, using her strength to land forearms. Dolin kicked the arm and then hit a belly-to-back for a two-count. The crowd had dueling chants with Dolin maybe getting the louder chants. Dolin then rolled Stark back into a sub, a bow and arrow, but Stark rolled over into a cover for a two-count. She dodged a kneed and rolled Dolin up for a two-count, then landed two lariats and a striking combo, ending with a running knee for a two-count.

Dolin hit a question mark kick to the back of the neck of Stark, but Stark evaded Dolin and then hit a superkick. Stark then hit a finisher that was like an inverted pump handle into a Feast Your Eyes? I don’t know how to describe it, but it was dope. She fought off Jayne and chased off Rose after the match. However, Jade beat the hell out of her with a kendo stick. Suddenly, Perez’s music hit and she chased off Jade.

WINNER: Zoey Stark at 2:47 (dope finisher)

-They showed a  sports car pull up that I didn’t get a good look at as J.D. McDonagh exited. He then showed a ticket and said he’s part of the paying public. [c]

(Hazelwood’s Take: Stark is great and it’s a boon to the women’s division to have her back. That finisher is needlessly complicated yet so awesome.)

-They returned with another Wendy Choo dream sequence, this time a nightmare of Tiffany Stratton attacking her in the back and beating her in a match. Choo was rolling around, struggling to sleep, as Stratton’s words berating her played. It was in black-and-white, but came in color when she was “saved” by the body pillow last week. The body pillow fell from her bed, then the alarm went off as Stratton eliminated her in the flashback. Choo got out of bed, grabbed her sippy cup, found it empty, and slammed it down. She slammed the body pillow down. She said she woke up on the wrong side of the bed all because of Stratton. She suddenly turned to address the camera and said the next time, it’ll be lights out for Stratton.

[HOUR TWO]

J.D. McDONAGH INTRODUCES HIMSELF

McDonagh was in the crowd, sitting, and had a mic (how does a paying customer get a mic). He introduced himself and apologized for not introducing himself the past two weeks. He said he thought he’d come out and address some members of the “NXT universe,” He ridiculed a guy for eating popcorn, saying a lot more people die from eating popcorn (“it gets caught in your trachea”) and moved on. He moved to the timekeeper, calling it one of the most important jobs in the company. He introduced himself to the timekeeper and said the timekeeper ends whatever kind of torture is going on in the ring. He grabbed the hammer and asked if he knew what it does to a human hand. He said it doesn’t even take much pressure. He then went to Alicia Taylor. He said she has a fabulous voice. He went to Barrett and shook his hand, saying he’s a huge fan, but all those years of bare knuckle boxing has taken its toll on Barrett…Barrett’s hands. He then forcibly put Barrett’s hand into the table. He turned to Joseph and said he heard what Joseph said about McDonagh’s family last week, and didn’t like it one bit. He said he sized up Joseph right away. He pinched on the collarbone and said he could break it with his bare hands, but he won’t, “Keep up the good work.” He entered the ring and called out Bron Breakker.

Breakker made his entrance, barking, then glaring at McDonagh. Breakker said in three weeks, McDonagh’s going to get real acquainted with Breakker, and then yelled he’s not going to like it. Breakker said they’re going to make it official next week. Suddenly, McDonagh hit a headbutt, but Breakker responded with one of his own. McDonagh just smiled up at Breakker with blood in his mouth.

-They showed Andre Chase with Bodhi Heyward and Thea Hail. Heyward said Giovanni Vinci is just a jerk. Hail she thought the car was pretty and accidentally touched him, but he got mad at her. She yelled to let her at him, but Chase calmed her down. Nathan Frazer then appeared and said he’s back from injury and asked to be the honorary flag bearer. Chase said that’s a great idea. Why do I feel a Frazer heel turn coming? [c]

(Hazelwood’s Take: I get what they were trying to do. McDonagh’s character is one who knows the human anatomy intimately and can debilitate his opponents at any point, but I think getting to the point was a bit belabored here. He just took too long to get around to everyone. The subtlety in what he did to Barrett and Joseph was really only visible on screen and it may have been hard to pick up in the crowd. He smartly didn’t say anything negative about Taylor, so he’s got some sense about him, too. Am I excited about the match? I mean, it’ll be a good match, but I just don’t know if I would have McDonagh be the one to dethrone Breakker’s second reign.)

-They returned with “Soft Bones” Joseph and Barrett at ringside as they shifted to a video recap in comic book form of Axiom’s debut. “Each opponent is an equation, a problem I must solve. A successful debut. I am who I need to be. I am Axiom,” is what were in the text boxes.

-Mitchell was with Perez in the back and asked about her and Jade. Perez said Jade wants to throw away their friendship and that’s fine, but throwing away the championship is something she can’t stand for. She said it should be shown respect, not the garbage, and luckily, someone else agrees with her. Alundra Blayze showed up with the trash can from last week and motioned for Perez to retrieve the title. Perez said the title should be held by two women who are proud to be hold them. Blayze said it took a long time for their to be a women’s title after she dropped her title in the trash, but that won’t happen this time. She announced a fatal four-way for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship next week, but nothing on Perez’s partner (if any).

-Vinci made his full entrance, complete with the “Vini, Vidi, Vinci, Giovanni Vinci” snapshots.

(4) ANDRE CHASE (w/Bodhi Heyward, & Thea Hail) vs. GIOVANNI VINCI – Singles match

Chase was already in the ring. They rung the bell. Frazer was not at ringside even though he was honorary flag bearer. Vinci used some power early, but Chase used some technical grappling to take the advantage. Aichner did the triple kip up thing, then hit a side headlock takedown. Chase hit a backslide counter for a two-count, then a side headlock takedown of his own. Vinci sent him off of the ropes and hit a headbutt to the gut to take the advantage and slow the pace. Chase hit a sunset flip counter, then a La Magistral, then a crucifix, all for two-counts, before Vinci kicked him in the gut.

Chase was able to hit a big hip toss, then grabbed the arm. Vinci used the hair to push him off, then hit a big one-legged dropkick to the mouth. He posed, and replays showed the kick landed flush on the chin. Chase reversed an Irish whip and hit a kick of his own. Vinci, frustrated, grabbed the Chase U flag from Heyward at ringside and snapped it over his knee. Chase then threw Vinci into the post with Vinci landing outside. [c]

Chase was fighting out of a rear waistlock when they returned, using a thunderclap, then a lifting knee and second rope sunset flip for two. However, Vinci backbody dropped him to the outside, right in front of his students. Heyward was holding the top half of the flag. Vinci hit a smooth as hell baseball slide to the outside, then turned and pushed Heyward. Back in the ring, Chase hit a combo, but ran into a sleeper; he turned it into a belly-to-back. Chase landed a combo of jabs, then a chop and atomic drop, and finished with a side Russian leg sweep. He then hit a neckbreker as the crowd cheered. Chase then hit the C-H-A-S-E-U kicks and a big layout uranage for a two-count (you know I love me a good uranage of any variation).

The crowd chanted their appreciation as Chase went for the Final Exam (Tiger Driver). Vinci blocked, so Chase hit a bunch of elbows to the head. He hit a knee lift again, but Vinci caught him midair from the second rope and hit a snap brainbuster for a two-count. Vinci set for his powerbomb, but hit a jackknife pin. Vinci powered up, but then got caught with Final Exam. He kicked out just before three! The two men began trading blows in the middle of the ring, but Chase hit a running boot. His next kick got caught and Vinci hit a huge lariat. Powerbomb, good night.

WINNER: Giovanni Vinci at 12:26 (powerbomb)

-They showed a “united” Diamond Mine in the back. Roderick Strong said the D’Angelo stuff is good for them because it has all of them focused on one goal. Julius came up and gave a pep talk to the other four members. He continues to command the screen when he’s on it, and his promos have reached a great level from where it was when The Creed Brothers first hit the show.

-Hartwell made her entrance. [c]

-They returned with Yulisa Leon Facetiming with Valentina Feroz, Leon telling them they’re in the fatal four-way. Leon asked someone off-camera if they’re ready. It was revealed to be Sanga, who said they’re ready. He said next week we will hear, “And new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion!”

-Mitchell was with Kayden Carter and Katana Chance, also in the match. Carter said it was blatant disrespect to see the title they’ve been chasing after in the trash. Chance said the titles should be around true friends. Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile interrupted. Carter said, “You’re not even a tag!” Lopez interrupted and said Diamond Mine is going to, well, she didn’t finish because Paxley popped her in the mouth and a brawl broke out.

-Grace was entering the ring as they returned to the ring.

(5) ARIANNA GRACE vs. INDI HARTWELL – Singles match

Hartwell countered an arm lock into a side headlock. They traded arm wrenches, and as Grace rolled out of one, she waved like in a pageant only to be drilled by Hartwell. Hartwell hit a running shoulder tackle and a sidewalk slam to Grace, but missed a corner boot. Grace used that to pull her to the mat and take over. Grace slammed Hartwell’s head into the turnbuckle a few times for a one-count. She wrenched on the head, but Hartwell made her feet to break the hold. Grace then attacked the small of the back to hinder the power game of the bigger Hartwell. Grace whipped Hartwell hard into a corner and taunted her with the pageant wave. She did another whip, but it just infuriated Hartwell, who landed a lariat. Hartwell then landed some forearms and a sloppy side spinebuster for a two-count. Hartwell missed a corner kick again with Grace rolling her up and using the ropes, but the ref saw. Grace tried to beg off, but Hartwell hit a running boot for the win.

WINNER: Indi Hartwell at 3:59 (running boot)

-Joseph shifted to Mr. Stone and Von Wagner in the back, angry about Sikoa’s words. He mentioned Wagner knocked out his football coach for taking him out of the game. Stone declined the offer, but Wagner said they’re not going to decline anything. Stone said big picture, but Wagner said he doesn’t give a shit if Sofia Cromwell wants to go and be a model, then accepted Sikoa’s challenge for next week.

-D’Angelo led his family to the ring for the main event. [c]

(Hazelwood’s Take: That match isn’t going into either of their highlight reels. On the positive side, at least Grace has some definitive character traits and she seems comfortable in this character.)

-They returned with a vignette for Kiana James. She pulled a Drew Gulak and presented a PowerPoint presentation on what is wrong with the women’s division. She called out Nikkita Lyons for being everything wrong with the women’s division. She said her parents were far from role models as her father was a rock star and mother a groupie. She said she grew up on a tour bus, which explains her lack of a vocabulary. She played a bit of her promo and posted photos of Lyons from shoots. She said she’s just scratched the surface of this troubled woman and will report back with her findings.

-An Alba Fyre vignette aired, which seemed pretty much like the ones from before. It then shifted to becoming about her rivalry with Lash Legend, with comments from Legend and footage from matches. As you would expect, it was well done.

-Joseph and Barrett then hyped next week’s matches, topped with the fatal four-way match, but without Perez. They then hyped a summit between Breakker and McDonagh and the falls count anywhere between Sikoa and Wagner.

-Diamond Mine then entered. Joseph said Nile and Lopez were barred from ringside by ref D.A. Brewer.

(6) DIAMOND MINE (Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp & The Creed Brothers) vs. THE D’ANGELO FAMILY (Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro) – Eight-man tag team match

The bell rung with just over seven minutes left to the top of the hour. D’Angelo and Strong began, but Lorenzo tagged in only to be worked over by Strong. Julius tagged in as Barrett said it’s Strong’s birthday (happy birthday to The Messiah of the Backbreaker!). Meanwhile, Julius hit a big suplex. Lorenzo fought back and forced Julius into their corner, tagging in D’Angelo. D’Angelo showed his amateur wrestling prowess by taking Julius down with a double-leg. Julius responded with hard Irish whips and corner clotheslines, but D’Angelo fled the ring to regroup. Julius chased, then all eight men entered the ring and faced off. Diamond Mine made the first move and things broke down. Julius and D’Angelo remained in the ring with Julius looking for an ankle lock, but D’Angleo preventing it and then his three cronies dragging him out. Brutus came out of nowhere and hit his meatball (cannonball) to the four outside. [c]

They returned with Brutus bridging out of a pin and just launching Wilde. Kemp tagged in and just took it to Wilde, hitting a spinning bodyslam and leaping elbow. He sent Wilde outside, then intercepted an interfering del Toro. He went for the same spinning slam, but Wilde hit a chop block to the knee. Wilde tagged in D’Angelo, dragging Kemp to their corner. D’Angelo hit a knee breaker, then hung Kemp in the Tree of Woe and stomped away. They made quick tags to stomp away, The New Day style, before D’Angelo tagged in and distracted everyone else to allow his cronies to land more damage.

[OVERRUN]

Lorenzo tagged in as D’Angelo put his hand up for del Toro (ha!). Lorenzo worked the leg, then locked in a single leg crab on the left leg. Kemp escaped to the apron and hit a slingshot spear. Lorenzo, closer to his corner, tagged in del Toro, who cut off Kemp. He then landed a huge forearm to the small of the back, took out Brutus, but was then sent outside by Kemp. Kemp crawled to his corner and made the tag to Creed. Stacks tagged back in and was caught with a pop up rolling slam from Julius. He caught del Toro and launched him, then leaped to the top rope to superplex Wilde. He then turned to hit a German suplex to D’Angelo for a two-count. He then hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex as Barrett asked if Julius has any weaknesses in his game right as D’Angelo took out the leg. He went for a gutwrench, but Julius rolled into an ankle lock. Lorenzo came in and hit a running uppercut, but then got launched by Brutus. Wilde and eel Toro hit hit their finisher, then Julius and Strong hit a leaping knee-sliding lariat to both del Toro and Wilde. Strong went for it on D’Angelo, but D’Angelo moved and Julius was hit. D’Angelo hit Forget About It for the victory.

WINNER: The D’Angelo Family at 11:41 (Forget About It)

-Blayze was leaving and asked about who would win. Toxic Attraction approached her and asked for the title, but Blayze angrily told them they have to fight for them.

(Hazelwood’s Take: These matches always have a lot of moving parts, especially toward the end when finishers/high impact moves are just being spammed. The finish leads to more dissension within Diamond Mine, probably with Strong blaming Julius for being in the way and then eating the pin. At this point, give me Strong vs. Julius in a 20-minute banger at Heat Wave.)

FINAL THOUGTHS: Another solid show, though not everything worked. The James vignette was trying too hard and the Hartwell-Grace match was by far the weakest of the night. The Schism is still a miss for me, and I’m just not sure if there’s a path to relevancy for the three; the gimmick just seems cooked. McDonagh is kind of in a holding pattern until his match with Breakker. Again, I get their goal, but I’m not sure it’s coming across well to the audience. On the bright side, Stark has added a much needed injection of energy and novelty to the women’s division. Her promo was good and her match as well. Her finisher is needlessly complicated yet dope, which my friend pointed out is 90 percent of professional wrestling. Vinci continues to do well and should be someone to keep an eye on for the rest of the year.

This was the rare show with no Carmel Hayes and that may have taken a bit away from the show, but it’s good to make us remember just what we have in some of these acts like Hayes, who is going to be a star for WWE for years to come.