SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
TRICK WILLIAMS vs. ILJA DRAGUNOV
Williams was fired up going into this match against Dragunov. Dragunov attacked Williams, Carmelo Hayes and JD McDonagh during his return and Williams wanted to get his hands on the former NXT UK sensation.
While the match started off hot, Dragunov wound up bringing the action down to the mat. While some may appreciate that ring style, such as myself, I think it kind of threw the pacing off for the first few minutes. The crowd went from being on their feet to barely making a peep. Once the rest-holds had been played out and the match kicked into gear, the crowd thankfully got right back into it.
Carmelo Hayes is usually the one who’s most talked about between he and his partner Trick Williams. Don’t sleep on Williams, however. Over the past several months, he’s shown that he could also be a breakout star. His charisma is almost as high as Hayes, as is his in-ring work. He’s impressed me more and more each week.
McDonagh made his way to commentary to watch the match and talk about his nearly healed eye injury he sustained in Dragunov’s attack a couple of weeks ago. Surprisingly, he never did interfere in the match. But there was a stare down between he and Dragunov before the segment ended.
Verdict: HIT
DYAD vs. CHASE U
Tyler Bate was addressing the crowd when Dyad interrupted and surrounded the ring. Chase U ran to the ring and made the save, setting this match in motion.
Chase U and Schism have been feuding for a few weeks now with this being another plot point in their story. The match itself was fine, though it seemed long spanning through a commercial break. Ava Raine started to taunt Thea Hail, who was kidnapped by Schism a few weeks ago. Chase went to her aid, leaving Hudson on his own. Dyad picked up the win shortly thereafter.
After the match, Hudson yelled at Chase for helping Hail saying that she needs to grow up and he needs to let her. I’m hoping that this leads to a bit of a character tweak for Hail. Not that I don’t love what she’s doing, but there is definitely a ceiling on that type of a character.
Verdict: HIT
JACY JAYNE vs. INDI HARTWELL
Jacy Jayne has been on a mean streak after turning on her former partner, Gigi Dolan. That mean streak continued right into this match with Indi Hartwell.
Hartwell has been on her own journey to be taken more seriously as of late. She had moments to shine, but this match was really just a way to showcase Jayne and have her look strong over an established name.
Gigi Dolan returned and attacked Jayne giving Hartwell the DQ win. Dolan decimated her former partner while the crowd went bananas.
Verdict: HIT
GALLUS vs. MALIK BLADE & EDRIS ENOFE
Blade & Enofe never stood a chance. Not only did they not get an entrance, they went up against arguably the most dominant tag team in NXT, the Tag Champions themselves, Gallus.
In the middle of the match, a cake was delivered ringside.
Yes. A cake. With “Happy Anniversary” written on top.
After Gallus picked up the easy win, the cake was brought into the ring by the two delivery men. They said it was to commemorate the two year anniversary of them losing to Pretty Deadly in NXT UK. Pretty Deadly then attacked Gallus and made it known they were coming for the NXT Tag Titles.
Verdict: HIT
TONY D’ANGELO vs. VON WAGNER
Wagner cost D’Angelo a shot at the North American championship last week, and looked to get some retribution tonight.
Neither D’Angelo nor Wagner are known for their finesse in the ring, so putting these two together could be a recipe for disaster. While this was no five star match, let’s give credit where credit is due. The match was passable.
D’Angelo needed a strong win after what seemed like a never ending string of losses. After the match, D’Angelo called out how loyal Stacks is and has been. Then he called out Dijak, bringing their feud to a close. D’Angelo wants Dijak one more time at Roadblock in a “Jailhouse Street Fight”, whatever that is.
I am looking forward to seeing what they do in that match, but it just seems too gimmicky for my liking as of now.
Verdict: 50/50
IVY NILE (w/Tatum Paxley) vs. ALBA FYRE (w/Isla Dawn)
Since teaming up, Nile and Fyre have spooked nearly the entire women’s division. Nile isn’t afraid of either woman, and faced Alba Fyre head on.
Alba Fyre is capable of having a “match of the night” quality match, but had to slow it down to Ivy Nile’s speed.
Fyre picked up the win after a distraction from Dawn in a relatively lackluster match. While this was lackluster, I’m still high on the angle itself. Fyre and Dawn is a great pairing and could completely change the direction of the directionless women’s tag division.
Verdict: 50/50
BRON BREAKKER vs. JINDER MAHAL (w/Indus Sher)
Over a decade ago, Seth Rollins beat Jinder Mahal in the inaugural NXT title tournament to become the first NXT Champion. All this time later, Jinder is coming back for an opportunity at the title that he wasn’t able to capture.
Breakker and Mahal started the match out strong, which prompted Indus Sher to attempt to interfere pretty early on. The Creed Brothers made the save, and fought with Indus Sher into the back to bring this match to neutral ground.
This match was better than I expected considering the two men involved. Neither Bron nor Mahal are known for their in-ring ability, and I think they were able to put on a decent enough match while not overexposing weaknesses.
Just because it exceeded my expectations it didn’t make it any less boring. For kicks, in a 30 second span I counted 26 different people yawning in the audience.
Predictably, Breakker easily beat Mahal and the unfortunate and stale reign of Bron Breakker continues.
Verdict: MISS
Is there anything worse than a chant-obsessed wrestling crowd? the same tired chant, the same tired cadence. People just like to disrupt shows.
The only problem with the Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Swerve Scotts is they’re all the same guy. It’s the same too-cool-for-school I’m from the Streets hip hop gimmick. Boring.