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NXT TV RESULTS
NOVEMBER 28, 2023
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Kelly Kincaid
Backstage Correspondent(s): McKenzie Mitchell
Tonight after the show, join the PWT Talks NXT self-proclaimed “gang of idiots” 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
[HOUR ONE]
(1) THE FAMILY (Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) (c) vs. ANGEL GARZA & HUMBERTO CARRILLO – NXT Tag Team Championship match
The two teams brawled outside for a minute or two before the bell. Eventually the champs rolled the challengers inside and the match officially got started.
D’Angelo dominated both challengers early. Garza held up D’Angelo for a flying kick by Carrillo for the heels to take control. Garza tagged in and stomped D in the heel corner. He threw some more kicks against the ropes and tagged Garza, who ate a short spear before D’Angelo rolled home for a tag. Stacks took a short advantage but got stuck in the heel corner where he was double-teamed. Garza hit an enzuigiri for two. Carrillo tagged in and the heels combined for a slam and tandem back kicks. Carrillo covered for two. D’Angelo tagged in and the champs combined for a punch and a back suplex. D’Angelo took Carrillo up for an intended double top-rope move but Garza took Stacks down and Carrillo got the better of D’Angelo. The heels were in firm control heading to split-screen. [c]
D’Angelo took control and the heels bumped all over for him. Exploder into the heel corner by D’Angelo. Carrillo made the blind tag and, when Stacks was tagged in, he hit him with a dropkick. Another blind heel tag and the heels hit a missile dropkick with Stacks on Carrillo’s shoulders for two. Bonzo gonzo as things broke down. Stacks hit a knee drop for a long two. Carrillo took the ref’s focus and Garza hit a low blow. It was a very long two and when Stacks kicked out, he inadvertently hit Garza low. D’Angelo tagged in. Bada bing, bada boom.
WINNERS: The Family at 12:27.
(Wells’s Analysis: Another enjoyable match from the champs, who used to be a black hole when D’Angelo was a slow, methodical worker early on. Garza and Carrillo are bridesmaids once again)
-Some wrestlers, with Axiom and Nathan Frazer were talking about Baron Corbin’s lifestyle. Frazer said he was inspired by Corbin’s lifestyle these days. Ilja Dragunov walked into frame and twisted everything Frazer said and made it sound more nefarious and wondering if his sacrifices were worth it just because he didn’t have Corbin’s life. Frazer went into damage control as Dragunov went at him verbally. Of note in the background, Boa and Dante Chen passed by – both wearing Boa’s face paint – and gave the creeps to Edris Enofe and Malik Blade.
-Jerry “The King” Lawler’s picks for tonight’s Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches were Eddy Thorpe vs. Bron Breakker and Kelani Jordan vs. Kiana James. He flatly rattled this off from his home, sounding like he was reading straight from a cue card.
-Kelani Jordan was introduced for the next match. [c]
-Johnny Gargano hype segment. They played his 2019 run to the North American Championship, the 2020 run to his second, and some of his shenanigans with The Way.
-Fallon Henley and Brooks Jensen pumped up Josh Briggs. Briggs said last week’s match was the biggest match of his career. Jensen subtly took offense to this. Lexis King showed up and stirred it up. Briggs said King was a parasite for the spotlight and offered up Jensen for a match. “Yeeha, bitch,” Henley said.
-Nikkita Lyons was shown on Instagram training for her comeback. They showed her in the crowd. She did the same lifeless “grr” taunt that she did before she was gone. I’ll try to be hopeful that she’s coming back with any talent at all.
(2) KELANI JORDAN vs. KIANA JAMES – Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match
James took the early advantage in a corner with some kicks and a block. Whip to the opposite corner. Jordan escaped and hit a dropkick, then stomped James a little in a corner. Jordan grounded James with a headlock and James transitioned to a head scissors. A corner graphic said Ilja Dragunov would face Nathan Frazer tonight.
The two got to their feet and exchanged holds. James yanked the hair and kicked Jordan down. Rope run and Jordan went for an arm drag but James held the ropes. Jordan was able to unwrap James and hit one anyway. James bailed and Jordan rolled her back in. James bailed again and Jordan went after her but James launched her into the announce table heading into split-screen. [c]
Jordan got back into it with a dropkick. Cover for two. James reversed a move into a spinebuster for two. They exchanged blows and Jordan hit a Fameasser for two. Jordan put James up in a corner and went up for a superplex. James fought off Jordan with a shot to the throat. She hit the 401k and was going for a move afterward. The bell sounded and James was distracted. It was Roxanne Perez who rang the bell, so they’re continuing the gimmick of Perez acting like the bigger heel in this thing. Jordan hit a split-legged moonsault for the win.
WINNER: Kelani Jordan at 10:14.
(Wells’s Analysis: Jordan is still picking up speed and still working toward smooth transitions, but continues to be one of the most promising young stars on the roster. This wasn’t a surprise given Perez trying to ruin James’s career at every turn lately)
-Cameron Grimes hype. He’s going to the moon.
-American Alpha cut a promo on Lash Legend. Otis got all thirsty over Lash. Gable asked for a mixed six-person tag next week, though he didn’t say which two guys would be left out. He eagerly awaited their response.
-Andre Chase will address his recent actions next. [c]
-@NXT_Anonymous apparently caught Lexis King following Trick Williams on the night he was attacked and removed from the four-way, but we don’t have confirmation that he actually perpetrated the attack.
-Andre Chase stood up at a podium in front of an NXT mic, a LVL UP mic, and a Blue Yeti microphone, used by a large percentage of podcasters (including me). He said that his internal investigation about gambling and other issues proved that it was all true, and his university is in debt. He said he’d work hard to return Chase U to what it used to be. He answered a question that the amount he owes isn’t important, but it’s significant. He said that if this situation isn’t taken care of, Chase U is in jeopardy. This was played dead serious, which made it all work.
(3) EDDY THORPE vs. BRON BREAKKER – Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match
Thorpe’s midsection was taped, so our heel has his target. The two locked up and grappled a bit before a reset. Breakker hit a body slam and Thorpe sold the rib injury. Breakker worked a headlock on the mat. Thorpe escaped and hit a dropkick and Breakker spilled outside. Back inside, a rope run and a very fast scoop slam by Breakker. Breakker dumped Thorpe to the outside, then followed and charged him into the barricade, back first. Back inside, Breakker repeatedly blocked Thorpe into the corner. Breakker set up Thorpe on the top but Thorpe hit a high cross-body. Thorpe tried a suplex but sold his injury again and Breakker hit a suplex instead for two. The match went to split-screen. [c]
Thorpe hit a cross-body and sold the ribs again. Breakker and Thorpe exchanged forearms. Breakker hit a belly-to-back suplex. Breakker charged Thorpe to a buckle and Booker T considered that the ref should think about ending the match given Eddy’s injury. Breakker jawed at Thorpe and fired him up. Repeated chops and palm strikes by Thorpe. Combo punches and kicks by Thorpe. Back suplex and another by Thorpe. He went for a third but Breakker hit a back elbow. Thorpe hit a belly-to-back anyway, but Breakker hit a spear out of relative nowhere to finish.
WINNER: Bron Breakker at 10:12.
(Wells’s Analysis: This is Bron at his best, stalking wounded prey and keeping enough in the tank to hit an impact move when he gets his small opening, all while the opponent scraps and claws for every bit of offense. The amount of beef in the Iron Survivor Challenge is pretty wild)
[HOUR TWO]
-Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes talked by the lockers about the Lexis King video that implicates him in the attack. Trick said he had to keep his eye on the prize, but Hayes said he had no prize to keep his eye on because Lexis King took it from him.
-Roxanne Perez stood in front of a bunch of women by the lockers and said if she doesn’t get to be in the Iron Survivor Challenge, neither does Kiana James. Ava said that Shawn Michaels just announced that next week there will be two last chance matches for the final two spots in the matches. Perez said she’d be taking that spot. A young woman whose name I should remember but don’t said that Perez should forget it because Kiana James will be taking the spot. Perez and the woman got into it, and James showed up and the locker room devolved into a brawl.
-Bronson Reed hype segment. [c]
(4) NATHAN FRAZER vs. ILJA DRAGUNOV
Non-title. Ilja flew in with a huge boot to open. He stomped Frazer and chopped him in a corner. He took Frazer to another corner and chopped him to the floor to continue the complete slaughter. Dragunov hit a belly-to-back suplex and held on for a second. Frazer couldn’t break the hold and Dragunov hit one more. Dragunov took Frazer up for a powerslam but Frazer reversed into a rana for his first offensive move at 2:25. Frazer struck quickly and often and covered for two. Frazer chopped Dragunov in one corner, then another. Shotgun dropkick by Frazer. Both guys took a breather.
Quick reversals led to a reverse DDT by Frazer for two. Phoenix Splash missed. Big kick and a powerslam by Dragunov. H-Bomb. He got a two count but got up so he could hit another for the win.
WINNER: Ilja Dragunov at 5:23.
Baron Corbin showed up on the tron. He said he’d talk to him through a screen because that’s what Dragunov does with his family. He said he was angry because Frazer thinks Corbin has a better life, which is true. He said the only thing missing is the NXT Championship. He said next week they’ll be face to face and he told Ilja to enjoy his lonely night.
(Wells’s Analysis: Well, Dragunov certainly made it look like the match was personal after Corbin talked about his family. An enjoyable mostly-squash. Frazer is the perfect bump machine when you want to sell the ruthlessness of an opposing wrestler)
-McKenzie Mitchell talked to Lyra Valkyria, who put over the division. Fallon Henley showed up and said she was going to make the most of her second chance. Over behind a curtain, Tatum Paxley – seemingly with a new goth-inspired getup (but she was largely in shadow) said if Henley wins, Lyra will just beat her anyway. Henley asked “Is she with you?” and Valkyria assured her she wasn’t.
-Karmen Petrovic had a hype segment to promote her match with Arianna Grace. It was…what you’d expect from someone new to TV. [c]
-Meta-Four sat in a dim room and hyped each other up. Noam Dar said that he, Oro and Lash would meet Alpha Academy next week.
-Moments Ago, Joe Gacy cut another fiery selfie promo – this one from underneath the ring during the last match.
(5) KARMEN PETROVIC vs. ARIANNA GRACE
Grace is killing it with her beauty taunts. She pushed Petrovic to a corner and put her hand out and demanded respect. Petrovic kicked her hand away. Grace put Petrovic on the mat and told her to kiss the ring again. Petrovic shoved it away and grounded Grace. She freaked her out with the threat of a kick. Petrovic told Grace to kiss the ring. Grace’s face contorted and she shot in. Petrovic worked an arm submission. Petrovic has new fire-inspired gear that honestly looks pretty cool. Grace blocked Petrovic in the corner a couple of times. Something was up with Grace’s gear as she kept fumbling with her top. Joe Gacy showed up from underneath the ring and he ran off with the ring bell. The match went to commercial, for the first time during a match tonight without split-screen. [c]
Grace had Petrovic grounded. She slammed Petrovic’s head to the mat a few times and the ref got in her face. She said “I’m so sorry,” dripping with sarcasm. Body slam by Grace was evaded and Petrovic hit some kicks. Thrust kick in the corner. Petrovic threw a front kick and a back kick for a two count. Grace feigned an eye issue and the ref tried to keep Petrovic away. She used the opening to thumb Petrovic in the eye and hit Wasteland to finish.
WINNER: Arianna Grace at 9:03.
Alicia Taylor announced the winner but had no ring bell. From the crowd, Joe Gacy banged on the bell repeatedly. Grace tried to smile for the camera but kept getting annoyed with Gacy.
-Wes Lee gave a promo via McKenzie Mitchell and said tonight wasn’t luck, it was about desire. The Lee-Mitchell friendship seemed in full swing as they slapped hands at the end.
(6) BROOKS JENSEN (w/Fallon Henley) vs. LEXIS KING
Jensen threw some rights to open. Spin kick by Jensen sent King to the outside. King sold the kick to a point that I think it may have connected pretty well. King bailed and Jensen hit a cross-body from the top rope to the outside. Jensen postured on the barricade as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Jensen fought from underneath. We got a shot of Trick and Melo watching the match. After some silence, Melo said he had to go take care of something real quick.
King threw elbows down on a grounded Jensen. King worked a chinlock. Jensen fought to his feet and threw palm strikes between King punches. Rope run and Jensen hit a side suplex. Both guys sold. Jensen went high and hit a missile dropkick for a long two. Carmelo Hayes ran to the ring and Josh Briggs tried to hold him back so there would be no DQ. In the mess that ensued, King hit The Coronation to finish. Hayes jawed at him from the ramp and King laughed.
WINNER: Lexis King at 8:16.
(Wells’s Analysis: King’s offense remains very basic create-a-wrestler stuff. He’s got some presence and maybe even some charisma, but there’s a lot of work to be done to justify him rubbing elbows with the main event scene. Jensen is a good enough opponent to prop him up for now)
-A voice-over guy ran through the rules for the Iron Survivor Challenge and promoted the two four-way last chance matches next week.
-Also next week, Meta-Four (minus Jakara Jackson) will face Alpha Academy (minus Akira Tozawa) in a mixed six-person match.
(7) WES LEE vs. JOHNNY GARGANO vs. BRONSON REED vs. CAMERON GRIMES – if Wes Lee wins, he gets an NXT North American Championship match
Lee entered first, followed by Reed, Grimes and Gargano. The match just barely got going before heading to split-screen commercial. [c]
[OVERRUN]
Reed held up Gargano for an extended amount of time before hitting a suplex. Grimes ran in and Reed lifted him, but Lee got involved and the three smaller guys all teamed up on Reed with corner splashes and whatnot. They dumped him and soaked up an “NXT” chant. Grimes also got cleared out. Lee and Gargano shook hands and did some quick reversals and escapes as the hot crowd fired up. Reed came in and hit a uranage on both to break up the love-fest. Dirty Dominik Mysterio was on commentary and said he wasn’t scared of Wes Lee. He put over Reed and said he wouldn’t want to face him. Reed was well in control again but Gargano went low and Reed got dumped again.
Grimes got a bit of shine as he took down Lee and Gargano with kicks, dropkicks and back elbows. He set up Lee and Gargano in opposite corners. The three of them did a gag where they kept missing in the corners until Lee shot through the ropes to take out Reed. Gargano hit a tope suicida on Reed on the announce table side, then Lee on the ramp side. He finally hit Grimes with one. “Johnny Wrestling” chant. Slingshot spear by Gargano on Grimes. Lee broke up the pin. Lee hit combo kicks on Gargano, then stepped up on Gargano to hit double knees on Grimes. He covered for two.
Reed was back in the ring and Lee went for double knees but Reed caught him for a vertical drop brainbuster for two. Grimes threw punches to Reed’s midsection and hit him with a thrust kick. Grimes went up and hit Reed with a cross-body. Mysterio reiterated that the non-Wes Lee guys don’t get an opportunity if they win, because he gets to choose how things go.
Reed picked up one guy and put the other two on his back and fell back to crush them all. USA muted a “Holy shit” chant. Grimes, Gargano and Lee picked up Reed, walked a few steps with him, and hit a chokeslam. Time for USA to mute another chant. The three smaller guys exchanged shots and strikes. Lee and Grimes crashed together with some miscommunication and Grimes covered for one. Grimes did his twisting powerslam for two. Gargano took the spotlight for a moment and he and Grimes did a sequence. It was chaos as Reed got back into it and bowled over everyone in rapid succession. “Too much beef” chant. Reed lifted Lee while standing on the second buckle and threw him on the other two guys. Reed went to the top and Ivar ran in out of nowhere and yanked Reed to the floor. The two picked up after their double-count-out last night on Rawn.
In the ring, Lee rolled up one guy, then another, for two. Grimes hit a Cave In on Gargano but Lee flew in with the Cardiac Kick to finish. Dominik threw his headset aside as reality sunk in.
WINNER: Wes Lee at 17:09.
(Wells’s Analysis: A very fun four-way match marred only by the fact that only one guy had something to fight for, and it was obvious he was going to end up getting it. You couldn’t ask for better guys if you want a spotfest, but also a match with a giant pest that the other three guys have to keep chopping down. My assumption is that Dom has given to NXT what he had to give and has taken some things with him, and Wes will finally take back his championship)
-Out in the parking lot, Roxanne Perez and Kiana James were brawling on a car. Booker told Vic to stay out of the parking lot. Sage advice in NXT.
FINAL THOUGHTS: The Deadl1ne card continues to take shape and there will indeed be a last chance match, as all of us on PWT Talks NXT were assuming. We also have Trick and Melo continuing their run toward something interesting and Joe Gacy doing far and away his best work in this promotion, and the very welcome prospect of Arianna Grace’s ascent up the card. It was an okay enough show but the main event elevated it quite a bit in the end. Bruce Hazelwood, Nate Lindberg and I will talk it out soon on PWT Talks NXT. Check us out live tonight or stream tomorrow. Cheers.
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