SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
DECEMBER 19, 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: Alicia Taylor
Backstage Correspondent(s): Kelly Kincaid
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
-Vic teased that maybe we’ll get some answers about who can be trusted tonight.
(1) FALLON HENLEY vs. TIFFANY STRATTON
Shoves to open. Rollup by Fallon for two. Back elbow and a snap mare by Henley, followed by a dropkick. Action spilled outside and Henley kept up the offense. Back inside, Henley went up and Stratton pushed her off and to the outside. Stratton rolled Henley back in and took her head to a turnbuckle. Corner lariat by Stratton, who charged Henley to the opposite side afterward. Stratton leaned on Henley against a rope, then covered for two.
The two hit their feet and exchanged some shots. Henley went up a corner and trapped Stratton for some punches. Stratton tried something but Henley hit a rana. Henley charged and Stratton hit a spinebuster for two. The two exchanged rollups and, shockingly, Henley trapped Stratton for three.
WINNER: Fallon Henley at 3:56.
Stratton snapped afterward and attacked Henley, then dragged her by her hair to a backstage area and took a used mop to Henley’s head, then tossed a bunch of garbage on her. There were a lot of banana peels for a gross visual.
(Wells’s Analysis: This is the feud that never ends. Normally a weirdly specific attack like this suggests a gimmick match that’s somehow related, but I don’t know where this one would lead. It’s also possible, I suppose, that the two are moving on from each other and Henley just needed the win more while Stratton was given a way to maintain her heat)
-Melo and Trick met backstage. Williams asked Melo who attacked him, and Melo said he didn’t see him but the only person who ever hit him that hard was Ilja. Melo pitched the idea of making the match at New Year’s Evil a triple threat. Melo tried to subtly manipulate Trick into giving him a shot and acted like it didn’t matter which of them had the title, which Trick rejected. Trick said if he was going to beat Ilja, he wanted Melo to train him. [c]
-Ilja Dragunov hit the ring. He said he felt like the third wheel in a bromance movie. He said he didn’t have that on his Bingo card, but he did have himself winning the championship. He said he puts every single gram of himself on the line because the championship deserves it. He said he was going to start 2024 in an unpopular way and beat the fastest rising star…
Ridge Holland, of all people, interrupted. He said he had to figure out who he was and rewrite his story. He said he was back in NXT. He said it was accident after injury, but he’s here to redeem himself. He said he has to prove he’s the kind of man who belongs in the main event. He said the NXT Championship makes him the measuring stick, but he has way too much respect to just go asking for a shot. He said he’s here to prove himself and he’ll run through every one of them in the back until they have their moment. He said this is the first chapter in the redemption of Ridge Holland.
Dragunov said he’s tired of people getting into his business and getting into his face. Dragunov said if Holland wants to find out where he stands, he doesn’t have to wait, because he’ll find out…tonight.
-Lexis King, walking through the back, asked us to excuse him while he takes his first steps toward being a champion. [c]
-Trick and Ilja ran into each other backstage. Trick took Ilja to task for giving Ridge Holland a shot tonight. Dragunov reiterated who was the champion and who gets to decide. Trick said Dragunov is the champion…until New Year’s Evil.
(2) DION LENNOX vs. LEXIS KING – Men’s Breakout Tournament – quarterfinals
King extended a hand but Lennox didn’t fall for it. King burned Lennox’s head on the rope, then leaned on him in the corner. Lennox threw some rights but King took over with elbows and a knee to the midsection. Lariat from the blind side by King put Lennox down again. Lennox went into a place of rage as King threw stiff kicks. Lennox fired up, threw some rights, and rolled up King for two. Big block, and another, from Lennox. Clothesline and a body slam by Lennox. Splash in the corner and a suplex with a bridge for two.
King walked out, taking the contract for a title match that was sitting displayed on a podium. Lennox brought him back to the ring. King charged Lennox into a corner, then hit the Coronation to advance.
WINNER: Lexis King at 2:58.
After the match, Trey Bearhill – who King took out of the tournament before it started, hit the ring with a chair to run off King. King said to the camera that Bearhill hadn’t earned a shot against him. Bearhill got a chant from the crowd; not being in this tournament might have been a better way to put him over than to have him in it.
(Wells’s Analysis: These things tend to be brief in early rounds, but it’s bizarre that Lennox was given so little time when he does bring some decent power stuff. The Bearhill stuff was nice, as now we either have King’s first feud after winning the tournament, or an ingredient that could keep King from winning the tournament at all)
-Eddy Thorpe said next week, he and Dijak were going Underground once again.
-Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail entered for their match. [c]
-Kiana James and Izzi Dame entered together.
(3) THEA HAIL & JACY JAYNE vs. KIANA JAMES & IZZI DAME
Hail and Dame opened. “Thea” chant. Hail put on a headlock. Rope run and an arm drag by Hail, who fired up and got cheered by Chase U, headed up by Riley Osborne, who seemed to be sweet on her last week. Jayne tagged in and rolled up Dame for two. Chop by Dame. Dame took Jayne to a corner, but Jayne splashed her there. James tried to get involved and Jayne elbowed her from the apron to the floor. Jayne rolled up Dame, who rolled through to escape. Big boot by Jayne, but Dame took her her down with a clothesline.
James tagged in and threw some knees and covered for two. James put Jayne in the heel corner, stomped her down, and tagged Dame. Dame slammed Jayne for two as Hail tried to get the crowd fired up. Both women were laid out after lariat attempts. James tagged in, as did Hail. Hail took over on offense and waved at Riley Osborne. Slingshot senton by Hail. James went to the throat and she made a blind tag to Dame. Hail got the visual tap victory from James, but the legal woman – Dame – flew in with a big boot and covered to win.
WINNERS: James & Dame at 4:53.
(Wells’s Analysis: Dame was likely to score a pin on her first show after her big moment, though Thea Hail needs to eat another pin like she needs a hole in the head.)
-Roxanne Perez watched a monitor in the locker room with a number of women and said she still wasn’t done with Kiana James. Arianna Grace patronized her, saying it’s not about wins and losses but how you play the game. Perez snapped and said it’s about wins and losses, and slapped Grace hard. She took off and Grace cried about it. [c]
-Andre Chase and Duke Hudson were throwing craps with Bronco Nima, Lucien Price and Scrypts. Chase kept playing, even though he was up and Hudson told him to walk away. Chase challenged Nima and Price to a match next week. He said if he wins, they double their money. Scrypts said when they win, they want a title match, if Chase can swing that. Chase immediately agreed. Tony D’Angelo’s cousin showed up and she was on the phone with Tony, saying Chase was out here making promises. An unseen D’Angelo agreed to the terms.
-Dragon Lee showed up for his match with one member of No Quarter Catch Crew. Charlie Dempsey finally stepped forward. Gallus showed up and Joe Coffey said “I don’t hear a bell!” He entered the ring and told Dragon Lee to choose. Lee said a triple threat was fine with him.
(4) DRAGON LEE (c) vs. JOE COFFEY vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY – Triple threat match for the North American Championship
Coffey dominated early. Lee just about got some shots in but the other members of Gallus grabbed Lee’s legs on a rope run. The ref tossed Wolfgang and Mark Coffey to cheers. Lee took down Coffey and covered, but Dempsey deadlifted him into a gut-wrench suplex as the match went to split-screen. [c]
All three men sold on the mat after a tower of doom spot. The two heels got up first and went at Lee, who fought both of them off. Lee hit Dempsey with a double ax-handle, then hit a corner lariat and dropkick on Coffey. Corner dropkicks for both guys, one after another. Lee covered Coffey for two.
[HOUR TWO]
Lee fought off the heels in a corner and then went for a DDT on both, but they caught him and hit him with a suplex. Both heels covered, with the other breaking it up. Lee sold by a rope as the heels paired off. Dempsey controlled and all threw got tangled up and Dempsey hit a belly-to-back suplex on Coffey, who was also at the time hitting a side suplex on Lee in a spot that’s hard to describe.
Lee charged Coffey, who threw a European Uppercut. Cover for two. Coffey put Lee up in a corner and threw some chops. Lee stomped Coffey there, and then quickly turned and hit a tope suicida on Dempsey, who was selling outside. Lee considered both guys and he went out to clear Dempsey, but Dempsey hit an uppercut. Coffey flew in with a tope on both guys. From under the ring, Joe Gacy poked out and grinned at the carnage with his head in his hands. Coffey ended up getting dragged underneath by Gacy.
In the ring, Dempsey hit a fallaway slam into a bridge for two. Lee rolled through a slam attempt and hit Operation: Dragon to finish as the rest of No Quarter Catch Crew threw up their hands on the outside.
WINNER: Dragon Lee at 12:05.
NQCC jumped Lee, but Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro made the save. Vic said it was to return the favor from Raw.
(Wells’s Analysis: A spotfest with little flow, but Joe Gacy is figured into things now and will likely throw himself at Gallus now. We also figure to have a six-man next week given the brawl at the end)
-Trick Williams complained about the Ilja-Ridge match t0 Carmelo Hayes. Melo again listened patiently but there was something bubbling under the surface. [c]
(5) TAVION HEIGHTS vs. LUCA CRUSIFINO – Men’s Breakout Tournament quarterfinal
Vic said Crusifino had filed a motion to win the breakout tournament, which was dumb enough when Crusifino said it but is worse coming from the announcer. The two hosses jockeyed for position early and Heights managed a slam for two. Crusifino stomped the foot for an opening and chopped down Heights with a block to the leg. Both guys got to their feet and Crusifino hit a neckbreaker and got a one count. Crusifino hit a hip toss into a neckbreaker that looked gorgeous and got two. He tried another neckbreaker but Heights blocked and hit a slam. Rope run and a belly-to-belly with a standing release from Heights. Interesting. Suplex by Heights, who fired up. Heights hit a strong spinning belly-to-belly to finish.
WINNER: Tavion Heights at 3:25.
(Wells’s Analysis: Good stuff here from both young athletes. Heights is great at reaching the crowd in addition to having a nice array of suplexes. Crusifino is looking a lot more polished these days also. The semifinals are set: Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne and Tavion Heights vs. Oba Femi)
-Hype segment for Blair Davenport and Lyra Valkyria. The voice-over mentioned that they’ve never met in the ring, surprisingly, although they were supposed to in NXT: UK before an injury to Valkyria. The narrator sold Blair’s choice to walk the darker path. Their paths will finally cross at New Year’s Evil two weeks from tonight.
-Lyra Valkyria was watching a monitor backstage. Nikkita Lyons walked in. She said she’ll have her back. She said she came back for Blair Davenport, but she also came back for the Women’s Championship. Ugh.
-Nikkita made her entrance ahead of her match with Tatum Paxley. Her entrance is less terrible now, as her lion roar actually has some commitment to it. [c]
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Meta-Four. Noam Dar had jingle bells in his Heritage Cup. He was asked about the challenge from Josh Briggs and he agreed to it, before wishing Kincaid a happy Festivus.
(6) NIKKITA LYONS vs. TATUM PAXLEY
Paxley set the feather from Lyra Valkyria in a corner as she still carries it everywhere. Crazy looks good on her. She crawled in and Lyons did the splits. The action spilled out almost immediately and Paxley put Lyons into the steps. Back inside, Paxley hit a snap mare and a running fist. She rolled up Lyons for two. Small package by Lyons for two. Paxley put Lyons down and stomped her hand. She dropped a knee on it as well, then hit a leaping elbow for two. Lyons rolled up Paxley for two to get her away from the worked hand. Lyons roared and hit a thrust kick, and then another. Body shots from Lyons followed by a bit of a shimmy and a right. Hip attack from Lyons and a toss. Lyons roared again and hit a roundhouse kick followed by her splits finisher. A whole year to think of a finisher that looks like it hurts, and they didn’t change it?
WINNER: Nikkita Lyons at 3:18.
(Wells’s Analysis: The good news is, outside of the still-awful finisher, Lyons looked to be significantly improved in the ring, at least in a three-minute context. She still sounds kind of meandering and lost on the mic, but at least they’re getting some improvement from someone they’ve sunk so much effort into for whatever reason)
-Hank and Tank hyped each other up backstage and said they were going to take down Gallus. [c]
-Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen hung out. Brooks checked on Fallon after the trash thing. She got pissed off and said she wasn’t done with Tiffany before storming off. The boys talked a little more and Jensen said he’d be out there for the Heritage Cup match. Briggs said he had to do this one on his own. Jensen asked why and Briggs said he can’t explain it but he has to ride solo on this one.
(7) TANK LEDGER & HANK WALKER vs. GALLUS (Wolfgang & Mark Coffey)
Hank and Mark to start. Wolfgang tagged in as Mark looked to avoid an armbar. Hank took Wolfgang down and hit a senton. Tank tagged in and Mark did also. Tank worked Mark’s arm and then hit a body block. The snap-zooms early on here were pretty egregious. Hank tagged in and put on a headlock. Wolfgang grabbed Hank’s leg on a rope run, then charged him into a post on the outside. Tank tried to fire up Hank. Action went back inside and Gallus used numbers to keep Hank from tagging. Hank got put into the heel corner and he tried to elbow his way back into it. Hank hit a pounce to gain some separation. He reached for the tag, shoved off Hank, and got to the ropes, but Tank tried to tag from well away from the tag rope. The ref didn’t let him in and Gallus took the opening to finish Hank.
WINNERS: Gallus at 3:56.
(Wells’s Analysis: It looks like Hank and Tank will probably end up breaking up before any kind of real push. The match was the same as the night on the whole – seemingly rushed and at a pace that allows very little to sink in.)
-Dijak agreed to the Underground match with Eddy Thorpe, wondering what he was thinking taking on Dijak in this kind of match.
-The main event combatants prepared for their entrances. [c]
-Tiffany Stratton said it was nice to finally put Fallon Henley in her place, because she was made to serve people like Stratton. She said Henley would never be her, no matter how she tried, and she’d always be trash. She said they would have a match at New Year’s Evil and suggested if she wins, Henley will have to be her servant.
-Next week, Dijak and Eddy Thorpe take it to the Underground, the semifinals of the Breakout Tournament take place, Karmen Petrovic faces Cora Jade, and Josh Briggs faces Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup. No wonder it was such a busy show, as they were booking the next four hours of TV all pretty much at once.
(8) ILJA DRAGUNOV vs. RIDGE HOLLAND
With no formal intros in the ring, this would seem to be non-title, which undercuts the entire point of the story with Trick being annoyed that Ridge is getting a “shot.” Seems like they wanted to hook the audience with a title match while not actually holding one, which is weird since Dragunov will almost certainly win anyway.
A few early blocks by Dragunov, followed by rights. Ridge missed one but hit a lariat on the rewind. Dragunov fought off a suplex and hit a hard lariat to lay out Holland. Dragunov licked his hand and threw a series of chops. Dragunov wanted a powerbomb but Holland fought it and slammed Dragunov. Dragunov hit a leaping boot and then a German suplex and another. Dragunov and Holland exchanged chops, elbows and forearms as the match went to split-screen. [c]
Back to full-screen, there was an NXT chant. Dragunov dominated with shops in a corner.
[OVERRUN]
Holland managed some kicks to get a breather. Vic invoked the storyline where Ridge Holland was one of Pat McAfee’s henchmen in a moment I thought we’d never hear about again on TV. Holland grabbed Dragunov, who elbowed his way free and went for a rope run but Holland dumped him. Holland was about to do the War Drums and got booed. Dragunov fought that off also and reentered. He rolled up Holland for two, and then hit an H-Bomb. Dragunov hit an enzuigiri but Holland hit a big kick and covered for two.
Holland deadlifted Dragunov, who intensely stared back at Holland and hit him with headbutts. Holland hit a brainbuster and looked to keep up the attack, but Dragunov sold it like a real injury had seized him up. The announcers stopped talking, but Holland was doing some pretty bad acting in the background, selling dejection, and Dragunov was put on a stretcher. (Also as proof it was a work, the camera showed every second of it, though I’ll field many questions about whether it was real).
NO CONTEST? at about 11 minutes
The announcers remained silent as the gurney rolled back through the curtiain.
(Wells’s Analysis: I hate these storylines. Most savvy viewers won’t fall for it, and what does this accomplish for those who do? It’s also very weird to put Ridge Holland in this position as fans have certainly not forgotten his unfortunate role in Big E’s major injury. I get that this does something for the Trick-Melo story. Trick didn’t want Dragunov jeopardizing himself before their match, and he did, so perhaps the match gets scrapped for NYE and instead Williams faces Holland? Meanwhile, there’s plenty of time for Carmelo Hayes to weasel his way into a triple threat later.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: SLOW DOWN. On the upside, there was no shortage of work done to get new storylines rolling, or to continue burning existing ones. Nate Lindberg and I will break it down in a few minutes on PWT Talks NXT. Check us out tonight or stream tomorrow.
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