SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
JANUARY 16, 2024
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
(1) TRICK WILLIAMS & CARMELO HAYES vs. EDRIS ENOFE & MALIK BLADE – Dusty Classic first round match
Enofe & Blade were wearing Dusty Rhodes yellow polka dots. Quick mat stuff from Blade and Hayes to start. Rope run and both went for dropkicks at once. Reset. Enofe tagged in and back elbowed Melo, then mocked the “nothing but net” taunt. He took too long and Melo struck him and tagged Williams for a stiff dropkick. Blade made a blind tag but Williams ended up taking down both opponents. Melo tagged in and Blade laid him out, then dropkicked Williams from the apron, perhaps lightly playing heel tonight. Enofe and Williams went at it again, and Melo tagged in again and the gang double-teamed Enofe briefly. Another tag in for Williams, but Enofe elbowed him and made the tag.
Williams laid out Blade and worked a brief armbar, but Blade tagged and Enofe hit a bulldog on Williams. Enofe and blade both hit planchas on their opposition heading into break; Williams had to quickly reposition himself to keep Blade safe from falling short. [c]
Enofe and Blade dominated as Hayes was face in peril. Ground and pound by Enofe on Melo. Hayes rolled through a suplex and tagged Williams, who dominated Enofe with kicks. Enofe and Blade tried to double-team but Williams laid them out. Vic shamelessly said that Williams was “outshining Carmelo Hayes in some aspects” which was because he was currently in control, which was a bit of a reach in this context. Everyone hit impact moves in a quick sequence with a couple of near-falls. Blade hit a spinebuster and frog splash on Melo, but Williams broke it up. Enofe went for a plancha on Williams, who hit him with an uppercut as he came down. Williams tagged in and hit a flash knee on Blade to finish.
WINNERS: Trick Williams & Carmelo Hayes at 12:12.
(Wells’s Analysis: I kind of rolled my eyes at Vic using normal tag team match dynamics to stretch to tell the Trick-Melo story in a week where it otherwise wasn’t front and center; this tournament is a good way to continue burning slowly on that story. The downside of the tournament so far is that it’s ostensibly a tournament for tag team wrestling, but all three teams that have advanced to the final four are makeshift teams of singles wrestlers. A fun match here, and it was nice to see Enofe and Blade as they’ve been massively deemphasized for a few months now)
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Fallon Henley about the main event battle royal. She said she was pretty sure everybody liked her farm segments with Tiffany Stratton last week, which was a bit of a reach, but otherwise gave a strong babyface promo and said she had three words for whether she’d win: “Yee Ha, Bitch.”
-A segment hyped Oba Femi picking the bones of Dragon Lee and winning the North American Championship in the main event last week. He swaggered fearsomely in the back ahead of his segment after the break. [c]
-Earlier today, Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez walked through the back, pumping themselves up for their tag team match later. One of the opponents, Tatum Paxley, pulled a blind up as she was watching them through a door. She said she was going to win the battle royal so nobody gets to face Lyra Valkyria, because nobody comes near her champion.
-Oba Femi hit the ring in street clothes, belt draped over his shoulder, and grabbed a mic. He said many are surprised to see him as North American Champion, but the prophecy was long foretold that he’d be the juggernaut drenched in gold. He said since he was born, it was foretold that he’d be the biggest and strongest. He invoked a word in his native tongue and then listed a number of lifetime accomplishments, each after which the crowd bellowed a short “WOO!,” which seemed to genuinely tickle Femi.
Dragon Lee’s music and he said he couldn’t be mad after last week, because Femi was clearly hungry. He put over the impact that Femi was making in a very short amount of time. He put over Wes Lee and said if Femi invokes the Open Challenge, he’d be happy to be Femi’s first opponent…tonight. Femi said no – the Open Challenges are now closed. Lee said he wanted a Championship rematch at Vengeance Day. Femi said Lee doesn’t get to decide anymore, and he may consider it. An intriguing segment that seemed to lean Femi slightly heel, which will be an uphill battle because the crowd is hungry to cheer someone with the impossible level of cool that exudes from Femi.
-Eddy Thorpe talked with some guys backstage, after which Trey Bearhill showed up and thanked him for representing for Native Americans. They exchanged pleasantries and Dijak showed up and talked down at Bearhill, saying his culture taught him everything but when to quit. Bearhill challenged him to a match tonight. Bearhill was game enough but has a long way to go on the mic.
-Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley were introduced for the next match. Paxley was going full Single White Female, dressing like Valkyria and doing her poses. [c]
-Trick and Melo celebrated by the lockers, saying one was down with two to go. They put over the final match, which will be on Vengeance Day. Ilja Dragunov showed up and said he wasn’t able to defend before because he wasn’t cleared, but he’ll give him a shot on a big stage – Vengeance Day. Of course, after he took his leave, Williams celebrated the opportunity and Hayes said that’s when they were supposed to have their match in the Dusty Classic.
(2) LYRA VALKYRIA & TATUM PAXLEY vs. LOLA VICE & ELEKTRA LOPEZ
Valkyria and Paxley dominated early and Paxley did more of Valkyria’s poses and spots. Lopez called her a freak and threw some knee strikes against the ropes. Vice hit a nice kick from the apron. Vice tagged in and shook her booty to taunt Valkyria (and also gain a lot of cheers, of course). Vice and Lopez briefly double-teamed Paxley and got a two count but Paxley hit a nice counter slam and tagged in Valkyria, who dominated Lopez. Valkyria hit a Northern Lights suplex with a bridge for two. She went for another cover and Vice broke it up. Bonzo gonzo and Paxley got smacked, but fell atop Lopez for the win.
WINNERS: Valkyria and Paxley at 4:04.
(Wells’s Analysis: A short match to promote the increasing weirdness of Paxley. Decent enough action)
-Arianna Grace made a speech to the rest of the women’s locker room and went on and on, during which the women filed out one by one. She tried to thank them at the end, and noticed they had all gone.
-Ridge Holland made his entrance for a match with Joe Coffey. [c]
(3) RIDGE HOLLAND vs. JOE COFFEY (w/Wolfgang & Mark Coffey)
Booker T wanted Holland to start acknowledging that he really meant to hurt all the people he’s hurt, and he’d start to respect him more. Exploder suplex by Holland, and another suplex soon followed. Holland charged Coffey into a corner for some blocks. Wolfgang went up to the apron and got cleared, but Coffey used the opening to get an advantage. Falling elbow off of the second buckle by Coffey got two. Holland threw a few rights and hit a big lariat and a power slam for three.
WINNER: Ridge Holland at 2:27.
Gallus all attacked Holland after the match, and the camera kept showing us that nobody was coming to the aid of Holland. Gallus continued to watch the entrance during the beatdown.
(Wells’s Analysis: Coffey was wrestling marathon main events in NXT: UK a few years ago and he’s just nowhere right now, despite him getting his heat back here. I assume Ridge finally finds some allies soon)
-@NXT_Anonymous caught Jacy Jayne soaking it up as some young women went to she and Chase U mate Thea Hail for advice. She called one back for some more instruction. Just to put this out there somewhere, last week on the podcast I said a returning Stevie Turner (if her return is in fact soon) could be the Anonymous film account. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-Kelani Jordan said she’s going into the battle royal with a chip on her shoulder. She said she”s broken out< but now she has to break through. Brinley Reece jumped into frame from a handstand and said Jordan’s energy was giving her energy.
-Kelly Kincaid interviewed Baron Corbin, who said he was the leader of his team with Baron Corbin. Bron Breakker showed up and called them the WolfDogs. Corbin went hard at him about how bad the name is, and Breakker said he was working on it for 3-4 weeks. Corbin said they’ve only been a team for two, and Breakker said it felt longer to laughs. Breakker said he thought of the name while in the shower, and Corbin took issue with Breakker thinking of him in the shower. It got goofier and Kincaid eventually acknowledged that both guys are a-holes. The audience is still largely eating up this bizarre dynamic.
(4) LATINO WORLD ORDER (Joaquin Wilde & Cruz Del Toro) (w/Zelina Vega) vs. CHASE UNIVERSITY (Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne (w/Andre Chase) – Dusty Classic first round match
Del Toro and Osborne opened. Del Toro controlled with an armbar and tagged Wilde. Del Toro slammed Wilde onto Osborne for two. Osborne ran the ropes and Wilde caught himagain. Wilde missed in a corner and Hudson tagged in for a side slam. Del Toro got involved and Hudson suplexed both, then cleared them from the ring. Osborne tagged in and hit a plancha on both opponents heading into commercial. [c]
LWO was in control until Osborne hit both members with a corkscrew splash off the second turnbuckle. Osborne made the tag and Hudson dominated both LWO members. Del Toro got back into it with combo kicks and a poison rana. He ran himself into a big uranage by Hudson. Hudson went for a powerslam but Del Toro fought it off and kicked Hudson and tagged. Hudson didn’t know the tag happened and Wilde hit a missile dropkick. Wilde cleared Osborne on the outside and hit a flying DDT on Hudson on the other side. USA muted a “holy shit” chant. Del Toro tagged in and hit a splash from the top to finish.
WINNERS: LWO at 9:39.
(Wells’s Analysis: Another chapter in the story of Chase U falling apart at the seams, and it’ll be a strong semifinal as LWO takes on Trick & Melo. The big question is whether Trick & Melo will implode in that match, or if they’ll make the finals and Williams will pull double duty at Vengeance Day in a night that will likely be the next major step in getting the two across from one another at Stand and Deliver)
-Adrianna Rizzo was nervous about her debut in the battle royal, so Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo tried to pump her up with some examples of her courage. She said she’d be throwing bodies like over the bridge. D and Stacks went “whoa!” as they continue to play fast and loose with whether the Family are killers or not. A charming segment for Rizzo, who continues to exude great confidence on the mic.
-Joe Gacy was sitting in on commentary and was intentionally stiff and goofy as he remarked to Vic and Booker that it would be a great main event. Vic and Book weren’t too sure about Gacy sitting in. Dijak was introduced and the show went to commercial. [c]
-Last week, Von Wagner and Noam Dar shared a goofy (I keep using that word tonight, but it keeps applying) backstage about the NXT Heritage Cup and how rounds matches work. Wagner revealed himself to just be messing with Dar after he and Oro Mensah took off. Wagner and Mr. Stone vowed to have gold in 2024.
(5) TREY BEARHILL vs. DIJAK
Bearhill did a Native American dance ceremony on the way to the ring. He hit a lot of strikes early but Dijak crotched him on the second rope and hit a thrust kick for a one count. “What a maneuver!” yelled Gacy. Dijak bealed Bearhill for two. Dijak kept leaning on Bearhill as the audience essentially disappeared. Bearhill hit a suplex on Dijak in the corner to sort of wake them back up. Vic asked Gacy for his expert analysis and Gacy said “That does not feel good.”
The action spilled outside and Dijak tossed Bearhill into the barricade. Dijak got into the faces of the announcers and Gacy gave him a hard headbutt. Dijak recovered right into the face of a yelling Bearhill. Back inside, Bearhill hit a cross-body for two. Dijak reversed a spot and hit his finisher.
WINNER: Dijak at 4:35.
After the result was rendered, Gacy jumped Dijak and the two brawled to the back. Bearhill yelled out at them to cheers, but Lexis King clocked him from behind and yelled that Bearhill cost him the biggest match he’s ever had.
(Wells’s Analysis: A lot going on here as two TV feuds were moved forward. Dijak got a rare and much-needed win and Bearhill got some decent reactions from the crowd as the match wore on.)
-Backstage, Josh Briggs was watching back one of his last matches to see what he could improve on, and JBL showed up to a brief pop. He said he picked Briggs for the Iron Survivor Challenge so he could find out who he is.
-Kiana James and Izzi Dame were introduced for the battle royal at :33 past the hour. There’s a good amount of time left, so the four-way after the first 16 eliminations will probably get some good time. [c]
-No Quarter Catch Crew hype segment. Drew Gulak hyped up the other guys, as he said the last few weeks were unacceptable. It was a grainy video of the group sparring and hitting stiff offense on one another. No pity, no mercy, no quarter.
-Trick and Melo met by the lockers again. Cooler heads were prevailing. Williams put forward the idea of pulling double duty at Vengeance Day. Williams said he had his eyes on the prize. “Dusty Cup,” Hayes said. Williams said yes. He said he had the opportunity to be the champion and a tag champion at the same time. Hayes mulled that thought over after Hayes left.
(6) 20-WOMAN #1 CONTENDER BATTLE ROYAL
Vic acknowledged Cora Jade’s ACL tear and said she’d be out for a year. Her opponent in that match, Wren Sinclair, is takin her place tonight. Chase U’s women and Blair Davenport got full entrances and the match was on. Gigi Dolin eliminated Jakara Jackson very early; Jackson might still be fighting off an injury.Lash Legend eliminated Adrianna Rizzo and Jaida Parker followed her courtesy of Izzi Dame. Kelani Jordan did an HBK-like save, and then got knocked to the outside, where Jaida Parker caught her accidentally and set her on the announce table. As Jordan tried to figure out how to get back to the ring, the match went to commercial. [c]
Back live, we were shown Kelani Jordan’s return to the ring from the barricade to the steps. Stevie Turner was eliminated (so I guess her return IS imminent) during the break. Lopez and Vice eliminated Brinley Reece. Vice eliminated Lopez, who said “you bitch!” Paxley eliminated Vice. Vice and Lopez brawled to the back.
Davenport did a near-elimination at the hands of Gigi Dolin. Dolin charged and Davenport yanked down the rope to toss her. Thea Hail charged and ended up on the apron with Davenport. Karmen Petrovic crescent kicked Davenport from the ring, surprisingly. Davenport battered Petrovic before heading to the back.
Lash Legend went after Tatum Paxley, set her on the apron, and pump kicked her from there to the floor. Legend preened after the elimination. Arianna Grace lifted Karmen Petrovic from her dead position and waved and cheered afterward. Thea Hail tossed Grace right after and the match went to split-screen with around eight women left. [c]
Back to full-screen, Thea Hail was getting a long hype segment. Wren Sinclair was still in there. James and Dame were there. Hail jumped at Dame, who caught and tossed her out. Fallon Henley put James nearly out and Dame made the save. Lash Legend went at James and Dame and they laid each other out in the ring. “NXT” chant.
[OVERRUN]
Henley and Roxanne Perez eliminated Dame, who looked like she was supposed to save herself before she slipped. Lash Legend had someone on the ropes but Sinclair eliminated her, shockingly. Kiana James eliminated Sinclair in the corner.
(6b) ROXANNE PEREZ vs. FALLON HENLEY vs. KELANI JORDAN vs. KIANA JAMES – Fatal four-way to become #1 contender
The match became a four-way after Sinclair’s elimination at 17:45. Perez and Jordan dominated early. Dame was still at ringside for James. Perez and Jordan paired off in the ring and had a couple of near-falls before Fallon Henley broke it up and got a lot of fan support as she dominated the two other babyfaces. She hit a tornado DDT on Jordan and covered for a near-fall, broken up by a returning Kiana James. James hit a spinebuster on Henley and the other two women broke it up. Henley slid from the ring as the rest did a sequence. The workrate was especially high here and tough for me to keep up with, even compared to most multi-person matches on this show.
James and Perez paired off in a corner and jockeyed for position on the top. Super huracanrana by Perez. Jordan flew in with a frog splash on James for a near-fall, broken up by Perez. Jordan seemed to have James beat, but Dame pulled James to safety. Roxanne Perez hit Pop Rox on Jordan to finish.
WINNER: Roxanne Perez at 22:36 total (4:51 in the four-way)
(Wells’s Analysis: I liked the hook of the four-way after the initial eliminations, as hard as the match beyond was to describe in real time. Perez has been leaning heel more and more every week, so it makes sense she’d get this spot and will likely complete her turn in the next couple of weeks leading up to Vengeance Day. The battle royal also did more to strengthen the James-Dame pairing and surprisingly pulled Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice apart (perhaps Vice will turn face to lean into the cheers for her, but she was technically the heelish one in their big moment). Blair Davenport is seemingly transitioning to a lower-profile feud with Karmen Petrovic, but at least she’s in a feud and not being forgotten by creative. Perhaps most surprising in all of this is that Nikkita Lyons not only didn’t appear after claiming she’d win last week, but wasn’t even mentioned. She was apparently wearing a knee brace again during a video she posted to Instagram, so it might just be a reaggravation of one of her many injuries, but it would seem strange not to bring that up when she was so figured in last week. As always, I don’t understand the approach they’re taking with her. Tiffany Stratton also didn’t appear, but her bit with Henley last week likely wrote her out in the short-term and she may not have any business left in the brand)
FINAL THOUGHTS: Vengeance Day is getting clearer by the week as we now have Trick Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov on top and we’re seemingly almost certain to get a Breakker/Corbin-Trick/Melo final in the Dusty Cup. A lot of feuds are being presented on TV right now and it’ll be interesting to see which of them make the cut for Vengeance Day. This week was good for development while also presenting a very large percentage of segments meant for humor in comparison to most weeks. Nate Lindberg and Bruce Hazelwood will break it down on PWT Talks NXT tonight as I take the night off and return next week. Cheers.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.