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NXT TV RESULTS
AUGUST 13, 2024
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED ON SYFY NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Kelly Kincaid, Sarah Schreiber
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
[HOUR ONE]
-After recaps, a reporter tried to get a word with Wes Lee. He wasn’t having it. Ethan Page happened by and took the reporter’s mic and said the big story, Page, was just arriving. Page headed to the ring with the mic.
Page said that the NXT Universe wanted to believe so badly that Oro Mensah would beat him for the NXT Championship, but the era of Ego is going strong. He said that Wes Lee and Trick Williams weren’t taking this from him either. He said Pete Dunne could break every one of his fingers and it wouldn’t loosen the grip he has on the NXT Championship. He said this isn’t NXT, it’s N…X…Me.
Joe Hendry’s music played and he whipped around with his winning smile. He apologized to Ethan for the interruption but last week, you didn’t even have to say his name to make him appear. He said Page was the talk of NXT, and at Heatwave he shocked the world and became the talk of NXT for about 90 seconds before Hendry’s face appeared to close the show. He said now the fans are talking about Wes Lee.
Page cut off Hendry and said he didn’t have to listen to this, and Hendry should take his victory from last week and go back to TNA. Hendry said he was here for the same reason as Page: to win the NXT Championship. Page said it’s true that the entire world believes in Joe Hendry, but the only problem is that Page doesn’t. Page said he believes the song makes him sick every time he hears it, he believes that Hendry is on the 14th of his 15 minutes of fame, and he believes that if Hendry comes after him, he’ll expose him for the flash in the pan that he is.
Hendry fired up and said he’s not a flash in the pan – he’s been grinding for ten-plus years. He said Booker T is the president of the Joe Hendry fan club (Book silently nodded in response). Hendry said he would take the Championship to London…and Paris…and Tokyo…and then he started singing his theme song. Page ran off halfway up the ring, and Wes Lee attacked Hendry from behind. Page laughed on the ramp.
-Backstage, Charlie Dempsey and Myles Borne were sparring. Wren Sinclair said it was time to get their Heritage Cup back. Dempsey wanted her to stay out of it, but Sinclair said that now that she’s actually in the group, she won’t be staying out of anything. They acknowledged that Tavion Heights is in Japan right now.
-Tony D’Angelo was introduced ahead of the Heritage Cup Championship. [c]
-Ava, Rob Stone and Stevie Turner were all gathered with a tumbler in front of them. Next week there will be a gauntlet eliminator for women who have never gotten a championship match to earn a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.
Wren Sinclair, Adrianna Rizzo, and Sol Ruca were chosen at random. Stone argued to Ava that this was actually his idea. I think there will be more competitors in this as well.
(1) TONY D’ANGELO (w/The Family) (c) vs. CHARLIE DEMPSEY (w/Myles Borne & Wren Sinclair) – NXT Heritage Cup Championship match
ROUND 1: Simple grappling to open. D’Angelo laid out Dempsey with a block and they reset. The two exchanged some reversals on the mat and Dempsey worked D’s arm, putting D on the mat. D’Angelo powered out and went for a spinebuster, but Dempsey snapped on a front chancery to avoid it. The two jockeyed for position and exchanged arm submission spots as time waned. Neither could get much footing as time expired.
ROUND 2: More mat grappling to open. D hit a spinebuster at 0:56 and won the first fall. D’ANGELO UP 1-0.
ROUND 3: The match went to split-screen before the round started. [c]
Back live, the round was coming to an end with Dempsey furiously going for rollups to finish. Time expired, and Dempsey threw a cheap right after the bell.
ROUND 4: Wren Sinclair fired up and slapped the hell out of Dempsey, yelling “You’ve gotta do this for us!” The bell rang and D’Angelo rolled up the stunned Dempsey for two. Dempsey got in some shots but D’Angelo hit a lariat followed by some ax-handles. Belly-to-belly by D’Angelo sent Dempsey to the apron, where D’Angelo lifted him up for a full body slam for two. Tony went for Fuhgeddaboudit but Dempsey caught him with an inside cradle for two. Dempsey charged D into a post then rolled D’Angelo up for the win at 1:53 of the round. TIED 1-1.
ROUND 5: Forearms and uppercuts to open the round. Headlock takeover got two for Dempsey, but D’Angelo hit a spinebuster for two. Northern Lights suplex by Dempsey got two. Dempsey rolled through a hook with a triangle. D’Angelo hit a powerbomb to break. D’Angelo set up Dempsey in the corner and Borne got briefly involved, so Stacks took him out. Sinclair shoved D’Angelo from the top with the ref distracted. Dempsey smiled and went and hit a suplex with a bridge for the win and the title.
WINNER: Charlie Dempsey at about ten combined minutes.
(Wells’s Analysis: D’Angelo’s limitations as a singles guy really were brought home in this title run, so I’m relieved it’s back with Dempsey. I do think D’Angelo has value to the company, but it’s in the form of a tag team with Stacks. I’m loving Wren Sinclair’s overexcitement as far as finally being in the faction)
-Lola Vice and Kelani Jordan talked backstage. Jordan said she doesn’t know where she stands with Tatum Paxley, who lurked in the background with her dolls. Vice approached Paxley without Jordan and Paxley wanted to know why she was there, since obviously, nobody was Paxley’s friend. She said it must be nice to be cool and popular like her.
-Eddy Thorpe, in a pre-recorded segment, said dance and music are important parts of his culture. Lexis King, in his own segment, said it has to be the right music, not “demonic EDM.” They’re stretching hard for this one. [c]
(2) EDDY THORPE vs. LEXIS KING
King jumped Thorpe early. King worked Thorpe’s injured hand to boos. Booker T stood up for King and rock & roll in general. Vic asked if he ever listened to Guns’n’Roses, and Booker said sometimes, and excitedly said “Sweet Child O Mine!” King kept working the hand until Thorpe hit a German suplex and a diving elbow. King got back into hit by booting the bad arm, and he hit the Coronation for the win.
WINNER: Lexis King in about 4:00.
(Wells’s Analysis: I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t think about King at all when he’s not on the screen, and I’m growing a little annoyed with the brand’s hesitation to get behind Thorpe a little more than this.)
-Trick Williams, in a pre-recorded segment, cut a promo on Pete Dunne. He said he had solutions for all his issues, running down some examples. He relayed a story from high school where three guys from the varsity football team threw rocks at his car because he didn’t like that he was balling out early and taking their spot. He said he jumped all three and it didn’t go well for him, but they all got theirs before the year was out. Yikes.
-Pete Dunne gave a quick promo, and Kelly Kincaid then went to the makeup chairs behind her, where Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson, Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx were all getting work done. They jawed a little about the possibility of being in the gauntlet match next week. [c]
(3) LOLA VICE vs. TATUM PAXLEY
Vice hit her signature spots early, with the “I’m a Latina” hip attack and the back kick to follow. Outside, Wendy Choo choked out Kelani Jordan, who was sitting in on commentary. Paxley got in a few shots with the distraction but Lola hit her finisher.
WINNER: Lola Vice in about 2 minutes.
-Jaida Parker, Kendal Grey and Karmen Petrovic were the last three added to the gauntlet match. Brinley Reece walked with Petrovic and said if it’s not her, she’s glad Petrovic is getting a shot. She talked about their time meeting at the same NXT tryout. Izzi Dame stormed in on the scene and said if anyone deserved a spot in that match, it was her, and she never liked those two even at the tryout. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-Wes Lee was out with a slow swagger. He held the mic and waited out some boos. He said he gets it – last week shocked the world, and honestly, it shocked him too. He said he thought he was going to be winning the tag team titles with his best friend, and Zach let him down. He said this goes back to two years ago when Zach first let him down. He said everyone felt sad for Zach, but felt sorry for Wes, wondering what he was going to do next. He said instead he became the best NXT North American Champion without them. He said his old mates became great again in TNA while he broke his back to be the best in NXT. He said he alone was the one to achieve greatness to be remembered. He told Zach he was done being a caretaker and done worrying about what Zach would say or do. He said he was the one keeping them together and waking him up when he was going to miss flights. He said he was tired of taking care of Zach. He said where he wants to go, he knows he can’t have his friends riding his coattails. He said he knew he and Zach would have a match, and No Mercy is right around the corner and feels very fitting. He said he would show no mercy when he beats the hell out of Zach. He said once that’s done, Zach and Trey can go be TNA wrestlers while he aspires to be NXT Champion. He said on behalf of Wes Lee, WWE Superstar, he wished them the best in their future endeavors.
Pete Dunne’s music played. He said he was impressed that someone here finally figured it out. He said last week he beat Trick and now his eyes were firmly fixed on the NXT Championship. Joe Hendry’s music played and the camera went to the ramp, but Hendry jumped Lee to return the favor from earlier. The three brawled.
-Kelly Kincaid talked with Axiom and Nathan Frazer, and the two said there were no more distractions and they’re locked in and on the same page. Let’s frickin’ go. Kelly said it was tonight’s main event.
-The unseen interviewer tried to get a word with Tony D’Angelo after his loss. He got in a few words, but after that, Oba Femi stepped in front of him. Femi said his open challenge was up next. After he left the frame, Tony D and the Family were still in frame, and D’Angelo stewed. [c]
-Chase U talked together. Duke Hudson and Riley Osborne both apologized to Ridge Holland. Holland said he couldn’t express to Thea Hail how much her trust meant to him. He said he’d do everything in his power to make sure he and Mr. Chase come home with the championships.
(4) OTIS (w/Maxxine & Akira Tozawa) vs. OBA FEMI (c) – NXT North American Championship open challenge
Otis had answered the open challenge earlier today, so there was no mystery of who would be coming out. Mike Rome handled formal introductions. Both got good reactions.
The two locked up and exchanged momentum until they broke in a corner. Oba shoved Otis, who shoved back. Femi threw a kick and worked a headlock. They took turns with some body blocks, and finally one by Otis sent Femi to the ramp side, and the match went to commercial. [c]
Femi took over during the break and leaned on Otis throughout. They’re still trying to make heel Oba Femi happen despite fans being in love with the guy. I guess Otis isn’t a bad guy to put across from him if they have to keep going for it. Otis was standing on the apron and Oba hit him with a leaping palm strike from the floor. It was so quick and loud. Otis hit the floor and Femi beat him into the steps with an uppercut. Femi stopped the ref’s count and rolled Otis back in and covered for two. Femi hit a trio of elbow drops for two.
Femi hit some uppercuts in the corner and Otis crumbled. Femi covered for two. Femi went for a powerbomb but Otis reversed to a back body drop. Otis threw a few clubbing shots and speared Femi in a corner. Otis missed a backsplash and Femi charged and hit him with a forearm to the back that sent Otis out to the ramp side. Tozawa got up on the apron and yelled some encouragement, so Femi hit him with a leaping palm strike. This woke up Otis, who took it to Femi. Back inside, Otis laid Femi down with a lariat and a body slam. Otis removed his shirt and tossed it into the crowd and hit the Caterpillar elbow for two. Otis hit the splash from the top for a long two, but he tried to set up Femi for something else, and Femi hit a powerbomb to finish.
WINNER: Oba Femi at 10:37.
(Wells’s Analysis: It didn’t really kick into high gear like the Wes Lee-Oba Femi match, but it’s good to see Femi beat the big guys also. Otis was perfectly fine here as a challenger of the week before Femi moves on to a believable challenger for No Mercy)
-Brooks Jensen gave a pre-taped interview. He said one person looked out for him, and this man was a leader and a mentor to him. He then said “Is that good?” The camera angle changed and Shawn Spears said “Yeah, that was perfect.”
-Edris Enofe and Malik Blade were watching and were saddened by Jensen being manipulated. Hank & Tank were also in the shot, and they said they have a match next week with The O.C.
-Izzi Dame entered ahead of her match with Brinley Reece. [c]
-Vic briefly mentioned the NXT Tryout during SummerSlam weekend.
(5) BRINLEY REECE vs. IZZI DAME
Dame took down Reece early, but she recovered and ran the ropes and the two tangled and reversed a lot early. Dame missed in the corner and Reece hit a somersault lariat for a one count. Reece wrenched the arm a couple of times. Dame ran the ropes and blocked Reece to the mat. Dame leaned on Reece in a corner and slammed her for two. Dame missed in a corner but hit a powerslam in the center of the ring for two. Reece reversed a torture rack then rolled through one ad hit a block from the second corner, then some ax-handles and some ground & pound.
Dame got into it with a knee to the midsection, but Reece hit a suplex for two. Reece did a somersault but stepped right into a big boot. Dame hit her finisher, a kind of uranage, to finish.
WINNER: Izzi Dame at 4:10.
(Wells’s Analysis: The crowd went mild as they don’t yet have a big reason to get into either competitor. Nice that they got a little TV time, though neither has reached a higher level yet)
-Kelly Kincaid talked with Ava, and they talked about the No Mercy Gauntlet Eliminator next week. She also said she just finalized a triple threat #1 contender’s match between Wes Lee, Joe Hendry and Pete Dunne. Roxanne Perez stepped in and said she heard about the Gauntlet Eliminator and said it was similar to how she got her chance. She said it was an opportunity for someone to finally get on her level, and she was excited to watch. I love that she can say things that are almost babyface on the surface and come off as such a snot.
-Shawn Michaels promoted the launch on CW on October 1st and 8th, and said it would be a “whole different animal.”
-The competitors in the main event walked to the ring ahead of the final segment. [c]
-Ashante Adonis macked on some PC girls, who rebuffed his advances. He moved across the room and two other women, who were showing some attention to a young man reading a book, also left when Adonis showed up. Adonis said game recognize game, and he asked what the guy’s secret is. He said he was just being himself. Adonis asked what he was reading, and he said “It Ends with Us.” Adonis said next week, it’ll end with them in the ring.
(6) AXIOM & NATHAN FRAZER (c) vs. ANDRE CHASE & RIDGE HOLLAND (w/Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne & Thea Hail) – NXT Tag Team Championship
The bell rang at just five minutes to the hour. Chase and Axiom opened the match. They ran the ropes and Chase hit a knee for a quick cover. Axiom hit a dropkick and made the tag to Frazer, who ran the ropes and rolled up Chase for two. Enzuigiri by Frazer and Chase fell into a tag to Ridge, who lifted Frazer, who put the knees to Ridge’s head to make the tag. It went bonzo gonzo early and both champs hit tope suicidas repeatedly and the match went to early split-screen. [c]
[OVERRUN]
Ridge Holland had Axiom dominated. He hit Axiom with a DDT. Axiom hit Holland with a splash in the corner and Frazer made the tag, hitting a 450 splash for two. The champs got in some shots on Ridge but he laid out Frazer with a lariat, then made the tag to Chase, who hit a tag move with Ridge for two.The illegal men finally cleared out as Chase and Axiom went up in a corner. Frazer tagged but Holland tried to get involved. Axiom almost kicked Frazer accidentally, but Frazer used Axiom’s boot and shoved it into Chase. There was a quick series of spots literally too fast for me to type and everyone was left laying to an “NXT” chant.
Again, there were quick tags and Chase hit Frazer with a backstabber, assisted by Holland. It got a long two. The channel lamely attempted to mute the “holy shit” chant. The censor desperately needs some purpose in life. Axiom and Frazer set up Holland for a tag move but Chase shoved Frazer off and to the announce table. Holland, left alone with Axiom, hit his finisher.
WINNERS: Andre Chase & Ridge Holland at 10:06.
Chase U, including all the not-ready-for-prime-time PC players in Chase U shirts, partied in the ring as red and white confetti streamed in. Vic laid it on thick, saying you could’t help but be happy for Chase U, who spent a year fighting their way back to the top after some hard times.
(Wells’s Analysis: Like so many NXT Tag Team Championship matches from the last year, this was a workrate special with little respect for what makes tag team wrestling work in the first place. There were a ton of good spots, but little in the way of psychology as they sped from spot to spot. I’m not sure if the stuff Vic said at the end rings true, as there’s a portion of the CWC who never found their way back to Chase U after the weird gambling storyline. At any rate, they’re the champs again and one has to wonder if Axiom and Frazer will be split up, or if they’ll fairly quickly disappear off TV as they might be deemed main roster-ready)
FINAL THOUGHTS: A coworker has COVID and I’m starting to feel like I do too, so hopefully I wasn’t too negative here as a result. I still can’t stand that we can rarely have a tag match on this brand that slows things down and picks up for big moments, rather than an endless stream of spotfests where everyone is desperate to get their stuff in, but it appears that’s the way the brand wants it. Wes Lee’s first heel mic outing was pretty strong. I’m not sure I love the idea of turning someone heel who had the crowd in the palm of his hand, but thus far, he’s making the most of the opportunity as he has genuine reasons for his turn and it seems like a strong villain origin story. This was a show with a lot of just-okay ring work but one that also seemed like it was laying firm groundwork for No Mercy. I’ll decide whether I liked it alongside Nate Lindberg on PWT Talks NXT.
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