3/7 NXT REPORT: Wells’s live report on Roadblock featuring Roxanne Perez vs. Meiko Satamura, Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne, Shawn Michaels on the Grayson Waller Effect, more

NXT TV REPORT
MARCH 7, 2023
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON USA NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor

Backstage Correspondent(s): McKenzie Mitchell

Tonight after the show, join me, Nate Lindberg & Bruce Hazelwood 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

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[HOUR ONE]

-Tiffany Stratton walked into frame for Tiffany’s Epiphanies: Roadblock Edition. She ran through tonight’s matches starting with Dijak vs. Tony D’Angelo, then Gigi Dolin vs. Jacy Jayne, Grayson Waller hosting Shawn Michaels, the six-man, and finally “our main event,” Roxanne Perez vs. Meiko Satamura. I thought Dolin vs. Jayne might have a shot at being the main event, so I’ll be expecting multiple more chapters in their feud. Tiffany is great when doing character work, but this wasn’t as much in her wheelhouse.

(1) DIJAK vs. TONY D’ANGELO (w/Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) – Jailhouse Street Fight

It’s essentially a casket match with a cage instead of a casket. D’Angelo entered to an increasingly apathetic reaction as he’s not won any major matches or feuds in a long time. Decent reaction for Dijak, who’s playing babyface (I think?) for this feud but has otherwise been a heel in this run. A brief shot of Dijak’s broken finger from Vengeance Day was shown.

Dijak knocked Stacks from the ring. Dijak had a nightstick, but D attacked and dumped Dijak and hit a belly-to-belly on the floor. The nightstick got kicked away as Vic mentioned Cobb County, Georgia. D shoved Dijak into the cage but couldn’t shut it. They changed places for the same result. D’Angelo shoved Dijak and a chair into the ring. Dijak hit a chokeslam on D’Angelo on the chair just two minutes in. Dijak filled the ring with chairs as the crowd chanted “We want tables.” Chairs are more effective, guys! Dijak buried D’Angelo in chairs and went up for a moonsault, but D’Angelo popped up, hit Dijak with a chair and superplexed him onto the stack of chairs. The match went to split-screen. [c]

Back to fullscreen, a table was set up on the ramp side. D’Angelo was set atop it and it was cracking under the weight, so Dijak very quickly went up to the apron and elbowed D’Angelo through the table. The network was back to muting the “holy shit” chant, which is never exact and always sounds stupid. Dijak tried to put D’Angelo in the cage, and D fought it off and hit Dijak with a uranage to get a breather. Stacks held the door for D’Angelo, and when D’Angelo shoved Dijak through the door, Dijak yanked Stacks in with him and held Stacks in a headlock. He told D’Angelo to close the door, testing to see if he’d sacrifice Stacks. D’Angelo seemed conflicted, but couldn’t do it. D’Angelo got some shots in and a “Tony” chant rang out. Dijak hit a low blow. Maybe he’s the heel against the mafia guys after all. Dijak shoved D’Angelo into the cage and as he was closing the door, Stacks flew through and got slammed into the door to sacrifice himself. Dijak dealt with Stacks, and D’Angelo grabbed the nightstick, destroyed Dijak with it, and put him in the cage and closed it for the win.

WINNER: Tony D’Angelo at 11:09.

(Wells’s Analysis: If they want to get anything out of Dijak, this is a pretty bad loss. It sometimes seems like internally they think they’re pushing D’Angelo, but he’s lost almost every important match he’s had in a while. A blandly inoffensive opener)

-McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Roxanne Perez, who continues to show better babyface chops every week. She still sounds a bit rehearsed, but she’s infusing her lines with some emotion, which wasn’t true when she showed up.

-Gallus prepared. Elsewhere, Pretty Deadly stepped into the building with flair. [c]

-Josh Briggs showed up at Kiana James’s office. It finally looked way less terrible. They sent off Kiana’s assistant Gia and started talking about Brooks Jensen. James had gotten some flowers and she seemed to hide the card saying who they were from as Briggs commented that Jensen had gotten her flowers. Briggs said Jensen was terrified of making a mistake right now. James said a makeup date was in order.

-Gallus did some brief mic work as a few fans yelled “What?” It wasn’t a taunt so much as a genuine question, as Wolfgang’s Scottish brogue is so thick. Pretty Deadly showed up on the perch and started irritating the champs. Wolfgang told them to shut up and asked what they had to do to get them in the ring. Elton Prince said they know what they want – those precious tag team championships that were stolen from them. Mark Coffey said they didn’t come back for Pretty Deadly – they came back to fight everyone. In the ring, in the back, in the pool hall. Coffey set the championships down in the ring and told them to come and take them. PD took the bait and Gallus casually beat them about the ring until they bailed. It was a good enough segment to build Gallus, which is still likely necessary, but Pretty Deadly don’t come off as serious threats.

-Lyra Valkyria wants the NXT Women’s Championship, and she cut a promo on both women in the main event tonight and called her spot against the winner.

-The babyfaces from the six-man were introduced ahead of the next match. [c]

-Ilja Dragunov said the eyes are the windows to the soul, but JD McDonagh has no soul. He said McDonagh gets happiness from breaking bones, but he would never break Dragunov’s will.

-Dragon Lee was sitting in the front row. For those who haven’t seen his work, get excited.

(2) BRON BREAKKER & THE CREED BROTHERS (Julius & Brutus) (w/Ivy Nile) vs. INDUS SHER (Jinder Mahal & Veer & Sanga)

Pier six brawl before the bell. All three members of Indus Sher ended up getting the better of the Creed Brothers on the outside. Breakker and Veer started the match. Veer got a chant and Breakker took him down with a lariat to boos. Julius and Brutus each tagged in and Julius gut-wrenched Brutus onto Veer. Veer was able to make the tag to Mahal. Brutus hit Mahal with a deadlift suplex. Sanga and Breakker tagged in and Vic said Mahal wanted nothing to do with Breakker. Sanga shoved Breakker into a corner and hit some back elbows. He put Breakker up on the top buckle, but Breakker came off it with a shoulderblock. Indus Sher all got dumped and the faces hit tandem planchas on all of them. The faces stood up on the barricade, pulled down their singlets and posed as the match went to split-screen. [c]

Sanga hit Julius with a big arm drag. Mahal tagged in and missed a knee. Carmelo Hayes had joined commentary. Mahal elbowed Julius and leaned on him with a cobra clutch. Julius powered his way up but Mahal raked his eye. Julius couldn’t tag but he rolled through a suplex. Veer tagged in but so did Brutus, who slammed and battered Veer. Brutus dealt with Sanga outside, allowing Veer to club him to the mat. Sanga tagged back in and he shoved Brutus into Breakker, who fell off the apron. Brutus was able to evade an attack and hit a cannonball. He tagged Julius, who flew in with a 450 splash and covered for two as Veer broke it up. Veer tagged in and he and Sanga double-teamed Julius, but Breakker broke that one up. Veer hit Julius with a hard lariat for a long two. All six guys faced off in the ring as if it hadn’t already mostly been a schmoz. Breakker hit a spear on Sanga to some more boos. Julius took out Veer and tagged Brutus, who hit the Brutus Ball for the win.

WINNERS: Bron Breakker & The Creed Brothers at 11:13.

(Wells’s Analysis: Hayes said nearly nothing during his time on commentary, so why have him there? Nothing was actively bad here, but there was little flow to the match as everyone got involved multiple times and it came off as an unofficial tornado match. I know they’re also trying something by having plants boo Bron Breakker, but if they’re not planning to turn him, whatever storyline they’re planning is a weird approach as Breakker doesn’t get the best reactions as it is. If they want to test the waters with Breakker as a heel, then it might be a great idea)

-Matt Bloom warned Shawn Michaels ahead of the Grayson Waller Effect. Shawn said he’s got this. [c]

-Sponsored by Progressive, here’s the rundown of Jacy Jayne turning on Gigi Dolin and ending Toxic Attraction.

-Meiko Satamura prepared for the main event.

-The Grayson Waller Effect. He said it was the most important edition ever and he didn’t have time for your questions. He introduced Shawn Michaels, whose music played for the first time on NXT in some time. The crowd sang along to Sensational Sherri’s strains of “Sexy Boy” and “Boy Toy,” then sang the song after Waller tried to start the interview.

[HOUR TWO]

Waller said eight-year-old Waller would’ve been excited just like these guys, but now he’s disappointed. He said he should go back in time and tell himself to be a Bret guy. Shawn asked if the gloves were off already. Waller said he was the best on the mic, the best in the ring, and his social media skills were unmatched. He said HBK was treating him the same way Vince treated HBK. He congratulated Michaels on proving Vince wrong but said now he’s Vince. He said Michaels was holding him back. Michaels said he let go of the reins on him long ago. He said he wasn’t the guy because he lost at Vengeance Day. He took his shot and he missed. He said the guy Waller has to look at is the guy in the mirror. Waller said the only reason Michaels is standing in that position in Gorilla is because his best mate Hunter had a heart attack. HBK said he stepped in because his best friend needed him. He said Hunter was in charge, but HBK is the one directing the ship now. Waller said the ship was going straight into an iceberg. He said he wouldn’t be surprised to see his name on a cut list because the brass doesn’t see greatness standing right in front of them. HBK said this brand was made on the shoulders of people like Finn Balor, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, and then ran through a bunch of others (who are still in the company as well). He said Waller is part of it too. Waller mockingly yelled “I’m a part of it!” He asked when Michaels stopped being all about himself and became Mr. Team Player. He said he changed when he realized how special NXT is. Waller asked who was going to Raw or Smackdown. Who’s going? Bron, maybe? Melo, okay. Zoey? Who else? (Man, he stepped straight into reality there). As Waller kept ranting, HBK yelled ENOUGH and said he could come after Michaels, but don’t ever run this brand’s name into the ground. Waller said if it pisses Shawn off, do something about it. He said me and you: Stand and Deliver. Tune up the band one last time. Michaels took off his coat and said for over a decade, the greatest in the world have asked him for a WrestleMania dream match. Michaels says Waller thinks he’s something special, but he’s just the latest guy to try it. He said nothing would thrill him more than to whip his ass, but someone wants to do it even more than he does. Someone who bleeds NXT. He said Waller’s opponent at Stand and Deliver…is this man. He pointed to the ramp, where Johnny Gargano showed up. Gargano attacked and ran Waller off to a “Johnny Wrestling” chant.

(Wells’s Analysis: By far the segment of the night so far; no surprise that these two held their own on the mic against each other. It was probably a pipe dream to expect Shawn Michaels to get back into the ring, but it didn’t stop a lot of us from trying. I’m not sure if Gargano is a big enough name in general to pay off what they’ve been setting up to this point, but he’s one of the faces of NXT and he’s certainly going to get cheered hugely in the NXT environment, so I think they got away with it)

-Miz and Maryse did a scene from Top Gun: Maverick as WrestleMania prepares to go Hollywood. [c]

(3) GIGI DOLIN vs. JACY JAYNE

Dolin had already entered upon return to the show. Of all the matches to give the short shrift, the blood feud is the one? Jayne entered to a generally muted reaction. What has happened to this crowd? I know the last scene was a bit of a high point, but they used to stay hot all night.

Action spilled outside and back in within under a minute as the two brawled. Dolin held Jayne on the mat with an armbar and yelled at her. Jayne bailed and tried to go over the barricade but Dolin tracked her down and tossed her in the ring. Jayne bailed on the other side of the ring and baited in Dolin for a discus forearm. Jayne missed a chair shot and Dolin kicked her to the floor as the match…went to split-screen? We’ve been back from commercial for no more than three minutes, if that. [c]

Jayne had Dolin grounded with an armbar. She shoved Dolin to the mat, then applied a headlock. Jayne hit a couple of combo kicks and covered for two. She whipped Dolin to a corner and hit a backsplash and covered for two. Jayne threw some boots and Dolin rolled up Jayne with an inside cradle for two. Dolin blocked shots and threw rights and kicks. A roundhouse put Jayne on the mat. After an awkward series of reversals, Jayne took down Dolin. Dolin hit her finisher out of relative nowhere to win.

After the decision, Jayne showed more fire than she did in the match and beat Dolin down, then got a chair and set Dolin’s head up in it, then went high. The refs broke it up and Jayne went up the ramp to boos.

WINNER: Gigi Dolin at 8:00.

(Wells’s Analysis: It wasn’t worked much like a blood feud outside of some punches at the beginning. The two oddly have very little chemistry and there were a lot of slow moments, particularly with Jayne on offense. A shame, as the heel turn was so effective)

-Briggs, Jensen and Fallon Henley were by the lockers. It came out that Jensen didn’t send the flowers, which was a revelation to everyone but Jensen, who kind of just missed the meaning of that. After Jensen left, Henley said she knew something was up, and Briggs admitted she was right. Now the question is whether Briggs himself sent the roses as a secret admirer or if he’s a red herring.

-Bron Breakker called out Carmelo Hayes. If they were doing this scene all along, it doubly makes no sense that they had him out to sit in on commentary and make no comments. Hayes got a “Melo” chant as he went to the ring. Breakker said all this time, he kept tabs on Breakker. Hayes said he did the same. He said no matter their spots on the card, he always watched him. They put themselves over profusely as the chosen two when NXT rebranded 18 months ago. Hayes told Breakker he’d keep it short and sweet: put the championship on the line, and he’ll see him at Stand and Deliver. He warned that he’s never been second to nobody. Breakker said come April first, we’ll see.

(Wells’s Analysis: Nice to have the two in a segment, but there was really nothing here. Hopefully some issue will grow in the next few weeks)

-Tyler Bate and Thea Hail were doing yoga. He said Hail is a big strong girl and she’s got this. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson looked on. Hail thanked Bate and left with Chase. Hudson told Bate he couldn’t believe she bought the snake oil Bate was selling.

-Joe Gacy entered ahead of the next match. Even the entrances were split-screen tonight. [c]

(4) ANDRE CHASE (w/Thea Hail & Duke Hudson) vs. JOE GACY (w/Schism)

The match was already in progress with the bell ringing sometime during split-screen. Russian leg sweep by Chase. Uranage got two. Gacy tried to fight into it and Chase kept cutting him off with kicks, but Gacy finally managed a uranage. The two got to their knees and threw rights. They upped the intensity as they hit their feet. Gacy put Chase up on the top buckle and went for a superplex. Chase clubbed Gacy and flipped over and hit a powerslam for two. Thea Hail psyched herself up and charged at Ava Raine and said she wasn’t afraid. It was a big moment for Hail to overcome this fear, but Raine either no-sold it or couldn’t keep it together because she was smiling the whole time. In the ring, as an afterthought, Gacy hit his finisher.

WINNER: Joe Gacy in about 4 minutes.

(Wells’s Analysis: Perhaps the feud I keep forgetting about will end now, but I really don’t know what to do next – if anything – with Joe Gacy)

-Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre spoke on Fallon Henley and Kiana James, who didn’t even get along.

-Vic mentioned the Stand and Deliver main event, Bron Breakker vs. Carmelo Hayes, as well as Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller. Up next, our main event. [c]

-Thea Hail said she was sorry about Andre’s loss, but she faced her fears tonight. Chase said she was right. Hudson reminded them that they lost again, and that “we are an institution of losers.” He said we’re not a university, we’re a bloody joke.

-McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee, who put over Nathan Frazer’s performance in their match last week. Lee said she’s gotta love all the madness. He said next week, he’s doing it again. Axiom showed up and said you could see the fire in his eyes, but now he’s looking for a match next week. Lee said if he gets there before anyone else next week, he knows they’ll tear it up.

(5) ROXANNE PEREZ (c) vs. MEIKO SATAMURA – NXT Women’s Championship match

Perez kissed the belt before the introductions, handled by Alicia Taylor. Both got a good reaction, though Perez got a “Roxy” chant. Handshake. The bell rang at three minutes to the hour and immediately went to split-screen. [c]

[OVERRUN]

A dueling chant seemed more pro-Satamura, though both had a lot of fans. Satamura powered Perez down and got a couple of near-falls. Satamura managed a toss for another two count. Back kick by Satamura, followed by a tackle. Snap mare into a chinlock by Satamura. A corner graphic promoted Pretty Deadly challenging for the tag championship next week, as well as Dabba-Kato vs. Apollo Crews. Perez reversed the chinlock but Satamura escaped. Quick rana by Perez and Satamura bailed. Perez charged for a tope but Satamura cut it off with an uppercut. Back inside, Satamura hit a hard knee to the abdomen for two. Satamura whipped Perez, who evaded a shot and rolled up Satamura for two. Satamura grabbed and locked a leg over her knee. Perez reversed and floated over into a side headlock. Perez ran the ropes for a shoulderblock, then another, but Satamura didn’t budge. Stiff combo strikes by Satamura got the crowd going. Perez yelled out some fighting spirit but Satamura caught Perez with a kick. Perez caught the next kick and turned it into a dragon screw. Perez hit a couple of corner uppercuts. Satamura blocked a Russian leg sweep, then missed Scorpio Rising. Perez hit a running dropkick, sending Satamura outside. She went for a tope, which only just barely connected, but Satamura kept her safe.

Back inside, the two went up the corner. Perez slipped underneath and went for a Russian leg sweep from the top. Satamura blocked. Perez wanted a powerslam but Satamura blocked that also and kicked Perez to the mat. Satamura went up for a frog splash but Perez got her knees up. Perez rolled Satamura up for two. Perez threw some kicks to Satamura’s back. Perez finally hit a Russian leg sweep and covered for two. Satamura rolled Perez into a crucifix and got a long two. Satamura slammed Perez and hit an overhead kick. Gut-wrench suplex got two. More suplexes and running knees by Satamura for a long two. The match went past the usual end time of eight after the hour.

Action went to the apron, where Perez charged Satamura into the post. Satamura blocked Pop Rox and Satamura laid her out on the floor. Satamura rolled Perez into the ring and covered for two; Perez broke by putting her foot on the rope. Satamura went for a finishing kick but Perez caught and rolled her up and got the pin.

WINNER: Roxanne Perez at 13:58.

Referee Darryl Sharma grabbed the belt, but Satamura insisted on presenting it to Perez herself. After the moment, Perez kayfabe collapsed and Satamura tried to check on her, but referees and then a medial team got involved and checked on her. They rolled her onto a gurney and Satamura was shown getting emotional. The audience, perhaps not aware that every second of this was being shown, cheered and briefly chanted “Roxy” like it was a real medical issue. The camera followed the gurney out the building and into an ambulance. The show ended at 15 past the hour, I believe the longest the weekly show has ever run.

(Wells’s Analysis: I’m not a fan of worked serious medical issues, so hopefully it leads somewhere interesting, though I can’t imagine where that could be. On the upside, the episode was in dire need of a great match, and this was it. They worked a bit like a strong style match, which is familiar to Satamura but not Perez, and succeeded. A very strong night for Perez overall as she gave one of her best promos and had one of her best matches. I’m not sure what could be next for Satamura, who seems lost in the shuffle if she isn’t at the top)

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FINAL THOUGHTS: I wasn’t all that keen on Vengeance Day, but overall I think I liked that one more than this one, which seemed a bit shiftless and lacking direction, outside of the Waller-Michaels segment. I’m sure most of the bullets are being left in the chamber for Stand and Deliver, so I can give that a pass, but the storytelling seemed either nonexistent or slow at best otherwise. NXT has been wildly hit and miss lately, which has to some degree always been true, but it feels like the highs and lows have been particularly dizzying of late. Check out Nate Lindberg and Bruce Hazelwood live on PWT Talks NXT tonight or stream tomorrow.