SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
OCTOBER 1, 2024
ROSEMONT, ILL. AT ALLSTATE ARENA
LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS (@spookymilk), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber
Check out the latest episode of “PWT Talks NXT” with Kelly Wells and Nate Lindberg discussing this episode, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “pwtorch” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)
-Vic welcomed us all to NXT over shots of Chicago. The show had a new hip-hop theme song.
-“Sexy Boy” played to bring out Shawn Michaels to a big pop. He slapped hands on his way to the ring and soaked it in as the crowd sang along to Sherri’s part in the song.
HBK said we couldn’t have a new show on a new network in a new city without new titles. He introduced belts that were black and silver with a white strap, which look to be the colors of the new logo. He asked Chicago, “Are you ready?” and there was a huge pop for Triple H.
(1) GIULIA vs. ROXANNE PEREZ (c) – NXT Women’s Championship match
Giulia kept up the streak of huge pops from the much larger crowd than usual. It really did feel like a PLE. Mike Rome handled formal introductions.
The two exchanged wristlocks early. Giulia escaped one with a kip-up. Giulia blocked Roxy to the mat and rolled her up for two, and the two of them shifted weight for a series of two-counts. The crowd cheered as they reset. Perez shoved Giulia a few times and Giulia came at her with a headbutt. Each woman missed a few strikes and they reversed a few times on the mat. Perez snapped on a crossface but Giulia rolled her up for two. The two of them pushed their heads together and got serious as the show went to its first commercial. It wasn’t in split-screen, so they may not have negotiated to get that on CW. [c]
The two exchanged blows and Giulia fought from underneath. It got chippy and Giulia fired up and went in with a long series of headbutts. Giulia hit a couple of hair mares and then hit a sort of hammerlock into a Northern Lights suplex for two. The two exchanged rights and Giulia got the better of it. Perez kicked from underneath, put Giulia outside with a rana, and then hit a tope suicida. Roxy rolled Giulia back in and the two went up in the corner. Giulia hit a double-underhook superplex, and held on and bridged for two. Giulia tried a submission but Roxy rolled her up for two. Perez rolled into another crossface and Giulia broke free and reversed into an STF. Perez teased a tap and then dragged herself to a rope to break.
Giulia hit a side suplex. There was a dueling chant that Vic called 50-50, but it was probably 65 or 70% Giulia. Giulia hit a flash knee for two. Perez hit an inside cradle for two. Perez hit Pop Rox, but Giulia rolled quickly to the outside to avoid a cover. Roxanne went to the ropes and Giulia hit a Northern Lights Bomb on the floor. Referee Darryl Sharma reached 9 before both women got to the ring; it was conceivable that we would have a double countout here. Perez dumped Giulia and a hooded figure hit a DDT on Giulia on the outside, then rolled her inside. Perez hit Pop Rox again to finish.
WINNER: Roxanne Perez at 12:58.
The hood came down, and it was Cora Jade who was standing on the ramp preening as Giulia licked her wounds and Perez continued her reign atop the NXT Women’s division.
(Wells’s Analysis: This really was a toss-up, and it was a toss-up as to whether Cora Jade would show up here or not. Giulia still seems like the most likely next champion, but it won’t be tonight. She’ll have to turn back the challenge of Cora Jade and perhaps that of Stephanie Vaquer before she gets there. Vaquer herself might be next in line for Perez, and we could find out as soon as later tonight)
-Earlier today, Trick Williams and Ethan Page arrived (separately). Vic promoted the Lee-Wentz Street Fight up next. All graphics had been updated in addition to the logo tweak. [c]
-Axiom and Nathan Frazer were playing WWE 2k25 (as themselves, against A-Town Down Under). They bickered while playing and Frazer lost focus and they lost the championships on the game. Frazer said he saw Axiom’s point and asked for another game.
-CM Punk was talking to Ava, and Lexis King stormed into the room. He had the Chicago Star shaved into the side of his head, which got an eye roll from Punk. King said he was trying to change. Punk said he saw how Oro pulled a fast one on him last week (they couldn’t show any of this, because it’s not in the CW library) and Punk said now King has two wolves inside of him, and he has to decide which one to listen to.
-We got a video recap of the Lee-Wentz feud, so never mind! They negotiated the rights at least for these recaps. They showed the cringeworthy, stagey f-bomb fest to cap off the video.
-Lee was introduced ahead of the match. He rolled a shopping cart full of plunder slowly to the ring. [c]
-Vic thanked 2 Chainz & Lil Wayne for the new theme song, “Millions from Now.”
-Lola Vice and Jaida Parker continued to argue as they tried to get on the same page against Fatal Influence. Kelani Jordan, after the two left, said “Thank goodness I’ve got a backup plan.”
(2) ZACHARY WENTZ vs. WES LEE – Street Fight
The two brawled on the floor to open. There was a “TNA” chant. Wentz tossed Lee into one of the shopping carts, and a trash can full of kendo sticks fell out of it. Lee was propped up against the steps, and Wentz rolled the cart hard into him. The audience chanted “We want tables.” Wentz smirked at the front row and pulled out a big…plank of wobbly wood? And he held it in front of him long enough for Lee to hit a tope suicida into it, and summarily into Wentz. Lee tossed a bunch of chairs into the ring and also took a kendo stick with him.
Lee swung a few times and hit Wentz. Vic said he was “swinging better than the White Sox.” Talk about kicking when one is down. Wentz hit a chairshot to Lee’s back, then put him in a chokehold and dragged him to the apron. To break, Lee tossed the two of them from the apron through the big plank of wood, which was draped over chairs. The show went to commercial, but not before CW started muting a “holy shit” reaction from the fans. Ugh. [c]
Upon return, Wentz flew from one corner to another and smashed into the trash can, into Lee. There was a “holy shit” chant and CW just muted the entirety of it so we got literally no commentary or sound. Please can we stop pretending we still care about that word? Lee dropkicked Wentz into a chair, and then Wentz suplexed Lee into another chair. Wentz went out and grabbed a can and tossed it inside the ring. He swung a few times with the kendo stick, then put the trash can on Lee and swung some more. He hit a double stomp on the can but really pulled his punch so it looked kind of silly. Wentz went up and hit a flying elbow on the can, which thankfully didn’t look silly at all. He got a two count. There was an “NXT” chant.
Wentz tried a springboard move, but Lee shoved him over a table. He was meant to break through it but he bounced off the edge of it, as he flew too far. Back inside, Lee stomped Wentz on a chair and covered for two. Lee wrapped up his fist in a chain and swung. Wentz grabbed part of it at the same time and they swung together, then both sold afterward. Wentz picked up a chair and said he didn’t want to do this. Lee kicked up with a low blow, then sat Wentz in a chair and threw fists with the chair. Lee did a weird spot where he wrapped the chain around his knees and then hit double knees down at Wentz through a chair. He covered for the three.
WINNER: Wes Lee at 13:32.
(Wells’s Analysis: The two continue to match up well. Lee didn’t think to make up a different spot to give the crowd the table explosion they wanted, but oh well. The two worked befitting of a blood feud and Lee predictably got his win back, which likely ends the MSK Explodes saga although Wentz and Trey Miguel could still get their tag team championship match, depending on the severity of Miguel’s injury)
-The Miz walked backstage ahead of the next segment, MizTV. [c]
[HOUR TWO]
-Vic showed five CW executives cheering in the front row, trying to act like they watch wrestling (hey, maybe some of them actually do).
-The Miz got a huge cascade of boos. Hey, he’s still a babyface, though seemingly not for long. He said it was time to focus on the men who will be in the North American Championship match in St. Louis next week. He first introduced the champion Oba Femi, who got a nice reaction, still mixed, as he’s booked as a heel but is too cool to be received as one. Femi shook hands with Miz and sat down. Miz introduced Tony D’Angelo, who was flanked by the rest of The Family, who stayed at the top of the ramp as he went to the ring.
Tony D spoke first and he put over the monster that is Oba Femi. The crowd went into the “what” crap. Good lord. He said next week he’d overcome all of it and become new NXT North American Champion. They cheered big for this, so why were they giving him the “what” treatment?
Femi said that Tony didn’t believe a single word he was saying. Femi said D had a very successful run in NXT, but he could never be North American Champion, “because this is MY title!” Tony D started to rebut and immediately was greeted with “what” until he mentioned he grew up in the streets of Chicago, for which they finally cheered. He said he had family all over the city. Femi said none of them could fight for him. He said none of them can fight for him, and they both remember what happened last time they fought. Femi said they both know the answer to the question: Tony can’t beat him.
Tony D got in Oba’s face and said he was just a man. Femi said “I am inevitable.” He then snapped his fingers and half of the people in the arena died (okay, maybe not, but he could). Miz ended the segment by promoting the match and said from the looks of it, it would be AWWWWESOOOOOOME. Not a bad segment by any means, but it kind of didn’t move anything forward. I guess it was an excuse to promote Miz.
-An unseen interviewer caught up with Cora Jade, who put herself over. Roxanne walked up and asked what that was about. Jade said it wasn’t about her, but all the same, she likes the woman she’s become. Perez said “Who knows? Maybe a common enemy can bring us together again.”
-Jaida Parker and Lola Vice were introduced ahead of their tag match. [c]
(3) JAIDA PARKER & LOLA VICE vs. FATAL INFLUENCE (Fallon Henley & Jacy Jayne) (w/Jazmyn Nyx)
The two relative veterans are the ones wrestling. Kelani Jordan was sitting in on commentary. Vic asked if she was ducking Fatal Influence as they say, and she said she was here to prove she wasn’t. She said she was ready for any of them.
Parker and Jayne started the match. Parker dominated early but Vice tagged herself in to sell the lack of continuity in the babyface team. Jayne yanked the hair and slammed Vice, then tagged Henley. Vice got in some midsection shots. Parker tagged herself in and she whipped Henley in a corner. She also chopped Jayne, set her up on the draped Henley, and hit a hip attack on the pile. She tagged Vice, who did her own hip attack. The faces slapped hands, so I guess it’s all good for now.
The faces made a couple of quick tags and got in a series of shots on Henley in their own corner. Henley fought out of the corner with palm strikes and rights. Parker cut off the tag as Henley was essentially playing heel in peril. Vice came into the ring to superkick a charging Jayne, and Parker was booked to be dumb and assume Vice was trying to kick her. Ugh. The heels controlled as the match went to commercial. [c]
Jayne had Vice in a bodyscissors. Vic showed a moment during the break wher Jazmyn Nyx got involved long enough for the heels to take total control. We also got a very important shot of Trick Williams working out ahead of his match. Yes, definitely worth minimizing the current match so we knew he was preparing for the main event. Henley continued her onslaught on Vice with strikes until Vice fired up and blocked a series of them. The two nailed each other with clotheslines and went for tags. Nyx distracted Parker, and Henley charged Vice into Parker, knocking her down. “That’s twice,” Parker said, and she left the match. This silliness is beneath them at this point. The heels hit stereo knees on Vice to finish her off, without her ever having had a chance to tag anyway, rendering Parker leaving pointless.
WINNERS: Fatal Influence at 10:55.
(Wells’s Analysis: It simply doesn’t make sense for Parker to believe Vice did either of those things intentionally, so that was contrived and stupid. The match itself was strong, though I now have to get used to NXT no longer having split-screen during long matches, so I don’t get that heat segment.)
-Fatal Influence jawed at Kelani Jordan, who said she didn’t exactly come to Chicago alone. Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill went out to Belair’s theme to a big pop. They immediately put down Fatal Influence and posed in the ring to cheers. [c]
-There was a promoted segment where Je’Von Evans put over his opponent next week, Randy Orton. Vic also promoted the tag team championship and NXT North American Championship matches next week, plus a 6-woman match with Fatal Influence facing Kelani Jordan, Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill.
-Ethan Page introduced himself backstage, ahead of his entrace, and we got a hype video of his run so far, followed by hype for Trick Williams.
-CM Punk, the special referee, was introduced to a big reaction. [c]
-The next women’s star coming to NXT was teased in a segment where she walked down a highway to a junction that led to NXT.
(4) TRICK WILLIAMS vs. ETHAN PAGE (c) – NXT Championship match with CM Punk as special referee
Mike Rome handled formal intros. Page got in Punk’s face early about perceived slow counts, just to remind us Punk was there. Page tried to cover Williams with his feet on the ropes and Punk wasn’t having it. Williams got in some quick shots and a cross-body and covered for two. It was ten to the hour just two minutes in, so either there’s an overrun or we aren’t going very long with this match. Page got dumped and Williams went out and attacked him, but Page blew him through a barricade. The match went to commercial. [c]
Page had Williams dominated with boots. Williams got in a kick but Page hit him with a knee to the midsection. Page missed in the corner and Williams hit a leaping neckbreaker. The two exchanged rights in the middle of the ring and Williams got the better of it, then hit a couple of axe kicks and a flapjack. Williams pulled out his hair tie, which is rare, and went at Page on the outside. Page chucked Williams into the stairs, then powerbombed him through the table. Time to mute the audience entirely again! Page reentered the ring and Williams slowly fought his way to his feet as Punk elected not to count, but to check on Williams.
Back inside, Williams instinctively hit a Trick Shot then crumbled, and Page fell onto him to tease the same ending as their last meeting. Both guys sold, and Punk pulled them to their feet. The two exchanged shots and missed some big shots, and Trick hit a running neckbreaker. Trick hit a uranage and covered for two. Page hit a big move for two and got flustered. He went for Ego’s Edge, and Williams used Punk’s body to pull himself to safety. Trick hit the Trick Shot to win the championship back.
WINNER: Trick Williams at 12:31.
After the result was rendered, Punk hit the GTS on Page. Uh, why? He already screwed him over, albeit unintentionally. Streamers fell from the rafters, but there was no time for us to see the celebration as they clearly had to rush through the ending and get off the air, one minute after the hour.
(Wells’s Analysis: It didn’t have a lot of time – it was only the third longest of the four matches on the show – likely because something or other went long. As a result, the big Trick win seemed more rushed than epic. The match was perfectly acceptable but a bit flat for the main event slot, and of course a full third of it happened during a surprisingly late commercial break. There will be some growing pains as they adjust to having no split-screen and no overrun)
FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s hard to say how NXT will change, as this fully felt like a PLE, with each match getting the bulk of a 30-minute block counting entrances and ending shenanigans. Giulia’s non-win feels like the only thing close to a real surprise here, though there was always a big opening for her to lose and have something to overcome. I don’t have any huge comments on production style in our new era, again as they aren’t settled back into the CWC yet. The show felt very large and I think they have to be happy with what they got out of it, and those new belts look really sharp. We’ll have another big one next week in St. Louis before we get back home to Orlando. Nate and I will talk it out on PWT Talks NXT now. Check us out live or stream tomorrow. Cheers.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.