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NXT TV REPORT
JULY 24, 2019
TAPED IN ORLANDO, FL. AT FULL SAIL UNIVERSITY
STREAMED ON WWE NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
Announcers: Mauro Ranallo, Nigel McGuinness and Beth Phoenix
-Opening credits.
-Tyler Breeze’s music played as Mauro ran down how close Tyler came to winning the NXT North American championship. Ryker was out second.
(1) TYLER BREEZE vs. JAXSON RYKER
Ryker’s goons were with him, of course. Blake and Cutler got in Tyler’s face while Ryker did the usual pose.
Tyler moved in slowly. Collar-and-elbow and Ryker shoved Breeze to the corner. Repeat, and Ryker tossed Breeze across to the opposite corner. Breeze went behind for a headlock but Ryker tossed him off and kicked Breeze, who fought back with rights. Mudhole in the corner, but Ryker caught Breeze for a uranage. Forearm chops to the downed Breeze. Kicks and strikes in the corner. Running knee. Pendulum backbreaker in the middle of the ring for a short two. Chinlock, but Breeze fought to his feet and elbowed Ryker in the stomach but got hit with another backbreaker. Ryker kicked Breeze’s head and implored him to fight back. High knee and dropkick out of nowhere by Breeze and he reversed a powerbomb into a rollup for a surprise three.
WINNER: Breeze at 3:21.
-The Forgotten Sons triple-teamed Breeze right after the match to boos. “Stay forgotten” chant. Fandango made a genuinely surprising return and he fought off Blake and Cutler and tossed them from the ring. Breezango hit stereo superkicks on Ryker to toss him from the ring. Big hug for Breezango to a great reaction. Fandango’s music played. He’s in great shape.
(Kelly’s Analysis: This breathes life both into Breeze, who had been used to enhance thus far, and the tag division. Great to see Fandango back and it will be interesting to see how much more serious the Breezango act looks on NXT)
-Rundown of Shirai-Catanzaro with the Candace LeRae run-in last week. Outside at present, LeRae paced.
-Snippet of NXT TakeOver’s official theme, a song from Slipknot that sounds like all the others.
(2) BRONSON REED vs. CAMERON GRIMES – Breakout Tournament Semifinal Match
Reed was introduced first to a good reaction. More tepid crowd reaction for Grimes, who will be the heel here.
Tie-up heads to the turnbuckle where Reed overpowers Grimes but Grimes shoves him off. Reed hits a waistlock and slams Grimes. Headlock from Grimes but Reed escapes, shoulderblocks Grimes and hits a headlock. Grimes stomps Reed’s feet to escape and hits his own headlock. Reed lifts Grimes but he flips over Reed’s back to escape, but Reed took him down with a back elbow. Reed slapped Grimes in the corner and beat him down to the outside. Grimes bailed and Reed followed, and got hit with the basement dropkick as he chased Grimes into the ring. Grimes hit a dropkick and lariat for two. Armlock but Reed fights up and fights off a dropkick. Armbar by Grimes and strikes won’t take Reed down. Powerslam by Reed. Bionic elbows. Splash in the corner by Reed followed by a Samoan Drop. Senton. Two count but Grimes gets a foot on the rope. Grimes uses the ropes to avoid Reed and yanks Reed into the ropes, and the two trade blows in the center of the ring. Both guys go off the ropes and Grimes hits a high knee for the win, a bit out of nowhere.
WINNER: Grimes at 5:55.
(Kelly’s Analysis: That was a lot shorter than I expected. The final wasn’t worked on the taping, so until I hear differently I’m going to assume it goes on the post-TakeOver episode of NXT. Grimes-Myles is a few steps away from what I guessed at the beginning, but I think this is a straightforward finish and Grimes takes down Myles to win the tournament)
-Hype for Cole-Gargano.
-An interviewer asked Matt Riddle what he made of Killian Dain’s attack. Riddle said Dain needs to meet him in the ring. They’ll meet next week.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Not at TakeOver? Wow)
-Shayna Baszler strode to the ring angrily (more so than usual). “Mia Yim – you went over there and delivered a message. Well, I got it.” Shayna took Yim to task for attacking Shafir and Duke from behind. This isn’t a street or a back alley – it’s the biggest stage of Yim’s career. Shayna says she’s going to put Yim to sleep, because street rats don’t survive very long in her world.
Yim interrupted and stepped out to the ramp. She asked if Shayna was scared. She asked what happened to Jessamyn and Marina. She says game recognizes game and Shayna’s looking real unfamiliar right now. She says she has nothing to lose and everything to gain, so “this street rat” will bring something Shayna can’t prepare for. Shayna says that under the lights, everyone will see that Yim is nothing but street trash. She held up her championship belt as Yim jawed at her.
-Candace LeRae met William Regal outside. LeRae demanded a match at TakeOver with Io Shirai, and Regal said he doesn’t blame her, and he gave her the match. That’ll be two women’s matches on TakeOver for the first time in a long while.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Given the near-total lack of in-ring TV time for the women these past few weeks, it’ll be novel to see them in two TakeOver matches. Both have become hot feuds and have earned their places on the card)
-Nigel mentioned the Street Profits – Undisputed Era match coming up at TakeOver: Toronto. There will be a contract signing next week. That could actually be entertaining given the personnel.
-Roderick Strong was introduced first for the main event with (probably) a good bit of time left on the broadcast. Pete Dunne followed.
(3) PETE DUNNE vs. RODERICK STRONG
Grappling in the center to open. Neither could get the upper hand. Roddy grabbed a headlock but Dunne worked out of it by manipulating Strong’s fingers. Strong fought to the ropes to break the hold. High kick to Dunne and Strong beat Dunne down with punches. Chops were traded in the corner. Strong takes down Dunne and stomped him down. Reset and they both ran the ropes until Dunne clotheslined Strong. Dunne put down the arm of Strong and leaped down on it. Dunne went for it again and instead hit a PK on Strong’s arm. Dunne went up to the corner for a moonsault but Strong chased and took him down with a backbreaker. Strong kicked Dunne in the head and broke Dunne’s back over his knee for two. Dunne fought to the ropes and Strong yanked Dunne’s hair over the ropes. Strong continued beating down Dunne as Mauro stressed that TakeOver would be a different story with a third competitor.
Dunne got to his feet and tried to chop down Strong with kicks but Strong hit a dropkick for two. Chops in the corner by Strong again and Dunne tried to get back in it but ended up downed in the corner again. Both guys went up to the turnbuckle and Dunne blocked a superplex and threw Strong down, then hit a missile dropkick. Both guys recovered at the eight minute mark. Step-up enzuigiri and a PK by Dunne for two. Stiff kicks by Dunne and a powerbomb for two. Strong bailed. Dunne went up but Strong yanked Dunne to the apron to stymie Dunne completely. Back in for two and Strong gets frustrated. Strong hits a kneelift and strikes to Dunne and a high knee in the corner. Backbreaker for a long two. Strong took his time to follow up and he hit a couple of forearm smashes but Dunne hit an enzuigiri. Olympic Slam by Strong but Dunne quickly responded with a DDT.
Both guys fought to their feet in the center of the ring. Chops and strikes by Strong. Dunne fought back in kind. Stomps to the downed Strong’s chest. Dunne went up but Strong went up after him. Dunne booted him in the face until he went down but Strong chopped down Dunne with a kick to the leg. Strong followed Dunne up the turnbuckle and went for a superplex but Dunne hit a sunset flip powerbomb but Strong’s back landed on Dunne’s knees. Eeg. Tiger Driver by Strong for two. Strong went for the Stronghold but Dunne kicked Strong in the face to stay alive. Dunne reversed and tore Strong’s fingers apart for an immediate submission.
WINNER: Dunne at 15:48.
-After the match, Velveteen Dream snuck into the ring behind Dunne and acted like he was going to hit Dunne with the belt. Strong said it was his title. “Triple threat” chant by the crowd, who didn’t know yet that the match was booked on TV by this time. Dream put up a finger in the air to taunt Dunne, but he split the fingers and hit the Bitter End. Dunne stood tall as the show came to a close. Mauro pimped TakeOver: Toronto as the show faded out.
(Kelly’s Analysis: Using history as a guide, Dunne standing tall at the end here suggests he has no chance in the triple threat. Excellent TV main event that eschewed highspots for a nice, stiff affair to whet our collective appetites for TakeOver. This episode did a great job of drumming up excitement for that show.)
FINAL THOUGHTS: What can remain as a go-home show after that? Good action leading to a gripping story about Undisputed Era and their quest for all the titles at TakeOver. Follow me on Instagram @spookymilk to keep up with my imminent board game release – Fundead: The Gravest Show on Earth.
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