SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT 2.0 “IN YOUR HOUSE” REPORT
JUNE 4, 2022
WINTER PARK, FLA. AT THE CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON PEACOCK
REPORT BY BRUCE LEE HAZELWOOD (@B_Lee253), PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett
Ring Announcer: Alicia Taylor
Backstage Correspondent(s): McKenzie Mitchell
Tonight after the show, a special roundtable will be recorded. Send in your questions and comments to the email below.
•EMAIL COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: pwtorchnxt@gmail.com
[HOUR ONE]
-The show began with a retro In Your House style promo, complete with music, hyping the matches for tonight. It began with Tony D’Angelo, Stacks, and Two Dimes vs. Legado del Fantasma and Bron Breakker defending the NXT Championship against Joe Gacy (the video was spliced into the druids and Gacy destroying some things on the yet-to-be-made set with Gacy setting a In Your House placard on fire) in what was dubbed as the main event.
-They cut to the arena as Vic Joseph welcomed viewers and Legado del Fantasma’s music hit. The crowd was very into LDF, continually chanting “Legado” during the music. They told the ref to look for something in the steel steps and the ref pulled out a crowbar. D’Angelo, Stacks, and Two Dimes had a custom entrance where a vignette aired first about pushing back, with some highlights from their ongoing feud. It was a well produced video to introduce the three. D’Angelo’s music played after and introduced them. It sounds like they’re trying to get “The Family” over as their name. D’Angelo had the ref check the other corners, but there was nothing.
(1) LEGADO DEL FANTASMA (Santos Escobar & Joaquin Wilde & Cruz del Toro w/Elektra Lopez) vs. “THE DON OF NXT” TONY D’ANGELO, CHANNING “STACKS” LORENZO, & TROY “TWO DIMES” DONOVAN – Six-man tag team match where the loser joins the winner’s faction
Wilde and Donovan began. Wilde hit a big popup dropkick, then both men made tags. del Toro and Lorenzo tagged in with del Escobar hitting a shoulder tackle and a quick elbow drop on the drop down by his opponent. He used his speed to hit a running ranna, then a big chop in the corner. Lorenzo hit a kick out of the corner, a second rope attack, and then missed an attack as both men retreated to their corners. D’Angelo and Escobar tagged in to big applause.
Escobar hit a big dropkick on D’Angelo, then all six men went at each other – this is where they would normally take a commercial on Tuesdays. D’Angelo attacked the left ankle, then tagged in Donovan, but Escobar rammed him into their corner and tagged in del Toro. Wilde tagged in after a running clothesline, then Escobar, then del Toro as they kept up the running attacks in the corner. del Toro hit an enziguri then a spinning vertical suplex for a two-count.
del Toro came off of the ropes, but was caught by Donovan. del Toro escaped, but as he went for a springboard, Donovan tossed him over. Lorenzo tagged in and rammed del Toro into the apron before rolling him back inside. The three then engaged in their own quick tag corner attacks with just straight punches and stomps. Lorenzo eventually became legal and pulled back on the arms with his knee on the back. del Toro tried fighting out, but he was forced back into the corner as D’Angelo tagged himself in.
D’Angelo hit a front facelock with several body punches, then taunted Escobar. The three traded quick tags again, ending with Lorenzo launching himself with a knee drop onto del Toro, draped across D’Angelo’s knee for a two-count. del Toro fought out of the corner, essentially monkey flipping his way to tag Escobar. D’Angelo tagged in, but Escobar took care of the other two and then turned to D’Angelo. Wilde and del Toro hit synchronized top rope dives to Donovan and Lorenzo as Escobar hit a middle rope tope to D’Angelo on the other side. Escobar covered for a two-count.
Escobar lifted for the Phantom Driver, but D’Angelo slipped out. Escobar was able to seat him on the top rope, but Donovan distracted the ref as Lorenzo caused Escobar to lose his balance, taking both D’Angelo and Escobar to the mat. Donovan and del Toro tagged in and after some maneuvering, del Toro hit a springboard dropkick. He rolled through a Phoenix splash, but ate a huge lariat. Lorenzo tagged in and they went for a double team, but Wilde pulled down the rope. LDF hit their side Russian leg sweep/shining wizard combo, but it was broken up.
The six men then faced off in the ring and went at it again, the other four going outside as the two leaders remained in the ring. Both men landed simultaneous clotheslines. Lopez gave Escobar brass knuckles while the crowbar came in from the other side. Wilde grabbed the crowbar and hit Lorenzo, knocking him out standing as he leaned against the corner. D’Angelo got the knuckles from Escobar, sending him outside and hitting Wilde. Donovan just pushed his partner onto Wilde (the ref had been distracted the whole time), who scored the pin as he sold being unconscious well. LDF is now part of D’Angelo’s family.
WINNER: Tony D’Angelo & Channing Lorenzo & Troy Donovan at 12:45 (distracted pin)
-They shifted to an Alba Fyre vignetter. She said she comes from a long line of warrior women who roamed Scotland. She described the fire keeper and how she has to ignite the spirit of her ancestors that have been dormant for far too long. She said she’s fallen short of reaching her maximum potential, but now she’s the fire keeper and when the smoke starts to surround you, gasping for air, remember that where there’s smoke, there’s Fyre.
-They showed some women in the back, Lash Legend complaining to Tatum Paxley and Sloane Jacobs and two others I don’t recognize. Paxley told Legend to just challenge Fyre. Legend declined, so Paxley said she would; Legend said, “That girl got issues.”
-They showed Breakker arriving earlier in the day.
-Kayden Carter and Katana Chance made their entrance through the crowd, then riding on the shoulders of “bouncers” to the ring. They showed an earlier today video of Mandy Rose arriving in full gear and title around her waist in a Bentley as she and Toxic Attraction made their way. For this match, Rose did not appear as she has her own title match later tonight. Jayne and Dolan attacked before the bell, but Carter and Chance took advantage.
(2) TOXIC ATTRACTION (Gigi Dolan & Jacy Jayne) vs. KAYDEN CARTER & KATANA CHANCE – NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match
After the bell, Carter had Jayne by herself, then Chance tagged in and covered for two; Dolan was taken out at ringside with a crossbody. Carter tagged back in as they hit a corner splash. Dolan was back to the apron and made a sneaky tag, coming in after a Jayne neckbreaker for a two-count. Jayne tagged back in, then Dolan, as they worked quick tags to take it to Chance, who is pretty much always going to be the babyface taking a ton of damage working to the hot tag in her match. Dolan stepped on her neck in their corner, then tagged in Jayne. Jayne hit a hit attack to a seated Chance, then a running cannonball before tagging in Dolan.
Dolan hit a big chest kick to Chance, then knocked Carter off of the apron. Chance was able to rebound after a Silly String-like move. Jayne tagged in, but Carter did as well and took it to both women with a flurry of speedy attacks. She hit a dropkick to Dolan in the corner, which turned into a splash on a prone Jayne. Carter hit a short superkick to a seated Jayne for a two-count. Jayne hit a jawbreaker and a discus forearm, then tagged in her partner. Jayne hit a bad rebound snap German and Dolan a PK for a two-count. Jayne tagged back in and continued to work Carter, who rolled out of an attack and hit a capoeira kick. She then hit a backstabber to Jayne and Chance came off of the top with a double stomp onto Jayne for a two-count (she tagged prior to the backstabber).
The two set Jayne up in the corner for an attack, but Dolan came in to help. They knocked Dolan onto the mat, then Carter hit a hip toss on her partner onto Jayne, seated on the top, who was hit with a rana onto her partner for a two-count. Chance tagged in, but Dolan took out Carter right next to her. Jayne slammed her to the mat from the top rope, then Dolan tagged in and they hit their high-low kicks. Carter broke up the pin as Chance wasn’t going to kick out.
Carter and Jayne fought on the apron in front of the announcers as Carter hit a cutter on the apron, leaving both women lying on the floor outside. Dolan grabbed Chance and taunted her, hitting a chop. The two women traded blows before Chance hit some kicks and a leg sweep. She hit a step-up moonsault that really didn’t hit, then tagged in her partner. They hit their neckbreaker-450 splash combo, but Jayne pulled out Carter on the pin. She took out Chance at ringside, but Carter hit a superkick. In the ring, Dolan worked Carter, but Carter hit an O’Connor roll and Dolan pushed Carter into the ropes, where Jayne struck her from the outside. Dolan used that to hit a bridging German that didn’t bridge too well to retain the Women’s Tag Team Championship.
WINNER: Toxic Attraction at 9:02 (bridging German suplex) to retain the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship
-A Hell in a Cell promo aired on Cody Rhodes vs. Seth Rollins.
-They showed Pretty Deadly conceitedly preparing in their room and singing a song about how much they hate The Creed Brothers. They then showed said brothers warming up with the rest of Diamond Mine watching.
-They showed Carmelo Hayes in the back as Trick Williams came up in furs looking straight like he’s out of the Playa Hater’s Ball. They came out with bouncers wearing “Get It Back” shirts, the words Williams said to Hayes. Cameron Grimes’ music hit as he came down strapped to a rocket figure like Buzz Lightyear, “back from his trip to the moon.”
(3) CAMERON GRIMES (c) vs. CARMELO HAYES (w/Trick Williams) – North American Championship match
They locked up to begin after a tense stare down during introductions. Grimes slammed down Hayes, but Hayes came off of the ropes with a rana that Grimes cartwheeled onto his feet. The next time, Hayes landed on his feet from a monkey flip attempt. The two traded different pinning combinations for a good 30 seconds that ended with Grimes hitting the bridge and backslide for a two-count. Grimes picked an ankle, but Hayes kicked out. He hit the apron, but missed a top rope attack. He turned and then fell back to avoid a Cave In attempt from Grimes, who said “this close” with his fingers.
Grimes let Hayes reset, then dodged attacks and landed a high chop. I think the crowd was deriding Hayes with a chant of “ball boy.” Grimes hit a backbody drop, then a PK for a two-count. Hayes then took over, hitting Grimes with an attack and dropping him outside, but Grimes hit an enziguri and a crossbody off of the top rope for a two-count. Hayes kicked Grimes, then went outside. Grimes followed, but Hayes caught the kick and forced him into the apron. Grimes fought with a shoulder, but Hayes basically hit One Final Beat, a slingshot DDT, to Grime onto the apron, landing both men outside.
Back in the ring, Hayes became more methodical in his approach as he calculatingly picked his shots. Grimes fought back, but Hayes pulled him to the mat by the hair for a one-count, then one more time for a one-count. Hayes caught a Grimes superkick, but Grimes forced him into a corner. He caught Grimes again with a kick, but missed a leaping attack. Grimes went for his own off of the top, but Hayes dodged and seamlessly hit his springboard clothesline from the second rope for a two-count; that was a nice little sequence.
Hayes then worked Grimes in a corner, right in front of Williams. Hayes distracted the ref as Williams tied Grimes’ wrist to the rope, but it broke free pretty quickly. However, Hayes hit his big spinning front arm breaker or whatever it is for a two-count. Hayes then grabbed the left arm and worked a modified hammer lock that Grimes eventually fought out of. Williams got involved again behind the ref’s back to distract Grimes. As Hayes went for another springboard, Grimes met him there, looked at him, then instead of falling back with a side Russian legsweep from the second rope, he basically hit an inverted Spanish fly to Hayes.
Grimes reached his feet first as they began the expected trading blows sequence. Grimes eventually hit his standing rana that sent Hayes outside. This time, he hit his PK from the apron to Hayes as Williams looked on in shock. Back in the ring, Grimes caught Hayes and hit a big swinging uranage sideslam for a two-count. The two men traded holds, but Grimes hit a big superkick that was broken up by Hayes grabbing the bottom rope; you could hear Williams cackling in the background.
[HOUR TWO]
Grimes went for a poisonrana, but Hayes held onto the ropes. He then hit Grimes with a codebreaker that Grimes sold like Scott Hall taking a stunner for a two-count. Hayes went to the top rope, but rolled through as Grimes evaded. Grimes caught Hayes, who jumped off and as both hit rope runs, Grimes hit a fluid Collision Course for a two-count. Grimes set for the Cave In, but Hayes hit a pump kick. Hayes responded with a pump kick, but Grimes hit a poisonrana that sent Hayes outside. Grimes then hit a tope con hilo clean over the top onto both men (he nearly overshot). Williams grabbed Grimes on the way in, eating a Cave In on the apron. This allowed Hayes to send Grimes into the corner, then hit his top rope scissors kick to become a two-time North American Championship.
WINNER: Carmelo Hayes at 15:30 (top rope scissors kick) to become the new and two-time North American Champion
-They showed a Gacy video with him and the two druids as they said they’ve studied Breakker and that his days as NXT Champion, his days, his seconds are numbered. He said their time has come and they’ve reached their moment, tearing down nostalgia and now tearing down the present in hopes of building a new future. He said tonight he leaves as a beacon of change, as the new NXT Champion. He laughed maniacally to end the segment.
-They played a Hell in a Cell promo highlighting Bobby Lashley vs. Omos (w/M.V.P.). It was really a music video that was a diss track by M.V.P.
-They returned with Joseph and Wade Barrett at ringside as they hyped Rose vs. Wendy Choo. A video played on their feud. Choo’s music then played and a dream sequence played of all of her antics over the months against Rose and Toxic Attraction. Choo then woke up from her nap on a bed, right at the entrance, and made her entrance. Rose then entered without Jayne and Dolan. Joseph said he reign has been over 220 days. Choo shot something at Rose with a slingshot during intros and was attacked before the bell.
(4) MANDY ROSE (c) vs. WENDY CHOO – NXT Women’s Championship match
Choo was dressed in a 90s windbreaker getup. As the bell rung, Rose caught Choo and hit a fallaway slam, then a running corner attack. Choo countered with a backslide for a two-count, then took the attack to Rose. She missed her naptime elbow, which allowed Rose to regain the advantage with mounted strikes. Rose slammed Choo’s face into the mat a few times, then used her knee to choke Choo on the second rope. She shoved her boot into Choo again in the corner, then hit a snap suplex. Rose then hit a snapmare and locked in a body scissors.
Choo rolled back into a quick cover, but Rose kicked out and maintained the hold. Choo broke out with an elbow, but Rose hit a running lariat for a two-count. Rose hit a big right hand to Choo for another two-count. Choo fought back and hit a schoolgirl for a two-count. Rose caught her and hit her modified inverted suplex for a two-count; Rose gets good snap on that move. Rose took out Choo’s towel and slapped her with it a few times before tossing it, then hitting a flurry of right hands to Choo. Rose then locked in a modified abdominal stretch, trapping the left arm with her left leg.
Choo was able to counter into a pin and the two then traded some pins. After, Choo landed a series of strikes to Rose, then hit her overhead suplex after send Rose into the ropes. She then hit her cartwheel punch into the corner and this time, hit her naptime elbow. Rose rolled outside before Choo could pin, but Choo instead hit a baseball slide. She went for the cartwheel forearm again, but Rose caught her with a spinebuster on the entrance ramp. On replay, Choo really whiplashed on that one. Back in the ring, Rose posed with the title as Choo recovered. She made it back to the ring at nine.
Rose immediately hit another spinebuster for a two-count. Rose went for a running knee in the corner, but Choo put her body pillow in the way. Rose grabbed it and tore it apart. Choo hit a running kick from the corner, then hit Rose with a bevy of mounted strikes. Choo lifted Rose and hit what was basically a front DVD to Rose. Choo unzipped her jacket to reveal a Toxic Attraction shirt that Barrett said was “defaced.” Choo went for a rear naked choke, but turned in into a cover for two. She held on and locked in the RNC as Joseph said it “could be naptime.” Rose rolled to the bottom rope to save herself.
Choo kicked at Rose and then went to the top, well, Rose caught her before and threw her off. However, Choo caught her with a full nelson slam and then climbed to the top. Rose recovered and slammed Choo to the mat like the old Ric Flair spot, only this time she used the sleeve of the jacket to send Choo to the mat. She hit her shining wizard variation and a stacked matchbox cover for the victory. Jayne and Dolan joined Rose to pose with their three titles after the match.
WINNER: Mandy Rose at 11:08 (shining wizard) to retain the NXT Women’s Championship
-A promo aired for Judgment Day (Edge’s faction) for Hell in a Cell.
-They returned with McKenzie Mitchell in the back with Tiffany Stratton and Roxanne Perez to hype the Women’s Breakout Tournament final on Tuesday. Stratton said it was rude that Mitchell was talking at her. Stratton called it a “women’s” tournament, not a “little girl’s” tournament. Perez gave a standard babyface promo. Stratton yelled Mitchell and called her “quite literally the worst person of all time” to Mitchell’s shock. Mitchell is so good at her role.
-A Diamond Mine vignette aired, highlighting The Creed Brothers and their accomplishments before and during their time in NXT. It was narrated by Ivy Nile. Their music hit as they made their entrance. The Creed Brothers’ family were in the front row for this match as they were in matching yellow gear. Pretty Deadly received the John Morrison slow-mo entrance.
(5) PRETTY DEADLY (c) (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) vs. THE CREED BROTHERS (Brutus Creed & Julius Creed) – NXT Tag Team Championship match and if The Creed Brothers lose, they leave Diamond Mine
Brutus and Prince began the match. Kit made a sneaky tag and immediately came in to attack Brutus with uppercuts. The crowd chanted for the challengers. Brutus fought his way out of the corner, caught a kick, then hit an amateur takedown, then another, slamming Wilson to the mat before a front facelock and gator rolls all over the ring. He taunted Prince while holding the facelock, but Wilson broke out by grabbing the ear. Brutus was able to hit a biel, then another into their corner. Wilson went after Julius, who ducked. Wilson taunted them, so Brutus tagged in Julius. Wilson had Julius chase him and baited him into an attack.
Prince tagged in, but Julius took it to both men, getting rid of Wilson then hitting Prince with a big backbody drop. He deadlifted Prince into a bid suplex. Julius grabbed a rear waistlock and slammed Prince down. Prince held onto Wilson’s hands, but was dragged into the ring. Brutus came in and hit a rear waistlock to Wilson, which was broken as both men hit German’s. Julius hit a stretch muffler as Brutus an ankle lock. Pretty Deadly crawled outside to regain their composure, Wilson throwing the top steps in frustration.
Prince reentered and discussed strategy with Wilson, then ran into an arm drag from Julius as they showed the mother and father Creed. Prince used heel tactics to take the advantage, but Julius hit a leapfrog and as Prince passed, thrusted his feet out to kick Prince into the ground; nice! Julius then grabbed an arm lock and tagged in his brother. Julius then gut wrenched his brother onto Prince for a two-count. Julius tagged in again, hitting a fireman’s carry into another arm lock.
Wilson made an illegal tag to draw Julius’ attention, which allowed Prince to land an actual tag and send Julius outside. Brutus tagged in and came in, trading strikes with Wilson. Joseph said papa Creed said something to Julius and Barrett asked if that’s allowed; again, nice! The Creed Brothers then did their knee strikes to the gut after Julius tagged in, then Brutus tagged in again as the once again hit some body knees for a two-count. Wilson was able to make the tag and pick the ankle, allowing Prince to hit an elbow drop for a two-count. Brutus lifted and seated him in their corner as Julius tagged in, hitting a running dropkick first to Wilson, then Prince. Julius caught and eventually lifted Wilson into a rolling suplex. Brutus sent Prince off and then as they went for their sliding clotheslines, Pretty Deadly rolled outside.
Julius chased after Prince, but Prince shoved him into the steel post. Brutus inadvertently distracted the ref which allowed the two heels to land a double spinebuster to Julius onto the flat bottom steel steps that were exposed earlier. It resulted in a two-count. Pretty Deadly then worked quick tags as they worked Julius in the corner. Wilson went for a suplex that was initially blocked, but eventually hit for a two-count. Wilson dragged Julius back to their corner and tagged in Prince, where a double suplex was blocked once only to be hit for a two-count on Julius.
Prince then hit one, two, make that three elbows to the small of the back of Julius, then drove his knee into the back as he wrenched back on Julius’ chin. Julius broke out with a jawbreaker, but Prince prevented the tag. Julius tried to lift Prince, but his back gave out. Wilson tagged in and climbed to the top rope, hitting an elbow drop to the back for another two-count. Wilson looked for a crab, initially tried turning the opposite way of Julius, then realized Julius was turning the other way. Joseph said, “This isn’t just another Boston crab; it’s the Stronghold.” Julus broke the sub by grabbing the bottom rope.
Prince tagged in and hit a front facelock to prevent the tag as Brutus reached out. Julius then rolled Prince out overhead, finally making the hot tag to Brutus, who came in like a ball of energy. He lifted and threw Prince into Wilson, sending Wilson to the outside. Brutus then hit a German suplex to Prince, climbed to the top rope, and hit the cannonball (“Brutus ball!”) for a two-count that was broken up by Wilson. Wilson dragged his partner to his corner and made the tag only to eat a belly-to-back suplex. Prince tossed in one of the title belts right into Julius’ hands. Julius looked at it and gave it to the ref. Wilson tried attacking, but Julius dodged and Brutus landed a slam. Julius climbed and hit a shooting star press (better than Brock Lesnar’s!), then his sliding clothesline to win the match. They posed with their parents after the match.
WINNER: The Creed Brothers at 15:20 (shooting star press and sliding clothesline) to become NEW NXT Tag Team Champion
-The main Hell in a Cell promo that aired was Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch vs. Asuka for the Raw Women’s Championship.
-A promo aired for a special edition of The Great American Bash on July 5th.
[HOUR THREE]
-Joseph and Barrett were ringside as they hyped Tuesday’s show with Stratton vs. Perez, Josh Briggs (no more Joshua!) vs. Von Wagner, and Tatum Paxley vs. Alba Fyre.
-The final match of In Your House was shifted to as they played a promo hyping the Breakker-Gacy feud with a reminder of the match stipulation. Breakker entered first (champions should always enter last!) and broke a wall or something, which is better than a large Styrofoam X. Joseph said the gear is a replica of his father’s at WrestleMania IX. Gacy then made his entrance with his two druids flanking him; Gacy was even wearing a hooded cape rather than a full robe. Gacy slapped Breakker on intros.
(6) BRON BREAKKER (c) vs. JOE GACY – NXT Championship match and if Breakker is disqualified, he loses the NXT Championship
Breakker immediately rushed Gacy after the bell only to get slapped again. Breakker looked infuriated, but channeled that rage into corner shoulder attacks that he let up just before five. He hit Gacy with a back elbow, but Gacy hit a one-foot dropkick after Breakker came off of the ropes. Gacy caught Breakker in a miscommunicated sequence, but recovered well and hit a pendulum backbreaker. Breakker countered an Irish whip by sliding and turning into a lariat, then an overhead exploder. He worked Gacy in a corner with strikes as the ref pointedly admonished Breakker about the count. Breakker then caught Gacy on a leapfrog attempt and slammed him to the mat, Gacy rolling out after near his druids. A druid actually gave Breakker a chair, but the distraction allowed Gacy to shove Breakker into the post while carrying the chair. We’ve seen one match tonight where interference led to the end of the match, so let’s see if we have one here.
Gacy then rolled Breakker back inside the ring. Breakker tried fighting back, but Gacy hit some strikes and a running neckbreaker for a two-count. He then cinched in a rear chinlock. After Breakker rose to his feet, Gacy hit strikes and a running, sliding forearm to a seated Breakker in the corner, smiling wildly at the camera. He then set Breakker on the apron and hit a senton across the shoulder area, rolling back in for a two-count.
Gacy set Breakker in the corner and hit a huge chop, then a running attack into the ropes. He rolled Breakker over into a pin for a two-count. Gacy stayed on Breaker with corner clotheslines, three of them, then easily lifted Breakker onto his shoulders only for Breakker to hit an O’Conner roll. However, Gacy flipped Breakker into a RNC attempt, unable to fully clasp his hands and choke the neck of Breakker; it was more of a rear naked chin crank. Breakker rolled into a two-count, but Gacy immediately responded with a big uranage for a two-count. Gacy then did his upside down pose in the corner with his big smile, yelling at Breakker. He came off and hit a DDT for a two-count.
Gacy climbed to the top, but Breakker took out his legs as he climbed, causing a bad fall for Gacy to the outside. Breakker rolled Gacy back inside and had a glare on his face. However, he ran right into a big lariat from Gacy for a two-count, then another rear chinlock, the Randy Orton Special as I like to call the move. Breakker tried fighting out, but Gacy hit a Saito suplex to drop Breakker. Gacy has been very methodical for lack of a better term in this match.
Breakker caught a punch, glared at Gacy, then hit back. He landed flying shoulder tackles like John Cena, then landed a spinebuster. Gacy rolled outside, so Breakker shrugged his shoulders and hit a tope con hilo that cleared the top rope and really, hit mostly floor. He popped right up, though, and encouraged the crowd. He rolled Gacy back into the ring, then climbed to the second rope. A druid hit the apron, so Breakker brought him in. The other druid tossed in a chair; Gacy pulled an Eddie Guerrero and slammed the mat, then faked like he was hit. The ref turned to see Breakker with the chair and as he was set to call for the bell, another ref (Tom Castor I believe), came in and stopped him. The match continued.
Gacy tried hitting a quick inside cradle, but it was only a two-count. Gacy was on the apron by the announce table and ate a running spear, sending him onto and destroying the announce table. The ref counted up to five before Breakker went outside to break the count. Breakker, with the straps down, punched Gacy in the face, then again against the apron, and rolled him back into the ring.Breakker went to the second rope for the Steiner bulldog and hit, but Gacy kicked out.
Gacy reached for the chair, which was in the corner, and placed it in front of Breakker. From his knees, he baited Breakker to hit him in the head; he even yelled at Breakker. Breakker gave the ref the chair and as the ref had his back turned, Gacy hit a low blow and a stacked rollup for a close near-fall. Breakker then grabbed the chair from the ref, who reminded Breakker of the stipulation. A druid was on the apron behind the ref, so Breakker hit him instead. Gacy tried using the distraction to hit his handspring attack, but Breakker hit a spear that literally altered Gacy’s course midair. Breakker then hit his military press slam for the victory.
WINNER: Bron Breakker at 15:51 (military press slam) to retain the NXT Championship
FINAL THOUGHTS: That was an enjoyable 205 minutes or so, though the main event had its plodding moments when Gacy was on offense. I just have questions coming out of this event, but all in a good way. The matches were done well with very few noticeable mishaps. The two titles that changed hands were the two that were the best to change and the other three were pretty much foregone conclusions they would be retained even before the matches began. Rose vs. Choo exceeded expectations, but the match of the night was Grimes vs. Hayes with a close second being Pretty Deadly vs. The Creed Brothers. Then again, I think Hayes is the future of WWE and The Creed Brothers’ in-ring style is right in my wrestling sweet spot.
As far as questions, let’s start from the beginning. How will this amalgamation of two heel (ostensibly) factions play out over the coming weeks? Who’s the next team to face Dolan and Jayne, and if it’s Perez and Cora Jade, does Perez lose on Tuesday or does she ask for a Tag Team Championship match for winning? Will Hayes grant Solo Sikoa the same match that Grimes promised Sikoa should Grimes have emerged the winner and if not, who does Hayes feud with first? Is this the time Grimes is moved to Mondays or Fridays? Does Choo eschew this (admittedly popular) character for a more serious one that can be taken more legitimately as a title challenger? Is Alba Fyre the next opponent for Rose and if so, is Fyre the one to defeat Rose (I said on Tuesday Perez may be the one)? What does The Creed Brothers winning mean for their little feud with Roderick Strong? Now that Gacy is presumably done with the title picture, who will Breakker defend against next – Grimes, Sikoa, or a wrestler from Raw or Smackdown?
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