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NXT MENS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Men’s Champion: Grayson Waller
Grayson Waller and number one contender Mason Rooks had a “Face-to-Face” discussion in the ring on last week’s NXT episode. Waller, of course, made obnoxious comments about Rook and his appearance. He wore a sweatshirt mocking the fans’ chant that said, “He’s big, he’s bad, he ate my dad!” Rook stated he was not going to take the low road, but he did make two quick comments using phrases like “theory” and “vision.” He then had a very strong promo and demonstrated great skill to hype next week’s title match. Waller vs. Rook for the NXT Men’s Heavyweight Title next week.
Brandler’s Bit: Waller was on point for his character. I was very impressed by Rooks ability to cut a “money” promo that made next week’s title match way more interesting.
Speaking of promo’s, Cruz Montana gave a master class in a very short segment with Dark state’s Dion Lennox. Lennox relied on cheap shots – trash talk statements about Montana’s history with addiction. Cruz replied, “I can run circles around you in this ring and on this microphone.” No trash talk, just facts. After the third cheap shot (Montana held up his fingers after each one), Montana beat up Lennox. Cruz is main roster ready right now but is the next contender for Waller.
NXT WOMEN’S TITLES:
Women’s Champion: Kelani Jordan
This match was the follow up to last week’s angle involving Thea Hail, La Catlina, Kelani Jordan, and Zaria. They had a tag team match with Thea Hail & La Catalina vs. Kelani Jordan & Zaria. This match was exactly what it needed to be. All four women demonstrated their talents. There was no teamwork in this team since these are all singles wrestlers. In the end, Zaria went for her F5 finisher on Thea. This was reversed into a rollup and the pin for Hail. Next week for the Women’s North American Title, Zaria will defend against Thea Hail.
Brandler’s Bit: Nice job NXT giving Hail two wins over the much bigger and stronger Zaria. This has made this underdog Hail look like a real contender. Add in Izzy Dame showing a video of little Zaria performing from high school, and NXT’s penchant for distractions leading to pins, and there could be a title change.
Also in the Women’s Division was this week’s skit involving former Women’s Champion Kendal Gray’s visit to an unseen “therapist.” I think the gist of “the session” was Kendal figuring out her feelings about her injury. The session ends with the therapist asking, “Who is Kendal Grey when she is not competing?”
Brandler’s Bit: Ugh. There is a point to this right? A “Rockyesque” inspirational discovery? A heel turn by Kendal?
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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DUSTY RHODES TAG TEAM CUP CLASSIC MATCHES
The first two matches in the Dusty Cup were held.
The first involved Brutus & Julius Creed taking on the Evolve tag team of Harley Riggins & Jax Presley. Riggins & Presley demonstrated good talent and potential. The Creeds are previous main roster talent. This was a short match with the Creeds winning with their double slam for the win. The Creeds advance and will face the winner of the Hank & Tank vs. Shido Ash & Viktor Zanov match.
Brandler’s Bit: A nice short match which gave the developmental talents some good offense. Vic Joseph on commentary compared Riggins to Kevin Nash which, based on his appearance, is on target. The Creeds won the cup in 2022, so they are one of the favorites to win it again.
The second Dusty match was a solid tag match. Los Americanos Bravo & Rayo took on the upcoming team of Romeo Moreno & Noam Dar. Los Americanos hit all of their signature spots, the “Airplane Spin” by Bravo, and the “Bitter End” by Rayo. Moreno & Dar executed many high flying moves, submission holds, and actual team moves. Moreno and Dar won with their high/low (“Total Elimination”) finisher. They now move on in the tournament to face the winner of the Fraxiom vs. Dark State match.
Brandler’s Bit: This was a great match. These two teams know how a tag team match works. It’s so funny that Bravo & Rayo get to use all their trademark moves without anyone acknowledging who they are. Pete Dunne (Rayo) & Tyler Bate (Rayo) are so smooth as a team. They are also producing matches at the Performance Center. If Fraxiom wins next week, Moreno & Dar vs. Fraxiom will be the match of the tournament.
MID-CARD MATCHES
There were also two mid-card matches this week.
Kali Armstrong vs. Skylar Raye was the first match. This was set up by Raye’s reappearance on NXT last week. Raye showed great fire and comeback skills against the larger Armstrong. Late in the match, after Armstrong accidentally clotheslined the referee, Reina Volcan reappeared. She took out both Armstrong and Raye. Raye was able to put an arm on Armstrong for the tainted pinfall win.
Brandler’s Bit: The Armstrong and Raye match has the same big/small dynamic as Zaria and Hail. The big difference is the experience level. Armstrong and Raye were performing the moves to have a match. Zaria and Hail have years of experience so next week’s match will be smoother. The reappearance of Volcan was a surprise. Volcan had two powerful appearances (including a squash of Raye) and then vanished.
The second mid-card match was the six-man match between Birthright (Stacks & King & Uriah Connors w/Ariana Grace) and Zilla Fatu & Sean Legacy & Dorian Van Dux. Van Dux was injured and replaced by EK Prosper. Lots of offense in this match. The finish came when Grace distracted the referee just as Legacy was going for his 450 splash finisher. This gave Connors just enough time to get his knees up. Connors pinned Legacy with a roll up.
Brandler’s Bit: No Charlie Dempsey with Birthright this week. Stacks and Connors continue to demonstrate great potential. Fatu is using the “Bloodline” playbook for his offensive moves – Uso Splash, Samoan Drop, and Samoan Spike. He needs more seasoning to work a match. Prosper barring injury will be the next main roster highflyer
NEXT WEEK ON NXT:
- Zaria vs. Thea Hail for the Women’s North American Title (Expect an Izzy Dame distraction)
Dusty cup matches: - Fraxion vs. Dark State
- Birthright vs. AAA’s Mini Vikingo and Chazz Hall (Mini Vikingo is his own highlight reel)
- Myles Borne returns
- Rook vs Waller NXT Men’s Heavyweight Title
