Tag: Carmelo Hayes

WWE NXT live results: Carmelo Hayes explains his betrayal

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Two days after Vengeance Day, Carmelo Hayes is set to explain his betrayal of Trick Williams on NXT tonight.

Vengeance Day ended with Hayes turning against Williams and attacking him with a steel chair. Hayes took out Williams’ knee and then continued to target it with the steel chair attack. Tonight, we’ll find out why Hayes chose to betray his best friend.

Vengeance Day was a tough night for Williams even before the betrayal. Williams & Hayes lost to Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals. Williams also came up short in his title shot against NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov.

Breakker & Corbin will celebrate their Dusty Cup victory tonight.

Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice is also part of tonight’s lineup. Vice inserted herself into the NXT Women’s Championship match at Vengeance Day, which allowed Tatum Paxley to help Lyra Valkyria retain the title.

Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne, Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Malik Blade & Edris Enofe, and Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Fallon Henley & Wren Sinclair have also been announced.

NXT is on the air live from a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando. Opening the show is Carmelo Hayes sauntering to the ring. Carrying a metal folding chair, Hayes gets in the ring. He opens the chair and sits down in the middle of the ring. The live studio audience relentlessly jeer and boo him.

Hayes is about to speak, but he is drowned out by booing from the crowd. He finally says, “Not yet.” Hayes then leaves the ring and walks away. 

After a recap highlighting the results of Vengeance Day, Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker are at ringside standing alongside their newly won Dusty Cup. Corbin goes to introduce them, but Breakker wants ring announcer to give a proper intro for the “Wolfdogs.”

More odd couple comedy between them, with mixed results. They want a tag team title match, which they earned by winning the Dusty Cup. Breakker calls out NXT Tag Team Champions The Family. Instead, out comes Axiom and Nathan Frazier. Those two have a tag match that is up next.

Axiom & Nathan Frazier defeated Edris Enofe & Malik Blade

Frazier pinned Enofe to win the match. This tag bout was set up with a skit during Vengeance Day. Corbin & Breakker remained at ringside for guest commentary. Those two would jump Axiom & Frazier after the match. 

The match itself goes through two separate commercial breaks. It was quite good. Too bad the winners looked like geeks in the aftermath. For the finish, Frazier executes a Phoenix Splash on Enofe. Axiom then follows up with a Golden Ratio, and Axiom covers Enofe for a three count.

Corbin & Breakker jump Axiom & Frazier after the match is over. Axiom & Frazier are tossed out of the ring, like they are yesterday’s news. So much for them getting over after such a good match. This reminded of Monday Nitro when the crusierweights would work there butts off having a good match, and the NWO would come in clean house, making the cruiserweights looks like geeks in the process. 

Out comes The Family to have a stare down with Breakker & Corbin. “Wolfdogs” challenge the champs to a tag match next week. Tony D’Angelo accepts the challenge. Looks like a tag title match is set for next Tuesday.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov is headed to the ring for a monologue. Of course, there is an interruption. Same old tired formula plays out. There is a twist at first, as Dragunov calls out Carmelo Hayes (for his attack on Trick Williams). Instead of Hayes, out comes Dijak to confront the champ.

Dijak claims Dragunov is obsessed with Trick & ‘Melo. Dijak gets in the front for a confrontation. The crowd boos the heck out of Dijak, as he begins to insult Dragunov. Tensions only rise from there.

Dragunov threatens Dijak that will suffer if he meets the champion. Dijak sucker punches Dragunov, with a shot to Dragunov’s broken nose (that was injured in his title defense against Williams). Officials and referees pour out to separate them. This angle sets up a non-title match for later tonight.

Jacy Jayne in a skit gives Thea Hail dating advice, which may turn out to be bad advice. Hail still has a big crush on Riley Osborne, and Hail has already agreed to a Valentine Day date with Osborne. 

In another skit, Mr. Stone’s two children convince Stone and Von Wagner to team up on time for a tag bout.

Lexis King defeated Riley Osborne (with Andre Chase & Duke Hudson)

Osborne was doing well for himself when he got distracted looking into the audience for Thea Hail. She was not there, of course. Osborne could not find her, and him being distracted allowed King to trim him up. King then executed The Coronation, and King hooked a leg in covering Osborne for a pinfall. 

Kelani Jordan is the focus of a vignette.

Carmelo Hayes is back, and he is heading to the ring again. Same as before, Hayes sits down in a chair. He is met by chants of “You’re not him!”

Hayes says he wanted to see Trick Williams succeed, but Hayes also took it away (with the attack last Sunday) to show Williams the “place” he belongs in. Hayes says that is what happens when Williams crossed Hayes. Hayes accuses Williams of crossing him by going after the NXT Championship. 

They agreed, according to Hayes, that Williams would go after the North American title, and Hayes would go for the top singles title. Hayes goes on to say Williams believed his own hype. They are not on the same level, according to Hayes. Hayes has a bunch of flawed logic, but it plays into another unsolved mystery on NXT.

Hayes admits he was the one that attacked Williams (in the sneak attack from months ago). Suddenly, Trick’s theme song blares over the speakers. Hayes at first acts startled, until Williams does not come out. That was a swerve, as Hayes says Williams is not coming out. Hayes says Williams is in the hospital.

Hayes claims Williams wanted to be ‘Melo so bad. Hayes insists Williams was only his hype man, and that is all Williams will ever be. 

A cryptic message teases the arrival of a new character. Something about three faces, but it hopefully has nothing to be with the Three Faces of Fear of WCW fame. 

NXT North American Champion Oba Femi is the focus of a vignette.

A backstage skit saw Riley Osborne tell Thea Hail that he will text her. She is still playing hard to get, despite being head over heels.

Roxanne Perez defeated Lola Vice

This match was set up at Vengeance Day, when the two had a pull-apart brawl. Their match tonight goes through a commercial break. Perez did well in carrying the match, and Vice held her own. Tatum Paxley ran down to cause a distraction during the match, which cost Vice the bout.

Vice was getting a big push. So much for that, although all hope is not lost. Vice still lost here via pinfall, after some a distraction and Pop Rocks. Vice got save some face as Tatum Paxley appeared at ringside. Paxley jumped on the apron just before the finish. That distracted Vice, which in turn cost her the match.

Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend (with Noam Dar & Oro Mensah) defeated Fallon Henley & Wren Sinclair

Not going to win match of the year, but far from the worst either. 

Hot tag to Henley, and she cleans house. Legend tries to pull Jackson out of the ring, and there is a tug-o-war with Henley, as Jackson is caught between them. Henley is sent throat-first into the middle rope. That allows Jackson to strike.

Sinclair makes a bling tag, and she pays for it. Legend cuts off Sinclair, and Legend powerbombs her. Legend then covers Sinclair for a pinfall. 

Josh Briggs has some tough love fore Brooks Jensen. Not sure where this is going, but it made Jensen looks like a geek. Briggs tells him to grow some balls. 

Jaida Parker goes to Ava in a skit, and Parker wants a match next week against Adrianna Rizzo. Ava books the match, but The Family and OTM are all banned from ringside. 

Ridge Holland also verbally petitions for matches against Gallus. He has to defeat them on at a time, and if he loses one match against them, their feud is done. Sure, it is convoluted, but oh well. Could be worse, and the matches should be good.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated Dijak in a non-title match

Mere days after a hard-hitting performance, Dragunov is back for another hard-hitting match. Things looked stiff at times, or at least snug.

They fought through a commercial break. Dijak targeted Dragunov’s broken nose at times, and Dragunov bled.

After all the seriousness and snug style of the match, the turning point was basically a comedy spot involving outside interference. Joe Gacy, whom Dijak defeated in a no DQ match at Vengeance Day, appears from underneath the ring. 

Gacy wallops Dijak with a foreign object that has a boxing glove attached to the end. Looks like something a heel Doink the Clown would use to interfere. Gacy laughs maniacally after hitting Dijak, and Gacy darts back underneath the ring. Please say high to Hornswoggle for us. Thanks, Joe.

Dragunov drops a H-bomb on a dazes Dijak, and Dragunov scores a three count. The champ wins, albeit by outside interference.

Carmelo Hayes runs in after the match, and Hayes jumps Dragunov with a sneak attack. Hayes pummels Dragunov, and Hayes delivers a belt shot with the NXT Championship. Hayes poses with the strap as the show ends.

Carmelo Hayes to explain his actions on WWE NXT

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Carmelo Hayes will explain his actions.

NXT announced on social media that Hayes will be on this week’s show. A match between Lola Vice and Roxanne Perez is also set.

During the NXT Championship match at Sunday’s Vengeance Day, Ilja Dragunov shoved Carmelo Hayes into Williams, accidentally clipping Williams’ leg. After Williams lost the match, the two hugged but when Williams had his back turned, Hayes clipped his leg again. He then proceeded to repeatedly attack Williams’ leg with steel chair shots before he was eventually stopped by referees.

Earlier in the night, the duo failed in their efforts to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, losing out to Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin in the finals. The winners will hold a victory celebration on Tuesday.

Vice inserted herself into the NXT Women’s Championship match between Lyra Valkyria and Perez on Sunday, cashing in her NXT Women’s Championship match contract to turn the match into a triple threat. However, Vice failed to win the title after being pinned by Valkyria. Later backstage, Perez and Vice were seen fighting.

Here is the updated lineup for Tuesday:

  • Carmelo Hayes to explain his actions
  • Lola Vice vs. Roxanne Perez.
  • Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne
  • Axiom & Nathan Frazer vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
  • Bron Breakker & Baron Corbin Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic celebration

Carmelo Hayes betrays Trick Williams at WWE NXT Vengeance Day

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Carmelo Hayes attacked his longtime friend Trick Williams at WWE NXT Vengeance Day.

The end of the premium live event saw Trick Williams fail to take the NXT Championship from Ilja Dragunov. Hayes and Williams embraced to end the show, but as the credits were shown Hayes suddenly clipped Williams’ leg, which he injured earlier in the night. Hayes then proceeded to repeatedly attack Williams’ knee with a chair as referees eventually stopped him from doing any more damage.

Later, in a digital exclusive, Hayes had a one-word response after being asked why he attacked his friend: “whooped.”

For the last several months, Williams has been attempting to figure out who attacked him backstage back in October. In the weeks that followed, Williams suspected Hayes, but Hayes managed to turn the attention to Lexis King. Hayes and King had a match at NXT Deadline in December, but after Hayes won, King revealed he wasn’t behind the attack.

In recent weeks, Hayes tried to get Williams to put aside his NXT Championship aspirations by getting them a spot in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Williams wanted to focus on winning the NXT Championship at Vengeance Day, but agreed to team with Hayes based on the idea of becoming a two-time champion. However, the team lost to Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin at the start of Vengeance Day.

Fight Game: Wrestling with fandom after the Vince McMahon lawsuit

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with another episode of The Fight Game Podcast.

We kicked things off with a discussion about whether our wrestling fandom is the same after the sordid details that came out in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE. We compared it to other times where we had to deal with similar situations in our fandom.

We then got to the rest of our Top 5 which included:

  • How CM Punk’s injury changes this year’s WWE WrestleMania
  • An opportunity for WWE to make someone new
  • A very sleepy AEW Dynamite and a preview for a big Dynamite next week
  • Is AEW Collision must-see?
  • NXT Vengeance Day preview

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Austin Theory & Carmelo Hayes ‘okay’ after WWE SmackDown match stoppage

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Austin Theory & Carmelo Hayes are “okay” according to WWE after their match on Friday’s SmackDown was stopped after the two suffered a bad landing.

Theory attempted an avalanche flatliner on Hayes during their match, but spiked himself on his head in landing on the mat. Hayes appeared to knock heads with Theory on the landing as well. Referee Ryan Tran immediately called for the bell and a stoppage after checking with both wrestlers on their well-being. 

In a statement posted to X, WWE said that both will be okay, but suffered face contusions: 

UPDATE: Following their match tonight on #SmackDown, 

@_Theory1 and @Carmelo_WWEwere evaluated for injuries.

They both suffered face contusions, and will both be okay.

Hayes is a member of the NXT roster, but was featured throughout Friday’s SmackDown episode. Hayes challenged Grayson Waller to a match in a backstage segment early in the program, but Waller declined and Nick Aldis made the match between Hayes & Theory in its place. A video package also aired promoting Hayes prior to the Theory match. 

A former NXT Champion, Hayes made his SmackDown debut as part of the United States title contender’s tournament on December 15, defeating Waller. Kevin Owens then defeated Hayes the following week in the tournament. 

Carmelo Hayes set for WWE United States title contender’s tournament

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Carmelo Hayes will take part in the WWE United States Championship contender’s tournament. 

As revealed by Shawn Michaels in a video posted to WWE’s social media channels on Sunday, Hayes will be the NXT star facing Grayson Waller in a quarterfinals match on the Friday, December 15 SmackDown episode. 

An NXT star’s inclusion in the tournament had been announced from the outset, but the reveal had not been made until the Michaels video was posted. 

Hayes is coming off a victory over Lexis King at Saturday’s NXT Deadline event. 

Kevin Owens will face Austin Theory in another quarterfinals match on Friday’s SmackDown. On the other side of the bracket, Bobby Lashley and Santos Escobar have already advanced to the semifinals after wins on this past Friday’s episode. 

The tournament winner will challenge United States Champion Logan Paul at a date yet to be announced. Paul defeated Rey Mysterio at last month’s Crown Jewel event to win the US title. 

The updated lineup for SmackDown in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Friday, December 15:

  • Roman Reigns returns
  • US title contender’s tournament: Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory
  • US title contender’s tournament: Grayson Waller vs. Carmelo Hayes

Trick Williams on why WWE turning him down was the best thing for his career

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

Trick Williams is headed to Saturday’s WWE NXT Deadline to compete in the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and perhaps earn a future NXT Championship match in the future.

He joins Dijak, Josh Briggs, Bron Breakker and Tyler Bate after qualifying with a mid-November win over Joe Coffey.

The former football player signed with WWE in February 2021, making his NXT debut that October. For the majority of his time with NXT, he was seen more as the sidekick to rising star Carmelo Hayes. It wasn’t until August of this year where Williams told Hayes that he was ready to be on his own, saying, “This is no breakup, but I gotta be my own man.” 

Since then, we have seen him win several singles matches against the likes of Breakker, Dijak, Drew Gulak, Joe Gacy, Damon Kemp and even Dominik Mysterio at No Mercy. That win saw Williams capture gold for the very first time, winning the NXT North American Championship.

However, it didn’t last very long because the following week saw him lose the title back to Mysterio, aided by Rhea Ripley. Since then, Williams has been trying to recapture gold, leading to this Saturday.

Here’s some highlights from our recent conversation that you can watch on YouTube above:

From football to wrestling

Williams had been previously been pursuing a career in football. However, in the spring of 2018, he was cut by the Philadelphia Eagles. His backup plan was to go to the XFL, but was contacted by WWE to attend a tryout. 

“I get cut from the Philadelphia Eagles and I worked very hard to get to that position and my football career came to a sudden stop. It’s competitive, it’s tough. But from my agent, he told me it’s all good we’re going to get to another team. Worst case scenario, you know, we get to do the XFL and at the time, the XFL was owned by Vince McMahon.

“So I don’t know what happened in the paperwork or how it crossed over, but somehow or another, the day after my agent tells me that, the next day, WWE reaches out to me and they say, ‘Hey, if you’re interested, we like to bring you in for a tryout.’ Now, I’m be honest with you: I watched wrestling up to, I would say, the Attitude Era. I opened a can of whoop ass at three years old.

“And my mom said, ‘Okay, we need to probably back off the wrestling a little bit.’ But, you know, I wasn’t really up to date with wrestling, if I’m being honest, because I was so heavily involved into football and into what I was doing at the time. But when the opportunity came, I thought to myself…this is actually a great opportunity.

“You know, I’d be a fool to just not go to the tryout and I probably could have done my thing with football and who knows what would happen there but I would try this out. I went to to try out and they say, ‘Yo, like, you athletic, charismatic, you can talk, but you never wrestled. So you need to know how to wrestle if you’re going to be here.’

“So I take the steps to become a superstar. I moved back to South Philly. I was where my uncle and I trained at CZW. Then COVID broke out. Then I end up leaving there and I trained at Knox Pro in L.A. And then from there. I went to my second tryout and I got signed from there.

“It was a journey but like, man, to be honest, that time in between that time of them saying no the first time was exactly what I needed to lock my mind and say, ‘Okay, I’m a superstar. This is what I want to do. I’m gonna commit my life to this, and I’m a train and I’m going to get it.’

“So this is best thing that ever happened to me because I’m much happier in WWE than playing football.” 

Going solo

As mentioned above, Williams spent the majority of his early career in NXT alongside Carmelo Hayes until this summer when he finally broke off on his own. 

Williams shared what his experience has been like since going solo, how the moments came about, and how he’s handling it. 

“Firstly, this is the vision that I have had for myself all along. So, this is this what I wanted for myself. I wanted to be a superstar. I wanted to be the guy. Now, with that being said, I was brought into WWE alongside of Carmelo Hayes, which is one of the best NXT Superstars to ever do it. I’m very fortunate for that. That was my boy. And with me being so close to him, I got to learn a lot. I got to see how you how you conduct business, your mindset going into these big matches. I got to be in the light, even though it was kind of more of his light.

“But I didn’t have the pressure. So now, being at those big stages, this is what it feels like — being able to build connections with the crowd. It was awesome for me and also, I was able to build my hunger because when you see your boy eating, it makes you want to have some success on your own, too.

“So you know, that is what it was to the point where I had to go to Shawn Michaels myself and say, ‘Shawn, I want the ball.’ You know, Denise, I played football before I was wrestling and I played wide receiver. Wide receivers are the guys who catch the ball. And if you don’t catch the ball, you can’t eat. You can’t score touchdowns. The camera’s not on you.

“So, you know, me being able to go to Shawn Michaels with all of this and say ‘I want the ball’ was probably the best thing that I could have ever done because he looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘You know, a lot of people come in my office and they say they want the ball, but they’re not ready for it.’ And, you know, we just go from there and he gave me an opportunity. And thus far, I’ve been making plays with it.’

JNPO: Pro wrestling year in review – A month of unthinkables

Posted on by Josh Nason

On a new Josh Nason’s Punch-Out, Fightful’s Kate Elizabeth returns to co-host the April 2023 edition of my pro wrestling year in review series.

And what a month it was.

The day after a hugely successful WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, the fate of WWE was announced with the news they would merge with UFC to form a new publicly traded company.

Then, there was WrestleMania itself that saw a highly controversial main event finish where Cody Rhodes did not finish his story while Roman Reigns’ record-breaking Universal title run continued.

CM Punk continued to be in the news as his AEW return, on a new show no less, was imminent. However, he decided to stop by WWE before an episode of Raw and visit some old friends before he was asked to leave.

Other topics: Impact Wrestling lost not one, but two top champions due to injury, Jay White and Trinity found new homes, Carmelo Hayes was one of several new NXT Champions, SANADA won NJPW’s top title, and plenty more.

Join Kate and I as we dive through more than 100 news items in just over an hour. I promise this is unlike any other year-end series you’ll hear or read, so catch up on the rest of the series in the archive.

Click Here to Listen

Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches set for WWE NXT

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE has revealed the next round of Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches.

Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs and Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail will air on NXT this Tuesday (November 21). The winners will qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge bouts that are taking place at NXT Deadline on Saturday, December 9.

In storyline, these competitors were chosen by JBL. WWE has been using legends to announce the Iron Survivor Challenge qualifiers. Mick Foley and Lita revealed the first two weeks of matches.

Dijak and Trick Williams have already qualified for the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match at Deadline. Tiffany Stratton and Lash Legend are the first two competitors to qualify for the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

At Deadline, the Iron Survivor Challenge matches will determine new number one contenders for the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship.

Tuesday’s NXT episode has already been taped in advance. Spoilers from the taping can be found here.

Here’s the updated announced lineup for Tuesday’s NXT:

  • Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs
  • Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match: Blair Davenport vs. Thea Hail
  • NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria defends against Xia Li
  • NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar defends against Chad Gable
  • Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
  • Eddy Thorpe vs. Charlie Dempsey

Fight Game: Who is AEW’s devil?

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.

Before we got to our Top 5, which was actually a Top 5 1/2, I talked about going to see a live AEW Rampage and Collision taping last week in Oakland.

We then got to our Top 5 which included:

  • NXT’s Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes storyline
  • The Iron Survivor Challenge matches
  • Who is AEW’s devil?
  • Who is signing with AEW at Full Gear?
  • Ronda Rousey appearing at the Wrestling Revolver show
  • The Hangman Page and Swerve Strickland promo from AEW Dynamite
  • AEW Full Gear preview

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

Fight Game: WWE Crown Jewel preview

Posted on by Garrett Gonzales

John LaRocca and I are back with a brand new Fight Game Podcast.

To kick off this week’s top five, we looked at some of the issues we’ve had with AEW television of late.

Topics include:

  • Too much comedy that doesn’t hit in AEW
  • An excellent MJF vs. Kenny Omega match on AEW Collision which didn’t mean much after
  • Trying to find the logic of The Young Bucks being upset
  • Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes III from this past Tuesday’s NXT Halloween Havoc
  • Lola Vice’s fire
  • A match-by-match preview for WWE Crown Jewel

Also, I will be live after WWE Crown Jewel on YouTube for those interested.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

WWE NXT live results: Halloween Havoc night two

Posted on by Chris Aiken

Halloween Havoc 2023 concludes with an NXT Championship match taking place tonight.

On Halloween night, Ilja Dragunov puts his NXT Championship on the line against Carmelo Hayes. This is the third match in Dragunov and Hayes’ trilogy. They have a 1-1 record against each other entering tonight.

Hayes earned this title shot by defeating Baron Corbin and Dijak in a triple threat match. Trick Williams was supposed to be included in that match, but he got taken out in a backstage attack. Hayes has denied that he was responsible for the attack on his friend.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Nathan Frazer for the NXT North American title and Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Thea Hail & Jacy Jayne for the WWE Women’s Tag Team titles are also set.

The winner of the Women’s Breakout Tournament will be crowned as Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice clash in the finals.

Bron Breakker vs. Mr. Stone and Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley are part of tonight’s card as well. Plus, a Tables, Ladders & Scares match between The Creed Brothers and Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo opens the show.

Arriving to the building is the Ectomobile with sirens blaring and the Halloween Havoc logo plastered on the side. Out steps Shotzi and Scarlett dressed as Ghostbusters.

Opening the show is rock band New Years Day with a live performance of “Hurts Like Hell” mixed with a montage, which recapped night one of the Havoc special from last week.

The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) vs. Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo in a tables, ladders and chairs match

Brutus pinned Humberto after a wild spot fest fitting of the TLC moniker.

Did not take long for the tables, ladders and chairs to come into play. Juilus took a super press slam on a ladder bridge in a double team by the rudos. Garza & Humberto then did an avalanche Gory Bomb/cutter combo, and they put Brutus through tables set up at ringside just before the show cuts to its first commercial break.

When the show returns from the break, Julius Creed and Garza duel with chairs. Van Daminators galore for a moment. In another spoof from ECW, Brutus Creed did the Terry Funk ladder spot. Moments later, Brutus was being double-teamed on the floor when Julius came to his brother’s rescue with a flip dive over the ropes.

The Creeds go on to set up two tables side-by-side in the ring, and Humberto takes a version of the Doomsday Device where a Brutus Bomb puts Humberto through the tables. Garza also took a Nestea Plunge through a table at ringside. Brutus would pin Humberto for the pinfall, and the Creeds are victorious. Ivy Nile gets into the ring to celebrate with the Creeds. 

Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn take over a Ouija board. 

Joe Gacy is getting a reboot of his character. He is still brooding, but he apparently no longer runs a cult. He also has a nose ring.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley never starts

Stratton ambushed Henley during Henley’s entrance. Stratton rammed Henley’s knee into the ring post, and Stratton applied a Bret Hart ring post figure-four. This all happened before the bell ever started. Referees pour out to break up the bedlam. Henley sold big, and the match is no in question

Meta-Four are dressed like the characters from Scooby-Doo as they go through a haunted house looking for Noam Dar’s Heritage Cup trophy. They try to no-sell it, but they are frightened. This skit is to be continued later in the show.

NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio (with WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley) defeated Nathan Frazier to retain the title

Mysterio pinned Frazier, but it was a rough night for Mysterio. Dom took some nasty bumps at times in this match. Wes Lee runs in after the match for a post-match beatdown on Dom.

Dirty Dom came dressed as a prisoner for Halloween, while Mami was dressed as a cop. Cute couples costumes. Dom was also wearing Perro Aguayo boots.

Frazier works circles around Dom at the outset, causing Dom to panic and powder. During a split-screen break, Dom is also turn the tide. Dom goes into a Three Amigo routine, and he pauses to taunt and showboat. That cost him, as Dom is then dropped on his head. In another awkward bump, Dom takes a botched slop drop after Frazier does a springboard. Dom takes an ugly bump.

Ripley interfered when she pushed Dom out of harm’s way as Frazier went for a tope. Frazier and Ripley face off, which distracts Frazier momentarily. Frazier turns around to eat a superkick. Frazier quickly comes back to connect on a tope. Frazier goes for a Phoenix Splash, but no water in the pool. Moments later, Frazier sets up a superplex, and he follows up with a twisting neckbreaker for a near fall. 

Ripley tries to slide Dom a title belt to use as a weapon, but Dom misses it. The belt slides out of the ring, and Dom takes a two count on a schoolboy. Dom goes for a 619, but Frazier counters to land a superkick. 

Double down and Frazier gets to his feet. He climbs the turnbuckles, but he is shoved off by Ripley. Dom capitalizes with a frog splash, and Dom covers Frazier for a pinfall. 

Wes Lee runs in after the match, and Lee attacks Dom. Lee pummels Dom, and Dom flees the ring.

The Scooby-Doo skit continues with Meta-Four. Jakara Jackson faints. Oro Mensah is kidnapped after being jumped by Akira Tozawa. Lash Legend is also kidnapped by zombies. To be continued…

Bron Breakker defeated Mr. Stone

Breakker toys with Stone like a cat playing with a mouse. Stone gets pummeled and suplexed by Breakker, and Breakker spears Stone. Breakker covers Stone for an easy three count.

The match was over, but Breakker was not done. In a call back to the angle where Breakker injured Von Wagner, Breakker teasing doing the same to Stone. Breakker raises a section of the metal ring steps over his head, ready to smash Stone’s head. 

Cue Wagner’s music, and out he comes with a Spirit of ’76 comeback. Wagner even had his head bandaged, but it looked more like a white bandanna on his head. 

Wagner is a house of fire, and he plants Breakker on the ring steps. They tease Wagner smashing the steps on Breakker, much like Breakker did to Wagner previously. Breakker rolls away at the last moment, and security runs down to break up the melee. They hold Wagner back as Breakker leaves. 

New NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria is the focus of a video package recapping her win over Becky Lynch. Great hype video that made Valkyria look like a superstar. She returns to NXT next week to address the audience. 

Scrypts cuts a promo on behalf of OTM. They have a program with Ridge Holland and Butch. 

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Chelsea Green & Piper Niven vs. Jacy Jayne & Thea Hail (with NXT Tag Team Champions Andre Chase & Duke Hudson) to retain the titles

Green pinned Jayne, and the champs retain their titles. The bout starts with a brawl before the bell. Hail & Jayne clean house before the show cuts to a commercial break. The heel champions have turned the tide during the break, and Hail is getting worked over as the show returns from the break.

Hot tag and Jayne runs wild. Jayne gets a few near falls. Parade of high spots in the closing minutes. Double down after Jayne and Green hit each other with high kicks. 

Jayne wanted to use a tag title belt as a weapon, but Chase takes the belt away from Jayne. Chase is telling Jayne she does not need to use the belt. Jayne is distracted, making her easy prey for an Unprettier from Green. Jayne is then pinned by Green, and the champs retain.

McKenzie Mitchell interviews Lexis King, as King sets on a throne. King’s character is cocky and wants to make a name for himself. This interview did him no favors. 

Lola Vice (with Elektra Lopez) defeated Kelani Jordan to win the NXT Women’s Breakout tournament

Vice pinned Jordan in the tournament final.

They must have practiced a lot, and it showed. Not too bad for what is essentially a developmental tournament. The story of the match heading into the finish is Jordan injured her knee. 

To set up the finish, Jordan goes for a split-legged moonsault. Elektra Lopez causes a distraction at ringside, allowing Vice time to move out of the way on the moonsault. Jordan sells her injured knee, and Jordan then eats a roundhouse kick. Vice covers Jordan for a three count, and Vice wins the tournament. 

The Meta-Four Scooby-Doo skit continues with Noam Dar dressed as Scoopy. He finds his stolen trophy, but Dar is surrounded by dark creatures of the night. Tozawa blackmails Dar into giving him a Heritage Cup match next week. Tozawa then lets the zombies have their way with Dar. What a wacky skit.

Von Wagner demands Mr. Stone get him booked in a match next week against Bron Breakker. The match is later made official for next week.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes to retain the title 

Dragunov pinned Hayes in a hard-hitting match. This was proof that wrestling might be a work, but it is not fake. These two beat the crap out of each other in this return bout. An appearance by Trick Williams distracts Hayes at the finish. 

Back-and-forth at the start, leading to a double down before a commercial break. The war wages when the show returns.

Dragunov takes a DDT on the apron, and he takes a wild bump. Hayes looks to capitalize with a frog splash, but Dragunov kicks out. Good near fall, as it played off the finish of another title belt earlier on.

They would go on to trade near falls, as well as trading strikes and high impact moves. Hayes goes for another DDT on the apron, but Dragunov counters the second time around. Dragunov then gives Hayes a Death Valley Driver on the apron. 

Dragunov laid Hayes on the announce desk, and Dragunov jumps off the barricade. Dragunov puts Hayes through the desk with a H-bomb flying forearm smash. 

Hayes fights back in the closing moments. Hayes executes a codebreaker, but Dragunov bounces off a rope and falls into another H-bomb smash. Hayes still manages to kick out. Dragunov climbs the turnbuckles, looking to deliver a flying H-bomb. Hayes again counters with a codebreaker. Hayes then climbs the ropes, when he is interrupted and distracted by the theme music of Trick Williams. 

Williams glares at Hayes, and Hayes is in shock. Dragunov gives Hayes a superplex, and Dragunov delivers Torpedo Maskau. Dragunov would then covers Hayes for the deciding pinfall. 

Williams gets into the ring and lifts Hayes off the mat by an arm. Williams has a mean look on his face as he stares a hole through Hayes. They are face-to-face when the show cuts to the backstage area. Baron Corbin has ambushed and laid out Dragunov. Corbin is holding the title belt and yelling at Dragunov as the show goes off the air.

Ilja Dragunov & Carmelo Hayes to appear on WWE NXT Halloween Havoc night one

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On NXT tonight, we’ll hear from Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes ahead of their upcoming title bout.

Tonight’s NXT is week one of Halloween Havoc 2023. Dragunov is defending the NXT Championship against Hayes on week two next Tuesday, which is Halloween night.

WWE has announced that Dragunov and Hayes will speak on tonight’s show.

Vic Joseph wrote: “I had a chance to sit with [Hayes] and [Dragunov] – TONIGHT hear exclusive comments from both ahead the NXT Championship Match next week on #WWENXT #HalloweenHavoc”

Dragunov’s NXT Championship reign began with a victory over Hayes at No Mercy this September. Hayes earned the rematch by defeating Baron Corbin and Dijak in a triple threat match on NXT last Tuesday.

That triple threat match was supposed to be a fatal four-way with Trick Williams also included, but there was an angle on the show where Williams was laid out by a mystery attacker backstage. Before the attack, there was dissension between Hayes and Williams over them both going after the NXT Championship.

WWE has announced that Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James in a Devil’s Playground match will open Halloween Havoc week one tonight. Here’s everything that’s been announced for the episode:

  • NXT Women’s Champion Becky Lynch defends against Lyra Valkyria
  • NXT Tag Team Champions Tony D’Angelo & Stacks defend against Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson)
  • Lights Out match: Gigi Dolin vs. Blair Davenport
  • Lexis King (Brian Pillman Jr.) makes his NXT in-ring debut
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament semifinals: Lola Vice vs. Karmen Petrovic
  • NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament semifinals: Arianna Grace vs. Kelani Jordan
  • We’ll hear from NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes
  • Devil’s Playground match: Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James

Ilja Dragunov: NXT vs. AEW head-to-head was ‘historical, inspirational day at work’

Posted on by Denise Salcedo

WWE NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov will be defending his gold at night two of NXT Halloween Havoc (Tuesday, October 31) against former champion Carmelo Hayes in a trilogy bout.

The two men are no strangers having competed twice already before. Their first encounter took place at the NXT Great American Bash where Hayes successfully retained his title. However, the title changed hands the second time they met at NXT No Mercy.

I caught with the champion this week which you can watch above on YouTube.

Here’s some key quotes:

Winning the NXT Championship

“This feeling is beyond words to be honest. It feels like my destiny is fulfilled. It feels like the right things came into the right place. I am at the perfect mental state right now, the perfect shape right now, I am the best I have ever been. So there’s no reason for me to stop, everything that I want to do is a create a reign, that pushes this brand — NXT — to the next level.” 

The Carmelo trilogy

Both the Great American Bash and No Mercy bouts between Dragunov and Hayes were rated ****3/4 stars by our own Dave Meltzer. 

Dragunov explained that what made those performances “absolutely special” was the investment from the fans, and that both he and Hayes pushed themselves to another level.

“We created something that really pushes this championship. It shows how important this is. We presented a fight. We presented something that pushes things to the next level, because we both wanted to be champion, and we wanted to push things to the next level. Only one of us could survive. I was the one who survived.” 

Dragunov said he wasn’t surprised by the in-ring chemistry he shares with Hayes, given that he was one of the guys he has wanted to wrestle for a while.

“I remember the first time I met him was back when I wrestled Gunther and won the NXT UK Championship. I knew that this guy at the moment was probably at the finals of the Breakout Tournament and you could already feel at this moment that he has a certain aura about him. Only a few people have a certain aura about them right at the start of their WWE careers. The way he progressed, the way he made a name for himself, the way he presented himself in all his performances. He was a person I wanted to wrestle for a long time and create something memorable with for a very a long time.”

NXT pride

NXT had a massive show two weeks ago, stacking up heavily as they competed with AEW that same night. Fans saw Cody Rhodes, John Cena, Paul Heyman and the Undertaker. Dragunov spoke about how special that day was and what it was like behind the scenes. 

“…The vibe was very very interesting because everybody felt that there is something historical happening on this day. The people on this brand put so much hard work so we’re like creating the best versions of ourselves every single time on TV, getting the attention of the people. And those icons of the business coming to this iconic show, pushing everything to the next level, I think everybody just gets more hungrier for this because we see what’s possible. We see what we can achieve together. We can reach our fullest potential, and the whole day just being around people, these people with amounts of pure knowledge, it was a historical, inspirational day at work for the entire brand.”

NXT Championship match set for Halloween Havoc night two

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Carmelo Hayes is getting another shot at the NXT Championship.

Hayes defeated Baron Corbin and Dijak in a three-way on Tuesday’s NXT to become the new number one contender for the NXT Championship. After Corbin hit the End of Days on Dijak, Hayes connected with Nothing But Net on Corbin and pinned Dijak to win the match.

A show-long storyline on Tuesday revealed that Cody Rhodes had made one final decision when he was guest GM of NXT last week: he added Trick Williams into the three-way match, making it a fatal four-way match. When Hayes heard the news, he was upset and confronted Williams about it backstage. The two made amends, but Williams was later found laid out backstage. It was later announced that Williams had been taken out of the match and sent to a local hospital.

Also on Tuesday’s show, Mr. Stone challenged Bron Breakker to a match after Stone confronted Breakker about attacking Von Wagner last month, causing him to undergo rehab. However, that match wasn’t confirmed for either show.

Here is the lineup so far for NXT Halloween Havoc night two:

  • NXT Championship: Ilja Dragunov defends against Carmelo Hayes