The background of the John Cena angle and different versions of the story
What changed on the day of Elimination Chamber and different versions as to why
The turn itself
Travis Scott injures Rhodes
Comparisons with other turns
Art imitating real life
WrestleMania lineup
Elimination Chamber business and how it performed around the world
Pat McAfee controversy
TKO getting into boxing, what has and hasn’t been talked about and what we know about the details on how Nick Khan and Dana White are involved as well as why this is no risk for TKO
Linda McMahon confirmed for Secretary of Education, and then to wipe it all out
AEW Revolution preview, business numbers and interest level
Why the March 6, 1972 match with Antonio Inoki vs. Karl Gotch is still talked about 53 years after it happened
New Japan anniversary show notes, early New Japan Cup news
Saya Kamitani vs. Tam Nakano becomes a classic match, as well as a controversial one
Fantastica Mania final day coverage
Coverage of the deaths of Ciclon Ramirez and Australian Suicide
How did SmackDown and Dynamite place in the weekly standings
The unique Dynamite rating pattern
Full weekly ratings notes including what milestone did Raw on Netflix fall below
Notes on the high SmackDown number
Takeshita goes to Arena Mexico
Arguably the greatest freestyle wrestler of all-time passes away
Queen of the Ring notes
Giant mask match of legends being teased
Tony Khan changes philosophy
Forbidden Door title match tease
Tony Khan talks Wembley Stadium attendance record
Ospreay talks difference between New Japan and AEW
Mark Shapiro talks a lot of the future WWE and UFC business deals
A look at what level of value UFC PPVs could bring to Netflix and the value WWE brings to Netflix
Tom Aspinall vs. Jon Jones update
Freak show fight between two of the strongest men who ever lived
Big Tokyo Dome event planned
WWE in talks for a unique PPV event including date and place it is tentative for
Evolve notes
Sonya Deville and Carmella talk being dropped by WWE
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
Following his return on Raw, Roman Reigns wrote on Instagram: “MADISON SQUARE GARDEN!!!! Acknowledge the Greatest box office attraction in WWE history and his Wiseman!”
Ricochet has filed to trademark the name ‘King Ricochet’.
Wardlow, who was originally announced for Pandemonium Pro Wrestling’s The House Always Wins on April 17, has pulled out of the show. Duke, the former Duke Hudson, will be replacing him in a six-man tag match in what is his first announced independent date following his WWE release.
A ‘Bruno Forever’ fundraiser event honoring Bruno Sammartino is set for March 15 in Pittsburgh. Corey Graves and Stan Hansen have been announced for the show.
Mike Sempervive is back with an express edition of the show, taking a look at all of the news. A preview of tonight’s NXT, Mina Shirakawa, TAFKA Duke Hudson, and more. While abbreviated, it’s a fun show as always so check it out~!
Duke Hudson has confirmed he is no longer with WWE.
The former member of Chase U was released sometime last month, Fightful Select reported on Monday. Our own Dave Meltzer confirmed the news in the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.
On Tuesday, Hudson posted a video on social media featuring him interviewing himself on a talk show-style segment titled “Wrestling with Identity.”
Hudson in black clothing: “Welcome to Wrestling With Identity. Do we have a name for you or us yet?”
Sad Hudson in white clothing: “I don’t know.”
Hudson in black clothing: “All right, well, let’s get straight to the point. You’ve been fired, which might be breaking news to a lot of the people here. I don’t think I’ve seen anything online, and you weren’t a part of a group with budget cuts, right? So this really was more of a ‘we hate you.’ That’s probably why you look so rough. I mean, I’m pulling it off, but now that the cat’s out of the bag, how do you feel about wasting six years of your life in that building?”
Sad Hudson: “I wouldn’t say it was a waste.”
Hudson in black clothing: “Ah, come on, think about everything that happened in your time there.”
Sad Hudson: “Like what?”
Hudson in black clothing: “Well, you and Bronnie (Bronson Reed), for example. I mean, you started at the same time, you came up in Australia together. Now he’s jumping off the top of cages at Survivor Series, and you’re being written off TV… again. Okay. So Rhea, for example, she is a megastar. She grew up watching you wrestle in Australia. You love telling people that story. Right, well, they overtook you. Your time was wasted.”
Sad Hudson: “I can be happy for my friends and be disappointed in my own shortcomings at the same time.”
Hudson in black clothing: “Oh, come on! You’re free now! You can say whatever you want to say. Don’t just stick to what you learned in media training. Tell me what you want to say!
Sad Hudson: “I don’t know.”
Hudson in black clothing: “I’m not done with you. We’ll be right back.”
Fellow Chase U alumni, Andre Chase, released the following statement about Hudson:
I just wanted to publicly thank Duke Hudson for all of his hard work and contributions to Chase U.
From the poker table, to the classroom, to the tag-team Match of the Year, all the way to top as champions in the WWE.
— Andre Chase | twitch.tv/ChaseUniversity (@AndreChaseWWE) February 4, 2025
Hudson’s WWE release was addressed by our own Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on last night’s edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.
Alvarez said on the show:
“They had Chase U, and Chase U was super over in NXT. And everybody used to always say, ‘Well, this act will never get over on the main roster blah blah blah,’ but you know what? Every time NXT ran on a PLE weekend and they drew from the normal WWE crowd cause they got seven, eight thousand people in the building for NXT, Chase U always got over. They were always one of the hottest act when they ran one of those big buildings on PLE weekend. Maybe it wouldn’t have worked for more than six months or whatever, I have no idea why they didn’t call that act up, give it a shot for six months, maybe they’d sell a s–t ton of merch and get over.”
Meltzer added:
“I was a little surpised but this is the deal, he’s 34 years old and I think the decision was essentially that we’ve had him in developmental for, what’s it been, for six years?”
“Levesque is the one who makes the calls and for whatever reason, he didn’t see Duke as a main roster guy.”
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the “Ring Boy” lawsuit, what’s up with The Rock and Drew McIntyre and Alexa Bliss and Duke Hudson and Conor McGregor, Curry Man is retiring, the WWE Raw report and Royal Rumble fallout, and more!
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Maryland Supreme Court holds up law allowing ring boy suit to move forward
6:22: The Rock’s status for WrestleMania, other WrestleMania plans
15:47 Update on Drew McIntyre, what happened with Alexa Bliss
22:25: Duke Hudson released, Curry Man retires from wrestling, Jericho Cruise, Elias joining forces with The Righteous
27:48: Conor McGregor spit on someone, Dana White says he never wants to retire, ratings
Duke Hudson is no longer with WWE after being released last month, according to a new report.
Fightful reports that WWE released the former NXT Tag Team Champion Hudson last month.
Hudson signed with WWE in 2019, debuting in NXT on a house show. He went on to work as enhancement talent on WWE Raw during the COVID-19 pandemic under his real name, Brendan Vink.
His highest-profile run in WWE NXT came as part of the Chase University faction, winning the NXT Tag Team Championship with Chase last August. Chase and Hudson won gold on the August 13 NXT from Nathan Frazer and Axiom, then dropped the titles back to Fraxiom at the No Mercy PLE on September 1. Chase U would later disband as a result of Chase losing to Ridge Holland on NXT TV last November.
Hudson had not been used in the ring on NXT TV since losing to Holland last September. What would turn out to be his final WWE match came on a November 22, 2024 NXT house show where he defeated Anthony Luke.
It’s on for Ridge Holland and Trick Williams, but it’s all over for Chase U.
In the main event of Tuesday’s NXT, Ridge Holland defeated Andre Chase in a number one contender’s match for the NXT Championship, earning a title match for Deadline on December 7. The stipulation had been if Chase were to lose, the relationship between him and Chase U members Riley Osborne, Thea Hail, and Duke Hudson would come to an end.
Towards the end of the match, Chase made a fierce comeback after all of his students were laid out at ringside, including Hail after Osborne accidently took her out while going for a dive on Holland. Chase hit a middle rope powerbomb for a nearfall, but ended up falling to the Redeemer (implant DDT) for the win.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about as we recap both AEW Dynamite with an incredible MJF vs. Will Ospreay 60-minute match (actually 59:59), then NXT with a great North American Title match featuring Oba Femi and Duke Hudson. A fun show as always so check it out~!
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon before Monday’s episode of Raw.
All told, a fun show, but nothing was especially dazzling this week.
Bronson Reed defeated Javier Bernal (5:05)
This was all about how long Bernal could avoid the inevitable and it was fun while it lasted.
In a big man versus little man contest like this, you kind of know that it’s only a matter of time before the big man hits his move and wins. The fun of the chase and the potential for an upset is what keeps people watching. And this one was very much in that pattern.
Bernal was on the end of his second Main Event defeat here in his second appearance. He looked plucky enough but the crowd seem to be increasingly behind Reed, who hasn’t lost a TV taping bout since October.
The early going was Bernal ducking and weaving, avoiding the charges from Reed. He eventually got caught in a nerve hold but fought his way out, landing a couple of dropkicks to wobble Reed on his feet.
Reed then caught him off the top rope, nailing him with a DDT before they went to the finish.
The Tsunami is getting over with live crowds and it got Reed the win here, but longer term, its not going to be great on his body.
Duke Hudson defeated Myles Borne (6:06)
This lacked much excitement and dragged in the second half when the dreaded chin lock was brought out, but the ending was decent enough.
Hudson and Borne are still very new to main roster action and it showed a little bit in how safe and formulaic this match was. For Hudson, it was his fourth match on the show and only the second for Borne.
They did mat work in the first few minutes, exchanging headlocks and Hudson pushing his Chase U gimmick to the crowd. Before the break, Hudson missed a charge and Borne used a dropkick.
The highlight for Borne was the near fall he got from an Orton-esque scoop slam after having missed a dropkick and run into an elbow in the corner.
Hudson worked the whole match in his Chase U bib and did a full hulk up after that two count, stopping short at actually tearing his shirt.
In the end, the finish saw Hudson use a German and then his finisher – the scorpion death drop – to get the win. And, actually, as finishing moves go, its pretty cool.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee before Monday’s episode of Raw.
Another week and another set of NXT stars appeared on Main Event and it produced some entertaining matches for a very expectant pre-Raw crowd.
Duke Hudson defeated Charlie Dempsey (6:37)
This was a fun opener with a solid debut performance from Hudson against an always-entertaining Charlie Dempsey.
While this was Dempsey’s third all-time Main Event appearance, NXT’s Duke Hudson made his first appearance on the show in over a year and did so with a nice win to boot.
Dempsey is probably an acquired taste, but he’s certainly mine. His methodical style and attention to detail are fun to watch especially when he is paired with the right opponent. His Main Event record dropped to 0-3 here with the loss, but in all three matches, has come out looking good.
Dempsey does double underhook suplexes beautifully, but you also have to admire how he can do the intricate work as well as the flashy stuff. He did a neat kip-up in the early going.
It was very much a 50-50 match all the way through. They worked at quite a pace too, never really slowing down, apart from a front-face lock part-way through and the near falls at the end.
In the end, Dempsey sent Hudson to the outside but he used a springboard off the apron into the ring so that he landed behind Dempsey. From here, he used a German suplex to get the win.
Apollo Crews defeated Riley Osborne (6:16)
This was decent, with Crews continuing his winning streak on Main Event. Osborne was able to show flashes of what he can do.
As Crews continued to come back from the injury that took him out of action over the summer, they fed him some cannon fodder in the form of debuting Riley Osborne here. That’s not to say that this was a squash, but it did allow Osborne to flip around all over to make Crews look like a strong force.
The comparisons between Osborne and Evan Bourne during his run in WWE will probably be made if he gets more main roster appearances and that’s certainly no bad thing. He worked hard here and took some pretty nasty bumps for Crews.
Crews dominated Osborne here, including a really disrespectful-looking move where he launched Osborne up for a delayed suplex, but instead of landing on the mat together, he just threw him off and remained standing. The bump Osborne took looked like it really sucked.
When Osborne did manage to get some offense in, he used a tremendous standing corkscrew splash, which frankly puts Crews’ standing moonsault to shame. He even did a top rope shooting star press that he landed on his feet when Crews got out of the way.
Ultimately, Crews nailed him with a big boot and used his frog splash off the top rope for the win. It seems strange that WWE hasn’t given it a wacky name yet because it’s generally his finisher these days. But this was a fun match and Osborne certainly didn’t look out of place.
The Global Heritage Invitational tournament will continue on Level Up this week.
WWE has announced that a round-robin match between Duke Hudson and Akira Tozawa will take place on Friday’s show.
The tournament kicked off on Tuesday’s episode of NXT. Joe Coffey defeated Nathan Frazier in a Group B match and Butch of the Brawling Brutes defeated Charlie Dempsey in the first Group A match.
The winners of each block will meet in the finals on the September 26 episode of NXT. Noam Dar will defend the Heritage Cup against the winner of that match at NXT No Mercy on September 30.
NXT Global Heritage Invitational Standings
Group A
Butch – 2 points (1-0)
Tyler Bate – 0 points (0-0)
Axiom – 0 points (0-0)
Charlie Dempsey – 0 points (0-1)
Group B
Joe Coffey – 2 points (1-0)
Duke Hudson – 0 points (0-1)
Akira Tozawa – 0 points (0-0)
Nathan Frazier – 0 points (0-1)
NXT Level Up airs Friday at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock in the U.S. and the WWE Network internationally. It was filmed on Tuesday, August 29 from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
NXT Level Up August 31 lineup:
Akira Tozawa vs. Duke Hudson w/Andre Chase in a Global Heritage Invitational B Block match
NXT’s Global Heritage Invitational tournament will include at least one WWE main roster wrestler.
It was announced today that Butch will be competing in the Global Heritage Invitational. The tournament is being held to determine who will challenge Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup Championship at NXT No Mercy.
Tyler Bate, Joe Coffey, Butch, Duke Hudson, Charlie Dempsey, and Nathan Frazer are the first six participants that have been confirmed for the round-robin tournament. It will feature eight wrestlers in total, with the participants being divided into two groups.
Butch, Bate, and Dempsey are in Group A. Coffey, Hudson, and Frazer are in Group B.
There will be two groups with four wrestlers in each group in a round-robin style tournament.
Matches have a 12-minute time limit.
Pinfall and submission victories are worth two points. A draw will earn each wrestler one point.
The winner of Group A faces the winner of Group B on Tuesday, September 26 and the winner of that match will challenge Noam Dar for the Heritage Cup on Saturday, September 30 at NXT No Mercy.
The invitational tournament kicks off on NXT this Tuesday.
Butch was in action on SmackDown last night, teaming with Ridge Holland in a loss to The Street Profits. It was billed as a Terry Funk memorial hardcore tag team match.
A triple threat tag team match is set for next week’s NXT.
Additionally, Stevie Turner will make her NXT in-ring debut, Indus Sher will face The Creed Brothers, and Cora Jade will meet Lyra Valkyria.
Both The Dyad and Edris Enofe & Malik Blade confronted The New Day on this week’s NXT, wanting a NXT Tag Team title shot. This led to a tag team match being set up for next week, where the winners would be added to the three-way match for the NXT Tag Team titles at Vengeance Day. Later, Duke Hudson announced that he was able to add Chase U to the match.
After The Creeds defeated Drew Gulak & Hank Walker on Tuesday’s NXT, they were confronted by a reunited Indus Sher and Jinder Mahal, who issued the challenge to the Creeds for next week. The Creeds accepted.
McKenzie Mitchell attempted to interview Stevie Turner on Tuesday’s NXT. Instead, she appeared on a video screen and largely ignored Mitchell’s questions, eventually announcing she’ll make her in-ring debut on next week’s show.
Cora Jade ran down Lyra Valkyria in a backstage interview. She opened her locker and found a feather, upset that Valkyria had put it in there.
Here is the updated lineup for next week’s NXT:
The New Day Tag Team Invitational: The Dyad vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. Andre Chase & Duke Hudson
Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward) defeated Brooklyn Barlow
Thea Hail was accompanied to the ring by the rest of Chase U. This was Barlow’s fourth-ever match on Level Up.
They traded some headlocks and pinning combos. The commentators, Sudu Shah and Nigel McGuinness, kept ensuring that we knew Barlow was a former strongman competitor.
Barlow showed off her strength for most of the match. Hail turned around an abdominal stretch into a side slam. This led to Hail hitting a standing moonsault and the Hail Yeah for the victory.
– After the match, Kelly Kincaid was backstage with Hank Walker. They discussed Walker’s upcoming main event match with Duke Hudson. Walker put Hudson over until he said Hudson was cocky and looked down on people. Walker quoted his grandpa, “If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready.”
Bryson Montana defeated Ru Feng
Montana and Feng were each looking for their first victory as part of the NXT roster. In the promo art for the match, Montana looked cool wearing a Shield-type vest. He came to the ring in a suit and gloves and no shirt. I guess he felt he needed to dress up for this edition of Level Up.
Feng started out hot with some side headlocks. The crowd started a “Mortal Kombat” chant. Feng hit a body slam and a spinning heel kick for a two count.
Montana got the heat back with some stomps to Feng’s chest and some rest holds. Feng got back up and tried striking, but Montana hit a variation of the spinebuster called the Sky High to pick up the win.
Duke Hudson defeated Hank Walker
Walker made his way to the ring in the most basic country boy clothes of all time. McGuinness made a really funny joke about Walker’s appearance, comparing this match to seeing Bad Bunny or Logan Paul because we were seeing Seth Rogen in the ring.
They exchanged shoulder tackles to start the match. Walker eventually went for a body slam, but Hudson proved to be too heavy. Walker didn’t let up though, throwing Hudson into the corner and hitting a sidewalk slam for a two count.
Hudson got the heat with a missed elbow drop by Walker. He put the boots into Walker and hit a big elbow for another two count.
Hudson started using the farm boy’s hair to throw him around the ring. Walker responded by tugging on Hudson’s hair and driving him into the top turnbuckle. Walker hit a cool-looking body slam where he dragged Hudson up from the ground and sent him face-first into the mat. Walker tried to get the win with a vertical suplex, but Hudson landed on his feet and hit a big boot for the victory.
Final Thoughts —
This was an okay episode of NXT Level Up. The opener was solid. Thea Hail and Chase U continue their push as a faction while Brooklyn Barlow got some much-needed TV time.
The second matchup was mostly skippable, while the main event saw Hank Walker face off against his biggest opponent yet, Duke Hudson. Walker was over with the crowd, but he came out in the most basic outfit and had the most basic moves. It was only his second match on TV, so he’ll have a chance at more to come. Duke Hudson is also great at just being a heel.
Hank Walker looked like he was just picked up from an East Tennessee Autozone and was told he had to wrestle. Instead of wrestling like a hoss, Walker used grappling and arm drags. I guess Stacks’ ring work is how I’d imagine a mobster would wrestle, if that means anything.
Stacks opened the match with kicks. Walker caught Stacks, turning things around with a pair of arm drags. Stacks fought back into the match with a knee to the mid-section and some strikes. Walker kicked out of a pin attempt following a Stacks uppercut before attempting a rollup. Stacks landed a lariat to maintain his control, but again, he couldn’t close the match.
Once he escaped ground control, Walker planted Stacks with a crossbody and ripped off his mechanic’s shirt. Stacks answered with a pair of strikes and a kick to the head to close the match.
Amari Miller defeated Sloane Jacobs
What this match lacked in polish, it made up for in energy. Don’t get me wrong, the match wasn’t great, but they certainly left it all in the ring.
The match opened with both women trading control in a less-than-stellar ground sequence. Jacobs tried to maintain arm control as the awkward grappling continued. Jacobs whipped Miller arm-first onto the mat, successfully gaining control.
Miller slammed Jacobs into the bottom rope but couldn’t capitalize. Jacobs flattened Miller with a boot and retook the arm. Once Miller fought free, she turned things around with a barrage of kicks. To close the match, Miller slammed Jacobs into her knee, leading to the successful pin.
Duke Hudson defeated Javier Bernal
Utterly forgettable.
Hudson toyed with Bernal from the opening bell, using his size to gain the lead while taunting Bernal throughout. Bernal tried to fight his way into the match but couldn’t achieve anything significant. Hudson ended Bernal’s rally attempt with an STO before continuing to make offensive gains.
After a long struggle, Bernal reversed a slam into a DDT. Bernal followed up with a sliding elbow and a crossbody, leading to a near fall. Bernal tried climbing to the top, but Hudson intercepted him before hitting a crucifix powerbomb to close the match.
The NXT Champion and NXT Women’s Champion are both set for non-title action on NXT tonight.
Ahead of his NXT Championship match against Joe Gacy at In Your House, Bron Breakker will take on Duke Hudson tonight. NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose vs. Indi Hartwell has also been announced for the episode.
WWE has yet to confirm Rose’s challenger for In Your House. The special event is taking place on Saturday, June 4.
A non-title match between NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly and Diamond Mine’s Roderick Strong & Damon Kemp has also been advertised for tonight’s NXT. Pretty Deadly are defending their titles against The Creed Brothers at In Your House. In recent weeks, The Creed Brothers have been unhappy with Strong getting involved in their matches.
Plus, Alba Fyre faces Elektra Lopez, Ikemen Jiro attempts to get vengeance on Von Wagner, the semifinals of the NXT Women’s Breakout Tournament will take place, and more.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
Opening the show is a tag team grudge match. But first, Tony D’Angelo and his henchmen with a backstage promo on Santos Escobar. Their feud ain’t over, not by a long shot. They go on to threaten Escobar, before heading to the ring for their match.
Meanwhile, Escobar is backstage cool as a fan. He smirks and puts on his sunglasses. No worries.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo & Troy “Two Dimes” Donovan (with Tony D’Angelo) defeats Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
Two Dimes pins Blade to win the match. A huge brawl ensues after the match involving Legado del Fantasma.
Enofe & Blade got a lot of offense, which in WWE logic means they go on to lose the match. The offense seems to make them look strong, but they keep losing most of their matches.
Heat on Enfoe as the two heels work him over. In a split screen, Esobar is backstage with Legado del Fantasma. Escobar says they are heading to the ring.
Hot tag to Blade, and he slips when trying to springboard into the ring. Although they almost ruins his momentum, the heels bump and feed. Blade gets a few near falls, and he goes to tag Enofe.
Enofe is pulled off the apron before he can make a tag. Blade is subsequently cut off in the ring. Escobar and Legado del Fantasma enter stage left as Blade is hit with stereo Yakuza kicks.
Two Dimes covers Blade for a three count as D’Angelo’s henchmen get a win. D’Angelo enters the ring immediately after the match is over. He calls out Legado del Fantasma, and they rush the ring.
Huge brawl erupts. Gordon Solie might call it a Pier Sixer in describing the bedlam. Referees and stooges pour out to separate the two factions. The live studio audience chants “let them fight.”
Wes Lee is backstage for an interview with McKenzie Mitchell. Lee, with his ribs taped up, stand by his challenge to Sanga. He is not backing down.
Sanga defeats Wes Lee
Sanga pins Lee after a mauling and a chokelsam.
Vibes of David against Goliath as Sanga manhandles Lee at the outset. Except this time, Goliath wins. Then Goliath seemingly turns babyface after the match.
Lee eventually makes a comeback with a rally. Lee knocks Sanga out of the ring, and Sanga is off his feet at ringside. Not for long.
Sanga cuts off Lee, but makes one last rally. Lee turns a flip taking a lariat from Sanga. Lee then takes a chokeslam, and Sanga covers Lee for a three count.
Xyon Quinn comes into the ring after the match, seemingly to attack Lee. Sanga had left the ring, but he comes back to run off Quinn. Sanga embraces Lee, as the announcers play it up like Lee has earned Sanga’s respect.
Cora Jade gives Roxanne Perez a pep talk ahead of Perez’s match tonight. They tell a story about a show in Austin where someone threw all of their stuff out of the locker room, and then Perez had to the wrestle a match with this person. After the match, Jade hit the person with a skateboard. Jade also says she is going to watch the show tonight from ringside.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker bursts into a locker room looking for Jor Gacy and his druids. Instead, he finds the NXT Championship belt hanging on a locker and a polaroid photograph from his childhood.
Alba Fyre defeats Elektra Lopez
Fyre pins Lopez after a Swanton Bomb. Short match with a short story where Lopez targets an arm, but Fyre is able to overcome the injury and win.
Lopez works an arm as Jade watches the match from a seat in the front row. Fyre cannot execute her Gory Bomb finisher because of the injured arm. Comeback by Fyre nonetheless, and they go right into the finish.
Fyre off the top rope with a Swanton, and she covers Lopez for a pinfall.
Lopex and Jade exchange words at ringside after the match.
Damon Reed tells the rest of Diamond Mine that Roderick Strong rolled his ankle, and their match tonight is off. The Creed Brothers and Ivy Nile are not happy about this.
In a backstage interview, McKenzie Mitchell reveals that Nikkita Lyons is out of the women’s tournament due to injury. Fallon Henley receives a bye to the finals. She is confronted by Tiffany Stratton, who takes exception to Henley getting a bye. This sets up a match later tonight with Stratton against Henley, with Stratton subbing for Lyons in a semifinal tournament match. Henley does not get a bye after all.
Roxanne Perez defeats Lash Legend in a semifinal match in the Women’s Breakout Tournament
Perez advances to the tournament final after pinning Legend. Short match, and they mostly kept it simple. Perez is really good.
The finish came out of nowhere as Legend went for a powerbomb. Perez counters into a Code Red (which is being called “Pop Rocks”), and Perez gets a three count on Legend.
The finish works to get Perez over, while somewhat also protecting Legend. During the match, Legend looks strong, even if she loses in the end.
Toxic Attraction is headed to the ring for a Mandy Rose match. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance jump the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions, Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolan. This leaves a distraught Mandy Rose alone without her cohorts for her match that is next.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defeats Indi Hartwell in a non-title match
Rose pins Hartwell after some outside interference causes a distraction.
Rose in control early on, until a rally by Hartwell. Rose takes a powder out of the ring as the show cuts to a split screen commercial break.
During the break, Rose cheats to cut off Hartwell. Rose is working her over as the show returns from the break. A second comeback by Hartwell nets her some near falls.
Dolan & Jayne stumble out to ringside where they are again attacked by Carter & Chance. A melee ensues at ringside.
Jayne end up in the ring fighting with Chance, and Jayne throws Chance out of the ring. Jayne then turns around, where she is met by a high kick from Hartwell, who is distracted by the brawl. Hartwell then walks into a running knee strike from Rose, and Rose cover her for a three count.
Jayne & Dolan continue brawling with Chance & Carter. They fight their way off the set.
Rose is celebrating at the top of the entrance ramp. Suddenly, Choo attacks Rose from behind. Choo poses with the championship belt as he stands over a fallen Rose.
NXT Champion Bron Breakker in a backstage interview says Gacy’s mind games will not throw him off his game. As Breakker says that, the monitor backstage shows a clip from a high school football game with a young Breakker. He says his father (Rick Steiner) missed the game because his father was in Japan. McKenzie Mitchell asks Breakker if he is okay, and Breakker responds that Gacy will not get to him.
NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly cut a promo where they put themselves over ahead of their title defense at In Your House.
Tiffany Stratton defeats Fallon Henley in a semifinal match in the Women’s Breakout tournament
Stratton subs for Lyons in this semifinal, goes on to win, and Stratton now advances to the tournament final.
Stratton continues to improve in the ring, and she is getting good really fast.
Stratton works over a leg, targeting Henley’s knee. Still selling the leg, Henley manages to make a comeback. Yet, her injured knee buckles.
Stratton capitalizes, and she springboards into a corkscrew splash. A three count later, and Stratton advances to the tournament final.
Kacey Carter & Katana Chance issue a challenge to Toxic Attraction for tag title match at In Your House. Wendy Choo also challenges Mandy Rose to a singles title match.
Another vignette with Thea Hail where she talks about going to college while also being signed by WWE. Next week she announces which college she plans to attend.
Duke Hudson and Bron Breakker have words ahead of their match later on. Breakker snaps and puts his hands on Hudson. The story going into their match tonight is Breakker is a loose cannon.
Von Wagner (with Mr. Stone) defeats Ikemen Jiro
Wagner pins Jiro to win the match.
Jiro rushes into the ring to attack Wagner before the bell. Wagner soon cuts him off, and Wagner begins to mauling Jiro.
Escaping a long bear hug spot, Jiro explodes into a comeback. He springboard into a missile dropkick, and generally runs wild.
Jiro with an Asai moonsault, and he follows up with a tornado DDT for a near fall. Wagner cuts off Jiro by tugging on his jacket. Wagner pulls the jacket over Jiro’s head like they are in a hockey fight.
Wagner pummels Jiro with punches, and then Wagner executes a modified Attitude Adjustment. Wagner then covers Jiro for a pinfall.
Sofia Cromwell appears on the entrance ramp after the match. She orders Wagner to attack Jiro again. Jeff Briggs runs to make a save, and he sends Wagner packing back up the ramp. This seems to set up Briggs vs. Wagner.
Tony D’Angelo challenges Santos Escobar to “one last business meeting” at In Your House.
An angry Mandy Rose accepts the challenge from Wendy Choo. The tag champs also accept the challenge from Carter & Chance.
A video package feature shows Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams going to the barber shop. It was much better than my description. NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes shows up to confront Hayes at the barber shop.
Bron Breakker heads to the ring for a match, while Joe Gacy lurks backstage with two hooded druids. Gacy says they are getting to Breakker, and they will make sure of it in the next match.
A vignette from Rome hypes the arrival of Giovanni Vinci. He apparently has a lot of style. He is very fashionable.
Announced for next Tuesday on NXT:
“Championship Summit” with NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Toxic Attraction and their challengers, Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes vs. Nathan Frazier
Cora Jade vs. Elektra Lopez
Duke Hudson defeats NXT Champion Bron Breakker via disqualification in a non-title match
Breakker hits Hudson with a chair for a lame DQ finish. The story plays into a stipulation for Breakker’s next title defense. However, there is blatant outside interference before the DQ that somehow was not a DQ.
The bout begins with Gacy and his druids watch the match from a perch looking out over the ring. This distracts Breakker enough that Hudson is able to gain an early advantage.
Breakker fights back to execute a delayed vertical suplex. Hudson powders out of the ring, and he is able to hit Breakker with a cheapshot. Breakker is slow to give chase because he is seemingly distracted by Gacy’s mind games.
Double down before the show cuts to a split screen commercial break. Gacy and the two druids arrive at ringside. Their arrival distracts Breakker while he is perched on the top turnbuckle. Hudson trips up Breakker, and Breakker bounces off the ropes to the outside.
The reoccurring theme on this show of working a body part continues in this match, as Hudson targets Breakker’s shoulder. The mind games by Gacy also continue.
Hudson sends Breakker crashing into the ring steps, and Hudson keeps working the shoulder. Gacy smiles in approval as he lurks around ringside.
Hudson attempts a Steiner Recliner, but Breakker counters him. Another cheap shot by Hudson, yet Breakker still manages to hulk up. Breakker comes back with a Rick Steiner powerslam, and Breakker pulls down the straps on his singlet.
The druids attack Breakker at ringside, but Breakker fights them off. Breakkers gets back into the ring, where Hudson is waiting with a metal folding chair. Breakker takes the chair away from Hudson. The druids rush into the ring, and Breakker quickly tossing them out. Somehow this is not a DQ.
Gacy jumps on the ring apron, and Breakker swings a chair in his direction. Gacy ducks the chair shot. Hudson spins Breakker around, and Breakker hits Hudson with a chair shot. The referee calls for the bell, as he disqualifies Breakker. The blatant outside interference by the druids is not grounds for a DQ, but the chair shot warrants a DQ. Go figure.
The DQ does play into the next title match, as the DQ rule is waived at In Your House. That means if Breakker gets DQ’d at In Your House in his match with Gacy, Breakker would lose the title. Gacy’s plan appears to be working as he flashes a sinister grin when the show fades to black.
