Tag: grayson waller

Main roster stars announced for WWE NXT dates

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Main roster stars are heading to NXT.

During Tuesday’s show, it was revealed that Bayley, Penta, and Grayson Waller would be appearing at this weekend’s NXT live events. This includes:

  • May 15 in Buffalo, New York
  • May 16 in Canton, Ohio
  • May 17 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Where the three currently stand in WWE

Penta is the current Intercontinental Champion and has been appearing on Raw following WrestleMania, feuding with new NXT callup Ethan Page. The two will meet at the next Saturday Night’s Main Event later this month.

Since WrestleMania, Bayley has mainly kept a low profile on main roster television. She made an appearance this past weekend on AAA’s television, helping La Catalina and Lola Vice against Las Toxicas. She was one of NXT’s biggest stars during her run on the brand.

Grayson Waller has been directionless since it was announced earlier this month that The New Day had departed WWE. Prior to their release, Waller had been teasing dissension with the group, annoyed that Kofi had been talking to Je’Von Evans in what looked like a mentor role.

Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia gets involved at WWE live event

Posted on by Josh Nason

Vanderbilt University quarterback and Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia is the latest well-known star athlete to get involved in WWE action.

The 23-year-old and some teammates attended WWE’s live event in Tampa, Florida, Saturday where Pavia was verbally run down at ringside by Grayson Waller who was set to take on Rey Mysterio.

As Waller was trying to make his way to the back during the match, Pavia and his friends appeared in the entranceway and prevented Waller from doing just that. They chased him back into the ring where he fell into the middle rope and a Mysterio 619 for the pin and win as the college football players celebrated.

Pavia and crew will play their final game of the season next Wednesday against Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Pavia did not win the Heisman, college football’s top honor, which went to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.

WWE has leaned heavily into using pro and college athletes on shows in the past including the controversial spot with New York Giants rookie Cam Skattebo while he was injured. NBA players Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton, former NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, and others have also made TV appearances during the TKO era.

Grayson Waller: Talk from John Cena ‘changed everything for me’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Some words from John Cena helped Grayson Waller change how he approaches his WWE career.

On a new episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Waller was asked what he thinks it will take for him to become a singles champion in WWE. Waller said, whenever he does get an opportunity like that, he’s going to run with it. But he believes the WWE roster is stacked right now and the best approach for him is to exercise patience while making the most of every chance he gets.

“I think some people fumble the bag stressing about that time period where you’re kind of sitting and waiting,” Waller said. “At the end of the day, like, we get paid to travel the world and do these cool things. I think my perspective has changed a lot.”

A locker room talk from Cena contributed to that change in perspective, with Cena reinforcing how valuable even short promos and dark matches can be.

“Maybe two years ago, I was kind of freshly on SmackDown. He did a little, kind of like a locker room thing. We had a little meeting. We had to talk about some stuff,” Waller said. “He got up and he said something that really stuck with me, where he talked about like, you know, you don’t have to do the Netflix break promo. You don’t have to wrestle before the show. You don’t have to do the dark match. It’s like — you get to. Like, you get to, three minutes, say whatever you want on Netflix. You get to wrestle before the show when they’re the hottest, when they’re the most excited and you get to wrestle another great [superstar].

“And when he said that, it changed my perspective a little bit. I’m like, who are we to complain about — I have mates at home who would, like, literally give everything in their life to wrestle before Raw. Who am I to go, ‘Oh man, I’ve got to wrestle.’ Like, I hated that I even possibly thought those things. So once he said that, that changed everything for me. And I look at everything as ‘get to.’ Anything you give me, you give me 30 seconds backstage, I’m stealing that. I’m going to make sure people online are going to reshare the 30 seconds that I have. I’m going to make sure whatever moment I have is going to be something. That’s the mindset I think you have to have.”

Following the breakup of his tag team with Austin Theory, Waller is part of a trio on Raw with New Day’s Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods. Waller told Van Vliet that one goal he does have is to wrestle on a WWE PLE in his home country of Australia.

When asked about dream opponents he’d like to wrestle one-on-one at some point, Waller said he wants to face CM Punk “so bad.”

Grayson Waller: Influencer boxing is a great example of ‘bad heat’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Grayson Waller isn’t a fan of how social media influencers mimic WWE tactics to promote their boxing fights.

While appearing on the Battleground Podcast, Waller — a WWE heel who mostly stays in character while doing interviews — was asked if he believes just getting any kind of reaction is good or if he feels there is a bad type of heat. Waller pointed to influencer boxing as an example of negative heat, feeling the competitors take things too far and are being fake in an attempt to sell fights.

“I wouldn’t say I necessarily think about it, but I do think you do see now — especially because I think wrestling has become everything. I think you watch almost any sport, and I think influencer boxing is a great example of what I would say is bad heat,” Waller said. “Every influencer boxing, if you ever see those social media guys, they [take] things way too far. They’re always pretending to fight each other. Like, you can just feel how fake it is the whole time.

“With me, I’m just being realistic. When I say these things about people — when I say things about Penta or people in the crowd — I mean it. It’s just me being allowed to say whatever I want, which is fun. But I do think there is definitely a line where it goes from entertaining to something different. And with the WWE, that’s not something that we do. But I see a lot of people try and mimic what we do in other arenas, other sports. And they can’t do what we do. We’re very good at what we do. Of like making sure, you know, at the end of the day, we’ve got families coming to the show. So we got to make sure we’re having fun with it and the fans are having fun. Well, I don’t really care if the fans are having fun, but my boss is going to be upset if they’re not. So, you know, you kind of got to think about those things.”

Influencer boxing has become a big trend ever since the Paul brothers and KSI had success with it. Waller did not criticize any boxers by name during the Battleground Podcast appearance — and he spoke highly of how well Logan Paul has done in pro wrestling.

“He genuinely cares about what we do and he’s very passionate,” Waller said about Paul. “He genuinely cares, and he’s very good at it.”

Waller is a member of the Raw roster in WWE, aligned with Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods as a trio after his old tag team with Austin Theory split up.

WWE Raw lineup: Two new matches added

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Two new matches have been added to the card for today’s WWE Raw in Paris, France.

Following Clash in Paris, WWE is back at Paris La Defense Arena this afternoon for the final stop on its European tour. It was already known that an Intercontinental Championship bout between Dominik Mysterio and AJ Styles would be taking place on the episode. Now, two more matches have been confirmed.

The Kabuki Warriors will team up against Judgment Day’s Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez. Plus, there will be a six-man tag match pitting New Day and their new ally Grayson Waller against The War Raiders & Penta.

Today’s show has a special start time of 2 p.m. Eastern, streaming live on Netflix worldwide. Here is everything that has been announced:

WWE Raw (Monday, September 1) —

  • Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio defends against AJ Styles
  • The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) vs. Judgment Day (Roxanne Perez & Raquel Rodriguez)
  • The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) & Grayson Waller vs. War Raiders (Erik & Ivar) & Penta
  • We’ll get an update on Roman Reigns following the stretcher angle at Clash in Paris
  • There will be an update on the vacant Women’s World Championship

Breakup of former WWE Tag Team Champions announced

Posted on by Ethan Renner

A-Town Down Under are no more.

The duo of Grayson Waller and Austin Theory will no longer team as A-Town Down Under as revealed during a segment on Monday’s WWE Raw show.

Waller first revealed the breakup in a backstage comedy skit on Monday’s show where he offered his services as a gopher for The New Day and announced that Theory is out injured. Theory did not appear in the segment.

The breakup was further addressed by Waller in a social media post where he ripped “all five of Austin Theory’s fans” and took credit for saving his former partner’s career:

A-Town Down Under had a 90-day reign with the SmackDown Tag Team titles — later rebranded the WWE Tag Team Championship — beginning with a win at WrestleMania 40 in April 2024. They first joined up as a team in September 2023 on the SmackDown brand.

WWE did not offer further details as to the nature of Theory’s injury or how long the 2022 Money in the Bank contract winner might be sidelined.

WWE NXT Vengeance Day live results: Four title defenses highlight six-match card

Posted on by Marc Quill

WWE NXT returns to Peacock and Netflix with tonight’s Vengeance Day from the CareFirst Arena in Washington, DC, with a six-match card featuring nearly every title being defended.

NXT Champion Oba Femi will defend against partners Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in a triple threat match.

NXT Women’s Champion Giulia will defend her title for the first time as she faces Bayley, former champion Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade in a four-way.

Fallon Henley will put her women’s North American title on the line for the fourth time as she faces Stephanie Vaquer.

NXT Tag Team Champions Fraxiom will defend against the hard-hitting Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura who are looking for their first run with the gold.

The card is rounded out by a strap match between former NXT Champion Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe, and a grudge match between the returning Je’Von Evans and former NXT Champion Ethan Page.

**********

Countdown Show

– From the WWE Studios at Stamford, CT, Sam Roberts & Megan Morant welcomed us to the Countdown show as they ran down the current goings-on in NXT. They also talked about the six-match card that’s set to take place tonight at Vengeance Day. We then got a recap of the leadup to the NXT Women’s Championship Fatal Four-Way match.

– We got a sitdown interview with Corey Graves talking to Bayley where she was asked about why she decided to vie for the NXT Women’s Championship. Bayley said that being on NXT was her way of giving back to the future so she could see if they were ready for Raw or SmackDown.

– The story of how Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura won their shot at Fraxiom was shown before we got a promo from the NXT Tag Team Champions.

– A recap of Je’von Evans and Ethan Page’s feud was shown before we got an interview with Evans and Vic Joseph ahead of the former’s match tonight on Vengeance Day. Morant and Roberts talked about Evans’ demeanor heading into tonight’s match, noting that tonight could see a different Je’von Evans going up against All Ego.

– Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe in the Strap Match was the next match to be recapped by our esteemed panel.

– Next up was a recap of Stephanie Vaquer versus Fallon Henley for the Women’s North American Championship set to take place tonight, focusing mainly on Vaquer talking about how she’d take the gold from Henley.

– An interview with Austin Theory & Grayson Waller was shown, as the topic of their impending triple threat NXT Title match against current champ Oba Femi came up. Morant and Roberts wrapped things up afterwards with a final rundown of the card as it was time for Vengeance Day to kick off at the top of the hour.

**********

NXT Vengeance Day 2025

– Following the WWE signature open, we were welcomed to tonight’s show by Vic Joseph over shots of the Washington skyline. Shots of Oba Femi, A-Town Down Under, Bayley, Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Giulia were shown before we went inside the CareFirst Arena and the cold open got our show started.

Women’s North American Championship Match: Stephanie Vaquer defeated Fallon Henley (c) (w/ Fatal Influence)

Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan, and Karmen Petrovic were shown separately watching this upcoming match in the crowd before the bell rang.

Vaquer & Henley started things off with a lockup in the middle of the ring as chain wrestling action between the two got things going. After a stalemate, Vaquer and Henley stared each other down before another lockup exchange took place. Vaquer applied the STF on Henley, but was forced to break the hold after Henly made it to the bottom rope.

Vaquer answered with a kick to the chest of Henley and an attempt at her signature scissors roll. Henley, however, managed to escape by rolling into the ropes. Vaquer applied another submission and stopped a Henley pin reversal with a pin of her own, but the Women’s North American Champion kicked out at two. Henley countered a move attempt by Vaquer into an armbar, but had to break it up after Vaquer turned it into a pin attempt.

In the corner, Vaquer trapped Henley with a hanging triangle choke. Jazmyn Nyx provided a distraction, which allowed for Jacy Jayne to hit Vaquer with a pump kick at ringside. This gave Henley the advantage back in the ring. Vaquer attempted to mount a comeback, but Henley stopped that with a series of hard elbows to the face of her challenger. Once again, Henley had the upper hand as she hit a modified Blockbuster on Vaquer for the near-fall.

Henley applied a chinlock on Vaquer, but the challenger broke free from it. Vaquer rolled under a Henley clothesline, but got pulled down by the hair. Henley was caught on the backfoot as Vaquer blasted her with a faint kick across middle rope, followed by the springboard crossbody. This opened up Henley to be trapped in Vaquer’s trademark headscissors pounding for ten times the pain.

Vaquer and Henley traded running strikes, but the former avoided a Shining Wizard for a cover on the Women’s North American Champion. Only a two there. Vaquer caught Henley with Eat Defeat, which sent her foe scurrying in the corner. Running Meteora by Vaquer on a prone Henley wasn’t enough to put the champ away. Henley responded with a pumphandle exploder on Vaquer. Jacy Jayne once again got involved as she struck Vaquer behind the referee’s back. That wasn’t enough to keep the challenger down, though.

Henley was forcibly sent outside by a strike from Vaquer as the action spilled out at ringside. Vaquer turned her attention to Jayne and Nyx and took both down. On the apron, Vaquer hit a modified piledriver before she took down all of Fatal Influence with a dive onto all three members. In the ring, Vaquer finally hit the SVB on her third attempt as she finished things off with a Spiral Tap. One, two, three. Stephanie Vaquer is your new NXT Women’s North American Champion.

A solid way to open our six-match card tonight. Vaquer and Henley were more than up to the task of kicking things off the right way and the crowd got suitably invested in the action as a result. They certainly proved why NXT’s Women’s Division is at the level as it is right now as one of the top women’s divisions in North American wrestling.

**********

– Josh Briggs gifted his partner Yoshiki Inamura with a leather vest of her own as they discussed their battle plan for the NXT Tag Team Champions.

NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) (c) defeated Yoshiki Inamura & Josh Briggs

Inamura and Axiom started things off for their respective teams. Frazer quickly tagged in as they used their fast and furious tandem offense to momentarily leave the challengers flatfooted. Frazer blasted Inamura with a kick before Axiom reentered the match. Inamura created separation with a hard chop on Axiom before he tagged Briggs in. The big man took down both champions with separate big boots before he tagged Inamura. Briggs hit Axiom with a chokeslam onto the knees of Inamura, but that certainly was not enough to put the champs away.

Briggs maintained momentum for his team with that most powerful hold, a chinlock on Axiom. Inamura tagged in and assumed a sumo stance before he crushed Axiom with strikes in the corner. The Pro Wrestling NOAH star continued the onslaught in the corner as he obliterated Axiom with repeated chops to the chest.

Axiom’s own attempt at a chop was met with yet another Inamura chop that kept the masked man down. As Axiom recovered, he mustered enough strength to take Inamura down with the Golden Ratio. Both men down as they tagged in their respective partners.

Frazer used his explosive offense to hit Briggs with a DDT and a kick. Briggs managed to heat himself back up as he hit Frazer with a powerbomb. Briggs and Inamura hit an amazing double team toss into a powerbomb on Axiom, but Frazer broke the pin up at two. The fans came alive with.

As Inamura headed up the top rope, Axiom met him there as he hit an avalanche Spanish Fly. Frazer tried to head up top for the Phoenix Splash, but Briggs caught him and hit an avalanche clotheslam that sent Frazer colliding into Axiom on the comedown. Inamura caught Frazer with a fallaway slam as Axiom took Briggs out with a Poisonrana. Inamura had Frazer and Axiom and spun them around before he hit an Death Valley Driver on Axiom that sent him onto Frazer. That didn’t end the match.

Inamura tried to go up top, but Axiom & Frazer avoided calamity at the last second. At ringside, Axiom took down Briggs with a moonsault. Back in the ring, Axiom and Frazer put an end to Briggs & Inamura’s championship aspirations with an amazing modified Total Elimination (with Axiom going up high on the missile dropkick, and Frazer going down low). The champs retained after a fantastic match.

As Both teams showed respect to one another, they were attacked by four men — Saqoun Shugars (fka Lucky Ali), Cutler James, Osiris Griffin (fka Josh Black), and Dion Lennox — in matching black clothes, who laid everyone out with a sudden assault filled with nothing but retribution. The commentators speculated that these were the four men in the quick teasers on past episodes of NXT making their mark at the expense of the NXT Tag Team Championships. The quartet left bodies in their wake, proving that they were ready to shut it down.

You can count on Fraxiom to deliver an exciting NXT Tag Title defense and this was no exception. Credit to Briggs and Inamura for stepping up as credible challengers in this match. The post-match with the mystery group is interesting and it’s quite clear that they might be going after the NXT Tag Titles. That said, it’s not a promising sign when the crowd was left chanting “who are you?” upon the quartet’s arrival.

**********

– Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo talked about how he was going to get revenge on Shawn Spears and his group for what they did to Tony D’Angelo. He said he was challenging Spears for a match on Tuesday’s NXT, stating that payback wasn’t going to be pretty.

Strap Match: Eddy Thorpe defeated Trick Williams

Thorpe got a cheap shot on Williams before the strap could be tied by the official. Williams fought back and sent Thorpe to the outside with a clothesline. Williams whooped that Trick early as the official finally managed to get Williams tied to the strap. Thorpe tried to beg for mercy, but he found himself tied to the strap as the match finally got underway.

Williams seized the early momentum with a series of clotheslines on Thorpe, which sent him out the ring again. Williams used the strap to send Thorpe crashing into the ringpost at ringside before the action returned to the ring. Williams headed up the top rope, but got thrown to the mat by Thorpe using the strap as momentum. Thorpe tied Williams by the legs with the strap and stomped away on his foe. The crowd booed loudly at Thorpe gaining the advantage.

Williams took over and tried for a strap whipping, but missed out. Thorpe avoided a boot from Williams and hit Williams with the strap to the back. Thorpe continued to hit Williams with the strap, but the former NXT Champion fired himself back up and hit Thorpe with strikes.

Thorpe regained the advantage by sending Williams into the ringpost as he used the strap to tie Williams into the ringpost. More whips from Thorpe to Williams. In the ring, Thorpe continued to command the match with a Randy Orton-style backbreaker to Williams. Using the strap, Thorpe threw Williams into the middle turnbuckle across two different corners.

Williams rose up and tried to take advantage, but Thorpe hit his foe by the legs and managed to ground Trick once again. Williams launched a counter-offensive with a strap-enhanced submission hold that Thorpe tried to break free from by grabbing the ropes, to no avail. Williams finally had control as he looked to take out some frustrations on Thorpe with some strap strikes of his own. Thorpe could not escape the fate as leather met the flesh with precision.

Williams crushed Thorpe with a Trickshot Knee that sent his rival flying outside the ring. Back in the ring, Thorpe went low with a strap low blow, followed by a dropkick for the win.

I’ll be honest, it was kinda hard to fully get invested in this match given the rather unfortunate optics on a match involving a Black wrestler getting whipped with a leather strap during Black History Month, especially since said match largely just consisted of the wrestler in question taking the abuse. Eddy getting the win was nice, but I do wish it was in a different match, though.

**********

– The commentators recapped Ricky Starks’ surprise appearance on last Tuesday’s NXT, as we got remarks from Starks himself. He said he’d be signing his official NXT contract on Tuesday as he was still not yet mentioned by name on-screen.

Ethan Page defeated Je’von Evans

Evans started off hot as he went on the offense against Page, who ran out ouf the ring. Evans responded with a dive that he partially overshot as he flew into Page and sent him flying over the announce table. Evans continued his assault on Page with a dive from the announce table as the action went back into the ring.

Evans maintained his advantage as he caught Page with the Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. Page was unable to find any sort of refuge early on until a kick to the gut of Evans briefly created some breathing room. That was a fleeting moment as Evans soared with a springboard clothesline on Page for another two-count.

An attempted springboard cutter was caught by Page, but Evans answered back with a superkick, followed by the springboard cutter on the apron. With Page stunned, Evans placed his head against the steel steps as tried to stomp Page’s head in. Page managed to avoid a grisly fate at the last second as Evans found his leg trapped between the ringpost and steel steps. Page then kicked at the steps to finally get the advantage.

A bloodied Page began to sadistically target that injured leg of Evans with stomps, followed by a submission to the leg. After a brief reprieve, Page applied an ankle lock, but Evans escaped. Page lifted Evans up for the powerslam, but that wasn’t enough to get the victory. Page once again had the ankle lock firmly cinched in with a grapevine hold. Evans finally managed to get to the bottom rope to force a break. Page tried for another ankle lock, but Evans escaped and struck down Ego with a Superman Punch.

Page caught Evans for the Ego’s Edge and connected. One, two… Evans kicked out at the last possible second to prolong the match. Evans blocked a stomp from Page and rose up back to the feet as he unleashed his own combo on Page. He finished it off with an acrobatic rolling kick on Page. Ego was left at the mercy of Evans, who stomped at Page’s jaw. One more attempt at a springboard cutter was blocked by Page, who punched away at the jaw of Evans, which sent the mouthguard flying. Page connectedwith the Twisted Grin cutter, which got him the pin and the win in this grudge match.

Good match here, though all signs seem to point to Evans getting the win here, so it was a curious choice for Page to go over here. That said, it didn’t take away from how good the match and the story behind it was.

**********

– Sarah Schreiber interviewed Stephanie Vaquer after her successful Women’s North American Championship win. Vaquer said that she wasn’t done yet and that she’d be watching tonight’s main event, the fatal four-way for the NXT Women’s Championship.

Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship: Oba Femi defeated Austin Theory and Grayson Waller

Waller hit Femi with a superkick, as he and Theory began to double team the NXT Champion, clearly on the same page for the time being. Femi blocked a double Irish whip attempt as he then threw both men down with a double chokeslam. A-Town Down Under found themselves the victims of a one-man double suplex from Femi. Theory tried for a roll, but got caught by Femi, who threw him into Waller with relative ease.

A double clothesline from Theory and Waller took Femi out of the equation as the two partners stared each other down now. Waller and Theory shoved one another, but Femi pulled Waller out of the ring before the partners could come to blows. Femi absolutely lit Theory’s chest up with a hard chop as the announce table was rearranged by the NXT Champion.

Waller was thrown into the stairs by Femi, who took the top half of the steel stairs and threw it right into Theory’s face. Waller stopped Femi’s momentum with a drop toehold that sent his face into the steel steps. The Aussie pulled out a chair from underneath the ring as he then began to work over Femi with knees and elbows to the head.

Femi got himself back up, only to be struck down with a chair to the chest and bakc by Waller. With the chair opened up, Femi was placed in position as Waller went up top. Femi caught Waller as he then sent him right into the chair with a sidewalk slam that completely destroyed it. Theory reemerged to break up the count as he stunned Femi with the rolling dropkick.

A-Town Down Under looked to team up on Femi once more, but the champion fought out momentarily. On the top rope, Theory had Femi on his shoulders as we got a Tower of Doom Suplex spot from the three competitors. Theory tried to get the pin with his partner out cold, but Femi managed to kick out. At ringside, Femi gave the fans what they wanted as he introduced the table into the proceedings. Theory and Waller once again launched a two-on-one assault on Femi as they set the table up and placed Femi across it. Waller went up to and hit a diving elbow on Femi through the table.

Theory entered the ring and tried to steal the pin for himself, but Femi kicked out and Waller saw it all unfold. Waller yelled at Theory, as Femi caught the Atlanta native with a powerful spinebuster. With a full head of steam, Femi ran into Theory in the corner as he turned his attention to Waller at ringside. He threw Waller into the announce table to take him out of the equation. Femi punched the steel chair out of Theory’s hand and tried for the Fall from Grace. Theory reversed it and hit A-Town Down instead. Will we have a new NXT Champion? No! Waller pulled out the referee at the very last second to stop the count.

Theory took notifce and yelled at Waller at ringside. Femi had Theory set up for Fall From Grace, but he noticed Waller rolling into the ring for the Rolling Thunder Stunner and got out of the way. Waller ended up hitting his (former?) partner with his finisher, which opened him up for the Fall From Grace by Femi. That’s it, over. Femi retained the NXT Championship.

The lights went out as we saw the four masked men appear in the crowd once again. The group stormed the ring and launched an assault on Femi, as two of the group threw Femi into their cohorts for an assisted powerbomb. This mystery group left the NXT Champion laying, having made an impact once more.

The triple threat match was a fun one, and the added drama on whether or not A-Town Down Under’s selfish ambitions would be their downfall made for an interesting underlying story in this title defense for Oba Femi. What was more interesting was the arrival of the mysterious quartet earlier and them laying out Femi, which raises a lot of questions on what their plans will be.

**********

– Ava was backstage with Sarah Schreiber, as she talked about Roadblock on March 11th. Arianna Grace dropped by for a visit, as she thanked her for making her NXT’s liason to TNA Wrestling. She introduced her father Santino Marella (TNA’s Director of Authority) to a huge reaction from the crowd. Santino said that he hadn’t seen Arianna since she was a little girl, which elicited a confused reaction from Ava. Soon after, Ava and Santino left to discuss future plans.

Fatal Four-Way Match for the NXT Women’s Championship: Giulia defeated Roxanne Perez, Bayley, and Cora Jade

The bell rang on the match with Bayley trying to get crowd into it early. Giulia sat on the top rope and watched as the other three women fought each other. She leapt into action with a dropkick to Bayley and Jade.

Jade and Perez tried to hit a double suplex on Giulia, but that was blocked. Action fast and furious here early on. All four women exchanged pins on one another as they looked to get the win, as they then teed of on one another. With Giulia and Jade at ringside, Bayley and Perez took off for stereo suicide dives. In the ring, Perez and Bayley faced off before Jade pulled the latter out and entered the ring. Perez and Jade began to mix it up briefly before Giulia took both down with a dropkick.

On opposite corners, Giulia charged into both Perez and Jade with boots to to the face. Cover attempt by Giulia saw Perez kick out as Bayley slid into the ring and faced off with the NXT Women’s Champion. Bayley and Giulia engaged in a chain wrestling duel as the fans showed their support for both women in the ring at the moment. With Bayley stunned, Giulia tried for a running attack, but was pulled out by the tandem of Perez and Jade. Bayley recovered and helped Giulia out against Perez and Jade at ringside.

In the ring, Giulia and Bayley caught Jade with a double suplex. Perez almost found herself the victim of a double suplex of her own, but Jade saved her at the last second. The two friends put aside their difference as they went after both Giulia and Bayley. With the NXT Women’s Champion isolated, Perez and Jade pounced on Giulia like sharks on their prey. A running knee by Jade led to Perez getting caught in the crossfire, as she as then kicked aside by Jade.

With Giulia and Bayley at ringside, Jade went up top and hit a diving moonsault on the two of them. Jade had Bayley dead to rights for another dive, but Perez stepped in and unleashed hell on her former friend. Bayley recovered to strike Perez with a running knee as Jade caught her with a boot to the face. Bayley hit an unintentional double-team move with Jade’s unwilling help. Bayley was a house of fire, taking out both Jade and Perez with a double stunner from the apron. Giulia caught Bayley with a Northern Lights suplex as she tried to return into the match.

Black Widow submission by Giulia on Bayley was then turned into a crucifix bomb. Pin attempt was broken up by Perez. In the middle of the ring, Giulia’s STF was turned into a crossface by Perez. That was then answered with a suplex by Giulia. Twisting side suplex by Bayley wasn’t enough to get the win. The action spilled into chaos as an attempted Pop Rox by Perez was met with a knee from Jade. DDT by Jade to Bayley. One, two… Perez interrupted the pin at the very last second. Giulia made her presence known with multiple belly-to-belly suplexes on her competitors. Up top, Giulia tried for a suplex on Perez. Bayley and Jade joined in and we got another Tower of Doom suplex/powerbomb sequence.

As all four women got themselves back up to their feet, the slugfest began with Giulia and Jade fighting and Bayley and Perez mixing it up at the same time. At ringside, Jade hit a suplex on Giulia as Perez caught Bayley with two consecutive Pop Roxes. Jade interrupted and caught her friend with the double-arm DDT. Giulia with the last-second Arrivederci knee to break up the pin. And now it’s Perez’s turn to eat an Arrivederci knee from Giulia, as the Northern Lights Bomb put the exclamation point here.

After the match, Giulia’s celebration was interrupted by Stephanie Vaquer, who joined in the celebration. We got a vintage NXT copyright graphic fakeout as Jordynne Grace’s music hit to a huge ovation from the crowd. Grace entered the ring and stared down both Vaquer and Giulia to end our night.

Solid main event, with four very talented women getting their chance to show up and show out as only they can. I enjoyed this one from start to finish and it’ll be interesting to see the fallout from what we saw here. More importantly, the addition of Jordynne Grace certainly makes NXT’s already-stacked women’s division even more of a must see and it’ll be exciting to see where she fits in as the road to Stand & Deliver in April is set to begin in earnest soon.

All in all, another fun show from start to finish as NXT’s track record for PLEs continues to be a great one. The women, as expected, managed to steal the show as they gave us a grand opening and a grand closing in more ways than one.

WWE NXT live results: Oba Femi & Trick Williams team up, Charlotte appears

Posted on by Chris Aiken

The road to Vengeance Day continues on WWE NXT tonight.

It’s been announced that Oba Femi will defend his NXT Championship against Grayson Waller and Austin Theory in a triple threat match at the Saturday, February 15 PLE. Tonight, Femi is set to team up with Trick Williams against Waller & Theory. Williams has his sights on getting the NXT Championship back from Femi — and we’ll see if tonight’s tag match gets us closer to Vengeance Day becoming a fatal four-way.

NXT Women’s Champion Giulia also has a triple threat title defense scheduled for Vengeance Day. Tonight, there will be a Vengeance Day Summit with Giulia and both of her challengers: Roxanne Perez and Bayley.

Charlotte Flair — the winner of the women’s Royal Rumble match — will be in NXT tonight for a close look at Giulia. After winning the Rumble, Charlotte teased that she could potentially choose to challenge for the NXT Women’s title at WrestleMania.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne and Kelani Jordan vs. Karmen Petrovic have been announced for tonight’s card as well. And there will be a tag team bout pitting Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley against Zaria & Sol Ruca.

Plus, Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King appears. Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

**********

Stephanie Vaquer defeated Jacy Jayne (with Fatal Influence)

Vaquer pinned Jayne after outside interference backfired. This match is part of the build to Vaquer challenging Henley for the NXT Women’s North American Champion at Vengeance Day next Saturday.

Fallon Henley interfered and distracted Vaquer, allowing Jayne to ambush her. Jayne gets heat on Vaquer during a split-screen commercial break. Vaquer makes a comeback after the show returns from the break, building to a superplex.

Vaquer rally led into them trading high spots on the home stretch. Jayne with a knee strikes for a near falls. They also traded near fall cradles. Vaquero with a 619 and a West Coast Pop, and Vaquero has a lateral press. Jaxmyn Nyz jumps into to interfere and inadvertently hit Jayne instead. The referee let the match go, no disqualification.

Vaquer hits Nyx with a headbutt into the nose guard Nyx was wearing on her face. Nyx sells like she is knocked out. Vaquer with a superkick and her SVB finisher, followed by a three count. Nyx is still knocked out while the referee counts three.

Vaquer glares at Henley, ahead of their upcoming title match.

Backstage skit has Zaria bickering with other women in a locker room. Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson, Sol Ruca, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolan are all involved. At least Zaria is finally getting a push of some sort. This skit sets up a tag match for later on with Zaria & Sol Ruca against Paxley & Dolan.

Video clips highlight Roxanne Perez at the Royal Rumble.

Sarah Schreiber interviews NXT Champion Oba Femi about his upcoming tag match tonight. Femi says NXT GM Ava might run the promotion, but he runs the ring. Femi is going to show A-Town Down Under they do not belong in the ring with him. Femi is also dismissive of Trick Williams, who is Femi’s tag partner later tonight.

NXT Heritage Cup Champion Lexis King is standing in the ring with his trophy, and he delivers a lengthy monologue. This will lead to the return of Fandango, who is now JDC from The System in TNA.

First King was a lengthy monologue. King wants to be humble, except he is not humble. King brags about himself for what felt like forever. He mentions people in the back that helped him like Williams Regal, only for King to brag on himself.

The promo takes a turn as King starts talking about his father (Brian Pillman), who King called a “lunatic.” King rambles about his father, saying he tried everything to not become him, but King is a l”oose cannon” that wants to win. This is justifying his heel tactics.

King goes on announce the European rules for the Heritage Cup are done. It is now a one fall match. No more rounds. King is boasting about one fall, winner take all, when he is interrupted by a surprise return.

Fandango”s theme music blares, and out comes JDC as Fandango, back in NXT.

JDC exchanges insults with King, and then JDC announces that next week he will challenge King for the Heritage Cup in a match next Tuesday.

A clip from Wild Cards highlights Tony D’Angelo in a special guest role on the CW series. The episode debuts tomorrow night on CW affiliates.

“The Don” is backstage with The Family. They were watching the clip on a backstage monitor, and there is clearly some tension between Stacks and D’Angelo.

Ridge Holland defeated Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (with The D’Angelo Family)

Holland pinned Stacks after interference by Izzi Dame backfires on The Family.

Stacks is knocked off the ring by Holland. Tony D’Angelo goes to check on Stacks, and Holland shoves D’Angelo. As Holland rolls Stacks back into the ring, “The Don” jumps on the apron to argue with the referee.

Meanwhile, Izzi Dame runs in. This time Holland is ready, and she stops in her tracks. As Holland faces Dame, Stacks with a schoolboy roll up on Holland for a two count. From there, they go home. Holland executes The Redeemer, and he covers Stacks for a pinfall.

Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura confront NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazier & Axiom in a backstage skit.

Sol Ruca & Zaria defeated Gigi Dolan & Tatum Paxley

Ruca pinned Dolan after a springboard flip into a cutter (Sol Snatcher). Zaria got to look strong. About time. Hot tag to Zaria, and she runs wild. All four get involved just before they go home. Zaria gives Paxlet a F-5 on Dolan. From there, Ruca springboards into her finisher, and Ruca covers Dolan for a three count.

Video clips from Royal Rumble highlight Stephanie Vaquer in the Women’s Rumble match along with NXT Women’s Champion Giulia.

Trick Williams is interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Williams says the plan is to show why he deserves the title shot instead of Waller & Theory. Williams also warns Oba Femi that he was a receipt coming to him (alluding to Femi powerbombing Trick on a table last week).

Bayley, Roxanne Perez and Giulia are set to meet up in the ring for a “summit” ahead of their triple threat at Vengeance Day. Before Giulia can enter the scene, Perez starts cutting a promo on Bayley. Perez insults Bayley and claims Bayley is only coming back to take advantage of NXT. Perez goes on to say she wants all of the titles.

Bayley says Perez still doesn’t get it. Bayley is here to help NXT. Bayley built the ring here. She had promo class with Dusty Rhodes here. Bayley goes son to say she will win Elimination Chamber and go to WrestleMania.

Giulia eventually joins the “summit” in the ring. Giulia says enough with this. She will beat Perez and Bayley. They are not ready for her “Beautiful Madness”.

Suddenly, out comes Charlotte Flair, who is back in NXT after a long absence. Mama has come home. Charlotte goes on to reminiscence about winning the Rumble and the NXT title. Charlotte puts over both Perez and Giulia, but Charlotte is better.

Cora Jade runs in with her kendo stick, and she attacks Bayley and Giulia. The babyfaces feed into shots from the kendo stick. Perez begs off and she flees the scene.

Ava in a backstage skit tells Je’Von Evans he can have a match against Ethan Page at Vengeance Day, if Evans can get cleared by a doctor.

Karmen Petrovic (with Ashante “Thee” Adonis) defeated Kelani Jordan via disqualification

Jordan initially won via submission, but the referee reverses the decision after Jordan goes full Bob Backlund.

Jaida Parker comes down to ringside during the match, and she joins the announce desk for guest commentary. Adonis also gets involved at one point when he took a crossbody from Jordan.

They were given plenty of time, as the match goes through a commercial break. They worked really hard to have a good match, and they beat the heck out of each other.

At the finish, Jordan glares at Parker while Jordan executes back-to-back split-legged moonsaults on Petrovic. Jordan is glaring at Parker while Jordan applies a crossface chicken wing to supposedly win via submission. More on that in a moment.

Jordan goes full Bob Backlund after the bell, as she snaps and snatches Petrovic in another chicken wing. The referee reverses his decision, and he awards the match to Petrovic via disqualification.

Stephanie Vaquer in a promo vows to win the women’s title at Vengeance Day. Vaquer will see Henley in hell.

Video clips highlight Lash Legend and Jaida Parker at the Royal Rumble.

Bayley rushed into Ava’s office in a backstage skit. Bayley demands a match against Cora Jade, and Ava books the match for next Tuesday on NXT.

Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura both say to Ava they have teams wanting to face them. So, Ava books the most overdone gimmick match in wrestling today — a triple threat match. Briggs & Inamura will face Hank Walker & Tank Ledger and No Quarter Catch Crew.

Waller & Theory cut promos ahead of their match, which leads to them bickering with each other.

Grayson Waller & Austin Theory defeated Trick Williams & NXT Champion Oba Femi

Waller pinned Williams after outside interference by Eddy Thorpe. After the match, Thorpe attacks William even further to set up a strap match.

Williams and Femi argue and bicker at times. Waller and Theory are fodder for Williams and Femi, until the odd couple teammates start to argue. Trick shoves Femi, and Femi retaliates by pulling Trick out of the ring. Trick and Femi argue some more, and Waller wipes them out with a flip dive. From there, the show cuts to a picture-in-picture commercial break.

Heat on Trick as the heel duo works him over. Waller clotheslines Trick on the floor, and Waller follows up by jumping off the barricade with a flying elbow drop. Back in the ring, Waller is cut off by a pop-up punch from Trick.

Hot tag and Femi cleans house. Femi lifts both Waller and Theory for a double-stacked Samoan Drop. Femi is finishing off Waller and Theory when Trick makes a bling tag, much to the chagrin of Femi.

Femi and Trick argue. Meanwhile, Theory tags out unbeknownst to Trick. Waller is the legal man, and he decks Trick. No matter, Trick comes back with a running knee strike.

All four are in the ring as a melee develops. Femi and Theory tumble over the ropes to the floor. In the ring is Waller and Trick. While Trick is measuring Waller, Eddy Thorpe suddenly is at ringside. Thorpe breaks a walking stick on Trick’s back, and Trick sells big. Waller does his dash into a pop-up cutter, and Trick takes the finisher. Waller then covers Trick for a three count.

Thorpe jumps Trick after the match Thorpe punches Trick, with Thorpe also clutching the long strap he’s had for several weeks. Thorpe whips Trick with the strap. This clearly sets up a strap match for Vengeance Day, but the show goes off air without a formal announcement.

The show actually ends with another teaser with the color bars.

Damian Priest, The Miz, A-Town Down Under swap brands on WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Ethan Renner

The WWE transfer portal strikes again.

Damian Priest, The Miz, and A-Town Down Under’s Grayson Waller and Austin Theory have swapped brands by way of WWE’s storyline transfer portal as announced during Friday’s SmackDown episode.

Priest and The Miz have moved to SmackDown, while Waller and Theory will now be part of the Raw brand.

WWE invented the transfer portal last month, announcing its inception on the December 6, 2024 Raw. Wrestlers and storyline general managers are allowed to negotiate talent moves between brands in an effort to freshen up the rosters without doing a full-scale draft. The last time WWE held their draft was in April 2024.

On his first night on the SmackDown brand, Priest defeated Carmelo Hayes in singles competition, plus had a backstage interaction with Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes that was more of an indicator that Priest will be in the top mix on the brand, though clearly not next in line to challenge Rhodes.

Our full report from Friday’s WWE SmackDown from Austin, Texas is here.

Chris Sabin wins WWE Speed debut, Corey Graves back on commentary

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Chris Sabin has a 1-0 record on WWE Speed after making his show debut in victorious fashion.

Sabin advanced in the WWE Speed Championship number one contender’s tournament with a victory over Grayson Waller on this week’s episode. In the closing stretch of the match, Waller caught Sabin and put him in fireman’s carry position for a spinebuster, but Sabin countered into a victory roll for the pin. He got the win with 25 seconds remaining of the three-minute time limit.

Next Wednesday (January 29) on Speed, Sabin will face off against Chad Gable for the first time ever. The winner earns a title shot against men’s WWE Speed Champion Dragon Lee. That will be the first title defense for Lee since becoming champion in November.

Corey Graves — who also returned to NXT commentary last night — was back calling Speed this week. WWE Main Event commentator Blake Howard had replaced him on last week’s Speed amid the drama Graves created on social media. The Sabin vs. Waller match was taped at SmackDown last Friday with Graves later voicing over his commentary.

Though he voiced displeasure at no longer calling Raw or SmackDown in his tweets last week, Graves said in his return last night that NXT is right where he wants to be.

Sabin made his WWE debut in October 2024 and is part of the SmackDown tag team division with his Motor City Machine Guns partner Alex Shelley.

After defeating Waller, Sabin cut a post-match promo saying he’s custom made to be in this tournament and custom made to be in WWE. He also made reference to his history as a 10-time X-Division Champion in TNA.

Grayson Waller credits Rhea Ripley, The IIconics for making WWE career feel possible

Posted on by Ian Carey

Grayson Waller didn’t think a career in pro wrestling was possible until he saw Australian wrestlers such as The Iiconics and Rhea Ripley succeed in WWE.

Waller didn’t make his pro debut until he was 27. He recently told Chris Van Vliet that the lack of Australian wrestlers on television contributed to his not getting into the industry sooner.

“I didn’t really watch any Australian independent wrestling. I didn’t know it existed,” Waller said. “I just saw WWE. Then I got into Ring of Honor, CZW, Chikara, like real random American Indy wrestling. I rarely saw Australians. There would be maybe one or two here or there. It didn’t seem like a possibility. But then when I saw Peyton (Royce) and Billie (Kay) get on NXT – They are from the same school as me – Then I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ And they came back and did a little seminar, and I’m like, ‘It’s possible.'”

“I think Rhea’s the one who really cemented it. Like, I met her just before she left, and then she was doing such big things. I think she showed the rest of Australia, ‘Hey, this is possible.’ And that opened the door. Then you get Bronson, you got Indy there already, you had TMDK doing really good stuff before they left. There’s so many people and now I think the Australians are seeing, ‘Hey, this is possible. Hey, there’s people there.’ And now we’re going to properly takeover.”

Waller also discussed Tenille Dashwood’s first WWE run and how that opened the door for more Australian talent.

“I don’t think she gets enough credit. Obviously, she was one of the first women who really was able to star in NXT,” Waller said of Dashwood. “I just hadn’t met her in Australia so I never had that connection of someone I’ve met and seen doing such big things.”

Waller also joked that before Dashwood, the only Australian he’d seen in WWE was Nathan Jones, “The Colossus of Boggo Road.”

“Nathan Jones fell over at WrestleMania. Like, that’s who I want to be,” Waller said.

The full episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet is available below:

A-Town Down Under issue WWE NXT Tag Team title challenge

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Main roster tag team A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory & Grayson Waller) are coming after the NXT Tag Team titles.

On social media today, A-Town Down Under posted a video challenging Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer & Axiom) to a Tag Team title match on the October 8 episode of NXT from Chesterfield, Missouri. That’s the second episode of NXT’s new TV deal with The CW Network.

Theory & Waller said they’ll also be appearing on NXT next Tuesday (September 24) for a Grayson Waller Effect segment where Frazer & Axiom will respond to their challenge.

Fraxiom are two-time NXT Tag Team Champions. Their current reign began at NXT No Mercy earlier this month.

In their challenge, A-Town Down Under said that — while they’ve had a reign as main roster tag champs — neither Theory nor Waller got to hold the belts in NXT.

The October 8 episode of NXT was originally supposed to take place from the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, but it’s been relocated to The Factory at The District in Chesterfield. Randy Orton is advertised to appear at the show.

Grayson Waller announced for PWA show in Australia

Posted on by Ian Carey

Grayson Waller is returning to Australia.

Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) has announced that Waller will wrestle Jimmy Townsend on its show at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on Saturday, October 12, 2024. The promotion will also hold its Colosseum tournament across two shows that weekend.

Waller and Townsend have been exchanging messages via social media for several days, with Waller initially having turned down Townsend’s challenge.

On Friday, Townsend continued to taunt Waller for having declined his callout.

“I didn’t realize that you moved all the way to Orlando to become such a p—y. I mean, what are you scared about getting in trouble with your bosses?” He said.

The promotion posted a video of Waller announcing that the match is official on Monday.

“Elimination Chamber, the biggest show in Australian wrestling history, who got you backstage? Who got you to be an extra so you could see your dream right in front of you to help you obtain it?” Waller responded to Townsend.

“Be careful what you ask for, night one Coloseum, my city, my house, my show. Jimmy Townsend vs. Grayson Waller is on. You’re welcome for the rub.”

On Friday, Townsend posted a video to social media reviewing Waller’s recent appearance on WWE SmackDown.

“I thought I’d better check out the different level that Grayson Waller is to me that he was talking about. Now, he’s doing well here laying on the ground, the Grayson special.”

Grayson Waller Effect with Cody Rhodes set for WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Grayson Waller is set to welcome Cody Rhodes onto his Grayson Waller Effect talk show tonight.

After it was set up by a social media back-and-forth, WWE has confirmed that tonight’s SmackDown will feature a Grayson Waller Effect segment with Rhodes as the guest. The show is taking place from Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

Waller sent out a tweet yesterday claiming that Rhodes has always been the bad guy in his story. In response, Rhodes challenged Waller to have a chat with him on SmackDown. Waller then invited Rhodes to appear on the Grayson Waller Effect.

“Let’s have a chat tomorrow, but let’s do it on the most honest and important talk show in the history of the WWE: The Grayson Waller Effect,” Waller said. “You can be the first ever three-time guest. You’re welcome for the rub, kid. So let’s all find out together who Cody Rhodes really is.”

Rhodes is defending his Undisputed WWE Championship against Kevin Owens at WWE Bash in Berlin on Saturday, August 31. There was a moment on SmackDown last week where Rhodes saved Owens from a steel chair attack by Waller and Austin Theory. Dissension was briefly teased when Owens grabbed the Undisputed WWE title belt as Rhodes was trying to pick it up. But after taking a look at the title, Owens gave it to Rhodes and showed him respect.

Here’s the updated SmackDown lineup:

WWE SmackDown (Friday, August 23) —

  • WWE Tag Team Champions The Bloodline (Tama Tonga & Jacob Fatu) defend against The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford)
  • WWE United States Champion LA Knight defends against Santos Escobar
  • Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill & Naomi vs. Alba Fyre, Isla Dawn & Blair Davenport
  • The Grayson Waller Effect with Cody Rhodes

Tag Team title rematch set for WWE SmackDown

Posted on by Joseph Currier

One week after dropping the belts, Grayson Waller & Austin Theory are getting their WWE Tag Team title rematch.

Newly crowned WWE Tag Team Champions DIY (Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa) will defend their titles against Waller & Theory on SmackDown tonight. The show is taking place from the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.

In Toronto last Friday, Gargano & Ciampa defeated Waller & Theory to begin their first main roster title reign. DIY were previously tag team champions in NXT. Last week’s match was full of callbacks to when they won the NXT Tag Team titles from The Revival in the same arena at TakeOver: Toronto 2019. The finishes were nearly identical with DIY getting a simultaneous submission victory.

The full match from last week can be watched below:

Tonight is the Money in the Bank fallout edition of SmackDown. Here’s everything that’s been announced for the episode:

  • The Bloodline appear
  • Tiffany Stratton celebrates her Money in the Bank ladder match victory
  • WWE Tag Team Champions DIY defend against Grayson Waller & Austin Theory
  • Michin vs. Nia Jax
  • Baron Corbin & Apollo Crews vs. Legado del Fantasma (Angel & Berto)