Two wrestlers from NXT tied the knot this weekend.
Tatum Paxley and Javier Bernier were married yesterday. NXT stars Jakara Jackson, Nikkita Lyons, Lola Vice, Karmen Petrovic and many others were in attendance for the ceremony.
Bernal announced their engagement a little over a year ago on social media. He included three photos of him proposing to Paxley on a beach, and a fourth photo that appears to be him proposing to himself.
Bernal has been out of action since June after suffering an injury on an episode of NXT Level Up. He later underwent surgery for the injury and posted to social media that he’s expecting to be on the shelf for six months, targeting a return near the end of the year.
Paxley was in action last on the September 17 edition of NXT. She teamed with Lyra Valkyria on the show and defeated Rosemary and Wendy Choo.
WWE NXT’s Javier Bernal underwent surgery this week to repair his broken foot.
On Friday, Bernal posted a message to social media updating fans on how his surgery went. Bernal said the surgery was a success and he’s now facing a six-month recovery time. He thanked WWE, the medical staff, and his fiancee — fellow NXT wrestler Tatum Paxley — for taking care of him.
Bernal wrote:
“Surgery was a success, my foot is still there! First ever surgery in the books. Iām a lot more coherent now, so I can clearly write a message without tweaking.
“Thankful for @WWE and the medical team for taking care of me and setting me up with the best doctors in the world. And very thankful for Dr. Waldrop and his staff in Birmingham, AL. For my first ever surgery, you can imagine I was pretty nervous but Iāve had nothing but support from everyone in WWE and to those who reached. Thankful for @tatumpaxley_wwe, because I couldnāt get through this weekend without her. Every step of the way, she has taken care of me and wonāt let me do anything. She is the love of my life, and itās obvious as to why I see her as wife material
“Iāve got the few months cut out for me, but all I know is that I want to give you something to believe in. Truth is, Iām scared, but as a man, you canāt be brave if youāre not scared. I said it before, and anyone who supports me knows, this is my resolve for 6 months, and I want to walk through your resolutions, side by side with yāall. In 6 months time, we are all going to have accomplished our resolutions and come out on the other side stronger than before.”
Bernal’s injury happened during a tag match that aired on the June 7 episode of NXT Level Up. On the show, Bernal teamed with Drake Morreaux in a loss to Chase U’s Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne. There was a moment at the end of the match where Bernal injured his foot while trying to catch Osborne on a dive.
In NXT, Bernal has played a delusional heel nicknamed “Big Body Javi.” He debuted for NXT in 2022 and has mostly been featured on Level Up this year.
Before signing with WWE, Bernal (real name Randy Beidelschies) played football at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
NXT wrestler Javier Bernal will be out of action for a while after an injury suffered on Level Up.
After Friday night’s NXT Level Up episode aired, Bernal went live on Twitch to inform fans that he suffered a broken foot in his match. Bernal said he broke his foot “in a few places.” It’s looking like Bernal will need to undergo surgery for the injury. With surgery, the expected timetable for his return is six months.
“It stinks. It is what it is. I found out, what is it, two days ago that I broke it in a few places,” Bernal said. “And initially I was told that I probably wasn’t going to need surgery. But then the next day the MRI was a little cloudy and they looked at it and it looks like I probably will have surgery on my foot.”
If Bernal didn’t need surgery, the recovery time would have been six weeks.
An emotional Bernal called this injury the biggest test of his life so far. He’s had injuries before, but he’s never loved anything as much as wrestling and entertaining the fans. No matter how long it takes, Bernal is putting all of his effort into coming back to the ring.
Bernal also posted a message on social media expressing how much he appreciates everyone’s support:
Duke Hudson & Riley Osborne defeated Bernal & Drake Morreaux in the Level Up match. It was taped on Tuesday before airing last night. Bernal’s injury happened near the finish of the match when he was trying to catch Osborne on a dive to the outside.
Bernal (real name Randy Beidelschies) debuted for NXT in 2022. Before signing with WWE, he played football at Macalester College.
Calling himself “Big Body Javi,” Bernal has played a delusional heel on NXT television. He’s been featured on Level Up this year and has also made one appearance each on SmackDown and WWE Main Event. His SmackDown appearance was a tag team squash match loss against AOP.
This weekās WWE Main Event was taped at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon before Mondayās 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 itās 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 hasnāt 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 weekās WWE Main Event was taped at the MVP Arena in Albany, New York before Mondayās episode of Raw.
Two simple matches this week, but again Main Event delivered fresh talent to make it a more interesting show.
Gigi Dolin defeated Elektra Lopez (4:58)
This was a very straightforward affair from two pretty new faces. They worked hard and Dolin got the win in her debut.
While this was Dolin’s Main Event debut, it was Lopez’s second appearance and second loss. She worked the show back in March in a losing effort against the now-former WWE employee, Dana Brooke.
There was some nice banter between Saxton and Barrett on commentary, referring back to their FCW days, which brought some color to this one. It felt as though they piped in a āletās go Gigiā chant, but it could have been legitimate.
Both had their moments, with Dolinās coming from a basement dropkick where they slowed down the hang time she got before she landed it. Lopez was more the slow, methodical heel, but certainly had the look of a main roster talent here.
In the end, they exchanged near falls, but Dolin was plucky enough to hit Lopez with a kick to the head so that she could use her Gigi Driver for the win. It looked a little sloppy but it’s a creative-looking finisher.
Apollo Crews defeated Javier Bernal (7:41)
This was a good match in the end, after a slow start. The crowd liked the near falls at the end, but it was another week and another win for Crews who continues his dominant run against NXT talent on Main Event.
Like Gigi Dolin, Bernal made his debut here, but it wasn’t his first taste of main roster action. He appeared on Raw back in May in a tag team squash at the hands of Sanga and Veer. Singles action allowed Bernal a way better platform to show what he could do.
Bernal has an interesting look. On the one hand, his jacket is kind of reminiscent of Shawn Michaels in the early 90s, after he went solo. But he also has the mannerisms of Edge as well. This isnāt to say he works like either of those two gentlemen, but the influence is clear to see.
Crews looked none too impressed with Bernal, but once they started to work together there was a slickness in what they did. After an early back and forth, Bernal knocked Crews off the apron and we went to an early commercial break.
After the ads, Bernal was in control and locked in a head scissors. A better rest hold than usual chin lock, but still a pet peeve for these short matches.
The highlight of the match was when Crews looked like he was going home, having hit the standing moonsault he went up top, rolled through and got nailed by an elbow. Bernal went for a cross body and got caught, so reversed it into a tornado DDT. The crowd thought it could have been the finish, but Crews kicked out.
Crews then got the win with a head kick and a top rope splash to keep his streak going.
Two members of the WWE NXT roster have announced their engagement.
Tatum Paxley and Javier Bernal took to social media on Sunday to reveal the news. The couple posted photos of Bernal proposing on a beach and Paxley showing off her ring.
Paxley is coming off a loss on NXT Level Up this week. She teamed with Dani Palmer and lost to the Meta Four team of Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. She hasn’t gotten a win on WWE programming since the Level Up tapings on November 8 when she teamed with Ivy Nile and defeated Jackson and Legend.
Bernal’s last match took place on the August 29 Level Up tapings. He lost to Riley Osbourne on the show. He made his Raw debut earlier this year when he teamed with Kevin Ventura-Cortes in a loss to the Viking Raiders on the May 29 show. Bernal’s last win came against Boa on the May 23 Level Up taping.
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.
This match wasn’t great, but both women displayed a lot of ring presence. Barlow is green, and that showed. Henley was charismatic in her delivery, even through the awkward moments.
The match opened with a clumsy wrestling sequence that turned into a brief pin exchange. After a test of strength, Barlow tried scoring a submission with a unique standing neck crank. Once she escaped the hold, Henley lept into offense, landing a lariat, bulldog, and single-leg running knee to close.
Tatum Paxley defeated Sloane Jacobs
I wish I knew why all of these matches feature so much empty mat wrestling. Paxley has one of the most exciting movesets I’ve seen on Level Up, but it’s wasted on matches made up mostly of rest holds.
Paxley opened the match by trying to score a quick win with a sly pin; Jacobs tried the same but was slammed for her troubles. Paxley then took the match to the mat, stretching Jacobs for some time. Once she escaped, Jacobs took her turn controlling the match on the mat.
Paxley fought back into the match with a swinging neckbreaker, dropkick, and gut-wrench suplex. With the end in sight, Paxley delivered a spinning electric chair powerbomb into a bridging pin to win the match.
Edris Enofe and Malik Blade defeated Dante Chen and Javier Bernal
This was a pretty by-the-numbers tag match. For what it’s worth, the crowd was into Enofe, especially after the hot tag.
This match opened with a couple of team-based sequences that favored Blade and Enofe. After Blade missed a leaping knee, Chen tagged in and took the match to the mat.
Bernal and Chen worked to isolate Enofe on the mat. Enofe finally received a tag, leading to an exciting comeback sequence. Blade and Enofe then worked together to hit Bernal with an elevated leg cutter. After landing the tandem finish, Enofe pinned Bernal to win the match.
This match wasn’t good at all, but I kind of enjoyed Sanga.
Sanga used his strength early to overwhelm Chen. Sanga maintained this control, taking his time beating up Chen with a wide variety of moves.
Chen tried to launch a rally after escaping a choke late in the match, connecting with a DDT and big boot to score a near fall. Chen’s comeback ended after Sanga ignored a dropkick and leveled him with a lariat. He then pinned Chen with a chokeslam.
Elektra Lopez defeated Thea Hail
Choosing to have most of this match on the mat certainly was a choice. This wasn’t great.
Lopez gained the upper hand early. Hail attempted to gain some kind of a footing but fell to a slam, leading into an extended mat control segment from Lopez.
After escaping arm control, Hail finally got in a bit of offense. Hail overextended, leaping after an Irish whip, but Lopez didn’t bounce off the ropes. Lopez then grabbed Hail, hit her with a sitout powerbomb, and pinned her to win the match.
Trick Williams defeated Javier Bernal
This was bad.
This match opened with a slick sequence of wrestling and arm drags with both men trading advantage. Trick connected with a dropkick that led to a strong stint of offense from him. To launch his comeback, Bernal eventually landed some move (he just kind of fell; I have no clue what to call it).
Bernal scored a near fall after a reverse atomic drop and Russian leg sweep. When Bernal attempted a second leg sweep, Trick reversed, hit a big boot, and pinned Bernal.
Who is this for? This is just completely forgettable, mid-at-best wrestling. These guys and gals are green; surely letting them work out the basics away from the world’s largest wrestling promotion’s cameras would be ideal? I have no clue why they choose to broadcast this every single week.
Tatum Paxley and Ivy Nile defeated Erica Yan and Sarray
I enjoyed this; it was simple and focused — precisely what it needed to be.
Nile took control of the match immediately following the opening bell. After being handed the Yan & Sarray gained control after Paxley was tagged in.
Nile tagged back in and caught Sarray with a quick kick to retake momentum. Nile then took her time delivering power moves, leaving Sarray desperate before tagging back into Paxley.
Paxley took the match to the mat for a while, buying Sarray enough time for a hot tag. Yan’s rally was cut short as Nile stealthfully tagged back in. Nile hit Yan with a superman punch and locked in a dragon sleeper to bring this match to a close.
Salone Jacobs defeated Thea Hail
These women are green (both are under 20), and it showed. The match was far from memorable, which is probably a good thing.
The match opened with standard back and forth wrestling, arm drags, and strikes. Jacobs eventually worked Jacobs into the corner, gaining control with some boots, which she followed with a scoop slam. After scoring a near fall, Jacobs took things to the mat for quite some time.
Once in a standing position, Hail began to rally but was cut short after Jacobs caught a stray kick and hit Hail with some kind of fireman’s carry drop. Jacobs then pinned Hail to win the match.
Channing Lorenzo and Troy Donovan defeated Javier Bernal and Dante Chen
This mafia gimmick is terrible, and this match was boring.
Both teams traded momentum early, mainly utilizing headlocks. After a fumble, Lorenzo tagged into the match and started putting the boots to Bernal. Donovan and Lorenzo then traded tags, working to isolate Bernal.
Bernal eventually hit a lariat and enziguri to tag out to Chen. Chen ran through his opponents but couldn’t connect with his finish. After a blindside boot from Lorenzo, the mafia guys hit Bernal with a double boot and pinned him to win the match.
This match opened with Henley gaining standing wrist control. Legend eventually escaped by using her other hand to break free, and from here on, the pair went back and forth trading moves. Legend established control with a chinlock. After a short attempt at a rally from Henley, Legend caught Henley in a hold (think torture rack meets abdominal stretch), leading to the submission victory.
Draco Anthony defeated Javier Bernal
This wasnāt poorly executed, but it bored me to tears.
Bernal started his WWE debut by securing a headlock. Bernal worked the headlock from corner to corner before taking the match down to the mat. Anthony escaped by converting the headlock into a backdrop.
Anthony began landing with heavy strikes before locking in a half nelson chin lock. Bernal fought out of the hold, but his rally was cut short after Anthony connected with a leg lariat, scoring the win.
James Drake defeated Bodhi Hayward
Before the match, Andre Chase cut a promo. He bragged about his new student Bodhi before the Grizzled Young Veterans interrupted him. Zack Gibson cut a counter promo, making clear his confidence heading into the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
This match wasnāt great by any means, but compared to the first two matches on the card, it felt like a shot of adrenaline.
Drake started the match with a headlock. Things picked up, however, after Bodhi escaped and launched an offensive sequence. Bodhi tried for a German suplex, but Drake blocked it, opening up Bodhi to some targeted strikes. Drake took the match to the mat once more with another headlock.
Bodhi fought free from the hold before connecting with multiple low tackles. He sent Drake to the outside, which led to a scuffle with Gibson. Once Bodhi was back in the ring, Gibson grabbed his foot. The distraction allowed Drake to land a nice dropkick into the corner, leading to the pinfall.
This week’s 205 Live will include the debut of a recent WWE signee.
WWE has announced that Javier Bernal vs. Draco Anthony will air on 205 Live this Friday night. Bernal, whose real name is Randy Jose Beidelschies, is making his debut in the match.
Bernal signed with WWE after taking part in last August’s tryouts in Las Vegas. He went to Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota and was a member of their football team.
Anthony was also signed by WWE after participating in the Las Vegas tryouts. He has wrestled on 205 Live since debuting on the show in November. A video spotlighting Anthony aired on NXT later that month but hasn’t been followed up on.
205 Live airs on Peacock/WWE Network at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Fridays. This week’s show will also feature Bodhi Hayward vs. James Drake and Lash Legend vs. Fallon Henley.
Hayward & Andre Chase are facing The Grizzled Young Veterans (Drake & Zack Gibson) in the first round of the 2022 men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic on NXT next Tuesday.
This is the third match of Legend’s career and the first time she’s wrestled since facing Sarray on 205 Live last month.
