With help from JD McDonagh, Judgment Day retained their Undisputed WWE Tag Team titles on Raw last night.
Finn Balor & Damian Priest defeated Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn to remain champions. McDonagh, Dominik Mysterio, Cody Rhodes, and Jey Uso all got involved in the match. The show went off the air with a chaotic brawl between the two sides after Judgment Day retained.
Jey and Cody were initially able to fend off Dominik and McDonagh’s interference. Zayn almost had the match won after a Helluva Kick to Priest, but McDonagh then struck Zayn with a title belt. Priest covered Zayn to win the match.
McDonagh needed to redeem himself after once again drawing the ire of Priest earlier in the show. Judgment Day were about to attack Rhodes in the opening segment but were quickly outnumbered when Jey, Owens, and Zayn came to his defense. Judgment Day retreated, but McDonagh ran down with two steel chairs to help them even the odds. Priest didn’t want anything to do with the situation — and he took a beatdown when the babyfaces got the advantage.
Priest was fed up with McDonagh and told him that he’s not in Judgment Day and will never be in Judgment Day. We’ll see if McDonagh helping Balor & Priest retain their titles has done anything to change that.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee before Monday’s episode of Raw. We got two good matches this week in front of a crowd who were very much into them.
Katana Chance (w/ Kayden Carter) defeated Chelsea Green (5:04)
This was a good little opener with some nice work, particularly from Chance who looks better every time she’s in the ring.
Chance worked this show for the first time since a win over Emma in June, returning here to make it two-for-two against Green. It was Green’s first Main Event appearance since January 2020. However, she wasted no time reasserting herself and came right out of the block at the bell to nail Chance with a big boot. The early going was pretty much all Green, who played the heel well.
Eventually, Chance got back into things and did a nice spot where she had Green hung on the middle rope and came off the second turnbuckle with a stomp. Green kicked out at two and then tried to use the ropes to steal a win. This prompted Carter to show her absolute disgust for such behavior, but she remained on the outside.
Green signaled to the crowd that it was game over for Chance. She then tossed her opponent into the ropes but Chance blocked it. Chance then hit her with a kick to the midriff and followed it up with a rolling facebuster for the win.
JD McDonagh defeated Akira Tozawa (7:57)
This was a good match here between two guys who can really go. McDonagh has some amazing stuff in his arsenal and Tozawa is the ideal opponent for him to showcase it against.
After a run on this show over the summer, McDonagh has flirted with main roster action, but his presence is always welcome on Main Event.
McDonagh is reasonably active on X, but he didn’t do much to promote this one, other than reposting a gif that tells you pretty much all you need to know about his current persona.
After being beaten down, Tozawa fought his way out and saw the telegraphed clothesline from McDonagh, reversing it into a head scissors takedown. Tozawa then used a top rope back elbow for a near fall.
McDonagh fired up and they went back and forth until Tozawa nailed him with an enziguri and went up to the top rope. This time, he got caught and McDonagh hit him with a beautiful Spanish Fly.
The Devil Inside got this one done for McDonagh who now really needs a main roster run in a proper program with more eyeballs on him.
In the new edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided a look at where WWE could be going with its Judgment Day storyline.
Meltzer wrote that, while things could change, the long-term plan is currently for Damian Priest to be out of The Judgment Day. Meltzer added that it’s likely JD McDonagh will join the group, but that isn’t 100 percent confirmed.
While this could easily change, the long-term plan is Priest out of Judgment Day. Whether that means McDonagh is in, that’s a probable but not 100 percent
There’s been growing tension between Priest and Finn Balor in recent months. That tension led to Balor losing his title challenges against World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins at both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam.
Priest won the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match this July and still holds the briefcase.
Balor’s friendship with McDonagh has recently contributed to the tension between Balor and the rest of Judgment Day.
Despite the dissension, Judgment Day stood tall over Cody Rhodes and Sami Zayn on Raw earlier this week after getting help from McDonagh. McDonagh came to Judgment Day’s aid after Rhodes defeated Balor in the main event of the episode. Priest tried to give Balor the Money in the Bank briefcase to use as a weapon, but he slid it too far and Rhodes hit Balor with the briefcase instead.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, before Monday’s Raw.
This was a perfectly watchable show but Apollo Crews vs. JD McDonagh III was a disappointment given how strong their first two exchanges were.
Riddick Moss defeated Akira Tozawa (5:20)
This match was all about Moss, although Tozawa appeared to have hope at times. Moss bullied his opponent and showed off his power in a fairly run-of-the-mill match.
This was Moss’ first win since dropping the Madcap name in May. Meanwhile, Tozawa, who doesn’t get many wins anyway, lost here for the 15th time in 2023. For a loser, he’s a pretty fantastic performer.
Moss worked Tozawa over pretty much from the get-go with Tozawa flipping all over for him. Tozawa sold a clothesline as if it had killed him and took a posting before having to work his way out of a rest hold.
The hope came as Tozawa played the plucky babyface, coming off the top rope with a back elbow and turning a power bomb into a hurricanrana. The crowd really liked Tozawa and was rooting for him as he was getting some shine.
In the end, Tozawa got caught coming off the top and Moss was able to put him in a delayed suplex before using a modified jackhammer for the win.
Apollo Crews defeated JD McDonagh (6:35)
This was the long-awaited rubber match between these two, but it didn’t deliver nearly as well as the previous two.
McDonagh took control in the early going. He was trash talking Crews and definitely looking more of a heel than he has in previous weeks.
They went outside and McDonagh tried to get one over on Crews, but Crews had him scouted and rolled him back inside. McDonagh was sent over the top rope with a clothesline as we headed to the commercial break.
Crews worked out of a side headlock and came off the top rope with a beautiful crossbody for a near fall. The hang time alone here was impressive.
They started to trade near falls in what was easily the best segment of the match. There was much grace here amongst the big boots and kicks to the head. McDonagh loves the Spanish Fly and I think the one he did here was the best-looking of all of the ones he’s done with Crews.
Unfortunately, they went to the finish quite quickly after they had started to really get going. Crews caught McDonagh off the top rope, hoisted him up onto his shoulders, and delivered his Samoan Drop for the win.
Last week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the EnMarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia, before Monday’s episode of Raw.
This was a perfectly watchable episode. Hopefully, we get the rubber match next week between JD McDonagh and Apollo Crews because these two could tear the house down in front of a British crowd.
Katana Chance (w/ Kayden Carter) defeated Emma (5:27)
This was a nice short matchand really showed off how good Chance could be.
Chance looked very good in just her second match on Main Event (she defeated Tamina on an episode in December) and her first since officially joining the main roster. She is much shorter than Emma, but has bouts where she explodes into fiery offense and has a really unique in-ring move set to boot.
Emma has featured heavily on Main Event over the last few months and, like Dana Brooke, has been a steady hand with the newbies from NXT. There is nothing especially dazzling about what she does, but she carries herself like a star.
For a match that lasted just over five minutes, it felt like they got a lot in, but it was mostly Emma who dictated the pace while Chance played the babyface in peril. Carter was on the sidelines cheerleading, trying to rally her from Emma’s methodical beatdown.
Chance did The Miz’s running clothesline to the corner where he sits on the rope afterward and then used a spinning Codebreaker to get the win after some distraction from Carter.
This continued Emma’s poor run of form as she has just one win to her name in all of 2023.
JD McDonagh defeated Apollo Crews (7:37)
This was a tremendous offering from these two with some really neat near falls that the crowd got into at the end.
After last week’s strong outing, they went at it again, but with a different outcome this time. The loss for Crews is his first since he returned to the main roster.
The early going was fairly even with Crews using an impressive delayed suplex before missing a moonsault off the apron to the outside, giving McDonagh the advantage as we headed to the break.
The second half of the match was really action-packed and got the crowd heavily invested as they broke into a ‘this is awesome’ chant. Last week, they did a Spanish Fly in the middle of the ring and it looked fantastic. McDonagh used it again here and it was even better, getting a near fall.
The finish came after McDonagh kicked out of a sit-out power bomb when no one thought he would. Last week, the finish was a Samoan Drop, but this week McDonagh escaped it and used the ropes to steal a roll-up win.
Let’s hope they do this all over again next week as McDonagh is someone who needs reps in front of big crowds.
JD McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee has been added to the lineup for NXT on Tuesday.
After being drafted to Raw on Friday, McDonagh issued an open challenge for his final match before heading to the WWE main roster. Dragon Lee then posted a video congratulating McDonagh on being drafted and accepting his challenge.
Dragon Lee said:
Congratulations on being drafted to Raw, I think you deserve it. I’m happy to take you on your offer and share the ring with you and even more happy to send you to Raw with a loss.
WWE has officially added McDonagh vs. Dragon Lee to the lineup for Tuesday’s show. The two have never faced each other in singles competition before but both were in the five-way ladder match for the North American title at Stand & Deliver (won by Wes Lee) and in the four-way number one contenders match on the 4/11 NXT episode (won by Grayson Waller).
WWE NXT 5/2 lineup:
NXT North American title: Wes Lee defends against Drew Gulak
NXT Women’s Tag Team titles: Alba Fare & Isla Dawn defend against Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
While night one of the WWE Draft may be over, some additional picks have been revealed.
The draft continued with more selections being announced on Saturday’s episode of The SmackDown LowDown. There were 14 people drafted to Raw on Saturday and four drafted to SmackDown.
Here are the selections that were announced:
Raw —
The Viking Raiders & Valhalla
Dexter Lumis
Candice LeRae
Maximum Male Models (Mace, Mansoor & Maxxine Dupri)
Natalya
Apollo Crews
Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
Zoey Stark
JD McDonagh
SmackDown —
Hit Row (Top Dolla, Ashante “Thee” Adonis & B-Fab)
Lacey Evans
It was also announced on The SmackDown LowDown that Omos (with MVP), Dolph Ziggler, Mustafa Ali, and Von Wagner are now “free agents.” It was said that Omos is a free agent because of smart negotiations by MVP to maximize Omos’ visibility on both brands.
Stark, McDonagh, and Wagner are being called up to the main roster for the first time, while Crews is now back on the main roster following a stint in NXT.
NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell and NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn were also called up from NXT on night one of the draft. Hartwell is joining the Raw roster. Fyre & Dawn will be on SmackDown.
The WWE Draft will continue on Monday’s episode of Raw. The new rosters will then officially take effect following WWE’s Backlash pay-per-view on Saturday, May 6.
Listed below are all of the draft picks that have been announced thus far:
Raw —
Cody Rhodes
Becky Lynch
Imperium (Intercontinental Champion Gunther, Ludvig Kaiser & Giovanni Vinci)
Matt Riddle
Drew McIntyre
The Miz
Shinsuke Nakamura
NXT Women’s Champion Indi Hartwell
The Viking Raiders & Valhalla
Dexter Lumis
Candice LeRae
Maximum Male Models (Mace, Mansoor & Maxxine Dupri)
Natalya
Apollo Crews
Sonya Deville & Chelsea Green
Zoey Stark
JD McDonagh
SmackDown —
Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns & Solo Sikoa (with Paul Heyman)
Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair
The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford)
Edge
Bobby Lashley
The OC (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows & Michin)
Damage CTRL (Bayley, Dakota Kai & IYO SKY)
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
Hit Row (Top Dolla, Ashante “Thee” Adonis & B-Fab)
A fatal four-way match on tonight’s NXT will determine the first challenger for Carmelo Hayes’ NXT Championship.
Two of the fatal four-way participants have been confirmed, while the two others remain a mystery. The match will feature Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh, and two wrestlers who have yet to be announced.
The winner will get their title shot against Hayes on the upcoming Spring Breakin’ special episode of NXT.
Hayes defeated Bron Breakker in the main event of Stand & Deliver to win the NXT Championship. Though Breakker initially showed respect to Hayes after the loss, he attacked both Hayes and Trick Williams on NXT last week.
After losing the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles at Stand & Deliver, Fallon Henley & Kiana James will get their rematch against Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn tonight.
Tiffany Stratton vs. Sol Ruca, an appearance by Cora Jade, a Chase U MVP ceremony for Duke Hudson, and Ilja Dragunov vs. Von Wagner have also been announced for the episode. If Wagner loses, Mr. Stone will no longer be his manager.
Our live coverage starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Opening the show is HIM. NXT ChampionCarmelo Hayes, flanked by Trick Williams, enters the soundstage in Orlando to kick off the show with an in-ring promo.
Hayes cuts a promo on Bron Breakker, after Hayes was attacked with a cheap shot by Breakker last week. Hayes offers Breakker a spot in the fatal four-way set for later tonight, which determine a new number one contender.
Dragon Lee interrupts Hayes. Dragon Lee says Hayes wants a rematch with Breakker, but Dragon Lee vows to be the next challenger for the title at Spring Breakin’. Hayes tells Lee he will give him a break because he is new here. Hayes and Williams then warn Lee to never interrupt the champion again. They are all then interrupted again by someone else, as seems to be the trend tonight.
Out comes JD McDonagh, and he talks tough. Hayes at first puts him over like he did Dragon Lee, but Hayes then makes a leprechaun joke about McDonagh.
Grayson Waller saunters out for yet another interruption. Waller reveals he is the third participant in the fatal four-way later on. Waller is cocky and full of himself as usual.
Hayes ends the talking segment by saying he sees a lot of them, but there is only one HIM.
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre defeated Fallon Henley & Kiana James to retain their titles
In a skit before the match, Henley and James are arguing backstage when Josh Briggs plays peacemaker, trying to get them to focus on regaining the tag titles. James tells Henley she doesn’t need the goodie two-shoes version of Henley, she needs the “yee-haw bitch” version of Henley.
Brooks Jensen is noticeably absent, and James says he is mad at Henley and Briggs. Jensen arrives at the building as the match gets underway, and he soon rushes to the ring.
The match goes through a commercial break. Hot tag to Henley after the show returns from the break. Moments later, Henley piledrives Fyre with a Canadian Destroyer.
Double down in the ring as Jensen runs in. He grabs James’ bag, much to the chagrin of Briggs. Jensen gets into the ring with the bag, and he tries giving it to Henley to use illegally. Jensen screams at Henley to hit her opponent with the bag, but Henley throws the bag back at Jensen.
Henley screams at Jensen as the referee turns around. The ref sees Jensen with the bag, and the ref ejects Jensen. Meanwhile, Henley is screaming at Jensen to get out. Briggs comes over to Jensen and puts his hand on Jensen’s shoulder. An angry Jensen shoves Briggs down.
Henley is too distracted with drama at ringside, and Henley eats a kick from Dawn. Henley takes a backstabber, and then Fyre jumps off the top rope with a swanton. Fyre then pins Henley, and the champs retain their titles.
A vignette highlights Noam Dar. He cuts a promo bragging on himself for being the Heritage Cup Champion.
Bron Breakker crashes the Chase U MVP ceremony
Andre Chase opens the ceremony by introducing Duke Hudson as the most valuable player at Chase U. Chase admits that he and Hudson have not always get along, but Chase starts talking about how they fight together. Chase almost drops an f-bomb, but his students stop him.
Hudson says he does not like award ceremonies because he does not like the spotlight on himself. Hudson then goes on to brag on himself. Hudson says it was a group effort, he just merely let the way. Hudson says he is the MVP of Chase U, and Hudson leads to live studio audience in spelling out C-H-A-S-E-U.
Just as the crowd participation is over, Bron Breakker is suddenly at ringside. Breakker interrupts the award ceremony. Breakker begins waxing about Hayes wanting him in the fatal four-way later on, but Breakker says he realizes that the NXT Championship is a curse on his career
Breakker heels on the audience, adding he no longer needs approval from “these scumbags anymore.” Breakker caution that we are going to see a side of him we have never seen before. Breakker then offers Hudson his chance at taking the final spot in the number one contender’s fatal four-way.
Breakker goes to leave, but he turns around and hits Andre Chase with a spear. Hudson goes to protect his MVP trophy, and he bails out of the ring clutching the trophy. Thea Hail is checking on Chase as Breakker grabs the Chase U flag. Breakker rips the flag, and he breaks the flagpole over his knee. Breakker stands over a fallen Chase.
A great vignette profiles Gigi Dolan. She goes back to her childhood home, where she ran away from at an early age. Dolan relates it with her feud to Jacy Jayne.
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks assault Pretty Deadly in broad daylight, and they kidnap Kit Wilson.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Javier Bernal
Thorpe (Karl Fredericks) pinned Bernal after a twisting neckbreaker. They had a competitive match, but Thorpe eventually gets the win. Damon Kemp comes down to ringside, presumably scouting Thorpe. That looks to be Thorpe’s first program in NXT.
In a backstage skit, Schism confronts Gallus. The Dyad challenge Gallus to a NXT Tag Team Championship match.
Scrypts in a vignette has a warns Axiom be is going to “expose” him.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Sol Ruca
Stratton pinned Ruca after a Christopher Daniels’ Best Moonsault Ever. This was definitely a developmental match.
Both Ruca and Stratton continue to rapidly improve in the ring, but they could have used a veteran here to help carry things. This match starts off well, but things get very indie by the end. Looks like they are just running through spots.
Duke Hudson is backstage getting pumped up for the fatal four-way later on tonight. Andre Chase is selling the spear from earlier, and Thea Hail is a ball of energy.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews Diamond Mine. Ivy Nile requested this time, and The Creed Brothers challenge Gallus to a tag title match. As the Diamond Mine leave, in walks Tiffany Stratton. She says another victory for the “center of the universe,” meaning herself. Stratton wonders out loud while she is not the number one contender. Stratton even says she beat the champion, Indi Hartwell, on three occasions before Hartwell won the title.
Lyra Valkyria confronts Cora Jade
Cora Jade goes to the ring for a monologue. Jade says she returned last week to find the NXT women division is “flipped upside down.” Jade goes on to insult Zoey Stark, saying Stark will always be the challenger and never the champion.
Jade then claims she put Roxanne Perez “on the map” when she helped put the tag titles on her. Jade also claims Perez uses her past as a crutch, Jade transitions into a promo on Gigi Dolan. Jade tells Dolan to get out of here and “don’t let the door hit your Instagram-famous ass on the way out.”
Instagram also makes Jade think of Tiffany Stratton. Jade warns Stratton that Jade runs things her in NXT, not Stratton. Jade move on to Lyra Valkyria. Jade gives credit to Valkyria for showing no fear in the recent ladder match, but Jade says Valkyria should fear her.
The last person that Jade brings up is the current women’s champ, Indi Hartwell. Jade says this his her NXT, and she is the hero of the story.
Valkyria interrupts the monologue, and she confronts Jade in the ring. This leads to a brawl between the two. Valkyria warns Jade to not go near the title picture, and Jade in turn slaps Valkyria on the face. The brawl is on from there. Jade flees the ring, and they end with a staredown.
After a commercial break, there is another interview segment with McKenzie Mitchell. Would you believe there is yet another interruption. This time NXT North American Champion Wes Lee is interrupted by Charlie Dempsey and Drew Gulak. This would seem to plant the seed for a future title match.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Von Wagner (with Mr. Stone)
Dragunov pinned Wagner, so Mr. Stone is no longer the manger for Wagner per the stipulations of this match. In unrelated news, Dijak confronts Dragunov after the match.
Wagner is fairly dominate for much of the match, and he works over Dragunov. Yet, Dragunov fights back. Dragunov signals for his finisher, and he delivers his running uppercut. Dragunov then covers Wagner for a pinfall.
Mr. Stone is seemingly in shock at ringside. Seconds later, Dijak comes out to confront Dragunov. They have a cartoonish staredown.
Tank Ledger is backstage preparing for his debut match. Hank Walker gives him a pep talk.
Joe Coffey (with Gallus) defeated Tank Ledger
Coffey pinned Ledger in a hoss fight. This was Ledger debut match on NXT television. Ledger is the stage name for former Northwestern University football player Joe Spivak, who was recruited by WWE after his college career. Aside from doing a clean job, Ledger looked good in his debut.
When the fight spills outside, Coffey sends Ledger crashing into the ring steps. Coffey winds up to deliver a discus lariat, and then Coffey lands another just before scoring the pinfall.
NXT Tag Team Champions Mark Coffey and Wolfgang are at ringside in Joe Coffey’s corner. The Creed Brothers run down after the match to confront Gallus. This leads to a pull-apart brawl as a melee ensues.
Tony D’Angelo in a backstage skit is about to hit on Roxanne Perez when they are interrupted by Zoey Stark. Perez and Stark are booked against each other in a match next week.
Pretty Deadly suddenly rushes in to ambush Tony D and Stacks. They beat them down, getting a measure of revenge for the aggravated kidnapping from earlier tonight.
Grayson Waller defeated Duke Hudson (with Andre Chase & Thea Hail), Dragon Lee, and JD McDonagh in a fatal four-way number one contender’s match
Waller pinned Hudson to win the match, and Waller in winning is the new number one contender for the NXT Championship. The top men’s title match at Spring Breakin’ is set with Hayes defending his title against Waller. Hayes even confronts Waller face-to-face after the match.
Picking up the pace as they went, there is a lot of action in this match. The four-way bout goes through a commercial break, and slew of near falls follow when the show returns from the break. Everyone got a moment to shine.
Dragon Lee to me looked the most impressive in the ring, and it came down to Dragon Lee against Hudson in the closing moments of the match. Dragon Lee executes a sit-out powerbomb on Hudson. Waller breaks up the count by giving Dragon Lee a cutter. Waller then steals a pinfall when he covers Hudson for a three count.
NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes confronts Waller after the match as they face off on the stage as the show closes.
Following NXT on USA Network is Fighting With My Family, which is the movie based on Saraya (Paige) and the Knight family.
JD McDonagh has been announced for the number one contender’s match on NXT this week.
A fatal four way on Tuesday’s show will determine who faces new NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes at Spring Breakin’. McDonagh joins Dragon Lee as the only two confirmed competitors in the match thus far.
Both McDonagh and Dragon Lee were entered into the five way NXT North American title match at Stand & Deliver. Prior to that, McDonagh’s match with Ilja Dragunov on the March 21 episode was thrown out after Dragon Lee got involved.
No date has been announced for NXT Spring Breakin’. However, last year’s event took place in early May.
WWE NXT 4/11 announced lineup:
Four-way match to determine the number one contender to Carmelo Hayes’ NXT Championship: Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. TBA vs. TBA
NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn defend against Fallon Henley & Kiana James
Ilja Dragunov vs. Von Wagner where if Wagner loses, Mr. Stone will walk away
The first participants for the North American Championship match at Stand and Deliver have been revealed.
Dragon Lee, Ilja Dragunov, and JD McDonagh have been added to the five-way match that will take place on the April 1 event. The final participant will be decided in a battle royal that will be held on next week’s NXT.
Dragon Lee interrupted a Wes Lee promo on Tuesday’s show, saying he wanted to be the first one to call his shot. Lee agreed, officially putting Lee in the match. JD McDonagh came out and confronted Lee, saying if he was interested in his title, he wouldn’t be left standing. McDonagh proceded to have his match with Dragunov, which ended when McDonagh accidentally attacked Dragon Lee, who was sitting at ringside. It soon turned into a brawl, with Wes Lee wiping everyone out with a dive to the floor.
Two matches added to Stand and Deliver include a three-way NXT Tag Team title match between champions Gallus, The Creed Brothers, and Tony D’Angelo & Stacks. The Creeds were first to challenge Gallus, and after a game of pool the champions agreed. Later, after some more partying at the bar, Gallus also agreed to defend against D’Angelo & Stacks.
Another match will have The Schism (The Dyad, Joe Gacy, and Ava) against Chase U (Andre Chase, Thea Hail, and Duke Hudson) and Tyler Bate. The two groups held a debate on Wednesday’s show, with Chase U throwing out the challenge. Gacy dismissed the match at first, but became interested once Hudson offered to put up the school.
Here is the updated lineup for NXT Stand and Deliver:
NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Carmelo Hayes
NXT Women’s title ladder match: Zoey Stark vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Lyra Valkyria
NXT Women’s Tag Team titles: Kiana James & Fallon Henley vs. Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn
NXT North American title: Wes Lee vs. Dragon Lee vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. JD McDonagh vs. ???
NXT Tag Team titles: Gallus (c) vs. The Creed Brothers vs. Tony D’Angelo & Stacks
Winner gets the school: The Schism vs. Chase U & Tyler Bate
A match between Ilja Dragunov and JD McDonagh is set for next week’s NXT.
On Tuesday’s show, the match was announced after the two had an altercation. Dragunov started the promo by saying he wanted to rid himself of McDonagh. This brought out McDonagh, who said that their feud will never end. Dragunov responded by saying that it will end next week after they face each other in the ring. The two ended up brawling around the ring, with security being able to do little as they brawled to the outside of the Performance Center.
Later, during Wes Lee’s North American title open challenge, Dragunov and McDonagh emerged and ended up continuing their brawl. The match was eventually thrown out after too many people were brawling around the ring, with NXT officials failing to restore order.
The two have been feuding in the last month, with McDonagh blaming Dragunov for his recent eye injury that kept him out of action.
NXT wrestler JD McDonagh is currently dealing with an eye injury.
In a Twitter post on Thursday, McDonagh wrote that he’ll be off this weekend’s NXT house shows due to a detached retina. McDonagh stated that he estimates his recovery time will be 10-14 days.
McDonagh lost to Carmelo Hayes on NXT this week after being distracted by the returning Ilja Dragunov. After the match, McDonagh was struck in the face by Dragunov. McDonagh then bailed through the crowd as Dragunov chased him.
“@WWENXT fans attending Live Events in Tampa/Citrus Springs this weekend – Unfortunately, after a sneak attack on Tuesday, I’ve got a detached retina in my right eye,” McDonagh tweeted. “Waiting on a treatment plan, but I estimate a 10-14 day recovery time. 10-14 days, [Dragunov]. Count em.”
.@WWENXT fans attending Live Events in Tampa/Citrus Springs this weekend – Unfortunately, after a sneak attack on Tuesday, I've got a detached retina in my right eye.
Waiting on a treatment plan, but I estimate a 10-14 day recovery time.
This was Dragunov’s first appearance since an angle where he was taken out by McDonagh last October. A bloody Dragunov was stretchered out on the October 25 episode of NXT after losing to McDonagh by referee stoppage. McDonagh refused to let go after Dragunov passed out in a submission.
McDonagh (Jordan Devlin) and Dragunov have been rivals since both were in NXT UK.
Ilja Dragunov returned to NXT on Tuesday, reigniting a feud with JD McDonagh.
Tuesday’s show saw McDonagh wrestling against Carmelo Hayes when Dragunov’s music hit. McDonagh was distracted long enough for Hayes to counter McDonagh, rolling him up for a three count. After the match, Dragunov and McDonagh continued to brawl as security came in to break things up.
Dragunov has not been seen on television since October, losing to McDonagh via referee stoppage. Dragunov has not been on television due to visa issues, as is the case for many recent returns to NXT television, including Gallus and Tyler Bate.
The last major match featuring Dragunov was at Halloween Havoc, when he lost a three-way match involving himself, Bron Breakker, and McDonagh in a match that had been for the NXT Championship. Prior to his arrival on NXT, Dragunov was also a star in NXT UK, having previously held the NXT UK Championship.
Hey there, welcome to another weekly episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling hosted by Denise Salcedo.
There’s lots to talk about for today’s show including: The Iron Survivor Challenge, Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner, Mandy Rose retaining her NXT Women’s Championship, and more! Tune in for a fun and interactive podcast!
WWE has announced a new match for Tuesday’s edition of NXT.
JD McDonagh will face Axiom in singles competition on the show.
McDonagh is coming off a victory over Ilja Dragunov on the October 25 episode. Prior to that, McDonagh and Dragunov were defeated by Bron Breakker in a triple-threat match for the NXT Championship at Halloween Havoc.
McDonagh was also shown in the closing moments of last week’s episode approaching Apollo Crews in the back.
Axiom is coming off dropping a best-of-three series with Nathan Frazer. He lost the third and deciding match to Frazer on the October 11 episode.
The updated lineup for the November 8 edition of WWE NXT is as follows:
NXT Women’s Tag Team titles: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defend against Zoey Stark and Nikkita Lyons
Five-minute challenge: Brutus Creed vs. Damon Kemp
Andre Chase vs. Charlie Dempsey
Cameron Grimes vs. Joe Gacy
Hank Walker vs. Stacks
Grayson Waller Effect w/ Bron Breakker and Von Wagner.
JD McDonagh vs. Axiom
Two title matches have been announced for the November 15 episode:
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose defends against Alba Fyre
NXT Champion Bron Breakker defends against Von Wagner
