Paul “HHH” Levesque talked to the media after Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, discussing the signing of Eli Drake, the importance of coaching, and how impressed he is with MSK.
Full audio is available below, but here are some highlights:
Levesque said that as far as he knows, everyone came out of the show injury free.
On the signing of Eli Drake/LA Knight, Levesque said he was a fan of his when he was in the system the first time. The time was right for both sides to have him come back and it was a smooth process to get him back. “We’re going to run with it and see where we can go.”
He said despite a table spot going awry, Io Shirai, Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm didn’t miss a beat in their match, saying the best performers are those who can ad lib and work through things on the fly. He also put over Shirai’s versatility inside and outside the ring.
Several times on the call, he said how impressed he and the coaches have been with MSK. He said they have taken every opportunity given to them thus far and knocked it out of the park.
To hear the entire 30 minute call, just click below.
“The Bruiserweight” will become the next in line to try and dethrone NXT Champion Finn Balor in the main event of Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day on the WWE Network.
Pete Dunne will be looking to hand Balor his first singles loss since August 12th (Velveteen Dream) while the champion will be gunning for the third defense of the title he won in September by defeating Adam Cole at Super Tuesday II.
In other action, NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai will defend against both Mercedes Martinez and Toni Storm in a triple threat; Johnny Gargano will defend the NXT North American title against Kushida in a highly anticipated match, and both the men’s and women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournaments will conclude as the Grizzled Young Veterans will face MSK while Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez will take on Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart, respectively.
Our live coverage kicks off at 7 PM Eastern.
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– During the pre-show, LA Knight, the former Eli Drake from NWA and TNA, showed up and cut a promo.
– We were serenaded by a Valentine’s themed NXT rap from Josiah Williams to start the show.
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez defeated Ember Moon & Shotzi Blackheart
This match was fantastic. There were a couple sloppy moment but this was nonstop action for almost 20 minutes, with all four women working extremely hard. This is what the main roster women’s tag division could be if they tried.
The winner of this match received a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, currently held by Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.
Gonzalez faced off with Blackheart to start and downed her with a shoulder block. Moon tagged in and went for an octopus hold but Gonzalez fought out with a sidewalk slam. Gonzalez took both opponents on and caught a diving Codebreaker from Moon before rolling Blackheart up for two.
A pump kick from Kai sent Blackheart down for two, but Kai missed a follow-up boot and was met with a powerbomb transitioned into a cloverleaf. A slingshot splash from Moon got two.
Kai tried to escape to Gonzalez for a tag, but Blackheart rolled over into a crab. After some double team offense, Moon targeted Kai’s knee with a kneebar. After a long battle, Moon tagged in Blackheart, but Gonzalez had the official distracted and as such the tag wasn’t recognized.
Moon re-entered the match and sent Gonzalez to the floor with a forearm before resuming the attack on Kai’s left leg. Kai finally escaped to Gonzalez, who ran wild with clotheslines on Moon before beating her down in the corner.
Gonzalez hit a series of fallaway slams on Moon, but Moon kicked out quickly. Kai tagged in with a diving clothesline, but Blackheart broke up the pin attempt. Blackheart went for a diving hurricanrana on Gonzalez, who blocked it and powerbombed Blackheart into the plexiglass barricade.
Moon tried to run wild but was overwhelmed by the numbers advantage. Kai went for a facewash boot in the corner that didn’t come close for two. Gonzalez tagged in and tried to clothesline Moon, but ended up hitting her partner. Moon sent them both down with a combination DDT and leg lariat.
Kai distracted the official as Moon hit the Eclipse on Gonzalez, getting a visual pinfall. Gonzalez tried to attack but Blackheart re-entered the match with a top-rope dropkick for two. Blackheart ran wild on Kai with, concluding with a facebuster, but Gonzalez tagged in.
Blackheart went for Sliced Bread, but Gonzalez stopped her. Blackheart re-adjusted with a top-rope Sliced Bread, but Kai broke up the pinfall. Moon propped the ropes open as Blackheart landed a nice tope suicida on Kai.
A neckbreaker, a diving lungblower, and a springboard Code Red from Moon got two. Blackheart put Kai in the electric chair on the floor, and Moon landed a doomsday crossbody to take out Kai.
Gonzalez was sent into the ring steps and locked into a deathlock crossface by Moon, but Kai broke up the submission. Kai and Blackheart tagged in, and Kai hit the Kai-ropractor for a close near fall. She and Gonzalez hit the GTK, but Moon broke up the pinfall.
Moon was sent crashing onto the ramp and catapulted off the ramp into the barricade by Gonzalez. Blackheart surprised Gonzalez on her way back into the ring with a springboard kick. She went for a top rope move, but Gonzalez popped up and sent her to the mat. A massive chokeslam followed for the pin.
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As Gargano and The Way made their entrance, Dexter Lumis chloroformed Austin Theory and apparently kidnapped him. Gargano sent Candice and Indi to find Theory, meaning he was without backup for the match.
NXT North American Championship: Johnny Gargano (c) defeated KUSHIDA
This match was somehow even better than that opener, an instant classic. This was KUSHIDA’s best WWE performance yet and Gargano is, of course, Mr. TakeOver.
KUSHIDA went for the hoverboard lock right away, but Gargano was too close to the ropes. They performed an extended chain wrestling sequence, with KUSHIDA out-grappling his opponent.
The pace quickened with an athletic sequence where both competitors missed major strikes. Gargano locked on the Garga-No Escape but KUSHIDA transitioned into one of his own, and Gargano reached the ropes for the break.
Both men spilled to the floor, where Gargano sent KUSHIDA into the steps. KUSHIDA countered into a suplex on the floor and locked on a cross armbreaker as the referee counted. KUSHIDA broke the count and hit a hammerlock suplex on the floor.
As Gargano recovered on the ropes, KUSHIDA dropkicked his arm, making it the focal point of his attack. Gargano bought himself some time with a rope-assisted neckbreaker. After that, KUSHIDA’s head and neck area was the target of Gargano’s attack.
Gargano hit a suplex and floated over into a cover, but KUSHIDA kicked out immediately. They fought over a backslide attempt, but Gargano transitioned into a release suplex and a soccer kick to KUSHIDA’s arm. Gargano kept up the attack with a submission hold.
KUSHIDA turned it into an octopus stretch, but Gargano escaped into a cradle. They exchanged cradles until KUSHIDA locked on La Magistral for a close near fall. Both men popped up and landed clotheslines for the double down.
They traded strikes in the center of the ring before KUSHIDA hit his hip toss into a low dropkick combo. KUSHIDA laid in curb stomps to a defenseless Gargano and attempted another hammerlock suplex, but Gargano escaped.
Gargano hit an enziguiri and avoided one from KUSHIDA, but the latter locked on an ankle lock and hit a German suplex and a buzzsaw kick for two. KUSHIDA sent Gargano to the floor, Gargano went for his slingshot suplex, but KUSHIDA caught him in a DDT before maintaining the hold with a Northern Lights suplex bridge for two.
KUSHIDA cut off a slingshot attempt from Gargano and drove his left arm into the turnbuckle. A handspring kick stunned Gargano on the top rope, where KUSHIDA went for the hoverboard lock. Gargano countered out and hit a second rope twisting suplex and a step-up swinging DDT for two.
Gargano went for a chicken wing, but KUSHIDA hit La Mistica as the two jockeyed for position to lock in an armbar. Gargano rolled through on one for a two count as the two hit clotheslines for another double down.
KUSHIDA laid in kicks, but Gargano caught a handspring and applied the Garga-No Escape. KUSHIDA had to fight and attack Gargano’s left arm to turn it into the Hoverboard lock. Gargano went for a Japanese clutch, but KUSHIDA applied a European clutch for a close near fall.
Gargano hit a superkick, KUSHIDA hit a punch, and Gargano sent KUSHIDA face-first into the turnbuckle with a lawn dart. They traded elbows before KUSHIDA hit a corner suplex. An overhead superplex allowed KUSHIDA to lock on the cross armbreaker. Gargano tried to block it, but KUSHIDA broke the grip and re-applied it. After a long fight, Gargano barely was able to roll to the ropes.
KUSHIDA applied the Hoverboard lock on the floor, but Gargano drove him into the barricade to escape. KUSHIDA appeared on the stage and soccer kicked Gargano’s arm before locking on a flying Hoverboard lock in the ring. Gargano positioned KUSHIDA between the ropes and sent KUSHIDA into them neck-first before following it up with the One Final Beat on the ramp.
A second One Final Beat in the ring was enough for Gargano to get the win.
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Zack Gibson cut a fun promo during the Vets’ entrance telling MSK to wipe the smiles of their faces, because they won’t enjoy a single moment of this match.
Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: MSK (Nash Carter & Wes Lee) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake)
TakeOver Vengeance Day is three for three after this match. It started a bit slow but picked up into an insanely hot and fast-paced closing stretch. Both teams gave some of the best performances of their careers.
The winner of this match receives an NXT Tag Team Championship shot.
Gibson overpowered Carter early on, attempting to wear down Carter’s left arm. The Vets isolated Carter on their side of the ring, grounding him with holds. Carter escaped with a springboard tornillo, allowing him to reach Lee for the tag.
MSK traded strikes on both of the Vets before Lee hit a great Space Flying Tiger Drop and Carter hit a step-up dive. Carter only hit Drake, however, allowing Gibson to surprise him with a clothesline.
The Vets isolated Carter again for an extended heat sequence. Drake and Gibson each went for grinding holds and quick covers. Carter made a couple escape attempts but would always get cut off, including with a strong clothesline from Drake for two.
Carter countered a suplex into one of his own, but Gibson ran interference, preventing Lee from the tag. With the official distracted, the Vets hit an assisted dropkick for two. Drake grounded Carter once more and tagged in Gibson, but Carter avoided a double team and tagged in Lee.
Lee ran wild on the Vets with running kicks before hitting a snapmare into a dropkick on Gibson. As the Vets regrouped, Lee landed an awesome corner tope con hilo on both men. Back in the ring, Lee connected with a back handspring kick for two.
Drake pushed Lee off the top rope and Gibson looked to take advantage with a powerbomb, but Lee escaped into an X-factor. Carter tagged in and landed dropkicks on both men before taking down Gibson and laying in ground and pound. A springboard cutter followed for two.
Gibson fired up and fought off both of MSK, but Lee landed an enziguiri to the back of his head. He tried to follow it up with another handspring kick but Gibson kicked him out of the air. Gibson hit Helter Skelter and Drake hit a 450 splash for a close near fall.
The Vets went for a Doomsday Device, but Lee rolled through into a cradle. Gibson kicked out and beat him down, but Carter broke up Ticket to Mayhem. MSK hit their assisted standing moonsault and a reverse hurricanrana.
Carter tagged in and landed a senton atomico before Lee hit a corkscrew senton for a near fall. MSK went for a Hart Attack but Lee was sent to the floor. Gibson set Lee up in the electric chair and Drake came through the ropes with a tope suicida Doomsday Device.
The Vets tried to isolate Carter, but Carter fought back on both. He was overwhelmed by the numbers advantage and the Vets hit a powerbomb backstabber combination for two. Gibson screamed in Carter’s face and hit a stiff slap, but Lee ran in and MSK downed the Vets with superkicks.
Lee tagged in and hit a springboard Doomsday flipping neckbreaker for the pinfall.
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A video package of the newly rich Cameron Grimes played, soundtracked by a rap song discussing his monetary exploits. “You can kiss my grits” was one of the lines. It was a lot of fun.
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NXT Women’s Championship: Io Shirai (c) defeated Toni Storm and Mercedes Martinez
I’m not sure how it’s possible to have a “dead crowd” in the Capitol Wrestling Center, but that’s what happened here. There was some very strong work in this match but there were some disjointed moments as well.
Martinez attacked Shirai during the ring announcements, leading to the match starting right away. There was a lot of two in, one out early on, with Shirai controlling. Storm countered a Shirai move with a slam, but Martinez got involved and hit a draping neckbreaker on the floor.
Shirai went for an Asai moonsault, but Martinez avoided it and Shirai went crashing into the barricade. Martinez and Storm had an exchange in the ring, which Martinez won with a spinebuster for two.
Martinez went for the Three Amigos suplexes, but Storm fought out of the third and Shirai landed a missile dropkick. Shirai charged in with double knees on Martinez, but Storm caught the followup with a black hole slam. Martinez surprised Storm with another spinebuster for two.
Shirai broke up a Martinez submission attempt and locked on a crossface of her own. With the hold still on, Martinez applied a dragon sleeper on Shirai, forcing her to break, before Martinez herself broke the hold with an inverted suplex. Shirai sent Martinez into the ropes and landed a tiger feint kick.
Storm and Shirai fought up top, but Martinez pushed Shirai to the floor and hit a top-rope German suplex. However, Martinez was stuck in the Tree of Woe, allowing Shirai to come off the top with a double stomp.
Martinez and Shirai fought on the floor and the former sent the latter into the barricade with a Death Valley Driver. Storm flattened Martinez with a clothesline and tried to clear off the announcer’s table, inadvertently breaking it in the process. She went for the Storm Zero anyway, but Martinez countered out with a DDT.
The camera panned up and suddenly Shirai was climbing some of the staging. She came off with a diving crossbody on both opponents. Martinez sent Shirai into the steel steps and brought Storm back into the ring.
Martinez laid in knee strikes on Storm followed by a fisherman’s buster for two. Storm fought out of a fireman’s carry and hit a headbutt before hitting Storm Zero for a close near fall. It’s now been minutes since Shirai was involved in the match.
Storm came off the top rope with a flying headbutt, but Shirai broke it up with a moonsault, pinning Martinez to retain.
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A video showing LA Knight, the former Eli Drake, signing to NXT was shown. They also played a clip of his promo from the pre-show.
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NXT Championship: Finn Bálor (c) defeated Pete Dunne
This was a very good title match. It was very similar to Bálor’s TakeOver defense against O’Reilly, but I think that match was superior. Much of the initial portions of the match were just aimless technical wrestling, but the closing stretch was excellent.
They chain wrestled to start as the announcers discussed Bálor’s injuries. Dunne hit a monkey flip but Bálor kept his grip on Dunne’s hands. Neither man could establish an advantage an advantage until a running crossbody took down Dunne, who kicked out of a cover and locked on a headscissors.
The hold was broken and the match reset. Dunne laid in some McGregor-like shoulder strikes during a lock-up before targeting the small joints of Bálor. Bálor fought out but Dunne immediately turned it into a triangle, forcing Bálor to fight out again.
Dunne went for an armbar this time, but Bálor kept his grip. Dunne then locked on an omoplata and fell back into an armbreaker. Bálor escaped, but yet again, Dunne kept up the attack, targeting Bálor’s fingers.
Bálor finally turned it around into a deathlock before rotating into a modified figure four. From a standing position, Bálor sent Dunne to the mat and applied a crab. Dunne brought Bálor back to the ground and targeted his head, but Bálor kept his grip on Dunne’s leg.
Dunne went for a modified ex-plex and hit it for two. They traded strikes in the corner, but Bálor caught Dunne’s leg and stomped on it, using the ropes as an assist. Dunne cradled Bálor for two and hit an enziguiri, but the champion came right back with a lariat for a near fall of his own.
Bálor laid in strikes before re-focusing his attack on Dunne’s leg. With a toehold locked in, Bálor hit forearms on the back of Dunne’s head before applying an STF. Dunne fought out by driving Bálor’s fingers into the mat.
A frustrated Bálor hit chops and used illegal rope-assisted holds to beat down Dunne. Dunne tried to use his corner escape, kind of whiffed on it, but they recovered well by selling his knee. Dunne kept up the attack with forearms, stomps, and a powerbomb for two.
Dunne hit his signature arm stomp and a snap German suplex before stomping on Bálor’s hands. Bálor swept out Dunne’s leg and hit a backstabber and shotgun dropkick, sending Dunne into the corner. Dunne countered the Coup de Grace into a triangle hold. After a long battle, Bálor reached the bottom rope to break the hold.
Bálor sold like he was unconscious. Dunne tried to follow up his attack, but the referee had to check on Bálor. Bálor said he could continue and was met with a jumping stomp, but he popped up and locked on an abdominal stretch, bringing Dunne down to the mat. Dunne escaped with his signature finger break spot.
Dunne wouldn’t let go of his hand, so Bálor laid in stomps. Dunne still wouldn’t let go and used the grip to hit the Bitter End for a great near fall. Dunne stomped on Bálor’s hands again and went for another powerbomb, but Bálor turned it into a DDT. Dunne hit an enziguiri, Bálor hit a dropkick, and Dunne hit a buzzsaw kick.
They had a counter sequence which Bálor won, hitting a lifting suplex. Dunne wouldn’t let go of Bálor’s fingers and snapped them again, but Bálor no-sold and stomped on Dunne’s back. Bálor ripped out Dunne’s mouthguard and flattened him with a shotgun dropkick before nailing the Coup de Grace. The 1916 DDT followed to retain the championship.
– After the match, NXT Tag Team champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch laid Bálor out in the ring. An official tried to break it up, but they sent him packing. Undisputed Era’s music played, and Dunne and co. escaped to the stage as Cole, Strong, and O’Reilly chased them off. O’Reilly helped up Bálor and called him a real champion.
They did the classic logo trick. Right as the show was about to end, Cole flattened Bálor with a superkick. O’Reilly confronted him and took another superkick for his trouble. Cole went back up the ramp, Bálor and O’Reilly were laid out in the ring, and Strong acted conflicted between the two as the show went off the air.
Live and free on our YouTube channel tonight, join the Mat Men (Andrew Zarian and Rich Stambolian) for the NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day watch along, starting at 6:30 PM Eastern/3:30 PM Pacific.
Also, we are giving away four free one month WrestlingObserver.com online subscriptions during the show. Join our Discord for your chance to win!
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Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion-based preview and reflects that of the writer.
Friends, pals, and acquaintances, I come bearing wonderful news. Yes, there is a pandemic that continues to ravage the country and the world, but nevertheless, NXT returns to our literal hearts this Sunday with the horrendously, yet perfectly, named Vengeance Day.
It is imperative that whenever you see the words “Vengeance Day,” you read it in your finest Vince McMahon voice. VENGEANCE DAY is here, complete with having a useless ‘a’ that makes it impossible for me to spell correctly. It also fills me with a yearning for the remarkable and perfect WCW/NWO Revenge more today than ever before. What a game. Surpassing the sterling quality of its predecessor WCW World Tour, Revenge was a Nintendo 64 fixture in the musty basements of my shockingly abstinent teenage years. I’ll always love you intensely with a fire that burns…always.
With there finally being some light at the end of the exhaustingly bleak tunnel that was the past year, I miss wrestling more than ever. I miss going to shows and having the energy of the crowds take a match from good to memorable, memorable to great, and from great to unforgettable. They are the unlisted participant in every match. With that comes the obvious caveat that a bad crowd can just as easily ruin something good. (Picture me making exaggerated hand motions in the direction of “the night after WrestleMania crowd.”)
Without that energy, everything is just kind of this weird, quiet murmur. Nothing stands out and nothing feels special. It’s just noise serving as the soundtrack to nothing. A fun game to play is to imagine the crowd reactions to big moments that have happened during the quarantine era of wrestling. Think about the crowd reaction to KENTA last week. Think about the reaction to Sting debuting in AEW. There were plenty of moments destined to be forgotten in the malaise of the past 12 months — some that could have made us feel something.
And in the spirit of imagining, let’s run through the card for Sunday’s action. Complete with a special Valentine’s Day haiku for each match, because, yes, I do love you just that much.
Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson and James Drake)
As is tradition, a last minute, seemingly nonsensical pairing made a run in the Dusty Classic. I am beyond thrilled to see that they didn’t pull the trigger on having Tom Champs and Tim Thatcher in the finals over the Veterans who are just so good and so deserving of this spot for the second year in a row. They are probably the most underappreciated tag team in all of wrestling and can absolutely hang with any of the best teams out there today. Zack Gibson is such an absolute heat machine on the stick that James Drake never actually has to talk. He can just show up and show out in the ring.
MSK is (are?) very good and very, very fun. MSK probably stands for something, but I must admit that I really don’t care. Both of these guys have all-time NXT names. Why did Jake Atlas get to keep his name but Wes Lee and Nash Carter exist? What was wrong with Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz? Were those somehow too normal? They should have a sister in NXT named Kayleighn Jaymes who has a very well-defined Instagram aesthetic.
Names aside, NXT has done a great job in letting us know that yeah, these dudes are #good at this and have positioned them for success in the future. They have the music, the presentation, and most importantly, an outrageous amount of talent and energy in the ring.
I don’t think MSK debuted as part of the tournament without the plan for them to win it. NXT needs a fresh face tag team at the top of the card more than another heel team. Losing two years in a row gives Gibson something to get mad about and provides great promo fodder.
Valentines Haiku:
Wes Lee, Nash Carter
Is that the best we can do?
Perhaps, I suppose
NXT North American Champion Johnny Gargano vs. Kushida
His steed is unsteady, pulling gently against his bridle. The moon splits the field below in half. Snow lightly falls and with it comes the accompanying quiet. The type of quiet that can mute a city like the world is catching it’s breath. The rider’s exhale whispers through the air before fading into it. He pulls his cloak tight and readies his scythe. He is unceasing. He is inevitable. His non-existent lips form one haunting word: “…Gargano.” The horse spurns gently forward. Death draws ever closer.
It pains me to admit this, but John G. was very entertaining this week. Even being as corny as he is, he always goes all in and, unfortunately you gotta hand it to him. Kushida wins because he’s better in every conceivable way.
Valentine’s Haiku:
Johnny please leave, now
Kushida, go all the way
Back to the future
Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Finals: Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez vs. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart
The pairing of Moon and Blackheart in theory makes perfect sense. The character alignments are logical, it’s a great mesh of styles, and even their gear/look compliment each other well. There’s just a little something missing. It’s one of those cases where individually I am all in, but together, I’m just not. I’m fully aware that objectively they are good. My opinion is just a bit different, which, as always, is both allowed and encouraged.
How do you measure a year? A smattering of “Who are you?” chants greeted Gonzalez when she re-debuted last year at NXT TakeOver: Portland. Not from me though. I would never dream of engaging in such behavior. I am condescending enough in my real, actual life and I would rather log off (I will never log off) than participate. There was a bit of validity to the chants, though. Who was she? Was she ready? Would this work? The truth is she wasn’t ready then but so few of us are. She is now though and we sure know who she is. The growth she’s had over the past year is staggering. From “who are you” to the top female heel on NXT is a successful year by any measure.
Gonzalez did not put over Rhea Ripley to lose here. She isn’t being groomed as a Women’s title contender to lose here. The only way I can see that happening is if Kai does something that leads to their break up. There’s more story to tell with the two of them and splitting them now would rush that. Raquel and Dakota take it and hopefully take the Women’s Tag Team titles sooner than later.
Valentine’s Haiku:
Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank
Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank
Tank Tank Tank Tank Tank
NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Toni Storm triple threat
Martinez made the business decision of the decade in getting as far away from Retribution as possible. She saw the writing on the wall immediately and dipped as soon as she could. Shout out to her for knowing what she’s worth and recognizing something that was dead in the water. Grinding the indies for as long as she did only to wind up there was unfortunate, but fortunately, she’s back in NXT where she can get to work good matches and be appreciated for what she is.
I have a hard time rooting against Storm because she is such a delightful weirdo. It’s even harder to root for her because, well, she just has absolutely everything. She’s 25 years old and has already wrestled in Stardom, won the 2018 Mae Young Classic, and is a former NXT UK champion. To accomplish so much at such a young age is annoyingly impressive. Since she came back to NXT, she is so much more comfortable in her character and owns it every second she is on screen. It’s a testament to all the incredible, young female talent in WWE that she can have her credentials, all her accolades, and be as good as she is in-ring and still be like, the fifth best young woman in the company.
As always, this all ends with Shirai who is still the ace and still the best of the best. The only person that has a reasonable case for taking the belt from Shirai is Gonzalez. Since she is not in this match, the champion keeps the title. Deductive reasoning at its absolute finest, folks.
Valentine’s Haiku:
Mercedes is good
So is Toni. But it’s all
Io, everything
NXT Champion Finn Balor vs. Pete Dunne
The phrase “inject this into my veins” is as overused as something can be. It’s pervasive and constant. Look at the reply tweets for any new Marvel content, it’s there. Look at the replies to any Star Wars content, it’s there. Heck, look at the replies to Taco Bell bringing back their crispy potatoes, it’s there! With that said, find a good spot in the superior vena cava and just fill me up with this. I’ll be so full of love that I could barely speak.
Balor continues to do the best work of his career, making everyone feel important and more relevant than ever. I have been saying some variant of this for the better part of a year now, but it doesn’t make it less true. He continues to have incredible matches that are matched only by the intensity of his promos. The legitimacy he provides to the NXT title makes it actually possible that Edge might wanna dance with the Balor come April. Will that happen? Probably not. But the fact that it’s even a point of conversation speaks to the level he’s at. When the spotlight is on the Prince, it’s hard to look away.
It’s great to have young Peter back in our lives, isn’t it? His success pre-pandemic as a babyface was fairly surprising because of just how much it goes against his innate heel nature. Snapping fingers, brutal joint manipulation, and mean mugging for the camera are not behaviors of a good guy. Yet there Pete was, doing it live and doing it well. Now that he’s back towards his natural alignment, we’re getting the full Pete Dunne Experience. Gently convincing your significant other to watch two stalwarts of modern European wrestling do the damn thing for 20-30 minutes on Valentine’s Day is what love is all about.
As wonderful as it is to have Dunne back, this is not the moment for his formal coronation as the top dog of the gold brand. Not now and certainly not at the expense of Balor. Finn seems destined to, unfortunately, drop the belt in the next few months to Karrion Kross, so he closes the weekend here with his hand raised. Just watch out for some hourglasses or whatever.
On this week’s free episode of the Mat Men podcast, Andrew and Rich are joined by Harry Terjanian to break down this Sunday’s NXT TakeOver Vengeance Day event.
Yes, the match lineup is amazing but will it live up to expectations? We say YES! The door is officially open!
Also on the show:
AEW had a historic main event Wednesday on Dynamite as New Japan roster member KENTA made his promotional debut, teaming up with AEW World Champion Kenny Omega to face IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley and Lance Archer.
This year’s WrestleMania card is starting to shape up and we discuss all the latest match news and an update on the plan for fans in attendance at their biggest event of the year and beyond.
Get all that along with all the week’s news, rumors, and viewer questions on today’s episode of Mat Men.
Thursday’s pre-NXT TakeOver conference call featuring Paul “HHH” Levesque was one of his more newsworthy ones in quite some time with information on the whereabouts of Velveteen Dream, what he knew about Steve Cutler’s release, Edge’s work in NXT, and Pat McAfee.
Here are some of the highlights with full audio available below.
Edge has been talking to Levesque about coming into NXT for well over a year, both on the mic and also as an in-ring worker, going so far as to give Levesque a list of who he wanted to work with. He thinks Edge’s return has been done really well to this point.
He said there nothing to add on Velveteen Dream and that “we’ve gone over this a million times”. He had a “physical thing” but is still training and still at the PC.
Asked about what they quantify as ratings success today, he thought Nick Khan put it best on the recent investors’ call with eyeballs and how people are consuming the product. He said you have to take things like apps into consideration even though they don’t show up in ratings. “Appointment television isn’t the same conversation we had 15 years ago.”
He said he has no knowledge about the situation and circumstances around Steve Cutler’s release.
On Pat McAfee, he said he is a very busy guy, especially with the recent end of the NFL season. “His learning about his firing on the air was greatly exaggerated.” McAfee asked for some time to breathe given his schedule and recent marriage and that the door’s open for a return in the future. Levesque really likes him and also put over Bad Bunny’s “respectful” attitude in coming into the WWE world. “He’s just one of the guys.”
When asked about NXT being a regular fixture at WrestleMania, he would be all for it but it depends on how much you can fit into Mania weekend, the benefit of TakeOver that weekend, balance, etc.
HHH said he wasn’t involved in the women’s Royal Rumble prior to the day of the event and even then, it was being involved in conversations that day only.
When asked about the signing of Parker Boudreaux, he said “we’ll see what he can do” and that with any talents coming in the door, a lot of it depends on them given all the tools they have at their disposal.
Asked about creating more NXT titles for women, HHH said he’s not a big believer in “38 titles in organizations” but there are always conversations around things like that.
He mentioned Bronson Rechsteiner (son of Rick Steiner) as someone training at the PC.
Levesque said the impending Performance Center class features the largest female class in the company’s history.
Noted wrestling fan Brandon Walker of Barstool Sports will be part of the TakeOver pre-show.
Two shows. One night. There is tons to go over after AEW Dynamite and NXT heading into Takeover: Vengeance Day and Denise Salcedo is breaking it all down on Speak Now Pro Wrestling episode 20.
The first portion is focused on TNT’s AEW Dynamite. Denise goes into detail regarding the Matt Hardy/Hangman Page storyline and the rise and fall of the Inner Circle. She also shares her picks for the Women’s World Title Eliminator tournament and talks about why she loved the main event.
Immediately after the AEW talk, she jumps into NXT, who held their go-home show for the Valentine’s Day special NXT Takeover: Vengeance Day.
Denise discusses the finals of both the Men’s and Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, the story progression between Kushida and Johnny Gargano, and the return of Cameron Grimes.
But that’s not it! Before wrapping up the show Denise shares her quick picks and predictions for Vengeance Day.
Don’t miss out on this very interactive and lively show!
Not only can Denise can be seen on F4W Online’s YouTube channel each and every single Wednesday night immediately following NXT and AEW Dynamite, but you can also watch her videos play during the commercial breaks of Wrestling Observer Live over on Twitch.
Denise joins a group of content creators that includes Dave Meltzer; Bryan Alvarez; MLW wrestler, former UFC fighter and current PFL fighter “Filthy” Tom Lawlor; former WWE wrestler Antonio Thomas (Thomas Santell on the indies); Mike Sempervive & Adam Summers’ Big Audio Nightmare; Vince Verhei; Karl Stern: Les Thatcher and Vic Sosa, and more.
