Dijakovic won with Feast Your Eyes. The crowd was really into Priest’s entrance.
– Bianca Belair defeated Kayden Carter
Belair got a nice pop from the crowd.
– Dexter Lumis defeated Rik Bugez
Lumis was cool and mostly dominated the match. He won with a roll-up while hooking the tights.
After the match, Bugez did his air guitar routine with the referee and ring announcer.
– Dakota Kai & Raquel Gonzalez defeated Mia Yim & Tegan Nox
The heels got the win with a roll-up while having their feet on the ropes. Nothing special in this one.
– Finn Balor defeated NXT North American Champion Keith Lee by DQ
The crowd exploded when Balor’s music hit. The fans were pretty split during the match, but I thought Balor was more over.
There was a cool spot in this match where Balor countered the Spirit Bomb into a double stomp. The fans turned on Balor when he hit a low blow after a ref bump. He grabbed the North American title belt, but Dijakovic came down, took the belt away, and superkicked Balor. The ref saw Dijakovic with the belt and disqualified Lee.
Lee and Dijakovic had a staredown and the crowd was booing Dijakovic as he walked away.
– Kushida defeated Cameron Grimes
Kushida won by submission. The match was okay but not great.
– NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley defeated Chelsea Green to retain her title
Green had a bit of offense, but this felt like a longer squash match. Ripley got a big pop.
– Tommaso Ciampa, Velveteen Dream & NXT Tag Team Champions Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne defeated The Undisputed Era (NXT Champion Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish)
There were some fun spots in this one, including all four members of Undisputed Era taking a superkick at the same time. Everyone got time to shine. Ciampa hit the Fairytale Ending on Fish for the win. As he usually is in Minnesota, Velveteen Dream was very over.
After the match, Ciampa thanked the fans, roster, and Triple H on NXT’s 10th birthday. He then led the crowd in a happy birthday song.
It took a jet trip and a tricked out golf cart to get them to Portland, Oregon, but it was worth it for the Broserweights Sunday at TakeOver as Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle won the NXT Tag Team titles from The Undisputed Era.
The beginning of the finish to the fantastic match came when Riddle hit a ripcord knee to Bobby Fish to take him out of the action temporarily. He and Dunne then focused on Kyle O’Reilly, hitting tandem knees to the head following an assisted power bomb. Fish then came back into the fray, getting hit with a Riddle fireman’s carry into a dropkick by Dunne to get the pin, sending the Portland crowd into a frenzy.
This is the first NXT gold for both Riddle (who signed with WWE in the summer of 2018) and Dunne, the long reigning former WWE UK Champion. They earned the title shot with their tournament victory in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The victory ended the third reign for the Undisputed Era of Fish and O’Reilly who held the belts for 172 days after defeating the Street Profits in August on NXT TV.
The winners of this year’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were crowned on NXT last night.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne won the Dusty Classic by defeating The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in last night’s main event. In addition to winning the Dusty Cup, Riddle & Dunne will challenge Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Portland.
Adam Cole’s challenger for TakeOver was also confirmed last night. In Portland, Tommaso Ciampa will get a shot to reclaim the title he never lost.
Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai faced off in a grudge match last night, and Dominik Dijakovic took a step toward becoming the first challenger for Keith Lee’s North American title.
The winners of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will be crowned on tonight’s episode of NXT.
Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne will take on The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) in the Dusty Classic finals. In addition to winning the Dusty Cup, the team that wins tonight’s finals will challenge Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish for the NXT Tag Team titles at TakeOver: Portland on February 16.
Riddle & Dunne defeated Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) in the first two rounds of the tournament, while The Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Alex Shelley & Kushida and O’Reilly & Fish.
A grudge match between Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai is also advertised for tonight, WWE is hyping that NXT Champion Adam Cole’s challenger for TakeOver: Portland will be revealed, and Robert Stone has said that Chelsea Green will be in action.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
**********
The show opened with a video recap of Worlds Collide in Houston from this past weekend. Mauro Ranallo, Beth Phoenix and Nigel McGuiness are the announcers for tonight’s show. Beth Phoenix spoke briefly about Edge’s return at the Royal Rumble on Sunday.
Finn Balor defeated Trent Seven
They showed a clip of an angle shot last night at Raw. As Seven was getting into his car, Balor snuck up on Seven and threatened him for “sticking his nose” in Balor’s business.
Before Seven could get to the ring, Balor took Seven out with a baseball slide dropkick before the bell. Once the match started, Balor continued pummeling Seven in and out of the ring for a bit.
Seven countered after a few minutes with an inside cradle for two, Balor put him back on the mat with a Slingblade. It was around here where NXT cut to a commerical while the match continued in the left inset screen.
Balor looked to take most of the offense during the break, but Seven was back by the time we were back. He laid in some nasty chops that left Balor with a bright red chest, then landed the Acid Rainmaker for two. When Seven went to the top turnbuckle, Balor clipped his knee and knocked him to the mat. Balor used the Coup de Grace diving double-stomp and followed up with 1916 for the win. Good match that builds Balor’s angle for Takeover in Portland in a few weeks. Balor has been excellent in his heel role recently.
The Broserweights were interviewed by Cathy Kelley next. Dunne said he was going to break Gibson, and Riddle mentioned he’d show why Dunne is the “life of the party,” which got laughs.
Next was a quick preview video of Dakota Kai vs. Tegan Nox’s bout for later on in the evening.
Shotzi Blackheart defeated Deonna Purazzo
Short match. Blackheart came out in a small tank and a battle helmet type thing. When Purazzo came out, she waved off the tank, now parked atop the entrance.
Purazzo worked over Blackheart’s left arm early on. When Blackheart went for a flying armdrag, Purazzo blocked it and continued targeting Blackheart’s arm. There were a number of chants for Shotzi in this. She landed a Question Mark Kick (Arisa Hoshiki’s Brazilian Kick), then went to the top and landed a diving senton for the win. It was short but OK, and Blackheart sounds to be popular with the Full Sail crowd.
Next up was another video package of from NXT vs. NXT UK from Worlds Collide last Saturday.
Keith Lee walked to the ring for a promo next. The crowd sang and chanted for him as the announce team explained how he “stopped” Brock Lesnar at the Rumble this weekend. The crowd chanted “you deserve it” at Lee for winning the NXT North American title. Lee has a great voice and should be on the mic as much as possible.
Before Lee could announce his next challenger for the title, Punishment Martinez’s music hit. Inside the ring, he held the mic upside, for some reason, and talked about how he gets what he wants, which is the North American title. He said all he needed to know is how Lee was going to give the belt to him. On cue, Dominic Dijakovic’s music hit. Dijakovic got in the ring and implied that because of the past between he and Lee, referring to the PWG matches back in 2017, that he deserves the first shot at the title, not the ” bootleg Marilyn Manson,” referring to Martinez. As Lee left the ring, Martinez and Dijokovic got into it, and within moments a ref was in the ring and we had a match.
Dominic Dijakovic defeated Damian Priest
Dijakovic landed a springboard splash from the middle of the second rope moments after the bell, but Priest recovered and used a Razor’s Edge onto the apron to take Dijakovic out before the next commercial break.
After commercials, we saw Dijokovic use a release vertical suplex on Priest. He used a chokeslam into a Liger Bomb for two, then an Asai moonsault to the floor. Priest did a flip dive to the floor. They landed simultaneous high kicks and were out for a few. Priest used an avalanche reverse frankensteiner off the top rope. He’s 6’5″, Dijokovic is 6’7″, in case you’re wondering. Dijakovic kicked out of that and ultimately used his modified GTS to put Priest away.
The crowd really enjoyed this but what it was, at its core, were two huge, athletic guys doing crazy moves. Not much selling, plus the audience at home couldn’t see half the match. But again, the crowd sounded to enjoy it.
After cutting to a brief segment with the Grizzled Young Veterans ahead of the Dusty Rhodes Classic match later on.
Tomasso Ciampa told Cathey Kelly that “Goldie’s coming home,” referring to the NXT Championship. When NXT returned from commercials, we saw most members of the Undisputed Era laid out backstage with Ciampa standing over them. People chanted “Daddy’s home.” Ciampa brought a table with him and brought it into the ring and spraypainted a yellow X onto it.
Adam Cole found his unit laid out and then ran out to the ring to confront Ciampa. Cole asked Ciampa if he was supposed to feel sorry because he was injured. Ciampa said Cole’s belt belong’s to him, “Daddy.” Ciampa then said he was going to take back the title, and his life, in Portland at Takeover. He also said he was going to power bomb Cole through the X he made on the table in the ring.
William Regal came out and said that while Ciampa was taking out the Undisputed Era backstage, he was with Cole signing a contract for Takeover, and Cole didn’t care who his opponent was. Cole went into the ring after this to confront Ciampa, who tried taking Cole out ate a shot to the head with a microphone, which looked to have busted the top of Ciampa’s head open. Ciampa then power bombed Cole through the table, then noticed the blood on his head and smeared it down Cole’s NXT title contract. Great visual.
They plugged Bianca Blair’s Women’s Rumble appearance over the weekend, where she was the number two entry. She’ll have a segment with Rhea Ripley on next week’s TV.
New NXT Cruiserweight champion Jordan Devlin will also be in attendance next week, and they showed a few clips of his title win from Worlds Collide this past weekend in his fatal four-way against Angel Garza, Isaiah Scott and Travis Banks.
Tegan Nox defeated Dakota Kai
Kai had the video footage of her turning on Nox in November at Takeover. Nox went after Kai with her kneebrace right at the bell and the two began brawling around ringside early on, setting a nice grudge match feel from the top. Kai took Nox out with a huge Yakuza kick and then grabbed a chair but wasn’t able to use it, ultimately; before Kai went to smash Nox with said chair, Candace LeRae came out and took the chair from her. Kai, now flustered, got back into the ring and ate another kneebrace shot, followed by her finish, the Shiniest Wizard, for the win. This was great for what it was, but it was way too short. It felt like this was a teaser for a rematch over the next few weeks. All said, though, it was a good, quick brawl.
A mysterious vignette aired for something happening on 2/5/20.
Kayden Carter defeated Chelsea Green (w/ Robert Stone)
I’m positive Kayden Carter was announced as being from Florida not long ago. She’s from the Phillippines now. Ranallo mentioned on commentary that she was trained by Lance Storm and mentioned her working overseas before arriving in NXT.
This was basically Green working over Carter until she lost focus for a split second, which is when Carter scored the upset win over Green with an inside cradle. This was Carter’s first win in NXT, announcers claimed.
I like the idea of this angle, both for Green’s and Carter’s trajectories , but the one glaring takeway here was how inexperienced Carter was. None of what she did looked too practiced. Robert Stone played little to no role in this, either. Green could probably get over on her own.
Pete Dunne & Matt Riddle defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (Zach Gibson & James Drake) to win the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic finals
Respect to Nigel McGuiness for his usage of “ad hoc” on an American pro wrestling television broadcast. I think that was a first. You could hear one fan shouted “GRIZZLED YOUNG A**HOLES” before they got started. All four rotated in and out early in this. Dunne did a moonsault off the apron onto Gibson, but just a moment later Gibson had Dunne up in a tombstone piledriver when Drake came down with a pescado, assissting with the piledriver, spiking him. They whipped Dunne into the ringpost when the show cut to advertisements.
We saw Dunne using an X-plex on Drake the show came back. Dunne tagged out to Riddle who went through a series of impressive spots. The crowd often chanted “Riddle’s gonna smoke you” while he was in the ring. Dunne and Riddle used a power bomb w/ knee strike combo on Drake for a two-count. Riddle tried a double kneestrike on both Vets, though he definitely whiffed in trying to make contact with Drake.
Gibson and Riddle jawjacked and exchanged hard palm strikes. After Drake kicked out of Riddle Final Flash knee strike, all four were laid out. Gibson and Dunne later mixed it up with hard palm strikes. The action slowed a bit as NXT readied for another commercial.
During the break, it looked like GYV was again getting the better of Dunne. Gibson hoisted Dunne onto his shoulders, and when Drake went for a flying attack from the top, Dunne blocked it with an elbow, then used a victory roll for two. Drake dove to the floor and took Riddle out; Gibson landed a nasty-looking backcracker and then put him in his Shankly Gates submission until Riddle broke things up, launching Drake into Gibson.
There were tons of insane spots over the last ten minutes of this, and it really culminated when they did a Doomsday Device on the floor, with Drake diving through the ropes to take Riddle out. Drake hit a 450 for two. The Broserweights did a double dive, with Dunne to the floor and Riddle into the ring with his Floating Bro twisting senton. They finished Drake off with a super GTS to put GYV out, finally. Your 2020 Dusty Cup winners are Matt Riddle and Pete Dunne: The Broserweights.
Final thoughts
There’s no doubt that the main event was the match of the night, hands down. One of the best matches of the month so far, I’d argue. They went quite long, about 20–25 minutes, at least, but the commercial breaks often disrupted the flow of the match. That’s TV, though. Gibson and Drake were outstanding in this, as were Dunne and Riddle.
The rest of show was good. The balance between action and promo time felt right. It’s notable there was no overrun tonight and the show ended right at 10 P.M. ET, likely to do with latest episode of Miz & Mrs that aired on USA next.
A battle royal will decide Rhea Ripley’s challenger for NXT TakeOver: Portland.
WWE has announced that a number one contender’s battle royal will take place on NXT next Wednesday, with the winner going on to challenge Ripley for the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Portland. The Moda Center in Portland, Oregon is hosting the TakeOver special on Sunday, February 16.
Bianca Belair, Candice LeRae, Chelsea Green, Dakota Kai, Vanessa Borne, Kayden Carter, Mia Yim, Santana Garrett, Io Shirai, Shotzi Blackheart, and Xia Li have been confirmed for the battle royal.
After Yim defeated Carter on tonight’s NXT, Green appeared and knocked both down. Robert Stone (formerly known as Robbie E in Impact Wrestling) then announced Green as part of the Robert Stone Brand.
Ripley became the NXT Women’s Champion by defeating Shayna Baszler for the title three weeks ago.
Ripley kicked off tonight’s NXT and was interrupted by Toni Storm, who challenged Ripley for Worlds Collide on January 25. The segment led to NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, Shirai, Belair, and LeRae all coming down to the ring. Ripley, Storm & LeRae then defeated Belair, Shirai & KLR after dissension between Belair and Shirai.
The first round of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic will also conclude on next week’s NXT. Kushida & Alex Shelley will face The Grizzled Young Veterans, and Matt Riddle & Pete Dunne will take on Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) defeated NXT UK Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) and Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake & Steve Cutler) in Dusty Classic first round matches tonight.
O’Reilly & Fish will face either Kushida & Shelley or Gibson & Drake in the semifinals. Barthel & Aichner will face either Riddle & Dunne or Andrews & Webster.
This was a highlights show with clips of some of the best matches from the brand in 2019.
Full rundown:
Tom Philips and Nigel McGuinness sat in an empty arena and wished everybody happy holidays. They briefly talked about the great year the NXT UK roster had and ran down the announced matches for January 12th’s NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool II.
The NXT UK Women’s Championship
They threw it to the Toni Storm vs. Rhea Ripley match from the first NXT UK TakeOver from Blackpool.
Toni Storm pinned Rhea Ripley after hitting Storm Zero to win the title (14:49)
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave Meltzer rated ***¼. This was followed by a Storm highlight video and a brief studio promo. She said 2019 had been great and she could not wait for January 12, 2020 to come around so she could become a two-time NXT UK women’s champion.
Kay Lee Ray pinned Storm after hitting a gory bomb to win the title (9:52)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ***¼.
This was followed by a video of Piper Niven’s debut and a promo where she said she told her mum as a kid that she would be famous one day. A graphic then announced the Ray vs. Storm vs. Niven match at Takeover: Blackpool II.
The Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks rivalry
Jordan Devlin beat Travis Banks in a falls count anywhere match
From the March 6 episode of NXT UK, this was a highlight package of the two brawling and Banks hitting a crossbody off the stands on Devlin who was on the floor.
The NXT UK Tag Team Championship
The Grizzled Young Veterans did a promo from the tapings at Download Festival.
James Drake & Zack Gibson beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) in 23:46 after hitting Ticket to Mayhem on Seven to win the inaugural tag team titles
These were highlights from their match on the January 12 NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a Grizzled Young Veterans highlight video and Gallus calling them out and Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster joining in on the fun
In a three-way, Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster beat The Grizzled Young Veterans and Gallus (Wolfgang & Mark Coffey) when Webster pinned Gibson to win the titles (20:17)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated as ****½. This was followed by a promo by Webster and Andrews about their year. They claimed they would climb the ladder and become two-time champions at TakeOver: Blackpool II. A graphic then announced the four-way ladder match between Gallus, Imperium, the Grizzled Young Veterans, and Webster & Morgan.
Forces to be Reckoned with
Dave Mastiff and Joe Coffey brawled to a double countout
These were highlights from their match at the August 7 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a promo by Mastiff who talked about how he would unleash “the proper British heavyweight: on NXT UK.
Never Bet Against the Ace
Jordan Devlin beat Dave Mastiff after a second rope Devlinside
These were highlights from their match at the October 31 episode of NXT UK. This was followed by a Devlin promo putting himself over. He then addressed Tyler Bate as the two will meet at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Tom and Nigel were back, talking about Devlin and then transitioning to Ilja Dragunov. They briefly talked about Dragunov vs. Cesaro from TakeOver: Cardiff.
Dragunov vs. Cesaro
Cesaro beat Ilja Dragunov with the Neutralizer (12:26)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave rated ****.
Another highlight video followed showed both male and female NXT UK stars, culminating with Trent Seven and Noam Dar.
Trent Seven vs. Noam Dar
These were highlights from the October 4 episode of NXT UK, a match Seven won.
The WWE UK Championship
Pete Dunne and Joe Coffey signed their contract for NXT UK TakeOver: Blackpool
On the January 2 episode of NXT UK, Coffey powerbombed Dunne through a table.
WALTER beat Jack Starz
These were match highlights from the January 30 episode of NXT UK. In his in-ring debut, WALTER punished Starz and left a huge handprint on Starz’ chest. Afterward, Tom and Nigel talked more about the match and Nigel had them replay the chop over and over again while Philips cringed. Nigel then went to chop Tom as the screen displayed technical difficulties and asked us to stand by.
After a graphic for WALTER vs. Joe Coffey at TakeOver: Blackpool II, Philips complained about getting chopped and Nigel told him it was for patronizing his country by wearing a Union Jack pin on his lapel.
WALTER pinned Pete Dunne after a top rope splash to win the WWE UK Championship (25:40)
These were highlights from their match on the April 5 NXT TakeOver: New York which Dave rated ****¾. This was followed by a highlight video, detailing the formation of Imperium.
WWE UK Champion WALTER pinned Tyler Bate after a lariat to retain (42:12)
These were highlights from their match on the August 31 NXT UK TakeOver: Cardiff which Dave *****. This was followed by a promo by Joe Coffey who said he’d leave his mark on WALTER and leave with the WWE UK Championship at TakeOver: Blackpool II.
— Nigel and Tom concluded by announcing Ilja Dragunov vs. Alexander Wolfe in a no disqualification match as the main event for next week’s episode of NXT UK.
It will be Cole vs. Pete Dunne for the NXT Championship on Sunday night. Dunne was set up as Cole’s challenger by defeating Damian Priest and Killian Dain in a number one contender’s triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
The finish of the triple threat match was Dunne pinning Priest. Dunne was on Dain’s back and had him in a sleeper hold prior to that. Dain broke that up by dropping both of them onto Priest, but Dunne pinned Priest to get the win.
The WWE and Universal titles will also be on the line tomorrow. Brock Lesnar will defend his WWE Championship against Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred match, while Daniel Bryan will challenge for “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt’s Universal Championship.
Here’s the updated card for Survivor Series:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar defending against Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred match
Universal Champion The Fiend defending against Daniel Bryan
Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler in a non-title match
United States Champion AJ Styles vs. Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong in a non-title match
Raw Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders (Ivar & Erik) vs. SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day (Big E & Kofi Kingston) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) in a non-title match
Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Randy Orton, Ricochet & Drew McIntyre) vs. Team SmackDown (Roman Reigns, King Corbin, Braun Strowman, Mustafa Ali & Shorty G) vs. Team NXT (to be announced) in an elimination tag match
Team Raw (Charlotte Flair, Natalya, Asuka, Kairi Sane & Sarah Logan) vs. Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Carmella, Dana Brooke, Lacey Evans & Nikki Cross) vs. Team NXT (Rhea Ripley and four partners to be announced) in an elimination tag match
NXT Champion Adam Cole defending against Pete Dunne
After originally announcing that Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain would be on this week’s NXT, WWE has noted that the match will instead take place at TakeOver: WarGames on Saturday night. The winner will challenge for Adam Cole’s NXT Championship at Survivor Series.
**********
The NXT Championship will be on the line at Survivor Series.
WWE announced today that Pete Dunne, Damian Priest, and Killian Dain will face off in a triple threat match at NXT TakeOver: WarGames on Saturday. The winner will advance to challenge Adam Cole for the NXT Championship at Survivor Series the next night.
Dunne, Priest, and Dain have been involved in a program on NXT. Dunne and Dain were supposed to have a match against each other last week, but Priest attacked Dain as he was making his entrance. A brawl broke out, with Priest standing tall after hitting a dive on Dunne and Dain.
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Universal Champion The Fiend also have title defenses at Survivor Series. Lesnar will defend his title against Rey Mysterio in a no holds barred match, while Daniel Bryan will challenge for The Fiend’s title.
Cole will be in the men’s WarGames match at TakeOver. It will be The Undisputed Era (Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and a partner.
Cole will face Dijakovic in a ladder match on this Wednesday’s NXT to decide which team gets the WarGames advantage.
WWE has also hyped that there will be an “open door” for Raw and SmackDown on Wednesday’s NXT. That will include The Revival facing NXT Tag Team Champions O’Reilly & Fish in a non-title match.
The fallout from NXT’s invasion of Raw and SmackDown is set for tonight.
This will be the first episode of NXT since the invasion kicked off. With most of the main roster delayed in Saudi Arabia, the build to Survivor Series began with NXT invading SmackDown last Friday. It then continued on Monday’s Raw.
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler will face Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley in a non-title triple threat match at Survivor Series on November 24. At NXT TakeOver the night before that, Team Baszler will face Team Ripley in the first-ever women’s WarGames match.
Bianca Belair and Io Shirai have been confirmed for Baszler’s team, while Tegan Nox and Candice LeRae are on Team Ripley. Each team has one more spot left, and Dakota Kai will look to prove herself to Ripley by facing Baszler in a non-title match tonight.
A rematch between Pete Dunne and Damian Priest is also set for tonight. Three weeks ago, Priest defeated Dunne after using a low blow. Dunne has also been involved in a storyline with Killian Dain, with Dain vowing to break Dunne after Dunne snapped his fingers with a finger-break spot.
**********
The show opened with a hot angle featuring retaliation from the main roster. The OC invaded NXT like the NWO circa 1996.
Mauro Ranallo threw to footage from “moments ago” where The OC attacked Undisputed Era outside the building.
AJ Styles, Karl Andersons and Luke Gallows then entered the building, and they marched to the ring. Gallows beat up a plant on the way to the ring, and he sent him crashing into the ring steps.
The crowd at Full Sail was electric for The OC invading NXT. Styles cut a great heel promo, and the crowd loved it.
“So this is NXT,” Styles asked rhetorically. The crowd rang out and showdered him in “NXT” chants.
Styles said he and The OC were there because the NXT roster tried to take over Raw. NXT wanted a war. “We’re bringing the war to you,” Styles declared.
Styles went on to mention all the champions were “out of commission”, alluding to the earlier beat down on Undisputed Era. So, Styles said The OC was taking over NXT. Styles remarked “that’s not just phenomenal, that’s undisputed.”
Tommaso Ciampa entered the scene and addressed The OC from the stage. The crowd chanted “daddy’s home” at Ciampa.
Ciampa said he was always asked when he going to the main roster. He then welcomed The OC to the main roster. “NXT is now and always has been the show,” Ciampa said.
NXT is also “daddy’s home”. The crowd then chanted such.
Ciampa said he had a problem with them taking over his ring. Styles said Ciampa was the only one with “big enough b****” to come out and say anything. On cue, Matt Riddle and Keith Lee joined Ciampa on stage. The crowd chanted “bask in his glory”.
Ciampa challenged The OC to a match, and they accepted. The teams would meet later on in a six-man tag team match for the main event.
This was a great angle from start to finish.
Pete Dunne defeated Damian Priest
Dunne submitted Priest in an excellent match.
They wrestled to a stalemate before a commercial break. The split screen was back, and Dunne targeted an arm during the commericals. Dunne also went for a powerbomb, but Priest held on to the strings that tie on the turnbuckle pad.
Priest cut off Dunne and cut him down with some great striking combos. Dunne used joint locks to counter, but Priest stomped a mudhole in him. He walked it dry with a Stinger splash elbow. Dunne kicked out as the show returned from break.
Dunne applied a double wrist lock, and then delivered an suplex. He was firing up. Dunne made a comeback and Priest was reeling. Dunne landed on his feet when Priest attempted a German suplex. Priest would powder, and Dunne would moonsault onto him from the middle turnbuckle to the floor.
Priest moments later would chokeslam Dunne into the ring apron. Dunne still fought back in the ring, and used a sit-out powerbomb for a near fall.
Dunne stomped on Priest’s hands and went for a finisher. Priest countered and mowed down Dunne. Priest then springboarded off the middle rope into a flip dive before a commercial break. No split screen this time.
They returned from break with a fighting spirit exchange and a double down. They kept countering each other until Priest caught Dunne in a Razor’s Edge for a two count.
Priest was dominating when Dunne grabbed his fingers in a joint lock. Dunne backed Priest and the referee into a corner, and Dunne fouled Priest with a low blow. Dunne then went for an armbar, but not before doing the finger break spot. He wrenched on an armbar, and Priest tapped out. Great match.
Killian Dain ran in to attack Dunne after the match. He laid out Dunne and delivered a Vader bomb. Priest jumped Dain, but Dain countered to send Priest crashing into the ring steps. Dain stood tall as this looks to have the makings of a triple threat.
In a backstage promo, Dakota Kai said she was going to prove to Rhea Ripley that she belonged on the War Games team. Kai also threatened to kick Shayna Baszler’s face off in their match later on.
Taynara Conti defeated Santana Garrett
Conti pinned Garrett in a match where the plot involved Conti trying to earn a spot on a War Games team.
They grappled at the outset. Conti heeled on Garrett as she played the aggressor. Garrett got a hope spot, but Conti suplexed Santana. Conti hit Garrett with a running knee strike. Conti moments later would dash another hope spot. Conti did a lot a cool throws, but time seemed to slow down. It was a short match, but felt long.
Garrett made a comeback, and she did a cartwheel handspring into a Great Muta back elbow. Garrett got a near fall on a southpaw punch. She went for a handspring moonsault, but Conti rolled out of the way. Conti then dropped Garrett with a kick for the pinfall.
A vignette highlighted Angel Garza.
NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler defeated Dakota Kai in a non-title match
Baszler submitted Kai in what may be Kai’s best match in NXT.
Kai showed fire from the start, and she even punked out Baszler. She shined as Baszler bumped around the ring.
Baszler powdered, and Kai went for a kick off the apron. Baszler caught her leg, and then she posted her.
Baszler worked Kai’s knee, which had a brace on it. Baszler stomped on the leg before a commercial. Kai started a comeback when the show returned from break. Baszler bumped and fed. Kai got a two count on a double knee strike.
Kai climbed the turnbuckles, and Baszler tripped her up. Baszler then executed an avalanche gutwrench suplex for a near fall.
They traded strikes and staggered each other. Kai went for her running kick, but Baszler hit her with a kick. A moment later, Kai caught her with the face wash she was looking for.
Kai with Kawada kicks, but Baszler fought back to deliver a step-up knee strike for two. Baszler transitioned into a Kirifuda Clutch, but Kai escaped.
Kai hit the ropes and went for a leaping kick, but Baszler caught her in mid-air to apply the Clutch. Kai tried to make the ropes, but Baszler trapped her arm so Kai had no choice but to tap.
Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke ran in for a post-match beat down on Kai. Tegan Nox, Candice LeRae, Rhea Ripley ran in. So did Io Shirai and Bianca Belair for a Gordon Solie Pier Sixer.
Mia Yim with the save out of nowhere cleaning house with a kendo stick. She cleared the ring with shots from the kendo stick, and the crowd chanted her name.
The heels retreated as Yim checked on Kai.
A video package recapped the NXT invasion of Raw and SmackDown.
Ciampa cut a promo on the OC hyping the six-man tag team main event later on.
A vignette hyped Isaiah “Swerve” Scott.
Angel Garza defeated Tony Nese
Garza pinned Nese after the Wing Clipper in a really good match. By winning, Garza became number one contender for the NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
They started with mat wrestling and grappling. The pace soon quickened, and Garza went to do the Latin Lover spot where he rips away his tear-away pants. Nese cut that off, but it backfired on him moments later.
Nese went for a sunset bomb. Garza held on to the ropes, and Nese instead tore away the pants for a comedy spot. Garza followed with a missile dropkick before a commercial break.
Garza ran wild after the break. He hit a wrecking ball dropkick, and followed with a moonsault off the middle turnbuckle to the floor.
Nese soon countered Garza for a near fall. Garza executed a tombstone lungblower.
They fought on the floor where Nese delivered a tornado DDT. Back in the ring, Nese did a 450 splash. Garza got his foot on the rope to break the count for a great near fall.
Garza used a sit-out bomb for a two count on a cool counter spot. Garza then used the Wing Clipper to score the pinfall.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush met Garza on the stage. Rush offered a hand shake and told Garza he was looking forward to the match. Garza instead slapped Rush across the face. Garza smirked and sauntered off.
Rhea Ripley in a backstage promo announced that Mia Yim was the fourth partner for Ripley’s War Games team. Yim then cut a promo. Ripley also told Dakota Kai to her face that she didn’t make the cut. A sad Kai slinked away. That was kind of mean.
Dominik Dijakovic defeated Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Dijakovic pinned Swerve after Feast Your Eyes. Dijakovic was impressive as usual, but Swerve was so freaking great in this match.
The action was fast at the outset. Dijakovic then slowed the pace down as he got heat on Swerve.
Swerve leapt into a flatliner, and he flew into a comeback. Swerve with a draping DDT for two.
Dijakovic crotched Swerve on the turnbuckles, and then he went for his finisher. Swerve countered Feast Your Eyes, and he rolled up Dijakovic for a close near fall.
Swerve was on fire when Dijakovic mowed him down with a high kick. A chokeslam into a sit-out powerbomb netted Dijakovic two and half.
Swerve countered another attempted chokeslam into a reverse rana. Swerve followed with a double stomp off the top to the apron. He delivered a larait, but Dijakovic kicked out.
They were countering each other when Swerve went for a roll throw into an attempted flatliner like he did earlier. This time Dijakovic caught him for Feast Your Eyes. Dijakovic then covered Swerve for the pinfall.
Announced for next is Io Shirai vs. Mia Yim in a ladder match to determine who gets the advantage in the women’s War Games match. The ladder stip seems rather random. Based on the angle earlier, a kendo stick match makes more sense — but whatever. Still should be a heckuva bout.
Naturally, a heel should win the match so that the heel team has the advantage. Search the Bryan & Vinny archives for Vinny V’s epic rant on how to properly book a War Games match. He will explain everything with much more vigor than I ever could.
The OC (AJ Styles, Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee & Matt Riddle ended in a no contest
The match ended with a non-finish as an angle closed the show. Finn Balor caused a distraction, and Adam Cole did a run-in. There was also a referee bump, so no official ruling on the outcome. The bout itself was good, and the crowd was electric.
Balor teased reuniting with his Bullet Club stablemates. Cole’s run-in had more to do with the NXT title picture than the invasion angle. Regardless, this was a great way to close the show — even if we never got a finish to the main event.
A brawl erupted in the beginning of the match. The smoke from the brawl cleared, and Ciampa squared off with Styles like Bret and Austin at Canadian Stampede.
Riddle took a bullet for Ciampa when Styles hit Riddle with a Phenomenal Forearm to the floor. Ciampa caught Styles coming back in the ring, and he used a draping DDT on Styles for a two count.
Lee faced off with Gallows, and the crowd chanted for Lee. This turned into a hoss fight with the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. Lee then sent Gallows out of the ring with a pounce.
Anderson tagged in and he ran through some spots that ended with Lee hitting a crossbody before a commercial break. The split screen was back, which had not been around since the opening match.
The OC got heat on Ciampa during the break and also when the show returned. It built to Anderson leaping off the middle rope into a jumping knee strike from Ciampa that turned the tide.
Riddle exploded into the ring on a hot tag. Riddle cleaned house on The OC with flurry of offense. A Bro 2 Sleep and a German from Riddle led into a pinning attempt. Gallows jumped in the break up the pin.
Anderson & Gallows went for the Magic Killer on Lee, but Ciampa made a save. A series of highspots built towards Stykes getting a near fall on Riddle.
Fast forward a few seconds and Riddle rolled through on an attempted Phenomenal Forearm from Styles. Lee then rushed in to wipe out Styles with a pounce out of nowhere, but the move also took out the referee. The ref took a bump out of the ring to the floor.
Riddle went for a Fosbury Flop and took a nasty bump on the apron after things went south.
Ciampa hit Styles with a running knee strike, and Ciampa was seemingly going for his finisher. He was interrupted by the entrance of Finn Balor. A distracted Ciampa fell victim to a Pele kick from Styles.
Balor strolled down to ringside, and he gave Riddle the 1916 DDT on the floor. Balor and Styles locked eyes.
Styles shifted his attention back to Ciampa, and he went for a Styles Clash. Suddenly, Adam Cole ran in to superkick Styles. Cole had on banadages selling the beating from earlier.
Cole delivered The Last Shot to Ciampa, and he had a staredown with Balor as the show closed.
After a low blow led to the finish of their first match against each other, Pete Dunne and Damian Priest are set to face off again.
WWE has announced Dunne vs. Priest for next Wednesday’s episode of NXT. Priest defeated Dunne in their match two weeks ago, with Priest kicking Dunne low and then hitting The Reckoning (Roll of the Dice) to get the win.
The first Dunne vs. Priest match was set up by Priest attacking Dunne on the October 2 episode of NXT.
Before Priest and Dunne’s match two weeks ago, there was a confrontation between Killian Dain and Dunne as Dain was leaving after defeating Boa. Dunne snapped Dain’s fingers with the finger-break spot.
Cathy Kelley interviewed Dunne last week as he was arriving to Full Sail with Tyler Bate. Dunne said Priest has a receipt coming — and Dunne also said he doesn’t care about Dain. A promo from Dain aired later in the show, with Dain promising that he was going to break Dunne.
There was an angle on tonight’s NXT where Dain distracted Bate and caused him to lose to Cameron Grimes. Dain attacked Bate after and sent a message to Dunne, telling Bate to tell Dunne that he has unfinished business with Dain.
The latest chapter in Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic’s rivalry is set for next week.
WWE has announced Lee vs. Dijakovic for next Wednesday’s episode of NXT. It’s being promoted as the “rubber match” between the two due to Lee and Dijakovic each having wins over each other in NXT.
Lee defeated Dijakovic two weeks ago, while Dijakovic picked up a win against Lee in August. They also went to a double countout in a match this February.
Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest has also been announced for next Wednesday. Their feud began last week when Priest attacked Dunne after Dunne defeated Danny Burch.
Tegan Nox, who suffered a brutal leg injury in last year’s Mae Young Classic, is also set to make her televised NXT US in-ring return. She returned to the ring at an NXT house show this July and also recently appeared on NXT UK TV. Nox’s opponent for next week hasn’t been revealed.
Taped April 20, 2019 at the Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland
Quick results —
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Xia Brookside & Isla Dawn, then Ilja Dragunov answered Joseph Conners’ challenge and quickly was victorious in an intense match.
In a tremendous main event, Imperium (WALTER, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) when Alexander Wolfe made his NXT UK debut, joining his colleagues from the European mainland and helping them gain the victory in this important bout.
Full rundown —
The show opened with a great video montage, analyzing the formation of Imperium and their budding feud against British Strong Style. The two teams will clash in our main event tonight.
Jazzy Gabert & Jinny defeated Isla Dawn & Xia Brookside with Jinny pinning Dawn after a Dominator by Gabert (4:15)
Jinny and Dawn started out, with Dawn gaining the upper hand off an arm lock. The babyface team worked well together early on, causing Jinny some trouble until she finally tagged Gabert.
The Alpha Female didn’t mess around, immediately locking a standing armbar on Brookside and ragdolling her around from one side of the ring to the other. Brookside tagged Dawn and she went to town on Gabert, but also quickly got caught with some strikes by the former MMA fighter.
Gabert hit a Dominator on Dawn, then tagged Jinny so she could get the pinfall victory for her team. Jinny and Gabert posed on the apron after the match.
– A very good video on Ligero aired. He talked about his childhood, telling a story on how he was born with one eye closed and only had surgery to correct the issue when he was eight years old. Ligero discussed how he was ridiculed at school for his look. He chose to wrestle under a mask, as it gave him more confidence and it made him more memorable and made him stand out more than anyone else to the fans.
– Kenny Williams was interviewed and asked about Noam Dar. He said Dar always was a cheater, but it didn’t concern him. He said he faces Kassius Ohno next week and only needs his luck.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Joseph Conners after hitting the Torpedo Moscow (4:48)
They started out with an intense lockup with neither man being able to get an advantage. Dragunov chopped Conners down and hit a standing senton, then applied a brutal neck crank, following up with some strikes. Dragunov hit an Inoki-style jumping head kick.
Conners briefly took over with a few strikes of his own, then locked in an armlock, but Dragunov powered out, much to Conners’ disbelief. Dragunov hit a running lariat into the corner, but Conners countered his second attempt at the move, then hit a sunset bomb into the corner.
Dragunov quickly recovered, caught a springboard attack by Conners, and hit a Death Valley Bomb into the turnbuckle. He hit a huge overhead back suplex, then did his UN-BE-SIEG-BAR chant in the corner and hit the Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
– Toni Storm was being interviewed about Kay Lee Ray. She said everyone was looking for the “shiny-shiny” but it was staying “home sweet home.”
– A graphic announced a women’s battle royal for next week to determine the number one contender for Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship.
– A video feature on Travis banks aired. He talked about being very relaxed out of the ring, in a stark contrast to his intense in-ring persona. Banks said he’s very goal-oriented and wanted to be the first Kiwi wrestler in Royal Albert Hall “in about 50 years,” but lost in the UK number one contender’s tournament to Zack Gibson.
Banks said his shoulder injury got him focused and set things into perspective. He said it was frustrating not being able to wrestle at NXT UK TakeOver in Blackpool, when Jordan Devlin attacked him before the match.
Banks said winning the fatal four-way was what he was working towards, and now he has a shot at WALTER. he said it would take more than a chop or a powerbomb to beat him. He said it would be great to win the WWE United Kingdom Championship — and it would be even cooler to win it from WALTER.
– The Hunt were shown bursting out of the locker room, uttering animalistic noises. They screamed that next week, the hunt would be on for Gallus.
Imperium (WWE United Kingdom Champion WALTER, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) defeated British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven)
Moustache Mountain came out to their music, then Pete Dunne’s music played and he came out and joined them on the stage. While Bate and Seven interacted with the fans, Dunne entered the ring and was all business.
Imperium came out, doing the Ringkampf pose (which I probably should start calling the Imperium pose) to a blank, white Titantron that eventually turned black to read “Imperium – WALTER – Barthel – Aichner.”
Dunne and Aichner started and Dunne immediately started beating up Aichner, but the man from South Tyrol came back with a lariat from out of the corner and knocked Dunne down. Dunne took back over, working over Aichner’s arm, then tagged in Bate and they attacked Aichner’s arms together.
Barthel tagged in and quickly took over, pounding Bate into the mat. Seven tagged in and they hit a double-team fireman’s carry slam/somersault senton on Barthel. Barthel took back over, then tagged in the champion.
WALTER immediately took over, but Seven ducked a chop and hit a number of chops of his own. After a quick intermezzo by Aichner, WALTER finally hit a chop that flung Seven to the mat as if he was struck by lightning.
Aichner was in next, working over the weakened Seven, including hitting a high-angle Saito suplex. WALTER was back in and after a quick retaliation by Seven, the Austrian giant hit a hard boot, then beat up Bate in the corner just for good measure. Dunne ducked his attack, but couldn’t do any damage to WALTER from the apron.
Imperium did a good job of isolating Seven and methodically picking him apart. Barthel was back in and aggressively asked Seven “Was ist los mit dir?” (“What’s up with you?”). Aichner was back in, locking a body scissors on Seven and trying to get a choke in, but Seven managed to turn it into a pinfall attempt.
Seven finally hit an enzuigiri and managed to tag out to Dunne while Aichner tagged WALTER. Dunne took over, but WALTER held his own. Dunne did his back flip from the top, but WALTER had him scouted well and hit a hard chop to the back. Dunne and WALTER traded high German suplexes, after which both men were down.
They both managed to tag out and it was Bate and Aichner next. Bate hit a jumping European uppercut on Aichner, then caught Barthel in an exploder and suplexed him onto Aichner. He got the airplane spin on Aichner and then Barthel and was looking to do the same to WALTER, but he was saved by Aichner. Bate briefly held his own against all three members of Imperium.
Aichner hit a backstabber on Bate, while Barthel came off the second turnbuckle with a double foot stomp as Aichner held Bate in position. Bate managed to hit both Aichner and Barthel with his springboard double lariat, then managed to tag out to Seven, even though WALTER tried to hinder him from doing so.
Dunne hit the Bitter End on WALTER, followed by a corkscrew plancha by Bate, but Barthel made the save for WALTER.
A man dressed in black with a hoodie and a face mask slowly walked out as Seven accidentally hit the referee, sending him out of the ring. The masked man got into the ring and unmasked as Alexander Wolfe, then hit a Liger Bomb on Bate as WALTER rolled the referee back into the ring. Barthel covered Bate for the victorious fall.
After a brief pause, Wolfe joined his new Imperium brethren in the ring and they did their pose as the show went off the air. Of course, Wolfe as Axel Tischer/Axeman was an integral part of wXw in Germany from 2009 to 2015 and also is a part of the Ringkampf stable/brand, alongside WALTER, Barthel, Veit Müller, and formerly(?) Timothy Thatcher.
Next week —
A battle royal to determine the next contender for Toni Storm’s NXT UK Women’s Championship will take place and Kenny Williams faces Kassius Ohno. Both matches, along with a number of others, are probably being taped over the weekend at Download Festival in Donington Park in Leicestershire.
