The rivalry between former tag team partners Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai continues on tonight’s NXT.
Tonight’s grudge match will be the first time Gonzalez and Kai have faced each other since NXT TakeOver 36, where Gonzalez defeated Kai to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Gonzalez lost the title to Mandy Rose when Kai made her return at Halloween Havoc last month. Rose got the win after Kai hit Gonzalez in the back with a shovel.
Last week, Gonzalez called out Kai and wanted to fight her then. But Cora Jade attacked Kai on the stage and started brawling with her. After it was broken up, Gonzalez told Jade that she understands why Jade wants a piece of Kai — but Gonzalez gets the first shot at her. Kai had defeated Jade on NXT the previous week. She went to put Jade through a table after the match but then decided not to.
Jacket Time (Kushida & Ikemen Jiro) will team with Odyssey Jones as they face Diamond Mine’s Roderick Strong & The Creed Brothers in six-man tag action tonight. Dexter Lumis will take on Tony D’Angelo, and there will be a poker showdown between Cameron Grimes and Duke Hudson.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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No canned intro tonight aside from the “WWE Together” package. No music videos or nothing, just a live shot from the arena to begin the show. Tony D’Angelo enters the CWC for a grudge match set up last week.
Dexter Lumis reveals one of his drawings as he makes his way to the ring. The artwork is a depiction of D’Angelo sleeping with the fish. Lumis is defending the honor of his kayfabe wife, Indi Hartwell.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Dexter Lumis
D’Angelo cheats his way to a pinfall victory over Lumis. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes attack Lumis after the match.
D’Angelo baited Lumis into a trap at the start of the match, but D’Angelo got too cocky. Lumis smacked him,around for a bit before D’Angelo cut him off with a simple belly-to-belly. Lumis counters D’Angelo, and Lumis goes for his signature hold. Lumis fires up,and D’Angelo tries to flee. D’Angelo grabs the easel that held Lumis’s panting, and D’Angelo brings it into the ring.
The referee takes the easel from D’Angelo, with the ref briefly turning her back on the action. That allows D’Angelo to cheap shot Lumis with a thumb to the eye. D’Angelo then executes a twisting fisherman’s buster, and D’Angelo scores a pinfall on Lumis.
Williams and Hayes run in the jump Lumis. They beat him down. Williams brought a folding chair into the ring for a Pilmanize spot. Williams put Lumis hand in the chair, and Williams crushed Lumis’ hand in the chair.
Johnny Gargano eventually ran down to run off the heels, but he was too late. Lumis already had his hand Pillmanized by Williams. Indi Hartwell came out during a commercial break to help an injured Lumis.
Gargano from the ring cut a promo calling out Hayes. Gargano says he was made things personal. Gargano at first wanted to prove he was the better wrestler, but now he is angry. Gargano screams that Hayes screwed with Gargano’s family, and Gargano vowed to kick Hayes’ teeth down his throat.
Pete Dunne interrupted Gargano. Dunne tells Gargano that he cannot weasel his way into a title shot. Dunne notes he pinned Hayes last week, but Gargano says that Dunne won because of Gargano’s help. Dunne tells Gargano he does not need his help. The crowd chants Dunne does.
Hayes and Williams reappear perched on a platform looking out over the ring. Hayes his wearing his North American Championship belt. Williams cuts a promo chiding both Dunne and Gargano. Hayes then cuts a promo after Gargano insults them.
Dunne interrupts Hayes’ promo. Hayes proposes a triple threat title match for next week involving the three of them. Looks like the match is on for next Tuesday.
Malcolm Bivens was backstage cutting a promo as Diamond Mine did warm up exercises. Bivens is interrupted by Joe Gacy. Bivens tells Gacy if he wants to join Diamond Mine there is a tryout next week that costs $837.50. No refunds or exchanges. Gacy smirks and takes a business card from Bivens. Like most segments with Gacy, this was weird. Likewise, it made little sense if you think about it too much. Nevertheless, Bivens was great as usual.
A vignette hyped LA Knight.
Jacket Time (Kushida & Ikemen Jiro) & Odyssey Jones defeated Diamond Mine (Creed Brothers and NXT Cruiserweight Champion Roderick Strong)
Jones pinned Strong to win the match.
Creed Brothers look stiff as a crowbar. Kushida got to shine when he single-handedly cleaned house, but he was cut off during a commercial break. Jito began to run wild during the break, and he was still on fire when the show returns from commercial. Not for long
Diamond Mine begins to work over Jiro, but he tags out to Jones. The Creed Brothers feed into Jones, until Jones is cut off by Strong. Olympic slam by Strong on Jones, but the attempted pin is broken up. Melee in the ring, and Strong is left by himself. Strong is triple teamed as Bivens argues with the ref Jones then splashed Strong with a crossbody block, and Jiones covered Strong for a three count.
Grizzled Young Veterans apparently stole the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship belts. They did so because Zack Gibson wanted to call his grandmother to brag about being the champs. Gibson lied to his grandmother that they were the tag champs. Bryan Alavarez would never do that to Granny.
MSK were still on their journey to fins their shaman. They flew to an undisclosed location.
Xyon Quinn defeated Andre Chase
Quinn pins Chase in a short match. Chase got some offense, but Quinn won easily after delivering a jackhammer. Legado del Fantasma attack Quinn after the match.
Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde jump Quinn after the bell. Quinn was fighting them off when he struck from behind by the returning Santos Escobar. Elektra Lopez tells Quinn that no one tells her no. Quinn is then thrown backwards, and he takes a bump on metal ramp. Lopez looks on approvingly.
Raquel Gonzalez in a backstage interview vows to get revenge on Dakota Kai.
Poker Showdown
Cameron Grimes squares off with Duke Hudson in a poker match. A table is set up in the ring and ring announcer Alicia Taylor explains the basic rules. The game is No Limit Texas Holdem. There were a lot of rules. Too many rules to keep up with if one knows nothing about poker.
Hudson cut a promo saying he was going to make Grime his bitch. Grimes responded by saying Hayes is nervous.
First hand is dealt. Grimes bet $500. Grimes had a bad hand, but he ups the bet to $1000. Hudson ups it by $4000, making the total pot $10,000. Grimes’ hand got worse the more cards that were dealt. Grimes was bluffing, and Hudson was falling for it. Hudson has a 100 percent chance of winning, but Grimes had him second guessing himself.
Grimes called into question the size Hudson’s balls. Hudson got angry. He folds his hand. Grimes wins the hand, and then Hudson demands to see Grimes’ hand. Hudson flew into a rage when he discovers that Grimes was bluffing him.
Hudson attacks Grimes, and Hudson powerbombs Grimes through the poker table. Hudson then gets a toolbox from underneath the ring. Of all the tools he could use that were in it, he picked scissors. Scissors? In a tool box for the ring crew? Okay, sure.
Hudson uses the scissors to cut Grimes beard and hair. Hudson cut off chunks of the beard and Grimes’ long hair. Hudson then flees with a smirk on his face.
Kyle O’Reilly & Von Wagner defeated Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs
Wagner pins Briggs to win the match in decisive fashion. This was basically a showcase for O’Reilly and Wagner. They were mostly dominate, especially Wagner. Big push continues for him, and O’Reilly remains the workhorse of the team.
Lashing Out with Lash Legend features Legend talking about Toxic Attraction. She is interrupted by Grayson Waller. He has gossip so Lash forgave him. Waller speaks some truth, letting us in on a little secret. Waller says this business is no longer about wins or losses. The story of DIY journeyman achieving their boyhood dream is dead. Waller says it isn’t about how many stars you get, it’s is about getting likes and follows. Waller says the game is now his.
Persia Pirotta defeated Gabby Stephens & Jenna Levy in a two-on-one handicap match
Pirotta won a handicap squash match via pinfall. Pirotta did power moves like a double Samoan Drop where she lifts both opponents. Pirotta won with a sit-out F5.
In storyline this was supposed to be a tag team match, but Pirotta told Indi Hartwell to go be with the injured Dexter Lumis. Thus, Pirotta took on two opponents by herself.
Robert Stone was on the stage scouting Pirotta.
Dakota Kai cut a promo acted crazed. She was confronted by Toxic Attraction. They were then joined by Grizzled Young Veterans, who returned the stolen tag title belts.
A video package profiled Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter. They like going to music festivals, and they want to bring the party to NXT.
Breakker face-off with Ciampa
NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa came out to cut a promo on the younger NXT locker room. Because no one can hardly finish a promo these days, Bron Breakker interrupts Ciampa. Breakker confronts Ciampa in the ring, and Breakker cuts a promo on Ciampa.
Breakker vowed to take the NXT title. Ciampa responds by saying he already pinned Breakker in a title match. Ciampa throws to a replay from the finish of their match at Halloween Havoc, which Ciampa won.
Ciampa spoofs the infamous Scott Steiner match promo as he mocks Breakker. Ciampa called Breakker a puppy, and Ciampa left with his title belt.
Announced for next Tuesday on NXT is Carmelo Hayes vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne in a triple threat match for the NXT North American Championship. Also announced for next week is Tommaso Ciampa vs. Grayson Waller in a non-title match on NXT.
USA Olympic Gold Medalist Tamyra Mensah-Stock is the audience watching the show.
Raquel Gonzalez defeated Dakota Kai via disqualification
Toxic Attraction runs in to attack Gonzalez for a DQ. Lame finish for a main event that was given so much time, but it at least sets up a War Games match.
Gonzalez was a house of fire at the start. Cat-and-mouse with Gonzalez chasing Kai around the ring. Gonzalez was pummeling Kai, but Kai smiles as if she liked the pain. Gonzalez uses an Argentine backbreaker along with power moves.
Gonzalez posted herself after charging into a corner. The tide turns before a commercial , Kai capitalizing on Gonzalez crashing into the ring post. Kai targets an arm during the commercial break. Gonzalez fights back as the show returns from commercial.
A turnbuckle pad is taken off the bottom rope by Kai. Gonzalez was trying to suplex Kai, but Gonzalez was instead sent crashing into the exposed buckle. Kai retrieved a shovel from underneath the ring in a callback to a previous angle. That backfired on Kai, as Gonzalez took the shovel away from Kai.
Gonzalez was threatening to use the shovel when she is attacked by Toxic Attraction. The heel trio jump Gonzalez. Cora Jade ran in to make a save by hitting people with her skateboard. Jade is then jumped by Toxic Attraction, and the heels lay her out.
Zoey Stark limps out on crutches, and she is followed by Io Shirai. Stark gives Shirai a crutch, and Shirai runs into the ring swinging the crutch. A melee ensues and the babyfaces clear the ring. Shirai gets a microphone and yells “War Games.” So at least this all had a point. Looks like this is leads to War Games match.
