Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including updates on Stu Grayson and Roderick Strong, AEW and NXT line-ups for this week, NBA taking its toll on ratings again, RAW report from Monday night, WrestleMania Backlash, mailbag and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Stu Grayson profile removed, WWE rejects Roderick Strong release request
The last remaining member of the Undisputed Era and founding member of the Diamond Mine reportedly wants out of WWE.
Fightful reported Monday that former NXT North American Champion, Cruiserweight Champion and Tag Team Champion Roderick Strong has asked for his release multiple times over the last several months, but those requests have been denied.
In the report, they said “we’re told that Strong has grown frustrated with many things over the past year within the company and had requested his release, which has been denied by WWE.”
Strong (Chris Lindsey) has been in WWE since 2016, essentially spending all of it in NXT.
Fightful noted that Strong re-signed with WWE shortly before being pitched the Diamond Mine idea less than a year ago. The original concept was himself, Tyler Rust, Arturo Ruas, Hideki Suzuki, Malcolm Bivens and his wife, Marina Shafir.
Shafir, who was never included, was cut in June 2021 and has since begun to work both in AEW and the indies. Ruas was also released and never included.
Rust, Suzuki (Hachiman) and Bivens were the original members with Strong. Rust and Suzuki were eventually replaced by The Creed Brothers, Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley after they were cut. With Bivens’ release last week, Strong is the only remaining original member of the group.
They also said NXT sources claim the 38-year-old was pitched a name change at some point, but he opposed the idea.
Fightful reported that WWE sources confirmed the news, but that Strong is part of their creative plans. He is said to be professional despite not having his request granted.
While Strong made his main roster debut in 2005 in a two-minute Kurt Angle invitational match, he made his post-signing main roster debut in February 2018 in the Cruiserweight title tournament on 205 Live, eventually losing in the semifinals. He also appeared in the Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia that year and a handful of main roster bouts since then.
Starting in January of this year, Strong worked three dark matches prior to SmackDown in addition to making his Main Event debut. He was also part of an NXT UK taping earlier this year, working a pair of matches.
The show opened with a look at tonight’s main event between NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov and Roderick Strong
Primate defeated Wild Boar
Eddie Dennis led out Primate and T-Bone on chains.
The match started out with a wild brawl and Primate and Wild Boar attempted to kill each other with death. Boar eventually got the better of his former partner with some ground and pound and a vicious slam. Boar then rolled to ringside in an attempt to go after Dennis, but he couldn’t get to him yet.
Back in the ring, Primate hit a pop-up powerbomb and floored Boar with an elbow. Boar came back and squished Primate in the corner. Before Boar could do more damage, T-Bone got on the apron, leading to Dennis hitting Boar with a chain to briefly knock him out and allow Primate to score the pin.
After the match, Symbiosis put the dog collar around Primate’s neck and proceeded to beat and choke him with the chain until suddenly Mark Andrews, Boar’s former friend, ran out to make the save with a steel chair in hand. Symbiosis ran off.
– Sam Gradwell was being interviewed backstage when he opened his bag and found it full of (colorful!) maggots. He immediately suspected Kenny Williams to be the culprit.
– Die Familie were in a hotel room or nice apartment overlooking the city. Charlie Dempsey said he tapped out Wolfgang before and will do it again. He warned Teoman that A-Kid was a dangerous opponent and asked him what “the eye saw.” Teoman smiled and said the eye saw that people say pain is only temporary, but for A-Kid, it will be permanent. They smiled and toasted to their continuing success.
– Dave Mastiff and Jack Starz were working out in the UK Performance Center while the Coffey brothers did the same in the background. Joe Coffey was spotting Mark Coffey and got distracted when Mastiff loudly roared after finishing his lift. Joe left his spot and Mark almost got crushed by his weight. The two teams had words.
Charlie Dempsey (w/ Rohan Raja) defeated Wolfgang
Dempsey locked on a cravate early on and took Wolfgang on a tour around the ring and the mat while holding on. Wolfgang then locked on an armbar and also held it for a long time.
Dempsey came back with a leg lock, kneebar, and Cobra Clutch until Wolfgang threw him off. Wolfgang hit an elbow drop and then went for a spear, but he got kneed in the face. Dempsey further worked over Wolfgang’s leg until Wolfgang escaped.
In a scene right out of wXw in 2019, suddenly the big eye (EZEL) appeared on the big screen, distracting Wolfgang and the referee, allowing Raja to get on the apron. Wolfgang speared Raja, but he ran right into a bridging double underhook suplex from Dempsey. Dempsey held onto the bridge and pinned Wolfgang to get the win.
Dempsey then fluidly rolled backwards out of the bridge and teased some ground and pound, but he did not go through with it.
– NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura was asked about Isla Dawn stealing her title belt. She invited Dawn to the ring for next week to talk face-to-face.
– Kenny Williams came out of the shower and went to his locker room. He was asked about cockroaches in Sam Gradwell’s bag but said they were maggots, revealing himself as the culprit. Williams found a mean note on his locker, which set him off.
– Xia Brookside bragged about the help she got from her daddy and her new friend last week. She introduced us to Eliza Alexander (the former Lizzy Evo), who said she would have Brookside’s back and also is there for herself. Alexander will make her NXT UK in-ring debut next week.
– Sid Scala was in his office with Moustache Mountain and Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith. Trent Seven was all cocky again and the teams started bickering, but Scala announced that the teams will face off in a two-out-of-three falls match for the NXT UK Tag Team titles in two weeks. They shook hands on it and Seven said Moustache Mountain would “beat them again, two times.” Smith and Carter complained about that wording.
– Wolfgang confronted the rest of Gallus about not having his back at ringside for his match against Dempsey.
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defeated Roderick Strong to retain his title
Dragunov entered to his incredibly bland and generic new music but still did his orchestrating motions during his entrance in tune to his old theme, so this may have been dubbed in.
They locked up and Strong got the better of things with a hammerlock before Dragunov got a headlock on. They tried hitting each other in the ropes and eventually traded chops. Dragunov then took down Strong with a bicycle kick. He charged at Strong, but Strong moved out of the way and Dragunov crashed into the ring post.
Strong immediately followed Dragunov to the outside and slammed him into the ring steps shoulder-first, then proceeded to work over the champion’s shoulder with attacks and submission holds. Dragunov tried a corner attack but got caught in a backbreaker instead.
Dragunov finally came back with a dragon screw, then hit an explosive attack on Strong’s left knee. Dragunov applied a single-leg Boston Crab, a kneebar, and Stretch Muffler, so the story of the match became Dragunov’s injured shoulder vs. Strong’s injured knee.
Dragunov hit German suplexes and then followed with a Gotch-lift suplex. Strong managed to evade a Torpedo Moscow, then dragged Dragunov to ringside once more and slammed him on the ring steps. Strong hit a backbreaker off the top rope, but he further injured his knee on the move. He still got a nearfall off the attack.
Dragunov came back with a series of strikes, two flying head kicks, and spinning chops. Strong hit a flying knee, but Dragunov evaded him off a whip and hit Torpedo Moscow for the pin and successful title defense.
Final Thoughts —
The opening match was again more of an angle to further the Symbiosis vs. Wild Boar storyline. This will probably lead to a tag team match with Wild Boar & Mark Andrews vs. Symbiosis and/or some sort of chain/dog collar match with Eddie Dennis down the line.
Charlie Dempsey continues to impress with his unique technical style, and he is still reserved enough toward Die Familie that I could see him splintering off on his own again down the line. The perfect group for him would be his father’s Blackpool Combat Club — but sadly he’s in the wrong promotion for that.
The main event was really good and told a great story of selling injured body parts that rarely is done these days. Ilja Dragunov keeps being a dominant champion who takes on all challengers, and Roderick Strong also looked great here. Dragunov’s generic theme really hurts the overall presentation, though (the same goes for Imperium’s new theme, just for the record).
Next Week —
A-Kid vs. Teoman
Gallus (Joe & Mark Coffey) vs. Dave Mastiff & Jack Starz
Eliza Alexander’s NXT UK in-ring debut
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura and Isla Dawn go face-to-face
In Two Weeks —
Two-out-of-three falls match: NXT UK Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defend against Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith
WWE has revealed when Roderick Strong is getting his shot at the NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Ilja Dragunov will defend his title against Strong on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, April 7). Strong challenged Dragunov to the title match after appearing on NXT UK last week.
Strong made his NXT UK debut by defeating Wolfgang in the main event of last week’s episode. After the match, Strong got on the microphone and called out Dragunov. Strong said he isn’t in NXT UK for a long time — he’s there for a good time. Strong said he’s there for the big-money fights, and he issued a challenge to Dragunov.
Dragunov accepted the challenge on this Thursday’s NXT UK episode. Dragunov said it will be his honor to collide with Strong in the ring, but Dragunov is a diamond that doesn’t crack under pressure.
Dragunov has been NXT UK Champion since winning the title from WALTER at NXT TakeOver 36 last August.
Strong is a member of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. On NXT next Tuesday, Strong will face Cameron Grimes and A-Kid in a last-chance Stand & Deliver qualifying match. The winner will become the final wrestler to qualify for the North American Championship ladder match at NXT Stand & Deliver on Saturday, April 2.
Here’s what’s been announced for the next two weeks of NXT UK episodes:
Thursday, March 31 —
Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar defends against Mark Coffey
Trent Seven vs. Ashton Smith
Amale vs. Xia Brookside
Thursday, April 7 —
NXT United Kingdom Champion Ilja Dragunov defends against Roderick Strong
An NXT 2.0 star looks to be the next challenger for Ilja Dragunov’s NXT United Kingdom Championship.
Roderick Strong made his NXT UK debut by defeating Wolfgang in the main event of this week’s episode of the show. After the match, Strong got on the microphone and issued a challenge to Dragunov.
“Listen, I’m not here for a long time — I’m here for a good time. And I’m here for the big-money fights,” Strong said. “This match isn’t the only reason I was here. Everybody knows who the big-money fight is. And Ilja Dragunov, I lay down the challenge and the ball is in your court.”
After the episode aired, WWE posted a video with Dragunov smiling as he watched Strong issue the challenge.
Dragunov has been NXT UK Champion since winning the title from WALTER at TakeOver 36 last August. He’s made successful title defenses against A-Kid, Rampage Brown, Jordan Devlin, and Nathan Frazer.
Strong is part of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. On next Tuesday’s NXT, Strong will face Solo Sikoa in a Stand & Deliver qualifying match. The winner will advance to the multi-man ladder match for Carmelo Hayes’ North American Championship at NXT Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend.
A larger contingent of fans was back at BT Studios for this set of tapings.
Oliver Carter (w/ Ashton Smith) defeated Tyler Bate (w/ Trent Seven) (10:08)
The two teams agreed last week that they would meet in singles matches. If Smith and Carter win both, they’ll get another shot at Moustache Mountain’s NXT UK Tag Team titles.
Carter and Bate traded holds and counters early on, then transitioned into quick pinfall attempts. Carter took over with a number of kicks and got another two count before Bate dropkicked him out of the ring.
Back inside, Bate tried controlling Smith with a waistlock but ended up getting floored with a dropkick from the top before Carter went for more pins. Bate eventually caught him and hit an exploder, followed by a running Shooting Star Press for a two count of his own.
Bate took Carter up for an Airplane Spin, dropped him on his knees, and locked in an abdominal stretch and then an octopus hold, but Carter made the ropes. Carter escaped both a Tyler Driver ’97 and a German suplex attempt, then went on offense and hit a full nelson slam into a backbreaker for two.
They traded rolling koppu kicks. Bate hit the rope-assisted lariat and went for Tyler Driver ’97 once more, but Smith countered it into a hurricanrana for a close two count.
Bate was sitting on the top rope when Smith and Seven got into it at ringside and Seven shoved Smith into the steps. Bate managed to throw off Carter, who was looking to use the distraction. Bate then went for a flying European uppercut but was still distracted by the bickering at ringside, allowing Carter to turn the attack into a backslide for the somewhat upset of a win.
– A-Kid encountered a raving Saxon Huxley backstage as Huxley was in the middle of a photo shoot. A-Kid asked him to be his tag team partner against Die Familie — and Huxley eventually agreed.
– Wild Boar was in a video segment, swearing to bring revenge and everything he suffered through during the past year to Symbiosis.
Emilia McKenzie defeated Nina Samuels (8:45)
They went back and forth with wristlocks and grappling on the mat early on. McKenzie eventually hit a hurricanrana off the middle rope, but Samuels took back over.
Samuels locked in a kneeling abdominal stretch, but McKenzie eventually powered out and came back with a back suplex. Samuels dropkicked her into the ropes from behind, leading to a nearfall.
McKenzie hit a German suplex, which prompted Samuels to roll out of the ring. McKenzie followed up with a dive through the ropes, but — back in the ring — was promptly thrown off the top rope by the hair. Samuels then missed a top rope moonsault, allowing McKenzie to hit a spear to gain the pinfall victory.
– Mark Coffey came out of Sid Scala’s office, then revealed to his brother Joe that Mark would receive a Heritage Cup title match against Noam Dar.
– Kenny Williams found a note on his locker reading “You’ve made a lot of enemies” and “Tick Tock.” The note either came from Sam Gradwell, whose mohawk he cut off a few weeks ago, or someone found some old scribblings of Karrion Kross.
– Eddie Dennis and the rest of Symbiosis went into Scala’s office as they had been asked to. Scala revealed that Wild Boar requested a match with Dennis, who replied that he was pretty much a manager these days. Dennis suggested that Boar take on either T-Bone or Primate. Scala said he had to make a call.
Stevie Turner defeated Aleah James (4:10)
After Turner took her down with shoulderblocks, James quickly came back with a dropkick, a Matrix bridge, and more innovative offense. Turner retaliated with a kick to the face and a chinlock.
James made a comeback with running crossbodys before getting almost pinned after a jumping uranage. Suddenly, James came back with a bridging O’Connor Roll for the flash pin.
– Sha Samuels had the odds for the Dar vs. Mark Coffey Heritage Cup title match on a whiteboard. Dar complained about having to face Coffey. Someone called and bet on Mark winning, and Samuels excitedly told them he’d up the odds for that as he and Dar snickered.
– A video recapped the past and recent history between NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura and Isla Dawn. Dawn said the version of her that Satomura defeated in her very first match in NXT UK is gone and she has collected all the trinkets she needs over the past few months. Dawn said she’ll take Satomura’s title, while Satomura said she can not lose. The two will meet in a title match next week.
Roderick Strong defeated Wolfgang (9:50)
Strong got under Wolfgang’s skin before the match started, then kept evading the big Scot and repeatedly fled to ringside. Wolfgang eventually caught him in a headlock, then hit an overhead, judo-style suplex.
Wolfgang manhandled Strong around the ring, leading to Strong stumbling to ringside once more. Strong used some questionable tactics to regain the upper hand and hit a stomp over the ropes.
Strong kept grinding down Wolfgang, working over his back and neck. Wolfgang made it back to his feet, threw Strong into the corner, and hit another hip toss. He went up top and came down on Strong with a double axe handle. They went back and forth until Wolfgang hit another suplex but missed a spear into the corner. Strong then hit a running knee right to Wolfgang’s face to score the win. Strong was bleeding above the right eye by the end of the match.
Strong got on the mic after the match, saying that he’s not here for a long time but for a good time and he’s looking for the big fight. He called out NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov, stating the ball is in Dragunov’s court.
Final Thoughts —
The opener was really good. People know Bate is excellent, but they shouldn’t sleep on Carter, who is also a tremendous and entertaining wrestler.
McKenzie vs. Samuels was another good match, with Samuels looking better than she has in recent months. James vs. Turner was alright. James has charisma but seems a bit overexcited at times and isn’t as crisp as she could be yet.
The main event was fun, even though Strong didn’t look as much a killer as he probably should when calling out the champion. Strong vs. Dragunov should be very good. though.
Next Week:
NXT UK Women’s Champion Meiko Satomura defends against Isla Dawn
Two North American title qualifying matches, along with two other matches, are set for next week’s WWE NXT.
Wendy Choo and Dakota Kai will face Io Shirai and Kay Lee Ray in the finals of the women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Other matches for next week include The Creed Brothers facing The Grizzled Young Veterans, and two qualifying matches for the NXT North American Championship ladder match at Stand and Deliver: Solo Sikoa vs. Roderick Strong and A-Kid vs. Grayson Waller.
In a video package that aired tonight on NXT, Shirai and Ray brought up the finals would be next week. After the video aired, Wendy Choo told Dakota Kai backstage that while Shirai and Ray will be a tough team to beat, they will be just fine.
The Creed Brothers confronted Grizzled Young Veterans backstage, accusing them of a parking lot attack that took place last week. GYV denied the allegations but agreed to a rematch of their Dusty Rhodes Classic Tournament final.
A-Kid made his NXT debut on tonight’s show, defeating Kushida to advance to the North American title qualifier next week. On tonight’s show, Santos Escobar defeated Cameron Grimes to be the first to qualify for the ladder match.
A member of the NXT 2.0 roster is set to make their NXT UK debut next week.
During this week’s NXT UK episode, it was announced that Roderick Strong will be a special guest on NXT UK next Thursday. He’ll be facing Wolfgang on the show.
While Sid Scala was making the announcement, Wolfgang interrupted Scala and said he wants something that will help take him to the next level. Scala said NXT UK management has noticed the momentum Wolfgang has been on, and he announced that Wolfgang will be Strong’s opponent next week.
Strong is part of Diamond Mine in NXT 2.0. The faction is managed by Malcolm Bivens and also includes The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed) and Ivy Nile.
It’s also been announced that — in an attempt for Oliver Carter & Ashton Smith to get another shot at Tyler Bate & Trent Seven’s NXT UK Tag Team titles — Carter and Smith will be facing Bate and Seven in singles matches. Carter vs. Bate will take place on next Thursday’s NXT UK.
Plus, WWE has revealed that Meiko Satomura will defend her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Isla Dawn on the NXT UK episode that airs in two weeks (Thursday, March 24).
The Diamond Mine member took part in a set of television tapings held today at the BT Sports Studio in London. This is the first time he’s taken part in an NXT UK event.
Good to see @roderickstrong make an appearance for #NXTUK really enjoyed his match and I was sad about @Malcolmvelli not making the trip to London guessing his schedules clashed. Thanks Malcolm for bringing Roddy to London pic.twitter.com/6fRhASdVT6
Strong hasn’t wrestled since he took part in a dark match on the February 4 SmackDown tapings, losing to Tommaso Ciampa. His last match on NXT was three days earlier when he teamed with The Creed Brothers, losing to Imperium.
Social media posts from the tapings also indicate that Lizzy Evo and Tate Mayfairs made their NXT UK debuts at the taping as well. 23-year-old Evo is from the Liverpool area and worked a set of NXT UK tapings held in November. She also wrestled NXT UK’s Emilia McKenzie in a match for CATCH Pro Wrestling last month. Mayfairs is from London as well and has worked for promotions such as PROGRESS and RWP as of late.
This week’s WWE Main Event was taped at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, before Monday’s Raw.
LA Knight defeated Cedric Alexander (w/ Shelton Benjamin) (5:00)
This was a little ungainly, even at the finish, but it was a fine match by Main Event standards.
This was the main roster debut of sorts for Knight, but it was hardly a dazzling one. Since he is 40 years old this year, it is probably now or never for the former WWE NXT, Impact and Ring of Honor star.
They worked quite a fast pace and it became clear that Benjamin was going to get involved as he was in his ring gear at ringside.
After a lot of back and forth, Knight hit his leaping elbow which got Benjamin up on the apron to distract Knight. There was a heart sinking moment where it looked like it was going to be a dire distraction roll-up finish, but Knight thankfully kicked out.
Alexander didn’t get a hold of the tights properly and had to readjust and try again to get the roll up, so it looked fairly clunky. Knight got up again and kicked him in the gut, nailing him with the BFT afterward for his debut win.
T-Bar defeated Roderick Strong (6:04)
This went longer than it needed to and was the wrong result, but T-Bar was due a win after losing two straight matches on this show the past two weeks.
Over the last few weeks, the big man faced off against the likes of Tommaso Ciampa and Pete Dunne and took on the debuting Strong this week, absolutely towering over him at the onset.
Much like Knight, Strong is edging ever closer to the age of 40 and, apart from a few 205 Live bouts and a short-lived run on the SmackDown roster which culminated in a triple threat at Survivor Series 2019, he hasn’t had much of a fair chance to prove himself on the main roster.
They ruined this one by sticking a commercial in the middle and because they continued to use a rest hold for too long on the other side of the break.
Other than an Olympic slam by Strong in the final minutes which garnered a near fall, he never really looked like he was getting it done.
T-Bar got frustrated by some stiff sounding chops and then finished Strong with a big boot and his High Justice chokeslam finisher.
Final Thoughts:
Another week and another strange one here on Main Event as more former NXT guys are called up without notice or fanfare only to have mixed success against lower card main roster guys.
They clearly don’t want these NXT wrestlers to come across especially well. Strong should have just plowed through and squashed someone, much like T-Bar was doing a few months back, and Knight looked far from convincing against Alexander.
Four NXT talents are reportedly scheduled to be part of Friday’s SmackDown tapings.
PWInsider reported this afternoon that Io Shirai, Dakota Kai, Roderick Strong, and LA Knight will be at the SmackDown tapings this Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. This would mark Shirai’s first main roster match since Survivor Series 2019.
Dakota Kai worked dark matches prior to Raw and SmackDown back in November 2021. Since then, she has returned to NXT with a new, more unhinged character. She most recently lost to former tag team partner Raquel Gonzalez in a street fight on the December 21st edition of NXT.
Strong and Knight had a match prior to last week’s SmackDown, with Knight defeating Strong. The two then had matches on the Main Event tapings that took place Monday night prior to Raw, with Strong losing to T-Bar and Knight defeating Cedric Alexander. Both men also appeared in a digital exclusive on WWE social media, with Knight confronting the team of Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode.
Roderick Strong and LA Knight both appeared on tonight’s Main Event tapings prior to the live Raw broadcast.
Knight defeated Cedric Alexander, while T-Bar defeated Strong. The two also appeared in a dark match prior to last Friday’s SmackDown, where Knight defeated Strong.
Strong has been with the WWE since 2016, competing mainly on the NXT brand. He’s held the Tag Team and North American championships, and was the final WWE Cruiserweight Champion. He lost the Cruiserweight title to Carmelo Hayes at New Year’s Evil on January 4. He most recently lost to WALTER on last week’s episode of NXT.
LA Knight signed with WWE in 2021, and is best known for feuding with Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase, at one point holding DiBiase’s Million Dollar title. In recent weeks, he has been involved in a feud with Grayson Waller.
Many NXT stars have made appearances on Main Event since the WWE resumed live touring last summer. Earlier this month, both Pete Dunne and Tommasso Cimpa appeared on Main Event following NXT’s New Year’s Evil event.
LA Knight defeated Roderick Strong in a dark match before Friday’s SmackDown.
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NXT’s Roderick Strong looks to be set for a dark match at tonight’s SmackDown.
PWInsider reported today that Strong is backstage at SmackDown and scheduled for a dark match tonight. The show is being held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The previous two weeks, Tommaso Ciampa and Pete Dunne have faced each other in dark matches at SmackDown. Ciampa and Dunne have also wrestled on WWE’s tapings for Main Event before Raw both this week and last week.
Strong was in action in the main event of this week’s NXT, losing to WALTER. After the match, WALTER announced that his new name is Gunther.
Strong’s Diamond Mine stable is currently feuding with WALTER’s Imperium faction. A brawl between the two groups closed this week’s NXT after The Creed Brothers made the save for Strong when Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner ran in to help WALTER beat him down.
At New Year’s Evil earlier this month, Strong lost a title unification match against NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes. Strong was NXT Cruiserweight Champion going into that match. The title is now inactive, with Hayes just being recognized as North American Champion.
With WALTER now stateside, he’s set for a big matchup on tonight’s NXT.
WALTER will go one-on-one with Roderick Strong tonight. The match was made after WALTER got into a confrontation with Diamond Mine manager Malcolm Bivens.
Strong stepped in to defend Bivens and said he’s the only person in NXT that isn’t afraid of WALTER. Bivens had insulted Imperium and said The Creed Brothers would take Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner’s NXT Tag Team titles after winning the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
The men’s Dusty Classic kicks off with two first-round matches tonight. The Creed Brothers will take on Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen, while Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde take on Malik Blade & Edris Enofe.
After defeating Pete Dunne in their crowbar on a pole match last week, Tony D’Angelo will “conduct a memorial service” for Dunne tonight. Plus, Kay Lee Ray faces Ivy Nile and Dante Chen returns to action.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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The show opens with LA Knight arriving to the building like he was a mix of The Rock and Stone Cold on an episode of Raw in 2000. Knight heads straight to the ring, as he has “business” he must attend to.
Knight is playing the role of a kickass babyface. He quiets the crowd only to start doing call and response with them. Knight then calls out Grayson Waller.
Knight cuts a promo on Waller until Waller enters the scene. Waller has an envelope that he says contains a restraining order, so Knight cannot touch him.
Waller slid the envelope in the ring, so Knight is in effect being served in a legal sense. Not sure it really works like that, but there is a poetic license and whatnot. More of that to come.
They also both took their shirts off, signaling they were both prepared for combat. Too bad a silly angle gets in their way.
Apparently prepared for tomfoolery, Knight has a swerve in store for Waller. Knight acknowledges the restraining order, but Knight pitches to someone that Waller does not have legal sanctions against.
Cue the Dexter Lumis theme song. Lumis crawls on the floor to surprise Waller by sneaking behind him. Lumis tries to grab Waller, but Waller escapes for the moment.
Knight tells Waller he has two choices: either lift the restraining order and face Knight, or Waller gets put to sleep by Lumis. Not sure how well all this would actually hold up in court.
Waller during the commercial break make a choice to face Lumis in a wrestling match instead of lifting the restraining order.
Grayson Waller defeats Dexter Lumis
Waller pins Lumis after outside interference.
Lumis with the advantage, until the show cuts to a commercial break. Waller counters Lumis, and Waller hit Lumis with a lariat at ringside as the show goes to the break.
Waller grounds Lumis on the mat during the break. Lumis begins a comeback as the show returns from the break. Lumis rallies and the crowd responds with cheers.
He fight spills outside the ring, and Waller cuts off Lumis. Waller rams Lumis into the barricade, and Waller gets back into the ring to distract the referee. Meanwhile, dastardly antics are afoot.
A unnamed man that kind of looks like Bruiser Brody in a dress suit suddenly enters the ringside area. He grabs Lumis, and the unnamed man assaults Lumis. The large man sends Lumis crashing into the ring post.
Back in the ring, Waller then delivers a stunner. Waller covers Lumis for a three count, and Waller steals one with some help.
By the way, the ring ropes in NXT are now blue for what it is worth.
An angle from “this past weekend” saw Roderick Strong stick up for Malcolm Bivens when WALTER tries to bully Bivens. This sets up a match for later tonight.
A music video hypes the begging of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde of Legado del Fantasma confront MSK in a backstage skit. Legado del Fantasma vow to defeat MSK, and then go on to win the Dusty Cup.
The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed with Malcolm Bivens) defeat Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen to a Dusty Classic quarterfinal
Creed Brothers advance in the tournament after Jensen takes a clean pinfall.
Much like the opening match, the babyfaces were in control on offense early in the match. Briggs & Jensen wrestle like they are hosses, fitting their country boy gimmick.
Creed Brothers work together to turn the tide, and they work over Jensen. Misstep by a Creed, which leads to a hot tag. Bump and feed as Briggs clean house.
Briggs with a chokeslam for a near fall, but the pin is broken up. In the meantime, Briggs gets smashed into the barricade, denting the metal frame.
Creed Bros. with double team moves. Jensen is hoisted into the air with a suplex, placed in a torture rack positon, and then Jensen gets slammed to the mat. A clothesline levels Jensen, and he is pinned by a Creed.
The Creed Brothers and Diamond Mine are moving on in the tag team tournament. Creed Bros. will go on to face the winners of a match between Grizzled Young Veterans and Chase University.
A great vignette hypes Dante Chan ahead of his showcase match coming up. Chan makes a long awaited return tonight.
Imperium in a backstage skit cut a promo.
Dante Chan vs. Guru Raaj goes to a no contest
Chan and Raaj were just starting to cook when Duke Hudson hops the barricade. Chan had just leapt over the ropes with plancha when Hudson attacks him.
Hudson boots Chan. Hudson then sends Raaj crashing into the ring steps. The match is thrown out as a bunch of officials peel an enraged Hudson off Chan.
Hudson screams that he is back. Hudson in turn has ruined the return of someone else to make a statement.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews NXT Champion Bron Breakker. Elektra Lopez and Santos Escobar interrupt to confront Breakker. Escobar appears to be the Breakker’s first challenger.
Tony D’Angelo hosts a memorial service for Pete Dunne
D’Angelo is in the ring with a casket. He keeps referring to Dunne as “Petey Poppings” as the so-called service begins.
Tony D waxes for a moment before saying he needs to add gold to his collection.
D’Angelo says he has his sights set on the NXT North American Championship.
North American Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams interrupt, and they appear on a perch above the ring.
Trick and Tony D go back and forth on the mic for a moment. Hayes then threatens D’Angelo, and he tells D’Angelo to give Hayes’ name of of his mouth.
Out comes Cameron Grimes to join the party. The crowd chants “to the moon” as Grimes addresses Hayes and Williams. Grimes says he already challenged the North American Champion.
Hayes suggest D’Angelo and Grimes have a match to decide the next contender. Grimes agrees to the match. D’Angelo tries to sucker punches Grimes, but Grimes counters. Grimes then smashes a framed picture of Pete Dunne over the head of D’Angelo.
Backstage in the locker room, Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter approach Briggs and Jensen. The women invite the guys out for drinks. Wendy Choo is napping on top of the lockers. She chimes in to embarrass Briggs, who apparently has a crush on Carter. They are still on for drinks later, but Briggs is totally embarrassed. This was a bad sitcome sketch.
A vignette hypes the team of Yulisa Leon and Valentina Feroz.
Dakota Kai interrupts a backstage interview with Leon and Feroz. This leads to a match later on, but this skit was not good.
Ivy Nile (with Malcolm Bivens) defeats Kay Lee Ray
Nile pins KLR after interference by NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose. Huge brawl after the match.
They trade grappling holds at the start, and then they trade strikes. Nile fires up on KLR after reserving a suplex. Enzuigiri by Nile for a two count.
Nile grounds KLR with a head scissors. KLR escapes, and she fights back. Gordbuster by KLR for two. They go to trade near falls. Nile gets two after a modified DDT where Nile uses her legs.
Mandy Rose appears at ringside, and NXT Women’s Champion jumps on the apron to cause a distraction. KLR swipes at Rose, but the distracted KLR cannot complete her finisher.
KLR hoists Nile for a Gory Bomb, but Nile counters cradle KLR for a three count.
Rose jumps into the ring after the match, and she attacks KLR. Rose brawls with KLR. Gigi Dolan and Jacy Jayne of Toxic Attraction slide into the ring. They proceed to jump KLR.
Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta run in to even the odds. Huge melee erupts. The babyfaces clear the ring, and the heels are left scrambling away. This would appear to set by a trios match.
Harland apparently attacks Odyssey Jones in the training room. Jones already has an injured leg, and Harland targeted the leg.
Sarray is getting a gimmick makeover. A vignette reintroduced her to the audience. Sarray is returning from Japan with a renewed passion. She found a necklace that her grandmother gave her. Sarray also now dresses like a nerd, or that appears to be the gimmick.
Malik Blade & Edris Enofe defeat Legado del Fantasma (Raul Mendoza & Joaquin Wilde with Elektra Lopez & Santos) in Dusty Classic quarterfinal
Supposed to be a bracket buster, Blade & Enofe win an upset victory to advance. However, the win is far from clean. There are shenanigans.
The interference of Escobar backfires on Legado del Fantasmam, thanks in part to Bron Breakker.
Fairly basic WWE-style tag match. Heels shine up the babyfaces for a comeback.
Escobar trips Blade. Escobar then hops on the apron, hoping to cause more distraction. Breakker comes to ringside, puts Escobar over his shoulder, and Breakker carries Escobar away.
Distracted what was going on at ringside, Wilde is rolled up by Blade with an O’Connor Roll. Blade scores the upset three count.
Blade & Enofe advance to the semifinals where they face the winners of MSK against Jacket Time.
Malcolm Bivens cuts a promo hyping tonight’s main event.
Solo Sikoa is scarred from a fireball, so he plans war with Boa in a match next week.
Dakota Kai defeats Yulisa Leon (with Valentina Feroz)
Kai pins Leon after hitting a face wash. This was probably a match that should not have been on national television, but this is what developmental is now.
Leon has a lot of talent, but too bad she lost clean. Heck of way to get over a new character. Kai tries to also attack Feroz, but Leon pulls her partner out of the ring.
Raquel Gonzalez was being interviewed backstage when Cora Jade confronts Gonzalez. Jade wants to team with Gonzalez in the Dusty Classic, but Gonzalez scoffs. Gonzalez storms off, but Jade says she will convince her eventually.
Announced for next Tuesday on NXT:
No DQ Falls Count Anywhere: Solo Sikoa vs. Boa
Cameron Grimes against Tony D’Angelo in a match to decide the next challenger for the North American Championship
The trio of Toxic Attraction against Indi Hartwell, Persia Pirotta & Kay Lee Ray in a six-woman tag team match
Dusty Classic first-round match: MSK (Wes Lee & Nash Carter) vs. Jacket Time (Kushida & Ikemen Jiro)
Dusty Classic first round match: The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake) vs. Chase University (Andre Chase & Bodhi Hayward)
Special musical performance from OllieJayy
WALTER defeats Roderick Strong (with Malcolm Bivens)
WALTER pins Strong in a banger. Easily the best match on the show by far.
WALTER was made to look like a monster heel, and he announces himself as a different name after the match.
This match is David vs. Goliath, except Goliath handily wins in the end.
Strong is flustered at the start, and he seeks refuge in the ropes. Undaunted, WALTER ties up Strong in a hold.
WALTER chops Strong, and Strong begs off by again seeking refuge in the ropes.
Strong fights back until he tries to trade chops with WALTER, who mows down Strong with a single chop.
WALTER drops Strong with more strikes when Strong again tries to fight back.
Bivens causes a distraction, and he finds himself in the clutches of WALTER. Bivens is pummeled by Walter, until Strong hits WALTER with a chop block in a sneak attack.
Strong tries to follow up with a wrecking ball dropkick, but WALTER is waiting for him. WALTER catches Strong, and then WALTER gives Strong a back suplex on the apron.
The match goes through a commercial break. WALTER continues to punish Strong as WALTER grounds him on the mat.
Strong with a comeback after the show returns from the break. Strongs land a missile dropkick, yet Strong is unable to lift WALTER for the Olympic Slam.
WALTER applies a sleeper hold. Strong counters with a jawjacker, but WALTER reapplies the sleeper. Strong escapes nonetheless.
Strong with a flurry of strikes, but WALTER swats Strong with a single blow that took Strong off the feet.
Strong with a superplex on WALTER for a close near fall. Slugfest soon develops, and Strong with a barrage of strikes on WALTER. Strong knocks WALTER off his feet with a dropkick. Two and a half count for Strong on a another near fall.
Strong attempts to apply the Stronghold, but WALTER counters to again chop down Strong. They go on to counter each other. WALTER soon gives Strong a powerbomb from the heavens, and WALTER covers Strong for the deciding pinfall.
“The winner of this match is Gunther,” declares WALTER (or now it’s Gunther I guess).
Huge pull-apart brawl after the match with Imperium fighting with Diamond Mine as the show goes off the air.
WALTER is set to collide with one of the top in-ring wrestlers in NXT.
WWE has announced that WALTER will face Roderick Strong on NXT this Tuesday night. The match was set up by a confrontation between WALTER and Diamond Mine manager Malcolm Bivens.
Bivens said The Creed Brothers are going to win the men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and then move on to taking the NXT Tag Team titles from WALTER’s Imperium stablemates Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner. As Bivens was about to call Imperium “a bunch of bitches,” WALTER confronted him and shoved him against a locker. Strong then stepped in and told WALTER to put Bivens down. Strong said he’s the only person in NXT who isn’t afraid of WALTER.
WALTER is now stateside after having his NXT UK farewell match. He defeated Nathan Frazer on the NXT UK episode that aired last Thursday.
WALTER was also in action at NXT New Year’s Evil earlier this month, teaming with Barthel & Aichner in a loss to Riddle & MSK.
Strong was NXT Cruiserweight Champion going into New Year’s Evil but lost a title unification match to NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes. Hayes is now just being recognized as the North American Champion.
WWE has also announced that Tony D’Angelo will “conduct a memorial service” for Pete Dunne on NXT this Tuesday. D’Angelo defeated Dunne in a crowbar on a pole match last week.
Plus, this Tuesday’s NXT will feature the start of the men’s Dusty Classic tournament.
