Shawn Michaels has shared his thoughts regarding CM Punk’s WWE return.
During a recent interview with Peter Rosenberg, Michaels said he’s happy for Punk and WWE that the 45-year-old is back with the company. HBK also noted that similar to Punk, he wasn’t always the most popular guy during his in-ring career either.
“I understand business and also, look, I wasn’t always the most popular guy to people but I was really good at my job and I feel like that’s one of the reasons I’ve had one here at the WWE for almost 40 years because again, I’m dependable and I’m good at my job. And I think if you are that, there’s always an opportunity here,” Michaels said.
“I’m happy for him, I’m happy for the company, I’m happy for the WWE fanbase, the WWE Universe. Stories like this are always fantastic, even if they are controversial, that’s part of what makes them fantastic.”
Michaels and Rosenberg continued to discuss WWE keeping Punk’s return a surprise up until the very moment his music hit at Survivor Series.
“In this line of work, what makes it fantastic is you are never 100 percent sure. Even if you think you are, you’re just not being honest,” Michaels said. “You’re saying ‘I know this is going to happen’ but there is always a little piece of you going like, ‘I don’t know.’ Again, to your point, I think everybody thought this was a bridge too far.”
“To pull that off in this day in age, pretty special,” he continued.
Michaels was also asked about the possibility of Punk returning to WWE during the No Mercy media call in September. At the time, Michaels said he would love to have Punk in NXT and that the two have always gotten along.
During an appearance on NewsNation, Shawn Michaels discussed WWE NXT’s new television deal with The CW Network.
It was announced this week that NXT will be leaving USA Network for a new TV home in October 2024. It’s a five-year deal between NXT and The CW. Ari Emanuel stated on a TKO conference call that the deal represents a 70 percent increase in average annual value over NXT’s previous contract.
Michaels told NewsNation that moving from cable to broadcast television is a huge deal for NXT:
It’s a huge deal for us. Coming to CW in October 2024, this really is — this is huge for the young men and women here in NXT. As you mentioned, the stars of tomorrow. And sort of since its inception in 2013, coming to network television is just gigantic. And for people who aren’t in the television industry, that means the possibility of being in every home in America. Which is just huge for us. Incredibly exciting. And of course, people who may not know, WrestleMania of last year consisted of 90 percent former NXT talent. So make no mistake about it, the people that you’re going to be seeing on CW in October 2024 are going to be people who are going to be main eventing WrestleMania in the very near future.
NewsNation asked Michaels what makes NXT different than Raw and SmackDown. Michaels responded:
Obviously we’re much younger. We are recruiting college athletes coming out of college. And look, when Hunter started this 13 years ago, his vision was that within the WWE we could hone and develop the future stars of the WWE. Coming to The CW Network for a five-year agreement is just proof positive that his vision has worked. I’m obviously just honored to continue to keep that going.
I guess what you’ll see from NXT is excitement, unparalleled innovation, and as they say where the wrestling business and sports entertainment are going in the future — you’re gonna see it first-hand on NXT.
When asked which wrestlers from NXT could be the next big thing in WWE, Michaels named Bron Breakker, Carmelo Hayes, Trick Williams, Tiffany Stratton, The Creed Brothers, and Tony D’Angelo.
Michaels, who runs NXT, has the official job title of Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative.
Triple H and Shawn Michaels have invited the reigning NBA MVP to WWE.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid was recently fined $35,000 by the NBA after performing a crotch chop during a game. This led to Triple H inviting Embiid to WrestleMania 40.
Embiid’s 76ers are on a road trip on April 6 & 7, 2024 so he will be unable to attend. He responded to Triple H’s post by saying he’d “love to” but he won’t be in Philadelphia on those dates.
This isn’t the first time Embiid has been involved with DX. In 2021, Embiid and Triple H came out together to ring the bell before Game 1 of the 76ers vs. Atlanta Hawks Eastern Conference Semifinals. They entered to the DX theme music, wore DX shirts, and used a sledgehammer to ring the bell.
On social media, Tony Khan delivered a message to Paul “Triple H” Levesque and Shawn Michaels ahead of Tuesday night’s AEW Dynamite-WWE NXT war.
Dynamite Title Tuesday and NXT are airing head-to-head tonight. Dynamite is airing on a different night than usual this week due to the MLB playoffs. With that, NXT has announced a loaded-up card with appearances by John Cena, Paul Heyman, Cody Rhodes, and Asuka. WWE has also teased that The Undertaker will be appearing.
In response to a report from Haus of Wrestling, Khan posted a message calling Levesque and Michaels bald assholes. The image that Khan used was from an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Haus of Wrestling spoke with a “fired-up WWE source close to NXT” who claimed that tonight’s head-to-head battle will be “a very clear example of how and why WWE is WWE, and why AEW has a long way to go.”
Haus of Wrestling wrote:
Haus of Wrestling spoke with a fired-up WWE source close to NXT this morning who said tonight will be ‘a very clear example of how and why WWE is WWE, and why AEW has a long way to go.’ They discussed how they felt AEW had been lulled into a false sense of reality that they were somehow an industry leader by continuing to beat WWE’s number three brand in viewership.
It also sounds as if there are lingering tensions from the infamous Wednesday Night War, with the idea that Tony Khan could have run Dynamite on Thursdays and the two would never have gone head-to-head. With Levesque now squarely back in control of WWE creative and Michaels taking pride in being the best, it was said Khan ‘poked the wrong ones at the wrong time.’ The fact this is all happening on Khan’s 41st birthday was also pointed out to me, with it sounding like WWE NXT is fine spoiling his party.
In response to someone on X (formerly known as Twitter), Khan also referenced the sexual misconduct allegations that have been made against Vince McMahon.
If Sir Vince McMahon said this, it would be the least of his alleged misdeeds. #AEWTitleTuesday on TBS Tuesday #AEWDynamite Tonight!
Ahead of Saturday’s NXT No Mercy, WWE NXT head Shawn Michaels spoke with the media Thursday about a variety of topics that included CM Punk, Jade Cargill, the recent releases, and more.
The full audio of the call can be found below.
The main news was the official announcement of Deadline for Saturday, December 9th in addition to confirming Blair Davenport vs. Kelani Jordan for this Saturday’s pre-show.
CM Punk
Michaels was asked about his thoughts on bringing Punk back to WWE. Michaels said that while he assumes Punk would be a main roster performer, he would love to have Punk in NXT due to his star power and said he has always got along well with Punk in the past as they have some similarities. He said the decision to bring Punk back would be made by those well above him.
Jade Cargill
On Cargill’s recent signing, Michaels was very excited and said he got to briefly engage with her at the Performance Center but understands why there’s all the hype. He would love to have her in NXT, but that she will be successful regardless of where she ends up. He said she is “tailor-made” for WWE.
Gable Steveson
Michaels said it’s up to him to figure out what’s next for Steveson and what will make sense for him next given his busy schedule. He says everything has been fantastic with Steveson, but that he’s a busy, young man.
NXT releases
Michaels said the Mustafa Ali release took him by surprise and that he found out right before Ali did. He said he will have a successful future and is very bright and talented. He was also surprised by the Dana Brooke release.
He added that they have had to deal with situations like releases before and have learned how to make adjustments.
Other notes:
Michaels put over the work ethic of Trick Williams very strongly, saying he is one of the top two or three hardest workers in NXT right now. He wants to work for everything and that he is getting the opportunity this weekend because of that work ethic.
He also put over Tiffany Stratton and that it was hard to say when she would be called up. He thinks the experience she is getting working with main roster talent like Becky Lynch is only going to increase her level of improvement.
Shawn Michaels addressed the media on a conference call to promote NXT Battleground.
Here are notes from the call:
Regarding Bron Breakker not getting drafted to the main roster: Michaels said there are still some “really great matches” left for Bron Breakker in NXT. He’s under the impression that Breakker will still be part of the brand for a while.
When asked about Blair Davenport, Michaels said they are interested in having her back in NXT but the ball is in her court. Davenport hasn’t wrestled anywhere since the Worlds Collide special on September 4, 2022. Earlier this year, it was rumored that she was dealing with visa issues.
Michaels mentioned Wes Lee as a standout performer on the current roster. Also mentioned Gallus has done great since coming over from NXT UK.
Regarding the Dyad (Rip Fowler & Jagger Reid), he said there are no hard feelings regarding them requesting their release but while they are here he wants to put them in a prominent role. Says there is too much talent to waste there.
There were plans for Indi Hartwell as champion before she got injured and then drafted to Raw. He loved the story of her winning the title.
To the best of his knowledge, NXT will not be going head-to-head with AEW pay-per-views again but said those decisions are not made by him. The timing of NXT Battleground was to take advantage of the holiday weekend and also with Night of Champions the day before.
There is nothing to update on the status of NXT Europe.
Regarding Ilja Dragunov not being on the main roster, Michaels said he doesn’t make the decisions regarding who gets called up but he’s very excited about Dijak vs. Dragunov on Sunday. Also mentioned that Dragunov hasn’t really been in NXT that long and there are still several interesting matches for him here.
He feels that it’s only a matter of time before Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre have to return in order to defend the NXT tag titles.
Michaels was asked about his history in the city of Lowell. Michaels famously “lost his smile” in the city and also once dropped the European title to Triple H in a rather controversial fashion there as well. He responded that he may have lost his smile in Lowell but he’ll find it again in Lowell too.
Michaels said he had a pretty decent idea of who he was going to lose in the draft. He continued to say losing 15 wrestlers from their roster is an adjustment but he feels very comfortable with it.
Grayson Waller invited Shawn Michaels to be a part of the Grayson Waller Effect at NXT Roadblock in two weeks.
The end of Tuesday’s NXT saw Waller hijack the production truck. He said that he was taking things over and called himself the new showstopper and Mr. Stand and Deliver. He invited Shawn Michaels to a special edition of the Grayson Waller Effect at Roadblock on March 7.
Waller has had issues with Michaels since NXT Vengeance Day, when he interrupted a media call to tell Shawn Michaels that he was upset, and asked why he wasn’t one of his guys. As a result, Waller was suspended for a week. When he came back, he argued with Michaels backstage after losing to Tyler Bate in his return match.
In addition, Tony D’Angleo on Tuesday’s show challenged Dijak to a jailhouse street fight. The two have been feuding since Vengeance Day, when Dijak dived on both D’Angelo and Stacks.
A match between Meiko Satomura and Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship is set for the special edition of NXT.
While appearing on Busted Open Radio, Jacy Jayne discussed her breakout moment from last week’s NXT.
Toxic Attraction imploded with Jayne turning against Gigi Dolin in the main event angle of NXT last Tuesday. The split had been building for weeks and finally happened after Jayne and Dolin unsuccessfully challenged Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship in a triple threat match at NXT Vengeance Day.
Jayne was asked during her Busted Open Radio appearance if she feels like she’s starting to get more credit recently and if people are now understanding where she’s coming from.
I think recently I’ve been starting to get more credit for everything, especially honestly after Mandy [Rose] left. Like, as sad as that whole situation was — and we tried to make the most of it going forward — I feel like that kind of helped me break out of this Toxic Attraction shell. Now people were paying attention to me more and listening to what I had to say. I do think it’s been — I haven’t gotten a lot of credit while we were all together. But now I’m starting to show my character and how much I’ve grown over the last year and a half, two years. I think this was honestly my breakout moment. Even at Vengeance Day, it was kind of sink or swim for us. Like, ‘Now you’re on your own. You have to prove that you can do it by yourself.’ So I went into that match with that mind frame. Like, ‘You need to kill this performance because if not you don’t know what’s going to happen going forward.’
In a scene similar to the breakup of The Rockers, Jayne sent Dolin head-first into a door when she turned against Dolin. Jayne told Busted Open Radio that she got Shawn Michaels’ blessing to “redo some history” with the angle.
So I actually didn’t really know much going into that day. They were kind of very hush-hush about everything happening. All I really knew was I was going to be on ‘Ding Dong, Hello!’ So that’s a lot of pressure having Bayley come back. It was the first time she even had that show in — I think — like two years. It was also the first time it was ever in front of a live audience because that was always done during the pandemic era. So I feel like there was a lot of pressure going into that alone.
And then kind of getting Shawn’s blessing to redo some history there. That’s a big deal for me. I didn’t want to mess it up. I didn’t want to screw up. I wanted to make a memory. I think everybody knew Toxic Attraction was going to explode soon. But to make it memorable, we had to go big. So we wanted it to be vicious. We wanted it to be memorable. We wanted people to talk about it. Not just something like, ‘Oh, that was a good segment. Yeah, whatever. Now they’re by themselves.’ Like, no, we want people to remember this and be like, ‘Oh, this is a new coming for two new superstars on a solo route.’
NXT held a media call with Shawn Michaels following the Vengeance Day premium live event to discuss the fallout from Saturday’s show.
When asked about NXT wrestlers possibly doing independent dates moving forward following the news that Ivy Nile would be working Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling promotion, Michaels said that the booking was just “a one night deal”. He said it was just something where they were helping Booker T out with his upcoming show.
Regarding Dijak, Michaels said that x-rays were taken and, as it turns out, his finger was not broken and was being put back into place.
At one point during the media call, Grayson Waller stormed in and confronted Michaels, running him down and asking why he “wasn’t the guy”. He was eventually taken away by head trainer Matt Bloom. When Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful asked Michaels what that was about, Michaels said that there was “an incident coming back from Gorilla” between him and Waller, and Waller was “perturbed” at him.
The call finished with discussion on the participants involved in the Women’s Tag Team title match. Michaels said that both Kiana James and Fallon Henley have improved during their time in NXT, and putting them together seemed like “one of those things that worked”. He also said that Katana Chance and Kayden Carter’s futures are still “very bright” and have been the most consistent tag team in NXT.
NXT’s next live premium event will be Stand and Deliver, which will take place at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on April 1.
Ahead of Saturday’s NXT Vengeance Day, WWE Hall of Famer and NXT head of creative Shawn Michaels spoke with the media about a variety of topics that included Vince McMahon, NXT talent in the Royal Rumble, and Mandy Rose’s departure.
Full audio of the call can be found below.
Michaels was asked if McMahon has been involved with NXT since he returned early last month. He said that he hasn’t and joked that he enjoys his “plausible deniability” of being in Florida with NXT and not knowing what’s happening in corporate. He complimented McMahon in working with him in the past.
Michaels was asked about last weekend’s Royal Rumble on a few different questions including the time his talent had in the match itself. He said NXT doesn’t have any input on how long someone is in the matcha, that it’s the main roster’s call on who gets the nod to go into the match, and how they only wanted NXT female talent in this year’s match vs. none in the men’s match.
Michaels said he caught up with William Regal at Raw XXX, but that Regal hasn’t been at the PC as he’s been busy with other things. He said he is welcome at any time and is really looking forward to having him more involved.
Asked about Mandy Rose, Michaels said he loved working with the former WWE NXT Women’s Champion and that he didn’t directly fire her as he handles the creative. Roxanne Perez was going to get to where she was regardless, but that plan was just moved up a few weeks. “I think the world of Mandy Rose,” he said.
He said they are expecting around 5000 for Saturday’s show and that talent is both excited and nervous to be performing in front of fans outside the Performance Center for the first time in years.
Asked about the whereabouts of Meiko Satomura and Ilya Dragunov, Michaels said he would love to have them anytime but that when it comes to making the commitment, there are issues of relocation, working visas, and the right timing. He didn’t specify which was affecting either talent currently.
He said Paul Levesque and Drake Maverick spoke several months ago about wanting to use NXT talent on WWE Main Event and that the NXT head writer is the one that gets to reveal the news to the talents getting the match. He thinks it’s a great thing for talent in keeping them hungry and encouraged for the future.
Ahead of Saturday’s WWE NXT Deadline, Shawn Michaels spoke to the media Thursday and addressed a question about William Regal.
Asked about Regal returning to WWE given Tony Khan’s comments Wednesday, Michaels said there is nothing official to announce but that everyone “loves Steve” and have nothing but respect for him. Like everyone, he said he has been reading about everything in the media.
He also answered a question about Sean “X Pac” Waltman wrestling in NXT and said if that was an option they were allowed to explore, he would love it as Waltman being involved would be a huge benefit to NXT talent.
On The New Day coming to NXT, Michaels indicated they want it to be for more than a one-off appearance and that Xavier Woods & Kofi Kingston are open to those conversations. He would like to keep New Day in NXT “as long as we can” and that Woods has wanted to return for quite some time.
He said the dialogue for main roster talent to work in NXT has happened in a variety of ways and that they have done all of them.
Here’s a few other notes from the call with full audio available below:
Michaels confirmed that NXT Vengeance Day will head to Charlotte, NC, on Saturday, February 4th with tickets going on sale next Friday.
Asked about national touring, Michaels says that they will see how Vengeance Day does and will go from there. They would like to return to touring nationwide, but it’s a TBD.
Michaels says an NXT Europe announcement is coming but that the infrastructure is still being put into place. Early on, he expects the U.S.-based team to be very hands-on, but expects himself to have an eventual “10,000 foot view” and such over time.
Over the 40 minutes, Michaels also talked about NXT talent that he feels could be plugged into the main roster, Ava Raine’s progress, the Iron Survivor matches, and more.
Join Denise Salcedo on the Speak Now Pro Wrestling podcast!
On this episode, she recaps the November 29th edition of WWE NXT. The major topic is the naming of the Iron Survivor Challenge participants, which is taking place at NXT Deadline on December 10th.
A Hall of Fame panel will be on NXT tonight to help set the stage for NXT Deadline.
WWE has announced that X-Pac, Alundra Blayze, Molly Holly, and Road Dogg will appear alongside Shawn Michaels to reveal the participants for the Iron Survivor Challenge matches at NXT Deadline. The men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge bouts will both feature five participants. The wrestler who has won the most falls at the end of the match will become the number one contender to their division’s respective championship.
Deadline is streaming live on Peacock/WWE Network on Saturday, December 10.
NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose will be in action tonight as Toxic Attraction take on Katana Chance, Kayden Carter & Nikkita Lyons.
After attacking North American Champion Wes Lee following last week’s main event, Dijak will return to in-ring action tonight. Plus, Roxanne Perez vs. Indi Hartwell, Fallon Henley vs. Kiana James, and Malik Blade vs. Von Wagner will take place on the show.
Our live coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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Opening the show is match several weeks in the making. Indi Hartwell has a new attitude, much to the chagrin of Roxanne Perez. During skits in recent weeks, Perez has tried to reason with Hartwell, but tensions eventually boiled over last week.
Roxanne Perez defeats Indi Hartwell
Perez pins Hartwell clean after executing Pop Rocks.
Perez is such a good babyface-in-peril. She begins a comeback after a launching herself into a tope. Hartwell catches her on a flying crossbody, and Hartwell looks to deliver a slam. Perez counters into a small package, but Hartwell drops her with a big boot.
Just before the finish, Hartwell goes to eat a kick from Perez. Pop Rocks (Code Red) by Perez, and she cradles Hartwell for a three count.
Duke Hudson pleads his case to Andre Chase, and Hudson apologizes to Hudson for costing them the match last week. Hudson organized a petition to get Hudson into the Iron Survivor Series.
Grayson Waller comes into the scene and starts insulting Chase and company. Thea Hail snaps on Waller, and she has to be held back. Hudson says he will take care of Waller, so except a match between the two.
Returning to a NXT is Dijak. His surprise return was a cliffhanger from the last episode of NXT. This week Dijak has an enhancement match.
Dijak defeats Dante Chen
Dijak pins Chen after the Feast Your Eyes. Dijak dominates the short bout, and he applies a chokehold just before executing his finisher.
Dijak in a post-match promo says the bout is an example of “hard justice.” That was also the name of a TNA PPV. No relation, apparently. Dijak goes to say he will dish out his form of justice on the NXT roster.
JD McDonagh is in the Diamond Mine dojo talking with Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley. Julius and Brutus Creed come in, and they vow to defeat Indus Sher. McDonagh says that is impossible. They bicker about it until the Creeds order him out of the dojo. He smirks and leaves.
The Hall of Fame panel is sitting around a table, and they begin to discuss potential participants in the Iron Survivor Challenge. This is set to music, and the panel begins to give their opinions.
Road Dogg picks Carmelo Hayes, and the rest of the panel puts him over.
Alundra Blayze brings up Tony D’Angelo, but they all seem to decide he cannot return from injury.
Sean Waltman mentions JD McDonagh, and he is put over as a creep, but a bad ass at the same time.
Molly Holly name drops Joe Gacy. They talk about him being a leader.
Road Dogg circles back to mention Von Wagner. He is a big scary guy, but he has not won the big one.
Axiom is mentioned, but he is still out with an injury.
Grayson Waller is also mentioned, and he is put over strong by the panel even if he is a heel.
Shawn tells the panel to write down their top five, and this segment is to be continued…
Grayson Waller defeats Duke Hudson (with Andre Chase & Thea Hail)
Waller pins Hudson after a stunner.
This reminds me of a house show match from the ’80s. There is some gaga with Hudson pulling hair, and he is admonished by Chase because that violates the Chase U code of conduct.
Hudson is outside the ring when he assures Chase he can stop the match anytime he wants. Hudson then gets back into the ring, and he takes a stunner from Waller. Hudson takes the fall, and Wallers wins.
McKenzie Mitchell shows why she might be the best backstage interviewer since Mean Gene. In a skit with Javier Bernal, he pitches the idea for his own merch line. He has a “Big Body Javi” baseball bat. There is an Aaron Judge joke where Bernal calls his “Adam Judge.”
Referring to himself in the third person, Bernal pitches a pillow and cologne. Mitchell chokes on the smell of the cologne, saying it smells like rotten eggs. She goes of camera in disgust. In walks Axiom to set up a match with Bernal. Mitchell comes back holding her nose, and seems to indicate the match is official. Mitchell carries this skit on her back. She is great in her role.
Kiana James defeats Fallon Henley
James pins Henley after the 401k finisher.
The match starts just before the show cuts to commercial. They wrestle through the break, with James getting heat on Henley. James goes on to work an arm.
Henley eventually makes a comeback, but she is selling her arm. Cat-and-mouse with Henley chasing James around the ring. James grabs her purse, and she tosses it to Henley. Although Henley throws the purse aside, it cause a distraction.
A distracted Henley is soon given a flatliner called “The 401k.” James then covers Henley for a pinfall.
Malik Blade is backstage clutching his late father’s sweater. Von Wagner tore it off Blade last week. Blade clutches the tattered sweater as Odyssey Jones and Edris Enofe cover advice and a pep talk. Blade vows to fight this battle on his own. Blade meets Wagner in a match later tonight.
Back to the Hall of Fame panel discussing the Iron Survivor Challenge. Talks has shifted to the women’s match.
Alundra Blayze first brings up Roxanne Perez. This is some jokes about when the panel was young.
Road Dogg mentions Zoey Stark, and he puts her over strong by the panel.
Molly Holly brings up Indi Hartwell, but they question whether she is missing something.
Sean Waltman talks about Cora Jade. She is a heel, but the panel acknowledges her accomplishments.
Road Dogg says Fallon Henley is a dark horse in the match.
Also talked about is Fallon Henley and Alba Fyre.
Like earlier, Shawn tells the panel to write down their top five picks.
Cora Jade mocks Wendy Choo on TikTok.
A vignette teases the debut of Lyra Valkyria.
Kayden Carter, Katana Chance & Nikkita Lyons vs. Toxic Attraction (Mandy Rose, Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dolan) is to be continued
The match never starts due to an ambush. Zoey Stark in a sneak attack jumps Nikkita Lyons before the match. Lyons sells her knee, and she is helped to the backstage area as the show cuts to a commercial break.
The trios match takes place later in the show in the main event slot.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews Elektra Lopez, and Lopez vows to defeat Indi Hartwell in an upcoming match.
Axiom defeats Javier Bernal
Axiom wins in his return match after an injury. Axiom pins Bernal after Sweet Chin Music.
This is the best match on the show so far, which is not saying much. The match itself is still pretty good.
The match begins shortly before the show goes into a split-screen commercial break, much like during a women’s match earlier in the show. That is kind of annoying.
Nikkita Lyons is cleared to wrestle later tonight.
McKenzie Mitchell interviews NXT Tag Team Champions Pretty Deadly. They have a Christmas story to tell next week.
Apollo Crews is back at the diner writing in his journal. NXT Champion Bron Breakker suddenly joins him at a table and they banter back-and-forth. This seems like an odd way to build a title match, but they continue to banter at the diner while drinking coffee. They meet again in a title match at Deadline.
Julius Creed defeats JD McDonagh via disqualification
This was a good hard-hitting match until it ends with a lame finish. McDonagh is DQ’d for using a chair, when he actually hits Sanga with a chair. Indus Sher had come to ringside to scout Creed, and Sanga takes a chair shot in place of Creed.
The second half of this show has far better wrestling matches than the first half of the episode, despite the finish in this match.
They wrestle through a commercial break. Indus Sher walks to ringside after the show returns from the break.
The fighting spills outside the ring on the floor as McDonagh works a leg. McDonagh grabs a chair, and he goes to swing it at Creed. Sanga rushes in, and she shoves Creed out of the way. Sanga takes the chair shot, which enrages him.
As the referee calls for a disqualification, McDonagh begs off from Sanga. McDonagh bumps into Veer, and he begs off some more.
Veer & Sanga yell at the Creeds that they want them at one hundred percent for their match.
Alba Fyre cuts a promo on Isla Dawn in a vignette.
Dijak is met in the parking lot by Tony D’Angelo and Stacks. D’Angelo returns to the ring next week on NXT. Something is building between Dijak and D’Angelo, and it relates to NXT North American Champion Wes Lee.
Von Wagner (with Mr. Stone) defeats Malik Blade
Wagner pins Blade after Blade is given an Attitude Adjustment. Stone is back with Wagner, despite miscommunication between in a recent match.
Blade shows a lot of fire, and he gets a lot of offense. Wagner is still a monster. Blade goes for a splash, and Wagner gets his knees up. Wagner then executes his finisher, and he covers Blade for a pinfall.
Wagner attacks Blade after the match, and Edris Enofe runs down to make a save. Wagner is beating on him when Odyssey Jones runs in. Wagner flees when Jones runs down for a save. This looks to set up a match between Wagner and Jones.
Shawn Michaels announces the participants for Iron Survivor Challenge at Deadline. They are as follows:
The five men include Carmelo Hayes, JD McDonagh, Grayson Waller, Joe Gacy, and a fifth participant to be determined in a “wild card match” next week on NXT. The wild card match is really a triple threat bout with Von Wagner vs. Axiom vs. Andre Chase.
The five women are Zoey Stark, Cora Jade, Roxanne Perez, Kiana James, and a fifth participant to be determined in another “wild card” next Tuesday. The wild card match is a triple threat with Wendy Choo vs. Fallon Henley vs. Indi Hartwell.
Dolan pins Lyons to win the match. Lyons was on fire, but the injury angle from earlier cost Lyons the match.
Lyons has her knee taped up to sell the injury angle from earlier in the show.
The babyface trio run wild in the first part of the match, until Carter is cut off and worked over. Hot tag to Chance, and she begins to run wild. Chance is also cut off.
Everybody gets involved before a double down in the ring. After another double down, they build to Lyons tagging in. Lyons clean house despite her supposed knee injury.
In the closing moments, Lyons goes for a roundhouse kick, but Lyons knee buckles. Jayne and Dolan then deliver a high/low attack, and Dolan hooks a leg to cover Lyons for a pinfall.
Shawn Michaels will reveal the Iron Survivor Challenge competitors on next week’s NXT.
In addition, Roxanne Perez will face Indi Hartwell, and Toxic Attraction will face the team of Nikkita Lyons, Kayden Carter, and Katana Chance.
Michaels will reveal the competitors of the upcoming men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches that will take place at NXT Deadline on December 10. The winners of those matches will receive a future title match.
During Tuesday’s NXT, a TikTok video was shown of Hartwell confronting Roxanne Perez at a recent NXT house show. Another video was shown of Elektra Lopez recording their fight, saying that she wasn’t the only one who had problems with Hartwell.
This week’s NXT opened with Carter and Chance confronting Toxic Attraction, with Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne mentioning that they wanted their titles back. In a backstage segment later in the show, Nikkita Lyons told Carter and Chance that she will be their third if need be.
The lineup for next week’s NXT:
Indi Hartwell vs. Roxanne Perez
Kayden Carter, Katana Chance, and Nikkita Lyons vs. Toxic Attraction
Shawn Michaels to reveal Iron Survivor Challenge competitors
Hey there, welcome to another weekly episode of Speak Now Pro Wrestling hosted by Denise Salcedo.
There’s lots to talk about for today’s show including: The Iron Survivor Challenge, Bron Breakker vs. Von Wagner, Mandy Rose retaining her NXT Women’s Championship, and more! Tune in for a fun and interactive podcast!
