Ethan Page will look to make history as he defends his NXT North American Championship tonight.
A title match between Page and Shiloh Hill is scheduled to take place on tonight’s WWE NXT episode. Page has now been champion for 266 days — and a victory tonight would ensure that he becomes the longest-reigning North American Champion in history. Oba Femi currently holds the record at 272 days.
There will be a fatal four-way match tonight with Hank & Tank vs. The Culling vs. OTM vs. The Vanity Project determining which duo gets the next shot at NXT Tag Team Champions DarkState.
In another match with title implications, Eli Knight and Elio LeFleur meet in the men’s WWE Speed tournament finals. The winner earns a title shot against champion Jasper Troy.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Cutler James and Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice have also been announced, with the latter bout kicking off tonight’s show. Join us for live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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NXT is back on the air in front of a live studio audience from a sound stage at the Performance Center in Orlando.
Opening the show is a grudge match set up a few weeks ago after an injury angle. Kelani Jordan attacked Lola Vice in a bout on a previous episode, and Jordan ran in to smash Vice’s right hand with a ladder. That would cost Vice a chance to become the number one contender for a championship. Vice is seemingly out for retribution.
Vice enters the sound stage on this episode for her match against Jordan, and Vice is wearing a brace on her right hand. The hand injury would be a story in the opener on tonight’s card. Vice also enters with her AAA Mixed Tag Team title belt, which she holds alongside Mr. Iguana.
Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan
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Their fight begins immediately, with Vice meeting Jordan on the floor to brawl. The hand injury played into the match from the start, with Vice mostly using kicks as strikes. Vice tries to strike with her left hand, but Jordan blocks it. Jordan then targets the injured hand. Vice fights back with kicks, but Jordan keeps targeting the hand.
The fighting spilled outside again, where Jordan takes off the brace on Vice’s injured hand. The show cuts to a commercial break with Vice in peril. Back from the break with Jordan still working the hand. Vice fires up with a comeback throwing left hands and kicks. Vice on a roll with an Umaga splash and her take on the Rikishi stink face. V
ice eventually gets near falls on Jordan, before Jordan powders. Vice follows her and leaps off the apron with a seated senton. That got them on the floor for a stunt where Vice crashes through a section of the set on a missed spinning back fist with her injured hand.
Trying to capitalize on the stunt, Jordan goes for a 450 splash in the ring. Vice counters and traps Jordan in a triangle. Jordan escapes and applies an arm bar, and Jordan cranks on the injured hand. Vice taps out and Jordan wins via submission.
Match result: Kelani Jordan defeated Lola Vice via submission.
— Tony D’Angelo cuts a promo on Darkstate. D’Angelo signals out Cutler James, and he wants to make sure the leader (Dion Lennox) is watching tonight. D’Angelo says they took everything from him, and he starts taking back tonight against Cutler James.
— NXT Champion Joe Hendry attacks Ricky Saints as Saints is arriving at the building. Security pours out to separate them.
— Sarah Schreiber interviews Shiloh Hill about his match tonight with Ethan Page. They are interrupted by Hank & Tank, who hype up Hill as he cuts a promo. As Hill leaves, Tank remarks to Hank that Hill is “weird”, but “good weird.”
Joe Hendry and Ricky Saints set up NXT title match
“Stone Cold” Joe Hendry storms to the ring with his NXT title belt. Hendry gets the house microphone and calls out Ricky Saints for jumping him last week. Hendry is not in the mood for singing and dancing. He is in “kicking Ricky Saints’ ass all around the arena type of mood!”
Hendry wants to settle this right here and now. Saints appears on a perch overlooking the ring, and Saints cuts a promo on Hendry. Saints rants about Hendry not being good enough. Saints basically says Hendry’s reign brings down the prestige of the NXT title.
“This place creates and builds stars, yet we have a meme as champion,” Saints says.
Saints then heels on the studio audience by saying they can relate to Hendry because he is a loser. Being an “ever-man” does not make Hendry worthy of being champion. Saints rants that having talent and being attractive makes you a champion.
Hendry tries to salvage the segment by saying he deals in facts. Hendry is the NXT champ, and that makes him the best. Saints retorts that Hendry is best at marketing, and Saints claims Hendry parlayed that into success. Saints mocks Hendry as this segment is getting long in the tooth. Saints eventually challenges Hendry to a NXT title match at NXT Vengeance Day on March 7. Hendry of course accepts the challenges.
Hendry concludes the segment with a final promo threatening to kick Saints’ ass at Vengeance Day.
— NXT Women’s North American Champion Izzi Dame talks strategy with The Culling on Dame keeping the title for a long time. Shawn Spears and Niko Vance also talk about their goal of becoming number one contenders for the tag team titles.
Cuter James vs. Tony D’Angelo
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James put up a fight, but not much of one. This was a glorified squash, with James getting some brief offense before D’Angelo pummels him. D’Angelo with a series of German suplexes, followed by cutting off James with a spear. D’Angelo then delivers a spinebuster, and he covers James for a three count. Short match, but good for getting D’Angelo over as a killer.
Match result: Tony D’Angelo defeated Cutler James via pinfall.
Dion Lennox ambushes D’Angelo after the match, but D’Angelo fights off both Lennox and James. D’Angelo smashes Lennox on the barricade. D’Angelo then sends Lennox crashing into the ring steps. The steps are separated as D’Angelo looks to smash Lennox’s leg with the metal step. James pulls Lennox to safety as D’Angelo comes crashing down with the step. Referees pour out to restore order in a pull-apart brawl.
— NXT North American Champion Ethan Page cuts a promo on Myles Borne in a locker room confrontation. Page says Borne had enough chances at taking Page’s title. Page insists there is nothing that would convince him of that, and Borne says “we’ll see about that” before he leaves.
The skit continues with Ricky Saints entering the locker room to chat with Page and The Vanity Project.
— Up next is a four-way tag match to determine the number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship. OTM and Swipe Right (who were only billed as “The Vanity Project”) enter before a commercial break. The Culling are in the ring after the break. Hank & Tank then get a full entrance.
OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) vs. Vanity Project (Brad Baylor & Ricky Smokes with Jackson Drake) vs. The Culling (Niko Vance & Shawn Spears) vs. Hank Walker & Tank Ledger in a fatal four way number one contender’s match
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Lots of action in the four-way bout. The match goes through a commercial break. OTM with stereos chokeslams send Swipe Right to the outside as the show cuts to commercials. Back from the break, and bedlam ensues.
They build to a spot with four superplexes simultaneously, or nearly simultaneous. High spots galore at times in the match with so many wrestlers in there.
Spears with a C4 (DVD) finisher and a pining attempt, but Jackson Drakes interferes at ringside to break the count. Spears grabs Drake, only for OTM save Drake by stomping Spears. Hank & Tank then do a stunt with OTM where they crash through the announce desk. Vance speared Drake on the floor. Meanwhile, Smokes shoves Baylor, who is on rubber legs. Baylor collapses on top of Spears, and Baylor pins him to win the match.
Match result: Ricky Smokes & Brad Baylor won a fatal four way tag team match to become the number one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championship.
Baylor & Smokes get their title shot next Tuesday on NXT.
— Keanu Carver is the focus of personality profile. Carver meets Sean Legacy in a singles match next week on NXT.
— NXT Champion Joe Hendry is talking with General Manager Robert Stone, and Hendry wants to know the whereabouts of Ricky Saints. Stone says he had Saints kicked out of the building for the rest of the night, and Stone asks Hendry to also leave.
— Zaria cuts a fiery promo in Sol Ruca’s face before saying Ruca can “go to hell!” Their split is complete I guess, or is it? After all that, they definitive split comes in a backstage skit before a commercial break. Sure. Whatever. Stay tuned.
— The Fatal Influence trio enters the sound stage for an in-ring promo with NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne. She rambles and rants about Sol Ruca. Just what this show needs is another talking segment after that confrontation with Hendry and Saints that seems to last hours.
Jayne brags about herself as the champ, as does Fallon Henley. Lainey Reid looks on in approval. They roast Sol Ruca, who the comes out to confront them. Ruca is set to challenge Jayne for the women’s title in an upcoming bout next week on NXT.
Ruca remarks that deep down in her heart, Jayne knows that Ruca is better than her. With that, Jayne slaps Ruca across the face. The heel trio then beat down Ruca. Zaria runs down to seemingly make a save, but Zaria pauses. Fatal Influence think that Zaria wants to attack Ruca. They hold Ruca for Zaria, but it was a swerve. Zaria attacks the heel trio instead, and Zaria cleans house.
After Zaria press slams Jayne out of the ring, Jayne is caught by Reid and Henley. The heels are down selling on the floor. Zaria and Ruca then hug in the ring. What?! They broke up, did they not? Now they are back together as a team? Make it make sense.
Eli Knight vs. Elio Lefleur in the finals of the Speed tournament
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They go Broadway, albeit shorter than a typical Broadway in pro wrestling. The wrestled to a time-limit draw in an exciting three minutes. NXT GM Robert Stone comes out to rule they both are getting a title shot because they had such a great match. I cannot argue with that.
Stone announces a triple threat match for the WWE Speed Championship with Jasper Troy defending against both Knight and Lefleur. For the special gimmick match, the time limit is extended to seven minutes. The triple threat title match is set for next week.
Match result: Eli Knight and Elio Lefleur wrestled to a time limit draw in the tournament final.
— Myles Borne and Shiloh Hill have words in a backstage skit.
— Uriah Connors and Charlie Dempsey talk about the offer from Lexis King. Connors tries to convince Dempsey to join the faction. After Dempsey leaves, in walks King and company. The main point of the skit was announcing Connors has a singles match against his former stablemate, Kale Dixon, next week on NXT.
— In another skit, Robert Stone is with WWE Women’s Speed Champion Fallon Henley and potential challenger Blake Monroe. Stone announces a speed tournament starts next week to determine the next challenger, and the tournament opens with Monroe against Thea Haul. That plays on past history between Hail and Monroe (which involved an unexpected title change).
— Darkstate cut a promos on their enemies.
— Sol Ruca and Zaria are talking backstage in skit where they make up as a team. Ruca asks Zaria what changed her mind from earlier, and Zaria says she realizes they make a great team. They would not be where they are without each other. Zaria thinks that things have not been the same since Ruca’s knee injury cost her a double championship. If they want to get back to how things were between them, Zaria insists that Ruca must win the women’s title.
— Myles Borne storms past Ruca and Zaria. They ask if he is okay, and Borne remarks he knows what he is going to do now. With that comes the entrance of Shiloh Hill into the sound stage, and the main event is next.
Ethan Page vs. Shiloh Hill for the NXT North American Championship
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Vanity Project enters the scene at ringside as the show cuts to a commercial break. Page is in control as the show returns from the break. The heel faction at ringside pulls back the floor mats to expose concrete. Page attempts a Razor’s Edge on the floor, but Hill escapes.
Late in the match, Hill pulls out his false teeth. That is like Jerry Lawler pulling down the strap on his singlet. Business is about to pick up, as Jim Ross might say. Page poses as Hill pops up to pose behind him. This is such riveting television.
Comeback by Hill as he hulks up on Page. Jackson Drake jumps on the apron , only to get knocked out. Ricky Smokes is sent barreling into the ring, and Hull sends him packing. Brad Baylor then takes a back drop on the floor. Drake is also side-slammed by Hill on the broadcast booth. Page then rushes in to cut off Hill by giving him Twisted Grin (Twist of Fate) on the exposed concrete floor. Hill takes another Twisted Grin in the ring, and Page covers him for the deciding pinfall. And still…
Match result: NXT North American Champion Ethan Page defeated Shiloh Hill via pinfall to retain his title.
In a post-match angle, Page and Vanity Project attack Hill. The heel faction is stomping on Hill when Myles Borne runs in for a save. Borne cleans house on the heels. Hill does a flip dive to the outside despite having been knocked unconscious on the floor and attacked by a gang. He was a house of fire again.
In the ring, Borne is pounding on Page. In between punching Page, Borne yells at him that Borne wants a title shot. Hill slid a metal folding chair into the ring, and Borne looks to Pillmanize the ankle of Page. Borne threatens to stomp on Page’s foot with it sandwiched in the chair. In fear, Page agrees to defend the title against Borne next week.
Borne turns away and Page smirks. Page yells he knew Borne would not do it. That prompts Borne to slowly turn around before jumping into the air and coming down with a stomp. Pillmanized in the chair, Page screams in agony after Borne stomps on the chair. The show ends with Borne holding the title belt while standing over Page, who writhing in agony.
